Z*Net: 28-Jun-91 #9127
From: Michael Current (aj848@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 06/30/91-09:16:23 PM Z
From: aj848@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Michael Current)
Subject: Z*Net: 28-Jun-91 #9127
Date: Sun Jun 30 21:16:23 1991
==(((((((((( == Z*NET INTERNATIONAL ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE
=========(( === -----------------------------------------
=======(( ===== June 28, 1991 Issue #91-27
=====(( ======= -----------------------------------------
==(((((((((( == (c)1989-1990-1991, Z*Net Publishing
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CompuServe - 75300,1643 GEnie - Z-NET
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CONTENTS
THE EDITORS DESK................................Ron Kovacs
Z*NET NEWSWIRE............................................
PACIFIC NORTHWEST ATARI FESTIVAL REPORT....Terry Schreiber
CODEHEAD UTILITIES UPDATE....................Press Release
Z*NET NEW ZEALAND...............................Jon Clarke
CPU ONLINE UPDATE............................Press Release
CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT'S GAME ROOM.....................Drew Kerr
STEALTH......................................Press Release
VERTICAL DEVELOPEMENT........................Press Release
MULTISYNC MONITOR SWITCHBOX...............................
MIST ATARIFEST III UPDATE....................Press Release
=======================================================================
THE EDITORS DESK
----------------
by Ron Kovacs
=======================================================================
A few notes on next weeks edition.....
I will be taking a short vacation next week which might suspend the next
release of Z*Net Online. I am attempting to twist a few arms of our
staff during the next few days to stand in for me, so if you are reading
this people, better hide because your name is on the list.
If I am successful, you can be sure to download the next edition. If
not, please be patient.. I might type one out while basking on the beach
next week, and send it by pigeon to one of the online sysops for
uploading.... <grin>
Hmmm I wonder if Terry Schreiber has recovered from the Vancouver show
to stand in for me??? I know that John Nagy is on earthquake alert and
will not be able to stand in since his building is moving or moved
already?? So to speak....
TERMINAL PROGRAM REVIEW
Part 2 of the terminal program review will appear shortly. The author,
Drew Kerr is working on multiple projects and should have something in
the next two weeks or so....
HAPPY 4th OF JULY!
=======================================================================
Z*NET NEWSWIRE
--------------
=======================================================================
$29 ATARI MODEM DEAL
Appearing on the back cover of the latest DAMARK "Great Deal Catalog" is
the familiar Atari SX-212 1200 baud modem for only $29.99. According to
Atari, about 10,000 of the Hayes compatible 300/1200 modem were sold,
cash in advance, to the Damark liquidation and close-out specialty mail
order company. The SX-212 features the standard RS232 port for use on
any computer, plus the 8-Bit Atari SIO port that allows use on an 8-Bit
Atari without further adapters or interfaces. At $29, it is an
unbeatable bargain despite its lack of 2400 baud speeds. Damark Item
Number B-373-181504 from catalog B-373-2329, call 800-729-9000 to order.
PORTFOLIO SAVES THE WORLD
Hold on to your Atari Portfolio, it just may help save the world some
day! The 16-bit personal computer plays a key role in two sequences in
the new Schwarzennegger blockbuster, "Terminator 2: Judgement Day." In
the first sequence, the young boy hero uses his Portfolio to break into
a bank's automatic telling machine (We'd like to know if that program is
public domain!!). The other is later on during one of the film's many
climaxes, in another break-in attempt with a locked door. Incidentally,
you heard it here first -- the film will blow you away!!
ATARI ANNOUNCES CLOSING
Atari announced this week the closing of the sale of its property in
Taiwan for $60 million. A portion of money will be used to reduce bank
debts of $27 million. Atari also reported that due to adverse market
conditions, particularly a slowdown of sales in Europe, it expects sales
for the current quarter ending June 30, 1991 to be below what it
experienced during the second quarter of 1990.
APPLE AND IBM ALLIANCE TROUBLED
The New York Times reported this week that talks regarding a possible
alliance between Apple Computer IBM have hit a snag. The two computer
giants, which had been expected to hold a press conference this week to
discuss the alliance, cancelled their plans to do so. Apple and IBM
want to create a wide ranging technology alliance whereby Apple would
license a microprocessor from IBM, the RS/6000. Apple executives are
resisting the IBM chip, the Times said. The two companies also disagree
over who would control the development of an Apple software effort code-
named "Pink".
EPSON UPDATE
Epson introduced ESC/P 2, a new printer control language for dot-matrix
printers that provides enhanced graphics capability and, for the first
time, scalable fonts. Epson ESC/P 2 is an extension of ESC/P, the
industry-standard language for 24-pin printing that is commonly known as
Epson LQ. ESC/P 2 will be incorporated into all future LQ printers from
Epson, starting in July 1991 with the new LQ-570, LQ-870, LQ-1170 and
ActionPrinter 5000 models. The new printers include ESC/P 2 drivers for
WordPerfect 5.1, PlanPerfect 5.1, DrawPerfect 1.1, Letter-Perfect 1.0,
Microsoft Windows 3.0, Microsoft Word 5.5 and WordStar 6.
=======================================================================
PACIFIC NORTHWEST ATARI FESTIVAL REPORT
---------------------------------------
by Terry Schreiber, Show Coordinator
=======================================================================
The Pacific Northwest Atari Festival took place in Canadian Richmond
B.C., a suburb of Vancouver, on June 15th & 16th. Total attendance for
the two days was under nine hundred people - total expected were two
thousand plus.
Although attendance was light most dealers and developers reported brisk
sales for the event. Compo, Rimik, Infinite Grafix, ICD, Wizard
Computers, ISD, Minitronics, Branch Always and all of the Music dealers
all had excellent sales reports. While Zubair Interfaces and Omnimon
Peripherals reported sales were bad. All others fell somewhere in
between. Hardware, both Atari and third party, sold BIG and FAST.
