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GEnieLamp Online Magazine Issue No.2.21
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|| |||||| |||||||| |||||| RESOURCE!
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~ APRIL FOOLS ATTACK ~
Fact, Fiction Or..Maybe?
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
April 1, 1991 ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Issue No.2.21
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Publisher/Editor ................................... John F. Peters
Co-Editor ........................................ Darlah J. Pine
Technical Editor ................................ Jeff Williams
TX2 Editor ..................................... David Holmes
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] DEALER VIEWPOINT ........ [DLR]
[*]Notes From The Editor. [*]News Flash!
HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] GAMES PEOPLE PLAY ....... [GAM]
Is That A Letter For Me? ST Game Power!
MEL'S MANOR ............. [MEL] ATARI_QWIK_TIPS ......... [TIP]
[*]Expanding Your Horizons. Atarians Helping Atarians.
TELETALK ONLINE ......... [TEL] HACKN' ATARI ............ [HAC]
[*]The Ultimate Emulator. [*]On Your Own.
PD_QUICKVIEW ............ [PDQ] OFF THE RECORD .......... [OFF]
Yours For The Asking. Mini_Qwik_reViews.
ATARI CORP. ONLINE ...... [ATR] ST ALADDIN ONLINE ....... [ALD]
The Bottom Line @ Atari. Intro. To Scripts.
THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [LIB] NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE [RTC]
Get It While It's Hot! Wednesday Night Fun!
HOOKING UP WITH LYNX .... [LYX] LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
Atari Game Power! GEnie Lamp Information.
[*] indicates that the article is TX2 enhanced.
[IDX]
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
READING GEnie Lamp GEnie Lamp has incorporated a unique indexing
"""""""""""""""""" system to help make reading the magazine easier.
To utilize this system, load GEnie Lamp into any ASCII word processor
or text editor. In the index you will find the following example:
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] DEALER VIEWPOINT ........ [DLR]
Notes From The Editor. [*]News Flash!
To read the article DEALER VIEWPOINT, set your find or search
command to [DLR]. If you want to scan the articles, search for [EOA].
[EOF] will take you to the last page, whereas [IDX] will bring you back
to the index.
TX2 FORMAT What are you missing when reading the ASCII version of
"""""""""" GEnie Lamp? EXCITEMENT! Whenever you see a [*] in the
index or in the article header, that indicates that the article contains
TX2 graphics and/or pictures. To see the special graphics, get the
following files:
LMP_221.LZH GEnie Lamp in TX2 format
LMP221_M.LZH Picture file for monochrome monitors
(or)
LMP221_C.LZH Picture file for color monitors
MINTX22.LZH Mini-version of TX2 Viewer (File #18639)
MESSAGE INFO To make it easy for you to respond to messages re-printed
"""""""""""" here in GEnie Lamp, you will find all the information you
need immediately following the message. For example:
(DARLAH, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:58/M475)
_____________| _____|__ _|___ |____ |_____________
|Name of sender CATegory TOPic Msg.# Page number|
In this example, to respond to Darlah's message, log on to page 475,
enter the bulletin board and set CAT 6. Enter your REPly in TOPic 1.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
//////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "There were some bugs in the Euro Version. All of a sudden you /
/ are flying upside down?. Real bummer when you are landing." /
////////////////////////////////////////////// F.GIOMBOLINI ////
[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
[*]Notes From The Editor
""""""""""""""""""""""""
o Ready For Some FUN?
o TX2 Look At The New ST Computers
(Ctsey. of Z*Net)
o GEnie Lamp: Your Hackn' Resource!
TOP OF THE PAGE Ready for some FUN? Then you have found the right
""""""""""""""" place! In this this issue, some of the staff writers
have elected to go with the spirit of April Fools day and write
accordingly. Beware! Read this issue with caution. Is it truth or
fiction? Facts or downright hogwash? Only the author knows for sure!
(Hint: If you're reading the ASCII version of GEnie Lamp, you're
missing out on some great fun!)
[*][*][*]
ST-NOTEBOOK AND ST-NOTEPAD Thanks to Z*NET Online Magazine, we can
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" now _see_ what all the excitement is about.
Using the VIDI-ST video digitizing systems, Z*NET has provided us with
the first good look at the new ST-Notebook and ST-Notepad computers.
(CEBIT1.LZH, File #18774).
The following text is taken from the PIXINFO.TXT file which is
included in the CEBIT1.LZH file. NOTE: TX2 Viewers: Press "P" at the
[** PICTURE **] prompt to see the pictures.
[*][*][*]
[PHOTO CAPTIONS FROM TRANSLATED PRESS KIT]
[Items in brackets are added by Z*NET for clarity, ALL other text
is VERBATIM from the kit as translated.]
ST-Notebook for the Briefcase.
The new ST-Notebook from Atari fits in any briefcase, and with a
weight of only around 1 kg is highly portable. It offers all
what you when working and travelling at the same time: 1 MB main
memory, 20 MB hard disk, joypad instead of mouse and an LCD
screen with a resolution of 640 x 400 pixels.
[Photo shows the jet black computer, folded open showing a
compact but complete keyboard, a little other detail.]
Computer without mouse or keyboard
Atari is showing for the first time at the CeBit fair 1991 a
prototype computer where the data entry no longer takes place
with a keyboard or mouse, but with a pen which is used to write
directly onto the screen. The STPad thus offers computers
beginners, too, a simple way of using modern technology.
[Photo shows a black half-notebook sized unit which is 80%
screen. A GEM desktop with the new icons is shown on the screen.
Two RAMCARDS are show protruding to the right, and a pen on a
wire is clipped to the top.]
[*][*][*]
If you would like to see more, Z*NET has also uploaded a picture of
the TT030 which is running UNIX and a picture of the new CDAR505 CD-ROM.
(File #18773) Hats off to Z*NET for providing us with these very
interesting pics!
[Photos are processed with VIDI-ST video digitizing systems by Z*NET.
Re-use and republication of these pictures is permitted as long as
Z*NET is credited.]
Z*Net often uploads up-to-date, exciting pictures of new products
and special events. Check them out.
[*][*][*]
I'm pleased to announce that Mark Dodge's hardware expertise will
now grace the pages of GEnie Lamp magazine.
Mark owns and operates a new computer store called J & M Computer
Specialities in San Antonio, Texas where he sells computer hardware such
as hard drives, floppy drives, expansion cases, memory and modems. He
also enjoys providing technical support to the do-it-yourself users that
are trying to breath a bit more power into their ST systems. An excel-
lent example of Mark's expertise can be found in his first article in
HACKN' ATARI which is an in-depth article (with TX2 pics!) on how to
upgrade your 520STfm computer.
As a sideline, Mark enjoys growing tomatoes, onions and _blistering
hot_ peppers in his garden and making salsa with them. He says that if
you've never had his salsa, then you've never tasted _real_ salsa. He's
probably right. I do enjoy salsa, but then, the stuff I eat is made in
New York City. (I know, I know... get a rope :-)
If you would like more information on J & M Computer Specialties,
you can contact Mark at:
J & M Computer Specialties
907 DODIC Place
San Antonio, TX 78221
(512) 923-2811
or you can contact him here via GEmail at M.DODGE2.
Take care...
John Peters
[GENIELAMP$]
GEnieTALK!
""""""""""
PLEASE, WAIT NO MORE! In case you haven't noticed the GEnie banner,
""""""""""""""""""""" GEnie is changing the way the Software Libraries
are accessed (no more separate page numbers.) This will eliminate the
repeated "please wait" prompts, but it is going to break existing
scripts (but not ST Aladdin.) This is the announcement from the main
banner:
In response to numerous suggestions, GEnie will be changing the
entry method to the Software Libraries. Currently, the software
libraries exist on separate mainframes within the GEnie processing
environment. The menus which are displayed on the Software Library and
Software Library Set pages exist on one set of mainframes, while the
actual processing of a user's selected function is handled by another
set of mainframes. GEnie will be consolidating the Software Libraries
into a "single unit" on April 8, 1991.
Users should notice faster response when selecting a Software
Library function. The "please wait..." message will be eliminated.
(YEAH! -Ed.) The Software Library menus will now be consistent across
all of GEnie.
PLEASE NOTE that Script users will have to make appropriate
modifications to existing scripts.
The following user visible differences should also be noted:
"Software Library" and "Software Library Set" Page numbers are
being eliminated. For example, you will no longer be able to move
directly to page 476 (Atari ST Software Library Page). Instead, users
should select the Software Library menu selection from the "main
RoundTable page". For example, for the ST Roundtable Software Library,
issue the MOVE 475;3 command.
The indication of which library is currently set, which appears as
the "Library:...." line at the top of the main roundtable page, is being
removed. This information will only appear in the Software Library
section.
Aladdin users should see no changes when they use their auto-
passes, but must be careful to take into account the new changes when
they log on manually.
Users should also be aware that only the MOVE, EXIT, and QUIT
commands, plus valid keywords, will be accepted within a Software
Library.
If you have any questions, please post them in the GENIEus Bulletin
Board (Page 150 or *GENIEUS), Category 4, Topic 17. [ctsey. of SANDY.W]
//////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Most of your questions, and the questions to your responses /
/ have been answered in the responses to your questions replies. /
/ Did that come out out right?" /
//////////////////////////////////////////////// BOB-BRODIE ////
[EOA]
[DLR]//////////////////////////////
DEALER VIEWPOINT /
/////////////////////////////////
[*]News Flash!
""""""""""""""
By Sheldon Winick
[S.WINICK]
[Insert full screen picture here "HEADLINE.PI3"]
Rumors of an impending move by Atari from their Sunnyvale, CA
headquarters have been, as of late, floating around the Atari
community. But heretofore, the rumors have suggested the heavily
populated northeast as the possible destination.
During a recent visit by Bob Brodie to Computer STudio in
Asheville, North Carolina, however, the real location of Atari's
proposed new international headquarters was discovered. In total
contrast to anything Atari has ever done in the past, Atari has managed,
without any news leaks whatsoever, to secretly acquire an entire
mountain along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway in Western North
Carolina. Not only that, but Architectural and Engineering plans for
the new International headquarters facility are reported to have also
been completed, bids taken and a construction contract awarded. In
fact, a secret groundbreaking has apparently already been scheduled to
take place on April 1 1991.
The new facility is planned to be completed and in full operation
by April 1, 1992 and will contain not only offices, but will also be a
manufacturing and assembly facility for the U.S. with production
capability of 25,000 TT050e's a day! That along with capability for
production of all existing ST and TT models. Production capability is
reportedly planned to be large enough so that this new facility will
also be exporting completed computers overseas.
A new and heretofore secret breakthrough in computer technology has
also apparently been made by the new head of Atari's R&D division that
will enable the new TT050e to have an unprecedented number of features
and power, including coming with 32megs of RAM (expandable to 96 megs),
an onboard 900 meg hard drive and 500 meg removable HD platter as well
as a built-in laser disk, and 3.5" - 2.88MB high density floppy drive.
This new system also features a CPU clock speed of 64MHz, a color
palette of 1 million colors, built-in 4 channel stereo sound, built-in
Genlock and a 38.4KB internal modem.
This new TT050e system is reportedly already shipping to Atari's
Strategic Partner dealerships so it will be ready for immediate sale in
time for its formal unveiling on April 1, 1991. Best of all, the
manufacturer's suggested retail price for this new, state-of-the-art
workstation is reported to be under $1000!
[Insert full screen picture here "CLOSING.PI3"]
/////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Actually, I would agree except we are dealing with Atari /
/ users. This is a subset of society that has chosen the /
/ machine with Power without the Price, and they do not /
/ generally expect to pay the Price..This is why my husband /
/ bought our ST. I know many guys in our users group who /
/ would drive the 125 miles to Chicago for a big fest, but /
/ not if they'd lose $20 at the door." /
///////////////////////////////////////// D.A.BRUMLEVE ////
[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That A Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
o ATARI TID_BITS
o ODDS & ENDS
o ATARIAN MINDS WANT TO KNOW
o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT
>>> ATARI_TID_BITS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""
(Bits & Pieces From The Bulletin Board)
PAGE_1 [*] Our suggested retail price for the STE is still $599.
