ST Report: 25-Sep-92 #839
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 09/25/92-11:17:16 PM Z
From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 25-Sep-92 #839
Date: Fri Sep 25 23:17:16 1992
*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
from
STR Publishing
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September 25, 1992 No.8.39
==========================================================================
STReport International Online Magazine
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida
32205 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
-----------------------------------------
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_____________________________________________________________________
> 09/25/92 STR 839 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
""""""""""""""""
- The Editor's Desk - CPU Report - PORTFOLIO NEWS
- Apple & Mot w/radio - 64m PCs IN USE - WAACE'92 NEWS
- Gemvelope! - People Talk - Treasure Chest
- Codehead Conf. - BCS Online - Extra BCS Coverage
-* EYEWITNESS BCS FALCON COVERAGE! *-
-* FALCON DOORPRIZE @ BCS! *-
-* SOFTWARE BUNDLED W/FALCON030 *-
==========================================================================
ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
The Original * Independent * Online Magazine
-* FEATURING WEEKLY *-
"Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
==========================================================================
STReport's BBS, The Bounty, invites BBS systems, worldwide, to participate
in the Fido/TurboNet/Atari F-Net Mail Network. You may also call our BBS
direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging information
relative to the Atari and other computers worldwide through the use of
excellent International Messaging Networks. SysOps, worldwide, are quite
welcome to join the STReport International Conferences. The Crossnet Code
is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is # 350. All BBS systems are welcome and
invited to actively participate. Support Atari Computers; Join Today!
==========================================================================
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COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers of;
ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
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"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (September 25)
GEO DISK SPHERE AND SURFACE PROGRAM
Download file GEODSC.LZH from LIBRARY 14 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO
ATARIARTS) for a program that was written for the love of perfect symmetry
and the beauty of geodesic domes. This is a program that allows one to
create spherical triangles. Also contains a move movie feature for
rotating the objects ... its great way to learn about surfaces, geometry
and all of the fun things in math.
USERS GROUP/BBS LISTING AVAILABLE...
Download the following files from LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Productivity
Forum (GO ATARIPRO):
ACUGAK.TXT - Atari Classics magazine Atari User Group listing (listings
for states A-K)
ACUGLZ.TXT - Atari Classics magazine Atari User Group listing (listings
for states L-Z)
ACBBS.TXT - Atari Classics magazine Atari 8-bit/ST National BBS listing.
SUPRA MODEM INFORMATION/ORDER FORM
A revised version of Supra's UPGRAD.TXT file (containing information and
order form for SupraFaxModem V32/V32bis ROM upgrades for registered
owners) is now available in LIBRARY 15 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO
ATARIVEN).
BILL REHBOCK CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
Many thanks to everyone who attended the Bill Rehbock conference! The
transcript has been posted as file FALCO.TXT in LIBRARY 15 of the Atari
Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS)
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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> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
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The unveiling of the Falcon030 in Boston Mass. at the Boston Computer
Society was quite the "computing event" in North America. Its sad to see
the attendance was somewhat disappointing. Undaunted, Atari proudly
offered a Falcon030 computer for the door prize at the event despite
there being less than 150 people (approx) in attendance. That makes two
Falcons donated as prizes in the last month. It appears Atari is on a
mission, a mission to ensure the Atari community and the computing
community in general is made very well aware of the Falcon. With the
WAACE'92 Atarifest occurring in a few weeks, one can't help but wonder if
Atari will do the right thing and provide a Falcon as a prize and support
personnel for this great east coast show. Only time will tell. We feel
this will happen as its the right thing to do.
On another note, it was brought to our attention that one of our
colleagues published a blurb with 'low-ball' pricing contained therein.
In retrospect, we feel this was a simple oversight that occurred while the
issue was being pieced together. STReport has its own policy regarding
the posting of obviously 'too-low' pricing, it is to be avoided. Our
reasons are quite simple, there are precious few dealers left in the Atari
community we do not wish to be counted among those who helped drive the
remaining few away.
It was explained to us as to why some dealers were quite upset. It was
because the posted pricing was very low. Also, it was brought to our
attention about those who answered the serious dealer complaint, in
category 15 in GEnie's Atari ST RT, also found time to take cheap shots at
STReport in an obviously lame attempt at sidetracking the issues before
them.
STReport is aware of the entire incident and we chose to not only
ignore the shots taken at us but to ignore the folly of our colleague's
attempts at blithely explaining away the problem. Its time, as was stated
by the RT sysop, to "ignore the old tape" and begin anew.
WAACE is coming up. The east is preparing to celebrate "ALL THINGS
ATARI". If you've always wondered what a fun computer show is like, make
it your business to attend this show and see all the wonders at WAACE.
Ralph @ STReport International Online Magazine
THE STORM IS BREWING!
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STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
""""""""""""""""
Publisher - Editor
""""""""""""""""""
Ralph F. Mariano
PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION
----------- -------------- ------------
Roger D. Stevens Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON
STReport Staff Editors:
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Lloyd E. Pulley Sr. Dana P. Jacobson Michael Arthur
Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Judith Hamner
John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando
Steve Spivey Doyle C. Helms
Contributing Correspondents:
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Michael Lee Richard Covert John Deegan
Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Tim Holt
Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Harry Steele
Ben Hamilton Neil Bradley Eric Jerue
Ron Deal Robert Dean Ed Westhusing
James Nolan Vernon W. Smith Bruno Puglia
Clemens Chin
IMPORTANT NOTICE
""""""""""""""""
Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
via E-Mail to:
Compuserve.................... 70007,4454
Delphi........................ RMARIANO
BIX........................... RMARIANO
FIDONET....................... 112/35
FNET.......................... NODE 350
NEST.......................... 90:19/350.0
GEnie......................... ST-REPORT
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"There is no comparison! The Atari Falcon
is far superior to the PC platform."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
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> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
=================
Issue #39
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
-- Apple, Motorola Enter Technology Agreement
Apple Computer and Motorola have agreed to jointly develop new wireless
radio technology for personal communications devices.
Motorola said its NewStream-based radio receiver would be incorporated
with Apple's Newton person digital assistant now under development. The
two companies said that by combining technologies they can take a step
toward providing ready access to value-added wireless information
systems.
-- Microsoft and HP to Develop Printer Standards
Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard announced this week that they will jointly
develop standards to optimize printing on HP LaserJet and HP DeskJet
printers through Microsoft Windows.
The two companies said the agreement covers following goals:
-:- to optimize printing and bidirectional communication under Windows.
-:- to develop higher-speed interfaces for bidirectional communication.
-:- to share resources and experience to maintain high levels of
satisfaction among Windows and HP LaserJet printer users.
-- Four Million Excels Shipped
Microsoft Corp. said that it has shipped more than four million copies
of it's Excel spreadsheet. Microsoft added, "On the Microsoft Windows
operating system platform, more than one million former Lotus 1-2-3 for
MS-DOS users have switched to Microsoft Excel." The publisher also said
worldwide shipments have more than doubled from 1991 to 1992.
-- IBM and Intel Develop Deigital Video Technology
IBM Corp. and Intel Corp. this week announced plans for digital video
(DVI) technology that will include enhancements to Actionmedia and their
continuing partnership in the joint development of DVI.
DVI technology allows digital full- motion video and audio to be com-
pressed, stored and displayed on '386 and '486 computers with graphics,
still pictures and text.
DVI enhancements that IBM is planning include microcode improvements and
enhanced software interfaces for developers and should support standards
for stored video, videoconferencing and still images.
In addition, IBM will release a new version of real time video software
that will allow software-only playback on 486 platforms at reduced
resolution and frame rate. It will also run at full resolution and frame
rate when played through the Intel's Actionmedia II adapter.
-- 64 Million PC's in Use
New data from Northbrook, Ill., researchers at PC Watch indicates more
than 64 million Americans now regularly use personal computers either at
home, at school or at work.
"It is interesting for us to learn that so many Americans find the
personal computer to be a necessity, and that they use it both on and
off the job," said Scott Johnson, president of Tech Scan, which launched
PC Watch in June to gather industry statistics. "It certainly appears
hardware and software manufacturers are battling for market share."
According to a statement from the company, 34% of all U.S. households
now regularly use an IBM or compatible or an Apple Macintosh PC.
Johnson said IBM PC compatible and Mac users are quite different demo-
graphically from non-users because they tend to be younger, are more
likely to have children under 18 years of age, and have more education
and greater incomes than non-users.
The PC Watch survey found:
-:- Four-in-five PC/Mac users own an IBM or IBM-compatible PC. About
one in 20 (5%) use a Mac only, with 13% using both PCs and Macs.
-:- About three-fourths of PC/Mac users have a word processing program
installed. Roughly one-half have a spreadsheet installed, with 40%
having a database. No more than one-third of PC/Mac users have any
other type of software.
-:- On average, PC/Mac users have been using their computers for five
years, and use it about 18 hours per week. However, only one in
five consider themselves an advanced or expert software user.
-:- About 25% regularly read a computer publication. Windows users are
more likely to read a PC magazine relative to non-users.
-:- The work-at-home, recreational and educational market account for
about 30% of end-users, small companies 27%, medium companies 18%,
and large companies 29%
______________________________________________________________
> WAACE'92 STR SHOW NEWS "THE PREMIER EAST COAST SHOW!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
WAACE'92 AtariFest Press Release
================================
25 September 1992
GENERAL INFO:
The Washington Area Atari Computer Enthusiasts (WAACE) extend to you
our personal invitation to attend AtariFest '92.
The "Premier East Coast Atari Show" will be held this year on the 10th
and 11th of October in the exposition facilities of:
The Sheraton Reston Hotel
11976 Sunset Hill Road
Reston, VA 22070.
This fine convention facility is located just a few miles west of
Washington, DC about midway to Dulles International Airport.
Those of you who have attended prior shows know what to expect, and we
ask that you spread the word to others. To those who have attended
previously the associated Washington area user groups extend a heartfelt
"Welcome Back".
Admission is a paltry $5.00 per day, or you may obtain a two day pass
for $8.00.
Top rank vendors and developers will be exhibiting their wares.
Codehead, Gribnif, ICD, DMC Publishing (formerly ISD), Joppa, MegaType,
Missionware, Toad, and over 40 others will be in attendance. Free
seminars are scheduled, along with many demonstrations in our demo rooms.
A gamer's paradise is in the works, and for music aficionados, a great
MIDI room featuring live performances, demonstrations, and special deals
from local music stores. Want to check out the Falcon? See it here in
yearling plumage and flying! Door prizes? You betcha. You've got to plug
in to this event!
For additional general information you may call Russell Brown at
703-803-6126, or contact Ken Fassler or Betty Burchell at 301-229-1886.
HOTEL INFO:
----------
The Sheraton Reston has made special provisions for 'Fest attendees.
Greatly reduced rates of $59/day (single or double occupancy), and $66
(triple or quad) are being offered. These rates are available from
October 8th through the 11th, but you must mention AtariFest '92 to be
eligible. Reservations may be made by calling 1-800-392-ROOM, or
703-620-9000. Rooms are going fast so make those reservations soon!
DIRECTIONS:
===========
VIA Plane
----------
Fly to Dulles Airport and complimentary hotel shuttle.
