ST Report: 18-Jan-91 #703
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 01/23/91-12:58:48 PM Z
From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 18-Jan-91 #703
Date: Wed Jan 23 12:58:48 1991
*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
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January 18, 1990 No.7.03
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> 01/18/91: STReport? #7.03 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
-------------------------
- The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - CPU MacNews
- Another Convicted! - Lattice V.5 II - BYTE Reply
- The Flip Side - WPerfect & Atari - Atari Future
- WINDOWS BUGGY! - DESERT STORM - STR Confidential
* TORNADO FLIGHT SIM *
* WINDOWS FATAL? *
* ATARI LOWERS PRICES! *
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> The Editor's Podium?
Once again the our issue is on the large side. I guess we don't
believe in teasers and one liners. Oh well, I'll keep this short so you
can get to our latest. Its packed with great stuff! You'll soon find
out. Also; just in... the pricing on the TT030 has been revised somewhat.
TT030/2-50 $2399.95
TT030/4-50 $2799.95
TT030/8-80 $3499.95
These prices differ from those announced at Comdex thus, their ap-
pearance here. Atari is pushing forward and upward. STReport fully
expects to see some rather exciting developments in the next 90 days.
Also, its rumored that Sam will have some very interesting announcements
at his upcoming online conferences on GEnie & Compuserve.
Please, don't forget to include a word or two to the Good Lord in your
prayers for all our young men involved in Desert Storm.
Thanks for your strong support......
Ralph....
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (Jan. 18)
ATARI REGISTERED DEVELOPERS...
Atari Developer Support has uploaded TTLANG.ARC to LIBRARY 7 of the Atari
Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO) for Atari Registered Developers. This is
the TT030 "Language Disk" & Advanced Hard Disk Utilities Disk that is
currently shipping with the FCC Class A TT's.
NEW FROM DOUBLE CLICK SOFTWARE
DCDA1A.ARC, available in LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO
ATARIVEN). DCD Auto v1.0a corrects a couple of oversights when 1.0 was
booted on a color system. Also, a Bypass option was added in the
configuration process. DCD Auto lets you select which DC Desktop modules
you want to run during a session. It uses a unique "graphic icon" inter-
face allowing you to choose programs, presets, resolution, and CABINETs.
100% Assembly.
DCMSHF.ARC, available in LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO
ATARIVEN). DC MOUSE SHIFT emulates any of the modifier keys (SHIFTs,
CONTROL, and/or ALTERNATE) by pressing the RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON. Perfect
for selecting multiple files at the desktop or a MOVE operation on TOS
1.4 and up. Built-in configurator allows you to assign key(s) and
whether or not emulation is turned off in programs. ST, STe, and TT
compatible.
DCMN1A.ARC, available in LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO
ATARIVEN). DC MENU V1.0a is a DC DESKTOP extension. DC MENU v1.0a fixes
a small 'oversight' of 1.0: the path is now set to that of the program
being launched. Programs launched will now find their resources and
other associated files. DC MENU lets you launch 24 programs with a key
from DC Desktop without the need for a program icon on the desktop. 100%
assembly.
NEW PBASIC, UTILITIES FROM B.J. GLEASON
The prolific B.J. Gleason has generously provided us with some heavily
requested utilities and a new version of his PBASIC interpreter. Check
out these files, now available in Library 1 of the Atari Portfolio Forum
(GO APORTFOLIO).
NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE
***********************************************************************
> CPU REPORT?
==========
Issue # 04
----------
Temporary Editor - Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
> CPU STATUS REPORT? LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
=================
- Las Vegas, Nevada ATARI LOWERS SOME PRICES
-----------------
Surprising everyone, Atari announced at CES that it was lowering the
prices for the Lynx handheld color video game system and the Portfolio
palmtop computer. Also announced was an under $500 home computer.
The basic Lynx unit price will now be $99.95 with a more complete Lynx
system (including the Lynx, ComLynx cables, AC adapter and a "California
Games" cartridge) priced at $149. There will be several changes in the
new model Lynx which will include cosmetic and ergonomic improvements.
The current library of 16 games will be expanded to 32 by June of this
year.
The Portfolio price was lowered to $299 from it's previous price of $399.
Over 14 new software titles for the Portfolio were unveiled at CES for
3rd party developers.
The new 1040STe home computer for musicians is MIDI compatible and should
be available before the end of the first quarter of this year.
- Tokyo, Japan MEMORY CHIP BREAKTHROUGH
------------
Fujitsu has developed a technique called "the Slender method" to draw the
ultra-thin negative-resist, 0.2-micron wide patterns which was needed to
design a 256 megabit dynamic random access memory (RAM) chip. This will
speed up the development of the 256 megabig DRAM.
Meanwhile, Yasushi Utsugi of NTT has developed an advanced technology to
design much larger chips. This technology makes practical a 6.4 gigabit
or 6,400 megabit DRAM.
- San Francisco, California APPLE IN CONSUMER ELECTRONIC STORES
-------------------------
Apple USA president, Robert Puette, said that Apple will try to add low-
cost, high volume consumer electronic stores and warehouse operations to
its distribution channels. These stores will still be required to
provide service but only minimal support.
Puette said, in the past, Apple has always sold only through consultants
and store-fronts but due to the changing market and the popularity of the
new Mac Classic, Apple USA will segment distribution into three pieces:
the low-cost, high volume stores with minimal support, computer stores
selling into small and large businesses, and highly value-added resellers
providing custom integration and consulting.
Puette noted that the new low-end Macintoshes have sold more in the first
quarter since their introduction than the Macintosh Plus did in its best
full year.
- Tempe, Arizona APPLE RETAIL CHAIN BRANCHES INTO IBMS
--------------
Michael D. Rather, president of MacLand Inc., a Tempe Arizona based
retail chain, MacLand Inc., says his company will expanded into the IBM
and compatible hardware market. While MacLand will still be strongly
committed to the Macintosh, Rather said "We built our business on the
Macintosh line and have no intention of abandoning that market...[but] we
just believe the IBM compatible business opportunity was too compelling
to pass up." He added that despite the tremendous growth of the Macintosh
computer line in recent years, the IBM world remains many times larger.
- Las Vegas, Nevada OVER 70,000 AT WINTER CES SHOW
-----------------
This year's Winter Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was held in Las Vegas
over the last weekend and drew over 70,000 attendees from the US and
around the world and consisted of over 1,550 exhibits that covered
837,000 square feet.
One of the biggest "splashes" was the Philips DCC, a digital compact
cassette. DCC technology, like DAT (digital audio tape) technology
encodes cassettes with copy protection mechanisms but unlike DAT, it
still can be used to playback analog as well as digital cassettes. This
way the users current tape library won't become obsolete.
The three largest growth areas of the show was a 50% increase in cellular
products, a 22% increase in mobile electronics and a 25% increase in
home/office.
- Tokyo, Japan JAPAN 6TH GENERATION COMPUTER PROJECT
------------
The Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry will start a
6th generation computer project next year. The 6th generation computer
project will study the technology used to process vague or incomplete
data, parallel processing of huge data, speedy processing with an optical
computer and the development of a neuro computer that simulates the
mechanism of human brain.
- Tokyo, Japan FOUR MORE TO PRODUCE 64M DRAM CHIPS
------------
Toshiba, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi and Matsushita will join Hitachi and
introduce a new 64-megabit DRAM chip at the International Society for
Solid Circuit Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco in February. IBM, AT&T
and Samsung will not introduce a 64-megabit chip at this time. Of the 99
types of new semiconductor chips that will be introduced at the
conference, almost half will have been developed by Japanese
manufacturers.
- Berkeley Heights, New Jersey AT7T INTRODUCES LAPTOP MODEM CHIP SET
----------------------------
AT&T has introduced the VE DSP16A-V32 Data Pump, a small, 9600 baud V.32
modem designed for laptop computers. The chipset which competes with
products from Rockwell International will sell for about $70.
- Waltham, Massachusetts THE PRIVATE EYE IS CATCHING ON
----------------------
Ampro Computers, Park Engineering Associates, Selectronics an PC
Connection are the first of ten companies that are starting to ship their
portable computing products with The Private Eye. The Private Eye is a
one-inch computer display that mounts on the user's head with a headband
close to the user's eye and produces an image that looks like that of a
12-inch monitor. Reflection Technology manufactures The Private Eye and
also sells it directly to end users for $795.
- Sydney, Australia MAN CONVICTED OF SOFTWARE PIRACY
-----------------
Peter Olsen of Lugarno, New South Wales was the first person convicted of
software piracy under Australia's Copyright Act 1968. Olsen was fined
AUS $750 for each of six counts of piracy and AUS $5,000 for witnesses'
costs. The Australian Software Distributors Association (ASDA) was
responsible for taking Olsen to court.
Olsen placed an ad in the newspaper selling 1,500 computer disks he had
bought at a garage sale for $.10 each. Instead of reformating the disks
and using them on his IBM PC, he decided to sell the disks with the
pirated software on them for $1-$3 each. The ASDA watches the newspapers
for such ads and sent a representative to buy some of the pirated
diskettes, after which the Australian Federal Police were called. David
Lewis, of the ASDA, said the conviction was a "precedent which has set
the scene for other similar matters we are investigating. There are
hundreds of people out there doing the same thing."
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
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To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
**** SIGN UP FEE WAIVED ****
The system will now prompt you for your information.
-> NOW! GENIE STAR SERVICE IS IN EFFECT!! <-
***********************************************************************
> LATTICE C V.5 STR Review? "...using the newer ANSI C compilers"
========================
Lattice C Version 5 Compiler Review
===================================
PART II
by R. E. Covert
This is the second in a series of articles describing the
Lattice C compiler, Version 5.06, as distributed and developed by HiSoft
Company in England. This week I will describe the LC5 Volume II Library
Manual with empathsis on the unique LC5 functions. I will document
several of the new ANSI functions which are missing form older
compilers. Thus, if you are familiar with pre-ANSI C compilers, this
week will help you in using the newer ANSI C compilers. I recommend
purchasing the Kernighan & Ritchie books on C programming as a
reference.
Understanding the ANSI C Library is vital as one design approach
is to design the main logic and algorithms of your TOS program before
adding the GEM interface. A TOS program should not include any Atari ST
specific features and would be easily ported to other platforms. A TOS
program would use only the functions in the ANSI C Library. This is the
way I develope software for the ST. Once I am convinced that my basic
algorithms are done (never 100% perfect but hey who's perfect?), then I
add the ST GEM interface. I will demonstrate this process in later
articles when I show how I ported the public domain C Pretty Printer
program "cpr" from UNIX to the Atari ST using the LC5 package. Once I
had "cpr" running as a TOS TAKES PARAMETERS (TTP) program I then added
the GEM interface to make it easier to use from the Atari Desktop. I
will also show how the LC5 package allows a program to be run as either
a Desktop Accessory or as a GEM program simply by renaming the file from
".ACC" to ".PRG". But you need to crawl before you can walk and using
the ANSI C Library is your first step towards becoming a proficient C
programmer!
