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Z*NET Online Magazine Issue 91-03
==(((((((((( == Z*NET INTERNATIONAL ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE
=========(( === -----------------------------------------
=======(( ===== January 19, 1991 Issue #91-03
=====(( ======= -----------------------------------------
==(((((((((( == Copyright (c)1991, Rovac Industries, Inc.
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USA - NEW ZEALAND - CANADA - GERMANY - UK
-----------------------------------------------------------
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Ron Kovacs
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Jon Clarke, Terry Schrieber
CONTENTS
--------
PACIFIC RIM COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATIONS SHOW........Terry Schreiber
Z*NET NEWSWIRE.....................................................
Z*NET NEW ZEALAND........................................Jon Clarke
PUBLIC DOMAIN UPDATE..................................Keith Macnutt
ST'S VERSUS OTHERS.....................................Carlis Darby
ST QUESTIONS ANSWERED........................................Usenet
WORLDWIDE PUBLIC DATA CARRIERS...........................Jon Clarke
PACIFIC RIM COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATIONS SHOW
============================================ Vancouver B.C. Canada
by Terry Schreiber
Day 1
With so much to report it's very hard to find a starting place but I
think the reason most of you people read these reports is for the Atari
information, since that is where I spent most of my day here's what's
hot.
New model Un-veiled
Atari Canada today announced the new Mega 1 STE. "Yes, ok a cut down
version of the big brother" some might say - read on. This model,
although only one meg is fully upgradable to it's big brother. It also
does not contain the fifty meg harddrive. Now the kicker - with all
this removed you can expect the price to drop considerably but would you
believe including monochrome monitor the suggested list is $1295.00 CDN?
The Mega 4 STE is at a suggested list of $2495.00, when you subtract the
cost of a monitor ($200.00) that is a $1400.00 saving. I am sure that
somewhere around someone will find four megs of Simm chips and a fifty
meg harddrive for a lot less. You better bet this unit has the Classic
buyers reeling and quite a few of the Big Blue users gave it more than a
second glance.
One Man Band
Tim Breck - The One Man Band demonstrated the Atari's MIDI capabilities
on stage to the delight of show attendees. Tim plays a combination of
guitar and keyboards with drums, bass and other effects being supplied
by the Atari computer.
The Booth
The Atari booth is a story in it's self. Although not the biggest at
the show I believe it is the highest and best designed for it's purpose.
The Atari booth is a modular system that can be assembled in many
configurations. Last year in Toronto it was in a 40X60 FT configuration
at this show it is in a 40X50 FT. When fully used it can extend to a
40X80 and can actually be configured down to a single section of 4X10
counter. The system was designed by Canex and is an amazing piece of
design of Plexiglass, plastics and aluminum. The Tower section sports a
huge illuminated Atari sign, stage and counter with drawer space for
storage of flyers, extra cables and parts. I hope to get this on video
to convert and upload at a later time.
The Equipment
On display in the booth are two TT's one on color and one on monochrome.
The main interest shown on these machines are Calamus (this is the area
where Nathan spends most of his time) and Dynacadd.
There are a total of six Portfolios on display. Four being demonstrated
by themselves and two being used with PC's - one with the card reader
and one with the parallel interface. I did happen to notice that this
area was never lacking for attendance.
Mega STE's are next on the agenda with two Mega 4 units and one of the
new one megabyte systems. These units were continuously running demos
being changed to what the customer was showing an interest in.
Two Mega 4 computers were set in another area demonstrating the
networking capabilities of the Atari.
Stacy's were abundant eveywhere. I believe six in total were connected
to MIDI equipment or a Spectre GCR and even running by it's self. One
of the units contained PC-Speed, this also proved to be a big draw to
DOS users.
DOS users also checked out the Atari PC4's running Windows and DynaCadd
PC. Some people I talked to were even surprised that Atari had anything
DOS compatible.
Last to mention are the 1040 STE's that were scattered through-out the
booth running MIDI, Degas, LDW Power, virtually anything that was
available to show.
You may notice the absence of the Lynx and any game related software.
This was a business show and a very impressive showing by Atari. On
Sunday during setup before the carpeting had gone down I chanced to
glance at the floor to see the chalked layout lines of the booth. Along
the line was the word Atari followed by a drawing of Pac-Man. I hope
this showing has changed this persons mind as well.
Day 2
Interiew with Nathan Potechin of ISD
------------------------------------
TS> With so many developers leaving the Atari platform - Does ISD have
any plans of going into other machines?
NP> Yes, We currently have a DOS and Amiga version of Dynacadd available
and we do plan on versions of our products for other platforms.
This is not to say we will be forgetting the Atari - far from it.
It is a great machine. I'll give you a for instance. I was
demonstrating Calamus earlier to a person who was using Pagemaker on
a DOS machine. He said he had five minutes to spare, twenty minutes
later he walked away with brochures that he picked up and a
retailers business card. That customers next machine will be an
Atari.
TS> How do you feel Atari is doing as a business machine?
NP> Atari is trying very hard to get into the business market - just
look at this booth. The costs for attending this type of show are
mind-boggling. You have the cost of the booth, space rental,
transportation, accommodation and lots of other expenses as well. I
think Atari is doing extremely well here by the amount of people
attending the booth. There are twelve people working in the booth
and at times twenty-four wouldn't be enough to handle the crowd.
Atari is doing a lot more in business sales than it did a year ago.
It takes time to take a piece of the market that was primarily held
by Mac and DOS but with products like Calamus, DynaCadd, Wordflair,
Pagestream and the like, Atari is becoming recognized in the
business field.
TS> When will we see the new version of Calamus?
