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Z*NET Online Magazine Issue 531
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////// // // ////// ////// Z*Net Atari Online Magazine
// / /// // // // ---------------------------
// /// // // // ////// // AUGUST 3, 1990
// / // /// // // ---------------------------
////// // // /////// // Issue #531
=======================================================================
(½) 1990 by Rovac Industries, Inc.
Post Office Box 59
Middlesex, New Jersey 08846
Z*Net Online BBS: (201) 968-8148
=======================================================================
Publisher-Editor: Ron Kovacs Associate Editor: John Nagy
Distribution: Bruce Hansford UG Coordinator: Robert Ford
Z*Net New Zealand Editor: Jon Clarke Contributor: Mark Quinn
Z*Net Canada Reporter: Terry Schreiber Contributor: Alice Amore
Z*Net Germany Reporter: Michael Shutz Advertising: John Tarpinian
=======================================================================
CompuServe 71777,2140 * GEnie Z-NET * Cleveland Free-Net
=======================================================================
==========================
EDITORS DESK
==========================
Ron Kovacs
Hope your enjoying your summer.....
Next week a report from a Fleetwood Mac concert I recently attended
courtesy of Atari and first impressions with SuperCharger.
Thanking you for your support <grin>...........
Ron
==========================
CONTENTS
==========================
- Z*NET NEWSWIRE.......................................................
- GRIBNIF ANNOUNCES NEODESK 3.............................Press Release
- PILOT AUTHORING LANGUAGE................................Press Release
- REVIEW: THE GAME OF HARMONY..................................Tim Holt
- SO YOU WANT TO BE A HARDWARE DEVELOPER - PART 2.............Jim Allen
- Z*NET DOWN-UNDER...........................................Jon Clarke
- Z*NET ECHOS...........................................Terry Schreiber
************** Z * N E T ***************
************** ***************
************** N E W S W I R E ***************
/* PORTFOLIO GOES CATALOG MAIL ORDER */
B. N. GENIUS, a national chain of specialty store similar to SHARPER
IMAGE, has featured the Atari Portfolio palmtop computer on the cover
and double inside front spread in their latest catalog. The Washington,
D.C. based company has stores in many cities but does the bulk of their
national business via the popular glossy mail order catalog. Only
months ago, the competing SHARPER IMAGE company was rebuffed by Atari
for mail order sales, although the Portfolio was approved for showroom
sales. While the additional exposure and sales of the Portfolio will
undoubtedly help Atari overall, some Atari dealers are concerned to see
their formerly exclusive sales territories invaded by mail order...
something that Atari had at least implicitly promised would not happen.
/* MORE ATARI ON TV */
Atari has negotiated with a number of television and media sources to
provide Atari computers for "product placement", the latested rage in
advertising. On of many "appearances" will be on the "FLASH" television
series slated for this fall. FLASH is based on the comic book super
hero who could move so fast as to be invisible. Atari computers will be
used in all of the office and laboratory scenes, with suitably high-tech
screen representations running on each to accent the science fiction/
fantasy premise of the youth-appeal action series. This is part of an
active advertising and promotion plan scheduled for a fall launch.
/* ATARI WORPERFECT IMPROVED */
A new maintenance update of WordPerfect 4.1 for the Atari ST includes
several feature enhancements and support for large screen monitors.
Improved features include auto-hyphenation, "Look" using regular GEM
windows with scroll bars, direct import/export between the ST 4.1 and
the IBM 4.2 versions of WordPerfect, and support for several new
printers. Also available is an additional print disk, providing
improved support for PostScript printing. The Post Script printer
drivers offer several point sizes of Times Roman, Helvetica, Helvetica
Narrow, Avant Garde, Bookman, Zapf Chancery, New Century Schoolbook,
Palatino, and Courier. Registered WordPerfect users can get the
maintenance update for $12.50. The additional PostScript print disk is
available for $10 by itself or only $2.50 if ordered WITH the
maintenance update. Call (800) 222-9409, or write to WordPerfect
Corporation, Atari Products Division, P.O. Box 731, Orem, Utah 84059-
0731.
