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GEnieLamp Online Magazine Issue No.2.19
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~ ONLINE MAGAZINE ~
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////////////////////
March 1, 1991 ~ A T/TalkNET OnLine Publication ~ Issue No.2.19
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
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 And Games.
HEY MISTER POSTMAN ...... [HEY] DEALER VIEWPOINT ........ [DLR]
Is That A Letter For Me? Atari Users Groups.
ATARI_QWIK_TIPS ......... [TIP] TELETALK ONLINE ......... [TEL]
Atarians Helping Atarians. Atari_Talk.
CLASSICS ................ [CLA] OFF THE RECORD .......... [OFF]
From The Archives. Mini_Qwik_reViews.
ATARI CORP. ONLINE ...... [ATR] ST ALADDIN ONLINE ....... [ALD]
The Bottom Line @ Atari. Intro. to Scripts, Part II
SOFT_VIEW ............... [SOF] MEL'S MANOR ............. [MEL]
Operation: Firefight. Your Next Spreadsheet?
ONLINE LIBRARY .......... [LIB] HOOKING UP WITH LYNX .... [LYN]
Get It While It's Hot! Atari Game Power!
NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE. [RTC] ST ELSEWHERE ............ [ELS]
Other Areas Of IntereST. Other Areas Of IntereST.
LOG OFF ................ [LOG]
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.
TX2 FORMAT What are you missing when reading the ASCII version of
"""""""""" GEnie Lamp? EXCITEMENT! Graphics, enhanced text, click &
go index plus more are yours when using David Holmes' TX2 viewer to read
the special TX2 version of GEnie Lamp. File #18395.
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 //////
/ "If that other service worked that fast at straightening /
/ out billing problems I would likely never of discovered /
/ GEnie. Their error was one of the better things that /
/ have happened to me, sort of like being dumped by a girl /
/ friend only to find someone great." /
/////////////////////////////////////////// J.MEEHAN3 ////
[EOA]
[FRM]//////////////////////////////
FROM MY DESKTOP /
/////////////////////////////////
Notes From The Editor
"""""""""""""""""""""
o TOP OF THE PAGE: Cant Spel? Red Ths Rite Know!
o ST CONNECTION: Worth Checking Out.
o WHERE FOR ART THOU? Jenny - Are You Out There?
o GEnieTalk: GEnie Odds & Ends
TOP OF THE PAGE Recently a message was posted on one of the bulletin
""""""""""""""" board areas in where a member, (who I will call Mr. X)
asked a question about his ST. Although Mr. X's message was only a few
lines long, it was filled with numerous spelling errors. Another online
member took it upon himself to point out the errors to Mr. X and to make
the suggestion that maybe he should invest in a spelling checker.
There's something about this situation that _really_ bothers me.
Personally, I would rather read a message filled with spelling errors
then to _not_ read it at all, wouldn't you?
Believe it or not, people who do leave messages online represent a
very small minority of the members who visit the ST RoundTable. True,
Mr. X's errors stood out like a sore thumb. Also true was that in spite
of these errors, it was obvious to all what Mr. X was asking. Although
Mr. X shrugged the comments off, it pains me to think that there is the
possibility that this individual may not ever leave a message on the
bulletin board again. And to me, that would be our loss.
Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill here. More likely, I
am overly sensitive to Mr. X's predicament because I can relate to his
situation. Yes, I too depend heavily on a spell checker. And yes, I am
well aware of the situation and I am constantly seeking to improve it.
And finally, no, I don't feel a pressing need to point out to others
their spelling deficiencies.
The point is, is it really that big of a deal? Does it _really_
matter? If you ever feel the need to correct someone's message, take my
advice, just read the message and then let it go. Who knows? You may
learn something...
THE ST CONNECTION Are you a GEnie library lurker? Are you forever
""""""""""""""""" scouring the file lists looking for that ultimate
file to download? If so, there's a hardcopy newsletter that you should
be subscribing to called, "The ST Connection". In it you will find
information about the latest shareware/public domain offerings as well
as articles and interviews about the authors who wrote them. If you
would like more information on how you can get a sample copy, leave
GEmail to S.SWANSON1.
WHERE ARE YOU? One of the more enjoyable activities I've found while
"""""""""""""" on GEnie is to participate in the Real-Time Conferences
(RTC). The formal conferences are always informative and the informal
conferences are always fun in a "gossipy" sort of way.
However, there is one thing I've noticed about the RTC's that
frankly, bothers me a lot. So much so, I've been losing sleep over it.
Seems as though there is someone called Jennifer Marlowe who logs on for
the sole purpose of capturing the RTC. Folks, this woman must be the
most devoted, dedicated and enduring member on GEnie today. If there's
an RTC online, Jennifer is there. And that's not just on the ST
conferences either. I dropped in on the Bill Louden conference in the
ST Aladdin RoundTable last Wednesday night and sure enough, Jennifer was
attending.
What is most puzzling is that she never participates. Not even a
peep. No hi guys, or what's happening? Nothing. Perhaps stenographers
aren't allowed to join in? Furthermore, from what I can see, she
doesn't have a GEnie address either. If you do a /STA to find out who
is participating in the RTC, she is identified simply as, "Stenographer
is Jennifer Marlowe".
At the end of the Bill Louden conference, my curiosity got the
better of me and I asked if anybody knew anything about her. Gordon,
the SysOp of the ST Aladdin RT stated that, "she is figment of someone's
cpu chips." Was he joking? Is Jenny just a bunch of wires and chips
whose sole purpose in life is to capture RTC transcripts? (Horrors!)
I am becoming infatuated with Jenny. I can't sleep, or eat... my
life is coming to a standstill. Gasp... could this be love? I have to
know more. Quickly I logged onto GEnie. Sure it's primetime rates, but
who cares? This is in the name of love! Moving over to the GEmail
page, I (with trembling hands) type her name into the search command.
Dennis... Donald... Keith... Alas, no Jennifer. Somewhat dejected, but
still full of hope, I move to the GEnie User Profile Search option on
page 203. My eyes zeroes in on:
3. Select Last Name
Enter #, or <P>revious?3
Carefully, I type in her last name:
Last Name?Marlowe
Searching the Profile Directory
for the following criteria:
Last Name: MARLOWE
No selections found...
Please Try again.
ARRRRRRGH! IS THERE NO JUSTICE? Where for art thou, my Jennifer?
Does anyone know Jennifer? Has anybody actually talked to her? Jenny,
_please_, if you are reading this, you know where to find me! ;-)
Take care...
John Peters
[GENIELAMP$]
PS. What's in store for GEnie in the future? 9600 baud on GEnie...
where and how much? Answers to these questions and more are in
this issue's Nights of the RoundTables [RTC]. Bill Louden,
general manager of GEnie, was the guest host. Interesting stuff!
GEnieTALK!
""""""""""
HAPPY USERS :-( I wish the world was such where we didn't have to
""""""""""""""" worry about information being used in illegal ways.
It is not so.
This RT can't accept codes to break commercial programs. We
regret having to make such a policy as I feel there are many that would
only use them for their own use. There are some that would not comply.
WE, at GEnie do not want to become accomplices at such practices.
We need all the developers that are in this market. Allowing such
flagrant transferring of information for possible illegal practices,
places us in a position *I* don't want to be in.
I see both sides of the arguments.
(DARLAH, CAT4, TOP33, MSG:53/M475)
U.K. ACCESS The U.K. does have GEnie access. In order to gain access
""""""""""" in the U.K. through their state owned Public Data
Networks, follow these procedures:
1. Connect to the local PDN (Public Data Network) by joining the
local PDN service.
2. Enter the following info all on one line: 3136 (GE Information
Services' DNC) 9 (indicates PAD Service) 00 (indicates
Asynchronous Service) Thus you would enter 3136900 or
31369000000000 (if the PDN requires the full X.121 address.
Contact the PTT representative if there are any questions as to
the correct addressing structure.)
GE Information Services will distinguish the access speed (300
bps or 1200 bps) automatically.
3. When they receive the MARK*NET Service sign-on prompt U#=,
follow the traditional user number, password which is:
XJM11997,PDN
4. After the sign-up, a startup package will be mailed. This
includes a contract, which GEnie needs signed and returned
before the account can be validated. If they choose, they can
FAX the signed contract. That info appears on the contract.
Connect charges in addition to what PDN charges:
PRIME = $20.00 NON-PRIME = $8.00 (300/1200/2400 baud)
Prime time is in effect from 8 am to 6 pm **EASTERN** time (USA)
weekdays (ie; Monday through Friday). Non prime time is all other hours
and includes GEnie holidays.
(ISD, CAT16, TOP14, MSG:83/M475)
/////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //////
/ "Albert Einstein proved that nothing can travel faster than /
/ the speed of light,...and that nothing can travel slower /
/ than Second Class Mail! {:^)" /
//////////////////////////////////////////// N.WEINRESS /////
[EOA]
[HUM]//////////////////////////////
HUMOR ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
GEnie Fun And Games
"""""""""""""""""""
LAUGHSAC.PRG [Please put cushions on the floor before reading this
"""""""""""" message.]
You need my new soon-to-be-released LAUGHSAC.PRG. It's a memory-
resident chuckle-absorber...a guard against ROFLOL, guaranteed to keep
you in your chair, ready for the next joke. My lawyer advised me to
create such a program and release it as freeware to absolve me from any
blame for my messages. I also feel that any GEnie reader should work in
a joke-proof environment if at all possible.
LAUGHSAC is in beta-test right now. I want to make sure to test
this one thoroughly because SADAMFIX.PRG was a complete failure
(SADDAMFIX is 9 letters, maybe _that_ was the problem).
(J.EIDSVOOG1, CAT3, TOP8, MSG:85/M475)
ATARI ENVY The 400 was the envy of us TRS-80 owners.:-) The TRS cost
"""""""""" about $800-$900 for 4K then another $200-$300 to expand it
to 16K. I remember firing that baby up with the massive expanded 16K
memory. Took about 12 Min for the cassette to load a 10K program from
Epyx and you always had to load it 3 or 4 times. I'd order one of those
Epyx dungeon master games with the blocks that resembled people.
Anyway, they would have that color 400/800 picture on the back of the
box with creatures that actually had legs and arms.:-) Those old
games might be good for the Portfolio...?
By time I saved up enough money for the 800 the 1200XL came out and
by time I paid it off the 520ST came out, and by time I paid it off the
1040ST, then the Mega 4, now the TT, what's next the SS (64x64) or the
Oh!Oh! (128x128)or the TT (256x256)...Hmm, I see name change soon!:-)
(REALM, CAT16, TOP14, MSG:168/M475)
SO TRUE...
""""""""""
S O M U C H S O F T W A R E . . .
S O L I T T L E T I M E . . .
<heavy sigh>
S O L I T T L E M O N E Y . . .
(D.BOUEY1, CAT1, TOP1, MSG:133/M590)
////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "[Trying to find the perfect printer] is like trying to find /
/ the 'perfect' mate. He/She doesn't exist. You're happier /
/ falling in love with the one you've got. :-)" /
//////////////////////////////////////////////// R.GRANT11 ///
[EOA]
[HEY]//////////////////////////////
HEY MISTER POSTMAN /
/////////////////////////////////
Is That A Letter For Me?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
o ATARI TID_BITS
o 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 [*] If you formatted your Megafile 30 with Atari's software
"""""" then it is already 1:1 interleaved. If you used Supra's or
ICD's software you would have had to explicitly specify 1:1 interleave
[*] ST Aladdin, does not currently support RTS/CTS handshaking [*] I got
a chance to run RATEHD on a Seagate ST4766N (over 650MB). It is the
fastest I've seen so far connected to an ST at 1227 K/sec with a 15ms
seek time! [*] The left and right channels are connected together in
the Lynx [*] A GDOS driver that outputs PostScript is planned for FSM
GDOS [*]
>>> ODDS & ENDS <<<
"""""""""""""""""""
GOOD POINT The main thing to point out, is that if you have a problem
"""""""""" with a particular piece of software, it's a good idea to
bring it to the author's attention so it can be improved. It's all too
easy to just stop using the program. As mentioned before, the reason it
hasn't been in UNLZH up to now, is because I didn't get a lot of
feedback on it.
(J.HARRIS32, CAT2, TOP24, MSG:104/M475) (EDITED)
BETA TESTERS WANTED We have finished our TT support for people using
""""""""""""""""""" ICD ST Host Adapters on the TT. If anyone would
like to beta test this software please leave me EMAIL.
We are also almost finished with our new Tape Backup software.
Anyone who would like to beta test this leave me EMAIL.
(ICDINC, CAT4, TOP2, MSG:150/M475)
GADGET'S SUPPORT INFO Gadget's product support line is open: Mon.,
""""""""""""""""""""" Weds., and Fri. from 8:30am - 2:30pm (Mountain).
Of course, when a human being isn't attending to the line a voice
recorder will take your message for you. There is also Gadget's FAX
line (24 hours): (303) 791-0253
(STACE, CAT7, TOP2, MSG:50/M690)
UNIX INFO For general information, I highly recommend: "UNIX System
""""""""" V Release 4, An Introduction" from Osborne McGraw-Hill
(ISBN0-07-881552-5). It's 1228 (yes, one-thousand and twenty-eight)
pages long and covers EVERYTHING. The book was written by Kenneth
Rosen, Richard Rosinski, and James Farber - all AT&T Bell Labs
employees. (DOUG.W, CAT14, TOP36, MSG:17/M475)
>>> WHAT'S NEW? <<<
"""""""""""""""""""
SUPRA DEALS I have information from Supra on their new Modems and
""""""""""" trade in deal. They have two new modems. One has MNP 1-5
(Supra MNP) and the other has a new international standard in addition
to MNP 1-5 (Supra Plus) The new standards has the capability of through
put of UP TO 9600 baud EQUIVALENT rate with full data compression.
That is not the same as 9600 baud, does not help in text transfers and
will of course only help if both modems have the same standard.