LC5 Volume II is the ANSI Standard Library with HiSoft/Lattice
enhancements. C originated on the UNIX operating system and was known
as the "K&R C" after Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ricthie, the
authors of the C Bible "The C Programming Language" book. For many
years the K&R C compiler and the C Bible were all that documented the C
programming language. Eventually, the UNIX manual pages added functions
to the C Libraries beyond those described in the C Bible. These
additional functions became the foundation upon which the ANSI C
Standard Library was built. Volume II of the LC5 manuals describes the
LC5 implementation of the ANSI Standard Library.
Section One of Volume II contains an Introduction which
describes that the purpose of Voulme II, i.e. to document the ANSI C
Library and the UNIX functions. The Introduction is only two pages but
does describe how the functions are used, and what header files are.
Section Two is an important section which should be read
carefully as it documents the various header files from by LC5. A
header file is an ASCII file which contains new data type definations
(via the typedef or enum statements), and constant declarations. Header
files also contain declarations of external functions contains in
various C libraries.
A header file should NOT contain statments which generate
executable code. Header files are customarially included in your C
source code files via the C preprocessor statement "#include". Header
files are included outside the body of a statement in your source code,
and thus are global through the remainder of the file. This is why
header files shouldn't include executable code, as all executable code
within a C program MUST be contained within a function. Also, header
files should not declare space for variables but should only define a
reference to a variable. This is because all global variables should be
declared only ONCE within the scope of a program.
Section Two of Volume II documents only the header files used
for the ANSI C Library package. Header files for Atari ST specific
functions, such as AES/VDI functions, are documented in Volume III of
the LC5 manuals. The LC5 ANSI C Library header files agree with the
ANSI definitions as published in the ANSI Standard. If you are not
familiar with the ANSI standard, but are familiar with the older K&R C
libriaries the following sections will aid you in using the LC5 package.
Important ANSI Header Files
There are several ANSI header files which were added or changed
from the K&R C compilers.
"errno.h"
"errno.h" is important because it defines the various error codes
returned from functions in the libraries. This error condtions can be
used to inform the user of system resource failures (such as not opening
a file properly, or running out of disk space) and should be used.
"stdarg.h"
A new feature of ANSI is the ability to process variable
argument lists. The header file "stdarg.h" contains references to
library funbction to handle variable argument lists. A variable
argument list is when you may use the same functions with different
number of arguments. A perfect example of this is the printf()
function. Printf() accepts a format string as it first argument, and
then a variable argument list. this allows printf() to print any number
of variables or strings. Without the variable argument list capability
you would need a specific printf function for printing one variable, two
variables, three variables, and so forth. The "stadrg.h" header file
was added to the ANSI Standard as a means of allowing portable variable
argument list functions to be written. Page 25 of Volume II gives a
code frgament documenting the use of the "stdarg.h" header file and of
the variable arguemnt list functions.
"varargs.h"
UNIX has a similar variable argument list capabilty and is documented
in the "varargs.h" header file.
There are several good UNIX based C programming books which give
examples of the variable argument list functions. Page 25 of Volume II
of the LC5 manual also gives a code fragment showing the use of variable
argument lists.
Another header file to examine is the "signal.h" file. Since C
can be run on many different machines and under many different operating
systems, "signal.h" is where the signal functions for the specific
compiler are documented. Since the Atari ST operating system is only a
single user, single tasking system, there are few uses of signals.
Signals are used under UNIX, for example, as a means for one process to
interrrupt another process. But since TOS is a single process OS you
can't run multiple process simultaneously. Still, "signal.h" does
allows for some level of portability between UNIX and TOS programs.
There are some grey areas in C programming. For example, the
ANSI standard does not define how a directory is to be read. So, the
K&R C used in HP-UX Version 7.0 UNIX usies the functions opendir,
readdir, and closedir to read the UNIX directory. LC5 uses the Atari
findfirst(), findnext() functions to read Atari directories. The header
file "dos.h" declares various date types and functions used by LC5.
this is one area of non-oprtability from UNIX to TOS.
"Stdlib.h" defines the various standard utility functions. some
of the functions defined in this header file are not part of the ANSI
standard, and are documented in the LC5 manual.
Section Three - Library Functions
As mentioned earlier, Volume II of the LC5 manuals documents the
various standard UNIX type functions. Additional, non-ANSI, functions
which are commonly included in UNIX C compiler are included in this
volume. Functions are given a "Category" or "Class" description which
tells where the function was derived (i.e. is it an ANSI function, or a
UNIX function, or a Lattice C function). Class tells where the function
was derived, and category tells the type of function. I will describe
various Lattice supplied functions as the remainder can be referenced
through either the ANSI stanadrd or through one of the many UNIX C
programming books.
Argopt() and getopt() are two functions which originally
appeared as public domain on various USENET networks in the mid 1980s.
They have been adapted and modified for LC5 by HiSoft. Argopt() and
getopt() provide a standard interface for processing command line
arguments in TOS TAKES PARAMETERS programs. They are useful since they
are now common in UNIX written C programs.
LC5 added various functions to handle complex number mathmetics.
"Cabs" returns the absolute value of a complex number. "Cadd" returns
the complex sum of two complex arguments. "Cdiv" returns the complex
quotient of two complex arguments. "Cmul" returns the complex product
of two complex arguments.
File name searching is a non-portable process heavily dependent
upon the computer's operating system. As such, the Atari C programmer
should become very familiar with the LC5 library. LC5 has many usefule
functions to read directories. There are the dfind(), and dnext()
functions in Volume II, which are close to functions used in various IBM
PCDOS C compilers. Dfind() and dnext() use the GEMDOS '*' and '?'
characters for pattern matching. Fsfirst() and Fsnext() are decoumented
in Volume III of the LC5 manuals, and will be discussed in the next
article. Another powerful LC5 function is "getfnl" or Get File Name
List. Getfnl() returns a file name array containing filenames matching
a user specified pattern. Once again the GEMDOS '*' and '?' characters
are used for pattern matching. The file name array is NULL terminated
and can be scanned through a simple loop. LC5 also has the UNIX
opendir(), closedir(), readdir(), rewinddir(), seekdir(), and telldir()
directory manipulation functions. These functions are useful to the ST
programmer in writing code portable to and from UNIX.
LC5 contains several useful functions for manipulating
filenames. Strsfn() splits a complete filename into four separate
strings. The file name is split into its drive component, its path
components, its node component, and finally into it extension component.
Stspfp() parses a file path into individual strings for each of the
folders in the path. Handy to see if your file is in a specific folder.
Strmfe() makes a file name with an extension. Strmfe() replaces an
existing extension in the old filename with the specified extension and
returns the new file name. A handy way to rename files. Strmfn() is
the opposite of strsfn(), in that strmfn() builds a file name from its
four components. Strmfp() builds a filename from its path and node
components. LC5 has three functions which remove the various components
from a filename. Stcgfe() returns only the file extension. Stcgfn()
returns only the filename (the node). And stcgfp() returns the file
path. Each of these three functions do part of what the strsfn()
function does. These are very useful function and show be examined in
your designs.
LC5 also has a series of functions to manipulate NULL terminated
arrays of characters (called strings in C). You can parse tokens from
strings, reverse the order of strings, find break characters within a
string. Strlwr() converts an string to all lowercase characters, while
strupr() converts a string to all uppercase caharacters. LC5 even has a
function to duplicate an existing string by allocating memory for the
new string, and then copying the existing string into the new string.
LC5 also has four functions to compare strings.
LC5 has the standard open(), close(), fopen(), and fclose()
functions to open files for non-buffered and buffered I/O respectively.
But, LC5 also has a function fopene() which opens a file using the
environment directory search mechanism. This allows a program to open a
file contained in a folder in its PATH environment variable.
In summary, Volume II of the LC5 manuals contains the header files
documentation for the ANSI standard header files, as well as LC5 specific
UNIX style header files. Volume II documents the UNIX/ANSI/LATTICE func-
tions used to produced non-GEM TOS or TTP programs. Most of the functions
in this section are portable to UNIX systems. LC5 specific functions are
noted on their manual pages.
In the next part I will discuss the last manual, Volume II "The Atari
Library Manual".
_____________________________________________________________
> BYTE & AUA STR Mail Call? Letters to the Editor
========================
In response to the form letter we published and circulated in STReport
recently. (A joint effort of the AUA and STReport). Please note we are
aware of many responses of the same letter sent to our readers who sent in
the letter we supplied. Heartfelt thanks to all who participated. Your
efforts were not in vain and did not go un-noticed.
From: L.W.BENJAMIN Lee W. Benjamin
To: DC.SIGNORINI Derek C. Signorini
ST.REPORT Ralph F. Mariano
cc: L.W.BENJAMIN Lee W. Benjamin
Sub: Form Letter to BYTE - response
I sent off the form letter from the AUA newsletter to Fred Langa of
BYTE Magazine (to which I subscribe, though I did not mention this) and
much to my surprise I soon received the following two-page letter (which I
transcribed to electronic form). All-in-all, a very reasonable response.
Lee W. Benjamin
(GEnie: L.W.BENJAMIN)
January 15, 1991
-<->-<->-<->-<->-
January 8, 1991
Dear Mr. Benjamin:
Thanks for writing! I always appreciate hearing from readers---even when
they're not happy with BYTE.
I can understand your frustration. The Atari is a very nice platform that
pioneered several key areas the rest of the microcomputing world is only
now starting to pay attention to.
Believe it or not, my first "real" computer was a very early Atari 800. I
still have that puppy on a shelf at home, and drag it out from time to
time for the sheer fun of it.
I got my start in computing with that 800. A friend and I founded
"Shelter Software," a tiny company that wrote and sold various programs
for Apple and Atari computers. I was the staff's Atari programmer.
So please don't assume there is any anti-Atari bias here at BYTE. It
just doesn't exist.
In fact, a quick search through the BYTE archives shows me we've covered
the Atari about every other month in 1990, about the same level of cove-
rage we had in 1989, too. Now, these weren't splashy cover stories---they
tended to be references inside other articles.
That might not seem like much, and I fully realize that your letter was to
inform me that our coverage is still inadequate.
However, BYTE covers the Atari far, far more than any other non-Atari-spe-
cific magazine. That ain't chopped liver.
