ST Report: 10-Apr-92 #815
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 04/13/92-06:24:11 PM Z
From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 10-Apr-92 #815
Date: Mon Apr 13 18:24:11 1992
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April 10, 1992 No.8.15
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> 04/10/92: STReport #8.15 "The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!"
-------------------------
- The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - SPA NAILS ANOTHER!
- FLASH II INFO - Advantage!! - PORTFOLIO NEWS!
- SILHOUETTE p II - FSMGDOS???? - SETSEEK!
- LEXICOR UPDATE - MIST FEST IV - STR Confidential
-* TAF ACE '92 ATARIFEST WRAPUP! *-
-* SOFT LOGIK CONFERENCE *-
-* ATARI POSTS LATE & LOSSES *-
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (April 10)
NEW IN ATARI VENDORS FORUM
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Oxxi Software announces that registered Atari users of Superbase
Personal/2 and Professional/3 can update to the latest version of the
program. Please read message # 25350 for details.
CodeHead Technologies announces the release of Warp 9, formerly known
as Quick ST. This product has been revamped for usability, speed,
compatibilty, and features. See WARP_9.TXT in Library 16, CODEHEAD
SOFTWARE for a full description, availability, and ordering information.
Oxxi, Inc. has acquired the Atari Product line formerly offered by
Precision Software and has begun development on an upgrade to Superbase
Professional. Oxxi is interested in your comments on new features for
this upgrade. Please read and respond to message # 25112 in the Atari
Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN), or send a message to Pat @ Oxxi at User ID
number 76711,457 in Section 4 ("OXXI/Precision") of ATARIVEN.
CONTEST IN APORTFOLIO
"""""""""""""""""""""
We are now running a NEW CONTEST for Portfolio Programmers. You can
submit any program you have written, in any language, in either compiled
or source form. Prizes will include free CompuServe connect time, ROM
cards, and a subscription to "Take it With You." Please read message #
28538 for complete details.
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE
HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN
OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION
"GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"
***********************************************************************
> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
=================
Issue #15
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
-- Windows 3.1 Introduced This Week
Thousands of computer users and industry experts will got their first
look at Microsoft's Windows 3.1 this week at Windows World in Chicago.
Windows 3.1 is being promoted by Microsoft as doing what Windows 3.0
does, but doing it easier and faster.
Windows 3.1 is expected to be delivered this week to those who placed
their orders early.
Microsoft just about cornered the market on floppy disks to get ready to
ship the estimated 1 million copies of Windows 3.1 it expects to ship in
the first 30 days.
-- European PC Market Fragmented
According to a report from Datamonitor, a London-based strategic manage-
ment consultancy, the European PC market is more fragemented than ever
before, with no single manufacturer dominating the market.
In the UK's 1.5 million unit sales market the ratings are as follows:
Compaq and IBM each have 14% of the market, with Commodore coming in
third place with 13.2%. Amstrad holds fourth pace with 7.8%, followed by
Apple with 6.8% and Olivetti with 5.7%. Atari is next with 0.5%. After
that, the market is highly fragmented with several companies holding the
remaining 38% of market share.
Germany, also with a 1.5 million unit sales market, Commodore leads with
15.0%. Second place goes to Atari with 13.0%, followed by IBM with
11.8%. The rest of the pack is as follow: Compaq - 5.0%, Amstrad - 3.3%,
Olivetti - 2.4%, and Apple - 1.9%. Forty-seven percent of the market is
held by others.
France with a 1.2 million unit sales market is a different picture.
Compaq and Atari lead with, respectively, 13.3% and 10.1% market share.
The other five companies -- Apple - 8.5%, Amstrad - 7.9%, Compaq - 6.6%,
Olivetti - 4.7% and Commodore - 3.8%. The "others" have 45.1% of the
market.
Italy, with 700,000 annual unit sales, finds Olivetti leading with 25.0%
of the home market. Second place goes to IBM with 21.0%. After that, it
is Commodore - 7.9%, Amstrad - 5.7%, Apple - 3.5% and Atari/Compaq with
2.9% each. The rest of the market -- the others -- hold 31.1%.
-- Dell Computer to Bypass Pen Computing Products
According to Dell Chairman Michael Dell, the company has no immediate
plans to enter into the pen-based computer market, although the company
does see some initial demand for the product.
"The first generation of pen-based PCs are kind of a joke," Dell
reportedly said after his address at COMDEX this week. Dell cited weight
and operating problems with pen-based computers. He did not rule out
future interest in pen-based computers, saying, "We're not jumping in
right now. The pen market is probably six to nine months from starting
to take off."
-- Microsoft Intros Windows for Pen Computers
Microsoft has shipped Microsoft Windows for Pen Computing, alias Windows
for Pens, a Windows 3.1-compatible operating system designed for pen
input.
Microsoft launched the new system with a demo set to the theme of the
hit movie "Wayne's World". The demo made the point that there are al-
ready hundreds of applications ready to run on the new system, including
all those which work with Windows 3.1.
Especially radical was a demonstration of a cursive-recognition system
from Lexicus. Microsoft said a total of 187 companies have announced
support for the new operating system, and 80 expect to ship products
this year.
Pen-based computers use a pen-like device called a stylus, with which
the user draws, writes, or checks boxes on the computer screen. The
operating system is able to translate these images into computer-
recognizable characters. Windows for Pens supports more than 70
functions that developers can use to create pen applications.
-- Russia to Adopt Software Copyright Law
Russia, in an effort to ease concerns about software piracy by Western
investors, is expected to pass its first software copyright law this
month.
According to reports, illegal copying is so widespread in the former
Soviet Union that vendors are often forced to sell their products well
below what they charge in other countries to prevent them from being
pirated.
In February, the Russian Parliament passed the first reading of a
revised draft of a copyright bill written with industry guidance. It
makes copying software illegal, provides for statutory damages and
allows for the seizure of illegal copies.
"Its a minimal law but it's a start," said Jane Kitson, director of
Lotus Development's Russian subsidiary. "They say they want to be
official now and that's the first time we've heard that from customers,"
she added.
--SPA Raids New York Camera Firm
Manhattan's Grand Central Cameras, also known as GCT Photo Dealers 420
Lex Inc., has been raided by US marshals following software copyright
infringement complaints lodged by the Software Publishers Association.
In a statement from Washington, D.C., the SPA says the raid was conduc-
ted on behalf of its members Lotus Development Corp., Microsoft Corp.,
WordPerfect Corp., Datastorm Technologies Inc., Fifth Generation Systems
Inc., Interplay Productions Inc. and Sphere Inc.
The SPA contends Grand Central Cameras "systematically violated software
copyrights by putting pirated software on computers to gain an unfair
commercial advantage in the sale of computer hardware."
The statement says marshals and SPA representatives seized three desktop
and two laptop computers containing allegedly pirated software products.
In addition, all unpackaged computers on the premises were searched by
the SPA. Some 25 disks allegedly containing copied programs and serving
as duplication masters also were seized as evidence, as were a sample of
sales records.
The trade group has filed a federal suit against the company and, says
the statement, "on April 2, Grand Central Cameras agreed to submit to,
and on April 3, the court entered, a preliminary injunction forbidding
unauthorized software copying."
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
To sign up for GEnie service:
Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo)
Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
GEnie costs only $4.95 a month for unlimited evening and weekend access to
more than 100 services including electronic mail, online encyclopedia,
shopping, news, entertainment, single-player games, and bulletin boards on
leisure and professional subjects. With many other services, including
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only $6 per hour.
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE! Any time during your first month of membership if
you are not completely satisfied, just ask for your $4.95 back.
GEnie Announcements (FREE)
1. March '92 GEnie Billing Complete - To review yours, type:....*BILL
2. GEnie Clients in Arizona, Indiana & Hawaii -- Please Note....
3. Cast your vote for GEnie's education services................*SURVEY
4. San Angelo, TX - Access Number Change........................*PHONE
5. RTC 4/13:Time & Money-saving Tips for Business Mailers.......HOSB
6. Special GEnie-Jam RTC set for MASSACHUSETTS GEnie Users......GENIEUS
7. BOXING FANS. Talk about BOXING every THURSDAY................SPORTS
8. FREE Connect time. $500 worth................................BASEBALL
9. Play World League Football, Win a T-Shirt Saturday with......QB1
10. The New World of AMATEUR RADIO - Complete info RTC 4/12......RADIO
11. Tulips on Your Family Tree...................................GENEALOGY
12. Don't forget the TRIVIA QUIZ happening NOW in................MAINFRAME
13. Soviet/CIS Space Hardware For Sale...Congress Wants In.......SPACE
14. This is YOUR brain on Florida...Take our Survey in...........*FLORIDA
15. Last chance to win German Assistant from MICROTAC............*GERMANY
from the ST RT
Last Month's Top Downloaded Programs/Utilities:
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-------------------------------------------------
23263 LZH201K.LZH X ST.REPORT 920316 29696 755 40
Desc: - Quester's LATEST Version, 201k -
23127 GOGODNCR.LZH X T.MAYFIELD1 920310 46336 391 12
Desc: Go-Go Dancer as a Desktop Accessory
22979 DFORMAT.LZH X B.LUNESKI1 920301 15872 345 2
Desc: Diamond Format V2.1 PRG and ACC
23100 G_MAP.ARC X D.BECKEMEYER 920308 8320 319 2
Desc: GEM pgm generates a map of disk data
23070 CAL_62A.LZH (LH5)LZH X V.PATRICELL1 920307 75520 262 2
Desc: Cal v6.2a - Hot calendar accessory!
23262 GMAP_2.ARC X D.BECKEMEYER 920316 7168 258 2
Desc: V1.1 of Disk Mapping pgm
23109 BLITSIM.PRG X J.FOURNIER 920309 512 241 2
Desc: Simulates a blitter on an ST or TT.
22968 MOUSEBT3.LZH X ST.REPORT 920301 101376 238 2
Desc: - MouseBoot V3 TOP NOTCH BOOTER -
23222 STWEL46.ARC X B.NOONAN 920314 45696 201 6
Desc: ST WRITER ELITE V. 4.6 WP
-------------------------------------------------
GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
***********************************************************************
> Soft-Logik Conference STR OnLine GEnie's Soft Logik Online Conference
================================
The Following is a transcript of an online conference
held on 4/2/92 in the
Soft-Logik Roundtable on GEnie
<NEVIN-S>
Welcome to another Real Time Conference with Deron Kazmaier, president
of SoftLogik Publishing. Since we have a small group tonight, I'm going
to let Deron make an initial statement. OK, Deron, do you have an opening
statement tonight? GA (By the way, GA means Go Ahead). GA
<DERON.K> For the Amiga..
Thanks for coming tonight. HotLinks is the latest good news. It
started shipping a few weeks ago, and has been greeted by most with open
arms. With it came a minor update to 2.2 to fix some HotLinks related
bugs and to support some "last minute" feature we added to the IFF DTXT
text format.
What is HotLinks? It's the live, automatic exchange of data. What
this means is that if you edit your text in a text editor, the changes
will update in your DTP program without loss of formatting applied in
either program. Same goes true for any kind of data. Pictures, graphs,
musical notes, video clips.
HotLinks acts as a kind of data traffic cop, sending new copies of
data to applications "subscribing" to the data "edition" even if the
applications were not loaded when the changes occured. For more info call
us! (1 800 829-8608)
HotLinks is an open system, and we invite others to join us in
supporting what could be the most important enhancement to the Amiga
since Arexx. For more info and a developer kit call us. We will also be
putting an archive of the developers kit together and placing on-line here
for all to enjoy. Look for it soon.
<DERON.K> For the Atari ST....
No major announcements at this time. However, many people have
commented that with the release of HotLinks for the Amiga that Soft-Logik
has abandoned the ST market altogether. Let me assure you this is not the
case. Just that we have preannounced products in the past and this
generates alot of grief and ill will.
I can tell you that minor and major updates to the ST will continue
for as long as our users continue to support us. With even the
international markets weakening, nothing is more important than the
installed base to us and every other publisher on the ST (most of this is
true for the Amiga as well)
PageStream wise, I can't show my cards just yet, but you won't wait
forever. I _can_ tell you that several import modules are on the way and
you will be seeing them soon. The ones in beta stages so far are: Calumus
text, Arabesque bitmaps, ThatsWrite text, STAD bitmaps, GEM3 (yea!) and
another one I can't remember. These modules will "happen" within the
month. Beyond that, I'm pleased to inform you that Nathan at ISD has
forwarded to us copies of the latest CVG format, and we will roll one out
as soon as possible.
Some people have even asked where is HotLinks for the ST? First let
me say that HotLinks actually started on the ST over 2 years ago, but we
ran into several problems, most of them related to the lack of
MultiTasking.
However, HotLinks for the ST is not forgotten, just put on hold for a
better time. On the other hand, PageLiner (a text processor) and BME(a
bitmap editor), won't happen anytime soon on the ST. What that means is
that for HotLinks to happen it is going to take support from other
venders.
HotLinks is an open system, and the invitation to look at it is open
to the ST developers as well as the Amiga. This is were the users can
help. If this technology is interesting to you, then push other
developers of your favorite products to find out more about it, and if
enough developers are actually interested in it, it's chances of life are
that much better. Also, push Atari to support it, or even put it in the
OS. No better way to get support than to put it on every machine.
Well, let's get on with the Show!
<NEVIN-S>
I will now unlock the room so everyone can talk freely. HOWEVER,
please be sure to /RAI your hand so I can call on you...the real
reason I am unlocking the room is because it is easier for me to run
the conference that way. <grin>
<NEVIN-S> OK, here goes...
** <NEVIN-S> Room is now in the talk mode.
<NEVIN-S> OK, please /RAI your hand if you have a question?
<NEVIN-S> OK, John, go ahead..!
