Z*Net: 05-Jul-91 #9128
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 07/09/91-11:58:26 AM Z
From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: Z*Net: 05-Jul-91 #9128
Date: Tue Jul 9 11:58:26 1991
==(((((((((( == Z*NET INTERNATIONAL ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE
=========(( === -----------------------------------------
=======(( ===== July 5, 1991 Issue #91-28
=====(( ======= -----------------------------------------
==(((((((((( == (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...........................Terry Schreiber
Z*NET NEWSWIRE............................................
DYNACADD CONFERENCE..................................GEnie
HIGH RESOLUTION............................ Sheldon Winick
THE SOFTWARE SHELF...........................Ron Bernstein
CODEHEAD FREEWARE............................Press Release
Z-NET CANADA...............................Terry Schreiber
CHERRY RELEASES NEW FONTS....................Press Release
=======================================================================
THE EDITORS DESK
----------------
by Terry Schreiber
=======================================================================
Ron's away on holidays basking in the sun at the beach and enjoying a
much deserved and well needed vaction. He will return next week -
weather permitting, we hope.
Z-Net is celebrating one year on the F-NET. One year ago this month
Z-Net expanded into the F-Net and today there fifty-six Nodes or BBS
systems worldwide carrying the Z-Net ST conference. This is in addition
to the hundreds of BBS systems each week that carry the weekly issue
of Z-Net Online for their callers to download. If you are a BBS system
operator and wish to carry the conference please contact Node #593 or
Node #505 on the F-Net. Z-Net will be also be expanding into the FIDO
network early next month.
=======================================================================
Z-NET NEWSWIRE
=======================================================================
ATARI LASER TONER $49 FROM DAK
High-tech liquidator DAK offered the PC-ready brother of theAtari
SLM804 laser printer for only $699 in recent catalogs. LaserPro built
the SLM804 for Atari, and their Silver Express model is nearly
identical to the Atari version. Remaining quantities of the now
out-of-production line were sold to DAK, who has sold out, according
to inquiries this week. But all is not lost, as DAK signed agreements
that should assure Toner and Drum availability for another five years.
Since these items directly interchange with Atari's SLM804, owners of
the "obsolete" printer can easily get supplies for years to come.
Toner is available for $49 (order number 5848), and drum kits are $199
(order number 5849), each plus shipping. Ask for their great catalog.
DAK, 800-325-0800, 8200 Remmet Ave, Canoga Park, CA 91304.
NEW PORTFOLIO HD AVAILABLE
There is finally a hard disk unit really available for the Portfolio!
The BSE Company, 14701 Candeda Place, Tustin, CA 92680, (714)-832-4316
have developed the Flashdrive hard disk unit. The unit connects to
the Portfolio via the Parallel Interface. The 20mb version sells for
$499. XoteriX has been offering a similar $899 unit, but they build
them as they are ordered rather than having stock available.
TRAMIEL's 7th ANNIVERSARY AT ATARI
July 3 marked the SEVENTH anniversary of the Tramiel Atari Corp. It
was in 1984 that Warner Communications gave up trying to sell a
machine they didn't understand to a market that Jack Tramiel had
personally shaped. Jack had just left Commodore where he had made the
C64 into "THE CHOICE" for small home computers, despite a limited
operating architecture and a dubious price advantage over the superior
Atari line. The "family way" of the Tramiel's wasn't favored at
Commodore, so Jack and the kids quit and bought the competition. And
Atari began a new phase. Jack and sons Sam, Leonard, and Garry held a
company pizza party on July 3 to celebrate the past and to toast the
future. Attending were the new crew at Sunnyvale who we all hope will
help make that future brighter than the past: Bob Brodie, Bill
Rehbock, and others. Honored guest was Kent Fillmore, product manager
of GEnie Telecommunication Service, who was visiting to find out more
about the company that motivates the busiest area on his international
system.
GENIE ST RT HAS 20,000th LIBRARY FILE
This last week, GEnie's Atari ST Roundtable released the 20,000th file
to be uploaded to the service. The file is a demo of an updated Font
Designer/Editor by D.F. Turnock of Megabyte. GEnie typically gains
between 50 and 100 files every week, with "hot" files gathering 500 or
more accesses in the first weeks of availability. Atari's official
presence and Darlah Pine's dedication as RT System Operator have made
GEnie the most popular online service for Atari users.
=======================================================================
The following is a reprint by permission from the July 1991 issue of
AtariUser Magazine. Further reprinting requires additional permission
of AtariUser and Quill Publishing. Home Subscriptions and more
information is available at 800-333-3567.
HIGH RESOLUTION: Viewpoint by
SHELDON WINICK
=======================================================================
Marketing the Atari
Those of us who have been following the Atari market for any length of
time have seen Atari's marketing policies take a roller-coaster ride
over the years as the company has attempted to find its niche in the
industry.
By the time the Tramiel family took control of Atari from Warner
Communications, whose years of poor marketing had managed to alienate
most of Atari's established dealer base, the main source of Atari
equipment had become closeout sales at mass-merchandisers or from
mail-order marketers. With a very meager dealer base to work with,
the original ST's were put out to the mail-order merchants and volume
discounters who had managed to stay with the Atari platform up to that
time.
But when Atari rolled out its Mega line of small business machines a
few years later, they also decided that they needed to cultivate a new
image and larger dealer base in this country. While the mail-order
marketers and discount merchants had done a fine job of marketing the
early ST's to the existing Atari user base, they were not getting
exposure to the general public and not making a real penetration into
the business and educational market. Furthermore, the mail order
discounters had established a "street price" for Atari equipment that
was too low to offer a full-service storefront dealer a reasonable
margin of profit.