Despite the fact that less than 1% of BYTE subscribers have Ataris, we
feel the Atari is innovative enough to have covered it in literally every
section of the magazine. It's been a part of What's New. It's been in our
columns. In reviews. Everywere.
(page 2)
I'm proud that we already cover the Atari as much as we do. And we'll
continue covering it appropriately; I like the fact that BYTE leads all
the non-Atari-specific magazines in this area, and want to see it con-
tinue.
But, given limited editorial space, we have to draw the line somewhere.
And that "somewhere" means that occasionally we have to omit coverage of
the Atai in areas where it might seem to belong. There's a market reality
here that I can't ignore; less than 1% of BYTE subscribers own Ataris.
Why is that? Ask Atari. If they'll get on the case and give the Atari the
push it probably deserves, increasing its use among BYTE readers, then for
sure we'll increase our coverage even more. But that kind of push can
ethically come only from Atari---it's not Editorial's job to promote a
product. We report; the companies promote.
So, in sum, I'd like to reiterate my understanding of your position: I
honestly do sympathize. As a former Atari fanatic, I wish it enjoyed the
success of the IBM PC.
But I also hope you'll understand my position, and see the "half full"
nature of BYTE's coverage, rather than seeing it as "half empty." A care-
ful reading of BYTE will turn up far more coverage of the Atari than you
may be aware of.
In any case, we'll do our best to give the Atari its due whenever and
wherever appropriate.
Thanks again for writing!
Best,
Fred Langa
Editor-in-Chief
Item 6319672 91/01/16 17:13
From: DC.SIGNORINI Derek C. Signorini
To: L.W.BENJAMIN Lee W. Benjamin
cc: ST.REPORT Ralph F. Mariano
Sub: Form Letter to BYTE - response
Reply: Item #3018719 from L.W.BENJAMIN on 91/01/15 at 22:56
Hello Lee,
Thanks very much for uploading that to us. I really did not want to
have to type in my copy that I received from Mr. Langa...it seems that he
decided to form letter everyone a reply. I can understand his reasoning
in his letter and respect him for taking the time to respond. The impor-
tant thing here is that he DID respond. That is more than I can say for
other attempts at letters that various other organizations have made. We
definately made an impact!
Thanks again for your support!
Derek
Hi Lee!
I certainly appreciate your participation in our letter writing cam-
paign and truly look forward to the next attampt at making the Atari is
not forgotten or ignored. Glad to see you are active and doing ok.
Thanks again for the help!
Ralph......
___________________________________________________
> THE FLIP SIDE STR Feature? ....A different viewpoint
=========================
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT
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by Michael Lee
I'm sure that some of our readers who are also on the major on-line
services might not find my column very interesting as they've already
read many of the posts that I publish. But for every ST owner that is on
one of the major on-line services, there are probably 50-100 that aren't
so this information is new to them. I can only hope that every once in a
while, I come up with something that might interest the folks who are on-
line, so they don't get too bored with my column.
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Do you get eyestrain when you use your computer? How about head-
aches? Back aches? Tired muscles? Here's a compilation of posts from
Genie that might explain the problems and what to do about it...
From D.A. Edwards...
One of the managers at work had a problem with eye strain and found a
doctor who really keeps up on the problems relating to VDTs. This guy
says that the BY FAR most common radiation problem with VDTs is improper
lighting - and this directly causes eyestrain, which due to some
wonderful design features in the human body can lead to headaches,
general irritation, neck pain,...
Suggestions:
(1) reduce ambient lighting in the room. This particular manager finds
that normally the light which leaks through closed blinds is appropriate,
with NO room lighting during the day. Obviously, certain functions will
need more light - you will probably want spot lighting, of very low
wattage, in more than one location.
(2) Put one of these spot lights directly on top of your monitor,
shining straight down. The ENTIRE light source (the bulb) should be just
behind the plane of the screen, so that the light does not actually shine
on the screen at all, but does shine on the desk directly in front of the
monitor (as close as seems consistent with the stability of the lamp). Of
course, the fixture should be positioned in such a way that you cannot
normally see the light source at all.
(3) Avoid florescent lights. There are two reasons for this:
(a) even the smallest common florescent desk lamps simply produce
too much light;
(b) fluorescent lights DO flicker, you may not be consciously aware
of it but it causes eyestrain nonetheless - unless you get one of those
special fixtures which convert the normal 60 Hz AC to a few hundred Hz
AC. These special fixtures typically do not come in small sizes, and cost
a small fortune in comparison to an ordinary desk lamp.
(4) Avoid other sources of flicker. Almost any interlaced screen
(typically 30 Hz net flicker) is bad, a non-interlaced screen (60 Hz) can
be bad if it is slightly out of adjustment (as often happens with
components which met one spec when new, but age into a slightly different
spec). There may be color sensitivity as well - at work I deal with some
nice, pricey Compaq VGA devices, and I find that these devices (I've
looked at about 25 screens, each on a different unit, and it's true of
all of them) simply CANNOT sustain a bright screen without flicker which
is visible to me. Everyone else in the office likes their screen paper-
white with dark features; mine is black with light features. Nobody else
admits to seeing the flicker - and most of them have more symptoms of
eyestrain than I do. BTW, my home machine (an Atari ST, natch) has a
bright screen with dark features - that video driver can sustain it.
(5) Pay attention to the audio component as well. Just for fun, figure
out the frequency of your HORIZONTAL scan, and compare it to the "normal
upper limit" of human hearing range. Now consider what "normal upper
limit" really means: roughly 1/6 the population can hear higher
frequencies. I would consider a full octave clearance over the "normal"
to be reasonable. In case you don't know: "a full octave" is DOUBLE the
frequency.
There is precisely ONE monitor I have checked the specs on, which
provides adequate clearance: the Atari ST monochrome monitor. (Guess what
I have on my home machine.)
A monitor which is working completely to spec, will not produce an
audible whistle; but remember what I was saying about aging components.
The effect - on me - of this high-pitched whistle... you know how some
people react when chalk or fingernails squeal across a blackboard?
Imagine that for SEVERAL HOURS. I am aware of the squeal - but I am
strongly suspicious that many people who are NOT aware of it, are
similarly affected and have no idea why.
Not only have I swapped terminals off my desk to move these high-pitch
whistles away from me - I have in extreme cases moved terminals off OTHER
people's desks (with permission, of course) THREE CUBICLES AWAY to move
these high-pitched whistles away from me.
Oddly enough, if you find yourself stuck with a whistling monitor, you
can often make the whistle - along with its unpleasant effects - appear
to go away, by turning UP the volume on the monitor's internal speaker.
This may have ofsetting disadvantages, though, particularly if you like
to play video games on your machine at work.
From Mike Valent...
Combining florescent light flicker with 60hz screen flicker (and whether
you can "see" the flicker, your eye and brain ARE registering it), with
the usual casual CRT/keyboard placement, and poor chair/desk matching and
you've got a perfect recipe for "unexplainable" fatigue.
Then, if the computer operator doesn't get up and move around regularly,
stiffness sets in, hastening and intensifying the effect.
If you have an SM124 sitting next to your color monitor, work with the
SM124 for a while, then switch to the color monitor - you'll notice the
flicker. The brain tends to "mask" these things, but they still are being
taken in by your eyes and "processed" by the brain.
From M. Jones...
When I set up my system, I needed some light on the desk - to easily see
the keyboard, read manuals or copy, disk labels, etc. A table lamp atop
the monitor with the shade tilted forward works real fine. I get a soft
light bounce off the wall behind, with no direct light in my eyes. (If,
when you close your eyes, you see an afterimage of the screen, the room's
light level is too low.)
One additional suggestion: at short intervals, 15 minutes, look away from
the screen for a moment - at the opposite wall, out the window, etc., to
stretch and relieve tension in the focussing muscles. It do help.
From John Barnes...
In my comment on this subject I used the term "myopia". For those who do
not know what this is it translates into "nearsightedness". Older people
have a problem with their eye muscles shaping the lens properly. Some
people who normally use bifocals have a different prescription for those
occasions when they have to spend a lot of time staring at a computer
screen. I am one of these and I fend that my eyestrain is much reduced
when I do not have to struggle to focus on the screen.
I suspect that such vision problems and the orthopedic problems (neck
strain, back strain, etc.) caused by poor posture are the dominate health
effects of VTD's.
Again from D.A. Edwards...
Everyone: PLEASE, if you can figure a way to do it, get things at the
right height. This requires some flexibility. My own computer desk is
actually an arrangement of HIGHLY adjustable metal shelves, I can move
any horizontal surface in units of 1.5 inches. Start with your LEAST
adjustable component, whatever it may be - in my case, it's chairs. (I am
also going to assume no significant physical abnormalities.)
You may have seen some of those odd-looking "balance" chairs. Just in
case you haven't figured it out: your knees go on the lower pad, your
buns on the upper pad. They are VERY comfortable, and may actually be
good for your back, provided (a) you are not excessively overweight, and
(b) you don't have joint problems in the knees, hips, or tailbone.
Recommended if you meet these requirements - and the cheap ones are quite
adequate, you may manage to pick one up for under $40 new.
Alternatively, you want a chair with a straight back, not much padding,
of such a height that you can sit comfortably with your feet flat on the
floor (or some sort of flat-topped footrest, if you are very short or
your chair is very tall). Arm rests are nice, IF they are at the right
height for your elbows to rest on them naturally - your elbows should not
fall off the armrests.
Keyboard height should be such that your arms can be straight from the
elbow to the 2nd knuckle. Bending your wrist and typing for hours at a
time every day for months, is an excellent way to get carpal tunnel
syndrome, which (I am told) is QUITE painful, causes long absences from
work, and occasionally requires surgery.
Screen height is the one most often the worst messed up (and the effect
show up the fastest - after 2-3 hours the neck strain can become
obvious). If you have a 24-line screen, about the 6th to 8th line should
be at eye level. Setting your monitor on top of an IBM PC-size box on
your desk, probably does not cut it.
Aside from that, basically arrange your commonly-reached-for stuff to
avoid stooping or stretching.
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About the new version of LDW Power 2.0 from Mike Squire on Genie:
The new version 2.00 of LDW Power comes with a 68-page "Addendum #1" that
covers all of the changes made to LDW Power in versions 1.10 and 2.00.
LDW Power 2.00 has been expanded to support the extended macro command
set of Lotus 1-2-3, v. 2.01, that's all. It does not claim to run all
Lotus 2.2 macros. Many of the new commands involve window management or
support the new Graphics Editor included now in LDW Power 2.00.