They offer two deals, one trade in with a Supra 2400 w/ book and
power supply all working, and a second with something less to trade.
Since I have the former I did not check on the later.
They then offer two trade in methods. One send in you old unit
and they will ship the new. Two order the new and then send in the
old and they will issue a refund. It all sounds fair to me.
A full trade includes a working 2400, a working power supply, and
the instruction book. I ordered a 2400+ for myself. At the time I
ordered they were about two or three weeks behind on shipping. They
also stressed the importance of calling and getting a RMA# prior to
sending back a trade in.
I chose to order a new unit and to send my unit back for
refund after I receive the new unit. I could not stand to be at 300
baud for three weeks. They also offer to accept the old unit at the
time of ordering - you do need a RMA# first though.
With full Trade With no trade
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
2400+ 129.95 239.95
The 800 number for orders (no tech information) is 1-800-727-8772.
(J.MEEHAN3, CAT8, TOP11, MSG:59/M475) [EDITED]
FLOPPY DRIVE SALE BLOWOUT ON 3.5" AND 5.25" FLOPPY DRIVES! We have an
""""""""""""""""" overstock of 720k 3.5" and 360K 5.25" cases, so
we've decided to blow them out by offering our customers (present and
future) a GREAT 'DEAL!!!
720k 3.5" drives for the ST -----> $129.95 complete!
Low Profile, external power supply for small footprint!
360k 5.25" drives ---------------> $119.95 complete!
Clean IBM compatible 5.25" drive for 2nd ST or IBM emulator use.
Absolutely the best price on the planet! Call us at (801)484-9809
voice or (801)466-2541 Fax. You can even order online at the Dreamer
BBS (801)569-1949! When these are gone, that's IT! So call us today!
(JB.DAVIS, CAT4, TOP53, MSG:59/M475)
INFORMER II 2.03 UPGRADE NEWS This week all users of INFORMER II that
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" recently received the upgrade to 2.03
were sent New Program Disks. The disk is a fix that corrects several
problems. Also included in the mailing is the missing Read Me detailing
all the new features and how to use them. If anyone who had received
2.03, has not gotten there new disk please contact Soft-Aware and you
will be sent the new disk.
Soft-Aware Unlimited
(714) 982-8409
Office Hours 8:30am to 5:00pm PST
Monday - Friday
(R.SKRALY, CAT6, TOP4, MSG:92/M475)
G-PRINT NOW AVAILABLE Hi! I'm Steve Whitney, the author of G-Print.
""""""""""""""""""""" You may have seen messages from me floating
around the RT about G-Print. If you haven't had a chance, take a look
at the G-Print demo in file #18232. Unfortunately, the demo doesn't
come with GDOS, a printer driver, or fonts, but if you have Timeworks
DTP, Easy Draw, Word Flair, Word Up, or an Atari Laser printer, you
probably have all you need. There are other ways to get GDOS too.
Of course the for-sale version of G-Print comes with everything you
need (including an easy to use installer program).
Why should you consider G-Print? G-Print takes files from word
processors such as 1st Word, Word Writer ST, 1st Word Plus, and ST
Writer as well as straight ASCII files and prints them in ways you
never thought possible. You get:
o multiple proportionally-spaced fonts in a variety of sizes
o microspace justification (for those razor sharp right margins
you see in magazines without the chunky spacing)
o multiple columns
o on-screen preview
o rules and borders
o landscape printing mode (sideways),
o title pages
o the ability to print all the characters in the ST character
set (that's right, you can print foreign languages including
Hebrew)
o "remap" text styles so that (for example) light text prints as
outlined)
o an easy to use "novice mode" to get you started
o word count,
o the ability run a word processor from within G-Print
o saved configuration files for common types of documents
o "booklet" print for making fold down the center leaflets
o and more!
Future update plans include full support for FSM (font scaling
module) GDOS (G-Print runs under it now, but we will support FSM's new
features), TX2 file support, a different font for each type pitch in ST
Writer and 1st Word Plus. (The latter two enhancements are currently in
testing).
G-Print has been used successfully for simple "desktop publishing"
for newsletters, mailing lists, term papers, lab reports, letters,
brochures, and more.
The best parts are: 1) The author is on GEnie and open to suggestions
2) It only costs US $25!
Thanks for listening! I'm looking forward to your comments. If
you want ordering information, please let me know.
(S.WHITNEY, CAT13, TOP14, MSG:1/M475)
>>> ATARIAN MINDS WANT TO KNOW! <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(Facts, Fiction & Maybe)
KAOS-TOS 1.42 What about the VERY popular Kaos-TOS 1.42 that is for
""""""""""""" sale in Germany? It has been doing very well for a
couple of years now. Half of everybody over there uses it. Since Atari
has not taken any action to protect that version, I wonder if a
challenge several years after the release would be accepted in court
(remember Xerox vs. Apple?). You got to protect your copyright to keep
it. (R.FLASHMAN, CAT2, TOP13, MSG:137/M475)
>>>>> Kaos Tos being sold in Germany? and even already for years?!!
""""" Great joke!! Nobody would dare sell it officially here in
Germany!! This again shows what one badly researched article can do!
It almost cost a guy his job too!! Anybody who would try to circulate
it would be in a LOT of trouble!
The first time Kaos Tos surfaced was at last years Atari fair in
Duesseldorf, but it was NOT shown officially there, as it was stated
in the above mentioned article. At the moment Kaos Tos is a dead
issue!! Michael Schuetz (Atari PD Journal)
(HILCHNER2, CAT18, TOP6, MSG:27/M475)
>>>>> Jim is correct in stating that Atari Germany isn't posting, or
""""" allowing the posting of TOS or the new Desktop to BBS or any-
place. In fact, they are _actively_ fighting the distribution of same,
no mattter how its being distributed. They are also _actively_ fighting
the use of other OSs which are modified TOS. An example is KAOS-TOS
which isn't being sold because Atari didn't want it sold (nobody got
sued either). (F.BELL, CAT18. TOP6, MSG:34/M475)
ATARI RESPONDS Have you ever heard of derivative work? KOAS-TOS would
"""""""""""""" definitely be such a thing and we will could sue them
and win if they ever distributed such a thing. They disassembled TOS,
commented it, modified it, and burned it into ROMs, according to what I
know. If that isn't a derivative work, then I don't know what one is!
(TOWNS, CAT18, TOP6, MSG:42/43/M475)
FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER The Atari ST version of Flight of the Intruder
"""""""""""""""""""""" is actually on time and we hope to finish it
in a few months. I keep forgetting to check with Rowan Software, but
you should be able to play over a direct connection both cooperatively
and competitively with another Atari ST, Amiga or IBM.
>>>>> As far as I know, the Atari ST version of Flight of the Intruder
""""" will support the R/C Aerochopper. I mean, why not? The code is
already written for ST FALCON :-)
(HOLOBYTE, CAT9, TOP28/34, MSG:28/49/M475)
SILHOUETTE SOON I called Maxwell CPU yesterday (2/21). According to
""""""""""""""" the guy who answered the phone, he's hoping to get
Silhouette out in about two more weeks. He said he'd post on GEnie when
it's out, and send a card to everyone on his mailing list.
(L.PECKHAM, CAT7, TOP2, MSG:54/M475)
LOOKING FOR STart? The next issue will be labeled Feb/March. However,
"""""""""""""""""" it looks like it won't be delivered until early/
mid March. Here's what's on it: Dave Small reviews the new TT030
Users Groups, what they are, how to find one and join it. First
annual Outline Art Contest winners
On Disk: Atari Users Group list
Kwajalein, the game.
Versys, the programmers version backup utility
Coming on the April/May issue: Troubleshooting guide SimCity
extravaganza DTP Fonts comparison
On Disk: A folder full of tools mentioned in the troubleshooting
guide,
Camera Control
a CAD 3D utility
SimCity cheat
Absolute Zero, a game
And in June/July: Power tips for power users: Desktop publishing
Portfolio overview, New column, the Technician's Bench
On Disk: Cyber Sculpt
ST Writer update
Fractal Landscape Creator
Shapesworld, programming computers to understand language
And, of course, much more!
(ANTIC, CAT12. TOP2, MSG:74/M475)
TT/386? I've been reading on FNet rumors of 3 new Ataris.. One of
""""""" which is a TT/386... Supposedly this is an Atari TT030, with
a 386 computer built in, accessible from an icon on the TT Desktop!!
Any truth to this, Mr. Brodie??
(B.LEONARD3, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:198/M475)
IMAGEN NO MORE? My understanding that Imagen is no more and don't
""""""""""""""" expect any upgrades...
(R.FLASHMAN, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:209/M475)
>>>>> "Something" is happening between Atari and Imagen...at least
""""" that's what all the "clues" lead one to believe Rick ;-)
(J.ALLEN27, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:210/M475)
>>>>> Notso, Rick. Imagen was bought, but QMS/Imagen is still
""""" working on UltraScript.
(K.BAD, CAT14, TOP35, MSG:211/M475)
MAYBE... MAYBE Down the road I may offer an upgrade service to T16
"""""""""""""" customers to increase the ATSpeed to full speed...
replacing the 286 8Mhz with a 16Mhz version... which could then be
placed directly on top of the T16's 68000 chip. It would then take
advantage of the T16's caching ;-)
(J.ALLEN27, CAT4, TOP11, MSG:121/M475)
CD-ROM SUPPORT We have experimented with the CDAR 504. However, for
"""""""""""""" reasons I am not sure I am allowed to discuss (Doug?
help?), we have not committed to supporting it. We do want to support
CD ROMs; it just may not be that one. That's one reason we put 16 drive
slots into 3.0. (DAVESMALL, CAT7, TOP71, MSG:5/M475)
SMALL PROJECTS I am CURRENTLY working on software to allow you to set
"""""""""""""" wait-states and such in your SST's d-ram. Naturally,
the faster the RAM, the better,the cutoff point being where your master
card tugs. We're not trying to make this thing unaffordable -- quite the
opposite!
I am also currently working on a few surprises to be unveiled in a
month at the CeBIT show. I don't think they've ever been done before,
but everyone I've talked to is sure they are impossible. Where have I
heard that before?
We are working very hard on a 520/1040 ST solution. Everyone knows
it's hard; poor Bill Teal and PC-Ditto II found out bigtime. We don't
know any more right now or we would tell you; we work that way.
(Except I have to keep George from giving away TOO many secrets to
the competition. I bet they log in nightly with a printer capturing
notes.) *grin* Take 'er easy, folks. All's on schedule.
(DAVESMALL, CAT9, TOP2, MSG:42/M475) (EDITED)
TURBO30_ALMOST Hey Folks, just to keep you posted on the TURBO030,
"""""""""""""" it's almost ready, we have the OK from Atari on the
Tos (verbally with paperwork to follow). The official rollout will be
next month, in tune with CeBit. We are just working out pricing...
you're gonna be happy, especially if you are a T16 owner.
>>>>> The T16E will start shipping in March, with some interesting
""""" goodies onboard ;-) I've tried to make it worth the wait. Some
of those goodies require a little soldering, but the bulk of it is plug
and play. (J.ALLEN27, CAT4, TOP11, MSG:125/127/M475) (EDITED)
MOUSE ACCELERATOR I also hope to have a new version of my ubiquitous
""""""""""""""""" Mouse Accelerator 3 on the wires soonly. Darin will
tell you not to hold your breath, though, he's been running a beta
version 3.4 for some months now. If I can ever wrap the current VERY
important FSM project I have going, MACCEL3 gets top priority. The new
version will have an option to use the original acceleration scheme
(some people prefer the old "timed" method I used in the original
MACCEL), and will be much more compatible. I gotta update MACCEL so
that it's compatible with Codekeys and res changes! Many thanks to
Charles Johnson for showing me what I was doing wrong with MACCEL3.
(K.BAD, CAT14, TOP32, MSG:1/M475) (EDITED)
>>> HOT TOPICS <<<
""""""""""""""""""
REALLY DISTURBED! Unfortunately, I can only afford to log on once a
""""""""""""""""" week, but after reading all these messages I am
starting to get _really_ disturbed (scared?).
Sheldon - I have read a lot of your stuff (here and elsewhere). I
live in Sitka, AK, and have no dealer within 1400 miles. I had to pay
$170.00 in shipping alone to get my _new_ STe. There is no way in h***
I was going to pay even $20.00 more for that 1040STe. Especially since
there is no hope of my being able to browse at an Atari dealer for new
products, or just _take_ my computer in for a much needed shifter chip.
I am now facing nearly $100.00 worth of postage just to get my computer
TO a dealer in Seattle, and back (Fairbanks is out of the question...
Too far, too expensive). I get the distinct impression you want to get
rid of mail order. I, for one, want to be able to buy what everyone in
the states is buying, and the only way I can do it is mail order. The
thought of my not being able to mail order a MEGA 4 STE is enough to
drive me to MacIntosh (they don't care how they sell computers... Why
should Atari?) To get the point across... Do you have to order
batteries for your watch, or can you go to the store and get *any*
battery you want? I just ordered batteries for my Minolta and my
Seiko... Walter S. Wilson (WallSTer) Sitka, Alaska
(W.WILSON34, CAT16, TOP14, MSG:219/M475)
>>>>> There's a great difference between mail-order marketing and low-
""""" balling. Legitimate mail-order marketing is designed to fill
exactly the need you describe -- providing availability of products to
areas of the country where no local source exists. Most all of us have
shopped mail-order for something or other from time to time, and it is
a legitimate method of marketing products.
Low-balling on the other hand is a practice designed to steal sales
from other dealers by pricing merchandise so low that legitimate retail
stores cannot possibly remain competitive. Mail-order prices should be
expected to be lower than available in a storefront. That is perfectly
normal because of the lower cost of marketing, and the reduced time and
service provided. I have no problem with that whatsoever.
But when the mail-order companies start marketing products at
essentially just a few dollars above actual dealer cost, their objective
is obviously aimed at destroying the market for legitimate retail
establishments with a storefront.