"""""" There has been quite a few bargains available though. I'm not
aware of any time constraints on them [*] Our "Basic" TT is still a 2
meg ram, 50 meg HD unit [*] The TT030 high-resolution monochrome screen
vertical refresh rate is 71.6 Hz. In the color modes, it is approxi-
mately 60 Hz. [*] The TT's cartridge appears at the same place as in the
ST memory map. It was NOT changed [*]
PAGE_2 [*] The Desktop in the Mega STE is functionally the same as the
"""""" TT Desktop. The only differences are in that the desktop must
interface to different hardware. Functionally, they are the same [*]
To contact Explorer magazine: send e-mail to EXPLORER here on GEnie or
call them at 718-545-2900, fax 718-545-8200. Use GEnie's new FAX
service!!! [*]
>>> ODDS & ENDS <<<
"""""""""""""""""""
TT PRICES The current TT prices are:
"""""""""
TT030/2-50 $2399.95
TT030/4-50 $2799.95
TT030/8-80 $3799.95
(DOUG.W, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:124/M475)
MORE SPEED PLEASE There are topics about specific accelerators where
""""""""""""""""" you can get a lot of information about the available
and the to-be-available accelerators that you can use in your Mega 4.
Category 4, Topic 11 Turbo 16 (Fast Technology)
Category 4, Topic 16 AdSpeed ST (ICD, Inc.)
Category 4, Topic 44 68030 SST (Gadgets By Small)
Specific information about each be found in each of those
respective topics. And any questions about them can be asked (and
answered) in those topics.
(JEFF.W, CAT4, TOP12, MSG:3/M475)
GRAMSLAM AUTHOR ON GEnie I just joined GEnie a couple of days ago, and
"""""""""""""""""""""""" was delighted to find many suggestions for
GramSlam. I've read and noted them all...right now, I'm struggling a
little with GEnie, and I'll reply to people individually once I get the
hang of it. (P.COMEAU1, CAT13, TOP13, MSG:30.M475)
>>> ATARIAN MINDS WANT TO KNOW! <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(Facts, Fiction & Maybe)
QUICK ST & OVERSCAN I've sent a copy of the latest Quick ST to the
""""""""""""""""""" Overscan guys in Germany. They'll report back and
let me know after they test it on all their various revisions of the
software and hardware whether it runs on every single version of Over-
scan. The code is now completely resolution independent so it doesn't
matter if you boot up in 640x400 mode and then switch to 1280x960 or
768x496 or whatever on the fly.
(BRASOFT, CAT2, TOP13, MSG:130/M475)
XYZ UPDATE I'm (at LAST!) putting the final touches on XYZ v2.01.
"""""""""" Included in the new version:
o A more detailed status report for ZMODEM transfers.
o Files to upload can be specified in a text file.
o Files transferred successfully can be listed in a text file.
o XYZ can abort immediately if the modem drops carrier.
o Extended ZMODEM options can be specified while uploading, to
make it easier to use XYZ with other ZMODEM programs.
o XYZ can be set to only accept one file during a session.
Any last requests?
(STARFALL, CAT8, TOP14, MSG:89/M475)
DIAMOND BACK II 2.20 The good news: Diamond Back II V2.20 is complete
"""""""""""""""""""" and ready to ship. The good news: I have the
manuals from the printer and they look great. The good news: I have the
registration cards from the printer and they look great. The good news:
I have the envelopes inserted into the inside of the manuals (ready for
disks) and I have the sealing sticker from the printer and they look
great. The good news: I have the shipping material & envelopes and am
ready to go: The bad news: The disk labels will not be ready until
next Friday. The printer evidently had to farm out the work to a large
disk label company in the east and they will not be able to get to them
until the middle of next week + shipping time = next friday promised
arrival. So I have a new projected ship date for V2.20 of March 16,
1991 (B.LUNESKI1, CAT2, TOP42, MSG:144/M475) [EDITED]
BREACH III? Called Omnitrend today to get the new version of
""""""""""" Breach II. According to the person I talked to the next
Breach interlocking section will be called "Rules of Engagement" and be
an outer space theme. Due out later this year.
(D.SCARPA, CAT9, TOP80, MSG:73/M475)
CODEHEADS, CAN YOU? Can the Codeheads write a utility to separate
""""""""""""""""""" GEnie messages captured by Aladdin ST into
separate text files for each topic?
(R.OUANCE, CAT32, TOP11, MSG:86/M475) [EDITED]
>>>>> Has anyone ever asked whether you have psychic powers? Wait
""""" until you see what I've got up my sleeve. (It's going to be a
Little Green Footballs shareware program, and it does everything you
suggested and a lot more...I just have to write the docs....)
(C.F.JOHNSON, CAT32, TOP11, MSG:87/M475)
SCRIPT 2 I spoke with Jeff at Megamax about Script 2. It has been
"""""""" released for sale in Germany but will NOT be released in the
US. There were only a few relatively minor upgrades outside of adding
a spell checker. Since Megamax ALREADY put a spell checker (and a
pretty good one) in the US version they are currently distributing,
there was really no good reason to bring in Script 2.
Unfortunately, Script 2 still uses the proprietary Signum fonts
which are limited to 15 point size maximum, etc. There are no plans
from Germany to convert Script for use with FSM GDOS. Bummer...
(REMO, CAT13, TOP5, MSG:29/M475)
EXPLORER MAGAZINE Their second new issue is now at the press, with
""""""""""""""""" the third one going to "bed" RSN. They're back in
the saddle again!
(BOB-BRODIE, CAT14, TOP30, MSG:158/M475)
ATW NO MORE The ATW has been or is being discontinued by Atari. This
""""""""""" information came from Atari GmbH (Germany).
(ICDINC, CAT14, TOP38, MSG:54/M475)
LEXICOR NEWS Talked to Lee @ Lexicor today. He said that the product
"""""""""""" is done! They are waiting on the printer to finish
printing the manuals-n-boxes. Lee also told me about this 24-Bit color
board from Germany called MATRIX. It has resolutions from 320 X 200
w/like 256 colors to 4096 X 4010 w/4 Colors (Or something REAL close to
that). He said that the Lexicor stuff works great with it! It does
require a TT thou because it is a VME card. Their (Lexicor's) 24-Bit
color board is scheduled for around June (YES, of this year <g>) with a
price tag of around $400.00. For those of you that can't wait, Lee said
the MATRIX VME Board is around $650.00.
(ERIDDLE, CAT18, TOP21, MSG:162/M475)
>>>>> They also alluded to the fact that their new boards will be up-
""""" ward compatible with Atari's future 24-bit true color machines,
as well as the NewTek Video Toaster (YES ON THE TT!!) Call Lexicor for
more on this juicy info...
(B.LEONARD3, CAT4, TOP5, MSG:9/M475)
STalker/STeno I'm not planning to make a major new release of STeno to
""""""""""""" coincide with STalker 3. If I do a STeno 2, it may well
be sold as a separate product. STalker will always have a version of
STeno included, but if two STeno's exist, the smaller/simpler one would
ship with STalker.
(E.ROSENQUIST, CAT8, TOP29, MSG:106/M475) [EDITED]
>>>>> I hope Eric won't kill me.. But, STalker 3.0 will do auto receive on
""""" ZMODEM receives.
(TOWNS, CAT8, TOP29, MSG:8/M475)
MICROPROSE & THE ST For you Microprose fans, they will be releasing
""""""""""""""""""" F15SEII, RAILROAD TYCOON and LIGHTSPEED for the
ST via Europe within the next few months.
(R.GRIDLEY, CAT9, TOP9, MSG:92/M475) [EDITED]
TURBO C/ST The last I heard from Borland GmbH is that they are trying
"""""""""" to work out a deal where maybe in the near future some
employees/outside company will buy out Turbo C/ST and continue its
development outside the company. They *love* the product, but Borland
U.S.A. is putting some heavy pressure on them.
(R.FLASHMAN, CAT17, TOP13, MSG:29/M475)
UNIVERSAL IV? No, no UIS IV in the works at the current time. But
""""""""""""" you're going to get a TT compatible UIS 3.3. <grin>
Chris is just finishing it up now.
(LEPULLEY, CAT2, TOP2, MSG:80/M475)
SIM_TALK SimEarth will be out in early summer, and SimCity II will be
"""""""" released in about a year. They are currently taking any \
suggestions you might have on how to make Sim City II better... If there
is anything you'd like changed or added, be sure to write Maxis and tell
them. Also, don't forget Populous II is going to be here in late summer
as well! (^= (J.ROY18, CAT9, TOP47, MSG:48/M475)
>>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Atari-ST RoundTable
Category 14, Topic 29
Message 23 Sun Mar 24, 1991
S.LIVERSIDGE [STEVE L] at 03:12 EST
Alias: Holding back from buying a computer because "you're not
sure" will do nothing but add to your indecision.
Any computer you buy is obsolete by the time you plunk down your
money. I bought my first "complete" computer, a Kaypro 2, at a large
national computer show in 1984. Ten minutes after I purchased it I saw
a better deal. Was I depressed? You bet! But I consoled myself with
the knowledge that I had made a good purchase: it did what I wanted it
to, at a price I could afford, and ended up doing it for four-and a half
years.
I now own a Stacy, for which I waited quite a while (about a year.)
About a week after I got it, I became depressed (two depressions in
seven years isn't bad) because it didn't change my life. I'd waited for
it so long that my expectations were very high. But dang it, it does
_less_ than me Mega does!
And it does more. It's portable!
However, I adhere to the adage that if I can but it it's obsolete.
That doesn't bother me, because it does what I want it to do, at a price
I was willing to pay (actually, my dealer quite impressed me with the
price.)
What I'm trying to say, in my long-winded way, is that if you wait
to buy a Stacy now, you'll only be presented with a new machine to
hesitate over in the future.
In the computer world, something new is only weeks away, and if you
wait for the perfect machine, you'll end up waiting forever.
[*][*][*]
While on GEnie, do you spend most of your time downloading files?
If so, you may be missing out some excellent information in the Bulletin
Board area. The messages listed above only scratch the surface of
what's available and waiting for you in the bulletin board area.
If you are serious about your Atari, the GEnie Lamp staff strongly
urge you to give the bulletin board area a try. There are literally
thousands of messages posted from people like you from all over the
world.
////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Elsewhere in territory #87 of PowerMonger, I ran across a /
/ group of what appear to be Century 21 agents (at least their /
/ jackets look like it) that seem to be performing unnatural /
/ acts on some sheep (deceased ones at that). Real strange!" /
///////////////////////////////////////////////// C.KERNS ////
[EOA]
[GAM]//////////////////////////////
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY /
/////////////////////////////////
ST Game Power!
""""""""""""""
o FALCON ST: Landing & Other Hints & Tips
o WINNING BREACH II
o CHECKMATE: The Best Yet?
FALCON ST HINTS & TIPS
""""""""""""""""""""""
LANDING FALCON ST There are lots of different ways to land your F-16,
""""""""""""""""" but what I do is aim for a certain set of
parameters. I try to be at around 110 to 120 knots, AOA of about 10
degrees, flight path ladder almost at zero, and my plane's nose in the
air. Make sure you're as parallel to the runway and right down the
center as you can be. What you're aiming for is a "controlled" stall
above the runway. It helps a lot to pitch the nose of the plane up at
the last minute.
The new version makes landing much, much easier. I apologize for
the difficulty in landing in version 1.0, but to be truthful, I never
had any problems with it. OTOH, I learned how to land in Mac FALCON
version 1.0 which was, by far, the most difficult! The FALCON designers
deliberately left in the MiG threat all the way back to the airbase.
I've actually made it back a few times with a MiG on my tail and no
ammo. But in FALCON Mission Disks I and II, we added an air defense
around your runway. Makes landing much nicer!
The latest version of ST FALCON is version 1.2. If you're a
registered owner, you can upgrade to the latest version by sending in
your original FALCON Disk 1 and $5.00 to Spectrum HoloByte, Attn: ST
FALCON, 2061 Challenger Drive, Alameda, CA 94501.
(HOLOBYTE, CAT9, TOP34, MSG:82/83/M475) [EDITED]
>>>>> Landings??? learn from my mistakes!!! Come in at 8,000 ft at 16
""""" miles out and drop 1000 ft for every mile (I'm not a pilot as
you can tell). Use the brakes and flaps to maintain 250 knots dropping
down to 150 under 1000 ft. Make sure you change the pitch angle
(indicated on left view) to get the nose up while descending. Hit the
BACK of the runway, shutdown throttle, hit the wheel brakes, air
brakes, & flaps and hope you stop before you run out of runway. Once I
had the front wheel over the end of the runway and I stopped just before
the back wheels went over!
All I can say is that this works for me and I don't worry about
landing anymore, even at the colonel level. If your not lined up and
things aren't going right, abort the landing and circle. You may also
want to jettison extra fuel and weapons to make the jet more
controllable. (K.DUGGAN, CAT9, TOP34, MSG:78/M475)
>>>>> I've given up on instrument landing - sometimes the bird is
""""" injured and I don't want the approach that the ILS wants me to
take... sometimes you just have to park where you can!
