ST Report: 4-Mar-93 #910
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 03/06/93-05:30:59 PM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 4-Mar-93 #910
Date: Sat Mar 6 17:30:59 1993
*---== STReport International Online Magazine ==---*
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from
STR Publishing
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March 04, 1993 No.9.10
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> 03/04/93 STR 910 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
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- The Editor's Desk - CPU Report - PORTFOLIO NEWS
- WEMBLY SHOW REPORT - VME READY? - PC HOME USE UP
- DIRECT DRIVE SHIPS! - BBS ETHICS - CT FEST'93 NEWS
- OXYD REVIEW - CYREL NEWS - STR Confidential
-* ST MICROWORLD WINS DECISION *-
-* SOFTWARE COUNTERFEITERS BUSTED! *-
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COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers of;
ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
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NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (March 5)
COMPUSERVE LOWERS CONNECT-TIME RATES
Hourly connect-time rates are now lower for Standard Pricing Plan members
when using extended services. The new charges are $6/hour for 300 bps,
$8/hour for 1200/2400 bps and $16/hour for 9600 bps access. The monthly
membership fee, which includes unlimited connect-time in more than 30
basic services, has increased $1 to $8.95 (this pricing change is not
applicable in all countries).
FundWatch Online by Money magazine, a powerful mutual fund screening and
reporting service, is now part of basic services, which also includes
CompuServe Mail, The Electronic Mall, news, weather and sports, member
support services, reference and travel services.
Rates for Alternative Pricing Plan members will remain at $6.30/hour for
300 bps, $12.80/hour for 1200 and 2400 bps, and $22.80/hour for 9600 bps.
Also, the Membership Support Fee under the Alternative Pricing Plan
increases 50 cents to $2.50.
Members currently under the Standard Pricing Plan will automatically be
billed at the new rates starting 28-Feb. For more information on the new
rates or to join the Standard Pricing Plan, GO CHOICES.
COMPUSERVE CUTS EUROPEAN SURCHARGES
Members can now access via European CompuServe nodes and pay no
communication surcharges during non-prime time (19:00-8:00 local time).
The resulting $2.20/hour savings is in addition to the reductions in
connect-time charges available for all members on the Standard Pricing
Plan. For European access numbers, GO PHONES.
FORUM MESSAGE CAPACITY INCREASED
CompuServe has enhanced its forum software to allow an increase in the
size of messages. The maximum message size was formerly 96 lines or 2,000
characters. With this change, the size increases to a maximum of 10,000
characters. Also, the message board capacity has been increased.
CONDENSED WORD PERFECT MANUAL
Download file WP_MAN.ARC from LIBRARY 17 of the Atari Productivity Forum
(GO ATARIPRO) for a condensed WordPerfect manual. The 600 page manual
condensed into 92 pages which takes you step by step (Keyboard OR Mouse)
through most every text operation. Included are Maps to help you place
text at precisely where you want.
NEW CENTIPEDE GAME FROM SCOTLAND!
Download file CENTPD.LZH from LIBRARY 2 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO
ATARIARTS) for an excellent shareware version of Centipede from Scotland.
This game is FULL of bugs (Spiders, Flies and of course, Centipedes!)
Great sound, great graphics, great fun! COLOR ONLY.
RTS/CTS FLOW CONTROL FIX
Download file SERFX2.LZH from LIBRARY 2 of the Atari Productivity Forum
(GO ATARIPRO) for Serial Fix 2 - RTS/CTS flow control with any TOS. This
patch for properly handling RTS/CTS flow control in the ST's serial port
works on all TOS versions from 1.00 to 4.01. It also includes the
TOS14FIX.PRG code for TOS 1.04 and 1.06 users. Use with Atari's
eXtensible Control Panel (XCONTROL).
SCREEN SAVERS
Download file SAVER1.LZH from LIBRARY 4 of the Atari Productivity Forum
(GO ATARIPRO) for a package of 6 shareware screensaver modules for Warp 9,
by John Dillenburg. Modules included are Freckles, Pyro Deluxe, Random
Lines, Roaming Shapes, Random Shapes, and Fractal Symmetries.
LASERJET 4 DRIVER FOR PAGESTREAM 2!
Download file NEWPRT.LZH from LIBRARY 11 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO
ATARIVEN) for the New HP LaserJet 4, HP DeskJet 550c, HP DeskJet 500c, and
PostScript printer drivers for Pagestream 2.
OPERATE PORTFOLIO FROM PC
Operate your Portfolio by using the keyboard and screen of your desktop
PC? Check out the file BIG.ZIP from master programmers BJ Gleason and Don
Messerli, now available in LIBRARY 2 of the Atari Portfolio Forum (GO
APORTFOLIO).
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE
HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN
OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION
"GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"
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> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
Here it is another week closer to the release of the fabled Atari
Falcon030 and what do we find?? Atari people getting antsy and
challenging those who ask where is the machine? Why is it shipping and
selling in Europe? The users ask. What these people don't realize is
there were only 180 approx shipped in Europe. This is no sizable quantity
but it is shipping and that's a positive. Rumor has it that there will be
"new" money coming into the picture very shortly. This inflow should
"lubricate" the channels and facilitate a strong flow of Falcons.
We are now told the Falcon will ship by the third week of March and
that too, is great news. But why are there certain dealers saying look
for the Falcon in early April. Do they know something special? Who
knows!?!
The true consolation is that we've waited so long for the Falcon now,
what's a few more weeks or a month?. A drop in the bucket compared to the
time we have waited already. The only thing that hurts is when looking
back at those early online conferences, Sam made it a point to tell us he
was making it a point to change their ways and get this machine to market
on time. What is it that clobbers Atari with each and every release of a
new product? Whatever it is, Lord knows it has to go. Oh well, here we
sit waiting for the Falcon to soar.... or. is that sore?
Ralph @ STReport International Online Magazine
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STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
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Publisher - Editor
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PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION
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Roger D. Stevens Robert Glover R. ALBRITTON
STReport Staff Editors:
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Dana P. Jacobson Michael Arthur John Deegan
Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Judith Hamner
John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando
Steve Spivey Doyle C. Helms
Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor Emeritus
Contributing Correspondents:
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Michael Lee Richard Covert Scott Birch
Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Tim Holt
Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Harry Steele
Clemens Chin Neil Bradley Eric Jerue
Ron Deal Robert Dean Ed Westhusing
James Nolan Vernon W. Smith Bruno Puglia
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STR'S "BELIEVE IT? OR.. WHAT?"
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"There is no comparison! The Atari Falcon
is far superior to the PC platform."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"My new office, which has a better view than my old one, is so far
quite satisfactory. And Richard Miller is in my old office. The
Forbes article was a mish-mash and misconstrued article full of half
truths. We are anxiously awaiting the release of the Atari Falcon to
bring us back to the forefront. The article has given us some laughs,
but otherwise has not affected us."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"As I said before, all marketing announcements will be made at
Duesseldorf. I will not comment on future models of the Falcon.
WE ARE TALKING TODAY ABOUT A MACHINE.....
WHICH WILL BE SHIPPING NEXT WEEK."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"I've just returned from Asia, where I saw the first Atari Falcon
production coming off the lines. Let's hope this new offering will
make it in North America. I know that the specs are great."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"We have not yet even given the machine to the FCC. And we are only
applying for Class B approval. According to our "experts", it should
pass Class B."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"...... We are not working for Wall Street but to
make money for our shareholders and only think long term."
Sam Tramiel, 11/92
psssst.
FYI.... The Shareholder's equity is fine.... NOT!
The Stock is hovering around $1.12
CHRISTMAS '92 has COME and GONE...
FALCONS ....anyone?
By the Way.... Does the Falcon work well
with
any... of the SLM Laser Printers?? NOPE! NOT YET!
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> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
=================
Computer Products Update - CPU Report
------------------------ ----------
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Issue #10
By: John Deegan
VERBATIM OFFERS NEW "P-ROM" DISKS - A new 3.5-inch partial-ROM (P-
ROM) disk has been introduced by Verbatim Corp., which calls this the
first image and data storage optical product "to combine both magneto-
optic and read-only functionality."
John Stevens, manager of Verbatim's optical storage products market-
ing, said, "The ROM portion of the media may be embossed permanently
with data, such as a software application, and the rewritable portion of
the disk is left available for user files."
The disks provide a total combined ROM and rewritable capacity of 128MB.