(S.WINICK, CAT16, TOP14, MSG:221/M475)
>>>>> There you go Sheldon now you've said it aloud. THE LOWBALLERS!!
""""" At this point you must make it clear that the lowballers, (name
them), are the real killers of the marketplace. State the reasons why
they are and what can/should be done about them. A little research will
show they have actually have or have not been a benefit to the market.
In reality, Atari's new marketing plans are "just what the doctor
ordered" and must be given an opportunity to prove themselves. The
only thing that has hurt Atari's market from day one has been the FULL
STROKERS AND LOWBALLERS they and they alone, have been the basis for
all the turmoil and unrest.
Atari's new plan is excellent. Give it a chance to work! Once
it's in full bloom, dealers will begin to flourish.
(ST-REPORT, CAT16, TOP14, MSG:222/M475)
>>>>> Whoa Ralph, slow down. From my personal perspective, I have to
""""" disagree, I have been in retail, from THE lowballer to a full
service Dealer, of everyone's products, including IBM clones, Apple,
CBM and Atari. Granted this was 6 years ago but I must assume that some
basics don't change. We learned through experience, that holding
regular training classes on various software packages was not only good
business in terms of bottom line profit margin, but affected sales in a
positive manner as well. The same can be said for a good service
department which should also be run as a profit centre. Just those two
areas alone add to the overall ability of your store to sell to any
professional organization because they will pay for the service and
support. Both Value Added Resellers and Value Added Dealers are
becoming quite prolific in relation to overall sales of computers today.
These kinds of VAD's or VAR's charge extra for their services, rightly
so.
We are not talking about a 520 STe now, but a Mega or TT as,
coupled with the software available today, offer very real alternatives
to the Mac and IBM, in CADD, DTP, and MUSIC to name 3 areas where Atari
based solutions have a very real advantage in terms of performance and
value. Slowly but surely I believe that we will see Atari capitalize on
that fact.
I also agree with you and many others that the product must be sold
through whatever channels of distribution exist to get the product out
there. But personally, I'd like to see that mass distribution through
national non-computer specific chains and mail order houses, limited to
the lower end hardware.
Walter...you raise an obvious point and a problem. If I was at
Atari, I know the solution that automatically occurs to me. Send a Rep
out to Alaska and leave him there until he opens Dealers so that you
don't have to rely solely on ridiculous distances to buy anything,
sight unseen. In the current structure, you have no choice really but
to buy mail order and we all recognize that fact. You must also rely
on magazines and online services like GEnie to give you a feel for your
potential purchase of software or hardware. I think GEnie is an
excellent venue for this as it always becomes clear in time, the type of
product that you are considering and the support offered by the company
that actually represents that product. In this regard, GEnie can be
quite valuable to you in terms of making a purchase decision.
Using Walter's situation as an example, he can only benefit from
Atari hardware being carried by any chain in Sitka. A user base becomes
established, a demand is created. Next thing you know, either the chain
is carrying far more Atari product than they had originally anticipated,
or an independent Dealer starts carrying the Atari line to service the
growing demand. Everyone wins in that scenario.
(ISD, CAT16, TOP14, MSG:223/M475)
>>> MESSAGE SPOTLIGHT <<<
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Atari-ST RoundTable
Category 4, Topic 57
Message 15 Sat Feb 16, 1991
R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 18:01 EST
Did Atari wait for someone to write a bunch of software for the
ST before they released it. I think not. Only after a couple of years
after the release of the ST, did a lot of software start appearing. I
think the excuse Atari is using for waiting to release the CD ROM unit
is the lamest excuse they have given to date.
Even if software is not released for it, I could still use it to
play a CD so it would not be a waste to have it. After developers learn
that the CD-ROM has been released and they see that people are buying
them, they would start developing software for it. Did sensible people
wait a couple of years for software to be developed for the ST before
they bought it?
Please, do not take this wrong. This is just my opinion and I
think that Atari is doing the wrong thing by holding it back just
because no software (or only 2 pieces) has been written for it. If you
were a developer, would you spend your time and effort writing a piece
of software for something that may never be released?
[*][*][*]
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 never made no stinkin promises. :-)" /
////////////////////////////// ISD/Nathan ///
[EOA]
[DLR]//////////////////////////////
DEALER VIEWPOINT /
/////////////////////////////////
Atari User Groups
"""""""""""""""""
By Sheldon Winick
[S.WINICK]
Ever since the early days of Atari in this country, user groups
have provided a place for Atari owners to meet, socialize and share
ideas and experiences. They have served as a place where information
could be shared and programs and hardware demonstrated.
The user groups have survived both good times and bad, changing
market conditions and changes in attitudes and needs of their
membership. They have praised Atari at times and criticized them at
others. But through it all, user groups have carried the banner and
helped spread the word about Atari's systems around the country. The
larger user groups have also been responsible for many of the major
Atari shows over the years and have been a positive force in educating
their membership and guests about Atari related hardware and software.
Atari user groups provide new owners with a place to meet other
more experienced Atari owners and get advice and help on how to get the
most out of their computer systems, and a place for advanced Atarians
or those with specific interests a source for that information exchange
as well. Members are a fantastic source of information since their
recommendations carry with them the experience of actually using the
products they're recommending. They have no vested interest the the
products and software they review and demonstrate.
Most user groups also maintain a library of public domain and
shareware software for sharing with their membership. Many also own
several of the better known commercial software titles which are used
for demonstration purposes or for direct club activities. Monthly
newsletters help disseminate information as well as do the local
electronic bulletin board systems (BBS) that many user groups maintain.
The BBS's provide a place where members can share ideas, help each
other with problems, plan club activities and share public domain and
shareware software.
Where possible, many user groups cooperate closely with local
Atari dealers for the mutual benefit of both. The Atari dealer can be
a great source of information and assistance, as well as being able to
help out with hardware and software for user group use and possibly
even provide the user group with a meeting location and monthly
specials for the membership. And the members support of the local
dealers assures them of a source for additional support and a good
selection of hardware and software for their Atari systems.
Here in Asheville, our local Atari user group, the Blue Ridge
Atari Computer Enthusiasts (BRACE), works closely with us at Computer
STudio. We provide them with their monthly meeting location as well as
use of our equipment for meeting use and monthly preparation of their
newsletter. I personally have been a past president of BRACE (prior to
opening Computer STudio), and am still the current newsletter editor.
A member of my staff, Ed Riddle, also runs the BRACE BBS and serves as
their media director.
Atari themselves also believe strongly enough in their user
groups to support them whenever possible and in whatever ways they
can. Most of you know that Bob Brodie is Atari's Manager of User
Group Services and is perhaps one of visible personalities at Atari
Corp. He maintains an active role here on GEnie and can be found
at virtually all major Atari shows around the country, and on frequent
visits to user groups and dealers.
If any of you don't already belong to a user group, you should
really do yourself a favor and search out the closest Atari user group
and pay them a visit. If you don't know where the nearest user group
is, leave a note here on GEnie and I'm sure you'll quickly find someone
who can give you that information. You can also check with your
nearest Atari dealer or local BBS's for that information. If you don't
have a local user group, you might want to consider getting together
with some fellow Atarians and starting one yourself. I'm sure Bob will
be glad to provide you with some guidelines and helpful advice, as
would members of existing user groups located elsewhere.
It can also be enjoyable to plan to visit user group shows that
are located in your region of the country. You can easily locate
where they will be held by following their discussion in Category 11
here on GEnie. Most major shows are also well publicised in most user
group newsletters and on their individual BBS's.
Your Atari systems give you virtually unlimited computer
potential to fill all your needs and desires, as well as provide you
with many hours of enjoyment and entertainment. The more you know
about how they work and what they can do, the more you'll benefit from
their usage. User groups are a valuable asset towards achieving that
goal, and the friendships that you'll make with others who have similar
interests and desires will only increase your enjoyment.
Happy (Atari) Computing.
Sheldon Winick (GEnie Address: S.WINICK)
Computer STudio (Asheville, NC)
////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //////
/ "I sound like one of those beggars on the street! "Hey /
/ buddie, can you spare some source code?" /
////////////////////////////////////////// M.HILL13 ////
[EOA]
[TIP]//////////////////////////////
ATARI_QWIK_TIPS /
/////////////////////////////////
Atarians Helping Atarians
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
o CODEKEYS: Explained
o CORDLESS MOUSE: Making It Last
CODEHEAD HELP Since I wrote the CodeKeys manual and there seems to be
""""""""""""" a lot of confusion about how CodeKeys handles its files,
I thought I'd try to explain it in a different way to see if it is more
easily understandable.
File Definitions:
'''''''''''''''''
CODEKEYS.PRG - The required guts of CodeKeys, usually run from the
AUTO folder but may be run from the desktop.
CODEKEYS.ACC - The optional CodeKeys editor, usually installed as an
accessory (MultiDesk compatible), but may be run as a
program (change it to CKEYSACC.PRG) to save memory.
CODEKEYS.CNF - Optional configuration file, created by "Save" in the
Options dialog box. Contains the default path, and
settings for macros on/off, use link file, bells
(global), restore, scheduling, lock, and start/stop key
combinations.
CODEKEY?.KEY - A default file of macro definitions containing from 1
to 32 macros. The question mark may be 'S' or 0-9
(Also CODEBIG.KEY).
????????.KEY - File of 1-32 macro definitions to be loaded manually,
through the link process, or by LoadKeys. Question
marks may be any valid file character.
CODEKEY?.LNK - A text file containing a list of program names and the
full pathnames of the KEY files to be loaded when those
programs run. The question mark may be 'S' or 0-9.
Installation Process Auto folder of boot drive:
''''''''''''''''''''
\AUTO\CODEKEYS.PRG looks for:
\CODEKEYS.CNF (root directory)
\CODEKEYS.KEY (root directory)
From desktop or shell (any directory):
CODEKEYS.PRG looks for:
CODEKEYS.CNF (same directory)
CODEKEYS.KEY (same directory)
CODEKEYS.LNK (same directory)
Accessory installation (bootup, MultiDesk, res-change, or run as a
program):
CODEKEYS.ACC (or CKEYSACC.PRG) looks for:
Low Res: CODEKEY0.KEY CODEKEY0.LNK
Med Res: CODEKEY1.KEY CODEKEY1.LNK
Hi Res: CODEKEY2.KEY CODEKEY2.LNK
TT Low: CODEKEY7.KEY CODEKEY7.LNK
TT Med: CODEKEY4.KEY CODEKEY4.LNK
TT High: CODEKEY6.KEY CODEKEY6.LNK
Unknown: CODEKEYx.KEY CODEKEYx.LNK, CODEBIG.KEY CODEBIG.LNK
If none of these are found, CodeKeys will use the files found by
CODEKEYS.PRG:
CODEKEYS.CNF
CODEKEYS.KEY
CODEKEYS.LNK
The accessory (as an ACC or a program) will search the default path
defined in CODEKEYS.CNF if it exists, otherwise it will search the same
directory as it resides. The default path that is contained in
CODEKEYS.CNF is whatever was on the directory line of the file selector
(including the extension) the last time a KEY file was loaded or saved
before you did a "Save" from the Options box.
Link Process A .LNK file looks like this:
''''''''''''
CODEKEYS:
;
WWRITER.PRG C:\CODEHEAD\CODEKEYS\WWRITER.KEY
FLASH.PRG C:\CODEHEAD\CODEKEYS\CNFRENCE.KEY
PUBLISH.APP C:\CODEHEAD\CODEKEYS\PUBLISH.KEY
ALADDIN.PRG C:\CODEHEAD\CODEKEYS\ALADDIN.KEY
Link files are described fully on page 30 of you manual. Read it.
The easiest way to create a link file is to use MakeLink. It will
allow you to create a link file, or load, save, add to, or delete from
an existing one. If you use HotWire it's handy to chain from MakeLink
into LoadKeys with a command line to load your default link file. This
will automatically update the changes you've made to your link file into
CodeKeys. My command line looks like this:
C:\CODEHEAD\CODEKEYS\CODEKEY2.LNK~
See page 32 for details on installing LoadKeys into HotWire, and
see your HotWire manual for details on chaining.
Whenever a program is run from the desktop or a shell, CodeKeys
searches its link file for that program name (it can be run from any
directory). If it finds a match it will save your current 32 macros
(in an allocated memory block), load the KEY file assigned to that
program, and display the message: "Loading: XXXXXXXX.KEY" at the top of
the screen (usually very quickly).
Finer points of link files:
1. Before the link file is loaded, your current macros are saved, even
if they have been changed and not saved to disk. They will be
restored exactly as you left them with changes intact.
2. The linked KEY file will load only as many macros as it contains,
starting with macro 1. This allows you to keep global macros that
you use system-wide in higher-numbered slots and load
program-specific macros into lower-numbered slots.
3. Your current macros will not be restored until you exit from the
first program for which a linked KEY file was loaded. In other
words, macros will not be restored after running nested programs.
a. You run the Neodesk program, linking NEODESK.KEY.
b. From Neodesk you run Aladdin, linking ALADDIN.KEY.
c. When you exit from Aladdin to Neodesk, CodeKeys will still
contain your ALADDIN.KEY macros.
d. When you exit Neodesk your original macros will be restored.
It's best not to link KEY files to shell programs, but rather use
your default macros. If Neodesk were not assigned a linked KEY file,
the above process would work correctly with Aladdin.
4. If you make changes to your macros while a linked KEY file is
loaded, remember to save them before exiting. If you haven't saved,
you'll get the message: "Macros may have been changed! Restore?".
You then have the option of saying, "Y"es, restore and lose the
changes, or "N"o, don't restore, so that you may save the changes
you've made. This second choice means that you will have lost any
changes made to your original macros before running the linked
program. If no changes were made to them, you'll be able to
manually load them again.
5. The link process does not require the CodeKeys accessory, only
CODEKEYS.PRG.
Almost all of this information is contained in the CodeKeys
documentation. I'm "giving it away" here because it may make it more
clear to have it all described in one place in a new way. This info-
rmation is intended for our legitimate users and we thank you very much
for your support.