Mail-order marketing was banned entirely and the ST/Mega systems were
taken out of general distribution and only sold direct to dealerships
by Atari Corp. But without a concentrated effort to recruit and
support local dealerships, as well as provide them with the necessary
advertising, recruitment of new dealerships was not successfully
accomplished. The total ban on mail order also resulted in making
Atari's systems unavailable in areas of the country where no
dealership existed.
Atari is currently letting the pendulum swing back in the other
direction, and has returned its products to general distribution to
make them more readily available to any dealer who wants them.
Mail order merchandising has returned to the Atari marketplace as well
and has immediately caused some controversy in the Atari community.
The premier issue of AtariUser Magazine featured an ad on the inside
front cover from a mail order discounter offering the 1040STe at a
very low price spotlighted in a large point text. Unfortunately, that
ad seemed to create more controversy and discussion than the excellent
content of the articles in the issue. I understand that several
dealers complained bitterly to AtariUser, and I've heard that some
even went so far as to dumpster their entire shipment.
Many of Atari's dealerships in the country rely on Atari's 1040STe as
their bread and butter machine. As such, they must either make a fair
profit margin on that machine or move on to other markets. What has
aggravated this controversy further is the national price war that a
few of the mail order merchants have been engaging in over the past
few months, and the threat that this same thing could happen to Atari
business and professional systems as well. If the ability to make a
fair margin of profit is eliminated, there will be very little
incentive for dealers to carry and support the Atari platform.
The problem remains in how to allow legitimate mail-order merchants to
market their systems to those who prefer to shop in that market, while
avoiding the national price wars and related controversy. It not only
threatens the very survival of a large number of Atari's local
full-service dealerships, but also creates the atmosphere that will
undoubtedly prevent new Atari dealerships from being recruited.
So, what is the solution to this complex problem? Perhaps the
national Atari periodicals should consider adopting an advertising
policy that would ban advertising pricing for Atari products in their
publications. Advertisers could still inform consumers which products
were available, and encourage shoppers to "call for best price".
Without the fear of their customers picking up a periodical and being
immediately introduced to absurdly low prices being flashed in their
faces, local dealers would not be as reluctant to carry, and recommend
to their customers, magazines for the Atari platform. We have seen
the demise of too many Atari related periodicals already; I would hate
to think that more may be lost because Atari dealers might choose to
not carry or promote them.
There is room in the marketplace for legitimate mail order merchants,
mass merchandisers, full service dealerships and VAR's. Each of these
appeals to a different market segment, and each offers the potential
of increasing Atari's market penetration in this country. But for
everyone to be successful, it is necessary to establish some rules and
guidelines along with a spirit of cooperation by all the players.
We will all benefit from a greater market penetration and larger user
base of Atari owners. And we will all benefit when the consumer has
the ability to shop for Atari systems at the type of merchandiser who
best suits his or her own individual needs and requirements. But
these goals can only be accomplished if we can find a way to cooperate
and work together toward improving Atari's market position instead of
trying to reduce it even further by detrimental marketing tactics.
BIO: Sheldon Winick operates the Computer STudio, a very successful
Atari dealership in Asheville, North Carolina. He has recently been
writing for the online magazine GEnie Lamp, and is in the process of
organizing a national Atari Dealers Association.
AtariUser's Publisher's Note: AtariUser understands both sides of
this delicate issue. Although almost no one directly contacted
AtariUser complaining of deeply-discounted ST prices, AtariUser has
adopted an advertising policy whereby Atari computer prices may not be
bannered or highlighted. - Steve Lesh
Z*Net Editor's post script: Even after the above policy was
instituted, a single advertiser submitted a non-conforming ad. It
came to AtariUser too late to be modified before printing, and so was
included in the same July issue. The publisher has taken further
action to prevent a repeat of this problem, as well as to assure that
advertisers do not advertise products that they do not in fact have
available.
=======================================================================
DYNACADD R.T.C.
---------------
Courtesy of GEnie Online Services
Edited by Terry Schreiber
=======================================================================
Sysop-JEFF.W> On behalf of the Atari ST Roundtable, I welcome all
of you to the DynaCADD 2.0 RealTime Conference featuring Nathan
Potechin and David Fletcher. We're here to talk about the new version
of ISD's DynaCADD tonight. Version 2.0. Our guests are ISD's
president, Nathan Potechin,and DynaCADD's project manager, Richard
Fletcher. Nathan is an old hand at these conferences, but I believe
this may be David's first RTC here on GEnie. Welcome, David! Nathan
and David, do you have any opening remarks you'd like to make?
Dave/Nate-ISD> One or two :-) Allow me to take this opportunity to
welcome you to our formal conference on DynaCADD. I have been guilty
of assuming that by now,everyone is familiar with the premier CADD
software on the Atari platform. In case you are new to our community,
a complete list of the features of DynaCADD can be found in our
library #30. Type M475;3 then 8 at the prompt to SET the library to
ISD Product Support. If you then type 3 and 'search' by DynaCADD, you
will find a wealth of information, compressed text files with past
messages from our product support area in the BB, complete DEMO
versions of DynaCADD, save disabled, right up to and including version
2.0. New files include; DY_20TXT.ARC file #20017, which contains a
straight ascii file listing all of the new enhancements and changes
incorporated into version 2.0 .. DYDEMO2.ARC file #20004 which
contains the relative support files and folders for both the ST and TT
version of 2.0 but does not include the programs themselves which can
be found in DYSTDEMO.ARC file #19999 and DYTTDEMO.ARC file #20001.
This means you MUST download #20004 and then your choice of either the
ST or TT version or both of course. Now that I've properly directed
you to the relevant library files :-) I must also mention that we are
online daily in our own category in the Atari BB. Type 475;1 to enter
the BB, then SET 16 at the prompt to arrive at the ISD Product Support
area. Topic 3 is DynaCADD. Any question or concern that you raise
there will be addressed appropriately and immediately. I have with me
the man that has personally written a few million lines of code for
DynaCADD, David Fletcher. Ask him anything. :-) Any questions?