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
Thank you for coming Deron we appreciate your time. Any plans for
speed up of screen redraws especially concerning Type 1 fonts almost
unuseable except for headlines. GA
** <S.MARKOW> is here.
<DERON.K>
Well, like I said not much I can say about future plans for PageStream
except that it's on the wishlist :-) However, there is away around
your problem. Use bitmap screen fonts. Only thing is finding them
sometimes is difficult. You can create them with some utilities
depending on the machine your on and how well you can deal with less
than happy software. ga
<NEVIN-S> Followup John? ga
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
On the wishlist .. how long is the wishlist and is TABS, leaders on
that wishlist for the ST users? GA
<DERON.K>
Several people have asked for that :-) Thats an understatement. I
can assure you they are. actually most ask for left/center/right
/decimal with leaders. ga
<NEVIN-S>
Thanks, John..! Ok, next up is Ron. Ron, what is your question? ga
<[Ron] R.HARISCH1>
With all the 24 bit graphics boards for the Amiga, is SL planning to
support 24 bit graphics in PageStream? GA
<DERON.K>
Yes, we plan on it. We even hope for it. But it's going to take some
work on the board manufactures parts. Right now the most advanced
boards (those that support the library created by DMI for the
resolver) still do not provide any support for windowing and the like.
We don't have the time to do their work. However, it may be changing
soon. ga
<NEVIN-S> Do you have another ?? Ron?
<[Ron] R.HARISCH1>
I've heard that Art Expression will be much better than ProDraw. Can
you highlight some of its features? GA
<DERON.K>
Well, most of the important ones are the interface and ease of use.
Also, the ability to bind text to a path and text in a shape.
Blending, tracing, good set of drawing tools, loads Aegis Draw,
Illustrator, DR2D. want more? GA
<[Ron] R.HARISCH1>
Yea, when will we see it? :)
<DERON.K>
No release date set. But I can say the manual writer has been busy.
But the program is still some time away. AS a registered user you can
be sure of getting propaganda in the mail when it's closer :-)
<[Ron] R.HARISCH1>
Thanks Deron - Looking foreward to it. GA
<NEVIN-S>
Thanks, Ron. Next up is Martha. Martha, go ahead.
<[Martha] M.DYCUS>
I make calendars with a lot of little columns. I have a problem
making the text stay where I put it. For instance...I will tab a line
over and save the DOC... when I return to it the text is NOT tabbed.
What can I do? ga
<DERON.K>
What happens to the text? Does it move? Do you put carriage returns at
the end of the line? If you just let Pagestream word wrap, and then
try and space or tab over, it will suckup that white space next time
you load the doc.
<[Martha] M.DYCUS>
It moves from it's tabbed position back to the left side. Yes I use
CR.
<NEVIN-S>
I think I might have a suggestion for this one...may I?
<[Martha] M.DYCUS>
Please.
<DERON.K>
Well, I would bet it has something to do with that. Try stretching
out the column. ga Nevin
<NEVIN-S>
OK, when I make charts or calendars, this is what I do. I make one
vertical line, then duplicate it say 7 times, 1 inch horizontal. We
now have 7 columns. Then I do the same thing making 4 rows (for 4
weeks in a month). Then I make a text object (just click on the page,
no column) of say 24 point Triumvirate and type the letter "A". Then
I duplicate this 7 times, 1" horizontal. They are now all in the
center of the top row. Now I grab all 7 "A" and duplicate this 4 times
1 " down. Finally, just click (with the text cursor) on any A,
backspace, and change it to the letter(s) that you need. It works
great, and everything is perfectly centered! ga
<[Martha] M.DYCUS>
ok....thanks! ga
<NEVIN-S>
Ok, glad I could help out! Next up is our friend Steve Markow.
<S.MARKOW>
Thanks Nevin..
<S.MARKOW>
First, I got cut off before when you said something about abandoning
the ST and I didn't hear the response, so if you don't mind a summary,
second is there any plans for something like Art Expression or some
companion program for the ST? ga
<DERON.K>
What I said about the ST was that we are not leaving it behind, just
that not every thing that happens on one machine will happen on the
other. Second, I feel that with Outline, Arabesque, and other
drawing programs (geesh, I can't remember what CodeHead is doing...)
AvantVector and others its a well troden market. Also, both
PageLiner/BME/ and Art Expresion are done by programmers who have 0 ST
experience. That doesn't mean that another program under the same
name won't happen, just not the exact one. But we do have some plans
for the future in that direction, but nothing even more than a twinkle
in daddies eyes and scratched on paper. ga
<S.MARKOW>
What about an interim patch program to fix the bugs with the ST
version until a new version is done? ga
<DERON.K>
anything is possible :-) You'll have to read my whole opening
statement where I talk about not able to show my hand when it comes to
PageStream. Let's just say it's a real possibility for such a thing to
happen. ga
<NEVIN-S> Thanks, Steve!
<S.MARKOW>
Ok, thanks, Nevin make sure it's archived, I'll check it later. Thanks
Deron, gotta run,. ga
<NEVIN-S>
Next up is Mike. Go ahead, Mike.
<[Mike Angier] M.ANGIER>
Since, you can not comment further on bug fixes for ST/TT Pagestream,
perhaps you would care to comment on support for extended video cards
for the ST/TT (esp. Crazy Dots which supports up to 256 colors ... a
new version will do 32K colors, particularly, getting away from Line-A
towards "legal" VDI usage. GA
<DERON.K>
Well, PageStream already support 256 colors. not so sure about 32K as
the OS extensions to support more than 256 colors is not done as I am
aware. PgS2.1 On the ST is 100% VDI! ga
<NEVIN-S>
Anything else, Mike?
<[Mike Angier] M.ANGIER>
Well, I guess I had better bark up a certain German Tree then...GA
<NEVIN-S>
OK, thanks Mike. Deron, one user left a question to me in e-mail,
and here it is...
"With more and more of my clients requesting that I make coupons (with
the Recession and all) is there a chance that you will add 'real
corners' on boxes drawn with dashed lines? The coupons would look a
LOT better with real corners. Thanks for any info." ga
<DERON.K>
Well, what he is really looking for is borders.
<DERON.K>
That's one the infamous wishlist, but it's not very high. The best way
to do what he wants is to actually draw the dashes inside a drawing
program, or even Pagestream, then group it. The you can get the exact
corners he needs, and can call it up and size it at will. That would
be a simple solution that would work. Which is what counts when your
trying to make a buck. I could even create something and upload it
that did what he wants. I've got a few drawing programs laying around.
:-) ga
<NEVIN-S>
Deron, that is a good idea..! Perhaps I will create some boxes for him
and upload them to the library here. With the duplicate feature, it
should be easy to do.
OK, next up is John. John?
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
Not a question but Steve echoed my thoughts my opinion I think bug
fixes to the current version far outweigh ANY new import modules that
will be here within a month. Maybe another wishlist. Lotta "wishing"
by ST users. GA
<DERON.K>
Well, some things may happen sooner than you think. One thing you have
to remember is that when a new version of an existing program is
pending, sales drop to the zero mark fast. However, things like import
modules don't stop anyone from buying the existing products because
its not nearly as exciting. Just to shed some light on things, we have
all been very busy with HotLinks and the Amiga2.2 release, but with it
now out the door, I find myself with a little spare time (I only wish,
but you get the picture) ga
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
ok Deron .. so don't say anything and we'll be patient puppies and
wait for the announcements. <GRIN> love the product ... for what
it's worth...
<NEVIN-S>
OK, next up is B.O.B., from Twin Peaks <grin> BOB?
<B.O.B.>
Thanks...wondering about the 'ole rumor about text along a path from
within the program...any future in this? BTW, LOVE 2.1 (could do
without the bugs, though) GA
<DERON.K>
Well, I can tell you that text along a path in PageStream won't happen
anytime soon. It's not on our "wishlist" BTW, we keep two wishlists,
the likely and the unlikely. This is one the unlikely. It belongs in
drawing programs, and makes for very tough text editing in a program
like PageStream. BTW, several programs on the ST already support this.
(I am assuming you are on the ST) ga
<B.O.B.>
One more kwickie...how about a Voters form in the next newsletter.
Something like "What 5 new features or old bugs do you want looked at"
GA
<DERON.K>
Well, actually user input molds alot of what we do these days. You
see one doesn't have to ask for opinions from the loud ones. They
tell you whether you want to know it or not :-) Seriously, I get
several letters a week from users asking for features. ga
<B.O.B.>
Just one more...only prob with using another prog for text along a
path... is that NO other progs use PGS proprietary fonts or
Compugraphic fonts. ;*(
<DERON.K>
Thats why we support three formats now. Also, there is a converter
program that converts between PGS and Type1s. Don Turnock I believe
is the man behind it. ga
<NEVIN-S>
Bob, Didot Pro can use Adobe Type 1 fonts, and it is GREAT at text
along a path. Of course, it lists for $999. <sigh>
<B.O.B.> Thanks...ga
<NEVIN-S> Thanks, next up is John Duckworth. John, go ahead..!
<[John] J.DUCKWORTH2>
I recently purchased a used version of 1.8 from another user...what is
the procedure for re-registering the program in my name ? And is it
possible to upgrade to the newest version? ga
<DERON.K>
Good question. We are actually putting it in our new manuals in the
future. We get about 1 call a week for this. The quickest thing is
to have the user contact us with his name and address, and the new
name and address. If you can't get ahold of the user, then call our
sales line and give them the reg number. They can track him down and
verify it. If he is unreachable they will keep his old record and
mark it inactive and add you in. Not very difficult. Just call
1-800-829-8608.
Also, one thing every one should be aware of is that if you upgrade to
2.1 that does not entitle you to sell your 1.8. Unless you bought 2.1
brand new. The upgrade fee we charge is to upgrade the program, not
give a new one. This makes some transfers tough because people will
upgrade to 2.1 and then sell 1.8. What they don't realize is that
there is only 1 registeration number, and that transfers everything.
Also, then the 1.8 owner can't upgrade to 2.1 because we can only
allow 1 upgrade. Well, enough company policy for one sitting. ga
<[John] J.DUCKWORTH2>
The person I bought it from did not upgrade so it should be no problem
then. Thanks
<NEVIN-S>
Thanks..! Next up is R.BROWN. Go ahead.
<R.BROWN30>
We are using PgS on TT's and would like to know if there might be a
possibility of using very large color TIFFs (8+ megabytes) where the
picture file is accessed not unlike that is, accessed as file, but not
within the TT memory. What about virtual memory support or file
linkage. ga
<DERON.K> I think I understand your question. Can I answer? ga
<DERON.K>
Other than saying it's on the wishlist (likely list), there is a
solution (albeit a hack) when printing to postscript. Are you? ga
<R.BROWN30>
yes, We are printing to 3 in-house imagesetters, and scip spin based
scanner
<DERON.K>
ok, well PageStream2.1 supports imbedded EPS comments now. What you
can do is have the tiffs seperated into 4 seperate EPS files, then
import an FPO. This was created to work with our local imagesetters
spin system they use with Quark, so you should be in business it
sounds like :-) Need more info? ga
<R.BROWN30>
Please provide as much info as possible. GA
<DERON.K>
Well, the spin system (is it linked to a hell or sitex scanner?) will
output 4 eps on to a Mac system, one for cyan, mangeta, yellow, black.
It will also create a very small eps with a tiff header that you use
for position only, and rough draft printing.
<R.BROWN30>
Please bear in mine that to use Quark is to defeat the purpose of
having TT's and Pgs. It is a Hell spin based scanner. ga
<DERON.K>
You don't have to use quark, I'm just saying that the feature was put
into the SPIN system to support Quark. How dare you imply that :-)
Anyway, Pagestream will send the small FPO eps when printing "no
seperations" but when you print 4-color seps, it places special
comments into the postscript file that tells a downloader to merge in
the external files. You don't even have to have the huge scans anyhere
near PageStream. Do you have a mac system for downloading, or do you
connect the ST direct. And how does the SPIN system offload the files
in your setup? ga
<R.BROWN30>
Sorry no offense, puns, etc. intended. We support PgS to the death
around here. It's connected to a Mac linked to a PC network. The TT
picks the files up off the PC network. ga
<NEVIN-S>
Next up is Martha. Martha??
<DERON.K>
OK, just call the spin people up and ask them how to create the EPS.
ga
<[Martha] M.DYCUS>
Is it possible to create something in OUTLINE ART and import it into
Pagestream?...this may be what B.O.B. asked..ga.
<DERON.K>
Yes, two ways. 1, you can convert it into an EPS file and place it
inside for printing to a postscript printer or a clone like
UltraScript or Composcript. The other way is to convert it into
another format with programs like Arabesuq or Avant Vector. Third way
ok, I lied about the 2) is to wait for a CVG import module. ga
<[Martha] M.DYCUS>
Thanks!! ga
<NEVIN-S>
OK, folks...I have to pack so I can fly to Toronto tomorrow at 7am.
However, feel free to stay here and chat among yourselves. Deron,
THANKS for coming tonight. We had a small crowd, but lots of excellent
questions. I will have to beat up Fred to get more Amiga folks here..!
<[Martha] M.DYCUS>
Nevin!!...Look at everything TWICE!! Once for me.. *grin*
<NEVIN-S>
Any closing comments Deron (and remember, just because I'm leaving
does not mean you have to leave too! <grin>)?? ga
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
gee, what does that tell you, the loyal ST users. (sigh)
<DERON.K>
When you get back, let's plan one about a month in advance :-) and
pick a good night I guess. I would have wanted more ST users even. It
makes for a more interesting night.
<R.BROWN30>
Deron, a quickie: how soon before Appletalk for the TT and Mega STe's
are released? What is holding this up?