There are, however, thousands of GEnie users who read these
messages (we've barely sold 500 CodeKeys). Those that will use this
information with copies of CodeKeys for which they did not pay should
feel extremely guilty, although it would be wishful thinking on my part
to hope they'd feel guilty enough to _buy_ CodeKeys. Just be aware that
besides the lack of any real marketing ability on the part of Atari, it
is piracy that has contributed the most to the current near-demise of
CodeHead Software. My heart goes out to our loyal users who will suffer
the most (next to us) if we do not produce any more new Atari products.
John Eidsvoog
CodeHead Software
CORDLESS MOUSE HELP OK folks...if you would like to GREATLY extend the
""""""""""""""""""" battery life of your Practical Solutions Cordless
Mouse...
(Disclaimer: If you don't know which end of a soldering iron to
hold or if you think a Phillips screwdriver is a new brand of alcoholic
beverage, then DON'T attempt to make this modification. Instead, refer
same to a qualified electronic tech.)
The idea is simple. If you can cause your Cordless Mouse to "go to
sleep" sooner than the 10 minute default time then you will save on
batteries. Sure...a mouse that sleeps more quickly will require YOU to
push its wake-up (power on) button more frequently but that's the price
you pay.
I found that about 99% of the time that I left my mouse alone for
more than about 2 minutes, I usually left it alone for at least 10
minutes. In that circumstance, I would be pressing the power-on button
anyway so why not save some battery life in the process?
The modification is simple. The part number (inside the Cordless
Mouse... NOT inside the receiver) is capacitor C3. It is a 100uf
electrolytic. All you have to do is change this capacitor to the below
values to achieve the approximate "go to sleep" time shown:
1 Capacitor Go to sleep time
--------- ----------------
100uf (default) ~ 10 minutes
47uf ~ 6 minutes
33uf ~ 4 minutes
22uf ~ 2 minutes
(Remember...these are ELECTROLYTIC capacitors so note the polarity
when installing the new one. Use one rated for at least 10volts.)
I installed a 22uf 50v radial electrolytic that I easily found at
Radio Shack. My mouse shuts off in just over 2 minutes.
I made this modification on Feb 5, 1990 (and put in a new set of
batteries at that time) and have only replaced the batteries TWICE since
then! That's three sets of batteries in over a year!
Now...I use Flash and GEnie a lot so my mouse doesn't get used as
much as someone that does DTP all day long. Your mileage will vary.
I quickly became accustomed to hitting the power-on button EVERY
time I start to use the mouse.
Have fun! (STACE, CAT25, TOP12, MSG:117/M475)
/////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////
/ "We just gotta help a guy named MacIntosh get his ST running!" /
////////////////////////////////////////////// ST-INFORMER /////
[EOA]
[TEL]//////////////////////////////
TELETALK ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
Atari_Talk
""""""""""
By Sheldon Winick
[S.WINICK]
OK. Here are some positive, constructive comments and suggestions
for properly marketing Atari products -- concepts that I feel WILL
increase sales of both personal and business Atari systems:
1. Create a close working relationship between Atari and their
dealers and developers and an atmosphere where they can freely exchange
ideas and "listen" to each other in a private forum.
2. Mass merchandise a system geared toward the consumer who would
benefit from the proper system for that market, and with a legitimate
retail merchandising chain who will guarantee the Atari systems they
carry would get maximum exposure and advertising. And by mass
merchandiser, I do NOT mean a mail-order outfit; I mean a legitimate
retail marketer that has a quality operation, advertises heavily, and
will ensure the Atari name gets maximum exposure to the public.
3. Install a system of regional representatives (not the worthless
"professional" rep firms that are skimming profits off the top in return
for doing absolutely nothing) who are knowledgeable about Atari systems
and will go out and actively recruit new dealerships, train and support
those dealerships, and assure them an adequate source for equipment as
well as co-op advertising and marketing ideas. These regional reps must
also visit state school boards and get Atari systems approved for state
contracts --- and then follow up to be certain local dealers are aware
of school board purchase plans and be equally certain that those dealers
submit bids and provide rapid delivery, installation, training, service
and support. The regional reps must also be certain that Atari systems
are represented by themselves and local dealers at the various
computer shows that in each respective dealer's territory, and displays
and literature are available for such shows. And Atari must have an
overall Rep coordinator at Sunnyvale whose job it will be to coordinate
these activities and be certain that the individual regional reps are
doing their job!
4. Recruit at least one respectable national computer chain to
carry Atari's business systems. A legitimate firm the calibre of
Computerland (they used to be an Atari dealer in the early 80's,
remember?) would be a great way to rapidly get Atari's business
systems into a side by side comparison with other business computers
-- and get them marketed in a professional manner by a computer
retailer who is already geared to the business-oriented customer.
5. Announce and show new products only after the dealers have been
told about them and those new products are ready to ship (or a realistic
definitive shipping date can be announced). Atari loses more sales and
alienates more
customers and dealers because they prematurely show and
advertise products which are not yet available. That not only hurts
sales of the new products, it also hurts sales of existing lines as
prospective customers choose to wait for the new products, and most
after many months of waiting decide the hell with Atari, and go out and
purchase a Mac or PC-clone instead.
6. Support business dealers with store displays, demo units and an
adequate supply of literature and advertising materials -- and have the
regional reps make certain that these resources are properly used.
7. Install a toll-free 1-800 number where the consumer can call to
get the name, address and phone numbers of their closest dealers,
service centers and user groups. And have Atari be ready, willing and
able to ship consumer products directly through direct sales to
customers who do not have a real dealership within a reasonable
distance.
8. Allow new dealerships to contract with existing, well-
established dealers, for the existing dealers to provide the warranty
and repair service for them so it will not be necessary for them to
initially invest in the expensive service equipment and service kits
necessary to establish a complete service center. Have the regional
reps coordinate such activities to encourage new dealerships and keep
their initial investment directed toward saleable products until such
time as they are ready to invest in their own service department.
9. REALM's idea of Home Shopping Spree is good. That would ge a
great outlet for a 520ST advantage pack. The consumer market that shops
HSS would be ideal candidates for such a system. They seem to a great
job of selling other low-end home systems such as the C64 which is by
far much more technologically arthritic than a 520ST. 10.
And lastly...... cut off mail-order selling low-ballers completely
-- and enforce dealer requirements -- so the above marketing strategies
can be successful!
[*][*][*]
There you have it. Those aren't the only ideas we have, but that
10-point program should be a good start. Herb has additional positive
ideas, I'm sure, which could be added to this list. I've had many
discussions with Herb and other serious dealers. We are genuinely
concerned about the Atari marketplace and will all greatly benefit from
a "real" Atari dealership in every city in the country.
We are not after establishing a monopoly on Atari sales as some
people have insinuated. But we want Atari products to be thought of
whenever the consumer mentions a high-end, name-brand system. We do not
want Atari's powerful personal and business workstations marketed by
low-class mail-order low-ballers who cater entirely to the existing user
base looking for a bargain in a cheap upgrade; that type of marketing
not only does not give Atari maximum exposure to the public -- it also
hurts existing dealerships and prevents establishment of new dealers on
the local level.
Sheldon Winick
Computer STudio -- Asheville, NC
///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //////
/ "...if you heard about it from the FNET, it's probably bogus. /
/ All of the *really* good rumors about Atari (READ: the ones /
/ that I plant! :) come from here on GEnie." /
////////////////////////////////////////////// BOB-BRODIE /////
[EOA]
[CLA]//////////////////////////////
CLASSICS /
/////////////////////////////////
From The ARChives
"""""""""""""""""
By John Peters
[GENIELAMP$]
Program Name : ACCESSORY
Filename : ACC11.LZH
Library Area : 2
Program Number : 13818
File Size : 2520
Program Type : Utility
Author : Murray Levine [MURRAY]
Version Reviewed: 1.01
File Type : Public Domain (Freeware)
[*][*][*]
WHAT IT IS Accessory (ACC.PRG) is a program that will let you load
"""""""""" all of your accessories out of a folder called ACCS on the
boot drive instead of loading them out of the root directory of the
boot drive. This helps to keep your main directory less cluttered
especially for hard drive owners.
WHAT IT DOES Just place ACC.PRG in your AUTO folder or add it to
"""""""""""" your STARTUP.INF script file for STARTUP.PRG. All
accessories will now be loaded from the ACCS folder on the boot drive.
They will also get re-loaded the same way after changing resolutions
from the desktop with a color monitor.
[*][*][*]
PD_Q RATING * * *
"""""""""""
DOCUMENTATION Good
"""""""""""""
PD_Q COMMENTS I am an organizer. I'm constantly trying to find a
""""""""""""" better, cleaner, neater way of doing things. One place
this obsession really shows up is on my hard drive. I move files
around, re-arrange folders, delete some, add a few more and do anything
I can to try to squeeze a little more efficiency out of it. Accessory
allows me to somewhat satisfy this manic obsession by letting me put all
my .ACC files in one out-of-the-way folder. Nice.
There's not a whole lot more to say about Accessory itself other
then it works, and so far, it appears to be compatible with just about
any set-up. (Thankfully, Super Boot 6.0 "sees" Accessory -- an added
plus.) The only negative thing I found with using Accessory is that if
the .ACC file has an accompanying .RSC file, the .RSC file has to stay
in the root directory or the .ACC program won't be able to locate it.
If you like your drives nice and neat, check this utility out.
/////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////
/ "What about a contest for the highest telephone bill, or /
/ the highest GEnie bill, or the most unsuccessful connects, /
/ or ... you get the point." /
////////////////////////////////////////////// F.BELL1 /////
[EOA]
[OFF]//////////////////////////////
OFF THE RECORD /
/////////////////////////////////
Mini_Qwik_reViews
"""""""""""""""""
o SC1435 MONITOR
o ST4096C UPGRADE
o ADSPEED ST
SC1435 MONITOR I have had the SC1435 for about three weeks now and it
"""""""""""""" is great. I have gone from a 520ST to a 1040STe with a
SC1224 monitor and at that time I to noticed a crisper look to text on
screen of the SC1224 however with the SC1435 it is even more so.
The real reason I got the SC1435 (Thanks to L&Y for holding it
while I ran home to get my checkbook and old SC1224 for a trade in) was
sound. With the SC1224 I could hardly hear anything, with the SC1435
sound is crisp and clear as the picture, if you have an STe the 1435 is
the way to go.
As far as DPI goes I am not sure but will offer this directly from
the users manual :
Picture tube : 14", dark glass, 90 degree
deflection, slotted
triplet pitch 0.42 mm,
29.1 mm neck
diameter.
(J.SHEAR, CAT14, TOP19, MSG:52/M475)
UPGRADING THE ST I just purchased the ST4096C board for a Simm memory
"""""""""""""""" upgrade (I could care less about 4096 colors so I
have no opinion on that part of the device). After receiving it, I read
over the docs and tore apart the ST and started modifying it.
After about an hour of desoldering the resistors and rewiring
things, I was ready to put the boards in place. This required removing
the shifter chip (thank God it was socketed) and placing the 1st board
on top of the socket. Everything seemed to fit perfectly so I powered
up. I immediately got a high pitch noise from the power supply and the
little surface mount chip on the board started smoking. I turned off
the computer and called up John Russell.
He told me what seemed to be wrong and I went about trying to fix
it. Anyway, to make a long story short, I had placed the shifter board
upside down. After looking over the docs, I noticed in the bottom right
hand corner of one of the doc sheets, was a little diagram. After
carefully looking over it, I noticed that the board was upside down.
Anyway, I reinstalled it and said a little prayer and everything went
fine. I finished touching things up and put it all back together. I ran
the memory test program and all went well. The surface mount chip must
be a tough little thing because it has been performing flawlessly for
the past week.
The board that holds the Simms fits right under the keyboard. I
still have room to add other things later on if I need to. The Simms
are now as cheap as the Dram chips and they are a lot easier to deal
with. You just place the Simm in the socket, push it back until it
snaps in place. That is all there is to it. No legs to bend or
anything. The Simms also sit at about a 30 degree angle so you do not
need much clearance.
For anyone who is thinking of upgrading their memory, I strongly
recommend the ST4096C board. It is a very nice design. You do need
some soldering skills or have someone who does install it. Make sure
you install the shifter board correctly. It will save you a headache. I
got lucky (someone up there is watching over me) but you may not. Also,
the board comes with everything you need to install it. It even
includes the solder (but not the soldering iron).
(R.WATSON15, CAT4, TOP6, MSG:24/M475)
ADSPEED ST The many Spectrum pictures that have been uploaded by Z-Net
"""""""""" recently finally took their toll on my patience. I broke
down and purchased an AdSpeed ST to replace my Turbo 16.
I am VERY pleased to report that AdSpeed works as advertised. As
a matter of fact, it is actually a better "package" than I expected. I
*love* the nifty little utility programs/accessories that are provided
to turn AdSpeed on and off (or off and on <grin>) from software. I
especially like the way AdSpeed software can add a little speed
"indicator" in the upper left hand corner of the menu bar (if you wish).
Of course, I opted for a hardware switch in addition to the
software goodies but the hardware switch isn't really necessary given
all of the software switching possibilities provided.
That board manufacture and design is first class! Two especially
GREAT features are:
A) No additional wires are needed to be run to the ST motherboard
B) The "blitter fix" (daughter board found on some Mega ST 68000s)
is built INTO AdSpeed ST! I was able to completely remove the
74LS74 "hack" that was added to enable Turbo 16 to work properly
with blitter.
I was also pleased to see from Quick Index results that AdSpeed ST
was a bit faster than my Turbo 16 (note: my Turbo 16 is an older unit
without the write caching. My understanding is that newer T-16 units
are approximate. equal in overall speed.).
All in all, AdSpeed is a VERY impressive package! I feel like I've
got a whole new ST all over again!
