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Z*NET Online Magazine Issue 544
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Z*NET ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE
November 2, 1990
Issue #544
Publisher/Editor : Ron Kovacs
Z*Net New Zealand: Jon Clarke
Z*Net Canada: Terry Schreiber
Z*Net Germany: Mike Schuetz
CONTENTS
~ EDITORS DESK...............................................Ron Kovacs
~ Z*NET NEWSWIRE.......................................................
~ Z*NET GERMANY.........................................Michael Schuetz
~ CHICAGO ATARIFEST UPDATE V2.0...........................Press Release
~ Z*MAGAZINE ARCHIVES: Sam Tramiel in Conference.............Ron Kovacs
~ BBS EXPRESS! ST UPDATE..................................Press Release
~ START ONLINE SURVEY..................................................
~ STE GAME UPDATE............................................Ken Newman
~ Z*NET CANADA..........................................Terry Schreiber
~ PUBLIC DOMAIN UPDATE....................................Keith Macnutt
EDITORS DESK
============
by Ron Kovacs
Election Day is next week! VOTE!!!!
FNET is alive and well and so is the Z*Net Conference. If your FoReM
system is interested in participating in the conference, send us a
message, Node 593 and tell us you want to join. The conference code is:
20448 and the lead node is 593.
Currently, we are direct connecting with three popular BBS systems.
Hologram Inc. Node 133, FoReM Support Full Moon: Node 204 and Node 500:
Battlezone.
There are a few routing pains taking place due to some minor problems,
but you can easily pick up the Z*Net base on over 20 BBS systems which
will be listed next week. Please support the Z*Net systems since they
are footing telephone costs to get you the latest issues that are sent
out every Friday evening.
The Z*Net BBS number is: (908) 968-8148 - 1200/2400 baud, 24 hours!
Z*NET NEWSWIRE
==============
Latest News Update
COMMODORE POSTS EARNINGS
Commodore announced earnings this week of $7.0 million, or $.22 per
share on sales of $200.3 million for the first fiscal quarter ended
Sept. 30, 1990. This compares with a loss of $6.5 million, or $.20 per
share on sales of $165.3 million in the year-ago. Net sales for the
quarter increased by 21 percent, attributable to a 50 percent growth in
unit sales of the Amiga product line and to favorable exchange rates of
major European currencies.
MEDIAGENIC SELLS
Mediagenic announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with
a group led by EGL Holdings to sell ZSoft Corporation, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Mediagenic. Mediagenic will continue to manufacture and
distribute ZSoft products for a period to be negotiated. Mediagenic and
EGL are expected to complete the transaction by the end of November.
SIERRA ON-LINE BEGINS TESTING
Sierra On-Line announced late this week that it has commenced testing of
a new multi-player game technology. Sierra is in the process of testing
a prototype product in the Los Angeles area with nearly 1,000 volunteer
testers. Each of the testers has signed a nondisclosure agreement.
NINTENDO CHALLENGED
Macronix, a small California company said this week it had found a chink
in the protective wall Nintendo has built around its video game systems.
Macronix stated that court documents filed by Nintendo in a patent
infringement suit with another company granted three U.S. companies
"tacit approval" to sell non-licensed game cartridges for use on the
Nintendo system. In that filing, Nintendo listed the products of
Macronix and two other companies as examples of ways the Nintendo system
could be used without violating its security patents. Nintendo stated
in the filing that, "Atari asserts in its motion that "Nintendo has sold
a product - the NES control deck - that cannot be used without
practicing the patented process or combination, Atari knows this is
untrue. Nintendo and Atari both are aware of game cartridges that will
operate in the Nintendo control deck without violating the 635 patent."
Macronix's general manager said Nintendo's admission was "incredibly
significant" for Macronix and the video game industry as a whole.
MONITERM NEW RELEASE
Moniterm will be showing its new Viking Gold series at COMDEX. The
Viking Gold series is a full line of high-res, large-screen PC
(including Windows 3.0) and Macintosh monochrome, grayscale, and color
monitors.
Z*NET GERMANY
=============
by Michael Schuetz
Latest News Update
ATARI GERMANY CUTS DEAL WITH SOVIET UNION
Atari Germany announced the closure of a very important business deal:
The German branch of the American computer company succeeded in the
matter of of a very important order against strong Asian computer
competition.
Atari obtained the contract for one of the biggest educational orders,
ever placed by the Soviet Union so far. The Youth Computer Centre of
Eriwan invests more than DM 100.000 (approx. US$ 65.000) for Atari
Computer systems together with the necessary peripherals and software
packages. In this free educational facility young Soviet students are
computer orientated trained for their future computer related
professions.
Two thirds of the Atari shipment consists of Atari ST systems while the
rest are PCs and other peripheral hardware devices. Due to this very
flexible and versatile range of application, the Atari ST is the ideal
computer for this kind of training. This was the decisive factor
against the strong competition from the Far East.
The order was placed by the president of the science academy of the
Soviet Union, Abel Aganbegyan. Atari Germany has maintained good
business relations with the Soviet Union for a long time. This latest
important order is another sign that proves how promising the new
Eastern Europe markets are especially for Atari.