NP> Soon, that is all I can say at this time. It is being put together
by a group of programmers in different areas - each sends in his
code and then it is added in. This takes time to check and compile
and then re-edit. All I can say is that it is coming and to be
patient.
TS> Is ISD working on something new for the Atari at this time?
NP> ISD is always kicking around ideas, we have made a commitment to the
Atari market and its users. Our support, I have been told, is
second to none in the Atari World. We will continue to support the
Atari market and have no intentions of leaving it. Atari buyers are
a different breed of computer user. I personally enjoy getting into
a one on one discussion about our products or the machines. I have
attended many trade shows, visited dealers and user groups and there
is nothing like talking face to face with an end user or potential
customer; particularly when they have the typical pre-conceived idea
of the Atari platform.
TS> One last question before we get back to the booth. Do you feel 1991
will be the year of the Atari?
NP> That is somewhat of a loaded question. I feel every year is the
year of Atari . Every year there is new product released - Every
year there is more and more software available. I keep hearing
about this "Year of Atari" the year of Atari is now. Atari is now.
If everyone is sitting back and is waiting for something to happen
perhaps they had better take a second look at what is already here.
Atari has the TT products, Mega STE's, 1040 STE's, Stacy, Portfolio,
DOS boxes, Harddrives, CD Rom, 44 Meg Syquest drives, and for gamers
the Lynx. Software wise you have word-processors, spreadsheets,
databases, accounting packages, point of sale packages, CAD
software, games of all types and of course Calamus for desktop
publishing. I think anyone who is sitting on the fence about buying
a machine is missing the boat. The machines are now and the
software is now.
TS> Thank you for your time and points of view and we will look forward
to talking to you about the new version of Calamus when it is
released.
Nathan Potechin is head of the IAAD (The Independent Association of
Atari Developers) and dedicates a lot of his time to this organization.
He is a dedicated Atari user himself and from a public relations point
of view a great asset to the Atari community. -TS
Marketing - An interview with Rob McGowan (Atari Canada)
--------------------------------------------------------
TS> Well Rob, lets start out with the question that everyone wants an
answer to, Where is Atari's advertising?
RM> Atari has done numerous ads over the last year. We now have two
advertising agencies in Canada one for English and one for French.
We are currently attending this show and have attended at least
three others in the past year. We ran Lynx television ads, full
page ST newspaper ads, and lots of magazine ads. We ran a promo
last year with Neilsen's candy bars giving away Lynx machines. We
also have a dealer advertising co-op plan in place for dealers to
run individual ads. I think we've done well in the advertising
market.
TS> I think most people are wondering why the TT and ST's are not shown
on television. Perhaps you might care to comment.
RM> Atari Canada is currently under-going some changes in marketing and
perhaps in a short while this might change. We had a certain amount
of money to spend on advertising last year and we placed it into
print ads where we thought we could get the most for the dollar.
Dealers are free to use their co-op dollars on any form of
advertising so I really can't speak for them.
TS> What sort of marketing changes can we look forward to this year?
RM> There is some complete re-structuring going on in Marketing and
sales right now. I really can say too much until next week. Geoff
Earle has just returned from the CES show and a stop at Sunnyvale
and we have been here, in Vancouver, this past week. I imagine a
meeting will be set up for the beginning of next week.
TS> Will the recent decision last week to let go all the Atari US Reps
have any effect on Canada?
RM> That, I don't know at this time. I imagine that issue will be
discussed at the meeting as well.
TS> Looks like next week would have been a better time to get in touch
with you. Here's one I think you might be able to answer. How will
the new Mega 1 STE be marketed?
RM> I would like to say it doesn't have to be - it sells itself at the
price but it will be marketed as what it is " A Classic Killer".
The features and price by far out do the competition.
TS> Thanks Rob for your time and we will talk again next week when
hopefully some issues are a little clearer.
RM> Just one more thing to let everyone know, the changes taking place
are positive changes. We don't want any un-found rumours getting
started. We are adopting a completely new structure right down to
our dealer network. We have made some very positive changes in the
past year such as our service area in which we spent more than one
hundred thousand dollars updating and remodeling. We also
instituted a BBS system for our dealers to keep them advised of
pricing and service bulletins. This is just the beginning.
Six months ago I stated in Z-Net that Atari had to come full circle in
North America and get back to basics. In my eyes, Atari is doing just
that. A positive move to go back to what has worked for them in the
past. Good service, great support and a very good marketing plan not to
mention that the machines are great as well. This time around it is not
strictly 400/800 machines but a full line of computer and game products.
It is not just the consumer they are focusing on but the business market
as well. With such a great product line how can Atari possibly fail at
claiming a large portion of the computer market. Only time will tell.
Day 3
The last day was actually the best day. Attendance at the Atari Booth
was excellent. Sales Reps were all but done in from the three day event
and were glad but still somewhat sad that this was the last day. Atari
had accomplished what they set out to do - awaken the business community
to its products.
The Portfolio section was about the busiest overall during the event
with four machines on display stands followed closely by the Desktop
Publishing and CAD on the TT machines.
Murray Brown, Atari Canada's Western Sales Rep, was extemely pleased by
the number of Dealer and VAR enquiries during the show. "Portfolio was
the biggest hit with the resellers but the whole product line did
extremely well" he said.
It's now 6:00 p.m. and the show is closed. Dealers scramble to start
packing down. Just a short note to thank those individuals and dealers
that staffed the booth over the past three days. Thank you!
One final note to Atari Canada to thank their staff, Murray Brown, Rob
McGowan, Denise Carrol and Geoff Earle (General Manager) for the effort
and expense that went into this show. We are looking forward to next
year.
Oh yes, did I fail to mention this? Commodore did not attend the show.