LDW Power 2.00 appears to me to be bug-free. The only bug that I was
aware of in the previous v. 1.10 was when your cursor rested in a column
on the far right of your screen and you executed a /Range Erase. {Insert}
{Down} command, the screen became confused and displayed a different
section of the worksheet than the one you were working on. I am -very-
pleased to report that that bug no longer exists in v.2.00.
Other improvements in v. 2.00 include (scanning the new addendum):
o Improved window management of imported 1-2-3 files so that their
function is identical to that in 1-2-3
o Easy changes to frozen title areas by means of temporary duplication
o Column width adjustment using the mouse and/or cursor keys
o Identification of cells with hidden "notes" by displaying them with
bold text (very handy)
o Protected cells are displayed using either color or shading
depending on which monitor you're using
o The ability to designate that you be alerted before doing a /File
Retrieve so that you can verify that you saved the worksheet you've
just finished with.
o A new configuration program that allows you to delete program
features in order to increase free RAM for worksheets
o Up to 4 graph windows can be open at once (maximum of 5 total
windows)
o An additional 2 data ranges are permitted in the /Data commands for
a new total of 8 (A-H)
o A draw option allows you to add text, boxes, and lines to your
graphs
o A new /Graph Save Dump Screen command has been added for users with
printers that lacked a GDOS driver and whose only alternative in the
past was to do an Alt-Help screen dump that gave them the GEM window
as well as the graph, logarithmic scaling can now be done on graphs
instead of only normal linear scaling
o 3 new graph types (Manhatten, Stacked Line, and High-low) have been
added
o A 3-D display for graphs (nice!) has been added
o Exploding pie charts can now be created with user-selectable shading
o 24-pin printer support is now included
o The device number for your GDOS printer is now modifiable from
within the program (in case you have more than one printer/plotter
attached to your system, I suppose)
o Grid lines can now be printed along with the worksheet provided that
the SIDEWAYS printing program is not used
I think you get the general idea.
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Until next week....
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> WORD PERFECT & ATARI STR FOCUS? Who is the Derby Winner?
==============================
WORD PERFECT IS!
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by R.F. Mariano
Who is the Derby Winner? That's easy: WORD PERFECT! Many folks have
complained about WP's price, the complexity, and the overall learning
curve. Surprise, surprise.. all the intimidation is ill-conceived nonsen-
se. WP may be purchased through mail order houses at very competitive
prices. True, the program itself has a learning curve, but its not unlike
those of other high quality, powerful and efficient programs ie; Calamus,
PageStream etc.. The combination of the built-in help files and the docum-
ention is excellent and easily understood. For those who find themselves
at an impasse, the "800" number provides fast, expert assistance. Word
Perfect Corp. has provided, in Word Perfect, an outstanding word processor
whose features and abilities are recognized world-wide as the industry
standard.
For example:
A - Superb, easy to read and follow documentation.
B - Outstanding (800 number) telephone user support.
C - Frequent and substantial updates (most free or at cost)
D - Responsive, helpful and co-operative personnel
The time has come for Atari to gain real and very strong allies in the
industry. Word Perfect Corp. is, without a doubt, an industry leader in
every sense of the word. Imagine if you will, the CREDIBILITY Atari and
its computers would gain if Word Perfect Corp. announced; the very power-
ful, graphical version 5.1 was about to be released for the ST/MEGAS-
TE/TT030 series of computers. My, my what a crystal ball! ssssh!
Below, presented as "proof of performance" in the ongoing support for
the Atari userbase is an accurate, up to date, chronological listing of
the superb support efforts afforded to the Atari userbase by Word Perfect
Corp.
WordPerfect 4.1 for the Atari ST
August 01, 1988 Modifications
1. Because of the changes implemented in this release, it will be neces-
sary to delete the file; "SYS___.WP" from your WordPerfect directory.
You will need to re-select your colors, defaults and printer selections.
2. The printer drivers have been completely rewritten for this release
as well as the way WP handles printing. Not all of these new definitions
have been tested. If the new definition for your printer does not work,
please report the results to Technical Support so they can be fixed and
use the definition from the previous release. If you have created a
custom printer driver, you should make a back up of it before installing
the update.
3. Due to limitations in the Diablo emulator for the Atari Laser SLM 804
laser printer, this printer has been classified as a Limited Support
Printer. This means that WordPerfect print quality to the SLM 804 cannot
be improved with the existing Diablo emulator. The public domain Epson
emulator seems to work fine with WordPerfect.
4. Single key macros now support numbers as well as letters. This means
you can define single key macros as alt-1, alt-2 and so on.
5. System configuration files for both color and monochrome monitors
are supported. The SYS___.WPC file will be used for color monitors while
SYS___.WPM is the default for monochrome monitors.
WordPerfect 4.1 for the Atari ST
July 31, 1989 Modifications
1. *IMPORTANT* Single drive users should not change their virtual path
to A: or B:. The virtuals are defaulted to C: and should not be changed.
Swapping disks with virtual files on them may cause virtual information to
be corrupted. If you have created a custom printer driver, you should
make a back up of it before installing the update. If you have a version
of Atari WordPerfect that is older than August, 1988, you must delete the
"SYS___.WP" file from your WordPerfect directory. Therefore, you will
need to re-select your colors, defaults, and printer selections. If you
currently have a 'SYS___.WPC' or 'SYS___.WPM',you must delete them.
Otherwise your default changes will not be recognized.
2. A running Word Count has been added to the status line during spell
checking.
3. A file may now be viewed, complete with headers, footers, footnotes,
endnotes, and page numbers before being printed. To use the preview
option you must 1) Go into Printer Control and select (3) for Select Prin-
ters. If a short list of printers appears (i.e. less than 14) when selec-
ting printers, you will need to press CTRL-[DOWN-ARROW] and choose "yes"
to reselect your printers from the LONG list. 2) Choose the 'Atari Screen
Printer (Preview)' and press return. 3) Choose 'other' for destination,
and type in the path and filename where you want the file to be saved (we
suggest the filename "preview"). 4) Select continuous for Form Type, 1
for Number of Copies, 0 for Binding Width and 'yes' to Save the
Definition. With this selection available, you may preview your document
by first going into Printer Control, selecting item (1) for Change Print
Options, then (1) for Printer Letter. Select the 'Atari Screen Printer
(Preview)' definition and exit from Printer Control. Now you can print
your document to disk by selecting Full Text from the Print Menu. The
file can be viewed by going into List Files, highlighting the file to be
viewed, and selecting the 'Look' option (or pressing [return]). The file
will appear with all text inits proper position.
4. Available disk space can be seen in list files by clicking on Disk
Info or by pressing ?.
5. It is now possible to search for all three types of hyphens: soft
hyphens, hyphens, and hard hyphens.
6. The WP Defaults are now stored in memory, reducing the number of
times needed to swap disks.
7. You are now able to use the Atari File Selector or any other third
party file selector system. If you have not installed a file selector
system, WordPerfect will default to the Atari File Selector. You may
choose to use the WordPerfect file selector system found in previous
versions. To do so, go into WP START.PRG and click on Run WordPerfect.
Select the Gem File Selector option and then click on 'NO' when asked to
use Gem File Selector.
8. Improved Postscript printer support for extended characters has been
added. Also Ultrascript is now supported. (Note: Be sure to copy PSCRIP-
T.PS or USCRIPT.PS to the current default directory when printing to a
Postscript printer or with Ultrascript.Note: When using the Ultrascript
driver, your output should be directed to a file and then printed later
with the Ultrascript program.)
9. A non-proportional spacing driver has been added for the Atari SLM804
Laser printer. It uses the ATTP10LS font only. You install the font
using the SETUP630.PRG with the following styles:
1)Normal 5)Outline
2)Bold 6)Bold Outline
3)Italics 7)Italic Outline
4)Italics & Bold 8)Light
If your printer is not supported, please check with our customer support.
We have some additional printer drivers that were not included with this
release due to limited disk space. WordPerfect Corporation is continuing
to add features and enhancements to WordPerfect 4.1 for the Atari ST. If
you have features or enhancements that you would like to see in future
releases, please write to:
WordPerfect Corporation Atari Development
1555 N. Technology Way
Orem, UT 84057
If you are experiencing difficulty with your WordPerfect software, please
take advantage of WordPerfect's toll-free, technical support lines. You
will be asked for your WP Registration number.
WordPerfect 4.1 for the Atari ST
Nov 01, 1990 Modifications
1. Support for the large screen monitors has been added. It has been
tested on a Moniterm 1280x960 monochrome monitor and an Image Systems
(ISAC Board) 1024x768 16 Color Board with a multisync color monitor. Any
incompatibilities should be reported to our customer support dept.
2. Some RamDisk Software and other Desk Accessories would cause only the
Directories to be seen in "List Files". This incompatibility has been
remedied.
3. Better FSEL support has been added to correct display problems caused
by using the System File Selector option.
4. The complete document path and name is now display in the window title
bar.
5. The window positions and sizes are automatically saved when you exit
WordPerfect. If this option is not desired then leave the window the full
size and no change will be noticed. It is advised to reduce your window
size on a large screen monitor to reduce the time it takes to update the
screen.
6. If you are using a single floppy system and you should not use the
drive B: option, due to a flaw in the System File Selector (FSEL), switc-
hing to disk B will confuse the system and possibly garbage your disk.
Most third party file selectors don't seem to have this problem.
7. The LOOK option in List Files has been changed to use a window to be
compatible to the large screen monitors.
8. Options that use a dialog at the bottom of the screen with the window
resized now behave better when using the mouse.
9. Support for retrieving and saving IBM WordPerfect 4.2 files and IBM
text files has been added to the menubar as "Import/Export" under "File"
and the "Text In/Out" option (C-F5). Print/Font Disks Instead of just a
Print disk and a Font disk, there are now 4 Print/Font disks with the
printer definitions and font definitions on the same disk. This should
make printing a little easier with not as much disk swapping for single
drive users. We have broken them down as follows:
Print/Font Disk 1 Dot Matrix, Daisy Wheel, Ink Jet Printers
Print/Font Disk 2 Laser Printers
Print/Font Disk 3 Postscript Printers
Print/Font Disk 4 Limited Support Printers All of the utility programs
(PRINTER.PRG, SPELLER.PRG, etc.) now work with the
large screen monitors.
WordPerfect 4.1 for the Atari ST
Dec 06, 1990 Modifications
1. Changes have been made in the WordPerfect Program to now be compat-
ible to the Atari TT030 systems.
2. Printing from List Files has been corrected.
3. Scrolling with the window off the screen will no longer cause the
display to leave residual marks.
4. The default colors will now be your systems default colors and the
colors can be modified by using Control Panel or some other desk acces-
sory. The changes will automatically be saved upon exiting WordPerfect
and your desktop's original colors will be restored.