ATARI IN THE FORMER DDR: BUILD UP DISTRIBUTION IS ON SCHEDULE
The development of the Atari distribution logistic in the new Eastern
part of the Federal Republic of Germany is well under way. Everything
works exactly as it was planned. The first aim that Atari Germany had
set before opening its new subsidiary in Weimar this May, has now been
reached: Half of the area that used to be East Germany is now supplied
with qualified Atari dealers.
About 30 dealers were contracted by Atari so far. All these new German
dealers were trained and prepared extensively for their new business
tasks. Atari Germany was pleased about the professionalism of the new
partners. The company looks forward to effective and fruitful
cooperation in the future.
The second step that Atari Germany is working on right now, is to fully
close the small still existing gap in its Eastern German distribution
network. After this has been accomplished Atari will divide the area
that used to be East Germany into two sales areas (north and South).
The South part will cover the two new Bundeslaender Thueringen and
Sachsen.
CHICAGO ATARIFEST V2.0 UPDATE
=============================
Press Release
Lake County Atari Computer Enthusiasts are happy to welcome exhibitors
SKWare One (Sterling K. Webb), Mega Type software, and User Group (*9*
in all!), STar (Ed Baker). To the Nov. 11th Chicago AtariFest.
AtariFest will be held at the American Legion Gurnee Post located at W.
Grand and Il. Rt. 21 (just 1 mile east of I-94 and the "Great America"
theme park). The show will open to the public at 10:00 AM and will run
until 4:00 PM. General admission will be $3.00 at the door. Children
under 6 will be admitted free with a paying adult.
All paid admissions will have a chance at one of several valuable door
prizes to be awarded at various times during the day. For general show
information, please contact LCACE at P.O. Box 8788, Waukegan, IL 60079-
8788. A special show message base is available on the Python BBS, (708)
680-5105 300/1200/2400 24hrs.
>>>>>> Seminar Schedule <<<<<<
10:30 AM - DataQue T816 8-bit Accelerator Demo.
8-bit extended memory programming techniques
11:15 AM - Codehead Software Product Demo - Q&A Session
The above seminars will be held in the American Legion "Canteen"
adjoining the exhibit areas. After the seminars, we are promised that
the Bears - Falcons game will be on TV in this area during the
afternoon, so...no excuse for you Bears fans to not make the show!
>>>>>> Exhibitors/Developers <<<<<<<
CodeHead Software DataQue Products
D.A. Brumleve M-S Designs
Reeve Software Atari Interface Magazine
Atari Portable Ent. Magazine ICD, Inc.
Compuserve Information Service WizWorks!
GEnie Closer To Home Software
Mega Type Software SKWare One
>>>>>>> Vendors/Dealers <<<<<<<<<<
Mars Merchandising Computer Cellar
Paper Express H and H Direct
Kolputer Systems CSA Limited
Apple Annie
>>>>>>>> User Groups <<<<<<<<<
L.C.A.C.E. S.C.A.T.
MilAtari M.A.S.T
G.C.A.C.E. R.A.C.C.
L.A.U.G. T.U.G.
STar
Z*MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
===================
OCTOBER 1988
=====Sam Tramiel Conference=>
Captured and edited by Ron Kovacs for ZMagazine. This material is
Copyright (c) 1988 CompuServe SIG Atari. Reprinted by permission.
% The ATARI President Sam Tram conference is beginning
Your moderator is Job 11 SYSOP-Ron
(SYSOP-Ron) Hello everyone.... Tonights special CONFERENCE with Sam
Tramiel, the President of ATARI Corp., will begin in just a few seconds.
To ask Sam a Question, you must type /QUE to get into the queue. I'll
recognize the next person in line one at a time. Please keep your
questions simple and ask only one question at a time. Mark Jansen of
ATARI will be typing for Sam tonight. Does Sam have any opening
statement before we open the floor for questions? (ga Mark)
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Sorry for not being available last Monday night.
There was a conflict with a Jewish holy day. There is another Jewish
holy day today but I dared not do it again. :-) So here we are.
(SYSOP-Ron) thx Sam. We all appreciate you showing up here to answer
some very nagging questions. okay first user.
(Mark Woolworth) I really dont want to start out on a negative point,
but here goes. I was one of the people that was demonstrating the new
machines at the fall COMDEX show last year, and most of these machines
were promised for sometime this year. At least at the present point I
have not seen any of these machines released. What is the status on
them, and when will they be out in the United States?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) You were clever not to mention the model names.
