ST Report: 26-Apr-91 #717
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 05/04/91-08:43:37 PM Z
From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 26-Apr-91 #717
Date: Sat May 4 20:43:37 1991
*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
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from
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April 26, 1991 No.7.17
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> 04/26/91: STReport #7.17 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
-------------------------
- The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - MAC REPORT
- SIMULA ST - HAYES WINS BIG! - BBS OVERVIEW
- COLOR IMAGES - The Flip Side - Inside Maxifile
- GFA 50% OFF! - PORTFOLIO NEWS - STR Confidential
* THE FCC AND THE FACTS! *
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> The Editor's Podium
Due to the size of this week's issue, the editorial will be kept to a
bare minimum. This issue concentrates on the accurate, up to date infor-
mation pertaining to the FCC. The commissions's Bureau Chief Fed-Exed the
Rules and Regs to STReport and arranged a series of interviews. STReport
felt it was necessary to dispel much of the "not so accurate" info that
was circulating.
On another note, many of you have asked about Avant Vektor, well
within the next two weeks, STReport will be announcing the US represen-
tative. Fantastic programs. Yes, they will be more than adequately
represented in the USA.
Thank you for your continued support!
Ralph.......
TODAY'S NEWS ..TODAY!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> STReport's Staff The regulars and this week's contributors!
================
Publisher - Editor
------------------
Ralph F. Mariano
Staff Editors:
--------------
Michael Arthur Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. Dana P. Jacobson
Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Walter Daniel
Oscar Steele Robert Allbritton John Szczepanik
Contributing Correspondants:
----------------------------
Michael Lee Richard Covert Roger Stevens
Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Ed Krimen
Andrew Learner
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (April 26)
WELCOME, GOLDLEAF!
Goldleaf Software, makers of Wordflair, have joined us online to support
their customers and answer your questions about their products. Drop them
a message in any of the Atari ST Forums at User ID number 70007,4271.
NEW VERSION OF ARC SHELL
Charles F. Johnson and Little Green Footballs Software bring you version
2.5 of ARC Shell, the program that adds a friendly and powerful GEM inter-
face to ARC.TTP and LHARC. NOW FEATURING: an expanded interface with
CodeHead Software's new MaxiFile III! ARC Shell 2.5 takes advantage of a
"back door" built into MaxiFile III, letting you select multiple files for
archiving (even files from different directories) all in ONE move! See
ARCS25.ARC in Library 1 of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO)
QUICKCIS UPDATE
QuickCIS users--see QCNEW.LZH in Library 1 of the Atari Productivity Forum
(GO ATARIPRO) for the latest version that allows you to use Ymodem-G with
an error correcting modem for faster file transfers.
NEW FROM GRIBNIF
Gribnif Software is now officially on line to answer your questions about
their product line and have uploaded the following new files to their
library (library 8) of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN):
FMDOIT.ARC - FormDoIt! 1.2 - Alert & dialog box enhancements
INFO1.TXT - Information about CardFile 3 from Gribnif Software
PCH302.ARC - NeoDesk 3.01 to 3.02 Upgrade Patch Program
PRESS1.TXT - Release that Gribnif now markets CardFile
PRESS2.TXT - Release announcing new "CardFile 3" from Gribnif
PROGRAM OF THE WEEK FROM DOUBLECLICK
Don't miss this weeks "Program of the Week" from the great folks at
Double Click Software! This weeks program, DC BIT SET, sets the ARCHIVE
bit on files -- both new and modified. Now you can fully utilize all
those great backup programs that rely on the ARCHIVE bit being set.
Download DCBSET.ARC from LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIV-
EN).
PORTFOLIO LIBRARY CATALOGS
New catalog files for all public libraries of the Atari Portfolio (GO
APORTFOLIO) are now available in Library 1.
NEW UPLOADS POLICY CHANGE
Effective immediately, the sysops will adopt the following policy for new
uploads to the Atari ST and 8-Bit Forums:
All new uploads will be placed ONLY in the NEW UPLOADS LIBRARY for a
period of 2-3 weeks. After this time, they will be MOVED to the appropri-
ate long term library and deleted from LIB-1.
The old policy was to immediately place 2 copies of new files online. One
in the NEW UPLOADS LIB and another in the long-term lib, giving users the
option to download from either location. This old policy was wasteful of
storage and confusing to some members who downloaded both copies thinking
they were different versions.
We realize that this will require everyone to scan the NEW UPLOADS LIB in
addition to the other LIBs when searching for a specific type of file, but
this is a temporary problem that will be eliminated when future versions
of the CIS software will allow members to scan all files in all LIBS from
a single point (a feature that is on the "enhancement" list).
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE HAS BEEN DESIGNATED
AN OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION
GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
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> CPU REPORT?
==========
Issue #108
----------
by Michael Arthur
CPU INSIGHTS
============
SIMULA, OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING, AND THE ATARI ST
-----------------------------------------------------
From: dietrich@quando.quantum.de (Hans Dietrich)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st,comp.object,comp.lang.smalltalk
Subject: Re: OO on ST (long)
Message-ID: <1590@quando.quantum.de>
References: <8480@cognos.UUCP>
Reply-To: dietrich@quando.UUCP (Hans Dietrich)
Organization: Quantum GmbH, Dortmund, W-Germany
In article <8480@cognos.UUCP rossj@cognos.UUCP (Ross Judson) writes: I've
been toying with a few ideas for my honours project, which I'll be doing
next year. Since my school's faculty is really into OO (object oriented)
stuff, I'll be doing something in that area. What OO environments are
available on the ST? Do any of them work? Are any of them suitable for
project-style work? Projects usually take about 8 months to do, and are
supposed to be a reasonably sophisticated implementation of whatever your
project is about.
My system is a 1040 with a 30MB. I'm willing to upgrade the memory, but
given my faith in the world of Atari I'm not so sure I want to invest
more.
[ ... ]
What's about the first object oriented language - SIMULA - as an alter-
native? It's still up to date, and can run on a simple 1040 ST with one
disk drive!!
I append an abstract about the system from the SIMULA-Team in Germany.
The contact address is included at the end.
Here it is:
-----------------------------------------------
SIMULA for Atari ST
If you want to do object oriented programming you definitely should
have a look at SIMULA. SIMULA is the first and still the most advanced
object oriented programming language available on a wide variety of
machines *including* the Atari ST (see below).
SIMULA in a Nutshell
====================
- Conventional general-purpose algorithmic capability in the
style of ALGOL 60.
- Object-oriented programming (classes) encompassing encapsulation,
inheritance, information hiding, autonomous activity and strong
typing supporting the concepts of modularisation, generalisation,
specialisation, abstraction, polymorphism and pseudo-parallelism.
- Basic features for manipulating text strings.
- File concept supporting sequential and direct access methods
for byte- and record-structured files.
- Large repertoire of utility functions.
- Features supporting 2-way linked lists. More complicated list
structures such as trees and lattices are easily constructed from
the basic class facilities.
- Features supporting discrete event simulation in various styles
including the object-oriented process view.
It should be emphasized that although in many quarters SIMULA is best
known for its simulation features it is a truly general-purpose
language in the widest sense and was the inspiration for almost all
developments in the field of object-oriented programming.
What you get with each SIMULA system
====================================
- Object oriented programming. A typical SIMULA program consists of a
set of interacting processes, or *objects*. Objects are incarnations
of some prototype or *class*,generated (and perhaps later terminated)
during the execution of the program. In this manner a program written
in SIMULA can map the problem's solution conveniently and cleanly.
- Strong typing, checked mostly at compile time, ensuring that objects
are manipulated in a manner consistent with their specification.
- Objects may act independently of each other in "quasi-parallel".
This enables the class objects to act as co-routines, so that the
action of one object can be temporarily suspended, later to be resumed
at the exact point of suspension. Co-routines facilitate a faithful
representation of systems composed of both passive and active objects.
This feature is an extra dimension to those commonly associated with
object-oriented languages and is only recently beginning to appear in
some of the newer ones.
- List processing. The class "Simset" may be applied to add list
processing capabilities to the language. The programmer will then
have tools for the efficient manipulation of common aggregate informa-
tion structures, including queues. The facilities of Simset can be
further refined for more specialized purposes.
- Simulation. Application of the built-in class "Simulation" extends
SIMULA to a powerful tool for discrete event simulation in a style
which preserves in the model the inherent structure of the system
under study.
- Powerful text handling, dynamic arrays, flexible file handling, etc.
- Modularization. Separate compilation of classes and procedures is an
integral part of the language. The strong typing extends to separate-
ly compiled modules allowing the partitioning of large SIMULA systems
into subtasks, which may be assigned to different work groups, without
fear of undetected incompatibilities.
- SIMULA has a rigid standard definition and programs are highly
portable between computer systems (source code compatibility).
SIMULA - Implementations
========================
SIMULA is available for the following computer systems:
Apollo DN3000 Apple MacIntosh/MPW
Atari ST BESM 6 (USSR)
CDC 3000, CDC 6000/Cyber Cromemco CS-x00
DEC 10/20 DG Eclipse/Desktop, DG MV
EC 1040/1055 (GDR) ES EVM (USSR)
Honeywell Bull DPS8 HP 900/300, HP 9300
IBM mainframes DOS, OS/2, XENIX (UNIX)
ICL 2900, ICL PERQ Indata IN4200
NCR Minitower, NCR Tower XP/32 Nixdorf Targon/31
Norsk Data NORD 100/500 PR1ME Minisupercomputers
SIEMENS 7500/BS2000 SIEMENS 7800/BS3000
SIEMENS MX, SIEMENS PCD Sperry 1100
SUN-3, SUN-4, Sun SPARCstation DEC VAX/UNIX, VAX/VMS
Since there are new implementations under way this list may already be
incomplete.
Some properties of the SIMULA system for the Atari ST
=====================================================
1) Full SIMULA language standard.
(Currently the only restriction is that the switch is not yet
implemented. Also you might expect a better accuracy from software
emulation for real arithmetic.)
2) Implementation based on the well-known Lund SIMULA System
for UNIX machines and others.
3) Compact implementation. The complete system fits on one double
sided disk.
4) Economic. The compiler needs less than 1 MB even when compiling
modules consisting of more than one thousand source lines.
5) Fast. Compilation speed of approximately 1000 source lines per
minute. The execution speed is comparable with that of other
high-level languages.
6) Complete interfaces to TOS and GEM.
7) Separate compilation of different modules with consistency checks at
compile time.
8) Compatibility. Runs on all TOS versions and all types of keyboards.
Call interface for external procedures written in other languages
(currently supported: assembler. Under development: C support).
Uses Sozobon's jas and ld, alternatively Atari's MadMac and aln
(on request also GST).
9) Symbolic debugger (source-code debugger) is under development.
Ordering information
====================
Atari ST SIMULA is distributed by:
SIMULA-Team GmbH iG
P.O.B. 50 01 63
D - 4600 Dortmund 50
West - Germany
The introductory prices are (prices in US$ and GBP at current exchange
rates, for information only):
DM US$ GBP
ordinary 198.00 120.00 72.00
educational 148.00 90.00 54.00
(for students, teachers etc. - please accompany your order with evidence)
delivery charge in Germany, prepaid 7.00
delivery charge in Germany, not prepaid 12.00
delivery charge abroad, prepaid 22.00 13.00 8.00
(this charge is waived if you can do without the German documentation)
Please accompany your order with a check payable in DM to SIMULA-Team GmbH
Dortmund or transfer the amount due in DM before ordering
to PostGiroAmt Dortmund (BLZ 440 100 46)
Account 8999-466
for O. Schlageter Computer
More information on SIMULA
==========================
Association of SIMULA Users (ASU)
Secreteriat
Ron Kerr
Computing Laboratory
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU England
Telephone: (+44 91) 222 8187
E-Mail: r.kerr@newcastle.ac.uk
The ASU also publishes a Newsletter which may be subscribed (still) free
of charge.
Contact for SIMULA in Germany:
SIMULA Group
c/o University Dortmund / IRB e-mail: simula@unido.uucp
P.O.B. 50 05 00 simula@unido.bitnet
D - 4600 Dortmund 50
West - Germany
Literature
==========
The Standard:
-------------
[Sis87] SIMULA Standard. Stockholm, 1987. Data processing - Programming
languages - SIMULA,
Swedish Standard SS 63 61 14.
Textbooks on SIMULA:
--------------------
[Poo87] R. J. Pooley. "An Introduction to Programming in SIMULA."
Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 1987.
ISBN 0-632-01611-6 resp. 0-632-01422-9 (pbk.).
[Lam88] Guenther Lamprecht. "SIMULA - Einfuehrung in die
Programmiersprache." Vieweg Verlag, Braunschweig, Wiesbaden, 3.
neubearbeitete Auflage, 1988. ISBN 3-528-23321-4.
(In German, also available in English)
[Kir89] Bjoern Kirkerud. "Object-Oriented Programming with SIMULA."
International Computer Science Series. Addison-Wesley Publishing
Co., 1989. ISBN 0-201-17574-6.
Textbooks on Simulation
-----------------------
[Fra77] W.R. Franta. The process view of simulation. Elsevier
North-Holland, New-York, 1977.
[Bir79] Graham M. Birtwistle. DEMOS - Discrete Event Modeling on SIMULA.
MacMillan Press, London, Basingstoke, 1979. ISBN 0-333-32881-8.
[Mit82] I. Mitrani. Simulation Techniques for discrete event systems.
Cambridge University Press, 1982.
[Kre86] Wolfgang Kreutzer. System Simulation Programming Styles
and Languages. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1986.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I hope this helps!
best regards,
Hans Dietrich
-------------------------------------------------------------
> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
=================
Issue #18
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
- Irvine, California ACA TO REPLACE AAA?
------------------
The American Computer Association (ACA), a non-profit group, is the com-
puter owner's equivalent to the auto club. For an annual fee year ($60
for the first year, then $45) the ACA offers phone support, up to three
visits a year by a computer technician, advice/discounts on the purchase
of computers and computer equipment, and training classes on computer
management and maintenance, said Ken Logan, chairman of ACA.
- San Jose, California APPLE SETTLES LAW SUIT
--------------------
In a settlement that is said to be one of the largest of its kind in the
San Francisco labor department, Apple computer has paid $436,687 to 15
black men and women who claimed they were refused jobs because of their
race. The 15 were all offered jobs in the settlement, but only one is
reported to have accepted. Apple, which admitted no wrongdoing in the
settlement, agreed to re-examine its hiring process to ensure fair
evaluation of job candidates.
- Redmond, Washington ANOTHER SALVO IN MICROSOFT-APPLE WAR
-------------------
Microsoft has announced that it has learned that Apple intends to widen
its copyright infringement lawsuit to include Windows 3.0. The suit,
originally filed in March 1988 and also including Hewlett-Packard as a
defendant, alleged that Microsoft Windows 2.03 (as well as Hewlett-
Packard's New Wave interface, which is basically an enhancement of
Windows) infringed Apple's copyright by too closely resembling the
Macintosh user interface.
- Washington, DC CRAY 3 TO SHIP IN JUNE
--------------
According to reports from an official of Cray Computers, a spinoff of
Cray Research, the company will deliver its first computer this June to
the U.S. Department of Energy.
The $30 million system, designated the Cray 3, will ship with four
processors but should be upgraded to a full 16-processor system by next
year. The full Cray 3 system will operate at speeds up to 16 billion
floating point operations per second or 16 gigaflops. In addition to
high initial costs, operating expenses for a supercomputer, the fastest
computers built, are said to run well over $200,000 per month, even for
smaller systems.