Z-Net (John Nagy), The recently uploaded Spectrum pic of the
Kitten is VERY nice! You, sir, are to blame for my "upgrade" to
AdSpeed! <grin>
THANK YOU ICD!(STACE, CAT4, TOP16, MSG:101/M475)
/////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Your question really belongs on the ST RT so I won't /
/ tell you "YES" here." /
//////////////////////////////////////// J.MEEHAN3 ////
[EOA]
[ATR]//////////////////////////////
ATARI CORP. ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
The Bottom Line @ Atari
"""""""""""""""""""""""
From Bob Brodie...
""""""""""""""""""
TT PRICING At conference on Wednesday night, a number of people
"""""""""" inquired about the current pricing for the TT. Since I was
at home during the conference, I didn't have the current pricing
information at hand.
Here is the current pricing, with my apologies for the delay.
TT030/2-50 2Mb Ram 50 Meg hard disk $2399.95
TT030/4-50 4Mb Ram 50 Meg hard disk $2799.95
T030/8-80 8Mb Ram 80 Meg hard disk $3799.95
PTC1426 14" Color Monitor $549.95
TTM195 19" Mono ECL Monitor $1399.95
NEWDESK Your request is noted. What your actually asking for is the
""""""" version of TOS that is in the Mega STE. That has NewDesk in
it. We've discussed the possibility of it, and haven't arrived at a
decision as of yet. But it is under consideration, I assure you.
>>>>> Again, after the STE_FIX.PRG and POOLFIX3.PRG are run on a TOS
""""" 1.6 machine, the units are functionally identical. There is no
reason to be concerned about buying a 1040STE. Atari has stood behind
the machine from the outset, and will continue to do so. There is
virtually no way to to tell the units apart after those programs have
been run from an auto folder.
From John Townsend...
"""""""""""""""""""""
WHICH ROM? Run one of the many programs that will tell you what
"""""""""" version of the ROMs you have. For example, the New Control
Panel, MaxiFile, NeoDesk 3.0, etc. all will tell you what version of the
ROMs you have.
Another way: disable STE_FIX.PRG in your AUTO folder... Boot the
STE system to the desktop. Switch to Medium Resolution, then save the
desktop. Then cold boot the machine. If your machine comes up in Low
Resolution, then you have TOS 1.6. If it boots into Medium Resolution,
then you have TOS 1.62.
FSMGDOS>POSTSCRIPT? A VDI/GDOS to PostScript(tm) driver is something
""""""""""""""""""" that is planned according to what I know. When it
will happen and how it will work is open to speculation.
I think what you are trying to say is that you think FSMGDOS will
output PostScript and thus UltraScript will no longer be needed..
Wrong! FSMGDOS will output to drivers just like the current GDOS does.
The best you could hope for is that we will do a GDOS PostScript(tm)
driver and then you could use UltraScript ST to dump it to the SLM804.
STE SUPPORT There are already games coming in from Europe that
""""""""""" support STE DMA sound. I am sure that as the STE becomes
more popular here and in Europe, you will start to see more and more
programs support DMA sound.
As for the Analog joysticks.. they are standard equipment on
1040STE machines. These new joystick ports can be used for paddles,
light pens, etc. and are in addition to the original ST joystick ports.
To my knowledge, there are no analog joysticks on the market that
are designed to work with the STE right now.
From Dan McNamee...
"""""""""""""""""""
WHAT'S NEURAL NET? A true neural net is a computer that is an exact,
"""""""""""""""""" functioning duplicate of a human brain, built out
of a conglomeration of neurons just like a brain. Supposedly, and
hopefully, such a system would be able to function just like a brain,
learning from it's errors, etc. and would require very little
programming. A very few have been built, and they have all been very
small. The largest I have heard of was in the 200 neuron range, which
is about the equivalent of a common garden slug. They still have a
ways to go. Apparently this software is designed to emulate a neural
net on a single processor machine.
From Ken Badertscher...
"""""""""""""""""""""""
SAYING LIKE IT IS This may seem a bit brutal, but I'm gonna say it
""""""""""""""""" anyway. Personally, I'd much rather see people
supporting the companies that are making compatible software. Most of
the stuff that doesn't work with TOS 1.4 is by companies that are out of
business or don't write for the ST any more. Let's face it, Rainbow TOS
has been out there for a little over 2 years now, and developers have
had it longer than that. If this stuff was gonna be fixed, it'd be
fixed by now.
If you want to see useful software for TOS keep coming, you should
support the software companies that are supporting you.
COPYRIGHTS Actually, technically speaking, you don't *have* to have
"""""""""" any copyright notice on a work to exploit a copyright.
Only works published prior to March 1, 1989 require a "proper" copyright
notice. Nevertheless, you'll make your life a whole lot easier if you
*do* include a copyright notice even for works published after March
1, 1989.
A proper copyright notice REQUIRES 3 things:
1) The copyright symbol (a c with a circle around it). In the U.S.
(but not all countries), the word "copyright" or the abbreviation
"copr." are acceptable in lieu of the symbol. (c) is not a legally
acceptable substitute according to the letter of U.S. copyright law
[17 USC section 401(b)(1)]. (c) is also not acceptable in other
countries.
2) The name of the copyright owner.
3) The year of publication. If your work is unpublished, do NOT
put a year on it -- not only does this not protect you, but it
would make you look like a liar in any case where you were trying
to defend your copyright. For a work in progress, use the
copyright symbol, your name, and "(This work is unpublished)" or
"(Work In Progress)." Unpublished copyrights are important for
trade-secret information -- if you put a date on a copyright of
information you consider trade-secret, it can hardly be considered
secret if it has been released to the public.
There are some optional things you can include with a copyright
notice, for example the phrase "All Rights Reserved," while not required
in the U.S., can help protect your rights in other countries. It's
also important to know what "published" means in the scope of
copyright law.
The above information is from the 3rd edition of "How to Copyright
Software" by Attorney M.J. Salone, ISBN 0-87337-102-X, published by
Nolo Press, 950 Parker St. Berkely, CA 94710. I *highly* recommend this
book to all who are interested in protecting their copyright for
software they write. Not only is it cheaper than consulting an
attorney (I picked up the book for $35), but it is written in plain
language, not legalese.
There's a wealth of other pertinent copyright information in this
book. I picked up a lot of very interesting info from the book. After
reading it, I'm fully confident that I'll be able to protect any
copyrighted work I may produce.
ttfn...
(*ken*)
[*][*][*]
Do you have a question about or for Atari? Did you know that the
Atari ST RoundTable is your direct line to the Atari Corp? Bob Brodie
[BOB-BRODIE], John Townsend [TOWNS], Jim Tittsler [JTITTSLER], David
Cagle [DAVID.CAGLE] Ken Badertscher [K.BAD], John Jainschigg [EXPLORER],
Dan McNamee [D.MCNAMEE], Bill Rehbock [B.REHBOCK] (among others) are
all frequent visitors to the RT bulletin board and can sometimes even be
found online in the Wednesday night Realtime Conferences. Interested in
hearing what they have to say? Look to this column to hear it straight
from Atari: ...The Bottom Line...
/////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE /////
/ "Thanks for the input. I guess I'll go and buy one... /
/ for the kids of course. :-)" /
/ /
/ "Of course<G>." /
//////////////////////////////////// ISD / D.MCNAMEE ///
[EOA]
[ALD]//////////////////////////////
ST ALADDIN ONLINE /
/////////////////////////////////
ST Aladdin And You
""""""""""""""""""
by Fred H. Koch
[F.KOCH]
Problems with Scripts
"""""""""""""""""""""
Intro. to Scripts, Part II
Last time I gave a quick intro to what scripts are, why some people
like them, looked at two commands always used in a script, and explained
the basics of writing a script. This week we will take a look at why
scripts don't always work the way we planned, some of the more common
problems and most importantly, how to fix those problems.
First let me reemphasize script writing is not difficult, it does
require close attention to detail, but it is not difficult. Not paying
close enough attention to detail is one of the most common problems with
writing scripts.
Aladdin provides some checks on the wording or syntax of a script.
If it encounters a word it doesn't understand as a command it will dis-
play a SCRIPT ERROR: message, and the script will abort. Most times it
is just a spelling error in one of the commands or forgetting to provide
the item the command needs to work with (called the argument). The mes-
sage displays the line that caused the problem with a hint to what the
problem was if Aladdin knows. To correct it, examine each line to see
that it matches the correct command and provides the argument the com-
mand needs. Aladdin commands can be upper or lower case.
As I mentioned last time, a script is just a list of instructions
some of which wait for a prompt and others that provide the information
the prompt is requesting. If the script is waiting for the wrong
prompt, it won't proceed when you expect it to. Little things count a
lot when waiting for a prompt. The script matches characters one at a
time. If it is expecting Skip and receives skip, it won't proceed.
This includes leading and trailing spaces if they are included in the
script.
When trying to run a newly created script, it is always a good idea
to capture the session just in case problems occur. If there is a
problem you can log off and check the capture to see where the problem
occurred and what the discrepancy was. Two frequent problems are the
script not proceeding or proceeding too soon.
If the script will not proceed when expected, look at the exact
prompt - there has to be a mismatch between the string the script is
looking for and the one sent by the system. Solving this problem
requires close examination of the script commands and the captured file.
Make sure all typing is correct, including capitalization and those
punctuation marks which are not easily distinguished, such as a comma
and period, semicolon and colon. If you can't see what the difference
is, try using the search function of your text editor. Type in the
string you told the script to look for and see if the search stops at
the prompt in the capture and at the string in the script. Be sure to
use the case sensitive search so capital letters are distinguished. If
the search doesn't find the prompt but does find your script command,
there is a mismatch which must be fixed. Don't forget to check the
spaces in the string, including leading or trailing, they are
significant when used in the script WAITFOR string.
One of the easiest ways to reduce typing errors when creating a new
script is to load the capture into your text editor. Once the capture
is available, you can either edit the capture, deleting the unimportant
lines and adding the proper WAITFOR and SEND commands before the
appropriate text, or cut and paste the information into the script.
If the script proceeds too early, then the string the script was
waiting for matched something else besides the prompt. You need to make
the string more descriptive. Most often this means looking for some
unique character sequence that appears only in the prompt. Again using
the search feature of your text editor is a good check. Start at the
point in the capture where the script last worked correctly and search
for the string you entered in the script. The search should find the
string before getting to the system prompt, in which case you need to
find some way to change the script string to make it unique. The
search feature is a good way to test the new string to make sure it
isn't found too early. Usually adding the punctuation which ends the
prompt will do the trick. Remember, the script is checking all
characters received for a match, it can't distinguish one string from
another, if it matches, the script will proceed.
The Aladdin WAITFORPROMPT command can be a big help in preventing
confusion about when the script should proceed. It not only looks for
the prompt character set in the Aladdin preferences, but also checks
that no other characters follow the prompt. This insures the host is
waiting for a response before the script continues. If the infor-
mation the script needs to send is requested at a system prompt use the
WAITFORPROMPT command, it can prevent many problems.
Just so you don't get confused when trying to capture an Aladdin
script session. Aladdin can only have one capture open at a time. If
you have a capture started and the script being run also opens a
capture, the first capture will be closed and not reopened, even when
the script capture is closed. To get around this you will need to
either open your capture again when the script capture is done, or
disable the script capture during the testing phase. I will discuss the
ST Aladdin capture command in another article.
I discussed line noise last time, but only briefly touched on
remedies. Line noise can't always be prevented, and if present is a
sure source of problems for scripts. Line noise causes extra characters
to be received from the host system which causes the script to not
recognize the prompt. The script will keep looking for the correct
match, but the host system will only send the prompt once and wait for a
response before proceeding. Thus the script is waiting for a string
which was already sent and the host is waiting for a response which the
script will not send, and they wait and wait until a time out occurs.
Several things can be done to help the line noise problem. If
there is only occasional line noise, making the prompts and responses as
short as possible will reduce the chance of the stray line noise
characters hitting during these critical transmission times. If a bad
response is sent, there is little to be done except abort the script
with ESC and start over.
ST Aladdin provides some help with missed prompts. The FIX
function will try to rematch GEnie and Aladdin. FIX (F4) will tell the
Aladdin script to go ahead with the next step. If a single prompt was
missed due to line noise, this should put things back in sync. I have
never had to use it, but it is the only way to try to fix a script and
host mismatch without logging off and starting over.
If line noise is present on some calls and not others, try logging
off and calling back when you have a noisy connection. Each connection
can be over a different set of lines. The next hook up could be much
better. This is especially true when making a call to another city as
with most GEnie connections. I heard a telephone representative explain
that with computer switching and automatic routing, a call from Colorado
Springs to Denver (45 miles for those unfamiliar with Colorado) could go
through California, Washington state and North Dakota before getting
routed to Denver. Now you can see why some calls are noisier than
others.
If line noise is really bad, changing to a lower baud rate will
generally reduce or eliminate it. The faster the transmissions the
cleaner the lines need to be. If line noise is bad, slowing down the
baud rate will sometimes even save time, since less retries are needed.
Another area of possible problem is where to start a script. The
starting point depends on when the script will be activated. In the
example last time, the script was activated after we navigated to the
proper bulletin board and the host was ready to receive the next
request. In this case the script started with a command to send our
request. This is the case for most Aladdin scripts, because Aladdin
takes care of the initial connection to GEnie. That is why it is even
more important to start a script at the proper place with Aladdin than
some other script languages. If you start at the wrong place, the
script and GEnie will be out of sync with no way to get matched up
again. The convenience of having the same prompt for most requests is
also a hazard if you get started wrong. There is no easy way for the
script to tell it isn't where it should be. Referencing the capture
used to create the script is of great help in determining the starting
point.
To fully automate a script, the first command which interacts with
GEnie is usually the LOG ONTO command. This command tells Aladdin to
log on to the specified area of GEnie. It will use the Aladdin settings
to call GEnie, provide your user ID and password, then move to the
specified page and menu selection, if provided. A quirk of the LOG ONTO
command is it does not return control to the next script command until
after the GEnie system prompt is received. Consequently the next
command after the LOG ONTO command is always going to be a SEND or
SENDLINE command. GEnie is waiting for a response and the script must
provide it.