MICROSOFT SAYS FAKE DOS, WINDOWS SOFTWARE SEIZED BY GOVERNMENT - Re-
cent government raids in California uncovered large amounts of counter-
feit MS-DOS 5 and Windows 3.1 operating systems, officials with publis-
her Microsoft Corp. said today.
Microsoft said raids in San Jose and Concord yielded counterfeit
items produced under the trade names OEM's Spring Circle and BTI.
Microsoft did not place a dollar value on the seized items in the
raids which the company said were staged by local and federal authori-
ties on Jan. 20, Jan. 21 and Feb. 3 in San Jose and on Feb. 18 in
Concord.
SURVEY HAS HOME COMPUTER ON RISE - A new consumer survey finds home
computerists last year spent more time at their PCs and worked with a
broader spectrum of applications than they did a year earlier.
Also, more than 42% of the 2,500 PC owners surveyed for Packard Bell
by California Research Tabulations Inc. said their primary use for the
computer is personal (such as letter writing) or pleasure (game
playing). Another 37% said their PCs are used primarily for business,
while 21% said their PC is used by household members for school work.
In a statement from Chatsworth, Calif., Fred Kern, vice president of
product marketing at Packard Bell, said, "We're seeing more diversity in
how computers are being utilized in the home. Users are spending more
time at their PCs and are increasing their use of many popular types of
applications."
Other findings:
-:- Almost half the respondents said they spent more than 10 hours
per week at the computer, compared with 30% in 1991. Nearly one in 10
said they use their computers more than 30 hours per week.
-:- More than 80% classified themselves as having at least some
computer knowledge and half said they are relatively knowledgeable or
"power users."
-:- Word processing increased as the application used "most of the
time" by 14 points to 57.2%. Desktop publishing products usage rose 6.7%
to 11.2%, while spreadsheets saw a moderate increase as the primary
application to 21.1% from 18%.
-:- Personal/business finance software and entertainment software
were designated as applications people use most of the time by 28.5% and
27.4%, respectively.
-:- Database software, at 16.2%, and telecommunications software at
15.7%, showed up for the first time in the survey.
-:- Citing the single factor that most influenced their purchase
decision, about a third of the respondents chose "features" as most
important, another third mentioned "price," while one-tenth cited
"reliability."
-:- When asked to named several factors that greatly influenced their
purchase decision, four out of five answered "features" and "price,"
seven out of 10 placed weight on "reliability" and three out of five on
"warranty." Meanwhile, "recommendation of friend" held less weight than
the other factors with one out of five taking this into consideration.
Finally, many respondents either added accessories to their systems
or will do so in the next 12 months. Heading the list were additional
RAM, a laser printer, a math coprocessor, a CD-ROM drive, a larger hard
disk drive and a modem.
_____________________________________________________
> ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
=====================
On CompuServe
-------------
compiled by Joe Mirando
73637,2262
Hey there friends. I hope this past week has treated you and your
favorite computer well. I've noticed of late that this column has grown
longer and longer in the past few weeks, so I'm going to try to a
manageable size. In keeping with this philosophy, let's get right to the
good stuff.
From The Atari Productivity Forum
=================================
Aren't computers wonderful (especially Atari computers)? There is almost
nothing they can't do. But why does it always seem that one of the few
things they can't do is the thing you most want to do? Aidan Heritage
tells us:
"I am trying to transfer files from my good old commodore 64 to my
Atari Ste. The C64 uses 5.25" disks, the Atari of course doesn't - at
least, mine doesn't. So, it's a null modem cable I suppose. But the
C64 is non standard as far as a serial port is concerned. So, how do
I do it - and when (if!) I get the cable, how do I get the C64 to send
the files and the STE to read them? Speaking as a complete klutz you
understand!!!"
One of the most helpful, knowledgeable people around (and a pretty good
Sysop to boot), Bob Retelle tells Aidan:
"I don't have my C64 any longer, so I don't have the technical details
on how to make up a null-modem cable for it.. if there's a Commodore
dealer near you, they might be able to help you, or possibly someone
on the Commodore Forums here on CompuServe could come up with the pin
numbers to make a C64 to standard RS-232 null modem cable.
Once you have the cable plugged between the C64 and the ST, you'll
need to run a telecommunications program on each of them, which allow
XMODEM or better protocol transfers.
Essentially you'll be uploading the files from the C64 (just like you
were sending them to a bulletin board), and downloading them on the ST
(just like downloading from a BBS).
Using XMODEM, or another download protocol like YMODEM BATCH will
insure that the files are transferred between the computers without
any errors.
A "batch" protocol like YMODEM BATCH would be even better, because it
lets you specify a whole group of files to send, without having to
send each one individually.
Another solution, although not as inexpensive, would be to use the C64
to upload the files to your PERsonal file space here on CompuServe,
then logging in with the ST to download them.
Let us know if you have any problems getting this to work, and we'll
try to help..!"
Rob Nicholson jumps in and offers some info:
"Well, here's the pinouts of the serial port on the C64 but I don't
think it's going to help much :-(
5 1 Pin 1 SRQ in FLAG of CIA 1
6 Pin 2 Ground
4 2 Pin 3 ATN in Pin 9 of user port
3 Pin 3 ATN out PA3 of CIA 2
Pin 4 CLK in PA6 of CIA 2
Pin 4 CLK out PA7 of CIA 2
Pin 5 Data in PA7 of CIA 2
Pin 5 Data out PA5 of CIA 2
Pin 6 Reset Connected to C64 reset
The reason I say I don't think it'll help much is the serial port in
the C64 is totally non-RS232. It's a modification of the IEEE-488
standard. Unlike RS232, the C64 uses full handshaking - there is no
concept of baud rate (apart from an effective throughput).
If memory serves me right, nobody succeeded in connecting a serial
RS232 type interface to the C64 *without* the addition of extra
hardware.
When interfacing to the C64, we used the user port which can be
connected directly to the PC's parallel port. This only worked in
output mode but when managed to throw together a real fudge that
allowed data to be transferred back from the C64 a bit at a time. I
can't quite remember this was because of the C64 or because most PC's
don't have bidirectional parallel ports - the later I think.
Once you do get an RS232 interface running, XMODEM is probably you're
best bet. Goodness knows where you'll get that from though!"
Usually I'd leave these next few posts for the Vendors area. But they
seem to fit here better. John Amsler posts:
"...MultiDesk Deluxe, GPlus+, and Warp 9 have made my MegaSTe an even
better computer than it inherently was ... and MegaPaint II Professional
is a joy to use!"
John Zangrando joins the chorus of CodeHead devotees and adds:
"Just to add my two cents worth, I agree with John. My girlfriend
just bought a $3,000 Mac Notebook and I am VERY happy with my MEGASTE
w/Warp 9, Multidesk Deluxe, and Midimax. Nobody gives support and
upgrades like the CodeHeads. They know how to get something out of
this Great Hardware and O.S. that we have."
Now that's what _I_ would _LOVE_ to have. Huh? No, not a Mac Notebook. A
girlfriend that could afford a Mac Notebook! ;^) John Amsler adds a few
more names to the list:
"Yup! The Codeheads, Gribnif, Migraph, Double Click in the "old
days," the guy who created Flash II, and a new company (Oregon
Research) all give OUTSTANDING support. In fact, I personally have
yet to run into ANY Atari dealer who's given me anything less than
outstanding support (although, over the years, I've read articles
about some who have really ripped customers off, e.g., PC-Ditto).
We Atarians are d_mn lucky to have such a family of dealers and
developers--small in quantity but consistently sky-high in quality!!
(I've owned ST computers since 1986, so I've dealt with a LOT of
dealers over the years; the ones I mentioned above are just a
representative sample -- there are others just as good!)"
Meanwhile, Robert Birmingham tells us about his latest feat:
"Hello,
I just uploaded the latest version of Direct-Drive (1.1), a shareware
application which helps you manage the files on your floppy disks and
hard drive partitions. If you're not familiar with the program, here's a
quick overview of what it can do.
Direct-Drive lets you read in information about every file, from every
folder, from any floppy disk or hard drive partition recognized by TOS.
It's nearly automatic too, all you have to do is click a mouse button!
(There is virtually no limit to the number of disks you can read in, you
can have information for more than 32000 files in memory at once!)
Once you've had it read in the information from your disks, Direct-Drive
can now perform many operations with your file database.
Here are some examples:
Sorting...
You can sort the information in the database in a variety of different
ways. Including; by the name of the file, by the file extender, by the
time and date the file was created, and by the size of the file. And one
of the nicest things about Direct-Drive is that it can sort an entire
disk directory and still keep it's "tree structure" intact. In other
words, all the files and folders in the ROOT directory will be sorted,
and all the files that are in their own folders will be sorted as well!