/* SAN JOSE WORLD OF ATARI THIS WEEKEND */
Z*Net will have reporters at the San Jose World of Atari show, taking
place this Saturday and Sunday August 4 and 5th in northern California.
Atleast 22 vendors have been reported to be appearing. Look for a
complete report in the next edition of Z*Net Online.
/* NEW MAGNETIC DISK STORAGE */
Hitachi announced this week that it will market a new magnetic disk
storage subsystem with the world's largest storage capacity. The H-6587
series of magnetic disk storage sybsystems, has a capacity of 35
gigabytes (GB). A memory of 35 GB can store the equivalent of 70 years
worth of a daily newspaper.
/* IBM PRICE REDUCTIONS */
IBM announced price reductions this week on several models of the PC
System/2 (PS/2) line. The reductions, which range from 24 to 34
percent, affect the PS/2 Model 60 041 and 071 and the Model 80 041 and
071. The new prices are listed below. In conjunction with these price
reductions, IBM also announced the withdrawal of the PS/2 Model 60 041
and 071 and the Model 80 041 and 071.
IBM Former New Standard
Personal System/2 Price Price Configuration
Model 60 041 $4,195 $2,750 10 MHz 80286; 1 MB RAM;
1.44 MB diskette; 44 MB disk
Model 60 071 $4,645 $3,085 10 MHz 80286; 1MB RAM;
1.44 MB diskette; 70 MB disk
Model 80 041 $5,395 $4,000 16 MHz 80386; 1MB RAM;
1.44 MB diskette; 44 MB disk
Model 80 071 $6,095 $4,500 16 MHz 80386; 2MB RAM;
1.44 MB diskette; 70 MB disk
/* APPLE DONATES $1.2 MILLION */
San Joaquin Valley's Dos Palos High School is one of 28 schools that
will receive this year's "Crossroads" grants of computer equipment worth
$1.2 million from Apple Computer. Grant winners this year are schools
in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Maine, Louisiana, Florida, Connecticut and
California.
/* COMMODORE ANNOUNCES NEW STANDARDS */
Commodore has announced that all new A2500/30s will ship with 5MB RAM
standard and that the A2630 will now have 4MB standard. List prices
remain the same. Also, the A3000/16 and A3000/25 which formerly shipped
with a 40MB hard drive will now ship with a 50MB drive. Once again,
list prices remain the same.
/* WYSE UNVEILS NEW 486 SYSTEM */
Wyse Technology has added to its family of Unix-based multiuser systems
with the most powerful Intel 486-based multiprocessing system now
available. The Series 9000i Model 940 can support up to eight 486
microprocessors, offering more than 100 MIPS (million instructions per
second) performance.
===============================
GRIBNIF SOFTWARE ANNOUNCES
NEODESK¿ 3, THE ULTIMATE
DESKTOP FOR THE ATARI¾ ST¿
===============================
Press Release
HADLEY, MA (August, 1990) -- Gribnif Software has advanced the state of
the art in graphical user interface design with the latest version of
their desktop replacement, NeoDesk 3 - The Ultimate Desktop.
This new version offers both an easier to use and much more powerful
working environment than anything ever offered before for the Atari ST.
Its completely graphical approach brings to the Atari a more
professional and efficient interface which can compete head on with the
best offered by other environments such as the recently introduced
Windows 3.0 from Microsoft.
In making this announcement, Rick Flashman, president of Gribnif
Software said "Our goal with NeoDesk 3 was simple, to create the best,
efficient, and easy to use desktop that has ever been available on any
machine."
Dan Wilga, head programmer behind NeoDesk 3, said "NeoDesk 3 is the
result of over 9 months of development and it is one of the most
ambitious projects of its type anywhere." During the process of
development, entire sections of the program were rewritten several times
in an attempt to gain every extra ounce of performance.
NeoDesk 3 incorporates an incredibly impressive array of new and
enhanced features as have never been seen before. New features like
Desktop Notes¿, the File Clipboard¿, Macros, and Split Windows are
destined to become new standards in the type of features and
capabilities that all users expect from their computer.
Tricia Metcalf, CEO of Gribnif Software, commented "Many of the new
features in NeoDesk 3 have never been seen anywhere, but they are very
likely to become the type of features that no one can live without!"
