Z*Magazine: 15-Oct-89 #178

From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 10/02/93-03:23:15 PM Z


From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: Z*Magazine: 15-Oct-89 #178
Date: Sat Oct  2 15:23:15 1993



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 ||||||| ZMAGAZINE #178                         October 15, 1989 |||||||
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 ||||||| Volume 3, Number 41                  Ron Kovacs, Editor |||||||
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 |||||||(c) 1989, Rovac Ind., PO Box 59, Middlesex, NJ 08846-0059|||||||
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 ||||||| News Headlines....                                      |||||||
 |||||||       * Sig Hartmann Announces November Retirement      |||||||
 |||||||       * ComputerFest '89 Report                         |||||||
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 |||||||CompuServe: 71777,2140                   GEnie: ZMAGAZINE|||||||
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 CONTENTS
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 The Editors Desk........Ron Kovacs      Sig Hartmann Retires.....J.Nagy
 The X-Com Wedge.........Ed Bachman      ComputerFest '89........J Ullom
 The Bookkeeper...........Don Lucia      Ramdisk AutoLoad......J. Picken
 130XE Changes.........Mark Elliott      Hardware Pricewatch..WK Whitton
 
 
 
 THE EDITORS DESK
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           by Ron Kovacs


 As announced in between issues, we are now releasing ZMAG bi-weekly, the
 news and reviews have been dwindling and causing a negative effect on 
 what we cover each week.  In place of suspending publication, we offer 
 the new release of every other week.
 
 I have been reading the negative responses to our change to 80 columns 
 and ask your indulgence until we select our new editor.  I will try to 
 return to atascii 40 column format at that time.
 
 Our next regular edition will be released October 29, 1989.
 

 
 SIG RETIRES
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            by John Nagy
 
 
 After five years with ATARI Corp, Sig Hartmann announced this week that
 he will resign/retire effective November 1st.
 
 Although currently assigned at Vice President level in charge of OEM
 sales, Industrial sales, and Institutional sales, Sig has spent much of
 his time away from his primary responsibilities in order to be the
 primary public speaker for Atari.

 Sig has regularly charmed audiences at Atarifests and shows with his
 views and information about Atari, and generally has been able to thaw
 the chilliest of listeners into feeling good about the company.  As the
 only effective public speaker offered by Atari since the variable but
 very public Neil Harris, Sig has been in high demand.

 Fortunately for Atari and audiences alike, Bob Brodie (new User Group/
 Show Coordinator) has proven to be a thoroughly enjoyable and effective
 speaker at several recent events.  He spoke to an assembly of 200 users
 from 5 groups last month in New Jersey, and shared the "Official" Atari
 seminar duties at the WAACE Atarifest with Sig.  Bob seems to be the
 heir apparent for the "image" jobs to come.

 Sig has hinted widely about retiring for some time.  At the April 1989
 World Of Atari show at Disneyland, Sig spoke of introducing the "new
 blood" who would be shaping Atari's future.  He shared the podium then
 with Mike Dendo (VP Sales) and Joe Mendolia (VP Marketing), both of whom
 have since resigned from Atari.  "Sam [Tramiel, Atari Corp CEO] and Jack
 [Tramiel, Atari owner and Chairman of the Board) don't think I have
 suffered enough yet", Sig joked then, "so I have to work a while
 longer."  Private comments indicated that the retirement would come
 within a year at that time.

 Although it may well have been the lack of an appropriate replacement
 for Sig on the speaking circuit that kept Sig from setting a date until
 now, November 1 is the fifth anniversary of Sig's employment at Atari,
 and his stock and benefits fully vest at that time.  Sig worked with the
 Tramiels at Commodore before they bought Atari, and before that was
 instrumental in a total overhaul and turnaround at TRW.

