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Z*NET Online Magazine Issue 521
////// // // ////// ////// Z*Net Atari Online Magazine
// / /// // // // May 25, 1990
// /// // // // ////// // ---------------------------
// / // /// // // Compiled and Edited by:
////// // // /////// // Ron Kovacs and John Nagy
Your Leading Atari News Source
Issue #521
----------
(½) 1990 by Rovac Industries, Inc.
Post Office Box 59
Middlesex, New Jersey 08846
Z*Net Online BBS: (201) 968-8148
=======================================================================
CompuServe 71777,2140 * Cleveland Free-Net * GEnie Z-NET
=======================================================================
* THIS WEEK...........Ron Kovacs * ZNet Cover Story.......John Nagy
* Z*Net Newswire................ * ANALOG/ST-LOG LETTER............
* VANCOVER ATARIFEST............ * PKZIP UPDATE....................
* Z*NET Down-Under....Jon Clarke * PD/Shareware STop.....Mark Quinn
* ST STack...........Alice Amore * CIS Europe......................
-------------------------------
THIS WEEK
-------------------------------
Ron Kovacs
This week we considered changing our issue number in sequence with the
start of our fifth year. Numerous ideas were discussed and after
wondering what issue to start with, we all agreed that the new Z*Net
issue number should be 1802 or ZNET1802.ASC. Since it really doesn't
make any sense and would only confuse our readers, we have decided to
stay with the present "real" numbers already in use. So, don't worry,
the issue number will always match the year. If we make it to 10 years,
we will consider another alternative.
On a serious note, due to a death in the family this week, Z*Net
articles have been suspended until next week. Alice Amore, Jon Clarke,
John Nagy and Mark Quinn all appear, but features articles planned for
this week just weren't ready for inclusion. As soon as some of these
matters get resolved, we will return to regular issue status.
////Z*NET COVER STORY////
-------------------------
STACY ARRIVES AT ATARI DEALERS - WITH PROBLEMS
by John Nagy
Several "regular" Atari dealers in the Los Angeles area were pleased to
receive STACYs this week, but they aren't quite sure why they have them
or if they will be getting any more. Worse, they are not all alike, and
some exhibit operating problems.
Logical Choice for Computing, an Atari dealer located in North
Hollywood, California, received their STACY 4, with 4 megs of RAM and a
40 megabyte hard drive, on Tuesday, May 22. When Z*Net talked to him on
Friday, May 25, manager Brett Hebdon said, "We were surprised. We were
told that music stores would have the Stacy first, and NADINE'S, a music
supplier in Hollywood got some a few weeks ago. But we weren't
expecting it."
Brett said that he had heard that Nadine's had gotten six Stacy units,
and that local Atari dealers protested their being left out. Atari
appears to have responded by sending a single Stacy to each L.A. Atari
dealer, including Logical Choice, Mid-Cities Comp/Soft (of Bellflower),
and American Music (in North Hollywood). Brett has already sold their
single Stacy 4 at the suggested retail price of $2895. He has no
expectation of another arriving soon, and adds that there was no
information supplied to him about Stacy's FCC type-acceptance as a Type
A (industrial) unit only. The Stacy has not been passed by the FCC for
regular commercial sale for home use. Brett also said that Frank Foster
of Atari (head of the MIDI and music related projects there) had called
his store recently and conducted an informal survey regarding the number
of musicians that were known to be among their customers. It may be
that it was a "qualifying" survey for carrying the Stacy.
Not all of the delivered Stacy 4 computers are the same. While Logical
Choice's Stacy has TOS 1.4 installed, the Stacy delivered to Mid-Cities'
unit sports TOS 1.6. There have been a few additional reports of 1.6
being in the latest production STACY machines. This is a problem for
many programs that do not like the new TOS, plus the production version
of 1.6 (being installed in the STE machines) is known to have several
serious bugs. Atari has said that they have a revised TOS 1.6 that
fixes the problems, but it is unknown which flavor is gracing the
Stacys.