Pac-Rim Computer & Communications Show
--------------------------------------
In the Z*Break reports released, I concentrated mostly on the Atari. In
this section I will endeavour to bring you the items I found most
interesting from the rest of the exhibitors.
Card Express
------------
Card Express is a vending machine that produces business cards. With
touch screen technology you can chose your card size, typeface, and logo
to create business cards, invitations, thank you's and notices in
English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Contact Interpro Lab Inc.
Montreal for further info.
100" HDTV
---------
Sharp Electronics was displaying their front or rear projection unit
that will display a picture up to 100" in size. This unit is a must for
the avid couch potato.
Also from Sharp was the a liquid crystal display screen that is used
with and overhead projector. The unit on display was monochrome only
with a color unit planned for production later this year. This unit
connects to a computer and is great for those computer tutorial sessions
as well as training and sales seminars.
Next is Now!
------------
Next Computers was demonstrating their jet black beauty with a lot of
activity in and around the booth area. I actually didn't get close
enough at the time for hands on but did notice they were about ten times
busier than the Apple Display area. Reports from people who did have
hands on experience state that if you are using an Atari now you will be
greatly disapointed in the Next mouse control.
Color Printing
--------------
QMS was showing their color postscript laser printer while NorthWest
Digital was demonstrating the HP Paintjet. Color was at the show and
the Rep from Beamscope even dropped by with pricing for a new Star 24
pin color printer for around $400.00.
Cellular Technology
-------------------
How's about a Cellular phone that uses your existing lines in your home
or office and uses toll lines out in the field? This would save many
people a bundle in on air time. This unit was demonstrated at B.C.
Cellular's Booth. The phone itself is remarkably small and light-weight
in a fliptop configuration and will fit into a shirt pocket with ease.
Z*NET NEWSWIRE
==============
REGENT OUT OF BUSINESS
In a letter received by the Puget Sound Atari News and reprinted in the
December/January 1991 issue, Frank Cohen, President of Regent, stated
that they are out of business and will hopefully return if and when
things change in the Atari community.
APPLE EARNS $150 MILLION
Apple announced this week that net revenues rose 12 percent for its
first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 28, 1990 compared to the same quarter of
a year ago. Earnings per share increased 33 percent. Net revenues for
the quarter were $1.676 billion, compared to $1.493 billion in the year
previous period. International revenues accounted for 45 percent of
total revenues during the quarter, compared to 36 percent in the first
quarter of fiscal 1990. Net income in the first quarter of fiscal 1990
included $33.7 million ($20.5 million after tax, $.16 per share) for
expenses related to cost-reduction programs and damages resulting from
the October 1989 earthquake in the Bay Area.
IBM EARNS $2.5 BILLION
IBM announced this week preliminary worldwide financial results for
1990. Worldwide revenue for the year ended Dec. 31, 1990, was $69.0
billion, up 10.1 percent from the prior year's $62.7 billion. Worldwide
net earnings for the year were $6.0 billion compared with $3.8 billion
in 1989. The after-tax margin was 8.7 percent in 1990 compared with 6.0
percent in 1989. Earnings per share were $10.51 in 1990 compared with
$6.47 per share in 1989. Included in the 1989 results is a one-time
charge taken in the fourth quarter against earnings for restructuring
initiatives, investment revaluations and other actions. Average shares
outstanding were 572.6 million in 1990 and 581.1 million in 1989. For
the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1990, worldwide revenue was $23.1 billion, up
12.7 percent from the prior year's $20.5 billion.
ASHTON-TATE TO APPEAL
Ashton-Tate stated this this that it will immediately appeal to the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, to reverse an order by
Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. regarding Ashton-Tate's copyright infringement
lawsuit against Fox Software Inc.
SPINNAKER PURCHASES PFS
Software Publishing announced this week that Spinnaker Software has
purchased its PFS: product line. The agreement transfers software code,
technology, inventory, installed base and the PFS: name to Spinnaker
Software. The products included are, PFS:First Publisher and PFS:First
Publisher accessories, PFS:First Choice, PFS:Preface, and PFS:Easy
Start. Spinnaker is also readying a line of Windows 3.0 applications
that will be marketed under the PFS: brand which will be introduced
shortly.
TANDON BUYING CORVUS
Tandon has acquired most of all of the assets of Corvus Systems which
makes local area networking systems, PCs and related software and
peripheral equipment.
NINTENDO INCREASES PRODUCTION
Nintendo announced early this week that it will increase monthly output
of its Super Famicom video game computers to 500,000 units starting in
April and to 800,000 units monthly beginning in August. The Super
Famicon uses a one-megabit dynamic random access memory microchip and
can handle more complex game software than Nintendo's Famicom. There
are only nine different kinds of game software available for the new
machine, but Nintendo says they will expand to about 30 to 40 types by
the end of the summer.
EPSON'S NEW LASER PRINTERS
Epson announced two new laser printersthis week, the $1,399 EPL-7000
personal printer and the EPL-7500, a high-performance PostScript printer
for $3,299.
Z*NET NEW ZEALAND
=================
by Jon Clarke, Contributing Editor
+------+----------------+
|_\|/_ | |
| /|\ | * |
We are not alone +------+ * * |
---------------- | |
| * |
+-----------------------+
For months now we have been talking about the global village where it
relates to Atari and other computers. Now here we are in a time of
conflict over half a world away from those of you in the United States
and a quarter of a world away from us down here in New Zealand.
To those of you with friends or family in the middle east "Gods speed"
Most people down this part of the world have been watching it like
yourselves live on the satellite feeds to our local TV and full CNN
feeds via "SKY TV" here in New Zealand.