Sysop-JEFF.W> Can we start with a brief overview of DynaCADD for
those whomay not be familiar with it yet?
Dave/Nate-ISD> DynaCADD is a complete 2D and 3D computer aided
design and drafting solution. It was first launched on the Atari
platform back in August 1988. Since then it has undergone substantial
improvements and enhancements and is classed as a leading edge CADD
solution by non-biased 3rd parties. :-)
JOE.WATERS> Where would you place DynaCADD against applications for
other platforms like Claris Cad? And what do you mean by 3-D?
Dave/Nate-ISD> DynaCADD is a true 3D package as opposed to the much
more common 2.5D. The latest version, 2.0, NOW SHIPPING, has major
enhancements in the 3D area. DynaCADD is a general purpose CADD
package and it is comparable to anything within many thousands of
dollars of its price range and then some.
JOE.WATERS> So I take you mean that objects can be viewed in true
perspective with wire frame ort shading? Solid objects, that is.
Dave/Nate-ISD> Please do not confuse CAD with Solid Modelling although
there has in fact been some cross-over in recent years. DynaCADD is
indeed headed towards Solid Modelling as an optional add-on. DynaCADD
uses parallel projection.
JOE.WATERS> Perhaps I am being naive, but I thought 3-D meant much the
same as solid modelling.Next questioner.
R.GRANT11> I've had the pleasure of seeing (and playing with) the 2.0
TT demo, Nathan. The questions I have are: A) What are the upgrade
costs from 1.84 and the old cartridge dongle to 2.0 with the new
dongle, and B) I'm still confused about plotter support. You've
answered this for me a dozen times, and I never seem to be able to get
it right Whooop! I mean 'DIGITIZER' support.
Dave/Nate-ISD> The upgrade cost from DynaCADD 1.84 to 2.0 is US $99.95
or the equivalent in Canadian dollars, about $119.95 this week. And
yes, we have finally changed our cartridge port dongle and replaced it
with a small, tiny, little, unobtrusive joystick key. We now have all
the neccessay ingredients in-house for proper Digitizer support,
including DynaCADD specific templates as well as the accessories to
drive the CRP Digitizer.
R.GRANT11> Thanks, Nathan. I'm still confused, but hey....e-mail's not
far away..:-)
R.MONFORT1> yes, Nat, Dave how will Dyncadd import Lexicor files?
Dave/Nate-ISD> Thanks for asking Ringo. We both import and export 3D2
file format that will work with CAD 3D, Chronos ...
R.MONFORT1> Nat.Dave. how about the 3-D modes into Calamus?
Dave/Nate-ISD> 3D modes into Calamus?
R.MONFORT1> Dave. pictures at are render in 3-d.
R.MONFORT1> Is DXF on 3-D now for all to see and use?
Dave/Nate-ISD> I cannot answer that yet Ringo. Wait for the Calamus SL CO
please. Sorry :-)
M.GROSS10> First, great program! We'd like to know if you have any
plans on advertising, particularly in the US?
Dave/Nate-ISD> Now that's what I call a loaded question. Are you
referring to advertising the Atari version of DynaCADD in Atari
magazines, DynaCADD, any version in any magazine or what?
M.GROSS10> Actually, any version of DynaCADD would be great, but of
course we'd prefer to see the TT promoted!
Dave/Nate-ISD> First of all we need the serious CADD magazines to
review DynaCADD on the TT. This is something that we are working on
even as we type. We are most anxious that they see the resulting
combination in action and realize what people like yourselves have
known all along. There will be an upcoming review in a major CAD
magazine and we will most probably advertise in conjunction with it
and perhaps tag DynaCADD resellers to insure interested people can get
the opportunity to actually see the workstation in action.
Unfortunately, the reality is that until there is a tad more
proliferation of TT Dealer penetration, it is not all that viable in
terms of dollars and sense.
M.GROSS10> It would be nice to see a joint campaign with Atari and
ISD. Love to see a copy of that article!
Dave/Nate-ISD> David says he will send you one personally.
M.GROSS10> Thanks guys! That's all we have for now.
JOE.WATERS> Could you give us pricing for new owners? And do you
expect to evolve along more modular lines? Finally, how smooth is the
new version on the slower Atari platforms or is the TT the platform of
choice?
Dave/Nate-ISD> A joint campaign with DynaCADD and Atari, be still my
heart.
JOE.WATERS> Do you expect to demo at WAACE?
Dave/Nate-ISD> DynaCADD has NOT changed in price. These are good
questions. Thank you. DynaCADD version 2.0 remains at a US retail
price of $995.00. Some Dealers do sell for less. And yes,DynaCADD is
definitely evolving along a modular path but that must wait for the
next major upgrade which I'm not prepared to discuss at this time.
Allow me to say though, that we have our work laid out for the next
few years. The ST version of DynaCADD is excellent JD. We do advice
that you use a math coprocessor if you require serious 3D design but
otherwise, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and if you have some
friends using one of those other CAD packages on their IBM or whatever
they will be amazed!!
JOE.WATERS> It's nice to see someone in the Atari market who thinks in
terms of years. Next questioner.
Dave/Nate-ISD> I'm sorry, did I miss a question? Did you ask if we
will be demoing at WAACE this year? We have committed to a booth at
WAACE which is a first for us. As you know, we always prefered to
support the local area Dealers but this time, I think we have more
than enough new and exciting products, ON THE ATARI PLATFORM, to
warrant having our own display.