At present I think that we are shipping all the models in Europe, even
the Abaq, to developers. We will start shipping in earnest to the US
market in early 1989, including the st and the line of pc compatibles
and our new members of the ST family. The Abaq is now called the ATW
(Atari work Station) ga
(RICHARD MATAKA) Hello Sam...first of all, i want to congratulate you
and your sons and others who have resurrected Atari from an almost
certain death....but, I am still somewhat questioning the support from
Atari US. As you know, there are only a few US publications supporting
the ST. Now Compute ST has decided to no longer publish and with the
questionable support from Atari, Word Perf Corp seems to have put their
product development on hold. Also other software 3rd party companies
are not supporting the ST. How will you convince these companies and
others who may start a company to support the ST? What kind of
incentives will you be offering or will you just let everything come out
of Europe which is where the current bulk of ST support is based?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Thank you for the fine complement regarding my
sons but they are only 7 and 4 years old respectively. I am the son of
Jack Tramiel and Leonard and Gary are my brothers. I am as frustrated
as you are and probably more so. The present problem is that the dram
problem is causing us great delivery problems and we can not keep up
with the demand in Europe and other parts of the world. We just signed
a major deal with a big Dram supplier and the situation will get better
I hope in early 1989. We will and do support developers all over the
world and suggest that US developers learn how to export which would
help themselves and the economy. I am sorry to see Compute drop the ST
mag but I hope that they will revisit the issue when they see tens of
thousands ST's sold monthly in the US.
Last month I was in Germany for the Annual Atari Fair in Dusseldorf.
It was incredible, over 30,000 over the weekend. ga
(RICHARD MATAKA) Sam, i appreciate your answer but while the support in
Europe,(I agree), is great, here it is another story. As you may or may
not know, I was an author for ST XPress for about a year writing Critics
Corner and the public view of Atari support is quite contrasting to
Atari's version. How will you and Atari hope to change this US view of
your marketing strategy so that support will be forthcoming for the
Atari computer products?......ga
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Right now we do not really have a major marketing
thrust as you know. However, we do think that we have user support and
good in house people at Atari US that are more than willing to help.
(RICHARD MATAKA) Sam, I think that that maybe where your main problem is
user support is excellent however, development support is very very
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) with almost any problem. WE definitely plan to
bring in software from Europe but "development support is very very...
what?"
(RICHARD MATAKA) strained..and it is the development people that you
have to win over if you are going to be a serious computer competitor
in the US.
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We are not strained, and are happy to help anyone.
I am sure once we are selling large quantities in the US, any strains
that exist will disappear.
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) In the meanwhile, export to Europe. We do, and we
like it! :-)
(charles medley) OK.... I have 3 questions.
1) What is REALLY in the NEW TOS.
2) What is the final news on the 68030 TT? Can a MEGA be used for it.
3) What is the fate of the 68030 box?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We have already published the details of new TOS
to developers and will do so for the rest of the users when it is
released. We are working on the TT, and hope to show it in early '89.
(Michael Lynch) Do you have any plans for an IBM 286 board for the ST
line?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) No.
(Steve Mortimer/NNQ) Many developers and dealers are not going to
support the ST anymore or are on the brink of that decision. It is
essential to retain what support we have left. Will you consider
advertising to increase awareness till the "big push" or sign up a
national computer chain stocked with a few STs diverted from Europe?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We feel that advertising without product
availability is helpful in selling our competitors' machines, and
therefore, will just waste money. As far as a national computer chain
is concerned, we are already diverting machines to the US and ship them
to our few but loyal ST dealers. ga
(=Bandit= (tm)) BALLPARK Date/Price of new TOS ROMS to USERS? Who is
Neil's replacement?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Date: early 1989, depending on ROM deliveries...
Price - Reasonable.
(SYSOP-Ron) C'mon Sam. "Reasonable"???? How about a price range?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) You know that we are always reasonable, Ron.
(Ed Waldorph) There has been much talk from dealers and former dealers
and employees about the difficulty of making a business selling the ST
line in the U.S.. Much criticism has been leveled at Atari for lack of
dealer support. There is some indication that the situation is changing
but in this entire forum only _one_ dealer has spoken out to defend the
company.
What is Atari doing to increase its dealer support? How are you going
to increase the dealer base? Have you considered setting up a section
for dealers here or over at Genie so they can talk directly to Marketing
and Service and among themselves, and encouraging them to use it?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We already have a system for Service Centers,
Sales Reps, and dealers, run from Sunnyvale.
(Rex Reade) Sam, Why was Mike Dendo [VP-SALES] telling people in
Michigan that Atari HAD 3 soft quarters and needed strong 4th to
survive!
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We just had three RECORD quarters, and I am sure
that someone misquoted Mike.
(Bob Dolson) Why don't you provide an easier upgrade path for memory,
drives, etc, so that the 'poor' owners of 520 STFM's for instance would
find it easier to get double sided drives, and more memory?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) It is a trade off between cost and upgradability.
Adding the upgradability will increase the cost of _every_ unit.
(Joe Fowler) Mr. Tramiel. We heard a lot about the ST tonight. I would
like to know what future plans Atari has for the 8 bit line of machines,
the best made on the market?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) We agree that the Atari 8-bit line is the best
available. However, the US market seems to want more powerful machines.
We are selling many tens of thousands of the XE/XL line in Europe, and
in the middle east, and in Latin America. We are trying to push the XE
Game System in the US, as a computer and a game for the same price as
the Nintendo, with an exercise mat. (i.e. $149)
(edward giertuga) You folks make a beautiful machine, but your marketing
strategy is scaring the heck out of me. Have you read David Small's
message (#111539) regarding Neil Harris' resignation? It's worth
reading. Any comments?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) By the way, there is now a fifty dollar rebate on
the XE Game machine. To be honest, I have not read David Small's
message, but I
The conference is ending due to a system shutdown.
