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GEnieLamp Online Magazine Issue No.1.13
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December 1, 1990 ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Issue No.1.13
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Publisher/Editor ................................... John F. Peters
Co-Editor ........................................ Darlah J. Pine
Technical Editor ................................ Jeff Williams
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
FROM MY DESKTOP ......... [FRM] HUMOR ONLINE ............ [HUM]
Notes From The Editor. GEnie Fun & Games.
HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] DEALER VIEWPOINT ........ [DLR]
Is That A Letter For Me? National Advertising.
THE ONLINE LIBRARY ...... [ONL] ATARI_QWIK_TIPS ......... [TIP]
Something For Everybody. Atarians Helping Atarians.
MEL'S DINER ............. [MEL] ONLINE FUNNIES .......... [FUN]
A Software Cornucopia! CowTOONS!
PD_QUICKVIEW ............ [PDQ] OFF THE RECORD .......... [OFF]
Oculter: Yours For The Asking. Mini_Qwik_reViews.
ALADDIN ONLINE .......... [ALD] NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE [RTC]
ST Aladdin And You. RTC Happenings!
ASK MS. GEnie ........... [ASK] GOING BUGGY? ............ [BUG]
Questions & Answers. Problems & Solutions.
ST ELSEWHERE ............ [ELS] LOG OFF ................. [LOG]
Problems & Solutions. GEnie Lamp Information.
[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] HUMOR ONLINE ........... [HUM]
Notes From The Editor. GEnie Fun & Games.
To read the article on Humor Online, set your find or search
command to [HUM]. 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.
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 ///////////
/ "Just reading what you guys and girls are writing here makes /
/ me want to go out and buy Express, and I don't even need it." /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// F.BELL1 ///////
[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
Notes From The Editor
"""""""""""""""""""""
o COMMENTS & OTHER MISC. RAMBLINGS
o ATARI ROUNDTABLE NEWS
TOP OF THE PAGE Christmas is just around the corner and there are only
""""""""""""""" a few more hustle-and-bustle shopping days left. As a
suggestion, why not send your online buddies a GIFT OF TIME present?
With the GIFT-OF-TIME option, you can send to anyone who is a GEnie
subscriber online time credit in the amount of $10.00, $25.00 or (for
that really special online friend), $50.00 increments. It's fast, easy
and will be appreciated a whole lot more than that tie you were thinking
of sending. Good idea? Just type GIFTOFTIME at any GEnie prompt.
OUR PRESENT TO YOU In the December 15th release of GEnie Lamp we will
"""""""""""""""""" announce and release a unique program that will
change the way you read GEnie Lamp. (This one is gonna knock your socks
off!) Watch for it.
JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS Ever thought of GEnie as a way to make a
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" little extra money or acquire some
inexpensive computer gifts?? Well, it's true.
Most users are aware of the large number of "for sale" ads posted
in the roundtable libraries offering all kinds of computer goodies for
sale. Yet, if those are all you rely on, you are missing a good bet.
The message bases also maintain a substantial "for sale" section which
is broken down by category. Since most transactions are user to user,
some terrific prices abound. For example, IBM emulators (hardware) for
$60, Modems for $40, all kinds of software for $5. Also, if you are
looking for a certain special package or product that the local computer
store has never heard of, post a message. Odds are that someone either
knows where you can get it or better yet, doesn't want it anymore and
would be glad to sell it to you for cheap.
Have you got a bunch of games you no longer play or some computer
gadgets that you no longer think you need? Post an ad of your own and
unload them for a little Christmas Cash. Odds are you can make someone
else a little merrier this season and you will be merrier too.
Terry Quinn
[T.QUINN1]
IN THE OOPS DEPT. Holy smokes! The GEnie Lamp Editors seem to have
""""""""""""""""" indulged in a bit of an error.
It happens that the quotes that are interspersed throughout the
fine GEnie Lamp are what I look forward to the most each issue. Now,
when I am quoted I feel really special. A bit of fame does wonders for
the ole' ego!
Now you can imagine my despair when I hit line 834 in issue number
112 of GEnie Lamp. There was one of my quotes. Yup, I read it a couple
times and I can positively identify the little guy. Only problem was
that the quote was credited to one L.BUDNICK. I don't know this person
nor claim to be such person.
Yours sincerely,
Robert Ford
[CYBERPUNK]
p.s. I hope you realize that I really don't care about this matter,
hence the silly delivery of the above message. Just thought I'd
mention it!
BBBBBBBBBB ^ )
BB BBBB ^^ ^^ ))
BB BBBB ^^ ^^ ))
BBBBBBBBBB ^^ ^^ ))
BBBBBBBBBBB ^^ ^^ ))
BB BBBB ))
BB BBBB ))
BB BBBB ))
BBBBBBBBBBB ))
BBBBBBBBBB )
>>>>>>>>>> Sorry 'bout dat! Our apologies, Robert, (and to L.BUDNICK,
"""""""""" whoever you are!). Below, you will find your quote re-
printed as it was originally intended. (And btw, thanks for the great
asciiART.)
/////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ///////
/ "My HotWire! alarm worked! Thursday evening at 7:55 my Mega /
/ started to make that annoying little noise that I only, until/
/ very recently, had heard every morning at 6:50. Beep..beep.. /
/ beep. And the top line of my screen was printed... /
/ "The Simpsons!!!!!!!!!!" /
/ /
/ "Needless to say, I caught the Simpsons this week." /
///////////////////////////////////////////// CYBERPUNK //////
^^^^^^^^^
Better, Cyber? :-)
Take care!
John Peters
[GENIELAMP$]
ATARI ROUNDTABLE NEWS
"""""""""""""""""""""
OPERATION - LYNX It was announced today that Atari Corp is going to be
"""""""""""""""" shipping a number of Lynx systems to the troops in
Saudi Arabia. The first shipment went out today, with another going
out soon.
Here's some more info, from an article in this morning's San Jose
Mercury News, on the front page of the Business section no less:
ATARI MARCHES INTO THE DESERT WITH VIDEO GAMES FOR TROOPS
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
by Mike Langberg
Mercury News Staff Writer
Denied a real war to keep them busy, U.S. troops stationed in the
Persian Gulf are getting a hightech distraction from Atari Corp. of
Sunnyvale: the company's Lynx hand-held video game system, offering
electronic conflict through games such as Blue Lightning, Electrocop,
Gauntlet and Slime World.
Atari is shipping 15 Lynx Kiosks, each containing four of the
portable units, to military recreation centers in Saudi Arabia. The USO
and Defense Logistics Agency are promising delivery by Christmas.
"We're sending U.S. technology to Desert Shield," said Atari chief
executive Sam Tramiel, taking a gentle poke at Atari's much bigger
Japanese competitor, Nintendo.
Atari is donating the kiosks and games, valued at $50,000, to the
military. The company is also offering a special deal to Desert Shield
GIs eager to zap space aliens: a Lynx unit, game cartridge and six AA
batteries for $120, one-third off the retail price of $180.
Shortly after U.S. troops arrived in Saudi Arabia, a soldier wrote
Atari asking for a sun visor to help him play Lynx games in bright
sunshine. Atari decided to donate Lynx units after more letters arrived
from soldiers seeking everything from more game cartridges to desert-
proof carrying cases.
(DAVID.CAGLE, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:36/33/M475)
///////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////
/ "K-9 killer warbots! Yeow, can't wait to see them." /
//////////////////////////////////////// L.NOVAC /////
[EOA]
[HUM]//////////////////////////////
HUMOR ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
GEnie Fun And Games
"""""""""""""""""""
o BUSTED!: It's The Topic Police!
o ATARI MULTI-TASKING: Yes, It's True!
o ARE YOU A BB LURKER?
TOPIC POLICE MAKE A BUST! Hey, buddy, pull that keyboard over to the
""""""""""""""""""""""""" side of the road. May I see your logon ID
please?
Oh, Mike Stepansky, eh? Well, Mike, I don't suppose you saw the
sign at the topic heading, did you? This happens to be an ATW zone.
This means we talk ATW's here. Discussion of unrelated subjects belong
elsewhere. Using the letters "A, T, and W" once or twice in your
message doesn't make the message ATW related unless you actually talk
about the ATW.
I'm going to let you off with a warning this time, Mike. This
isn't your first offence, but I'm going to go easy on you anyway. One
more case of reckless topic drift and I'm afraid I'm going to have to
write a ticket. That means a week's worth of topic safety films for you
to watch and 20 hours of community service.
Be on your way now and modem safely. :-)
(JEFF.W, CAT14, TOP38, MSG:152/M475)
ATARI MULTI-TASKING I just found a new use for GEnie (works with and
""""""""""""""""""" w/o Aladdin). I, like most ST users I think, just
sit and watch the GEnie messages fly by as they're downloaded. Not any
more. I made my life mutitasking, you can too.
Using Aladdin during a normal week day...
1) Use the option 'AutoPass 1' to get onto GEnie.
2) Get up from your ST.
3) 'Wash the dishes'.
As the normal message download takes awhile, (a lot of messages are
coming over the line) you can also 'clean the bathroom'. If you're
polling Sunday nights, (and didn't poll on Saturday) you can 'cook the
evening meal'. Monday nights you can 'make the bed' and 'sort your
socks'. If you're using a normal terminal program you have to write a
script file first. If you have a bad comm line you may have to switch
back and forth between GEnie and 'what ever else your doing' to keep
things going. This of course slow thing down but that's mutitasking.
I'm sure your spouse can help your find many other 'tasks' to
perform if the above list is too short.
(F.BELL1, CAT34, TOP6, MSG:51/M475)
CALLING ALL BB LURKERS Are you a bulletin board lurker? Do you read
"""""""""""""""""""""" message after message and _NEVER_ respond?
Would you like to get in on the fun of message bases but your not sure
how to go about it? Now, here's your chance. In the GEnie Lamp
bulletin board (CAT 34) we've started a nonsense topic message base
which everyone (yes, even you!) has an opinion on. Two hot topics that
are now being discussed are, "What do you eat with peanut butter" and,
"Where are the missing socks?". Now, how threatening can peanut butter
and socks be? Stop being a lurker... drop on by and leave a message.
To help get you started, here's some examples of a few nonsense
messages that have been recently posted by roundtable members.
[*][*][*]
Arrrrrrgh! Where do they go? I _know_ I had two pair of socks when
"""""""""" they went into the washing machine... by the time I pulled
the load from the dryer, _one sock was missing!_ I now have a collect-
ion of "mono-socks." Any help to as to where I might be able to locate
the missing partners would be most appreciated.
PS. I'm willing to spare no expense to bring back these lost "souls."