Trouble reports have continued regarding the machine. After being
wildly enthusiastic over the performance of the early (dual floppy)
machines, many professional musicians have now received their 4-meg, 40
megabyte Stacy. What they have found is new compatibility problems.
What may be the same problem that at first prevented the SPECTRE (MAC
emulation from Gadgets by Small) on the hard-drive Stacy has reared its
head in the MIDI user realm. Stefan Daystrom of Hybrid Arts has found
that many of their products will not run on the Stacy 4 that he has
tried to use, and he has reports of other MIDI titles (like NOTATOR)
that also fail. These titles ran flawlessly on the prototype floppy-
only version of the Stacy. It appears that the DMA DEVICE polling that
is done by many of the MIDI programs is shutting down the CONNER brand
internal hard drive. Most high-line MIDI products use some sort of
"dongle" in the cart port, joystick port, or DMA line, plus many look
for the Hybrid Arts "MIDIPLEXER", a hardware device that attaches to the
ST as a DMA device. The Conner adaptor and drive parks itself when the
DMA status is checked, effectively ending a computing session before it
begins. Ironically, it is musicians who are the most desperate in their
desire for the Stacy.
Stefan reports that he has heard that several companies, ICD included,
are planning to offer complete replacement host adaptor and drive units
for internal installation in the troubled Stacy. The same units may
also allow upgrading a floppy-only Stacy (not yet available
commercially) to a hard drive.
Another surprise on the machines equipped with TOS 1.6 is the apparent
inability to boot the Stacy off of the internal floppy disk drive. One
dealer was stymied for quite a while after installing an AUTO folder
program on the internal hard drive. The new TOS in the Stacy did not
like the program and forced a reboot... over and over. The keyboard did
not respond to the standard keypresses that should cause the floppy to
boot, allowing entrance to the hard drive to manipulate the AUTO files.
Finally, the dealer attached an external hard drive, and the unit then
refused to see the hard drives at all. It booted from the floppy, the
second hard drive was removed, and the hard drive software was loaded
from the floppy, allowing the offending AUTO program to be found and
deleted.
Production of new STACY computers is said to be slow, despite a back
order of over 1,500 bought-and-paid-for orders. The TOS issues as well
as the continued problems with the hard drive may be some of the
reasons. Or, it may be that Atari hopes for some resolution of the
horrible (15 minute) battery life when used with the hard drive (the
Stacy 4 is not even shipped with a battery, and a separate large and
expensive battery pack giving several hours of operation is offered by
a third party developer). Other possible causes may include a
reluctance on Atari's part to invest heavily in producing the unit in a
configuration that seems unable to pass "standard" home use FCC testing.
A new model of the Stacy, based on the STE design, is rumored to be
under consideration and might be more likely to pass the FCC testing.
Problems notwithstanding, the public remains anxious for their chance to
see and purchase the sexy little portable ST computer.
-------------------------------
Z*NET NEWSWIRE
-------------------------------
ATARI SUPPORTS MICROSOFT WINDOWS
Nine vendors of MS-DOS-based personal computer applications joined
existing and newly announced ISVs in expressing their support for
Microsoft's Windows. Those companies include Ashton-Tate, Lotus
Development, WordPerfect, Oracle and Software Publishing Corp. In
addition, domestic and international vendors of IBM-compatible PCs have
announced they will provide the Windows package with their computer
systems, including: Acer, Apricot, AST Research, Atari, AT&T,
Commodore, Epson, Fujitsu, Gateway 2000, Grid, Mitac, NCR, NEC, Nokia
Data, Northgate, Olivetti, Research Machines, Samsung, Tandem, Tandon,
Tandy, Toshiba, Tulip, Unisys, Wang, Wyse and Zeos International.