- Santa Clara, California NEW NATIONAL SEMI CHIP IMPROVES HARD DRIVES
-----------------------
The DP8491 Integrated Read Channel chip recently introduced by National
Semiconductor is a single integrated analog/digital microchip that pro-
vides all the read-channel electronics needed by hard disk drives and
is reported to increase data storage capacity of some hard disks by as
much as 45%.
The new chip supports what is termed as the zoned data recording tech-
nique and includes a pulse/servo detector, a data synchronizer, a
frequency synthesizer, and write precompensation circuitry, all on a
single chip capable of 33 megabits-per-second data rates. The DP8491 is
specially designed to operate from a single 5V power supply, making it
highly desirable for notebook or laptop computers which run on
batteries, National says.
- San Antonio, Texas MICROSOFT UP, TEXAS INSTRUMENTS DOWN
------------------
According to the latest corporate earnings report from Microsoft, they
reported revenues of $486.9 million, a 57% increase from the same quar-
ter in 1990, with a net income of $123.8 million, an increase of 65%
from the same quarter in 1990. Texas Instruments reported a loss of $54
million compared to a gain of $13 million for the same quarter last
year.
- Cupertino, California APPLE ATTEMPTS TO REDUCE POLLUTION
---------------------
As an alternative to driving to work, Apple Computer is offering its
employees some interesting options. It is hoped these options will help
decrease pollution and traffic congestions in the San Francisco Bay
Area.
The options including free shuttle buses from Caltrain stations to Apple
sites, a fleet of company bicycles, an electronic database of ride-
sharing opportunities, telecommuting, and a guaranteed ride home in case
of personal emergency. To sweeten the offer, employees get a dollar cre-
dit in the company store every time they use one of the new commuting
options.
- San Francisco, California HAYES WINS DOUBLE IN PATENT SUIT
-------------------------
Everex Systems, Ven-Tel and OmniTel have been assessed double damages by
U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti who upheld Hayes Microcomputer Products
patent for an escape sequence with guard time. Conti, who also awarded
Hayes court costs, said that the wilful infringers must not be allowed
to have infringed a valid patent for five or six years and then only
have to pay a 1.75 percent royalty to the owner of a valid patent.
The patent is at the heart of the `Hayes AT' command set since it
specifies how a PC will go from the online mode to the command mode.
Hayes compatibility has become a de-facto standard in PC modems of all
speeds.
- Torrance, California DECISION REVERSED IN ASHTON-TATE COPYRIGHT SUIT
--------------------
This week, U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Junior rescinded his pre-
vious ruling of December 1990 which invalidated Ashton-Tate's dBase
copyrights. The original ruling was in a suit Ashton-Tate filed against
Fox Software in November 1988 alleging its Foxbase and Foxpro software
programs infringe on Ashton-Tate dBase copyrights.
On December 11, 1990, Judge Hatter ruled that Ashton-Tate's dBase copy-
rights were invalid because the company had failed to disclose in its
copyright registration applications that dBase II and dBase III were
derived from a public domain program (JPLDIS) developed at Jet
Propulsion Labs in Pasadena, and that the disclosure was intentionally
done to deceive the copyright office.
- Rockville, Maryland NEW GENIE GENERAL MANAGER
-------------------
John Barber, the man instrumental in setting up GE's relationship with
PC-VAN, the net through which GEnie is accessed in Japan and a 20-year
veteran of GE Information Services (GEIS), has taken the job as general
manager of GEnie, the online information service. Barber replaces Bill
Louden, who is still with GE, but whom the company states has resigned
from the general manager's role to "pursue other interests."
The current subscriber base for GEnie is said to be 260,000. Since
implementing its flat-fee "Star*Services" program last year, GEnie has
experienced a 40% revenue growth, Barber said, and there are plans to
add 70,000 new users to the system by the end of 1991. Barber promises
that 9600 bits-per-second access to the GEnie system will be available
in May. The roll-out to 9600 service will be in 40 U.S. cities and in
Toronto, Canada. The access will be based on the V.32 standard.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
As a reader of STReport Online Magazine, you are entitled to take
advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. For only $29.95 ($20 off
the standard membership price!), you will receive a lifetime subscription
to DELPHI, a copy of the 500-page DELPHI: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE and over $14
worth of free time.
NOTE: Special offers can be found in your favorite Atari magazines:
START CURRENT NOTES ST INFORMER
ATARI INTERFACE MAGAZINE
SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
======================
Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
DELPHI services via a local phone call
JOIN -- DELPHI
--------------
1. Dial 617-576-0862 with any terminal or PC and modem (at 2400 bps,
dial 576-2981).
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For more information call:
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DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass.
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--------------------
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first 20 hours online via direct dial into one of DELPHI's two direct-ac-
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several services on DELPHI as part of the Advantage Perks.
Other telecom services may have additional charges. Canadian Tymnet
users have an additional telecom charge. Office Time access (7 a.m. to 7
p.m., weekdays) may have an additional charge. And of course, other
restrictions may apply. But this is still an amazing deal!
For more information, contact DELPHI at 1-800-544-4005 and ask for
Member Services.
DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> UG BBSs STR Spotlight Looking BBS's over, what do they do?
=====================
TAKING A GOOD LOOK AT........
part II
BULLETIN BOARDS
===============
by Dana P. Jacobson
Last week, I talked a little bit about the Bulletin Board System as
an important part of computing. These multi-faceted systems provide us
with all kinds of information which helps us in our endeavors to utilize
our machines effectively; and at the same time provide a forum for news
and entertainment.
As promised, this week's column will focus on what is probably the
most essential part of learning more about our machines: the user group.
As is implied by its name, the user group is made up of people like your-
self who share similar interests, either a specific topic within the realm
of possible uses of the machine (for example, desktop publishing); or the
group may consist of people who just share the common bond of using an ST
or 8-bit machine. Most groups that I am aware of consist of this last
category.
Forming a user group is very simple: a few people decide to band
together and meet formally or informally, and discuss various topics
surrounding their various interests. Or, this small group can be the
initial nucleus for the group, and recruit members who share similar
interests; and the group becomes more, though not necessarily, organized
in nature. Most groups meet monthly at a pre-determined time and locat-
ion. Most groups start off with very informal meetings which usually turn
out to be bull-sessions, talking about various programs and perhaps pla-
ying a few games for entertainment.
After awhile, the group may want to expand its functions and deter-
mine some goals for its members. If the group wants to grow, "advertis-
ing" on local bulletin boards and a sign or two around a dealer's store
always seems to spread the word about the group's existence. Let people
know you're out there.
Okay, so let's say you're now a member of a small user group. What
do the user groups do? What do its members want? Where do you meet? All
important questions.
First of all, you can meet anywhere. Someone's house, a local chu-
rch, school or library will usually let you meet on a regular basis.
Check around. Your members will probably want to get the same thing out
of the group as you do: to learn more about the machine by sharing ideas
and experiences. Groups are made up of people with various levels of
experience, so the meetings are usually a learning experience for everyone
involved. The user group exists (at least in my opinion) to learn more
about your machine(s) and its many uses.
To give you a better idea of what goes on with user groups, primarily
at the meetings, let me share some of my experiences. By no means do I
consider my user group a "textbook" example, but for the most part it's
probably a good example as any for the general idea. I joined the South
Shore Atari Group (Boston) almost four years ago. I had just recently
bought my first computer, a 520 ST. I had visited a few local dealers by
this time, and had a small collection of software, very small. My
brother-in-law, who sold me the machine, informed me that he was not going
to spend every waking moment teaching me all there was to know about the
ST. As it was, every time I had a problem or question, I was on the phone
calling him, or over at his house to "see" how something was supposed to
be done. In short, I was being a pest. I initially bought the machine
because I didn't want to spend $600+ for a word-processor machine. I
essentially wanted something so I could write. I have two typewriters,
but editing requires either a lot of stock of white-out, or a lot of
re-typing when it came time to make changes. The other advantages of
having a computer were that I had the opportunity to do more than just
word processing - I could also play games if I wanted! I was never a fan
of computers. I was always somewhat intimidated by them. My only on
hands experience with them to this point was a course or two in college,
FORTRAN. I muddled through the courses, as they were very basic in nat-
ure. The one thing that I did learn was that the computer was only as
good as the user. If your program was poorly written, it didn't run. I
was no programmer. My feeling was that how was I going to use a computer
now if I didn't know how to program it. The ST was the computer that
solved that problem. The GEM interface, point and click, turned out to
calm my fears: NO programming experience required to use it!!
So alright, back to my brother-in-law's reluctance to be my 24-hour
tutor! A new dealer had recently opened. The owner had talked with a few
people who had been part of a user group a few years earlier, but had
disbanded. He offered to help the group get going again, and would allow
his store to be used after-hours for a meeting location. I was convinced
to join so I could learn more about the ST. Reluctantly, I did. I say
reluctantly because I felt at that time that all computer users were nerds
and these people were going to be talking technical computerese that was
just going to go right over my head. I didn't want to be the only begin-
ner in the group and look like an idiot! Well, I joined anyway, and I
discovered that there wasn't a "nerd" in the bunch; or at least what I
envisioned a computer nerd to be like!
My first meeting was the second for the re-formed group. Things were
still somewhat disorganized, but attempts to change that were being made.
I was impressed. There were about a dozen people there, and most were
circled around a couple of the store's machines, playing some games.
People were discussing certain games or applications; and it appeared that
this would become a good learning experience for me, and others who were
also fairly new in computing (I wasn't the only one!).
After a few more meetings, the members decided that they wanted to
become more organized instead of being what was up-to-now simply a social
gathering of ST and 8-bit users. We loosely formed the group into a
structured unit, with a formal meeting outline. The original nucleus of
the group decided we should have officers, albeit limited, to provide us
with the essentials for some kind of formal setting. We started off with
a Chairman, Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor. They also decided to set up
a committee to meet separately from the regular group meetings, to plan
future meeting topics. I joined that Steering Committee a few months
later. I felt that it was important to get involved somehow; and to be a
part of organizing meetings which might help me in the end seemed to be a
good idea.
Meeting at the computer store had its benefits, and made meeting
topics very simple to plan. Since the dealer always had the latest softw-
are, hardware, and magazines to view; our meetings usually consisted of
demonstrations of these products. Eventually, the group grew, and we
added a PD Librarian to our slate of "officers". The newsletter was
coming out monthly, although at that time it was very small, consisting of
a review or two and perhaps some editorial comments and the like. One
person was doing all of the work, so that was the reason for the small
size. Still, it was a nice addition to the group's activities.
The group continued to grow as more people became aware of this new
dealer. We had newsletters available to the customers, and various signs
all over the place. In less than a year, we had about 25-30 members
regularly showing up at the meetings. The newsletter grew in size, and
more people were writing articles and reviews. The PD Library was grow-
ing, and we managed to even sell a few disks among the members. The store
also had some of our disks and was selling them sporadically. We had seen
a lot of new software and hardware. People with specific interests showed
off their talents. I still fondly remember seeing one member showing
off his artistic abilities using Cyber Paint and CAD-3D. We had MIDI
demonstrations. I became interested in desktop publishing after seeing a
demo of Timeworks' Publisher ST. We saw Mac and IBM emulations, with
Magic Sac and pc-ditto. We learned about telecommunications, and I even-
tually bought a modem and started my own BBS. There was so much to learn,
and ideas were always available.
The group went through many changes, as most will. People lose
interest while others' grow. The store closed after a couple of years, so
we had to meet somewhere else. We've currently about 50-60 members, and
we're in our third meeting site. Without the constant influx of new
software and hardware at a dealer, we've had to devise new means to pro-
vide regular and interesting topics for our membership. It's vital to
provide these things, or membership will dry up and new members will stay
away. So far, we have been fortunate to get some local developers to
attend our meetings. To name a few, Jim Allen of Fast Technology has been
our guest a number of times; the folks from Gribnif Software have visited
us; Bob Brodie, from Atari, has been in town a couple of times and at-
tended our meetings; and more. Other meeting topics have resulted with
software donations from various companies. When we learn of someone
locally who uses his/her ST for something unusual or interesting, we
invite them to speak. Most recently we had Rick Keene, who has been
interviewed for ST Informer and written an article for Current Notes, come
visit us. Rick has his own company and he does a lot of graphics work on
his ST. He's currently doing some graphics for a proposed new game for
the ST. He's also doing work to restore some of the old DC Comics Super-
man archives. I won't go into detail, but I will tell you that more
about Rick will appear in a near-future issue of ST Report!
The point of all this is to inform you that there are many topics of
interest for you to come up with that will provide the user group with a
well-rounded amount of information. The difficult part is figuring out
what you want to do, and plan it. Sometimes the ideas flourish, and at
other times the ideas just aren't there. The important thing to remember
is that people have different interests. Find out what those interests
are, and try to focus in those areas.
Your user group cannot do everything because the resources available
are not unlimited. There will be times when the membership is declining;
topics for meetings fail to materialize; guest speakers cancel; demo
software bombs; hardware fails to work; or no one is interested in the
meeting agenda. It happens. It's happened with my group and many others.
Be patient, get involved, and stay interested.
As a point of reference, not everyone is going to go out and start a
user group. There are resources available to see if there's a user group
in your area. Pick up any copy of Current Notes and you will find lis-
tings of groups for each state. STart magazine also has a listing which
can usually be found on the disks that accompany the magazine. These
lists don't contain every Atari user group in the country, but they're a
good beginning. Check with your local Atari dealer, as he will usually
know if there's a group around town. Check with your friends. Check out
the local bulletin boards and ask. Ask about a group on one of the online
services; they also usually include a user group listing. If all this
fails, send a letter to Bob Brodie at Atari. Bob is the Manager of User
Group Services at Atari, and he has a list of every registered Atari user
group in the country!
I've found that the South Shore Atari Group has become an integral
part of my computer training. I've met a lot of interesting people; and
many have provided me the opportunity to learn more about my ST. Without
the group, I doubt that I'd still be using my machine for more than word
processing and playing a few games. If you're serious about learning
more, I highly recommend that you find a group near you, and join. You
won't be sorry. If you still need help finding a group, send me a letter
and I'll see what I can do. Send any inquiries to any of the online
services listed elsewhere in this issue of ST Report.
Until next time...
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
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!! <-
***********************************************************************
> COLOR IMAGES STR InfoFile Keeping the troops informed....
============
COLOR IMAGES FOR THE ST/TT COMPUTERS
====================================
by Chet Walters, W. D. Parks and S. Kelly Webb
The color .IMG files produced on the ST/TT are not directly device
specific ST/TT word interleaved video screen images. Before encoding and
saving, the "video" is separated into continuous mono plane bitmaps in
the order PLANE 0 Plane 1 PLANE 2... PLANE n. Each plane of this
"unleaved" image is then encoded as any other .IMG file would be, scan
line by scan line, bitplane by bitplane in the order given. This form of
multi-plane storage is known to GEM as non-device specific, or "standard."
In most instances, the GEM vro_trnfm, otherwise known as transform
form (vdi-op 110), is useful. However, it pukes at times on images larger
than the actual screen in use. It is very very slow if one tries to
transform "in place" (ie has the same address in both the source and
destination MFDBs). It is best to hand code the "inter" and "unleaving"
process if memory affords enough buffer space. But, one can hand code the
"inter" and "unleave" process directly into the encoding de-endcoding
routine for limited memory situations, the only drawback being that the
disk reads/writes will be slow. However, hand coding these into the read/-
write routines directly are actually faster than calling VR_TRFM on a bit
image in place then writing the result to disk!
In encoding this image using the accepted method for DRI version 1 bit
IMG files, each bitplane is considered as a SEPARATE ENTITY. Each plane
is encoded as if it were a monoplane image with the pixel width/height the
same as that of the color image. The result being that there are stored in
the file X number of "monoplane" images corresponding to the number of
bitplanes noted in the header. When encoding the bit map data, always
start anew at the beginning of each plane. Make sure there are no VRC
mates between planes "joining them at the hip" as it were. (see VRC bel-
ow).