(GENIELAMP$, CAT34, TOP6, MSG:34/M475)
SURRENDER! Buy a dozen socks every month as a peace offering to that
"""""""""" Washer God: "Maya Taga"
(BJ.KING, CAT34, TOP6, MSG:49/M479)
THE SNEAKER TEST Well, this talk about vanishing socks got me wonder-
"""""""""""""""" ing, so I popped an old pair of sneakers in the wash,
figuring that having been so close, they might be able to get the inside
story. The missing socks have gone to a singles dance - a sock hop.
Apparently they don't return, having found mates of their own,
rather than the arranged pairings so callously made by their makers.
I'm not sure I'd trust the word of apparel called 'sneakers', but
they do liven up the rythem section in the dryer.
(M.JONES52, CAT34, TOP6, MSG:41/M475)
SELFISH? I think you guys are very selfish! Stop thinking of your-
"""""""" selves for a change. Think of the socks. Just how many
happy couples have you split up? You keep these unhappy singles in your
top drawers right next to those couples lucky enough to remain together.
That is so cruel. (sniff) You cretins! (sniff)
Why don't you put those mourning socks into the dryer so that they
may be reunited with their true loves? Do it. Do it now! It may
already be too late; the gate may have closed. You will know this
happened if upon opening the dryer the socks are still there. Then you
will have to live with that!
(CYBERPUNK, CAT34, TOP6, MSG:42/M475)
/////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////
/ "I dunno, I kinda wish my ZOOM modem would get a little warmer /
/ - it'd keep the coffee warm... just kidding, actually 8^)" /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// M.JONES52 //////
[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That A Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
o ATARI_TID_BITS
o ROUNDTABLE ODDS & ENDS
o WHAT'S NEW
o ATARIAN MINDS WANT TO KNOW...
o HOT_TOPICS!
o MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT
>>> ATARI_TID_BITS <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""
(Bits & Pieces From The Bulletin Board)
PAGE_1 [*] Darlah>>> I allow advertising in the ST RT for commercial
"""""" programs. GEnie does not allow ads for pd/shareware lists from
companies that make their living doing such. GEnie does allow an author
to place an ad for his own shareware program/demo etc. There is a
difference. <smile> Some people hate the additions of the ads but I
like them as it helps us know where we can obtain items. It is sorely
needed for those that do not have dealers. [*]
PAGE_2 [*] A Mega STE will not be able to run UNIX. [*] If you want to
"""""" be voice-mailed to death, you can call Seagate at 1-800-468-
DISC. [*] Turbo ST does not work on the TT yet. I think Wayne was just
waiting for the TT's release before producing it. (QuickST II runs on
the TT) [*] The phone number to LucasFilm Games is 1-800-STARWARS [*]
CHKDISK3 has some bugs which may cause you to lose data or files [*]
PAGE 3 [*] Lucasfilm will be coming out with a Ball Blazer clone for
"""""" the ST [*] To gain Developer Status, call Gail Johnson at
Atari [*] Programs like Thunder! should have less an effect on perfor-
mance [with the new version of ST Aladdin]. [*]
>>> ODDS & ENDS <<<
"""""""""""""""""""
OWN ZOOM? YOU'RE IN LUCK! Due to tremendous amount of requests for the
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" SOFTWARE only part of our product we have
decided to allow owners of existing Zoom/Generic 2400/4800 or Zoom/
Generic 2400/9600 Modem/SendFAX's to purchase the software directly from
us. These are the only modems that we are currently allowing this for.
You MUST send us your modem to us as we modify it internally so that our
software will work with it. The following options represents our
current pricing:
1) Zoom/Generic 2400/4800 Sendfax to JoppaFAX SF-01 (4800) $39.95
2) Zoom/Generic 2400/4800 Sendfax to JoppaFAX SF-02 (9600) $69.95
Option 1 represents a software only version of the modem.
Option 2 represents software/hardware (new 9600 chip) of the modem.
Send us your modem only along with $39.95 or $69.95 (postage
included) and we will return it to you with the software and manual.
Our current version 1.21 fixes the problem of not recognizing the
modem. This was just a minor problem that we had discovered (doesn't
always), and the new version fixes it.
The RECEIVE [FAX] version is being worked on as we speak. Look for
it soon.
CURRENT OWNERS - We are currently up to version 1.21, send us your
original disk and $1 and we will mail it back to you with the current
version.
Joppa Software Development
PO Box 226
Joppa, MD 21085
(301)676-2989 Voice/FAX
(JOPPA-SOFT, CAT4, TOP24, MSG:2/M475)
>>> WHAT'S NEW? <<<
"""""""""""""""""""
NEW GDOS FROM ATARI One good reason not to go into technical details
""""""""""""""""""" about FSM GDOS is that they haven't entirely been
nailed down yet. We're right now in the process of getting feedback
from developers on the technical issues. When the specifications have
been cast in concrete, that would be a better time to talk turkey
(speaking of which, how's everybody's thanksgiving leftovers coming?
<grin>).
To summarize, to a user's point of view, what's been discussed
here, with a few points of my own:
o FSM (Font Scaling Module) GDOS supports characters of any size,
rotated at any angle, with any aspect ratio, skewed at any slant.
o FSM GDOS is compatible with GDOS Release 1.1. It works just fine
with Microsoft Write, Word Flair, Easy Draw, and other existing
applications which use GDOS.
o Because FSM GDOS can scale characters to any size, outline fonts
don't require separate font files for different sizes of screen
and printer fonts. Each font style requires an average of
roughly 50K of on-disk data in 2 files for all devices in all
point sizes.
o Not only can you still use your bitmapped fonts with FSM GDOS,
those fonts work even better with it. It uses a font cache so
that you can install as many fonts as you like in your
ASSIGN.SYS, as long as there's enough room in the cache for the
largest font. FSM GDOS will move fonts in and out of the cache
as they are needed.
o There is one important thing that FSM GDOS does NOT do. It does
NOT slow down your system! The way that GDOS does its stuff has
been streamlined. The CodeHead "Zoombox" benchmark shows that
FSM is now only slightly slower than G+PLUS, and considerably
faster than GDOS Release 1.1. So not only does FSM GDOS give
you more, it gives it to you faster.
o Speaking of speed, character generation from outline fonts is
also fast. It can pretty much keep up with my typing on an ST,
and I clock in at around 80 wpm. On a TT, FSM GDOS can generate
characters considerably faster than I can type. I can't say the
same for ATM under Spectre...
o FSM GDOS will come with a couple of utilities: an accessory/
program/CPX which allows you to specify various operating
parameters, and an application program that will take full
advantage of FSM's font power, letting you create and print
simple single page posters/flyers with rotated, arbitrarily
sized text and imported graphics.
Availability? Best answer I can give is RSN. What with the
vagaries of distribution and productization (geez, I love marketing-
ese), I haven't a clue how long before it will get into users' hands.
As I mentioned, we're just now getting feedback from developers on
technical issues. They may come up with something we left out, which
will require revising and testing. I must say that FSM GDOS is solid
and bug-free as far as I can tell. The last major bug I can remember
was squashed a couple of weeks ago. I use it daily--I'm working on that
single-page creator FSM show-off program I mentioned above.
ttfn...
Ken Badertscher
Atari Corp. System Software Engine
(K.BAD, CAT14, TOP18, MSG:57/M475)
WORDPERFECT UPDATE Printer disks 1-4 release 11/1/90 for WordPerfect
"""""""""""""""""" Atari are now available in Library 5 of the
WordPerfect RT. Those include dot matrix, laser, postscript, and
limited support. Files #1339 - 1342.
(WP.DAVE, CAT13, TOP2, MSG:69/M475)
BREACH 2 MicroProse is now marketing Breach 2. It is being published
"""""""" by Mindcraft. Omnitrend is still the sole developer.
Confusing, huh? There is a new, enhanced version now available. You
can find out more by calling (800) 525-4993. You can exchange your
current version for the enhanced one for $14.95.
(OMNITREND, CAT9, TOP80, MSG:49/M479)
LYNX - WHAT'S AVAILABLE? Just got back from my local Babbages and
"""""""""""""""""""""""" thought that I would give you all the info-
formation I got. (The following list may seem a bit redundant, but this
way you can print it out and give it to people who know nothing about
the Lynx.)
Currently Available
'''''''''''''''''''
o California Games o Gates of Zendocon
o Blue Lightning o Electrocop
o Chip's Challenge o Gauntlet III
o Slime World o Klax
o Paper Boy o Xenophobe
o Robo Squash
OUT BEFORE CHRISTMAS The following games SHOULD (and I stress should)
'''''''''''''''''''' be available before Christmas. (According to the
Babbages computer store.)
o Ms. Pac Man o Rampage
o Zarlor Mercenary o Road Blaster
o Rygar
I tried to list the games in the order that they are supposed to be
released but remember, this is only speculation based on the dates that
the Babbages computer had.
(A.FRIESEN, CAT36, TOP2, MSG:29/M475)
>>> ATARIAN MINDS WANT TO KNOW! <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(Facts, Fiction & Maybe)
HOT_HOT_HOT! Anyone else notice the article in PC Week last week?
"""""""""""" Could be coincidence, but to quote from the article
"These enhancements will strengthen CASE;W position as a strong
application prototyping tool, said Bill Teal, a partner in Avant Garde
Systems, Inc., a contract programming company in Jacksonville, FL.
Avant Garde, which specializes in producing programs for the federal
government, is preparing to upgrade from CASE;W 1.2 to the 3.0 version,
Teal said, "The article is about CASE tools, and has some other quotes."
I suppose it could be another Bill Teal in another Avant Garde systems,
in another Jacksonville...
Too bad. I am a happy customer. Sorry he was driven out of the
Atari market... Thanks, Bill. You were good while it lasted...
(D.MARSH, CAT19, TOP2, MSG:28/M475)
EXPLORER DEAD? I talked with John Jainschigg about a week ago, and he
"""""""""""""" said the next issue of Atari Explorer is due out the
end of November. If so, it shouldn't be long now.
(C.WALNUM1, CAT14, TOP30, MSG:113/M475)
Atari Explorer's new address is 29-05 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106.
Phone: (718) 545-2900. Send submissions to John Jainschigg.
(C.WALNUM1, CAT14, TOP30, MSG:117/M475)
OCEAN NOW EA Electronic Arts will indeed be releasing F-29 Retaliator
"""""""""""" in December '90... Yeah, Ocean is now an affiliated
label of EA. How about that?
(A.BITTON1, CAT8, TOP14, MSG:21/M475)
LYNX II? Lynx II...yes, there is supposed to be one. I've never
"""""""" heard it called a super Lynx though. It is supposed to be a
less expensive, smaller version of the Lynx, but supposedly it has the
same right and left handed feature. I don't know how they will fit
that into a smaller case. It also will have the same resolution screen.