(Ed) At this point, CompuServe ended the conference via an unwanted
shutdown of the area. After a short pause and minor confusion, the
conference restarted and continued)
(Dave Groves) could Sam answer Ed's query? ga
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) As I was saying before that "glitch" I wish Neil
a lot of success in his new job it was a pleasure to work with him over
the years that I have known him.
(SHAWN SMILEY) Are you planning to make any additions to the ST like
stereo sound and speech synthesis?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) No comment. Sorry, but we do not want to promise
new things until they are ready.
(tc) What about the portable ST? Fact or fiction? ga
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Fact. We are working on it, and will ship it as
soon as it is ready.
(Steve Mortimer) Do you forsee any major changes at Atari or the ST
market in the near future? This includes the possibility of a revamped
ST based on new technology like the 68020/30 while remaining ST
compatible?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) I hope so...we plan for Atari to be number two or
number three in the world personal computer market and we hope to make
the ST one of the standard machines in the US during 1989.
(Steve Mortimer) Any specific plans to achieve that goal?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) I would prefer not to comment on details of future
ST or TT machines at present.
(SYSOP-Ron) I would like to apologize, But I just have been informed by
Sam T. That he has to leave in 5 minutes. He is willing to reschedule
another CONFERENCE in the (near) future. So Since we have so many
unanswered questions. I dont know if it would be fair to all concerned
to let 1 or 2 more go, so I'll just end it here. Would Sam like to make
some general closing comments in his last few minutes?
(Sam Tramiel @ Atari) Closing comments: I appreciate the support of all
of you, and I really hope that in 1989, you will not be such a minority
in the US personal computer world. It is a pleasure to see Atari so
successful in Europe and I'm sure that with more DRAM as we expect in
'89, we will be able to be successful in the US as well. Good night.
(SYSOP-Ron) I'll throw the CO facility open to all folks....
% The conference has ended Thank you for attending
########################
BBS EXPRESS! ST UPDATE
======================
Press Release
Version 1.33
BBS Express! ST is evolving... If you'd like to help shape it, join us
on the Support Boards now! Here's the details for future and existing
purchasers of the program:
To UPGRADE
----------
A yearly subscription fee of $25 entitles you to receive _unlimited_
updates to the program via any of our official support BBS's, of which
there are 3, at present. If you prefer, you can update via US mail,
with a limit of 3 mail upgrades per year. Either way, you have to be a
valid registered owner of the ICD version of Express.
To Purchase NEW
---------------
The price is still $79.95 (cheap!). Simply send us your check or money
order to the address below, and we'll send you the most current version
available on receipt of order. To add a year's subscription to the
unlimited upgrade program (described above), add $15 to your remittance.
The discounted price on the support subscription only applies at time of
order. Send check or money order made out to "T2 Ltd." Here's the
address:
T2 Ltd.
Attn: Heidi Taylor
17394 Valencia Ave., #54
Fontana, CA. 92335
Further information can be obtained via voice or modem:
T2 Ltd BBS Express! Support 714-357-6806 (PC Pursuit "CACOL" node)
Voice (9am-5pm Pacifc) 714-355-5969
A partial list of new features available currently, by category, follows:
Message Bases
-------------
o Messages read by the addressee shows *Received* in header.
o BBS asks user if they want to post before proceeding to next base on
a QuickScan (unless Continuous Scroll is ON).
o User Query: "Change Message Title?" when a user replies to a post.
o Auto-Paging (when not in Continuous Scroll Mode.)
o Added read commands include: Jump to Msg, Goto Last, Gosub Number x,
BackUp One Msg '-'.
o More key substitutes (ie SPACE key or RETURN key advances to next
msg, 'X' or 'Q' key to Quit...)
o Extra Help screen in read modes.
Message Editor
--------------
o New "Slash Command": /T for title change in editor.
E-Mail
------
o System Auto-Deletes old Mail after a reply is posted.
Files
-----
o An all-new "FileScan" has been added as an option when the user
presses [B]rowse Files. Selecting this option causes the BBS to go
through each file SIG (that the user has access to) and display new
files since their last logon.
Script
------
o A new parameter has been made available for the VIEW function; now
you can call a file with ampersand variable processing OFF or ON.
o A new way of detecting whether a user is a >>Quick Entry<< or remote
caller has been added.
START ONLINE SURVEY
===================
(C) Copyright 1990 by Antic Publishing Inc.
All rights reserved
Published in the October 1990 issue of START magazine.
READER SURVEY RESULTS
In the May 1990 issue we asked you to tell us who you are, how you use
your ST and what you would like to see in START. We had an overwhelming
response, including many detailed letters. We've read all your
comments, tabulated your preferences and made some decisions about the
editorial direction of the magazine. We now present a profile of the
START reader and a blueprint for the new START magazine.
First, we want to say thank you to all the people who took the time to
fill out the survey and send us kudos and criticisms. Second, we want
to say that we analyzed your responses carefully and paid special
attention to your likes and dislikes. You obviously know what you want
from START, which makes it easy for us to tailor the editorial content.