---------------------- COLOR IMAGE HEADERS --------------------
Each of the color images on the ST/TT has a specific header type with
a necessary read of 11 words (22 bytes). The first 8 words conform to the
known DRI header standard used for many years for monochrome IMG files.
The extra three words are specific to these color IMG files and offer
flexibility for the task at hand. The "STTT" format holds more promise
for the TT computers because it offers storage capabilities beyond that of
"XIMG" images and has some specific place holders for some of the extra
features of the TT. The "STTT" format also holds the color palette RGB
values in proper bits per pixel indexing order for easy transport to other
platforms. These header formats, their details and usages are as follows:
---------------------- "STTT" COLOR IMAGES --------------------
STTT HEADER (necessary read = 11 words or 22 bytes)
VERS w 0 version # (here, ONE to denote encoding scheme)
HEADLEN w 1 Header length in words (file start to bit data)
PLANES w 2 number of color planes
PATRUN w 3 pattern run definition length
MICWID w 4 width of pixel in microns
MICHGT w 5 height of pixel in microns
PIXWID w 6 pixel width of image (scan line width in pixels)
PIXHGT w 7 pixel height of image (number of scan line items)
*** additional header info for color images *****
SIGNATURE w 8 ** these two words form a LONG which contains
w 9 ** the signature ASCII "STTT" (hex $53545454)
PALLEN w 10 # words in palette, bank #, setgray mode (see below)
PALETTE WORDs ST/TT palette in XBIOS/LUT form # entries is PALLEN
[BYTEs] optional information can be stored here (see below)
BYTEs actual image bit data encoded as per DRI standards
*** THE PALETTE LENGTH WORD OF THE HEADER:
The PALLEN word of the "STTT" header stores three separate pieces of
information for TT computers.
********************************************************
| BIT 15 | BITS 14-11 | BITS 10 - 0 |
| GRAY | BANK # | NUMBER OF WORDS IN PALETTE |
********************************************************
FOR ESETPALETTE on the TT or SETPALETTE on the ST:
Bits 10-0 hold the number of entries (words) in the color palette
strage area. These bits have maximum value of 2047. The MINIMUM number of
palette entries for the image to be displayed properly MUST be stored and
reflected in the value held in these bits. The beginning color MUST
ALWAYS be BANK #0 COLOR #0 so there must be at least 16 words in the
palette for a 4 plane image. One has the option to store additional banks
for TT palettes but stored first in the file MUST be BANK #0 COLOR #0
followed by BANK #1 then BANK #2 ... BANK #15. All palettes must be
stored as full banks in multiples of 16 words (full palettes) and the
PALLEN word of the header MUST reflect exactly how many WORDS are stored
here. For compatibility with ST computers, it is best to store at least
16 words regardless of the number of planes in the image for use with the
XBIOS 6 call. For 8 plane TT low resolution images, store a full 256 word
palette. For monochrome, use the old standard with no color palette. (see
sample code)
FOR ESETBANK on the TT:
BITS 14-11 carry the number (0-15 when shifted) of the bank in the
palette which was active when the IMG file was saved to disk. If the IMG
is an 8 plane image or there is only BANK #0 stored, these bits should be
clear. The palette stored in the file must begin with BANK #0 and COLOR
#0 and work it's way up in 16 word multiples in order to have the proper
number of entries to select the BANK noted in these bits. (see sample
code)
FOR ESETGRAY on the TT:
The high BIT 15 carries the SET GRAY flag to denote if the IMG was
saved with the TT's gray mode bit set. Set = GREY. Clear = COLOR. (see
sample code)
******** THE PALETTE ENTRIES IN THE HEADER:
In STTT color IMG files, the palette is stored in similar fashion to
the palette stored in Degas files. The entries are in words with
0000rrrrggggbbbb bit values in XBIOS/LUT form ready for either the
ESETPALETTE ($54) on the TT or the SETPALETTE ($6) on the ST. The first
color stored is always LUT COLOR #0 and BANK #0. It is good practice to
store at least a 16 word palette of BANK #0 to maintain compatibility with
ST computers. For 8 plane images, all 256 entries must be stored. For
images of lesser planes, any number of up to 15 BANKs can be stored in
addition to BANK #0 but must be stored as full 16 word palettes progres-
sing upwards from BANK #0. Palette entries stored in this fashion are
easily transferable to other platforms.
******** ADDITIONAL STORAGE CAPACITY
The image bit data will always begin HEADLEN * 2 bytes (HEADLEN
words) from file start. There are always 22 bytes (11 words) in the
header itself. Therefore, should HEADLEN*2<>(PALLEN*2)+22 then there is
additional data stored in the area after the palette entries and before
the bit image data. This is a documented additional storage area with
only one restriction: the length of the extra data stored here must always
be WORDs in length (ie an even number of bytes). When reading or writing
"STTT" IMG files, never ASSUME that the bit image data will immediately
follow the palette entries. Always KNOW that the bit image data will
ALWAYS be HEADLEN * 2 bytes (HEADLEN words) from the beginning of the
file.
---------------------- "XIMG" COLOR IMAGES --------------------
NOTE: This format has not been explored extensively so this should by no
means be considered gospel but we think it's accurate.
XIMG HEADER (necessary read = 11 words or 22 bytes)
VERS w 0 version # (here, ONE)
HEADLEN w 1 Header length in words (file start to bit data)
PLANES w 2 number of color planes
PATRUN w 3 pattern run definition length
MICWID w 4 width of pixel in microns
MICHGT w 5 height of pixel in microns
PIXWID w 6 pixel width of image (scan line width in pixels)
PIXHGT w 7 pixel height of image (number of scan line items)
*** additional header info for color images *****
SIGNATURE w 8 ** these two words form a LONG which contains
w 9 ** the signature ASCII "XIMG" (hex $58494d7d)
COLORMODE w 10 color mode (0=RGB 1=CYM 2=HLS 3=PANTOME)
RGB_LIST WORD triplets for the color table (see below)
BYTEs actual image bit data encoded as per DRI standards
Each entry in the color table is stored in VDI word triplets with
each word of a value between -1 to 1000 (in hex $FFFF to $03E8). Each
of the RGB "mixes" takes a word triplet (or RED.w GREEN.w BLUE.w).
These are ready for a loop with the VDI call SET COLOR REPRESENTATION
(vdi-op 14) indexed by the loop counter when the counter is started at
zero (see sample code). Only the minimum number of colors are stored for
the number of planes in the image. Hence, a monoplane monochrome single
plane image has only two color entries and it's table is only six words in
length (two triplets) while a four plane 16 color image needs 3 x 16 words
or 48 words (96 bytes). The number of entries in the color table is 2^PLA-
NES so the number of bytes required to read for the color table is ob-
tained with the formula 2^PLANES * 6 (TT low res needs 1536 bytes).
NOTE: The actual image data will ALWAYS begin the HEADLEN * 2 number of
bytes (HEADLEN words) from the start of the file. The drawback to XIMG
files is that the palette is in VDI form and if one wishes to make these
images transportable to other platforms the entries must be re- ordered
and re-factored.
---------------------- BIT MAP STORAGE --------------------
BIT MAP DATA of actual IMAGE
It is very important to note that color video normally requires that
there be an even number of bytes for each scan line. However, COLOR IMG
files may or may not have an even number of bytes per scan line item (some
may be small clips of a screen). The scan lines are stored as byte(s)
wide packets which conform to PIXWID + 7 DIV 8 to arrive at the raster
byte width. This will not necessarily be of even byte width, however.
Should the loading program need the result in word width form, the loading
code must "pad" the scan line items if the packets work out to an odd byte
width. Again, we repeat. Scan line items will be in packets of BYTE(s)
and may sometimes be of an ODD number of bytes just like "normal" monochr-
ome IMG files.
Bit planes are separated for storage so that each ENTIRE plane is
represented as if it were a monoplane image of the pixel width specified
in the header and will be the number of scan lines/pixels tall as per the
pixel height/scan line item word in the header. The number of these
"monoplane images" will equal the number of planes in the header. For
example: If there is stored a four plane image of an ST Low resolution 320
x 200 screen, plane ZERO will be stored as a monoplane non-interleaved
image 320 bits wide (40 bytes) with 200 scan line items. Plane ONE will
follow in the same fashion followed by plane TWO then THREE.
You can visualize it as one long narrow monoplane image which is the
pixel width of the original and the pixel height of the original times the
number of planes tall. However!! ****IMPORTANT**** When encoding this
"long tall monoplane" image one MUST NOT cross planes with a VRC replica-
tion count. THAT BEARS REPEATING. Each plane is SEPARATE and should NOT
be joined by a VRC replication pair. The last line of PLANE ZERO can
NEVER be joined with the first line of PLANE ONE in a VRC replication
count. The same holds true for any number of planes stored in the image,
of course.
******* IMPORTANT *******
ENCODING SCHEMES NOT ONLY STOP AT THE END OF EACH SCAN LINE AND BEGIN
ANEW AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT LINE, VRC SCHEMES STOP AT THE END OF
EACH PLANE AND BEGIN ANEW AT THE START OF THE NEXT PLANE.
The bitmap data is stored as scan line items (scan line by scan line)
and the total number of decoded scan lines for each plane will equal the
pixel height/scan line item word in the header. Successive planes are
stored in the same fashion if there are more than one. So, the bit data
is stored scan line by scan line and plane by plane. Encoding schemes
must stop when the data reaches the end of a scan line. Whatever storage
method is used to store the scan lines is also stopped at the end of each
bit plane. No data encoding schemes can cross a scan line boundary and no
VRC encoding can cross a plane boundary (planes cannot be "joined at the
hip" so to speak). This is boring repetition, we know, but it is very
important and there are some real.... well, some folks need the hammering.
SCAN LINE ITEMS
Each scan line item has two components:
* VERTICAL REPLICATION COUNT (assumed one - more as noted)
* encoded bit data for display
VERTICAL REPLICATION COUNT, or VRC
It is very important to note going in here, that a VRC count of ONE is
ALWAYS assumed to be true. Each scan line item is ALWAYS represented in
the image at least ONCE. If NO VRC token series precedes a scan line
item, the VRC count of that item is ONE.
VRC counts are tokenized in the following manner:
| Byte | Byte | Byte | Byte |
***********************************************************
* 0 * 0 * 255 | N repeats for this scan line *
***********************************************************
Should you encounter a VRC token series, then the next scan line item
is to be decoded and represented in the resulting image N times. If there
is a count of FOUR, then the scan line item which follows will be represe-
nted in the image FOUR times in succession. If there is no VRC token
series, then the scan line item is represented ONE time.
SCAN LINE BIT ENCODING
Each scan line item can be encoded with one or more of the three
methods described below. These are mix & match and each scan line item
may well have all three or two or only one.
BIT STREAM (token 128)
The number of bytes of data in the BIT STREAM cannot exceed 255.
Token byte is #128 or $80. The byte following the token is the run length
of the bit stream which follows, or the number of subsequent bytes to copy
from file to buffer as is.
| Byte | Byte | N bytes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
*******************************************************
* 128 * N * Bit Stream *
*******************************************************
SOLID RUN (token NEVER 128 and NEVER 0)
The SOLID RUN (all black or all white) stores repeated data in a single
byte, the least significant seven bits of which indicates the number of
repeats and the most significant bit indicates the "state" or value of the
byte to be repeated ('0' = 0000000 or '1' = 11111111). The token/byte
will never equal 0 or 128, of course, and the number of repeats possible
is between 1 and 127.
| Byte |
************ Example: 160 = 10100000 = 32 bytes of $FF
* As Above * Example: 255 = 11111111 = 127 bytes of $FF
************ Example: 7 = 00000111 = 7 bytes of $00
PATTERN RUN (token 0)
This is the repeat of a pattern (whose length must be specified in
WORD THREE of the header). The token for this encode is a byte of value
0. The byte following is the number of times the pattern is to repeated
after which follows the pattern itself (the length in bytes of which is
the WORD THREE of the header which can be 1 through 8).
| Byte | Byte | Pattern-length bytes |
*******************************************************
* 0 * N * Pattern to be repeated N times *
*******************************************************
---------------------------------------------------------
SAMPLE CODE FOR READING COLOR IMAGES (this is by no means gospel)
f_open #0,#imgfile
f_read #header,#$16,handle grab 22 byte header
cmp.l #'STTT',signature which kind?
beq .dosttt ok, then that then
cmp.l #'XIMG',signature well?
bne .now_img funky file, do the bit data anyway
.doximg **** here we show how to do RGB color mode only
moveq #1,d0 the power of words (clean upper.w)
move.w planes,d1 to the power of planes
asl.w d1,d0 will yield the number of
move.w d0,d6 entries in the color table
beq .now_img unlikely but there may be none at all
mulu #6,d0 how many bytes to read it is now
f_read #table,d0,handle & assumes file ptr right place
lea table,a6 set a6 pointer to table entries
clr.l d7 color index zero to start
.setcolors
VS_COLOR d7,(a6),2(a6),4(a6) index,red,green,blue
lea 6(a6),a6 up pointer to next triplet
addq.w #1,d7 next index too
cmp.w d6,d7 had enough?
blt.s .setcolors more to do then mebbe
bra .now_img show that puppy
.dosttt * work the header for STTT img files
move.w palmode,d6 grab palette entry word
andi.l #$7ff,d6 d6 = # palette words (should be 256 or less)
beq .now_img no colors means skip this all
asl.w #1,d6 reading words, remember
f_read #palette,d6,handle file ptr is at start of palette
tst.w is_we_tt check TT flag
bne.s .we_sure_is ok, then that then
SETPALETTE #palette XBIOS $6 for ST computers
bra .inform now skip the TT stuff
.we_sure_is
ESETPALETTE #palette,d6,#0 XBIOS $54 for TT computers
clr.l d7 insurance
moveq #1,d0 ready for gray XBIOS call
move.b palmode,d7 grab gray and bank bits (upper byte only)
bclr #7,d7 clear gray bit and test flag
bne.s .setgray if flagged, use gray
clr.w d0 else means full color XBIOS call
.setgray
ESTGRAY d0 XBIOS $56 for TT computers (color/gray)
cmp.w #4,planes 8 plane 256 color IMG (or what)?
bgt.s .inform then we skip the bank call
lsr.w #3,d7 shift bits over for proper bank value
lsr.w #4,d6 palette entries div 16 = # of banks
cmp.w d6,d7 did we load enough banks to set it ok?
ble.s .setbank yup, no sweat
clr.w d7 else, bank zero
.setbank
ESETBANK d7 XBIOS $52 for TT computers (choose bank)
.inform
V_UPDWK inform VDI of the change in the palette
.now_img **** never assume your file pointer is right for this
f_seek #0,#0,handle beginning of file
move.w headlen,d7 header len in words
ext.l d7 clean as a whistle
asl.w #1,d7 words, remember
f_seek #0,d7,handle start of image bit data
<read decode and display image bit data>
*******************************************************
BSS
is_we_tt ds.w 1 our flag for we are a TT (or not)
palette ds.w 256 room for 256 word palette entries
table ds.w 256*3 room for 256 word VDI triplets
header read 22 byte header into this area
imgvers ds.w 1 version #
headlen ds.w 1 word offset from file start to image data
planes ds.w 1 # of planes in image (1,2,4,8,?)
patlen ds.w 1 pattern run definition length for encodes
micwid ds.w 1 device pixel micron width
michgt ds.w 1 device pixel micron height
pixwid ds.w 1 width of image in pixels (+7 div 8 = raster bytes)
pixhgt ds.w 1 height of image/plane in pixels/scan lines
signature ds.l 1 ASCII 'STTT' or 'XIMG' signature
palmode ds.w 1 # of palette entry words + gray/bank bits (STTT)
or color mode (XIMG)
_____________________________________________________________
> FCC CERTIFICATION STR FOCUS IS IT CLASS A OR, CLASS B?