 Sig Hartmann's plans for the future are not settled, but may include
 some additional service to Atari.  It is expected that he will attend
 COMDEX in November (Las Vegas) for fun and to see both new products and
 old friends.  Not one to sit for long, Sig has mentioned moving to
 Germany (either to work or just to relax) as a serious option.  For the
 present, Sig hopes to finally be able to spend some time at his suburban
 Los Angeles home without having to constantly commute to Sunnyvale, some
 300+ miles up the Pacific coast.

 Thanks, Sig, you have been appreciated, and you will be missed!



 THE X-COM WEDGE v2.0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           by Ed Bachman
 
 
 An extended command set utility for SpartaDOS 3.2d and xl/xe's with at
 least 128k of ram.
 
 The Wedge is a utilty, or actually a whole gaggle of utilities in one
 package.  It performs a range of operations, from viewing arc files,
 moving files, peeks and pokes, a file reader, a file locator, to various
 Sparta-specific functions.   The "icing on the cake" so to speak, is the
 fact that once installed all these functions become "resident" or
 internal commands to the Sparta command processor.  Better still, the
 majority of these commands are NOT destructive to memory, unlike most
 stand alone utilities.
 
 The 1.x series of the Wedge was an attempt at consolidating varying
 utilities, but at an enormous memory cost (hey, you have to put the code
 somewhere!).  Hence version 2.x of the Wedge, which bumps memlo by less
 than 200 bytes.  This is accomplished by placing the bulk of the code
 out in extended ram.  This requires a system of 128k or more, however,
 this extra space also allows the wedge to be much more powerful than a
 stand alone utility.  All of the work performed by the Wedge is done in
 extended ram, effectively preserving memory in the main bank.  This
 allows for a variety of normally memory destructive tasks to be done,
 without harming any programs or data in the main bank of memory.
 
 Some Wedge features..
 
 The Wedge will add 17 "extended" commands to the command processor in
 sparta 3.2d.  It will add an additional three commands if it finds a
 Multi I/O on line as well.  Here are some of the features the Wedge
 makes available.
 
     * A "paged" file reader
     * An arc/alf file viewer
     * hex and decimal conversions
     * Peeks and pokes
     * Identify files
     * Find files
     * Protected copy, not mem destructive
     * count files
     * double column directories
     * Move files
     * Rename sub dirs
     * Erase files w/query and more.
 
 Mio users will also have a resident DSWAP, lock mio drive function, and
 direct access to the mio menu which does not coldstart the computer
 should you have a cart installed.
 
 The Wedge works well under a variety of applications and programming
 environments, and although it is a resident utility, it can be removed
 at any time, for programs that require the extended ram for its own
 uses.  If I sound enthusiastic about the Wedge it's because I am!  I
 believe you'll find this to be a very useful utility, and after a time,
 somewhat habit forming. <grin!>  The Wedge is shareware, and can be
 found on BBSes across the country.  The most current revision is always
 available on my support board, The Atari Computer Users Technical
 Exchange, The ACUTE bbs 215-261-0620.
 
 Happy Computing!
 

 
 COMPUTERFEST 1989 (Not WAACE)
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     by Jim Ullom, MVACE
 
 
 Computerfest 1989 was held August 26th & 27th, at Hara Arena, in Dayton,
 Ohio.  The festivities began promptly at 10:00 am, and consisted of
 about 20,000 vendors and users groups from all over the United States
 and Canada.  Dave Small of Gadgets by Small, Charles F. Johnson & John
 Eidsvoog of CodeHead Software, Bill Teal of PC-ditto, and nearly all of
 the famous programmers that you always read about and always wanted to
 meet were there, available to answer your questions, or just chat.  As
 usual, Atari Corporation went all out to assist the local users groups
 in their endeavors, donating displays and providing financial assistance
 to the faithful.  Atari also sent media representatives to assist in
 marketing their new hardware, as they had a large display in the main
 arena that dwarfed the competition.  