Software, especially established titles, sold SLOW.
Where have all the users gone? As show coordinator, that was the
question I asked myself the weekend of the show. With over five
thousand machines sold here in British Columbia - where were the users?
Total spent on show advertising and promotion exceeded ten thousand
dollars. While Father's Day on Sunday may well have severly cut the
second day attendance, Saturday should have been fine... and was not.
Some have speculated that, since we have a lot of well-stocked dealers
in the general area, it's no big deal to a lot of users to see such a
show.
Compo Software flew in from England just to attend the show. He had two
new products for the West - That's Write and Write On. GEnie's Darlah
and Atari's Bob Brodie were both very taken by them, look for reviews on
both in a later issue. Also shown was a new mouse called "That's a
Mouse" which is similar to most of the higher resolution mice but this
one felt better than most.
Rimik new on the developers scene is run by Richard Betson formerly with
Talon Technologies. Rich was demonstrating a new multi-tasking system
from Germany called Multi-Gem and although it was a pre-release version
showed excellent signs of being a success.
JMG Software was showing Hyperlink a modular style database. Add on
modules for just about any application are sure to make this one a hit.
Soft-Aware was showing their entry into the database market called
Informer II. First impressions left me with my mouse in hand. This was
the official database used for the show, it is slick and allows you to
build some powerful macros.
Musicode was showing their MIDI and games software. I am not sure how
they did on the MIDI end but Blackjack Plus was surely a hit at this
show.
SoftLogik, the Pagestream guys, were blowing people away with the color
output on a postscript QMS Color Laser. Even users of other brands of
computers were definitely impressed. Ron Tucker of Tucker Media here in
Vancouver who, till a year ago, was an Atari user and sold it for a Mac,
was seriously contemplating the change back to Atari. Excellent job
guys. Version 2 of Pagestream was to be available for sale at the show,
but is now scheduled for release July 1.
Phil Commeau had his grammar checker, which by the way I vow to start
using soon, Phil. He also demonstrated a Geography Tutor which is
currently available in English or French but I understand he is working
to translate it into more languages.
ICD had extremely brisk sales. Host adapters, hard drives, Adspeed
boards it didn't seem to matter they all sold except for the tape back-
up system. Hint - could this puppy be a little too high priced? It
doesn't matter because I fully intend on buying one anyway. No serious
computer user should be without a back-up system and at the size of the
drives currently being sold it no longer makes it feasible to use
floppies. Can you afford to lose your data?
Application and Design were selling their new upgraded Universal Item
Selector. This is a program that no one should be without. It is
simple to use and practically fool-proof. Formatting, copying, setting
attributes--this program contains what we had hoped Atari had built in
to their new TOS.
John and Charles - The CodeHeads - were doing upgrades to most of their
product line as well as sales. MaxiFile and MultiDesk owners were
pleasantly surprised at the amount of work gone into the latest
versions. If you liked UIS you will love MaxiFile. Although the
features are too numerous to mention this is a MUST HAVE for anyone who
is a power user with a large hard drive system.
Zubair Interfaces attended and was selling his memory upgrades, but did
not fair well. We have a thing called dealers up here in B.C. and they
all stock and sell his products, making his market fairly saturated.
Omnimon Peripherals demonstrated their new DEKA interface. This allows
the use of an IBM style keyboard with the ST as well as relocating the
joystick and mouse ports.
Gribnif was showing their latest in software, including Cardfile and
STENO, which premiered at this Vancouver show. I didn't find out what
sales they did during the two days but from the amount of people around
the booth I would say sales were slow. Gribnif puts out the popular
Neodesk the desktop replacement for the Atari.
Another entry into alternative desktops was Double Click. They were
demonstrating DC Desktop, DC Utilities, and the new DC Shower program.
For those of you into graphics, their new DC Shower is a must. This
program shows almost all picture files from the desktop, a fast and
handy way of searching through picture files.
Darek Mihocka of Branch Always Software was demonstrating the latest
Quick ST on the TT030, another first released at the show. Darek also
took the time to spend on the slower Sunday to do some code re-writing
at the show.
Cherry Fonts and Todd Johnson were also selling a competitor's fonts at
the show. Todd is now looking at expanding his fonts into other
programs other than Calamus.
Canoe Computers is based out of Edmonton and had memory upgrades and
accelerator boards for sale.
Goldleaf was demonstrating Wordflair II. We were hoping that some of
the new products from Germany would be available but not as of the show
date. Keep your eyes peeled for these products, becoming available
shortly.
David Small - always a hit at any show - was showing the SST an 030
board for your 68000. Also, the Spectre GCR which was running on a
TT030. This unit turns your computer into a Mac. How fast David? When
did you say that Cray emulator was going to be ready?
Micro Creations had their latest release for sale G.I.M.E., a terminal
program offering online graphics.
PDC Software was offering the Calamus Font Resource, Tracker ST STealth,
and a few other items for sale. This is another booth that I didn't get
to spend any time at.
Darlah Pine the System Operator of the Atari section on GEnie was there
for the two days of the show. Sunday we finally had the phone lines to
the information booth and the hook-up to GEnie. Darlah and others spent
most of the early afternoon catching up on messages they had missed
during the trip but the booth did not go un-noticed. Many people
expressed interest in signing up to GEnie at the show.
Bob Brodie - have you seen Bob? This was the guy who said I was hard to
catch up with that weekend. If I had a free moment I was looking for
Bob. "Oh Bob, ya I think I saw him in the Gadgets Seminar", damn,
missed him again. Yes Atari U.S.'s man on the go was living up to his
reputation - he was everywhere but where you could find him at a moments
notice. We'll try this again next time Bob--in the meanwhile we will
continue to play telephone tag.
Nathan from ISD gave two seminars as well as multiple demonstrations of
the Calamus product in Atari's area. Nathan had the new version of
Calamus, but unfortunately release to the public will be delayed while
manuals are being translated and printed from the German version.