5. Reveal Codes better utilizes it's window space.
In summation WordPerfect, worldwide, offers terrific support, enth-
usiastic promotion and of course, much greater user participation and
awareness thus, assuring users of many years of ongoing support. In many
cases, the difference between a good job and a great career position is
whether or not the applicant is skillful in the use of WordPerfect.
_______________________________________________________
> The Future of the ST STR Feature? "....one man's opinion"
================================
LIFE AFTER THE ATARI ST
=======================
Part 4
by Darek Mihocka,
President, Branch Always Software
After the last few articles on Windows, I certainly got an earful of
comments from Atari ST users. But just as any discussion of the Atari ST
would naturally lead to a discussion on GEM, so then does a discussion of
the PC lead to a discussion on Windows. My articles here cover may topics:
PC hardware, software, and operating systems. This is not just a "Windows
vs. the TT" debate as some people seem to believe.
This week I'll talk a little bit about applications for Windows and
DOS. Due to the sheer volume of software available for PCs, what I'm going
to talk about here is simply the tip of the iceberg of what's out there.
And, contrary to popular belief, PC software is not that much more expen-
sive than ST software and some is even less expensive.
I'm going to focus on two main areas: software for the user, and
software for the developer. This week I'll cover user software, and next
week I'll do developer tools.
First, let's clear up a few things about a comment I made last time
and replies I received about it. I mentioned that with Windows, users
don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on utilities to make the computer
more usable. What I was refering to are the dozens of AUTO folder programs
and desk accessories that ST users use every day to improve TOS or GEM,
such as custom desktops, desk accessory loaders, command line interpret-
ers, corner clocks, mouse accelerators, screen accelerators, load acceler-
ators, custom file selectors, RAMdisks, disk caches, print spoolers, TOS
bug fixers, macro recorders, GDOS, and the list goes on. Some of these
programs are in the public domain, but most of them cost from about $20 to
$70. And from my observations, most ST users I've met tend to load up ther
machines to the max with these utilities. Not only does this eat up a lot
of RAM, but the cost of all these programs easily goes into the hundreds
of dollars.
When running Windows, many of these features are either built-in to
the Windows control panel, or are available with programs that come bun-
dled with Windows. So the $99 or so you shell out for Windows gets you
more than just a pretty set of icons. The standard Windows setup includes
the typical contol panel for adjusting parameters like mouse acceleration,
desktop backgrounds, multitasking priorities, screen colors, fonts, set-
ting time and date, etc. Also included are a set of utilities which inc-
lude the Write word processor, a terminal program, a RAMdisk, a disk
cache, a print spooler, a text editor, a desktop clock, a graphics editor,
a macro recorder, and some video games to boot. So if all you install on
your machine is Windows (in addition to DOS of course) you're ready to do
productive work. Boot up an ST and you get a desktop and nothing else
without spending hundreds of dollars on software such as the above.
Last week, someone made a comment about some utility package available
for Windows that includes such things as a screen saver. Well, that
person should check his facts out. The package in question is the Windows
Entertainment Pack, a package of about a half dozen Windows video games
and a screen saver which includes, among other things, the real Tetris.
For $39, it certainly isn't expensive in relation to what you would nor-
mally spend on a single video game, and by including a screen saver it
doesn't qualify it as a utility package.
Let's get into real utility packages. The most popular one is probably
Norton Utilities from Symantec. I picked up version 5.0 for $139. The
Norton utilities are probably famous for two things: the SI benchmarking
program and the vast array of disk and file recovery utilities. It also
includes a hard disk defragmeneter to speed up hard disk I/O, and several
other utilities to optimize the performance of a hard disk. I've found
that these utilities work great with PC Ditto when used on an ST hard
disk, because most of these utilities simply don't exist on the ST. Until
the end of the month you can also get a free copy of the Norton Backup
when you purchase the Norton Utilities. There are other similar packages
such as PC Tools and they all sell for roughly $100 or $150.
Another popular area in PC software are the so called "integrated
packages". These are programs that include a word processorg, spell check-
er, thesaurus, spreadsheet, database, charting, and terminal emulation in
one easy-to-use package. The origin of these packages, called Works by
several different software companies, goes back to pre-Windows days when
it was not easy to switch from one program to another without exiting one
to run the other.
A trip to Egghead showed both Microsoft Works and Lotus Works selling
for $109, although list is $149. So what do you get for this price? For
one thing, these programs will run on any PC, because text modes are
supported. So even if you have a floppy disk based 512K PC or XT, you can
easily run these packages. Another feature of these packages is that it is
easy to move information between the various modules. If I type some
numbers in the spreadsheet and graph them, I can now paste that graph into
a word processor document. Then I can take that document and transmit it
by modem using the terminal module to another Works user.
Integrated packages are a great starting point for any home user. With
them one can write letters, make mailing labels, call bulletin boards,
keep track of names and addresses, and of course, do what computers were
REALLY designed to do all along: balance the checkbook. And compared to a
typical package of word processor, spreadsheet, database, and terminal
software on the ST, the integrated packages on the PC are even cheaper!
Microsoft Works contains a complete tutorial showing how to use any fea-
ture of the program without ever having to open the printed manual.
For the power user, there are of course the heavyweights: Lotus 1-2-3,
Dbase, Word, Excel, Word Perfect, Quattro, etc. All of these packages tend
to cost about $495 EACH, although discount software dealers like Egghead
will typically discount the price to about $249.
In the word processing ring, in this corner we have Word Perfect, the
best selling word processor available on pretty well any machine out
there. It's popular but not easy to learn, due to the keyboard based
interface. But, by popular demand, Word Perfect should be available for
Windows soon. In this corner we have Microsoft Word, which currently comes
in two flavors: Word 5.5 which is text based and runs on any PC, and Word
For Windows, which of course, requires Windows. Both versions have almost
identical drop-down menu interfaces and file compatibility with most word
processors.
The heavyweight word processors are the way to go if you do a lot of
writing of large documents, and need the almost desktop publishing-like
features. Lotus recently spent about $60 million to purchase another
company that makes a Windows based word processor, so it very probable
that Lotus will enter the Windows arena with its own word processor.
Now we move to the spreadsheet warzone. The long time king, Lotus
1-2-3, is slowly but surely losing ground to several other competitors.
Spreasheets have traditionally been used to add up lists of numbers,
balance books, and solve equations. But many of today's spreadsheets
exploit the graphics capabilities of the machine to generate amazing
graphs. Wingz and Excel (version 3.0 was just released this week for
Windows) both take this to the extreme. You want to draw 3-D stacked bar
graph and view it from above and behind? You can. Want to draw a 3-D pie
chart with thousands of slices? You can. By combining the spreadsheet and
graphs on the same screen, you can do things like have your monthly totals
on one line, and a graph of that data right below it. With database capab-
ilities and macros, it is possible to customize a spreadsheet to look like
almost anything: a tax form, a calendar, a database, you name it. You can
even build dialog boxes right into spreadsheets so anyone can use it.
Spreadsheets are powerful things if you know how to use them, and go
far beyond the simple number crunching and graphing capabilities of ST
spreadsheets. With Lotus announcing a Windows based version of 1-2-3, and
companies like Borland putting their hats in the ring with products like
Quattro and Quattro Pro, this area will have a lot of competition for
years to come. It will be interesting to see if Lotus, who just shut down
Paperback software for "look and feel" issues, will be able to come out
with Windows based word processors and spreadsheets that actually offer
something unique instead of simply copying the others.
In the database area, there is Dbase by Ashton-Tate. They are the
folks who followed Lotus's lead and sued their competitor, Foxbase, on
look and feel issues. Unfortunately for them, last month the judge decided
to not only throw out Ashton-Tate's lawsuit but to also invalidate the
copyrights on Dbase II and Dbase III! I hope this will send a message out
to the other sourpusses of the industry that suing your competition is not
a way to maintain market share. As a side note, the trials concerning
Apple suing Microsoft over look and feel issues of graphical interfaces
and Xerox suing Apple for the exact same reason, are still pending.
Anyway, back to what's left of Dbase. Some people like Dbase III,
claiming that Dbase IV is full of bugs, while others claim that Dbase IV
is great! Whichever you choose, keep in mind that Dbase III is not
copyrighted, so feel free to modify the code as you wish. I'm kidding!
Foxbase is a competing database that apparently took the Dbase idea and
improved it. Frankly, I'm not a power database user, so I can't go into
detail about either program. For my own uses, I use the database capabili-
tes of spreadsheets and use a word processor to generate the output.
Now that we've covered the big titles that are constantly on the top
10 bestseller list, what else is available?
Certainly there is no shortage of video games. What is available on
the ST is most likely available on the PC. Most video games require only a
CGA or EGA graphics card, which will provide graphics similar to that of
an ST, but certain video games can take advantage of a VGA card.
There are also desktop publishing programs. Yes, really! The package I
use is Timeworks Publish-It. It is almost identical to Timeworks Publi-
sher ST, and even includes GEM 3 for use on the PC. At $149, it offers a
few less features than Pagestream, such as color and color separation, but
in other areas is similar to Pagestream. I used Publish-It to generate
the BraSoft News a few weeks ago, and I was actually quite impressed by
the speed of GEM 3 and also the font quality. This is partly due to the
speed of the 386 and the higher screen resolution I was using (640x480 on
the PC compared to 640x400 on the ST). But even taking into account dif-
ferences in CPU speed, the screen redraws were very quick. I assume that
since GEM has been refined more on the PC that its graphics routines have
also been optimized. The screen fonts and fonts on the printed output were
of much higher quality than what I get with Pagestream, so I went with it.
Publish-It is not the only thing available. There is $39 "lite" ver-
sion, which has less features than regular Publish-It. And for only $599
you can move up to Ventura Publisher, the granddaddy of them all. I have
never used Ventura and don't care to spend $599 to find out. Hey Nathan!
How about Calamus for Windows? Then there is Print Shop, and a number of
other packages selling from as low as $30 and into the hundreds.
Not to be forgotten, there is always the large library of public
domain, freeware, and shareware titles available on online services and
bulletin boards. Two "must have" utilities are ARC and LHARC. These are
almost identical to the ST versions, which are ports of the PC versions.
One thing I noticed again is the huge speed differences between the PC and
ST versions. On a 386, UnARCing a typical issue of ST Report takes about 2
seconds. LHARC takes about 4 seconds. Once you have these tools you can
then download thousands of other files.
I hope this brief journey through the PC software world opens some
eyes. PC software does not have to be expensive. Some is, but the expen-
sive software usually includes hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of
documentation. Many Windows applications, and some non-Windows applica-
tions now include online tutorials and help screens that go far beyond the
few dialog boxes of help information some ST programs have.