<DERON.K>
Have fun in toronto, don't do anything I've already done :-) Say hi to
Mark and Dan, and keep and eye on them. I'll stick around here for awhile.
bye
<NEVIN-S>
OK, sorry about the short lead time. But really, I think we covered a
lot of ground. Folks, that is it for me...and please hang around if
you feel like it. Fred will upload a transcript over the weekend.
Goodnight, all.
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
thanks Nevin .. safe trip
<[Martha] M.DYCUS>
Night, Nevin
** <NEVIN-S>
has left.
<DERON.K>
R.Brown. Are you intersted in it? We have put the project on the back
burner do to a resounding lack of interest.
<R.BROWN30>
Yes! Is there any way to get a Beta prototype, WE'LL PAY for it!
<DERON.K>
Well, how about you call tommorrow and we can work something out.
<R.BROWN30>
That'll be Mike Choo calling...
<DERON.K>
We have some stuff that you can try, and if it works we can sell it
you :-) I thought Mike had it already?
<R.BROWN30>
Negative
<DERON.K>
Well, I thought it was now up to 2 people that were interested in it.
Now you tell me you work with (or for) the first person interstest in
it :-(
<R.BROWN30>
We'd like to run Appletalk on top of Ethernet
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
Dee Dee is interested in it...big time
<[Martha] M.DYCUS>
Night... and THANKS, Deron for a great program!
<DERON.K> bye martha
<DERON.K> Well, you both can call me :-)
<R.BROWN30>
Deron, we at Digital Imaging Systems feel we can help with the
marketing of Appletalk after sorting out the bugs. ga
<DERON.K>
I thought Mike was PO'd at us because we didn't make him happy?
Anyway, it's not the marketing part. It's the fact that the installed
base of TT's and Mega STes can be counted on your hands (almost) ga
<R.BROWN30>
Richard speaking -- Michael tends to be a baby about some things but
he does have more systems than that himself. ga
<DERON.K>
I realize that (about the # of systems) Just that even one large user
would have a hard time offsetting the 1 manyear+ spent on the system
already. We started the project early on hoping Atari would move some
units of the TT and STe. sigh. Such is life when you hook your
sleigh up to a falling star and not a shooting comet.
<R.BROWN30>
Right now we have 3 offices and would seriously attempt to increase
the interest and possible sale of multiple units. What number should
I call? - Mike ga
<DERON.K> 1-800-829-8608.
<FRED.M>
by the way.... I can't see if anyone has a raised hand! So we will
have have to wing it!
<DERON.K>
well, if someone has a question, just blast away. ga
<DERON.K>
there is only 6 of us. It can't get too bad :-)
<R.BROWN30>
Thanks, one other question (Richard) how about more ink control in the
DeskJet driver? We get overspray.
<DERON.K> Do you mean DeskJet 500 color? ga
<R.BROWN30>
Yes. And who to speak to at that number?
<DERON.K>
you can ask for me richard. just make sure you give the secretary the
full details of who you are our she won't even patch you through :-)
I'm well sheilded :-) ga
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
Deron .. is the "disappearing" fonts from the font selector box on the
bug fix wish list?
<DERON.K>
John, the disappearing fonts would be on the "done been fixed" list if
we kept such things and talked about unreleased products. ga
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
"kept such things" ?? don't understand
<DERON.K>
I said that the disappearing font bug would be on the "fixed bugs
list" if we kept such a list and if we talked about products we don't
talk about before they are released. vous compreane?
<R.BROWN30>
In particular, the DeskJet 500C in BLACK cartridge mode tends to eat
up cartirdges at a superhuman rate. Very wet pages. Mike Choo says
thanks and will call and make himself known.
<R.BROWN30>
Mike Choo also wants to sell you an imagesetter. Any thoughts?
<DERON.K>
Well, unless he also sells me some more floor space to park one, it
will have to wait till we move later this year. Otherwise, what we
need is true postscript considering the kinds of testing we have to
do. We also need something that will do good color work. If he can
supply, I can be interested. The postscript must be VERY good if its
not Adobe. ga
<R.BROWN30>
It is very small, smaller than LC890... It is true PostScript. By
Birmy and prints files that will not print on a RIP 40 from Linotype.
<DERON.K>
john, did you understand?
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
well .. sorta I guess .. you don't keep a "well we fixed that bug"
what's next" list? it just gets frustrating
<DERON.K>
well, maybe I should come to miami and see it :-) Can you send me
some specs? Or just tell me now?
<R.BROWN30>
Send sample PostScript color files to Transcaribe on Syquest and I'll
send samples back post haste... We can talk it over on the phone...
<DERON.K>
ok fine. Mind if I put timing code in it? ga
<R.BROWN30>
It would just be easier for me to give you a number where you can
reach me now and I can better discuss what's for grabs.
<DERON.K>
John, I understand. It's hard to work around.
<DERON.K>
Richard, got a number? I'm at home but I have a open phone line.
<FRED.M>
What can Postscript Level 2 add to PgS??? I see NEC has new model 95
Laser printer with level 2 Postscript and RET technology like the
HP-III's for $1749 list!
<DERON.K>
Fred, level 2 will add better memory cleanup, better pattern fills,
and more compatability problems :-)
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
who will be at the ACE show Deron?
<DERON.K>
John, Mark from tech suppo, and Dan from R&D will be there. Dan is
giving two classes
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
met Mark in Orlando last year
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
Fred .. Tom Yurick has posted some messages concerning Level 2 with
PGS in the RT, but I believe that printer can switch back to level 1
easily
<DERON.K>
what was that John about Tom Yurick?
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
Tom Yurick has an HPIIIp (I believe) and sent his PS cartridge back to
Hewlett Packard for an exchange to Level 2.
<FRED.M>
Will the current PS drivers work with and use some of those better
fills and features etc??
<R.BROWN30> By the way, this is Mike C.
<DERON.K>
Rich & fred, well we are adobe developers, and we will support it, but
we don't now. The memory management and speed you get for free and the
rest you can get by just hacking the postscript.prolog file (on the
Amiga that is) on the ST, you gotta wait a little while.
<[john] J.E.DONOHUE>
gonna run ... thanks for your time Deron
<DERON.K>
bye john
<R.BROWN30>
Deron, Mike here, is there any chance we will see the new postscript
driver pretty soon with the prolog file?
<DERON.K>
gee, what is it with Florida people? 4 of them out of total!
<DERON.K>
anything to add d.wilson? you've been quiet.
<D.WILSON74>
Other than my previous question, I'm happy w/ PgS (Amiga) The only
thing I don't like is the level of incompetence at Mobile, AL print
shops.
<DERON.K>
yea, well you would be suprised at the number of places in the country
who think that if they can't load it up into Quark or Pagemaker, they
can't print it on their imagesetters. You would think they would
learn a little more about their hefty investment.
<D.WILSON74>
These people can't even accept that MS-DOS disks can work in some
Macs.
<R.BROWN30>
Deron are there any more plans to add more styles that are recognized
by the program without using the fontequiv file - SHADOW
<DERON.K>
Well, we routinely talk to print shops...anyway, if you want we can
train your locals in the fine art of making money off of you. We call
shops like that and try and explain to them how to download stuff like
ours all the time.
<D.WILSON74>
Probably the unknowing print shop staff :)
<FRED.M>
maybe that would be a good article for the next DTP World?
<DERON.K>
Well, as luck would have it,I wrote 2 articles for the next DTP world,
and one of them is taking PageStream to the Lino :-)
<D.WILSON74>
Good luck. The closest thing Mobile has to an Amiga dealer who sells
Adventure Const. set for $60.00.
<DERON.K>
rich/mike, what was that about fontequiv?
<R.BROWN30>
In familys, if there is a style call shadow wplus others, the shadow
style must be added through font equiv.
<DERON.K>
Well, most likely some of the default fonts it knows about can be
extended.
<R.BROWN30>
By the way, there are problems with the bleed command when using
eps files
<DERON.K>
I mean styles, not fonts. I'm pretty sure it knows about Shadows?
Hmmm, maybe not. ga
<R.BROWN30>
Deron, lets put is this way, I have a large fontequiv file with a
number of added styles, Shadow. DemiBold and a few others.
<DERON.K>
Well, send me the list and I will try and build the reoccuring ones
in. Then you won't have to specify it for every font. ga
<R.BROWN30>
How do you rate your appletalk against the parallel port on the TT.
Speed wise. Which is faster.
<DERON.K>
Well, appletalk kills it in speed :-) Our only problem is that we get
an occasional lostpacket, which it recovers from, but it tacks on an
extra 10 seconds. Doesn't happen every time you print, just sometimes.
Anyway, it screems. I can give you an example time tommorow.
<R.BROWN30>
Whats our cost for the Software.
<DERON.K>
Free unless it works :-) Depends on whether you just want to bundle it
without docs etc, or if you need manuals etc.
<R.BROWN30>
Ok thanks for time will speak to you tomorrow. Mike C.
<DERON.K>
ok, bye.
<D.WILSON74>
I'm sure you've been asked this already, but I came in late. Any idea
on the release date of Art Expression?
<DERON.K>
No release date set. Sorry. I talked alittle about it, and you might
be able to gleen some more info from the transcript. Are you doing
that fred?
<FRED.M>
yes!
<D.WILSON74>
I'm just tired of drawing cartoons in DPaint. Jaggies (shudder)
<DERON.K>
I understand, :-) It will be worth the wait!
<D.WILSON74>
I just hope the drool doesn't short out my computer... :)
<DERON.K>
I doubt it, but we did have a user complain to us that his wife wanted
a divorce after PgS2.2 came out because he never left the computer for
several days straight :_)
<C.BALDWIN9>
Deron, I just logged on here so I probably missed it, but I thought I
saw something about a new version of Pagestream for the Amiga, is this
true?
<DERON.K>
Well, we just released a version called 2.2 HL. The patch file do go
from 2.2 to 2.2 HL is online.
<C.BALDWIN9>
Is there one for the ST/TT coming anytime soon?
<DERON.K>
Check the transcript later! It's been long since covered. We are
kinda in free form, gabbing now :-)
<FRED.M>
ok folks...its been a long night! ;-)
<DERON.K>
most everyone is gone. Just the 4 of us left.
<D.WILSON74>
One last question...
<DERON.K>
Yea, same here. Nice talking with you. Yes?
<D.WILSON74>
Has SL had a chance to look at Migraph's OCR software for their
scanners?
<DERON.K>
Just briefly at the AmiExpo in long beach. Was running on a TT no
less. What about it? ga
<D.WILSON74>
Just wondering how well it worked. Can't tell much from press
releases.
<DERON.K>
Yea, well it's still beta so anything can happen.
<C.BALDWIN9>
Deron, do you know of a program for the ST/TT that can create AFM
files from PFB files?
<DERON.K>
not sure. not that I am aware of.
<C.BALDWIN9>
D.Wilson, I had a close hand look at it, and it is very nice!
<FRED.M>
ok...that's a wrap! thanks for coming everyone....check out the
library this weekend for the transcript!
<DERON.K>
ok, thanks fred for hanging in till the bitter end :-) bye everyone.
<DERON.K>
bye
<D.WILSON74>
bye, and thanks for PgS.
<FRED.M>
bye folks!
** <DERON.K> has left.
THE END !!!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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> THE FLIP SIDE STR Feature "... a different viewpoint..."
=========================
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT
==================================
by Michael Lee
----------------
From Rod Coleman (Sudden View) - From the Jerry Pournelle Roundtable...
Thank you very much. As Jerry knows, its a very old argument. Look up
the April 1981 edition of, I believe, EDN or maybe Electronic Design.
One of them did a special benchmark issue on three new chips, the
Intel 8086, Zilog Z-8000 and the Motorola 68000. Motorola was hands
down winner in performance, architecture, ease of programming -
everything. Zilog had some nice points but still had limited
addressing. As for Intel, the question was rasied as to whether they
would even stay in the microprecessor business. It was suggested that
they stick to making RAM memory. I wonder what that editor's doing for
a living now?
Because of its 370 background, there was a rumor that IBM wanted to
use the 68000 for its new PC product, but Motorola would not guarantee
volume production by August, so the Intel 8088 was selected. For that
reason I started a computer company to manufacture 68000-based
computers; but that's another even longer story.
Since August of 1981, millions of programmers have written an untold
number of lines of code for PC compatibles. And even more millions of
user have learned to deal with the memory constraints of the Intel
processors running under MS-DOS.
All of this code it will have to be rewritten, and users will have to
learn new software WHEN we go to a true 32-bit architecture (notice I
didn't say IF we go to a true 32-bit architecture). This work has
already started as developers move their programs from the PC to Mac,
Next or one of the RISC machines.
Considering all of the rewriting of code, and the relearning by one
humdred million users that will occur in the next ten years, I believe
that the selection of the Intel processor by an IBM employee in 1981
may be the biggest mistake ever made by any single person in the
history of mankind. Just add up the man-hours of effort: you'll see
what I mean.
There's lots more, but I hear sirens. And if I get a topic cop who
likes Intel, I'm in real trouble. Anyway, thanks for the comment.
----------------
From Craig Atkins - Cat. 11, Topic 2, Msg. 13 - from the ST Roundtable
on Genie...
Hello, My name is Craig S. Atkins. I am the editor of our user group
newsletter, The Lilly Pad. We are the Front Range Atari User Group,
(FRAUG) located in Fort Collins, CO. Jerry Belfor (303)223-2604 is our
current President. Our mailing address is:
FRAUG
3012 Rockborough Court
Fort Collins, CO 80525
I believe we have approximately 40 members and adding 1-2 monthly. We
have only been around for 3 years.
----------------
A list of games that will run on the TT - Cat. 9, Topic 3 - from the ST
Roundtable on Genie...
From Frank Goron - Msg. 46...
I'd love to see an up-to date list of games that run on the TT. I'll
start things off with my own list and I hope others will contribute
their own lists.
Anything by Sierra (even if they DID abandon the Atari platform).