(A.FRIESEN, CAT36, TOP2, MSG:34/M475)
Rumor has it that there will be a lower cost Lynx coming out. It
has been referred to as a Lynx Jr., and is supposedly smaller, along the
lines of the GameBoy or TE -- a vertical machine with a horizontal
display, and with a smaller screen that cannot be flipped. But Atari
has consistently denied these rumors, so they may be just wishful
thinking. (L.A.POPKIN, CAT36, TOP2, MSG:42/M475)
MORE LYNX Another 3rd party company has signed up for the Lynx. Color
""""""""" Dreams (a renegade Nintendo and Genesis cartridge maker) has
gone the official route with the Lynx and are officially sanctioned by
Atari. Right now I know of 2 Lynx titles they are doing (most likely
even more): Crystal Mines 2 (sounds a little like Boulder Dash) and
Hellraiser (based on the bloody, horror film).
(C.SMITH89, CAT36, TOP2, MSG:17/M475)
Crystal Mines 2, Hellraiser and Happy Camper are supposed to come
out (so the people at Electronics Boutique say) NEXT WEEK...
(M.KENNEDY3, CAT36, TOP2, MSG:18/M475)
ST BALL BLAZER? I was overjoyed to find out that Master Blazer was
""""""""""""""" coming out for the ST. Ball Blazer was my most
favorite 8-bit game, so I can hardly wait for this one. It seems up to
8 people can play via the MIDI ports ala MIDI Maze.
(E.BAIZ, CAT9, TOP44, MSG:1/M475)
ATARI UNIX To be honest, folks.. It's a little early to give out any
"""""""""" information on the Atari UNIX Product. Give us a little
more time! We need to make some announcements before we start answering
some questions.. (TOWNS, CAT14, TOP36, MSG:12/M475)
ST TRANSPUTER Did you see the Dec 90 issue of ST Format where they
""""""""""""" talked about a proposed STT (ST Transputer) that Atari
was supposedly considering. Is something like this possible? According
to the article, the machine would be VERY inexpensive. Of course, I'm
not sure what I'd do with a machine that powerful in my house anyway....
But, if it was indeed inexpensive, why not.
(J.LYONS16, CAT14, TOP38, MSG:168/M475)
CLEARING THE AIR Gadgets by Small has not been contacted by ANYONE
"""""""""""""""" regarding the situation surrounding Dennis Hayes.
Mr. Hayes was caught counterfeiting Macintosh ROMs and has been
convicted. As Jeff stated, Gadgets by Small, is/was not ever associated
with Mr. Hayes, and has also never participated in the sale or
distribution of Macintosh ROM chips. MacWeek, MacUser, and Byte
magazine (as well as others) are all aware of the current situation.
(DOUG.W, CAT24, TOP5, MSG:24/M475)
ULTRASCRIPT REVIVED? I will have lots of information hopefully before
"""""""""""""""""""" Thanksgiving regarding UltraScript ST. Right
now, I will say that I had a very positive chat with QMS at Comdex and
you may look for good things down the road. -Bill @ Atari
(B.REHBOCK, CAT5, TOP14, MSG:100/M475)
UNITERM The USENET chatter is that Simon Poole (Uniterm author) is
""""""" pursuing his income from a company which has no installed
ST's, and thus has no ongoing requirement for supporting Uniterm. The
latest (maybe LAST) version is 2.0e 010 (from the "About Uniterm" menu)
-- I've been running with 002 for the last 16 months (approx.) with no
problems. VT102 / VT200 mode is rock solid, the Altos should support
that if it supports TERMCAP or TERMINFO (assuming it's a XENIX
derivative). (W.WEBER, CAT8, TOP16, MSG:5/M475)
MASTERLINK, REALLY? Jeff Rigby told me that they have held our money
""""""""""""""""""" long enough. They still plan on upgrading
Masterlink, but who knows how much longer it might take. They promised
refunds to anyone who asked for one, and when (when ever) the upgrade
is available we would be notified. Then at that time we could send our
money back in for the product. I think that's there nice way of saying
that they are not stealing our money. They want to sell Masterlink,
but not until it is done. It is just an option.
(S.HOLMES1, CAT8, TOP17, MSG:54/M475)
PANTHER? I would guess that the "Panther" is NOT an ST. First, the ST
"""""""" cartridge port only has a 128K address space (the carts in
the SEGA Genesis have a 1MB additional space). Second, the ST has no
sprite capabilities. And even the STE has a limited capability for
scrolling (try to make an ST recreate some of the scenes in some of the
newest Genesis games like Phelios and Thunder Force III). Third, the ST
can still only display 16 colors (without tricks) to the existing STE,
the main logic behind using the ST hardware would become irrelevant.
The only reason you would want to use the ST as a frame would be to
provide an easily accessible software base (like the XE game machine).
Since none of the existing programs would use the new features
(most don't even use the STE features and 'most' of the world has been
able to purchase STEs for almost a year!), all the existing works would
pale next to the Genesis or Turbo.
Also, the few reports (rumors) that do exist claim that the system
has multi-planar scrolling and hardware scaling.
As an educated guess...I would speculate that the "Panther", if it
exists, uses an 8 or 16mhz 68000. It probably has sound comparable to
the Lynx (except in Stereo), a derivation of the Lynx chipset for
scaling, a new sprite engine (at LEAST 80 sprites...hopefully more), a
4096 color palette (maybe 32,768) with 256colors in 320x480 ala the TT.
Since Atari has expressed an interest in a 'CD-ST' in Europe...a CD-ROM
as an option or perhaps even a standard feature is possible.
The main reason I chose these features (THEY ARE TOTALLY MY
CREATION, NONE OF THESE NUMBERS IS BASED UPON ANYTHING MORE THAN
SPECULATION) is that ALL of them can be derived from hardware that
already exists in Atari's arsenal (except the sprite chip, which really
MUST have 80 sprites just to be competitive with the other systems).
I wish someone at Atari could give me a 'hint' as to whether or not
I am even close to correct on this one...but I guess we will have to
wait and see if the 'Panther' ever surfaces.
(M.KENNEDY3, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:32/M475)
WAITING FOR FATBACK? I assume you're referring to the elusive and
"""""""""""""""""""" vaporous "FatBack". :^) You also know from
talking to me in Chicago that although we haven't scrapped FatBack
completely, there are no definite plans to finish it and release it. I
currently recommend Diamond Back to anyone who asks. :^)
Please folks, don't put off backing up your hard disk because
you're waiting for FatBack. When your hard disk crashes, the only one
who will be more sorry than me will be you.
(J.EIDSVOOG1, CAT2, TOP17, MSG:22/M475)
>>> HOT TOPICS <<<
""""""""""""""""""
TAKING A STAND At CodeHead, we are strongly opposed to the renting,
"""""""""""""" leasing, or lending of our software in any form. On
the outside back cover of all of our packages it says:
Rental or leasing of any CodeHead Software
product is strictly prohibited!
Now that the new law has passed we will be adding the word
"illegal".
In order for someone to rent something, they must own it. When
someone buys our software they do not _own_ the entire product, they own
the physical package. Included on the disk is a magnetic form of some-
thing that belongs to _us_, the software. No one has a right to rent or
lease our property without our consent.
As far as a lending library which does not charge any fees, I
suppose there's nothing we can do about it, although we find it
extremely immoral. Those that choose to lend our software should be
aware that it contains serial numbers that can be traced. Each
purchaser of our software is responsible for all copies made of that
software so if any of the renters happen to upload it to a pirate BBS,
the lender had best be prepared to be responsible for all damages
incurred, should we decide to take legal action.
We have freely distributed demo versions of all of our software
(except the CodeHead Utilities) so there's no reason for anyone to try
and use the common excuse/rationalization that they need to "try before
they buy". (J.EIDSVOOG1, CAT11, TOP8, MSG:20/M475)
>>>>>>>> In addition to the previous comments, I would like to add
"""""""" that we, as many other developers, have a slightly disabled
demo version of our software in the GEnie library. It's free for the
downloading. In fact, if you would rather not pay for the connect time
to download it, we would be more than happy to send your user group a
copy of the demo. Simply send me a private mail message.
I can guarantee that once everyone is back from Comdex you will
indeed see a LOT of messages in this topic! <smile> I doubt that there
is a single developer who is not adamantly opposed to software rental
and lending libraries. I, for one, would much rather "keep the honest
people honest". (GRIBNIF, CAT11, TOP8, MSG:21/M475)
>>>>>>>> A resounding NO to lending libraries. If they offer fully
"""""""" working versions of copyrighted software then they are only
an invitation to theft. WizWorks! advertises that we send a complete
demo disk with disabled versions of all of our software products for
$2.00 which is refundable upon purchase. We also invite any user group
to write to us and obtain those demos free of charge along with infor-
mation about ordering and availability. We are certainly aware that
there are few folks who can not go down to their neighborhood Atari
dealer to take a test drive of any piece of software. That is why we
send out demos essentially free. Most of our fellow developers do the
same.
That one can take a fully working version home for a full month is
ludicrous. The temptation is too great. Even the most innocent will
fall prey to the temptation. That's it. NO NO NO! Demo disks from
WizWorks! are available for $2.00 refunded upon return of the demo disk
to us. PO Box 45, Girard, OH 44420. Now, there. There is absolutely
NO REASON that one needs to rent a fully working version of our stuff
at all. We offer it!
There is no excuse for a lending library. NONE! It's folly.
In an "unofficial" survey (actually, just a poll of our data base)
we have investigated those areas which we know to have user lending
libraries. We have found that in those geographic areas, our sales are
minimal. One or two copies, probably just to populate the libraries.
Sales after that are nil in that geographic area.
(C.WALTERS1, CAT11, TOP8, MSG:28/M475)
>>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
Atari-ST RoundTable
Category 14, Topic 35
Message 158 Sat Nov 24, 1990
R.GRANT11 [Ron M. Grant] at 02:04 PST
P.MCCULLOUGH:
Having spent a few days with an Atari TT030, I can assure you that
the price quoted for the system (yes, even including monitor, and RAM
upgrade, and larger hard disk) is NOT ludicrous. This is definitely not
a cheap IBM 386 clone, nor is it an average 'home computer' (wow, can
you ever ZIIIIP through Space Quest, though!). This is an extremely
powerful computer, both VERSATILE and MALLEABLE.
I can tell you that in the very near future, ST owners will NOT be
the "only people that care" that the TT exists. Not if companies like
ours have anything to say about it.
Not every Mac user needs a IIfx; similarly not every Atari user
will need a TT. Fortunately, in the price range that seems to be
popular these days, Apple offers the Mac Classic, while Atari offers the
MegaSTE and 1040STE; far more 'power without the price'.