 Yes, Jack and the rest of the crew from Atari Corp were there, and gave
 a private demonstration of the new Stacy laptop and Portfolio computers.
 As a matter of fact, Atari presented each of the users group members
 that worked the show with their very own laptop & Portfolio computers,
 free of charge, just for being loyal to the company for all these years.
 Jack came around and personally thanked each and every one of us for
 "keeping the faith" with Atari.  I immediately sat down and began
 working with the complementary ST laptop, but suddenly heard a loud
 buzzing noise.  Things started to spin and fade out, and suddenly, I
 awakened to............. the sound of my alarm clock.  I woke up, and
 then realized..... Computerfest '89 was at hand.
 
 MVACE, the Miami Valley Atari Computer Enthusiasts, in conjunction with
 two other Atari users groups, Troy ACE (TRACE) and Northmont Systems of
 Atari Computers (NASAc), had an impressive display that consisted of
 twenty (count 'em, 20) tables.  Demonstrations were going on at least 15
 computers, with the Spectre and PC-ditto drawing a large share of
 attention.  Bruce Hansford, ramrod of the ACES, and partner in 1st STOP
 Computers, brought along his new Vidi-ST (video image digital interface)
 package and new MiGraph Hand Scanner to demonstrate, and put on quite a
 show.  Games, desktop publishing, and a really dynamite MIDI
 demonstration kept the crowds buzzing around the booths nearly all of
 the two days of the festival.  Both ST and 8-bit systems were well
 represented.

 With a few dollars burning a hole in my pocket, I ventured forth onto
 the sales floor, and found myself surrounded by a cornucopia of computer
 goodies.  Software, hardware, paper, labels, disk carriers, cables, and
 just about anything that a dedicated hacker could possibly wish for, was
 present.  Mendelson Electronics of Dayton had their usual spread of
 hardware, both new and used, at very attractive prices.  And speak of
 software... several vendors had some real bargains, all you had to do
 was look to find something that you could use, many of which were real
 deals in the $2.00 to $10.00 range.  Ah yes, so many deals.... so little
 money.
 
 Of particular note, was the spectacular graphics shown by the MS-DOS
 crowd, on their VGA equipped IBM's and clones.  Displays that looked all
 the world like a photograph, with absolutely stunning colors and
 detailing.  It seems only yesterday that we were the envy of the
 computer world with our Atari graphics.  What happened, to our graphics
 capabilities guys?  

 All in all, Computerfest was a great experience, well worth the time and
 effort to attend.  Too bad that it only comes around once a year.  One
 consolation however, there is a strong rumor of an Atarifest in the
 Dayton area, and Hamfest is just around the corner, so all hope for a
 computer-active fall and winter season is not lost.  MVACE will have a
 booth at the Hamfest if possible, the Atarifest, if there is one, and
 also at the Computerfest next year, so.... come see us, we'll be looking
 for you!

 [Computerfest has been presented every year for the past 14 years by the
  Dayton Microcomputer Association (DMA Inc.), a non-profit corporation.]



 
 THE BOOKKEEPER
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            by Don Lucia
 
 
 To those of you who have been around awhile you're already saying,
 "that's an old program", and you're right.  But it was not a well
 accepted program due to it's original cost.  I paid $150.00 plus for the
 program and $50.00 plus for the accompanying numeric key pad.  That
 price coupled with the fact that it is not a simple single entry
 accounting program made it a difficult program to learn at a time when
 the new computer user was having difficulty just learning about his/her
 computer.  So what's changed?  Well, for starters you can now purchase
 this program for as little as $10.00 or $25.00 with the keypad.  That's
 a terrific price for this well designed program.  That along with the
 following tips on the pitfalls awaiting the user will make this program
 an attractive tool for the small business or dedicated budgeter using
 the 800/XL/XE machine.

 The manual that comes with the program recommends that anyone having
 difficulty should contact a CPA for the initial setup to ensure the
 usefulness of the program and the proper selection of General Ledger
 (GL) account codes.  The General Ledger (everyone), Customer/Vendor
 Lists (business only) and initial General Journal (GJ) entries
 (everyone), are the most important steps in starting up this program.