Searching...
You can search forwards or backwards through the database for a specific
file, or you can search for a group of files using the "?" and "*"
wildcard characters. Also, since you can attach a line of text up to 40
characters in length to every item in the database, Direct-Drive lets you
search for words in these comment fields using wildcard characters!
Printing...
You can send the entire list of files in the database to the printer, or
you can also 'print' it to an ASCII file on disk. You can control how
the listing is formatted by setting top and left margins, and the number
of lines you want printed on each page. You can even give the program a
heading line that it will print at the beginning of each page!
Direct-Drive lets you enter all the information it needs to communicate
with your printer, as a result it can work with almost any type of printer
available! Three printer configuration files are included with the
program, these are for the Panasonic 1080, the NEC 2200, and the Panasonic
1124 printers.
Disk Labels...
You can print a label for any disk that has been read into the database.
This includes HD partitions, but I don't recommend putting labels on a
hard disk! A disk label can have up to 45 filenames and will also tell
you important information about the disk like; the amount of free space
remaining, how many files and folders it contains, a 40 character comment
field, and several more useful items!
DOS functions...
Direct-Drive lets you delete files from disks, view files, format single
and double sided disks with 9 or 10 sectors per track, and create or
rename a disk volume label. All so you don't have to return to the
desktop, or rely on another program to do that for you. And believe it or
not, there's more...a lot more!
Direct-Drive is intended to be _the_ complete disk organizer and disk
labeler. We have made every effort to make it just that! You may have
seen some of the features I described above in various other programs,
but probably not all in one place. Or, with a complete GEM interface.
Direct-Drive is without a doubt a commercial quality program that rivals
or exceeds the capabilities of similar programs that you can _buy_ for
the Macintosh and the IBM PC. We hope you find the program as useful as
we do! Enjoy it, and we'll be happy to provide support here and answer
any questions you have!
I just wanted to add that if you have already registered Direct-Drive by
sending in your shareware payment, you don't need to spend the time to
download the new version. I'll be sending all registered users copies of
the program via U.S. Mail early next week.
Also, my Miami address is no longer valid, so if you're planning to send
me any mail (say...for example a check for registering a program? :-)
please send it to the address below. Also note that checks should no
longer be made to CetaWare since I no longer have a bank account for
cashing them. Instead make them out to "Robert M. Birmingham".
My new address is:
Robert M. Birmingham
P.O. Box 16
Clarendon Hills, IL 60514"
Dazzz Smith asks Robert:
"Can you register your software on CIS, then those of us overseas can
register on-line rather then sending cheques etc to the states, its so
much easier, and so much more likely to get a payment. :-)
I forget what the keyword is, but i'm sure someone will remember."
Jim Ness, another helpful type, adds:
"That's a good point, Dazzz. Few of our members are taking advantage
of the ability to have CIS act as their broker, for shareware.
It's GO SWREG, by the way.
The author agrees to give CIS 15% of the proceeds, and CIS takes the
money out of the account of the customer, and mails a check to the
author. It is a very nice way to do it, especially for overseas
users.
By the way, I haven't seen it mentioned here, but I understand your
CIS rates went down even more than ours, in the new rate schedule?"
Aidan Heritage adds:
"I second that emotion - I have some great shareware programs from the
states, but the hassles involved in getting dollar cheques have to be
seen to be believed. Any means of relatively painless registering
must be viewed as a positive step, and one destined to get me to
register more than I have currently done!"
I'd like to take a line or so here to remind you that Shareware is
cool! You get to try out the program before you buy it. If the
Shareware programmers don't feel appreciated, they'll either stop
programming or go <gasp> commercial. Send in those payments folks.
Okay, okay, public service announcement over.
Matt Laur asks for help with an old hard drive:
"I have a 20MB Supra HD that's been sitting on a shelf for about 2
years. I just recently fired up the ol' 1040ST, and the hard disk is
quite unhappy. I have used the Supra Utilities to attempt a re-format,
and I'm getting a "too many bad sectors" message. I'm guessing that it
needs a low-level re- format, but it's hard to say.
Does anyone know where I can get a low-level format utility that will
work on these older drives? Any thoughts would be appreciated."
Another one of those veritable wells of knowledge, Albert Dayes of Atari
Explorer Magazine, tells Matt:
"It depends what type of drive you have. I assume that the 20 meg
supra is a miniscribe model? You might also download the latest
version of Supra's hard disk utilities and/or format utilities. You
can find it in the Atari Vendors forum (GO ATARIVEN) under Supra's
section in the library."
Matt replies:
"I certainly will check out the newer format app from Supra. Hope it
does the trick. Indeed, I believe that it is a Miniscribe drive. I'm
hoping that the newer format program can fix what ails it. Would hate
to have to buy another drive for the occasion."
From 20 meg hard drives, we jump over to the latest thing to hit the ST
world; the "floptical". A floptical disk is the same size as a regular
ST-type disk, but it holds up to 21 meg. That's right! 21 megabytes!
They can also format regular 720K (double density) and 1.44 meg (high
density) disks. Last year at the Connecticut ACT Atari computer show, I
asked Bob Brodie why the Falcon would not have an external floppy port.
His reply was that, with flopticals becoming so common, they figured that
they would be the 'external of choice' for most users. I have to agree
with that. Who wouldn't want a 21 meg floppy drive? (okay, you Amiga
users can put your hands down) I then wondered in passing if you would be
able to access the floptical as either drive "A" or "B". David Hagood
posts:
"You cannot set up a floptical as drive A or B: drives A and B are
controlled by the 1772 or Ajax chip, while a floptical is a SCSI
device. You just might be able to fudge the standard disk vectors and
make a floptical look like it's drive B, but that would only work for
programs that go through GEMDOS, and any program that goes through
GEMDOS would happily work on a drive other than A and B. Any copy
protected stuff bypasses the system entirely and goes directly to the
1772, and when it gets a big "What you talkin' about, there ain't no
drive B" from the 1772 the software is going to figure it's a pirate
copy and die a horrible death."
From The Atari ST Arts Forum
============================
Kim Gardner tells us:
"Hello out there. I've down-loaded some Graphic/.spc files.
Is there a program that will allow me to convert these to GIF or BMPs?
I don't know what this forum is about. Atari? Is that a special
operating system as opposed to IBM/DOS which I run."
Hey, a DOS user! Who lets these people in here? Well, no matter. Once
Kim sees how happy we all are with our operating system and with GEM,
there'll be one more of us. In the meantime, Mike Mortilla of ZNET Online
Magazine tells Kim:
"I can't answer you question about the picture files, but the forum is
like the Mac or IBM forums (ie- one big, happy users group). We're the
kids who kept our old toys while the rest of the class went out and
bought Beamers and 'Stangs!
All kidding aside, most of us use Atari computers (yes, they are still
in business. In my own case, I'm a composer and use it for music
production (film, theatre and modern dance, etc). But don't abandon
your quest for an answer to you question just yet. There are also
those in this forum who use other platforms and might have an answer
for you. I just don't do *any* graphic work, so can't help.
I think there is a GIF forum or something like that. You could ask
CompuServe to 'Find Pictures' at any command prompt and probably find
the right area."
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Kim:
"Unfortunately I don't know of any PC utilities to convert the
.SPC files you downloaded into either .GIF or .BMP (or actually,
anything else) format...
Those files are produced by a graphics program called Spectrum 512,
which runs on the Atari line of computers. Atari computers are based
around the 68000 family of CPU chips, like the Macintosh and NeXT
computers.
There ARE utilities which can convert .SPC files into .GIF, but only
if you're running on an Atari computer.
(If you're really in the dark about Atari, it's the company that
originally started the "Video Game" revolution both with its coin-op
video arcade games, and it's highly successful 2600 VCS home videogame
console. They still make some video games, but this forum supports
the computers the company is making now...)"
Have you seen PhotoChrome yet? Well, if you remember how impressed you
were the first time you saw Spectrum512, you'll love PhotoChrome. Check
it out when you get the chance. Dom Alvear posts:
"I am having a weirdo problem with PhotoChrome myself. I have two
Mega ST4's. One has a 2-chip TOS 1.04 set and the other has a 6-chip
TOS 1.04 set. The problem I am facing is that PhotoChrome thinks the
machines are different! How? On the 2-chip machine it gives me six
conversion options, while on the 6-chip machine it gives me four
options, deleting the PCS-STe and the PCS 32K modes. Now I would
think that since I don't have an "e" machine anyway, that it would
nuke those two options on both machines. The big reason this is a
problem to me is that the 6-chip machine also has the JRI 4K color
board installed, but I can't get access to the 4096 colors since
PhotoChrome won't let me. Is it possible that the program is doing
some weird computer determination by using the number of TOS chips???
