ST Report: 28-Dec-90 #652
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 01/17/91-08:42:27 PM Z
From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 28-Dec-90 #652
Date: Thu Jan 17 20:42:27 1991
*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
_____________________________________
from
STR Publishing Inc.
""""""""""""""""""
December 28, 1990 No.6.52
==========================================================================
STReport Online Magazine?
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida
32205 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EST
BBS: 904-786-4176 USR/HST DUAL STANDARD
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EST
_________________________________________
** Fnet Node 350 * FidoNet Node 1:112/35 * NeST Node 90:19/350.0 **
STR'S privately owned & operated support BBS
carries ALL issues of STReport Online Magazine
and
AN INTERNATIONAL LIST OF PRIVATE BBS SYSTEMS
carrying STReport Online Magazine for their user's enjoyment
__________________________________________________________________
> 12/28/90: STReport? #6.52 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
-------------------------
- The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - CPU Insights
- Windows Overview - Multi-Tasking! - After the ST
- ADSpeed Review - PORTFOLIO NEWS - STR Confidential
* EXCLUSIVE!-> D.HAYES STATEMENT <-EXCLUSIVE! *
* DEALERS TO LOSE AUTHORIZATION! *
* NEW STACY IN WORKS! *
==========================================================================
ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE?
The _Number One_ Online Magazine
-* FEATURING *-
"Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
Current Events, Original Articles, Hot Tips, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
==========================================================================
STReport's support BBS, NODE # 350 invites systems using Forem ST and
Turbo Board BBS to participate in the Fido/F-Net Mail Network. Or, call
Node 350 direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging
information relative to the Atari ST computer arena through an excellent
International ST Mail Network. All registered F-NET - Crossnet SysOps are
welcome to join the STReport Crossnet Conference. The Crossnet Conference
Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is # 350. All systems are most
welcome to actively participate. Support Atari Computers; Join Today!
==========================================================================
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON: GENIE ~ CIS ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ F-NET
==========================================================================
> The Editor's Podium?
Atari is alive and well, the market action speaks for itself. The new
products have created a flurry of interest along with a respectable amount
of used equipment being for sale. Sure, some folks are headed in other
directions, but at the same time there are many who are upgrading to
either the Mega STe or the TT030. The software authors are sure to see an
surge of sales from the new owners of the used gear and then, once the
Mega STe hits the dealer's shelves.... up and away we go!
On another note, we find that the dumb rumors circulating throughout
the Atari community have reached a new low... Elsewhere in this issue we
address the 'nasty rumor' and 'old rumor' departments. For now, please
allow me on behalf of our entire staff and its newest member Brad Martin,
to wish everyone a....
Happy New Year!
Have a Healthy and Prosperous NEW YEAR!
DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!
***********************************************************************
NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE
FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY
COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers of;
STREPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE?
""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198
You will receive your complimentary time
and
be online in no time at all!
WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (Dec. 28)
COMMODORE 64 EMULATOR FROM GERMANY
Miguel R. Silva has uploaded the Commodore 64 Emulator from Germany
(written in 1987). Please see file C64.PRG in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari
Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO).
NEW VERSION OF QUICKCIS
Version 1.60A of Jim Ness' popular QuickCIS program is available in
LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Productivity Forum as QWKCIS.ARC. QuickCIS is a
CompuServe navigator. It will automatically call, capture email, visit
up to 6 forums, and log off. While in forums, it can capture messages,
post your own messages, and download chosen files from forum libraries.
ST REPORT LISTS ATARI SOURCES
An up-to-date listing of sources for Atari software and hardware is
available courtesy of ST REPORT as LIST.TXT in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari
Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS).
NEW FILES IN VENDORS FORUM
DCDAUT.ARC is now available in LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO
ATARIVEN) courtesy of Double Click Software. DC DESKTOP AUTO is a
SIGNIFICANT enhancement for the DC Desktop! DC DESKTOP AUTO SELECTOR
v1.0 allows you to organize your DC Desktop bootup. Simply copy all of
your DC Desktop programs from the AUTO folder to the DC Desktop
Information directory. When DCD AUTO runs from the AUTO folder, you get
a graphical interface to choose programs, presets, bootup resolution, and
CABINETs!
ISD Marketing has uploaded the text of their latest customer mail out to
registered Calamus owners containing some limited time offers and
information on the status of Calamus SL. See the file CUSUPD.TXT in
LIBRARY 17 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN).
NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE
***********************************************************************
> CPU REPORT?
==========
Issue # 97
----------
by Michael Arthur
CPU INSIGHTS?
============
AN ODE TO THE INS AND OUTS OF MULTITASKING
==========================================
Part II
In Part I of this series, we explored the various tasks that a
multitasking OS performs, while showing some aspects of the many possible
capabilities of multitasking systems. In this segment, let us explore
some of the ways that multitasking can be implemented, and show some of
the extra features in some systems that help make multitasking more
efficient.
The key component in a multitasking system is the way it divides the
computer's CPU time between the tasks currently running on it. One aspect
of this, the various functions and jobs of a multitasking system, has been
discussed. Now I will explore the methods that multitasking systems use
to perform their tasks. Even though there are many ways of distributing
CPU time between all running processes, there are two distinct methods of
doing this: Cooperative scheduling, and preemptive scheduling.
Cooperative Multitasking
In cooperative (or nonpreemptive) scheduling, it is the tasks
running on the system, not the OS itself, that control the multitasking
process. When a task is given the CPU, it gains sole usage of the system
until it decides to relinquish control to another task. There are a couple
of advantages to this method. An application can complete some vital
tasks immediately, then allow the others to run in the background, and a
program in a cooperative system can do certain things (such as controlling
events and peripherals that function in real-time) more efficiently than
otherwise possible in a multitasking system. But there are many
disadvantages to cooperative scheduling, which have kept this system from
being used as widely as preemptive multitasking.
For one thing, cooperative scheduling requires that all programs be
VERY well behaved. If a task holds up the CPU for too long, even while
doing an important job, response time will suffer greatly. But even more
seriously, if a task doesn't relinquish control of the CPU or a system
resource (due to a software bug), other programs that need those resources
won't be able to function, causing a situation, called deadlock, which can
halt those tasks, or even crash the multitasking system itself.
Preemptive Multitasking
But while cooperative scheduling does not seem like multitasking,
at least in the standard sense, preemptive scheduling closely follows the
strict definition of multitasking. In this type of system, a task is not
guaranteed sole usage of the CPU for a certain amount of time, but rather,
can lose it at any time, so another task can run. Because a running task
doesn't need to know this is occurring, and since a multitasking system is
supposed to do its job as transparently as possible, the OS usually makes
each individual task think it is the only one using the system. Although
there are many ways of implementing preemptive schedulers, practically all
of them are based on two schemes: round-robin, and priority-based
scheduling.
A round-robin scheduler simply makes the tasks take turns, giving
each task an equal amount of CPU time in which to run. This type of
scheduler is VERY easy to implement, and guarantees that all tasks will
get a certain amount of CPU time. But often programs running on a system
do not need the same amount of CPU time at all instances (such as a word
processor and a spreadsheet), and giving CPU time to tasks that don't need
it is NOT efficient at all.
Priority-based schedulers help to solve this dilemma. In this
situation, each program is given a priority level, according to how CPU
intensive (like a spreadsheet recalculation) or time critical (like a file
transfer from a BBS) a task is, or how quickly it interacts with the user
(such as a game, or a program in the foreground). The scheduler then
distributes CPU time to each task according to how high its priority level
is, and the higher the priority level, the more CPU time a particular task
gets.
For example, if task A has a higher priority level than task B, then
task A will get the CPU before B, and will be able to use it for a greater
amount of time. But if both tasks have an equal priority level, then the
system doles out CPU time in a round-robin fashion. Priority levels apply
to all aspects of system operation, so if tasks A and B ask for use of a
system resource, such as a printer, and task A has a higher priority level
than B, task A would get that system resource (in this case, the printer)
first. By the way, since the amount of CPU time needed by a program can
vary, depending on the type of task it is performing, the scheduler can
also adjust the priority level of a program as needed.
There are MANY advantages to preemptive scheduling, which have
caused it to become standard procedure for most multitasking systems. Not
only do preemptive systems have better tolerance of errors and ill-behaved
programs than cooperative ones, as well as being less fragile, but many
types of interprocess communication can only be used with it. The main
disadvantage to preemptive schedulers as compared to cooperative ones is
that they are a LOT harder to implement than cooperative schedulers. Also,
they cannot know when is the optimal time for a task to relinquish the CPU
as only the task itself could have this information. This often results
in the program completing its tasks less efficiently than with a
cooperative multitasker. Priority-based schedulers help to provide this
"intelligent" switching for preemptive systems, though....
Problems, Problems, Problems
Although multitasking is a very useful, versatile, and powerful
tool, with many integrated ways of preventing errors from occurring,
problems inevitably arise, even in the best systems. We all know that in
singletasking systems, there is always a chance that it will crash, at one
point or another, as the job of an operating system isn't easy in the
first place. But with the added strain of distributing system resources
and CPU time between the many tasks that might be running, managing any
interprocess communications between those tasks, and making sure that both
occur as efficiently as possible, the problems that come with an ordinary
operating system quickly multiply. Many of the utilities now associated
with multitasking systems, such as virtual memory and Memory Management
Units (MMU's), actually arose to solve these problems. Even though there
are an infinite amount of problems waiting to happen in a multitasking
system, here are some of the most prevalent:
Deadlock:
In a multitasking operating system, whether it be cooperative or
preemptive, tasks always compete for access to system resources. For
Disk Access, this problem can be easily solved, but for other resources,
such as printers or modems, multitaskers usually give one task sole access
to a resource, forcing the other tasks that need it to wait until it is
finished using it. Since these other tasks often are also holding
resources, which are also locked up until the task can continue operation,
this can cause quite a traffic jam, as all tasks slow to a halt as they
wait for the others to relinquish their resources. This complex situation
is called deadlock.
For instance, let's say that Task A is using System Resource 1 to do
its work, while Task B is using Resource 2 to do its work. So that no
other task can interfere with its work, Task A has a lock on Resource 1,
while Task B has a lock on Resource 2. Now suppose that Task A needs
Resource 2 to complete its task, while Task B needs Resource 1 for its
duties. Since Task A cannot run until Task B gives up Resource 2, and
Task B cannot run until Task A gives up Resource 1, and since both won't
give up their resources, neither can proceed. As you can see, deadlock
only happens when a task is allowed to hold onto resources it is not
using at the time, so it would seem simple to make all tasks give up their
resources after their CPU time is up. But if that resource happens to be
a printer, and two tasks, a word processor and a spreadsheet, are trying
to print on the same printer, if you allow BOTH of them to print at the
same time....
So since it is necessary in some instances to allow tasks to
monopolize system resources, then deadlock is not always preventable. In
fact, since the overhead involved in making an operating system that made
sure that deadlock never occured (meaning that it would have to be prep-
ared for ANY eventuality that could happen in multitasking systems), would
be ENORMOUS, most multitaskers (including Unix) are able to kill off as
many tasks as necessary to stop deadlock. Since one of the "unlucky"
tasks could be something that was VERY important, like your 1040 IRS Tax
Form, this is not always preferable. Barring this, the multitasker would
then stop everything and do nothing. Called a system crash, all computers
have special hardware to handle this situation, called the reset button-
....
Busy Waiting:
This happens when one task is using a system resource by itself (thro-
ugh its having higher priority or using a semaphore), and another task
cannot proceed without having access to the resource. The task then is
forced to waste CPU time waiting to have access to that system resource.
Since this tends to halt system performance (especially if the task is
also monopolizing a system resource, which would then result in deadlock),
it is considered one of the worst things that a multitasker can do. But
interestingly, Busy Waiting is sometimes used to avoid or cure deadlock,
by simply making task B wait until task A is finished and gives up the
system resource, before it can use the system.
Memory Management:
There are MANY problems that often emerge in this subject. One is,
simply enough, running out of memory. One popular way to conserve memory
is to have built-in system libraries, that programmers can use for their
applications. But when there are just so many programs runnin that they
all won't fit in memory, multitasking systems often use virtual memory to
cram them in.