===========================
IS IT REALLY THE FCC'S FAULT?
ACTUALLY..
IS IT ANYBODY'S FAULT?
by Ralph F. Mariano
Why is it that Atari seems to be the only computer company that has
real trouble with equipment certification? Does the FCC have a vendetta
for Atari computers and equipment? Is it really that difficult to obtain
Class B Certification? These are but a few of the very typical questions
asked almost every week across this great land about the Class A vs Class
B situation.
Atari may appear to be the only computer to have 'difficulties' with
the certification procedures but really, that's not the case at all. Nor
is the FCC out to "get" Atari. No, there really isn't a monster backlog
or logjam of devices awaiting inspection and certification.
The differences between Class A and Class B certification is indeed
subtle and at times somewhat ambiguous. Yes my friends that's right,
even though there are those who would like you to believe that the Apocal-
ypse will commence if you use a Class A device in a residential area.
Throughout the remainder of this article, I'll try to examine the various
procedures, rules and regulations pertaining to this particular topic and
hopefully, when done, many of you will no longer fear the big bang at the
front door at midnight. It must be made perfectly clear that the FCC does
not condone the use of class A devices in a residential area. The penal-
ties and enforcement efforts on the part of the FCC is directed primarily
toward the manufacturers and sellers of the equipment not the end user.
The only time an end user is involved is if the equipment, class A or B,
is causing interference to radio and/or television reception.
To begin with, a few questions needing answers from the "source".
STReport interviewed a 'very' knowledgable FCC source and obtained the
following information;
QUESTION:
Does the FCC confiscate or seize equipment used in violation of the Class
a vs Class B requirements?
ANSWER:
The FCC itself does NOT confiscate equipment that is in violation of the
Rules and Regulations. If confiscation is pursued due to the serious
nature of the violation, (unlicensed transmitter, etc), it occurs only
after a lengthy legal process and then through the US Marshall's office.
QUESTION:
Is it possible that a user may be fined $10,000 for using a class A device
in a Class B environment?
ANSWER:
The FCC has monetary forfeitures not 'fines'. Those forfeitures are
levied only after an "Official Notice of Violation" is issued and the
matter is resolved either by dismissal or payment of the forfeiture.
Fines are levied in 'criminal' procedures and forfeitures are those finan-
cial penalties levied in civil procedures. Forfeiture amounts are defined
in the rules, there is an up to amount designated, but that has recently
changed. Also, the FCC is not primarily interested in pursuing the end
user (consumer), we are interested in the sources and vendors.
QUESTION:
If a user, for example, lives in lower Manhattan and his apartment house
is between say, two lofts both of which are commercial, is the user sub-
ject to the 'residential' or 'commercial' area in the rules? And if say
the user lived on a farm and the main house was acres away from the nea-
rest neighbor, would this user be in violation if he used a class A device
in his home? What about the student who takes his computer from work, to
school and then ultimately home?
ANSWER:
You can be sure the FCC will examine each situation on a case by case
basis, the important factor here is if the device is or is not interfering
with radio or television reception. If there is no complaint there is no
problem. Of course, the FCC is not indirectly trying to promote circum-
vention of the rules. It must understood that if the device is class A,
its up to the source (manufacturer, dealer, etc.) to make sure the end
user knows the device is class A and its inherent restrictions. In the
instance of a user transporting a computer from work, to school and then
home; again, if the device creates no interference there is no problem.
However, the FCC does not condone the use of class A devices in areas
where they are not certified. The most serious results an end user may
experience from using a Class A device in his home is interference com-
plaints and problems. The end user must clear up this interference at his
own expense and to the full satisfaction of those being interfered with.
Editor Note:
In most situations of spurious emissions interference, a high pass
filter at the TV receiver being interfered with will clear up the problem.
Also, a low pass line filter on the A/C lines of both the receiver and the
emitting device may clear up unwanted signals. Listed elsewhere in this
article are a number of suggestions for the elimination of interference.
ABCO Computers is ready to assist any Atarian with information and sugges-
tions pertaining to the elimination of RFI free of charge.
Now, down to the nitty gritty;
First, let's see what Certification/Verification is.......
Certification
-------------
Applies to non-licensed devices, mostly low power radio frequency
devices and , in addition, to certain categories of receivers which
tune anywhere in the bands 30 to 901 Mhz, and 935-940 Mhz, to personal
computers and peripherals, to CB receivers, and to most kinds of
consumer ISM equipment. (Industrial-Scientific-Medical)
Based on desk review and evaluation of written application and test
report submitted by applicant.
Testing of samples at FCC Laboratory is not required by FCC Rules, but
FCC has authority to request samples for testing either before or
after issuance of grant.
Grant of authorization is issued by FCC.
Personal Computers carry a $735.00 Certification Fee, as do peripheral
devices as outlined in part 15 subpart j. All other computing devices
(as defined in Part 15) except those exempt under Section 15.801(c)
must be verified and no fee is involved.
Verification
------------
Applies to all computing devices except personal computers, personal
computer peripherals and exempt computing devices (Section 15.801(c));
to FM broadcast and television broadcast receivers and certain other
categories of receivers subject to part 15; and to non-consumer ISM
devices and certain untrasonic devices subject to part 18.
Seller/importer or manufacturer tests device prior to marketing, for
compliance with applicable FCC regulations, and retains test data.
No filing with FCC is required. However, test data may be requested
by the FCC for subsequent review.
The FCC may sample device at its option.
No grant of authorization is issued by the FCC.
15.37 TRANSITION PROVISIONS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE RULES.
Equipment may be authorized, manufactured and imported under the rules
in effect prior to June 23, 1989, in accordance with the following
schedules:
(a) For all intentional and unintentional radiators, except for
receivers: Radio frequency equipment verified by the responsible party or
for which an application for a grant of equipment authorization is
submitted to the Commission on or after June 23, 1994, shall comply with
the regulations specified in this part. Radio frequency equipment that is
manufactured or imported on or after june 23, 1994, shall comply with the
regulations specified in this part.
(b) For receivers: Receivers subject to the regulations in this part
that are manufactured or imported on or after June 23, 1989, shall comply
with the regulations specified in this part. However, if a receiver is
associated with a transmitter that could not have been authorized under
the regulations in effect prior to June 23, 1989, e.g., a transmitter
operating under the provisions of 15.209 or 15.249 (below 960 MHz), the
transition provisions in this section do not apply. Such receivers must
comply with the regulations in this part.
(c) There are no restrictions on the operation or marketing of
equipment complying with the regulations in effect prior to June 23, 1989.
(d) Prior to May 25, 1991, person shall import, market or operate
intentional radiators within the band 902-905 MHz under the provisions of
15.249. Until that date , the Commission will not issue a grant of
equipment authorization for equipment operating under 15.249 if the
equipment is designed to permit operation within the band 902-905 MHz.
[54 FR 17714, Apr. 25, 1989; 54 FR 32339, Aug 7, 1989; 55 FR 25095, June
20, 1990].
Subpart B-Unintentional Radiators
---------------------------------
15.101 EQUIPMENT AUTHORIZATION OF UNINTENTIONAL RADIATORS.
(a) Except as otherwise exempted in 15.23, 15.103, and 15.113,
unintentional radiators shall be authorized by the Commission or verified
prior to the initiation of marketing, as follows:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of device Equipment authorization required
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TV broadcast receiver Verification
FM broadcast receiver Do.
CB receiver Certification
Superregenerative receiver Do.
Scanning receiver Do.
All other receivers subject to part 15 Notification
TV interface device Certification
Cable system terminal device Notification
Stand-alone cable input selector switch Verification
Class B personal computers & peripherals Certification
Other Class B digital devices & peripherals Verification
Class A digital devices & peripherals Do.
External switching power supplies Do.
All other devices Do.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[See additional provisions in this section and in 15.103 of this part]
(b) Only those receivers that operate (tune) within the frequency
range of 30-960 MHz and CB receivers are subject to the authorizations
shown in paragraph (a) of this section. However, receivers indicated as
being subject to notification that are contained within a transceiver, the
transmitter portion of which is subject to type acceptance, certification
or notification, shall be authorized under the verification procedure.
Receivers operating above 960 MHz or below 30 MHz, except for CB
receivers, are exempt from complying with the technical provisions of this
part but are subject to 15.5.
(c) Personal computer mother boards (the circuit board performing the
central processing) that are marketed assembled with an enclosure and a
power supply must be certificated with that enclosure and power supply.
(d) Peripheral devices, as defined in 15.3(r), shall be certified or
verified, as appropriate, prior to marketing. However, if a peripheral
always will be marketed with a specific personal computer, it is not
necessary to obtain a separate grant of certification for that peripheral,
provided the specific combination of personal computer and peripheral has
received a grant of certification.
(e) Subassemblies to the digital devices are not subject to the
technical standards in this part unless they are marketed as part of a
system in which case the resulting system must comply with the applicable
regulations. Subassemblies include: Those devices that are enclosed
solely within the enclosure housing the digital device and are not
included in the definition of peripherals in 15.3(r), such as internal
disc drives and memory expansion units; digital devices marketed to
another manufacturer to be incorporated into a final product; circuit
boards containing the central processing unit that are marketed without an
enclosure or power supply; and, switching power supplies that are
separately marketed and are solely for use internal to a digital device.
(f) The procedures for obtaining a grant of certification or
notification and for verification are contained in Subpart J of Part 2 of
this chapter.
15.103 EXEMPTED DEVICES
The following devices are subject only to the general conditions of
operation in 15.5 and 15.29 and are exempt from the specific technical
standards and other requirements contained in this part. The operator of
the exempted device shall be required to stop operating the device upon a
finding by the Commission or its representative that the device is causing
harmful interference. Operation shall not resume until the condition
causing the harmful interference has been corrected. Although not
mandatory, it is strongly recommended that the manufacturer of an exempted
device endeavor to have the device meet the specific technical standards
in this part.
(a) A digital device utilized exclusively in any transportation
vehicle including motor vehicles and aircraft.
(b) a digital device used exclusively as an electronic control or
power system utilized by a public utility or in an industrial plant. The
term public utility includes equipment only to the extent that it is in a
dedicated building or large room owned or leased by the utility and does
not extend to equipment installed in a subscriber's facility.
(c) A digital device used exclusively as industrial, commercial or
medical test equipment.
(d) A digital device utilized exclusively in an appliance, e.g.,
microwave oven, dishwasher, clothes dryer, air conditioner (central or
window), etc.
(e) Specialized medical digital devices (generally used at the
direction of or under the supervision of a licensed health care
practitioner) whether used in a patient's home or a health care facility.
Non-specialized medical devices, i.e., devices marketed through retail
channels for use by the general public are not exempted. This exemption
also does not apply to digital devices used for record keeping or for any
purpose not directly connected with medical treatment.
(f) Digital devices that have a power consumption not exceeding 6 nW.
(g) Joystick controllers or similar devices, such as a mouse, used
with digital devices but which contain only non-digital circuitry or a
simple circuit to convert the signal to the format required (e.g., an
integrated circuit for analog to digital conversion) are viewed as
passive add-on devices, not themselves directly subject to the technical
standards or the equipment authorization requirements.
(h) Digital devices in which both the highest frequency generated and
the highest frequency used are less than 1.705 MHz and which do not
operate from the AC power lines or contain provisions for operation while
connected to the AC power lines. Digital devices that include, or make
provision for the use of battery eliminators, AC adaptors or battery
chargers which permit operation while charging or that connect to the AC
power lines indirectly, obtaining their power through another device which
is connected to the AC power lines, do not fall under this exemption.
(i) Responsible parties should note that equipment containing more
than one device is not exempt from the technical standards in this part
unless all of the devices in the equipment meet the criteria for
exemption. If only one of the included devices qualify for exemption, the
remainder of the equipment must comply with any applicable regulations.
If a device performs more than one function and all of those functions do
not meet the criteria for exemption, the device does not qualify for
inclusion under the exemptions.
15.105 INFORMATION TO THE USER
(a) For a Class A digital device or peripheral, the instructions
furnished the user shall include the following or similar statement,
placed in a prominent location in the text of the manual.
NOTE:
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for
a class A digital device,pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These
limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environ-
ment. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruc-
tion manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
OPERATION OF THIS EQUIPMENT IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA IS LIKELY TO CAUSE
HARMFUL INTERFERENCE IN WHICH CASE THE USER WILL BE REQUIRED TO COR-
RECT THE INTERFERENCE AT HIS OWN EXPENSE.
(b) For a Class B digital device or peripheral, the instructions
furnished the user shall include the following or similar statement,
placed in a prominent location in the text of the manual.
NOTE:
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for
a class B digital device,pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These
limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environ-
ment. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruc-
tion manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However there is no guarantee that radio interference will not occur
in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined
by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to
correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
- Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
- Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.
- Connect the equipment to an outlet on a different circuit than
the receiver is connected to.
- Consult the dealer or an experienced Radio/TV technician for
help.
(c) The provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section do not
apply to digital devices exempted from the technical standards under the
provisions of 15.103
(d) For systems incorporating several digital devices, the statement
shown in paragraphs(a) or (b) of this section needs to be contained only
in the instruction manual for the main control unit.
15.107 CONDUCTED LIMITS
(a) Except for Class A digital devices,for equipment that is designed
to be connected to the public utility (AC) power line, the radio frequency
voltage that is conducted back into the AC power line on any frequency or
frequencies within the band 450 kHz to 30 MHz shall not exceed 250 microv-
olts. Compliance with this provision shall be based on the measurement of
the radio frequency voltage between each power line and ground at the
power terminals.
(b) For a Class A digital device that is designed to be connected to
the public utility (AC) power line, the radio frequency voltage that is
conducted back into the AC power line on any frequency or frequencies
within the band 450 kHz to 30 MHz shall not exceed the limits in the
following table. Compliance with this provision shall be based on the
measurement of the radio frequency voltage between each power line and
ground at the power terminals. The lower limit applies at the band edges.
_______________________________________________________________
FREQUENCY OF EMISSION (MHZ) *** Conducted Limit (microvolts)
---------------------------------------------------------------
0.45 to 1.705........................... 1000
1.705 to 30.0........................... 3000
---------------------------------------------------------------
(c) For carrier current systems used as unintentional radiators whose
emissions are contained within the frequency range 450 kHz to 30 MHz, the
provisions of this section shall not apply. Such systems are subject to
radiated emission limits as provided in 15.109(e).
(d) Measurements to demonstrate compliance with the conducted limits
are not required for devices which only employ battery power for operation
and which do not operate from the AC power lines or contain provisions for
operation while connected to the AC power lines. Devices that include, or
make provision for, the use of battery charger which permit operating
while charging, AC adapters or battery eliminators or that connect to the
AC power lines indirectly, obtaining their power through another device
which is connected to the AC power lines, shall be tested to demonstrate
compliance with the conducted limits.