Gribnif Software is supporting the release of NeoDesk 3 with a massive
advertising campaign, aimed at supporting the product and its dealers.
"We were very surprised at the large number of dealers who began
including NeoDesk will all their ST systems.", Rick Flashman commented.
Many dealers report that with NeoDesk on an ST they are able to
effectively demonstrate the power of the ST when compared against the
graphical interfaces now being offered on other platforms.
NeoDesk 3 has a suggested licensing fee of $69.95 and will be available
in national distribution by September 1st. European distribution will
follow shortly afterwards including foreign language versions.
NeoDesk¿, Desktop Notes¿, and File Clipboard¿ are trademarks of Gribnif
Software. All other trademarks belong to their respective holders.
===============================
PILOT AUTHORING LANGUAGE FOR ST
===============================
Press Release
Hoover, AL (Aug 1). Today, eSTeem inc. introduced a version of the
PILOT authoring language for Atari ST computers. eSTeem PILOT is a GEM-
based language and management system for creating and using a wide
variety of programs for education, training and systems control.
PILOT, an acronym for Programmed Inquiry, Learning Or Teaching, is a
simple, powerful and widely used language for creating tutorials,
simulations, interactive laser videodisc programs, device control
systems and other computer-based systems. eSTeem PILOT is an enhanced
version of PILOT, fully utilizing the friendly GEM (Graphic Environment
Manager) user interface and graphic capabilities of Atari ST computers.
It follows the proposed 1990 IEEE revision of the PILOT language
standard.
In addition to its GEM user interface, eSTeem PILOT can:
- import DEGAS and EasyDraw graphics
- draw graphics and write text
- generate music and sound effects
- read and write data files
- load, run, and chain program modules, automatically
- place and remove graphic response markers
- handle point-and-click responses to graphic buttons
- offer context-sensitive HELP dialog boxes
- control user access via passwords
- log and report usage
- control laser videodisc players and other devices
An eSTeem PILOT program--called a module--can switch between full text,
full graphics, and split-screen text and graphic displays. It can
present typed information and evaluate typed responses. It can load as
many as two DEGAS-type pictures and eight EasyDraw or other GEM-type
graphics and then display them separately or simultaneously. It can
place as many as five graphic markers for labeling parts of the graphic
display and detect the user's point-and-click responses on these
markers. It can also define areas of the graphic screen which become
"hidden buttons" to which eSTeem PILOT can respond when the user points
and clicks on them.
eSTeem PILOT can control external devices through the computer's serial
port. A laser videodisc player with a computer interface can be
connected to an Atari ST or Mega computer to provide a sophisticated,
computer-based, interactive videodisc training system.
eSTeem PILOT is easily configurable for use in a wide variety of
situations, including the home, classroom, resource or training center
or office. Global defaults can be set and stored for password access,
module logging, drive and path settings, title screen display, and the
option to load and run a module at the time eSTeem PILOT is run.
eSTeem, inc. will begin shipping eSTeem PILOT August 15, 1990. Orders
and dealer inquiries should be directed to:
Computers Etc.
4647-B Highway 280
Birmingham, AL 35242
205/980-9146
===============================
REVIEW: THE GAME OF HARMONY
===============================
by Tim Holt
Have you checked your crystal lately? Have you chanted your mantra? Is
your Ying out of synch with your Yang? Well, I have a game for you!
Billed as the first "New Age Game", Accolade has come out with "The Game
of Harmony", a game to relax you, rather than raise your blood pressure.
Actually, the idea is pretty neat. I personally am growing tired of
"shoot em until the entire population is destroyed". And there are far
too few games where the objective is not to kill and destroy. "Harmony"
is a step in the right direction.
The idea of Harmony is very basic: push similar colored orbs together,
cancelling each other out, and when all the orbs of a screen are
eliminated, move on to the next level. The manual calls this "synergy".