With software discount stores such as Egghead (which sells Apple II,
Apple IIGS, Macintosh, and PC software) you can get up to 50% off list
price.
So look around. Don't just take my word for it. Go to a PC dealer or
software store. Look at the software and the prices of PC and Mac softw-
are. If ST software is so great and cheap, then there is nothing to be
afraid of.
Next week: what you need to develop software on the PC.
_____________________________________________
> WINDOWS BUGGY? STR FOCUS? REPORTS OF SERIOUS BUGS WITH Ver 3.0
========================
IS WINDOWS 3.0 A THREAT TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM?
================================================
The new Windows 3.0 environment, with its greatly improved in-
terface, memory management and developer and user capabilities, gained
near-universal acclaim when it was released by Microsoft on May 22.
But now, thousands of users around the country are asking the ques-
tion: What is the REAL price of using Windows 3.0? In addition to the
more mundane problems affecting any major new software release, many
users are reporting serious difficulties with Windows 3.0. And some
have had disk failures and file losses because of severe in-
compatibilities between Windows and certain large hard disk drives and
disk formatting programs.
As users buy new, more powerful systems and upgrade existing ones
to tap the power of Windows 3.0, a wave of disk problems and data loss
is starting to sweep the MS-DOS world.
In July 1989, Microsoft released a limited-circulation memo which
stated, in part:
Many non-standard (i.e. non-FDISK) disk partitioning schemes
will cause problems when used with Windows and/or the
SMARTDRV.SYS disk caching utility. This information applies to
Windows/286, Windows/386, and Excel. Specific partitioning
methods that will ALWAYS cause problems include the following:
- Disk Manager by Ontrack & Seagate (DMDRVR.BIN)
- Priam disk partitioning (supplied with Priam hard disks)
- Golden Bow V-Feature Deluxe
- Partitioning used by CORE hard disks (cannot be changed; contact
Core)
- Any system with a XENIX or UNIX partition on the hard disk
Windows will NOT work properly on ANY system using one of the
above methods for disk partitioning. Other brands of utilities may or
may not cause problems . . . Because of the large number of
partitioning-utility versions and methods of partitioning the hard
drive with them, it is impossible to say whether a given utility will
definitely cause a problem in a particular configuration.
The underlying reason for these problems is that some routines in
Windows, for performance reasons, bypass DOS disk services (and as-
sociated disk utilities like Disk Manager and SWBIOS which change the
way disk writes occur in normal operation) and write directly to disk
through BIOS. Symptoms of the resulting discrepancy range from mild to
severe, with file systems damaged and data lost.
Yet, in its general publicity and documentation for Windows,
Microsoft has utterly failed to warn hundreds of thousands of affected
users that their programs and data are vulnerable to these problems.
Nowhere in the Windows 3.0 manual or in associated literature (such as
the Hardware Compatibility List) are these limitations mentioned. For
example, the Windows 3.0 manual (pp. 513-514) strongly encourages op-
timizing hard disk interleave, which "can drastically improve your
system's speed." But there is no warning about the dangers of using
Disk Manager or other such programs which provide low-level formatting
and interleave selection!
The purpose of this message, therefore, is to alert current and
potential Windows users to these problems, and to provide impetus for
Microsoft to address this situation in a timely and effective manner.
A. INCOMPATIBILITY WITH DISK MANAGER AND OTHER DISK FORMATTERS
PROBLEM: The first type of difficulty occurs with 80386-based sys-
tems using: (1) a "permanent swap file" under Windows 3.0 in 386 en-
hanced mode; and (2) using a non-Microsoft disk formatter such as Disk
Manager, SpeedStor or Vfeature. Many users have noted the inability to
load and run certain programs, and non-destructive system lockups.
With the exception of very large hard disks, as noted below, no
problems occur as long as Windows is not running in 386 enhanced mode,
or a permanent swap file is not in use.
WORKAROUND: Microsoft has published a workaround on CompuServe to
address this problem. Briefly, two things must be done to avoid
problems while using third-party disk formatters: (1) switch the per-
manent swap file to a temporary swap file (see the Windows 3.0 manual,
pp. 525529); and (2) add the line: virtualhdirq=off to the SYSTEM.INI
file in the [386ENH] section. Note: The temporary swap file is much
slower than the permanent one, because the latter creates a block of
contiguous disk space which is written to directly by Windows.
B. DESTRUCTION OF HARD DISK SYSTEMS WITH MORE THAN 1,024 CYLINDERS
PROBLEM: Windows (all versions), like DOS, only recognizes the
first 1,024 cylinders of a hard disk. But unlike most software, it can
write directly to disk through BIOS. This is a major risk for larger
hard drives, which may be using SWBIOS or similar software-based ex-
tenders to address cylinders beyond the 1,024th. A mismatch between
the DOS-level situation provided by SWBIOS and the BIOS-level situa-
tion encountered in a direct disk write can be fatal. One Windows 3.0
beta tester in Portland, Oregon recently had a Conner 150 MB drive
trashed by Windows 3.0. Many other incidents of similar disasters with
large hard disks have been reported.
WORKAROUND: At present, there is no reliable workaround.
Some RLL and ESDI drive controllers support "sector translation" at
the hardware level, making the drives they support appear to have no
more than 1,024 cylinders. Use of or conversion to these controllers
may avoid the problem. However, not all large MFM drives are
RLL-compliant. In any event, reformatting hard disks is costly,
tedious and error-prone.
************************************************************************
If you are unsure about the safety of your system: STOP USING WINDOWS
IMMEDIATELY IF YOU HAVE A DRIVE WITH MORE THAN 1,024 CYLINDERS!!
************************************************************************
The following is a partial list of commonly available drives with
more than 1,024 cylinders (number of cylinders in parentheses):
Conner Hopi CP-30104 (1,522), CP-3204F (1,366), Stubby CP-4044 (1,104)
Control Data 94186-383 (1,412), 94186-383H (1,224), 94186-442H (1,412)
Fujitsu M2247E (1,243), M2248E (1,243), M2249E (1,243)
Imprimis 94186-383 (1,412), 94186-383H (1,224), 94186-442H (1,412),
94196-766 (1,632), 94246-383 (1,747)
Maxtor XT2085 (1,224), XT2190 (1,224), XT4380 (1,224), XT8760 (1,632)
Micropolis 1551 (1,224), 1554 (1,224), 1555 (1,224), 1556 (1,224), 1557
(1,224), 1558 (1,224), 1653 (1,249), 1654 (1,249), 1663
(1,780), 1664 (1,780)
Microscience HH-1090 (1,314), HH-1120 (1,314), HH-2160 (1,276)
Miniscribe 3085 (1,170), 3130 (1,250), 3180 (1,250), 9230E (1,224),
9380E (1,224), 9780E (1,661), 9000E (1,224)
NEC D5655 (1,224), D5662 (1,224), D5682 (1,633)
Priam 630 (1,224), V185 (1,166)
Rodime RO5040 (1,224), RO5065 (1,224), RO5090 (1,224)
Seagate Swift 94354-230 (1,272), Wren 94244-383 (1,747), Wren 94246-180
(1,453), Wren 94186 (1,412), Wren 94186H (1,224), Wren
94286-380 (1,747),
FURTHER INFORMATION
The two main sources of information for this message have been the
Microsoft Windows forum on CompuServe and the Ontrack Systems BBS
(612/937-0860). Ontrack is now intensively testing Disk Manager and
Windows 3.0 and promises daily bulletins on their findings.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7 June 1990
Fred Heutte
Sunlight Data Systems
PO Box 40260
Portland, Oregon 97240
503/241-0858
CompuServe: 72461,2224
Usenet: phred@well.sf.ca.us
This file is a capture of bulletin 12 on the Ontrack systems BBS ex-
plaining the exact nature of possible incompatibilities between
Microsoft Windows 3.0 and the Ontrack Computer Systems Disk Manager
program.
June 12, 1990
To : Windows 3.0 and Disk Manager users
From : Ontrack Computer Systems
Re : Windows 3.0 and Disk Manager
Ontrack Computer Systems is very concerned about reports of data cor-
ruption on systems which are using MicroSoft Windows 3.0. We are
devoting a great deal of time and effort to track down this reported
problem, but are unable to produce even one byte of corrupted data on
any of our computers running Windows 3.0. We have determined the fol-
lowing to be true and verifiable:
1. If Windows 3.0 is used on a 386 computer which has a hard drive
with more than 1024 cylinders and our DMDRVR.BIN is being used to al-
low DOS (and of course Windows) to access that portion of the disk,
then the "[386enh]" section of the SYSTEM.INI file in Windows must
contain the following line:
VIRTUALHDIRQ=OFF
See pages 528-9 in the index of the Windows Users Guide for ex-
amples on how to modify SYSTEM.INI.
NOTE: Many ESDI drives exceed the 1024 cylinder barrier but due to a
translating controller card, appear to the operating system to have
fewer than 1024 cylinders. Such a drive is not considered to have more
than 1024 cylinders and does not fall into the category described
above. This is because our SWBIOS.COM utility is not required to set
up the drive and the DMDRVR.BIN will also not utilize that portion of
the driver.
2. The Swapfile program, which is used to set up a permanent swap file
on the disk, checks for ANY partitioning device driver including the
DMDRVR.BIN in the CONFIG.SYS file and will not run if it exists. The
swap files are hardcoded to use a 512 byte sector and in DOS versions
earlier than 4.0, Disk Manager increased the logical sector size to
allow access to partitions greater than 32 megabytes. Since this is
the case, a permanent swap file cannot be used on a disk using the
DMDRVR.BIN device driver though temporary swap files will work just
fine.
Using a temporary swap file instead of a permanent one should not
degrade performance on a disk that has an optimization utility run on
a regular basis. Running such a utility is a good idea anyway for
general system performance as well as increasing the possibility of
recovering data should your system encounter some sort of problem.
3. Finally, on page 53 of the Windows User's Guide, users are cau-
tioned against running CHKDSK /F as well as any utility that will
modify the file allocation tables (FAT). The utilities mentioned in
this section of the Windows User's Guide are designed to operate in a
single-tasking environment and include such things as undelete or op-
timization utilities.
In the multi-tasking environment created by Windows, there may be
many programs creating, manipulating and deleting files. While these
operations are in process, the FATs will not be accurate. When the
operation is complete, the FAT will accurately reflect that operation.
Since there are (or at least could be) multiple programs running
simultaneously, another application could be in the middle of an
operation at any given point in time.