Virtual memory simply uses all available Disk Space (Floppy or Hard
Disk) as memory, saving a portion of a task to disk that is now in RAM,
but is not being used by any program running on the system, and later,
when there is enough memory to hold the data segment (or if the task needs
to use the data segment), loading it back into memory. In a multitasking
system this is used to swap portions of programs in and out of memory as
they need them. So if the system was using Virtual Memory, and Task A had
a segment of itself on disk while Task B was running, then when Task A
receives use of the CPU, if it needs that segment to run, then the system
would first save a segment of Task B that hadn't been used for a while to
disk, and then load the segment needed by Task A into memory. But Virtual
memory can be used, not only to let programs use more data that can fit
into real memory (like editing a text file that won't fit into memory by
saving parts of it to a disk file), but can also be implemented in or-
dinary singletasking systems.
There are dangers to using Virtual Memory, though. Virtual memory
works fine when the segments that are saved onto disk are relatively small
and mostly unused, but if the system loads too great a segment of a task
into memory, then the system spends a long time loading and saving data
segments to/from disk so to make enough room when a task loads in that
segment. If the system loads too little a segment of the task in memory,
though, then it hasn't saved enough memory for another task. Also, if all
the data segments in memory are being used frequently, then the system
thrashes, or spends so much time swapping segments to and from memory that
little real work is accomplished. Both of these cases cause deadlock, and
to stop them one either has to quit running a program that is in memory,
so as to make room for other tasks to run in, or to simply turn off the
computer and start over again.
Memory Protection:
Even though running out of memory IS a real problem in multitasking
systems, almost everyone would agree that memory management is far more
serious. The function of most memory managers, whether they are in soft-
ware or hardware, is to prevent system memory from being fragmented. This
occurs when, after the system has done several memory allocations and
deallocations in its normal memory handling duties, free RAM becomes
divided into many small fragments spread throughout its address space,
which cannot be used by the system. If enough free RAM becomes
fragmented, the system starts to lose large amounts of memory.
Since this also happens in singletasking operating systems, all
operating systems perform a technique called garbage collection, in which
all of this fragmented memory is collected, organized, and put back into
the system's main RAM. Even though this might sound simple, the processes
by which it gets this lost memory are VERY complicated. And even though
software memory management CAN get the job done in most cases, it often is
inefficient, and sometimes cannot properly handle its job.
And as hardware is often more efficient, less troublesome, and
better suited at this type of work than software, chips that could perform
memory management functions started to appear. These processors, called
Memory Management Units (or MMU's), are specifically made to handle gar-
bage collection and memory management functions, so an operating system
doesn't have to do them. Another task that MMU's often perform for the
operating system is memory protection, both preventing tasks from having
access to system memory that hasn't been allocated to them, or from dis-
turbing other tasks or resources when they crash, so the whole system
doesn't crash just because of one faulty program.
In this series, CPU Report has investigated the subject of
multitasking, in an attempt to provide a suitable understanding of this
complex issue. While this was not meant to be the "definitive" guide to
multitasking, as great stacks of books have been written on the subject,
it has tried to show many of the pertinent issues involved in this topic,
which is at the forefront of sophisticated microcomputer technology.
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
**** SIGN UP FEE WAIVED ****
The system will now prompt you for your information.
-> NOW! GENIE STAR SERVICE IS IN EFFECT!! <-
***********************************************************************
> The Future of the ST STR Feature? "....one man's opinion"
================================
LIFE AFTER THE ATARI ST
=======================
Part 3
by Darek Mihocka,
President, Branch Always Software
In this week's discussion I'll discuss Window 3.0. I'm sure everybody
reading this has heard of Windows, but I'll bet a good many of you have
never actually sat down to use it and aren't completely familiar with it.
I know from experience that other ST users that I've demonstrated Windows
to sort of look at me funny when I explain certain features, or apparent
lack of features. Imagine an environment that has no concept of desk
accessories or AUTO folders, and can run completely without a mouse, and
contains windows within windows! That's Windows 3.0! It sounds a lot
different than GEM, but it doesn't have to be. Confused? Let's start from
the beginning, keeping in mind last week's discussion about multitasking.
What is Windows? Is it an operating system, or a shell, or what? The
word that I think best describes it is that it is an environment. Make no
mistakes about it - when you're running Windows, MS-DOS is still the
installed operating system. Yes, good old yucky MS-DOS (or MeSsy-DOS as
some people refer to it). Little do people realize how similar MS-DOS and
TOS are, even to the point of having many identical operating system
functions. But that's for another time.
Windows extends MS-DOS by adding new functions to it. Graphics func-
tions are obviously those included, but there are also memory management
and other functions added. MS-DOS still sticks around to provide disk
support, and Windows takes care of everything else. Unlike OS/2, Windows
is not a complete operating system, although the two are similar. That
too is for another time.
Through its 3 versions, Windows has gone through a lot of changes.
However, it has the advantage of having just been recently updated (Win-
dows 3.0) and it shares many of the great features of other environments
with very few of the drawbacks. In fact, because it is sort of like a
superset of GEM, it can be made to look like the GEM desktop and used like
the GEM desktop. Windows offers a lot of extra power, but if you're
uncomfortable with it in the beginning, you can just use what you need.
Let's try to go through a typical Windows session here on my computer.
I power up the computer and a few seconds later the hard disk starts going
wild. First there is the Windows logo on the screen for a few seconds.
Then the desktop turns green and a single icon labeled "Program Manager"
shows up in the bottom left corner of the screen and there is the familiar
arrow in the middle of the screen indicating I'm using a mouse. That's
the desktop? No menu bar? No disk icons? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PIC-
TURE????
To understand that, you have to remember that the Program Manager
itself is just another program. Similarly on GEM, the desktop that we see
is not really GEM. It uses GEM, but the desktop is just another program.
On the ST it can be replaced by other desktops (or "shells" like Neodesk
and DC Desktop) and on Windows the Program Manager can be replaced too.
Windows all by itself just displays a green screen and a mouse pointer!
"So what's with the icon and where is the menu bar?", you ask. The
answer to this question is one of the fundamental differences between GEM
and Windows. If you understand this, everything else makes sense! So
let's start slowly and explain this slowly.
First, how does GEM run programs? Well, the desktop comes up and puts
up the menu bar, and some disk windows. When you double click on some GEM
program and run it, the desktop goes away, a new menu bar comes up and a
desktop is drawn with some other windows. To run another GEM program, you
have exit this program, go back to the desktop, and double click some
other program. And so on and so on. Blah. Blah. Blah.
Windows is multitasking. But if Windows was implemented like GEM,
then it wouldn't really be multitasking, because you could only run one
program at a time. So the big $64 question was how to make Windows so as
to allow you to run more than one program at a time.
The solution was to treat each program's screen (menu bar, desktop,
and windows) as a window itself on a much larger desktop. The "much
larger desktop" itself is the big empty green desktop that comes up when
you first run Windows.
So there are two kinds of windows (although they look virtually iden-
tical) - application windows and document windows. An application window
is the window that a program (also called an "application") gets when it
runs. It contains the program's menu bar, slider bars, and the program's
output. Then within the application window, there are document windows,
which are always inside the application window, and may contain their own
slider bars but no menu bars.
Think of it like this. When you run, say, First Word on GEM, there is
a menu bar at the top of the screen, and each time you open a text file,
another window opens on the screen containing the contents of that text
file. That is a document window. The entire ST screen can be thought of
as an application window. Unfortunately, with GEM you can't just magical-
ly drag or re-size the application window to reveal, say, the GEM desktop
underneath. It's there, but you just can't get to it unless you close the
entire First Word application window (i.e. exit).
With Windows, any program's application window can be resized. It can
be maximized to use up the entire screen, and that closely resembles using
GEM. You can simply configure all your programs to run full screen and not
worry about multitasking or application windows and our discussion would
stop here. But wait! There's more.
You can also "minimize" an application window and what appears is an
icon. When you minimize an application window you do so because you are
currently not using that application, and it leaves room on the screen for
other applications. The application is actually still running, but probab-
ly just waiting for you to do something, like typing in a key. My Program
Manager comes up minimized, which explains the icon.
I prefer to not run applications maximized, so when I double click on
the Program Manager, it just draws a window that is about 1/4 of the
screen in size. Within the Program Manager are smaller windows. These
are the document windows. Each such window has some icons, representing
the various programs on my hard disk, and they are grouped into document
windows by category: Games, Utilities, Excel, etc. Also, Windows can put
a minimized icon on the screen for any application (like what I did with
the Program Manager) so you can just run a program by double clicking its
icon on the desktop.
If I click on, say, the Tetris icon, it loads and runs Tetris. What
happens? Does the screen clear? No. Tetris simply opens up an applica-
tion window on top of the Program Manager window. Tetris has its own menu
bar within this window, to select such things as game level and to exit.
So how do I now go back to the Program Manager? One way you to it is
to exit Tetris by either clicking in the top left corner of the Tetris
window or by selecting Exit from the Tetris menu bar. The other way is to
grab the mouse and click on the Program Manager window that is peeking
through from behind the Tetris window. When I do that, the Program Man-
ager window redraws on top of the Tetris window. Wow - a task switch.
Ooooooh.
But wait! The Tetris game is still playing! I can see the bricks
falling down behind the Program Manager. That's because Windows is multi-
tasking and both Tetris and Program Manager are running at the same time!
Time for another task switch. I click on the Tetris window again, press P
for pause, and then switch back to the Program Manager.
That was just a very simple example of running two programs simul-
taneously. With Windows, you can open as many application windows as you
wish. One window can run a word processor, one can run a spreadsheet,
another can run a terminal program, another can run a game, and another
can run the file manager, and so on.
Many of you will be asking, "WHY DO I NEED MULTITASKING?????". Good
question, because like all goodies in life, you don't really need it. You
could still use your computer without it, but then again, you could also
live without GEM. Why not just go back to the good old days of command
lines and typing this and typing that and function key this and control
key that? We could, but we don't want to. GEM is more convenient. It
allows us to do with the mouse what takes many keystrokes. It saves time
and makes the computer more fun. In the same way, multitasking is useful,
it is convenient and time-saving, and it is fun to use. Let me give a
more complex example.
Suppose I want to write a text file, oh, say, an article on using
Windows. I'm going to use Word 5.0 for this, because I happen to like the
character based version of Word. Oh oh. I'm going to have to exit Win-
dows now, no? Wrong. Windows has its own ways of dealing with non-Win-
dows applications. When I click on the Word icon in the Program Manager,
the screen goes entirely black, and Word 5.0 shows up. I can now start
typing full screen in 80 columns and 25 lines. How do I task switch now?
Windows provides a few keyboard shortcuts for task switching. If I
press the Control key and then the Escape key, it tells Windows that I
want to switch to another task. Suddenly I'm back in the Windows desktop
with Tetris and Program Manager and there is a dialog box in the middle of
the screen titled "Task List". Listed in the box, surprise surprise, is
Program Manager, Tetris, and Word. Then I simply click on the name of the
program I want to switch to. So this way, an unlimited number of DOS
based programs can run under Windows!
Here's the really cool part. Windows can make a non-Windows program
run inside of a window on the Windows desktop! How? The 80386 chip has
multitasking built right into it. It has a feature called virtual mode
which allows it to emulate a 1 megabyte 8086 processor (or several or
them). Each of these emulated processors can run a DOS program and the
program will think that it is running on a 640K DOS machine without Win-
dows. When a program running in virtual mode tries to write something to
the screen, it is actually writing into this 1 megabyte of virtual machine
memory, not the real screen memory showing the Windows desktop. When I
press Control and Esc to task switch, Windows copies the virtual screen
memory to the real screen memory and so Word can run full screen under
Windows. But If I press Alt and Return, Windows now copies this screen
memory into a Window on the desktop, and presto! Word now runs in a win-
dow. Word can run like this, as can Lotus 1-2-3, the DOS command line,
and thousands of other DOS programs. Windows automatically updates the
window on the screen whenever the application updates its virtual screen.
Right now as I'm editing full screen I'd like to log into the weekly
Thursday night conference on Compuserve. What should I do? My Tetris
game isn't finished, nor is this article. First, I press Alt and Return.