ATARI WANTS SOVIET CHIPS
According to a UPI report released earlier this week, Atari is seeking
to trade personal computers to the Soviet Union for memory chips. The
proposal is for Atari to swap its computers for 256K DRAMs, a basic
component of many Atari products, from a Soviet-owned semiconductor
plant in Zelenograd. The Soviets are seeking to trade their DRAMs
through Global Development Corp., a Seattle trade consulting firm that
has arranged for a series of meetings in Santa Clara next month between
Soviet officials and U.S. high-tech companies. The Soviets are willing
to provide all their excess production, as many as 2.5 million chips a
month. Workers at the Soviet plant would be allowed to keep 25 percent
of any profit from selling Atari products.
EPSON EMPLOYEES NAMED IN SUIT
Lawsuits for unspecified damages have been filed in the California
against Epson and two of its employees for alleged invasion of privacy,
and wrongful termination brought by the plaintiff, Alana Shoars. The
suits allege that a management employee of Epson eavesdropped on the
private electronic mail of up to 700 Epson employees with the full
knowledge and consent of Epson, and conspired with a second employee to
wrongfully terminate Shoars when she refused to cooperate with the
illegal eavesdropping. Shoars alleges that she was fired because she
discovered and refused to cooperate with violation of the invasion of
privacy. In addition, Hillseth and Gary La Monte allegedly filed a
false police report with the Torrance Police Department to embarrass
Shoars.
SAMSUNG SIGNS WORLDWIDE AGREEMENT
Samsung announced that it will include the Microsoft Windows 3.0
graphical user interface with its 386SX- and 386-based personal
computers. The agreement is part of a worldwide licensing arrangement
between Samsung and Microsoft.
MICROSOFT WINDOWS VERSION 3.0
Microsoft announced the worldwide availability of the Microsoft Windows
graphical environment version 3.0. An enhanced version of Microsoft's
graphical-user interface for MS-DOS- and PC-DOS-based personal
computers, the version 3.0 transforms an ordinary, character-based PC
into a powerful, graphical machine. Microsoft Windows was developed
with a one-megabyte personal computer as a design point, the standard
minimum entry system for PCs today -- thereby enabling 30 million of the
50 million current MS-DOS users to quickly and easily add a graphical-
user interface to their MS-DOS machines.
FOUR-WIRE LEASED LINE MODEM
Telebit introduced the T2500L, a leased line modem with four-wire
functionality in addition to dial and two-wire compatibility. Designed
to provide leased line backup in synchronous network environments the
T2500L is compliant with V.42bis error control and V.42 data
compression, and offers password and callback security, remote
configuration, management, and access functions.
ZIFF-DAVIS ZMAC
Ziff-Davis Publishing Company's latest on-line venture "Zmac" went live
this week. This private service, which is available to anyone with a
Macintosh or PC-compatible computer via CompuServe, offers a 2,000-
product database, downloadable libraries of public-domain software, and
an on-line forum feature that allows users to interact with MacUser and
MacWEEK editors. To visit the area, type Go ZMac at any CompuServe
prompt.
-------------------------------
ANALOG ST-LOG UPDATE
-------------------------------
(Editors Note: The following, submitted by John King was received May
18th.)
ANALOG COMPUTING
Dear Subscriber,
As you know, ANALOG/ST-LOG Magazine has ceased publication.
Unfortunately the Atari computer industry has progressed to the point
that _continuing ANALOG is simply unfeasible._
However, _your business is important to me_ and my commitment to provide
you with the latest industry information has not changed. I have spent
the last few months making arrangements that will _give you several
options._
They include fullfilling the remainder of your subscription with another
ATARI oriented magazine or one that covers lap top computers or video
games. And of course you will have the option to receive a full refund
for the unused portion of your Analog subscription.
Simply _fill out the coupon below_ instructing us how to process your
subscription. For fastest service affix your mailing label to the
coupon and send it to us in the postage-paid envelope we've enclosed
for you.
In closing, I would just like to _thank you for your patronage of
ANALOG/ST-LOG Magazine_ over the years.