As your president Mr Bush made his announcement this week re the
liberation of Kuwait, most of New Zealands citizens were watching this
live. This for me brings home the how small our little planet is
becoming.
This also illustrates how small the world computer community has become.
In the fido area we get mail from the middle east, via the Public Data
Networks we can pop into these countries and "window shop" in their
networks. Via the Usenet feeds we can email each other daily and see
what is happening. Via the "Clary Network" we can get near live news
feeds. For those of you with a "Reuters" terminal/PC link you can see
live what is happening world-wide. More on all this in a later article.
From Z*NET New Zealand "PEACE ON EARTH"
Atari ST Public Domain software houses across the 'pond'.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This week letters P-Z
If you are looking for some public domain software, below is a list of
some companies you may like to contact and see what they have available.
Name Address POST CODE Country
PD Essentials 6 Westfield Way,Sanderstead,Surrey CR2 9ET ENGLAND
PD Libary 68 Delancey Street, London NW1 7RY ENGLAND
Pdom PD Atari 30a School Rd.,Tilehurst, Berks RG3 5AN ENGLAND
PDQ Dept.6 Po Box 38, Eastleigh, Hants SO5 5HB ENGLAND
PD Rebels 12 Cornfield Rd.,Jump Farm,Devizes ENGLAND
Riverdene - 63 Wintringham Way, Purley - on -
PDL Thames, Berks RG8 8BH ENGLAND
Round Table PD 7 St Andrews Road , Warminster BA12 8EP ENGLAND
Senlac 14 Oakies Close, Old Roar Road,
- ST Leonards on Sea , East Sussex TN37 7HB ENGLAND
Softville PD Unit 5,Strafield Park,Waterlooville PO7 7XN ENGLAND
S.W Software Lib. Po Box 563, Wimbourne, Dorset BH21 2YD ENGLAND
Sphinx Software Erw Fynydd, Carmel, Lianelli SA14 7SG WALES
ST Club 9 Sutton Place, Nottingham NG1 1LX ENGLAND *
The Other PDL 108 Kenmare Rd.,Wavertree,Liverpool L15 3HQ ENGLAND
W.A.C.E PDL PO Box 2777, Wellington,New Zealand - - NZ *
Wizard PD 178 Waverley Rd., Reading, Berks RG3 2PZ ENGLAND
WooleySoft Humbleknowe Cottage, Ramoyle,
Dunblane, Perthshire FK15 OBA SCOTLAND
* = known to be suppliers international mail order PD. The turn around
time via airmail is very quick, 10 days from NZ to UK to NZ.
Please note : All these software houses will supply P.D software
internationally. Remember to ask for a PD catalogue and prices.
PUBLIC DOMAIN UPDATE
====================
by Keith MacNutt
TAKE NOTE CALCULATOR V1.1
J.L. JACOBI
TAKE NOTE SOFTWARE
285 DIVISADERO #3
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117
(415)431-9495
Logging on to any BBS or PAY service will convince most people that
calculators are not one of the things the ST is short on. They come in
every size and description, in both acc or prg and even a few in tos
formats, printing or non printing, memory misers or hogs and some that
are included as features in 8 in 1 style programs. Now since I love
utilities, I've possibly tried half to three quarters of all the
calculator programs out there, looking for one that I could say did
everything I needed. For the moment my search has ended, and though
bigger or better, smaller or faster ones may come along, I think this
one fits the bill for what I think I'll need in the future.
This calculator has some very nice features such as the ability to
rename the extender to acc or prg, print after each entry or as a group
of entries, and one that I really love is the ability to reposition the
calculator window anywhere on the screen. Even though it takes up 100k,
most people will find that this is not a real problem if they have the
extender named as a program instead of an accessory.
TAPE BOX
On the right hand side of the calculator there is a small window which
is the tape box. Inside that window you can see 18 of the last
operations with a limit of 999 before the window starts to over write
itself. Under the window you will also find buttons to:
1) tape off - turn tape box off
2) dec- decimal (base 10)
3) print- print entire tape
4) clear- clear the tape
5) space- insert blank line between operations
NUMBER FORMATS
Six possible formats can be displayed.
1) dec- decimal or base 10
2) $ - decimal with values in dollars and cents
3) hex -hexadecimal or base 16
4) oct -octal or base 8
5) bin -binary or base 2
6) rt -running total
OPERATORS/FUNCTIONS
Programmers will find these helpful
AND- logical AND
NOT- LOGICAL AND + NOT
OR - LOGICAL OR
XOR- LOGICAL XOR
SHR- SHIFT RIGHT
SHL- SHIFT LEFT
ROR- ROLL BITS RIGHT
ROL- ROLL BITS LEFT
LONG- controls the numbers of bits used by the shift and roll
functions.
BSET- set a bit on
BCLR- set a bit off
SIN- sin of a number
COS- cosine of a number
TAN- tangent of a number
ATAN- the arc tangent of a number
ASIN- the arc sine of a number
ACOS- the arc cosine of a number
DEG- convert radians to degrees
RAD- convert degrees to radians
SQR- the square root of a number
LOG- the logarithm of x base e
EXP- the xth power to the base number
TRUN- return only the whole portion of a number
FRAC- return only the fraction of a number
ROUN- round the number off
MOD- returns only the remainder or modulus of an integer of division
SEND
On the left of the calculator is a button called send. If this is
selected and you were to exit the program, the contents in the top
display box would be sent to any program monitoring the keyborad (such
as word processors).
PRINTER
Normally all printing is done on the right side of the printing page,
but if you click on left justify you will now have all calculations at
the left, which is nice if you are using narrow calculator paper that
comes in rolls.