Now what I see is the Word window on the Windows desktop taking up ap-
proximately 1/3 of the screen. That's because at a resolution of 800x600,
an 80 column by 25 line screen is quite small. I now pop up the Program
Manager and run WinTerm, a terminal program that comes bundled with Win-
dows 3. I set an appropriate font and re-size the terminal window so that
both Word and WinTerm are displaying 80 columns of 25 lines in two sepa-
rate windows. Program Manager and Tetris are minimized as icons at the
bottom of the screen.
Now while I'm participating in the conference, I can pop into Word at
any time and jot down ideas or edit this document. To keep track of how
long I'm in conference, I pop into Program Manager again and run the Clock
program. This simply displays the current time inside a window. I mini-
mize Clock to an icon, and cool enough, the icon keeps displaying the
current time. No need for corner clocks!
As it is now, I am running 5 different programs under Windows. All 5
are running concurrently (i.e. at the same time) and by clicking from one
window to another with the mouse (or using the Task Switcher) I can type
into the various programs.
Windows doesn't have desk accessories, because there is no need for
desk accessories! If you wish to run the control panel, task switch to
the Program Manager at any time from any program and run the control
panel. If you wish to perform file operations, just run the File Manager
(Windows equivalent of the GEM or Mac desktop). There are no worries
about running out of the 6 desk accessory slots, or running out of memory.
Memory? Did I say memory? Yes, Windows has virtual memory support.
What this means is that Windows applications can use more memory than is
available in the computer. I have 4 megabytes, but that's nowhere near
enough memory to do something silly like fill up all 16384 rows and 256
columns of an Excel spreadsheet with formulas. That requires over 10
megabytes of memory, yet it can be done!
The way that virtual memory works is that whenever a program tries to
allocate memory that doesn't exist, Windows creates a file on the hard
disk (called the "swap file") and uses that disk space to emulate extra
memory. Windows keeps track of what memory is being used and what isn't.
If I'm in my Excel spreadsheet gobbling up memory, Windows will realize
that I'm not using Tetris, and will copy out parts of Tetris's memory to
the swap file to make room for the spreadsheet. When the spreadsheet eats
up all 4 megabytes of my computer's memory, Windows will copy out parts of
the spreadsheet itself to the hard disk to make room for new spreadsheet
cells. When a program then tries to access some memory that has been
copied to disk, "swapped out", Windows then copies out some other unused
piece of memory and swaps in what it needs.
Swapping sounds like a lot of trouble, but it is the way many other
operating systems work too, from UNIX to OS/2. And the beauty of it is
that the memory manager of Windows takes care of everything. A program
running under Windows doesn't even know that parts of it may be swapped
out to disk. There is no 640K memory limit like with DOS or 4 megabyte
limit like on the ST.
Unfortunately for use ST users, the 68000 chip really can't support
task switching or virtual memory the way Windows does with the 80386. The
68030 can, and it is disappointing to see that the TT operating system
still uses the same old crippling GEM instead of a real multitasking
operating system.
Even the Macintosh will soon be able to support virtual memory with
the new System 7.0 and minor hardware upgrade. The Mac already supports
task switching with Multifinder (which is similar to Revolver on the ST),
although it has some limitations compared to Windows.
Windows just has a lot of other cool features I didn't even touch on
yet. For example, it uses a proportional font to display menu bars and
dialog boxes. A proportional font just looks nicer than the regular
monospaced font most computers use.
Speaking of fonts, there is a major difference between the way Windows
handles fonts and printer drivers and the way the GEM does. Windows main-
tains all the fonts and printer drivers itself. One of the features of
the control panel is the ability to install and de-install fonts. All the
fonts are listed in dialog box, and when you click on a font name, it
actually displays a font sample on the screen, so that you can see exactly
how the font will look and how big it will be. Similarly, printers can be
installed and de-installed by changing printer drivers from the control
panel in the same easy way. There is only one set of font files and one
set of printer driver files, which can be used by any Windows application.
Most GEM programs on the other hand use custom printer drivers, and
some use custom fonts. A printer driver for say, Word Perfect, will not
work with DEGAS or First Word. Or a font used with DEGAS will not work
with Calamus. It's a free for all when it comes to fonts and it is a big
mess. Yes, Atari did release GDOS which sort of resembles the Windows
model, but GDOS was released too late to be accepted or even understood by
many users and developers.
Windows applications have a common look and feel, much like applica-
tions on the Macintosh. This is because IBM bundles a book with each
Windows Software Development Kit describing in detail how the Windows (and
OS/2) user interfaces are to look and feel. What keys to what. What
mouse actions do what. What windows parts to what. The results are that
when you learn one Windows program, you can easily learn another because
they are all written to conform to the same user interface standards.
Windows has a built-in clipboard that supports text, graphics, meta-
files, and other formats. This allows Windows and non-Windows applica-
tions to share data. For example, one word processor can exchange for-
matted text with another through a simple Cut and Paste operation, even if
the two word processors can't read each other's files. A paint program
can store a graphics image into the clipboard which can then be pasted
into a word processor.
Windows allows dialog boxes to have titles and be dragged, just like
ordinary windows. If a dialog box pops up and it is covering up a part of
the screen you need to answer the question in the dialog box, then simply
drag the dialog box to the side.
The Windows clipboard has other features such as installing a desktop
pattern or desktop picture, changing screen colors, setting mouse accel-
eration and swapping the mouse buttons for left-handed people, setting the
serial and parallel ports, and setting the keyboard repeat rate.
Windows comes bundled with a word processor, file manager, terminal
emulation software, calculator utility, clock, paint program, and other
useful software as well as fonts and background pictures. A bare bones
computer with only DOS and Windows installed can be used for productive
work right away.
Windows allows you to re-size windows by clicking anywhere on the edge
of the window and dragging. For example, you can click on the bottom
right corner of a window to re-size it in much the same way as on GEM or
the Mac, but you can also click on, say, the left edge of the window and
re-size it horizontally.
Windows allows you to task switch at almost any time. Let's say you
are trying to save a text file from a word processor and the disk is full.
On GEM, if you're not using Universal Item Selector, you'd be out of luck.
On Windows, simply task switch to the File Manager and format a disk or
delete files then task switch back to the word processor.
Now that I've covered the basic list of features of Windows, I'll
answer some of the questions and complaints I know will be raised for this
discussion and also from last week.
Q: Windows is a memory hog. Do I need tons of memory?
A: No. Windows will run just fine with one megabyte of RAM. Even
without virtual memory enabled, 1 megabyte will allow you to run several
Windows applications at once. The advantage of having more RAM is that
the prospect of having to start swapping to disk is less and so programs
will run at maximum speed. Memory is cheap, and the price difference
between one megabyte and four megabytes is too small to even bother with
buying only one megabyte.
Q: Windows is hard to install.
A: Simply place the Setup disk in your floppy disk drive and run the
setup program. Insert a new disk when prompted. The whole procedure takes
about 5 minutes. If those instructions are too hard to follow, then I can
see where there would be a problem.
Q: GEM is easy and fun to use. I don't need multitasking. I have
Hotwire and Neodesk and DC Desktop and Universal Item Selector and Quick
ST II and Multidesk and GDOS and other AUTO folder stuff.
A: GEM is fun? Baloney. First of all, you can't appreciate multitas-
king until you try it. Everything has a learning curve, and spending a
few minutes now to learn it will save you a lot of time later. Windows
also has no need for utilities such as the above mentioned because it
doesn't have to be hacked into like GEM does. And when you do have to
hook into it, Windows provides functions for programs to hook into it
legally and thus not interfere with other programs. And typical users do
not need to spend hundreds of dollars on utilities that simply make GEM
more usable. I'll admit it - Quick ST is a great thing on the ST, but
really useless on Windows. Windows is faster than GEM to begin with
(since the graphics routines are not all written in C like GEM is) and the
processors it runs on are faster. Just a few days ago I ported the ST
Xformer 8-bit emulator to the 386 and now it runs 5 times faster than on
the ST (or 3 times compared to a 16MHz 1040ST or Mega STE) yet my 386
machine is less expensive than something like a Mega STE.
Q: What about sound and MIDI and all the other built-in goodies that
the ST or TT provides?
A: There are boards available for the PC that add MIDI and stereo
sound sampling and playback capability. One such board I saw (oddly
enough at an Atari ST dealer) went for about $200.
Someone commented in last week's ST Report that the TT has all the
features I talked about (in the 386) built-it at no cost whereas the 386
has all these extra costs. Baloney! First of all, the open architecture
of the PC machines allows anyone to add memory, add a hard disk, add a
parallel interface, add a graphics cards, etc. very easily and to change
these devices when necessary. If my hard disk is too small, I can put in
a larger one. If I want to add a mouse, I drop in a mouse card. You, the
user, get to choose what goes into your machine. You are not paying for
features you don't need (I personally don't use MIDI and I doubt that most
ST users do) or features that will never be used (such as the STE's new
and unused joystick ports) or features that don't do all they were hyped
up to do (like the blitter chip). I can spend the $200 that would have
gone for MIDI and use it to buy 4 meg of RAM instead of 1 meg. That same
person went on to mention that the TT only has 320x480 resolution in 256
colors (while the Mac II and VGA cards are double that resolution), but
one day he'll be able to hook up his VME bus to some spectacular new high
resolution monitor. Someday, and at some unknown price, if ever.
What really cracked me up was the comment that Windows was not com-
patible with much software while the TT was. It's more like the other way
around by his own admission. Folks, if you're going to comment, please
research what you say. This person has obviously no experience with Win-
dows and probably derives most of his information about the TT from Atari
press releases instead of basing anything on experience. Please don't
compare apples with oranges. Comparing a PC that exists now to a machine
that might one day actually hit the market is not fair. 18 months ago I
read in a print magazine that Atari had a 68000 based game machine ready
to go. Where? We've been hearing about the TT for two years now. Two
years ago the TT would have been far more competitive against the PCs
available at the time. And the STE and LYNX were late to ship. I don't
see a TT on sale at my Atari dealer so I can't suggest to anyone to delay
purchasing another computer in the hopes that the TT might ship one day.
Q: What else?
A: Merry Christmas! & Happy New Year! To be continued in January.
I'll discuss other software for the PC (Windows and non-Windows) as well
as talking about developing software on the PC.
_____________________________________________________________
> ADSPEED STR FOCUS? "...Today, I purchased AdSpeed by ICD"
=================
ADSPEED BY ICD
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"
(This article was retransmitted to various points in the net by a
friend of the author - see note 3 below)
OK! After all these years of reading reviews and looking to make my
1040ST more than it was to begin with, I am impelled to write a review so
that all of you can share in this. I am using WordWriter2 to scribe this
into electronic ink. Am I THE LEAST BIT concerned about scrolling, slow
spellchecking, or the time it takes to reformat a document? NO! When I
went to LDW Power to make the chart below, was I worried about scrolling
or computational delays? NO! Do I have to wait an eternity for GIF
conversions, fractal generations, CAD 3D redrawing, WordPerfect hyphena-
tions, data base sorts, etc, etc, etc. NO! Or stolen CPU interrupt time
for background downloading and uploading, or mouse accelerators, or GDOS
replacements all of which can make everything just a bit slower? NO!
Today I purchased AdSpeed by ICD. It is truly a "power without price"
product.
John Damiano wrote about AdSpeed two or three weeks ago in ST Report.
He included a lot about installing Adspeed but only a few sentences about
how well it works. But that included the phrase: "It feels like a new
computer.." So I took a leap of faith when AdSpeed came to the local
store this week. After all, ICD hadn't let me down before when I added a
used hard drive to my ST using ICD boards and software.
Over the years my search for the better ST led me to add 3 megs to
the one, a Tweety Board for a semblance of stereo sound, and TOS 1.4.
Along with the hard drive, those were my hardware enhancements. Software-
-wise my ST has been most affected by the Codeheads and the two well-known
speed enhancement products.
Yes, I use both Turbo ST and Quick ST and, as you'll see below, they
only enhance AdSpeed dramatically. Before AdSpeed, my ST had at least
tolerable performance in GEM windowing and scrolling because these speed
products have been great. They actually complement each other when loaded
together.
