Z*Net: 10-Aug-90 #532
From: Kevin Steele (aa596@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 08/25/90-10:33:15 AM Z
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From: aa596@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Kevin Steele) Subject: Z*Net: 10-Aug-90 #532 Date: Sat Aug 25 10:33:15 1990 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Z*NET ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE - AUGUST 10, 1990 - ISSUE #532 Your Weekly Atari News Source ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Published by Rovac Editor: Ron Kovacs Asst Editor: John Nagy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Staff Columnists: Jon Clarke, Terry Schreiber Advertising: John King Tarpinian Distribution: Bruce Hansford ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| CONTENTS |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) - EDITORS DESK...............................................Ron Kovacs - Z*NET NEWSWIRE....................................................... - WORLD OF ATARI SAN JOSE REPORT..............................John Nagy - Z*NET PRESSWIRE...................................................... - SCRIPT REVIEW............................................Rod Dickison - Z*NET DOWN-UNDER...........................................Jon Clarke - Z*NET ECHOS...........................................Terry Schreiber (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| EDITORS DESK |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| Ron Kovacs |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) Changes are taking place around the publication. This week with regret I accepted the resignation of Alice Amore and Mark Quinn who have moved on to new projects. In case you haven't noticed, Alice is the editor of the new online magazine presented by GEnie. It is released bi-weekly and covers all the areas offered by GEnie. Please take a look at the issue which is available in ST Roundtable library and support Alice's new effort. Alice has been a contributing editor for Z*Net and ST*ZMagazine and also wrote for ST-Report when we were running the magazine. Her expertise has been the public domain and shareware arena with weekly reviews of the latest files available on the pay services. Alice can be reached on GEnie in ID: Newsletter. I want to thank Alice and Mark for their contributions and best of luck in future endeavors. RUMOR PATROL There is a rumor circulating that Avante Gard is dropping the PC-Ditto II line. They are NOT going out of business, just discontinuing the product. This is just a RUMOR so don't take this a gospel. BBS SYSTEMS If your BBS is interested in carrying Z*Net on your system, it is as simple as 1-2-3: 1. Do NOT edit any issue. 2. Tell us who you are... 3. Tell us when you drop us.... Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your summer........ (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| Z*NET ONLINE NEWSWIRE |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| --------------------- |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) ATARI REPORTS NET INCOME OF $1.5 MILLION Atari reported this week operating results for the second quarter 1990. Sales for the three months ended June 30, 1990 were $84.9 million as compared to $82.7 million last year, an increase of $2.2 million. Net income was $1.5 million as compared to $300,000, an increase of $1.2 million. Sales for the six month period ended June 30, 1990 were $170.4 million as compared to $171.5 million for the like period last year. Net income was $3.1 million as compared with $3.6 million for the like period last year. Atari President Sam Tramiel was quoted in a press release, "The company is continuing to make progress in the rollout of its new products including the Lynx color handheld portable video game and the Portfolio, a handheld MS DOS command compatible computer. The Atari TT030 computer, based on the Motorola 68030 microprocessor, is being shipped during quarter three. We are pleased by the continued broadening of our distribution base for our new products and we will continue to direct our resources toward building market share as we enter the traditional selling season ahead." GLENDALE SHOW: 40+ VENDORS LIST Plans are going well for the Southern California Atari Faire, Version 4.0b. Organizer of the user-group show, John King Tarpinian, says that he is nearly sold out of the original floor space planned for use in the Glendale Civic Auditorium. He adds that if demand keeps up, convenient, quality additional space can be arranged. John says that all of the developers that appeared at the recent San Jose World of Atari show are booked for Glendale, plus lots more. Publicity for the Glendale show, including the vendor list, has been low key until now to avoid drawing attention away from last week's World of Atari show. Here is the Glendale Show List of both Confirmed and "Expected" exhibitors (those not yet confirmed but that have expressed intentions to do so). There are 44 of them so far, making Glendale perhaps the biggest US Atari show of all time! ATARI Corporation American Music Best Electronics Bill Skurski Enterprises Branch Always Software BRE Beckmeyer Carter Graphics CodeHead SoftWare Computer Network C.O.P. D.A. Brumleve Datel Double Click Gadgets by Small Gold Leaf Gribnif Groves School of Music ICD ISD King's Domain Lexicor Logical Computing MegaMax Michtron MicroCreations Mid-Cities Migraph Neocept Practical Solutions Safari Fonts S.D.S. Sierra Seymour-Radix SliccWare STart ST Informer ST Journal Sprokits Supra Corp. Talon WuzTek Zubair Interfaces Z*Net News Service The Glendale show will be held September 15 and 16. More information is available from John King Tarpinian, 818-246-7286. The seminar schedule and advertising space in the program are being arranged now, so please call if you are interested in giving a seminar or in advertising. An attendance of over 4,000 is anticipated at the Atari Faire, the fourth held at this site. Last year's Glendale show was canceled due to conflicting dates with another San Jose World of Atari show, which was then itself cancelled. ATARI MIDI-FEST '90 Atari and American Music, a large music store in North Hollywood, CA, held "MIDI-FEST '90" last Thursday, August 9th in the Ballroom of the Beverly Garland Hotel, also in North Hollywood. Live MIDI demonstrations were presented for a crowd of as many as 400 customers and music mavens. The speaker list included Mick Fleetwood, Jimmy Hotz, Scott Gershin (sound for many motion pictures including BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY and HONEY, I'VE SHRUNK THE KIDS), members of TANGERINE DREAM and THE POINTER SISTERS band, and other musicians who enthusiastically demonstrated the use of the Atari and its software in professional applications. It was also the retail commercial debut of the HOTZ MIDI Translator, produced under the ATARI name. The program was very similar to a combination of that presented at the ill-fated "concert" at last year's Disneyland World of Atari show and the demos shown at the more recent NAMM shows. It was well received by this audience, made up of professional (and some quite famous) musicians, songwriters, producers, film score makers, and serious musical hobbyists. The display again established Atari as the technology and price leader for MIDI. Surrounding the demo/concert floor were many displays of equipment and software for MIDI use on the Atari computers. Steinberg-Jones, C-LAB, DR. T's. Hybrid Arts, MIDIMAN, and other representatives showed their wares, and American Music offered Atari Hardware (including NINE Stacy Laptop ST computers!) for sale. The evening was arranged through Atari's Frank Foster, who had the misfortune to have his car broken into the day of the show, losing his personal STACY. We wonder if the thief is still trying to get to the "C:>" prompt. Help in setup for the show was provided by volunteers of the Southern California user groups, coordinated by John King Tarpinian, who is also the Glendale Show manager. American Music, 5100 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood CA, (818) 762-9749. NEW ATARI BIG SCREEN MONITORS The new larger color monitor used with the Atari TT030 computers has received a "Type A" acceptance from the FCC. This enables it to be sold in the USA for business and industrial use. Another color unit is on its way to the FCC now for further testing, required for "Type B" acceptance and sales to homeowners. Additional word from Atari in several countries is that a new large-screen monochrome monitor may be offered for all Atari computers that is said to give a picture that is "really superior" to the $2,000 Moniterm monitors from Viking. The new monitors are made by Phillips, and should also be cheaper than the Viking. TT030/8 - 8 MEG RAM ONBOARD Spotted recently is more evidence that the TT030 may be about to become commercially available. Yet another configuration of the 68030 computer from Atari was seen briefly by a select few developers after the San Jose World of Atari show. This one bore the label "TT030/8" and sported 8 megabytes of RAM onboard. It is not known whether this machine also had the anticipated 32MHZ CPU or the 16 MHZ 68030 which is still the officially announced configuration. APPLE ANNOUNCES TOOLS PACKAGE ON CD-ROM Apple announced a new collection of Apple development tools for serious Macintosh programmers. E.T.O.: Essentials-Tools-Objects, which is distributed on CD-ROM, features the most widely used Apple development tools and printed final documentation. It is revised quarterly through a special update program. TANDY INTRODUCES NEW COMPUTER Tandy introduced the new Tandy 1500 HD portable computer, the first under six-pound (including battery) notebook PC equipped with both standard floppy and hard disk drives. The system sells for $1,999 and will be available in September at more than 7,000 Radio Shack Computer Centers, Radio Shack stores and dealers nationwide. HEWLETT-PACKARD INTRODUCES NEW PRODUCTS Hewlett-Packard announced three additional software products, 16 value- dded resellers and 18 independent software developers for HP NewWave Office. The new software products are: - HP NewWave Mail, an electronic-mail product that enables customers to send messages, video objects and other data types, such as spreadsheets and graphics, to other computer users. - HP AdvanceLink for HP NewWave, terminal-emulation software that allows users to transfer MS-DOS files to and from HP 3000 and HP 9000 computer systems. - HP OfficeFax, software that allows users of electronic-mail products such as HP AdvanceMail and HP NewWave Mail to send facsimiles directly from their computers. ETHERNET BOARDS FOR MACINTOSH COMPUTERS National Semiconductor introduced two new products for Apple Macintosh computers. The adapter cards join CEG's Ethernet solutions for IBMR PCs and compatibles introduced in June 1990 and allow Macintosh computers to connect to Ethernet Local Area Networks (LANs). National's new boards, the first products to come to market as the result of the company's technology agreement and joint engineering development with Dove Computer Corp., are designed for Apple's Macintosh II and SE/30 computers. TOSHIBA SLASHES PRICE Toshiba announced a dramatic $800 price cut on the T1200XE notebook PC, from $3999 to $3199. Other price reductions were also implemented, all of which are effective immediately. Other affected models include the Toshiba T1200HB, T1600/20T1600/40 and T1000XE. The T1600/20 (20 megabyte hard disk version) is now $3499, reduced from $3999, the T1600/40 (40 megabyte version), is now $3999, reduced from $4699. The T1000XE, previously $2699, is now selling for $2399. COMMODORE REPORTS EARNINGS Commodore reported net income of $1.5 million or $.05 per share on sales of $887.3 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1990. In the prior year net income was $51.3 million or $1.59 per share on sales of $939.7 million. For the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, 1990, Commodore reported a net loss of $3.5 million or $.11 per share on sales of $198.1 million. In the prior year quarter Commodore reported a net loss of $8.9 million or $.28 per share on sales of $180.3 million. Although fiscal year sales declined by 6 percent, sales increased by 10 percent during the fourth quarter as growth of the Amiga and PC product groups more than offset the decline in C64 sales. Moreover, profitability for the fiscal year was significantly affected by the sales and marketing investment required to build a presence in the PC and Amiga professional market. ANOTHER DRAM GLUT POSSIBLE Japanese semiconductor companies may cause a massive surplus of RAM chips in 1991 due to large investments requiring production wars, say some analysts in a Reuter's News Service story this week. This time, it will be 4 megabit dynamic RAM, which are being produced largely by the Japanese, and additional production by South Korean, Taiwanese, U.S., and European companies could further bloat the microchip market. Already, low prices for four-megabit DRAMs are pressuring the newer