Over the next few months watch for changes in START, changes you
suggested.
The most frequent request we received was for more -- more articles,
more programs, more reviews, more tutorials, more new products. We're
happy to announce that START has grown. From now on we'll publish 124
pages each month, and we're expanding our coverage to encompass new
Atari products -- the Portfolio, TT, Stacy and Lynx -- as well as the
ST's forerunner, the 8-bit machines.
We're also packing more into the pages we have. Last month the expanded
"Products Update" debuted, along with the buyer's guide list of
available commercial software. You've made it clear that what you want
is information on tools to help you better use your ST. You've chosen
the best personal computer value on the market -- power without the
price, as Atari brags -- and you look to START to help you boost that
power.
THE START READER
The typical START reader is a 40-year-old male subscriber, earning
$36,000 a year. He bought his Atari computer -- a 1040ST with a double-
sided drive and a color monitor -- for his personal use and considers
himself an intermediate user. A dot-matrix printer and a modem are part
of his setup, and he either owns or is considering buying a PC emulator
and a memory upgrade. He's isolated from his peers; he doesn't belong
to a user group or dial bulletin boards. He uses his ST for word
processing, game playing, desktop publishing and MIDI applications.
In general he's satisfied with START's coverage, but, of course, would
like to see a thicker magazine, especially more hints and tips and
hardware and software reviews. He thinks the way to improve the disk is
to publish more utilities, product demos and public domain software.
THE NEW START MAGAZINE
What you want is what you get. The new START magazine will continue to
focus on products and productivity, and we'll be adding features that
will give you more understanding and control of your machine. For
example, the START Bookshelf and a glossary will accompany all Getting
Started lessons, like this month's on desktop video. At your request,
the reviews will become more critical, and we will run more comparisons.
We're re-publishing popular, time-tested programs, START Classics, so
that every new user has access to the best ST tools.
Furthermore, we're announcing a new department, User Interface, wherein
you, the readers, will share with each other hints and tips on
applications, ask for help and information, and exchange all the power-
user tricks you've learned over the years. The greatest resource within
the Atari community is the users, and START is pleased to provide a
forum for them. Write to START User Interface, 544 Second St., San
Francisco, CA 94107.
In the November 1990 issue are the first columns from two contributing
editors. Dan Fruchey will handle the extremely popular applications of
word processing and desktop publishing. Former editor Andrew Reese,
whose interests lie in graphics and multimedia, will expand our Cyber
Corner coverage to encompass all aspects of the cyber arts, such as
animation, rendering and computer-aided design.
Ex-Atari employee Christopher Roberts also joins our list of
contributing editors, taking on the duties of telecommunications guru.
Not only will he lead you through the information maze available via
modem, he'll also research the best public domain and shareware
programs, which will be published on your START disk.
In addition to the public domain programs, the START disk will include
demos of new products, something which has proved very popular for the
British magazines. And we will hunt for the best utilities available
for the ST and publish them. As you told us, productivity is important
to you. Soon we'll be giving you a larger disk. After dropping the
double-sided Heidi format, we vowed to find a more accessible, problem-
free way to format the disk.
In the end we decided on the most basic format of all. Beginning with
the January 1991 issue, the START disk will be straight double-sided,
with only the largest files ARCed. We're announcing this early so that
the 10 percent of our readers with access to only a single-sided drive
can upgrade their system or find access to a double-sided system.
WHY DID WE ASK THAT?
We asked some survey questions in order to gauge your feelings about
certain ideas raised by readers. Based on your answers, we've decided
to 1) get a Delphi account; 2) closely track the TT and provide coverage
when it sees general release; 3) publish more monochrome games; and 4)
keep the program documentation in the magazine.
Your answer to the most significant question we asked, about your
preference for a disk or non-disk subscription, was surprising. Almost
half of you were interested in a non-disk subscription. Antic
Publishing is currently analyzing the cost and mechanics of splitting
our subscription list.
THE 1990 START READER SURVEY
1) How many people read your copy of START magazine?
We're pleased to see that you share your magazine; about 1.5 people
read each copy.
2) Do you subscribe?
Yes 77.4%
No 22.6%
3) If you don't subscribe, why?
Several people checked more than one reason. The most frequently
cited explanation, given by 33.7 percent, is that you want a non-disk
version. Preferring to see the contents before buying was picked by
25.9 percent; 21.2 percent don't subscribe due to the price; and 19.2
percent find START easy to buy from their local retailer.
4) Would you buy a non-disk subscription?
Yes 48.7%
No 51.3%
5) Are you male or female?
Male 95.3%
Female 4.7%
6) What is your age? The average age is 40 years old.
Less than 20 years old = 4.6%
20 to 25 years old = 7.4%
26 to 35 years old = 26.4%
36 to 40 years old = 19.4%
41 to 50 years old = 24.6%
51 to 60 years old = 10.4%
Over 60 years old = 7.2%
7) What is your income? The average income is $36,000.
$0 to $19,999 = 17.5%
$20,000 to $29,999 = 19.5%
$30,000 to $39,999 = 21.5%
$40,000 to $49,999 = 16.7%
$50,000 or more = 24.8%
8) Do you belong to a user group?