The LOG ON command is available too, but it only logs on to GEnie
and leaves you at the opening page prompt. Most times the script needs
to be on some other page to accomplish its task, so it saves time to
use the LOG ONTO command instead.
Now lets use the LOG ONTO command to make the read new messages
script from the last article a little more useful.
Instead of having to log on to GEnie manually as we did previously,
we can use the LOG ONTO command to instruct the script to take us to the
bulletin board where we want to read messages.
LOG ONTO "1000;1"
tells Aladdin to instruct GEnie to immediately go to page 1000 menu item
1 at the completion of the log on sequence. Page 1000 is the ST Aladdin
page.
Because the LOG ONTO command stops after GEnie has already sent the
system prompt for page 1000 menu item 1, the script must continue with
the desired response to that prompt. In the read new messages case the
script proceeds with the command to read new messages. Since this is
where the previous script started the rest remains the same. To add the
new command to the script, just insert the command after the SCRIPT 3
command. The modified script is shown below.
SCRIPT 3 Read New messages
LOG ONTO "1000;1"
SENDLINE "REA ALL NEW CAT=1-99 NOR"
WAITFORPROMPT
LOG OFF
ENDSCRIPT
If we want to look at the messages on another bulletin board we
need to edit the page number in the LOG ONTO command. That is a pain,
but using a variable for the page number would allow us to enter the
page number without physically editing the script each time. Variables
can make scripts very flexible and much more useful. How Aladdin
scripts use variables will be the topic of the next article.
///////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //////
/ "I guess that means that to play Powermonger with 318 men /
/ we'll need a TT030 to handle it huh <GRIN>" /
///////////////////////////////////////////// ERIDDLE /////
[EOA]
[SMA]//////////////////////////////
SOFT_VIEW /
/////////////////////////////////
Operation: Firefight
""""""""""""""""""""
OPERATION: FIREFIGHT
""""""""""""""""""""
A Short Software Review
By
The Bitstream Warrior
(Alias: J.DUNCAN15)
Spectrum Holobyte has now extended Falcon - The F-16 Fighter
Simulator into a trilogy with release of their second Mission Disk
entitled Operation: Firefight. For those who don't follow such things
Falcon is still (to my knowledge) the premier flight / combat simulation
software for the Atari ST. Great graphics, speed and accuracy of
representation are its hallmarks and it is still one of the few
simulators to accurately portray "guns range" aerial combat. In short,
get Falcon and a good TOUGH joystick. When your ground controller
informs you "Bluebird - Splash one MIG!" for the first time it's a rush
worth the price of admission!
One of the problems with really good entertainment software is that
the better it is, the faster one tends to "burn out" on it. Adventures
get solved, maze games start looking the same. (Except maybe HacMan II!)
Enter the Mission Disk. The original Falcon has a lot going for it but
launching from the same airbase does eventually become somewhat routine.
Spectrum Holobytes first add-on, Operation: Counterstrike, added a lot
of life to the existing program. Rather than just move a few items
around on the map Counterstrike gave us an overall mission goal, neat
graphics enhancements, more ground targets and the MIG-29 to fly
against. (By the way: Anybody out there ever shoot down that idiot
drone? Just wondering!) All wrapped in the familiar cockpit and
controls already mastered in Falcon.
Operation: Firefight continues this fine tradition of continuing
support. Falcon is required to run either of the Mission Disks. The
Mission Disks as well as the current version of Falcon are protected by
a codewheel rather than any of that nasty disk-based mess. Spectrum
Holobyte I salute you! Firefight is the first of the three to come from
the factory as hard drive installable and requires a color monitor or ST
/ television setup. The program ran perfectly on my Mega ST4 w/TOS 1.4,
Megafile 30, Supra 30 meg, combo as well as my 1040ST (also TOS 1.4),
VideoKey / television system. A friend allowed me to show off the new
program on his TOS 1.0 equipped 1040ST and again no problems.
First the bad news. Those fans of the Black Box flight recorder
and Head to Head options will be disappointed that these have dropped
from Firefight. Since Falcon has these and is required this is not
really a loss as such but still worth noting. (By the way, flying
Falcon head to head with two STs connected by a null modem is absolutely
awesome and worth the hassle of carting a system across town if
necessary!)
On with the good stuff! Firefight has a completely unique scenario
this time out. In Falcon each "mission" is complete in and of itself.
In Operation: Counterstrike your overall goal is to force a total
economic/military shutdown by attacking specific targets in enemy
territory. Operation: Firefight puts you on the defensive fending off
attacking Hind Mi-24 helicopters, T-80 tanks, MIG-21 fighters, and MIG-
27 fighter/bombers. Friendly forces are all over the area and include
tanks, supply trains, truck convoys, a forward Headquarters (complete
with tents and the US Flag), and much more! The objective is to attain
a decisive advantage in tank numbers by destroying enemy tanks and
protecting your own facilities.
Sound easy? No way! Even Falcon veterans are going to have to
adapt to a whole range of new strategies and tactics. For example:
helicopters tend to fly rather slow and appear to be much harder to spot
on radar, all but one of the missions have at least two aircraft to deal
with including combinations of MIG-27s with MIG-21 escorts, a successful
mission means not only downing the attacker but doing so BEFORE he
manages to hit his target. If you really want a challenge you can elect
to have multiple waves of attackers!
To balance all this, some excellent new weapons have been added to
the F-16s arsenal. The formally optional ALQ-131 radar jammer has been
improved and moved into the aircraft leaving room on the armament screen
for the new AGM-88 HARMs (High-speed Anti Radiation Missile, for
attacking SAM (Surface to Air Missile sites)). The good ol' Sidewinder
Air to Air Missiles (AIM-9J and AIM-9L) have been upgraded to the AIM-9M
and AIM-120A. The AIM-120A is the AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air to
Air Missile) and allows you to lock onto targets before they are
actually visible.
Current Falcon drivers should also note that the modified control
patches available here on GEnie don't work on Firefight. Those who've
gotten used to having that wonderful modified keyboard layout (I have
and I miss it!) will have to hope that John Harris (J.HARRIS32) can find
the time to work his magic on Operation: Firefight! (Hint, Hint!!)
Bottom line is that if you don't have Falcon why not? It has got
to be one of the best showcases for the ST ever. If you do have Falcon
and have put it back on a shelf due to boredom check out the Mission
Disks. They'll surely relight the ol' afterburner!
The Bitstream Warrior
alias: J.DUNCAN15
2/24/91
/////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //////
/ "OOps! , Transposed that one, didn't I. /
/ /
/ ): .tcefrup s'ydubon ...llew hO" /
///////////////////////// J.WENZEL2 /////
[EOA]
[MEL]//////////////////////////////
MEL'S MANOR /
/////////////////////////////////
Your Next Spreadsheet?
""""""""""""""""""""""
by Mel Motogawa
[M.MOTOGAWA]
o OPUS 2.30: Your Next Spreadsheet?
o P.S.: Software Updates
Opus 2.30 - Your Next ST Spreadsheet?
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I must establish right away that I do not live and breathe
spreadsheets. Most of my computing time is split between Aladdin ST and
my wordprocessor. Yet, I don't believe anyone's software library will
be complete without a good spreadsheet. When you need to do some
special calculations with multiple variables, there is no beating a good
spreadsheet. And with April 15th looming over the horizon, you will
find tax templates for spreadsheets netting more and more downloads as
that red letter day arrives. Happily, ST users are not left out in the
cold as there are many fine spreadsheets available for the ST, some of
which can even load Lotus files to bridge the gap between your DOS
workhorse and ST powermonger. I would like to focus on one particular
spreadsheet that offers exceptional power at a very reasonable price.
O WHO? Opus 2.30 was created by Doug Harrison of LookIt/PopIt fame.
"""""" (Marketed by the Codeheads.) Offered as shareware, a demo
version is in the files section of the ST RT. IMHO, this is a shareware
program that should be commercial. It's a far cry better than many
commercial spreadsheets I've seen. Let's take a look at what Opus has
to offer.
Opus runs in medium or high resolution and requires one meg of
memory. When you make the shareware contribution, you are provided a
non-copyprotected double-sided disk with the latest version of Opus that
can load/save Lotus WKS, WK1 spreadsheets as well as its own proprietary
.OPS files. I appreciate the fact that although a large program (315k),
it is very stable and coexists with many helpful tsr's and accessories.
Turbo ST 1.84 works fine and although there is no macro function in
Opus, it works great with Codekeys 1.2 giving Opus macros and much more.
I've used it successfully on my STe with TOS 1.6 as well as my older TOS
1.0 machine with no problems.
Opus requires GDOS for its graphing section, but even without you
can use the spreadsheet portion of the program. But you won't be able
to access the fancy charting section of the program, which is very
powerful. (More on this later.) When I do need to print a graph or
chart, I do a little reordering of my auto folder and reboot to my fire-
breathing G+Plus system. GDOS is o.k., but G+Plus, the super GDOS
alternative, by the Codeheads is great.
WHAT IT IS Opus is a GEM based spreadsheet. Awhile back, I remember
"""""""""" helping a friend set up Visicalc on an Apple IIe (yep,
there are still IIe users out there) and I kept muttering to myself,
"Where's the mouse?" (In the spirit of "Where's the beef?") Opus,
however, fully supports the mouse for block selections, scrolling,
cursor placement, menu bar selections and the rest. Spreadsheets should
be user-friendly and Opus's use of GEM goes a long way toward this
attaining this goal. But keyboard shortcuts are there too, so you can
point and click to your heart's content or keep your hands glued to the
keyboard. Whichever you prefer.
When I first saw Microsoft Works for the Mac, I envied their
spreadsheet's ability to select a range of cells larger than the screen
by simply clicking and dragging the mouse pointer outside the window.
The window automatically scrolled down or right until the user moved the
pointer back into the spreadsheet window. Good news. Opus also
supports this great feature and you'll be amazed at how convenient this
is versus specifying start/end cells. If you hold down the Shift key
while scrolling, the window will page by screens to get you to your
destination even faster.
To select an entire column or row, you merely have to click on the
title of the column/row. In an instant the entire row or column is
highlighted.
You won't have to worry about going through a convoluted process to
change the width of your spreadsheet's columns. By simply selecting the
edge of the column at the top of the spreadsheet and dragging it, you
can widen or narrow columns easily.
Autocursor is another neat touch designed into Opus for entering
your data as easily as possible. Normally, hitting return will enter
your value into a cell. But if you mark a block of cells and have
Autocursor on, hitting Return will also move the cursor to the next cell
either to the right or down one cell. You can specify which direction
you want the cursor to take, so right away you're ready to enter your
data again.
One thing I appreciate is how you can add bold, italics and
underlining text attributes to the data in your spreadsheet's cells,
which data can also be justified left, center or right. This makes for
some very eye-catching headers or notes within your spreadsheet to jog
your memory or set a portion of the sheet off from the rest. With a
monochrome monitor, you can use the small font option to view even more
of your data.
The manual for Opus is provided on disk and is very comprehensive.
Online help is also available for many of the basic and advanced
functions of the program. You've probably noticed how sometimes the
setting up of formulas in spreadsheets can resemble something of a
programming language, so it helps to have these informative help
screens to guide you through the process.
CHARTS IS CHARTS Ah yes, the Charting section. This is really great
"""""""""""""""" if you're tired of some of the older charting
programs for the ST. Since Opus uses GDOS and metafiles as a basis for
printing, your output really shines. Even on a 9-pin dot matrix, the
output is far better than the older screen dump-type charting programs
with their jaggy lines and text.
An important point to keep in mind, though, is that Opus is not
provided with GDOS screen/printer fonts, the metafile driver Meta.sys or
a GDOS printer driver. These are required to use the charting section
of Opus. The spreadsheet portion will, however, work without these
installed.
This requires you to make use of what GDOS fonts and meta/printer
drivers you already have. But it does allow Doug to keep the cost of
Opus very reasonable. Since I had previously purchased Easy Draw and
Timeworks DTP, this was no problem at all. The manual steps you through
the process of setting up your assign.sys file and there are a few
utilities provided on the disk to get GDOS and your fonts installed
forthwith.
The best way to fully appreciate the charting section of Opus is to
download the demo and check it out. On the obvious question of how
powerful the charting section is, suffice to say that you can alter just
about everything relating to the chart's appearance. The data for the
charting section is taken from your worksheet with the ability to
specify up to 6 data ranges. Fonts, point sizes, justification, chart
type (6 types available), line type, fill patterns, splines, chart size,
the legend, and a ton of other options that would probably double the
size of this review. I found it fun just experimenting with the
staggering amount of options and seeing what new forms your data could
take. You can attach up to 4 charts to each worksheet and switch
between them with a few clicks of the mouse. I know you're probably
thinking that GDOS = slow printing if you're using a dot matrix printer.
True, but I've noticed that by using a generous sized print spooler via
CodeSpooler from the Codehead Utilities, I was able to spool the
printing of several charts in a few minutes. Then I could continue
working with the spreadsheet while the printer took its time giving my
charts that sharp GDOS output.
I cannot fault Opus in the reliability sector. It's proved to be a
stable and crashless program through my muddy collection of tsr's and
desk accessories. I would love to see DIF importing in Opus since I
still have several big spreadsheets in that format that I would love to
use in Opus. But otherwise I've been pleased as a bug in the rug with
Opus and count it a highly prized member of my shareware collection. Be
sure to support shareware. With this quality it's really a crime to use
it and not contribute.
IN SUMMARY I hope this little review has whetted your appetite for
"""""""""" Opus and motivated you to d/l the demo and try it out
yourself. ST Format (UK) magazine recently awarded Opus its Format Gold
award for the best public domain (really shareware) program of 1990 and
I can see why. It should be commercial, but it's shareware instead.
Power without the price!