15.109 RADIATED EMISSION LIMITS
(a) Except for Class A digital devices, the field strength of radiated
emissions from unintentional radiators at a distance of three meters shall
not exceed the following values:
_________________________________________________________________
FREQUENCY OF EMISSION (MHZ) *** Field Strength (microvolts/meter)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
30 to 88........................... 100
88 to 216.......................... 150
216 to 960......................... 200
above 960.......................... 500
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(b) The field strength of radiated emissions from a class A digital
device, as determined at a distance of 10 meters, shall not exceed the
following:
_________________________________________________________________
FREQUENCY OF EMISSION (MHZ) *** Field Strength (microvolts/meter)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
30 to 88........................... 90
88 to 216.......................... 150
216 to 960......................... 210
above 960.......................... 300
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(c) In the emission tables above, the tighter limit applies at the
band edges. Sections 15.33 and 15.35 which specify the frequency range
over which radiated emissions are to be measured and the detector func-
tions and other measurements apply.
(d) For CB receivers, the field strength of radiated emissions within
the frequency range of 25-30 MHz shall not exceed 40 microvolts/meter at a
distance of three meters. The field strength of radiated emissions above
30 MHz from such devices shall comply with the limits in paragraph (a) of
this section.
(e) Carrier current systems used as unintentional radiators or other
unintentional radiators that are designed to conduct their radio frequency
emissions via connecting wires or cables and that operate in the frequency
range of 9 kHz to 30 Mhz, including devices that deliver the radio
frequency energy to transducers such as ultrasonic devices not covered un-
der part 18 of this chapter, shall comply with the radiated emission
limits for intentional provided in 15.209 for the frequency range of 9 kHz
to 30 Mhz. At frequencies above 30 Mhz, the provisions of paragraph(a) of
this section apply.
(f) For a receiver which employs terminals for the connection of an
external receiving antenna, the receiver shall be tested to demonstrate
compliance with the provisions of this section with an antenna connectedto
the antenna terminalsunless the antenna conducted power is measured as
specified in 15.111(a). If a permanently attached receiving antenna is
used, the receiver shall be tested to demonstrate compliance with the
provisions of this section.
REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION
------------------------
Any questions concerning the Commission's Rules on approval of radio fre-
quency equipment may be addressed to:
Technical Standards Branch, FCC
Room 7122
2025 M Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20554
1-202-653-6288
or,
Equipment Authorization Branch, FCC
7435 Oakland Mills Road.
Columbia, MD 21046
1-301-725-1585
Computer access to the equipment authorization database for radio
frequency devices is available through the Public Access Link (PAL).
Information on pending applications and granted authorizations for specif-
ically identified equipment can be accessed by dialing the FCC Laboratory
computer on the dedicated number 1-301-725-1072. Information is available
24 hours day, 7 days a week through the PAL system.
Inquiries which cannot be made by computer access, concerning status
of applications and equipment will be accepted by FCC Laboratory person-
nel at 1-301-725-1585 from 02:00pm to 04:30pm EDT or EST, monday through
friday, except holidays. Caller may request "status information".
Sources of information reprinted verbatim from:
(OET Bulletin No. 61)
47 CFR ch.1 (10-1-90 Edition)
_____________________________________________________________
> MODEM SURCHARGE? STR InfoFile "What's the Story Jerry?"
=============================
OLD RUMORS SHOULD DIE,
BUT THEY NEVER FADE AWAY!
STReport is responding to this VERY OLD rumor once again, this is the
second appearnce of this rumor. Why? Once again, the rumors are flying
that the FCC is considering a "modem surcharge." This simply is NOT true.
Its amazing to find the rumor being revived periodically. Perhaps its
time for sysops of the Major Online Services to delete or place obvious
dates on these files? Seemingly everytime a newer user "discovers" this
file online, (the Jim Eason warning), off go the alarm bells all over
again with renewed vigor.
[Excerpt from STReport #401 January 05, 1990]
RUMOR ABOUT ALLEDGED FCC PROPOSED RULE
"A rumor is making the BBS rounds that the FCC is considering a prop-
osed rule to assess a surcharge on personal computer modem users accessing
the nation's telephone network. A telephone call to Ms. Jerri Payton,
Common Carrier Division, FCC, Telephone:(202) 632-7553, on 29 Dec 89, to
find out what the proposed rule number was. Ms. Payton stated no such
rule is under consideration. A similar rule, which was turned down, was
proposed over two years ago. No similar rules are pending or planned.
Over 257 people wrote in to the FCC (Dec-Jan 1989/90) concerning this
rumored proposal. The vast majority failed to provide their return ad-
dress so the FCC was unable respond directly to them. The FCC had issued
a number of press releases on Friday, 12/29/89, and/or Tuesday, 01/02/89,
discounting the rumor. The press releases were provided to both the
national and local media."
In conclusion, STReport called the FCC office of Regulation and
Enforcement and spoke to Mary Beth Hess spvsr., and Ms. Payton relative
to this entire matter. The FCC, Ms. Hess & Ms. Payton have expressed
full agreement with this article. And, at the same time, fully cleared
up this rumor business. It simply is not true. The FCC is not, at this
time, considering any proposals concerning modem surcharges.
_______________________________________________________
> The Flip Side STR Feature "....A different viewpoint"
=========================
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT
==================================
by Michael Lee
It seems that I inadvertently gave Jim Ness a new job last week. I mis-
takenly gave him credit for being a sysop on CIS. Sorry Jim.
That reminds me of something I've been wanting to discuss and that's
giving proper credit on each post. I dislike using 'handles' when giving
credit, but sometimes I have no choice. Each of the three major on-line
networks handle 'handles' differently. On CIS, handles are not allowed
at all, so I'm able to give you each person's full name. On Genie,
handles are allowed, but they also have an option so that a person can
use a 'nickname' next to their name or handle. For instance, someone
might go by the handle of STUSER but they can expand that to STUSER
[John Smith]. So many times I'm able to give them proper credit on their
posts. But on Delphi, handles are allowed and there is not an option for
'nicknames'. So when I don't know the correct name of the person
posting, or they don't 'sign' their posts, I am stuck with giving credit
to MAD MODIFIER or BLACKICE.
----------------
Comments about the new MaxiFile 3.0 from CodeHead Software by Gordie
Meyers (Sysop) on Delphi...
I got my upgrade to MaxiFile yesterday, and must say to the world
that I am _VERY_ impressed. Not only did Charles [Johnson] 'jazz' up
the graphic presentation of the program, but he added all kinds of
little goodies that make your file manipulation tasks ever-so-much
easier. Then he goes and makes the tie-in between ArcShell and
MaxiFile even more useful, by allowing the user to utilize MaxiFile
III to select the whole group of files you want to include in an
archive!
Boy! Either Charles is the laziest man in the world, always finding
an easier way to get things done, or he's some kind of programming
addict who doesn't know when to say 'Finished'! Either way, I applaud
him, and recommend MaxiFile to everyone. Especially if you have a
hard drive!
----------------
Question from Bill Devonshire on CIS...
Who sells MATRIX? What happened to the 24-bit color board [Lexicor]
was (are) developing?
Answer from Lee (Lexicor Software) on CIS...
RIO Computers is importing the MATRIX.
We are still working on our own 24-bit board which will be out this
summer some time. That release will depend on our software sales and
demand. Now that we have shipped our first programs to the manufac-
tures we have started on several neat utilities which will also
support the new 24-bit boards as well as the ISAC and ALBERT cards
from Dover Research.
----------------
Some questions and answers about hard drive utilities, Syquest drives
and the GCR from the Gadgets by Small RT on Genie...
Question from Mark Mills...
....Can I change Syquest disks during a session? I haven't been able
to get this to work. I have to restart to get the mac to read a
second Syquest disk.
Questions From Lee Herman....
I recently installed a SyQuest drive to use in Mac mode. I find that
cartridges formatted using Mirror technologies do not mount...Also, I
find that it is not possible to dismount one cartridge, and remount a
different one in the same session (ie. without exiting to ST mode and
re-entering Mac mode). This occurs even with cartridges formatted by
Spectre. It IS possible, however, to mount the second partition of
one cartridge when the one mounted first only had one partition...I
am unable to run any hard disk utilities from Mirror Tech, Alliance
Peripherals, or Silverlining. None of them can find the device....
Reply from STACE (Sysop)....
...Yes, you can change SyQuest carts during a session. However, both
cartridges must be formatted EXACTLY the same (same size and number
of partitions). To change carts, first eject all partitions (icons)
for the SyQuest cart. Then remove the SyQuest cart and install the
new one. Once the second cartridge is up to speed, hit Fx (x stands
for whatever function key is the proper one for your particular HD
and SyQuest setup). You *will* get an error box along the way. Simply
click thru it and hit the function key again.
Answer from Jeff. G....
...the reason the utilities from Mirror, Aliance, and Silver Lining
don't work is that they poll the Mac SCSI port to determine which
devices are hooked up. Since the ST doesn't have a SCSI port, they
won't work.
----------------
From Norm Weinress on Delphi...
If you are at all handy, the easiest way to upgrade [from single-
sided floppy drive to double-sided] is to reuse your SF354 case,
innards and power supply. Just buy a Teac double sided mechanism
(which goes for under $60) and use it to replace the old one. The new
mechanisms are thinner and the front opening looks different, so
you'll have to cut new holes in the front of the case. Usually, you
also must twist the ribbon cable so the connector is upside down from
the way it plugs onto the drive. The power connector at the drive is
OK as is.
----------------
Question from Frank S. Kish on CIS...
Does anyone know the Atari BBS # in Sunnyvale?
Answer from Bob Retelle (Sysop) on CIS...
...the numbers for the AtariBase BBS were recently changed. Here is
the new set:
(408) 745-2191 (408) 745-2193 (408) 745-2194
(408) 745-2195 (408) 745-2196
They say that the new numbers do not "bump" you to the next line if
the one you're calling is busy (like the old setup used to), so you
may have to try more than one to get through.
----------------
Comments about the TT from Terry Pack on CIS...
I got another chance to play with the TT and try out my favorite
games and it doesn't look good.
Dungeon Master and Chaos Strikes Back both run but run a little fast.
Gauntlet runs at about 3-5 times normal speed. You should see that
guy go! Nebulus crashes after loading the startup screen. Balance of
Power runs faster which doesn't affect play and cuts down on the
waiting at the end of each turn. DBASIC wont boot at all which does
not surprise me. (I'm probably the only one who still uses it any-
way.)
----------------
Question about the Quatum LPS105S hard drive from GHN (George) on the
Gadgets by Small RT on Genie...
...I have just replaced my Seagate 30meg hard drive with a new
Quantum LPS105S drive. All works well except parking the hard drive
from Mac mode. The busy light will flash constantly (and after
several minutes I reboot)....
Answer from Bob Shuster...
...most new drives are auto=parking, and I think it is generally
considered *not* a good idea to park them manually. I think you would
have a hard time finding a hard drive these days that was not auto-
parking.
Answer from Larry Rymal...
Your Quantum LPS105 auto parks. You don't have to mess with parking
it. When you kill power, it parks itself.
----------------
From SHUYLAR on Delphi...
I just got my Summer 91 issue of the DAK catalog and on page #8 and
#9 there is a laser printer that looks like it is almost an exact
SLM-804. It has 1-meg of RAM, 300 dpi, 8-ppm, 7 printer emulations,
and 39 bar-code languages. It also comes with 7 software packages
that look pretty good. TOTAL PRICE $699.00, extra toner $49.00, extra
drums $199.00. For IBM but it sure is interesting.
----------------
Question from J.J. Kiely on CIS...
...does anybody know of or can recommend a CAD program for the ST. As
a student it would have to be somewhat affordable. I need it to be
able to handle rudimentary design work - sketches almost of prototype
homes, towers, buildings etc. I already own Cad-3d and as such I
need something more rigid and less artistic.
Answer from Lee (Lexicor Software) on CIS...
CyberSculpt from ANTIC is the only other cad program that is "low" in
price. This is not a more precise program but it can create very
complex objects, so if you want a program that will help do the kind
of work you want this one may be what you want. The next possible
choice is from CSD and very expensive.
Answer from Bill Devonshire on CIS...
...A very good program, flexible, easy to use, GEM interfaced and
fully True Cad drafting is Beta CAD - and it's only $99.00. It is a
2d implementation, so if you are looking for a 3D Cad program it will
not do. DynaCad will though, very effectively, but it costs about
$500.00. CyberSculpt is an excellent 3D sculpting program (but no
dimensioning), it is more for animation projects, but you can sculpt
very complex objects with it and then port that object to DynaCad for
true dimensioning capabilities - very nice indeed.
----------------
Until next week.....
_______________________________________________________________
> STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date...
================================
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
=========================
On CompuServe
by Walter Daniel 75066,164
BJ Gleason found a small LISP (a language used widely in artificial
intelligence programming) interpreter that will run on the Portfolio.
Softwave LISP version 2.6 requires 38k of storage, but only 12k if com-
pressed with PKLITE. The interpreter is used in a book titled "The Eleme-
nts of Artificial Intelligence" by Steven L. Tanimoto that is published
by Computer Science Press. Softwave LISP is not included with the book;
order it from Softwave LISP, PO Box 31607, Seattle, WA 98103. Cost is
$38.
Text files with lists of all the files in all the forum libraries as
of April 22, 1991, were uploaded this week. CATALO.ARC must be extracted,
but is only about 55k in length. PF.CAT is an uncompressed version, but
is about 122k.
A small (12k) utility for extracting files from .ARC archives was
uploaded to library 1. The filename is PKXARC.COM. This program only
extracts from archives--it does not create new ones.
DIP, the British developers of the Portfolio, have made available text
files that contain the DIP Product Directory of Portfolio accessories
available in the UK. All files are in Portfolio Address Book (.ADR)
format. The uncompressed files are DIP-H.ADR, DIP-N.ADR, and DIP-S.ADR in
library 1. The three files can be merged into one large .ADR file if
desired. The same three files are in DIPCAT.ARC in library 1.
I've read many messages dealing with the configuration of the cable
required to transfer files between a Portfolio and a PC compatible using
the parallel interface and FT.COM. One forum member, after some exper-
imentation, discovered that only six wires need be connected. The diagram
of these connections is in FTCABL.TXT.
PORT.USE is a text file with keywords like "outdoor," waterproof," and
"forestry." I haven't read this file yet, but it sounds like yet another
unique use of the Portfolio.
________________________________________________________
> Maxifile Secrets! STR InfoFile INSIDE TRACK TO MAXIFILE III
==============================
**************************
* *
* Calling MaxiFile III *
* *
**************************
Documentation by Charles F. Johnson.
Last revision: Tuesday, April 16, 1991
Copyright 1991 CodeHead Software.
All Rights Reserved.
MaxiFile III is a tradename of CodeHead Software.
What This Is About
******************
This document describes the "back door" built into MaxiFile III,
CodeHead Software's powerful file/disk management utility. When
MaxiFile III is installed as a GEM desk accessory (or loaded into
CodeHead's MultiDesk), it is possible to inquire for its
presence, and call it with a simple subroutine jump. When
MaxiFile then returns to your calling application, it passes back
the address of a structure that can be used to allow you to
select multiple files in any directory, for whatever purpose your
application has in mind. To do this requires very little code,
and MaxiFile even gives you a pointer to an important subroutine
you can use to make things still easier.
The techniques described here require that MaxiFile version 3.0 or
later be installed as a desk accessory on the user's system.
One application that uses MaxiFile III in the manner described in
this document is ARC Shell 2.5, from Little Green Footballs
Software (not affiliated with CodeHead Software). ARC Shell
calls MaxiFile III to get a list of files to archive, all with
one action on the part of the user. ARC Shell even takes this
concept one step further, and lets the user hold Shift to reenter
MaxiFile, selecting more items from other directories. MaxiFile's
"multiple item selection" abilities can be very powerful.