Atari Canada's Geoff Earle, Murray Brown and Mark Campbell were joined
on stage by Geoff LaCasse and Ron Grant of GXR Systems in the Atari
display. Atari had their full product line on display including the
ATW/ABAQ workstation. Atari Canada supplied most of the equipment for
developers use at the show, many mouse clicks of thanks to Geoff Earle
and Murray Brown.
Although the show turnout was somewhat less than expected, most people
attending as well as the developers had a good time. Will there be a
show next year? That depends on how many developers will come back and
how Atari sales fare over the next eight months.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank those developers that did
attend and support the event. It was a pleasure putting faces to all
those names, although now a week later I doubt if I could tell the
difference between John and Charles. Well, I'll take two Aspirin and
the leftover keg of beer, and start looking for next year's location!
=======================================================================
CODEHEAD UTILITIES UPDATE
-------------------------
Press Release
=======================================================================
***** EDITED *****
CodeHead Software Announces CodeHead Utilities - Release 4
FEATURING:
- RESET-PROOF PRINTER AND DISK SPOOLING
- KEYBOARD ENHANCER FOR HANDICAPPED USERS
- TT COMPATIBILITY
- DESK ACCESSORY TEXT EDITOR
- RESOURCE FILE CONVERTER
The fourth release of CodeHead Utilities is now available! It brings
you many exciting new features as well as new and previously-unreleased
programs.
Release 4 comes on two disks. The second disk contains the latest
versions of all Little Green Footballs Software and demos of all other
CodeHead products. Between the two disks there are 34 programs, more
than ONE AND A HALF MEGABYTES OF SOFTWARE!
Here's what you get:
CODEHEAD RAM DISK:
The CodeHead RAM Disk has some new and exciting features. You can now
install two different drives in the same RAM disk. And you can
configure the RAM disk to contain a RESET-PROOF PRINT SPOOLER!
You can now perform a printing operation and reset your computer without
losing a single character...the printer will pick up exactly where you
left off without missing a beat. Plus, you can save your printer data
to a standard disk file that can be printed at any time, with or without
a print spooler!
This means you can save the raw printer data of a DTP document and
reprint it at any time WITHOUT EVEN RUNNING YOUR DTP PROGRAM AGAIN!
ART GALLERY:
Art Gallery is our picture viewer and slide show utility which runs as
either a program or a desk accessory. It is now fully compatible with
Mega STe and TT030 computers and is also compatible with large screen
monitors. If you have a large screen monitor, you can view any type of
picture that matches the current resolution, or has the same number of
planes but lesser pixel resolution. This allows you to view ST high-res
pictures on a Moniterm monitor and ST medium and low res pictures on an
ISAC or other large screen color monitor.
There's new support for all TT resolutions, including Prism Paint
pictures as well as the previous Neochrome, Degas, Art Director, and TNY
modes. Using a color monitor on the TT you can view pictures in any of
5 resolutions no matter what your current resolution is.
STICK SHIFT:
Stick Shift is a new desk accessory specially designed for handicapped
people. It changes the function of the shift keys (Left Shift, Right
Shift, Control, and Alternate) into toggled keys. This allows
complicated shift-key combinations to be typed by a single finger, or
even a mouthstick. When Stick Shift is active, a symbol will appear in
any of the four corners of the screen (your choice) to show which keys
are currently "stuck" down.
CODEHEAD ED:
Included as freeware with CodeHead Utilities is CodeHead's special desk
accessory version of MicroEMACS, the popular progammer's text editor.
At CodeHead Software, we've been using CodeHead ED for years. Now you
too can access the power of EMACS as a desk accessory. CodeHead ED uses
the GEM file selector for loading and saving files and has been
optimized in many other areas to help make your text editing tasks as
easy as possible. You can bind commands to different key combinations
to customize it to your own preferences, and the powerful EMACS command
language lets you create macros and command routines to do extremely
complex tasks.
RSC -> ASM CONVERTER:
We've finally released another of our development tools -- RSC_ASM
allows you to convert a resource file into assembly language source
code. We've been using RSC_ASM for a couple of years now to embed
resource files into our programs. A unique system of labelling allows
you to save both time and instructions by being able to access objects
and strings directly without using system calls to find addresses, and
without tedious and error-prone indirection.
CODECOPY:
CodeCopy is our disk mastering program which is tailored to the task of
making disk copies (we use it at CodeHead to make all our master disks).
It features full verification of every byte on your disks plus the
ability to save an entire disk as a single "image" file. It can be
fully controlled either manually or from the command line.
FONT TRICKS:
Font Tricks allows you to customize your system by changing the system
screen font. You can also print ASCII files to Epson-compatible
printers using the custom fonts. Almost two dozen fonts are included.
Font Tricks is now TT compatible.
AUTO ORGANIZER:
Auto Organizer lets you change the order of execution of your AUTO
folder programs. Its interface is intuitive and extremely fast,
performing the actual reorganization almost instantaneously. Auto
Organizer is TT compatible along with a couple of bug fixes.
OTHER UTILITIES:
MultiFile is the granddaddy of MaxiFile. It gives you a basic scaled
down set of file and disk functions. It runs as both a desk accessory
and a program.
Our stand-alone print spooler can be configured to any size through a
separate program. It will spool a screen dump and its buffer can be
cleared with a keystroke.
ZeroDisk lets you erase all of the files on a floppy disk in one quick
operation.
CapsLock is an accessory that shows the current state of the CapsLock
key. It can be installed in the upper left or right corner of the
screen.
Lens is a recursive graphics toy which lets you examine the effects of a
recursive system and have fun at the same time.
FREEWARE:
The new version of ShowMem4 works with the TT to show you memory blocks
in fast RAM. It now works correctly the first time on all ROM versions.