Since the file structure is constantly in a state of flux, any
utility that assumes the structure to be static (unchanging) could
cause problems if run in this multi-tasking environment. Be safe, run
your applications from within Windows and your utilities before enter-
ing or after exiting Windows.
NOTE: These utilities can be run successfully after exiting Windows or
before running Windows; the caution only applies while Windows is run-
ning. Going to the DOS prompt from within Windows is not the same as
exiting Windows and the caution will still apply.
Windows has brought to the PC environment power that has previously
only been available in mainframe and mini computer environments. Even
though Windows makes it look like computing just got simpler, with
this increased power comes increased complexity. As users we need to
be aware of this and take precautions such as backing up our data
before we get on with 'business as usual'.
In as much as data integrity is the cornerstone of our software
family, we will continue to verify the compatibility of Disk Manager
and Windows 3.0 (not to mention many other software packages). In the
event that you or someone you know has actually experienced data
corruption, we ask that you help us by calling our BBS at 612-937-0860
and filling out our Windows Survey form.
___________________________________________________________
> STR Portfolio News & Information? Keeping up to date...
================================
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
=========================
On CompuServe
by Walter Daniel 75066,164
A interesting and exciting thread got started when someone noted that
WordPerfect 5.1 has been released on ROM card for the Poqet PC. Someone
else mentioned that he was running WordPerfect Jr. without the spelling
checker (would not fit on a RAM card) on his Portfolio. Unfortunately,
WordPerfect Jr. has been discontinued, so it will only be available from
existing stocks on store shelves or through used software dealers. A
person from WordPerfect Corp. pointed out that WordPerfect Executive is
still on the market and its word processor is essentially the same as
WordPerfect Jr. The Executive package also includes some small programs
such as a calculator, calendar, and PlanPerfect 3.0.
Atari can now produce 512k ROM cards for the Portfolio, so sysop Ron
Luks suggested that WordPerfect Corp. market a Portfolio version of their
word processor. An advantage of running software from cards is that .RUN
files are executed as if they were in memory, so it might be possible to
work around the 128k internal memory limitation. If you are interested in
WordPerfect for the Atari Portfolio, send a message to 73760,2460 that
includes the number of copies you think you or your organization would buy
if it were available. This is only a survey, not a product announcement.
A private message area has been opened in the forum for PowerBASIC
beta testers (no, you can't read the messages). This impressive compiler
is nearly finished, so look for it at your Atari dealer in the very near
future.
Don Messerli continues to add software tools to support his PGC Portf-
olio graphics standard. PGEdit 1.10 (PGED11.ZIP) is an update of the
desktop PC graphics file creator/editor that now supports both EGA and
VGA. PGLIB.ZIP is a library of Portfolio-specific graphics routines in
the C language. Both Microsoft and Borland versions are included. PGComp
1.10 (PGCMP1.ZIP) is an update of the utility to compress PGF files into
PGC format. PGCHEK.ZIP is a tool for checking format and compression of
PGC files to aid programmers in debugging.
BJ Gleason uploaded a version of PBASIC 3.1 to fix a couple of small
bugs.
Download PB31A.EXE if you just want the executable file; otherwise,
PBAS31.ZIP now contains the full package. ACOM 1.10 is a new version of a
terminal program/PC file transfer utility from Charles Cook. As a ter-
minal program, ACOM features a 100-line scrollback buffer and XMODEM file
transfers. As always, these files can be found in Library 1 (New Uploads)
of the forum.
________________________________________________
> DESERT STORM USN STR InfoFile? U.S. NAVY SHIPS DEPLOYED
=============================
A listing of most of the U.S. NAVY SHIPS deployed to:
OPERATION DESERT STORM
The following information was provided by the Public Affairs Officer,
Commanding Officer Naval Surface Forces Atlantic
U.S. NAVY
---------
Note All addresses are in the following format:
Commanding Officer Example: Commanding Officer
USS ship name (XXX-XX) USS Missouri (BB-63)
FPO city, state zip-xxxx FPO San Francisco 96698-1120
**adding the additional 4-digits in the ZIP code will save 1-3 days
**of mailing time!
You can also address it to: Any Service member c/o Vice Commanding Officer
SHIPS STATIONED IN THE PERSIAN GULF:
USS BLUE RIDGE (LCC-19) FPO SAN FRANCISCO 96628-3300
(Flagship, Commander 7th Fleet
and
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command)
USS LASALLE (AG-3) FPO NY 09577-3320
(Flagship Commander Middle East Force)
USS MISSOURI (BB-63) FPO SF 96698-1120
USS NASSAU (LHA-4) FPO NY 09557-1615
USS IWO JIMA (LPH-9) FPO NY 09561-1625
USS TRENTON (LPD-14) FPO NY 09588-1716
USS PORTLAND (LSD-37) FPO NY 09582-1725
USS PENSACOLA (LSD-38) FPO NY 09582-1726
USS GUNSTON HALL (LSD-44) FPO NY 09573-1732
USS MANITOWOC (LST-1180) FPO NY 09578-1801
USS SAGINAW (LST-1188) FPO NY 09587-1809
USS SPARTANBURG COUNTY (LST-1192) FPO NY 09587-1813
USS WISCONSIN (BB-64) FPO NY 09522-1130
USS WORDEN (CG-18) FPO SF 06683-1142
USS MACDONOUGH (DDG-39) FPO MIAMI 34092-1257
USS DAVD R. RAY (DD-971) FPO SF 96677-1209
USS O'BRIEN (DD-975) FPO SF 96674-1411
USS REID (FFG-30) FPO SF 96677-1148
USS RENTZ (FFG-46) FPO SF 96677-1500
USS NICHOLAS (FFG-47) FPO MI 34092-1501
USS VANDEGRIFT (FFG-48) FPO SF 96682-1706
USS TAYLOR (FFG-50) FPO MI 34093-1504
USS FORD (FFG-54) FPO SF 96665-1508
USS BARBEY (FF-1088) FPO SF 96661-1448
USS AVENGER (MCM-1) FPO MI 34090-1921
USS LEADER (MSO-490) FPO MI 34091-1917
USS ADROIT (MSO-509) FPO NY 09564-1919
USS IMPERVIOUS (MSO-449) FPO MI 34091-1911
SHIPS STATIONED IN THE ARABIAN SEA:
USS SARATOGA (CV-60) (With Air Wing 17 Embarked) FPO MI 34078-2740
USS BELKNAP (CG-26) (Flagship, 6th Fleet) FPO NY 09565-1149
USS BIDDLE (CG-34) FPO NY 09565-1157
USS THOMAS S. GATES (CG-51) FPO NY 09570-1171
USS SAN JACINTO (CG-56) FPO NY 09587-1176
USS PHILIPPINE SEA (CG-58) FPO MI 34093-1178
USS SAMPSON (DDG-10) FPO MI 34093-1240
USS SPRUANCE (DDG-963) FPO MI 34093-1201
USS ELMER MONTGOMERY (FF-1082) FPO MI 34092-1442
USS THOMAS C. HART (FF-1092) FPO NY 09573-1452
USS DETROIT (AOE-4) FPO NY 09567-3015
USS YELLOWSTONE (AD-41) FPO NY 09512-2525
GULF OF OMAN AND INDIAN OCEAN:
USS MIDWAY (CV-41) (With Air Wing 5 Embarked) FPO SF 96631-2710
USS BUNKER HILL (CG-52) FPO SF 96661-1172
USS STERRETT (CG-31) FPO SF 96678-1154
USS OLDENDORF (DD-977) FPO SF 96674-1210
USS FIFE (DD-977) FPO SF 96665-1229
USS CURTS (FFG-38) FPO SF 96662-1493
USS KISKA (AE-35) FPO SF 96670-3001
USS SACRAMENTO (AOE-1) FPO SF 98799-3012
USS RANGER (CV-61) FPO SF 96633-2750
USS PRINCETON (CG-59) FPO SF 96675-1179
AMPHIBIOUS READ GROUP ALPHA
13'TH MARINE EXPEDITIONARY UNIT - SPECIAL OPERATIONS CAPABLE:
USS OKINAWA (LPH-3) FPO SF 96625-1630
USS FORT MCHENRY (LSD-43) FPO SF 96665-1731
USS DURHAM (LKA-114) FPO SF 96663-1701
USS OGDEN (LPD-5) FPO SF 96674-1708
USS CAYUGA (LST-1186) FPO SF 96662-1807
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN/RED SEA:
USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CVN-67) (Air Wing 3 embarked) FPO NY 09538-2800
USS MISSISSIPPI (CGN-40) FPO NY 09578-1167
USS MOOSEBRUGER (DD-980) FPO MI 34092-1218
USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG-58) FPO MI 09586-1512
USS SEATTLE (AOE-3) FPO NY 09587-3014
USS SYLVANIA (AFS-2) FPO NY 09587-3031
USS T. ROOSEVELT (CVN-71) (Air Wing 8 embarked) FPO NY 09599-2871
USS CARON (DD-970) FPO NY 09566-1208
USS PLATTE (AO-186) FPO NY 09582-3022
USS SAN DIEGO (AFS-6) FPO NY 09587-3035
USS LEYTE GULF (CG-55) FPO MI 34091-1175
USS VREELAND (FF-1068) FPO MI 34093-1428
USS NITRO (AE-23) FPO NY 09579-3002
USS RICHMOND K. TURNER (CG-20) FPO MI 34093-1144
USS HAWES (FFG-53) FPO MI 34093-1507
USS AMERICA (CVN-66) (Air Wing 1 embarked) FPO NY 09531-2790
USS VIRGINIA (CGN-38) FPO NY 09590-1165
USS PREBLE (DDG-46) FPO NY 09582-1264
USS KALAMAZOO (AOR-6) FPO NY 09576-3028
USS NORMANDY (CG-40) FPO NY
USS WILLIAM V PRATT (DDG-44) FPO MI 34092-1262
USS HALYBURTON (FFG-40) FPO MI 34091-1495
USS SANTA BARBARA (AE-28) FPO MI 34093-3006
AMPHIBIOUS READY GROUP 3-90
26TH MARINE EXPEDITIONARY UNIT - SPECIAL OPERATIONS CAPABLE
USS INCHON (LPH-12) FPO MI 09529-1655
USS NASHVILLE (LPD-13) FPO NY 09579-1715
USS NEWPORT (LST-1179) FPO NY 09579-1800
USS FAIRFAX COUNTY (LST-1193) FPO NY 09569-1814
USS BARNSTABLE COUNTY (LST-1198) FPO NY 09565-1818
AMPHIBIOUS READY GROUP 3
5TH MARINE EXPEDITIONARY BRIGADE (MEB)
USS TARWA (LHA-1) FPO SF 96622-1600
USS TRIPLOI (LPH-10) FPO SF 96626-1645
USS NEW ORLEANS (LPH-11) FPO SF 96627-1650
USS MOBILE (LKA-115) FPO SF 96672-1702
USS VANCOUVER (LPD-2) FPO SF 96682-1706
USS DENVER (LPD-9) FPO SF 96663-1712
USS JUNEAU (LPD-10) FPO SF 96669-1713
USS ANCHORAGE (LSD-36) FPO SF 96660-1724
USS MOUNT VERNON (LSD-39) FPO SF 96672-1727
USS GERMANTOWN (LSD-42) FPO SF 96666-1730
USS PEORIA (LST-1183) FPO SF 96675-1804
USS TUSCALOOSA (LST-1187) FPO SF 96679-1808
USS BARBOUR COUNTY (LST-1195) FPO SF 96661-1816
=========
U.S. MARINE CORPS:
------------------
ASHORE IN SAUDI ARABIA AND OTHER LOCATIONS:
1st Marine Expeditionary Force (1 MEF)
1st Marine Divisions (Comprised largely of the ground units that
deployed with the 1st nad 7th Marine Expeditionary Brigade)
3rd marine Aircraft Wing (composed largely of the air units that deployed
with the 1st and 7th Brigades)
1st Force Service Support Group (composed largely of the supporting units
- supply, maintenance, medical that deployed with the brigades)
BRITISH 1ST ARMORED DIVISION
Note: Two additional marine Expeditionary Brigades - the 4th and 5th -
plus two marine Expeditionary Units - the 13 and the 26th - are
afloat with amphibious task forces (see below). Additional
brigades will deploy with the 2 MEF.