KEYSTROKES
All numeric and regular keys are the same as the on-screen equivalents
with the exception of these:
F1 -cycle through the main display box format numbers
F2 -cycle though the translation display formats
F3 -cycle through the tape box formats
UNDO -CE clear entry
CLR/HOME -CA clear all
) - on the numeric keypad is equivalent to "^"
/ - on the numeric keypad is divide (ascii 246)
The latest version has also included the ability to save all operations
in the calculator box to disk. If you save one or more files to disk it
will first look for tape####.asc and if it finds say a file called
tape1.asc your calculations are then saved as tape2.asc. So as you can
see there are more than enough features to satisfy most peoples needs in
a calculator.
Z-Net wishes to take a minute to wish those taking part in Operation
Desert Storm a speedy and safe journey home.
ST'S VERSUS OTHERS
==================
by Carlis Darby
I have seen several articles in some of the online ST magazines
regarding STs vs PCs, about Windows v3.0 vs. the ST's GEM interface etc.
I must say that I am surprised at some of the statements.
Before I get started, let me state that I am a Systems Engineer for a
national chain of computer stores and use high end PC Compatibles on a
daily basis. While I would not consider myself an expert in all
operating systems, I am at least familiar with many different operating
systems on the PC's. I have worked with DOS (and Windows 3.0), Xenix/
Unix, Novell's Netware, 3Com, Corvus and several others.
Many of you know me as the Sysop of HyperSpace I BBS (Fnet Node #391) or
as the person who took over the programming for Space Empire Elite (a
not for the IBM program) Online InterBBS Strategy game.
It has been exciting watching the computer industry evolve over the past
years. So many changes happen so quickly that it becomes almost an
impossible task to keep up with them. Seems that every week there has
been a new breakthrough in one field or another.
When I purchased my first ST back in February of '86 (520ST w/512k,
single sided drive and monochrome monitor), I was in hog heaven. Having
used an old Atari 400 for a while, then purchasing a Commodore 64, I was
in the market for a new computer about the time the ST come out. I was
seriously looking at a Commodore 128 when I started comparing "power and
price". After seeing I could get an ST with monitor and drive for about
the same price as a C-128 and disk drive, I knew I had found my next
machine.
In '86, the PC's were just coming around to a widespread standard and a
typical system would have 256k or 384k of memory. Back then 640k was as
much as you needed for just about anything. The 1040ST was a computer
ahead of its time, coming standard with 1 meg of usable memory and a
720k 3.5" DS DD and running at 8mhz. The ST is a HOME computer and a
lot of business machines were not even 8mhz at the time.
You are probably wondering what the point of this "history lesson" is.
My point is simply this. It has taken the PC industry about 4 years to
get up to the standard that the ST is now. Only recently have PC's come
out that are as powerful AS WELL as being as affordable to the average
home user.
I now see a lot of people "jumping ship" to the PC world in the fear
that the ST is doomed. You here things about "no support from Atari",
"Atari owes us" and "no software support".
First of all, why are so many people surprised that Atari doesn't
support the ST any better. Did they support the 8bit? What does Atari
owe you? Did you get your 90 day warranty with your machine? If you
did and your 90 days are up, then Atari owes you NOTHING. That's right,
a big fat ZERO. I don't see anywhere in the documentation where it
promises me anything. Sure, I would like to see Atari come out with
national advertising, better customer support, and better dealer
support. But get real, these are things that Atari has NEVER had so why
get worked up about it?
As far as software support is concerned, the amount of software that is
available for the ST is minute compared to what is available in the PC
world. But there are few pieces of end user software available for the
PC that I cannot find for the ST that is comparable or actually
superior. Again, let's keep in mind that the ST is a HOME computer and
not a business machine so to compare business end software to what is
available to the ST is not a true comparison.
As for Window's 3.0. It looks nice, it comes with lots of really nice
programs, it allows you to use over the 640k barrier, it allows you to
have more than one application open at once. It does all those things,
but as far as I am concerned, it is slow...that's right slow. I brought
some of my ST friends to work one day to show it to them. They had
heard me say how slow I thought it was, but had heard how great the PC
world said it was, so they wanted to see it for theirselves. They
played with it for a few minutes and turned to me wanting to know why I
thought it was slow. They commented that it was about the same speed as
GEM. With that I had to agree, however, I pointed out to them that they
were using it on a 25mhz 80386 with a 40mb 19ms SCSI Hard Drive and 2
megs of RAM and it was "just as fast" as an 8mhz ST. And how many home
users have a 25mhz 80386 sitting at their house? Yeah, Windows does a
lot more but GEM still suits my needs as far as home usage is concerned.
I do enjoy my job, but the last thing I want to do at the end of the day
is come home to the same machines I work with day in and day out. Those
to me are business machines, and I for one want to leave work at work.
How much life is left in the ST? Who knows. The ST has already been
around for over 5 years through which the PC's have gone through many
changes. I think it has at several more good years left in it. I know
that my ST does everything I want it to and then some.
So to those of you who have PC's or are getting one, more power to you.
Don't bother trying to "convert" this user who is still in love with his
machine. I am sure that one of these days, I too will have to trade in
my ST for something a bit more powerful. It could just as easily be
another Atari product or maybe something else altogether. For now, I
enjoy coming home to my ST. I have no intentions of "jumping ship" in
the near future. I am still having too much FUN!
Carlis Darby
Sysop, HyperSpace I BBS
Fnet Node 391 FidoNet 1:376/62
ST QUESTIONS ANSWERED
=====================
Compiled from USENET
ERR - What does TOS ERROR nn mean? What do the bombs on my screen mean?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information below was written, in part, by Darryl May, and posted on
GEnie in January (of ????) by John Townsend. The original also appeared
in the June 1988 issue of _Current Notes_ (122 N. Johnson Rd., Sterling,
VA 22170). It has since found its way to me, and is being posted to
comp.sys.atari.st as a service to readers.