Sincerely,
Lee Pappas
Publisher
------------------------------------------------------
[ ] PLEASE CONVERT MY SUBSCRIPTION TO THE FOLLOWING MAGAZINE
(CHOOSE ONE ONLY)
[ ]ANTIC W/DISK [ ] START [ ]START W/DISK
[ ] PC LAPTOP [ ] VIDEOGAMES & COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT
[ ] PLEASE REFUND THE UNUSED PORTION OF MY ANALOG SUBSCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-------------------------------
VANCOVER ATARI SHOW
-------------------------------
Press Release
May 23, 1990
For immediate press release:
Vancouver Atari Show
Atari Canada today confirmed that the new Atari 68030 or TT model will
be in attendance at the June 16th show. The TT is scheduled to be
released to developers at a June 4th press conference in Toronto.
In addition to the TT at the show, Atari will be demonstrating their
full line of computer product from the Lynx to the powerful 386 machines
and of course don't forget the Portfolio and the Stacy.
In conference will be Jeff Earl from Atari Canada who will give some
insight into Atari's marketing and support plans for the third and
fourth quarter. Jeff will also be on-hand at the show to answer any
questions you might have.
The show is being held at Thompson Community Centre 6671 Lynas Lane in
Richmond B.C. from 10:00am to 4:00pm. For further information contact
Keith MacNutt at 604-943-4786
-------------------------------
PKZIP 1.20 UPDATE
-------------------------------
(389) Tue 15 May 90 10:12
By: Stu Turk
To: All
Re: Re: PKZIP 1.20
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* Forwarded from "PittNet "
* Originally from John Williams
* Originally dated 14 May 90 12:17:00
05/12/1990 12:26pm CDT
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
There is a file being circulated on BBS's called PKZ120.ZIP or PKZ120.
EXE or similar, and that claims to be version 1.20 of PKZIP but in fact
is a hacked version of PKZIP 1.10.
As of the date of this writing, the latest version of PKZIP is version
1.10. Furthermore, due to this intentional act of vandalism, PKWARE
will not release any versions of PKZIP in the future with the version
1.20.
If you see the files PKZ120.ZIP or PKZ120.EXE on any BBS or on-line
system, please ask the SysOp of that system to remove the files
IMMEDIATELY, and please contact PKWARE to report where the files were
seen.
REWARD!
-------
PKWARE is offering a reward of lifetime free upgrades for PKZIP to
anyone who can provide information leading to the identification and
prosecution of the person or persons responsible for creating this bogus
version 1.20 of the software. They have only served to confuse and hurt
the user community, and the perpetrators of this crime are at minimum in
violation of Federal Copyright Law.
If you have any information about the source of PKZ120.EXE or PKZ120.
ZIP, please report it to PKWARE immediately, either:
by Voice at 414-352-3670
by BBS at 414-352-7176
by FAX at 414-352-3815
or by mail:
PKWARE Inc.
7545 N. Port Washington Rd.
Glendale, WI 53217
Sincerely,
Phil Katz
President, PKWARE Inc.
{backbone}!cs.cmu.edu!ralf ARPA: RALF@CS.CMU.EDU FIDO: Ralf Brown
1:129/46 BITnet: RALF%CS.CMU.EDU@CMUCCVMA AT&Tnet: (412)268-3053
(school) FAX: ask DISCLAIMER? | _How_to_Prove_It_ by Dana Angluin 20.
by vehement assertion: It What's that?|is useful to have some kind of
authority relation to the audience
////Z*NET DOWN-UNDER////
------------------------
_ [][][][][][][][] _
o( ) Z-Net Down Under ( )o
/ /\ [][][][][][][][] /\ \
by Jon Clarke
Ever been frustrated by your favourite game and thought it would be
great if there was a cheat mode built into the game? Read on Mac Duff.