Sounds easy, but like any good game, a simple idea can sometimes get
complicated. If two unlike colored orbs hit, they make an altogether
different colored pod. You can grab the pod and get more "energy", but
if you let them lie too long, then you have to cancel them out by
pushing them against a similar colored orb. Still with me? It gets
more complicated. There are barriers of all different configurations
(fifty in all) that prevent you from moving forward. Also, spheres can
be "rubber banded" together, so where you push one sphere affects the
one that is attached to it. If you push them together in such a way
that they keep hitting each other over and over, well, they create more
pods, more spheres, and on and on. Okay, so what? Well, you have to
get out of a screen before the spheres explode with "tension". The more
spheres you get on screen, the less time you have to cancel out each
color. It can really get out of hand if you have 20 or 30 orbs all
getting ready to explode.
When the exnplosion happens, you lose a life. You have 4 per game.
Okay, how do you push all these spheres together, how do you collect the
energy pods? Well, you control a sphere of your own (called a "seeker")
that can be controlled by the joystick or keyboard. It will go in the
direction you tell it, and the direction is pointed out on top of the
seeker. Be careful though, you only have between 10 and 30 seconds per
level.
You can move on to bonus rounds, where you aquire more time, more lives
or more energy. There is even a random pod that pops up and if you run
it over, you get a new life. Sort of a reincarnation if you will.
The manual is very brief, as it has the loading instruction for all
versions of the game, and takes six of the thirteen to tell you how to
start. The instructions are brief, and hold to the theme of "New Age";
you are reminded to "relax", and not to "breed tension". You could
easily figure out the game from the onscreen instructions that appear in
the demo mode.
There are three modes: demo, mantra and normal. Demo is self
explanitory, but as I said, does have good instructions. Mantra mode is
known in most worlds as practice. No scoring, you can't be eliminated,
the spheres do not explode with tension, and you can go through all
fifty levels if you wish. However, don't expect to play the normal mode
as you did the practice mode. In practice, the pods do not appear as in
regular mode, and there is no time limit.
The game is not copy protected, and MAY be placed on a hard drive. This
is a nice touch, however, you must get through the copy protection
scheme, and match a screen picture with a list of pictures on a seperate
piece of paper. (An interesting note: The paper that the copy
protection screens is a very dark red color, and cannot be duplicated
with a photo copier. This is a very smart move by Accolade, however, it
is so dark that the actual screens on the paper are most difficult to
discern. I guess they knew that would happen, because they give you
three chances to enter the correct screen number.)
Do I like Harmony? Yes. It isn't the greatest game I have ever played,
but it is very pleasant to play. It is, as it claims, relaxing. The
sound is very nice, and comes out really loud and clear when you have it
hooked up to speakers on your ST-e. The colors used are all pastels,
not seen too often in games. Very pleasant to look at. Sick and tired
of killing games? Then check out The Game of Harmony. After a hard day
at work, you deserve it...
Ease of Play...............10
Sustained Interest level....8
Instructions................7
Overall rating............8.5
Tim Holt
ST Club of El Paso
======================================
SO YOU WANT TO BE A HARDWARE DEVELOPER
PART 2
======================================
by Jim Allen
This feature is a reprint from the SUMMER ST-JOURNAL MAGAZINE, presented
here by permission. THIS ARTICLE MAY NOT BE REPRINTED IN ANY OTHER
PUBLICATION OR NEWSLETTER WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM ST-JOURNAL,
113 West College Street, Covina, CA 91723, 818-332-0372.
So you're still here - you're sure you want to be a hardware developer?
Ok, let's get down to the basics of the hardware business. First,
you'll need to do some reading. You'll need to become competent in
marketing, finance, and accounting so that you can generate sales and
control your money. There is no point in committing your valuable time
and startup capital to a business if you aren't equipped to benefit
fully from your work. When you're working for yourself, only you are
ultimately accountable. You can and should hire both a lawyer and an
accountant, and you should find a source for business advice from a
seasoned veteran. This is an invaluable resource and should be
considered a necessity. Whether you have a friend or relative who has
owned abusiness, or you go to the Small Business Administration, you'll
benefit from a business mentor.