 Well, now that I've scared off all the faint-hearted, let's get on with
 the review.  First of all it's very important to read the MANUAL at
 least once completely through and read the tutorial through three times
 even if your going to use this program for personal purposes the
 tutorial will assist you in getting use to double entry accounting
 methods.  Then make backup copies of your disks and follow the tutorial
 executing the program using the sample data disk.  Even though this is a
 small business data base it will provide useful information to those who
 will use the program for a personal bookkeeping program.  For those of
 you who say 'I know bookkeeping and don't need the practice', you'll
 eventually come back to the tutorial and complete it, save yourself
 sometime and do it first.
 
 You'll notice that from the Main Menu there are four choices:
 
 1. Start Up Menu
 2. Data Entry Menu
 3. Maintenance Menu
 4. Reporting Menu
 
 Each of these items carries it's numerical series of sub-menus with it
 into the next Menu, i.e., "1. Start Up Menu", has four sub-menus
 numbered 11, 12, 13, and 14.  "2. Data Entry Menu", has four sub-menus
 numbered 21, 22, 23, and 24.  Etc, etc..  Only when you start printing
 does this sequence change as you'll see in a moment.

 FIRST PITFALL --- Each time you initiate the program you MUST use the
 start up procedure (selection #1. on the Data Entry Menu).  This allows
 you to select the data base disk that you wish to use for this session.
 It's conceivable that one household might have a data disk for each
 member of the household as well as a small business.  Luckily the
 program for a single data base disk does support multiple checking/
 saving/money market accounts.  It just requires some forethought and
 reading of Appendix 'B' during the start up procedure.

 SECOND PITFALL --- You need only do Submenu Items 13. and 14. on the
 Start Up Menu when initializing your data base disk for the very first
 time.

 THIRD PITFALL --- As I stated before, go through the tutorial to insure
 you understand data entry, printing reports and understand what those
 reports mean before attempting to establish your own system disk.

 The Data Entry Menu includes:

 21. Checks Written (CW)
 22. Cash Received (CR)
 23. Invoices Written (IW)
 24. General Journal (GJ) entries

 The Maintenance Menu Includes:

 31. Add/Change/Delete GL accounts
 32. Add/Change Control Information
 33. Add/Change/Delete Customers
 34. Add/Change/Delete Vendors
 35. Add/Change Invoice Prompts

 The Reporting Menu Includes:

 41. List Journals
 42. Recording/Periodic Processing
 43. Print Lists
 44. Data Entry (Ret to D E Disk)

 FOURTH PITFALL --- It is important to remember that you must follow the
 prompts at all times when changing disks, or information/closing of a
 report etc. may be lost and ruin all of your work up to that point.
 Take heart - most mistakes can be corrected via the General Journal, by
 nullifying mistakes with the appropriate debit (+) or credit (-) entry.
 
 FIFTH PITFALL --- After every long data input, when you find yourself
 back at the DATA ENTRY or REPORTING MENUS with one of the master disks
 installed:  Turn off your computer, boot DOS and make a backup copy of
 your data disk!  One night after I'd finished making all of my initial
 entries, GL accounts, Customer/Vendor lists, Control Information, and
 initial GJ entries; I was tired, so I shut off my computer, made a
 backup copy of my data disk, and quit for awhile.  But, wouldn't you
 know it...  When I started up again (I wasn't 30 minutes into my first
 month's entries), I made the classic mistake of removing my data disk
 before hitting the Esc key and saving my data.  Fortunately, I only lost
 the 30 minutes worth of input and all the table placement, since I had
 backed up my disk before.  I ran a printout and found things so fouled
 up that I trashed those files, copied the files from the backed up disk,
 and started over.  Without that backup disk I would have been about six
 hours behind instead of just 30 minutes!  I now take the extra time and
 backup my data disk whenever I'm going to stop for a period of time and
 at the end of every session.