I like to hit the pave at 100 to 150 knots. I use flaps and brakes
to achieve this speed, toggling them off when it comes near and back on
if needed. Just as I'm below 300 feet I make sure the nose is just
below the horizon level, and she comes down nice and soft. I've made a
few dead stick landings, and forgetting ILS is great training for when
that isn't an option!
I'd skip Captain and go up to Major level. The flying is realistic
and the things you learn will hold through right up to Colonel, except
for those BIG mistakes like rolls and such while carrying an external
fuel tank, etc. Give it a try!
(R.GREGORY4, CAT9, TOP34, MSG:75/M475)
ATTENTION BREACH PLAYERS Here's a couple of tips for Breach players,
"""""""""""""""""""""""" old and new....
First, grab DCMSHIFT from the ST library. Then configure it to
use the right mouse button as the ALTERNATE key. It really saves wear
and tear on the arms moving between squad members, no more reaching for
the ALT key on the keyboard. You still have to reach for the SHIFT key
for facing movements but that is far less than switching between
characters...
If you haven't noticed, carrying heavy objects really weighs your
guys down (pun intended). To gain some vitality and movement points,
set your heavy items, detectors, crackers, gravbelts, remote charges,
down between turns.
A real cheat to be used only in extreme cases: You can use the
datapacks and prisoners as shields... place them at the turn in a
bend. The enemy will not advance past the object and will wait for
you to kindly blast them away. NOTE: It doesn't work in straight
hallways, etc. because the enemy will fire OVER the object...ouch!
In BREACH II you can use dug-up prox charges to block doors, ok in
theory I haven't had anyone come in yet...
What's the advanced version I read about??? Working on a Breach
III? Need a beta tester or input from a imaginative source?
Having fun in the Federated World. BTW didn't they open a chain
of consumer electronics stores??? :-)
(GR.JULIAN, CAT9, TOP80, MSG:72/M475)
CHECKMATE INFO Here's some info on CHeckmate from the manual:
""""""""""""""
Playing 10 games, 5 of each color, with both programs set on
maximum skill, at 30-45 seconds per move, CHeckmate did as follows:
Chessmaster 2000 9 - 1
Colossus Chess X 9 1/2 - 1/2
Psion Chess 7 - 3
Sargon 4 9 1/2 - 1/2
1 point for win, 1/2 point for draw. As you see Checkmate
destroyed them.
Also, from my own tests:
TIME ELO USCF Tranpostition (seconds) +/- 50
Approx. Eq. Table Memory
5 1487 1587 256K
10 1637 1737 256K
25 1750 1850 256K
50 1862 1962 256K
75 1937 2037 256K
If I load off a floppy to boost Table MEM to 512K, each ELO score
should increase by about 100-150 points. This is a stock 8mhz 68000.
Faster CPU's, and larger memory models increase scores even more. Not
only is CHeckmate the strongest chess program around, it also has
300,000 opening moves, and about 80,000 belong to the 100 or so "named"
moves. Now, when you play your favorite openings, Checkmate will tell
you the name of the opening, and the name of the defense/offense it is
using, and you can force it to use any opening, for either color, from
the list. Ex: You can force the Silician Defence, or any of the 15-20
listed variations of it, to be played by black, etc etc.
It's just fantastic. Buy it, love it, live it. (^= If I go to
512K tables, and run 75 seconds per move, it should be about 2200USCF
level. I'll be doing the actual tests tomorrow at the higher table
size, and tell you about them then. It's awesome...
(GR.JULIANA, CAT9, TOP68, MSG:323/M475)
////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Or, you could just pound the SST to pieces and pour it into /
/ the Stacy through the cartridge slot. That has the advantage /
/ of easy installation and no additional power consumption." /
//////////////////////////////////////////// G.RICHARDSO1 ////
[EOA]
[MEL]//////////////////////////////
MEL'S MANOR /
/////////////////////////////////
[*]Expanding Your Horizons
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
by Mel Motogawa
[M.MOTOGAWA]
o ABBREVIATOR ST: Expanding Your Horizons
o PS's: Library Highlights
Abbreviator ST - Expanding Your Horizons
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I'm always interested in anything that can improve my productivity.
A program or utility that will allow me to type less while getting more
done will soon find its way into my budget. If you haven't already
downloaded the demo of ABBREVIATOR ST in the ST files section, be sure
to check it out, as it has some unique features that are bound to
improve anyone's productivity.
Abbreviator ST is a small 25k long desk accessory that works in
medium or high resolution. A commercial program complete with a manual,
it comes on a single-sided diskette and is not copy protected. When
preassigned abbreviations are typed, the corresponding expansion will be
substituted in its place, greatly reducing the amount of typing
required.
[Abbrev01.pc2,3 here]
Abbreviations are displayed in Abbreviator ST by a scrollable
window which displays 9 abbreviations at a time and shows the first 35
characters of each expansion. As you create new ones, they are sorted
by the abbreviations. To edit an abbreviation you can either double-
click on it, or single-click it and then click on Edit. A Control-click
is a shortcut for deleting an abbreviation from your list.
To give you an example of the utility of Abbreviator ST, the
letters "ab" could be expanded to "Abbreviator ST". Each time you type
these letters and hit the spacebar, the expansion takes place and you
save yourself typing 12 extra characters. However, the amount of work
you save yourself is by no means this limited.
[Abbrev02.pc2,3 here]
Expanded abbreviations can be up to 255 characters long with a
variety of editing keys available for inclusion within the expansion.
The Up, Down, Left, Right Arrow keys, Tab, Return, and Escape keys can
be represented within your expansion by pressing Control and the
appropriate character. [ Abbrev03.pc2,3 here] With the help of these
editing keys, your expansion could be simple or complex. A few
sentences or perhaps some tabular output in your word processor by using
the Tab key along with your data. It could simplify the task of adding
repetitious data to several fields in a database record, being able to
perform operations such as jumping to the next field via the arrow keys
and clearing any existing data via the Escape key, if that is how your
database works. Addresses, complex terms, common phrases could be
assigned a simple abbreviation and when they are typed, the expansion
takes place. A special character which can be inserted at the end of an
expansion is the Supress character (Control-S) which, after playback of
your expansion, does not add a space at the end.
The Capture function of Abbreviator ST is especially handy. Let's
say you just typed in an address during some word processing and then
realize that you will be needing it somewhere down the road in a few
other spots. Just access Abbreviator ST in the GEM desk accessory menu
and click on Capture. The last 200 characters typed will be displayed
in an editing window for you to edit, assign an abbreviation and save.
Now that address will be at your service the next time you need it.
Sets of abbreviations can be loaded and saved from disk. If you
want to create a really big abbreviation file, the Configuration section
[Abbrev04.pc2,3 here] allows you to increase the size of the memory
buffer that holds the .abr file and also shows you some handy statistics
like how many abbreviations are in the current file, the abbreviation
file's name and what percentage of the memory buffer is currently being
used. Here you can also change the keypress that turns Abbreviator ST
off/on from the keyboard. With an 8k memory buffer, my copy of
Abbreviator ST only used 29k of memory.
The speed at which an abbreviation is expanded is very impressive.
I formerly used Thunder's Learn feature to correct common misspellings
in my writing. Like substituting "receive" for "recieve", or
"sincerely" for "sincerly". But I didn't like the fact that its
dictionary had to be loaded and the slowdown in response Thunder cast on
my system. Abbreviator ST doesn't appear to slow down my system one bit
and can replace a corrupt spelling turbo fast. I assign my common
misspellings in the abbreviation section and the correct spelling in the
expansion section and Abbreviator ST takes care of the rest.
The manual for Abbreviator ST is a 6x9, 11 page, spiral bound one
with a soft cover. Most manuals this long are usually just a few sheets
of paper stapled together, if at all, so I thought it was commendable
that the author went to as much trouble to make it look more
professional. Much of the information was in the document file that
came with the demo version, so I really didn't need to rely on the
manual that much to get me up to speed.
[Abbrev05.pc2,3 here]
To give you a feel for Abbreviator ST, a demo version has been
uploaded to the ST Roundtable files section. ABBREVST.LZH (#18707). It
works like the original except that you are limited to 9 expansions.
This version also corrects problems encountered when using Abbreviator
ST with Word Writer ST. If you do much word processing or just come in
contact with your ST's keyboard a lot in your day to day activities,
Abbreviator ST can save you much time and energy. Why not download the
demo today?
Abbreviator ST 1.1
$19.95
Kyle Cordes
3815 Greengrass Dr.
Florissant, MO 63033
(314) 921-0614
P.S's
"""""
GRAMSLAM A new demo, GRAMSLAM.ARC (#18735), of the Gramslam grammar
"""""""" checking program has been uploaded by Phil Comeau. Gramslam
is a unique program in the ST marketplace allowing you to check your
documents for wordy phrases, grammatical errors and misused words. It's
also good to see Phil online, on GEnie. Welcome, Phil!
IMG TO ICN CONVERTER Are you using the new HotSaver? Would you like
"""""""""""""""""""" to create some custom icons for it, but you don't
have Degas? A program uploaded by Chet Walters, IMG2ICN.ARC (#18713),
allows you to convert IMG format files to Degas' .icn format. Now
there's no need to purchase Degas, just buy the commercial HotSwap
package from John Eidsvoog and you can replace the current HotSaver
icons with your own. IMG2ICN was a lifesaver for me since I had HotSwap
but didn't have Degas.
NEW TELECOM PROGRAM Background Zmodem transfers? A recent upload
""""""""""""""""""" RUFUS102.ARC (#18694) advertises this, but the
docs are in German. If anyone can translate these and upload them, that
would be terrific. Looks like a nice program, if only I could read
German.
HOTSAVER UPDATE The HotSaver screensaver, mouse accelerator and more
""""""""""""""" is now up to version 1.5. HOTSAVE2.LZH (#18672). If
you don't have Hotwire and find yourself using this, be sure to register
your copy with the author John Eidsvoog.
HELP, HELP If you find yourself trying to backspace over a mistake and
errantly hitting the Help key, DC_BHELP.ARC (#18660) is just what the
doctor ordered. Will convert a press of the Help key into a Backspace,
use Control-Help for the Help key.
(The file number in the ST RT library is shown next to the filename.)
///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Whoooo whooooo whoooooo Yikes! It's the coppers! Run!!! /
/ Topic police!" /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// T.MCCOMB ////
[TIP]//////////////////////////////
ATARI_QWIK_TIPS /
/////////////////////////////////
Atarians Helping Atarians
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
o ATARI_TIPS: Odds & Ends
o SPECTRE 128 OWNERS: Making It Easy.
o RFI TROUBLES? Try This.
o 1.0 TOS? Upgrade!
ATARI_TIPS: Odds & Ends
"""""""""""""""""""""""
TOS 1.4 & FOLDRXXX One thing that should be noted: Under TOS 1.4, if
"""""""""""""""""" you run out of folders, TOS will print a message
telling you that you need to run FOLDRXXX.PRG and lock up. Although
this is annoying, it's a darn sight better than how TOS 1.0 handled
things: if it ran out folders, it could scramble your disk directory.
If you never see TOS 1.4's out-of-folders message, you're okay.
(STARFALL, CAT4, TOP58, MSG:32/M475)
ONE PAGE TOO MANY A suggestion for those who may be getting an extra
""""""""""""""""" blank page. Calamus will send an extra blank page
with the DeskJet, and I would assume other similar feed printers, if
even a very little bit of the image goes beyond it's bottom border.
Remember the DeskJet and most Laser printers will not print a full 11
inches. If you try it will print the rest in the next page.
(J.MEEHAN3, CAT16, TOP2, MSG:81/M475)
HARD DRIVE DYING? Don't trust it any more than you have to. With
""""""""""""""""" prices for 20meg drives so cheap, treat the drive
you have as-though it were going to self destruct in two minutes.
(seriously) Once the bearings start to go on a hard drive, you can
count the remaining life in months (if lucky) or hours (if you're not).
I'd get a new one asap and only keep the old drive in-use long enough to
transfer the data to the new drive and then put the old one on the
shelf.
How much would you loose if your drive stopped running today? So
little that you would not mind loosing any of it or enough that you'd
kick yourself into the next state for not spending the $150-$200 a new
drive would have cost?
(JLS, CAT4, TOP30, MSG:78/M475)
>>>>> Be aware that much of the screeching heard on drives is simply
""""" lint between the shaft head and ground strap (both are uncovered
and exposed). If a user can get to these, simple cleaning with a soft
brush will remove the lint.