There's a new version of Leonard6, the system bomb handler, with a
special option for BBS operators. You can set Leonard6 so that it will
reboot upon a system error so that the BBS will automatically be
reinitialized.
Siren.ACC is fun little police car which drives across the bottom of
your screen at predetermined configurable intervals.
A patched version of Poolfix4 is included which fixes a bug in its reset
-resident routine for handling the cookie jar.
NoClear lets you remove the screen clear commands from your AUTO
programs so that they will scroll nicely up the screen when you boot up.
Sentinel watches for disk write errors and lets you know if there's a
problem such as a full disk. This takes the worry out of working with
programs that fail to inform you of errors.
PRICING
CodeHead Utilities has a suggested retail price of $34.95. As a current
owner of CodeHead Utilities, you can obtain an update by sending your
original master disk and $10 to the address listed below.
Version numbers and suggested retail prices for our products as of
Monday, June 24, 1991 are:
Product Version Price
------- ------- -----
CodeKeys ............. 1.3 .......$39.95
G+Plus ............... 1.5 ....... 34.95
MultiDesk ............ 2.2 ....... 29.95
LookIt & PopIt ....... 1.2/1.1 ... 39.95
MaxiFile ............. 3.0 ....... 44.95
HotWire .............. 3.0 ....... 44.95
HotWire Plus ..................... 69.95
MIDIMAX .............. 1.3 ....... 49.95
CodeHead Utilities ... Rel 4 ..... 34.95
CodeHead Products are available from your local Atari dealer, through
mail-order houses, or directly from CodeHead Software:
CodeHead Software
P.O. Box 74090
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Phone: (213) 386-5735
FAX: (213) 386-5789
BBS: (213) 461-2095
CodeHead Software accepts Mastercard, Visa, and American Express, as
well as checks, money orders, and cash. Shipping charges are $3 U.S.,
$4 Canada, and $6 elsewhere.
Current office hours are Monday-Friday 9AM-1PM Pacific time. Prices
and hours are subject to change without notice.
=======================================================================
Z*NET NEW ZEALAND
-----------------
by Jon Clarke
=======================================================================
Another months has come and gone and here I am at home on a rare Sunday
putting fingers to keyboard with my new computer, reading all the notes
from the last few weeks and woundering what happened to all my spare
time.
You see the last few months has taken me by suprise to say the least.
It is nice when you have a well planned life and you know what is going
to happen from one week to the next. Or failing that it is a boring
existance going to work, getting home, going to work, getting home etc.
I guess it all depends on side of the street you come from.
Well over the last month I have been carried off to the land of the
famous "Drop Bears", been stood up for tea (could not resist this one),
seen the Apple modem manufactors, the largest modem manuafactoring plant
in Austral-asia, and pulled a Mega STe to bits in under two minutes and
upgraded it to a 4 meg machine. Did I also mention I have a new
computer and changed jobs?
Does this sound like your average "Banker"? Maybe not but life has not
been boring for the last couple of months that is for sure. What does
banking have to do with all of this? Well believe it or not by
profession I am one of these creatures (at leaste we do not have jokes
like the lawers YET!). Being involved with global electronic banking my
job now takes me all over the place. To our readers in New York,
London, Frankfurt and Hongkong I may see you next month on a wirlwind
tour.
Last month I had the oppitunity to spend another week in Sydney,
Australia. This is the country for those of you who read Z*Net will
recall we did a little geography lesson on several months ago. You
remember the home of the Sydney Opera house, Crocodile Dundee, the
infamous Drop Bears and Kangaroos.
I had a call from Alastair Campion of Atari-Oz to tell me he was in New
Zealand for a week and we should get together for a drink. As it
happened we never had the time to do this so I mentioned I would be in
Australia the following week and maybe we could do it then. The next
week arrived and was nearly ended when I made my way to their offices in
North Ryde. Well the wait was well worth while I can tell you.
When I arrived half dead from the previous night, we took Alastair for a
little trip down the road to visit Netcomm. Now for those of you who do
not know who Netcomm is, here is a little overview.
(i) Netcomm is the largest modem manufacturer in the Pacific/Asia region
(ii) Netcomm manufactors most of the Apple Macintosh modems for world-
wide distribution.
(iii) Netcomm is the leading communications supplier to most Telecom/
Post Office/Phone companies in the Pacific and Asia regions.
(iv) They have offices in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.
(v) Netcomm is one of the worlds largest users of the "ROCKWELL" modem
chip sets.
So as you can see they are a rather large company. Having used these
modems both privately on our BBS here and also at work for many years it
was very interesting to see the manufactoring plant and research and
developement areas.
What impressed me the most was the manufactoring of the "APPLE" modems.
There were hundred of modems in racks going through various tests with
each individual modem hooked into a test bed and monitored for a varity
of things. There was this very large looking oven and fridge where each
modem is tested in extreme heat and cold. If a modem can stand this
type of extreme testing it can stand the daily uses of most people.
Netcomm has a quality control check proceedure that is second to none to
the point that there is next to no failure rate on their modems.
It was interesting to see Alastairs face when we all discovered they
made the Apple modems, shocked is a word that springs to mind. The
final package for the Macintosh is a small compact 1200/2400 modem whos
quality is first rate. With all the new modem standards that are being
released all the time it is pleasing to see the world turning more and
more to the CCITT standards and not to be out done Netcomm is at the
fore front of this technology.
Regretfully some two hours later we all left Netcomm and proceeded to
walk a few blocks back to Atari Australias offices. After nearly been
soaked by a sudden down pour of rain and me vowing never to visit the
"Cross" again and get stuck into that ozzie beer we arrived.
The walk was well worth it. No sooner had we arrived and sat down
Alastair asked if I played with the new Mega STe. The look on my face
must have said it all as he suggested I follow him then. So off to
Michelles' work station we went and there was a brand new Mega STe
begging to be used. So after firing up flash to pop onto GEnie to show
one of the chaps from the bank an X25 Network, I realised this was no
ordanary machine. Flash arrived in a split second. I think my face
must have been a book that day as Alastair asked "what is wrong?" "The
speed" I replied, "it is to fast. Are your sure this not a TT?" With
that a brochure was produced and I took my hat off to Atari for a great
machine.