Via Train
----------
Take Train to Washington Union Station then transfer to the RED
Metro train marked "Shady Grove" and go to the Metro Center stop.
Transfer to the Orange Metro train marked "Vienna" and get off at the
West Falls Church Stop. Catch the Metro Bus marked "5S" and
"Reston/Herndon". Get off at the stop marked "Colt's Neck Road and
Sunrise Valley". Proceed to the Sheraton Reston Hotel.
Via Auto
--------
Take the Capital Beltway, I-495 to Exit 12W to Washington Dulles
Airport. Take the Washington Dulles Toll Road (Rte 267) Exit. Follow
the Dulles Toll Road to the Reston Parkway, Exit 3. Turn left at the
Traffic light onto Reston Parkway. Turn left again at the 2nd light
onto Sunrise Valley Dr. Follow Sunrise Valley Dr. to the Sheraton
Reston on the left.
BANQUET:
--------
The Banquet will be Saturday night with cocktails at 6:30 pm and dinner
at 8:00 pm. The WAACE Banquet has always been a great place to meet and
dine with the Atari worlds most famous developers authors, and just plain
folks. For tickets contact Bob Janice at GEnie R.Janice or phone (703)
222-0318. Hurry, tickets are going FAST!
VENDORS:
--------
The following Vendors are scheduled to attend the 1992 WAACE
AtariFest.
Lexicor Software Corporation * eSTeem
Joppa Computer Products * Gribnif
Rising Star Computers * MegaType
Missionware Software * Codehead
Unicorn Pub.(A.I.M.) * WizWorks!
Step Ahead Software * SKWare One
Mars Merchandising *
Taylor Ridge Books * CompuServe
D M C Publishing * Maxwell CPU
Barefoot Software * ST Informer
Debonair Software * Accusoft ST
A B C Solutions * Fair Dinkum
Compucellar West * WizzTronics
* BaggettaWare
Oregon Research * D.A.Brumleve
Dragon Software * Current Notes
Computer Studio * Clear Thinking
FAST Technology * Toad Computers
J M G Software * ( WHO'S NEXT ? )
Call DTACK (Ken or Betty )about consignment opportunities at:
(301) 229-1886 !!!
PUBLICITY:
----------
In addition to our print magazine advertising and the on line
services, and as a means to say hello to our Atari friends in foreign
lands, the WAACE AtariFest '92 is reaching out around the world on the
international shortwave radio bands. You may hear our advertisements by
tuning to the broadcasts of Radio New York International (RNI) in the 41
meter band at 7435 KHz between the hours of 0100 and 0500 UTC on the 7th,
14th, 21st, 28th of September, and on the 5th of October, 1992. In the
United States, these hours translate to 9:00pm until 1:00am EST, on the
6th, 13th, 20th and 27th of September, and on the 4th of October, 1992.
SEMINARS:
---------
For many years now the WAACE show has included a seminar series as a
way to educate as well as to entertain our audience. The offerings listed
below reflect the desire of the WAACE committee to help Atari users get
the most out of their computers. Enjoy.
WAACE Seminar Schedule - Ver 2.0
23 September 1992
Saturday - 11 October 1992
--------------------------
1100 - The 30 Second Commute - Don & Carole Terp
The authors of a new book tell how they run Read Mountain Press out of
their home with the help of Atari computers and DTP hardware and
software. Look for their new book.
1200 - Tele-Media on the Atari Platform - C. Smeton, Joppa SoftwareDev
The developer of STraight FAX describes how techonological advances in
Digital Signal Processing and semiconductor design are bringing "Power
Without The Price" to FAX, Voice Mail, and Caller ID services using
Atari's ST/STe/TT and Falcon 030 computers.
1300 - Professional CADD Using DynaCADD -S. Winick, Computer STudio
The owner of Computer STudio, who is also a registered architect,
will demonstrate why he chooses DynaCADD on a TT/030 to fulfill his
high-powered CADD workstation requirements.
1400 - A Few Little Extras for Your ST - Steve Cohen - Wizztronics
Want to switch between TOS ROM sets? How about selecting which
cartridge to run using software? Or maybe you have more than one
printer.
1430 - EditTrack Gold - Jeff Naideau, Barefoot Software
Professional musicians demonstrate MIDI sequencing as used in live
performances and studio work.
1500 - Fun with Calamus SL - Mario Georgiou, DMC Software
DMC's DTP expert offers entertaining hints and kinks for getting the
most out of your Atari based workstation for Desktop Publishing.
Whether you use dot-matrix, a laser printer,or four-color film
separations you'll want to attend this seminar.
1600 - The Online Experience - Using the major services
Representatives from Compuserve, GEnie, and Delphi tell how to get
computer help and enrich your life in general by using the online
services.
1700 - STReport International Online Magazine
The publisher and staff of the liveliest online magazine with news and
views for the Atari computer user and enthusiasts alike will be onhand
to to answer your questions. The topics will range from the future of
Atari to the new product offerings.
Sunday - 12 October 1992
--------------------------
1100 - Professional MIDI with Cubase - Mike Cloninger, Computer STudio
This seminar will describe the wide-ranging capabilities of Cubase 3.0
as used with a TT/030. Additional MIDI gear will include several KAWAI
keyboards, a ROLAND drum machine, and various effect processors.
1200 - Souping Up Your Old ST - Panel
Jim Allen, Dave Small, and Dave Troy with the latest on accelerators,
network cards, memory add-ons, and disk drives for getting some extra
mileage out of your old ST computers.
1300 - Getting the Most from Your Modem - Telecomm Software Overview Panel
How to choose the best telecommunications software. Terminal
emulations, file downloading, text capture, and scripting capabilities
will be discussed by authors and users of telecommunications programs.
1400 - Meet Atari's Falcon030 (Panel Discussion)
Developers who have been fortunate enoughto have access to the newest
line of Ataricomputers will describe the machines andtheir
capabilities.
1500 - Meet the Atari Press
Question the folks who bring you the news in print. Meet with the
publishers and staffers of AIM, Current Notes, and any others who
happen to be on hand.
CONTACTS:
Phone... Russ Brown at 703-803-6126 for General info.
Bob Janice at 703-222-0318 for Banquet Info.
Ken Fassler at 301-229-1886 for Vendor Info.
Online contacts are:
CIS: Richard Gunter 70117,2565.
GEnie: R.BROWN127
Delphi: JDBARNES
Internet: Johnbarnes@enh.nist.gov
From everyone making preparations for the WAACE AtariFest 92, we wish
all our friends around the world the best of everything.
SEE YOU AT THE FEST!!!
________________________________________________________________
> ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
=====================
On CompuServe
-------------
compiled by Joe Mirando
From The Atari Productivity Forum
=================================
The first order of business this week is that pesky ST FORMAT version
of SPECTRUM 512. For anyone who doesn't know, ST FORMAT is the premier ST
magazine in Great Britain. Every month they provide at least one disk
(for the past several months there have been two disks) chock full of
programs for the ST. Last week Daniel Biron asked if anyone else was
having trouble with SPECTRUM 512, which was provided on this month's cover
disk. I also had experienced problems with SPECTRUM and was anxious to
find out if it was a problem with the disk itself or if I was doing
something wrong.
I had tried to run the program on several different machine/TOS
versions, all with the same effect: The work screen, which is supposed to
be black, displayed a series of diagonal orange bands and pictures would
not display correctly. It began to look like the disk was at fault.
Continue through this stale monologue, dear reader, and see the old adage
about the simple explanation being the best proven. Daniel tells Dazzz
Smith:
"Spectrum from ST Format does not work at all. The images I load are
all fouled up. Is it only me?"
Dazzz, being the helpful type, says:
"I'll check my copy Daniel and let you know, what computer/TOS have
you got."
Daniel replies:
"I have an 1040 STf with a SC 1435 monitor; I think I have TOS 1.02."
Dazzz tries his copy of the ST Format disk and says:
"Well i've just tried my copy of Spectrum 512 from the cover disk and
it works fine on my 520 STM TOS 1.4 and 2.5 meg memory."
Rob Huggins tells Daniel:
"I have that disk and it is working for me - maybe someone used X-ray
glasses on your copy of the mag??"
Not to be outdone, Daniel tells Rob:
"I hope the guy who X-rayed it got a whole "spectrum" of headaches!"
Okay folks, here it comes. Remember that I said that SPECTRUM 512
came on the ST FORMAT cover disk? And remember that ST FORMAT is a
_BRITISH_ magazine? Well, Europe used a different hertz rate for monitors
than we do here in the 'States. Okay... anybody who still hasn't caught
on can wait a moment more to slap their foreheads. Trevor Watkins posts:
"This is the UK version ,you will have to run a change to 50Hz prg in
your AUTO folder to use it. If you are using a T.V. then I think you
will have to forget it."
All right, that's enough of the head-slapping. I know because I've
been slapping my forehead for the past three days. You see? It _is_
usually the little things that do the trick. Several hertz rate switching
programs are available in the forums here on CompuServe. Well, now that
we've solved that little mystery (all right, all right, so Trevor solved
it), let's move on to other news.
Last week John Zangrando asked about what was recommended to aide in
the control and manipulation of desk accessories. Sysop Ron Luks replies
simply:
"My vote is for MultiDesk Deluxe. You wont be sorry."
Mark Kelling tells John about a shareware alternative:
"You might want to get "The Chameleon" DA.. It allows you to load and
unload any one other ACC at a time. So, you can keep those ACCs you
need loaded and then load Stalker or whatever to do your file
transfers and then dump it and load another ACC. Also, you can have
your ACC programs named with _any_ extender or stashed many folders
deep out of the way and Chameleon and find and load it.
I keep two copies of the Chameleon active so I can load and unload any
two ACC programs I need at a particular time. Usually the ACC
programs I find I need are a Binary/Hex calculator and a GEM Clipboard
manipulator in addition to a control panel and UIS 3. By loading the
Clipboard and Calc only when I need them, it saves time at boot up.
The Chameleon also allows me to test ACC programs when I download them
from CIS or when I write one myself. Sure beats rebooting my ST!
The Chameleon is not perfect. Some ACCs refuse to unload, especially
ones which tie themselves deeply into the STs operating system or
Traps. Also, a few older ACCs (The STart TI 59 type calculator is one)
simply refuse to load. But, 99% will work perfectly. Also, it is
best to load the ACC and unload it from the same place. What I mean
is if you load the ACC while you are inside a program, unload it
before you exit. Otherwise you may not get all your free memory back.
Look for CHAMELEON in the ACC library here!"
Brian Campbell tells John:
"I'm running Notator 3.1 on my Mega2, and the thing that I have found
to be in invaluable in Desk Manager. It's located in the online
libraries (ShareWare) You should be able to find it with the file
finder. Desk Manager allows you to set up many different presets for
your various needs. For example, I have one desktop with minimal Accs
(Control Panel and MaxiFile) that will autorun Notator with max memory
free. Others desktops for all my accs, memory intensive programs,
etc... by the way, I've got Neodesk 3 running with all of this."