The screeching is not always indicative of bearings going out. Of
course it is an almost-requirement to have a drive backed up; I do it
weekly. But with hard drive fans sucking dust in, a hard drive
mechanism will be covered with dust after only a few months of use.
Users complaining of "drives going out" due to screeching should first
check to see dust is the problem on the shaft and ground strap.
Usually dust can be diagnosed by the nature of the screech. If it
is alternating in noise (screeching and then quiet, screeching and
quiet), then most likely it is dust.
Always assume the positive on these things or one is liable to worry
himself to death.
(LRYMAL, CAT4, TOP30, MSG:79/M475)
PAYS TO BE CAREFUL I think you're on the right track. Go in and
"""""""""""""""""" reseat all socketed chips and test the +5 volts.
And while I'm recommending that we all take our computers apart
<oh boy!> let me make this one observation. The toughest thing to fix
of all the problems I have caused by opening my 1040's is the connector
on the keyboard! Use care not to stress the wires when you remove and
install the keyboard.
(MUSE, CAT4, TOP38, MSG:168/M475)
PERFECT FIT, ALMOST The replacement drive that I recommend is a TEAC.
""""""""""""""""""" The track to track performance is the best I've
seen. It only uses +5VDC and I believe the maximum current draw is
right at around 300mA. It plugs right in with absolutely no wiring
modification. Pushing it beyond the standard 40 or 80 track format is
no problem. The drive seems to hold up very well. Depending on the
style ATARI drive that is in your MEGA, very little modification to the
faceplate of the CPU case is required. And the TEAC is very quiet.
(M.DODGE, CAT4, TOP14, MSG:28/M475)
SPECTRE 128 OWNERS There is now a more convenient way to transfer
"""""""""""""""""" Macintosh software onto Spectre format disks! With
the release of version three of the Spectre software and the use of a
utility called DOS Mounter, one can now interchange BOTH applications
and data files almost as effortlessly as with the GCR! This new method
is MUCH faster than using a Translator One, 2400 baud modem, or waiting
for a friend with a GCR to convert it for you :). The only restriction
on the Mac end is that the Mac must be equipped with a FDHD or Super-
Drive. The newest Mac models and the Mac II series have this built-in
I believe.
I will admit that I have had some disks that were not recognized by
the Mac desktop or could not be copied on the first try even if they did
mount successfully (I don't know if this can be attributed to the Mac
drive that was being used, interleave factors, "Turbo Scsi", or the fact
that I am still using the demo version of DOS Mounter_I'm definitely not
a Mac techie), but for the most part, the transfers have been a click
and a drag away.
This "revelation" was definitely not made readily apparent to
Spectre 128 owners (yes, we're still out there!) by reading the news-
letter or update manual, so I thought I would share this information
here. If the reason was that this method of transfer can cause trouble,
please tell me; so far, I have encountered zero problems with apps
transferred onto my Spectre partition in this manner. I doubt the
makers of DOS Mounter ever thought its users would be putting Mac
applications onto dos disks. Guess they can advertise that feature for
the Spectre 128 crowd :). So, for those who weren't able to participate
in the one-time 128 trade-n/GCR rebate, you are now much closer to
the usefulness of the GCR. Thanks Dave Small! (for the new sw, that is
:)).
If anyone needs to know the exact steps required, please reply so.
It is pretty straightforward: Stick dos mounter in the system folder,
format a 720K 9sec/trk disk labeled DEMO (if you're not using the
commercial version), and copy away!
(D.SHORR, CAT7, TOP68, ,SG:150/M475)
RFI TROUBLES? Try this procedure to help isolate if it *is*, in fact,
""""""""""""" RFI or something similar:
Remove the cover and shielding off of your Mega. CAREFULLY plug in
your Spectre and other cables.....with the power cord going in LAST.
NOTE: With the power cord in, even with the ST turned off, the power
supply heat sinks are "hot"...to the tune of 300 volts!!!! Don't touch
ANY part of the power supply!!
Power up the ST as normal and go into Mac mode. Using a program
like Disk Dup + set the drive to reading an entire Mac disk. When the
drive starts "hesitating" on a particular portion of the disk, gently
lift the floppy drive (you will have removed the screws when you took
off the cover and shield) and move it away from the ST and away from
the power supply (ie, towards you). If the drive starts reading again
then move it gently back towards the ST and see if it stops again.
This is the procedure I used to originally discover the problems
with the power supply RFI.
If your problems are during drive WRITES then you could use some
nonconductive (cardboard) small box to suspend the drive above and away
from the motherboard and power supply while it ran thru the GCR Tester
steps.
If this still fails then the floppy drive in question is likely
actually filtering out the Mac data as "noise" and I sure don't know
what to recommend from that point.
Again: DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! The power supply is a dangerous
dude when powered up.
(STACE, CAT7, TOP55, MSG:128/M690)
UPGRADING TOS If I recall correctly, you have one of the original
""""""""""""" ST's? If so, there should be a row of 28 pin sockets
along the left side of the circuit board. The socket closest to the
front of the ST should have a U7 silkscreened next to it and the last
socket back has a U2. U7 and U4 should have ROM chips in them already.
As Wayne mentioned, you want to take some anti-static precautions
before starting. A wrist strap from Radio Shack is a worthwhile
investment. Spreading some aluminum foil over your work surface with a
wire attached to ground will do in a pinch.
Use a small piece of tape to mark and identify the two chips in the
sockets (incase you need to replace them). Also notice the chips have
small indentation or a dot on the right hand side, you will want to
install the new chips facing the same way. Now take a small flat blade
screwdriver and carefully pry the two chips from their socket. Work
each end up just a little at a time so you don't bend the pins.
The 6 TOS 1.0 ROM's should have CO2616X-001 marked on them with the
X ranging from 0 to 5. You want to install the chips with the 0 in the
back socket and the 5 in the front:
=========================== Back of ST ===========================
--------------
| CO26160-001 ( U2
--------------
--------------
| CO26161-001 ( U3
--------------
--------------
| CO26261-001 ( U4
--------------
--------------
| CO26163-001 ( U5
--------------
--------------
| CO26164-001 ( U6
--------------
--------------
| CO26165-001 ( U7
--------------
========================== Front of ST ==============================
Be very careful not to bend any pins inserting the chips. It may
take a little force to get them to seat evenly in the socket. When you
are done, check again to make sure the chips are oriented correctly and
that no pins are bent. Hopefully, this should do it.
Good luck! Of course all normal disclaimers apply, you could
damage your computer. If you have never handled IC's before, I
recommend you seek the help of a dealer or some other qualified
individual. (ST-INFORMER, CAT4, TOP13, MSG:58/M475)
[EOA]
[TEL]//////////////////////////////
TELETALK ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
[*]The Ultimate Emulator
""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Terry Quinn
[T.QUINN1]
The Ultimate Emulator
"""""""""""""""""""""
or
(Dr. Frankensteins Monster Revisited)
Emulator - a pack of hardware and software tricks dealt to the
user by the manufacturer, allowing the user to
acquire a more expensive replacement system without
the attendant improvements of an Upgrade.
Ever look through a Computer Shopper and get envious of those 33MHZ
486 Messydos systems while stuck with your ST?? Well, all is not lost.
If you follow the suggestions in this article while applying a little
creative engineering of your own, you can have the Ultimate System to
make your fellow computer users jealous.
First, since the ST is notoriously short on space, you will
probably need to find another case to hold your new improved computer.
Because the object is to make other people envious of your new system,
I would suggest starting with a trip to your local computer junkyard.
Since the more space you have, the easier it will be to make everything
fit, you should look for a used case for a really sexy computer,
something like an IBM mainframe or a Cray. While you are at it, you
might want to pick up some miscellaneous additional hardware like
multipole switches, a patch bay, wires (all kinds with as many colors as
possible), and maybe some mounting hardware. A used terminal case or
two might also be nice as well.
You will also want to get a few items by mail order like a sexy
expensive MeSsyDos system, a multisynch monitor, and a couple of
commercial adaptors for the ST (keyboard & monitor). You should also
make sure that your sexy system has a few items which are not standard
in the MeSsyDos world like a large SCSI hard drive and lots of memory.
In case of this project, mail order is preferable to shopping locally
for two reasons: First, local dealers might question your sanity for
starting such a project. Second, since no one is in a position to
provide you with any technical support, you might as well go with
companies which are used to providing all sorts of things with no
questions asked.
Once you get everything home, you are ready to start.
First, take apart both the ST and the MeSsyDos computers since you
will be mounting their respective parts inside your new cabinet. Using
various assorted pieces of mounting hardware, mount all of the boards
and other components inside the cabinet. Using the colorful wires and
ribbon cables, wire up the patch bay and multipole switches so as to
enable you to switch between the various systems. You should strive to
wire the whole mess together so that when the back of the cabinet is
open, the wires look like the wiring in a Cray 1. Again remember that
an ounce of image is worth a pound of performance. The switches should
be mounted in such a way as to enable you to switch between the
different systems without dismantling the whole shebang. All patch
connections and switches should be labeled in an obscure fashion so as to
add a bit of mystique.
When you finally get everything together, plug it in and smell for
smoke. If it doesn't smell hot, you should proceed to attempt to boot
the various systems. Since you started with two working computers, your
odds are 50 50 that they will probably work after a fashion. If it
doesn't work, carefully trace your wiring and look for either open
circuits or shorts, the two most likely causes for trouble. If you
cannot find anything obvious, put on your witch doctors outfit and
attempt to exorcise the demons which have somehow come to inhabit your
system. Chants such as:
"Bittie, bytie, bytie bit
Holy, holy, holy, s**t
Bytie, bitty, bitty, byte
Holy, holy, holy, shyte!"
Often prove efficacious as will songs such as:
(sung to the tune of "This Old Man")
This computer, it played one.
Push "start and program run"
Holy Moly 360/85
Come on computer come alive!
This machine, it played two.
Overloaded voltage to the CPU
Holy Moly 360/85
Come on computer come alive!
(invent additional verses as necessary)
If all else fails, a blunt instrument will often work wonders (at
least for your nerves).
Assuming you get your system up and running, you will next need to
prepare a demonstration to make your friends jealous. While choosing the
proper
programs can be important it is even more important to achieve
the proper atmosphere. Locate your system in a basement (or in a tall
tower if you have one), train an assistant (preferably hunchbacked), and
prepare to give the show of a lifetime. I guarantee your friends will
never forget it.
[EOA]
[HAC]//////////////////////////////
HACKN' ATARI /
/////////////////////////////////
[*]On Your Own: Upgrade Your 520fm
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Mark L. Dodge
[M.DODGE2]
[NOTE: As with all do-it-yourself modifications, you are
responsible for all risks involved. The ST RoundTable,
GEnie, GEnie LAMP and Mark Dodge are not responsible for
any damage incurred as a result of undertaking this
upgrade. Know what you are doing, before you do it!]
[TX2: This article contains highly detailed TX2 diagrams.
Due to the elaborate graphics involved, these pics are
best viewed on a monochrome monitor. Therefore, these
pictures are not included in the LMP221_C.LZH file.]
UPGRADING YOUR 520STfm MEMORY TO 1 MEGABYTE
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(C)opyright 1991, Mark L. Dodge
One of the first enhancements I added to my ST just after I
purchased it was more memory. I couldn't wait to add the 16 256K DRAM
chips that I had bought at a local computer swap meet. This was back in
early 1987 when AT clones were just starting to come out all over the
place. Everyone that I knew thought that 1MB of memory was a relatively
large amount. And most of my computing colleagues laughed at me. They
would say things like, "That thing can access 1MB of memory?" They all
owned XT-Clones. But I was bound and determined to install a RAM-DISK
that was at least 500K in size. So I set out on a three day expedition,
cutting, trimming and signal tracing on my motherboard with a Tektronix
O-Scope trying to get the new memory to come to life. (You need to
remember that this was before the F or FM version of the 520ST was on
the street. And the only way to upgrade that I knew of was to "piggy-
back" the extra chips.)
Well, I finally got it working. Now my wife has that very same
computer on her desk at home. She uses it primarily for sequencing MIDI
arrangements. It still has that same 1MB upgrade installed. And I have
never witnessed a single minute of trouble with it.
Now-a-days, with the newer 520STfm's on the market. It's much
easier to install that additional 512K DRAM for a full compliment of 1
megabyte. The locations for the extra memory chips are already provided
for right on the motherboard. Basically, a 520STfm is a 1040ST mother-
board with half of the memory chips not installed. So if your an
electronics enthusiast, and trust your soldering abilities, this
procedure can assist you with this relatively straight forward
installation.