FTL - OIDS, DungeonMaster, Chaos Strikes Back (did they do anything
else?)
Night Hunter (Ubi Soft)
Maniac Mansion (LucasFilms)
Future Wars (Interplay/Delphine)
Arkanoid II - Revenge of Doh (Taito)
Trivial Pursuit - (Domark) really awful game!
MicroLeague Baseball II
JET - (SubLogic)
Orbiter - Spectrum HoloByte
From N. Steel - Msg. 47, 52 & 53...
Deuteros (using an auto folder loaded with 24bit & 50Hz boot)
Silent Service II (Microprose)
M1 Tank Platoon (Microprose)
Railroad Tycoon (Microprose) - By the way, Railroad Tycoon works
straight from the box, 'Make1Meg' is
not required, odd!
Flight Of The Intruder (Spectrum Holobyte)
UMSII (Microprose/Intergalactic Development)
Their Finest Hour (Lucasfilm)
Heimdall (Sort of works, problems with screen redraws)
Empire (Interstell)
Proflight (Hisoft)
Red Storm Rising (Microprose)
Monkey Island (Lucasfilm)
UMS 1 (Rainbird/Intergalactic Development)
Balance Of Power 1990 Edition (Mindscape)
Breach 2 (Omnitrend)
Almost all of the games I've mentioned are hard drive installable, the
exceptions being Deuteros and Heimdall.
P.S. Blue Max also works without Make1Meg. The trouble is the game is
really lousy.
From Joe Meehan - Msg. 48...
TETPNE (Tetris (Spectrum Holobyte)
Battle Chess (Interplay)
The Sorcerer of Claymorgue Castle (Key Punch)
Silent Service (Sub Logic)
Planetarium (Is this a game?) (Atari)
The above are working for me, They may not run in all res, games
seldom do that anyway <grin>.
Slither (PD) (runs far too fast to play) (:-( Does anyone know how to
fix this?
From Jonathan Roy - Msg. 50...
Populous II runs, but isn't playable in any way. It just plain suck at
TT speed. (You can win nearly ANY level in under 10 seconds...)
From Scott Sanders (SDS) - Msg. 51...
Be sure and add Loom (Lucasfilm) to that list.
----------------
Some questions and comments about Atari's history - Cat. 18, Topic 8 -
From the ST Roundtable on Genie...
From Steve Johnson - Msg. 20...
I guess this is the best place to ask a few questions about the
history of Atari, so here it goes...
Would it be fair to say that Atari development became 'stale' during
the early 80's (under Warner Communications) because they didn't have
the resources, or, if not, what REALLY happened? Also, when did Warner
buy Atari?
How did the two Atari companies (Atari Corp. and Atari Games Corp.)
come out of Atari, Inc.? I know Atari, Inc. was owned by Warner, but
were each of the new Atari companies purchased seperately from them or
was Atari bought from Warner as a whole and then split up or what? I
need to know the details. Also, when was Atari sold?
Would it be fair to say that Atari Corp. focused mainly on their
computer line (i.e. the ST) for the first few years since it was
purchased from Warner (eventhough they DID 'revamp' the former 8-bit
computers and videogame consoles)?
From Dorothy Brumleve - Msg. 21...
I don't think it's fair to say that Atari development became "stale"
under Warner...A friend of mine worked for them at that time and was
supervising some very exciting projects which never saw production.
From John Townsend (Atari) - Msgs. 22 & 24...
Atari, Inc.'s management got "comfortable" with its position in the
market and thought that years of endless growth would continue for a
long time to come. They spend lots of money on everything (lots of
executive perks, etc.) and when the video game market took a nosedive,
they never recovered.
As for why there are two Atari companies, that was a product of the
Sale. Atari Corp. consisted of the consumer products divisions (Home
Video Games and Home Computers) and Atari Games Corp. consisted of the
Arcade Video Game division.
As for development at Atari, Inc... let's just say that Atari was VERY
organized in R&D and had some interesting things under development ;-)
From what I have read.. Warner didn't really care what Atari did as
long as their profits showed up on the Balance Sheets at the end of
every quarter.
In its peak years, Atari was making so much money that it was able to
carry other divisions of Warner that weren't doing as well..
As for the 1450XLD, it was finished. (We have one collecting dust in
the Lab) But never made it to market.
----------------
About the new Flash II - From John Trautschold (Missionware Software) -
Cat. 8, Topic 2 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
Message 144...
Yes, Flash II has the same "look and feel" of Flash I. (Boy, I'm
starting to get sick of that expression...sigh...)
Differences:
Terminal mode...status line is at the top, but it's still a full
screen's width display (meaning a full 80 characters).
Editor/Capture Buffer...This is the GEM side of things, and has the
usual pulldown menus, etc. The menus are rather drastically rearranged
however due to the new features included. Also, there are now separate
"Save..." menu choices, instead of the one "Save" choice that then
displayed a dialog requesting the type of save you wanted to do. Same
for the "Load" functions.
A right-button click does the switching between modes.
There really isn't a lot of color in the basic program...there are a
few colorized menu choices and dialogs. However, if you call into a
color board (using, say, ANSI emulation) you'll get the full color
effects provided by that board (and assuming the resolution you are
operating in, ST Medium or TT Medium, supports those colors.)
Also, any GIF pictures you download either online or in review mode,
will display in full color.
From Msg. 177...
Hi everyone! We're back from Toronto (and what a trip THAT was! :-).
Anyway, FLASH II is now ready to ship. We previously posted
information about the new program here in the topic, and now it's time
to post information on how to order Flash II! That's the best part,
right?
Here's the deal. We'll accept orders for Flash II using any of the
following methods:
1) For outright purchases (meaning you aren't going to upgrade from an
older version), the price is $49.95 US plus $4 shipping and handling.
You can order via:
a) Telephone: 708-359-9565. If we don't answer, just leave the
following information on the machine and we'll process your order:
VISA or MasterCard number, Expiration Date, Name, Address, City,
State, ZipCode, and phone number. Your charge card will be billed on
the day we ship (which may not be on the day the order is received,
but it *will* be within a day or two! :-). If you want us to call
you back to confirm the order before it is place, please note that
on your message.
b) Mail: Your can, of course, mail order your copy of Flash II.
We'll accept VISA or MasterCard, with the information included as
noted above, or you can send a check or money order (in US funds
please) in with your order. Please do NOT send cash. Although I
don't mind receiving cash in the mail, it's really not a safe thing
to do.
c) Email: Email orders to J.TRAUTSCHOL will be accepted as if it
were a telephone order. Naturally, you must use a charge card for
payment. I'll confirm your order also via Email, and will not charge
to your card until we actually ship.
2) To upgrade from ANY old version of Flash, you must send us your old
Flash disk as proof of ownership. It will be returned to you. Since we
need to see proof of ownership for upgrades, you'll have to do the
mail order thing here. Upgrades are $30 US plus $4 shipping and
handling. You can pay using either check, money order (in US funds) or
VISA and MasterCard. When upgrading, you receive *exactly* the same
package as those who pay the full amount.
For mail orders, our address is:
Missionware Software
354 N. Winston Drive
Palatine, Illinois 60067-4132 USA
For those of you that send me your address, you'll be receiving a
newletter soon (I hope) with basically the same information in it as
posted above. I'm starting to work on that information sheet now, and
once it's done and I get the mailing labels printed, I'll get it sent
out...hopefully within a week.
Also, we're working on a demo version which we'll post here as soon as
we can. The demo will be as functional as we can make it, and will be
time limited for your online time, and will probably prevent you from
saving some files. Again, as soon as we can get it done, I'll get it
posted here for you. I know you're all anxious to play with the
program.
One other thing. Since Flash II is a brand new program, newly written
from the ground up, we figure you'll find some problems that our beta
testers missed. Because of that, we'll be offering a free maintenance
upgrade about 3 to 4 months down the road for all current owners.
You'll need to ship us your master disk. We'll put the new software on
it, and ship it back to you at no cost. If the upgrade can be done by
posting a patch program here, then we'll do it that way. In any case,
we want to make sure that all of your problems, if any, are resolved
as quickly as possible so that we can move on to the many enhancements
already on the list of "things to do" for future upgrades.
Also, if anyone has a special requirement of some sort, or runs into a
problem with, say, a terminal emulation mode, we'll try to get you on
as a beta tester for future upgrades. That way we'll be certain to get
fixed whatever problem you run into.
Again, thanks for your interest an patience. We'll process your orders
as quickly as we can, as well as answer your questions to the best of
our ability. We're trying to get the author of the program, Paul
Nicholls, here on GEnie. However, for those of you on CIS, Paul is
there already. We'll be setting up support for the product there as
well.
----------------
From Frank Bell about MultiGem - Cat. 2, Topic 9, Msg. 72 - from the ST
Roundtable on Genie...
The latest version of MultiGem is a little more compatable to GEM
programs, is a little easier to install, and a little more stable.
In April, late April, MultiGem II should be comming out where the
number of processes (programs and accessories) should be unlimited
(ok, within limits), program starts are handled better, programs can
be stopped or slowed down (they remain in memory), and MG can be used
as a Task Switcher. I don't know if MG II will come out as an update,
upgrade, or whatever, but it doesn't seem so. The price, in Germany,
is the same as the MG I.
----------------
From John Hoffman - Cat. 9, Topic 47, Msg. 107 - from the ST Roundtable
on Genie...
I just got back from my local Atari Computer store today... And notice
another great looking FRP type game!!! Legend. It is another 3D 3rd
person perspective game. The picture on the box reminded me of hero
quest but with more things to investigate.
Wow, once I finish Knightmare there will be so many new choices for
FRP games; Heimdall, ShadowLands, Disciples of Steel or Legend. All
new in the last couple of months.
I have bought Heimdall. So I will give my first impressions. It seems
like a good game but with too much disk swapping. I have a 4MB MegaST
with one floppy drive. In playing the game, you travel from island to
island and explore the dungeons or areas on the islands. The first few
are pretty small but I may not have completely explored all the areas.
When going from one island to another, a minimum or 2 disk swaps were
required before exploration of the island began. On some of the more
complex islands there were intermediate areas that would require 2 or
more disk swaps before continuing. On island I went two actually
required FOUR disk swaps before exploration began.
On the good side the graphics are quite nice. Maybe an 8.5 on a scale
of 1 - 10. While exploring a section of dungeon there generally aren't
any disk swaps.. (ie combat, traps, magic, or effects displayed don't
trigger disk accesses. I played for about 2-3 hours before having all
my main characters die. My characters died from lack of food which is
used to recover lost hit points.
Happily, I didn't experience any bugs in the program. The game comes
on five disks and requires a 1Meg ST. I visited 5 islands and
completly expored only one. The map with the game shows at least 36
islands on three different maps.
Even with the exploration I did and many battles none of my characters
progressed past first level. The user interface is a combination of
joystick and mouse operation. The user interface works very well.
Reading the documentation about useing both mouse and joystick sounded
awkward but in use is very natural.
While this game is interesting, I don't know if I will have the
patience to put up with the disk swapping. The installation
documentation imply that both Amiga and ST must endure swapping while
dos users will be able to install on Hard Disk. This is sad since a
good game may be made playable by only by the stout of heart. I don't
think there is anyway to get the software to run on hard disk because
the disks are all in an unreadable format...
I think that I will have to decide for my next purchase between
Disciples of Steel, ShadowLands and Legend. Someone said that there
was a bug in Disciples of Steel... So while Disciples looks like the
one that is most interesting. The rumour of a bug and 79% rating in ST
Format will probably cause me to select ShadowLands, which got a
better review in ST Format 84%. Of course Legend is too new. I'll hope
that someone will review it soon.
----------------
Until next week.....
_________________________________________________________
> STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date...
================================
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
=========================
On CompuServe
by Judith Hamner 72257,271
EXTRA! EXTRA!
"""""""""""""
The forum staff announces a new programming contest. Any program in
any language is eligible. Programs must be submitted by midnight April 30
to lib 1. See message #28538 for details. Don't forget to include your
name in the file description so I can give you credit.
TMW11.ZIP is an updated version of TMW. This utility provides quick
access to the current and next days appointments from your .dry file.
LOCK.ZIP contains the lock.com and unlock.com programs from PCMag's
utilities. These programs allow easy file encryption for security on the
Portfolio. Thanks to Peter Bennett for the upload.
DSPPGC.ARC is a PGC viewer that runs on the Atari ST computers. It
will display PGC files on the ST in any of its three resolutions.
FONTS.ZIP contains five .PGC files. These are samples demonstrating
the possibilities of the new Windows 3.1 Paintbrush and WINPGC from David
Stewart.
STHNGE.ZIP is an animation by Peter Bennett. Stonehenge is featured.
______________________________________________________
> ATARI ADVANTAGE! STR FOCUS "Now, THIS is an Atari Magazine!"
==========================
DO YOU HAVE THE ADVANTAGE?
==========================
by Dana P. Jacobson
There's a new kid in town. He's called "Atari Advantage", a new
Atari-specific magazine. That's right, you read it correctly the first
time! The recent problems with MacDonald Associates and the split of some
of the staff has actually created a bonus for Atari users. Not only do we
still have ST Informer, but we also now have a new magazine, Atari
Advantage.
If you haven't received a complimentary copy yet, you're missing out
on a great new magazine. I was a little tentative about a new magazine
after what happened to the ill-fated Atari Journal a year ago. We've also
been hearing that it was difficult and expensive to produce a magazine
these days with the lack of advertising dollars magazines have been
accustomed to seeing in years gone by. Atari Advantage seems to have
found a solution, with its newsprint-like paper, in magazine format (like
ST Informer is now, also).