Meanwhile, on the subject of advertising and media exposure, Steve Gould
posts:
"It's time one manufacturer woke up and realized that the big home
computer market isn't with kids playing games (cos thats Nintendo/Sega
land) and it isn't home accounts (cos thats PC land and Dad's too lazy
to learn anything else) I reckon if they wanna sell big they have to
go for the gap in between - Left school, working, loads of disposable
income, links in with the HiFi ..Graphic EQ ... improve quality of
analog tapes.. remove scratches from 45's...link to TV... CD-Rom ...
It could be THE black box the world has been waiting for - to give a
real excuse for getting longer leads for linking the Hi-Fi to the
TV/VCR!!!!!! This machine has got so much going for it, I just can't
stop myself from bursting. I can't wait to see how they're gonna
market it in the UK. I think I've said enough - I wouldn't want the
Tramiels on the phone offering me a job as European Marketing Manager!
Or would I?"
From The Atari Arts Forum
=========================
Jim Linton asks about his new STe:
"I have just bought an 1040STE I was using a 1040ST I have a few
questions. Is the disk access slower then the old 1040ST with TOS ver.
1.2? It seems like it takes almost 10 sec longer to read the info file
or the auto folder on my H.D. boot disk. What are the RCA jacks on the
back for a head phone or what? I have owned atari computer years and
this is the best yet!!!"
Sysop Keith Joins tells Jim:
"The disk access should be faster than under 1.2. Versions of TOS
from 1.4 up have vastly improved OS software in the area of disk
handling. The jacks allow you to set up the system for stereo sound
output."
In response to Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Magazine, who asked about a
program to convert Degas PI3 format pictures to IMG format, Carl Barron
posts:
"Chet Walters, wrote a shareware program to convert various file
formats to img. cvt2img comes to mind I do not know if it is here."
Hey, isn't Albert the guy who usually _answers_ questions? Yep. that's
him. Well, it just goes to show that everybody has to ask for help
sometime. What's that? Oh no! Albert needs more help! He posts:
"Thanks Carl maybe someone has cvt2img and will upload it. <HINT>
<GRIN>"
Well, Albert answers so many questions here in the forums that I guess we
should let it go... this time. ;-)
Here's a program that sounds pretty neat. I'll bet that Albert already
knows all about it!
"[70007,3615] Lib:14
GEODSC.LZH/Bin Bytes: 126746, Count: 2, 22-Sep-92
Title : GEO DISK (sphere and surface program)
Keywords: GEO-DISC GEODISC MATH GEOMETRY SPHERE TRIANGLE GEODESIC
SYMMETRY DOMES
This program was written for the love of perfect symmetry and the
beauty of geodesic domes. This is a program that allows one to create
spherical triangles. Also has a move movie feature for rotating the
objects ... its great way to learn about surfaces, geometry and all of
the fun things in math. This program is by Ray McKaig. This is also
very interesting for anyone remotely interested in art. Very
enjoyable learning experience."
From The Atari Vendors Forum
============================
Bob Ledbetter asks Charles F. Johnson, Codehead extraordinaire, about
upgrading to Warp 9, the screen accelerator:
"I have Quick ST II (disk number 13259). How do I upgrade to Warp 9?"
Charles replies:
"You can upgrade from Quick ST by sending us your master disk and a
check for $30.00. Send to:
CodeHead Technologies
P.O. Box 74090
Los Angeles, CA 90004
By the way, there's no need for a special envelope or disk mailer;
just put the disk and check (and a short note explaining that you're
requesting the upgrade to Warp 9) in a standard envelope and drop it
in the mailbox."
Adam Rogers asks for help with transferring data between an ST and a Mac:
"I'm looking for a way to transfer information from an Atari ST disk
to a Mac disk. I need to find an Atari Dealer on the Monterey (Ca.)
peninsula or nearby. Any help would be appreciated."
Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Magazine asks Adam:
"What type of information do you want to transfer? If it is just text
data you might see if you can upload it to a BBS and then just
download to the destination MAC. Binary you could perform the same
operation too. Does the MAC have a super-drive? (reads/writes
1.44m,meg floppy disks) If it does than you can format a disk on the
MAC using the Apple file exchange and then copy all the files on your
Atari too it and then you can read it on the MAC. When you use the
Apple file exchange make sure you format it (the disk) as a 720K
floppy disk. Also if you the file is very, very large it might be
best to use the modem method described above instead. Dealers. The
one I can think of off the top of my head is B&C computervisions they
are in Santa Clara (408)-986-9960. ATY Computer in Oakland
(510)-482-3775 and there is also one in San Jose ... also Best
Electronics in the same area I believe."
Up at the top of this week's column, I told you about ST Format magazine.
Clive Parker of ST Format posts:
"We now have a BBS based at the ST FORMAT office in the UK using
MichTron v3 software. If anyone wants to leave a message or upload
software then call this number.
+44 225 461330 US and Europe 0225 461330 UK"
Well folks, that's about all for this week. C'mon back and "kick yer
shoes off" again next week and listen to what they are saying when...
People Are Talking
_______________________________________________________________
> STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date...
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
On CompuServe!
by Judith Hamner 72257,271
Fans of the Science Fiction Channel can have a program guide in any of
three versions. The broadcast schedule has been uploaded in Hyperlist,
Diary, and Address Book format. Now you can be sure not to miss your
favorite movie. See SFC_HL.ZIP, SFC_DR.ZIP, and SFC_AD.ZIP.
NOTES.ZIP is a Pbasic program for keeping track of trip expenses. You
can keep track of expenses with notes for meals, auto, etc. This program
requires Pbasic which is available in the forum library.
The most exciting news of the month comes from BSE. They have
announced a new peripheral for the Portfolio. It combines a serial and
parallel port and also includes an eprom with utilities which serves as a
B: drive. An optional addition is a 512k upgrade. Both upgrades are
compatible with the Flashdrive hard drive. See BSE.DOC for the
announcement.
These inexpensive upgrades together with the recently announced 1, 2,
and 4 meg flash cards make the Port a powerful system. There are
descriptive files in the library.
***********************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
STReport International Online Magazine is available every week in the
ST Advantage on DELPHI. STReport readers are invited to join DELPHI and
become a part of the friendly community of Atari enthusiasts there.
SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
======================
Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
DELPHI services via a local phone call
JOIN -- DELPHI
--------------
Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002
then...
When connected, press RETURN once or twice
and...
At Password: type STREPORT and press RETURN.
DELPHI's Basic Plan offers access for only $6.00 per hour, for any
baud rate. The $5.95 monthly fee includes your first hour online.
If you spend more than 200 minutes online a month, you'll save money
by enrolling in DELPHI's optional 20/20 Advantage Plan. You'll enjoy up
to 20 hours online each month for the ridiculously low price of just
$20.00! And if you go over that 20 hours, the rate goes up to only $1.20,
still 1/5th the price of other services.
There is no signup fee for joining the Basic Plan. There is a fee of
$39 when you join the 20/20 Advantage Plan, a one-time $19 signup fee and
your first month's $20 fee.
These connect rates apply for access via Tymnet or SprintNet (within
the continental United States) during home time (7 p.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays
and all day weekends) or via direct dial around the clock. Telecom
surcharges apply for daytime or international access via Tymnet or
SprintNet. See Using DELPHI online for detailed information on telecom
surcharges.
For more information, call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005
DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass.
:IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
DELPHI INTRODUCES THE 10/4 PLAN.
Effective July 1, 1992, all Basic Plan members will be upgraded to the
10/4 Plan and receive 4 hours of usage each month for only $10! For full
details, type GO USING RATES. SprintNet home time to begin at 6:00 p.m.!
Effective July 1, 1992, you may access DELPHI via SprintNet beginning at
6:00 p.m. local time without incurring a telecom surcharge. To find the
SprintNet node nearest you, type GO USING ACCESS.
Try DELPHI for $1 an hour!
For a limited time, you can become a trial member of DELPHI, and
receive 5 hours of evening and weekend access during this month for only
$5. If you're not satisfied, simply cancel your account before the end of
the calendar month with no further obligation. If you keep your account
active, you will automatically be enrolled in DELPHI's 10/4 Basic Plan,
where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for a minimum
$10 monthly charge, with additional hours available at $3.96. But hurry,
this special trial offer will expire soon! To take advantage of this
limited offer, use your modem to dial 1-800-365-4636. Press <RET> once
or twice. When you get the Password: prompt, type IP26 and press <RET>
again. Then, just answer the questions and within a day or two, you'll
officially be a member of DELPHI!
DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!
***********************************************************************
> The TREASURE CHESTS STR Feature NEW AVAILABLE FILES
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
GOODIES GALORE!
===============
by Doyle C. Helms Jr.
Software Editor @ STReport
First off this week, let me apologize for the absence of
TREASURE CHEST last week. I was feeling a little under the
weather (understatement!) due to a virus of some type. I am now
back to 100% and ready to get back to work! :)
Speaking of viruses, I happened upon about 15 disks of mine
infected with Signum/BPL Virus A the past few days. How they got
there I will never know. After detection of this virus, I then
jumped into my favorite disk/sector editor (MEMFILE 3.0) to see
what this virus looked like. Once in MEMFILE I attempted to view
the bootsector of drive A. MEMFILE notified me that the disk in
drive A was not readable! Well, I dropped back to the desktop and
attempted to display drive A contents. The drive A window only
showed trash characters. All attempts to recover files from this
disk were futile. I then proceeded to attempt to view 3 other
suspect infected disks with similar results. Complete trashing of
the disk fat tables. I am not positive if MEMFILE (or any other
disk/file editor) is the "key" catalyst to this virus going off
and trashing my disks, but something definitively exploded.
I would STRONGLY recommend for you to obtain a virus checking
program and protect you and your disks from possibly loss of data!
On with the show...
FILENAME : WARP 9 3.71->3.72 Update
I.D. : [W9372U.LZH][CIS] - [#25842][GEnie]
SIZE : 78388
UPLOADER : 76004,2232[CIS] - CODEHEAD[GEnie]
STaR Value: UNRated
Description:
Yet another free bug-fix update from CodeHead Technologies!
This LZH archive contains everything you need to update version
3.71 of Warp 9 to version 3.72. The update corrects reported
problems in the automatic font/picture loading features, and adds
communication with HotWire to adjust program ledgering data.
NOTE: If you have version 3.70, you must first download and run
the patch from 3.70 to 3.71, located elsewhere in the libraries.
FILENAME : WARP 9 Update 3.70->3.71
I.D. : [#25743][GEnie] - [W9371U.LZH][CIS]
SIZE : 62720
UPLOADER : CODEHEAD[GEnie] - 76004,2232[CIS]
STaR Value: UNRated
Description:
Following closely on the heels of the release of Warp 9 3.70
at the Glendale Atarifest, here's another instant bug-fix update
from CodeHead Technologies! This LZH archive contains everything
you need to update version 3.70 of Warp 9 to version 3.71. The
update fixes a bug that could cause crashes after booting up on a
color monitor, and also provides a workaround for a conflict with
the Cubase MIDI sequencer. WARP 9 -- now with Extend-O-Save, the
modular screensaver! (PLEASE NOTE: this file is only for those
who have purchased or upgraded to version 3.70 of Warp 9; it does
not upgrade earlier versions.)