I was lucky in this regard. The company for which I had worked for 6
years was founded by three wicked, smart engineers who'd had every
possible experience--good and bad--you could imagine. This collective
experience was available for the asking. They warned me of many
pitfalls, taught me a great deal, including how to obtain venture
capital, (That's when someone gives you millions in exchange for your
first born.) and, also, how to be an engineer. And, they paid me for
the privilege. What a country! Reading material can be helpful. For
this, I suggest "The Regis Touch" by Regis McKenna, the man behind the
rise of Intel in the 1970s. His book is a very good indoctrination into
marketing fundamentals. For general business info, you should read
"What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School". This book
covers a lot of ground and passes on, what I feel, is a good attitude
about business. Next, you should read "Business Plansthat WIN $$$" by
Rich and Gumpert. These authors will walk you through the process of
generating a very important document, your business plan.
This plan is your blueprint for what you want to accomplish and, also,
the on-going record of your 'enlightenment' while becoming a business
person. At first it will be rough, but, eventually, you'll hone it into
a good tool. In the future, you'll look back and read your earlier
entries and say 'how could I have been so stupid?' This process of self
evaluation is important. Remember, your the boss; no one is going to
push and prod you, except maybe your creditors. A good plan will allow
you to explore the profitability of your product in an atmosphere that
eliminates the 'romance' of the hardware. For your own good, your
decisions of what to build and how to price it, etc., must all be made
in a cold, calculating fashion. Don't fall in love with adud; your
wallet is only so deep.
When the subjects of finance and accounting come up, I get a real ugly
feeling. They can be very boring and tedious but the only way to make
money is to be able to control it correctly. If you don't let your
finances make your decisions, you may 'decide' yourself right out of
business. It's acutely important in a hardware business that all
expenditures be based solely on absolute need. Do not run out and get a
ton of neat test equipment to build your lab; do not build up a big
stock of components to make prototyping easy. Just because you are
flush with cash is not reason enough to spend it.
Before you do anything, you'll need to run through all the expenses and
setup costs involved in your product-to-be. And, since you will want to
keep track of every expenditure from the second you officially start
your business, the first thing you should do is set up your accounting
system. For help here, I suggest that you go to your nearest college
and buy the intermediate accounting textbook. Check the bookstores and
find a good 'plain English' accounting book as well. You can start out
with books and computerize your system later. Learn this accounting
well, grasshopper, or you'll wake up someday with $1000 missing and you
won't know where it went.
Once you start to master the thought of being 'in business', you will
need to select the capital equipment you need to get the job of product
development done. You'll probably need an oscilloscope - I lease mine;
it allows me to get a quality product. You'll need a multimeter. (Good
ones can be had for $100.) If you're going to be building PC boards,
you'll need a good soldering station. Don't skimp here; buy a good
Weller with replacement tips. If you're going to be using programmable
logic then the economy move is to use GALs. They're reprogrammable and
will save money. I use a good programmer, called PLT, from a company
in Colorado. PLT comes with a logic compiler, programs GALs only, and
costs $500, complete. It has filled my requirements. Other programmers
are very expensive and should be leased if needed. If you're going to
be creating your own PC boards, then you'll need a schematic and layout
CAD software package. There are many under $1000. Personally, I have
Futurenet schematic capture and EZRouteII auto router. This package is
a bit expensive, but I've used it for years so I'm biased. If you
choose the selections listed here, you may be forced to purchase an IBM
PC since most CAD software runs on Pcs. (The Mac stuff is on the high
end.)
Once you have some development tools, you need to select the ST
computers you need to get the job done. If you require something for
general work, then I suggest a 520STfm and a Mega2. You'll also need
both a color monitor and a monochrome monitor. These two have all the
features that you'll require. (There's no point in investing in more
machines unless you need to have examples of all the motherboard
layouts.) If this is the case, it's always helpful to go hunting (in
your user group) for guinea pigs. Originally, because I had to have an
example of every possible configuration, I had one of each known make of
ST.
If you are doing a Mega board, then you will probably need only a Mega.
This is where Atari comes to the rescue. If you are registered as a
commercial developer and are designing a product for the market, they'll
give you some great discounts on equipment. The Turbol6, however, is a
special case. In order to test its compatibility, I had to obtain many
third party products. Only you will know exactly what you need but the
watch word is need. Do not try to 'justify' neat things like a big
screen monitor when it has no bearing on your efforts; learn discipline
early.
You'll also need to set up an office, a place where you can keep track
of all the paper work you'll be generating and where you can have
outsiders come and meet you. It's important that you put on a good show
for all the sales engineers and business people you'll be dealing with.