Frankly, if you want to play the 'specifications per dollar' game,
there IS no better deal than the cheap PC clones abundant in the
industry. However, I have nothing but pity for the poor wretch who
takes one of these cheap clones home these days. You can Window them to
death, but you still won't turn a cheap pile of junk into anything but
just that.
Do you want my opinion of the TT computer? (Maybe not, but hey,
this IS the right topic...).
I'm amazed and impressed. This is _one slick box_. I'd like to
personally congratulate those responsible for the NewDesk, and the TT
TOS itself. The hardware configuration is excellent, and believe it or
not, that "hideous" case (as I believe it was once called in this topic)
is extremely attractive sitting under the new VGA-style monitor.
I had problems running DynaCADD, though. My jaw kept hitting the
space bar <grin>. Taking advantage of that 32Mhz 68882 (that's STANDARD
equipment, at least here), this program really howls, and looks fabulous
in hi-res color.
No, this isn't a 'home computer', unless you have the dollars, or a
real good justification. This is a PROFESSIONAL/CORPORATE computer, and
as such is LUDICROUSLY PRICED, all right. But not how you meant it, I
don't think. :-)
Ron Grant GXR Systems, Ltd.
[*][*][*]
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 ///////
/ "I didn't see any wrong with you comment Tom! It readed just ok!" /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// STACE /////////////
[EOA]
[DLR]//////////////////////////////
DEALER VIEWPOINT /
/////////////////////////////////
National Advertising
""""""""""""""""""""
By Sheldon Winick
[S.WINICK]
Each month we receive copies of newsletters from several Atari
User Groups in this region. We keep them in the BRACE (Blue Ridge
Atari Computer Enthusiasts) library at Computer Studio for reference by
club members. It's interesting that most groups express the same
concerns and have similar problems. Interest and membership of 8-bit
Atari computer users is declining in most groups. All are extremely
concerned about Atari Corporation's poor image in the eyes of a large
segment of the population in this country and, of course, Atari's
apparent lack of a sense of direction and a truly national advertising
campaign to educate and introduce more people to the Atari line of
computers.
Concerns are regularly expressed about what some feel is Atari's
lack of interest in the U.S. and their foot-dragging in getting new
products to market in this country. It usually appears that everything
new Atari brings to market seems to be out in Europe well before we see
it here in the states. And constant rumors of new products and
release dates seem to spread around the Atari community with nothing
appearing at the dealers when those dates arrive.
Many areas of the country still do not have any computer dealers
carrying the Atari line, and dealer support is severely lacking on a
nationwide basis. Many Atari owners do not have a local dealer where
they can receive assistance and have a good selection of hardware
accessories and software for their computers.
But in spite of all these gloomy predictions and negative
comments, there is still considerable reason to hope for and anticipate
a brighter future. Regional and national advertising is being placed
by Atari, and can be seen in many of the monthly airline magazines,
electronic music magazines and in general interest computer magazines.
Select dealerships are working in cooperation with Atari, who is
providing co-op advertising funding, in placing local advertising and
local television commercials.
The Atari logo of "Power Without the Price" is giving way to "A
Computer for Everyone" on many of the new Atari advertisements,
apparently aimed at computer users not normally considered
"traditional" Atarians. The Stacy laptop is being heavily advertised
in electronic music magazines in Atari's multi-page full-color spreads
as Atari is aiming at maintaining and even increasing its already
dominant position among professional musicians. The Portfolio handheld
computer is also being touted in multi-page full-color spreads in many
national general interest magazines and airline monthly magazines,
aimed clearly at the businessman on the go.
These campaigns are having an effect on the way the American
public views the Atari. The "game machine" image, imbedded into many
peoples minds will be hard to overcome, but we may be witnessing a new
beginning for Atari in the United States. Locally, we are seeing
customers coming into Computer Studio here in Asheville to see the
Portfolio who would otherwise not have even considered walking into an
Atari dealership. While here, they can't help but see and ask about
the complete line of Atari ST computers. Most are totally surprised at
their power, speed, and ease of use. Comments range from "I didn't
know Atari even made computers" to "If they're really this good, how
come everyone doesn't have one" or "So how come there are so many
businesses using IBM compatibles instead of Ataris?".
We are making converts, and as more and more Atari systems are
being placed at professional and business locations throughout our
community, we are seeing a marked increase in the number of customers
coming in asking specifically to see the Atari systems as they shop for
a new computer. Just getting them into the store is the major battle
-- once in, the large majority of shoppers who are not already
committed to another operating system WILL choose the Atari for their
new personal or business computer system once they sit down for a
complete demonstration and compare it to the alternatives.
On the other side of the coin, Atari is also heavily advertising
the Lynx portable entertainment system. Although it is undisputedly
the best of the portable game systems, I can't help but feel that mass
advertising for this product can in the long run have a negative effect
on Atari in general as it may help reinforce the "game image" many
Americans already have ingrained into their minds when they hear the
name Atari. It's my sincere hope that Atari Corp. won't forget that
national advertising for the ST's and its new business oriented TT
systems, at the appropriate time, will do more for its image than mass
advertising yet another game system.
Atari, during this past year, has concentrated it ST advertising
dollars where existing dealerships exist. That is fine and good for
local communities that already have an Atari dealership, but it doesn't
address the millions of Americans who don't know anything about the
Atari computer systems and don't have the benefit of local
representation.
Atari's experience with getting the word out about the Portfolio
shows that Atari DOES know how to properly market a product. The 1-800
phone number listed in the Portfolio ads gives the caller instant
referral to the closest Atari dealer -- or the option of ordering the
product directly from Atari if no dealership exists within a reasonable
distance. This referral system has brought Computer Studio customers
from as far away as Charlotte and Raleigh, many of whom have taken a
day to drive over to see and "test drive" the Portfolio at the store.
While here, they can't help but take the time to look over the rest of
the Atari line. Most businessmen are particularly impressed with the
Mega systems and Atari Laser Printer -- especially with its speed and
exceptionally high quality printouts. And we always have samples of
original artwork just "lying around" to help catch their attention.
Atari's recent roll-out of the new TT's at COMDEX in its large,
well-designed booth is a positive sign that Atari is serious about
aggressively attacking the business community in this country. I'm
sure that the decision makers at Atari are well aware of the power of
publicity and advertising, and at the appropriate time will apply their
experience gained in this year's national advertising campaigns to the
TT as well.
But Atari and its better dealers still can't do it all. It's
also up to us Atari enthusiasts to help spread the word among friends
and business associates. Let them know what kind of computer system
you have. Tell them about how powerful and easy to use it is. Better
yet, show them whenever you have the opportunity. But please, tell
them the price last. Its incredible how many people, especially in the
business community, don't want to even consider that a system as
inexpensive as the ST can truly be that powerful.
Regardless of how much advertising Atari and its dealers place,
it's necessary to remember that the best advertising of all is still
the personal recommendation of a friend or associate who is a satisfied
owner. Do your share to help spread the word about our favorite
computer system. Remember that all of us are an important part of a
truly effective "national" advertising campaign.
Happy (Atari) Computing.
Sheldon Winick (GEnie Address: S.WINICK)
Computer STudio (Asheville, NC)
//////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Ok topic police, I'll go quietly. <hands raised>" /
///////////////////////////////////// T.JOHNSON4 ///
[EOA]
[ONL]//////////////////////////////
THE ONLINE LIBRARY /
/////////////////////////////////
Something For Everybody
"""""""""""""""""""""""
GFA BASIC PROGRAMMERS Fellow GFAers, I've put together a small
""""""""""""""""""""" collection of GFA 3.0 routines that you might
find useful. It's the file GFACODE.ARC, #17236 here on GEnie. There's
code for formatting a disk, checking disk info through the boot sector
and BIOS parameter block, imbedding DEGAS pics into your programming
(no more extra files floating around), and checking the current
directory path. Feel free to use them, modify them. I would really
like to see a big library of GFA code here on GEnie, so lets build one!
(ANTIC, CAT3, TOP8, MSG:98/M475)
SUPERCHARGER TIPS I've uploaded SC_HELP.LZH. This contains a textfile
""""""""""""""""" of users tips and a batchfile replacement for
setup.exe. The batchfile requires a two drive system though.
(R.OLLINS, CAT33, TOP3, MSG:62/M475)
IMAGECAT DEMO Checkout the ImageCat by WizWorks. It will take IMG,
""""""""""""" PI*,PC*,TN*,NEO and MAC graphics and print them into a
catalog, complete with the file name and directory. It allows you to
specify how many pics on each page, which determines how big they are
printed. Retails for only 24.95. WizWorks PO Box 45 Girard, Oh 44420
(216) 539-5623 (D.HARRIS8, CAT16,TOP2, MSG:192/M475)
DOUBLE-PAGE III I've just uploaded Double-Page III to the library.
""""""""""""""" For those of you who didn't know, Double-Page allows
you to print up to 4 pages on a single sheet of paper with an SLM804/
SLM605 laser printer!
NEW version III features include:
o SLM804 error handling
o custom fonts
o custom default settings
o passing filename on command line
Bug fixes include:
o formfeed character now handled properly
o there are now 66 lines per "page" (version II printed 67)
o mouse pointer now changes to a "busy bee" during printing and
font loading
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, this is the
place. Enjoy! (DOUG.W, CAT14, TOP11, MSG:77/M475)
ALADDIN UTILITIES The DAT2TXT.LZH file is used to convert the Library
""""""""""""""""" .DAT file, that Aladdin creates when you get a file
listing, to an ascii file. This will allow you to print out your
Library file listing or load it into a word processor and do searches or
whatever you want to do with it. I wrote it so that I could do a print-
out of the file listing and be able to look it over without having to
bootup Aladdin and so that I could search for a particular filename,
etc. from within DC Show or a text editor.
The TXT2DAT.LZH file is used to convert your old library file
listing to Aladdin's .DAT format so that you could use an old listing
that you already have without having to get a long listing again using
Aladdin. I have a listing of the Atari ST Library section that goes
way back and it saved me some money by being able to convert that
listing instead of doing it all over again in Aladdin.
(R.WATSON15, CAT1, TOP15, MSG:4/M475)
32 DAT2TXT.LZH X R.WATSON15 901116 8820 91 1
Desc: Aladdin .DAT to .TXT
31 TXT2DAT.LZH X R.WATSON15 901112 10080 75 1
Desc: Aladdin .TXT to .DAT
[NOTE: The files listed above are in the ST Aladdin Roundtable (Page
1001, NOT the ST Roundtable.]
SLIME WORLD Had a customer send me a listing of codes for this game.
""""""""""" Seems he sat down and, over the time period of a week or
two, entered all the possible code combinations possible. I've uploaded
this list to the software library. It's file #17411, SLIMEWLD.ASC.