Please let me know."
Greg Wageman asks Dom:
"Are the dates in the two chipsets different?
The official Atari recommendation is to check the second word of the
OS header, which is pointed to by _sysbase at 0x4f2. This has the
familiar values 0x0100 for the original ROMs, 0x0104 for Rainbow TOS,
etc. According to Atari, the date can vary from country to country
while the version number does not. (It would be interesting to know
if it varies by chipset too.)"
Another very helpful guy, Sysop Jeff Kovach, tells Dom:
"I tried Photochrome on a friend's ST with the 6 chip TOS 1.04, and
encountered the same results as you. Strange... Photochrome must be
trying to determine what TOS you have, but is not doing it properly. I
have to ask, what happens when you try to use the STe options on the
non-STe machine?"
Dom adds this info:
"On my non-STe Mega ST4 with the 2-chip TOS 1.04 set, PhotoChrome
converts the pictures and "does stuff", but I am sure I am not getting
the full palette since I don't have the right hardware. I will try
popping my JRI color board in the 2-chip Mega since this has been
bugging me. AFAIK, the "dates" in both TOS chipsets are the same
since they are both TOS 1.04 sets? I just sold my 6-chip set (not the
same one Greg <grin>) so I can't find out anymore. I will be buying a
2-chip set soon and will see if that changes anything."
From The Atari Vendors Forum
============================
One of the nice things about using a DOS machine is that you soon
appreciate the ST and GEM. But let's face it: DOS is here to stay for a
while. Using a DOS machine is pretty much a necessity for people in
business. Luckily, you can transfer text files and such back and forth
between ST and DOS easily. Andy Luke asks about it:
"I have some files on my atari I want to transfer to my PC, they are
ASCII. The disks that these are on cannot be read by my PC. I could
copy all the files to a new disk, however this would take too long.
Is there a basic comms program I could DL to transfer the files via
the COM port?"
Sysop Ron Luks tells Andy:
"Format a blank floppy disk ON THE PC (not the Atari ST) (as 720k or
even 360k if your Atari drive is single sided) and then copy the files
from your old Atari floppy to this newly formatted floppy. (This
should only take a moment). Then the PC will be able to read the files
off the disk."
That's right folks, it's that easy. But nothing is ever perfect. Andy
tells Ron:
"I was trying to avoid floppies as there are *several* files.
Oh well, looks like a job for a ramdisk!"
David Hagood tells ICD about a possible bug in one of their new programs:
"There seems to be a bug in the SCSI.PRG program supplied with ICD PRO
V6.0.8: The last command byte of a 10 byte command is always sent as a
0, even when the unit is told otherwise. I found this out when I was
trying to tell my CD-ROM to play an audio CD (the final byte is
important when selecting track number). The ROM is SCSI 9, unit 0. I
am running TOS 3.06/MiNT 0.95."
Knowing ICD, I'll bet they put a new, improved, bug-fixing,
speed-increasing, awe-inspiring version in short order.
In the Soft-Logik area, Dick (Grosvenor) Barber asks:
"Have the reported bugs in the new drivers been worked out? Any
news???"
Mark at Soft-Logik tells Dick:
"We are working on the drivers now, several are being tested. I'll
post them as soon as they are ready.
(BTW: After talking with you for literally years, you never mentioned
you went by the nickname Dick. Well anyway, it's good talking to you
again.)"
From the Atari Portfolio Forum
==============================
Ronald Grias tells us:
"I have acquired a serial interface for my Port and would like to use
it with my modem to connect to Compuserve and to call into my office
network. Where can I get communication software for the Port? can I
somehow use PC Anywhere with it? Where do I go from here?"
Sysop Ron Luks tells Ronald:
"We have two telecomm programs for the Portfolio in our Telecomm
library here. Try Xterm2 and ACOM (docs included)."
BJ Gleason adds:
"...Due to hardware differences, PC Anywhere will not work on the
Portfolio."
Roland Chia posts:
"I just got my Portfolio parallel interface yesterday from a guy, and
the manual is missing.
I've been trying to transfer files to my portfolio, but all I get is
the "waiting for connection" for my PC and portfolio. I'm using the
ft.com program -- my pc is set to transmit, and the portfolio is set
to receive."
Peter Bennett tells Roland:
"I believe one of the computers needs to be set as the 'server'
(rather than 'receive'). I usually set the Portfolio to 'server' and
handle the transfer from the PC end. It'll also be worth downloading
'FTMenu' which is in the libraries here as ftm11.exe (I think!). Load
it on your PC in the same directory as ft.com and it gives you a
friendly front end for transferring files."
Sysop BJ Gleason adds:
"Set the Portfolio to SERVER instead of receive, and then you can
control the whole thing from the PC..."
Well, folks, so much for keeping this column shorter. I hope you found
something of use.
Tune in again next week, same time, same channel, kick those shoes off,
put your feet up, and listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
____________________________________________________________
> VME CARDS? STR FOCUS! WHAT'S THE REAL STORY ABOUT VME CARDS?
"""""""""""""""""""""
A VME CARD IN YOUR FUTURE?
==========================
The following few paragraphs appeared on Compuserve in the Atari message
area written by Bob Retelle. Bob long known for his truthful answers to
questions about computing sheds some reliable light on the "thousands of
VME cards" available for the MSTE and TT.
#: 37775 S17/Community Square
05-Mar-93 01:42:06
Sb: #37771-VME boards
Fm: SYSOP*Bob Retelle 76702,1466
To: Michael Smith 76004,526
Oh.. VME is an Electronics Industry standard bus definition.
It's used extensively in electronics instrumentation and control
technology, military, and scientific applications.
Where I work, we're installing high-speed communications nodes based
around Motorola 68030 CPU boards on VME cards, with multiplexing and
demultiplexing processors on other VME cards, all mounted in industry
standard card cages.
There are three standardized sizes the boards come in.. the smallest is
the 3U form factor, about 3" high and 6" deep. The second is the 6U
board, about 6" x 6", and there's also a 9U size, about 9" high.
The 6U board is the most widely used, because of the larger board area and
it's ability to use the expanded bus specification.
The 3U board Atari adapted, because the Atari implementation of the "VME
standard" is non-standard) is used mostly in military applications because
it can be more rugged, and in control applications where less circuitry is
needed.
Unfortunately though, while we've been told there are "literally thousands
of VME boards available" (which IS strictly true), there are virtually
NONE that an Atari owner would want to use.
Most of them are communications processors, or instrumentation controllers
(want to control a robotics assembly plant with your ST..?), or other very
specialized applications.
There ARE a very few boards that have been specially designed for the
ST/TT in the VME 3U form factor, but they're not from the pool of
"literally thousands of VME boards available"... they're custom designs
that are very expensive, and yes, as you asked, they're mostly video
boards. The Atari implementation of the VME bus eliminates most of the
useful applications because it does not allow the VME board to take
control of the system. Anything you put in your Atari "AVME" slot must be
passive, like a graphics card or serial port.
Actually, as far as I'm concerned, it was more a marketing device than
anything useful for the Atari owner.
BobR
_________________________________________________________________
> CT FEST'93 STR SHOW NEWS
""""""""""""""""""""""""
THE CT ATARIFEST '93!
=====================
JUNE 12 & 13, AT THE WINDSOR COURT HOTEL
WINDSOR, CT. (JUST ABOVE HARTFORD)
Free Parking!
Low Room Rates!
More Vendors!
More Floor Space!
Yep, that ACT Atari Group is running another major NorthEast computer
event. Last year's successful CT Fest had over 700 attendees, which
merited a larger location, so we've moved a mile away (exit 42 on I-91)
into bigger and better quarters. We're just as convenient to reach as
ever, and only two hours from Boston or New York! The new hotel has
excellent room rates ($35.00 per room), free and plentiful parking, easy
access from Interstate 91, I-95, I-90, I-84, I-80, an in house Sports Bar,
a bigger ballroom and is located just 1 mile from Bradley International
Airport (free shuttle service for hotel guests).