Unrated because I do not YET have Warp 9 3.70! ;)
FILENAME : EXTEND-O-SAVE CONSTRUCTION SET
I.D. : [#25737][GEnie] - [W9MODS.LZH][CIS]
SIZE : 15488
UPLOADER : CODEHEAD[GEnie] - 76004,2232[CIS]
STaR Value: UNRated
Description:
Here's the Extend-O-Save Construction Set -- complete
information on how to write modules for Warp 9's new "Extend-O-
Save" screensaver! This LZH file includes the assembly language
source code for a working module (Picture Fader), and a text file
explaining the programming specifications in detail. Flying
toasters, anyone? This file is Copyright 1992 CodeHead
Technologies, but may be freely distributed provided it is
complete and unaltered.
Also unable to verify this file due to lack of Warp 9 3.70/1
FILENAME : HEIDISEEK 2.05a
I.D. : [#25782][GEnie]
SIZE : 54656
UPLOADER : C.HAFNER
STaR Value: 6.5
Description:
HeidiSeek 2.05a searches individual or consecutive drives for
normal or hidden files matching a User Defined search string,
which you can then View, Print or Unhide ! File maintenance
features include R/W, R/O, Hide, FastLoad,Stamp,Thrash,
Store,Delete,Copy,Move,Volume Labels & Folders. Supports User
Defined mice, Install Application, File Protection, preferences
and templates, PLUS MORE !!! ST/TT compatible in ALL resolutions!
FILENAME : TOMS CLI SHELL
I.D. : [#25641][GEnie]
SIZE : 30464
UPLOADER : W.JONES43
STaR Value: 6.5
Description:
Latest version of Tom Clegg's CLI... a very good command line
system. Features filename and variable expansion and many MS-Dos
and UNIX-style commands. Not recommended for BBS use (if you're
running FidoNet, stick with TomShell 0.200).
FILENAME : GEMULATOR
I.D. : [#25662 & #25663][GEnie] - [GEMUL8.ZIP][CIS]
SIZE : 1121280(Program)-16128(docs)
UPLOADER : BRASOFT[GEnie] - 72567,302[CIS]
STaR Value: UNRated
Description:
This is the shareware release of Gemulator - the Atari ST
emulator for MS-DOS and Windows. If you own both an ST and a PC
you can now run your ST software on the PC. Download this file to
your PC, unZIP it with PKUNZIP, and then follow the instructions
in the GEMUL8R.DOC file. Gemulator requires the use of the
Gemulator ROM Reader board, available for $199.95 which includes
TOS 2.06 ROM chips. Ordering information is in the DOC file.
Gemulator emulates both color and mono ST screen resolutions,
reads and writes ST disks on a PC, uses the PCs mouse, keyboard,
hard disk and printer. A 386 or 486 machine with at least 4 meg of
memory is required to run. (C) 1992 Branch Always Software.
UNRated due to lack of 486 PC compatible system and GEMULATOR.
FILENAME : BORDER BUNDLE 2.5
I.D. : [#25740][GEnie]
SIZE : 23424
UPLOADER : G.RODGERS2
STaR Value: 6.7
Description:
Border Bundle shareware accessory program for decorative
borders and/or definable crop/register marks in Calamus Vector
Graphic (CVG)format. 6 free functional and decorative borders
included in this archive with many more available. Improvements
include a search by name or number for larger libraries and the
addition of an editable line thickness entry for crop/register
marks. Small bug fixed in the cropmark feature as well.
FILENAME : MOD CATALOG 1.1
I.D. : [#25730][GEnie]
SIZE : 14208
UPLOADER : S.STANDIFORD
STaR Value: 4.5
Description:
MOD Cataloger version 1.01, now updated to support the TT030,
also fixes some minor display bugs. MOD Cataloger helps you
organize all your MOD music files.
This MOD catalog database basically reads the MOD filename in
extended format and places that name in a file for future
reference. Do not expect any fancy bells and whistles. This
program works as advertised, but is bare bones. I hope the author
will expand this program to a full feature MOD database program.
FILENAME : SMOOTH DRAW 2.0
I.D. : [#25725][GEnie]
SIZE : 99200
UPLOADER : BALKCOM
STaR Value: 7.0
Description:
This is version 2.0 of Smooth Draw, with LOTS of great new
features, squashed bugs, and cleaned up code. Has all the
features of Degas Elite and more! Loads and saves lots of file
formats, printing to EPSON compatible, clipping for programmers,
sprite and mouse editor for programmers, and exact entry by pixel
coordinate of most functions. Magnify, flip the picture, grab
blocks for copying, move, flipping or saving and more - too much
to describe here: download it and see for yourself!
FILENAME : MULTI COLOR SPRITE GENERATOR
I.D. : [#25718][GEnie]
SIZE : 1792
UPLOADER : R.HARRINGTO1
STaR Value: 5.5
Description:
This is an upgrade of the multi-color sprite generator for
GFA.
Two files included -- GFA list file showing example and including
comments and instructions.
Second file is an assembly routine used to generate the sprites.
FILENAME : SOUNDKIT (SOURCE CODE)
I.D. : SNDKIT.ARC[CIS]
SIZE : 73483
UPLOADER : 76702,1466[CIS]
STaR Value: UNRated
Description:
This is the C language SOURCE CODE for a group of sampled
sound format conversion utilities. (It DOES NOT contain any
executable program files,the source MUST be compiled before it can
be used directly on an ST). The Sound Kit utilities will convert
between SUN .AU, MAC HCOM, AMIGA/SGI AIFF,IRCAM, and IBM
SoundBlaster .VOC sampled sound formats. Copyrighted by Lance
Norskog, but freely usable by anyone.
FILENAME : MICHTRON NETWORK 2.0
I.D. : [MICHTRON NETWORK 2.0 (MNET)][Delphi]-MNET20.LZH[CIS]
SIZE : 115712
UPLOADER : DPJ[Delphi] - 71051,3327[CIS]
STaR Value: UNRated
Description:
MichTron NETwork (MNET),version 2.0.
This latest version has speeded up many of the networking
processes and upgraded the way in which messages are maintained.
This archive includes _all_ the necessary files needed to add
networking to MichTron 3.0 systems, ONLY. This program is
shareware. Join the MNET today - systems running MNET worldwide!!
FILENAME : ST TO WINDOWS CONVERSION
I.D. : [ST TO WINDOWS CONVERTER][Delphi]
SIZE : 21176
UPLOADER : BACHAND[Delphi]
STaR Value: UNRated
This program is for Atari developers that want to port a GEM
based program to Windows. It converts a resource file (designed
for the ones created by Laser C resource editor) to a Windows .RC
file. You'll need the .DEF file (on the Atari side) that contains
the symbol names and wincvt will make you a new one with
definitions appropriate for Windows. It does NOT convert icons or
boxchar's but does get all your text, boxes, and edit entries in
the right places. Source file is INCLUDED. As is. Runs only on
Atari.
FILENAME : VIOLENCE GAME
I.D. : [VIOLENCE GAME][Delphi]
SIZE : 164096
UPLOADER : ARAGONIA[Delphi]
STaR Value: 6.5
Description:
Violence- A great game from England. This is a full game,
not a demo. This program will run from medium res., but will bomb
sooner of later, so it's best to run it from low in the first
place. Tested on TOS 1.0 to 1.4, works fine.
Use the space bar to get to and FROM the weapons screen, the red
END at the bottom of the screen will bomb on occasion.
D.THOMPSON66 on GEnie recently uploaded a demo of the new
version the HYPERLINK. Along with this demo there were several
HYPERLINK "HAP" files. These .HAP files are the "data" portion of
the HYPERLINK database system. The demo of HyperLink on GEnie is
file #25781. The following files are the example HAP file for use
with the demo to show the versatility of HyperLink.
#25762 - Coinbook #25763 - Menu Manager
#25764 - Planets #25765 - Racer 202
#25773 - Wine List #25775 - Baseball Cards
#25777 - Inventory #25778 - Message/Address
#25779 - NoteBook
If you are looking for a premier database for your home or
office, be sure to check out this HyperLink demo and associate
files.
Well that is about it for the highlights this week. If you
would like to see a special article covering games, graphics or
whatever, drop me a line and I will highlight some of the
"special" file listings for your favorite on-line service along
with a filename/number listing so you can quickly find the file
you want or need. Until next time...
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
To sign up for GEnie service:
Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo)
Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
GEnie Announcements (FREE)
1. Your friends can STILL earn you GEnie credits.................*BUDDY
2. DISNEY Trivia Games BACK by popular demand - Win Prizes in....FLORIDA
3. Author TIM POWERS in RTC, Sunday at 8:00 Eastern in the.......SFRT
4. Request FREE Catalogs from Lands' End. Just type.............LANDSEND
5. FREE TIME x 10 makes you glad that you own a Commodore........FLAGSHIP
6. Telecommuting in the 90's RealTime Conference in..............PF
7. Special Offer, for MEMBERS ONLY in............................SOFTCLUB
8. The adult space fantasy welcomes its first Duke...............FED
9. REGISTER Now For Fall Term ONLINE COURSES.....................CALC
10. NEW SOFTWARE & UPGRADES at....................................PARSONS
11. ExpressFAX and MTEZ support files available on................WP
12. Powerful new FONT ELIMINATOR now available on the.............PSRT
13. Homebased and Small Business Owners -- Meet Your Peers........*HOSB
14. Hurricanes, Typhoons, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, all in the......SPACERT
15. Get Your Business Listed in a Searchable Online Database.....DIRECTORY
The Atari ST RT
|======================================================|
| Real Time Conference Special Events Calendar |
|======================================================|
| Sept. 28 - A forum on CodeHead Graphic Tools, |
| (Monday) including Megapaint, Avant Vector, Genus, |
| Cherry Fonts and other utilities. Also |
| featuring Warp 9's extensible screensaver,|
| Extend-O-Save. Bring your wish list for |
| modules. |
|------------------------------------------------------|
| Oct. 5 - Dan Wilga and Rick Flashman from GRIBNIF |
| (Monday) will discuss Arabesque, Convector and |
| their other fine products. |
|======================================================|
| All Real Time Conferences begin at 10:00 p.m. EDT |
|======================================================|
= DARLAH'S TREAT OF THE MONTH =
This month's "Darlah's Treat of the Month" on page 475, Option #9 is
Diamond Edge EDGEDEMO. Type m475;9 to receive this months "Treat". This
archive contains a demo version of Oregon Research's new program Diamond
Edge. The most advanced set of disk management tools available for your
Atari ST: Disk and data recovery, Complete Undelete, file validation and
disk diagnostics, Data protection, Disk optimization, Bad sector mapping,
hard disk partitioning, Disk information archival editing and restoration,
and much more. Diamond Edge will be released on September 12 at the
Glendale show. Brought to you by Oregon Research Associates.
Last Week's Top Downloaded Programs/Utilities:
-------------------------------------------------
25781 RUN_HLNK.LZH X D.THOMPSON66 920917 172032 119 2
Desc: Run Only Version of HyperLINK
25804 MEHRCPXE.LZH X W.DOHMSTREIC 920919 25216 98 2
Desc: Two CPX programs from Germany
25729 TOSWIN11.ZOO X E.SMITH10 920913 44160 74 2
Desc: Runs TOS programs in windows
25718 MULTICOL.ARC X R.HARRINGTO1 920912 1792 61 3
Desc: Assy. routines for GFA sprites
25782 HEIDSK25.LZH X C.HAFNER 920917 54656 57 10
Desc: File Finding/Maintenance Utility
GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
***********************************************************************
> CODEHEAD CONF. STR OnLine Topic - Calligrapher
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
Monday Night Real Time Conference
Host - Lou Rocha
September 21, 1992
Guest - John Eidsvoog of CodeHead Technologies
Topic - Calligrapher
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Our guest this evening is John Eidsvoog of CodeHead
Technologies. Before getting started, some business about how an RTC
works.