Opus 2.30
shareware - $15 requested
Doug Harrison
P.O. Box 66236
Baton Rouge, LA 70806-6236
GEnie address - [D.S.HARRISON]
Opus files in the ST RoundTable
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
11759 OPUSDOC.ARC
11758 OPUS22.ARC
11757 OPUSGEN.TXT
11756 OPUS22.TXT
P.S.
""""
(Software Updates)
DOUBLE CLICK UTILITIES 2.0D I recently received the latest version of
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" the hot Double Click Utilities from Double
Click Software. It's version 2.0D and features a few changes to some of
the utilities. DC Xtract is now called DC Xtract Plus and is at version
2.06. I can't see any visible change in Xtract besides the name, so I
imagine the version number must be for bug fixes although I've been hard
pressed to find any myself. Xtract has changed the way I archive with
its slick GEM interface and multiformat versatility. It's the only tool
I use now for archiving and extracting files.
DC Squish 1.4b now shows you how much of a file has been compressed
and what the current squish percentage is as the file is being squished.
Interesting to watch it doing its thing.
DC Deskey 3.0c is a helpful partner in my system, freeing up some
of my Codekeys (from Codehead Software) macro slots. The drop-down
menu macros I formerly had wired via Codekeys are now handled by
Deskey so more of my Codekeys macro slots can be devoted to other
uses. And the keystroke save function of Deskey is a dream in First
Word Plus. After 600 keystrokes my doc is automatically saved and I
can continue right where I left off prior to the save and resume.
The new 62-page manual arrived with my update and it is very well
done! A thoughtful use of icons in the left and right margins
punctuates the text well and there are many screen shots to guide you
through each tool. If you have an earlier version of Double Click
Utilities (check your master disk), I would really recommend
upgrading. Check Category 30, topic 2 in the ST Roundtable for the
latest information.
ABBREVIATOR ST Abbreviator ST is a new upload that shows some promise.
"""""""""""""" I plan to use it as a spelling checker of sorts,
watching my spelling and correcting preprogrammed incorrect spellings
with their corrected counterparts. It can watch for "receive" and
replace it with "receive". I formerly used Thunder for this but
disliked the slowdown it caused in my system and the automatic loading
of the dictionary that I rarely used. Abbreviator, as its name
suggests, also expands abbreviations to words, sentences or whole
paragraphs. (ST RT file #18210, demo)
HOTWIRE 3.0 A press release for the Hotwire 3.0 package has been
""""""""""" uploaded. If you haven't upgraded your copy of Hotwire
for a newer one, don't miss this opportunity. The new features are
truly amazing and further enhance the appeal of this highly coveted
program. Assembly language, powerful, crashproof, superb support,
includes a new version of Hotsaver that also accelerates the mouse and
the new HotEdit, etc.. What more could you ask for in a package? (ST
RT file #18367, press release)
TX2 1.42 The TX2 file viewer is now up to version 1.42. You'll
"""""""" recognize some of the changes right away while others are
more subtle. As usual, David Holmes has made a bunch of enhancements to
this superb file viewer, besides more speed. I can't wait for the
graphics/text issue of GEnie Lamp. (ST RT file #18395, demo)
EDHAK 2.1R Edhak 2.1R (registered version) recently arrived in my
"""""""""" mailbox with unlimited buffer sizes and its usual rock
solid performance. Craig Harvey is already working on version 3.0 that
will be even more powerful. Like the TX2 file viewer, Craig's list of
enhancements is always healthy and growing. What more could you ask for
in a feature-packed super-fast disk, memory and file editor? (ST RT
file #18196, press release)
TOYBOX Well, Dr. Bob never seems to stop coming up with new features
"""""" and improvements for MVG, his super image editor. Edit,
convert, scan into it, and now Dr. Bob has uploaded a sample of his
upcoming module disk that will be released soon. Modules are little
programs that are executed within MVG and extend its graphic
capabilities. Toybox.prg has 5 different functions that work on your
image in unique new ways. If you have MVG 2.0, d/l this one and try it
out. The rest of the modules on the upcoming modules disk are described
in a text file and sound great. (Toybox requires MVG 2.0, the rest of
the upcoming modules are supposed to work with MVG 1.3 also.) (ST RT
file #18386)
INFORMER II 2.03 New packaging, manual, and features while retaining
"""""""""""""""" the stability and solidness of the last version. Now
packaged in a chic slipcase and 3 ring binder with a quick start
tutorial, expanded manual and a demo player program. You couldn't ask
for more help in using this powerful GEM database. I've noticed it on
the shelf of my local ST dealer already. (ST RT file #18111, press
release)
G-PRINT When you take a look at this demo, I think you'll find
""""""" yourself impressed, as I was, at some of the nice touches and
obvious thought that went into the program. Takes an ascii, First Word,
First Word Plus, ST Writer or Wordwriter document and prints it using
GDOS fonts.
There are options galore and a print preview window with a wysiwyg
display. You'll need a already established GDOS setup to run the demo.
(ST RT file #18232, demo)
DATENAME You've probably noticed that after a while the message, email
"""""""" input/output files of ST Aladdin get pretty large with your
saved messages and replies. Formerly, I used to archive them every few
days into small archives that I named by date. I couldn't just add them
to one archive since they would overwrite the original files therein.
Sure enough, after a while I had more little archives than you could
believe and finding a message through this briar's patch was no fun.
Datename was created by the Codeheads to solve this problem by renaming
files to a unique filename based on the date. You specify which files
in the commandline and Datename will move them to a folder, if you want,
and rename them so that the last 4 digits of the filename show the date
in mm/dd format. What I do is use Datename to rename my ST Roundtable
and Email messages and replies and then archive them, adding them to my
Aladtext.lzh file. They are then erased from my Aladdin data folder
freeing up the disk space for more messages. You may be able to think
of other ways to use this helpful utility. Freeware from the Codeheads.
(ST RT file #18146)
CAL 4.5 I haven't looked at this extensively, but Cal version 4.5
""""""" appears to be a powerful implementation of a calendar desk
accessory. You can jot brief messages to yourself, attach them to days
and have them displayed when you boot your system. There are an
impressive number of features in this program and deserves a look if
you'd like to keep better track of things. (ST RT file #18310)
GRAMSLAM 3.01 I received a note from the author of Gramslam that
""""""""""""""" version 3.01 fixes a bug in the phrase editor when you
try to change the reporting level of a phrase and loads the gramslam.gsp
file faster. My master disk is on its way for the update to this unique
grammar and style checker for the ST.
[*][*][*]
Happy downloading!
Mel Motogawa
///////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "As usual, your feedback makes a difference; the GEnie CO's /
/ on both the 128K ROM Mac emulator and on the 68030 made /
/ the decision to build both products. (I recommend it to /
/ *any* company as a marketing research tool.)" /
///////////////////////////////////////////// DAVESMALL /////
[EOA]
[LIB]//////////////////////////////
THE ONLINE LIBRARY /
/////////////////////////////////
Get It While It's Hot!
""""""""""""""""""""""
>>> CHECK IT OUT! <<<
"""""""""""""""""""""
OPUS & SHEET I haven't tried OPUS, since (a) it takes a meg and when
"""""""""""" I went looking I only had 512K, (b) its hot feature is
GDOS and I didn't have RAM for GDOS, a GDOS printer, or any desire for
GDOS, (c) it lacked macros.
You might like to take a look at SHEET, another shareware
spreadsheet. It also has decent graphics, and macros (the macro
language bears a strong resemblance to Basic).
All the stock trading packages I have seen for the ST, require a
color monitor. I don't have one of those either. But any decent
spreadsheet with enough memory can be quite useful.
[To find these programs do a search (M476;3) on SHEET and OPUS]
(DAEDWARDS, CAT6, TOP8, MSG:22/M475)
KID_PROGRAMS I'm never too sure how much international activity there
"""""""""""" is on GEnie, since the hours that people overseas are on
here are rarely the same as the hours I am on, but I thought somebody
might be interested:
Kidpublisher Professional, a desktop publishing program for young
writers (ages 5-11), is now available not only in English but also in
Icelandic and German, with full character support specific to those
languages.
The German package is completely rendered in German. The Icelandic
package includes adult programs and manuals in English, but the entire
Kidpublisher Professional program used by children has been translated
to Icelandic. This program is currently being used successfully in an
elementary school in Iceland. A demo version of the German Kidpublisher
Professional will be available in short order (this weekend) in the
Germany RT, Library 4. A demo of the English version is already
available in the ST RT, Library 31.
Happy Publishing--in any of three languages!
(D.A.BRUMLEVE, CAT29, TOP6, MSG:27/M475)
MORE KIDS_STUFF
"""""""""""""""
No. File Name Type Address YYMMDD Bytes Access Lib
----- ------------------------ - ------------ ------ ------- ------ ---
17641 KV_FONIC.LZH X K.KRESSIN 901218 52920 125 9
Desc: Phonics for children, match puzzles
16168 KV_GEO_1.LZH X K.KRESSIN 900813 79380 205 9
Desc: Animated solar system - with quiz
17296 KV_GEO_2.LZH X K.KRESSIN 901120 64260 155 9
Desc: Earth&Moon and Apollo animations
15949 KV_HOUSE.LZH X K.KRESSIN 900723 65520 134 31
Desc: Childrens animated adventure, color
16395 KV_MATCH.LZH X K.KRESSIN 900902 31500 146 31
Desc: Memory game with animals, 3-7yrs.
15109 KV_ME1ST.ARC X K.KRESSIN 900507 107100 148 9
Desc: Good Educ. game, 2-6yrs, anim&music
15394 KV_ME2ND.ARC X K.KRESSIN 900603 113400 112 9
Desc: 2-6 yrs. 24 more animations & music
15532 KV_PARK_.ARC X K.KRESSIN 900615 79380 151 31
Desc: 2-5 yrs. Animated playground puzzle
GEO_1 and GEO_2 are quite different...hopefully GEO_3 will have
the
best of both! (K.KRESSIN, CAT29, TOP3, MSG:110/M475)
ROLL YOUR OWN File #4145, PTRSETUP.ARC includes the source code for a
""""""""""""" Pascal program that uses dialogue boxes that are 'roll
your own'. It's not a particularly simple example, but the intent as
to what is desired should be pretty self evident.
(M.L.HANSON, CAT3, TOP12, MSG:83/M475)
ST ALADDIN AND TABS [There is] a disagreement between GEnie and ST
""""""""""""""""""" Aladdin v1.2 over tabs. In the ST Aladdin RT
library is a program to patch ST Aladdin's (File #56) handling of tabs.
Since you use tabs, (if you haven't already) please go get & apply this
patch. (What the problem is: GEnie thinks a tab is one space, Aladdin
usually thinks it's 8 spaces. The patch causes Aladdin to turn the tab
key into 5 real, live spaces, which everyone will agree about.
(Unfortunately, the patch will NOT fix tabs in incoming messages.)
(DAEDWARDS, CAT6, TOP13, MSG:117/M475)
COPYFIX, FIXED I don't know if I had mentioned this before, but it
"""""""""""""" doesn't hurt to remind everyone. The problem that
causes the system to crash when using COPYFIX.PRG with NeoDesk 3.01 is
due to a bug in the copyfix program.
We found the bug in copyfix, informed ICD, and they have now
corrected it. You should download the latest version of COPYFIX (1.5)
(File #17644) and that will fix the problem. The other option is to
simply remove it. All that copyfix does is that it attempts to fix a
bug in the built-in desktop. If you use NeoDesk exclusively, you don't
need it as our program doesn't suffer from this problem.
(R.FLASHMAN, CAT17, TOP14, MSG:168/M475)
DIABLO EMULATOR The new diablo emulator file is #16975 - SLM.ARC.
""""""""""""""" (LARRY.D, CAT14, TOP11, MSG:149/M475)
TWO-COLUMN PRINT Last week I downloaded the two-column printer
"""""""""""""""" utility. (2COLUMNS.LZH, File #17910) Having been
thoroughly become lost, confused, and frustrated trying to deal with
GDOS, ASSIGN.SYS files, and a variety of programs that were supposed to
help me print stuff, I was more than a bit leery, but it sounded like a
very useful program to have.
So, unArced it, scanned the doc, and fired it up to print (natch)
the doc file. Astounding. A half-dozen or so clicks, and I had a
perfect printout. I _love_ graceful and 'idiot-proof' programs like
this. Hmm. If this is an example of the man's freeware, I'd be most
curious to see a commercial product. Many thanks.
(M.JONES52, CAT2, TOP3, MSG:28/M475)
MEMFILE 3.0 We've just uploaded the brand new Memfile 3.0. It's file
""""""""""" #18118 and should be available as soon as it is cleared by
the sysops.
For those who are not familiar with Memfile, its a GEM based
memory, file, and sector editor. It allows you to search for any string
and runs as a desk accessory.
This new version can also run a program, allows you to copy any
block from any source to any destination, and can be run as a
"NeoDesk Accessory".
Please let us know of your comments and feelings about this new
freeware utility. We use it daily and highly recommend it as a must
have utility. (R.FLASHMAN, CAT17, TOP3, MSG:1/M475)
SPECTRE SURVIVAL KIT Folks, we have the beginnings of a Spectre 3.0
"""""""""""""""""""" "Survival Kit" taking shape in the Gadgets RT
libraries!
File #365, Spectre Keyboard Map DA, created and uploaded by Larry
Rymal will prove a VALUABLE asset in your exploration of the new and
completely different Spectre keyboard mapping...all from within
MAC mode!
File #376, Async Kit, created and uploaded by Joe Wheeler will
certainly help everyone interested in doing PostScript Asynchronous
printing from within Spectre 3.0.
File #375, DOS Mounter demo, also uploaded by Joe Wheeler is a
nifty way to get a quick taste of using MS-DOS format disks right on
the Mac desktop within Spectre 3.0.
My thanks go out to Larry and Joe for taking the time to make ALL
of our lives a little bit easier!
[Note: These files are located in the GADGETS RoundTable (M690)]
(STACE, CAT7, TOP68, MSG:236/M690)
ATARI DIRECT Since I just uploaded 2 more in a seemingly never ending
"""""""""""" stream of utility programs from our offices to your STs,
I thought it appropriate to start up a topic for them.