JOE.WATERS> A demo would be real nice. I am sure we can find space for
you and perhaps a surrogate operator and someone to watch/help with
your booth while one of you is away. next.
Dave/Nate-ISD> Thanks JD. Appreciate it.
E.STUCKEY> Hi Dave and Nathan, great list of new features. A couple of
questions, if I create a 3D wireframe sphere, how is it faced with 3D
faces? How can you use a digitizer and a plotter with only one serial
port? and will hidden line removal work with all entities?
Dave/Nate-ISD> Ed, to create a 3D sphere, create the outline and use
the "new" REVOLVE with 3D FACES command, this also applies to PROJECT,
SWEEP and TRANSLATE. You cannot use both a Digitizer and Plotter
simultaneously from the same port. Thats a hardware question. Hidden
Line Removal gives you the option to display all entities, however,
only the 3D faces have Hidden Lines removed.
E.STUCKEY> Are there any 3rd party developers working on say library
symbols. How is Dynacadd being received in Europe?
Dave/Nate-ISD> Yes there are, you can always import files in DXF
format. I might add that our DXF translator has now been upgraded to
release 10 and supports 2D, 2.5D and 3D. We do have people who are
currently working on specific DynaCADD libraries, more on that at a
later date. DynaCADD has always been well received in Europe.
Recently, we released the German version of DynaCADD to a fantastic
reception. This includes all the platforms for which DynaCADD is
available. We now have official DynaCADD representation in about 14
countries.
P.NEREO> Does the new version support software clipping? On 6-6-91, in
reply to some problems I was having getting my plotter to output only
part of a drawing, David said it would, but I missed any reference in
the upgrade literature.
Dave/Nate-ISD> David is sitting beside me going "oh Oh'. I'm sorry,
this has not been incorporated in 2.0 but now that the pressure is off
and we are finally shipping 2.0, we can now devote some time to
addressing software clipping on plotters that do not support this.
Please understand that we can only do our best and we do have a list
that seems endless no matter how much we add.
P.NEREO> What about new literature to accompany the upgrade? New
manual or update? New tutorials? (would be great!) or training video?
Dave/Nate-ISD> We have completely updated the internal context
sensitive help files completely up to date. We have also just finished
updating our Chalice 3D tutorial and I will upload it this week. We
have added some of the new features such as Hidden Line Removal to it
etc.. A training video has long been on our list. Would you believe
that one problem we have encountered is that we keep adding new
features and changing others and this is hurting us in respect to
doing a training video. I believe that asked about the interest in
such a video in our cat 16, top 3 and received encouraging response
from those that posted but I cannot say that a proper training video
is imminent. It will happen though.
S.WINICK> I arrived a little late, so I hope this hasn't been asked...
Does version 2.0 allow importing or translation of *.DWG* files so
DynaCADD users won't have to go back and convert all their files to
*.DEF's before returning the old cartridge dongles?
Dave/Nate-ISD> Sheldon, you are correct. Those with version 1.84 must
first export the files that they may wish to bring into 2.0 before
sending back their dongle. This will be explained in BOLD and in DEPTH
when we send version 2.0 along with the new key.
S.WINICK> That might create a lot of undue hardship on your DynaCADD
users who probably have a considerable library of drawings which they
may or may not need to reference at some future date. Perhaps you
might come up with a conversion software program which could make that
conversion on an as needed basis since they won't be able to merely
load up 1.84 to do that easily once they return the old cartridge.
Dave/Nate-ISD> Sheldon, I agree and will address this issue internally
tomorrow.
S.WINICK> I'm looking forward to your visit with us in a couple of
weeks for the Blue Ridge AtariFest here in Asheville. I understand
you've already shipped me the 2.0 TT030 update for our CADD system
here at Computer STudio which we'll look forward to demoing along with
your demo of Calamus SL at the show. Thanks for all your great support
of the Atari platform and Atari users over the years.
Dave/Nate-ISD> Between you and JD, all we've missed is John King T.
And yes, ISD will be at Glendale too.
JOE.WATERS> Am I correct in assuming that DynaCADD will work in color
on the ISAC Board? Also could you please enumerate with respect to
"other platforms"?
Dave/Nate-ISD> JD, I have the latest, not yet released board from Jay
in-house even as we speak. This is his new board. We always worked
with the original one and we anticipate no problem working with his
newest which does both 800 x 600 as well as 1024 x 768. I believe
OE.WATERS> In color, though?
Dave/Nate-ISD> Of course in color, sorry. I hadn't realized you didn't
know this. As far as other platforms, we have both an IBM version (in
GEM) and an Amiga version now. We are currently working on a Windows
3.0 version.
JOE.WATERS> Thanks. Nathan, I'm glad that you will be taking abreak
from DynaCADD and Calamus when you speak at the WAACE banquet. All of
us look forward to hearinmg about you experiences over the years.
M.WEILERT2> Two questions really, I hope I'm not repeating another
questioner. 1) Is there a feature/add-on comparable to AutoShade? 2)
Ditto for compatibility with AutoLisp? Thanks!
Dave/Nate-ISD> Ohmygod, he let the cat out of the bag. I look forward
to it JD, Thank you. Matt, the answer to both questions is no. We are
seriously looking at Renderman or a comparable solution. The language
issue after much procrastination and back and forth, will be released
in the next issue.
M.WEILERT2> We do alot of dynamic fluid modeling and end up using
AutoLAME on a wannabe 386 which one of our summer interns has
commondered. I've been looking for a way to get Atari into Battelle
for over a year now. Those two features would make significant
inroads. Nice to meet the ISD gang in the flesh at Richmond, keep
up the tremendous support. I lust after my copy of SL. We've got a new
local interest magazine on the boards for it.