We expect that an even greater number of vendors this year, surpassing
the excellent turnout of the past shows. We already have tentative
commitments from A&D Software, Gribnif Software, Barefoot Software, Toad
Computers, Computer Studio, Baggetaware, Derric Electronics, E.Hartford
Computer Repair, MegaType Software, Wizztronics and GFA Software
Technology. Last year we had FOURTEEN user groups, this year we should
have even more (We also expect an exciting 8 Bit contingent)!
We'll have our annual New England Lynx Competition, with multiple
Comlynxed competitions underway at all times. Last year's winners took
home prizes ranging from games to accessories to complete Lynx Systems!
Bring your best player and join the fun.
We'll have the Portfolio Corner, staffed with industry pundits and
filled with every imaginable palmtop peripheral! Last year we had a few
Portfolios disassembled at the booth, a real insight into surface mount
technology!
For those of you with an eye towards seminars, we'll have them in
abundance, last year's question and answer session with Bob Brodie drew
standing only crowds! In addition, we had John Eidsvoog's walk through the
Codehead graphic tools, Jeff Naideau of Barefoot Software showing off
EdiTrack Platinum, Dave Troy of (Guess[ribbet]) Computers and many, many
others.
And to top things off, come out and see the Falcon 030 in all its
glory. By then we expect to see some rad new programs out and some really
excitement! All in all, we hope to have the best Northeast show yet, and
we look forward to your participation. Make your plans now for the most
exciting Atari Weekend this spring!
For further information, call Brian Gockley at 203-332-1721 or Doug
Finch at 203-637-1034. We can also be found on GEnie in Category 11 or on
Compuserve in the Atari arenas. E-mail can be directed to B.GOCKLEY or
D.FINCH7 on GEnie or to 75300,2514 or 76337,1067 on CIS.
***********************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
STReport International Online Magazine is available every week in the
ST Advantage on DELPHI. STReport readers are invited to join DELPHI and
become a part of the friendly community of Atari enthusiasts there.
SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
======================
Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
DELPHI services via a local phone call
JOIN -- DELPHI
--------------
Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002
then...
When connected, press RETURN once or twice
and...
At Password: type STREPORT and press RETURN.
DELPHI's Basic Plan offers access for only $6.00 per hour, for any
baud rate. The $5.95 monthly fee includes your first hour online.
For more information, call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005
DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, MA.
Try DELPHI for $1 an hour!
For a limited time, you can become a trial member of DELPHI, and
receive 5 hours of evening and weekend access during this month for only
$5. If you're not satisfied, simply cancel your account before the end of
the calendar month with no further obligation. If you keep your account
active, you will automatically be enrolled in DELPHI's 10/4 Basic Plan,
where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for a minimum
$10 monthly charge, with additional hours available at $3.96. But hurry,
this special trial offer will expire soon! To take advantage of this
limited offer, use your modem to dial 1-800-365-4636. Press <RET> once
or twice. When you get the Password: prompt, type IP26 and press <RET>
again. Then, just answer the questions and within a day or two, you'll
officially be a member of DELPHI!
Tuesday, March 9th, we will
host a special formal Conference
with John Townsend, Eric Smith
and Bob Brodie, all from Atari,
on MultiTOS It will begin at
at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
Don't miss it!
DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!
***********************************************************************
> BBS ETHICS STR InfoFile A good rule of thumb for all....
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Ethics For BBS Users
(Source Unknown)
The following are a few points of general BBS etiquette. If you
wish to maintain your welcome on whatever system you happen to
call, it would be to your advantage to observe these few rules.
1. Don't habitually hang up on a system. Every SysOp is aware
that accidental disconnections happen once in a while but we
do tend to get annoyed with people who hang up every single
time they call because they are either too lazy to terminate
properly or they labor under the mistaken assumption that
the 10 seconds they save online is going to significantly
alter their phone bill. "Call Waiting" is not an acceptable
excuse for long. If you have it and intend to use the line
to call BBS systems, you should either have it disconnected
or find some other way to circumvent it. In some areas a *70
before dialing, will disable call waiting for that call!
2. Don't do dumb things like leave yourself a message that says
"Just testing to see if this thing works". Where do you
think all those other messages came from if it didn't work?
Also, don't leave whiney messages that say "Please leave me
a message". If ever there was a person to ignore, it's the
one who begs someone to leave him a message. If you want to
get messages, start by reading the ones that are already
online and getting involved in the conversations that exist.
3. Don't use the local equivalent of a chat command unless you
really have some clear cut notion of what you want to say
and why. Almost any SysOp is more than happy to answer
questions or offer help concerning his system. Unfortunately,
because about 85% of the people who call want to chat and
about 99% of those people have absolutely nothing to say
besides "How old are you?" or something equally irrelevant,
fewer SysOps even bother answering their pagers every day.
4. When you are offered a place to leave comments when exiting
a system, don't try to use this area to ask the SysOp
questions. It is very rude to the other callers to expect
the SysOp to carry on a half visible conversation with
someone. If you have a question or statement to make and
expect the SysOp to respond to it, it should always be made
in the section where all the other messages are kept. This
allows the SysOp to help many people with the same problem
with the least amount of effort on his part.
5. Before you log on with your favorite pseudonym, make sure
that handles are allowed. Most SysOps don't want people
using handles on the system. There is not enough room for
them, they get silly games of one-upmanship started, it is
much nicer to deal with a person on a personal basis, and
last but not least, everyone should be willing to take full
responsibility for his actions or comments instead of
slinging mud from behind a phoney name.
6. Take the time to log on properly. There is no such place as
RIV, HB,ANA or any of a thousand other abbreviations people
use instead of their proper city. You may think that
everyone knows what RIV is supposed to mean, but every BBS
has people calling from all around the country and I assure
you that someone from Podunk Iowa has no idea what you're
talking about.
7. Don't go out of your way to make rude observations like
"Gee, this system is slow". Every BBS is a trade off of
features. You can generally assume that if someone is
running a particular brand of software, that he is either
happy with it or he'll decide to find another system he
likes better. It does nobody any good when you make
comments about something that you perceive to be a flaw
when it's running the way the SysOp wants. Constructive
criticism is somewhat more welcome. If you have an alter-
native method that seems to make good sense then run it up
the flagpole.
8. When leaving messages, stop and ask yourself whether it is
necessary to make it private. Unless there might be some
particular reason that everyone shouldn't know what you're
saying, don't make it private. We don't call them PUBLIC
bulletin boards for nothing, folks. It's very irritating to
other callers when there are blank spots in the messages
that they can't read and it stifles interaction between
callers.
9. If your favorite BBS has a time limit, observe it. If it
doesn't, set a limit for yourself and abide by it instead.
Don't tie up a system until it finally kicks you off and
then call back with another name. This same rule applies to
downloading or playing games. Only one person at a time can
be logged on to a BBS and it isn't fair to everyone else if
you overstay your welcome. Remember, a BBS is best when it
can be left wide open. If you try and cheat the rules you
just hurt everybody by forcing the SysOp to adopt more
stringent policies. I can't count the number of BBS's that
are now locked tighter than a drum because of people who
cheat and abuse.
10. Don't call a BBS just to look at the list of other BBS
numbers. Most especially don't call a system as a new user
and run right to the other numbers list. There is probably
very little that's more annoying to any SysOp than to have
his board completely passed over by you on your way to
another board.
11. HAVE THE COMMON COURTESY TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT PASSES IN
FRONT OF YOUR FACE. When a BBS displays your name and asks
"Is this you?", don't say yes when you can see perfectly
well that it is mispelled. Also, don't start asking
questions about simple operation of a system until you have
thoroughly read all of the instructions that are available
to you. I assure you that it isn't any fun to answer a
question for the thousandth time when the answer is
prominently displayed in a system bulletin or instructions.
Use some common sense when you ask your questions. The
person who said "There's no such thing as a stupid question"
obviously never operated a BBS.
12. If by some chance you should encounter an error while you
are online (Heaven forbid!), ALWAYS take the time to leave
the SysOp a message describing the circumstance. Don't just
say "There was an error". That is not helpful in the least.
Chances are that he knows there was an error. What he needs
to know is what you were doing when the error occurred so
that he can have some chance of finding and correcting it.
If the error happened after you input something, tell him
what it was. Remember that a BBS can't improve unless
you're willing to help.
13. Don't be personally abusive. It doesn't matter whether you
like a SysOp or think he's a jerk. The fact remains that he
has a large investment in making his computer available,
usually out of the goodness of his heart. If you don't like
a SysOp or his system, just remember that you can change
the channel any time you want. Calling a SysOp names or
making uninformed comments about his lifestyle only shows
you for the child you really are.