(DAVID.CAGLE, CAT36, TOP15, MSG:16/M475)
ATARI, MAC & PC It's here! The article and comparison chart on Atari,
""""""""""""""" Mac, and PC DTP has been uploaded. File #17426
contains ASCII, Calamus, PageStream, and PostScript versions of both
files. I'll let it soak here for comments for about a week before I
upload it to the DTP RT and send the files to BYTE magazine.
(S.FRYE, CAT16, TOP2, MSG:226/M475)
////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////////
/ "I tried all the ESP tricks I know. I even did a Vulcan Mind /
/ Meld to a carrier pigeon but I couldn't come up with your /
/ mailing address. I'll be happy to send you a catalog once /
/ you tell me where to send it." /
//////////////////////////////////////////// T.JOHNSON4 //////
[EOA]
[TIP]//////////////////////////////
ATARI_QWIK_TIPS /
/////////////////////////////////
Atarians Helping Atarians
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
o TOS? WHICH TOS?
o INK-JET OWNERS: Re-filling Supplies Available
o LZH CONFUSED?
TOS? WHICH TOS? Confused as to which TOS does what and what TOS you
"""""""""""""""" should be using?
TOS 1.0 TOS 1.0 was the first ROM TOS and came in the 520s and 1040s.
'''''''
TOS 1.2 TOS 1.2 is the Mega TOS, sometimes called the Blitter TOS,
''''''' because it was written to support the blitter when the Megas
were released. It now comes in all the 520s, 1040s and Megas (except
the Mega STe).
TOS 1.4 TOS 1.4 is a major upgrade, fixing a lot of bugs and speeding
''''''' up disk access. It has a feature called 'fastload' that
speeds program loading by changing the way the computer clears memory
before running the program. It is called Rainbow TOS because of the
rainbow in the desktop information dialog _on a color monitor_. (I've
never seen the rainbow, although I have 1.4.) TOS 1.4 only comes
standard on Stacys (I think). Atari sells upgrades that can be plugged
into all the other models.
TOS 1.6 TOS 1.6 is rewritten for the STe to support the larger color
''''''' pallet and the stereo sound. Comes standard only on STes.
(R.GOFF, CAT14, TOP4, MSG:97/M475)
INK JET OWNERS Wandering around Comdex I found a company that was
"""""""""""""" selling ink in a really nifty little jar with a long
tube on the cap. They even have colored inks and water proof ink for
the ink jet. If you are interested... 1-800-669-GRAF
(GORDON, CAT4, TOP9, MSG:94/M475)
LZH CONFUSED? Ok, maybe if I detail EXACTLY what I am using, I can
""""""""""""" help out here. I have LHarc 0.40B and LHarc 1.02. I
compacted several groups of files with both and compared them.
Extractor:
| LHarc 0.40B | LHarc 1.02 | UnLZH 1.72 |
-----------+---------------+--------------+--------------+
Recognized | | | |
CRC from | X | X | X |
0.40B | | | |
-----------+---------------+--------------+--------------+
Recognized | Reported | | |
CRC from | "NO CRC" | X | X |
1.02 | & "CRC Error" | | |
-----------+---------------+--------------+--------------+
Comments: | Produced LZH | Used lower | Extracted |
| that was 100 | case file | ALL with no |
| or 200 bytes | names | problems |
| smaller than | | |
| 1.02 | | |
-----------+---------------+--------------+--------------+
Please note that 0.40 reported NO CRC when viewing the LZH and CRC
Error when extracting. My files were fine even though they reported a
CRC Error. Also, though I show 1.72 of UnLZH, I actually used 1.?
(1.1?) for testing. I have since acquired 1.72 and use it. (I need to
send that shareware contribution since I like it!) I hope this helps
some in the overall scheme of things.
(H.LESTER1, CAT2, TOP24, MSG:52/M475)
///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "The second thing I discovered is that Aladdin doesn't save /
/ unsent message replies between Aladdin sessions, so this is /
/ the second time I'm typing this, and I can assure you that /
/ the lost message was MUCH wittier, more urbane, humble, /
/ informative, chatty and otherwise readable. But you
knew /
/ that. :-)" /
//////////////////////////////////////////// R.GRANT11 //////
[EOA]
[MEL]//////////////////////////////
Mel's Diner /
/////////////////////////////////
A Software Cornucopia!
""""""""""""""""""""""
by Mel Motogawa
[M.MOTOGAWA]
o DTERM 1.0: Uploading Ease For The ST.
o EDHAK 2.0: Power Editing/Hacking For The ST!
DTERM 1.0 - Uploading Ease For The ST
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Program Name : Dterm
Filename : DTERM1.ARC
Library Area : 7
Program Number : 17297
File Size : 65520
Program Type : Telecommunications
Author : Don Pefley
Version Reviewed: 1.0
File Type : Shareware ($10.00)
Recently a new shareware version (1.0) of the telecom program Dterm
has been uploaded to the ST RT library. Since I previously had
experience with the pd version, I was interested in seeing what
enhancements had been made. If you were using the last version of
Dterm, you should check this one out as there have been a few
enhancements to the program like an autodialer and the ability to view
the capture buffer. I've used Flash for a long time and like it's
script language and ability to run programs from within it, but there is
a good reason for checking out Dterm.
Although Dterm doesn't have .do files or offer access to desk
accessories, its execution of sending files via Zmodem is bound to
appeal to those who like to keep things as simple as possible.
After getting sold on Zmodem downloads, I started wondering why I
couldn't _upload_ at Z speeds too. (Well, we shouldn't just take all
the time should we?) I tried a few of the Zmodem send programs and
found they worked o.k., specify the file you want to send in the
commandline with the proper parameters and there it goes Z fast. But
Dterm does these even one better with auto Zmodem and the file selector.
Auto Zmodem really makes uploading files with the Zmodem protocol
painless. For example, let's say I'm logged on to my local Forem bbs
and am answering all the prompts for a file I want to upload. Right
after I specify a Zmodem upload to the host, interesting things happen.
Forem will send a signal down the line telling me it's waiting for a
Zmodem transfer. Dterm picks this up and automatically calls the file
selector for you to pick which file you want to transfer. Just double-
click on the one you want (or a simple right-click on it if you're using
the Little Green Selector) and the file is on its merry way!
I've tried this on Forem bbs's and an IBM board and auto Zmodem
worked fine each time.
You can configure the path that shows up in the file selector for
your uploads/downloads, just click on the "set paths" button in the main
menu and you can specify where you want your uploads to come from and
your downloads to go to. All via the standard file selector. (Say, if
you're still using TOS 1.0, your system is begging for an alternative
file selector to jump to other drives/paths easily. TOS 1.4 was an
improvement. May I suggest the above mentioned Little Green Selector?
I use it all the time, even with TOS 1.6. A great enhancement to your
system.) Your preferred paths, as well as several other options, can be
saved to a configuration file for a custom setup every time you boot.
No more having to worry about remembering what commandline you were
supposed to type if you need to send a download to a different directory
or upload a file.
Dterm also allows downloads via Ymodem-G, another fast protocol if
you have an MNP compatible modem and a bbs that supports it. (Lot's of
boards do and MNP modem prices are on the way down.) For the purists
out there, plane Xmodem and Xmodem 1k can be had also.
If you want to get into Zmodem sending as painlessly as possible,
check out DTERM1.ARC, file #17297 in the library. There is much more to
Dterm, but I thought mentioning its easy access to Zmodem transfers
would appeal to those who spend much of their time uploading. By
exploring the program, you may find it to be just what the doctor
ordered.
EDHAK 2.0 - POWER EDITING/HACKING FOR THE ST!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Program Name : Edhak
Filename : EDHAK_20.LZH
Library Area : 2
Program Number : 16590
File Size : 32760
Program Type : ACC/PRG Text/file/disk/ram editor
Author : Craig Harvey [C.HARVEY]
Version Reviewed: 2.0
File Type : Available as Registered or Shareware
A long time ago when I was getting my feet wet with the Atari ST,
I used to dutifully purchase each issue of Compute's Atari ST Disk and Magazine and thereby came across a handy little utility
called Notepad.acc. It was a small gem-based desk accessory that
brought up a window allowing you to write small notes to yourself while
in another gem application. It was adequate for my needs and I used it
for some time.
But now, I don't even know if it's in my program archives any more.
Another program came along that immediately caught my attention and
hasn't let go since.
Diary is a shareware editor that can serve as a simple notepad and
much more. Back in its early days, I watched as the author Craig Harvey
made more and more improvements and was very receptive to suggestions.
I decided to make the shareware contribution early on and have not been
disappointed. Many features have been added over the last year
resulting in Diary maturing into a very powerful, bug free and capable
program.
Diary has an associated program called Edhak, which is simply
Diary with the added ability to edit disk sectors and memory. (I'll
discuss Edhak for the rest of this review.)
The latest registered user's version of Edhak is 66k long and can
be run as a desk acc. or a prg. When called, Edhak opens a full or half
screen GEM window, depending on your preference. Now you're ready to
jot a few brief notes or compose a long letter, but as we go on I'm sure
you'll see Edhak comes with many intriguing extras.
One thing to keep in mind is Edhak's feature list is so long I
could probably fill this entire issue describing Edhak and still not do
it justice. So I'm just going to cover a few of the neat things Edhak
can do. Be sure to download the demo version and browse its manual for
a full synopsis of Edhak's power.
First, I like Edhak's speed. Even without a screen accelerator
you'll find the rate of Edhak's screen paging breathtaking! Add an
accelerator and you may find yourself dragging your favorite word
processor program to the trash can icon. It's very quick. The rate at
which Edhak can do search-and-replace operations is so fast I sometimes
wondered if something had gone awry. It couldn't be done already! But
it was.
Edhak also has keyboard equivalents for its operations so once you
become familiar with it you can save much time over using the mouse.
You can jump to the beginning/end of each line, screen or buffer with
ease. Scroll by line or screen with the unshifted/shifted arrow keys.
And I really appreciate how Edhak's vertical slider bar isn't touchy.
Ever noticed how some programs today do the slider-bar jitterbug? If
you click once on either side of the slider bar, to advance to the next
screen, you'll get two jumps instead. But Edhak's slider is well-
behaved and I've found myself clicking on it just to marvel at how it
works versus those that are way too sensitive.
The work buffer of Edhak is user configurable from 4-64k in size
and it's virtual. In other words, if you're tight on ram or just want
to edit some small .sys files for your GDOS applications, you can
configure a small buffer to save memory. And what if you try to load a
file larger than the buffer you've specified? Well, let's say you
configure a 10k buffer. Now you want to view a 50k file. Edhak will
ask you what part of the file you'd like to view, so let's specify the
default of the beginning. When you get to the end of the buffer, 10k
worth, Edhak will then ask you if you want to load in the next 10k. In
this way you can eventually read the entire file without setting up a
new buffer size (which you may not be able to afford anyway) and
rebooting. Neat!