chipmakers to outproduce their older rivals, who may have no choice but to produce more, too, thus increasing excess supplies. The companies are, taken together, building a production capacity that could easily exceed demand, a situation that in the mid-1980's forced chips to record low prices and caused a major trade dispute with the USA. While market analysts make this prediction, industry representatives say that they learned from their mistake in the '80s and will not repeat it. "We now know how to control prices and supply", said a Toshiba spokesman. (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| WORLD OF ATARI SAN JOSE |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*|Eyewitness Rpt by John Nagy|*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) A moderate turnout to a small presentation made last weekend's San Jose World of Atari show appear satisfyingly crowded, but the final attendance numbers are the smallest for any WOA to date. Seasoned showgoers generally agreed that about 1,500 people visited the two day show in Northern California. The show was announced only four months ago. The hall in the Hyatt San Jose, near the 101 and 880 expressways, was configured to make the small display of 17 vendors look beefy enough when filled with visitors. The divided one quarter of the "Mediterranean Center" held three short isles that were as busy as any larger show, often making navigation slow. Those in attendance seemed happy with the selection of name developers and large dealer displays, and the usual price-cutting made for many happy buyers. Having gone several years without a local Atari show, the San Francisco area welcomed whatever came, and I heard no local complaints about the size or breadth of the showings. Developers at the show included: CodeHead Software, with John Eidsvoog and Charles Johnson doing breakneck speed demos of their growing crop of utility products. Popular new items were POPIT (hot keys for activating desk accessories) and LOOKIT (a superior file viewer and editor), reviewed in previous issues of Z*NET. Branch Always Software, with Darek Mihocka showing his QUICK ST II and Quick tools... and challenging visitors to "find the bug" in his code... on his new BRA-SOFT t-shirts. Zubair Interfaces had the most interesting new product, an interface board to attach a standard IBM AT type keyboard to any ST or MEGA computer ($99.95). Zubair also displayed and sold their wide line of memory upgrades. Zubair Interfaces Inc., 5243-B Paramount Blvd, Lakewood, CA 90712, (213) 408-6715. Computer Safari, in the person of Jay Pierstorff, was there showing Jay's line of original PAGESTREAM FONTS, including several never released before this show. Carter Graphics had their line of hard drives and Syquest units, and Don Carter showed how affordable his quality systems can be. JRI attended, all the way from Pittsburg (California), with John Russell demonstrating his flawless GENLOCK system, as well as offering his JATO accelerator, 4096C color board, and a new $200 math-coprocessor unit that just presses on to the CPU in any ST or MEGA. JRI, Box 5277, Pittsburg, California 94565, (415) 458-9577. Talon showed their very successful SUPERCHARGER, the external PC emulator for MEGA and ST computers, imported from Germany. MEGAMAX was there with their new pair of import products, SCRIPT for graphical word processing, and SKETCH for drawing. Part One of a review is included in this weeks edition. Michtron appeared to be doing well selling their usual line of software and hardware, with many people seeing FLEET STREET PUBLISHER V.3.0 for the first time. BRE's Brad Ralken had a good display of both commercial and public domain software. King's Domain showed and sold their PD software disks. Arriving late was Beckmeyer Development, long a respected developer of serious applications in their unique multi-tasking operating system. Sliccware Software also arrived mid-show, and demoed their still unavailable desktop replacement system. Paradise Systems, the SGS Network people, are said to have been in attendance on Sunday, but they were not on the vendor list. Dealers on hand included B&C Computervisions, with a great selection of software and hardware old and new. Many visitors to the show were heard to say, "WHAT Atari hardware shortage?" when viewing the San Jose Computer display of SIX Stacy laptop computers FOR SALE, and a big stack of 520STFM computers at a mere $350 each. BEST Electronics had their usual plethora of the arcane parts and trinkets for the Atari's, going back well into the 800 days. Rounding out the vendor list was START/ANTIC, with a number of the editors and regular writers manning the booth. Editor Tom Byron also passed out a letter outlining major changes being made in START magazine, not the least of which is the cancellation of the September issue and rolling the 8-bit ANTIC coverage back into START magazine. The full text of the announcement is included in this issue of Z*NET. No-shows that had been booked to appear and were listed in the promotional materials were SEMOR-RADIX (DVT Backup, IMG Scan), GOLD LEAF (WordFlair), GADGETS BY SMALL (Spectre GCR), and ICD INC. (hard drive systems). User groups were at tables outside the show. Present were DACE (Diablo Valley) and SCAUG (Southern Santa Clara County), but several other groups, even groups more local to the show itself, were said to have asked for tables or booths. They were rebuffed by Richard Tsukiji, World of Atari show promoter, who said that there was no room. However, the booths for the non-appearing vendors, at least some of which had given Richard early notice that they either would or could not appear, remained empty throughout the show. Oddly enough, the sign for GADGETS BY SMALL was moved by Tsukiji himself from the empty booth at the end of an isle to a much MORE visible location mid-day on Saturday, prompting many visitors to stay longer in hopes that it signalled that the popular Dave Small, maker of the SPECTRE GCR Macintosh emulator, was about to appear. Dave had announced that he would not be coming to the show several weeks ago. For some of us in attendance, there was as much in the AUDIENCE to hold our attention as there was at the booths. Making casual appearances on Saturday afternoon were Sam Tramiel, Leonard Tramiel, new USA/CANADA/ FRANCE Atari Manager Elie Kenan, User Group Manager Bob Brodie, Gail Johnson, Atari technical staffers John Townsend, Jim Tittsler, Ken Badertscher, and Dan McNamee, and others from the halls of Sunnyvale. Most were in very casual garb, meshing