Hints and Cheat modes:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sourced from "The Source BBS" in Palmerston North, New Zealand
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DEFENDER OF THE CROWN
=====================
Hold down 'k' on the keyboard while the game is loading. This will give
you a home army of 1024 knights and a campaign army of 1024 knights. Do
you get the joke here? (Knights/Bytes)
PLATOON
=======
This one's cute. Type in 'Hamburger' at the title screen. The word
'Cheat' will appear below the credits press your joystck button, then
(F5) when the jungle screen comes up. Your man is now invulnerable to
the attacks of the little Commie @#!!$&*s. From here (F1) starts you
where you are, (F2) puts you at the location of the explosives, (F3)
takes you to the bridges that you have to blow up, (F4) takes you
straight to the village where the entrance to the tunnels is hidden in
one of the huts. From here on the cheat no longer works, the game runs
as normal and you can die but it certainly gets you further along the
track.
ARKANOID
========
Press the Spacebar (Pause) then type 'DSIMAGIC' press Space again and
catch the Pill falling from the centre of the screen. Once you have
done this you can call up extra paddles, laser turret, etc, by typing
the appropriate letter on the keyboard. 'F' will take you to the final
screen and the confrontation with 'DOH' (He's the dude that trapped you
at the beginning of the game).
BARBARIAN
=========
Type '04-08-59' (that's the author's birthday) to make Hegor immortal.
You will have to retype it every time the disk drive accesses, and your
background should be grey instead of black. The only problem with this
one is that you can't complete the game 'cause you can't kill the bad
guy. You can see all the screens right to the bottom though.
MENACE
======
This one's a bit tricky - type 'XR31TURBONUTTERBASTARD' while the game
is in progress. Try doing that without getting killed off! You should
now have a large supply of shields, cannon and lasers. They will run
out eventually so you have to type it in again.
NEBULUS
=======
Type 'HELLOIAMJMP' on the title screen. This gives you unlimited Pogos,
and you can go to each of the eight unfinished towers by hitting a
function key. You can do the same with the second group by accepting
the second mission before typing in the password. The author's name is
John M. Phillips, by the way.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
=======================
Here's a goody! Ever wonder how they got the picture of Luke and Darth
Vader on the screen shots in the advertisement. Here's how: Hold down
the HELP key and type 'XIFARGROTKEV' on the title screen (That's
VEKTORGRAFIX backwards). You are now invulnerable. Hit 'L', 'D', and
'C' for some extra surprises.
IKARI WARRIORS
==============
Type 'FREERIDE' for a couple of REALLY tough Rambo clones.
FERNANDEZ MUST DIE
==================
Haven't tried this one myself but type 'SPINYNORMAN' for infinite men.
It'll take you about 40 minutes to finish it, so pack a cut lunch and go
to the can first.
STREET FIGHTER
==============
Here is another one I haven't tried. It's more strategy than a cheat;
All of your opponents but the last, named Sagat in Thailand can be
dispatched by kicking them in the ankle. The technique for Sagat is
'Watch for fireballs and his long reach. Jump high, kick and retreat.
Repeat this process until he falls.'
WIZBALL
=======
Pause the game (spacebar) and type 'RAINBOW' resume the game and press
space again. Now hit 'C' to fill the pot with the current colour.
GIANA SISTERS
=============
Pressing all the keys that make up the word 'ARMIN' during the game will
allow you to skip levels.
CARRIER COMMAND
===============
First pause the game with the mouse button. Then type 'The Best is Yet
to be' (including the spaces - case is not important), followed by a
press of the '+' key. This should give you invincible Mantas.
STARGLIDER II
=============
Select F (for fixed sights) then slow down to a dead stop and pause the
game (using the backspace key). Type 'Were on a Mission from God' (with
the spaces and case also not important) and press '1' on the keyboard.
If the shield and energy levels drop to zero the cheat mode has been
activated. Press 'k' to get all the weapons (including the neutron
bomb!), and when you run out just press 'k' again.
FOOTMAN
=======
In the first maze of "New Taste", you can hide from the ghosts and
collect points from the fruit that emerges periodically, if you go to
the upper left corner entrance to the tunnel.
BARBARIAN
=========
If you're fighting an enemy or being threatened by obstacles, use the
pick-up icon - attackers will either pass you by or turn around and
attack you again.