If you have some commonly used text that needs inserting, Edhak
allows assigning up to one line of text to each function key for quick
placement like a macro. There is also a automatic date insertion built
into Edhak, just hit alt-d and the date will be inserted at the cursor.
You can configure Edhak to autoload one file anytime you run it as
a program or each time it is installed as a desk accessory, which is
great for those times when you're continuously working on a certain
file. Also, I've found Edhak works fine as an installed application in
Hotwire. Pass it a filename when you execute it and it will load the
file into its buffer automatically after booting. Setting up a menu of
your files and booting straight into them with one keypress is so
convenient.
The saving of a .bak backup copy of the files you're working on is
something I believe every productivity application should offer. Edhak
doesn't let you down here. And with Edhak's flexibility, the creation
of .bak files can be turned off if you want to save disk space. The
ability to not just save, but append to a file comes in handy when you
want to add some text to an existing document. Likewise, text can also
be merged into your buffer at the current cursor location.
When you're selecting a block of text with Edhak, you can do this
with the keyboard or the mouse. And no Mac-envy here! You can click-
and-drag the mouse offscreen, with the window scrolling, to select big
blocks of text just like the Mac editors. Neat! Shortening or
lengthening of the highlighted block can be easily accomplished also
without reselecting. Once you've grabbed a block you can save it to
disk, copy or print it.
Edhak does NASA one better. Did you know you can launch a program
from Edhak? Imagine being in the midst of writing a review of a program
and finding you can't recall how a certain function or feature you're
describing works. Just go ahead and run the program through Edhak's
"launch prg" function, check it out and quit right back into Edhak's
lap. (The docs warn you to be careful, though, about trying to launch a
GEM program from the desk accessory version of Edhak.)
If you're really feeling adventurous, Edhak will allow you to scan
through your system's ram for a string. This has come in handy several
times when I accidentally deleted something important. Like I'll be
working away in my telecom program and accidentally delete a block of
the capture I wanted to save. No problem. I just search my ram for a
word I can remember from the deleted block and when Edhak finds the
string it copies that portion into the buffer for easy saving to disk.
Similarly, using the "open" command and not specifying a filename, just
a drive, will allow you to edit disk sectors. Edhak will ask you what
sector you want to start at and you're on your way.
If you're a programmer and would like to incorporate Edhak into
your next great idea, there are hooks built-in to do this as described
in the documentation. I would think terminal program coders would
particularly benefit from this since you wouldn't have to write your
own editor/buffer. Edhak is ready and offers a host of features. Just
write a little code to communicate with each other. To start you off,
Edhak already can send strings out the serial port too, so you can send
commands to your modem or shoot a late review out to your anxious
editor. :-) (So that's how you do it. [grin] -Ed.)
I probably haven't covered half the features offered by Edhak, but
I think this will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. And
Craig has always been very generous about updating the unregistered-
user version in the library so you can keep abreast of the new features.
(You won't be able to save the configuration and you'll have to live
with seeing the carriage return character at the end of each line. In
the registered-user version you can toggle the carriage return
characters off/on.)
Check Cat. 2, topic 40 for the latest info.. Edhak has grown on
me in the last year until I can't imagine what I'd do without it. If
you need a multi-purpose text, disk and memory editor that is fast-fast,
then you need Edhak 2.0. If you like using Edhak, be sure to support
Craig's diligent efforts. Power editing/hacking has never been so good.
Edhak 2.0R
$12.00 suggested contribution
C.HARVEY - Genie
Clear Thinking BBS
P.O. Box 715
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
//////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ///
/ "There is one way to remedy this SITuation. SIT down in front /
/ of the computer and teach DC Xtract how to SIT. Then DC Xract /
/ could teach all our computers how to SIT. That should take /
/ care of the SITuation. So whatSIT gonna be? A SITting or non- /
/ SITting DC Xract? We could SIT here and discusSIT some more /
/ if you like. To SIT or not to SIT, that is the question." /
////////////////////////////////////////////// R.WATSON15 /////
[EOA]
[FUN]//////////////////////////////
ONLINE FUNNIES /
/////////////////////////////////
CowTOONS!
"""""""""
By Steve "Hawk" Schultz
(Head of Heifer Control)
O__O \_|_/
(oo) (oo)
/-------\/ /-------\/
/ | || / | ||
* ||----|| * ||----||
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
"Cow at Disneyland" "Cow visiting the Statue
of Liberty"
///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Yes, I have found that I am online more, but I am spending /
/ most of that time in FREE areas." /
/ /
/ "I love looking at the bill log and seeing all those calls /
/ with NO CHARGE." /
/////////////////////////////////////////// M.KELLER1 ///////
[EOA]
[PDQ]//////////////////////////////
PD_QUICKVIEW /
/////////////////////////////////
Ocultar: Yours For The Asking
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
By Fred H. Koch
[F.KOCH]
Program Name : Ocultar
Filename : OCULT1_5.ARC
Library Area : 2
Program Number : 16711
File Size : 31500
Program Type : Disk password protection
Author : Carl J. Hafner [C.HAFNER]
Version Reviewed: 1.5
File Type : Shareware ($10.00 w/disk, $15.00 without)
[*] [*] [*]
WHAT IT IS This is a disk password protection program. It requires
"""""""""" a password be entered when the disk is booted.
WHAT IT DOES Ocultar works in LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH resolution. It will
"""""""""""" work on both a floppy disk and a hard disk.
Ocultar works by placing the password protection program as the
first program in the AUTO folder. The boot process cannot proceed until
the proper password is entered.
A desk accessory is used to enter a new password or delete the old
password. When creating a password, the first thing Ocultar will do is
search for it's ReSourCe file. This is to ensure that the password file
is being written to the correct path. Next you must enter a password of
up to 11 characters. Once the password is entered there are three
options for the password, VISIBLE, INVISIBLE or DELETE.
VISIBLE: Creates a password file which is visible from the GEM
desktop. Since the password is saved in ASCII (text only)
format, anyone who double-clicks on this file may find out your
password.
INVISIBLE: Creates a password file which is invisible from the GEM
desktop. No-one will be able to see it (including yourself).
DELETE: Erases the password file completely. It is the same thing as
dragging the file to the TRASH can, the exception being it will
also erase the file if it is invisible.
The first thing to appear after the password program has been
activated is a prompt to LOGON <V>isibly or <I>nvisibly.
<V>isible: Allows you to see your password as you type it in.
<I>nvisible: Does not let you see the password as you enter it.
You will next be prompted to LOGON your password. Enter your pass-
word and hit <RETURN>. If the password is correct the program will
allow you to proceed. If it is incorrect it will keep prompting you
until you enter the correct password.
By popular demand a "backdoor" option has been added. A backdoor
is a password which is ALWAYS accepted by the program, regardless of
what the current password is. This allows you to gain access to your
system in the event that you have forgotten the current password, or
someone has played a mean trick and changed it when you weren't looking.
The back-door DOES NOT replace the password you have created with the
program. It merely tells what the password is. You ARE NOT limited to
11 characters with the backdoor password.
The password program uses VERY little memory (5,120 bytes) and
releases it IMMEDIATELY after you run it. It DOES NOT require any
autobooting programs such as STARTGEM to operate.
The password setting accessory, when installed, requires close to
100,000 bytes to run. Those of you with memory restrictions need not be
concerned by this. The accessory is ONLY required to create a new pass-
word or change the existing password. Once the password is created you
can disable the accessory, the password protection program will
completely control your password operations from this point on.
[*] [*] [*]
PD_Q RATING * * *
"""""""""""
DOCUMENTATION GOOD
"""""""""""""
PD_Q COMMENTS Although this program will work on any disk, its primary
""""""""""""" benefit is for auto booting hard disk drives. The
program will prevent the completion of the disk boot process unless the
proper password is entered. However, it is important to note that if
the computer is booted from a non-protected disk the protected disk can
then be read normally, since only the boot process is hindered by the
password protection.
Another problem is that the password file is hidden by setting the
file characteristic bit to 'hide' so it can be seen by any program which
bypasses the characteristic bits, (like the Universal Item Selector).
This program works well for simple password protection to prevent
access by the computer novice, but would not prevent an experienced
computer user from accessing the disk. If all you desire is to prevent
casual access to your hard drive, this utility will do the job.
////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////
/ "As the old saying goes -- When people tell 'little white /
/ lies', they soon begin talking in shades of gray. -- /
/ The same holds true for loaning software." /
////////////////////////////////////// R.HARRINGTO1 ///////
[EOA]
[OFF]//////////////////////////////
OFF THE RECORD /
/////////////////////////////////
Mini_Qwik_reViews
"""""""""""""""""
o PRACTICAL PERIPHERALS POCKET MODEMS
Good Things Do Come In Small Packages!
o STACY OR MAC_LAPTOP: A Hard Decision?
POCKET MODEM I just picked up one of those Practical Peripherals
"""""""""""" Pocket Modems (PM2400PPM) to use with my Stacy.
It gets its power from the telephone line and, therefore, needs no
AC power pack. You just plug it into the the RS232 Modem port and
connect the telephone line. It supports 300, 1200, and 2400 baud.
Since it has no audio circuits, speaker, or LEDS they have included
a "Visual Speaker" capability. Sending it an ATX5 command enables it
to display text messages such as "dialtone", "ring", and each digit as
it is dialed. It works well with ST Aladdin after changing the Reset
Command string to "ATX5" and configuring its non-volatile memory with
an "AT&F&C1&D2&W" command.
For $99.95 (at Fry's in Sunnyvale) it is a good deal. Practical
Peripherals has just released this new pocket modem so you may have to
shop around to find one. It is about the size of your mouse.
(D.HEINE1, CAT8, TOP12, MSG:2/M475)
STACY OR MAC? As far as the Mac/Stacy question goes...I had to make
""""""""""""" the same choice 6 months ago. (Actually it was between
a MacIIfx, a MacLaptop, or a Stacy). The Mac IIfx was not portable
enough and was rather expensive so it came down to the two laptops.
I chose the Stacy for a few different reasons.
First of all, the Mac screen is really bad. It is not backlit and
requires a large amount of light in the room. And it really only looks
good under certain types of lights because the screen often glares. The
Stacy screen is also somewhat annoying at first, but I have gotten used
to it (it took about 3 months for me to get really used to it and it
also works better under certain lighting conditions). Also, the Mac
laptop runs only a little faster than a standard MacSE because it is a
16MHz 68000 and not a 68030. So it is still much slower than the MacSE/
30. The Stacy with a t-16 upgrade (or even without) runs at a speed
very similar to the Mac laptop because the Stacy has a more efficient
internal architecture.