 BACKUP   BACKUP   BACKUP

 SIXTH PITFALL --- Remember as I said earlier, when you start up your
 data base disk, enter your GL accounts, Customer/Vendor lists, Control
 Information and initial balances via the GJ for Assets and Liabilities.
 Some simple formulas to remember are:

 a. Assets - Liabilities = Capital
 b. Profit = Income - Expenses

 Table I shows the relationship between the Major Elements of Double
 Entry Accounting systems.  It will assist you when you are making GJ
 entries since that transaction always requires at least two entries and
 must result in a zero (0) balance.

 TABLE I

 debit (+)  Account     credit (-)
 increase   assets        decrease
 decrease   liabilities   increase
 decrease   capital       increase
 decrease   income        increase
 increase   expense       decrease

 After you have completed the initial entries, go to the Reporting Menu
 and print all of your lists; General Ledger accounts, and Customer/
 Vendor lists.  These will assist you when you are making data entries.
 This is especially true with the GL account numbers, because during CW
 and CR you are asked for the GL account number.  Now go to the data
 entry area via the screen prompts.

 SEVENTH PITFALL --- Submenu Item #32. on the Maintenance Menu allows you
 to establish the proper control information necessary for the automatic
 portions of the program to work properly.  DO THIS STEP AFTER YOU INPUT
 THE GL ACCOUNTS BUT BEFORE, REPEAT BEFORE, YOU INPUT THE GENERAL JOURNAL
 STARTING BALANCES.  This is a very important step and, if accomplished
 properly, will prevent a lot of screaming and frustration.  This step
 can only be accomplished before GJ entries or after month-end close out,
 since that step closes out the GJ entries.

 EIGHTH PITFALL --- Should you find yourself in the middle of data entry
 and suddenly realize that you do not have an appropriate GL account for
 a particular asset/liability, etc., all is not lost.  Close out the
 batch, press Esc and go via the prompts to the Maintenance Menu, select
 31. and add your GL account that you require for that data entry.

 NOTE

 NOTE

 Because of the disk swap, the wait to load the disks, etc., is very time
 consuming.  Carefully consider your initial inputs and GL accts before
 starting data entry.  Remember, it is better to have to many accounts
 then be forever adding new ones.  The list in the book gives you a lot
 of ideas for the accounts you may want in your GL.  Think of all your
 Assets, then your Liabilities, and always include catch-all
 miscellaneous accounts.  TIP - account numbers like '1010 cash-on-hand'
 should always be followed by '1011 pers checking', '1012 money market',
 etc.

 See your CPA to assist you in the Start Up portion, especially in
 establishing GL accounts required for tax documentation purposes.  I
 found that looking at my previous year's tax return helped in this
 respect.  It established those necessary accounts required to prepare my
 tax return when the reports were printed at year end.

 NINTH PITFALL --- When initially entering GJ information, startup
 balances, etc., follow the procedure on page 84 of the manual.  And
 remember.. for every debit there must be an appropriate credit.  Follow
 the prompts in the manual.

 TENTH PITFALL --- Read ALL, repeat ALL, of the Appendices.  These
 contain important information that you'll need (but, I'll not discuss
 here because it would take up too much space in this column).

 ELEVENTH PITFALL --- When making CW (checks written) inputs, the memory
 buffer set up for this will usually hold only ten or eleven checks
 before prompting that the buffer is full.  Close the batch which clears
 the buffer and go on inputting.  It's only a minor annoyance when you
 know what to expect, so don't panic.  The first time it happens just
 delete the 'check to info', hit return; and...  If you wish to go back
 thru the checks inputted, type n for no and then delete back to the
 check #.  Change the # to the number of the first check written in that
 batch or the # of the check specifically that you wish to verify.  When
 you are through verifying and have come to the last check in the batch,
 type y for yes at the prompt, and close the batch.  Once the batch has
 been closed the only way to modify the information is through a
 duplicate entry or entries in the GJ.  When this happens to me I write
 down the info on a stick-up note and accumulate these errors until I've
 finished the session.  Then I make the GJ entries.  When I close out the
 month I print all of the reports, but DO NOT closet he books until I've
 read all the reports and haven't found any other errors.  Then I backup
 my data disk before I execute command '81. end of month closeout'.
 After I closeout I backup my data disk again keeping the disks separate
 and marking them so that if I have to go back to the previous month I
 haven't lost all of my GJ entries.