easily into the crowd and avoiding detection by most showgoers. When spotted by knowledgeable users, they graciously and enthusiastically discussed matters of sales, support, and plans for the future. Visiting notables from outside Atari but from the Atari arena were Paul Wu of WUZTECH, Mike Fulton of NEOCEPT, the remarkable Bill Wilkinson formerly of OSS, and many others. New boss Elie Kenan is still on his "fact finding" phase at Atari, and was no doubt sobered by seeing the small show, virtually at the home base of Atari's international operations. He is friendly, easy to talk to, and very interested in the national perception of Atari. Elie reminds me a lot of Sig Hartmann. While Sig's heavy German intonations embellished every phrase with gusto and verve, Elie's quieter French accent communicates a similar feeling of continental dignity and self- assurance. It was good to see that Atari employees were able to give at least some time to the San Jose show, even if in an informal manner. The weekend engagement list for shows is particularly busy lately, and this was, for some, the only weekend this month that could include any family time. Richard Tsukiji, the promoter of the World of Atari series, was fully informed of Atari's other commitments long before he made this particular show into a firm date, and he was advised that Atari could not formally attend or support this short-scheduled show. In fact, in a series of letters that have since been FAXED around the country by Tsukiji, Atari clearly stated that they very much would like to support a San Jose area show, but that Richard's scheduling this date without consultation from Atari simply tied their hands. Atari offered to fully support a rescheduled show, but Tsukiji declined that option. A number of exhibitors at San Jose did not know that Atari had never committed to appear at this show, and were surprised to find them absent. Several even claim that they were led to believe that Atari had "cancelled" their appearance, and those vendors were quite vocal in their criticism of Atari until they learned the facts. Atari's equipment has been just as busy as their employees, with every available LYNX and display for the portable game occupied at a DC COMICS convention in San Diego. Much more computer and gaming equipment was already shipped to Milwaukee for next weekend's GENCON gamer convention (look for reports from GENCON soon in Z*NET). Nevertheless, Atari was able to go the extra mile to find enough additional computer systems to meet the relatively modest requirements of the San Jose WOA, and delivered them to Richard Tsukiji before the show. Incredibly, even after getting the equipment and agreeing to be completely responsible for the safe return of it all to Atari on Monday, Tsukiji cornered Sam Tramiel at the show to complain that WOA had no way to return the show stock, and asked Sam to intervene. Once more into the breach, Bob Brodie was asked to do what he could to help. Bob again dutifully interrupted his rare weekend at home, returned to the show site on Sunday with the family van, and picked up the Atari equipment so that Richard and company could leave on their Sunday evening schedule. Apparently Tsukiji had made no attempt whatsoever to arrange for the safe storage or shipment of Atari's loaned equipment, despite his agreement. Even more incredibly, during and after the show, Tsukiji was overheard by several people, repeatedly and openly discussing his plans for Bob Brodie's demise at Atari. The WOA promoter was heard to boast of the "ammunition" against Bob that he had to go to Sam Tramiel with after the show. It seems that Tsukiji blames Bob for WOA's failures in user group relations, for Atari's decision not to support the San Jose show, and for considerable negative publicity regarding the WOA series' scheduling practices. Tsukiji has been quoted by a number of developers as having vowed to see Bob Brodie fired from Atari. However, most observers have stated their opinion that Tsukiji's problems are entirely of his own making, by his continued attitude that his own commercial shows are both superior and more important to the Atari community than user shows or Atari's other commitments. Tsukiji's disregard for previously scheduled events has sparked inter-usergroup warfare, cancellation of established shows, and friction with all of the top officials at Atari. Typical Tsukiji quotes that are verifiable by perhaps hundreds of users and developers: "Atari has no choice" but to appear when and where Tsukiji decides to do a show... "Atari wouldn't DARE not support MY shows... Imagine the press I'll get when I say I am using my money to promote Atari with a massive show tour, and Atari won't attend, they can't afford to look that bad"... "By the end of 1990 I'll be doing ALL the Atarifests, everywhere"... "I have Atari in a corner"... and "I don't need Atari anyway. THEY need ME." In fact, Atari has spent more money on most of the WOA shows than was either spent by Tsukiji or reported as earned by the shows. Tsukiji has variously used, abused, ignored, insulted, buttered up, and/or threatened lawsuit against users and groups in every city he has visited in the ever-shrinking WOA tour. In every case, the glittering promises of the World of Atari - massive showings with lots of promotion - proved to be far in excess of the real performances. Many groups as well as Atari executives agree that Bob Brodie has in fact gone far out of his way to try to minimize the impact of the problems with both Atari and user groups. It appears to most of us that if Tsukiji attempts to create a situation where Atari must choose between Bob Brodie and Richard Tsukiji, that Richard will be the one receiving the farewell. Speculation that the San Jose World of Atari would injure the vendor showing or attendance of the well-known user group show at Glendale was fortunately in vain. The suburban Los Angeles, California "Glendale Atari Faire", scheduled for September 15 and 16, is doing very well in confirmed bookings. With five weeks yet to go before the show, Glendale organizer John King Tarpinian reports well over double the number of vendors already committed to his show as attended in San Jose. ALL of the developer vendors from San Jose are expected to be at Glendale, which may sport over 45 exhibitors altogether to become the largest Atari show EVER, plus a major presence and support by Atari. Any damage done by the close scheduling of the two California shows was clearly done to the World of Atari show and not to the Glendale show, which