Also, the impression you leave with your would-be suppliers will have a
direct affect on your credit limits and the response times you get from
inquiries.
There are a number of contacts you'll need to make in order to be
successful in the hardware business. You'll need to know many
distributors, so track down all the major ones in your area and build
relationships early. (For any part you might need, you should find
yourself two or three sources.) Companies like Hamilton/Avnet, Arrow
Electronics, Interface Electronics, and Schweber will become business
partners with you. You will need to have them 'stock' items you'll be
using so that you can purchase them in small quantities. The best way
to approach this is the way I buy 68000 chips. I determine what I think
will be a realistic production level for Turbol6, then order a year's
worth of chips and have deliveries spaced out by month. This lets me
get the discount price while buying only a small amount at a time. It's
also a standard practice.
Remember, you'll have a tough time getting credit lines until you have
been in business for a while, so build as many good relationships with
suppliers as you can. As for myself, I was known by the sales reps from
my experience with my previous company, so I landed big credit limits
early on. But, believe me, they were taking chances. Now, after a
couple of years of strongties, I have very good relationships with my
suppliers.
Also, get to know the engineering support people from your local
manufacturers. I have a long relationship with Motorola, and, although
I have a small company, I still have the opportunity to obtain the
latest and greatest items like the 040 chip. There is nothing like
having your distributor intercede on your behalf to 'sell' you to a
manufacturer. All relationships are important; never burn bridges.
Next time, I'll begin a practical 'case history" of a product. We'll go
through the development process together and see what happens. See you
then. - JA
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Z*Net Down-Under by Jon Clarke
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The changing faces of global networks local and major.
-----------------------------------------------------
::The Humble BBS Bites Back::
Well here we are all nice and comfortable reading Z*Net for another
week. Have you ever given any thought to how this and many of the other
articles arrived on your computer?
Did you get it in the mail? If you did that is easy. It went by land,
air or sea to get to your place. Did you get Z*Net from a BBS or Major
on-line service? If you did, it went a little further than land, air or
sea, it went via Satellite!
This article of Z*Net Down-Under was penned in Auckland, in New Zealand.
Now get out your maps and look for New Zealand. That's it! Between
Australia and the South Pole. Well and truly down-under. Now find your
location on the map. The distance between here and your place is about,
what ? Lets say 7-10,000 miles and two continents away.
For this article to get to Z*Net it has already travelled over 112,000
miles. From here in Auckland it does three (3) satellite hops to the
United States and then by landline and sometimes via another satellite
hop into the USA network where I leave this mail. All for the cost of
a local call plus a little more.
How is this achieved? Well as I have stated in an earlier article, we
use the IPSN (International Packet Switch Network). This is a series of
"Carrier Networks", that take your call from your home to distant
networks far away. Users of GEnie will be familiar with your local PAD,
as users of Compuserve and Bix will be familiar with "Tymnet". These
allow you to access your favourite online system for the fraction of
normal 'voice toll charges'.
Once you are on the IPSN you will become very familiar with some of the
global services like GEnie, Compuserve,BiX, CT, Micro-link and others.
A point to bare in mind that some of the 'major' on-line services have
other uses for their networks and sometimes the things you and I use
them for are of little consequence to their overall 'global stategy.
The good thing about this is it allows people from other countries such
as Europe, Pacific and Asia to join in and you get a truly global family
of users.
Please note: Use of the IPSN incurs a cost "over" that of the on-line
service you wish to use. -----------
::
I was shocked to learn earlier in the year that 'Tymnet' is now owned
and operated by "BT" as we know it or "British Telecom". Here I was
using Compuserve and Bix assuming the carrier I logged onto from here
was a US based firm. Imagine my shock when I saw "BT" plastered all
over the promo material. Ironic really when you think about it. "The
British are coming! The British are coming!", as that famous chap
'Paul', once said.
Other Networks avalible for us mere mortals.
--------------------------------------------
For those of us who do not have an unlimited pocket-book, there are
other networks we an use at a fraction of the cost. I refer to the
likes of Fido-mail, F-Net, and Usenet. These can be accessed on many
BBS's world wide and reflect the changing face of the humble Buliteen
Board.