PRGFLAGS.LZH, (File #18178) now in the library, lets you set the
program flags of executable files from the desktop, from a shell, or
even from a makefile for you programmer-types. It supports the
"Fastload" bit and the new "Run in TT RAM" and "Use TT RAM" bits for
the TT.
NOROACH.LZH, (File #18179) now also in the library, lets you
configure the boot delay for a Mega STE or a TT, and even provides a
floppy virus guard function for those of you who don't own one of our
newer machines.(K.BAD, CAT14, TOP32, MSG:1/M475) (EDITED)
ST ALADDIN SCRIPT I've just uploaded file #65, which is a nice script
""""""""""""""""" for retrieving stock prices from GEnie's Star*
Services stock listings. I modified a script from the PC Aladdin
library. The script allows you to get up to 60 stocks. Works
perfectly, and sure beats paying the high prices that Dow Jones
charges..! Enjoy, and happy investing.
(NEVIN-S, CAT4, TOP1, MSG:204/M475)
FORMDOIT Just played around with FormDoIt! (File #18273) FormDoIt's
"""""""" going into my AUTO folder for sure. If you want to see some-
thing really neat, try using ST-Talk Pro with it. You can even open
folders and select some drives, what a kick :-)
Thanks Gribnif oh, do you prefer bottles or cans? ;-)
(RRWELDIN, CAT17, TOP4, MSG:10/M475)
//////////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //////
/ "That's a good question. I wish that I had as good an answer ;)" /
/////////////////////////////////////////////////// W.PARKS3 /////
[EOA]
[LYN]//////////////////////////////
HOOKING UP WITH LYNX /
/////////////////////////////////
Atari Game Power!
"""""""""""""""""
LYNX ODDS AND ENDS
""""""""""""""""""
$99 LYNX SOON The smaller version of the Lynx is due within 30 days.
""""""""""""" The $99 version is shipping now! The current
incarnation of the $99 Lynx is the original model repacked in a new box,
without the game, without the a/c adapter, and without a Comlynx cable.
If some retailers are selling the Lynx with a Comlynx cable at $99,
then they have added the cable themselves.
Sorry, Bob! The rest of the message doesn't make sense to me. I
got the part about wanting to know two other things....check your
e-mail! I usually don't hang out in the Lynx topic. Dave is doing
just fine here, and I've got LOTS of things I need to be doing. I wish
I could, I could use some more fun!! :)
(BOB-BRODIE, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:117/M475)
>>>>> The $99 Lynx package currently contains the old Lynx. From
""""" what I know, we will work the new model in, when the older
models are sold. This should be too long.. We just filled part of a
_huge_ order. (TOWNS, CAT36, TOP5, MSG:110/M475)
>>>>> I just talked to a person in development, he says that the
""""" current Lynx does not have stereo sound, but the new one
(MIGHT), still undecided. (Hope they decide fast). The PAN left and
right, will not do anything except lower the sound, as far as he knows.
(T.ELLERING, CAT36, TOP17, MSG:23/M475)
PIT FIGHTER I have read in a European magazine that Atari has bought
""""""""""" the rights to do home versions of Pit Fighter and I heard
from Todd Ellering that the developers at the CES did mention Pit
Fighter as a Lynx title. Can't wait.
(C.SMITH89, CAT36, TOP6, MSG:73/M475)
NINJA GAIDEN The Lynx version of Ninja Gaiden will be a conversion of
"""""""""""" the arcade title not the Nintendo version.
(C.SMITH89, CAT36, TOP7, MSG:83/M475)
LYNX DOCUMENTATION You can get the $40 documentation package, which is
"""""""""""""""""" _quite_ informative, from Atari's Chicago/Lombard
office. After reading it, I can say that I am very impressed with the
Lynx's design. (L.A.POPKIN, CAT36, TOP31, MSG:5/M475)
>>>>> Director, Lynx Developer Support Atari Corp. 330 N. Eisenhower
""""" Lane Lombard, IL 60148 708-629-6500 (Taken from the Jan/Feb
issue of Atari Explorer (page 52)).
(DAVID.CAGLE, CAT36, TOP31, MSG:7/M475)
/////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////////
/ "-- thanks, Dave/Gadgets by Small/dishwasher, diaper changer" /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// DAVESMALL /////
[EOA]
[RTC]//////////////////////////////
NIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE /
/////////////////////////////////
Wednesday Night Fun!
""""""""""""""""""""
o FROM THE TOP: Bill Louden RTC Highlights
o ST ALADDIN RT STARTS WEEKLY RTC
BILL LOUDEN RTC HIGHLIGHTS
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
FEBRUARY 21, 1991
ST Aladdin RoundTable
[Note: DRICE is the Head Programmer for GEnie. His comments are
labeled as <DRICE>. Bill Louden is the General Manager of GEnie
whose comments make up the bulk of the RTC.]
THE FUTURE OF GEnie Hmm, tough question right off the bat.. well,
""""""""""""""""""" first a graphical user interface will be passe'
then, I would think we would be transparently "linked" to GEnie through
a LAN or a home computer with built in CD rom. In the next ten years we
certainly could see video and sound as easily as text. The biggest
impediment will be the speed of modems (cheap) over 19,200 baud.
>>>>> We have several exciting things coming this year. More Aladdin
""""" platforms for one and other front-ends for the more graphically
inclined. We have several FULL-Graphic games coming in the next 18
months.
ZMODEM/YMODEM IN EMAIL That has been a tough one for us to get
"""""""""""""""""""""" scheduled with our network engineers... there
is limited memory available in the node for protocols; they are still
trying to figure out how to pack in more code and get more memory.
We really are trying to make a case to replace XMODEM in the nodes with
Zmodem; but there are still a lot of XMODEM only terminal programs out
there.
GEnie AND 9600 BAUD Actually we already have over 70 cities with 9600
""""""""""""""""""" baud; we just have not opened them up for GEnie
yet. The issue is cost and availability; those types of products start
at the business clients first and work their way down to consumer's
price ranges. The encouraging thing is that 9600 baud modems are
beginning to sell at the prices of 2400 baud modems only a few years
ago. That will drive demand making services like GEnie add capacity
(and a consumer price).
>>>>> We chose the CCITT standard V.32 It is the world-wide
""""" recognized standard; anything else sold now will be obsolete
in 18 months. Well, V.42 is NOT a modem standard; it is an error
control standard. A V.32 modem may or may not support V.42. Currently,
our 9600 baud modems support V.32 (and will also -later- be supporting
V.42)
>>>>> Retail price will be $30 per hour, day or night [and will be
""""" available in] 75 cities-almost any major metro area. The tariff
is a bit steep for 9600 now; it will be dropping as volume grows just as
2400 has.
THE TRAMIEL RTC MESS <DRICE> The Grand Hall simply ran out of memory
"""""""""""""""""""" for Mr Tramiel's conference. We have taken steps
to try to make it better, and we hope to have another 200 users or so to
test it out <grin>
OTHER ONLINE SERVICES Prodigy is generating more new clients for us
""""""""""""""""""""" than by any other means... :) but.. clearly,
graphics has brought out a whole new breed of information user, and we
will have to adopt and make our system even more "intuitive" than we
think it is now. As you can guess, we built GEnie with the computerist
in mind. The new users are not computerists; and they need more
assistance up front.
GEnie's CUSTOMERS Well, we do processing for some of the biggest
""""""""""""""""" companies in the world.. Coca Cola, Mercedes Benz,
Apple Computer, Microsoft, GTE, CHEMICAL bank, Euroclear, & the 1990
census to name a few. [The] GEnie [side] is very important to GEIS.
WE are a small revenue product (only about 10%), but since we do not
have to pay for the mainframes (the corp. users do) We bring 25% to
the net profit line. [Actually] the statement above about net profit
is a bit misleading.. we don't make 25% net profit; we are about 25%
of GEIS net profit.
[*][*][*]
ST ALADDIN RTC Beginning this Thursday Feb 21, the ST Aladdin RT will
"""""""""""""" have a weekly conference. The conference will start at
9:30 and run for an hour. Some will be informal and some will have
guests.
To start this off with a boom our first guest will be non other
then Bill Louden. Bill is the General Manager of GEnie. He is the one
who has taken GEnie from nothing to being one of the top Information
Services in the Industry. He has started many new things.. Free up-
loading, Conferences, and his latest the Star*Service. Be sure to stop
in and ask questions about Star*Service's and the future of GEnie and
Aladdin. (GORDON, CAT1, TOP4, MSG:1/M475)
/////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE ////
/ "Thanks Atari Japan, I know someone would know what I was /
/ talking about. As usual I did not." /
/////////////////////////////////////////// J.MEEHAN3 /////
[EOA]
[ELS]//////////////////////////////
ST ELSEWHERE /
/////////////////////////////////
Other Areas Of IntereST
"""""""""""""""""""""""
LETTERS FROM HOME STILL ON GEnie's "Letters from Home" program has
"""""""""""""""""""""""""" been extended for an additional two months!
Previously set to expire on 2/28/91, the program now will continue at
least through 4/30/91.
According to the U.S. Military in a UPI news report on 2/15/91, the
volume of mail destined to troops in Operation Desert Storm is causing
some delivery delays. In fact, U.S. Central Command has extended a
request that family and friends of Desert Storm service personnel
voluntarily limit personal mail to first-class letters. Packages to the
troops are being delayed significantly or not delivered at all because
of troop movements and mail volume.
"Transportation and supply lines that are used to carry mail -
vehicles, trucks and planes - area also being utilized to carry combat-
related equipment and supplies," said Air Force Maj. Mark Rader, public
affairs officer of the Military Postal Service Agency. "The mail is
competing with other equally important resources now in that limited
space."
Now more than ever Letters from Home - by replacing trans-Atlantic
transportation with GE's data network - can help you speed messages to
your loved ones serving with Operation Desert Storm. And while you may
not know someone currently stationed in the Gulf region, it is likely
that your friends or neighbors do. Be sure to pass the word about
Letters from Home along. If they don't have access to a personal
computer and modem, perhaps YOU can help them out!
To access the "LETTERS FROM HOME" system, type the word "LETTERS"
at any menu prompt. Non-subscribers can dial any GEnie local access
telephone number and access Letters from Home by typing LETTERS at a
U#= prompt. THERE ARE NO CHARGES TO SEND A "LETTER FROM HOME"!
Offered in cooperation with the U.S. Armed Forces, the Saudi-
American General Electric Company, GE Rents and Pitney Bowes Inc.,
"LETTERS FROM HOME" allows individuals in the United States with access
to a personal computer and modem to send personal messages to loved ones
serving in the Persian Gulf region.
Letters are sent electronically via GE Information Services'
worldwide teleprocessing network to GE's local telecommunications
facility in Saudi Arabia. The letters are received and printed on
computers and printers supplied by GE Rents. The mail is then folded,
inserted and sealed in envelopes using state-of-the-art equipment
provided by Pitney Bowes. Finally, letters are then given to the
Military Postal Service for delivery to the designated serviceperson -
some in as little as two days!
To send a Letter From Home, you must know the Name & Rank, Social
Security #, Unit or Ship and APO or FPO of the recipient. The Letters
From Home system automatically prompts senders for the appropriate
information. Note - Letters bound for the Persian Gulf are now being
accepted for APO and FPO addresses based in New York, Miami, San
Francisco and Seattle.
Don't delay! Let your friends and loved ones in the Gulf know
you're thinking about them ... TODAY!
//////////////////////////////////////// GEnie QWIK_QUOTE //////
/ "Norm, think "offshore bank accounts". Think "unmarked, non- /
/ consecutive serial number $10's and $20's". Think "cash". /
/ Think "gratitude". Think "nights with Cybil Shepherd" /
/ ... well, no, skip that one." /
/////////////////////////////////////////////// DAVESMALL ////
[EOA]
[LOG]//////////////////////////////
LOG OFF /
/////////////////////////////////
GEnie Lamp Information
""""""""""""""""""""""
COMMENTS? If you would like to ask a question, leave a comment or just
""""""""" drop in and say hi, you can contact us in CAT 34 in the ST
bulletin board area. If you prefer to remain private, send your GEnie
Email to GENIELAMP$ on page 200, or leave a message to one or more of
the following addresses:
WITH A LITTLE HELP...
"""""""""""""""""""""
o John F. Peters [ST-GUEST] Publisher/Editor
o Darlah J. Pine [DARLAH] Co-Editor
o Jeff Williams [JEFF.W] Technical Editor
- David Holmes [D.HOLMES14] TX2 Editor
- Fred Koch [F.KOCH] GEnie Lamp Staff
- Sheldon Winick [S.WINICK] GEnie Lamp Staff
- Mel Motogawa [M.MOTOGAWA] GEnie Lamp Staff
- Jill Duncan [J.DUNCAN15] GEnie Lamp Staff
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
ATTENTION ATARIANS Have you ever thought about writing an article?
"""""""""""""""""" Well, here's your chance. WRITERS.ARC File #17920
located in the GEnie Lamp library, #35 is a short text file that will
give you information on our polices, what we are looking for and how to
go about writing and submitting your article for possible publication in
an upcoming issue of GEnie Lamp. Whether you are interested in taking
on one of the columns now found in GEnie Lamp, starting a new column, or
just submitting a one time article, we want to hear from you. So, take
a quick look, fire up the word processor and get busy on that article!
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 1991 T/TalkNET OnLine Publishing, Atari Corporation,
GEnie, and the Atari RoundTables. May be reprinted only with this
notice intact. The Atari RoundTables on GEnie are the *official*
information services of the Atari Corporation.
Signed articles and message reprints are the opinion of the authors
and are not necessarily the opinion of the publisher or staff of
GEnie Lamp. We reserve the right to edit all letters and copy.
To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 1-800-638-8369. Upon
connection type HHH. Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XJM11877,GEnie
and hit RETURN. The system will then prompt you for your information.
////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
[EOF]