I left AdSpeed installation to the tech at a local store while I went
out with the family for Christmas shopping. AdSpeed gives you the option
to boot up with the old 8 mHz or the new 16 mHz. I chose 8 so that the
speed would not interfere with any floppy- loaded games my son would be
playing. (I had read often enough about how games-makers break the rules
of programming - thank you Charles F. Johnson). I figured I could
software load the 16 mHz when I booted from hard drive for applications.
When I picked it up from the store, I was told that "it really seemed
to work." Home again, cables and plugs in, software ready, boot... Well,
at least it booted OK. I ran 16MHZ.PRG. A FLASH of a message too quick
to read and back to the desktop, but wait! Didn't that open window come
back awfully fast? I tried another. ZIP! I could still see a quick
screen draw but not if I blinked.
I tried application after utility after program. There were no con-
flicts with any commercial or well-written PD program. And everything was
noticeably faster - the speed I had waited for all these years.
So, like everyone else, I went off to Darek Mihocka's Quick Index
(1.8, for those of you who need to know such things). Here is a table, of
my comparisons:
TOS 1.4, MEDIUM RESOLUTION
ADSPEED ADSPEED ADSPEED ADSPEED Before ADSPEED
Quick ST Quick ST Turbo ST ONLY Quick ST
Turbo ST Turbo ST
CPU Mem 163% 164% 163% 164% 99%
CPU Reg 203% 203% 203% 203% 100%
CPU Divide 202% 203% 202% 203% 99%
CPU Shifts 206% 207% 207% 207% 99%
64K Read 5912% 5912% 5912% 5853% 5953%
GEMDOS File 2957% 2994% 2994% 3032% no recollection
Disk RPM 11250% 11612% 11250% 10285% 7500%
TOS Text 599% 436% 601% 150% 305%
TOS String 3344% 3344% 2801% 129% 2072%
TOS Scroll 140% 138% 140% 111% 132%
Dialog 455% 411% 455% 167% 285%
I am sure one of the first things you will notice is there are col-
umns with Turbo ST and Quick ST. The speed satisfaction I am enjoying is
from using BOTH AND AdSpeed. Check the first three columns and you'll
see what I mean. The last column shows the Index results of using both
before AdSpeed came into the picture. Yes, Darek, Quick ST does make a
difference in grayed, bold, etc., text displays that Turbo ST doesn't.
And I had stopped using most anything that would slow down the CPU but
ICD's optional write cache/verify. Hence the 99% figure for most of the
CPU indexes. Without the caches, I had gotten the GEM Dialog box indexes
up to 287%, but what's a couple of percent compared to a lifesaving
write cache/verify.
In case you are curious, here are the indexes from Darek's BMVGTEF-
F.PRG (with Quick ST installed, of course):
Normal: 33
Bold: 31
Grayed: 33
Italic: 43
Underline: 29
Since these are in 1/200th's of a second, they are fast enough for me
(WHEW!).
As anyone points out, these indexes don't really tell the whole tale
by a mile. It's all really in using your software that you can see
what's going on. And I've given you a taste of all of that in the openi-
ng. I really wanted you to be able to see the indexes so you could
share, as soon as possible, in the reality of AdSpeed.
By itself, you'll get twice the processing speed. You'll see the
difference whenever you use your ST. Is that good? Well, I've never
written a review before, let alone felt the need to write one. I think
that says it all.
:NOW FOR SOME NOTES OF INTEREST TO SOME:
1) I have discovered problems with running MONOEM14.PRG and the new Take
Notes programmers calculator (sigh!).
2) My ST has an extensive AUTO folder. Some programs do affect the in-
dexes slightly. And REGACC seems to speed up Dialog box drawing and slow
down TOS String indexes (I don't know why.) Here is the list for my ST
(yes, 4 megs makes all the difference):
PINHEAD 1.8 POOLFIX4 TIMESET QUICKST
G+PLUS RESR MOUSE2 DCSHOW 1.1
CODE_RAM ILINKCLP REGACC UISIII
ADSPEED 16MHZ
3) Who am I? Just a 40+ year-old member of the electronic community and
living on Long Island in New York. You wouldn't know me. I am not an
affiliated with any person, company, or product mentioned here. They
wouldn't know me (I'm terrible at filling out warranty/registration
cards) nor would you. And, except for the occasional on-line arguments,
I enjoy experiencing the anonymous existence of peaceful information,
questions, comments and personalities that appear througout the net. So,
I am leaving it that way for now.
______________________________________________________
> DENNY HAYES STR FOCUS? * EXCLUSIVE! * "..if I single someone out.."
=====================
THE PRICE OF COPYRIGHT VIOLATION
================================
STReport has obtained directly from DENNIS HAYES his very own
statements concerning his arrest and ultimate conviction for copyright
violation. Names of individuals and companys mentioned have been
removed or blocked out.
by Dennis Hayes aka "Denny" Hayes
Part I
======
This is the statement I prepared to read at my sentencing, but was
advised not to read, because the judicial system doesn't like you saying
bad things about them. I've also added a comment at the end. I've tried
to make sure it's as truthful as I can. If there are any mistakes, it
wasn't intentional. Of course everything is from my point of view. I
can't pretend to be someone else, and think like them. Many are going to
read this, and say I got what I deserved. Ignorance is bliss. To affect
what happens to me has nothing to do with me writing this. My sentencing
is over, and what I say here makes little difference with respect to me.
But if anything, I say here, can help keep anyone else from going through
this, it was worth it, and will make me feel what I have gone through had
some purpose.
S T A T E M E N T
Your honor,
I've been informed that I should make a statement in my behalf. I've
had a long time trying to decide what to say, but it's hard to decide what
to say. I'm not an attorney, and don't know what will help me or hurt me,
and I doubt that it makes any difference what I say. If I say something
good about myself it comes out that I'm trying to pretend to be an in-
nocent bystander. If I comment on the many problems I've had to date, I'm
looked at as a complainer, and most of us have problems in life. If I say
nothing, my family has to suffer. If I comment on the questionable tac-
tics used to prosecute me, I'm passing the buck, and not accepting blame
for my actions. And in reality most of the agents I've met are surpris-
ingly intelligent, and fair. I even thought of mentioning one who has
tried his best to be fair, but I'm afraid if I single someone out it might
put him in bad light. Anyway, he knows who he is, and he has my thanks.
Since I'm not sure what is best said, I'm just going to say what I
feel, trying not to hurt anyone, and let it fall where it may. And since
the pre-sentencing investigation report started when I was in grade sch-
ool, so will I.
I'm a technically oriented person who started school, and really en-
joyed learning new things. When the rest of my peers were playing base-
ball, I was studying. And for this effort I had the words honor pupil
written on the side of my report card every year. The problem was, and
is, there is no reward for this effort. The kid who can knock a home run,
and lean against the wall looking cool, without saying a thing gets all
the attention. In reality he probably says nothing because he can't put
two syllables together to form a word.
There are many other advantages to not appearing smarter than anyone.
When my oldest daughter was in the first grade, she could already read,
because I had spent the time to teach her. Her teacher complained to me
that I should stop teaching things to her ahead of time, because it made
it hard for the teacher to teach her, when she already knows, the things
she is trying to teach to her. I guess they want everyone at the same
level now. Just a couple weeks ago she came home, and said she had to
redo a report she had turned in, because she had done it on a computer,
and was told it wasn't fair to the kids that didn't have one. I guess she
also shouldn't use her brain, if the rest of the class doesn't have one as
good either.
So around the sixth grade I decided that if I didn't appear too
smart I might be accepted a little more. That was easy, just fail a few
tests on purpose. The problem was it didn't work. I just didn't think
like most people, and I didn't like baseball, or football. Also, in most
other areas I didn't think the same. And I didn't take what was told to
me by others without trying to find out what was really true. Which is
probably a large factor that brought me here.
I joined the navy after graduating from high school, and entered
electronics school. I graduated in the top 10% of my class, and was
jumped to the next rank.
In college I didn't understand the importance of a degree. I just
loved electronics, and wanted to learn everything about it that I could
without wasting time on subjects like English, and Psychology. Or maybe I
was just impatient. So even though I've had many hours, I never matric-
ulated, and therefore never received a degree.
After school I started working for a company as a non degreed engi-
neer, at $3.10 per hour. Very quickly I was considered the oddball elect-
ronics wizard of the company. This upset the former wizards, who tried to
make it as hard as they could for me. After three, and a half years, I
had all the political beating I could take, so I quit, and took a job as
assistant chief engineer with a new company, which was, four years later,
bought out by the same guy that started Days Inn Motel chain. During the
transfer they had a flood which put them out of business. So I was left
without a job.
I then started working for consulting engineering firms on assignment
to large companies like Procter & Gamble, Monsanto, AM Kinny, etc.
As I started having a family, I wanted to make a better living for
them, and myself. Large Fortune 500 companies required a degree, and you
really didn't need to know much. And smaller companies didn't pay much.
They liked being able to hire someone who is good, and who they didn't
have to pay much. It's a shame that you get paid for the piece of paper
rather that what you know, and can do. Prior to having a family, I really
didn't care though, I loved what I was doing, and the money didn't matter.
So I decided to start a company with a friend of mine. The problem was, I
didn't realize how lazy he was, and after some customers cancelled their
orders, because he didn't finish his part, I started my own company,
designing, and building robotics, and test equipment for large corpora-
tions.
That was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. I worked over 100
hours a week, and made little money. Large corporations seem to get where
they are by walking on small companies, and throwing them away when they
ask a fair shake. I had a meeting on the eleventh floor of a local chemi-
cal corporation tower, where they admitted they owed me thousands of
dollars, but were not going to pay, because they had hired some new young
hot shots who wanted to do the job by themselves. The former head of the
department had been forced into an early retirement at the age of 59,
which later caused him a heart attack. When I mentioned that I would have
to take them to court, I was informed that since all the orders, they had
given me, were rush orders, they hadn't sent me any paper work. In fact I
don't ever remember getting paper work on any jobs I ever did for them.
Every job was a rush job, and if you wanted any future orders from them
you did what they ask. Of course I consulted an attorney, and of course
he told me that I would be a fool to take on a company of that size. I
made the mistake one time to take a company to court, who owed me a large
amount of money, and I saw what happens. I won't go into detail of what
the job was, if you are like most attorneys, high tech stuff is out of
your realm, and it would take too long to explain. But to make it simple,
it was an assembly job, something any low tech person could do. I did
this job, on 30 day open account payment, which is quite usual in the
electronic world. I sent the first half open account. But before the
second half of the order was completed, I was informed by another company,
that they had a bad reputation for not paying their debts. So I made the
second half COD. True to form they didn't pay for the first half.
After months of run around phone calls about the person being respon-
sible for payment being out of town, etc, I decided to take them to court.
They counter-sued, saying the units I'd done were defective. And without
notifying me, or giving me the opportunity to repair any supposed defect,
they said, they had repaired them at a cost of twice what I charged them
for the whole order. My attorney felt since they were caught in many lies
in court, and they admitted they never contacted me about any defects, we
would win. Two weeks later the decision came down that I owed them all
they asked for, and I got nothing. What happened, who knows. Since
Cincinnati is not a very good place for a high tech business, and I'd had
quite a few other bad debts, I was forced into bankruptcy.
But not being the kind of person who gives up, I started again with a
business manufacturing printed circuit boards, and consumer products. I
guess this was like jumping from the frying pan to the fire. At one time
Cincinnati had about a dozen specialty electronic design companies in
town. Now there is only one I know of. They have all realized there is
no money in it. So I'm sure it's not just my ability to run a business.
People save up a little money and get the idea to sell some widget or
something. They hire someone like me to design it for them, not knowing
that the product has little importance. And after the reality hits they
drop the project like a hot potato owing me a large amount of money. I
tried getting money up front, but they use it up then they have me bill
them for the rest at 30 days, which stretches to 90 days, or more before I
realize they have run out of money. At that time I've worked over three
months for nothing.
It's a shame but most people don't know quality. They buy advert-
ising, name, and flair. I have a friend who is the head of the design
department of the largest local toy company, who tells me the product is
7th on the list of importance with his company. Marketing of course is
first, and the list goes down from there. You can quickly see you don't
need a good product. If you have a good marketing program you can sell
manure for $5.00 a gallon as fertilizer, face cream, or whatever. It's a
shame, but I now find my skills aren't really needed.