Dave/Nate-ISD> The issues are being addressed Matt. I don't disagree. It
just becomes a question of priorities, what to do first. Thanks Matt,
the pleasure was mine. I lust after my better half at home but if SL
does it for you, Heheheh sorry.
M.GROSS10> I know the TT version is shipping, is the ST version
shipping now too?
Dave/Nate-ISD> Yes, Dave or Michelle. The upgrade that we send will
include both the ST and the TT version of 2.0. You are one of those
lucky few with both I believe. Enjoy.
Sysop-JEFF.W> It looks like we're just about ready to wrap it up. Any
closing comments, gentlemen?
Dave/Nate-ISD> I wish to thank all of you that attended. It is quite
gratifying to see this much interest still alive and well. Being the
Atari person that I am, I love showing off products such as DynaCADD
and Calamus to those non-believers out there. Just a few hundred
million to go and I'll have them all converted. Thanks again and now
if Jeff switches to frenzy mode I'm going to collapse over the
keyboard. Thanks Jeff. Great Leader as always.
Sysop-JEFF.W> Thanks to both of you, Nathan and David. And thanks to
all who participated.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(C) 1991 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May
be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on
GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. 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 XJM11877,
GEnie and hit RETURN. The system will prompt you for your information.
=======================================================================
Z-Net Canada
by Terry Schreiber
=======================================================================
"Heaven forbid, Canada out of product" - yes even though sales are
traditionally slow at this time of year the issue is also pushed to an
extreme if you have the sale and can't get the product. There are Lynx,
Portfolio, Stacy, and 520stfm's but no fast movers.
Geoff Earle - General Manager of Atari Canada is heading to sunny
Sunnyville to try to get product flowing once again.
--==========--
Turning a negative to a positive. A resession is a terrible thing to
waste. Minitronics Computer Centre recently took delivery of a large
supply of 520stfms. Who wants 512k you might say, but stop and think
that soon it is back to school. A 520stfm with monochrome monitor for
that student at $499.00 CDN ($425.00 U.S.) is within anyones reach and
again the built in RF modulator can be used with a standard TV set for
games. Not the best of packages but then most of us have become spoiled
with our four megs of ram and 16mhz accelerators. You can even throw
in a decent wordprocessor ST Writer from Dr. Bruce Noonan and oh yes,
a printer, Roland 9101, Star NX-1000 or any of the base line printers
will give you reasonable results for a student for about two hundred
dollars. I did some recent checks into pricing on some electric
typewriters and this package beats it hands down. Even if you were to
include a First Word Plus and Phil Commeau's grammar checker you are
still under the price of a dedicated wordprocessor. It is expandable,
it is not a dedicated wordprocessor, and last but not least it makes
and excellent "game machine." Sorry Sam!
--==========--
Atari takes it to the streets in Canada. Atari Canada's Murray Brown is
doing a five day tour of Alberta this month. Armed with a mini MIDI
display and Desktop Publishing displays he will be attending dealers
stores in the Alberta area July 23rd - 27th. This is the second of many
planned goodwill tours - the first took place three months ago in the
British Columbia interior.
=======================================================================
CODEHEAD Releases New FreeWare Programs
Press Release
=======================================================================
CodeHead Software announces the release of several freeware programs,
including:
LOADKEYS.PRG -- A support program for CodeKeys, the Universal Macro
Tool. LOADKEYS lets you set up HotWire menu entries
to load sets of macros into CodeKeys, using HotWire's
powerful command line abilities. This new version of
LOADKEYS fixes a bug in the version shipped with
some early copies of CodeKeys 1.3.
HOT_EDIT.ARC -- The latest version of our HotWire menu editor. Now
has command line support, letting you open any
HotWire menu file by double-clicking it from MaxiFile
III, or by using HotWire's "Start A Document"
feature. Also fixes some minor bugs in the
previously released version. HOTEDIT.PRG is a must
for HotWire users!
CLOCKSET.ARC -- The latest version of our clock-setting utility.
Fixes a bug which would cause lockups if placed in
the AUTO folder of a machine without a battery-backed
clock. (This bug would only strike on power up.)
SHOWMEM4.ARC -- The latest version of our memory display tool; now
supports TT "fast" RAM. ShowMem gives you a
comprehensive, easy to read display that shows you
exactly how the memory in your ST or TT is being
used.
LEONARD6.ARC -- Just for fun. The CodeHead bomb handler; replaces
the little bomb icons with a more appropriate image.
This new version has a special feature designed to
help remote BBS operators. (There was a bug in the
version shipped with CodeHead Utilities 4 which would
cause problems on a TT.)
These programs are available now in the libraries of the GEnie,
Compuserve, and Delphi information systems. To find them, just search
for the keyword CODEHEAD. And remember, "CodeHead Software" _means_
"support!"
For more information about our line of powerful
productivity-enhancing software, contact:
CodeHead Software
P.O. Box 74090
Los Angeles, CA 90004 Tel: 213-386-5735 Fax: 213-386-5789
======================================================================
CHERRY FONTS ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF FONT PACKS #7, #8 and #9.
Press Release
=======================================================================
Cherry Fonts announces the addition of three new 'Font Packs' to their
six existing packages. Each new Font Pack offers a complimentary
collection of stylish and contemporary Calamus fonts. Each font
features true optical character spacing akin to the methods used by
long-established type foundries. All foreign characters, monetary
symbols and ligatures are included where applicable. Each font has
been thoroughly tested at all print resolutions from that of a 9-pin
printer up to the many thousands of dots per inch that are within the
capabilities of Linotronic and other commercial imagesetters.
Smooth, even weight-balance of printed matter is the result of Cherry
Fonts' dedication to typographical excellence.
Cherry Fonts are intended for use with Calamus Desktop Publishing,
Outline Art, and any other applications that utilizes the Calamus font
format.