PARTS & TOOLS LIST
""""""""""""""""""
o 1 15Watt soldering iron* (preferably grounded type)
o 1 container of tip tinner for conditioning the solder iron tip
o 1 damp sponge for periodic cleaning of solder iron tip
o 1 spray can of rosin and flux remover
o 40/60 rosin core type solder (very thin works best)
o 1 small pair of needle nose pliers
o 1 small pair of dikes
o 1 pair of tweezers
o 1 #1 or #2 phillips head screwdriver
o 1 medium size flat tip screwdriver
o 1 large safety pin or other pointed metal object
o 1 pair of safety glasses
o 16 22pF +/-5% capacitors 50V or less
o 16 41256 K DRAM chips (150nsec or faster refresh time)
o 3 68ohm 1/4Watt resistors (just in case)
o 5 or so 33ohm 1/4Watt resistors (just in case a couple
aren't installed)
o 6 feet or so of wire wrap wire for repairs if necessary
o 1 multi-meter for trouble isolation
* Using a 15 watt solder iron is best when soldering directly on IC
chips. A higher wattage rating is acceptable. But I would not
recommend any iron higher than 25 watts. If the tip of the iron is
showing signs of heavy usage, buy a new tip for it. This will save
you quite a bit of heart ache when working and greatly reduces the
amount of carbon build up at the solder joints.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
""""""""""""""""""
1. ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES WHEN WORKING WITH HOT SOLDER. IF IT
BECOMES AIRBORNE, IT CAN STICK TO YOUR EYE LIKE A CACTUS NEEDLE!
2. NEVER WORK ON ENERGIZED EQUIPMENT ALONE. IF YOU'RE NOT TROUBLE-
SHOOTING OR SIGNAL TRACING THE EQUIPMENT, THEN SECURE THE POWER
WHILE YOU WORK BY DISCONNECTING THE AC POWER CORD.
3. USE EXTREME CAUTION WHILE HANDLING PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS (I.E. THE
MOTHERBOARD).
4. DO NOT REMOVE OR INSTALL COMPONENTS WHILE POWER IS SUPPLIED.
5. DO NOT USE FREON-PROPELLED SPRAYS. THESE CAN GENERATE ELECTRICAL
CHARGES SUFFICIENT TO DAMAGE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SUCH AS DRAM
CHIPS ETC.
6. PERFORMING THIS UPGRADE PROCEDURE MAY TERMINATE OR VOID YOUR
WARRANTY.
7. DO NOT EXPOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT TO WATER OR ANY POSSIBLE WATER SOURCES.
8. PRACTICE YOUR SOLDERING TECHNIQUES ON SOME SCRAP CIRCUIT BOARDS AND
NOT YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM!
PREPARING A WORKSPACE You'll need plenty of light since most of the
""""""""""""""""""""" components that are being worked with are
relatively small. So set up a couple of lamps if necessary. Clear off
a large area on a workbench, desk or tabletop. Place a large, flat
piece of clean cardboard directly over the work area that the mother-
board will be resting on. If you own a PANAVISE that can accommodate
the ST motherboard, then use it. I find it much easier to work on the
flat cardboard surface. Rig yourself a grounding strip or pad if you
have one. If you don't. Run a long piece of wire through the nearest
access outside and stick an exposed end of the wire into the ground.
This works very well. It may seem kind of funny. But I feel safer
with that than some of the others I've seen in my time.
Some people I've seen like to place a soft towel down over their
workspace. And others will go as far as wrapping it up in aluminum
foil. I don't recommend either of these techniques. The towel can have
a large amount of static build up in it from the clothes dryer. It can
also become snagged on any of the component legs on the back of the
motherboard, bend them and possibly short two together. The aluminum
foil will shred very easily against the sharp component legs on the
backside of the motherboard. A small piece of the foil can become
stuck, and the possibility of shorting two component legs together
exists again.
OPENING THE COMPUTER CASE Place the computer face down and locate
""""""""""""""""""""""""" seven phillips head screws. Three along the
frontside and four along the backside. Using the phillips head screw-
driver, remove the seven phillips head screws and store them in a place
where they won't be lost accidentally.
Now locate three phillips head screws more towards the center and
off to the left hand side. These three screws hold the floppy disk
drive in place. Remove these three screws and set in a safe place.
(Note how long they are and the machine threads verses self-tapping
threads.)
While holding the top and bottom portions of the case together at
the sides, gently turn the computer over so that it is right side up
(keyboard showing). Start lifting the top of the case off at the left
hand side. Pay attention to the way the case top lifts away from the
disk drive on the right side of the computer. Set the case top in a
safe area away from where you are working. The more room you can
maintain, the better.
Turn the computer around so that you are looking at the ports on
the back. It may be necessary to remove the retaining screws on the
sides of each port before the RF shielding can be removed completely.
So study your computer configuration. If you are not sure, remove them
anyway. Use an appropriate sized nutdriver or small crescent wrench.
Place these retaining screws in a safe place.
Now turn the computer around so the ports are away from you.
Gently lift the keyboard and locate the connector under the right side
that attaches it to the motherboard. With two fingers, unplug the
connector and set the keyboard in a safe place where it won't get bumped
around. Be careful not to bend any of the pins on the motherboard where
the keyboard plugs in. If a few were bent accidentally, use the small
pair of needle nose pliers and carefully straighten them out.
Using the needle nose pliers, locate the retaining tabs around the
outside perimeter of the RF shielding and bend each tab so that it is
straight and lined up with the opening just underneath. The tabs along
the backside are difficult to get at sometimes. Double check everything
so that the top portion of the RF shielding will come off easily. If
you can't get at them with the needle nose pliers, use a flat tip
screwdriver and pry the tab straight by using a twisting motion.
Gently lift the RF shielding away from the motherboard by pulling
up at the right and left hand sides. It may be necessary to work the
top portion of the shielding loose by twisting on it. Use the flat tip
screwdriver to pry any stubborn areas loose.
With the top portion of the RF shielding removed, locate the power
supply (it should be on the back left side) and remove the two phillips
head screws securing the power supply to the motherboard. Remove the
power supply assembly after disconnecting the power connector from the
motherboard. Put aside in a safe place.
Locate the floppy disk drive on the right hand side and disconnect
the 34 pin ribbon style connector from the back of the drive.
Disconnect the power connector from the back of the floppy drive. Now
lift the drive out of the computer and store it in a safe place.
Now locate three screws along the front edge of the motherboard and
remove them. There should be three more screws along the back edge of
the motherboard. Remove these. Double check everything and make sure
all of the screws are removed that hold the motherboard in place.
Gently lift the motherboard out of the case bottom. The bottom portion
of RF shielding will lift out with the motherboard. Once this is
removed, separate the RF shield from the motherboard by pulling apart
at the sides. If the retaining tabs are straight, then removal is
relatively easy.
Place all of the RF shielding and computer case pieces in a safe
place where the parts won't get lost. Plug in the solder iron and
prepare to install the necessary electronic components.
INSTALLING THE FILTER CAPACITORS Refer to figure 1. Notice that in
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" between the lower and upper rows of
where the DRAM chips are installed there are locations for the small
capacitors (22pF). These capacitors "filter" any noise transients on
the voltage supply side feeding the DRAM chips. 16 are already
installed for the lower row of memory chips. Study your motherboard
configuration. Determine the locations for the new DRAM chips by
locating pin 8. There will be a solder run leading to where one side of
each capacitor is to be installed. Some of the holes may be filled
with a bluish, rubber compound. Use a safety pin or other sharp
object to clear each opening.
Holding the motherboard upright, insert the new capacitors in such
a way that they stay in place without any solder. Do not trim the leads
until after the solder has been applied. With all of the capacitors in
place, lay the motherboard down so that you are looking at the non-
component side. Now solder all of the capacitors in place. Make sure
that both the solder pad and capacitor lead get heated with the solder
iron as you apply new solder. This will help to avoid any cold solder
joints.
Once all of the new capacitors are installed, trim the capacitor
leads off with a small pair of dikes. It is necessary to trim them
short enough so that they won't short out on the RF shielding when it is
replaced.
INSTALLING THE 256K DRAM CHIPS Using the same sharp object in the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" previous step, clear all openings for
the DRAM locations. Hold the motherboard up to a light source and
inspect each opening for obstructions. Make sure they are all clear.
Insert the new DRAM chips in the appropriate openings on the
motherboard. It may be necessary to hold the chips from top to bottom
and bend the rows of legs slightly so that they will fit easily into the
motherboard. Just line one side of the legs up along the working
surface of cardboard and press gently until they are all straight up
and down along the chip package. The chips should remain in place
without any solder. Make sure they are all seated into the motherboard
as far as possible.
Turn the motherboard over so that you are looking at the non-
component side. Solder each leg of every memory chip into place.
Again, heat the solder pad and the chip leg at the same time when
applying the new solder. This will help to avoid cold solder joints.
There are 16 legs per chip. So take your time and double check your
work. When all of the chips are soldered into place, turn the mother-
board over so that you are looking at the component side.
MAKING SURE ALL NECESSARY RESISTORS ARE IN PLACE Refer to figure 1
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" again. Study the
resistor-to-signal relationship on the right side. The value of each
resistor is noted just below the lower row of DRAM chips. Make sure
that all necessary resistors are installed. If there are any missing,
install the appropriate resistor(s). If your motherboard configuration
is slightly different, use a multi-meter to check the signal relation-
ship of the DRAM chips (upper row) to the MMU chip(fig. 2 and fig. 3).
Take continuity readings for a full scale deflection to determine the
appropriate signal path. Refer to the signal pinout illustration on
the lower left of figure 1. While making continuity checks, you
observe a midscale deflection, then you are on the wrong pins and are
reading resistance through one or more of the DRAM chips.
Once all of the resistors are in place, double check your work by
taking continuity readings on every chip leg of every chip to the
corresponding signal at the MMU chip. Repair any cold solder joints if
encountered. Once all connections have been verified, prepare to re-
install the motherboard.
REASSEMBLY Before complete reassembly of the computer, attach the
"""""""""" bottom portion of the RF shield to the bottom of the
motherboard. Insert this portion into the bottom section of the
plastic CPU case. Insert the power supply and replace the phillips
head screws that hold it in place. Re-connect the power connector
from the power supply to the motherboard. Connect the floppy drive
controller cable (34 pin ribbon style) and the power connector to the
corresponding connectors on the back of the drive. Connect the keyboard
interface cable and position the keyboard in its appropriate location.
Now connect the monitor, mouse and power connector to the back of
the computer at the appropriate locations. Energize the computer and
make sure it is working properly. Use a memory test program to see if
the extra memory is being detected. If it is not, then there is
probably a faulty (cold) solder connection some where on one of the new
memory chips. Remove the motherboard once again and check all of the new
connections with a multi-meter taking continuity checks. Re-check all
of the resistors and capacitors to ensure that they are installed
properly on the motherboard.
Reassemble as outlined in the first paragraph of this section.
Turn the power on to the computer and re-test with a memory test
program. If the new memory is not being detected at all, there is still
a cold connection somewhere in the installation. If a bad chip exists,
then it will show up in the memory test program.
If all checks are good and the memory is detected then of course
the installation is successful. Reassemble the entire computer and wrap
it up!
If you are experiencing problems and are unable to get the extra
memory working (in a real bind and can't figure out where the problem
is). Call J & M Computer Specialties, 512-923-2811 and ask for Mark
(that's me). I'll be happy to provide you with what ever assistance I
can. Please call between the hours of 6:00pm to 9:00pm, MON-THU. Or
leave GEnie mail to M.DODGE2. (A very enthusiastic ST user!)
[EOA]
[PDQ]//////////////////////////////
PD_QUICKVIEW /
/////////////////////////////////
Yours For The Asking
""""""""""""""""""""
By Fred H. Koch
[F.KOCH]
Program Name : Encrypt
Filename : ENCRYPT.ARC
Library Area : 2
Program Number : 17731
File Size : 18900
Program Type : File Encryption
Author : Brien King [B.KING]
Version Reviewed: 1.0
File Type : Shareware ($10-25)
[*] [*] [*]
WHAT IT IS A file encryption program.
""""""""""
WHAT IT DOES Encrypt will encrypt any file using the key characters
"""""""""""" entered at the time of encryption. Without the key
characters the file will remain undecipherable.
How well does it work? The author can almost guarantee (Not Quite,
never know what kind of stuff they have on the CRAY) that the file will
be totally UnDecipherable unless the KEY and this program are available.
Here's Why:
1. File sizes do not change from the original
* 2. The same Bytes are never repeated.
3. The keys are variable size and can be ANY typeable
character.