Advantage's staff consists of some of the former ST Informer folks,
and some people who we've been acquainted with in the past. Mike Lindsay
is the editor of Atari Advantage. Nevin Shalit moves his 'Rumor City'
column to Advantage, as well. John and Jerry Davis offer plenty of MIDI
coverage, with "Sir" Leslie Jennings joining them. I will take a guess
and say that the "sir" signifies that Leslie is a male. Ron Robinson is
the technical editor. Clay Walnum, former editor of ST-Log magazine,
joins the staff with a Lynx column. Marshall Rosenthal will provide a
monthly games column. Coverage of the Portfolio is said to be forthcoming
in the future, with Mati King covering it. And this is just for starters.
This premier issue is excellent; it contains a little bit of
everything. The editorial relates to the readers how Atari Advantage was
formed, and who the current staff members are and what they will be doing.
It seems very appropriate for the first issue, titled "Our Roots". It
also includes a new product announcements "column", which is very
detailed. Very informative. Nevin Shalit's 'Rumor City' column is a
welcome sight again. Nevin continues right where he left off a few months
ago; nice to see that he hasn't lost his touch! This issue has a very
comprehensive NAMM show report, including pictures of new products. If
you're a MIDI fan, you'll want to check out this report. Ralph Turner's
"trilogy" of Atari "How-To" books are reviewed, and makes for interesting
reading. After being an Atari user for 5+ years, I just may buy these
books after reading the reviews! There are also six other reviews in this
issue: The Forget-Me-Clock II, DC Shower, Diamond Back 2.41, The Learning
Games Package (a collection of Dorothy Brumleve's kid programs), EdHak
2.30, and Protext 5.0. An interesting assortment of products, and all of
these reviews are very extensive. I prefer an extensive review, and these
fit the bill.
Clay Walnum is probably best known for his ST-Log days, and recently
for his programming books. What some people don't realize is that Clay
has also written a book covering Lynx games. With the sudden rush of new
games coming out for the Lynx, Clay will be reviewing the new titles. As
he writes early on in his column, he'll be providing information on the
latest games, and occasionally some strategy tips for some of his favorite
games. His initial column covers Xybots and Awesome Golf, with strategies
for playing Chip's Challenge. I wish that I had my hands on these tips
when I first started Chip's Challenge!!
Marshall Rosenthal takes us into the Winter CES show with more Lynx
product announcements and some details of a few of the games to be coming
out shortly. For you Lynx owners, Clay's and Marshall's columns should
provide plenty of coverage. It's nice to see the Lynx get more coverage
than most magazines have provided in the past.
And, that's just the first issue! The magazine is printed on paper
stock similar to AtariUser and ST Informer, but perhaps a little heavier.
It appears that two different types of paper were used in the same issue,
however. The cover and the first few pages consist of white paper stock
which feels a little heavier than the newsprint pages. I don't know why
they did it this way; and maybe they'll decide on one over the other by
the time that the next issue comes out. Personally, I don't care as I'm
more interested in what's printed _on_ these pages rather than what it's
printed on!
There's plenty of advertising, which is nice to see. It shows a
great deal of support for this newcomer. The advertising is also spread
out very nicely so it doesn't clutter the pages. The magazine contains 64
pages (including covers). Atari Advantage is offering the magazine at a
discount, at least until the end of April. You can subscribe for just
$11.00 a year (12 issues). According to the coupon offer in the magazine,
this offer is only good by mail. My check is on the way! After April,
the subscription rates will be $22.00, so get yours in soon.
Atari Advantage Magazine
Lamplight Publishing
400 Galice Road
Merlin, OR 97532
(503) 476-3578
__________________________________________________________________
> LEXICORE WARNING STR FOCUS LEXICORE RIPPED OFF!
==========================
FOLLOW-UP REPORT INCLUDED....
LEXICORE RIPPED OFF!
====================
NOTICE: TO ALL
Lexicor has determined and confirmed that it's former distributor and
product manufacturer is making and selling PIRATE copies of Lexicor's
software products.
If you have purchased any Lexicor products from RIO COMPUTERS we
suggest that you make the following tests to see if you may have purchased
a PIRATED program.
1. The first telltale sign is the "SERIAL.NUM" file on the disk.
Check to see if its different from the serial number written on
the label of the disk. Another indication is the creation date
stamp. Check to see if this file carries a creation date stamp
of 02/03/28. Also, check the date stamp on the NUM file and see
if it is the same as the one for the .PRG file. If they are more
then _a minute_ apart then you probably have a PIRATED program.
Now, RUN the Program, if it is Prism paint or Prism Render then
the serial number will be found in the "About" dialogue. If
these two numbers are not the same then once again, you probably
have a Pirated program.
2. All these numbers can be the same and you still may have a
PIRATED copy. We have been investigating this situation for some
time and found a number of identical programs sold to more than
one person. In some cases the numbers match and in some cases
they do not.
3. What you should do if you suspect you have a pirate copy.
4. First, call lexicor and tell us why you think you have a Pirate
Copy.
5. Next - if Instructed to.. send your Pirate goods to LEXICOR.
6. If you have been one of the victims, we suggest that you file a
complaint with the US Postal Service's fraud division and the US
POSTAL crime detail. You can get the information for your local
postal crime unit at your local post office.
7. Lexicor policy on these PIRATED goods: If we can determine that
the software you have is stolen we will confiscate it for use in
possible legal action and as evidence. WE will, as a courtesy,
replace your goods when we receive proof of purchase from RIO
COMPUTERS or your Local Store. You should however, demand a
refund from RIO COMPUTERS. Lexicor cannot warrant any of these
PIRATE goods. If you have purchased any such product and you
send it to Lexicor and you receive a replacement and a refund
then you should send that money to Lexicor. If you do, Lexicor
will reinstate the warranty.
I know that this all seems like a lot of trouble, and it is. But
neither you nor Lexicor created this problem. There is no excuse what so
ever for copyright infringement. This does not happen accidently and is
virtually impossible for anyone to accidently make illegal copies during
manufacture.
Lexicor has ceased all business activities with RIO COMPUTERS and
urges all Lexicor owners to buy from an authorized ATARI dealer or direct
from Lexicor.
We apologize for the inconveniences to any Lexicor customers and hope to
have some new and exciting software for you soon.
Lee Seiler LEXICOR Software
April 2, 1992
__________
As a follow-up, STReport presents the following message from Lexicor
Sfotware.
FROM GENIE
------------
Category 25, Topic 13
Message 109 Fri Apr 10, 1992
LEXICOR [Lexicor] at 06:58 EDT
To: Jim Ness
Jim, Thats right you are a legal beagle!! I for got.
Well you are right I haven't used any of the usual "XXX" language
and for a good reason. I have a ever growing box of Pirate products
sold,distributed,manufactured or what ever you want to call it, from
Lexicor customers. These are real physical and undeniable, tangible
things. I see no reason to play word games in this area at all. There is
simply no way in the world that these products could exist unless they
were manufactured illegally, no matter what contract dispute that might
exist between Lexicor and RIO, no dispute over paid or unpaid invoices,
numbers of products sold or lack of same excuses the making of duplicate
serialized products.
But your point is well taken in one sense and it won't hurt to
clarify a bit.
Lexicor has started receiving many, many pirated copies of Prism
Render and some questionable copies of Rosetta. All of these copies have
been sold at below suggested retail price by RIO and no one else. RIO
received enough products to cover their Pre-sale of Prism and Rosetta, and
no more. There are no extra products for RIO to use for their advertised
close out sale. There is no other source of these products other than
Lexicor.
Lexicor has not received any sales reports or customer warranty
data from RIO what so ever, which means that with the exception of the
serial numbers shipped, (ie., one each) there is simply no way for there
to be 4 or 5 duplicate products.
Tomorrow there will be a general recall of all Rosetta and Prism
paint. The purpose of this will be to test and locate as many
Duplicate(Pirated) copies as we can. We will do every thing we can to
treat both our customers and RIO fairly.
And for the Record I have contacted RIO (with no Answer) and offered
them a fair and reasonable deal to get out of this situation, which they
created. This can never be made public for obvious reasons. I am how
ever not going to stand by and let RIO or any one else defraud Lexicor or
the General public with out saying something about it. If RIO feels that
LEXICOR has failed to keeps it's contracts with them then the courts are
the proper forum, not the market place. As I said before there is no
excuse what so ever for making and selling duplicate copies of software to
unsuspecting users, no matter what RIO may think of Lexicor.
Thanks Jim...I had this wonderful mental image of you sitting at a
high top desk with a visor and dimly lit candle gazing at a thick dusty
law book rubbing your hands! :-)
Lee
------------
__________________________________________________________________
> FSM-GDOS? STR FOCUS "Somewhere.... Over the Rainbow...."
===================
THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
=====================
From Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
Senior Staff Editor
A few weeks ago, one of our readers asked us when FSMGOS was going to
be available to everyone and how long had the users been waiting for it.
I did a little digging around and here's what I found out...
Almost two years ago rumors started surfacing about the new FSMGDOS, a
much improved version of GDOS. A little over year later, delivery dates
started to be announced.
1) On February 10, 1991 on Genie, Bill Rehbock said that FSMGOS "should"
be on sale by March.
2) On June 27, 1991, Bill Rehbock said that the current release time
"would" be August 1st. The developer beta-testing had taken longer
than had been expected.
3) On August 4, 1991, John Townsend said that FSMGOS's release had
missed the August 1st date but that Atari was "real close" to a final
release version.
4) On August 30, 1991, Bill Rehbock stated that there had been "delays
in the package design", that the first release versions units "would
show up" at the Glendale show. He also stated that Goldleaf would
probably be shipping FSM-GOS with their products, only without the
outer box.
5) On October 12, 1991, Bob Brodie that FSM-GDOS was currently shipping
with Goldleaf's product. As for the regular release version, the best
he could say was... RSN.
6) On November 7, 1991, Bill Rehbock said that...
A) Atari had problems with the original source that was doing the
artwork for FSM and had turned the box design chores over to Stephen
Samuels of San Francisco.
B) A few minor bugs had turned up and a new feature had been added.
C) Some other speed-enhancements have also been added.
D) FSM would be on the dealer's shelves within four weeks from the
date that the box art was turned over to the duplication and
packaging service, i.e., "Mid December".
7) On December 6, 1991, Bill Rehbock said that FSM GDOS would be
available in January.
8) On December 9, 1991, Bill Rehbock said that FSM GDOS would be avail-
able in January and would be the same as the version that GoldLeaf was
currently distributing.
9) On January 18, 1992, John Townsend said that Atari was still working
on the packaging. There had been some complications with the company
they were working with and the release date had been pushed back.
10) On February 1, 1992, Bill Rehbock reported that the packaging was
done and the last revision of the disks were going to the duplicator
on Monday, February 3rd. FSM GOS should be appearing on the dealers
shelves very shortly.
11) On March 25, 1992, Leonard Tramiel. Vice President of Software at
Atari, was asked, "Where's FSMGDOS". He answered with "FSM is not yet
released." On follow up, when asked about having a "guestimate on
availability of FSM GDOS", his answer was "Nope...".
So, there you have it. After a year of promises, FSM GDOS is still
not available as a stand alone program to the dealers. When will it be
available? The best that I can tell you is, "RSN".
Then there is MetaDos and the CD ROM........ But, that's another
story.
__________________________________________________________
> ACE '92 STR SHOW NEWS Toronto Atari Federation's AtariFest
=====================
THE 1992 TAF SHOW
=================
by Michael Lee
Comments about last weekend's TAF (Toronto Atari Federation) show - Cat.
11, Topic 6 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
From Darlah (RT Sysop) - Msg. 203...
This is the second day of the show. The activity is still high. I would
compare it with WAACE and Glendale. Actually they might even surpass it.
The show is going well. The developers are selling out. The Codeheads
sold out of Warp 9 the 1st day. I heard similar things from others.
From Lou Rocha - Msg. 205...
You bet it's a great show. The crowds didn't slow down until after 5:00
p.m.... heavy aisle traffic since 10:00 this morning. This show is
steamin'. Tomorrow I am going to take another look at the Optical Mouse
across the aisle from me. My hand is going into the cash pocket......
I was amazed watching the BOINK demo on Jim Allen's souped up Mega with
the Turbo 030. There was lots of interest and many, many questions about
performance, installation, etc. Jim was his usual jovial self and novice
to expert enjoyed his enthusiasm and expertise.
My high point was using SL on a full TT color system with a thermal dye
300 dpi printer. My God, it was amazing. People were lined up all day
waiting for the color printout samples being churned out on this system.
I worked the station for a while and chatted with user types from clubs
in Michigan and Illinois (GLACE and ?) and was charmed by their interest
and their knowledge. Of course, I never missed an opportunity to ask
folks how they enjoyed SL and if they connected with GEnie.
Unfortunately, too many said "no".
There are more than forty vendors at this show and everybody says they
are enjoying brisk business. All I know is that everyone is smiling -
the Toronto Atari Federation, Geoff Earle, the vendors and, most
importantly, the users.
The Codeheads were very busy and Todd Johnson was working in the booth
with them. It took me three tries before I could say hello to Todd at
4:00 p.m. John and Charles looked very busy there, upgrading QUICK ST to
Warp 9 and selling out the Codehead catalog. I upgraded to Warp 9 myself
and will install it in a few minutes. I can't wait to see this work with
my Fast Technology T25 and Calamus SL!
I met a fella with a product called WPSWITCH (23.00) which is one of
those WP data file translators with some enhancements, like the ability
to automatically insert TABS when it encounters 3 spaces in a row.
Hmmmm, sounds like just what I need for my spreadsheet imports to
Calamus. I think I'm going to order one of those.
A number of local stores (yes, there's more than ONE in THIS town) had
great prices on software, supplies and hardware. My friend Sonny from
Compuworld says he closed his store today in order to make this show.
His booth was three deep all day.
John Janschiing (?) sold me a subscription to Atari Explorer, after
giving away two free issues. Guess I better write that check to
AtariUser now, right John and King?