 TIP: The program is at times a little tedious, especially when you're
 printing out the reports.  Go make a sandwich while everything is being
 printed, then come back.  Time will fly a little faster that way.  I
 keep all of my monthly printouts in an accordion folder with the check
 statements, stubs, receipts, etc. by month so that year-end information
 is all nice and neat for my CPA.

 I wish someone would update this program to use two disk drives and
 allow for some data entry maintenance directly on the tables.  Ah well,
 it's still the best program I've found to provide the kind of reports I
 need.

 ENJOY
 


 A RAMDISK AUTOLOADER FOR MYDOS 4.5
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   by John Picken, GCACE
                   (From XIO3, May 1989, Garden City ACE, Victoria B.C.)
 
 
 MyDos 4.5 is a very nice piece of software.  I use it with Turbo BASIC,
 and a RAMdisk.  This combination is a convenient and powerful
 programming environment.  What's more, it's all Public Domain.  One
 thing I don't like about MyDos is that its RAMdisk autoloader is very
 slow.  The short program presented here will create a much faster and
 more convenient, RAMdisk initializer for MyDos 4.5.  PLEASE NOTE THAT
 THIS LOADER WILL ONLY WORK WITH MYDOS 4.5.
 
 To use it, run MyDos 4.5 and set up your RAMdisk using the O command.
 Don't number your RAMdisk drive 1.  Write this reconfigured MyDos to a
 new disk, using the H command.  Load the following BASIC program.  Place
 your new MyDos disk in Drive 1 and RUN the program.  The program will
 write an AUTORUN.SYS file to your disk.  This is your RAMdisk loader.
 When you boot MyDos the loader will set up the RAMdisk as you had
 originally configured it.  The loader also makes the RAMdisk the default
 drive and copies DUP.SYS into it.  However, the loader doesn't set up a
 MEM.SAV file.  MEM.SAV is useful with Atari BASIC, but with Turbo BASIC
 it's not only useless, it causes lockups.

 The loader is small and smart.  It only formats an unformatted RAMdisk.
 So if you can reboot using a warm start, you will not lose any of your
 RAMdisk contents.  If DUP.SYS is already in the RAMdisk, the loader
 quits then and there.  If DUP.SYS is not found, the loader copies
 DUP.SYS and all protected ("locked" if you must) files from D1: to the
 RAMdisk.  This means you could use the loader to copy a second disk full
 of protected files.  Simply erase DUP.SYS in the RAMdisk and rerun the
 loader, (just make sure your second source disk also holds DUP.SYS).
 The loader does not copy DOS.SYS.

 I use the loader with both a 256XL and a 320XE.  It works well.  The
 loader should work equally well with a 130XE.  If you get a RAMdisk that
 you did not specify, check out the RAM sequence options provided by
 MyDos.  Your extra RAM may require some custom configuration.