Also, if you plan on using the mouse a lot (as opposed to the
trackball), there is something to know about the laptop Mac's mouse.
Although it is in the same case as their normal mouse, and appears
identical, they changed the internals to conserve power. The new mouse
(many sales people will deny there is any difference between the laptop
mouse and the standard Mac mice) is not as accurate as the older ones.
If you are into DTP and draw, you will notice this immediately. Its
tracking is very inconsistent.
The Stacy is less money than the Mac laptop and I have not found
any software that will not run under Spectre GCR on the Stacy. The
choice is yours, but remember if you do get a Stacy and plan on using a Mac
emulator, think about what kind of printer to get. Get one that is well
supported on both the ST and Mac platforms.
(A.FRIESEN, CAT14, TOP29, MSG:52/M475)
////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////////
/ "A hard drive's such an insanely conceived electro-mechanical /
/ kludge anyway that it's miraculous that that any of them work /
/ for more than a nanosecond without self-destructing." /
//////////////////////////////////////////// A.VALENT /////////
[EOA]
[ALD]//////////////////////////////
ALADDIN ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
ST Aladdin And You
""""""""""""""""""
by John Peters
[GENIELAMP$]
"Before Aladdin, I had averaged about $50 to $60 a month on GEnie.
I now do more and my bill should be between $10 and $15, maybe
$20 tops. How can I complain about a program that saves me so
much time?" N.B.GARDNER [BRUCE]
[*][*][*]
I hope you are enjoying ST Aladdin as much as I am. With using ST
Aladdin three to five times a day, I _still_ watch the screen with total
amazement at all the things it can do. What did I ever do before ST
Aladdin?
As good as the version is now, Tim promises that the next version
will be faster, have a new editor and a whole slew of new up-grades and
enhancements. It also appears that the mysterious "reply eater" bug has
been squashed. Tim did leave a note in the ST Aladdin bulletin board
that the new release is "close at hand".
Want to avoid a lot of potential problems with ST Aladdin? If your
GEnie parameters are set wrong, (such as the control character or page
length) there's a good chance that you will have major problems getting
ST Aladdin to work. Fortunately, GEnie has made it easy to insure that
all of your parameters for ST Aladdin are set correctly. To do this, go
to page 1000 and use option 6. (To do this semi-automatically, type
M1000;6). That's all there is to it.
If anybody is interested, for my own private use, I have captured
all of the file descriptions from the ST RoundTable to date and have
converted them to ST Aladdin format using R.WATSONS utility,
TXT2DAT.LZH. If there is any interest, I'll upload the package to the
ST Aladdin RT. (It's big, but it's not _that_ big!) Also note that
Tim reports that the current version of ST Aladdin has a 10,000 file
limit. He goes on to say that this limit (limit? :-)) _may_ change in
a future update.
John Peters
[GENIELAMP$]
32 DAT2TXT.LZH X R.WATSON15 901116 8820 91 1
Desc: Aladdin .DAT to .TXT
31 TXT2DAT.LZH X R.WATSON15 901112 10080 75 1
Desc: Aladdin .TXT to .DAT
>>> ALADDIN TIPS & TRICKS <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
UPDATING THE LIBRARY This is what I do when I want to update a Library
"""""""""""""""""""" listing.
1) Exit Aladdin and delete the appropriate .DAT, .IDX & .FMK (if one).
For the ST RT Library it would be ATARISTR.DAT, etc.
2) Get back into Aladdin, go to the Roundtable section under the File
menu and set the date back to as far as you want it to go. That
should take care of it. Now you can do an Autopass or select the
RT under the Roundtable menu selection and the do a Check for New
Files under the Library section.
(R.WATSON15, CAT2, TOP2, MSG:218/M1000)
BORED? When I find a topic that turns uninteresting, I pull down the
"""""" Roundtable menu, click on Mark-reply old topics, hit P, hit
[RETURN], then hit CTRL-RIGHT ARROW to jump to next topic.
(C.EBERLE, CAT5, TOP1, MSG:451/M1000)
MODEM HELP I know this may or may not help but ST Aladdin is somewhat
"""""""""" picky hardware wise. If your modem cable does not at least
support lines 1 through 8 and 20 wired straight through, ST Aladdin
won't work no matter what you do with all of the various commands.
Also, you might try resetting the modem to the original factory
settings then use just the commands to make it respond to the DTR and
Carrier Detect lines (hardware). Aladdin does not respond to the
"connect" message (really) but relies on the hardware carrier detect
instead. (T.QUINN1, CAT2, TOP6, MSG25/M475)
ST ALADDIN & EDHAK I've found that using Edhak 2.0 is a nice way to
"""""""""""""""""" browse files as well as memory and disk sectors
while in Aladdin. (It can do all three.) The next time I lose any
replies, I'm going to do a search of memory and see if I can find them
there. I used to do this in Flash when I accidentally erased part of
the capture buffer. I would use Edhak to search the memory and copy the
portion of my erased capture into it's buffer. Nice! And since Edhak's
buffer is virtual, you can work on any size file in it. When you get to
the end of the buffer, it just asks if you want to load in the next
portion of the file and so on until the end of the file.
(M.MOTOGAWA, CAT6, TOP1, MSG:487/M1000)
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT! Wow, what a bonanza. I just discovered that
""""""""""""""""""" clicking on the scroll bar at the bottom of the
message window will skip to the message just before the next/previous
topic.
Next Topic : Click to the right of the scroll cursor
Previous Topic: Click to the left of the scroll cursor
(P.ARMSTRONG1, CAT3, TOP1, MSG:113/M1000)
MULTIPLE REPLIES This has come up before (being able to send more than
"""""""""""""""" one reply at a time to the same topic) and I've never
understood the problem with only being able to have =one=. If you've
already replied, and see another message you want to talk about, just
hit reply, and the program will re-open your reply window. Then just
put a line of "-------" or "*******" or whatever, and start over on a
new message...
*****************
Like this.. You get your "separate" replies, just not an
additional message header taking up space...
(B.BALETKA, CAT5, TOP1, MSG:478/M1000)
///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////
/ "'a zillion times faster'?!? WOW!" /
////////////////////////////////////////////// B.J.KING //////
[EOA]
[RTC]//////////////////////////////
NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE /
/////////////////////////////////
RTC Happenings!
"""""""""""""""
TEE-SHIRT AND JEANS Anything goes when it's informal night!
""""""""""""""""""" (Highlights from the Nov. 21 & 25 RTCs)
<[Sysop] JEFF.W> MAS - Nothing special on the docket tonight. Next
week, we're having an RTC on Deluxe Paint ST.
<[Z-Net] T.SCHREIBER1> I played with the Mega StE Monday night -- really
nice machine and a great buy
<LRYMAL> T.SCHREIBER, how did you like the Mega STE's keyboard?
<[Z-Net] T.SCHREIBER1> it has a better feel to it more like the clones
but without the click
<LRYMAL> Toying with getting the STe's keyboard for my Mega ST or
getting the Wuztek keyboard adaptor and a nice AT keyboard.
What to do?
<[Eric] E.SLICK> My knuckles hurt on the clicking keyboards but never on
my mushy ST
<[Vince-Cubed] VINCE.A> David, do you know if any more games are due by
Xmas? I just got Xenophobe and I love it......
<DAVID.CAGLE> The rumors I hear is that Ms. Pacman and RoadBlasters will
definitely be out by Xmas. Any other I'm not sure about.
I do hope that one will be Rampage.
<[Sysop] JEFF.W> I'm looking forward to both of those games.
<[Bad Dot] D.A.BRUMLEVE> I am so looking forward to Ms. PacMan.
<[Vince-Cubed] VINCE.A> Good, I've had RoadBlasters on order with Sears for
about 2 months now...
<[BeKaye] B.RIDGWAY> think Gadgets can get out a Game Boy Emulator for
the Lynx?
<LARRY.D> I've talked a few people into getting a Lynx this week.
GameBoy is $90, the screen illuminater is $20, and the power
pack is $30. For $20 more, you get a real game machine.
<[Bad Dot] D.A.BRUMLEVE> One great thing about the Lynx, even with so
few games, they are generally a _lot_ better
than the typical GameBoy game my kids are buy-
ing.
<[Vince-Cubed] VINCE.A> The 11 games out right now more than equal the
entire GameBoy line of games
<[Bad Dot] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Yes, if you count only fun games for the GameBoy,
Vince.
<[Dave @ Atari] DAVID.CAGLE> I haven't played my GameBoy (yes I have
one) in over 4 months. It'll probably be a
Xmas gift to my brother this year.
<[Vince-Cubed] VINCE.A> I mean in quality not quantity
<[Z-Net] T.SCHREIBER1> the Lynx sure is murder on batteries
<LARRY.D> Picked up Blue Thunder yesterday. Looking ever so forward to
Ms Pacman <one of my personal favorites of all time>
<[Dave @ Atari] DAVID.CAGLE> Larry: for a treat, hook your Lynx up to
the AUX ports on your home stereo while
playing Blue Lightning. Great Sound effects
<[Sysop] JEFF.W> LarryD -- Make sure you get Chip's Challenge.
<[Vince-Cubed] VINCE.A> Well, it looks like the Turbo Express won't be
much competition this Xmas. Most stores in this
area only got 1 each
<[Bad Dot] D.A.BRUMLEVE> I got a cigarette-lighter adaptor for the car,
and that's well worth it, Terry. Also, Radio
Shack has these plug-in things for AC for only
$7 (my official Lynx ones have both broken).
<[Bad Dot] D.A.BRUMLEVE> I heard there is a rechargeable pack coming out
for the Lynx, though.
<[Vince-Cubed] VINCE.A> The official Lynx AC adapter is on sale in
stores now.... about $8
<[Z-Net] T.SCHREIBER1> I have been selling them to Dentists for patients
in the chair
<[Eric] E.SLICK> In place of anesthesia?
<[Vince-Cubed] VINCE.A> I've got a cigarette lighter adapter for my
van, too. The adjustable type....
<LARRY.D> How do they do root canal when people are jumping around? I
do that in California games a lot.
<[Bad Dot] D.A.BRUMLEVE> In the chair? No way I could do that with my
eyes open.
<[Sysop] JEFF.W> Terry -- Dental patients playing Lynx while being
worked on???
<[Vince-Cubed] VINCE.A> Rinse, spit..... Unreal 360 ?????
<LRYMAL> Jeff, I think they are talking about plugging in the power
supply to the tooth rather than the Lynx. grin
<[Z-Net] T.SCHREIBER1> yes in some cases - I took it to a dentist
convention and it was a hit.