Toad Computers had some great prices on software and toner supplies.
Other vendors were selling 9600 baud modems from 369.00 and up. I may
have to bring the check book tomorrow!
The MIDI workshops in the outer conference halls was a sight (and sound)
to behold. The audiences were very enthusiastic and the presenters were
informative and talented. Cleverly, all the MIDI vendors were grouped
along the same aisleway in the outer hall, right beside the performers'
stage, so I guess they are used to the decibel level :-)
In the classrooms, I got a peak at Hyperlink but missed the Pagestream
workshop. I was present at Mario's workshop with 20 people. Today he was
presenting a tutorial on Calamus 1.09N. Tomorrow Calamus SL will be
taught at 3:00 p.m. That 2 hour workshop had already been subscribed by
40 people at 2:00 p.m. today.
Well, got to go now and run that Warp 9. I'll check in with you all
tomorrow. Thanks for allowing me to use your space Jim :-)
From Darlah (RT Sysop) - Msg. 209...
I am winding down from the TAFF show. Again, I want to thank Charlie
Townsley for all his help. The guy really is incredible.
I thought the show was more active than any Atari show that I have been
to in a long time. BOTH days were busy and that was truly exciting.
You did great!!! Can't wait until the next one.
From John Sheehan - Msg. 210...
...I'm exhausted - but the show is done, the hall is cleared, and the
garbage swept out. My last vision of the Skyline - Bob Brodie, Dorothy,
Shirley Taylor and others sitting around a table in the hotel bar. ACE
'92 was great fun, and it was a privilege having all you (you all?) as
guests here in Atari Country. As soon as I get settled in Kaduna,
Nigeria, we'll be announcing the first African Atari Kavalcade. (AAK?
Got to get a better name.)...
From Todd (Cherry Fonts) - Msg. 212...
Wow! What a show. I'm exhausted. Paul Collard and John Sheehan are to be
congratulated on an excellent job!! Very well done! Thanks!...
From Nevin Shalit - Msg. 213...
Well, Toronto was a terrific show. The crowds were steady, and the
visitors were very upbeat. I had a nice position sharing the CodeHead
booth and found myself demonstrating Warp 9 and MultiDesk just about as
often as I demo'd my own Tracker/ST! Sales were very very good for
me...but I don't think I could touch the CodeHead's overall sales.
<grin>
The dealer meeting was very successful, and I'd like to thank Geoffe
Earl for saving me from my very first (and hopefully very last) bout of
stage fright. That's an experience I do _not_ want to repeat.
I had a great time running Tracker/ST under MultiTOS...and got that warm
fuzzy feeling every time I saw some wide-eyed 6 year old smiling from
ear to ear while trying out Dorothy Brumleve's software....
From Gerry Cross - Msg. 218...
I would like to add my congratulations to the TAF folks. Great job!
I'm not a MIDI person myself, but what you did with that "midi alley"
was great! I tried to do that sort of thing with the show in Detroit a
few years ago and couldn't get anything near the cooperation you did
with the local stores. I sure hope other groups can copy what you did.
I was running around that show all of Saturday and missed chatting with
a lot of the vendors. I promise to catch you folks at the next one....
From Lou Rocha - Msg. 219...
Perhaps I will start with the organizers... the Toronto Atari
Federation. This club has undergone some major leadership change and the
new executive is sure shining bright after ACE '92. However, I must
comment on the hordes of club members who staffed this show from
Saturday morning to Sunday night.
Every detail of organization was considered, from security to setup to
clean up and carry out. All vendors were assisted, encouraged and
supported in all manner of ways and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy the
attention. I was so personally impressed, that I spent $30 to renew my
membership after a 3 year lapse. :-) Hats off to TAF for a job well done
and, in the words of past president John Sheehan, "We'll see you all at
the 1993 show in '94."
Here are my personal picks of the show - (and of course, these ARE
biased :-) so don't you are free (and encouraged) to disagree -
Most impressive new software I saw on display.... a tie - Coalesce from
Wiz Works and Sudden View from (Sudden View?).
Most impressive new software not on display, Warp 9. Heck, even the
manual is impressive (nice job, Codeheads). Warp 9 also wins the award
for the biggest pile of upgraded disks - Quick ST in the Codehead booth.
Most impressive gimmick - the Retouche booth doing T Shirts for
customizers.
Most awesome hardware display - the Cyber Cube color card in the
ISD/Atari workstation manned alternately by Mario Georgiou and Rolf
Berger. Honorable mention to the Leonardo card display.
Largest crowd attraction in the application category - Calamus SL
churning out color prints on the Spectrastar printer. People actually
waited 3 minutes to get printouts.
Best recovery by a non-teacher in a teaching situation - Mario Georgiou
after the SL class hardware bombed.
Best bargain (publication) - all kinds of back issues of magazines WITH
disks for $1.00 each all day Sunday. (STart, ST LOG, ST User, ST
Action).
Best bargain (hardware) - MEGA STe/4Mb for 599.00 US...located somewhere
near the Wiz Works booth. Honorable mention to CS&S for the 375.00 ZOOM
9600 modems.
Best bargain (software) - hundreds of $50-$75 games going for 7.50 to
10.00 at numerous booths.
Best individual bargain - one of my buddies picking up C-Lab for $75.00
Canadian from one of the MIDI vendors. 0 Most interesting educational
game - Multiplay from D.A.Brumleve. The options on this Math software
make it instantly configurable and infinitely challenging. As well, a
number of neat play options make it attractive to any child. And, it has
been thoroughly field tested in schools.
Most overpriced food - the in-house caterers who charged $2.50 per hot
dog and $1.00 for a 6 oz cup of coffee. Mind you, the MIDI show was free
while you ate :-)
In conclusion, this was a total EVENT. I am personally committing myself
to attending any more of these shows that I can afford to go to. Fun,
exciting, informative and downright friendly.
From David Thompson (JMG) - Msg. 220...
Just want to add our appreciate to the management of the ACE show. Great
effort guys!!! Sales of HyperLINK didn't rival Warp 9, but were pretty
decent! It's great going to a show where we don't have to fly or drive
for 10 hours. (Toronto is just a nice leisurely drive down the QEW for
45 minutes) Once again, thanks for all the help, and while George and I
could both use about 3 days of sleep to catch up on that one hour we
lost Saturday night, we wouldn't have missed the show for anything....
From Dorothy Brumleve (Kidprgs) - Msg. 226...
Our trip to (and from) Toronto was packed with unexpected frustrations,
but the part in the middle -- the hotel part -- was well worth it! This
was really a fine show!
I enjoyed seeing my friends among developers and customers again...That
Rob Guy, men in LUST, the Cassidy Crew, Bob "Happy Birthday" Brodie, oh,
you know who you are! Met some new folks, too, like Lou Rocha (manual
writer extraordinary), Shirley Taylor of Atari Corp., Al Fasoldt and
company, people who spoke French _well_, what a crowd, eh? I finally
wound up at the rowdy table at the banquet (interesting banquet in other
ways, too!), and, although I was rarely a direct participant, I served
well in the role of The Bad Influence. The banquet included the issuing
of several awards. I took 1st in Speech Disruption (Women's Individual
Category)!
The TAF folks did a wonderful job! From the pre-show brochures to the
banquet menus, this was a class act! Paul Collard brought his lovely
daughters, Honor and Cadence, 'round to shill at my booth, and they
performed admirably. John Sheehan, Father to many, wasn't accompanied by
his flock, but he did invite me to his planned AtariFest in Nigeria,
which should occur shortly after John (and an ST) arrive there. Atari
Canada supplied equipment which functioned flawlessly. My booth
neighbors provided power strips. Various TAF volunteers looked after our
needs, hand-truck in tow, and simplified our vendor lives. Thanks to all
of them, and also to Nathan Potechin of ISD (Kidpublisher Professional's
most formidable competitor) for his help in getting our products through
customs and to the show.
The singing of O Canada! at the banquet was a new one on me. Turns out
it starts out like a hymn familiar from my childhood -- but the last
note in each line is decidedly different. This afforded me an
opportunity to sing even more off-key than usual, and since I was so
confident of the melody, I did so loudly and en francais. That's Bad
Dot, always eager to make a fool of herself for the amusement of others.
John Jainschigg of Explorer wisely brought the latest and decidedly
greatest issue, the only issue in recent memory which contains an
article I wrote. Time to subscribe, folks! I plan to write more!
We shared a booth with John Hutchinson (Hutch) of Fair Dinkum. I'd only
known him before through our GEnie communications. It's always neat to
make a friend online and discover he can be a friend in real life, too.
The alliance worked out well; our products attract some of the same
customers, so they could find us in one spot.
We engineered a booth placement smack dab (short for D.A. Brumleve)
between WizWorks! and CodeHead. This seemed to have worked well for our
neighbors, as both of them were able to pick up a few sales as our
customers crowded around waiting for attention at our booth.
I brought along my educational consultant, Michael Marks, the man who
would like to claim all credit for the genius of my work and who has a
legitimate right to at least some share of it. We've developed a new
system for booth sales: he shows the products while I am off having fun
and I show up in time to fill out the VISA receipts. Michael developed
laryngitis on the way up to the show; his real voice is louder and
smoother. He managed to present a seminar anyway. I enjoyed arguing with
him in front of an audience. I hope the audience enjoyed it, too. ;-)
A customer, Jon Dinga, interviewed me regarding shareware. I was in a
bad mood toward shareware at that moment and said many things that are
only true in the context of reality. I told him not to quote me on
anything, but he's got it on tape...
Our transportation problems were eased by the friendly Canadians who
found us in their midst. When our private plane (I say "our" only to
protect the identity of the real owner; I do not personally own a plane
nor do I _ever_ anticipate purchasing one) developed engine trouble, the
folks at some kind of plane gas station in Windsor (and other nearby
businesses we invaded) were wonderful. Even provided me with a place to
smoke -- and fume! It was from these fellows that I learned this little
saying:
Have time to spare?
Then go by air!
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to spare. I was supposed to talk at
the dealer meeting which preceded the TAF show on Friday afternoon, but
arrived in Toronto via rented car about five hours later. Several
dealers did drop by my booth on Saturday and Sunday, so all was not lost
in this regard. I want to thank Atari Canada for the opportunity issued
to developers to make presentations to their dealers; it's a wonderful
concept and I deeply regret that I was unable to participate this time.
Good show, eh? See you all in 18 months!
From Charlie Townsley - Msg. 229...
Well, as one of the volunteers, I'd like to comment on the GREAT support
Atari Canada (and Sunnyvale) made. Not being a total idiot, I showed up
late on Friday and missed unloading the first truckload of equipment
from Atari's warehouse, but was on hand to help with the other two. I
noticed a lot of peoples names on the equipment we unpacked; Atari had
cleaned out their OFFICES to stock this show.
John and Paul nearly killed themselves doing this show, and deserve all
the Kudo's possible, but I'm sure they would be quick to point out (if
awake) that without Geoff's overboard support it couldn't have been half
as good. Still, I was impressed with the amount of detail they had
thought out in every area. I've seen professional shows that were not as
well organized...
From Dave Small (Gadgets By Small) - Msg. 234...
Wow, everyone's said all the nice things I logged in to say!
This has to be among the best, if not THE best, shows I have ever been
to in my life. Paul and John deserve some sort of medal (hmmmm... SST?)
for making it happen. They had a "can-do" attitude and it showed. I saw
Paul the end of the second day and I have rarely seen a tireder human,
maybe someone at the end of a 26-mile marathon... maybe. To them and all
the anonymous volunteers goes the credit for this total winner!
Many people were very kind. Nathan of ISD and Geoffe Earl of AtariCan
made the effort to wedge me into the dealer schedule. Don Bahr of
Computer Cellar did an on-the-spot fix of my MCU chip on my Mega and
Don, I still have your bottle of tweek ... tried to find ya! Dorothy
Brumleve was kind enough not to kill me when the vodka and orange juice
screwdriver I brought her turned out to be a very fierce double
(*grin*), but wow, the stories were worthit. Bob Brodie, as usual, did a
thousand things that will never be known to make this happen. Charles
and John and Nevin taught me the meaning of "wind chill" on the way to a
fine dinner, so now I know (grin).
Originally, we weren't going to hit this show (we're so far behind on
order backlog), but people like Nathan and Dorothy talked us into it,
and I am very, very glad they did. This one was great.
Special mention should be given that Atari Corp. was showing some new
hardware at this show. I should not say more in particulars, except that
shows the sort of thing that went into this show. I know that myself and
some others came away from it feeling more hopeful about Atari's future
than we have in in a long, long time. Thanks, you know who. [Yes, it was
a private showing, but the people involved took pains to let folks
see it to try and exert some positiveness on Atari's future.] I look
forward to when it's public and you can all be as totally blown away as
I was/am.
It was the sort of show where you need to borrow a floppy, you ask
George (HyperLink), he gives you four, and refuses any money for them...
It was the sort of show where someone brings you a QUART (liter) of Diet
Pepsi, because they have heard you like it, gratis ...
When I was scheduled for a talk, bang, 15 minutes before, there would be
an ACE volunteer there to remind me, just in case. And there were
constantly roaming volunteers asking if all was okay, if we needed
anything; I was easily asked 10 times a day if there was anything I
needed. Wow!...
...Personally, I believe Paul and John and ACE and Atari and everyone
has set a standard whereby shows will be measured by in the future.
Thanks to all the people I have and have not mentioned; it was
wonderful.
------------
Until next week.....
__________________________________________________________________
> SILHOUETTE 1.36 STR Review Silhouette 1.36 PART II
==========================
SILHOUETTE 1.36 PART II
=======================
from MAXWELL C.P.U.
by Doyle C. Helms -- STaff Editor
The last installment covered the LOAD and SAVE functions of Silhouette
1.36. I discussed the formats which Silhouette will import and export in
both the raster and vector graphic formats. This installment will look
at some the tools that is contained in Silhouette for the user to employ
in their artistic creations.