I guess I am not the usual computer users as I love to pull machines to
bit and see how they operate. I think my face let me down again as I
was eyeing up this Mega STe, as Alastair proclaimed "I can upgrade this
machine to four megs of memory in two minutes." "Yhea sure Al" I said.
Hmm under two minutes this two meg Mega STe was a four meg Mega STe.
One screw, pop the hard drive housing and pop in the SIMMS. It is as
simple as that. Now add to the Mega STe a large 20 inch mono screen and
the new Atari Laser printer, boot up Calamus and you have the best DTP
package around.
For a while there I thought Calamus was going to break the sound barrier
with the way Alastair flow it. The chap who had come with us was
standing there with his tounge at his knees in awe, and at that point I
think he finally realised the Atari is not a games machine and his 33
mhz 386 could not do this with "Pagemaker".
But like all great things our time was limited and we had to return to
our office and get on with work so we all said our farewells.
PARTING SHOTS...
To those of you who use the GEnie RTC on Wednesday nights, you may have
seen the user i/d of ATARI-OZ. Well nine times out of ten this is
Michelle (who uses the Mega STe) at the keyboard. May I suggest if you
have not already popped onto the RTC and said "HI" to the Atari-OZ crew
do so. Alastair is in the process of arranging GEnie access for alot of
the Australian Atari dealers. This will truely add an international
flavour to Atari SIG on GEnie and for all of us users ass well.
Have you seen "Twin Peaks" and the who killed Laura Palmer yet? Well
who stood Jon up for tea?
Hint:Mega STe.
=======================================================================
CPU ON-LINE PRESS RELEASE
-------------------------
JUNE 25, 1991
=======================================================================
Okay all you Lynx players - get ready!
Computer Publications, Unltd., publishers of the ST Connection, are
proud to bring you the hottest new publication for Lynx enthusiasts -
GameMaster.
GameMaster will soon be bringing you news and information on all of the
newest games and hottest hits for the Atari Lynx. You will also find a
minimum of two reviews per issue, a full page of tips and hints and a
current listing of which game cards are now available or coming soon!
Warbirds? APB? Blockout? Ninja Gaiden? Scrapyard Dog? We'll let you
know about all the new games as they hit your local dealer's shelves and
update you on everything in production as well!
GameMaster, the Newsletter for Atari Lynx Players, will be published 10
times per year, giving you more issues annually than any other Lynx
publication. And for just $10, you can get every issue mailed directly
to you - 1st class! And if you just want to check us out, send us your
name and address to receive a FREE issue!
The first issue of GameMaster will be available soon... DON'T MISS IT!!
GAMEMASTER
Computer Publications, Unltd.
P.O. Box 2224
Arvada, CO 80001-2224
303/423-6805
GEnie: STCONNECTION
$10/10 Issues
=======================================================================
~~~~ CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT'S GAME ROOM ~~~~
--------------------------------------
by Drew Reid Kerr
=======================================================================
GEnie D.KERR1 DELPHI DRKERR
SIERRA-ON-LINE LAUNCHES ALL-GAMES ON-LINE SERVICE!
This one made the front page of the New York Times business section!
I'll let writer Eben Shapiro do the talking...
"A small computer-game company based in an abandoned gold mining town in
the Sierra Nevada foothills in California hopes to succeed where a
partnership between two of America's largest corporations has struggled
for years."
What Shapiro refers to is Sierra starting TSN (The Sierra Network) and
challenging Prodigy, which IBM and Sears have hundreds of millions of
dollars and it has yet to run a profit.
TSN has begun on a small scale in just California. The setup is only
"a couple of powerful desktop computers and a handful of employees,"
allowing subscribers to play checkers, chess and a few other simple
games while "trading electronic banter."
Borrowing from role-playing games, users can choose a name, sex, face
and haircut for their "computer persona." You even have a choice of 14
hats, including a turban or a propeller-topped beanie!
TSN plans on expanding slowly across the country, charging $11.95 a
month. Over time, they will offer more sophisticated games for an extra
fee of $6.95 a month: "But Sierra programmers do not expect to have
these games, with names like Sierraland or Larryland, on the network
before January."
The article quotes Joshua M. Harris, president of the Jupiter
Communications Company, a New York research firm: "They have a winner.
It's the best games service I have seen, bar none." Yet, there is more
technical tinkering to do: at this time, the system serves no more than
75 players at a time and has experienced frequent system failures.
Another analyst says Sierra "must also perfect the technology for
offering more sophisticated games -- like flight simulators and shoot'em
up showdowns."
If you have access to back issues of the New York Times, you can find
this in the June 18, 1991 issue. Wow, I guess this means computer games
have hit respectability. Heavy news!
GAME ROOM CHATTER
Lucasfilms Games has their hands full with sequels -- not only is a
second chapter planned for "The Secret of Monkey Island", but a new,
totally original Indiana Jones game is being planned (nudge, nudge,
Harrison Ford), tentatively titled "Indiana Jones and The Fate of
Atlantis".... Hard to believe "Midwinter II: Flames Of Freedom" is still
not out... If you think Microprose's Sid Meier is a genius ("Gunship,"
"Red Storm Rising," "F-19 Stealth," "Railroad Tycoon"), then wait till
you see his attempt in the SimCity/SimEarth category, "Civilization,"
planned for IBM in the fall and the ST the following year...
Ocean, the movie licensing kings, have picked up two more film tie-ins
for future games: "Robocop 3" and "Terminator II:Judgement Day"...