While the RTC room is in Listen-Only mode, you can only address our guest
when I let you talk.
To get my attention, just /RAIse your hand. Just enter this from your
keyboard: /rai
I'll acknowledge your raised hand as soon as I can, but please be patient.
I will let you know when your turn is coming up.
Some other RTC commands are:
? - Lists all RTC commands.
/sta - Status (list) of everyone in the RTC room.
/exi - Exit the RTC, but you remain logged onto GEnie.
/bye - Log off of GEnie directly from the RTC.
/rai - Raise your hand. Lets me know you wish to address our guest.
/nam - Lets you change your nickname.
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> John, welcome.
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Thanks. Welcome everyone, and thank you for
coming this evening. I don't have a text file prepared so if Mike's
ready, he can start firing away ...
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> The rest of you can /RAIse your hands. By the way, we are
discussing Calligrapher tonight.
<[Pesty Mike] M.ALLEN14> First let me say how much I appreciate the
professionalism of the CodeHeads. I wonder if you have any words on the
problem I have printing boxes - where I have one line followed by another
and if I box the second line I lose the bottom half of the top line? I
have a couple of others, but I'll wait in line. ga
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Mike, are you using a color monitor?
<[Pesty Mike] M.ALLEN14> Yep - and a 120x144 printer - looks fine on the
monitor - ONLY printing problems, ga
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> I know that from the start, I noticed that
the printout of shadowed boxes would leave a single white line between the
box and the shadow, but your problem sounds different. I actually have
never tried printing from a color monitor or while using one, that is.
I've also not seen this problem but to be honest, I haven't had time to
try to reproduce your problem. GA
<[Pesty Mike] M.ALLEN14> Possibly related. I notice when I import a
barcode with numbers on the bottom, the numbers get chopped at the bottom
- printing only. ga
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Regarding the barcodes... one thing to note
is that the barcodes are GEM objects... but the text in them is GDOS text
rather than vector objects. If you change the size, the text may become
distorted. ga
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Thanks Mike. Sanjay Agarwal has the next question.
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Hi Sanjay.
<[Sanjay] S.AGARWAL> Good evening. Can you tell me if the Calligrapher
program can save and read WordPerfect 5.1 format ? What formats can it
save in ?
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> We've been working a bit on a WP module for
importing and exporting. So far, we do not have sufficient information
about Calligrapher's structures to write the full PAK. We're expecting a
disk any day now. As for how long it will take after we receive it, I
can't say. We'll probably start with 4.x support. And later see if we can
do 5.x. Since the latest WP can save 4.x format (I think), 4.x should
handle most people's needs. ga
<[Sanjay] S.AGARWAL> Thanks. I take it you will be at WAACE - any offers?
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> We haven't set the WAACE price yet, but it
will definitely be better than the 35$ off you get with the trade-up. It
will probably be $200 or less for the Gold. ga
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Next question is from Mike Allen, then Jarius.
<[Pesty Mike] M.ALLEN14> I noticed on page 30 of the Gold manual it
implies that there are .LAC files for Italic and Italic_bold for Holland
and Unitype. Should they have been included or can I get them? ga
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Mike, that's a good catch. I didn't notice
that myself...even when you or someone asked about it in our topic. I'll
have to ask the UK boys about that. I don't have those files here. GA
<[Jarius] J.JENKINS19> How well does Calligrapher work with MultiTos (and
does it work with the Falcon's new resolutions?) ga
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Thanks for asking, Jarius. The author is in
the final stages of beta testing Calligrapher 3, which will be assuredly
MultiTOS compatible. I'm confident that by the time MultiTOS is available
to the public, Calligrapher will be running on it.
As for the Falcon, much the same applies. As soon as a Falcon can be
obtained for testing, we'll know how well it flies with her. We should be
getting one soon. GA
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Followup question Jarius?
<[Jarius] J.JENKINS19> Has anyone had problems with the program bombing
out? Mine did (demo). GA
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Was that on a Falcon? <grin>
(Job 8)<[Jarius] J.JENKINS19> I wish... STE
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Let me give a little tutorial here, about the
main problems people have with Calligrapher. Calligrapher has an install
program which copies the files and sets up the fonts and ASSIGN.SYS.
I've written up some special instructions for special cases. Many people
have Desk Manager copying an ASSIGN.SYS file into the root of C. If the
user reboots like the Install program tells him to, he may lose the
ASSIGN.SYS file that was just created.
Other possible problems are caused by having more than one kind of GDOS in
the AUTO folder. Is it possible that you had this problem? There are
other possible resident conflicting programs and ACCs. Hopefully you read
the README.1ST file before trying to run the demo.
<[Jarius] J.JENKINS19> No, mine worked one time, then just bombed out
again... But I just realized why. Thanx the tutorial helped
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Only the G+CALDEM.PRG file may be in the AUTO
folder (as far as other GDOSes are concerned). We've had several people
state problems with the demo, but the great majority of those who've tried
it have been successful. ga
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Ed Rosen is next.
<[Ed Rosen] E.ROSEN> As mentioned by MM in the ST Informer review,
scrolling in the demo is slow on my 8mz ST. How fast do I need to go to
make it smoother?
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Calligrapher in many ways is modeled after
Mac software. The scrolling is done by blocks of text to cut down on the
frequency. If you move the cursor to the top of the screen, it scrolls
back by lines, but there's no way to get it to scroll forward by
lines.This is something that we've asked the authors for. As for the
slowness, that seems to be a common complaint from those who've tried the
demo. Calligrapher is not necessarily a speed demon for getting around in
a document but it's speed is quite acceptable (even at 8mHz), while
actually working in a document. When people load up the README.CAL
document, they spend a lot of time exploring through the document. This
type of operation is fairly time consuming on a finished document because
there's a lot of graphics and formatting in that document. The actually
typing of normal text that most folks are going to spend a lot of time
doing, seems (at least to me) to go sufficiently fast. GA <whew>
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Followup Ed?
<[Ed Rosen] E.ROSEN> Explanation accepted. I'm this far away from the buy.
GA
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Too bad I can't see how far you kept your
fingers apart (or hands) <grin>
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> John, can you give us a quick comment on your successes
at Glendale. Excluding the party? ;-)
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> We did quite well at Glendale considering the
average show these days. We probably sold about the same as last year at
Glendale but remember that every year we keep adding new products. This is
the only way we can survive in the Atari market because there are not
enough new owners of Atari computers.
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> John, as one of the "flagship" developers, what do you
hope the Falcon will bring?
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Hmm..... hmmmm....<grin>
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> The Falcon...
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> <disconnected>
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Just kidding.
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> ;-) Gee, must have been a real tough question. I thought
the answer was SALES.
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> We hope to have one soon so that we can make
our software worthy of this great machine. The Falcon has the potential to
be what the ST was back in '85. If Atari can do some magic, such as get it
out the door, get some from the manufacturers, get them to dealers, and do
a lot of advertising, we could all start to party instead of being so glum
and overworked. ....
It actually parallels our economy...let's hope that we can swing the other
direction. ga
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Back to Calligrapher... what is the current pricing for
your fonts? Will FSM GDOS be part of the future for Calligrapher? I was
really impressed with the demo you put up of the fonts.
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> We have not actually ever posted a special
bundle deal that we have for Calligrapher's URW font packs. They are
$34.95 retail for each disk of a set of 64 fonts. Three for $100. And any
more than three in the same order is $25 apiece.
As for FSM GDOS, I'm not sure if Atari's going to actually release FSM
GDOS. If they do, we're going to try to figure out a way that it can
easily coexist on the same system without rebooting. Since Calligrapher
already has its own outline font technology, and it's here NOW, and it
works FAST, we do not get too excited about FSM GDOS. GA
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> According to the Rehbock article in ST Informer, I
thought FSM GDOS was really coming in the near future. Oh well... ;-)
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Like I said, if it does come out we'll make
sure that it will be able to coexist... It would be a major change to
Calligrapher to start supporting another outline font system. GA
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Mike Allen has the last question. Mike?
<[Pesty Mike] M.ALLEN14> Oh, I have lots of questions - but I can E-Mail
them to John 8^} John, what is the story on the new PS driver? also a`how
about a x-ref of callig fonts to PS fonts? ga
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Let's see... Ok, the new PostScript driver
will fix some "faults" that are in the current one. I'm not sure which
faults they are. It also will have the A4/A5 page sizes changed to US
letter size and half-page. This means that you can automatically generate
a booklet exactly like we do for all of our CodeHead manuals and the
"printer's spread" is calculated for you. This is how we printed the Gold
manuals. It was printed to a PS file and taken to a lino bureau. He had to
use A4 paper though, and this will no longer be necessary. GA
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> I would like to thank John Eidsvoog for spending the
evening with us and best wishes on Calligrapher and the other EXCELLENT
CodeHead products. John, take us home...;-)
<[CodeHeadJohn] J.EIDSVOOG1> Thanks, all. If you have other questions
about Calligrapher, be sure to visit us in Category 32, Topic 32. GA
<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Please join us next Monday when the CodeHeads will
discuss their other fine products, including Extend-O-Save. Til
then.......
==========================================================================
(C) 1992 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May
be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie
are *official* information services of Atari Corporation.
==========================================================================
> FALCON UPDATE STR FOCUS! STATS AND SPECS...
""""""""""""""""""""""""
ATARI INTRODUCES FIRST COMPUTER SYSTEM
DESIGNED FOR
PERSONAL INTEGRATED MEDIA
News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Bergesen or Anne Ellingson Ron Smith or Bill Rehbock
Redgate Communications Atari Corporation
(415) 777-3911 (408) 745-2000
(415) 777-0896 -fax (408) 745-2088 -fax
Atari Falcon030 (tm) brings high-end capabilities to the market for
less than $1,000.
Boston (September 23, 1992)
Atari Corporation today announced the first available personal
integrated media system, the Falcon030 computer. From education to
entertainment, personal integrated media (PIM) has the potential to
change consumers' lives as dramatically as personal computers
changed business offices. The system will be available in November
at authorized Atari dealers across the country.
A full scale computer based on the powerful 16 MHz Motorola 68030
microprocessor, the Atari Falcon030 is specifically designed for
personal integrated media functions. It gives even inexperienced
users the ability to combine and manipulate video, audio,
animation, telecommunications, text, and graphics. The system is
optimized for these functions and incorporates technology usually
reserved for high-end production systems.
"The Atari Falcon030 is an ideal entry into the new and growing
personal integrated media market," said Sam Tramiel, Atari's
president and CEO. "It's a powerful system that gives users access
to a whole new world of applications. Yet the system remains
easy-to-use and affordable."