After a few years of this, I see I'm heading for another bankruptcy, I
feel I'm getting old, I then lost someone I cared a lot about, and I find
myself wandering around Drug Palace trying to find something I can kill
myself with, with assurance that it will work. Fortunately the medicines
that work for sure are prescription only. Also, I began to realize that
it would put a big strain on my family, and I didn't want to do to them
what my mom did to me, so I called University Hospital and told them
something was wrong with my head. They put me on a new anti-depressant
drug test program, which turned me into a zombie. Our living conditions
were really bad. My furnace went out, and I couldn't afford to replace
it. So for three winters I asphyxiated my family and myself with kerosene
heaters, which didn't even do much, except make us all cough a lot from
the fumes, when it was really cold. So we often wore coats to help keep
us warm. They started foreclosure on our home three times, but somehow we
ended up coming up with enough money to stop it. I later finally lost it.
At one point they turned our electricity off. The kids were sitting in
the tub using the hot water left in the hot water tank to warm them up,
until it ran out. I had no money but I was expecting a check for a little
job I'd done, so I turned the electricity back on again myself. A few
days later I received the check, and paid the electric bill. Then many
months later, a representative of CG&E and a county sheriff came to my
house with a warrant for my arrest for theft of utilities, even though my
electricity was paid up to date. After talking to my attorney they agreed
to drop the charges, if I would pay around $500.00 for a crack in the
meter that I'm not sure I even caused. I paid it, and a few weeks later
CG&E re-instituted the charges, saying the person who agreed to drop them
didn't have the authority.
Since the utility companies have recently pushed through a law (which
I doubt that many know about) that makes it a felony to do anything aga-
inst them, I was charged with a felony. I was encouraged to plead guilty
to a lesser charge, and was put on one year probation. And then my wife
left me, stating that she had enough of being poor, and later divorced me.
Maybe she is better off. Life like this is tough.
So after a few months I had enough of the pills I was taking, and
threw them in the garbage. I now partially understand how my mother,
after graduating with honors at the top of her class took 30 sleeping
pills and killed herself. When I was younger, I would never have believed
it could get this bad. As I think about it though, I guess it makes
sense. If you don't have the burning desire to accomplish much, you face
very little disappointment.
For the next two or three years I could not function. I'd sit on the
couch crying sometime, in a daze sometime, thinking a lot, and trying to
function off, and on. And I wasn't a very good provider for my family.
We would be on welfare, then I would do a little job, then we were back on
welfare, etc. Somewhere in there I bough a small game computer, and
learned how to push it beyond its limits. I thought games were a waste of
time, so when I heard a company was coming out with a device that plugs
into the slot on the computer meant for game, but would allow me to run
word processors, spreadsheets, etc I checked into it. I found the device
needed a set of two computer chips from a MacIntosh computer, so I called
around, and ended up borrowing some money, and buying about a dozen from
different places. I figured since the supply seemed low, I could sell the
remainder at a little markup. Later I ran an ad on a computer bulletin
board, that I had some chips for sale, and if anyone was interested they
could leave me a message. I received over 300 requests for the chips.
Then I started thinking. I knew I could copy the chips for my fri-
ends, and myself. That way I could sell the rest of the chips I had and
make a few dollars. So I bought some blank chips, copied the chips, and
sold the ones I'd bought. After a while everyone, I hadn't shipped to,
was calling to find out why I didn't ship them any. I told them that I
only had purchased a dozen sets, and they were all gone. So I decided to
order some more chips, copy them, and send everyone a set.
This continued until I had orders coming in faster than I could make
them. At this point I started wondering about the legal problems I might
get myself into, so I contacted from 5 to 10 attorneys (including my
present attorney) to find out what could happen. Some said they didn't
know for sure, and others said I could be sued by Apple for copyright
infringement. Not one ever mentioned anything about criminal prosecution,
even though I told them exactly what I was doing. One of the investi-
gators recently told me, I should have known it was a criminal violation
to do what I was doing, because there are many indications in life that it
is a criminal offence, like the notice on video tapes. I told him that
there is so much false propaganda in society that I felt the only way to
find out for sure was to check with the people who should know. I guess I
learned something there.
A year and a half ago, I was asked by the company who made the device,
which my chips plugged into, to show people how it worked at a computer
show in Chicago. At that show, about five business men came up to me and
asked me where you get the chips to make the device work. I told them
that they could order them from me. At that point they informed me that
two of them were attorneys, and the other three were from Apple Computer.
Since they didn't seem upset, and seemed only curious how a cheap game
computer could run software created to run on a MacIntosh, I assumed they
didn't really object. If they had ever even implied that they wanted me
to quit, I would have done so. I had already made more money than I ever
expected too. It also seemed in line with Apples normal policy. They
encouraged schools to use MacIntosh software by selling MacIntosh com-
puters to the schools at almost cost. They have many times published that
students would get used to using Mac software, and then recommend MacIn-
tosh computers when they got into the business force. Allowing kids to
use game computers accomplishes the same. It's curious that when everyone
is questioned about a victim of my crime, they really can't find one, so
they dance around the question. In reality I doubt that there is a vic-
tim. The users are happy they have access to information they wouldn't be
able to afford. And in more ways than one it is boosting Mac sales.
In fact I had a policeman from New York who bought a set of ROMs from
me to use in his sons computer, and later showed it to his department who
ended up buying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of MacIntosh com-
puters for their department. I had another person buy a set for one of
his children's computer. He kept them for four months, and called me one
day to ask if he could return them and get some money back. When I asked
him why, he informed me he was a doctor, and had went out and spent over
$10,000.00 on a top of the line Mac IIci. I told him to send his ROM
chips back, and I would give him all his money back. And these are only a
few that I know of. Until I was charged, I had sold over 5,000.00 sets of
ROMs to every kind of person from the US Treasury Dept, and the Veterans
Administration to school kids who were using their game computer to do
their homework. But I doubt that many people who can really afford to buy
a MacIntosh computer are going to buy a game computer with all of its
problems.
It was funny though, when I was asked what the US government could
possibly be using the ROMs for, as if they never would skirt around the
law. I don't mean to pick on government workers, but even though they
may not want to admit it they are just like the rest of us. Getting what
they can for as little as they can, and trying to do the best they can in
a situation where the cards are stacked against them. I know they have
been cutting the budget, but I believe the government can afford something
besides a $300.00 game computer. It won't ever be public, but I think I
know what really happened. Some people working for the government wanted
to play with one, and just got the government to pay for it, and since the
FBI knows about it, he probably is already in trouble. See they are as
bad, and sometimes worse than the rest of us. It makes you wonder how
many other personal toys, the public is paying for. Mentioning this is
not an attempt to point the finger, and say they do it too......... Well
on second thought maybe it was, otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned it.
But, I am still guilty of making them. Without me they would have probab-
ly had a friend copy the program into an EPROM or something. In fact from
what I have counted, only about a forth of the people have been buying
ROMs like the ones I made. Most people in the computer world probably
either make them themselves, since it is so simple, or get a copy of the
program on a computer disc, which is even easier.
All this may sound like Greek to a person who doesn't spend much time
with computers, but swapping computer programs, is the norm in the com-
puter world. To date, I've never met a person who wouldn't ask for a copy
of a program I had, or more often agree to swap a copy of a program he had
for one I had. There are many hundreds of computer boards around the US,
and other countries, who offer a 5 or 8 to one exchange. Of course they
are all copyrighted, and anytime you copy one you are breaking the law,
but given the option to do without or pay the $200 to $20,000.00 or more
for a program they aren't really going to use in business, they would
probably do without. For most it's really more like collecting baseball
cards, since very few, I talk to, ever seem to know much about the
programs they already have. It takes much effort, and most people are
lazy when it comes to using their brains to learn something new, or just
don't have the time. It's the few that do, that go on to become the whiz
kids of the future. If they don't have access to the information, this
country is doomed.
Try to compare it to going to the public library in which almost all
books are copyrighted. Now try to find a floor of the library without a
copier. What's that copier for. Now, and in the future more and more
data is being put on computer discs. In the distant future the library as
it is today will probably disappear. Can you imagine what it would be
like if you as an attorney, or a student had to buy every book you used at
the library. I understand that there is a law that says you can now copy
part of a book but not the whole book, but there is no way you can copy
part of a computer disc, and be able to use it. Or to really compare
apples and apples, attorneys and many other professionals are using what
they copy to make money, so you could say they should have to buy the
book. Well, in reality if they find they use it a lot, they usually do.
And in the computer world, if they use a program a lot, they also usually
do. It's so much nicer to have the support of the author of the program,
and be able to call them and get help by giving them your buyers' author-
ization number off the box, when you need help.
And if you know very little about computers, what I did was sort of
like providing the viewer to look at these programs. And if you have the
viewer, you look at MacIntosh programs, and if you find a use for them you
buy them, and Apple, and their developers therefore make money. And if
they have a real use for the programs, they usually get discouraged by the
problems of the game computer, and you go out and buy a real MacIntosh,
which makes Apple even more money.
I still can't understand why, if it is now the business of the FBI,
to stop the pirating of software, why do they know about these pirate
boards, and not stop them. And I can guarantee they know about many of
them. From watching, and talking to them it seems it's only against the
law if you make money doing it. That's cute, you can supposedly cheat a
company out of all the money you want, but if you make too much money
doing it, the FBI is going to take it away, put you in jail, and not give
a cent to the people who have been ripped off. There are some other
things they have done, in my case, which I wont mention because it might
hurt people needlessly, which also let me know this is true. Also, in my
case they say they are not even sure Apple lost any money. I think I may
have figured out the amount too. I watched an agent get chewed out in
front of me for telling his boss that I had a million dollars, when I only
had less than a $400,000.00. It seemed he was irritated that they came
after me before I made enough money for them. Which was also in bad
taste. He could have waited until I wasn't around. I actually felt sorry
for the guy.
Contrary to what Apple might try to say, real businesses aren't going
to buy game computers to use, and the game computer doesn't run all the
software, or have color, anyway. I also doubt that many of these mostly
kids who are using game computers could afford the over $3000.00 price for
a Mac. And the idea as was mentioned by Apple's attorneys that they would
worry about repair of the bad chips they might get back, is also ridicu-
lous since they admitted the part only cost them $1.00, and if every chip
I ever sold failed they could replace them all for less than $5,000.00.
To date I've only had about a dozen people call and say their chips didn't
work, and I just sent them a new one. In reality, when I checked them
most of them weren't really bad at all. They must have been plugging them
in wrong or something. It's very rare for a chip that has no moving parts
to ever go bad.
I admire IBM who when Compact Computer Company did exactly what I did,
by copying the chips from IBM's MS DOS PC computer, told Compact Computer
they didn't care, and that they felt it would help MS DOS computer sales.
And I guess it worked. Today MS DOS computer sales count for over 60% of
all 'S computer sales. I'm curious what would have happened if IBM had
taken the position of Apple computer. I wonder if they would have charged
the owners of that large corporation with something, and then tack on
charges that carries 26 years in jail. I doubt it.
Another interesting thing is that the copyright, that I'm accused of
violating, is presently in litigation in California. And the ROM chips I
was selling aren't even for sale anymore, by Apple. If you own a MacIn-
tosh computer, and have a chip go bad, tough luck, it's out of warranty,
and you go out and plunk down another $3000.00 for another one. They
probably won't admit this, but I've sold quite a few hundred sets to
repair centers for Apple, who say they can't get them from Apple anymore
at any cost. As for the litigation I mentioned, it seems everyone is in
litigation. IBM has encouraged Microsoft Corporation and Hewlet Packard
Corporation to make a program that works like the MacIntosh ROMs to be
used in the IBM MS DOS computer, so Apple is suing them. This upset many
people, including Apple Records who is now suing Apple Computer for using
their name and going into the music business without their permission.
And Zerox is suing Apple Computer for copying part of the same program
which is in the ROMs that I'm accused of copying. They say they created
it to be used in a computer that they later decided not to produce, and
Apple has copied it without their permission. Also there is a group of
engineers within Apple who calls themselves the New Promethius League who
are dissatisfied with the bully tactics used by Apple, and are giving away
the program I was selling to anyone who asks for it at no charge.