"Flight Of The Intruder," the spiritual sequel to Falcon, will finally
make it to the ST in July... If you are a fan of the old Magnetic
Scrolls text adventures ("Corruption," "Fish" and "Guild of Thieves"),
all three are being packaged together by Virgin Mastertronic and
released using the new interface debuted with "Wonderland." It should
be out very shortly... Electronic Arts will have "Birds Of prey" out
this fall from Glynn Williams, the man behind "Warhead." It's a multi-
aircraft war simulation....
JUST AROUND THE CORNER: Gremlin's "Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge II"...
Microprose's "F-15 Strike Eagle II"... Sierra-On-Line's "King's Quest V"
and "Quest For Glory: Trial By Fire"... Infograme's "Alcatraz," a sequel
to "Hostage"...
FLIGHT STIMULATION
Does the feeling of hitting 350 knots, pulling off the ground and into
the wild blue yonder make your heart flutter? Scanning around
CompuServe's Games Forum, I found two clubs that are actively seeking
your membership!
o CPAA stands for Computer Pilots Association of America. They want
to know: "Are you a SERIOUS user of Flight Simulation Programs?
Are you interrested in making your flights as REALISTIC AS
POSSIBLE? Do you want to 'get your ticket' as a CERTIFIED Computer
Pilot?" Well, stop getting all excited when you see these upper
case letters and get with these guys!
Founded in 1988, their purpose is to "expand and enhance the enjoyment
of flight simulation software, especially Flight Simulator by Microsoft
(which is available on the ST). CPAA publishes a quarterly newsletter
and amintains a BBS for conferencing and file sharing. They have
members throughout the U.S. and in more than 17 foreign countries.
For further information, contact Jeff Bingham at CPAA, P.O. Box 580608,
Houston, TX 77258-0608, or via CompuServe at 76576,547, or the BBS at
703-548-7849.
o Intercept is a bi-monthly newsletter which just debuted in March
1991. This periodical is a little more, shall we say,
"bloodthirsty" than just admiring the sights from above. Each
issue features a single software package, flown for a minimum of 50
hours, for a detailed review. There are related articles on the
actual military hardware which is being simulated, development,
weapon systems, counter measures, and avionics.
Intercept organizes tournaments for head-to-head play. This year,
they're sticking to the veteran Falcon by Spectrum Holobyte. A one year
subscription to Intercept is $20. Please contact them at: SIMCAP, Inc.,
20 Lafayette Avenue, Kingston, NY 12401-4408.
YOU ASKED FOR IT!
Levels for Psygnosis' incredible Lemmings. Here we go, you cheat-
mongerers, you, just the first two levels:
EASY TRICKY
2 IJJLDNCCN COOLMGLQDL
3 NJLDNCADCK CAJJLDMBEV
4 HNLHCIDECW KKHLDMCCEP
5 LDLCDJNFCK NHLDMCGDER
6 DLCIJNLGCT HLDMCMOEEX
7 LCANKKDHCO LDMCAJNFEN
8 CINNLDLICJ DMCKJMLGEX
9 CEKHMDLJCO ICGNMNDHEW
10 MJHMDLCKCW CIOLLLMIEL
11 OHODHCELCS CEKKOLIJEK
12 JMDLCINMCK IJHMDMCKEV
13 MDLCAKLNCS NHMLICALEW
14 DLCIJNMOCM KOEICOOMEU
15 LCENLMDPCL MDMCEJMNEJ
16 CMNLMDLQCU LMBIJNOOEY
17 CEJHLFLBDX KCAOLMMPES
18 IJILFLCCDN CINMMDMQEU
19 OHNNHCEDDU CCKHNOIBFQ
20 JNNHCMOEDP KJJLFOCCFV
21 LFLCCKLFDO OHLFMCADFN
22 FLCMKLLGDJ HNNICKOEFO
23 LCCOLLFHDU LGMCAKLFFQ
24 CMOLNNHIDV FICMKMLGFJ
25 CCKHMGHJDM MCGNMLFHFL
26 OJHMFLCKDL BKOLNGKIFQ
27 NJMGLCALDV CAJJMGMJFS
28 HONHCINMDR IJJOOKCKFT
29 MNJCEJLNDO NIMFMCELFK
30 GLCOJLMODU JMGMCKNMFT
(whew!)
TEXT REDUX!
Wonderland (Magnetic Scrolls/Virgin)
The text adventure is back! If you hunger for the days of Hitchikers
Guide To The Galaxy, Wishbringer, Fish and Corruption, starve no more!
Magnetic Scrolls, who made so many great text games, has moved into the
90s to appeal to both the text fans and the graphics fans.
Following the classic story of "Alice In Wonderland," you fall into the
crazy world of the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and other psychedelic
characters. Now, not only do you get text, but over 100 stunning
graphic images to go along with the story, some of them animated! You
also get a built-in help section so you don't have to send away for $10
hint books or call 900 numbers and run up your phone bill.
Because of the size of this baby, I strongly recommend you put this on
your hard disk and "uncompress" the graphics (it's a 15-minute optional
process). Also be warned, that after you uncompress, the game takes up
something like a billion bytes, so make sure you have the room!
ALSO NEW AND RECOMMENDED:
Gods -- the first Bitmap Brothers game (Speedball, Speedball II, Xenon
II) on their new Renegade label and it does not disappoint! Like Xenon
II, they turned the shoot-em up on its head and made it a little deeper,
tricker and the graphics are fab!
3D Construction Kit (Domark) -- If you've always wanted to create your
own game, here's your chance! Using the Freescape graphic style
(Driller, Total Eclipse, Castle Master), you can forge wonderful shapes,
moving objects, with real ease. This is a pricey "game" that comes with
a video unplayable on American VCR's. I have also had a lot of trouble
putting it on my hard drive (it can be done, according to the manual,
but I keep getting a "not enough memory" signal, which is quite
impossible with 4 megs and plenty of hard drive space -- this thing is
only 1 disk!).