Alan Pratt wrote to tell me that the basic information may be correct,
but that it cannot be dubbed "official" unless it originates, on paper,
from Atari. This makes sense, as electronic communications are easily
modified, even accidentally.
Roland Waldi provided information regarding the difference between TOS
and GEM return codes which appears to be correct. The tables have been
modified to reflect his information.
The following is an unofficial list of the errors that can appear while
you are operating your ST computer.
Error description return code alert box #
======================================================
OK (no error)....................0
Fundamental error...............-1
Drive not ready.................-2
Unknown command.................-3
CRC error.......................-4
Bad request.....................-5
Seek error......................-6
Unknown media...................-7
Sector not found................-8
No paper........................-9
Write fault....................-10
Read fault.....................-11
General error..................-12
Write protect..................-13
Media change...................-14
Unknown device.................-15
Bad sectors on format..........-16
Insert other disk..............-17
Invalid function number........-32............1
File not found.................-33............2
Path not found.................-34............3
No handles left................-35............4
Access denied..................-36............5
Invalid handle.................-37............6
Insufficient memory............-39............8
Invalid memory block address...-40............9
Invalid drive specified........-46...........15
No more files..................-49...........18
Range error....................-64...........33
Internal error.................-65...........34
Invalid program load format....-66...........35
The last code is the infamous "TOS error 35"!
Also, some unofficial information via Alan Pratt:
Notably, you should add -48: ENSAME (not the same drive, occurs when you
call Frename and the two names you give aren't on the same drive), and
-67: EGSBF: you can't use Mshrink to GROW a block of memory.
Those bombs that appear on your screen are error messages from the 68000
micro-processor.
Number
Description of bombs
===========================================
Reset: Initial PC2...............1
Bus Error........................2
Address Error....................3
Illegal Instruction..............4
Zero Divide......................5
CHK Instruction..................6
TRAPV Instruction................7
Privilege Violation..............8
Trace............................9
Line 1010 Emulator..............10
Line 1111 Emulator..............11
[unassigned, reserved]..........12
[unassigned, reserved]..........13
Format Error....................14
Uninitialized Interrupt Vector..15
[unassigned, reserved].......16-23
Spurious Interrupt..............24
Level 1 Interrupt Autovector....25
Level 2 Interrupt Autovector....26
Level 3 Interrupt Autovector....27
Level 4 Interrupt Autovector....28
Level 5 Interrupt Autovector....29
Level 6 Interrupt Autovector....30
Level 7 Interrupt Autovector....31
Trap Instruction Vectors.....32-47
[unassigned, reserved].......48-63
User Interrupt Vectors......64-255
GDOS - What is GDOS, and where can I get it?
--------------------------------------------
GDOS stands for Graphic Device Output System (at least that's what my
copy of STart, volume 1 number 1 said...)
You can get a copy of "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About GDOS
(and more)" by Douglas N. Wheeler from the atari.archive server. The
file is /atari/programming/gdos.arc.
There is a German version of GDOS available from the atari.archive
server. The file is /atari/utilities/amcgdos.arc.
Currently, there are no truly public domain sources for the GDOS system
files or font files (at least those supplied by Atari). You can get
these files with many commercial programs, such as Degas Elite, WordUp!,
etc. You might also want to check your local user group to see if they
received a copy of the WordFlair demo program (also available on GEnie).
The demo program appears to have the GDOS system and font files.
DEV - How do I become a developer for the Atari ST?
---------------------------------------------------
Contact Gail Johnson, Atari Rep Person, (408)745-2568
Gail can explain the program to you, and send an information packet if
you so desire. Basically, for a $250 registration fee, you gain a 10
pound box filled with over 1500 pages of documentation, software --
including a compiler (Alcyon C) and a demonstration builder, a
newsletter, and technical support. There is currently no
differentiation between commercial and non-commercial developers,
although it would appear that Atari is considering changing that some
time in the future.
[Note: there is an Independent Atari Developers Association, which
-does- require you be a commercial developer to join, but it is
-independent- of Atari...]
BOOKS - What books are available for the Atari ST?
--------------------------------------------------
~> Compute! Publications,Inc.
PO Box 5406,Greensboro NC, 27403
(919-275-9809)
Computes Technical Refence Guide Volume One. VDI
by Sheldon Leeman - ISBN 0-87455-093-9
Computes Technical Refence Guide Volume Two. AES
by Sheldon Leeman - ISBN 0-87455-114-5
Computes Technical Refence Guide Volume Three. TOS
by Sheldon Leeman - ISBN 0-87455-149-8
Learning C. Programming Graphics on the Amiga and Atari ST.
Marc B. Sugiyama and Christopher D. Metcalf - ISBN 0-87455-064-5
Compute's ST Applications Guide. Programming in C
Simon Feild, Kathleen Mandis and Dave Myers - ISBN 0-87455-078-5
~> Scott,Foresman and Company.
Professional Publishing Group
1900 East Lake Avenue
Glenville, IL 600025
Learning C on the Atari ST
Joseph Boyle Wikert - ISBN 0-673-18738-1
~> Sybex Inc.
2344 Sixth St.
Berkely, CA 94710
Programmers Guide To GEM
Phillip Balma and William Fitler - ISBN 0-553-34397-1
~> Taylor Ridge Books
PO Box 48
Manchester, Connecticut
(203)643-9673
C-manship Complete, $19.95
Calyton Walnum - No ISBN
" a decent book on programming your st gem/aes/vdi plus other stuff that
is based on the 31 articles that Clayton Walnum wrote for Analog. It
was written on a mega 4 with Calamus."