The majority of tools found in Silhouette are of the "standard" type
such as the LINE (including RAYS), BOXES (rounded and square), SPRAY CAN
(user adjustable in both quantity and shape), POLYLINE, FREEHAND, CIRCULAR
ARCS and ELLIPTICAL ARCS.
The ARC functions have special mouse/keystrokes to use specialized
features of these tools. What are the "special" features you ask? Well...
If the SPACE BAR is used in conjunction with the CIRCULAR ARC tool, the
user can define the 3 points of the arc. One being the center point, the
second being one end point and the third, the other end point. If the
LEFT SHIFT KEY is used with this tool, Silhouette will convert your arc to
its complement arc. If the SPACE BAR is used along with the ELLIPTICAL
ARC tool, the mouse pointer will be "transported" to the next defining arc
point. This feature allows the three arc points to be defined and or
moved separately for precise placement of the arc points. The LEFT SHIFT
key used here also creates the complement arc. The SPRAY CAN tool can be
adjusted for size of spray by using the ARROW keys. The LEFT SHIFT KEY is
used again here to toggle the spray pattern from rounded to square. Lets
move on to some of the more interesting tools found in Silhouette.
The POLYGON and STAR tools are two unique tools found in Silhouette.
Using the LEFT SHIFT KEY (I like the consistency of the KEY commands) with
either the POLYGON or the STAR tool allows rotation of the POLYGON/STAR
through a half angle so either the vertex point or a side is at exactly 12
O'clock. The STAR tool possess two radii: an outer radius where the
points of the STAR terminate, and an inner radius where they begin. The
inner radius can be adjusted with the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys. the UP
and DOWN ARROW keys increase or decrease the number of POINTS(STAR) or
SIDE(POLYGON). 99 points or sides is maximum and 3 is the minimum.
The PARABOLA tool draws PARABOLA arcs.The ARROW KEYS play are part
also in the shape of the user definable parabola. The SPIRAL tool is a
blast to play with, and can also be quite useful in creating original
works of art. The SPIRAL tool, when selected creates a simple spiral
line. The UP and DOWN KEYS define the number of revolutions within the
SPIRAL. The + and - keys control the pitch of the SPIRAL arms. The RIGHT
and LEFT SHIFT keys "roll" or "unroll" the SPIRAL from the center.
The CLIP function in Silhouette is "standard". If you have used the
CLIP function in TOUCH-UP, this one is very similar. The difference in
Silhouette and TOUCH-UP is that Silhouette possess a CLIP BUFFERS. The
FILL PATTERN selection allows the user to easily define FILL patterns in
TRANSPARENT, XOR or REVERSE TRANSPARENT modes. The user defined fills can
be saved for recall later. The GRAY SCALING of vector graphic fill
patterns also be defined.
The text function in Silhouette is "standard" in terms of its method
of entry. One plus to Silhouette is that it is FSMGDOS compatible.
Silhouette has 3 work windows in which all editing is executed. The first
(by default) is the RASTER WINDOW. The second is the VECTOR WINDOW. The
third is the PIXEL WINDOW.
The RASTER window is for the importing of the various raster graphics
that Silhouette is capable of loading. The VECTOR window is of course for
the creation and manipulation of the VECTOR format graphics (EPS,GEM (1.1
and 3.0) and SVG native format). The PIXEL window is similar to a ZOOM
work area in other programs. All windows are of course capable of
scrolling. The PIXEL editing window/option has some unique features.
They are PEN CONTROL- Free, Vertical and Horizontal. The pen editing size
is also controllable. PIXEL color has four options. FREE, XOR,BLACK and
WHITE.
The RASTER window has INVERT IMAGE (reversal of colors) and ERASE
SCREEN as options. The VECTOR window has the options of Display Raster
(as greyed background), Display Selected, Grid System, Snap points and
lastly Set Grid/SNAP. The VECTOR window also has the ability to MAGNIFY
by factors of 1(normal),2,4 and 16 times.
The SNAP function is quite in-depth as far as user selections. The user
can choose to SNAP TO GRID, SNAP TO GEO POINTS or SNAP TO INDEPENDENT
POINTS.
The GRID setting have 6 "Americanized" presets for the grid
measurements. There is also 6 metric settings. The user can also define
his/her own particular setting in either format.
Lets take a quick look at the DRAWING OPTIONS that is included in
Silhouette.
The DRAWING OPTIONS include user defined LINE WIDTHS. Two options of
setting the line widths are offered. The "standard" is for the line width
in PIXELS. The second option allows the width to be set in POINTS. Yes,
POINTS, like that of font sizes in other DTP applications. There is an
option for LINE TYPES. There again is the options of the "standard" line
types and also the option to define your own LINE STYLE. The user has the
option of also choosing the LINE END STYLE. The DRAWING MODE selections
include XOR,REPLACE,REVERSE TRANSPARENT,TRANSPARENT and OBJECT PERIMETER.
The OBJECT PERIMETER defines whether a draw object will have an outline
perimeter.
The SMOOTH POLYLINE option is a nice feature for us users that have a
bit of a "shaky" hand when it comes to freehand drawings. This option
allow the user to "smooth" the objects, whether they are FREEHAND or
POLYLINE objects. The option allows settings of the numbers of POINTS TO
SKIP, the COARSENESS of the CURVE and the WEIGHING FACTOR. The smoothing
method can also be set to one of three options, B-SPLINE, N POINT BEZIER
or 4 POINT BEZIER.
The EDIT OBJECTS (VECTOR) option contains some welcome features that I
wish Easy Draw (A CLASSIC in the Atari world IMHO) contained. Let's
quickly list the types of ATTRIBUTES that are available for the user to
define.
FILL TYPE, PERIMETER ON/OFF, LINE WIDTH,LINE TYPE,LINE ENDS,FONT
TYPES,FONT SIZES and lastly FONT EFFECTS. The effects are
Normal,Bold,Light,Skew,Underlined and Outlined.
The SELECT ALL options allows the user to select ALL objects in the
VECTOR work window without having to manually choose each and every
object. The ORDER OBJECTS allows the user to choose whether the objects
are displayed in REVERSE ORDER, BRING TO TOP or SEND TO BOTTOM. The
VECTOR OBJECT DUPLICATION option also has some unique features I have not
found in other programs of this type. DUPLICATION METHOD give the choices
of FREE STYLE, RADIAL OFFSET and CARTESIAN OFFSET. the user has the
option of DUPLICATION of OFFSET POINTS also. The LINE WIDTHS, ROTATION
GRAY SCALE and VERTICAL/HORIZONTAL of the duplicated object can be set
upon selection of the DUPLICATE OPTION. Very ingenious and very welcome
feature!
The EDIT POLYLINE option allows the user to edit not only the
freestyle creations of the user, but also the included objects such as
STARS,POLYGONS,RECTANGLES,PARABOLAS,LINES,BEZIERS and B-
SPLINE. The editing options include TRAPEZOID to the RIGHT or LEFT, FREE
CORNER WARP,SKEW HORIZONTALLY,SKEW VERTICALLY and VERTICAL SIZES.
Silhouette also contains the "standard" FLIP,MIRROR and ROTATE object
commands.
AUTO-TRACING !
This is the meat of Silhouette 1.36. The other options are just
potatoes in comparison! (Sorry vegetarians, no offence intended, just the
meat eater in me sneaking out ;> ).
The AUTO-TRACE function in Silhouette 1.36 contains several user
definable options. SIMPLE TRACE,BREAK POINT TRACE,SPLINE BREAK
POINTS,B-SPLINE SMOOTHING and BEZIER SMOOTHING. CURVE FACTOR and LINE
FACTOR is a welcome option here also! The user is given the choice of CLIP
AREA TRACING. SELECTIVE TRACING is a future option. TRACE ASSISTANCE is
also available. It would take another two or three installments to fully
explain the TRACING functions available. So, just let me summarize my
opinion of the TRACING features of Silhouette. FANTASTIC! The available
output options from Silhouette of traced objects is very acceptable at the
price level of this program. The addition of CVG output will greatly
increase Silhouettes value.
Summary
In my opinion, Silhouette 1.36 is a very acceptable program for the
price/performance ratio. Sure, there are other programs available NOW
that have more advanced features, but NOT at the price of Silhouette. If
you are on a limited budget, (did I just here Lincoln squeal?) then
Silhouette is for you. I personally believe that Silhouette is also a
professional quality program with a bright a growing future ahead. Mr.
Reyes has put MANY hours effort and concern for quality into this program
and has held the price down for ALL to have a chance to enjoy and use an
AUTO-TRACE program on the Atari, be it a 1040 at 8 Mhz or a TT with
google-bytes of RAM and 720,000 Mhzzzz of CPU speed.
Silhouette 1.36, the AUTO-TRACER for the rest of us...
____________________________________________________________
> SET SEEK STR InfoFile CODEHEAD, BLAZING THE PATH OF TRUE SUPPORT!
=====================
SetSeek User Documentation
--------------------------
Software and Documentation
by John Eidsvoog
Copyright 1992 CodeHead Technologies
Revision: Wednesday, March 25, 1992
SetSeek is freeware and is included
with the TEC Utilities disk from
CodeHead Technologies
------------
What it is
------------
SetSeek allows you to set the seek rate of your floppy drives. It works
on all current versions of TOS and should work on new versions also
(although this cannot be guaranteed). You can configure SetSeek for rates
of 2, 3, 6, and 12 milliseconds for drive A and B. Once configured, it
can be placed in your AUTO folder to set the rate every time you boot up.
With the advent of TOS 2.06, you can install high-density (HD) floppy
drives in your Atari. This new TOS sets the floppy seek rate to 6
milliseconds (ms) to allow for the doubled clock rate when reading HD
disks. Normally, the seek rate is set to 3 ms and the change in rate to 6
ms causes some drives to make rather irritating sounds. If you do not
have a high-density drive, there's no need to leave the seek rate at 6 ms,
but as of this date, the only way you can change it back to 3 ms is by
using SetSeek.
---------------
Using SetSeek
---------------
You can run SetSeek like any other Atari program, by double-clicking on
its name. A dialog box will appear with buttons for setting the rate of
drive A and B. (If you only have one floppy drive, the buttons for drive
B will be disabled.) You can set the rate to 2, 3, 6, or 12 milliseconds.
To the right of each row of rate buttons is a button marked "Test".
Clicking on "Test" will cause the mechanism of the appropriate drive to
seek back and forth the entire length of a disk (you may need to make sure
there's a disk in the drive). This allows you to hear how your drive
reacts to the various rate settings. To determine the reliability of your
drive at different speeds will require trial and error. Generally, you
can use 3, 6, and 12 ms with no problems. (In case it's not obvious, the
lower seek rates are faster.) Many drives will also work fine at 2
milliseconds also but there is no guarantee of this. If you decide to set
your seek rate to 2 ms, make sure that your drives can reliably handle
this speed before trusting valuable data to be written.
The "Save" button will save the settings directly into the SETSEEK.PRG
file. Make sure you do not rename SETSEEK.PRG or compress it (pack,
squish, stomp, obliterate, etc.) or you will be unable to save the
settings.
The "Set" button will set the seek rates stored in memory to the rates
shown on the screen. This will not permanently change them. A "Set"
operation is performed whenever you click on either "Test" button.
The "Get" button will read the current seek rate values stored in memory
and select the appropriate buttons. When you run SetSeek, it will appear
on the screen, showing the settings that are saved within SetSeek. If you
want to examine the seek rate settings that are currently in effect in
your computer, you can do so by clicking on "Get" (before clicking on
"Set" or "Test").
The "Exit" button will exit you from SetSeek. Since it is the default
button, you can also exit from SetSeek by hitting Return or Enter.
--------------------
Installing SetSeek
--------------------
Once you've configured SetSeek, if you want to change your seek rates
every time you boot up, you should copy SETSEEK.PRG into your AUTO folder.
When you boot up, the installation message will appear, showing you the
seek rates that are being set for each drive.
Distributed by:
CodeHead Technologies
P.O. Box 74090
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Phone: (213) 386-5735
FAX: (213) 386-5789
BBS: (213) 461-2095
_______________________________________________________________
> STReport's Editorial Page "Saying it like it is."
From the Editor's Desk
----------------------
This has been a week to remember. After waking last Sunday with the
chills, I soon discovered I was enjoying a relapse of the Flu! Right....
in Florida?? That's the question everyone asked me. Yup! In Florida is
the only answer. Just like the recession, the flu knows no geographical
or political boundaries. Actually , it gave me chance to catch up on some
of my reading. This was a dilly, I was still ailing today putting this
issue together. Sorry.... This has got to be a labor of love....!
Monday saw Calamus SL arrive and reading I was... and still am. The
documentation is very well written. In fact, is some of the "best" I've
ever seen to date. Like most powerhouse programs, the documentation is
extensive. More to come later,...
While the economy is in a state whacky flux, the computer marketplace
continues to move right along. The newer Hard Drive technology from
companies like Quantum and Maxtor dwarfs the aspirations of others who
'try' to compete. The new type machines, either proposed, supposed or due
on the shelves continues to whet the appetites of "technojunkies" from
coast to coast. Atari, is preparing to "bestow" upon us a new genre of
computer. One that is reported to be geared to "please" everyone. Time
will tell.
Ralph.................