The Secret Of Monkey Island (Lucasfilms) -- An all-around smash that is
much more fun than Zak McCracken & The Alien Mindbenders and the Indy
Jones games. using pretty much the same point-and-click method as the
past endeavors, the story is just genuinely funny and captivating. You
are an apprentice pirate with the laziest crew sailing the seven seas.
You bumble around, capturing islands and ships, insulting other pirates
and taking their gold!
JUST OUT ON THE ST:
Jahangir Khan Squash (Krisalis), Crime Does Not Pay (Titus), Z-Out
(Rainbow Arts), Apprentice (Rainbow Arts), Master Blazer (Rainbow Arts),
Predator 2 (Image), Shadow Dancer (Sega), Lords of Chaos (Laser), TOKI
(Ocean), The Ball Game (Electronic Zoo), Champion Of The Raj (PSS),
Disc (Loriciel), Stormball (Millenium) and Life And Death (Software
Toolworks).
HAPPY GAMING!!
=======================================================================
STEALTH
-------
Press Release
=======================================================================
So, you're thinking to yourself, "Great another terminal program. I
need it like I need another hole in my head." WRONG!
Flash and Interlink are outdated, but most people are still using them.
You may THINK that you don't need the features of Stealth, but that's
only because YOU DON'T KNOW what Stealth offers:
FLASH/INTERLINK EMULATION
- Impersonates the weaker terms.
If you're switching from Flash or Interlink, emulation is in place to
make you feel more at home with Stealth. And the many features that
Stealth has in addition to the other terms are also available in
emulation modes.
WORD PROCESSOR
- Full function text processing
Editing text is essential in telecommunications, that's why Stealth has
a full function word processor built-in. Features include:
* Upload ASCII/Quoted blocks
* Word Wrap
* Jump to/Center line
* Cut/Copy/Paste/Delete/Mark/Select All block
* Reformat paragraph
* Script functions
* Search... and more
SCRIPT LANUGAGE
- Very powerful, easy to use
The scripting system has over 90 commands in a powerful BASIC-like
language. You don't need to be a programmer to make Stealth run by
itself (call a BBS while you're not around, run as a mini-BBS, etc).
Auto Record makes Stealth mimic your actions, which then can be saved,
and played back at a set time.
HELP SCREENS
- Help when you need it
Help is available anywhere from Stealth and it's just a click away; it
includes a list of all commands.
TRANSFER PROTOCOLS
- A whole lotta protocols
Stealth's protocols include: X-Modem, X-Modem CRC, X-Modem 1K, Y-Modem,
Y-Modem G, Z-Modem
MUSCLE DIALER
- Phone dialer does everything
Easy to use functions make up the Stealth phone dialer:
* 80 phone slots
* individual settings and scripts for each number
* phone charges calculated
* print/search phone list
* multi-dial (dial many BBS's at once)
* up to 9999 redials
TYPEAHEAD BUFFER
- Multi-line typeahead
Flash gave you a measly 1 line typeahead. With Stealth you can
configure it anywhere from 1 to 10 lines!
FILE FUNCTIONS
- Complete set of disk utilities
A whole range of functions are included:
* View/Print text file
* Disk Directory
* Show Free Disk Space
* Copy/Delete/Rename/Move file
* Create/Remove folder
* Format disk
BBS PAUSING
- Keeps you logged onto any BBS
It is most annoying when you're on a BBS and something important comes
up. You don't want to hang up and re-dial for whatever reason, but the
BBS will try to kick you off in a few minutes. Stealth will keep you
logged on a BBS, even ones that try to log you off.
PARAMETER CONFIGURATION
- User configurability galore
Every feature of Stealth is user-configurable. You can set the colors,
set the size of the capture buffers (Stealth has two) and serial buffer
(incoming text is saved here while you perform other functions in
Stealth), clear the resource file and terminal screen for extra memory,
and so on. You can tailor Stealth to make it your own custom terminal
program.
ST WHIZ FREE
- $15 value
ST Whiz is a program launcher that's similar to HotWire. Normally,
it's $15 but is included free with Stealth!
INTERFACE
- How easy can you get?
The Stealth interface is standard, yet unique. ST users will feel at
home with the full GEM environment including menu bar commands and
icons. Also, a standard in most programs, as well as Stealth are
keyboard equivalents (called Hot Keys by some).
EXTERNAL PROGRAM LOADING
- Use any program within Stealth
You don't need to exit Stealth to use a program, just select it and run.
In this vein, you can also use an external text editor instead of the
built-in word processor. ARC/LZH utilities are also available at a
click of a button as are disk utilities (such as DCOPY). These three
programs can be accessed from Stealth's main menu via built-in icons.
CHIMES
- Plays songs to alert you
With other terminals, the puny ST bell bings once to let you know that a
download is completed. Stealth plays one of twelve song selections,
perfect if you go do something else while downloading.
KEYBOARD MACROS
- 1 button functions
Stealth has 20 keyboard macros which make keyboard entry easier. Push
a key and a string of text is shot out.
BAUD RATES
- A baud rate for everyone
Stealth offers 16 baud rates, from 50 to 19,200.
SHADOW SUPPORT
- Use Shadow directly
If you have Shadow, Stealth is fully compatible with it. Just click on
the Shadow menu and Stealth will access Shadow for background
downloading.
EMULATIONS
- Bunch 'a terminals
Terminal emulations include VT-52, ASCII, ANSI, UBBS, and VT-100.
SPECIAL!
Retail Price CDG Deal Price
Stealth $39.95 $29.95
To celebrate Stealth's introduction, we're making a special offer to
GEnie, CompuServe, and Delphi users. Order by August 31, 1991 and
you'll receive Stealth for $29.95 + $4 shipping/handling (that's $10.00
off the $39.95 retail), as well as the Stealth utility disk for FREE
(normally $4). You must mention the "CDG" offer and your user ID in
order to receive this special offer. Just order directly from PDC and
your order will be shipped FAST. Because the only thing quicker than
Stealth is PDC's shipping!