~> Addison-Wesley Pub.
68000 Assembly Language
Donal Kantz & James Stanley - ISBN 0-201-11659-6
"An interesting book on 68000 for the Atari (and amiga too, but both in
the abstract)"
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT
~> Abacus Software,Inc.
5370 52nd Street,S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
Atari ST Internals
K Gerits,L. Englisch and R. Bruckmann - ISBN 0-916439-46-1
Atari ST GEM Programmers Reference
Norbert Szczepanowski and Bernt Gunther - ISBN 0-916439-52-6
Atari ST 3d Graphics Programming
Uwe Braun - ISBN 0-916439-69-0
Atari ST Disk Drives Inside and Out
Uwe Brawn,Stephan Dittrich and Axel Schramm - ISBN 0-916439-84
Atari ST Machine Language
B.Grohmann,P.eidler and H.Slibar - ISBN 0-916439-48-8
Atari ST Introduction to MIDI Programming
Len Dorfman and Dennis Young - ISBN 0-916439-77-1
~> Bantam Books,Inc.
666 5th Avenue
New York, New York 10103
Atari ST Application Programming
Lawrence J. Pollack and Eric J.T.Weber - ISBN 0-553-34397-1
TIPS - TIPS AND HINTS from other users
--------------------------------------
Any 'multisync' monitor which handles 70 video fields a second can be
used with the ST; the custom cable involves no tricks, or commercial
ones are available. The original NEC multisync does NOT handle 70
fields a sec.
More than 3 bombs often means more than 1 error, so interpretations are
tricky.
An ST-formatted disk which is not readable by a PC can be made readable
by putting the 3 bytes EB 34 90 (those were 3 bytes of hex) at the
beginning of the boot sector (sector 1 of track 0, I believe). This can
be done with either an ST or PC absolute sector editor.
Some (older) PC-3.5"-drives cannot deal with the short track-header
produced by ST formatters. On those drives, ST-formatted disks are not
readable, independent of their boot sector contents. The other way,
however, does always work: format on the PC.
When using disks formatted on a PC in an ST, make sure to insert and
access a disk with a different serial number in between disk changes.
For those with the 'inaccessible' mouse and joystick ports, a joystick
extender cable will make life easier. The Y-cable joystick extenders
make it extremely easy to keep mouse and joystick connected to port 0,
and a joystick extender cable in port 1 makes for easy hookup after
you've moved the machine.
I would appreciate feedback, comments, suggestions for more TIPS AND
HINTS, etc. E-mail can reach me at the following:
davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu Internet
davidli@simvax BITnet
WORLDWIDE PUBLIC DATA CARRIERS
==============================
by Jon Clarke, Z*Net Online Contributing Editor
Last updated : 14/01/91
This list is complied from PDN carriers worldwide.
49 Countries listed
____________________________________________________________________
THIS FILE MAYBE FREELY COPIED PROVIDED CREDIT IS GIVEN TO THE AUTHOR
--------------------------------------------------------------------
KEY:
DNIC: is the country/carriers address. Please note most carriers will
require a leading prefix on the DNIC of either a '0' or a '1', so the
DNIC from Argentina might be 07220 or 17220.
V.A.N: Value Added Network.
PDN: Public Data Network, make a local call and connect to systems world
wide. This list is of countries available in all countries who have PDN
available for PUBLIC useage.
List by country order
---------------------
Host Name Carrier VAN/Gateway DNIC
______________________________________________________________
Argentina
ENTEL Yes n/k 7220
Austria
RADIO AUSTRIA Yes Yes 2322
DATEX-P Yes Yes 2329
Austraila (AUS)
AUSTPAC Yes Yes 5052
TELETEX Yes n/k 5054
Bahrain
IDAS-BAHNET Yes Yes 4243
Belgium
DCS Yes Yes 2062/2063
Bermuda
IDAS Yes Yes 3503
Brazil
INTERDATA-RENPAC Yes Yes 7240/724
Canada
DATAPAC Yes Yes 3020
INFOGRAM Yes Yes 3024
INFOSWITCH Yes Yes 3029
TELEGLOBE Yes Yes 3025
Chile
ENTEL CHILE Yes Yes 7302
TRANSRADIO Yes Yes 7305
CHILEPAC Yes Yes 7303
Cuba
* Incomming Service Only
Denmark
DATAPAK Yes Yes 2402
Finland
DATAPAK Yes Yes 2442
DIGIPAK Yes Yes 2443
TELETEX Yes Yes 2445
France
TRANSPAC / NTI Yes Yes 2080/2081
French Caribbean
DOMPAC Yes Yes 3400
French Guyana
DATASERVE Yes Yes 7420
French Polynesia
TOMPAC Yes Yes 5470
Gabon
GABONPAC Yes Yes 6282
Germany (F.R /West)
DATEX-PG Yes Yes 2624
TELETEX Yes Yes 2627
Hong Kong
INTELPAK Yes Yes 4542
IOAS Yes Yes 4544
DATAPAK Yes Yes 4545
Hungary
NEDIX Yes Yes 2160/2161
Iceland
ICEPAK Yes Yes 2740
Ile De La
REUNION Yes Yes 6470
Indonesia
SKOP Yes Yes 5101
Ireland
EIRPAC Yes Yes 2724
Israel
ISRANET Yes Yes 4251
Italy
DARDO Yes Yes 2227
ITAPAC Yes Yes 2222
Japan