 5  REM Ramdisk Autoloader
 10 DIM SEC$(125)
 12 FOR SEC=1 TO 4
 14 READ SEC$,CKSAV
 16 PRINT
 18 PRINT "Checking ";SEC$
 20 CK=0
 22 TRAP 76
 24 FOR B=1 TO 125
 26 READ A
 28 CK=CK+A*B
 30 IF CK>65535 THEN CK=CK-65535
 32 NEXT B
 34 IF CK<>CKSAV THEN PRINT "Error in  ";SEC$:GOTO 90:REM 2 spaces
 36 NEXT SEC
 38 REM --------------------------
 40 RESTORE
 42 PRINT "Ready to write file"
 44 PRINT
 46 PRINT "Place disk in D1: and press RETURN"
 48 INPUT #16,SEC$
 50 OPEN #1,8,0,"D1:AUTORUN.SYS"
 52 FOR SEC=1 TO 4
 54 READ SEC$,CKSAV
 56 PRINT
 58 PRINT "Writing ";SEC$
 60 TRAP 82
 62 FOR B=1 TO 125
 64 READ A
 66 SEC$(B)=CHR$(A)
 68 NEXT B
 70 PRINT #1;SEC$;
 72 NEXT SEC
 74 REM --------------------------
 76 POP :REM Trap part 1
 78 GOTO 34
 80 REM --------------------------
 82 POP :REM Trap part 2
 84 PRINT #1;SEC$;
 86 PRINT
 88 PRINT "Done!"
 90 END
 92 REM --------------------------
 100 DATA Sector 1,31304
 110 DATA 255,255,0,48,197,49,173,10,7,201,2,176,5,169,9,141
 120 DATA 10,7,201,10,176,247,9,48,141,171,49,169,0,141,91,3
 130 DATA 141,107,3,141,89,3,133,242,162,170,160,49,32,148,49,169
 140 DATA 128,157,68,3,133,243,169,5,157,69,3,133,244,32,142,49
 150 DATA 173,130,5,201,68,208,15,173,171,49,141,178,27,141,165,27
 160 DATA 41,15,141,11,7,96,32,0,216,32,210,217,165,213,201,8
 170 DATA 144,23,162,170,160,49,32,148,49,32,138,49,169,254,32,142
 180 DATA 49,16,6,32,138,49,76,135,49,169,188,141,68
 190 REM --------------------------
 200 DATA Sector 2,54907
 210 DATA 3,169,49,141,69,3,169,9,141,73,3,141,66,3,162,0
 220 DATA 32,86,228,169,128,141,68,3,169,5,141,69,3,162,10,189
 230 DATA 177,27,157,128,5,202,16,247,32,46,49,48,201,32,65,48
 240 DATA 162,181,160,49,32,148,49,48,189,169,131,157,68,3,169,5
 250 DATA 157,69,3,157,66,3,162,16,32,86,228,48,169,173,131,5
 260 DATA 201,32,240,242,201,42,208,158,162,0,160,8,189,133,5,201
 270 DATA 32,240,7,157,131,5,232,136,208,242,173,141,5,201,32,240
 280 DATA 24,169,46,157,131,5,232,160,0,185,141,5,201
 290 REM --------------------------
 300 DATA Sector 3,62032
 310 DATA 32,240,9,157,131,5,232,200,192,3,208,240,169,155,157,131
 320 DATA 5,224,7,208,28,189,131,5,221,173,49,208,5,202,208,245
 330 DATA 240,167,224,2,208,11,201,83,208,7,173,132,5,201,79,240
 340 DATA 152,32,46,49,192,128,240,150,208,143,169,49,141,129,5,141
 350 DATA 73,3,162,0,32,86,228,169,4,32,87,49,192,136,208,11
 360 DATA 173,171,49,141,129,5,169,8,32,87,49,132,203,32,135,49
 370 DATA 164,203,96,141,106,3,72,32,135,49,169,128,157,68,3,169
 380 DATA 5,157,69,3,169,3,32,142,49,48,224,169,198
 390 REM --------------------------
 400 DATA Sector 4,64503
 410 DATA 157,68,3,169,49,157,69,3,104,201,4,208,5,160,255,140
 420 DATA 105,3,105,2,208,7,162,32,44,162,16,169,12,157,66,3
 430 DATA 76,86,228,142,84,3,140,85,3,32,138,49,169,19,157,72
 440 DATA 3,169,6,157,74,3,74,208,228,68,52,58,68,85,80,46
 450 DATA 83,89,83,155,68,49,58,42,46,42,155,160,195,239,240,249
 460 DATA 233,238,231,160,155,224,2,225,2,0,48
 470 REM --------------------------
 