::Fido-Mail::
::::::::::::: Is a world wide mail store and forward system. You will
usually find it based on the local BBS networks. The good
thing about Fido is the ability to echo mail around your
country and world wide. Not much Atari related mail.
Echoes(mail) from countries like :Australia, Asia, Europe,
South Africa and New Zealand are not uncommon on this
network.
::F-Net::
::::::::: FoReM-Net mail is also world wide and links the many FoReM
BBS's world wide. I have seen echoes from Isreal, England,
USA and the likes. Lots of Atari based news and mail.
Good local network to get involved with. This is very
popular in the USA, and a cheap and easy way to
communicate.
::Usenet::
:::::::::: Usenet is a truly world-wide all computer/leisure/business
based mail/file system. This is normally associated with
education,VAX,Unix facilities. However it is opening up
to local BBS's and other companies, institutions that wish
to spread the net-mail. Your message can travel alot
further than 112,000 miles and the message headers (where
the mail is addressed to) can be very long. Below is a
sample of a message Path (or the trip it takes from me to
say the USA)
->[USA]
Path:feds19!cvbnet!atexnet!kodak!rochester!
rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!
samsung!munnari.oz.august!comp.vuw.ac.nz!am.dsir.govt.nz!
dsiramd!marcamd!mercury!kcbbs!stt
[Us in NZ]<-
Usenet does however offer some excellent Atari based topics,
ie.. comp.sys.Atari.ST <- ST based mail
comp.sys.Atari.8Bit <- 8 Bit based mail
comp.binary.Atari.ST <- ST based files
comp.binary.Atari.8Bit <- 8 Bit based files
comp.source.Atari.ST <- ST based source code.
Over the next few weeks I will take you for a walk through Fido-Mail,
echo-mail and Usenet so you can see what is happening in the changing
faces of the "humble BBS".
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Z*Net Echos by Terry Schreiber
The cross-nets are buzzing with pros and cons of Atari Corp. The
general conclusion is that persons living in places other than the U.S.
are happy or happier than those living under the head office.
Canada has been used as a test market on most of the Atari product line
and therefore has received new products before the U.S. dealers. This
has both advantages and disadvantages to the U.S. Atari market. The
advantages being that the U.S. dealers will get a tried and proven
product, Atari should have all the bugs fixed by it's intro into the
U.S. Some will disagree reciting examples of the Stacy battery problems
and the STe Tos and DMA port problems that are now appearing after the
product release in the U.S. and some will even say that Atari was aware
of the problem before they went to market.
This is common place with any computer - some try to justify their
computer by defending it - others go the opposite way and cry foul at
every event involving Atari. The release of products into a test
marketplace is a very good idea and is common amongst all manufacturers.
A certain fast food outlet is constantly testing it's "M" this or "M"
that in different cities in North America. Market testing is here to
stay but unfortunately what works to Atari's benefit can also work
against them.
U.S. dealers cry foul over Canadian suppliers shipping goods into their
marketing area. Atari as it seems, always had a problem in the U.S.
retail end with both it's dealer network and end users. When Atari
purchased the Federated chain and began competing against it's own
dealer network, that was the last straw for many independent dealers.
The Atari users ask "Where are the new products you announced". The
whole situation is a catch 22, your dammed if you do or don't.
Atari has survived in the North American market and intends to make it
self known in the next few months. In Canada, we are scheduled for a
very agressive marketing campaign starting with the back-to-school. I
have not heard this years slogan as of yet but I think the "Power
without the price" and Technology so advanced it's affordable" should
take a back seat to something that more describes the handling
capabilities and ease of use. (more like a car commercial)
The computer market is losing sales to people who are intimidated by
"The Machine" cars sell by options - automatic transmission, power
brakes, stereo surround sound, air conditioning, etc. If the ease of
use and options available were known Atari would sell many more
computers. A test drive could be set-up at local dealers where as a
system could be tried before it is purchased. A nominal rental fee
could be charged for the system for a weekend with the rental going
towards the purchase price if the customer decided to buy.
I have on occassion lent one of my systems to a computerless friend only
to find that when the system is returned usually within thirty days he
buys his own, sort of like taking the candy away from the baby.