How to Detect MaxiFile III
**************************
To find out if you can access MaxiFile III, your code must make a
TRAP #13 call, passing it a function number that is not defined
by the system's BIOS handler. This function code is 'M3' in
ASCII or $4D33 in hexadecimal. If MaxiFile III is present, it
detects this call and returns the address of its entry point (and
indirectly, a pointer to some other important data structures
too...more later). If MaxiFile III is not installed, the "bogus"
BIOS call returns with no harmful effects. (Honest. We checked
with Atari.)
Here's the code to detect MaxiFile III, in assembly language:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
movem.l d5,-(sp) ; Save register D5 for dumb C compilers
moveq #0,d5 ; Clear D5 in preparation
move #'M3',-(sp) ; Is MaxiFile 3.0 somewhere in the vicinity?
trap #13 ; Perform the trap
addq.l #2,sp ; Tidy up like a good little programmer
move.l d5,d0 ; Return the pointer (or zero) in D0
movem.l (sp)+,d5 ; Restore D5 (movem does not change the CCR!)
beq.s nope ; If D5 was still zero after the trap,
; then MaxiFile isn't here
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the comments describe, this code returns either a pointer to
MaxiFile III's entry point or zero to indicate that MaxiFile III
is not installed. MaxiFile returns its pointer in register D5
for a reason. Since D5 is not altered by the system BIOS handler
you can be sure that if the value changes, it was MaxiFile that
changed it. (Note: the code above, however, takes pains to
preserve D5 and return the pointer in D0, in deference to C-style
return conventions.)
One thing you'll probably want to do is set MaxiFile's path
before calling it, similar to setting the path for a fsel_input
call. The longword located four bytes before the address
returned by this TRAP #13 call contains a pointer to MaxiFile's
configuration buffer, which contains its source and destination
paths (zero-terminated, of course). MaxiFile's entry point,
then, looks something like this (in fact, it looks exactly like
this):
------------------------------------------------------------------------
dc.l max_config ; Pointer to MaxiFile III's config area
max_entry: ; Entry point returned by 'M3' BIOS call
.
. ; MaxiFile's code
.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The only areas of the MaxiFile configuration buffer that concern
an external program are the source and destination paths. These
are located right at the beginning of the buffer, immediately
after a longword version number. It's laid out like so:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
magic: dc.l 'MF30' ; MaxiFile's version # in ASCII
source: dcb.b 128,0 ; 128 bytes for the source path
dest: dcb.b 128,0 ; 128 bytes for the destination path
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you do want to change MaxiFile's source and/or destination
paths, it would be thoughtful and kind of you to save their
current contents and restore them when you're finished.
When you set MaxiFile's source and/or destination path, you must
keep in mind that paths are expected to adhere to a rigid format:
the path string must start with an uppercase drive letter,
followed by a colon and a backslash, and it must be terminated
with "*.*" plus a null byte.
This works:
C:\AUTO\DESKMGR\*.*
A:\*.*
This doesn't work:
\AUTO\DESKMGR\*.*
C:\AUTO\
C:\AUTO\*
*.*
C:\AUTO\DESKMGR\*.INF
a:\*.*
How to Call MaxiFile III
************************
Once you've determined that MaxiFile III is installed, and gotten
the address of its entry point, the next step you'll probably
want to take is to actually call the danged thing. This is just
as simple as finding out if it's around.
Here's the assembly code which calls MaxiFile through its back
door (assuming that the pointer returned from the code above has
been saved in the longword variable called "maxiback"):
------------------------------------------------------------------------
movem.l d1-a6,-(sp) ; MaxiFile does NOT save any registers!
move.l maxiback,d0 ; Get pointer to MaxiFile entry point
beq.s dont ; If MaxiFile isn't here, forget it
move.l d0,a0 ; Put the pointer where it does some good
move.l #'MFBD',d3 ; Magic longword
lea exit_text,a3 ; Pointer to text for 'EXIT' button
jsr (a0) ; Call MaxiFile ("HEY, MAXIFILE!")
dont: movem.l (sp)+,d1-a6 ; Restore everything except D0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first thing you need to know about calling MaxiFile is that
it doesn't save any registers. If preserving the 680x0 registers
is important to you, then you should be sure to save them before
calling MaxiFile III's back door entry point. The code above
does this; it saves all registers except D0. When MaxiFile III
returns to your calling code, register A0 holds a pointer to
MaxiFile's "return structure" -- more on this below.
You should make sure that you have plenty of stack space when you
call MaxiFile; we recommend a minimum of 8K. Depending on what
the user asks it to do, MaxiFile can be very "stack-hungry."
(Recursive routines are like that.)
MaxiFile can be called from either user or supervisor mode; if
you call it from supervisor mode, however, you must make sure
that there is a valid user stack pointer (USP) as well as a valid
supervisor stack pointer (SSP).
There are two parameters that _must_ be passed to MaxiFile III
when you call it. Both parameters must be present or MaxiFile
will crash. Those parameters are:
1) a "magic cookie" to tell MaxiFile it's being called from an
external program. That value is 'MFBD' in ASCII ($4D464244 in
hexadecimal), and it is passed in register D3.
2) a pointer to a text string, which MaxiFile will insert into
its 'EXIT' button to let the user know from whence it was
called. This text string can be a maximum of 5 bytes in
length, and must be zero-terminated. The pointer is passed to
MaxiFile in register A3.
MaxiFile III's Return Structure
*******************************
When it comes back from being called in the manner described
above, MaxiFile leaves register A0 pointing at a structure
containing information which can be used to discover which items
were selected by the user in the source directory when he/she
exited.
You don't _have_ to do anything with this return structure
information; it's provided in case you wish to use MaxiFile III
as a "multiple file selection" tool. If you want to allow the
user access to MaxiFile solely to take advantage of its file
management features, and ignore the return structure entirely,
there's nothing wrong with that.
In case you do want to use it, here's the MaxiFile return
structure:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
max_return:
ret_magic: ds.l 1 ; Magic version number
max_xywh: ds.w 4 ; Redraw coordinates
src_pointer: ds.l 1 ; Pointer to source path
dst_pointer: ds.l 1 ; Pointer to dest path
src_array: ds.l 1 ; Pointer to source array of pointers
dst_array: ds.l 1 ; Pointer to dest array of pointers
src_cnt: ds.w 1 ; Count of source names
dst_cnt: ds.w 1 ; Count of dest names
max_type: ds.w 1 ; Flag for dual display mode
struc_rtn: ds.l 1 ; Pointer to struc-DOS translation rtn
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are explanations of the various elements in this structure:
ret_magic (longword) A 4-letter ASCII value indicating the
version number of MaxiFile III. In version 3.0,
this longword is 'MF30'.
max_xywh (4 words) X, Y, Width, and Height coordinates of
the screen area "dirtied" by MaxiFile. These four
words are also returned as two longwords in
registers D0 and D1.
src_pointer (longword) Pointer to MaxiFile's source path. This
is the path MaxiFile was displaying in its source
directory when the user exited.
dst_pointer (longword) Pointer to destination path.
src_array (longword) Pointer to an array of longword pointers
to MaxiFile's "item structures," for the source
directory. MaxiFile's sort routines manipulate
this array of pointers; therefore, reading through
the pointer array consecutively will give you the
items in MaxiFile's current sorted order. This
array always contains valid information.
dst_array (longword) Pointer to an array of pointers to the
items in MaxiFile's destination directory. NOTE:
this array may or may not be valid, depending on
the state of max_type (see below).
src_cnt (word) Number of items in MaxiFile's source
directory. NOTE: this value could be zero.
dst_cnt (word) Number of items in the destination directory.
NOTE: may or may not be valid, depending on the
value of max_type (see below).
max_type (word) A flag indicating MaxiFile's "mode" at time
of exit. If this flag is zero, MaxiFile was in
"Source Only" mode, and dst_array and dst_cnt are
not valid. If the flag is one, MaxiFile was in
"Dual Display Mode" mode, and dst_array and dst_cnt
are valid.
struc_rtn (longword) Pointer to a subroutine that translates
item names from the "display" format used in
MaxiFile's item structures, to a GEMDOS format
suitable for file manipulations. The subroutine
requires two parameters, passed in A0 and A1: 1)
the address of the start of the item structure
containing the name to translate, and 2) the
address of an area where the translated
GEMDOS-format string will be stored.
MaxiFile III's "Item Structure"
*******************************
To find out which (if any) items were selected when the user
exited MaxiFile, it's necessary to look through MaxiFile's "item
structures." The entry labeled "src_array" above, contains a
pointer to an array of pointers to these structures. (Note the
two levels of indirection!)
Version 3.0 of MaxiFile has a limit of 400 files in any one
directory, so you should make allowances for a maximum of 400
possible selected items.
The MaxiFile "item structure" is as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
mfolder: ds.b 2 ; If folder, the 1st byte here is ASCII 7
mname: ds.b 8 ; Item name field
mspace: ds.b 1 ; A space separator (for display purposes)
mextension: ds.b 4 ; Extension field (zero-terminated)
mselect: ds.b 1 ; Selected flag (0=not selected)
mattrib: ds.w 1 ; File attributes
mdate: ds.w 1 ; Date stamp
mtime: ds.w 1 ; Time stamp
msize: ds.l 1 ; File size
mscalar: ds.w 0 ; Length of structure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Putting It All Together
***********************
Here's some sample code that demonstrates how to inquire for
MaxiFile's presence, call it, and use the return structure to
build an array of selected file/folder names. The first example
is in assembly, and it does not take any care to preserve
registers; if you wish to incorporate this code into a C program,
you'll have to be a bit more meticulous about this.
Following the assembly example is an example of the same sort of
code written in GFA Basic.
Assembly Code Example
*********************
* Example code to call MaxiFile and return multiple selected items
* By Charles F. Johnson
* April 16, 1991
* MaxiFile return structure
.ABS
max_return:
ret_magic: ds.l 1 ; Magic version number
max_xywh: ds.w 4 ; Redraw coordinates
src_pointer: ds.l 1 ; Pointer to source path
dst_pointer: ds.l 1 ; Pointer to dest path
src_array: ds.l 1 ; Pointer to source array of pointers
dst_array: ds.l 1 ; Pointer to dest array of pointers
src_cnt: ds.w 1 ; Count of source names
dst_cnt: ds.w 1 ; Count of dest names
max_type: ds.w 1 ; Flag for dual display mode
struc_rtn: ds.l 1 ; Pointer to struc-DOS translation rtn
ret_scalar: ds.w 0
* MaxiFile item structure
.ABS
max_item:
mfolder: ds.b 2 ; If folder, the 1st byte here is ASCII 7
mname: ds.b 8 ; Item name field
mspace: ds.b 1 ; A space separator (for display purposes)
mextension: ds.b 4 ; Extension field (zero-terminated)
mselect: ds.b 1 ; Selected flag (0=not selected)
mattrib: ds.w 1 ; File attributes
mdate: ds.w 1 ; Date stamp
mtime: ds.w 1 ; Time stamp
msize: ds.l 1 ; File size
mscalar: ds.w 0 ; Length of structure
* Start of code
.TEXT
.
.
. ; Initialization stuff here
.
.
moveq #0,d5 ; Clear D5 in preparation
move #'M3',-(sp) ; Is MaxiFile 3.0 around somewhere?
trap #13 ; Perform the trap
addq.l #2,sp ; Dat ol' stack magic
move.l d5,maxiback ; Save returned address (or zero)
.
.
. ; More code here
.
.
bsr callmaxi ; Go call MaxiFile
.
.
. ; Rest of the program
.
.
* Subroutine to call MaxiFile and build array of selected item pathnames
callmaxi:
move.l maxiback,d0 ; Get pointer to MaxiFile entry point
beq .exit ; If MaxiFile isn't here, forget it
move.l d0,a0 ; Move pointer to a0
move.l #'MFBD',d3 ; Magic longword (MaxiFile Back Door)
lea exit_text,a3 ; Pointer to string for 'EXIT' button
jsr (a0) ; Call MaxiFile
clr maxcount ; Clear count of selected items
move.l a0,a6 ; Save return structure in A6
move.l src_array(a6),a3 ; Pointer to Maxi's array of pointers
lea select_array,a4 ; Pointer to example array of pathnames
move src_cnt(a6),d5 ; Count of items in source directory
beq .exit ; If directory was empty, forget it
subq #1,d5 ; Subtract 1 to use as dbf counter
.loop: move.l (a3)+,a0 ; Get pointer from MaxiFile array
tst.b mselect(a0) ; Is this item selected?
beq .next ; If not, go check the next structure
addq #1,maxcount ; Increment count of selected items
move.l src_pointer(a6),a2 ; MaxiFile's source path
move.l a4,a1 ; Example's array of pathnames
.path1: move.b (a2)+,(a1)+ ; Copy the path until
bne .path1 ; a null is reached
.path2: cmp.b #'\',-(a1) ; Look back for the last backslash
bne .path2
addq #1,a1 ; First character past backslash
move.l struc_rtn(a6),a2 ; A0->item structure, A1->example array
jsr (a2) ; Call MaxiFile's translation routine
lea 80(a4),a4 ; Bump the pointer to example's array
.next: dbf d5,.loop ; Look through all the items
.exit: rts
* Data storage and variables
.DATA
exit_text: dc.b "YOW!" ; Text for MaxiFile's exit button
.BSS
maxiback: ds.l 1 ; Storage for MaxiFile backdoor pointer
maxcount: ds.w 1 ; Number of selected entries returned
select_array: ds.b 80*400 ; Array of selected items (complete
; pathnames)
; 80 bytes per item, 400 items maximum
; (for this example)
.END
GFA Basic (v3) Code Example
***************************
' Example code to call MaxiFile from GFA Basic 3
' Fills a string array with the filenames & folders selected by the user
' By John Eidsvoog
' April 16, 1991
'
DEFINT "a-z"
maxselect=20 ! Maximum number of selections
exit$="YOW!"+CHR$(0) ! Text for MaxiFile's exit button
DIM r(16),select_names$(maxselect)
'
' Assembly code to call trap #13 with opcode 'M3'
' move.w #'M3',-(sp) ; 3F3C 4D33
' trap #13 ; 4E4D
' addq.w #2,sp ; 544F
' rts ; 4E75
'
DATA &H3F,&H3C,&H4D,&H33,&H4E,&H4D,&H54,&H4F,&H4E,&H75
'
FOR x=1 TO 10 ! Read machine code into string
READ a
callmaxi$=callmaxi$+CHR$(a)
NEXT x
'
r(5)=0 ! Register D5
RCALL V:callmaxi$,r() ! Oh MaxiFile, are you there?
maxiback=r(5) ! Register D5
'
IF maxiback<>0 ! If MaxiFile is present
r(3)=&H4D464244 ! "MFBD" in register D3
r(11)=V:exit$ ! Pointer to 'EXIT' string in A3
RCALL maxiback,r() ! Call MaxiFile
src_cnt=CARD{r(8)+28} ! Number of items in source directory
src_array={r(8)+20} ! Pointer to Maxi's array of pointers
src_path$=CHAR{{r(8)+12}} ! Source path
src_path$=LEFT$(src_path$,RINSTR(src_path$,"\"))
struc_rtn={r(8)+34} ! Pointer to translation routine
count=0 ! Counter for selected items
FOR x=1 TO src_cnt
IF BYTE{{src_array}+15}=1 AND count<maxselect
INC count
a$=STRING$(16,0)
r(8)={src_array} ! Item structure in register A0
r(9)=V:a$ ! Work area in register A1
RCALL struc_rtn,r() ! Call the translation routine
select_names$(count)=src_path$+CHAR{V:a$}
IF BYTE{{src_array}}=7 ! Is it a folder?
select_names$(count)=select_names$(count)+"\"
ENDIF
ENDIF
ADD src_array,4 ! Next pointer in array
NEXT x
CLS
IF count=0
PRINT "No files selected."