4. Without the key, garbage will turn into garbage!
5. The key is never in the file.
* If you had a file 100 bytes long with all Zeros, there would
not be a pattern.
What is a KEY? and What should it be? A KEY is what is used to
encrypt the file. The encryption program uses the key to change each
byte of the file into something else. The KEY should be something that
you will remember! IF YOU LOSE THE KEY, THE FILE CANNOT BE RECOVERED!
Once encrypted with a KEY the only way to get the file back is with the
KEY! The keys themselves they can be up to the 32,000 Bytes (or the
length of the file) and can be any character that you can type on the
keyboard.
The program renames the encrypted file as xxxxx.ENC, xxxxx is the
original filename, and the decrypted file as xxxxx.UNC. The original
file is left unchanged.
This program can be used to encrypt ANY type of file.
[*] [*] [*]
PD_Q RATING * *
"""""""""""
DOCUMENTATION FAIR
"""""""""""""
PD_Q COMMENTS This would have been a good program, except it encrypts
""""""""""""" some files which are unusable when decrypted. The
decimal character value 255 is always deciphered as decimal 0. For text
this is no problem since 255 does not occur in text. However, 255 does
appear in programs and archive files so they are unusable after they are
decrypted.
The encryption algorithm seems quite good. The files I encrypted
certainly didn't contain any decipherable patterns, no spaces were
included at all.
The encryption/decryption process is easy, select the desired
operation from the alert box and enter the key from the keyboard. The
process is slow, being slower the fewer key characters used. Some
examples will show my point. The file size was 43,008 bytes.
Operation # Key Characters Time to complete
--------- ---------------- ----------------
Encrypt 1 12 min 34 sec
Decrypt 1 12 min 32 sec
Encrypt 4 3 min 40 sec
Decrypt 4 3 min 39 sec
Encrypt 10 1 min 53 sec
Decrypt 10 1 min 52 sec
Encrypt 20 1 min 17 sec
Decrypt 20 1 min 17 sec
(All times based on 1040ST with 1 Meg RAM and Hard drive)
The program saves the original file to prevent accidental loss and
the encrypted file must be written to the same path as the original
file. This means the encrypted file needs to be copied to a new
location or the original file deleted. If the original is not deleted
using a shredder program the file may be found using a sector editor.
The program terminates after each file is encrypted/decrypted.
This means it must be re-run for each file.
There is a display for the encryption/description progress showing
percent done and bytes to go. The file is written to disk as the
ciphering process proceeds making the program slower for floppy disk
use.
If you need to protect ASCII text files, this program is worth a
serious look. In its current version, it is not suitable for other
files.
/////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "IMAGE CAT 2.0 creates the second best catalogs in the world! /
/ Only Fredericks of Hollywood can make 'em any better;)" /
///////////////////////////////////////////////// W.PARKS3 ////
[EOA]
[OFF]//////////////////////////////
OFF THE RECORD /
/////////////////////////////////
Mini_Qwik_reViews
"""""""""""""""""
o MEGA STE: Mini_View
o ELVIRA: Take A Look!
o CASEY JR: Charged & Ready
MEGA STe MINI_VIEW I have recently purchased a MEGA STe from Infinite
"""""""""""""""""" Grafix here in Richmond, British Columbia and I
thought everyone would be interested in my observations and questions...
Configuration: TOS 2.5, 4 Meg RAM, 48 Meg hard drive, TT style
case, math co-processor built in (not just the socket!), LAN plug, 2
serial ports, parallel port, VME plug, cartridge and MIDI ports, stereo
audio out, RF out, and a detachable keyboard.
The hard drive came pre-formatted with four equal partitions (nice
touch). I simply installed the new AHDI from floppy and was up and
running in a few minutes. You are required to touch a key after the
hard drive initializes to enter the desktop (or use NOROACH.PRG to set
up a delay). The hard drive runs at approx. 28 milliseconds according
to test programs.
The new control panel CPX system seems really neat. I can set many
parameters from this control panel including system speed (8MHZ, 16MHZ
or 16MHZ with cache). 16MHZ with cache causes some incompatibility with
the GFA 3.5E interpreter and compiler, Interlink, LDW Power 1.0 and many
PD programs written using GFA Basic. The problems are intermittent and
usually produce two bombs. I have had no incompatibility using 16MHZ
without cache or 8MHZ. I have not tested any games. I am using a mono-
chrome monitor. Calamus seems to run flawlessly at 16MHZ with cache!
Yeah!! The new TOS is a real joy to use. I will not attempt to review
its many features. It is much nicer than 1.4!
Hey Atari...We need a way to automatically switch processor speeds
when running a program, any ideas? How about giving me some PEEKs and
POKES that I can use in GFA to switch between the three speeds.
Experimentation continues here in Canada...stay tuned!
(D.BECKER8, CAT14, TOP14, MSG:114/M475)
ELVIRA'S GREAT! Please! Help! I need to get this lard bucket out of
""""""""""""""" the kitchen so Elvira can mix some more spells. I
found Elvira in her bedroom and she gave me a hint that the cook never
uses salt...she then threw me out of her room:'|
I am really enjoying this game. The graphics are some of the best
I've seen, and the speed is pretty good on my HD. I'd hate to run it
off floppies though.
Again, a warning on the graphics... They are ultra gross, or cool
depending on who you ask. The two 9 year old boys who regularly steal
computer time here can't wait to get killed in new, grosser ways.
Elvira's character not only looks like her (digitized graphics) and
sounds like her (digitized sound) she even acts like her (digitized
personality?)
Anyway...I'm having fun, but the frustration factor is getting
high. I've killed the bird and vampiriss and found the garden and what
was left of the gardener. What am I missing for the fat cook?
(H.BROWNII, CAT9, TOP14, MSG:3/M475)
CASEY JUNIOR I own the Multibyte Casey Jr. case with one battery and I
"""""""""""" can honestly say that I really like it. I gave a fully
charged battery a good test the other day by doing some development work
on the Stacy 4 under battery power only. The HD cycled on and off a
number of time during the session, and I kept going for well over 5
hours on a single charge before the battery light came on. After that
light came on I kept going for another 10 minutes or so, before backing
up the new files I had written to floppy, then shutting down the system
for battery recharging.
My Stacy is a fully loaded Stacy 4 with a 40 MB HD.
The case seems quite rugged and well built. My only "minor"
complaint is that the zippers that hold the two halves together are a
bit hard to work. No big deal really, just takes a bit longer to zip up
than I think it should. My only other complaint is that the battery and
accessory compartments are on the bottom of the case. When trying to
use the Stacy in the case, it doesn't seem to sit right what with all
that stuff hanging off the bottom. I would have preferred to see the
batteries, et. al. on the top. Again, a minor problem.
All told, I'm quite happy with the case, battery and charging
system. I'm thinking about purchasing an extra battery which should
extend operations well into the 10 hour range per charge.
(J.TRAUTSCHOL, CAT14, TOP29, MSG:163/M475)
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "But that's what backups are for. You did do that, didn't /
/ you? (grin) (I usually shoot first and try to revive the /
/ corpse later)" /
////////////////////////////////////////////// G.SAVARD ////
[EOA]
[ATR]//////////////////////////////
ATARI CORP. ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
The Bottom Line @ Atari
"""""""""""""""""""""""
From Bob Brodie...
""""""""""""""""""
NEWDESK, MEGAS & STE Your suggestions are noted, however, I want to
"""""""""""""""""""" clear up something in your message #123 in a
hurry. We have *not* committed to making NEWDESK available on the
existing Mega computers. In fact, it would not work, the rom is
physically larger than the one in use in the Mega ST.
You and Wayne both make a good case for producing the barest of
Mega STEs and then allowing the dealer to do the upgrades, or do it
yourself. But please bear in mind while your concerns are for yourself
(which is very understandable), we have to look at the whole picture.
What about the first time buyer that gets a Mega STE, the guy who
doesn't own a 100+ Meg Hard disk, etc.? He's probably going to want to
get an HD with his machine, right out of the box. And a number of our
dealers have expressly indicated that they want NOTHING to do with any
kind of modifications. MIDI dealers are notorious about this. All
they want to do is sell the box. And of course, your're aware of what
a large segment of our business is MIDI.
I'm not saying that there will not be a Mega STE with one meg and
no HD. I just want to be certain that you see both sides of the coin
here.
USE USENET? I gave up on UseNet. Dave Small's writings inspired me to
""""""""""" venture out onto the Net. I have been very disappointed
in the quality of the posts online. It seems that no one wants to
discuss the TT, or Atari. They only post trivial nonsense, and berate
Atari for how things are in their country. Which, by the way, is often
quite different that they way it is in other countries.
Finally, I saw no reason to have to stomach the inane flaming of
some of the people that have no sense, no wisdom, no clue, ....no life.
Maybe if I had a kill file to avoid reading Bob Retelle and Chris
Mauritz all the time, I'd have felt differently. At this point in my
career though, time is a commodity. GEnie is very constructive, and
worthwhile. I get enormous amounts of work done online here. UseNet
served only to keep me returning to the pharmacy for anti-
hypertensives. Who needs the aggravation?
CALAMUS & THE TT To expound on what Jim has already told you, a
"""""""""""""""" TT030-4 will work just dandy with Calamus. Now on a
two meg TT, yes...you would have the very same problems using Calamus
with the SLM804 on a TT that you would expect to have on an ST. Four
megs or higher, no problem.
The two different types of ram are not contiguous. They are very,
very different. Each of them has some specific things that they handle
(like ST Ram handles video, and DMA...TT ram handles SCSI, etc). We
have already uploaded a utility called PRGFLAGS that allows the user to
set the programs to run in TT ram if he so chooses.
To give you an idea of the performance: I recently visited the
ABACUS user group in San Francisco. I fired up an SLM605 with a
TT030/8. Running Calamus in TT ram, I was able to print the PRINTER.CDK
file in about 9 seconds!!! I challenge anyone to show me a faster
300dpi solution anywhere!
STACY & MULTICASE Yes, I own the Multibyte case. It's very, very
""""""""""""""""" good. Lots of protection for Stacy, and the battery
has worked flawlessly. I use the external battery, Greg Pratt invoked
some little known executive privileged rule here at Atari to get the
internal one. And, he's very, very, happy with it, too! I've put many
a mile in with the Stacy, and this case. A happy combo indeed!
TURN IT UP! I'm with you. BOSE Video Room Mates [speakers] are the
""""""""""" way to go. They sound exceptionally good, and have a
volume control on them. I was testing some STE demos on the Mega STE a
few months ago on them, and quite literally stopped Sam Tramiel in his
steps when he heard the sound!!! He came into my office to see what
kind of software, and what speakers I was using....then proceeded to
turn it up some more! <grin>
From Mike Fulton
""""""""""""""""
TT RAM There are three places to add ram to a TT030. Therefore, you
"""""" can configure RAM on the TT030 in the following ways:
1) On Motherboard (all machines have this as minimum)
-- 2 megabytes
2) ST RAM daughterboard (required)
-- 2 megabytes
-- 8 megabytes
3) TT RAM daughterboard (required)
-- 4 megabytes, using 4 1mb SIMMs
-- 16 megabytes, using 4 4mb SIMMs
Adding up the maximum amount from each location gives us:
2+8+16 = 26 megabytes
From John Townsend...
"""""""""""""""""""""
WHO IS JOHN TOWNSEND? Well.. here's what I do. I work for Leonard
""""""""""""""""""""" Tramiel, Vice-President of Software Development.
Leonard specifically handles almost all TOS development that is done
internally at Atari.
Leonard assigns me various programming tasks that need to get done.
Some of the past things that I have worked on are XControl: The
Extensible Control Panel, Battery Life tests for Stacy, VDI testing,
networking test programs, and other assorted things that I can't talk
about :-)
Basically, I am one of the programmers in the TOS group. However,
due to my experience level and my education level (still trying to get
that BS in Computer Science!), I am one of the lower guys in the group.
I still get to do some pretty neat things tho...
However, I do pass along comments and news that I hear online..
The online stuff is something I do for fun (believe it or not! :-)
TOS HACKS There are 3.0 hacks. TOS 3.0 is TT TOS. See at one point,
""""""""" the TT ROMs didn't have the new Desktop and Atari went to a
show that did have some brand new ROMs that had the new Desktop built
into them. Someone decided that they couldn't wait a couple of weeks
until Atari could make sure that they were ok, so they did some hacking,
managed to copy the ROMs onto disk and then hacked them up for their
use. Well, somehow they also managed to get onto the pirate
distribution circuit. <sigh>
TT machines come with TOS 3.01 built-in and the new Desktop is
built into ROM. The TOS 3.0 hacks that you have seen floating around
only work on TT machines. Basically, the 3.0 hacks are useless and have
some small annoying bugs in them.