Yes 33.6%
No 66.4%
9) What BBSs do you use?
Only 42.7 percent of you have an account with an on-line service;
57.3 percent don't use them. Many people are heavy
telecommunications users, with 34.8 percent of those with accounts
subscribing to more than one BBS. Of the people who subscribe to
on-line services, 64.9 percent use GEnie, 50.8 percent use
CompuServe, 12.7 percent use Delphi, 1.0 percent use BIX, and 16.7
percent use a specialized service. The specialized services run the
gamut from local BBSs to national databases like Dow Jones, Prodigy
and Knowledge Index.
10) Do you use your ST for business or personal use?
business 3.2%
personal 58.8%
both 38.0%
11) How many people use your ST?
On the average, at least one other person uses the respondent's ST.
12) What system do you own?
Only a small percentage, 15.9 percent, have installed TOS 1.4 in
their machine.
520ST with 512K RAM = 11.1%
520ST with 1MB RAM = 12.3%
520ST with 2MB RAM = 3.8%
520ST with 4MB RAM = 1.2%
1040ST with 1MB RAM = 47.4%
1040ST with 2MB RAM = 4.5%
1040ST with 4MB RAM = 2.0%
Mega with 2MB RAM = 6.9%
Mega with 4MB RAM = 10.8%
13) How many disk drives do you own?
The majority of the people have bought an extra disk drive; 50.1
percent own multiple disk drives, at least one of which is a double-
sided drive. The next largest category is of one double-sided-drive
owners, 40.0 percent. About 10 percent indicated they have only a
single-sided drive; 8.5 percent have one and 1.4 percent have
multiple single-sided drives.
14) How many monitors do you own?
one color monitor 51.1%
multiple color monitors 1.9%
one monochrome monitor 9.7%
multiple monochrome monitors 0.7%
at least one of each 36.6%
15) I own: Will buy:
90.0% 4.7% a dot-matrix printer
5.6% 11.6% an Atari laser printer
66.1% 14.9% a modem
43.1% 21.3% a fixed hard drive
5.7% 26.1% a removable hard drive
1.0% 7.4% a tape backup
12.9% 19.3% a Mac emulator
26.0% 23.6% a PC emulator
28.9% 9.6% MIDI equipment
25.7% 29.0% a memory upgrade
11.3% 8.7% another ST
0.3% 22.4% a TT
0.6% 10.0% an STE
0.3% 14.7% a Stacy
1.1% 2.9% a Portfolio
15.7% 6.4% a non-Atari computer
42.0% 16.9% a CD player
79.9% 5.8% a VCR
16) Please list, from most frequent (1) to least frequent (14), the
things for which you use your ST.
For reasons of space, we're listing the first three choices only.
1 2 3
computer-aided design | 1.9% | 2.7% | 3.1% |
databases | 4.5% | 8.3% | 9.7% |
desktop publishing | 8.6% | 8.8% |10.0% |
drawing/graphics | 3.8% | 6.2% | 8.3% |
education | 1.6% | 2.9% | 6.8% |
games |15.5% |11.2% |11.5% |
home finance | 4.1% | 9.5% | 7.3% |
Mac/PC emulation | 1.6% | 2.7% | 3.1% |
music/MIDI | 7.6% | 2.4% | 4.2% |
programming | 6.1% | 4.2% | 5.3% |
spreadsheets/business | 4.7% | 5.4% | 7.8% |
telecommunications | 7.3% |10.0% |10.7% |
word processing |32.8% |24.5% |11.7% |
other | 0.4% | 0.8% | 0.5% |
17) What level of computer user are you?
beginner 11.3%
intermediate 62.9%
advanced 25.8%
18) I think the START articles are:
simplistic 12.9%
informative 73.3%
too technical 2.9%
easy to read 66.3%
hard to read 1.6%
too short 18.1%
just right 58.1%
too long 0.9%
19) I think the START reviews are:
incomplete 14.0%
comprehensive 24.6%
helpful when buying products 79.9%
20) I think the START programs are:
useful 52.6%
limited 34.4%
fun 22.9%
interesting 45.3%
better left un-ARCed 9.6%
21) Do you want the program documentation removed from the magazine and
put on disk?