ELSE
FOR x=1 TO count ! Print the list of selected files
PRINT select_names$(x)
NEXT x
ENDIF
VOID INP(2)
ELSE
PRINT "MaxiFile isn't here."
ENDIF
END
*********************************************************
* *
* This document is Copyright 1991 CodeHead Software. *
* All Rights Reserved. *
* *
* May be freely distributed in electronic form only, *
* and only if this ASCII text is complete and *
* unaltered in any way. This copyright notice MUST *
* be included. This document MAY NOT be reprinted or *
* used for commercial purposes without express *
* permission from CodeHead Software. *
* *
* For reprint permission or for more information, *
* contact: *
* *
* CodeHead Software *
* P.O. Box 74090 *
* Los Angeles, CA 90004 *
* Tel 213-386-5735 *
* Fax 213-386-5789 *
* *
* "the finest in productivity and utility software" *
* *
*********************************************************
_____________________________________________________________
> MAC REPORT?
==========
Issue #008
----------
by Robert Allbritton
MacNews
*** APPLE SHIPMENTS UP 85% IN SECOND QUARTER
In spite of its flat earnings, Apple computer shipped over 450,000
computers in its second quarter and predicted that they would ship 1.8
million computers in 1991 and 2.2 million computers in 1992. This is in
contrast to IBM who's sales dropped 17 percent for the same quarter.
*** APPLE WILL NOT BUNDLE SYSTEM 7 UNTIL SUMMER
System 7.0 is still on track towards its May 13 release date, but
Apple will not bundle the new operating system with new Macintosh com-
puters until early in the summer. Apparently Apple expects initial demand
for System 7 to outstrip supply and thus will use the current System 6.0.7
until System 7 is widely available from other sources. While Apple is
charging $99 for the new System 7, it is expected to be available from
user groups and BBS systems (but not large networks such as CompuServe)
without free telephone support.
*** ALDUS SALES UP $2.8 MILLION IN FIRST QUARTER
Aldus attributed most of its growth to PageMaker 4.0 for Windows and
the Mac, and also noted that Freehand 2.0 for Windows should be out soon.
*** APPLE TO SELL JAPANESE PRODUCTS IN U.S.A.
No, they are not importing Japanese computers, but rather selling
KanjiTalk, the Japanese version of the Macintosh operating system in the
United States. This follows a successful pilot test program in Hawaii and
is mainly targeted at Japanese companies who do business in the U.S. but
want a computer system that can deal logically with Japanese, something
the Mac does very well. Included in the new offerings are versions of
Microsoft, Aldus, Quark, and Claris applications that use KanjiTalk.
*** MICROSOFT STOCK DOWNGRADED BY MERRILL LYNCH
Stating the rapid growth of the stock, and its current high price,
Melinda Reach of Merrill Lynch downgraded Microsoft's rating from above
average to neutral in the intermediate term and downgraded the long term
rating from buy to above average. Other reasons stated were tough com-
petition for OS/2, the FTC's decision to broaden its inquiry on Microsoft
to cover potentially monopolistic business tactics and expanded lawsuits
from Apple Computer.
MACREVIEW
---------
A bit of bad news this week regarding The Chip Merchant. The Chip
Merchant is a mail order outfit located in San Diego, CA that deals stric-
tly in RAM Memory SIMMS. Now that the current ST and TT line from Atari
also take these SIMMS this story is of extra interest. The Chip Merchant
has long been the price barometer for memory in the Mac market: they
traditionally have the lowest prices available, and they accomplish this
by only dealing C.O.D. and shipping via UPS Ground with minimal packaging
and no tools or instructions. The Chip Merchant has always been known as
a bit short on service, but hey, their price is low. Well here is a story
from David Sternlight, a respected member of the Mac community, who posted
his experiences with The Chip Merchant on CompuServe...
#: 36429 S7/System Hardware
20-Apr-91 02:00:44
Sb: #Chip Merchant Horror
Fm: David Sternlight 70735,1161
To: All
I just had the worst business experience of my life. Based on their
advertising in MacWeek, whom I trust, I called them from Los Angeles and
ordered 8 4Mb SIMMS for my fx. I made it very clear I was coming from
L.A.and asked if they would take a check. The woman on the phone said as
long as it wasn't a P.O. Box address check, and I had ID, they would.
I drove for 2 hours to get to San Diego, and came in dressed neatly in
a business suit and tie. They first said they didn't have my order. When
I insisted I called they looked and found it and the SIMMS. I wrote a
check and they refused it. I told them of my phone conversation and the
man behind the counter went in back, came back and said they'd take it
after they checked with my bank to assure the funds. They did so, and
then asked for my drivers license (a perfectly valid California Photo ID
license.) I showed it. (It had 5 years to run). They then said they
wouldn't take my check unless I permitted them to Xerox the license. I
said I thought that might be illegal and that they were welcome to copy
any info down from it, but couldn't Xerox it. The clerk then tossed the
check back to me and brusquely refused it. I asked to speak to his super-
visor. He refused. I asked again. He went back and a large black man
came out. I asked him who he was and he said he was the owner. He refused
my check. I told him I had driven for two hours and his salesperson said
they'd take the check on the phone. He refused and threatened me physica-
lly. He started shouting and menacing me with his body and arms. I was
actually frightened he was going to beat me up. He then forced me out the
door and told me never to come back.
All this was witnessed at about 3pm today by a roomful of customers,
including a colleague who had driven down with me and stayed in the back-
ground. My colleague is prepared to testify to what I've said and that I
did nothing that would in any way warrant the threats or behavior. The
whole experience cost me 4 hours of my time and almost two tanks of gas.
I am considering what recourse I may have about this. I will die before I
ever buy from Chip Merchant. Readers may judge for themselves what they
wish to do.
Best;
David
With this in mind, it brings up a more theoretical argument: is it
better to pay a little less and get less service (Power without the price)
or is it better to pay more for the same product and get better service
and support?
Another personal tale to add to this is my Mac Portable. I recently
bought one used for a *VERY* nice price (less than a bare bones Stacy
would have cost me) but it did have one flaw: the battery was dead and
would not accept a charge. Even though I was not the original owner, and
the Mac Portable was out of warranty, when I took it to my Mac dealer he
special ordered me a new battery (value $75) and replaced it free. "This
was obviously a premature failure. Apple should replace it and I will make
sure they do," the Service Rep said. Then again, how much do low prices
really wind up costing us in the long run? You be the judge, and remember:
vote with your wallet.
_______________________________________________________________
> FAST TECH'S T20 STR InfoFile YES, SPECTRUM 512 works!!!!
============================
FAST TECHNOLOGY is PROUD to ANNOUNCE....
T20T20T20T20 T20 T20 T20T20T20 T20T20T20 T20T20T20
T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20
T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20
T20 T20 T20 T20T20T20 T20T20T20 T20 T20
T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20
T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20 T20
T20 T20T20T20 T20 T20 T20T20T20 T20T20T20
T20T20T20 T20T20T20
T20 T20 T20 T20
T20 T20 T20 *T20
T20 T20 T20
T20 T20 * T20
T20 T20 T20 * * * * *****
T20 T20 * T20 * * * * * * *
T20 T20 T20 * * * ***** *
T20 T20* T20 * * * * *
T20T20T20T20 T20T20T20 * * * * *****
The WORLD'S FASTEST 68000 ACCELERATOR!!!!!
******************************************
TURBO20 is the successor to the most popular Atari ST accelerator
ever...the TURBO16.
TURBO20 operates at the BLAZINGLY FAST speed of 20 Mhz, incorporates
a more sophisticated cache design, and includes a TRUE 8Mhz operating
mode for TOTAL hardware and software compatibility with all Atari ST
products.
YES, SPECTRUM 512 works!!!!
***************************
TURBO20 uses a 16K high speed static ram instruction/data cache to
help the 20Mhz processor buzz-saw through your software. Our CPUs are
specially selected 16Mhz Motorola 68000 chips which are rated to operate
in typical computing environments at 20Mhz. FAST TECHNOLOGY has been
testing 68000 reliability at high speeds-vs-temperature for many months
and we are confident that the TURBO20 will be completely reliable.
TURBO20 is the world's first truly GENERIC 68000 accelerator, and
with a single pal programming change, the TURBO20 can be used in ANY
68000 based computer. TURBO20 has been tested in the ST/STE, Amiga,
Mac Plus and Classic, HP9000, AlphaMicro, and many others. So if you
invest in a TURBO20 and later move to a different platform, you can
take the speed of the TURBO20 with you...just send it back for a
conversion.
TURBO20 uses all CMOS components to minimize power usage, and SMD
surface mount construction to maximize reliablility. FAST TECHNOLOGY's
quality manufacturing has proven itself in the over 1500 TURBO16 boards
installed around the world.
TURBO20 includes a hardware switch to allow selection at bootup of
either 8Mhz operation or 20Mhz operation. TURBO20 has also been designed
to support our future MegaSTE compatible autoswitcher, providing complete
compatibility with future MegaSTE autoswitching software...such as the
Extended Control Panel. On the fly switching of both cache enable and
operating frequency will be supported.
TURBO20 is designed for use in all ST/STE computers, the STE computers
require an optional adapter. Our STE adapter is in the test stage and
will be available in a few weeks.
TURBO20 has been specially tuned for use with High Resolution video
boards such as the ISAC, Moniterm, and Matrix boards. For DYNACADD users
FAST TECHNOLOGY has a special FPU version of TURBO20 that incorporates
the excellent JRI FPU coprocessor board for floating point performance
TWICE that of the MegaSTE.
TURBO20 installation in the ST computers requires a high degree of
technical skill to replace the 68000 processor with the provided high
quality socket. FAST TECHNOLOGY requests that you seek the assistance
of a dealer with a good technical department for the installation.
TURBO16 owners upgrading or STE users will find the TURBO20 an easy
install, simply PLUG IT IN!!! All you will require is a phillips head
screwdriver and a pair of needlenose pliers.
To Top it All Off!!!
********************
TURBO20 is bundled with TURBOST, the world famous "software blitter"
which brings out the best in any ST, especially one equiped with the
TURBO20.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
**********************
TURBO20 is considerably more complex than the TURBO16, and this
added complexity COSTS. But we have held the price of the TURBO20
down to $329.00 US.
The UPGRADE DEAL!!!!
********************
TURBO16 owners can take advantage of a limited time offer, to upgrade
to the new TURBO20 accelerator.
Simply purchase a TURBO20 directly from FAST TECHNOLOGY, install it,
then send us your TURBO16 board. FAST TECHNOLOGY will mark your TURBO16
and return it to you with a rebate of $89. You may then sell the TURBO16
to further reduce the cost of your upgrade.
FAST TECHNOLOGY will mark the board so that the same board doesn't
visit us too many times ;-) So act soon to take advantage of the
upgrade deal, the offer expires on July 1st, 1991.
The BOTTOM LINE----HOW FAST IS IT?
**********************************
The TURBO20 is 20-25% faster than 16Mhz 68000 speedups currently
available. This is especially true of the MegaSTE. The following
benchmarks are fairly familiar to most folks, all tests were run on a
Mega4 ST, in monochrome, with TOS 1.4 and blitter...unless stated
otherwise.
I wish to thank Darek M. of QuickST fame for his excellent QuickIndex
benchmark program, rev 2.1 which yeilds the following:
TURBO20
ST MegaST "16Mhz" TURBO20 1280x960
--------- -------- -------- --------- --------
w/TST w/TST w/TST w/TST w/TST
CPU Memory 100 100 165 200 200
CPU Register 100 100 204 254 254
CPU Divide 100 100 204 254 254
CPU Shift 100 100 208 259 259
Bios Text 100 330 110 329 169 534 195 680 659
Bios String 100 1338 106 1338 162 2001 187 2807 2526
Bios Scroll 100 136 132 138 139 144 142 145 24
Gem Draw 100 288 133 309 209 495 240 565 537
CODEHEAD's
ZOOMTEST 8.82sec 8.82sec 5.21sec 4.51sec
Dhrystones 1268 1268 2126 2586
TempusII
Scroll of
300K file 18secs 18secs 12secs 9secs
TURBO20 Combined with JRI's FPU
*******************************
Atari's MANDEL.PRG FPU chip demo:
MegaSTE w/FPU: 195secs, TURBO20 w/JRI FPU: 86secs
DYNACADD DEMO "OLS" screen regen- 4secs!! 4.5secs at 1280x960!!!
For those with Amigas
*********************
Using the AIBB2 benchmark: Amiga 500 w/1Meg FastRam, in stingy mode
AMIGA ADSPEED TURBO20
----- ------- -------
WRITE PIXEL 100 157.7 209.3
DHRHYSTONE 100 177.2 218.6
SORT 100 190.3 255.3
SEIVE 100 187.4 233.1
SAVAGE 100 170.5 232.6
MATRIX 100 202.2 277.7
***** The Punch Line *****
So that's the lowdown on the TURBO20. It's fast, inexpensive,
and all around awesome. As usual FAST TECHNOLOGY brings the highest
of high tech to the ST market, always first and always best. We will
be making adapters and some addons that will enhance TURBO20 further,
so you won't be left behind.
We are taking orders now, if you are interested either Email an
order to us on GEnie, or contact:
FAST TECHNOLOGY
P.O. Box 578
Andover Ma. 01810
(508)-475-3810
We will be giving priority to TURBO16 upgrades.
______________________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL? "ATARI NEWS FIRST!"
=====================
- Palatine, IL MISSIONWARE READY, WILLING AND ABLE!
------------
WELCOME TO MISSIONWARE SOFTWARE!
Missionware Software is a brand new company that will be focusing
it's development efforts for the Atari ST/STE/TT line of machines. We
herald from Palatine, Illinois, and plan to be around a long time, depen-
ding of course on your support for our products.
About The Company and it's Founder...
The President of Missionware Software is John Trautschold. John
has been programming computers of all types for over 15 years. His first
computer was the veritable Altair 8800 (which still runs by the way!)
Later, he moved on to MSDOS machines, and of course, the Atari ST line.
His experience ranges from assembler through C.
Through the present, John has worked in television and radio
broadcasting as an engineer, both hardware and software. In between the
time he spends programming the ST, he works for CBS Television in Chicago
(WBBM TV) as an engineer doing maintenance on high-end video tape and
graphics systems. Additionally, he's developed a number of hardware
software microcontrollers for use at CBS. When John isn't programming a
68000 in the ST, he's programming and designing around the 68HC11 micro-
controller.
About Our Products...
Missionware Software begins its existence with two packages.
lottODDS
The first is called "lottODDS" and is a lottery number generation
program. If you enjoy playing your state or local lottery, then this
program will make that much easier and more fun to boot! lottODDS (pronou-
nced "lotto odds") will help you maintain a database of numbers chosen
over the years, which can then be used either for generating numbers to
play (using 7 statistical and proprietary methods developed in house by
Missionware) or for your own statistical analysis.
lottODDS picks numbers using a "least" or "most" algorithm,
statistical averaging, "hot" numbers, and statistical "between",
"consecutive" and "pairs" match ups. But lottODDS does much more than
that! We've designed a special wheeling method that distributes the
numbers picked more evenly and over a greater and more flexible range than
any wheeling system yet developed. You have total control over how your
numbers will be distributed. But that's not all! The program also per-
mits you to enter your own numbers (if you wish to play birthdays, special
dates, or any special numbers you wish). It will also generate random
numbers (our own version of quick picks) and then permit you to wheel
them for best distribution.
Once the numbers to play have been chosen, by whatever method you
decide to use, you can now print them out for transfer to your lottery
playing tickets, or you can use the handy on-screen dialog to scroll
through the chosen number.