was scheduled over a year in advance. All in all, the San Jose show was satisfying to many users in the Bay area who have been starved for a local Atarifest. Measured by "small" show standards, the World of Atari in San Jose was a clear success. The many political and scheduling problems may well have been what prevented this show from being a contender in the "national" league to which the WOA series pretends, and on which level it was just as clearly a disappointment. (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| Z*NET PRESSWIRE |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| --------------- |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) * C-Manship Book For The Atari ST * * Start Magazine - Announces Changes * * My Fingertip Business - 8-Bit Update * (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) Taylor Ridge Books P.O. Box 48 Manchester, CT 06040 (203) 643-9673 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: TAYLOR RIDGE BOOKS (203) 643-9673 LEARN TO PROGRAM THE ATARI ST WITH C-MANSHIP COMPLETE Manchester, CT. August 8, 1990--Taylor Ridge Books has announced the release of C-manship Complete, the popular C and GEM programming tutorial originally published in ST-Log magazine. Written by Clayton Walnum, the former editor of ST-Log, C-manship Complete guides readers through both the basics of C programming and the complexities of the GEM operating system. The 400-page book is $19.95. A disk version, which includes both the book and two single-sided disks, is available for $29.95. "C-manship is the only book that teaches both C and GEM programming," says Clayton Walnum. "Everything you need to know to program your Atari ST in C is covered in C-manship Complete." C-manship Complete begins with the basics of C programming, then progresses to such advanced topics as the VDI, alert boxes, customized mice, file selectors, raster operations, dialog boxes, windows, desk accessories, animation, and more. The book concludes with an in-depth "take-apart" of a large-scale GEM application. Dozens of sample programs are included. C-manship Complete can be ordered from Taylor Ridge Books, P.O. Box 48, Manchester, CT 06040 at the prices listed above plus $2.00 P&H. Connecticut residents must include 8% sales tax. (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) START MAGAZINE CHANGES Press Release San Francisco, Aug. 3 -- Antic Publishing Inc. today announced that publication of START Magazine will be suspended for one month in order to make several major editorial and circulation changes. All current subscriptions will be extended one month. In addition, START has agreed to fulfill the ST-Log and Analog subscription obligations, doubling its circulation. When START reappears with the October 1990 issue (on sale Sept. 1), it will contain a monthly, 16-page section for Atari 8-bit computer owners, boosting START's pages to 124-plus. Antic, the publishing group's long-running 8-bit magazine, will cease publication. START Editor Tom Byron also announced staff changes. Jim Burton joins the magazine as technical editor; Rick Braden is the new art director. Burton is a journalist and past START contributor with a thorough knowledge of GFA BASIC. See "GDOS Printer Drivers in GFA BASIC" in the January 1990 issue and "GDOS Tutorial" in the August 1990 issue for samples of his work. His main responsibility will be the START disk, which, beginning with the January 1991 issue, will be a straight double- sided format. Braden comes to START from Portland, Ore., where he designed a number of successful regional and national business and technical journals. In addition to his talents as a graphic designer, Braden is a MIDI aficionado and ST owner. Several popular ST authors have been named contributing editors, with responsibility for areas of increasing interest to ST users. The new contributing editors are: Dan Fruchey - Word Processing/Desktop Publishing, John Russell and David Plotkin - Hardware, Christopher Roberts - Telecommunications. Jim Pierson-Perry continues to cover MIDI and music, while former START editor Andrew Reese covers graphics. (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) PRESS RELEASE MY FINGERTIP BUSINESS (Version 1.1) by: Scott Liddick Written entirely in ATARI BASIC, this small business package is the first of many planned interactive modules. MY FINGERTIP BUSINESS includes the following built-in forms: Conditional Sales Agreement General Release Notice of Dishonored Check Final Notice Before Legal Action Indemnity Agreement Request for Price Quote 2nd Request for Payment Limited Power of Attorney Notice of Overdue Account Promissary Note & Disclosure Statement All forms are designed with an easy to use "fill in the blanks" design. Monthly payment computations are automatic, but interest computations are left up to the user to insure proper compliance with State regulations. Each form can be saved to disk or printed (Epson compatible printers). The forms can be printed directly from the program or the saved form can be entered into your word processor for final adjustments and your own personal refinements. MY FINGERTIP BUSINESS also includes a full featured invoicing program. The FTINVOICE program includes: Automatic Sub & Grand totals Extension Totaling Complete Print Out Suitability for Window Envelopes Invoice Message Areas Saving to Disk Viewing Saved Invoices Invoice copies/Customer Profile Running Monthly Total of Invoices Much, Much More Also included in MY FINGERTIP BUSINESS is daily date with "Inspirational Quote of the Day", Screen clock, DOS Functions (format a disk, formatting drives 1 & 2 with one command, lock & unlock a file, disk directory and more), and a Help option. MY FINGERTIP BUSINESS is available in three different formats: Non- Ramdisk, 64K Ramdisk, or Extended Ramdisk; compatible with 600XL, 800XL, 65XE, 130XE, or XE Game Machine with at least 64K of ram. The program disk is sent to you in 1050 density and is not copy protected. Future planned interactive modules include: Appointment Calendar, Reports, Mailing Labels, Phone Book, and more. Customer support is essential for the future development of any and all modules. At only $14.95, MY FINGERTIP BUSINESS should be in every Atarians software library. Order your copy today. CHAMELEON SOFTWARE 1013 Marvern Drive East Chambersburg, PA 17201 (717) 267-0904 (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| SCRIPT REVIEW |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| Rod Dickison |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) A New