Do yourself a favor.. Support Atari's software development efforts
and keep yourself safe from "hacks" and potential problems: Use and buy
only official Atari ROMs.
From Jim Tittsler...
""""""""""""""""""""
TECH TALK You do the sort of "assignment" of sounds to "channels" you
""""""""" are talking about when you synthesize the waveforms. You
can add appropriately scaled samples to the waveforms you are building
for each channel.
The "mixer" only controls whether or not the PSG audio is mixed
with the audio from the DMA engine. The volume and tone controls are
very near the output stage, affecting the overall amplitude and tone of
the signal. You can control the volume, the treble and base boost, and
the left/right balance in twenty 2dB steps (40 for volume).
o You can expand the ST compatible "system" memory with a 2Mb
expansion board, to give you 4Mb of "system" memory. (8Mb system
expansion memory cards should also become available, which would make
for 10Mb of ST compatible "system" memory.)
o There is at least one German Mega ST color video card and VDI
driver that uses a non-planar video architecture... so it *has* been
done on the ST.
o I've already alluded to the problem of "putting the TT modes on
an ST". You don't get something for nothing. The TT video modes
require more bandwidth than the ST modes. (That is one reason why the
system memory is 64 bits wide in the TT.) An expansion card will need
to implement its own RAM buffer to attain this sort of bandwidth. At
that point, all of RAM is not the same. You can no longer "page flip"
an arbitrary part of memory onto the screen. While the vast majority
of things will run (thanks in large part to people learning to use the
large screen Mega monitors which impose the same restriction)... other
things, like graphics intensive games, may not.
I'm certainly not saying it isn't worthwhile, its just it will not
be exactly a "MegaSTe with TT modes."
o Yes, 8 of the bits on the new STe controller ports can be
turned around and used as outputs.
o The STe and TT stereo sound pretty good! :-) There are
limitations to how much digital noise you can filter out of them when
they are located on the same board as the computer, but their power
supply is isolated from the digital supply, so they come out pretty
clean.
o Playing back long samples *can* take up a lot of memory... but
it doesn't have to. There are four different "playback" rates, so if
you are interested in trading off fidelity for memory, you can.
o An alternative to just playing back samples is to synthesize a
waveform. The 68000 is fast enough that you *can* do on the fly
synthesis, generating the waveform(s) before they get sent out.
o And the STe (and TT) still include the old PSG sound chip... so
you certainly aren't forced to use the new sound capabilities.
o The hard disk that is internal to the TT030 is on the SCSI bus.
Programs that talk directly to the ACSI interface will (obviously) not
know about the internal drive therefore. Software that uses the TOS
Rwabs() interface should work fine.
[*][*][*]
Do you have a question about or for Atari? Did you know that the
Atari ST RoundTable is your direct line to the Atari Corp? Bob Brodie
[BOB-BRODIE], John Townsend [TOWNS], Jim Tittsler [JTITTSLER], David
Cagle [DAVID.CAGLE] Ken Badertscher [K.BAD], John Jainschigg [EXPLORER],
Dan McNamee [D.MCNAMEE], Bill Rehbock [B.REHBOCK], Mike Fulton [MIKE-
FULTON (among others) are all frequent visitors to the RT bulletin
board and can sometimes even be found online in the Wednesday night
Realtime Conferences. Interested in hearing what they have to say? Look
to this column to hear it straight from Atari: ...The Bottom Line...
////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "I will never spell Aladdin "Alladin" I will never spell /
/ Aladdin "Alladin" I will never...." /
////////////////////////////////////////// M.CHANDLER ////
[EOA]
[ALD]//////////////////////////////
ST ALADDIN ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
ST Aladdin And You
""""""""""""""""""
by Fred H. Koch
[F.KOCH]
Intro to Scripts, interrupted
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(Too good to believe? :-)
I am going to interrupt my normal sequence of articles on writing
scripts for ST Aladdin 1.2 for some great news for script writers and
users. The next article will continue with the current script
capabilities of ST Aladdin.
Since I have been experimenting with ST Aladdin scripts and writing
more than a few scripts, Gordon and Tim were gracious enough to allow me
to take a look at what scripts will look like in the future ST Aladdin.
I hesitate to provide this look since it may discourage people from
writing scripts for ST Aladdin 1.2 but decided this was just too good to
pass up.
First let me tell you this will not be available in the near
future. Lots of smaller changes to be worked on in ST Aladdin before
the time can be expended to fully debug this new script language, but it
will knock your socks off when you get it! (Please don't bug Gordon and
Tim about this. They didn't want me to say anything, you know,
something about not releasing features until they are ready to be
distributed, and all that stuff. But, being the person I am, I just
couldn't pass this up. Please, Gordon and Tim, don't hold this against
me. I promise next time I won't tell a soul.)
This new and improved script language is designed with the user in
mind. Not only does it not take programming experience to use, it is so
easy to use, if you can log onto GEnie with ST Aladdin, you can create
your own custom script. Sound hard to believe, just wait.
There are over two hundred fifty commands which the new script
language understands. This may sound a little daunting at first, but it
is no problem, mainly because you don't have to remember them to write a
script. In fact, you might not ever have to type a single script
command. That's right, you can create an entire script without typing a
single script command.
I know what you are thinking, here is another auto script program
which will record what I manually do and then play it back. Well, you
are partially right. Scripter (my name, the official one remains to be
released) will record all your online actions and play them back at a
later time, but it can do much more.
When Scripter is run from the ST Aladdin terminal menu there are
two choices, RECORD user script or PLAY user script. If no scripts are
available RECORD is the only option selectable, PLAY is grayed out.
GEnie will have a new file available for use with Scripter. In
that file are all the menu screens available on GEnie. The version I
got to see only had the thirty most popular pages, but it was enough to
see how things will work.
Let's take a look at what a typical recording session with Scripter
will be like. When RECORD is selected Scripter looks for the menu file.
If the file is not found you have the option to log onto GEnie or abort
the recording session. If log onto GEnie is selected, an item selector
is presented to enter the script name and Aladdin logs onto GEnie using
your user ID and password. Scripter stops at the opening screen of
GEnie where you can manually navigate through the desired actions. At
any time you can select stop and Scripter will stop recording your
actions and save the script file. The script will automatically stop
when you log off GEnie during the recording session. The script can be
played to accomplish the exact actions you just recorded. If you want
to make different choices during script playback, you need to modify the
script placing variables where the desired choices were made.
The really nice features of Scripter show up when the GEnie menu
file is available. If the menu is available when RECORD is selected
things seem to proceed as before but there are a few major changes.
Instead of logging onto GEnie, the menu screens are presented off line.
All the menu choices can be selected, but of course no data is shown.
All desired selections can be recorded for execution during script
playback. This is the same as manual recording, but you are off line,
so no charges are accumulating the entire time you are creating the
script. The real advantage comes when you reach a menu choice or entry
request which you wish to set-up as a variable. Instead of having to go
back and modify the recorded script, just press the ? and a variable
will be assigned to that selection. If you want to specify some text to
be displayed when the variable value is requested, all you need do is
press ALT T. A dialog box appears where up to three lines of 75
characters each can be entered. Again the script can be stopped at any
time by selecting STOP or pressing ALT S. It is automatically stopped
when LOG OFF is selected.
After a session is recorded it can be played back whenever you want
to accomplish the script actions. If the script has no variables it
will proceed from start to finish with no interaction required. If a
capture was used during the original recording, the same file name will
be used and the information appended if the file already exists. If any
variables were used in the script, the script will display the menu
selection line or the entered text requesting the variable value. Once
all variable values have been entered, the script will log onto GEnie
and accomplish all actions.
As if this isn't enough, there is more. Any script can call any
other script. This means if during a recording session, you decide you
want to perform a previously recorded script, it can be done. While
recording, just press the ALT I key to include another script. An item
selector will be displayed to select the desired script. There are some
precautions here. The script being recorded must be at a prompt where
the included script can legally start and the included script must end
at a place where the new script can begin again. This is not a problem
if the included script was recorded all the way through log off since
start and stop occur at a page menu.
Including scripts works with either Scripter mode, that is, with
manual recording or with the GEnie menu file. The difference is if you
are in the manual record mode, the included script will be executed
immediately, where in the menu record mode, the script will just be
inserted in the proper place, and only played when the recorded script
is played. If the inserted script ended with a LOG OFF, it will not log
off GEnie, just return to the recorded script. The one hazard to
inserting scripts in the GEnie menu mode is you don't know where the
inserted script will end. If it was stopped before the LOG OFF command,
it may not be at a page menu, which could cause problems. I have
suggested the inserted script display the final menu item where it stops
to prevent any confusion when using the GEnie menu mode.
One of the nice features of the insert script command is it allows
creating custom script sequences. Select RECORD user script and then
just start inserting the desired scripts. When all scripts have been
inserted, select LOG OFF and the script is ready to go. With this
feature you can even use the same script multiple times allowing you to
essentially create your own AutoPass 1 script.
If it weren't for the intelligent way Scripter uses variables
multiple scripts could cause a serious conflict. Since Scripter assigns
variables as they are encountered in the script, multiple scripts are no
problem. As the script is executed, each variable is assigned a
sequential number which will be used to match the value with the proper
script location. It is even possible to have the same value entered
multiple places in the script. This is accomplished by pressing ALT D.
This displays a list of variables already used in the script, from which
one may be selected to fill the required place. There is even a
capability to select any of the configuration variables, such as user ID
or BB page number, as well as set up a table of default values to use
for variables. Scripter has the most flexible use of variables in any
script language I have seen.
Scripter has a built in time feature which will allow starting a
script at a specified time or with a specified delay. When a script is
placed into a delayed start, you are returned to ST Aladdin to perform
other operations. As long as you don't leave ST Aladdin the script will
be performed when the time arrives. The only precaution is to not be
doing one script or manual action on GEnie when the time for the script
arrives, because it will begin when it should. A feature which asks if
the timed script should start, wait until you are finished, or abort
would be nice. Perhaps this will be added to the final version, after
all this is only a beginning, but what a beginning.
You will notice I haven't mentioned anything but key board commands.
All scripts can be written without knowing about the syntax of the
language, sequence of events required, string handling or any of those
things. If you are really determined to make script writing hard, you
can do all script writing manually with the 250 plus commands. I don't
know why you would want to do this, but the capability is still there.
Oh by the way, did I mention the number of scripts is limited only by
disk space. Since each script is assigned its own file name, and loaded
from an item selector, you can place scripts anywhere you choose and
have as many as your disk will hold. And for floppy drive users,
scripts can be stored any where the item selector can find them, which
includes floppy disks. The only problem with floppy drives is if the
disk isn't in place when the script is run, things will come to a
screeching halt.
There might be other features added before the general public sees
Scripter, although I can't imagine what. Voice recognition? For those
who have been waiting to write their own scripts once Scripter is
released you will have to wait no longer. This has to be the easiest
script writer I have ever seen. The only thing which could be easier
would be to have someone else know exactly what you wanted and do it for
you, but then what personal satisfaction could be gained from that?
Now if I could only get ............... ring ring ring ring.
What? What time is it? 4:00? This can't be a dream! :-)
[EOA]
[LIB]//////////////////////////////
THE ONLINE LIBRARY /
/////////////////////////////////
Get It While It's Hot!
""""""""""""""""""""""
>>> CHECK IT OUT! <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""
GEnie LAMP QWIK_PIC I just uploaded three ST Aladdin scripts. One for
""""""""""""""""""" reading old messages which will read all messages
not ignored in the specified RT. Another one which is a script shell
for running up to 10 scripts from a single ST Aladdin script slot. 90
scripts should satisfy most people, but if it doesn't the shell could be
loaded into itself with some modifications of labels. The last is the
shell with the 4 scripts I have uploaded in the last week or so. Down-
load File(s), Check GEnie Bill, Change BBs Nickname, and Read Old
Messages already loaded into the script. Any problems let me know.
(F.KOCH, CAT4, TOP1, MSG:245/M1000)
STOS EXTENSION Hey everyone! I just uploaded a new 2 joystick
"""""""""""""" extension for STOS. This isn't a binary program that
takes up a valuable memory bank, it actually installs into STOS itself
(and the compiler). The new commands it gives to STOS is stick1 and
stick2, which return the values of what each one is doing:
10 X=stick1 : Y=stick 2
It's the first double joystick fix for STOS that has worked for me.
When you reboot STOS, under the messages, it will say "Double Joystick
installed" or something like that.