Apple appears to be trying to monopolize a computer that they didn't
really totally create themselves, and is making many people in the com-
puter world very unhappy. They drastically over charge for it, and sue
anyone who is possibly a threat. Now they have the FBI doing their work
for them, so they don't look worse than they already do. You can buy an
IBM with the same power for less than a third of the cost. It's very
interesting that you can run most of their software on a game computer
that sells for a little over $300.00 and until recently they sold the
lowest cost Mac for over $3000.00. Fortunately computer publications
aren't so sympathetic, and are informing people of what is going on.
Also, fortunately for the consumer, so many people are angry that I doubt
that Apple will be able to hold out in the long run. In a way I hate to
see it. The Mac is a really nice computer and I'm going to hate to see
developers steer away from it. But maybe it will make them clean up their
act. In reality, I doubt it.
I've been asked many times by companies wanting to create a clone of
the Mac if I could sell them 256K ROMs from the top of the line Mac II
family. It's actually as easy to copy as the ones I sold, and I could get
twice the money, but I like the Mac computer, and don't want to do any-
thing that would harm Apple. Not for Apple themselves, but the consumer
like myself would be harmed. My interest in playing with Mac software is
what has helped bring me out of the deep depression I was in. I have also
met a friend who lives in Pasadena, CA who is in the same boat. His wife
died, and at the age of 60 sitting around waiting to die he developed an
interest in Mac software, and now lives in his computer as I do. That was
until the FBI took his ROM set away from him. He could never have done it
without the emulator by Gadgets Inc, and the ROMs I sold him. The
computer would have cost more than his car.
This same Apple Inc. has now contacted the FBI to use them to stop me,
when all they would have had to do is ask me to stop. And all the reports
show that the FBI has really done everything by themselves, so as to not
involve Apple. I even believed it for a while. In order to not hurt the
persons who finally let me know what really happened, I won't mention how
I found out to the contrary. Now I'm forced to plead guilty to char-
ges, or I will be charged with multiples of the same charges for each
transaction, and other charges, which carry more time than me and my great
grandchildren have to live. But the real reason I plead guilty was that
I didn't want anymore local publicity than has already been published, and
I've been told you can't beat the IRS or the FBI, anyway. So far it has
appeared in only one local paper, and the way it was worded, mentioning
guns without saying that they were legally registered, and using words
like money laundering which most people believe has something to do with
drugs, has caused many people to believe I must be involved with the
Mafia. My oldest daughter cried herself to sleep one night, when her best
friend's father told his daughter that she wasn't allowed to talk to her
or come to our home anymore, because my criminal gangster friends might
come after me sometime and hurt his daughter. And her dad is supposed to
be an intelligent engineer at General Electric Company. I wonder what the
not too intelligent people are thinking. But since writing this, and
receiving my sentence I have decide that, hiding things lets them hurt you
more.
It does seem a little out of proportion to tack on laws that carry a
25 year sentence to a charge that carries a maximum sentence of one year.
And even though I understand that ignorance is no excuse, it's interesting
that when I went to question people to find out who created all the lies
on the search and seizure warrant, I questioned my bank manager who along
with denying that he said what was stated on the report, went on to tell
me that he was asked why he didn't report me when I was making so many
transactions under $10,000.00. He told me that, he told them, he knew the
form had to filled out for transactions over $10,000.00 but he didn't know
it was against the law to do anything under that amount. One of my attor-
neys, after reading the law, said heck the way the law is written, I might
have been guilty of violating it, in the past. I told him to lower his
voice, or he might be charged next. I don't know how they can expect
people to follow the rules, if no one seems to know the rules.
It has been implied though not stated that I was going to hide my
income from IRS. This is total bunk. In the search warrant it was repor-
ted that I told bank managers, and other people, on many different oc-
casions, that I was trying to cheat on my taxes. I talk a lot, but I
don't think I would be that crazy, even if I really had the intent. And
all of them denied it, when I later asked them. Since I'm hoping the
prosecution hasn't gone as far as to make things up, it's either that
someone tried to score some points while talking to an agent, or they
misread my attempts to hide my actions, and told themselves, that was what
I was doing. There probably is no way to ever find out. At another bank
where it was stated that, I said the same thing, I have only talked to the
young teller, and I really believed her when she said no one ever talked
to her. I'd guess the information was third hand from her boss, who I
have never talked, too. So many people have supposedly said it, that it
appears as if it's coming from a script. I could go on and on about this,
which serves no purpose.
I guess it's is just that when you do unusual or questionable things
people read into it what they want, too. I even had the probation officer
who came to make a pre-sentence investigation report on me write in his
report that I told him I was going to cheat on my taxes. Now this is
really nuts. I had told him when he was here that I had no intention of
cheating on my taxes. After he left, I called him to tell him something I
had forgotten, and ended up telling him again, just to make sure he un-
derstood, that I had no intention of cheating on my taxes. When a copy of
his report came to me a few weeks later, it said I told him I was going to
cheat on my taxes. Since I had the right to object, I called my attorney
and had him get it removed. That is, I hope, I never saw the final editi-
on. It's as if this fixation is in everyone's head. In all honesty, the
investigator I talked too, was very fair in his report. He probably was
obligated to say this or something. I really don't know. All I know for
sure is that I doubt that I would have the nerve to falsify my income tax,
knowing I would probably be audited, and I would have had no way of kno-
wing how much information they would have known. I told an FBI agent
recently, that knowing my personality, it's possible that I would have
pushed the limits a little, but didn't even get to find out, and really
even doubt that. At one time I had thought of giving them an extra $50,0-
00.00 beyond what I owed them, just to insure they wouldn't come after me.
But, as my dad, who was head of a local branch of the Ohio State tax
bureau for many years told me, with the IRS rules the way they are, I
probable would still have been charged with something.
I had more money than I needed, and was trying to straighten things
out. I did many stupid things that may have indicated I might try to
cheat. But everyone knows, it is serious stuff to make a lot of money,
and not pay income taxes. If I had to guess what I would have done, from
past filing experience, I probably would have done, what I did in previous
years. Take the book you get from IRS, go down page by page, looking for
the category things I had bought, fell under, and if it looked as if I
could deduct it, I would. Because every thing written can be interpreted
may different ways, I probably would have deducted too little or too much.
I wonder if anyone even believes me, even my attorney may not, though he
probably really doesn't care, he's just doing his job the best he can. In
fact that seems what everyone is doing, while covering their tail at the
same time. It's real frustrating when you know your own thoughts, but
can't find a way to explain them to others, without them reading in their
own thoughts. And even if you could, the system is set up so, that most
of them can't even do anything about the chain of events anyway. Here I
am not being charged with trying to rip off IRS, but yet since the pros-
ecutors feel that was what I was going to do, they have used other charges
which can convict me without actually having to charge me with what they
think I was going to do. Something is definitely wrong with this system.
As my secretary, my friends, my family, and myself have many times
told the FBI, and if anyone is really interested, I felt that some day I
might be sued by Apple as attorneys have told me, so if it happened I
didn't want them to be able to find my money. In fact most of my money
came from out of this country via bank transfers, which appear on my bank
statements which would be available at any audit. I admit I wrote checks
to myself to remove the money from the bank, but I don't believe this is
against the law, and I also cashed most of the US checks written to my
name, which is also not against the law, or the bank wouldn't have let me
do it. During two bankruptcies I've had creditors go into my account and
take all they could find. At one time I had no money for groceries, so I
borrowed some money from my brother, and like an idiot put it in my check-
ing account. The next day one of my creditors took every penny. I ended
up going to welfare to get an emergency food voucher.
I admit I didn't file income tax for a few years. I wasn't making any
money, and in my depressed state, not really wanting to live anymore,
filing income tax was low in priority. I'd also asked what the penalty
for not filing was. and I was told that I would have to pay an additional
penalty based on what I owed them, which in my case was nothing. I un-
derstand, unless you make a certain amount, which I'm sure I didn't, you
aren't required to even file. But I bet, if you asked 10 attorneys, you
would get either an I don't really know for sure, or 10 different stories.
They don't even know all the laws. I understand, however, as consistency
follows through, there is a law that says you must file, and another one
that says you don't need to. And you have to guess which one to use.
The biggest mistake I made appears to be that I took cash from my
checking account then purchased cashier's checks for an amount under
$10,000.00 to buy things. It seems there is a law which says it is il-
legal to try to avoid the $10,000.00 reporting amount. I even admitted to
the FBI and IRS that I was trying to avoid it so it would be hard for
Apple to find my money if they ever came after me, and no one ever told me
this was illegal.
Near the end of the year in which I started making money, I hired a
secretary to type into my computer all the receipts and information I had
accumulated in the past few years. After a few months I found she had
written a check to her self for $800.00 and had forged my name, so I asked
her to leave. I later looked at what she had been typing into the com-
puter and found it was mostly garbage. She was in pre-law at the Univer-
sity of Cincinnati and even though she took the job, she didn't like being
a lowly secretary. Since I had to start over and it would be too late to
file income tax for that year, I decided to put it off until the next
year. Around the middle of the next year I hired another secretary to
retype the information into the computer. She was running a little late
so I filed for an extension on my taxes. Before the extension was up I
was raided by the FBI and the IRS, who didn't know I'd filed an extension.
After they looked it up they told my attorney that the $1000.00 I had put
on the extension form, indicated that I was planning on paying only $1000-
.00 in taxes. This is ridiculous. I hadn't filed income tax for quite a
few years, and had no idea of what I was going to have to pay. You just
have to put something down anyway.
I had hundreds of thousands of dollars going through my checking ac-
count, and I'm going to try to claim I'm only going to owe $1000.00. As
the joke goes I may be stupid, but I'm not crazy, or am I. If I was ever
audited, which I sure would have been, after not having filed for so many
years, they would surely ask for my bank statements, which would show
this. And I don't really believe any rational person could believe this.
But again they didn't charge me with income evasion. And too many people,
whom the IRS talked too, also knew I was trying to bring my taxes up to
date. (E.g., My ex-wife, my secretary, my daughters, my father, etc.) Why
don't they just come out and say that everything you do with money, has to
be reported to the Federal Government, whether you pay taxes on it or not.
And let everyone know it. What happened to the constitution, and things
like right to privacy etc. They can now stop cars, and search them wit-
hout reason or suspicion. I guess the homes are next. And with what they
did with the CNN tapes, it looks like it's not far off. Of course in that
case they had to give the tapes back because they created too much of a
ruckus doing it, and CNN is pretty big and powerful also.
In reality I had more money than I knew what to do with. I was giving
it away by the handfuls. While I was in Tijuana, Mexico, across the
border from San Diego, I gave away over $10,000.00 to skinny poor people
on the street. At my bank I overheard the teller ask an old man if he was
sure he could live for the next week on the $7.25 he had left. And here I
was cashing a check for over $7,000.00. So on the way out I took a hand-
ful of $100.00 bills and stuffed them into his shirt pocket, and said
Merry Christmas, even though it was in the middle of the Summer. I didn't
know what else to say. I gave away so much I really can't remember where
it all went. I bought all my kids new bedroom sets, while I slept on a
stack of old mattresses, using an old busted dresser, I've since thrown
away. And the FBI knows all this to be true. Even with all the money I
was mostly depressed, and really didn't want much except a better computer
which I bought. If I tried to do some electronic design it seemed to
bring to mind my past failures, and I got really nervous and shaky for
some reason, and couldn't wait to quit. I tried learning to fly, and
bought an old plane because I was told that most small plane manufacturers
were going out of the business, which would make small planes more valua-
ble. But I soon got bored with flying and didn't even finish my license.
It was funny when my ex-wife told me that the FBI had asked her if I took
trips out of the country with my plane. I guess in their eyes, everyone
who breaks the law is into drugs. Even in my home they thought a bag of
plaster of Paris from one of my kid's hobby sets was some kind of drug.
In reality I was afraid to fly my plane without an instructor. After over
50 hours, I could take off and fly it but I don't land too well. I guess
I'll never be a pilot.