Monochrome Only Word Processor With Grfx For Europe! ---------------------------------------------------------- (Reprinted from the Puget Sound Atari News, July 1990) One handy thing about doing a review of a word processing program is that you can use the program to write the review. To start with, SCRIPT is a fun program to use. It has all the standard gem drop-down menus. I'll only explain the ones that are different from some other Word Processors. Under the file menu is INSERT ASCII and SAVE ASCII. To load an ASCII file you don't use the Load command, you open a NEW document and INSERT ASCII. Or you can insert an ASCII file in your present document at the current cursor location. The other thing is the load PICTURE. More on this later.... Edit commands include: Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Search and Replace, Spell Check. Additionally, there is Examine Document, which tells you how many characters, words, lines, and paragraphs your document has. PROTECT and UNPROTECT PARAGRAPH prevents a paragraph from being split between pages. SELECT ALL lets you block (highlight) all paragraphs. I should explain here that this program does all its formatting by paragraphs. You will have to think ahead if you want to do anything with a single line or two. Anything in between Return (or Enter) characters is considered a paragraph. To format a paragraph you place the cursor somewhere in the paragraph and clicked on the RULER BAR at the top of the page, which has the formatting instructions in the form of icons showing left, right and centered justification as well as left, right, centered and decimal tabs (this last lets you line up columns of dollar amounts under where you place the tab). This can be done before or after you type the paragraph, or the whole document. All tabs are placed by dragging the icon you want to where you want it. The other icons are left and right margins, indent, line spacing (single or double), and a new one - line spacing by point size, up to 99 points. The Single/Double (line spacing) is a nice feature. I use Double for my typing/text entry, and then just click on the icon to change it to Single to see how things will look when printed. The FORMAT MENU has tab left and right, header and footer, footnotes, page number, date, hyphen, and page break. The FONTS MENU lets select the font you want. This is ROKW11A. ROKW15A, ROKW-BA, ROKW-IA, ROKWO7A come on the disk. More fonts are available including Times, Future, outline, Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek, plus many more. (Fifty dollars per commercial disk, fifteen dollars per shareware disk, from the distributor in Texas. Several fonts per disk.) Laser, 9-pin and 24-pin printers are supported. Attributes are used to change font styles: Normal, Bold, Italics, Underline, Large, Small, Superscript, Subscript. Small is compressed, Large is twice size. To change a word you have already typed, double click on it. It becomes high-lighted and you then use the drop-down menu (or control+letter equivalent) to set the desired attribute. This selected attribute remains in use for any follow-on typing - until changed. When a word is high-lighted SCRIPT automatically defaults to the 'Typeover' mode. Hitting the Space bar will cause a high-lighted word to be deleted. (Of course, all of this also applies to sentences or paragraphs.) Pressing 'Undo' will bring back these deletions. That is, until you click the left mouse button; then that text is lost forever. 'Undo' buffers whatever you type or high-light between left mouse clicks. You can also high-light words, sentences, and paragraphs by holding down the left mouse button and draging the cursor over them. All the default settings are set using the PARAMETERS menu. The choices are: PRINTER DRIVER, PAGE FORMAT, PRINTER PARAMETERS, and PAPER FEED. Before you can use SCRIPT, it must first be installed. This means running the INSTALL PROGRAM, where you select the drive you will use, and the program puts every thing you need on that drive - that's all there is to it! Then you pick your parameters. The well written manual reminds you three times at the first part of the tutorial to install and configure SCRIPT. The last menu is OPTIONS, where you can choose whether or not to show the format ruler, the symbols/icons for headers, footers, page number, etc. You can assign fonts and font attributes to the function keys so that you can choose them without using the mouse. Next month I will go into the graphics and printing functions of SCRIPT, as well as show some other things peculiar to the program. SCRIPT is a fun and easy program to use. However, I may have uncovered some serious problems that could significantly reduce it's usefulness. These require further innvestigation. I want to be fair to the program and to you, the readers, so a 'two-parter' is needed. Tune-in next month! (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| Z*NET DOWN-UNDER |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| Jon Clarke |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) THE CHANGING FACE OF THE GLOBAL NETWORKS ---------------------------------------- ::The Humble BBS bites back::Part 2:: Before we get into the ins and outs of BBS networks I think this would be a good time to explain a few of the terms used in these articles. BBS Bulletin Board Service. BT British Telecom. Compuserve A major on-line service for all computers. Echo's Mail group/ store here and we will 'Echo' it on another BBS. Fido_Mail World-Wide mail network. Flame As it sounds, a heated discussion. Flash An Atari communications program. FoReM A popular Atari and IBM BBS program. Gateway The lead BBS/system for mail/files, 1st point of entry. GEnie A major on-line service for all computers. HagTerm An Atari communications program. IPSN International Packet Switch Network. Modem MOdulate-DEModulate, lets computers talk to each. Network A group of computers talking to each other/transmittion line. Node Another BBS/Phone line on your BBS. Nodelist List of Fido_mail BBS's in the network. PSN Packet Switch Network. ST Well I ask you! Need I say more? Tymenet A ISPN/PSN network carrier. Usenet World-wide mail/file network. VAN Value Added Network. Unix An operating system. Vanterm An Atari communications program. VAX A computer system. Zone(s) Areas/location(s). ::Fido-Mail:: ::::::::::::: So where, what, who is Fido_mail? -------------------------------- Where do you find 'Fido_mail'? ============================== Fido_mail can be found on many BBS's world wide. All you have to do is call you local BBS's and have a look at the local BBS list. In here you more than likely find a notation next to the Fido BBS's. Now all we have to do is logon to that BBS, get ourselves validated and the world is our oyster. What is 'Fido_mail'? ==================== Fido_mail is a little like old game we all played at school, "pssss, The teachers are coming, PASS IT ON". That is it in a nut shell. We enter a message in the fido_echo_message_base, where it is collected or sent to an other Fido_mail BBS. From this BBS it is passed to another Fido BBS and so on and so on. In the end it goes all the way around the world and back to your local BBS. Fido_mail is split into 5 basic Zones or areas of operation world-wide. [1] USA / North America [2] Europe [3] Oceania [4] South America [5] Africa Within these zones , countries are broken down into various numbers along with the BBS that sent/wrote the message. For instance .. 