F/A-18 INTERCEPTOR
==================
In mission 6, once you've fired all your missiles, you can land on the
Shadow Sub (if it's still afloat) and it will refuel and rearm you.
S.D.I.
======
When you're in the Russian space station, pick one man and keep firing
at him 10 to 15 times. No other men will appear and you can keep doing
it until you get the girl.
{Please note not all these games are in general release in the USA}
WORST things to do after drinking 80 Pints of Lager.
[1] Drink another pint of lager
[2] Drink another 80 pints of lager
[3] Find you are paying
[4] Bump into the 79 other people you were supposed to be getting
drinks for
[5] Get into a non-corridor train
[6] Eat a Curry
[7] Eat 80 Curries
[8] Propose to someone else's girlfriend
[9] Propose to someone else's girlfriend and your girlfriend
[10] Propose to someone else's Boyfriend
[11] Propose to 80 policemen who seem to be sharing your cell
[12] Propose to a pint of lager
[13] Eat your girlfriends ST
[14] Drink a train
[15] Wake up the next morning
[16] Wake up to a Policeman
[17] Wake up next to a train
[18] Wake up at all
[19] Play with your Atari
[20] Spill 80 pints of lager in your ST!
-------------------------------
COMPUSERVE EUROPE
-------------------------------
West Germany - Direct Dial
City Phone number Network Baud rates
--------------------------------------------------------------
Frankfurt 069 6666062 CSC 300
069 6666881 CSC 1200,2400
West Germany - PTT
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT:
Deutsche Bundepost
Fernmeldetechnisches Zentralamt
Referat T 21
Kundenberatung fur Dateldienste
Post Box 5000
D-6100 Darmstadt
West Germany
Telephone: (49) 6151-83-4641
Telex: (841) 419511
Telefax: (49) 6151-83-4639
Trouble Reporting/Customer Service:
Telephone: (49) 6151-83-4641
Ministry for Posts and Telecommunications:
Adenauerallee, 81
D-53 Bonn
Telex: (841) 8861101
ACCESS/SPEEDS SUPPORTED
Access node is only in Frankfurt
Asynchronous dial-in: 300, 1200, or 1200/75 bps
Asynchronous leased line: 300, 1200 bps
Dial-up or access via Datex-L
Asynchronous 300, 1200 bps, half and full duplex
1200/75 bps (1200 receive, 75 send) full duplex
PROTOCOLS SUPPORTED:
Asynchronous terminal interface
DIAL-UP MODEMS SUPPLIES BY BUNDESPOST FOR DATEL SERVICE (PSTN)
Designation Interf.(CCITT)
Type and Features Speed Electr. Syst. DM/Mo.
---- ------------ ----- -------------- ------
D300S Man./Autom. 200/300 V24/ V21 80.--
Chnl Select. V28
D1200S02 Conv to 600 1200 V24/ V23 80.--
Poss. V28
D1200S04 Conv to 600 1200 V24/ V23 and 80.--
Poss. V28 V25
D1200S10 Conv to 600 1200 V24/ V22 50.--
Poss. V28
D1200S02 Same as above
D1200S04 with aux.
D1200S10 channel. 100.--
D2400S04 Conv. to 1200 2400 V24/ V26BIS 150.--
Pos. backw. V28
Chnl 75 bps
with aux. chnl 180.--
D4800S Conv to 2400 4800 V24/ V27Ter 270.--
pos backw V28
chnl 150 bps
with aux. chnl 300.--
ACCESS NUMBER TO DATEX-P
TOWN AREA CODE 300 BIT/S 1200 BIT/S 1200/75 BIT/S
AUGSBURG 0821 36791 36781 36761
BERLIN 030 240001 240081 240061
BIELEFELD 0521 59011 59021 59041
BREMEN 0421 170131 14291 15077
DORTMUND 0231 57011 52011 52071
DUESSELDORF 0211 329318 329249 320748
ESSEN 0201 787051 791021 793003
FRANKFURT 0611 20281 20291 20201
HAMBURG 040 441231 441261 441281
HANNOVER 0511 326651 327481 327591
KARLSRUHE 0721 60241 60381 60581
KOELN 0221 2911 2931 2951
MANNHEIM 0621 409085 39941 39951
MUENCHEN 089 228730 228630 228758
NUERNBERG 0911 20571 20541 20501
SAARBRUECKEN 0681 810011 810031 810061
STUTTGART 0711 299171 299061 299291
Node access rates: Normal phone rates (local or long distance)
The DBS nodes (Tymnet 6512/13) are central in Frankfurt.