14. Keep firmly in mind that you are a guest on any BBS you
happen to call. Don't think of logging on as one of your
basic human rights. Every person that has ever put a
computer system online for the use of other people has
spent a lot of time and money to do so. While he doesn't
expect non stop pats on the back, it seems reasonable that
he should at least be able to expect fair treatment from
his callers. This includes following any of the rules for
system use he has laid out without grumping about it. Every
SysOp has his own idea of how he wants his system to be run.
It is really none of your business why he wants to run it
the way he does. Your business is to either abide by what
he says, or call some other BBS where you feel that you can
obey the rules.
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
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 the biggest collection of files to
download and the best online games, for 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. All The Sports, All The Time -- From The Sports Network.....SPORTSNEWS
2. Stay warm in your new GEnie Sweatshirt......................GENIESTORE
3. WWIV Support TalkAbout Mar 9 10PM ET..........................BBS
4. It's CRUISE Night RTC - 3/10 Get your Cruise information in..TRAVELRT
5. Don't miss the UNIX TUTORIAL Sunday at 9pm about KERMIT.......UNIX
6. Comparison Shop For PC Products The Easy Way................PC CATALOG
7. STUDENTS - REGISTRATION Is OPEN For Spring Term COURSES.......CALC
8. GRAND OPENING SWEEPSTAKES - Win Beautiful.....................JEWELRY
9. 10% OFF EVERYTHING - Coffee, Tea, Gourmet Gifts at............COFFEE
10. Five Flavors of Real Time Conferences every week in...........GERMANY
11. IDITAROD Race. Join us and our special guest in..............PET
12. Join the GEnie BEER SWAPPERS in ..............................FOOD
13. Special Offer - for MEMBERS ONLY..............................SOFTCLUB
14. The Case AGAINST Patents......................................PSRT
15. 1ST Annual GEnieLamp Magazine *SWIMSUIT* issue in............GENIELAMP
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THE MARCH *SWIMSUIT* ISSUES OF GEnieLamp ARE NOW ONLINE!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
And They're GEnie*Basic! (On Page 515)
NEW FILES IN THE LIBRARY!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
1137 DPANEW13.ZIP "Digital" newsletter - DOS/EGA/VGA
1136 DPANEW13.DOC "Digital Publishing News" - March,93
1133 OPR1.EXE ONLINE POETRY REVIEW VOL 1 NO. 1
1132 DPATOOL2.GIF DPA Toolkit Full package Proof
1128 V6I7.ASC The Teleputing Hotline (Vol. 6, #7)
1115 BBR0293.ZIP Feb, 1993, The Bell Business Report
1109 SEE.EXE "SEE" File Utilities
1108 GARLIC-MAGIC.ZIP "Garlic Magic" - by George Knoblauch
1107 EFORUM11.ZIP Electronic Publishers Forum - #11
1106 ANSIMOUS ANSI Editor for Macs (SEA)
1105 V6I6.ASC The Teleputing Hotline (Vol. 6, #6)
1104 REXXCOM-DPA.ZIP REXXCOM - ASCII Publishing System
1100 CANE0293.ZIP CANE calendars of events in N.E.
1099 DPANEW12.ZIP REXXCOM version of "News" for 2/93
1097 EP-WIN.EXE DEMO W/Graphics E.Publishing Windows
1096 ORPH141C.ZIP Orpheus v.1.41 - Disk 3 of 3
1095 ORPH141B.ZIP Orpheus v.1.41 - Disk 2 of 3
1094 ORPH141A.ZIP Orpheus v.1.41 - From Hyperion
PACIFIC EDGE ON GEnie! The Pacific Edge Magazine has joined the
"""""""""""""""""""""" GEnieLamp RoundTable. Watch for new issues
in the library and reader support in the bulletin board.
FILE OF THE WEEK The Teleputing Hotline Newsletter is this week's
"""""""""""""""" selection. Catch up on what's happening in the
telecommunications world, quickly and easily with The Teleputing
Hotline! This page, option #7.
DIGITAL PUBLISHING NEWS The March issue of Digital Publishing
""""""""""""""""""""""" Association is now available on the menu
(Option #5) on page 515 as well as in the library.
GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
***********************************************************************
> CyReL SUNRISE! STR InfoFile CYBERCUBE NEWS & UPDATES
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PRESS RELEASE
Cybercube Research Ltd., Canada
introduces the
._____. __ __ .______. .______. ._.
/ .___. \ \ \ / / | .___. \ | .____! | |
| | !_! \ \_/ / | !___! | | !__. | |
| | ._. \ / | .__. ./ | .__! | |
| !___! | | | | | \ \ | !____. | !____.
\._____./ !_! !_! \_\ !______! !______!
._____. ._. ._. .__ ._. .______. ._. ._____. .______.
/ .____! | | | | | \ | | | .___. \ | | / .____! | .____!
| !___. | | | | | . \ | | | !___! | | | | !___. | !__.
\.___. \ | | | | | |\ \| | | .__. ./ | | \.___. \ | .__!
.____! | | !__! | | | \ ! | | | \ \ | ! .____! | | !____.
!_____./ \.____./ !_! \__| !_! \_\ !_! !_____./ !______!
.__ __. _. ._. _. .____. .____. .____.
| \ / | / | / / / | !___. \ / .__. \ / .__. \
| . \/ . | /_ | / /__. .____. /_ | .__! | | !__! | | | | |
| |\ /| | | | / .__. \ !____! | | / .__./ | .__. | | | | |
| | \/ | | | | | !__! | | | | !___. | !__! | | !__! |
!_! !_! !_! \______/ !_! !_____! \.____./ \.____./
The True Color High Resolution VME Bus Graphics Card
for the Atari TT030 and Mega STE
The CyReL SUNRISE M16-1280 incorporates a versatile and fully
programmable Color Video Controller with 2 MB of fast 32-bit
video RAM to form a high speed graphics system.
By employing the latest technologies, custom designed components
and more than 70 video clock frequencies up to 120 MHz, the CyReL
SUNRISE M16-1280 cards achieve a new level of performance and
integration.
It offers a wide range of operating modes from economic
Monochrome displays to dazzling True Color imaging capabilities.
The CyReL SUNRISE M16-1280 can be operated with any industry
standard analog monitor, ranging from small 12" analog greyscale
to 17" VGA monitors and even to high end multi-sync monitors up
to 37".
The built-in expansion connectors provide further opportunities
for enhancements and a represent a flexible way for future
upgrades.
Multi-media applications can take advantage of the new and
exciting CyReL VidiMix8 Desktop Video expansion module. It allows
every SUNRISE card to record live video clips, instantly resize
and capture True Color video images in real-time. The VidiMix8
encode computer generated pictures, animations and images in 12
different international TV standards while providing a host of
special effects.
The CyReL SUNRISE M16-1280 comes complete with its own custom
True Color capable VDI drivers, offering compatibility with
almost all GEM applications available. A number of system
accessories increase the comfort and ease of configuring the
various features of the cards.
The cards are being distributed by DMC Publishing Inc. and have a
SRP of US $1,499. Visit our new GEnie Support area (Category 16,
Topic 12).
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
----------------------------
DMC Publishing Inc.
2800 John Street, Suite 10
Markham, ON, L3R 0E2, Canada
Tel. (416) 479 1880
Fax (416) 479 1882
or
Cybercube Research Limited
126 Grenadier Crescent
Thornhill, ON, L4J 7V7, Canada
Tel. (416) 882 0294
Fax (416) 886 3261
Cybercube Research Ltd., Canada
introduces the
._____. __ __ .______. .______. ._.
/ .___. \ \ \ / / | .___. \ | .____! | |
| | !_! \ \_/ / | !___! | | !__. | |
| | ._. \ / | .__. ./ | .__! | |
| !___! | | | | | \ \ | !____. | !____.
\._____./ !_! !_! \_\ !______! !______!
._____. .______. .______. ._. __ ._.
/ .____! | .____! | .___. \ | | / \ | |
| !___. | !__. | !___! | | | / /\ \ | |
\.___. \ | .__! | .__. ./ | | / /__\ \ | |
.____! | | !____. | | \ \ | | / ______ \ | !____.
!_____./ !______! !_! \_\ !_! /_/ \_\ !______!
.__ __. .____. ._. ._. ._____. .______.
| \ / | / .__. \ | | | | / .____! | .____!
| . \/ . | | | | | | | | | | !___. | !__.
| |\ /| | | | | | | | | | \.___. \ | .__!
| | \/ | | | !__! | | !__! | .____! | | !____.
!_! !_! \.____./ \.____./ !_____./ !______!