The guns I bought turned out to be a bad idea because of the stigma
surrounding any type of weapon. I didn't know anything about guns. But
when I saw on the news that they had put a ban on any more imports of
certain kinds of guns, and later my brother talked me into going to a Bill
Goodman gun and knife show, I realized that they were sure to go up in
value. And it turned out as I expected. The guns I bought are now worth
over three times what I paid for them. And they were all legally regi-
stered, with $200.00 sent to the US government for each, with all the fin-
gerprints, wavers signed by the local sheriff and 90 day investigation
done properly. But they didn't charge me with illegal guns. They just
took them because I bought them with illegally gained money. And every
report has mention of them. I also had a VCR, and a TV, but no one men-
tioned them. If they mention you have things as money, guns, or airplanes
it helps them make you look more like a gangster or something else bad.
In advertising it's called sensationalism. It's using anything that gets
a reaction from Joe public to achieve your goal.
Most of my days were spent on the phone helping people learn to use
Apple software, since that was the only thing I still seemed to enjoy. I
guess the feeling that you get when you help someone learn something is
the only enjoyment I could still get. I spent my days helping the people
Apple should have been helping, and they put me in jail. Boy, that's a
kick in the teeth. I've tried to get help from Apple myself. If the
phones not busy, and you get through to someone, they assume you are an
idiot, and rush you off the phone as fast as they can. In my case, I find
I know more than most of the people I talk too.
Today no one knows the rules, and everyone is afraid to say anything.
I asked an attorney recently if the way I was selling a computer scanner
could be against the law, and he told me that if I thought it might be
against the law he didn't want to know about it. I had a meeting with the
FBI, where I was questioned about consulting with many attorneys
concerning any trouble I could get into for violating Apples copyright.
When the question came up, my attorney quickly announced that he had told
me he didn't know the law concerning copyright violations, as if he was
defending himself. I talked with three attorneys to find out if they
could help me with this case, and was told the FBI and the IRS are so
powerful that unless I still have lots of money, or am squeaky clean I
couldn't win. One of the FBI or IRS agents told me they have a 97.8
percent conviction rate, which I guess means I'm to assume is because the
are proficient in getting the real facts and evidence. From all the inac-
curate information I've seen them using, I find this hard to accept.
When they came to search my home, they ran me off the road in a junk car
that looked as if it had a bunch of gangsters in it. Then yanked my 11
year old daughter out of the car hurting her arm. Not seriously, however.
They appeared to be excited because their plans of catching me at home
were foiled by me taking my daughter to her ice skating class. I guess
they have procedures, and were only doing their job the way they were
trained. I can't fault them with that. I'm sure they didn't know what to
expect. I own guns, so I guess I could have been a crazy. Actually I've
only shot one of them once, on a farm. They make too much noise, and you
can't hit what you are aiming at. The other ones I had reconditioned, so
they would be attractive to, collectors, and dealers. And I don't mean
drug dealers.
They served me with a search and seizure warrant filled with manufac-
tured evidence. By whom I'm not sure. Most paragraphs ended with a
statement that quote "The information provided has been proved to be
accurate and reliable by independent investigation." And since most, were
statements that I supposedly had made, how do you prove them reliable
unless someone else was standing there at the time, which they weren't.
Also for me to have supposedly walked up to a bank manager and say I want
to structure my transactions to avoid paying income tax would really be
insane. And, as I mentioned they denied it. There are also many things
which have been done, which are obviously illegal, but to mention them
would put individuals within the system in bad light, which is not what
I'm trying to do here.
I'm sorry if it appears that I'm trying to excuse my actions by at-
tacking the system which is charged to uphold the law. But they have
exaggerated, maybe even fabricated, and used whatever necessary to prosec-
ute me, for laws that most people don't know exist, and probably couldn't
understand if they read them, so I feel I have the right to bring it all
out. Obviously I can't blame anyone for what I did. No one twisted my
arm. It's just that they have a law for almost everything you do, and
everyone is afraid to stand up against the system. Even the people within
the system. They tried it in the 60s, and lost. And they keep passing
more laws. I'm waiting for them to attach at 25 year law to jaywalking.
The way the laws are worded I bet, if you made any money doing it, they
could find a way. And the law they used was obviously passed to be used
against drug dealers. Every other paragraph says something about drugs.
The only thing I know about drugs is what I see on television. I
tried marijuana once in the early 60s but I don't like the feeling of
losing control of my faculties. I won't even have more than one drink
when I eat out. And lately with the laws the way they are, I'm afraid to
have even the one. It really upsets me to think that, so many people, are
so dissatisfied with their life that they need to use substances to escape
from the realities. With all the pressures I've been under lately it
would be so tempting to want to escape. I realize it may help me escape,
but it makes life harder on those around me who are trying to deal the
best they can with life which is tough enough.
Now I'm being forced to help go after and prosecute other people who
don't even know they are breaking the law, and are also not really hurting
anyone. I'm being asked to help convict xxxxxx. Heck, I hear Apple
didn't even know they weren't real until they busted one open xxxxxxxx
and I never talked about it. I'm not saying this to help xxxxx. It's a
shame, but he doesn't realize that, if you get their attention, they're
going to get you. They decide if you broke the law or not. The FBI is
getting everyone these days. I saw the other day on the news, where they
walked into a hotel room and took tapes from CNN, without even a search
warrant. No wonder we get along with the USSR so well these days. There
doesn't appear to be much difference between the FBI and the KGB, except
that I don't believe the FBI beats people. Of course I'm not sure the KGB
does anymore either. But it's possible that I'm wrong on both counts.
This I find very distasteful, but if I don't help them I'll get more
charges, which affects my family.
We seem to be trying to clear up all the crime in the world, with a
big fervor. What will we have, if we ever accomplish it. For one thing
many unemployed attorneys, agents, and judges. We'll all drive the same
kind of car, because to think or be different from the next guy will be a
crime. As people begin obeying most of the heavy laws, we will start
charging people with looking funny, so the attorneys, and law enforcers
can hold on to their jobs. First we will build more jails to hold all the
violators, until half the population is in jail. Then as they start to
obey all rules we will make up things that people are doing wrong. Even-
tually we will be the robots that the futuristic movies talk about.
Sounds ridiculous doesn't it. The Germans were almost able to do it with
the Jews, but if history tells us anything, eventually the people are
going to be upset.
I made some mistakes, and I'm not really blaming anyone. I didn't know
copyright violation was so serious, and the rest are just laws created for
one thing then used for another, because they feel I was probably going to
cheat on my taxes. But that is the way the chips fell, and I'll take my
punishment, and try again for the forth time. I often wonder if I'm not
really crazy, to keep trying when the obstacles are stacked so high. They
say a new business has a one in 3000 chance of making it. And their
definition of making it is that they just continue to stay in business. I
bet the odds against making a profit are even higher. For me, now it will
be even harder. I have a credit record that looks as if a bomb dropped on
it, and now I'm a felon. Well, only about 20 years left and I'll be too
old to try. But again my grandfather was a millionaire, lost it all
betting on the ponies, as he called it, and at 98 he was still trying to
get back to where he was. I don't know if I can take another 40 years of
this.
E N D O F S T A T E M E N T
The above was a statement prepared by D. Hayes to be read to the Judge at
the conclusion of Hayes' trial and sentencing.
Part II of this article will appear next week, in it, the actual
charges levied against D. Hayes are detailed and explained.
_________________________________________________________
> STR Portfolio News & Information? Keeping up to date...
================================
CTSY CIS
HYPERLIST FOR PORTFOLIO PALMTOP
===============================
HyperList, a software "idea processor" for the Atari palmtop personal
computer, allows users to log and categorize pieces of information into
an MS-DOS (R)-uploadable format, anytime, anywhere.
"This packages is a "must have' for anyone who gathers, categorizes
and prioritizes personal and professional information and data on a daily
basis," said Sam Tramiel, Atari Corporation CEO. "HyperList enables the
user to turn scattered bits and pieces of information into something that
is organized and useful. And, because it runs on the Portfolio, data can
be accessed whenever and wherever it's needed," he said.
Using the new package, Portfolio users can take simple lists and turn
them into hierarchial sublists or "HyperLists." For example, salespeople
can keep lists of clients and sublists of action items under each of
those clients.
Lists and sublists are displayed in simple outline format, but they
are really much more; they provide a comprehensive means of creating,
arranging, manipulating, storing and reading HyperLists.
HyperList differentiates itself from comparable "outliner" programs on
the market in several ways. First and most importantly, HyperList was
developed for the Atari Portfolio--ensuring that personal organization is
not restricted to the confines of a desktop personal computer.
HyperList also displays information in an exceptionally clear and
concise format. Sublevels are shown individually, rather that in a multi-
ple level format. This provides for a simple and orderly view which is
especially easy-to-read on the 40-character x 8-line screen of the palmtop
computer. In addition, sublists are flush left, rather than tabbed to the
right, keeping the number of lines to a minimum.
Introduced in April 1989, the Atari Computer Portfolio was the in-
dustry's first MS-DOS 2.11 command-compatible palmtop personal computer.
Small enough to slip into a suitcoat pocket, this one-pound powerhouse
includes five internal software packages, 128K RAM and LCD display.
HyperList will be available in January for a suggested list price of
$49.95. The portfolio is available immediately with a suggested list of
$299.00 package" is a computer that's within everyone's reach.
Market Outlook
According to IDG, Input and Dataquest (independent research firms),
the market for laptop computers will double to nearly $6 billion over the
next three years. This growth is attributed the the number of people who
intend to add laptops as second computers.
By being first to market with the palmtop personal computer, and
offering key software and peripherals, Atari Computer is positioned for
leadership in the pocket-sized portable niche market.
The Portfolio, including a PC Card Drive and a 128K RAM card has a
suggested U.S. retail of $499.95. An optional AC Adapter lists for $9.95.
The Serial Interface is $79.95 and the Parallel Interface is $49.95.
Additional Memory cards are 32K, $79.95, 64K, $129.95 and 128K, $199.95.
The Finance Card has a suggested retail of $89.95. The DOS Utilities Card
retails for $89.95 and the HyperList retails for $49.94. The leather
carrying case for the Portfolio is available at a suggested retail of
$39.95. All are available for immediate delivery from Atari authorized
dealers across the country.
____________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL? "ATARI NEWS & EVENTS FIRST!"
=====================
- Sunnyvale, CA STACY SUCCESSOR TO BE MAHVALOUS!
-------------
The NEW Atari "Laptop" will be an excercise in perfection. The unit
will be the latest Atari technology including the latest TOS. It will
not however, be in the STe family. It will have a battery and its sup-
posed to last at least 2+ hrs. The new unit is alleged to be somewhat
smaller in bulk and weight than the current laptop.
- Sunnyvale, CA "BLACK FRIDAY" RUMORS ABOUND!
-------------
At this point in time, that's all they are.... Rumors!! Rumors that
more than just a few folks are "layed off" at Atari. Rumors that the "so-
called cryptograms" alluded to by a few 'less informed' collegues are now
about to come to pass. Atari was called for either verification or
clarification and unfortunately, STReport found that the majority of folks
were unavailable for comment (vacations, home for the holidays etc.).
STReport did however, manage to reach two responsible, well informed folks
from Atari who emphasized that this, the latest in a long line of unfound-
ed rumors, like the Stumph Rumor, is totally just that ..a rumor and a bad
one at that.
- Sunnyvale, CA 2 DEALERS TO LOSE AUTHORIZATION!
-------------
The names of the dealers have been witheld pending notification of
revocation, but this much is known; Dealer "A" in California, has been
selling TOS in EPROM chips and has made claims of "exclusivity" in
distribution of certain software when it was proven to not be the case.
Dealer "B" in Michigan, has been selling TOS in EPROM chips among other
complaints in a list provided by Atarians in the area. STReport applauds
Atari for having taken definitive steps in correcting one of the most
serious of problems... Dealers who constantly abuse their loyal Atari
customers and thus, give all Atari Dealers a "black eye". There is much
more to this story that will remain untold unless revealed by the dealers
in question. Time will tell.
- Rockford, IL ICD RUMORED TO BE DEVELOPING AN 030 UPGRADE
------------
ICD Inc. long on the cutting edge of innovative hardware and software
designed to fully support the Atari ST platform is rumored to be heavily
engaged in the development of its own 68030 upgrade for ST computer own-
ers. ICD, while enjoying an excellent reputation for the quality of its
host adapters that opened the world of hard drives to ST owners, has also
recently introduced AdSpeed. AdSpeed is ICD's latest entry into the
Atari marketplace and has literally taken the market by storm. ICD's
ADSpeed has gained widespread acceptance in the 16Mhz accellerator field
because it is fully compatible with one of the most popular artwork progr-
ams, Spectrum 512 and other programs like Quantum Paint, F-Copy 3, The
ProCopy Series and Cue Base in the midi field. ICD's Hard Drive Utility
soft-ware, Cleanup and the software for use with the ICD Tape Backup have
only amplified the reliablity of ICD's R&D. All their offerings to the ST
community have been enthusiastically accepted.