Consumers will be able to use the Atari Falcon030 as a color video
phone, communicating in sound and pictures with other Atari
Falcon030 users. The system makes it possible to create home
videos complete with text and music; record lead vocals on a
favorite rock 'n roll classic with the original musicians playing
along; narrate and score a family album, produce a visual family
tree, invent and play an adventure game set in a childhood home;
and much more.
Atari Falcon030 users have immediate access to advanced PIM
capabilities thanks to the following features:
o Atari's Graphic Environment Manager (GEM) and built-in
graphics co-processor.
o A true color mode that includes more than 65,000 colors,
twice the capability of the Apple Macintosh LCII.
o The industry's only standard-equipped MIDI input/output
ports.
o 16-bit stereo sound - input and output - for the highest
quality reproductive available at sample rates up to 50 kHz.
o Built-in composite and RF video outputs for easy connection
to video cassette recorders.
o External video sync for high quality genlocking.
o Overlay mode for easy video titling and special effects.
o Software for PIM applications such as desktop video
production, animation, music and entertainment.
No other computer provides this level of performance and PIM
capabilities at a more economical price.
APPLICATION HIGHLIGHTS
----------------------
PIM technology will make thousands of new capabilities possible,
There are already hundreds of software applications available for
the Atari Falcon030, making it easy for users to accomplish a
variety of new goals.
MOVIE QUALITY VIDEO
-------------------
With the Atari Falcon030, users can explore new avenues in home
video, from inserting titles and credits to professional quality
editing. They can create music videos, cartoons, and school
presentations.
The Atari Falcon030 offers state of the art graphics, true color
16-bit mode allowing up to 640 X 480 resolution and a display of up
to 65,000 on-screen colors. It accepts external video sync for
high quality genlocking, and uses a unique overlay mode for
effortless titling and special effects. In addition, users can
obtain composite video signals directly from the Falcon030.
HIGH QUALITY AUDIO
------------------
Atari takes the music-industry standard - MIDI - one step further.
The only company to provide MIDI as a standard system component,
the Atari Falcon030 also incorporates Motorola's 56001 digital
signal processor (DSP) for the highest quality audio and special
effects capabilities, allowing users to remove lead vocals and
create their own Karaoke machine or run music education programs.
The Atari Falcon030 provides users with features that are usually
restricted to expensive, high-end machines. But without any
additional equipment, Atari Falcon030 users can record on two
stereo tracks and add graphic equalization and special effects such
as surround sound, harmonizing, reverberation and echo.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
------------------------
The Atari Falcon030 is a simple to use computer that doesn't
require add-on boards or other costly optional hardware. The Atari
Falcon030 already includes exactly what the user needs. The
machine offers a wealth of ports for communicating with existing
peripherals, and application software for the Atari Falcon030 is
readily available.
Priced at $799.00 with 1 MB of RAM, the ATari Falcon030 is ideal
for users who want a powerful, efficient, and cost-effective tool
that can take advantage of today's technologies. The system will
be available in November through authorized Atari dealers.
Atari Corporation (AMEX:ATC) is a worldwide manufacturer and
marketer of palmtop through desktop computer systems. The company
sells its systems, peripherals and software through authorized
distributors, resellers and integrators.
_______________________________________________________________
> Falcon030 Debuts STR FOCUS! Boston Computer Society hosts Atari
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
ATARI'S FALCON030 DEBUTS AT BCS
===============================
by Dana P. Jacobson
Have you ever seen a falcon in flight? To watch one soar and then
swoop down for a perfect landing is a majestic sight indeed. The same can
be said of the new Atari Falcon030 computer; I saw it do just that at the
official debut of the Falcon at the Boston Computer Society's General
Meeting on Wednesday evening. These machines are _extremely_ impressive!
Atari pulled out all the stops to make this showing a memorable one.
According to Sam Tramiel, president and CEO at Atari, the BCS meeting was
the first press conference and meeting in a very long time for Atari, a
long-time in coming. Except for Jack, Leonard, and Garry Tramiel, I
believe that the rest of Atari's corporate ladder was in attendance: Sam
Tramiel, Richard Miller, Bill Rehbock, James Grunke, and Bob Brodie. All
had some significant input into the press conference and BCS meeting
presentation.
Sam started the meeting off with a brief history of Atari; and
followed that up with Atari's current status. He stated that Atari is
currently reorganizing, and has been in the process of "right-sizing" (not
to be confused with down-sizing). He also feels that the time is right
for Atari to grow, once again, with the introduction of the new Falcon.
According to Sam, with the release of the Falcon030, Atari is introducing
the first computer designed for "personal integrated media", and at a
reasonable price. Sam went on to define what he considered to be the five
components of personal integrated media; and why they were important.
o The reproduction of photographic-quality images. Atari feels
that consumers spend over 1500 hours a year watching TV,
videos and movies; that consumers will demand the same
quality images in their computers.
o High-quality audio reproduction which is equal to (or better)
than current technology of CDs and digital audio tapes. With
consumers listening to 1300 hours of radio and recorded music
yearly; consumers have come to know the difference between
poor and high quality audio.
o Media-ready for instant gratification. This means that this
new system must be ready to use right out of the box, and
easy to use at the same time. Users should not be _expected_
to have to buy additional hardware before being able to do
what they set out to do.
o Availability of interesting, entertaining, and easy to use
personal software. Personal integrated media applications
should focus on a user's personal interests rather than their
business needs.
o Value. The personal integrated media system must provide
"more bang for the buck," many features for a reasonable
cost.
Sam went on to state that the consumers of today or more experienced
and discerning than in the past. Consumers have set their own standards
and are not ready to accept new technology that will not, at the least,
meet those standards.
Richard Miller, vice president of technology, discussed the technical
advances of the Falcon030. Some of the highlights include:
o Based on a 16 MHz 68030 processor, the Falcon uses a 32 MHz
DSP chip (digital signal processor). The DSP chip is
extremely important for sound manipulation. This includes
graphic equalization, channel manipulation, surround sound,
and special effects (echo, flange, and reverb). Also, the
DSP makes voice recognition for input and output possible.
o Direct Memory Access (DMA), a standard feature of Atari
computers.
o Atari's GEM and built-in graphics co-processor.
o True color, including more than 65,000 colors.
o MIDI input/out ports, standard on all Atari systems.
o 16-bit stereo sound allowing the highest quality
reproduction, and available at rates up to 50kHz.
o External video sync for high quality genlock use.
o Overlay mode for video titling and special effects.
o Software applications for personal media system applications.
Miller included a number of personal anecdotes about his "Mum", which
made his presentation extremely personable. With some of the things Atari
currently has available for the Falcon, and things to come, even Richard's
"Mum" might be convinced to buy one; she'll be able to keep in touch with
her son a lot easier, even though it still won't make her a cup of tea!
Bill Rehbock, technical director of software development, discussed
some of the software already developed for the Falcon, and some of the
projects currently being developed. Some of the applications discussed
included: desktop video, animations, desktop photo libraries,
presentations, telecommunications, and music and audio. Rehbock
re-enforced what Tramiel had said earlier about consumers wanting to
"produce" equal or better work that they have become accustomed to seeing
in real life.
Rehbock then demoed some of the audio capabilities of the Falcon030,
which was very impressive. He emphasized that all of these capabilities
were available on the stock machine; there is no need to purchase "racks
of expensive audio gear." He also went on to describe some of the
software that will be bundled _with_ each Falcon, at no additional cost to
the user:
o Direct-to-Disk Recording - a low-end recording software.
o Audio Fun Machine - an audio special effects package.
o System Audio Manager - the ability to record and use sounds
for system uses such as warning bells, opening windows, set
individual sounds for each keystroke (great for the visually
impaired user), etc.
o CalAppts - a feature-packed time-scheduler and a telephone
book and dialer.
o ProCalc - a full-featured scientific calculator.
o A talking clock!
o Two games: Landmines and Breakout.
Rehbock also stated that the Falcon is the only computer in its
class with true 16-bit true color capabilities. Also, with the addition
of a low-cost telephone line interface, the Falcon can be used as a
low-cost, high-speed fax-data modem or voice-mail system. There are also
other developers working on low-cost video-phones, available next year,
which will be shown at COMDEX. Rehbock also demonstrated the new desktop,
with animated icons and much more! He also explained MultiTOS, which be
be included in every Falcon. Unfortunately, the MultiTOS disk was left
behind, so a demonstration of its capabilities wasn't possible. Rehbock
also stated that the Falcon was compatible with all Atari-compliant
applications currently available for existing machines.
James Grunke, director of Atari music, then provided the audience with
a very impressive description of the Falcon's audio capabilities, and the
ability of Atari MIDI to be in a class of its own, unsurpassed or even
equaled by any other platform currently available. Grunke also showed how
a stock Falcon compared to a Macintosh II ci with regard to price and
capabilities. The Falcon beat the Mac by a 3-1 margin in price, without
the need to add on hardware! Grunke then demoed some of the available
MIDI software on the Falcon which really impressed the audience.
Sam Tramiel then led a question and answer period. He stated that
Atari was ready to roll out sample machines to dealers in November; and
more quantities in December and January. They will be doing regional
advertising in those areas in which Atari currently has dealers. They
will then work to increase that dealer network and once they've
established a better dealer network, national advertising will then be
pushed. Tramiel then stated that Atari is trying to re-establish good
U.S. sales, as they had back in 1987. He explained that Atari sales in
the U.S., at that time, started to decline because of the RAM-chip
shortage, and that Atari then began to concentrate on Europe. He stated
that Atari hasn't been able to re-establish itself in the U.S. since.
With the Falcon030, Atari plans to come back into the U.S. in force.
It was also stated that there are some new and old developers being
brought onboard. There are numerous NeXT developers who have expressed a
desire to program on the Falcon. Tramiel also stated that Atari suers
will be pleasantly surprised at the former Atari developers who have
expressed the desire to return to the Atari platform, because of the
abilities of the Falcon. Tramiel also hinted at the future line of Atari
computers, including a Falcon040, a separate keyboard configuration, and a
tower configuration. We can all hope that these new machines come about
as well as the Falcon030 has, in its current state.
There were numerous interesting questions dealing with specific
applications and capabilities of the Falcon. There were many questions
from Atari and non-Atari users. In fact, questions were so plentiful that
the panel from Atari had to finally cut questions short to give people an
opportunity to get a hands-on look at the available machines.
I was extremely impressed with the presentations. The people
representing Atari did an excellent job setting up this event. I was
impressed with the personal touch that Atari conveyed. Sam Tramiel and
his staff presented themselves and information in a formal, but personal
manner. They didn't come across like "stuffed-shirt" executive types, but
like people who wanted to provide as much information as possible, and in
a friendly atmosphere. Even their pre-planned speeches came across in way
that the audience appreciated.
All of the post-meeting comments that I heard, from Atari and
non-Atari users, were extremely positive. There were plenty of "oohs and
ahhs". If the presentation could have gone on all night, I believe that
very few people would have left; the Falcon was that impressive. This is
going to be the machine that re-establishes the Atari name; it's that
good.