<LARRY.D> HOW DO YOU DO AN UNREAL 360? I've tried for hours!
<[Dave @ Atari] DAVID.CAGLE> I can't get over a Quad 360!!
<[Vince-Cubed] VINCE.A> I'm writing a program to split an Aladdin input
archive into individual Category/Topic files.... works
good so far....
<MICKEYANGELL> My total cost of upgrading my 1040ST to 4 meg was $530.
The best place to look is in PC Week. It has better
advertisers than InfoWorld. Also, it is a weekly
magazine. Also the chips have a lifetime warranty.
<D.A.BRUMLEVE> Did anybody show this ST-emulator for the Amiga at
Comdex?
<[Sysop] JEFF.W> I don't think so, Dot.
<BOB-BRODIE> Nope, they got a call from our legal department
<D.A.BRUMLEVE> hehe, might increase sales, though, Bob. Atari ought to
consider its third-party support people.
<BOB-BRODIE> If they go about it like Gadgets did, they won't have a
problem. Buy the roms separate, mount them in a board,
and go.
<D.A.BRUMLEVE> Yes, I agree. And it is not as though you have to buy an
ST to buy TOS ROMs.
<[Mark] STACE> Yes, but, TOS ROMs are harder to get then Mac ROMs.<grin>
<BOB-BRODIE> Shoot, the emulator required you to run a program on an ST....
called GET_TOS.PRG, then take that disk to an Amiga.
<BOB-BRODIE> Gee, what could be wrong with that???
<[Mark] STACE> Hehe...I can see it now! Somebody will start a TOS ROM
black market!
<D.A.BRUMLEVE> Sounds whacky, JR. Maybe it's used ROMs.
<DOUG.W> I thought it was interesting how Silicon Graphics was showing
their revolutionary new 3-D glasses at COMDEX. Looked (and
worked) like the StereoTek glasses without a cable... :-)
[*][*][*]
GET IN ON THE FUN! On Wednesday evening of each week, you can find
"""""""""""""""""" Realtime Conference sysop, JEFF.W (Jeff Williams)
in RTC room one, along with several ST users and developers. JEFF.W
and company can probably help you with many of the GEnie or ST questions
and problems you might have. Stop by on Wednesday evenings starting at
10:00 pm Eastern for help for your problems and maybe even some rumors
and gossip!
///////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////
/ "Would GRAMSLAM, for example, have caught "it's" in your /
/ third line above, Mel?" /
/ /
/ "I do believe you're running all these messages of mine /
/ through Grammatik, yes? :-) Actually, Gramslam has been /
/ pouncing on all of my ill used "it's" and wordy "that" /
/ phrases. You should have seen the size of my last out- /
/ put file! :-)" /
//////////////////////////// D.A.BRUMLEVE / M.MOTOGAWA ///
[EOA]
[ASK]//////////////////////////////
ASK Ms. GEnie /
/////////////////////////////////
Questions & Answers About GEnie
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
o XMODEM ONLY?
o MNP MODEMS ON GEnie
o REUSING TONER: Good Idea?
HI EVERYONE! Welcome to, "ASK Ms. GEnie!" I've been selected by the
"""""""""""" GEnie Lamp Staff to field any questions that you may have
about the Atari ST RoundTable, the ST, GEnie or anything else you can
think of. Let's get started...
[*][*][*]
Dear Ms. GEnie,
Does GEnie support protocols other than xmodem? If so, how do I
set my parameters to use them?
Sean Price
Dear Sean,
You can use Ymodem, Zmodem and Xmodem when downloading files from
the libraries. You can only use Xmodem when uploading. How you achieve
using the different protocols depends on what program you are using.
There are various ways of doing it. From your question, I assume that
you are familiar with Xmodem. Ymodem and Zmodem aren't really all that
different then Xmodem, at least from a users point of view. For a
complete review of transfer protocols used on GEnie, see GEnie Lamp
#1.02 (The Online Library) which is available in the ST RoundTable in
Library 36.
Have A Happy!
Ms. GEnie
[*][*][*]
Dear Ms. GEnie,
Since I haven't received a reply from FEEDBACK perhaps you could
help. What am I saying? Of course you can help. I mean you are Ms.
GEnie aren't you!? =^)
Here's me problem... I recently purchased an Avatex 2400mnp
(.MNP.) modem. I find that in order to upload to GEnie I need to turn
off MNP. I have looked through the manual repeatedly and just can't
figger it out. Might you know how to turn MNP on and off?
Thanks!
Rob
Dear Rob,
Of course I'm Ms. GEnie, who else would I be? :^) MNP doesn't get
along with Xmodem in the very least. The error checking and packet
windows conflict, and creates havoc, resulting in efficiencies around
15% or so. Turn off MNP if you want to upload. Matter of fact, turn it
off whenever you have to use Xmodem.
I don't own an Avatex modem, so I have no idea what command turns
off MNP for it. If it is not listed in the manual, you might want to
give the folks at Avatex a call for support. But, just in the off-
chance that the Avatex uses the same command as my ATI 2400etc modem,
you might try giving AT&Q0 (disable MNP) and AT&U0 (disable data
compression) a try. On the Telebit modem, the command is AT&Q0.
Sure hope that helped! (Or at least got you pointed in the right
direction.)
Have A Happy!
Ms. GEnie
[*][*][*]
Dear Ms. GEnie,
Is it a bad idea to reuse toner in the residual toner compartment?
It seems like such a waste to throw it away, I had a thought of putting
it into the toner compartment. Any ideas on this? If it's used once
should it not be reused?
Oscar
Dear Oscar,
Don't reuse the residual toner. Once toner has been charged once,
it doesn't charge very well (if at all) again, so it wouldn't stick to
the drum/paper and would just contaminate the print engine. By doing
so, you're just asking for some major headaches down the road.
Have A Happy!
Ms. GEnie
[*][*][*]
The questions and answers found in Ask Ms. GEnie have been taken
from the bulletin board area. Ms. GEnie would like to thank Darlah
Pine, John Peters, Juan Jimenez, Jeff Williams and Alan Hamilton for
taking the time and effort to answer the questions in this issue's
column.
If you have a question you would like for Ms. GEnie to address,
post your question on the GEnie Lamp Bulletin Board, CAT 34, TOPic 4 or
leave E/Mail to me, Ms. GEnie. My address is GENIELAMP$. You can also
reach me in the "Feedback to SysOps" option on page 475.
////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //////
/ "Oh no! WP leaves files open too. I hope this isn't becoming a /
/ trend. They're predicting more earthquakes over here in CA and /
/ I'd hate to have a power outage while a bunch of files are /
/ left open. Oh well." /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// M.MOTOGAWA /////
[EOA]
[BUG]//////////////////////////////
GOING BUGGY? /
/////////////////////////////////
Problems & Solutions
""""""""""""""""""""
o CODEKEYS 1.1
o TURBODOS: Bad Idea?
o VIRUS REPORT: Goblins _After_ Halloween?
o GRAMSLAM BUG
In GOING BUGGY? you will find messages that have been posted by RT
members that have found a problem with a particular piece of software or
hardware. We will also print their solutions (if any).
It's important to remember that just because someone says they have
found a bug or caught a virus that things are sometimes not always as
they seem. There is the possibility that they may be having a problem
with a conflicting desk accessory or auto-program or it could even be
hardware related and specific only to their set-up.
[*][*][*]
CODEKEYS 1.1 You discovered a small bug in CodeKeys 1.1. In that
"""""""""""" version, macros assigned to a single key (with no shift
keys) will sometimes abort prematurely. This is fixed in version 1.2,
which will be released shortly.
(C.F.JOHNSON, CAT32, TOP22, MSG:196/M475)
TURBODOS TurboDOS is not recommended for use on any Atari system. It
"""""""" can cause extreme heartaches (such as corrupted disks).
Get yourself one of the other disk caches. Better yet, upgrade to
TOS 1.4. Take it from someone who used to use TurboDOS and was bitten.
(DOUBLE-CLICK, CAT2, TOP21, MSG:2/M475)
VIRUS REPORT Just got my December issue of Atari ST User from England.
"""""""""""" Ran the cover disk through VKILLER and found the Green
Goblin virus. (J.BROSZKOWS2, CAT12, TOP16, MSG:63/M475)
GRAMSLAM BUG There appears to be a small bug in GRAMSLAM. If you try
"""""""""""" to go straight to checking a file and outputting the
results only to disk, after booting GRAMSLAM, you'll get 2 bombs and a
reboot. Be sure to do some sort of checking to the _screen_, exit and
then direct your output solely to disk.
(M.MOTOGAWA, CAT13, TOP7, MSG:20/M475)
////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////
/ "Wouldn't it be a stroke of genius if Atari released a /
/ really inexpensive 16-bit home system that used existing /
/ Lynx cartridges? Only problem with that...sure would /
/ look silly turning my T.V. on its side to play Klax! :-) /
////////////////////////////////////////////// STACE //////
[EOA]
[ELS]//////////////////////////////
ST ELSEWHERE /
/////////////////////////////////
Other Areas Of IntereST
"""""""""""""""""""""""
o SPACEPORT ROUNDTABLE
SPACEPORT ROUNDTABLE Greetings! I'm the Sysop of the Spaceport RT,
"""""""""""""""""""" and one of our new members is an avid astronomy
hobbist AND Atari ST owner. The net result of that is a deluge of
new Atari ST files in the Spaceport library!
He noticed that the Atari ST was...under-represented in the Space-
port library, and decided to upload his entire shareware library of
Astronomy and Aerospace related material.
I invite all the Atari ST owners who have an interest in astronomy
and space related material to come over to the Spaceport and check out
the new uploads!
And while you're there, feel free to drop into the BB as well. We
have many interesting discussions running right now, ranging from
satellite tracking to the new "spot" on Saturn, and more!
So please, stop by and take a look. I don't think you'll be
disappointed. (SPACE, CAT12, TOP12, MSG:4/M475)
////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ///////
/ "Hmmm, does this mean I should get Charles and John to drop /
/ in for about a year to learn a million + lines of code so /
/ that they can add a feature to Calamus allowing the user to /
/ change the default? Nah, I didn't think so. :-) /
////////////////////////////////////////// ISD - NATHAN /////
[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:
o John F. Peters [ST-GUEST] Publisher/Editor
o Darlah J. Pine [DARLAH] Co-Editor
o Jeff Williams [JEFF.W] Technical Editor
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
- Terry Quinn [T.QUINN1] Contributing Author
- Mel M. Motogawa [M.MOTOGAWA] Contributing Author
- Fred Koch [F.KOCH] Contributing Author
- Sheldon Winick [S.WINICK] Contributing Author
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.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
(c) Copyright 1990 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]