.__ __. __ .__ ._. __ .______. .______. .______.
| \ / | / \ | \ | | / \ / ._____! | .____! | .___.\
| . \/ . | / /\ \ | . \ | | / /\ \ | | .__. | !__. | !___!|
| |\ /| | / /__\ \ | |\ \| | / /__\ \ | | !_ | | .__! | .__../
| | \/ | | / ______ \ | | \ ! | / ______ \ | !___! | | !____. | | \ \
!_! !_! /_/ \_\ !_! \__| /_/ \_\ \.___/!_! !______! !_! \_\
The current release supports these device types:
Microsoft(R) MS-Mouse (serial type)
MSC(R) Mouse Systems Corporation PC-Mouse
SUMMAGRAPHICS(R) MM961 GRAPHICS TABLETS
SUMMAGRAPHICS(R) MM1201 GRAPHICS TABLETS
SUMMAGRAPHICS(R) BitPadII GRAPHICS TABLETS
SummaSketch(R) PLUS GRAPHICS TABLETS
and compatible products
for
ATARI(R) ST(TM), STe(TM), MEGA(TM), MEGA STE(TM),
TT030(TM) and Falcon 030(TM)
Current Release: 1.02c Date: 2/93
This press release contains information on the CyReL Serial Mouse
Utility and device driver that enhance the performance of any ATARI
system.
A utility program supports the operation of the computer by providing
system management capabilities. It extends the scope of the features
provided by the built-in operating system, making the working
environment more responsive and comfortable to use. A device driver is
software that controls and communicates directly with system hardware,
hardware expansion modules and other peripherals.
The CyReL Serial Mouse Manager software offers these features:
= Customizes and enhances the GEM operating system.
= Allows the use of industry standard high resolution serial mice
compatible with the MS-Mouse or PC-Mouse format.
= Uses any of the built-in serial ports.
= Automatic serial port configuration depending on the selected
input device.
= Supports 'dual mouse' operation. The original mouse and
serial mouse can both be used at any time.
= Provides advanced mouse speed control features including
ballistic response, dynamic speed regulation and mouse
resolution compensation.
= Enables the use of any graphics tablet compatible with the
Summagraphics MM series.
= Improves the performance of the operating system and
interaction accuracy with GEM application programs.
= Easy configuration of all system input devices for optimum
performance.
= Supports the CyReL M16-1280 True Color High Resolution
Graphic Cards.
= 3 Utilities in one: mouse accelerator, screen saver and
serial mouse driver.
= User friendly GEM based configuration utility.
= No soldering, no hardware add-ons, no patch cables,
no system modifications required.
The CyReL Serial Mouse Manager files are being distributed
as a commercial product. A free demonstration package is available
through many BBSs and information services/networks such as GEnie.
PRICES
------
Order Code Description Quantity Canada U.S./Foreign
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ACSM12 CyReL Serial Mouse
Manager & Driver 1- Cdn $15.00 US $13.00
Release 1.02
ACPM36 CyReL Palette Master 1- Cdn $20.00 US $17.00
Release 3.6e
SHIPPING & HANDLING CHARGES
---------------------------
Quantity U.S. / Canada Foreign
US $ / Cdn $ US $
-------------------------------------------
1 $1.00 $2.50
2-5 $2.50 $5.00
5-10 $5.50 $10.00
10-over* $10.00 $20.00
METHODS OF PAYMENT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
All orders must be prepaid.
Check/Money Order in Canadian or U.S. funds only.
FOR ORDERS OR INFORMATION CONTACT
---------------------------------
Cybercube Research Limited
126 Grenadier Crescent
Thornhill, ON, L4J 7V7, Canada
Cybercube Research Ltd., Canada
introduces the
._____. __ __ .______. .______. ._.
/ .___. \ \ \ / / | .___. \ | .____! | |
| | !_! \ \_/ / | !___! | | !__. | |
| | ._. \ / | .__. ./ | .__! | |
| !___! | | | | | \ \ | !____. | !____.
\._____./ !_! !_! \_\ !______! !______!
.______. __ ._. .______. ._________. ._________. .______.
| .___. \ / \ | | | .____! !___. .___! !___. .___! | .____!
| !___! | / /\ \ | | | !__. | | | | | !__.
| .____./ / /__\ \ | | | .__! | | | | | .__!
| | / ______ \ | !____. | !____. | | | | | !____.
!_! /_/ \_\ !______! !______! !_! !_! !______!
.__ __. __ ._____. ._________. .______. .______.
| \ / | / \ / .____! !___. .___! | .____! | .___. \
| . \/ . | / /\ \ | !___. | | | !__. | !___! |
| |\ /| | / /__\ \ \.___. \ | | | .__! | .__. ./
| | \/ | | / ______ \ .____! | | | | !____. | | \ \
!_! !_! /_/ \_\ !_____./ !_! !______! !_! \_\
The Ultimate Color Handling Utility
Works in any mode ranging from Monochrome to True Color
Features Smooth Shading, Cut & Paste Color Clips, Swap, Copy,
Rainbow, Save & Load, Color & Greyscale Conversion, Palette or
Profile Operation with multiple Undo Functions, Gamma Correction
and Color Level Adjust
Runs on all Atari computer systems with 512 KB and more.
Minimum screen resolution required: 320x200.
Copyright (c) 1993 by Cybercube Research Limited, Toronto Canada
The PALMASTR.ACC or PALMASTR.PRG is an interactive color handling
utility originally designed to facilitate all color controlling
functions of the CyReL SUNRISE M16-1280 High Resolution True Color
Graphics Cards for the Mega STE and TT030.
The newly released version now runs on ANY Atari machine and allows
the operation in all of these modes: monochrome, 4 colors, 16 colors,
256 colors, Falcon High Color Modes and even in the dazzling True
Color Modes of the CyReL M16-1280 Graphics Cards.
The program provides on-line help functions to familiarize the user
with all menu functions and features available.
Although the utility was designed for high resolution displays, this
version now also runs on small screens like 320x200. A special screen
layout is used whenever the resolution drops below a certain
threshold. Some features are not available in modes with less than 16
colors.
The CyReL Palette Master makes extensive use of icons and sub-menus to
present all the options. The installation of the PALMASTR.PRG as an
replaces and surpasses all existing color handling utilities.
The CyReL Palette Master files are being distributed as a commercial
product. It comes complete with installation instructions, help file,
tutorial and more than 30 predefined color palettes to customize any
desktop. A free demonstration package is available through many BBSs
and information services/networks such as GEnie.
PRICES
------
Order Code Description Quantity Canada U.S./Foreign
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ACSM12 CyReL Serial Mouse
Manager & Driver 1- Cdn $15.00 US $13.00
Release 1.02
ACPM36 CyReL Palette Master 1- Cdn $20.00 US $17.00
Release 3.6e
SHIPPING & HANDLING CHARGES
---------------------------
Quantity U.S. / Canada Foreign
US $ / Cdn $ US $
------------------------------------------
1 $1.00 $2.50
2-5 $2.50 $5.00
5-10 $5.50 $10.00
10-over* $10.00 $20.00
METHODS OF PAYMENT
------------------
All orders must be prepaid.
Check/Money Order in Canadian or U.S. funds only.
If you would like to know more about our products, please contact us
as shown below and we will be glad to be of service.
Mail/Orders: Cybercube Research Limited
126 Grenadier Crescent
Thornhill, Ontario, L4J 7V7
Canada
Telephone: (416) 882 0294
Fax: (416) 886 3261
BBS: (416) 882 5895
GEnie: CYBERCUBE
All product names and brand names appearing in this document are
registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.
Copyright (c) 1993 Cybercube(TM) Research Limited, Toronto, Canada
____________________________________________________________
> WEMBLY ATARI SHOW STR SHOW NEWS A UK EYEWITNESS SHOW REPORT....
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
THE 16 BIT SHOW FROM WEMBLEY
A PERSONAL VIEW
By Peter Sharpe
Arriving at Wembley on a freezing cold friday morning I parked my
trusty motorbike outside the conference centre and made my way round to
exhibition hall 1, the home of this years 16 Bit Show.
After visiting the show last year, I commented on this network
about just how poor computer shows had become, how they had been overrun
by games, and the poor support shown for the Atari. So I was shocked to
find that there was a queue of people going half way round the building
!!
As a matter of fact there were two queues, one for pre-paid ticket
holders, and another for those without. The show was filled to
capacity, the man on the door said. A maximum of 2000 people are allowed
in at any one time, and until more people came out, no more could go in,
with the pre-paid ticket holders getting priority.