3:771/60 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Where 60 is the BBS in this case A.C.E.S. BBS. ^ Where 771 is the country in this case New Zealand. Where 3 is the Zone in this case Oceania. Who runs Fido_mail? =================== Good question. Down here we find Fido_mail on predominately IBM/PC BBS's. The BBS's are normally run like any normal BBS and offer Fido as a value added service for their users. How does Fido_mail become world wide mail? ========================================== Now that we have entered our message and your local BBS has called his areas collection node, your message is forwarded to the 'Gateway' of your country. The 'Gateway' collects all the mail and forwards it to the next link in the chain, the closest country, or Zone Gateway. From here the mail is split up into zones/countries. Then all the mail is packaged up and sent off on their way. What are some of the topic's on Fido_mail? ========================================== Below is a SMALL sample of some of the topic's. ===== Board Messages New +-------------------------+-----------+-----+ K- FIDO: Gaia Greenies ........ [ 71] [ 11] L- FIDO: Science Fiction ...... [150] [150] M- FIDO: Ask the Doctor! ...... [ 55] [ 55] N- FIDO: Science topics ....... [250] [250] S- FIDO: Prog. Languages ..... [150] [150] V- FIDO: Internation Echo ..... [400] [374] <- A Brilliant topic. W- FIDO: U.K. News & Views .... [180] [124] X- FIDO: All SYSOP's corner ... [167] [ 23] Totals [3054] [2406] A Sample message explaining some of the Fido_Net Zones, or areas. [Thanks to ACES BBS In Auckland, New Zealand for this message] For those of you chasing the rare nodes in Africa this may throw some light on what is happening out there. Msg #272 of 400 Date: Sat 30/06/90, 18:47 [I] From: John Bone Read: 3 times Subject: FidoNet ZONEs To: Michael Barnes That first digit ("2:") is the zone number. Other Valid FidoNet Zone numbers are 1 (USA) Canada, and America 2 (Europe) East and West ! 3 (Oceania) PACIFIC rim countries 4 (SOUTH_AMERICA) Latin / spanish / portugese speaking BBSs 5 (AFRICA.) Zone 5 is the whole of Africa. There are nodes in Botswana and Zimbabwe and perhaps Namibia, as far as I know. Fidonet is spreading Northwards, in Africa. MB> There'll be a BBS in the Sahara next! I know that other Zones exist, as special Networks, EG. Disabled Links but these are not in the FidoNet nodelist. Below is a small sample of BBS's participating in Fido-Net World-wide. ====================================================================== ============= = Australia = ============= * Origin: The Lamb Exchange - Point! - Perth, Australia. (3:690/601.6) * Origin: Micom - Australia's longest running BBS (3:633/371.0) * Origin: Eastern Plains, the 1st Searchlight BBS in Oz! (3:632/350.1) * Origin: Datamation, Hobart, Tasmania (3:670/203) * Origin: **Sawasdee** Hampstead Gardens, South Australia (3:680/803.15) * Origin: RANDALLS MAIL CENTRE (3:636/406) * Origin: Sun Central The Hot Spot of Brisbane. (3:640/390) =============== = New Zealand = =============== * Origin: IBM Auckland New Zealand (Opus 3:772/20) * Origin: InfoBoard BBS - Auckland - New Zealand (3:772/140.0) * Origin: TONY'S BBS - Gateway to New Zealand. (3:770/101) * Origin: Daniel's Point Mk II, Christchurch NZ (3:770/101.286) * Origin: "The Waikato" Hamilton N.Z.{Fido-Net:3:772/250.0}(3:772/250) * Origin: Love Over Gold, Wellington, New Zealand. (Opus 3:771/100) * Origin: A.C.E.S... 300, 1200, 2400, 9600, MNP 5 (Auckland NZ) (3:772/60) ================== = UNITED KINGDOM = ================== * Origin: PC FORUM BBS * ERITH KENT UK * +44-322-335348 (RAX 2:254/17.30) * Origin: [London BB, England] [+44-1-455-6607] [V22bis] (2:254/162) * Origin: * THE ALCHEMIST * Tetbury * UK * +44 666 504597 * (2:252/15) * Origin: [From 2/1] Via ChatGate to Fidonet (2:2/544) * Origin: The Spooky Ghost BBS 0245 494010 - THE PLACE TO BE! (2:250/403) * Origin: Winchester-Remote UK +44-962-69322 (Quick 2:252/22.2) * Origin: Eazilink on Mersea Island (Quick 2:250/403.8) * Origin: Diamond Opus (07918) 6504/6901 Sussex, England (2:252/185.0) ========= = JAPAN = ========= * Origin: <<< Axa >>> Avxia_bbs [81-3-355-4395] [HST/V32] Tokyo (3:730/9) ================ = SOUTH AFRICA = ================ * Origin: Rndebosch,Cape Town,SA,Africa,Terra,Sol,Milky Way (RAX 5:492/155) * Origin: The Capricorn.Johannesburg.RSA.Binkley/PcBoard.[5:491/9] * Origin: Sheldon's Fido Cape Town RSA Binkley/QuickBBS (5:492/1) * Origin: Stusoft BBS.Johannesburg.RSA.Binkley/PcBoard.[5:491/12] * Origin: Point without a cause (Randburg, South Africa) (5:491/1.12) * Origin: Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa. BRUCE MINOTT (5:492/1.15) * Origin: (33x50'S 18x31'E) a POINT near Cape Town S.Africa. (5:492/1.713) If you get the oppitunity to call and use a Fido-Mail BBS, be in and be sure to look for all us Atari users out here in the modem world. (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| Z*NET ECHOS |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*| Terry Schreiber |*|)))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((|*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*|)))))))))))))))))) CANADIAN DEALER MEETING ----------------------- Dealers from all over Canada converged this week to have their Tarot cards read for the next year and what they were greeted with was a little staggering. A wall of monitors wired into a control unit that looked as if it came right out a sci-fi movie, hardware and software displays that indeed rivaled most Atari shows. This "knock-your-socks- off" graphic display was just an intro for the days events. Promo Packages The reason most dealers