If you play a lot of games each week, lottODDS will also keep track
of the numbers you've played. When the actual numbers have been picked by
the lottery agency, all you have to do is enter those. lottODDS will then
do a comparison between those numbers and the ones it (or you) picked and
display the games that have matching numbers in them.
lottODDS permits you to play in lotteries that pick between 3 and 10
numbers out of a field of 99 numbers. And that covers any known lottery
currently in existence. You can also use the program to play multiple
lottery games...just load in the file for the game you wish to play, and
you're off! Everything is handled through the easy to control GEM inter-
face.
lottODDS is not copy protected (although you must "register" your
software before it can be used) and is usable on either a color or monoch-
rome system. It's also installable on your hard disk. The program lists
for $34.95 and can be purchased directly from Missionware Software.
Dealer distribution is also being setup, and for now you can also purchase
directly from Pacific Software Supply.
Printer Initializer
The second program available from Missionware Software is called the
"Printer Initializer". This is an ultra-handy utility program that's
actually two programs in one!
But first, just what is "Printer Initializer" and what can it do
for you? The programs (installation and desk accessory) give you
something you've *never* had before...quick, total, and *easy* control
over your printer's control functions. Now we know that most programs,
such as word processors and database programs, have printer configuration
menus. But for the most part, they're a pain to use and setup, and when
you need to make a quick change in font style, line spacing, etc. not only
do you need to remember how to do it within that program, but you probably
have to dig out the printer operations manual to look up the codes. That
all takes time, and time is what Printer Initializer gives back to you.
It's there, waiting for you at the click of the mouse. Want to change tab
spacing to 4 from within your spreadsheet? Good luck! With Printer
Initializer, it's easy!
So, what are the two programs you receive and how do they work? The
first is called "Printer Install" or "pinstall.prg". This is the program
you use to generate your own printer drivers. You can generate as many
drivers as you wish, although you'll be permitted to use only six later in
the desk accessory. You can generate multiple drivers for one printer or
for multiple printers. As you generate the drivers, you can easily test
the functions too...just to make sure that what you've created really
works! The printers can be used from either the parallel or serial port.
If you have multiple printers online (one to each port or through a selec-
tor switch) the program will automatically set internal printer output
redirection so that your GEM host program knows where to send it's printer
output.
The other part of the program is a desk accessory called, strangely
enough, "Printer Initializer", or "prt_init.acc". This is the program
you'd normally use on a day-to-day. The desk accessory is usable within
any GEM based program that permits the use of DA's When activated, you'll
see the same dialog screen that you saw when you initially configured your
drivers, but now, instead of doing the configuration, you'll be activating
the functions in your printer. that includes the output redirection bet-
ween serial and parallel ports discussed earlier.
The distribution disk includes two ready-made drivers, one for the
Epson FX80 series of printers, the other for those cute Kodak Diconix 150
portable printers.
The programs started out as an in-house utility for us at
Missionware, but quickly became so useful, we decided to polish it up and
offer it for sale. We think you'll quickly find the program
indispensable too, and at only $24.95, it's truly a bargain. As do all of
Missionware Software's products, these programs run in both monochrome and
color. Although not copy protected, you must "register" the program
before you can run it (a very simple software procedure!) and once regist-
ered, you can can use the programs on either a floppy or hard drive based
system. You can order this directly from Missionware Software, or through
the distribution network described earlier.
Demonstration Programs Available...
Demos are available of both of these programs. The demo itself
(based on Atari's DemoPlay program) will run in medium res color only,
although the programs themselves will run in either color or monochrome.
In both cases, the demo programs are fully functional except for being
able to save a file. You can find the lottODDS program uploaded as "lot-
tODDS.arc" and Printer Initializer uploaded as "prt_init.arc". Demos are
also available free of charge directly from Missionware Software. Just
send us a blank, formatted disk with a self-addressed stamped return
mailer and we'll get the demos out to you ASAP.
Our address is:
Missionware Software
354 N. Winston Drive
Palatine, IL 60067-4132
Thank you in advance for your support. We promise to support you as
well on most of the major online services. We're currently working on
setting up support on BIX, CompuServe and GEnie. See you there! Telep-
hone support is coming as well... Thank you, and we hope you enjoy Mis-
sionware Software products. Missionware Software is always looking for
products to sell and support...if you have a product you'd like to have us
consider publishing for you, please contact us either online or via our
address above. Thanks!
- Lake Oswego, OR WIDGETS! by Decker Saves Money!
ATARI SLM804 OWNERS!
ANNOUNCING:
"PHANTOM OF THE LASER " KIT
* Frustrated by the requirement that the laser printer MUST be on to use
your computer?!
* Tired of the fan noise, heat, & power consumption?
* Worried about the internal heat buildup when you use the "backdoor"
shutoff "FIX"?!
THE PHANTOM OF THE LASER KIT SOLVES ALL THESE PROBLEMS!!
The SLM804 remains off till you really need it to print!
The "PHANTOM" is installed inside the SLMC804 interface box permanently.
A 12 volt power cube supplies the "Phantom's" requirements.
Built with computer grade components.
"BULLETPROOF" Design! Currently used by major Atari developers. ("Dongle"
version)
Total system compatibility!
No more unplugging the interface cable just to play games!
The kit SHOULD be installed by qualified electronic techs or experienced
hackers ONLY!
$25.00 US Ground shipping prepaid (Continental North America) Air
shipping extra.
$40.00 US Installed at our shop. Shipping is the same as above.
WIDGETS BY DECKER*
2399 SW Palisades Crest Drive
Lake Oswego, OR. 97034 USA
Telephone 503-638-3940
- Hadley, MA GRIBNIF ANNOUNCES CARDFILE!
----------
GRIBNIF SOFTWARE ANNOUNCES CARDFILE 3,
AN EXITING NEW VERSION OF THIS AMAZING PROGRAM
Gribnif Software is proud to announce the release of the newest addition
to their software line:
*********************************************************************
* *
* CardFile 3 - The Personal Information Manager *
* *
*********************************************************************
This amazing program is a complete Rolodex style address book and phone
list manager. Each card holds up to 14 different fields of information.
A powerful "filter" feature lets you instantly find any specific address
or phone number.
Its powerful appointment calendar keeps track of all your appointments
and important dates. At the touch of a button, it will even print your
daily or weekly agenda. Never forget another birthday or meeting!
CardFile also can insert an address into your word processor, address
envelopes, print mailing labels, or even dial the phone. To make things
even more convenient, both program and desk accessory versions are
included to allow access to your data at all times.
CardFile data can easily be imported into your spreadsheet, mail merge,
and database software. It works with all Atari computers and even has
special hooks to interface with NeoDesk 3 - The Ultimate Desktop.
When you call CardFile, it displays its information in a convenient GEM
window with all the necessary control buttons clearly visible within its
window. This visual approach makes CardFile one of the easiest to use
programs of its class.
Owners of previous versions of CardFile should contact Gribnif Software
for complete upgrade information.
CardFile 3 is available immediately for $39.95 from Gribnif Software and
includes a complete, easy to read, manual. To order, either call us at
(413) 584-7887 or use the following order form:
==== CardFile 3 Order Form =====
Shipping Info:
Name: _______________________________ Company: ________________________
Address: _______________________________________________________________
Town: ______________________ State/Province: __________________________
Country: ___________________ Zip/Postal Code: _________________________
Daytime Phone Number: __________________________________________________
(In case we have any questions about your order)
Order Info:
CardFile 3 - Personal Information Manager.................. __$39.95__
Shipping & Handling (USA $2, Canada $3, Foreign $5)........ __________
If in Mass, please add 5% sales tax........................ __________
Total...................................................... __________
Payment Info:
Payment Method: Check ( ) MasterCard/Visa ( ) Money Order ( )
Credit Card #: ____________ - ____________ - ____________ - ____________
Expiration Date: ___ / ___ Bank card is issued by: ____________________
Cardholder's Name (exactly as on card): ________________________________
Cardholder's signature: ________________________________________________
Note: If paying by check or money order, be sure to enclose payment in
U.S. funds issued on a U.S. Bank (or U.S. Branch). We cannot take
payment on checks issued in a foreign bank (even if it is in U.S.
funds).
Mail To:
Attn: CardFile Orders
Gribnif Software
P.O. Box 350
Hadley, MA 01035
Expect about 2-3 weeks to receive your order. If you have any ques-
tions,
please feel free to contact us at (413) 584-7887. We would be glad to
answer any questions you might have.
==============================
CardFile is a trademark of GT Software. NeoDesk is a registered
trademark of Gribnif Software. All other trademarks belong to their
respective holders. CardFile is exclusively marketed and distributed by
Gribnif Software. All Rights Reserved.
- London, UK TQM ANNOUNCES UNIQUE HARD DISK ACC'Y!
----------
=====================================
TQM ANNOUNCES STREE
THE ADVANCED HARD DISK SCAN ACCESSORY
=====================================
There's a file you *know* is on your hard disk somewhere but you can't
remember just where. Looks like it's time to dig out that unfriendly TTP
file finder. If you can remember where that is, and what you're supposed
to type in the launch box.
Or maybe installing a big new application has gone wrong. It seems to
have created new folders and files on several partitions, but you're not
sure what they're called or where they are. Looks like you'll have use the
desktop to check each folder in turn. Or perhaps you could dig out that
command line shell and work out a simpler way to do it. Perhaps not...
Makes you wonder why you bought a machine with a user-friendly graphi-
cal user interface.
Maybe you should be using STree.
STree is an amazing new desktop accessory for the Atari ST/STE/TT
which lets you search for files on your hard disk matching a specifica-
tion and then manipulate them using a TT style desktop.
Just click on STree in the accessory menu and up pops a dialog box.
You can then enter your search specification, including:-
o File mask with full Unix(tm) style wildcarding.
o Drive partitions to search.
o Path to start searching from on each drive.
o Depth of folders to search down to.
o File attributes (read only, hidden, system & archive).
o Date stamp range.
o Time stamp range.
o File size range.
o ASCII or hex strings to search for within a file.
STree will then begin its search, building up a list of matching
files. Once this is complete, a window will open containing the list.
From here you can carry out all the standard file operations, just like
the Desktop: copy, move, delete, print, rename, change file attributes,
text file view, saving and printing the file list as well as being able
to sort the list by folder, filename, type, date and size. And there's
the same keyboard shortcuts you'll find on Atari's new desktop.
If you've got a hard disk then you *need* STree. And even better,
it's low-priced shareware! Look out for it soon on your favourite online
service.
TQM Communications
BCM Box 225
London
WC1N 3XX
England
Tel / Fax: +44 81 509 0729
Usenet: steveh%tharr.uucp@ukc.ac.uk
Dialcom: 10074:MIK1278
- Salem, MA GFA-BASIC ATARI USERS -> 50% DISCOUNT
---------
GFA ANNOUNCES A 50% DISCOUNT
ON
GFA-BASIC FOR MS-DOS FOR ALL ST USERS!!
Salem, Ma. April 1991. GFA Software Technologies, Inc today
announced the availability of GFA-BASIC for MS-DOS to all registered
GFA-BASIC Atari users for a 50% discount from the List Price. In
effect, GFA is treating GFA-BASIC for MS-DOS as an upgrade to all Atari
GFA customers.
The new version of GFA-BASIC for MS-DOS means you can apply the
programming know how you already have on your ST to the PC. That's
right, the GFA-BASIC programs you have designed for your Atari will now
work on an IBM computer. With this new GFA-BASIC, you get the familiar
intuitive syntax you know and the very best BASIC you can buy for DOS.
GFA-BASIC for MS-DOS gives you over 70 commands that that were
brought over from GEM on the Atari like menu-bars, windows, pop-ups,
dialog boxes, and alert boxes. Graphical operations that would take
pages of ordinary BASIC or "C" code take only a single line in GFA-BASIC.
Some features of The PC version include:
*Contains more than 500 Commands and Functions.
*Includes very fast Interpreter function as well as editor
*Compact program size under 250 KB--Hard disk NOT required
*Easy installation with DOS "COPY" function
*Contains many standard commands for creating standard graphic
user interfaces such as menu-bars, windows, alert-boxes, and
pull-down menus, etc... Additional toolboxes are NOT required
*Supports all standard graphic cards (CGA, HGC, EGA, VGA) in a
resolution of up to 800x600 pixels in 16 colors without the need
for external drivers
*Permits the use of EMS which allows the programs to have access
to memory beyond 640 KB
*Contains many special mathematical commands and functions for
linear algebra, statistics, and trigonometry to create technical
and scientific applications. A special math library is NOT
required.
*Makes use of 8087/287/387 math co-processors, if available
*Supports swapping of data on hard disk
*Supports strings and arrays larger than 64 KB
*Easy and fast access to all MS-DOS interrupt functions
*Large list of Input-Output commands
*Upward compatible with ALL other versions of GFA-BASIC (Including
Windows 3.0 version) except for hardware and system dependent
commands
The regular list price for the 8086/88/286 version is $249; $295
for the 386 version. For a limited time, GFA will allow ST users to
upgrade to the IBM version for a 50% Discount from these prices!
This special offer is only available directly by phone or Fax.
For more information contact:
GFA Software Technologies, Inc.
27 Congress Street
Salem, MA 01970
Tel: 508-744-0201 Fax: 508-744-8041
VISA/MasterCard accepted
__________________________________________________________________
> Hard Disks STR InfoFile TAX TIME SPECIAL OFFERINGS!....
=======================
NEW LOW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!!
===============================
>> INCOME TAX REFUND SPECIALS <<
** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! **
ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
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).
*-ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE-*
(you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!)
(all cables and connectors installed)
* ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
* ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED *
* SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS *
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
Conventional Shoe Box
ADD 35.00 for 4 BAY TURBO Cabinet w/250w PS
Model Description Autopark Price
==================================================
SGN3038 31Mb 28ms 3.5" Y 419.00
SGN4951 51Mb 28ms 3.5" Y 479.00
SGN6277 65Mb 24ms 5.25" Y 519.00
SGN6177 62Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 549.00
SGN1096 85Mb 24ms 5.25" Y 589.00
SGN1098 96mb 25ms 3.5" Y 719.00
SGN2055 105mb 19ms 3.5" Y 889.00
SGN6277 120Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 929.00
SGN1296 168Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 1069.00
SGN4077 230Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 1669.00
==================================================
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
---- FOR USE IN MEGA, MEGA STe & TT030 SYSTEMS ----
>>>> 96mb SCSI HARD DRIVE Mech 25-28ms 3.5" ...ONLY $349.00!! <<<<
16mhz CPU UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED
ABCO is now taking orders for MEGA STe Computers!
Call for special Introductory prices!
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
>>> ALL ABCO DRIVES ARE HIGH SPEED UNITS <<<
(500 - 600k per sec @ 16 - 33ms)
CALL FOR SUPER SAVINGS ON ALL OUR OTHER CUSTOM UNITS
FROM 30mb 28MS @ $419.00!
--==*==--
* SYQUEST 44MB (#555)>> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *
- SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADVANTAGE PLUS H/A
- ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable
- Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply
(1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
--->> SPECIAL NOW ONLY __$ 685.00__ <<---
EXTRA CARTS: $ 78.95
DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 349.95
* 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
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
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 - (Custom Configurations)
*>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<*
- Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets -
* SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 *
Replacement Drums; $183.95
MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
-* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
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
ABCO is EXPANDING!! CALL FOR INFORMATION!
____________________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote"?
==================
"IMITATION IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF FLATTERY!"
Zaphod Flapjaw
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STReport International Online Magazine
Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport? "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" April 26, 1991
16/32bit Magazine copyright = 1987-91 No.7.17
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors, staff, STReport? CPU/MAC/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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