PDC
4320-196th SW Ste. B-140
Lynnwood, WA 98036-6721
Dept. CDG
800/255-8220 (Visa/MasterCard accepted, USA/Canada Orderline only)
818/242-5692 (Tech support/Questions)
=======================================================================
VERTICAL DEVELOPMENT
--------------------
Press Release
=======================================================================
Press Release - For Immediate Release
Contact: Vertical Development
P.O. Box 383
Canonsburg, PA 15317
412-746-4247
John P. Arnold, Director of Software Engineering
CANONSBURG Pa., June 24, 1991 - Vertical Development Systems today
announced their move into the disk duplication industry. With the
ability to duplicate both 3.5" and 5.25" disks using state of the art
duplication equipment, Vertical will offer services including
duplication, formatting, labelling, and serialization.
With their facilities located in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Vertical
Development can duplicate thousands of disks per day on a number of
different formats including Atari ST, MS-DOS, Macintosh, UNIX, Amiga,
and Apple IIGs. They also have the ability to duplicate custom formats
as well.
Along with this announcement, Vertical is offering discounted rates to
Atari ST developers for its duplication services. Because Vertical has
been a registered Atari Developer for the past six years, they have
elected to extend their help to fellow Atari Developers. Any Atari
Developer who is interested in taking advantage of this special discount
rate should contact Vertical Development at 412-746-4247 for more
information.
=======================================================================
MULTISYNC MONITOR SWITCHBOX
---------------------------
Captured from Info-Atari16 Digest
=======================================================================
Date: 25 Jun 91 23:10:03 GMT
>From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!vsnyder@arizona.edu
Subject: ST and Multisync
Multisync monitor switchbox and cabel (this is tested and works)
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
If you want monochrome, your monitor must handle 71 Hz frequency NOT all
monitors do this - To be sure - Test before you buy it!
Multisync side (no pin number - they depend on your monitor outlet)
Red Green Blue HorSync VertSync Ground
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
SW1---SW2---SW3-------. | | |---SW4---.
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
Red Green Blue Monochrome HorSync VertSync Ground MonoDetect
7 6 10 11 9 12 13 4
I did this with a NEC-2D and the monochrome image came out about 1/3 of
a screen high.
Don't worry, the worst bit isn't making this - it's getting the 13-pin
Atari monitor connector for the ST side and solder it !!
***
I simply cut my Atari cable and soldered in a pair of DB-15's. They're
really easy to find. When I got tired of switching monitors by changing
DB-15 plugs, I built a switch using a 7-pole rotary, and some MORE
DB-15's. The one I found in a surplus store for $US 3.95 had 5
positions, but I only used two.
Lars-Erik / ABK-BBS +47 2132659 / ____ ______ __________________
Osterud / larserio@ifi.uio.no / /___ / The norwegian ST
__________/ ______________________/ ____/ /Klubben, user association
=======================================================================
MIST ATARIFEST III UPDATE
-------------------------
Press Release
=======================================================================
MIST Atarifest III
July 27, 1991
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Indianapolis, Indiana
MIST Atarifest III is just one month away!
I would like to take this last opportunity and encourage you to attend
this year's show.
We have extended the deadline for reserving a booth at this year's show.
While the main display area has filled up fast, we still have room in
the "overflow area". Therefore, we will be taking booth reservations up
to 5:00 pm on July 17, 1991. The prices however, will remain the same.
If you know of a other vendors or a users groups that might want to
attend please let them know we still have some booths available.
We also have extended the deadline for purchasing ad space in the MIST
Atarifest III Program, which will be handed out to all who attend the
show. Camera ready artwork may be submitted until July 17, 1991. A 1/4
page ad will cost $25, a 1/2 page ad will cost $50, and a business card
sized ad will cost $10. Advertising is not restricted to those who
attend the show.
Please consider donating an item to be used in the raffle. We would
like to be able to raffle an item every 15 minutes at this year's show.
Your contribution will allow us to do that. A list of all donators and
donations will be included in the Program.
Finally, if there is anything that we can do to make your involvement
with MIST Atarifest III more enjoyable just let us know. We will see
what we can do.
Thanks for you interest!
Dan Ward
President - Atari ST Computers In Indianapolis
Co-Chairman - MIST Atarifest III
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Z*NET INTERNATIONAL ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE - CREDITS
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Publisher: Ron Kovacs | Editors: Ron Kovacs and John Nagy |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Z*Net Canada: Terry Schreiber | Z*Net New Zealand: Jon Clarke |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Z*Net Germany: Mike Schuetz | Newswire Asst Editor: Mike Mezaros |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Research Asst: Kathy Johnston | Shareware Reviews: Ron Berinstein |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Staff Columnist: Drew Kerr | Reporter/Features: Mike Brown |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Staff Columnist: Keith Macnutt | Reporter: Dr. Paul Keith |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
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+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
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| Registered FNET NODE 593 | Registered FNET NODE 505 |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
Z*Net International Atari Online Magazine is a weekly magazine covering
the Atari and related computer community. Material contained in this
edition may be reprinted without permission, except where otherwise
noted, unedited, with the issue number, name and author included at
the top of each reprinted article, to Registered Atari User Groups,
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opinions of Z*NET or the staff. Z*Magazine Atari 8-Bit Online Magazine,
Z*Net Atari Online Magazine, Z*Net and Z*Net PC are copyright (c)1991
by Rovac Industries Inc, a registered New Jersey corporation.
Post Office Box 59, Middlesex, New Jersey 08846. (908) 968-2024. Z*Net
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=======================================================================
Copyright (c)1991, Rovac Industries, Inc..
=======================================================================
--
Michael Current '93 Internet: currentm@carleton.edu
Carleton College Cleveland Free-Net: aj848
Northfield, MN 55057 telephone: (507) 663-5181
-----------------------------------------
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