DDX-P Yes Yes 4401
VENUS-P Yes Yes 4408
Korea
DACOM-NET Yes Yes 4501
Luxemburg
LUXPAK Yes Yes 2704/2709
Malaysia
MAYPAC Yes Yes 5021
Netherlands
DATANET Yes Yes 2041/2044/2049
New Caledonia
TOMPAC Yes Yes 5460
New Zealand
PACNET Yes Yes 5301
Norway
DATAPAK Yes Yes 2421/2422
Phillipines
GMCR Yes Yes 5154
EASTNET Yes Yes 5156
CAPWIRE Yes Yes 5151
PHILCOM-WORLDNET Yes Yes 5152
P.N.G
PNGPAC Yes Yes N/K
Portugal
TELEPAC-P Yes Yes 2680
CYPRMNET Yes Yes 2682
Singapore
TELEPAC Yes Yes 5252
South Africa
SAPONET Yes Yes 6550
Spain
IBERPAC Yes Yes 2145
Sweden
DATAPAK Yes Yes 2402
Switzerland
TELEPAC Yes Yes 2289
DATALINK Yes Yes 2284
Taiwan
PACNET Yes Yes 4872
UOAS Yes Yes 4877
Thailand
IDAR * Incomming Service only
United Arab Emerants
EMDAH Yes Yes 4243
United Kingdom
HULL TEL. CO. Yes Yes 2345
TELETEX Yes Yes 2342
B.T Yes Yes 2352/2349
United States of America (USA)
AT&T Yes Yes 3134
FTCC Yes Yes 3124
NETEXPRESS Yes Yes 3139
R.C.A Yes Yes 3113
SPRINTNET Yes Yes 3110/3127
TRT Yes Yes 3119
TYMNET Yes Yes 3106
WESTERN UNION INT. Yes Yes 3104
WORLDCOM /WU/ITT Yes Yes 3103/3107
Vanuatu
VIAPAC Yes Yes 5410
Zimbabwe
ZIMNET Yes Yes 6482
----\OoO/----
SUB SYSTEMS OFF USA BASED CARRIERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Host Carrier VAN Sub-Service DNIC
_________________________________________________________________
[USA]
AT&T YES ACCUNET 3134
FTCC YES SPRINTNET 3124
TYMNET
COMPUSERVE
AUTONET
MARKNET
ALASKACOM (NET)
NETEXPRESS YES 3139
RCA YES ALASKANET 3119
AUTONET
UNINET
SPRINTNET
COMPUSERVE
MARKNET
GLOBENET
NYNEX
SPRINTNET YES TYMNET 3110/3127
TRT YES SPRINTNET 3119
TYMNET
MARKNET
AUTONET
GLOBENET
WANGPAC
TYMNET YES TYMNET 3106
WESTERN UNION INT. YES SPRINTNET 3104
TYMNET
DATA TRANSPORT
WORLDCOM WU/ITT YES AUTONET 3101/3127
MARKNET
SPRINTNET
TYMNET
SNET
ALASKANET
AMERITECH
BELL ALANTIC
BELL SOUTH
NYNEX
PACIFIC BELL
SOUTH WEST BELL
U.S BELL
---\OoO/---
CONTACT NAMES AND ADDRESSES
---------------------------
AustPac
(AUSTRALIA)
DNIC : 5052
NSW : Sales and Administration
Commercial Department, 18th floor, Telecom House
233 Castlereagh Street,
Sydney
Phone (+622) 267-6767
VIC : Business Sales
10th Floor 35 Collins Street
Melbourne,
Phone (+623) 657-3400
QLD : Telegrahs and Data Branch
5th Floor Societe Generate House
Cnr. Creek ans Elizabeth Streets
Brisbane
Phone (+627) 835-6400
SA : Telegraph and Data Branch
5th Floor BP House, 30 Flinders Street
Adelaide
Phone (+628) 225-7435
WA : Telegraph and Data Branch
4th Floor Telecome Centre, 80 Stirling Street
Perth
Phone (+629) 420-7200
ACT : Telegraph and Data Branch
2nd Floor MCL Building
London Circuit
Canberra City
Phone (+6262) 45-5555
PacNet
(New Zealand)
DNIC: 5301
: Telecom International and Data Ltd.
FAX : (+644) 496-6125
Phone: (+644) 738-444
SprintNet
(USA)
DNIC : 3110 / 3127
Address : Cindy Cook
Interconnect Services Asia/Pacific
FAX : (+1) 703-689-5788
TELEX: USA 7401802
WU
(Western Union)
Worldnet (USA)
DNIC : 3103 / 3107
Address : Peter Calistri
Western Union Corp.
Marketing/International
1 Lake Street
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
PHONE: (+1) 201-818-5356
FAX : (+1) 201-818-6534
TELEX: USA 446194
NB: Would Carriers and Telecomunication companies please supply updates
to this information and or any changes that may take place from time
to time. Would users of services not mentioned please email/mail me
with an update please.
*** This file is for your information only. ***
=================================================================
Every effort has been made to see this is correct. If it is not
please email me on the following services and I will add/correct
any of the entries. This file is (c)1991 Jon Clarke Auckland NZ.
=================================================================
THE NETS : Jon_Clarke@kcbbs.gen.nz STT@kcbbs.gen.nz
Compuserve : 72000,3555 or 72000.3555@compuserve.com.us
GEnie : J.Clarke6
MAIL ADDRESS: Jon Clarke, RD#2 Drury, Auckland, New Zealand.
=================================================================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Z*NET Atari Online Magazine is a weekly publication covering the Atari
and related computer community. Material contained in this edition may
be reprinted without permission except where noted, unedited and
containing the issue number, name and author included at the top of each
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Z*Net Online. This publication is not affiliated with Atari
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Z*NET Atari Online Magazine
Copyright (c)1991, Rovac Industries, Inc..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