For further Information contact:
ICD Incorporated
1220 Rock Street
Rockford, IL 61101
(815) 968-2228 Information
(815) 968-6888 FAX
______________________________________________________
> PRODUCT SOURCES STR InfoFile? PRODUCT SOURCES FOR ATARI ENTHUSIASTS
============================
PRODUCT SOURCES FOR ATARI ENTHUSIASTS
=====================================
ATARI CORPORATION Antic Direct
1196 Borregas Avenue 544 Second Street
Sunnyvale, CA. 94086 San Francisco, CA 94107
(408) 745-2000 (800) 234-7001
Hardware - Software Psygnosis Games etc...
ABCO Computer Electronics Gribnif Software
P.O. Box 6672 P.O. Box 350
Jacksonville, FL. 32221 Hadley, MA 01035
(800) 562-4037 (413) 584-7887
Hard Disks & Supplies NeoDesk & Turbo C
1ST Stop Computers Horizon Computers
7085 Corporate Way 695 S. Colorado Blvd., #10
Centerville, OH 45459 Denver, CO 80222
(800) 252-2787 (303) 777-8080
Full Line Dealer Authorized Atari Dealer
A & D Software ISD Marketing Inc.
226 NW 'F' Street 2651 John St., Unit #3
Grants Pass, OR 97526 Markham, Ontario, CA *L3R 2W5
(503) 476-0071 (416) 479-1880
Universal Item Selector Calamus, DynaCadd etc...
Alpha Systems L & Y Computers
1012 Skyland 13644c Jefferson Davis H'wy.
Macedonia, OH 44056 Woodbridge, Va. 22191
(216) 467-5665 (703) 494-3444
16 and 8 bit Support Atari products and Software
ASDE Inc. Maxwell CPU
151 Rue Jolicoeur 2124 W. Centennial Dr.
Hull, Quebec Canada J8Z1C8 Louisville, CO 80027
(819) 770-7681 (303) 666-7754
Geography Tutor etc... Expose - Silhouette
Atari Interface Magazine Step Ahead Software Inc.
3487 Braeburn Circle 496-A Hudson Street Suite F39
Ann Arbor, MI 48108 New York City, N.Y. 10014
(313) 973-8825 (212) 627-5830
Atari Magazine and Monthly Disk Tracker ST
B&C ComputerVisions Mars Merchandising
3257 Kifer Road 1041b St. Charles Rd.
Santa Clara, CA 95051 Lombard Il.
(408) 749-1003 (817) 589-2950
Atari Products & Supplies Atari Products & Accs.
Branch Always Software Lantech
14150 N.E. 20th St. PO Box R
Bellevue, WA 98007 Billerica, MA 01821
(206) 885-5893 (508) 667-9191
Quick ST, Software 10 Megabit Local Area Network
Best Electronics Migraph Inc.
2021 The Alameda Suite 290 200 S. 333rd St.
San Jose, CA 95126 Federal Way, WA 98003
(408) 243-6950 (206) 838-4677
THE Atari parts source & Supplies Top Notch Graphical Products
Computer Garden MicroTyme
WestSide Mall 4049 Marshall Road
Edwardsville, PA 18704 Kettering, OH 45429
(800) 456-5689 (800) 255-5835
Discount Software Discount Hardware & Software
Carter Graphics & Computers Practical Solutions Inc.
914 W. Sunset Blvd. 1135 N. Jones Blvd.
St. George, UT 84770 Tucson, AZ 85716
(801) 628-6111 (602) 322-6100
Atari Products Atari support products
CodeHead Software Prospero Software
P.O. Box 74090 100 Commercial St.
Los Angeles, CA 90004 Suite 306 Portland, ME 04101
(213) 386-5735 (207) 874-0382
Software Products "Codekeys" Software Products
Comput-Ability Rio Datel Computers
P.O. Box 17882 3430 E. Tropicana Ave., #65
Milwaukee, WI 53217 Las Vegas, NE 89121
(414) 357-8181 (800) 782-9110
Atari Products & Distributor International Products
CompuServe Information Service San Jose Computers
P. O. Box 20212 640 Blossom Hill Road
Columbus, OH 43220-0212 San Jose, CA 95123
(614) 457-0802 (408) 224-8575
Online Services Atari Products
D.A. Brumleve Seagate Technology
607 West Illinois Street 920 Disc Drive
Urbana, IL 61801 Scotts Valley, CA 95066
(217) 337-0674 (800) 468-3472
High Quality Kiddie Software Hard Drive Mechanisms
Debonair Software Sideline Software
P.O. Box 521166 840 NW 57th Court
Salt Lake City, UT 84152 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
EL CAL The Math Machine (305) 771-9035
Atari Support Products International Software Source
D & P Computer SofTrek
P.O. Box 811 P.O. Box 5257
Elyria, Ohio 44036 Winter Park, FL 32793
(800) 535-4290 (407) 657-4611
Atari Support Products TurboST "The Software Blitter"
Double Click Software ST Informer
P.O. Box 741206 909 NW Starlite Place
Houston, TX 77274 Grants Pass OR 97526
(712) 977-6520 (503) 476-0071
Software Developer Monthly Newspaper
Duggan DeZign Inc. Strata Software
16 Oak Ridge Dr. 94 Rowe Drive
West Warwick RI 02893 Kanata Ontario Canada K2L 3Y9
(401) 826-2961 (613) 591-1922
"Designs with Fun in Mind!" Stalker/Steno TeleCom
Fast Technology Talon Technology
P.O. Box 578 243 N. Hwy. 101, Ste 11
Amdover, MA 01810 Solana Beach, CA 92075
(508) 475-3810 (619) 792-6511
16Mhz 68000 Accelerator Supercharger IBM Emulator
Gadgets by Small Toad Computers
40 W. Littleton Blvd. 556 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd.
#210-211, Littleton, CO 80120 Severna Park, MD 21146
(303) 791-6098 (301) 544-6943
Spectre GCR MAC Emulator Mass Storage & Atari Prod.
Goldleaf Publishing, Inc. WuzTEK Omnimon Peripherals
700 Larkspur Landing Circle, One Tech Dr. Bldg. 1E, #301
Suite 199 Larkspur, CA 94939 Irvine, CA 92718
(415) 461-5703 (714) 753-9253
WordFlair Document Processor Atari support products
Dr. Bobware Wiz Works!
180 N. Hazeltine Avenue P.O. Box 45
Campbell, OH. 44405-1024 Girard, OH. 44420
(216) 743-4712 (216) 539-5623
MVG & Modules Graphics Image Cat - MugShot!
GEnie Information Services Taylor Ridge Books
401 N. Washington Street P.O. Box 48
Rockville, MD 20850-1785 Manchester, Ct. 06040
(800) 638-9636 (203) 643-9673
Online Services Cmanship 'C' programming
Hayes Microcomputer Inc. US ROBOTICS INC.
705 Westech Drive 8100 No. McCormick Blvd.
Norcross, GA 30092 Skokie, IL 60076
(404) 662-7100 (800) 982-5151
Modems - TeleCom Modems-BBS Sysop Program
ICD Inc. Soft Logik
1220 Rock St. 11131F S. Towne Sq.
Rockford, Il. 61101-1437 St Louis, MO 63123
(815) 968-2228 (314) 894-8608
Hardware Peripherals PageStream DTP Software
Innovative Concepts (I.C.) Hybrid Arts Inc.
31172 Shawn Drive 8522 National Blvd.
Warren, MI 48093 Los Angeles, CA 90232
(313) 293-0730 (213) 841-0340
Full Service Dealer Software for the Musician
Mirrorsoft Ltd Supra Corp.
118 Southwark St. 1133 Commercial Way
London, UK SEI OSW Albany, OR 97321
011-43-928-1454 (503) 967-9075
UK Software Dev. Modems - Hard Drives
GT Software Word Perfect Corp.
12114 Kirton Avenue 1555 Technology Way
Cleveland OH 44135 Orem, UT 84057
(216) 252-8255 (801) 222-5800
Sofware Dev. Word Perfect wp
Spectrum HoloByte STR Publishing Inc.
2061 Challenger Dr. PO Box 6672
Alamedo, CA 94501 Jacksonville, FL 32205
(415) 522-3584 (800) 562-4037
Falcon F16 Software STReport Online Magazine
______________________________
> Hard Disks STR InfoFile? Affordable Mass Storage....
=======================
NEW LOW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!!
===============================
HOLIDAY SPECIALS!
** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! **
ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
Est. 1985
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT
BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 PM - 6 AM EDT
_________________________________________
HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
_____________________________________
All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).
*-ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE-*
(you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!)
(all cables and connectors installed)
* ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
* ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED *
* SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS *
Conventional Shoe Box
Model Description Autopark Price
==================================================
SGN3038 31Mb 28ms 3.5" Y 419.00
SGN4951 51Mb 28ms 3.5" Y 519.00
SGN6177 62Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 619.00
SGN1096 85Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 649.00
SGN6277 120Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 889.00
SGN1296 168Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 1069.00
SGN4077 230Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 1669.00
==================================================
WE HAVE A COMPLETE LINE OF 3.5 LOW PROFILE HARD DRIVES
for
USE IN MEGA ST COMPUTERS AND RELATED CONFIGURATIONS.
20mb #AI020SC 379.95 30mb #AIO3OSC 419.95
50mb #AI050SC 449.95 65mb #AI065SC 499.95
85mb #AI085SC $559.95
MEGA ST Internal Hard Drives
CONNOR HIGH PERFORMANCE MECHANISMS
>>> ALL ABCO DRIVES ARE HIGH SPEED UNITS <<<
(500 - 600k per sec @ 16 - 33ms)
CALL FOR SUPER SAVINGS ON ALL OUR OTHER CUSTOM UNITS
FROM 30mb 28MS @ $419.00!
Ask about our "REBATE SPECIALS"
--==*==--
SHIPPING AND INSURANCE INCLUDED IN COMPLETE UNIT PRICE!
============================================
* SYQUEST 44MB (#555)>> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *
- SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADVANTAGE PLUS H/A
- ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable
- Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply
(1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.
COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
--->> SPECIAL NOW ONLY __$ 719.00__ <<---
EXTRA CARTS: $ 79.50
DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 439.95
*** SPECIAL SYQUEST OFFER!! BUY WITH A FRIEND! ***
ORDER YOUR CUSTOM SYQUEST UNIT NOW AND GET A SECOND COMPLETE UNIT!
***** for $75.00 LESS! *****
* TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
SPECIALLY PRICED ** $1329.00 **
* SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
- Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
50mb SQG51 $ 939.00 30mb SQG38 $ 819.00
65mb SQG09 $ 969.00 85mb SQG96 $1059.00
LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
(over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)
*** ALL Units: Average Access Time: 24ms - 34ms ***
ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - AT/PC SPEED - GCR
LARGER units are available - (special order only)
*>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<*
- Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets -
* SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 *
Replacement Drums; CALL
Keyboard Custom Cables Call for Info
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
-* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!
_________________________________________
DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
please, call for details
Personal and Company Checks are accepted.
ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-562-4037 -=**=- CALL: 1-904-783-3319
Customer Orders ONLY Customer Service
9am - 8pm EDT
Tues thru Sat
____________________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote"?
=================
"WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US!"
...Tony "The Rug"
A store room... is a store room... is a store room...
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport Online Magazine?
Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport? "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" December 28, 1990
16/32bit Magazine copyright = 1990 No.6.52
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors, staff, STReport? CPU/STR? or ST Report?. Permission to
reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Each reprint
must include the name of the publication, date, issue # and the author's
name. The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in
any way without prior written permission. The contents, at the time of
publication, are believed to be reasonably accurate. The editors,
contributors and/or staff are not responsible for either the use/misuse
of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-----------------------------------------
Return to message index