attend dealer meetings is to find out what promotional packages and or bundles will be scheduled for the coming year. Atari, this year has released seven packages: $$$$ PACKAGE ONE $$$$ --------------------- 520STFM Typing Tutor Memory Master Vol.I,II General Store Mag. Math II Magical Anagrams Equation Builder Planetarium Crack'd Neochrome Super Breakout $$$$ PACKAGE TWO $$$$ --------------------- 1040STE SM124 Monitor 1ST Word Plus Lombard Rally 2 Arrakis educational titles $$$$ PACKAGE THREE $$$$ ----------------------- MEGA 4 SM124 Monitor SLM 804 Laser Printer Megafile 30 HD Calamus Outline Art Ultrascript PS 35 Font Package $$$$ PACKAGE FOUR $$$$ ---------------------- Portfolio 64k Ram card AC Adapter $$$$ MUSIC PACKAGE ONE $$$$ --------------------------- 520 STFM SM124 Monitor Casio MT260 Keyboard Note Wizard Play Today Tutorial $$$$ MUSIC PACKAGE TWO $$$$ --------------------------- 520 STFM SM 124 Monitor Casio CT 670 Midi Keybd Scale Master midi software $$$$ MUSIC PACKAGE THREE $$$$ ----------------------------- 1040 STE SM124 Monitor Slave Driver midi software Yes! Atari has seen the light and added midi packages to their line-up of fall promotions. Computer dealers will now be able to pick up a low end midi package to round out their Atari stock. On a sour note let's once again look at these packages. Package number two contains "Lombard Rally", a game that works in color only. Glancing down at package number three, we see Calamus, Outline Art, Ultrascript and it's font package. Ultrascript does not work with Calamus perhaps maybe a better package to put in would be Microsoft Write as I understand they still have loads of them. On a lighter note Atari staff handed out Neilson's chocolate bars carrying the win a lynx labels but that was just a start on the new national advertising campaign which incorporates the television radio and printed media formats. Atari again stressed it's dealer co-op advertising and stated that many dealers don't use the money in their co-op accounts to advertise. It is up to the dealers as well to get the word out. The word is Atari is getting aggressive as quoted from these other fine sources. "ATARI TO SPEND $2 MILLION ON SUMMER CAMPAIGN" (MARKETING) "NORTH AMERICA MORE THAN A GAME FOR ATARI" (CANADIAN PRINTER) "PUTTIN'ON THE BLITZ: ATARI TROTS 'EM OUT" (TORONTO COMPUTERS) "FIRM OFFERS MORE THAN GAMES - ATARI TAKES AIM AT THE OFFICE" (MARKETING) "BACK TO BASICS TURNS ATARI AROUND" (TORONTO BUSINESS AGE) "ATARI CANADA BACK IN THE LIMELIGHT" (PLAYBACK STRATEGY) 03/26/90 "BEWARE NINTENDO-THIS KITTEN'S GOT CLAWS! - A STRONG "LYNX" IN ATARI'S CHAIN" (TORONTO COMPUTES) Dealer reactions were mixed with some stating the same old plans re- hashed again and again but majority again were again revitalized with new enthusiasm with the corporate plans. Many dealers in attendance were enticed into an immediate commitment to order by a lottery giving away a free music package number one. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Reprinted from Atari News - Canada's Dealer Product News August 8th 1990 New Dealer Online Service - Dealers in touch 24 hours a day ----------------------------------------------------------- To improve communication with our dealers we have implemented an ONLINE BBS service. The system operates 24 hours per day 7 days per week. On Saturday, when you need a price on a product, or need to know what the DIP switch settings are for a PC2, or you are doing an ad after hours and have to know when our ads are running, just phone 416-479- 2169. The service is available to all Atari dealers and their staff. Cost pricing is available to store owners only. LOG on to the system to register or phone us beforehand. What's on the system? Specs, Tech bulletins, Retail pricing, Cost pricing, the current promotions, Advertising schedules, Service bulletins, ETA on backorders and more. Electronic Mail - Have a need to tell the shipper to change the transport company, chasing a back order, problem with your account statement, give us a call and leave a message. You can optionally prepare your message OFF-LINE and upload it when you log on. You can type out your orders and upload them. Equipment required? Equipment needed to connect, any Atari using any terminal emulator. If you have any question on operation or understanding what is involved feel free to contact the support department for advice. Long Distance? Yes, initially, if the system is used regularly we will explore ways to connect you to a local phone number. Winning Moves ------------- Atari has had major success with the educational school board marketplace. The PC4x and more recently the ABC 16/60 range of PC's have been sold to many boards across the country. The success has been due to the hard work of Bruce Corbett, Educational Sales Manager, and the strength of the product. Whenever the PC's are benchmarked against our competitors they clearly out-perform them all. New MIDI 520 Promotion ---------------------- The ST/Notator is a favorite with the pros but what about the average consumer. What about the average dealer. Home MIDI Starter: 520STFM SM124 Casio MT260 MIDI Mouse Note Wizard Tutorial 1088.00 Retail Home MIDI Pro: 520STFM SM124 Casio MT670 MIDI Mouse scale Master Tutorial These packages are your opportunity to capture an exciting new growth area. Keyboards are strong sellers, bundled with the 520 you have an opportunity to plug into the MIDI world. The keyboards sound particularly good, they come with a broad range of digital sounds, beat box, and automatic chording. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Z*Net Atari Online Magazine is a weekly magazine covering the Atari and related computer community. Material contained in this edition may be reprinted without permission, except where otherwise noted, unedited, with the issue number, name and author included at the top of each reprinted article. Commentary and opinions presented are those of the individual author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Z*Net or the staff. Z*Net Atari Online Magazine and Z*Net are copyright (c)1990 by Rovac Industries Inc, a registered corporation. Post Office Box 59, Middlesex, New Jersey 08846. (908) 968-2024. Z*Net Online BBS 24 Hours, 1200/2400 Baud, (908) 968-8148. We can be reached on CompuServe at 71777,2140 and on GEnie at Z-NET. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Z*NET Atari Online Magazine Copyright (c)1990, Rovac Industries, Inc.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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