Yes 28.7%
No 71.3%
22) I want START to devote magazine space to the following:
More Less Same
46.9% 3.3% 48.7% Atari news
29.6% 16.6% 50.1% beginner tutorials
40.6% 13.9% 41.0% business applications
32.1% 15.7% 46.0% CAD/graphics
23.6% 29.3% 41.9% children's educational products
43.1% 8.3% 45.7% desktop publishing
14.4% 19.3% 60.7% events calendar
21.1% 26.4% 41.6% game reviews
30.6% 10.4% 54.1% general computer issues
57.1% 7.0% 32.9% hardware how-tos
55.0% 1.4% 38.9% hardware reviews
74.0% 1.4% 22.3% hints and tips on applications
27.3% 18.9% 49.4% Mac & PC emulation
20.0% 29.1% 39.4% MIDI/music applications
50.6% 1.0% 36.9% new product notices
22.6% 15.3% 50.6% opinion
10.6% 37.3% 39.7% people/company profiles
34.7% 19.7% 34.7% programming tutorials
47.9% 6.9% 34.3% public domain software
18.6% 7.9% 62.4% reader mail
30.4% 6.0% 49.7% reference books
51.0% 1.9% 36.4% software reviews
35.9% 10.3% 41.9% technical material
23.3% 12.4% 50.7% telecommunications and BBSs
22.6% 13.9% 51.4% trade show news
36.7% 12.0% 41.4% TT, Stacy and Portfolio
23) I want the START disk to include the following:
More Less Same
37.3% 11.7% 37.4% business/finance
23.6% 31.3% 32.7% children's programs
34.1% 12.6% 40.0% database programs
27.0% 25.6% 36.1% games
41.7% 13.4% 32.7 graphics/CAD
24.0% 13.7% 45.0% indexes (like Softguide)
29.4% 20.1% 37.4% math/statistics packages
24.6% 28.9% 33.7% music/MIDI
49.1% 13.0% 25.7% new product demos
40.0% 18.1% 28.4% programming tools
49.0% 9.9% 30.9% public domain software
33.4% 16.1% 34.7% scientific applications
17.4% 36.2% 31.9% source code
27.6% 15.6% 42.7% telecommunications
69.0% 3.7% 18.1% utilities
32.4% 10.7% 43.7% word processing
KUDOS AND CRITICISM
As we mentioned before, some of you included detailed letters with your
surveys. Here's a sampling of your comments:
"I feel the issues of March, April and May 1990 are the best string of
issues I have seen -- and I have been a subscriber since issue two."
"It sure would be nice if you could somehow get companies to provide you
with demos of their games, so that you could include them on your disk."
"I don't want less of anything. I rely on START for all my info and
mail order advertisers."
"It looks like you guys are dying. Dying from lack of ideas, lack of
craft, lack of pride."
"How about picking up the ST-XPRESS archives for us to buy? Same with
Compute ST and ST Log or any other magazines that went down."
"Another article idea is to do a comparison of the various commercial
telecom services available. Don't forget to list the amount and quality
of Atari support available."
"One problem I do have about the magazine is the lack of software on
disk for monochrome monitors, especially games."
"In the past you have failed to update useful software (like CardStack)
but have updated Slither."
"Reviews do not seem to cover all products in a category, but are
complete on those they cover."
"Publish a special issue that has all the hardware and software reviews
for that year."
"I've never seen such support in any other industry. The people who run
your organization by phone are by far superior to those in any business
that I've dealt with."
"Your current publication doesn't compare well with the very helpful,
more technical and tutorial version provided during the first year or
two of publication."
"I'd also like to see more artwork and pictures at the start of each
article."
"You need more nuts and bolts type writing. Start with regular columns
on programming in C, GFA BASIC or ST BASIC."
"Shoot Small."
"I eat up anything Dave Small writes. More!"
"Being a slick, color magazine, your deadlines are too far ahead to be
any good at trade shows, news, etc."
"Have you ever considered starting a software club, a la the book- of-
the-month clubs? Such things exist in England."
"I would rather see a few good quality programs instead of a lot of
useless junk."
"Bag the source code."
"Just be sure to include at least one good game on every disk."
"I'm glad you dropped the Heidi format."
"Bring Heidi back -- had no problems."
"I'd like to see a double-sided disk with programs and support files un-
ARCed."
"More cyber articles."
"I am a rank beginner in using my Atari 1040ST. Most of the articles in
your magazine are way over my head."
"START lacks meat most of the time. Is it because START is for the new
ST owner?"
"You do a fine job considering the broad type of readers."
"I have yet to find a START article I didn't enjoy and I have learned a
lot."
STE GAME UPDATE
===============
by Ken Newman
The following is a list of games that don't work on the Atari STe
(TOS 1.6) as of Summer/Fall 90. The list was originally published in
the British magazine ST Action, but I've amended it slightly. Several
games they said didn't work actually do work, such as the Falcon Mission
Disk (I tried it - no problems). They might have used a 520STe, which
is only available in Europe. I used a 1040STe.
TOS 1.4/1.6 might use more RAM, so things that barely fit in an old 520
might not fit in a 520STe. Most games that don't work with 1.6 also
don't work with 1.4; the big changes happened with 1.4. I only tested
a couple games on 1.4. Those remaining from the original list I have
either verified myself or didn't have the game to test.
3D Pool
Beyond the Ice Palace
Captain Blood * +
Carrier Command
Conflict Europe
Dark Side
Defender of the Crown *
F16 Combat Pilot
Ghouls 'n' Ghosts
Heroes of the Lance * +
Hound of Shadow
Karate Kid 2
Kick Off
License to Kill
Menace *
Microprose Soccer
Mr. Heli
New Zealand Story
Ninja Warriors
Operation Wolf
Overlander
Paperboy
Populous
Rick Dangerous
Star Wars
Time Scanner
Times of Lore
Total Eclipse
TV Sports Football
Waterloo
Winter Games
Weird Dreams
* = verified myself + = doesn't work in 1.4 (verified myself)
Z*NET CANADA
============
by Terry Schreiber
News and Views
--------------
Pirate Bulletin Boards
I am writing this as Vancouver becomes temporary home to yet another
pirate BBS system. We all know about these systems, the ones where the
sysop feels he is making friends by stealing someone else's work and
mass distributing it to all. "Hey, give my board a call for all the
latest wares!"