Font Pack #7
************
This new group of 4 fonts features Cherry Benjamin Gothic in 4 styles.
Benjamin Gothic is our version of the venerable Franklin Gothic. It
is a sans serif text typeface that resembles Helvetica in many ways.
The fours styles included are Book, Oblique, Demi and Demi Oblique.
Uses for these typefaces extend from simple newsletter body copy to
elaborate advertising headlines and practically any other graphic
design function -- an extremely versatile typeface.
Font Pack #8
************
Font Pack number 8 is the first Cherry Fonts release of ornamental
typefaces. Included in this bundle is Glissade Openface which is
Cherry Fonts' version of Caslon Openface. For those not familiar with
this design, it is a roman serifed typeface with inlined (hollowed)
strokes and a low x-height. Its personality is one of sophisticated
elegance. Also included in Font Pack #8 is Pirates Initial Caps, a
set of 26 intricate old english shadowed drop-caps that must be seen
to be appreciated. Pirates is provided as a Calamus font file as well
as 26 individual .CVG (vector graphic) files.
Font Pack #9
************
Font Pack #9 is another collection of serious advertising typefaces.
No typeface is as popular with ad agencies as Paul Renner's Futura.
Cherry's new Fura family pays tribute to this classic design. Pack #9
contains the following four styles of Fura: Book, Italic, Bold and
Bold Italic. Fura can also be used in forms. If you need a serious
authoritative look in a sans-serif design, you should probably be
using Fura.
Pricing
*******
All eight Cherry Font Packs have a North American suggested retail
price of $42.95 (US) each ($49.95 in Canada).
To Order
********
Cherry Font Packs are available at Atari dealers everywhere or
directly from Cherry Fonts.
To order direct: Send US $42.95 (or $49.95 CDN) for each Font Pack
plus $2.00 shipping. B.C. residents please add 6% provincial sales tax.
Payment is accepted by Cheque, Money Order, Visa or MasterCard.
Cherry Fonts
Suite #4, 2250 Tyner St.
Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Canada V3C 2Z1
Ph. (604)944-2923
=======================================================================
THE SOFTWARE SHELF
by RON BERNSTEIN
=======================================================================
It doesn't take a major survey to find that many folks on the
street when questioned about Atari Computers feel that Atari is only
for games. The fact is that they ARE great for games, but, they are
grrr-reat for other applications as well. DTP is A_OK on Atari, music
applications too. It is particularly nice to see some fine shareware
business applications. So, let's start with a list of some of the more
recently released "serious" software available for a serious people
for a seriously low shareware price.
BIGBX141.LZH contains Big Bux v1.41... bug fixed! It seems that the
Mortgage AMORT Table wouldn't work from the menu... it does now...
also.. a way to back out of the Stock options analysis has been added!
So, for all of us big business people, and especially for those of us
that are not, but, need the answers that the big folks pay someone
else for, download Big Bux and get them. You simply define your
question, input the data the program asks for, and get your answer.
In the case of the required minimum investment needed for a particular
return, no problem, Big Bux will tell you. of course that is just one
of the many questions you can ask. Just in this release version alone
four new features were added.
1) Growth Rate - added because of feedback to the programmer.
2) Mortgage Schedule Calculations - based on a monthly payment scheme,
this option will give you quick-and-dirty information about your
mortgage or potential mortgage history.
3) True Interest Rate - used with installment loans, this option
should be any businessman's best friend.
4) Stock Market Options Planner - evaluate stocks and let Big Bux help
you decide when to buy and when to sell!
So, have we smart Atarians out smarted ourselves? Obviously
because of it's power and potential we have been smart enough to buy
Atari, but, have we been smart enough to use it? Have we been
convinced that we shouldn't look at our own resources? There is a lot
of program in this package, but, I believe there have been only three
registrations to date. No, it isn't expensive, $15 will do it. Plus,
the author will send you another one of his programs when you do!
The motto here may just be: Get Smart!
STOCK_21.ARC is the new STock->Smart, a charting program that makes
use of GEM windows to chart stock prices and averages. Up to 4 stocks
may be displayed at the same time. The charts may be sized to any
size. The included communications program will auto-update your
favorite stock's daily price each day, and add the daily price to a
historic quote file. This update is provided for you free on GEnie!
And so that you can manage your funds after depositing them..
CHECKBK2.LZH This version adds the ability to check off transactions
as they clear on your bank statement. It also includes many minor bug
fixes and some speed enhancements as well as improvements in the user
interface to make it even easier to use. It automatically sorts all
of your transactions by date. It will output to a printer.
And for the seriously oriented, calculator type person..
COLACALC.LZH is Version 1.1 of ColaCalc. This one occupies all of 8K
in memory, supports decimal, hex, octal, and binary, bit operations,
memory peeks, and can be called instantly inside of ANY program. It
works in any resolution, and even on the TT. Best of all, you can
reassign the function keypresses to be anything you want. Well, I'm
not sure that that last feature works though.... You see I wanted to
set a function key up so that my best girlfriend would come right over
whenever I keyed it. It didn't work! Bad calculation I guess... :)
Want to practice using a calculator keyboard?
MRKEYPAD.ARC is Mr. Keypad, a personal aid in practicing the numeric
keypad. A scrolling list of numbers in the middle of the screen
during execution, and a screen-full list of percentages, statistics,
ratings, and even advise from Mr. Keypad himself - what he tells you
totally depends on your progress!
For the everyday business person with people to see and places to go:
CAL52.LZH is the most recent version of this calendar program. This
new version has twice the room for storing events. Several recent
events of course are regularly released new CAL versions! It is true
that this program will keep you informed of the dates that you need to
know about. Besides telling you about your business appointments some
of the notes stored may save your social life, or, at least help to
save a great evening! Also, the author has planned ahead and
anticipated your desire to know many interesting pieces of trivia.