 
 130XE CHANGES
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                          by Mark Elliott, Innovative Concepts, Ctsy CIS
 
 
 The "NEW" batch of 130XEs, that were produced this year, (yes!) have the
 following changes made:

 1) RAMs used (4), are the 41464 (4464) types. (compared to 16 - 4164, on
    old)
 2) The O.S. has minor changes like;
 
    A) The MEMORY TEST (from SELF TESTS) tests the extra 64K now! (in 4
       squares)
    B) Also, the MEMORY TEST checks the first 48K over TWICE as fast as
       before!
    C) The KEYBOARD TEST has the F1-F4 keys missing on top. (function
       keys), although the code that interprets them is prob. there.
       (like XEGS)
    D) Also, it types out "COPYRIGHT 1985 ATARI" at the keyboard test,
       when all tests are done. (compared to COPYRIGHT 1983 ATARI,
       before)
    E) And, the O.S. chip itself, is on a 27256 EPROM, but only have of
       it is used! (compared to the original, which was on a 16K x 8 ROM,
       27128 comp.
 
 3) Finally, the PIA is a completely different chip!  Being a 68B21.
    (compared to the 6520/6520A on all other Atari 8-bits.)
 
 4) Last, but not least, the Owner's Manual (Rev. D), is now paper-bound,
    compared to spiral-bound on the original.

 Hmmm, at least Atari went to the bother of updating the new machine.
 (prob. will save them money, being more reliable with less chips.)



 HARDWARE PRICEWATCH
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           by WK Whitton
 
 
 If you are looking for some inexpensive hardware to upgrade your current
 ST or 8-bit system, here is a list of some of the better prices I have
 been able to locate through many hours of research:
 
 720K 3.5" DS Drive    Teac          $63   Falcon 213-390-3955
 720K 3.5" DS Drive    Teac          $69   Mighty Micro 800-277-8585
 720K 3.5" DS Drive    Sony          $62   Essence Group 714-546-3110
 720K 3.5" DS Drive    Mitsumi       $56   Colorado Memory 1-800-245-3040
 720K 3.5" DS Drive    Model #1035   $59   408-434-0168

 3.5" DS disks   .49 in lots of 25         MEI/MicroCenter 800-634-3478 
 3.5" DS disks   .66 cents in lots of 100  1-800-288-8025

 ST-157N       50 meg     $317     Colorado Memory 800-245-3040
 ST-277-1      65 meg     $315     CTI 1-800-223-4492
 ST-177N       60 meg     $419     USA Flex 1-800-872-3539
 ST-250R (RLL) 40          216 bare
                          $259 kit Colorado Mem 800-245-3040
 ST-251        40 meg     $290     Micro Informata 800-752-0842
 ST-251-1                 $305     Data Dynamics 1-800-999-1172
 ST-251 XT kit            $372     Express MicroMart
 ST-251 XT kit            $355     FD Microsys 800-548-2660
 M8450 Miniscribe 40 meg kit       Express MicroMart $297 1-800-533-0177
 "            "           $282     Computer Products 1-800-338-4273
 ST-238 w/controller      $229.95  Colorado Memory Systems 800-245-3040

 HP Deskjet Plus          $699     Arlington 1-800-548-5105
 "             "          $675     Micro-Technology 1-800-283-0505
 "             "          $655     American Multitech Systems 800-888-6615
 "             "          $659     Value Plus 800-843-1181

 HP Deskjet Carts        $16.95    USA Flex 800-872-3539


 =======================================================================
         ZMAGAZINE          ISSUE #178          October 15, 1989
                  Copyright 1989, Rovac Industries Inc..
 =======================================================================
 
 


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