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
----------------
Publisher - Editor
------------------
Ralph F. Mariano
PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION
----------- -------------- ------------
Roger D. Stevens Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON
STReport Staff Editors:
-----------------------
Lloyd E. Pulley Sr. Dana P. Jacobson Michael Arthur
Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Judith Hamner
John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando
Steve Spivey Doyle C. Helms
Contributing Correspondents:
----------------------------
Michael Lee Richard Covert John Deegan
Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Tim Holt
Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Harry Steele
Ben Hamilton Neil Bradley Eric Jerue
Ron Deal Robert Dean Ed Westhusing
James Nolan Vernon W. Smith Bruno Puglia
IMPORTANT NOTICE
================
Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
via E-Mail to:
Compuserve.................... 70007,4454
GEnie......................... ST.REPORT
Delphi........................ RMARIANO
BIX........................... RMARIANO
FIDONET....................... 112/35
FNET.......................... NODE 350
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____________________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
=====================
- Sunnyvale, CA DELAYS AND LOSSES!
-------------
From:
The San Jose Mercury News, Thursday April 2, 1992:
ATARI DELAYS 4TH QUARTER REPORT
===============================
Troubled Atari Corp., the Sunnyvale manufacturer of personal computers and
game hardware, said Wednesday it has notified the Securities and Exchange
Commission it will delay reporting results for its fiscal 1991 fourth
quarter, which ended Dec. 31.
By law, the company had until March 31 to report the results or file
formal documents with the SEC extending the filing date. A spokesman for
the SEC in San Francisco said Atari is technically in violation of
securities laws even if it has filed for the extension, but that
enforcement action is unlikely if the company releases its figures "within
a day or two."
Companies that seek such an extension often do so in order to renegotiate
terms with lenders and other creditors before releasing unfavorable
results. Atari earned $1.6 million on $49.2 million in revenues in its
third 1991 quarter.
Atari's chief financial officer refused to accept a reporter's calls,
saying through a secretary that results would be available "within a
couple of days."
Atari's shares closed unchanged at $2.75 in American Stock Exchange
trading Wednesday.
-----------------------
From:
The San Jose Mercury News, Saturday, April 4, 1992
ATARI LOSES $4.4 MILLION ON SHARPLY LOWER SALES
===============================================
Late Friday, troubled Atari Corp. reported a loss of $4.4 million for its
fourth quarter on sharply lower revenues.
The 8-cents-per-share loss for the Sunnyvale maker of personal computers
and video-game hardware came on revenues of $96.2 million. In the fourth
quarter of fiscal 1990, the company made a profit of $8.8 million, or 15
cents per share, on revenues of $151.9 million. The 1990 quarter's profit
figure, though, included $28.8 million in extraordinary credits. The 1991
quarter included a $2 million credit for debenture repurchases.
The company cut its operating loss for the 1991 fourth quarter to $9.4
million from $22.2 million in the 1990 quarter.
For the year, sales dropped to $258 million from $411.5 million [Ouch!
-GW] in 1990. Net income for the year was $25.6 million, compared with
$14.9 million for 1990. But the 1991 figure includes a gain of $40.9
million on the sale of the company's manufacturing plant in Taiwan. And
the 1990 profit included $35.7 million in extraordinary gains.
The operating loss for 1991 was $18.7 million, compared with a loss of
$25.2 million in 1990.
Buying back debentures helped the company cut interest expense, which fell
from $4.1 million in 1990 to $287,000 in 1991.
In a statement, Atari President Sam Tramiel said, "The company has
restructured its overhead and is focusing on the improvement of its
balance sheet and the development of new products."
On Wednesday, the company notified the Securities and Exchange Commission
that it would delay reporting results for the fourth quarter.
(Mercury News Staff Report)
- Indianapolis, IN MIST Atarifest IV!!
----------------
The Time and date is Saturday, July 25, 1992 10:00am to 5:00 pm at the
Castleway Conference Center, 6385 Castleplace Drive, Indianapolis,
Indiana. Work continues on MIST Atarifest IV. They will be mailing the
information packets by Wednesday, April 15. The packets will contain
registration materials and information for MIST Atarifest IV. Vendors and
user groups who have already reserved space or who have shown an interest
in Atarifest IV are:
Brasoft (GEMulator) Computer Works (Atari Sales)
C.R.A.G. (Crown Point, IN) D.A. Brumleve (Kidprogs)
INAGM (Atari Sales & Service) E.A.U.G. (Alton, IL)
Missionware Software (Flash II) MS Designs (fonts and clipart)
Unicorn Publications (AIM)
MIST Atarifest IV will be an excellent opportunity for Atarians to buy and
sell hardware and software. Admission to the fest will be $3.00 and will
include a raffle ticket to win one of the many door priz es donated by
attending vendors and developers. If you wish more information about MIST
Atarifest IV or want to reserve a display space at this year's show,
contact Dan Ward via GEnie (D.WARD10) or call (317) 254-0031. We hope to
see you on July 25, 1992!
Dan Ward : President of Atari ST Computers In Indianapolis (ASCII)
Co-Chair of Mid-Indiana ST (MIST)
____________________________________________________
> STR Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard"
=============
STReport's MailBag
==================
From GEnie..
Category 7, Topic 19
Message 33 Sat Apr 04, 1992
S.FARWIG [STAN] at 01:39 EST
Fred
Happy to see someone still responding in this topic. And thank you for
confirming a fear regarding SPECTRUM 512 and the STE series. I know now
that the "E" series or the TT are not for me, at least until a program
comparable to SPECTRUM is available for them. If I had room for two
computers a possiblity might be to do Spectrum graphics on my Mega4,
translate to GIF and then use PRISMPAINT(since it is the only paint
program I know to load GIF) and use the increased pallette for further
work.
I phoned Trio Engineering when the JRi color board came out to ask if
they might upgrade to SPECTRUM 4096 and was told no, the entire code would
need rewriting and the market was too slim. I phoned a week or so ago to
see if any response to the STE or even TT was planned. The phone has been
disconnected and I fear ATARI has lost yet another brilliant graphics
programmer(s). DRAT!
I think what was in my message was "strictly true" in that it had
reference to the official documentation for SPECTRUM and this was written
long before the STE series. I was concerned that Sandy's explanation and
reference to "borderline machines" might be misunderstood. I have
encountered a number of SPECTRUM viewers and even a few users who either
were unaware of the Sync program or unaware of its significance. And it
seemed likely that DF's problems lay elsewhere.
I am curious as to why SPECTRUM doesn't run on the STE's. I thought I
had read that it was compatiable when the machines were switched to 8mhz?
Is it perhaps thrown off by the increased pallette?
Thanks for your message. Stan
From the FNET
Conf : STReport Online
Msg# : 19515/19554 Lines: 18 Read: 2
Sent : Apr 03, 1992 at 7:31 PM
Recv : Apr 06, 1992
To : Ralph Mariano
From : Mike Wright at Fnet Node 75, Bloom County #75 Mtn. View, CA
Subj : STR813
I noticed you were asking for feedback on your new format Ralph, so
thought I'd mention to you how much I appreciate all the efforts from you
and the staff at STREPORT. I think you have always done a fantasic job
keeping everyone both informed and entertained for as long as I can
remember. ST Report is *obviously* the online magazine of choice!
I think I speak for most of your readers out there when I say this Ralph:
You have always sought to constantly improve on your publication through
hard work and dedication. And the results of this all this effort is very
visible in each and every issue you and your staff releases! You've got a
first class publication and can't think of anything I'd ask you to change!
--Bitsmasher--
~ AME 1.07 ~ ST REPORT: The leader in online "INFOTAINMENT"!
From CIS
#: 59893 S17/Community Square
07-Apr-92 10:35:31
Sb: #59846-Atari Delays 4th Q Reprt
Fm: SYSOP*Ron Luks 76703,254
To: bob wilson 72355,1637 (X)
I was very excited about the ST Book based upon the advance word. In
fact, I almost placed an order for one without seeing it.
Fortunately, the wife prevailed and said wait until you type on it and
I'm glad she did. At $800, it would be a great unit (with 4Mb of RAM and
a small HD). At $2300, its crazy.
I am one of the few people who dont like the mouse-type implementation
of those pressure pads. The non-backlit screen is hard to read and I'm
not impressed with 10 hours of battery life for a less than optimal
machine. I'd rather have a 5 hour life with a better screen, faster
processor, etc.
By the time the STBook is available in quantity, I fear the market
will have passed them by. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the new
machines instead.
Ron
_________________________________________________________
STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> A "Quotable Quote" "..just for the record!"
==================
"Tis a Far Better Thing to remain silent if...
...one has nothing worthwhile to say!"
....ZIGGY ZAGNUT
(The Original Zircon)
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> ABCO SPECIALS! STR InfoFile * NEW 1992 Prices! MORE Products! *
=========================== --------------------------------
****** SPRINGTIME SPECIAL!! TAKE 10% OFF _ANY_ PACKAGE!! *****
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! **
NOTICE: ABCO will BEAT OR MATCH * ANY *
Advertised or Invoiced price * WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD!
ABCO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS
P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
Est. 1985
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT
BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 PM - 6 AM EDT
_________________________________________
HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
_________________________________________
All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).
*-ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE-*
(you are NOT limited to two drives)
(all cables and connectors installed)
- Available for all Platforms -
* ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
* ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED *
* SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS *
* MAXTOR - SEAGATE - QUANTUM *
WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE!!! >UPS!<
(Cont. USA)
VISA - MASTERCARD - NO SURCHARGE!
*** NEW!!! ULTRA MODERN "COLOR COORDINATED" CABINET ***
DELUXE 2 bay Cabinet W/65w Auto PS & Blower
*** 90 DAY LIMITED OFFER!! ***
- AT NO EXTRA COST! -
Model Description Autopark Price
==================================================
SGN4951 51Mb 3.5" Y 439.00
SGN1096 85Mb 5.25" Y 519.00
SQN1055 105mb 3.5" Y 534.95
SQN1065 120mb 3.5" Y 584.00
SQN2055 170mb 3.5" Y 689.00
SQN3055 240mb 3.5" Y 839.00
SQN4055 426mb 3.5" Y 1310.00
==================================================
Standard "Shoebox Cabinet style is also available
FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00
ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY "SUPER CABINET" w/250+w PS
EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAILABLE Call for Info!
PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only!
NOTICE - NOTICE - NOTICE - NOTICE
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
SPECIAL PURCHASE! * LPS 120 - 240 * Hard Disk Mechanisms
Call for SUPER PRICING!! Limited Time Only!!
FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00
ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS
EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAILABLE Call for Info!
PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only!
FAST TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATOR UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED
*****
>> ABCO proudly offers ATARI PRODUCTS <<
Call for ABCO's * HIGHLY COMPETITIVE PRICING! *
ATARI COMPUTERS * STILL THE BEST VALUE!
*****
Original Atari Mouse replacement: $35.00 NEW!
If you don't see what you want listed here, call us.
Odds are, we either have it or, can get it for you!
* GUARANTEED * AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE! *
** 800-562-4037 **
"WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL"
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCOFILE "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *
- SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A
- ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable
- Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply
(1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.
--->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 639.00__ <<---
**** SCSI UNITS -> ONLY $529.00 ****
WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE! >UPS!<
(Cont. USA)
COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
Cart and Utility Software Included!
EXTRA CARTS: $ 69.50
DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 339.95
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
SPECIALLY PRICED ** $895.95.00 **
Includes: * TWO * cartridges!
* SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
- Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
** 50mb SQG51S $759.00 105mb SQG105S $959.00 **
Or, YOUR choice of Hard Disk Mechanism!
LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
** ANNOUNCING THE NEW! -> ABCO CD-ROM! **
:Special Introductory offer:
ABCO CD-ROM $359.95 (limited time only)
Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
(over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)
* IBM - MSDOS - AMIGA - ATARI - APPLE - MACINTOSH *
ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - AT/PC SPEED - GCR
LARGER units are available - (Custom Configurations)
*>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<*
- Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets -
Atari SLM 804, SLM 804PCV Laser Toner Kits
Memorex 2108, 5287
Oasys Laserpro 5287, 5308, Express 830, Express Series II
Silver Express, Gold Express
** $41.95 shipping Included **
Atari SLM 605 Laser Toner Kits
AT&T 593, CAF Laser, DSI Laser, DTP Systems, Epson EPL-6000
Facit P6060, Fontx Syslaser, Harris3M 2006, M-Tally MT905
Microtek Turbo PS, OAS Laserpro Executive, Packard Bell 9500
TEC LB 1305, Toshiba PageLaser 6
** $41.95 shipping included **
(TWO Toner Carts Incl.)
Panasonic Laser Toner Kits
Panasonic KX -P 400 series, Panafax UF-750 Facsimile
** $41.95 shipping included **
-- ALL TONER KITS * IN STOCK * --
* Toner Starter Kits-$62.95 *
* Replacement (804) Drums-$186.95 *
ABCO is PROUD to announce the acquisition of
the exclusive U.S.A. distribution rights for
** Bitblit Software's; ///Turbo Board BBS. **
This fine Atari ST BBS system software and
user support is available through ABCO to all
Turbo customers in the USA. Call for current
pricing.
>> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED <<
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
-* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE! >UPS!<
(Cont. USA)
QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!
_________________________________________
DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
please, call for details
VISA - MASTERCARD - NO SURCHARGE!
Personal and Company Checks accepted.
ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-562-4037 -=**=- CALL: 1-904-783-3319
Customer Orders ONLY Customer Service
9am - 8pm EDT
Tues thru Sat
ABCO is EXPANDING!! CALL FOR INFORMATION!
SEND FOR YOUR NEW ABCO CATALOG TODAY!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International Online Magazine
Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" April 10, 1992
16/32bit Magazine copyright 1987-92 No.8.15
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors/staff, PCReport, STReport, AMReport, MCReport. Permission to
reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Each reprint
must include the name of the publication, date, issue # and the author's
name. The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in
any way without prior written permission. The entire contents, at the
time of publication, are believed to be reasonably accurate. The STR
editors, contributors and or staff are not responsible for the use or
misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-----------------------------------------
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