(R.MARTIN22, CAT3, TOP9, MSG:90/M475) [EDITED]
PROGRAMMER HELP If you haven't already read it, I'd suggest you down-
""""""""""""""" load ProGEM (files 948 - 962). It is a very helpful
series of text files that cover some interesting topics about
programming in GEM and C. [programs that go with it are written in
Alcyan C] (J.WENZEL2, CAT 3, TOP31, MSG:108/M475)
INFORMER II NEWS The latest demo version of the INFORMER II database
"""""""""""""""" is now in ST file section (# 18490) available for
downloading. If you have heard about it but have yet to see this unique
data/image manager take a look today!
(R.SKRALY, CAT6, TOP4, MSG:109/M475)
CHECKBOOK PROGRAM I just uploaded a compiled version of a Check Book
""""""""""""""""" program that I wrote. As long as the SysOps approve
it, it should soon be in the library as file #18634. Check it out and
tell me what you think. Personally I think it is very good! ;-)
(A.FRIESEN, CAT3, TOP8, MSG:181/M475)
NEW MVG MODULE We have just uploaded a new module for MVG in the
"""""""""""""" library. It is a replacement for the old WizDithy
module that ships with the program disk. The new one works on the big-
screen (the old one did not). Check it out if you need it for big-
screens (though I often use Darek's MONSTER to get clips bigger than
640x400). WizDithy is actually the only way to load a med res pic
into MVG. (File # 18654)
(C.WALTERS1, CAT7, TOP5, MSG:64/M475)
PORTFOLIO/DYNACADD I just uploaded the Portfolio in DynaCADD 1.5
"""""""""""""""""" format. It's to scale and contains the Portfolio,
RAM Card, Adaptor and Serial Interface. It also includes the Portfolio
and Atari Logo's. I might upload a DEF file later but I should probable
sleep sometime.:-) It's file #18686 if you have DynaCADD 1.5. If your
still using the old version and you want to see it, drop a note here or
in E-Mail. I could output a DXF or DEF1( I'm not sure about DEF1?)
It's only accurate to a 64th of inch I had to guess some.:-)
(REALM, CAT16, TOP3, MSG:12/M475)
ABBREVIATOR ST The new Abbreviator ST demo is now available... Now
"""""""""""""" fully compatible with WordWriter ST, easier to delete
abbreviations (control-click), can suppress the character that triggered
the expansion. Take a look today! file #18707
(K.CORDES, CAT2, TOP29, MSG:12/M475)
.IMG CONVERTER There's a file up here now to convert .IMG files to .
"""""""""""""" ICN files for import into Degas or HotSwap. It's
#18713. We aim to please!
(C.WALTERS1, CAT7, TOP5, MSG:76/M475)
WHAT TIME IS IT? Anyone who is concerned with accurate timing in their
"""""""""""""""" ST should try file 18192 in the ST lib. Called Call-
time it calls the Nat. Bur. of Standards and gets the time continually
broadcast from a cesium clock controlled computer. Once a week
connection for about 15 seconds doesn't cost much at all.
(D.FLORY, CAT5, TOP1, MSG:350/M475)
MONITERM OWNERS OK all you Moniterm owners, I just finished uploading
""""""""""""""" my Moniterm driver, X-MON. (File #18736). The main
features of X-MON are:
- No known compatibility problems (it's been in use by several
people for over a year).
- Automatically detects whether the Moniterm display board is
installed so it doesn't crash if the board is removed.
- Can be overridden during startup for those times when the use of
the small (SM124 or SC1224) monitor is desired.
- Works properly regardless of whether an SM124 or SC1224 monitor
is attached to the ST's monitor port. It even works with no
monitor attached to the monitor port.
- Does not include a mouse accelerator, allowing the use of ANY
mouse accelerator.
- Blacks out an attached SM124 to prevent screen burn-in.
When the file is cleared, it will be
(DOUG.W, CAT4, TOP21, MSG:135/M475)
////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Whatcha doing, timing shuttle missions? Aiming the Palomar /
/ telescope? The times GEnie gives are right, to the nearest /
/ minute. If you are keeping it more accurate than that, you /
/ must set it often." /
//////////////////////////////////////////////// NTACTONE ////
[EOA]
[RTC]//////////////////////////////
NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE /
/////////////////////////////////
Wednesday Night Fun!
""""""""""""""""""""
o CeBIT NEWS: ST NOTEBOOK
D.A.BRUMLEVE> Who's gonna get a Notebook ST? Tom Harker posted File
18618 all about it.
NEVIN-S> Dorothy, I will absolutely if the price is right. I hated
the Stacey...too heavy for me.
NEVIN-S> Mike, did you go to CeBIT today?
HILCHNER2> No I'll be there Friday but my colleagues are there and I
talked to them just some hours ago after the Atari Press
conference. Can't wait to see the new computers and the
new CD ROM
J.CLARKE6> Mike ::: Keep me posted on the cd_rom ... what is it a
cdar505???
HILCHNER2> It's a little bit bigger than a 3 1/2 disk drive and has
about the same form as the old SH205 with ACSI and SCSI
connections.
M.BROWN56> Good move on the dual ports on the CD!
ISD2> SCSI? GREAT! ;-)
HILCHNER2> And if I pinned it down right the price will be around
$400
J.CLARKE6> asci and scsi ..... Yoo Mike looks like the rumors are
true then huh .. Maybe now we will get the game going 100%
and FAST!
HILCHNER2> It looks like Atari really put some hot rabbits out of
the hat. Although one has to see when and if the new
computers will arrive - The Notebook is announced for
this summer and the ST PAD is still up in the air may be
next year.
NEVIN-S> Mike, and price on the notebook?
HILCHNER2> 1MB version for the Notebook I think was approx $2000 and
no prices yet on the ST PAD. It weighs 1 KG.
D.A.BRUMLEVE> Wow, isn't that like 2000 pounds?
GRIBNIF> bahaha! > Dot
R.HUNT14> okay, I'll bite...is it bigger than a portfolio?
BOB-BRODIE> Yes, Ron. It is a bit bigger than a portfolio.
P.SWANSON3> KG is a unit of mass....it would WEIGH 2.2 pounds.
D.A.BRUMLEVE> (checking her conversion chart)
ISD2> 2.24 :-)
BOB-BRODIE> 2.2 lbs
D.A.BRUMLEVE> Bigger than a breadbox, Bob?
BOB-BRODIE> NO, very compact
M.BROWN56> (use your hands to show us Bob)
R.HUNT14> is it this big (..................)?
/////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "It doesn't hurt to put a piece of duct tape over the speaker /
/ as well. Ah, the fine art of acoustics." /
///////////////////////////////////////////////////// MUSE ////
[EOA]
[LYX]//////////////////////////////
HOOKING UP WITH LYNX /
/////////////////////////////////
Atari Game Power!
"""""""""""""""""
"Anyone else get your PARENTS addicted to the Lynx yet! The last
time that I traveled home, I took my lynx and let them play...
(even though they were the one's that bought it for me a Xmas).
My mom fell in love with Shanghai, and my dad played Klax for
hours. My dad thought that the tiles in Shanghai were hard on
his eyes. When my dad found out that I would be traveling home
again this weekend, the first thing that he wanted to know was
what NEW games I had for that little game thingy of mine....
What a trip!"
Bryan Nystrom
LYNX ODDS AND ENDS
""""""""""""""""""
NEW LYNX The latest issues of Game Player's and GamePro have shots of
"""""""" the new Lynx games and the new Lynx! WOW! The new Lynx
looks great. Also, Gamepro has some new magazine called "Handheld Video
Games" it has a larger shot the new Lynx (located next to an add for
the old one if you wish to make a comparison) and a bunch of Lynx
reviews. (M.KENNEDY3, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:139/M475)
>>>>> The handheld special issue was pretty fluffy, but there were a
""""" few things worth getting it for -- a great picture of the new
Lynx, which (if the screen is the same size on both) is much smaller
than the current one, and a complete list of current and near future
games for the GameBoy and Lynx, as well as pretty good information on
the TE and GameGear. But it's hard to
take a magazine seriously when
they rate games using little smiling and frowning faces.
(L.A.POPKIN, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:140/M475)
LYNX - THE MACHINE TO WATCH I do know that at least one of the third
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" party developers is working on a RPG on
the Lynx. As for the Game Gear getting a leg up on the Lynx, I doubt
it. I just picked up a new euro-mag and it has coverage of the recent
Winter CES. The bulk of their portable coverage is pointed to the new
low cost Lynx. Some quotes:
"Now at $99,the lynx has become overnight the handheld to
watch in the States."
"Expect also to see a growing software base"
"Sega's Game Gear was popular, but the new Lynx could knock
it for a six."
"Nec's Portable-software compatibility, but some titles don't
work nearly as well on the smaller screen format and the
machine is still struggling seriously in the States and Japan"
Other interesting points: They say that Atari announced that
they've sold 200,000 Lynx in the US and that a lot of people started to
take a big notice of the Lynx. They also chat with one of Lucasfilm's
developers and he said that the Game Gear and the Express suffer because their games don't work well on
the smaller screens. He also said the following about the Lynx, "From a
programming point of view, the Lynx is excellent and with this
surprising news about sales, I think it's definitely the machine to
watch" (C.SMITH89, CAT36, TOP6, MSG:126/M475)
WELCOMED NEWS Nintendo has dropped it's exclusivity clause for it's
""""""""""""" licensees. What this means is that a company may do a
version of it's games for any system that it wants to. This could have
a big effect on the Lynx (we could start seeing games from biggies like
Acclaim and Capcom).
(C.SMITH89, CAT36, TOP6, MSG:133/M475)
CRYSTAL MINES II I called Color Dreams last week about Crystal Mines
"""""""""""""""" II and they indicated that it should be in stores by
the end of April. No ETA on Hellraiser from them, tho.
(DAVID.CAGLE, CAT36, TOP2, MSG:122/M475)
////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "I am ready for a sequel to CHAOS STRIKES BACK! It is a 99. /
/ Dungeon Master is a 1000 in my book. I am ready to waste /
/ another 6 months of my life wandering down dark corridors." /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// E.SENNEMA ////
[EOA]
[LOG]//////////////////////////////
LOG OFF /
/////////////////////////////////
GEnie Lamp Information
""""""""""""""""""""""
COMMENTS? If you would like to ask a question, leave a comment or just
""""""""" drop in and say hi, you can contact us in CAT 34 in the ST
bulletin board area. If you prefer to remain private, send your GEnie
Email to GENIELAMP$ on page 200, or leave a message to one or more of
the following addresses:
WITH A LITTLE HELP...
"""""""""""""""""""""
o John F. Peters [ST-GUEST] Publisher/Editor
o Darlah J. Pine [DARLAH] Co-Editor
o Jeff Williams [JEFF.W] Technical Editor
o David Holmes [D.HOLMES14] TX2 Editor
GEnie Lamp Writers
""""""""""""""""""
- Tim Basham [T.BASHAM] Tim_Toons/Artist
- Mark L. Dodge [M.DODGE2] Hackn' Atari
- Jack Duncan [J.DUNCAN15] Softview
- Fred Koch [F.KOCH] PD_Q/Aladdin Scripts
- Mel Motogawa [M.MOTOGAWA] Mel's Manor/PS's
- Terry Quinn [T.QUINN1] TeleTalk Online
- Paul Varn [P.VARN] Softview
- Sheldon Winick [S.WINICK] Dealer Viewpoint
o Larry Duke [LARRY.D] GEnie Lamp Advisor
o Sandy Wilson [SANDY.W] GEnie Lamp Advisor
o Fred Beckman [FB] GEnie Lamp Advisor
o John J. Kennedy [JJKENNEDY] GEnie Lamp Advisor
o Vince Averello [VINCE.A] GEnie Lamp Advisor
HOT OFF THE PRESS GEnie Lamp is published on the 1st and the 15th of
""""""""""""""""" every month for our Atari ST RoundTable members on
page 475, option 5. If you prefer to download your issue of GEnie Lamp,
you will find the current issue as well as all the back issues on page
476, in the GEnie Lamp library, #35. Article submissions
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
(c) Copyright 1991 T/TalkNET OnLine Publishing, Atari Corporation,
GEnie, and the Atari RoundTables. May be reprinted only with this
notice intact. The Atari RoundTables on GEnie are the *official*
information services of the Atari Corporation.
Signed articles and message reprints are the opinion of the authors
and are not necessarily the opinion of the publisher or staff of
GEnie Lamp. We reserve the right to edit all letters and copy.
To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon
connection type HHH. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XJM11877,GEnie
and hit RETURN. The system will then prompt you for your information.
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
[EOF]