I am straying from the main topic here which is again attitude towards
Atari and the Atari supporters. David Small recently wrote an excellent
article in CURRENT NOTES which most users felt was quite informative but
again the negatives where out in full force. "He makes his living
selling ST related products - of course he is going to support Atari".
Let's take a minute to reflect on this.
David Small, a prominent developer, takes time out to write an article
voicing his own point of views to be shut down by another so called
Atari user who claims the article as written for profit. Will someone
please explain to me what this person is getting at? If he has a valid
point I for one fail to see it. What I do see in fact is a disgrunted
Atari user looking for any reason to gripe.
BACK TO SKOOL (SCHOOL)
The fall season is just around the corner and Atari is ready. Those
520STfm's that we haven't seen here in Canada for a long time now are
back and smartly bundled with productivity and entertainment packages.
Remembering back when I last sold these machines, I recall horror as
they didn't have enough memory to run some of off the shelf titles, but
also remembering how many of these entry level computers were sold and
at what price soon jolts the negatives out of your system. Atari is
back to basics this fall with a proven seller. The system is perfect
for the first time user and fairly cheap to upgrade to one megabyte if
needed later on. The basic system out of the box can be connected to a
television (although a monitor is much needed for productivity software)
and comes in a price range that no other 16 bit computer comes close to.
The competiton will be sitting up and noticing again this fall as this
proven system, priced far below the competitors half meg model again
hits the marketplace.
DEALER SUPPORT
As reported in last weeks issue, dealers will soon be able to have
information at their fingertips. Atari's online information system is
available through Datapac. Canadian dealers will receive information
kits at the August 8th dealer meeting in Toronto. Local Atari
representitive Murray Brown commented on the positive aspects of this
system. "It will make dealers more aware of the changing market and
bring dealers closer to Atari as well as each other. Information will
be immediately posted on the system with regards to any hardware or
software problems with the equipment, and problems can be more quickly
identified and dealt with within the corporate structure."
DEALER POLL
Well, who said Atari wasn't listening? The powers that be in Toronto
have sent questionaires out to all of their reps to be filled in by the
dealers. Questions were general in nature with regards to support,
service and advertising, but the main point is that Atari is asking for
feedback from it's dealer network.
On a personal note I found that the only gripe I had with them at this
time was the service department. I figured eight weeks for TOS roms and
three weeks and still waiting for MMU chips is a bit too long when these
parts are readily available in stock. Hey, what are you typing your
order forms out on - stone tablets? The order could have come from
Taiwan via dog sled faster.
Z*NET ONLINE CONFERENCE
When this conference was first introduced on the cross-net and I posted
a message asking nodes to join. I also posted a note that I would
prefer people to use their real names and not handles. This was not a
stipulation but a personal request by me by a matter of preference. I
am very liberal at the best of times but I felt answering messages back
to someone called "One Hung Low" or "The Galloping Gourmet" was a little
too much. It has recently been pointed out to me that these people use
handles to provide a little mistique to themselves and that some sysops
actually encourage people to use handles as they post more messages on
their message bases. There are even some people who actually leave
Latin quotes with every message they post, and when asked why stated
"It's my trademark".
Well now, we've gone from handles to trademarks - what next?
To make a long story short in the messages I have seen posted in the
last month, I have also seen that these people are not just there living
in their fantasy world, but are living and breathing Atarians and most
with a sincere wish to gain knowledge about their computer. There are
the odd few that use these handles to hide behind to post nasty messages
and bash Atari at every chance they get, but by the most part I must say
my attitude is changing. To those people I do apologize as sometimes I
don't see the forest for the trees.
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Z*Net Atari Online Magazine is a weekly released publication covering
the Atari community. Opinions and commentary presented are those of the
individual authors and do not reflect those of Rovac Industries. Z*NET
and Z*NET ATARI ONLINE are copyright 1990 by Rovac Industries. Reprint
permission is granted as long as Z*NET ONLINE, Issue Number and author
is included at the top of the article. Reprinted articles are not to be
edited without permission.
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Z*NET ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE -- The NUMBER ONE ATARI ONLINE NEWS SOURCE!
Copyright (c)1990 Rovac Industries, Inc..
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