I'd like to extend my gratitude to the people at Atari and at Redgate
Communications for making this meeting/presentation possible, especially
for me. Sue Baelen and Anne Ellingson, of Redgate, kept me up-to-date
with details of the show, before and during the meeting. They did an
incredible job of helping to put this thing together. I also want to
thank Bob Brodie for his gracious hospitality throughout the day. I was
allowed to "tag along" for an informal luncheon with Bob a few people from
the BCS/Atari group, including Jim Allen. It was also enjoyable to help
set-up the equipment and get a pre-show hands-on opportunity to check out
the Falcon. The Atari travel bag will also come in very handy! Again,
Bob, thanks!
With all of the information about the Falcon030 contained in this
issue, I think that you'll agree with me that this new machine will be a
huge success. My hopes are that Atari will take advantage of this
phenomenal machine and have an incredibly successful marketing and
advertising plan in store for it. With all of the information provided at
this meeting, it will take a well-considered plan to make it all happen.
From all that Sam Tramiel said, I honestly believe that he believes in
this machine and that Atari will be committed to make it a successful
campaign and make Atari a household name once again. What he alluded to
with the future of Atari and its new line of machines, I think that the
Falcon will be a long line of successful Atari computers. I know one
thing: I plan to get one as soon as I can!
_____________________________________________________________
> BCS OverView STR FOCUS! BCS & Atari Falcon Debut
"""""""""""""""""""""""
BOSTON COMPUTER SOCIETY SHOWS FALCON 030!
=========================================
by Steve Selick
Well, I just got back from downtown Boston, where the Boston Computer
Society gave the first public appearance of the Falcon 030 to the public
(me). I forgot a notepad, so these notes are direct from the back of
business cards...please bear with me if I get a name misspelled... :-)
Bob Brodie started off the meeting, and immediately introduced Sam
Tramiel after some boring business. Sam spoke for a bit on the history of
Atari, and such, and then brought out Richard Miller, the head of the
Falcon development team. He went into all of the gory details of the guts
of the machine, all of which have already been confirmed numerous times
already on the net.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the night was when they announced
several software packages that will be bundled with every falcon. Falcon
2d2 - software from Atari to start using the 8 channel direct to disk
stuff immediately when you get your machine! Yeah Atari!!! We saw a brief
demo of this program...very impressive!
SYSTEM AUDIO MANAGER - attach sampled sounds to any system command,
including a different sound for each key (note that these are handled by
the dsp chip and do not detract from normal operations!)
AUDIO FUN MACHINE - This is a cute dsp program to show the capabilities
of the dsp chip for sound processing. It does reverberation, and
DISTORTION! Very cool little program.
Calapt - calendar/appointment utility
ProCalc - Calculator prg
Talking Clock - you figure it out!
2 GAMES especially designed to show off the Falcon!
LAND MINES AND BREAKOUT!
The prices they gave were consistent with net postings;
$ 799.00 for the 1 meg
$1299.00 for the 4 meg/65 meg version.
These items are direct from Sam Tramiel:
NOVEMBER - start shipping first units
DECEMBER - shipping in quantity (for x-mas I suppose...)
JANUARY - relief quantities for backorders will be shipped.
Then came the q/a section, and some interesting facts came out...
There are oscilloscope programs using the dsp in the works...to do
fft's and all on your waveforms in "near real time"
They played a Tina Turner video made in Australia of "You're the
Best". 3 minute video took 100 meg of hard drive space which included
video & audio. They used a 14 meg machine, and said it would not yet work
on a 4 meg machine, but they have a compression algorithm in the works
that may make it work...they also said the video was 24 frames per second.
A company called Sack in Germany has a functioning 386sx board ready
for production.
Sam Tramiel said that "NeXT developers are coming to us and asking for
development systems because they expect that we will sell more falcons in
1 month than NeXT sells in a year! ... We sure hope so!"
He also said that Amiga developers, unimpressed with the 4000 are also
coming to Atari for development kits.
He said the Jaguar would be out in the summer of 93, and would not
comment on it further because this was a "Falcon meeting"
They forgot the multitasking os disk... typical... <sigh>
The roms will have different languages burned right in them to allow
Atari to ship computers to different countries with the same roms. The
disk will be for "minor updates, and language specific material" whatever
that means. The roms will be 4 meg worth!
The Falcon will actually display ST monochrome mode on a standard
SC1224 color monitor! In total, they said that the Falcon supports over
130 different screen modes and resolutions.
At the end, they played a complete sample of Boston's "Foreplay/Long
Time". Sampled at 50 khz, it took 96 meg of hard drive space. They also
mentioned that Atari was working on software modules to read and write
different floppy disk formats, including the mac GCR! Somebody asked if
Dave Small had spectre working yet, and Sam Tramiel responded "Well...I
saw him in our offices last week..." but did not know what he had
accomplished yet.
When asked why they chose the 16 mhz 68030 instead of a faster one,
Sam Tramiel said that with all of the separate processing centers (68030,
dsp, blitter, optional co-processor, etc) that they felt the machine to
be comparable to machines with faster "workhorse processors that have to
handle everything". He said much faster machines would be appearing "very
shortly".
Well, that's enough typing for me for one night...That's all I can
remember. Oh...they gave away a falcon as a door prize, and I didn't
win it...darn!
/comp/sys/atari/st/general/Boston Computer Society meeting information
1073.3.21642.3 9/23/92 19:29 102/4413 selick@csa.bu.edu (Steven Selick)
___________________________________________________________
> MOTOROLA & ATARI STR FOCUS! Motorola & Atari!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
MOTOROLA'S 68030 MICROPROCESSORS
POWER
ATARI'S FALCON030 PERSONAL INTEGRATED MEDIA COMPUTER
Press Release
EDITORIAL CONTACT:
----------------- Sally Winship, 617-494-8202 of Cunningham
Communication, Inc.
READER CONTACT:
-------------- Roy Druian of Motorola, 512-891-2139 for Motorola
AUSTIN, TX SEPT. 23, 1992
Motorola's (NYSE: MOT) High Performance Microprocessor Division
today announced that its 68030 provides the processing power for
Atari Corporation's new Atari Falcon030, the industry's first
personal integrated media system. The Atari Falcon030 is a
full-scale computer based on the powerful 68030 and is specifically
designed for personal integrated media functions including video,
audio, animation, telecommunications and graphics. Users of the
Atari Falcon030 can create home videos complete with text and
music; can record lead vocals on a favorite musical recording; can
narrate and score a family photo album and can execute many more
exciting applications.
The Atari Falcon030 also incorporates Motorola's 56001 digital
signal processor (DSP) to process and manipulate compact disc
quality digital audio and voice signals which, combined with the
68030's processing power and Atari's integrated software, makes the
Atari Falcon030 a complete personal integrated media system. This
announcement is an example of how microprocessors are entering the
home through the burgeoning availability of consumerized computing
devices.
"With the introduction of the Atari Falcon030, Atari is raising
the standards of consumerized computing to a new level, providing
integration of text, music and images with unparalleled levels of
quality, performance and price," said Jim Reinhart, Motorola's
manager of M68000 marketing and applications. "The robust
processing capabilities of the 68030 make it an ideal
microprocessor for such a graphically-based product as the Atari
Falcon030."
"The Atari Falcon030, with the help of Motorola's 68030 and
56001 DSP, is bringing production-quality graphics,
professional-level recording and audio manipulation capabilities to
the consumer," said Sam Tramiel, president and CEO of Atari. "The
processing power of Motorola's 68030 allows the Atari Falcon030 to
be a powerful full-scale computer, giving users access to a new
world of applications while remaining affordable."
The Motorola 68030 integrates advanced features into a full
32-bit microprocessor design, optimized for low-cost, memory-based
applications. Its burst fill functionality provides an efficient
bus and memory interface, enabling the 68030 to substantially
increase overall system throughput. This capability is especially
well-suited for multimedia personal integrated media products, such
as the Atari Falcon030, that require large amounts of information
to be continuously transmitted from external memory to the
processor's dual internal caches. The efficient memory interface
results in cost and time savings, allowing the Atari Falcon030 to
achieve excellent price/performance ratios.
Available immediately, the Atari Falcon030 is priced under
$1,000, making it ideal for users who want a powerful, efficient
and cost-effective device to harness today's myriad technologies.
Having 1991 worldwide sales exceeding $3.6 billion, Motorola's
Semiconductor Products Sector is the largest U.S.-based broad line
supplier of semiconductors, with a balanced portfolio of more than
50,000 devices. Motorola is one of the world's leading providers
of electronic equipment, systems, components, and services for
global markets. Products include two-way radios, pagers and
telepoint systems, cellular telephone systems, semiconductors,
defense and aerospace electronics, automotive and industrial
electronic equipment, computers, data communications, and
information processing and handling equipment.
Motorola was a winner of the first Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award in 1988, in recognition of its superior company-wide
quality management process.
Atari Computer Corporation is a worldwide manufacturer and
marketer of palmtop through desktop computer systems. The company,
a division of Atari Corporation (AMEX: ATC), sells its systems,
peripherals and software through authorized distributors, resellers
and integrators.
___________________________________________________________
> GEnie BCS RTC STR OnLine Excerpt from Atari RT Open conference
""""""""""""""""""""""""
This is an excerpt from the open conference held every wednesday
evening in the Atari RT on GEnie at about 10pm.
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Come on, Bob, how'd the meeting go?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> True 16 bit color, DSP power, and 14 megs of ram.
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Which press was there?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Dorothy, the meeting went very well. The crowd was much
smaller..
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> The thing I like is the flexibility
regarding monitors.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> than BCS had told us it would be. However, the meeting
went off
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> How many, Bob?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> pretty well without a hitch. The press conference was
also small,
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> but went very well. BCS had 100-150 people there.
(14)<[Rich] WAFWOT> BCS?
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> That is small.
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> Boston computer Society, Rich
(14)<[Rich] WAFWOT> ahhhh
(7)<[Hutch] FAIR-DINKUM> Ouch! Tiny is more like it.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Yes, we were told they would have a minimum of 400
people.
(9)<LEXICOR> So Bob we now have an official roll out of the falcon?
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Bob, maybe you should try the Capitol PC Group they get
more than
(4)<J.D.BARNES> that at a monthly meeting.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Yep, now we've started and we can move on.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> JD, not a bad idea. Stanford draws more than that, too.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> And we could stay home that way, too. :) My wife would
like it.
(4)<J.D.BARNES> One of our developers who may have a Falcon soon goes to
those
(4)<J.D.BARNES> meetings maybe he can make contact for you guys.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> That would be very nice.
(16)** <P.PATTON4> is here.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> The thing that was very nice was just to DO IT, and get
the...
(11)<DARLAH> Hi P
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> experience of doing it behind us. Tomorrow, Bill is
going to ...
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> file a TV show on PBS called PC TV in New Hampshire.
He's going..
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> along with Ron Smith, our new GM, and the PR people.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> This show claims an audience of 40 million people, but
I've ....
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> not seen it before.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Seems that Computer Chronicles is dead, 'tis a pity.
(11)<DARLAH> it sure is.....
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Bob, that sounds very doubtful for anything on PBS.
(9)<LEXICOR> you mean no more Jim Kent interviews!
(11)<DARLAH> a pity that is
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> All the demos went well, no crashes, the videos looked
great.
(3)<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Bob, so should we check our local TV station for
times?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> And the crowd applauded! :)
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> Was it running with MultiTOS?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> I understand that they are filming in the AM, and
televising in...