II DATEX-P ACCESS
CONTACT
Fernmeldetechnisches Zentralamt
Ref T21
Post Box 5000
6100 Darmstadt
TELEPHONE
6151 83 5236
TELEX
(841)-100308
DNIC
DATEX-P10: 2624
DATEX-P20: 2624
TECHNICAL CONTACT:
Contact a Datenetz Coordinator at the local Fernmeldeamt for
advice.
BILLING CONTACT:
Deutsche Bundespost does not send the bill to foreign countries.
Customers temporarily staying in Germany without a permanent address or
their own telephone needs a bail who will stand security for the bill.
This can be a person with a permanent home in Germany or a firm or bank
which must confirm security by letter.
PROTOCOLS AND ACCESSES SUPPORTED:
DATEX-P10
---------
Supports mainstations conforming to CCITT Rec. X.25.
ACCESS: These mainstations are directly connected to the
DATEX-P Network (nearest network node).
SPEEDS: 2400, 4800, 9600, 48000 bps
DATEX-P20
---------
Supports character-oriented asynchronous equipment conforming
to CCITT Rec. X.28.
ACCESS: Directly connected mainstation (using an adaptation
unit 'pad') or dial-up access via pad from the DATEX-L
Network (line switched data network) or the public
telephone network.
SPEEDS: Up to 300, 1200 bps Maintenance
300, 1200, 1200/75 Dial-up
300bps Dial-up via DATEX-L
DATEX-P32
---------
Supports synchronous equipment, IBM 3270-compatible.
ACCESS: See DATEX-P20
SPEEDS: 2400, 4800, 9600 bps direct connected only
Calls can be made only to P-10 hosts.
DATEX-P42
---------
Supports synchronous equipment, IBM 2780/3780-compatible.
ACCESS: See DATEX-P20
SPEEDS: 2400, 4800, 9600 bps directly connected only
1200bps via PSTN
ACCESS/SPEEDS SUPPORTED
DX-P 20F Asynchronous dial-in: 300, 1200, 1200/75 bps
DX-P 20H Asynchronous leased: 300, 1200 bps
DX-P 32/33 Synchronous leased: 2400 bps - 9600 bps
DX-P 10 Synchronous leased: 2400, 4800, 9600 bps
Dial-up, leased line
Asynchronous (300, 1200, 1200/75 bps)
Synchronous X.25 (2400, 4800, 9600 bps)
-------------------------------
PD/SHAREWARE STop
-------------------------------
by Mark Quinn
CHAOS CORNER
or "Why my column was not uploaded on time"
Science fiction author Jerry Pournelle (who has his own round table on
GEnie) writes a column for BYTE magazine called "Computing at Chaos
Manor". I have been a big fan of Mr. Pournelle since I read two of his
collaborations with Larry Niven: THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE and LUCIFER'S
HAMMER. In this month's column he describes a mishap he had with his
Macintosh where he "took leave of his senses" and trashed his hard
drive. A quick call to a Mac guru and his machine was its happy,
chirping self once again. No such luck here at Chaos Corner.
First, let me explain by saying that our self-imposed 'deadline' for
downloading the files reviewed in STop and STack is Sunday. We upload
the completed reviews to GEnie on Thursday before six p.m. Eastern time.
I generally look at the files on Tuesday and Wednesday, and write the
column the following day.