These have been included as well.
ADDRSSME.LZH is written in GFA BASIC 3.0 You can auto sort by the
last name and search by - last name, first name, address, or city. The
number of records depends on the available memory. Unlimited number of
files. It will do mailing labels, and help with BULK mailings as well.
And so who out there new that they could use their ST as a time clock
for their employees?
ACC_TIME.LZH contains ACC-TIME, a full featured time-clock program
that can be run either as an accessory, or, as a stand alone program.
It might save you several hundred dollars for a time-clock to use in
your business. If you run the prg. as an acc., you can instantly
access the time-clock from any program with a menu bar, so employees
can punch in/out easily. Up to 64 employees are okay.
GRAM320.ARC is the program that all of us need when we start to
seriously question our abilities as writers. It will review your
written work for grammar errors and generally improve your output due
to it's suggestions. GramSlam can check documents produced by most
major word-processing and desktop-publishing programs. GramSlam checks
for over 1200 common grammar and writing style problems. It reports
problems in easy-to-understand terms, and offers a suggested
correction. My personal opinion is that sometimes this program is
very useful.
And now that you've got a tool to make your writing make good sense,
why not make cents with your writing? Make a book!
MBOOK_23.ARC is the latest Make*A*Book. This program used to be,
"BookMaker," but, was changed to the new name for legal reasons. It
will take ASCII files and print them in "Book" format - 4 pages to a
sheet of paper, 2 on each side via PostScript. Version 2.30 / Vincent
Version fixes a sporadic pagination problem, erases covers properly
AND adds Reverse Collating for laser printers. Version 2.30V also
adds a new "Show Largest" feature. For the small or large business
that does their own regular mailings, and need a computer to help...
STWEL42.LZH Yet another update to St Writer Elite. This version has a
help window that pops up while editing a file.
STWGS42.ARC is the Spanish and German version respectively of ST
Writer Elite. Fully configurable to choice of black or white
background, default file specifier, tab size, and format line. Help
key from Edit screen has dialog box with formatting commands.
Misspellings have been corrected on the Spanish Menus.
And now for the rest of the story! More recommended downloads.
ALBERTT.PRG is the new improved ISAC driver. Also the release
version of the new vme based AlberTT. This version supports the
640x480 mode. Simply rename the program 640x480.prg (when the file is
1st in the AUTO folder). By the way the 640x480 mode requires the
count Gals and OSC to be changed. This is the same as in 800x600.PRG
mode. Check your manual for more info!
STACHART.LZH is the newest source to Star Chart, a charting program of
bright stars and planets. Includes the Yale Bright Star catalog. And,
talking about stars, I wonder if this program includes a description
of Madonna, certainly SHE is a bright star!
FSORT_13.LZH is the author's best effort yet. He swears that he
"GOT 'EM ALL NOW!" He reports that it is better and faster.. and
tested on 75 files! So, "bugless!," he says, well, we'll be the judge
of that, won't we...
UNCLE35B.ARC This is the NON-DEMO version of UncleLib, the program
which allows you to Show, Print, Create, Append, Merge or Edit ANY
ASCII file. Stamp, Rename (with custom characters), Delete or Copy
ANY file, Create\Delete folders, SEARCH library OR DISKS (wildcards
fully supported !) for files as well. It includes a floppy formatter
and Label Maker, Clock, Colour Palette, Backup files function, etc.
Hmmm... I say, perhaps it could do my wash as well? :)
9HSEEK.ARC gives us Heidi Seek v. .9/1.0 Same will search for a file
using wildcards. It will search your entire drive, and it will work
either as an .ACC or a stand alone program.
GVIEW105.LZH Gemview 1.05 now replaces the earlier viewer program
editions...
STE_SHIP.LZH is an example of GFA BASIC 3.5 executed on an STe. The
screen moves up and down with the mouse. Interesting space ship
sound, and a ship drawn in Deluxe Paint ST that has taken advantage of
an enhanced pallete. An STe is required! Low rez. only.. Pressing
the space bar quits the program.
FANTFIX.LZH is Fantasia Fixer. This program just peeks at your
system's ROMS to find the current version number, and then it plugs
the number into the appropriate spots in Fantasia, so that Fantasia
will run even if you don't have TOS 1.6 which is what it looks for.
So, if your using a Mega STE and Fantasia currently says, "no go,"
this will fix it!
STZIP08.LZH provides the answer many were looking for with regard to
a very successful method for compressing files. LZH11319 and others
have needless to say been very popular as fast compressors. Until now
though, we ST folks have only been able to extract .ZIP files, a very
popular and fast method, found often in the IBM arena. STUNZIP has
been a singular force. Now extract or create them as you desire!
This is a beta version, and the documentation is mostly in German.
Good Luck!
AR.LZH is a program that supports LHARC 2.1 (now known as LHA 2.1 on
the PC) format compression and decompression. It is about the same
speed as LHARC 1.13b, but compresses better than almost any other
commonly used program.
ELFHELP.PRG should be downloaded if you use ELFBOOT. It fixes a
problem with the 'Run Program' option. The trouble was caused by a
bug in the ELFHELP utility that builds the files for STARTGEM.
So, you've just started to use Calamus?
EXT_CHAR.ARC is a "how to" file for the novice Calamus user. It
describes how to insert extended characters into you document. Calamus
is required to view this document.
TXTRULER.ARC is a short Calamus document explaining the basics of how
to use text rulers in Calamus. As an avid Calamus user, I suppose I
should read this. I have always dreaded seeing text rulers appear
whenever I hit the wrong selection by mistake. Perhaps they really are
useful.. :)
Of interest to DeskJet fans:
NEWLETTR.ARC provides an editor to be with a Newsletter example /
template. This is a DeskJet file.