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> the PM on the SAME DAY! So yes...do check your listings.
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> which press was there? Did you answer
that?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> DD, no, we didn't run MultiTOS.
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Any idea of the composition of the crowd?
(9)<LEXICOR> chicken!
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, InfoWorld,...
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Was Dana there? ;-)
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Or Jim Allen?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Yes, Dana was there.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Jim Allen too, they both just left about 10 minutes ago.
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Is there a further demo session tomorrow?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> They were very helpful, I appreciated their assistance.
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> Was it hooked up to a BIG stereo system?? %^)
(5)<[Lisa] E.LAWRENCE3> Got to run, G'night all. See you at Atarifest if
you don't hear from me again before the eighth of October.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Tomorrow night we're going to the BCS Atari Sig.
(11)<DARLAH> Nite, Lisa
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Bye Lisa!
(7)<[Hutch] FAIR-DINKUM> Nite, Lisa.
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Looking forward to meeting you KLisa.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Yes, DD. It was running on a 400 watt 16 channel stereo
system.
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Is it smaller than the 100 tonight?
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> WOWZA, Bob... bitchin
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Probably so, Dot.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> All of our screen slides were done with Prism Paint,
looked great
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Dot, they project about 20-15 people.
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> Introduce any new software with it?
(9)<LEXICOR> Just what I like to here! very good Bob brodie, you are doing
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> ooops, 20-25
(9)<LEXICOR> every thing right!
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Yes, Falcon D2D, direct to disk recording software which
will..
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> be included free of charge with every Falcon sold.
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Woof.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> It was favorably compared to Sound Tools, which sells
for $1500.
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Great! A novel application!
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> There are a total of 8 pieces of software bundled.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> So, it's pretty cool.
(7)<[Hutch] FAIR-DINKUM> No, not enough RAM for a novel... maybe just a
short story. :)
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> which ones?
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Kidprgs, by any chance? ;-)
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> I knew I could count on you to ask, DD. Thanks... :)
(17)** <J.MIRANDO1> is here.
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> just trying to help JD get the whole story...
LOLOL
(11)<DARLAH> Hi Joe
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> System Audio Manager (SAM) which allows the user to
configure...
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> hi Jammer!
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> each key stroke to a specific sound. But has no system
slow down.
(17)<[Joe] J.MIRANDO1> Hi everyone!
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Wow, help for blind typists, eh?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> It plays New Wave sounds, AVRs, all Mac Sounds
including..
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> ;-)
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> soundmaster, etc. Pretty exhaustive. Actually, Dorothy,
we did...
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> a demo with someone singing the ABC song, and they
assigned the..
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> not the dreaded "monkey squeak"
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> correct name to each key...really funny sounding.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Lots of Star Trek sounds on our machines. :)
Message sent to 12
(4)<J.D.BARNES> (he's dead, Jim)
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> I can sure think of a neat enhancement for
Kidpublisher right now...
(9)<LEXICOR> How about the tonal hello from Close Encounters?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Pro Calc, a full fledged programming and math
calculator.
(3)<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Good idea Lee.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Calappt, a revised version of a rolodex style Calendar
Appoint.
(9)<LEXICOR> it could play every time you Boot or reset the system!
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Does it do symbolic logic?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> keeper, with alarms, notepad, etc.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Yes.
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Cool.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> a couple of games, LandMines and Breakout, in true color
with...
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Are these Atari-specific applications, or
are they ports from other platforms?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> digitized sound.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> These are all Atari specific, but they have drawn on
others...
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> for a frame of reference. Like SoundMaster, for
instance.
(16)<P.PATTON4> So how much is this all gonna cost us?
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> what about business/productivity applications,
Bob??
(4)<J.D.BARNES> With enough hard disk to record sound, DP?
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Will any of these applications work on the
ST?
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> That's all included at no charge with every Atari
Falcon030.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> SAM will work on an STE or TT, but not on an ST. No DMA
sound.
(16)<P.PATTON4> which costs...
(9)<LEXICOR> I think the tiny HD in the Falcon is so cute:-)
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> All the others should work fine, in their correct rez.
(14)<[Rich] WAFWOT> is anything planned with updating Word Up?
(9)<LEXICOR> Word up??? Barf!
(14)<[Rich] WAFWOT> I use it every day!
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> 1 meg of ram, no HD = $799 list, 4 meg of ram 65 meg HD
=$1399
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Bob, how about a public compatibility list for existing
software?
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> This is very neat. Word Up aside...
(6)<[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> 4 meg - NO hd?
(9)<LEXICOR> Thats a good price well done dude!
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> JD, you already asked Bill about that, remember? :)
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> 4 meg, NO hd, sorry...no such animal today.
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Yes, Bob, I just wanted to know if there is anything new
on it
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> All of the initial machines will have 4 meg 65 meg HD.
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Good Idea.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> JD, we've been very focused on BCS. :) Maybe soon.
(5)** <S.OLSON11> is here.
(16)<P.PATTON4> any idea when these will be available in the U.S.?
(14)<[Rich] WAFWOT> any plans of putting the Falcon in a Mega-type case?
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Has Pacific begun on the project yet?
(9)<LEXICOR> hay for 799 some one with an external HD thats a great price.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> JD, I have no idea. Bill is handling that.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Patton, in mid-late October. Check the Sam CO file in the
library
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> There is lots of great Falcon info in that file, along
with...
(16)<P.PATTON4> gotta go. Cya. Thanks for the info!
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> the conference that Bill Rehbock did.
(3)<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Lee, I seen a 21mb Floptical drive SCSI for $479.00.
(2)<[Daryl] D.MONGE> Purple Mountain is offering a 2MB Floptical for 399
incl. ICD LINK.
(10)<[John] J.EIDSVOOG1> 21MB
(3)<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> That is even better.
(2)<[Daryl] D.MONGE> oh well....
(2)<[Daryl] D.MONGE> fat fingers
(3)<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> I was looking at a Mac mail order magazine.
(12)<[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Sure, tell me AFTER I buy a Syquest... ;-)
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Purple Mountain? The GEMulator folks?
(9)<LEXICOR> I got 432 MB for about 399?
(2)<[Daryl] D.MONGE> Yep. I've been wondering if this is a reasonable
offer.
(7)<[Hutch] FAIR-DINKUM> Hey, the Syquests are still good units, Lou! Not
many folks have Flopticals.
(4)<J.D.BARNES> How do folks think the floptical reliability will compare
with
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Syquest?
(3)<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Lou, their Syquest drive SCSI are $599.00
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> I'm happy with my SyQuest.
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Well, I have to sneak off for a while. Time for dinner.
:)
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> I'll try to stop back by later on.
(11)<DARLAH> Nite, Bob and thanks!
(4)<J.D.BARNES> Smoke hasn't killed it yet, Dorothy?
(7)<[Hutch] FAIR-DINKUM> Later, Bob. Thanks for stopping by.
(8)<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Bob, get me all those things I want, eh?
(3)<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Night, Bob Brodie!
(15)<BOB-BRODIE> Nite...
====================================================================
(C)1992 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari RoundTables. May be
reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari RoundTables on GEnie
are the *official* information services of the Atari Corporation.
====================================================================
> GEMVELOPE! STR InfoFile ITS NOT ONLY FOR SLM USERS....
"""""""""""""""""""""""
GEMVELOPE IS FOR EVERYBODY!
===========================
Synergy Resources is proud to announce the release of a new version of
GEMvelope! the envelope printer. GEMvelope allows you to print envelopes
on virtually all laser printers and dot matrix printers, including the HP
DeskJet. GEMvelope was developed to work hand in hand with most word
processors and data bases to provide a complete solution. This latest
version (2.9) continues to expand and refine a product which has been
continuously upgraded and supported over the past two years.
GEMvelope Features:
-------------------
- Import allows extracting an address from a letter in almost any
word processor format (or from the GEM/Atari clipboard).
- Mail merge/browse allows printing one or many envelopes with an
address imported from a database file such as Cardfile or Tracker/ST.
(Database import is fully user-definable.)
- ** NEW! ** Special HP DeskJet support!
- Adjustable positioning for different size envelopes.
- Load-able and save-able addresses and configuration.
- POSTNET bar code printing for speeding your mail. (Will also save
two cents per letter in the future according to the US Post Office!)
- ** NEW! ** A new text line is available and is placed at the bottom
left of an envelope. This is for adding messages like "Attention:
John Doe" or "Personal & Confidential".
- ** NEW! ** The program version runs in a window and supports a menu bar.
- A desk accessory version ideal for using from within programs like
Tracker/ST!
- GEMvelope uses and includes GDOS and drivers for the following printers:
Atari SLM804/605, HP LaserJet compatible, HP DeskJet,
Epson FX80/LX compatible 9 pin, Epson/Panasonic compatible 24 pin,
Star NX1000, Okimate 20.
- Includes Swiss, Dutch and Typewriter fonts.
Fully compatible with FSM and bitmapped GDOS fonts.
- Compatible with all Atari ST and TT computers with 1 meg RAM.
Atari SLM laser printers require 2 megs of RAM.
** Tracker/ST owners: Watch your mail for a special offer of 33% off on
GEMvelope. GEMvelope is designed to be used hand in hand with Tracker/ST
as a complete solution.
List price of GEMvelope is only $30 and is available directly from Synergy
Resources or your Atari dealer. (Dealer distribution is by Pacific
Software)
Upgrades from version 2.0-2.1 is $6. Upgrades from version 2.7 or greater
is $3. Send original disk to Synergy Resources for upgrades.
Synergy Resources
754 N. Bolton Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46219-5902
(317) 356-6946
GEnie Address: R.RICHARDS2
__________________________________________________________________
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> A "Quotable Quote" "WILL THEY EVER LEARN?"
"""""""""""""""""
"When people proffer criticisms of Atari, its because they
are sincerely responsive enough to survey the ecumenical
predicament and offer a conducive critique and commentary.
Unfortunately, there are those in this shrinking community who
obdurately insist upon confronting this concept with a defensive,
truculent stance.
Its lamentable to see these types only understand the
antediluvian concept of "Us & Them". Sadly, they persist in
attempting to create antagonistic stiuations and circumstances
upon which they conspicuously flourish."
.....R.F. Mariano
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> ABCO SPECIALS! STR InfoFile * NEW 1992 Prices! MORE Products! *
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" --------------------------------
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NOTICE: ABCO will BEAT OR MATCH * ANY *
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ABCO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS
=========================
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* Toner Starter Kits-$62.95 *
* Replacement (804) Drums-$186.95 *
ABCO is PROUD to announce the acquisition of
the exclusive U.S.A. distribution rights for
** Bitblit Software's ///Turbo Board BBS. **
This fine Atari ST BBS system software and
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>> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED <<
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SEND FOR YOUR NEW ABCO CATALOG TODAY!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International Online Magazine
[S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport
Available through more than 10,001 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STR Online! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" September 25, 1992
Since 1987 copyright (c) 1987-92 All Rights Reserved No.8.39
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors/staff, PCReport, STReport, AMReport, MCReport. Permission to
reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Each reprint
must include the name of the publication, date, issue number and the
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edited in any way without prior written permission. The entire contents,
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STR editors, contributors and or staff are not responsible for the use or
misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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