It is now Friday afternoon and my column amounts to the two paragraphs
you see above.
Why? Thursday morning I awoke with every intention of writing the
column. (Something tells me I've put you in the frame of mind of a
teacher listening to a fifth grader's story about a cat eating last
night's homework assignment. How about "The computer ate it"?) I sat
before my terminal judiciously sipping a Diet Coke, and began to feel a
bit like the astronaut in ALIEN. If you haven't seen the movie, just
imagine the embodiment of the worst fear of an imaginative child with a
stomach ache: that something with razor sharp teeth is gnawing its way
to the outside.
"This will pass," I said to myself. (Pardon the pun.) Two hours later I
was at the emergency ward of the local hospital. "It's got to be an
ulcer. But that's not so bad--ulcers are treatable. I shouldn't have
eaten that pizza last night." X-rays were taken, and the consensus was
that there was no ulcer, and no consensus. The doctor's only words were
"It must have been that frozen dinner you ate." Great. A three-dollar
dinner is going to cost me $80 in doctor bills.
After a shot of Bentyl that served to put my parietal lobe in the
ionosphere, I was back home thinking about how I was going to get the
column ready, and listening to the wind kick up outside. Then the
lights blinked out, then on. After this process repeated itself, Alice
went to shut off her hard drives. We waited until the wind died down,
then went to our tasks. The power fluctuations had killed Alice's
controller. Or was it her DMA chip? There was no guru available to
call. The files we had chosen to review were on one of her hard drives.
"What a perfect time to buy a Lynx," I thought. (It must have been the
Bentyl.) I called Toys R Us, and sure enough, they had a Lynx and three
games. The beeps and blips of "Chip's Challenge" could be heard for
hours afterwards.
So I guess when the going gets tough, the tough really DO go shopping.
Barring future mishaps, you will continue to see PD and Shareware
downloads described in this column.
-------------------------------
ST STack
-------------------------------
by Alice Amore
Let's see... hmmm.... no files this week. I can't even summon up one
lousy floppy icon. It's a cold wind in May, that's for sure. It isn't
enough that I invested a small fortune in surge surpressers, phone line
monitors, and computer power-switching modules. If East Ohio Edison
winks and blinks, something's gotta give. I could always buy one of
those power generators that I keep seeing advertised in all those slick
office supply catalogs... the ones that keep the power going for a half
hour (gee, whiz) during a blackout. Nahhh...
So, anyway, have you seen the PACE video? For those of us who couldn't
make it to the PACE show (myself included), there's a way to almost be
there. The PACE video, conceived, taped, and distributed by Dan Stidham
of AAA Images, starts out with a collage of the show in full swing.
Unfortunately, with so few people in attendence, one might think it's
footage of the vendors setting up their displays. But no, it's the
actual show. A series of interviews gives you a chance to meet folks
like Charles F. Johnson and John Eidsvoog (the CodeHeads), Mike Vederman
(Double Click), Nathan Potechin (ISD), Dan Wilga and Rick Flashman
(Gribnif), and other Atari luminaries. You'll find out whose middle
name is Frank (if you care to know).
A Ralph Mariano/Bob Brodie seminar is saved for last. Some of it is
bitter, but it is interesting nonetheless. If nothing else, you will be
impressed by Bob Brodie.
If you're a diehard Atarihead, you will most certainly want to see this
video.
PACE Video Available from:
-------------------------------------------------------------
$19.95 Visa/MC/checks/COD AAA Images
3809 Feather Ln.
Elsmere, KY 41018
(606) 342-9129
Order by mail, phone, or online (GEnie address: D.STIDHAM)
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Z*Net Atari Online Magazine is a weekly released publication covering
the Atari community. Opinions and commentary presented are those of the
individual authors and do not reflect those of Rovac Industries. Z*NET
and Z*NET ONLINE are copyright 1990 by Rovac Industries. Reprint
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ZNET ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE Atari News FIRST!
Copyright (c)1990 Rovac Industries, Inc..
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