DJLOOKIT.LZH will provide the "LookIt" and "HotWire" user with a way
to get the most out of a DeskJet 500. It provides a highly versatile,
yet practical ability to print in several different font styles either
directly within Lookit w/the CFG files, or by using HotWire's command
line options in the included LOOKITRW.HOT.
Now's your chance to be a Beta Tester!
BENCH2.LZH contains NBM, a benchmarker which will time your machine
as it travels through five different tests. In this version the tests
have been changed as a result of the ongoing research in this area.
So, if you want to be a beta tester, now is the time to make your mark
upon the software industry. But, first, before you send your comments
to the program's author, read the DOCS, and examine what it is he is
looking for.. The five tests take about three minutes to complete.
FORMDOIT.ARC is the most recent version of FormDoIt. Just uploaded
recently was 1.2a. It alters the way that dialog boxes and alerts
behave in most programs. It lets you use the keyboard to select
buttons in dialogs and alerts, re-define the icons used in alert boxes
and much, much more! This is version 1.2b. It fixes a bug in exit
button selection, and avoids a bug having to do with UIS 3.3.
BOXES.LZH Written in GFA BASIC 3.0 This program generates the code
for on screen buttons. The user has full control of the text in the
buttons - shrink, stretch, height, bold, light etc. The button
"templates" can be saved so that they can be worked on later. 36 fill
patterns can also be combined with the text in the buttons.
More of interest to programmers might include:
GFA_UTIL.ARC contains:
1) windtext.lst -- send this procedure an array of strings and sizing
information and a four-way scrolling window will appear on top of
any screen.
2) sel_file.lst -- an alternative file selector that lets the user pick
a group of files and when exiting the selector.
DEVPAC1.ARC has Devpac 1, previously released on British magazine disk
and it may inspire you to get Devpac 2.
And now for the serious game player:
DEMOLIT.ARC contains Demolition Man, a puzzle game with graphics by
Clayton Walnum (of ST-Log and DELPHI fame).
LAMA1M.LZH is 236544 bytes of "Game Power!" This is a working copy of
"Tron1meg," posted on Compuserve, and it has been tested! It is stored
on a RAMDISK. Apparently there have been reports that the file on
Genie is corrupt, and bombs appear at level 7.
BGAMMON.LZH is a new Backgammon game for the ST. Runs in Low, and is a
faithful reproduction of the old favorite.
And last and probably "least." <smile>
STRIP_BO.ARC is my kind of game. Why should one just be allowed to
give up some of their loose change. I think that they should really
feel the shame of de"feet." Also the legs, thighs, tummy, back, and
arms should all be the reward for some willing victor! So, Strip
Breakout provides what others don't. <smile>
To help you get a clear Resolution for the problem...
LOWSWCTH.ARC provides "Low Res. Only Game Help" for the ST. Several
PD games have special requirements, some require med. rez. and some
require low rez. only. This shell will handle the rez. switching so
that you don't have to go through the desktop every time you need to
run a low rez. game. The shell allows you to execute a low. rez. only
program from within med. rez..
STEREZ.LZH will fix a bug that prevents STe's from booting in med.rez.
This file contains MEDREZ.PRG, a small auto folder prg. for STE's with
TOS 1.6.
TT2STHI.ARC will switch the TT into ST-HI while booting the computer.
Some bootselector programs will only work in ST-HI...
And, how do these sound to you?
S7ADMAPL.LZH will play a digitized sound file of your choice when run
in your AUTO folder sequence. Plays ONLY SIGNED sound files.
Monophonic or Stereo. Docs included.
S7SSHF15.LZH is the new STereo Shuffler. It may be used to create a
STEREO sound file from two separate (right and left) digitized sound
files. Written in GFA BASIC 3.5 and compiled. It also plays STEREO
sound files in signed format. Includes a sample stereo file of a
Yamaha QY-10 synthesizer playing.
AUTODMA.LZH plays back STE/TT format sound samples during your boot up
sequence. If you have old ST-Replay type samples, use Steve Whitney's
Resampler to resample them and convert them over to STE DMA format.
Required of course is an STE or TT.
MMM19.LZH This is an update to Midi Music Maker. It adds the ability
to play Cakewalk and Adlib songs (from the PC world.) It plays a total
of 13 different music formats from various computers. Requires 1 meg
of memory and a synthesizer. Several other minor improvements were
made including proper playing of some types of enhanced SIDs.
ACIDBAT.LZH is a variation of the BatMan theme song. Requires a
Soundtracker/NoiseTracker program or a MOD player.
And who has the last laugh? Download this, and you might be the one!
ROB_HOOD.ARC is an .IMG of the "Rogue of Sherwood" as played by another
actor in another time. From a MacNelly cartoon of several years ago -
intended for historical and educational purposes only, political
inferences obtained from viewing this file, are not the responsibility
of anyone accept the viewer.
The above files were compiled by Ron Berinstein co-sysop CodeHead
Quarters BBS (213) 461-2095 from files that were either directly
uploaded to CodeHead Quarters BBS, or downloaded from GEnie,
Compuserve, and Delphi online services.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| GEnie ID: Z-Net | CompuServe ID: 75300,1642 |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Z*Net USA BBS - (908) 968-8148 | Z*Net Canada BBS - (604) 272-5888 |
| 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,
and not for profit publications. Commentary and opinions presented are
those of the individual author and does not necessarily reflect the
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
USA BBS, 24 Hours, HST 14.4K, (908) 968-8148. We can be reached on
CompuServe at 75300,1642 and on GEnie at Z-NET.
=======================================================================
Copyright (c)1991, Rovac Industries, Inc..
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------
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