____________________________________________________
> PROFLIGHT STR Review? The Tornado Flight Simulator
====================
"PROFLIGHT - THE TORNADO FLIGHT SIMULATOR"
==========================================
FROM: Hisoft
The Old School, Greenfield,
Bedford MK45 5DE UK
What makes a GOOD flight simulator program? Is it the ultimate
in private aviation realism, a quick shoot'em up arcade style contest, or
the heart pounding - "beads o'sweat" tension of realistic aerial combat?
For myself it's the "beads o' sweat" version! But look, if suddenly in
the heat of battle I find myself flying THROUGH my adversary without
become part of the landscape I get a little annoyed at the simulation
program. (Not to mention myself!) All of the neat graphics in the world
won't help if the aircraft doesn't "feel right".
Enter "PROFLIGHT - The Tornado Flight Simulator" from HiSoft. The
aircraft in this simulation is the Panavia Tornado. A swing-wing, twin
engine fighter/bomber built by a european consortium. The package con-
tains one single-sided disk and a two ring binder for the 146 page manual.
The program is not copy protected in any way. No code wheels or page
flipping required! Just double-click and go. Proflight runs in either
low or high resolution and can be copied to your hard drive and run
without the need for a keydisk.
Control is by mouse or joystick. The README.TXT file on the disk
suggests the mouse as the prefered controller and I have to concur. Even
with adjustable sensitivity and auto-level on, joystick control is tough.
Don't fret, after your first snap roll using the mouse you'll forget all
about the joystick option!
Once you start the program you find yourself immediately in the
cockpit looking down the runway. No title screens or other delays. After
a few seconds of inactivity a very nice demo will start. Be patient here
as the sim sets up the way points from the map and flight options because
the demo is worth at least one run through. (Be sure to watch for com-
ments in the lower right of the screen as the demo runs!)
You can interrupt the demo at anytime and take control of the
Tornado in flight. This is great for a little hands-on before digging
into the manual. A Crash Inhibit mode is available as well as all manner
of "auto-" options for the beginner pilots. Depending on the "mode"
setting at take-off (In combat mode you can't select crash inhibit!) most
of these options can be set while in flight. Drop down menus are called
with function keys and selections can be made without stopping the simul-
ator.
The graphics in Proflight are distinctly reminiscent of SubLogics
Flight Simulator II. The smooth coloring techniques used in Spectrum
Holobytes Falcon are missing here. The FS II analogy holds true in that
you can select daylight, dusk and night conditions as well as wind ef-
fects and turbulence. In the night mission settings you can actually
display a star map! Speaking of maps, waypoints for the autopilot system
are set by the user on a mission planning map. Any combination targets
maybe selected in the 200 square nautical mile operating area.
REALISTIC "FEEL" IS THIS PROGRAM'S STRONG POINT.
Some examples:
Low level flight produces "ground effect". Not just turbulence or "boun-
cing" but a noticeable increase in lift and control sensitivity.
"Knife edge" flight causes loss of altitude due to loss of lift that can
be corrected with rudder input.
Flying through debris from an aerial "kill" causes the aircraft to buffet
and can damage the aircraft. Also you can't fly through an aerial target!
Ejecting from the aircraft is not 100% safe and results in an eerie sort
of disconnection from the airplane which can be seen to fly off into the
distance on its own!
While the graphics may not be quite state of the art, the flight
animation is as smooth and glitch free as any I've encountered. Even on
my non-blitter, TOS 1.0 1040 ST! I've run Proflight on my Mega ST4 with
TOS 1.4, a friends Mega ST2 with TOS 1.2 and the above mentioned 1040 STf
with no problems at all. My only complaint is that Proflight doesn't have
a means of exiting to the Desktop without rebooting the machine.
So if you're not booting up that favorite flight simulator quite
as often these days, you really should look into Proflight. As an ac-
curate simulation of flight with a complete set of "novice" options
Proflight would also make a nice first package for those who would like to
add a little combat while learning the basics. Good hunting and don't
forget - "Check Six!"
J.DUNCAN15
a.k.a. - Bitstream Warrior
_______________________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL? "ATARI NEWS & EVENTS!"
=====================
- Sunnyvale, CA STUMPH STAY TO BE TEMPORARY
-------------
The word is he, A. Stumph, is here to serve in an advisory capacity, a
valued and much needed service. But for a temporary period of time only.
Atari Corp. is actively persuing the importation of the "cream of the crop
in European Software for the US market. Shortly, the new wave of software
will begin to make its debut.
- Girard, OH OH BOY! ANOTHER BBS TO CALL!
----------
COMMAND HEADQUARTERS II
216-793-9765
24 hours - 1200/2400 baud
Home of Chet Walters and Dr. Bob (WizWorks!), each has their own message
base they use to answer any questions you might have, plus their own file
directories where you'll find lots of utilities, graphics/printer stuff,
etc., that they have programmed for us over the past few years. CHQ has
100 meg of storage plus some of the finest public domain/shareware down-
loads available anywhere.
CALL NOW!!!
- Erie, PA ATARI COMPUTER CONFERENCE
--------
We are planning an Atari Computer Conference in Erie, PA in June of
1991. We are looking for developers, programmers, and users interested in
giving technical presentations or seminars related to the Atari ST/Mega/TT
line of computers. If you are interested, please contact me, Dennis
McGuire. Call voice at 814-833-4724 or leave a message to the Sysop at
the SAGE BBS (FNET Node 478 814-833-4073).
- Rockville, MD GENIE ATARI RT TO HOST S. TRAMIEL
-------------
The Atari ST Roundtable is happy to welcome Sam Tramiel, President of
Atari Corporation, as our special guest for the Realtime Conference on
Wednesday, January 30, 1991. Please make plans to attend and participate.
Mr. Tramiel will welcome your questions and comments.
That's Wednesday, January 30th at 10:00pm Eastern.
________________________________________________________
> Hard Disks STR InfoFile? Affordable Mass Storage....
=======================
NEW LOW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!!
===============================
ALL SPECIALS
** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! **
ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
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Est. 1985
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT
BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 PM - 6 AM EDT
_________________________________________
HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
_____________________________________
All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).
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(all cables and connectors installed)
* ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
* ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED *
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Conventional Shoe Box
Model Description Autopark Price
==================================================
SGN3038 31Mb 28ms 3.5" Y 419.00
SGN4951 51Mb 28ms 3.5" Y 519.00
SGN6177 62Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 619.00
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SGN4077 230Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 1669.00
==================================================
WE HAVE A COMPLETE LINE OF 3.5 LOW PROFILE HARD DRIVES
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USE IN MEGA ST COMPUTERS AND RELATED CONFIGURATIONS.
20mb #AI020SC 379.95 30mb #AIO3OSC 419.95
50mb #AI050SC 449.95 65mb #AI065SC 499.95
85mb #AI085SC $559.95
MEGA ST Internal Hard Drives
CONNOR HIGH PERFORMANCE MECHANISMS
>>> ALL ABCO DRIVES ARE HIGH SPEED UNITS <<<
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CALL FOR SUPER SAVINGS ON ALL OUR OTHER CUSTOM UNITS
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Ask about our "REBATE SPECIALS"
--==*==--
** SHIPPING AND INSURANCE INCLUDED IN COMPLETE UNIT PRICES! **
============================================
* SYQUEST 44MB (#555)>> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *
- SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADVANTAGE PLUS H/A
- ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable
- Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply
(1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.
COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
--->> SPECIAL NOW ONLY __$ 719.00__ <<---
EXTRA CARTS: $ 79.50
DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 439.95
*** SPECIAL SYQUEST OFFER!! BUY WITH A FRIEND! ***
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* TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
SPECIALLY PRICED ** $1329.00 **
* SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
- Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
50mb SQG51 $ 939.00 30mb SQG38 $ 819.00
65mb SQG09 $ 969.00 85mb SQG96 $1059.00
LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
(over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)
*** ALL Units: Average Access Time: 24ms - 34ms ***
ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - AT/PC SPEED - GCR
LARGER units are available - (special order only)
*>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<*
- Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets -
* SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 *
Replacement Drums; CALL
Keyboard Custom Cables Call for Info
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
-* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!
_________________________________________
DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
please, call for details
Personal and Company Checks are accepted.
ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-562-4037 -=**=- CALL: 1-904-783-3319
Customer Orders ONLY Customer Service
9am - 8pm EDT
Tues thru Sat
____________________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote"?
=================
"WE WILL RELEASE ALL NEW PRODUCTS.....
....IN THE USA FIRST"
S. Tramiel
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport Online Magazine?
Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport? "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" January 18, 1991
16/32bit Magazine copyright = 1990 No.7.03
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors, staff, STReport? CPU/STR? or ST Report?. Permission to
reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Each reprint
must include the name of the publication, date, issue # and the author's
name. The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in
any way without prior written permission. The contents, at the time of
publication, are believed to be reasonably accurate. The editors,
contributors and/or staff are not responsible for either the use/misuse
of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-----------------------------------------
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