These are the people that couldn't make it as a public domain board and
are ripping off other people. These systems cost all of us in software
prices and support. The System operators justify it by quoting the high
price of software as the cause. I really can't see that being
justification for an endless distribution of copyrighted material, hell
for that matter it is as legal as stealing your neighbour's stereo from
his locked car.
If it sounds as if I am a little peeved well your right. One system was
charging for access, not only did he steal someone elses property but
was also selling it to others.
When will it sink into people's heads that piracy is a crime with a
punishment that makes driving without a driver's license look like a
hand slap.
To add insult to injury I personally sold one of the operators his BBS
program with a warning at that time. Well that's it Pirates - No more
warnings! Your BBS numbers will be posted on other BBS systems with a
full explanation of what is transpiring as well as being turned over to
the proper authorities.
How do we fight Piracy? The same way we fight any other organized
crime, and Pirate BBSes are organized. The average system can carry as
much as $30,000 or more in retail value of software. In effect this is
grand theft and should be treated as such.
Editors Note: There are captures we have of many systems that are
practicing piracy. These captures will be forwarded to Atari developers
and also the proper authorities. After some period of time yet to be
decided, we are going to name and produce these captures with hope of
stopping some of these systems. If you know of a BBS pirating software,
please make it public knowledge so that we can, as a group, help put an
end to their existence.
Some of these systems know about captures and have made some changes.
(So they say) In the future we will make these captures available as
download files.
New Public Domain
You may notice a new writer this week's issue - Keith MacNutt. Keith
has written articles for ST World, ST Informer and Puget Sound Atari
News and will be reviewing Shareware/Public Domain software each week.
"Welcome aboard!"
Pedestal Saga
It has been more than two weeks since Mr.Kenan packed his bags and
returned to France. As yet I have not found any official release from
Atari of why this occurred although speculations roam wild on the online
services.
Mega STE
Yes there indeed is such an animal under developement but you can forget
the standard Mega design, this one is in a TT style case and sports
16mhz.
Speed Cures
In amongst the online chatter the other night I happened into Dave Allen
of fast Technologies. Dave, who designed the Turbo 16 and more recently
the new "030" upgrade was telling me he is currently working on a 50mhz
model and should know something solid by the end of next week. (Drool)
Join Z-Net
Bulletin Boards using the F-Net are cordially invited to join the Z-Net
conference for the latest in information and discussions about Atari and
Atari related products. Contact Node 593 crossnet conference number is
20448 and receive your weekly Z-Net through the conference.
PUBLIC DOMAIN UPDATE
====================
by Keith Macnutt
QUICK DIALER V1.0 by HA0 NG0
Quick Dialer is a very powerful dialer shell that works on its own or
can work in conjuction with DTERM. Quick dialer will dial your
favourite BBS and upon connection you may run an external program or
exit and have a choice between
1) loading QDIALER and automatically load DTERM upon connection.
2) load DTERM and load QDIALER whenever you wish to make another call.
Quick Dialer allows up to 100 numbers in each dial directory, with 10
showing at any one time. Beside each of the 10 numbers in the window is
a F1 to F10 key, which when pressed will quick dial that number. To
scroll down the list you use the up and down arrow keys. Using the
space bar you are able to run an external program. Other features
include:
1) loading of other saved dial directories (each directory can contain
up to 99 numbers)
2) chain dial. This allows you to tag up to 5 numbers and dial one
after the other. (Useful when you encounter busy boards. This
program will skip over the busy number and proceed on to the next
number in the list.
3) Configure dialer options such as bootup baud rate, dial prefix and
delay between retries on busy numbers.
4) manual dial a number.
5) Organize the list of numbers by bbs number or name.
6) give each BBS listing a 20 letters to describe the board.
The above features are only some of the many that this program can do.
Positives
I found this program to be very easy to use. The menus are well layed
out and much thought has gone into making the program powerful but at
the same time instinctive in the use of one letter commands to carry out
most of the features.
Negatives
The only Negative that I really could find is that sometimes my mouse
would become inoperative in the menus. This did not happen all the time
and with all the features. Some of the blame could be the fact that I
ran the program on a STE, and I'm finding not all utilities are
compatible with the operating system.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
article reprinted. Opinions presented are those of the individual
author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff of
Z*Net Online. This publication is not affiliated with Atari
Corporation. Z*Net, Z*Net Atari Online and Z*Net News Service are
copyright (c)1990, Rovac Industries Incorporated, Post Office Box 59,
Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0059. Voice (908) 968-2024, BBS (908) 968-
8148 at 1200/2400 Baud 24 hours a day. We can be reached on Compuserve
at PPN 71777,2140 and on GEnie at address: Z-Net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Z*NET Atari Online Magazine
Copyright (c)1990, Rovac Industries, Inc..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