I was faced with a dilemma. I could either join the queue, with
the prospect of waiting a couple of hours to get in, or I could go back
home and come back later in the afternoon. Yup, you guessed it, I joined
the queue. I don't know what it is about us British, but we seem to love
queuing. The prospect of standing outside in the freezing cold for an
hour or so doesn't seem to bother us. If anyone had set up a hot dog
stand down there that morning they would have made a killing. At least
it isn't raining, said one particularly cheerful individual as we stood
around waiting. Quiet, said someone else, don't tempt fate.
I could continue on this vain for a few more pages, but to cut a
long story short(ish) I got chatting to the people around me and after
about an hour we were in. After all that queuing I was expecting
something fairly spectacular. What a disappointment. The show didn't
even fill the first hall. There was a time when it filled 3 halls, with
500+ exhibitors. This time there were less than 100. Determined to get
value for my 6 ukp entry ticket, I ignored the opportunity to waste
another pound on a show guide, and went for a wander round.
The first stand you see on entering the show is HiSoft, always a
stand worth a look at, as they are usually at the sharp end of Atari
technology. Naturally they had a Falcon, in fact they had two, one
running a very short demo from CD-ROM, and another running TruePaint,
busy loading in various still images, mostly from Star Trek-The Next
Generation. And very nice they were too. Very pretty. Boring, but
pretty, none the less. And that sums up the whole show really. Very
nice, but nothing of particular interest.
Further round I was surprised to see yet another group of Falcons
(I am sure some clever sort will tell me what the collective word for
Falcons is). One was running a very boring slideshow routine, a second
was connected though a genlock to a video camera, overlaying a still
image onto the video signal, while a third was running Windows 3.1,
though not very well. So although the Falcon was in attendance, there
was no sign of any serious software for it, or at least none that worked
well enough to demonstrate.
Watching all this Falconry from a discreet distance was System
Solutions, or whatever they are calling themselves. Aha I thought, they
will have some TOS 1.4 ROMS for me. Nope, not a dicky bird. They had
2.06 though, as did lots of people. I don't want 2.06 I said, I have
NeoDesk and 2.5Meg of memory to play with. I only want 1.4 for its hard
disk routines and its file move commands. Nothing doing till March they
said, something about Atari not allowing it to be distributed yet.
Typical Atari again, no wonder they are in trouble.
Okay, I'd seen the Falcon, I'd totally failed to get hold of TOS
1.4, time to see what else there was around. I was glad to see Analogic
were there, showing the new 8Meg expansion for the Mega ST/STe/TT. They
said they didn't have TOS 1.4 with them, but they might have it back at
the shop. A visit to Kingston on monday. A good little company, who will
bend over backwards to help you out if you just ask them nicely.
Another company who helped me out was Deal Direct. I went there in
search of a monitor stand (8ukp), a printer stand (2.99) and a disk box
(2.50). Unfortunately I somehow managed to forget to pick up the
monitor stand, and it wasn't until I got home that I realized my
mistake. I gave them a ring. "Never mind", they said, come back tomorrow
and pick it up. I'm impatient, so I went back that evening and got it,
but the fact that they trusted me, even though I had no receipt said
that this was a company worth dealing with in the future, so if you need
any computer stationary, disks, boxes, stands etc then you could do
worse than give them a ring. I'll put the details at the bottom.
I don't know if you've noticed, but modems seem to be all the rage
at the moment. You only need to open a computer magazine to find 14k4
modems for 300 quid. They all seem to be jumping on the bandwagon. There
were at least 4 different makes of a speed modem on offer, none BT
approved (naughty). Maybe they will have some cheap fax software. Fat
chance. All that was on offer was Tele Office, a snip at 60ukp mono
only. Since I didn't have 60 quid or a mono monitor I passed. I can't
believe there isn't some bright spark out there who has written a PD fax
program. I only want it to fax the odd letter or two, so 60 quid is a
bit much really.
Well, what else was there. Virtual Reality of course. Two people
with funny hats trying to shoot each other in a virtual room. Talk about
looking silly. They were like Thunderbird puppets without the strings.
Still got a bit of work to do there me thinks.
16/32 PDL were there as well. They had FzT 2.12. When I asked when
they would be getting 2.20 they said it would be a while yet. Ha Ha.
So that was it apart from lots of stands selling Amiga (pah)
parts, the usual collection of games stands, the NASA pens, and an odd
little stand who's name escapes me but was selling various bits and bobs
for the Atari. Memory, plugs and sockets, even whole motherboards. He
didn't have any TOS 1.4 ROMs though. What he did have was a confidential
draft copy of the technical spec for the Falcon. Interesting reading.
Very interesting. More interesting even than '20 things you didn't know
about Steve Davis'. It was manned by an oriental gentleman who's name
also escapes me, but his stand was on the far right of the hall, and if
anyone knows which stand I mean, would they let me know, as I wouldn't
mind getting a catalogue.
Another stand worth a look was R J Simulations (I think that was
their name), they had a very nice simulation of a remote control
helicopter, with a proper 'radio' control unit to fly it with. I first
saw this stand at the Model Engineers show at Olympia in January. The
graphics are simple but functional, and the simulation is VERY good. It
really flies like a real model ( I don't own one, but I was watching
someone who did, and he said so). And of course it doesn't matter if you
crash, you just reset it and start again. It can be adjusted for
different models and different weather. You view it from a fixed
viewpoint on the ground, just like you would if it was real. If you fly
it directly towards you, you can crash it into yourself. A nice touch of
realism. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to take up model
flying.
I was getting bored by now, fed up with seeing stand after stand
of Amiga games and hardware, so I was pleased when I came across Air
Warrior. This is flight combat over the phone. You download a program,
then dial into a central computer and try to shoot down other players,
who are also connected. I know some of you lot already play. They gave
me a card, which you send off and they give you 3 hours free play time.
Hasta la vista baby !!
Thanks again to Deal Direct mail order for being so helpful when I was
so careless, I said I'd give you a plug.
Future Computing
62C London Road
Oadby
Leicester LE2 0PF
Tel: Leicester (0533) 718191
____________________________________________________________________
> OXYD STR Review Oxyd is unique.......
"""""""""""""""
Oxyd
====
A Challenge in Creativity and Coordination
==========================================
by Dana P. Jacobson
Oxyd, a new game from Dongleware Software, reminds me quite a bit of
Atari's "Chip's Challenge" on the Lynx, a little like Psygnosis'
"Lemmings", and PacMan (being chased) - all wrapped into one. It's truly
one of those games that you will consider addictive.
Oxyd is unique in that it is available as a downloadable demo. The
game is fully functional. The game consists of 200 levels (100 for
single-player and 100 for dual-player modes). The "demo" portion of the
game allows you to play the first 10 levels with just your talents being
the only restriction. Complete a level and move on to the next, _until_
you get to the eleventh level. From here, the commercial part of the
program takes effect. You cannot complete Level 11 (or beyond) without
the Oxyd Book. More on this later, let's talk about the game itself!
Boot the game and you've entered the world of Oxyd. It consists of
100 different landscapes. As the player, you assume the role of a black
marble, roaming through the various mazes or challenging scenery while
encountering various magic tokens and other objects of unknown qualities.
In each landscape, it is your goal to locate the Oxyds which,
mysteriously, have "closed" and shut off the Oxyd world's oxygen. You
must touch each Oxyd with the black marble, "opening" them up and
revealing different colors or patterns. To be successful, you must touch
two of the same pattern or color so that they will remain open and provide
oxygen. The tricky part is that while these Oxyds are closed, they all
appear exactly the same until touched. When an unmatched Oxyd is touched,
it will open and blink until you either touch another and making a
matching pair, or touch another of a different color or pattern. If you
don't find a pair, you must remember which colors are where so that once
you find the match, you can return and get its mate! Once all of the Oxyd
pairs are opened, you've completed that level, and ready for the next.
Sound easy? It isn't, usually. While the premise of the game is
quite simple, there are barriers to overcome. Many of the surfaces found
on the landscapes vary and you need to move accordingly. Some have
different texture, are curved, or break apart as you roll over them!
There are "swamps", water, ice, deep chasms, passageways, and unmovable
blocks. There are various objects along the way which may be "picked up"
by rolling over them. Most can be used in a manner to allow you to make
progress in your quest. For example, that unmovable block you've
encountered may be "blown up" with that stick of dynamite you found
earlier in the landscape. Just make sure that you're not sitting next to
it, as the explosion is powerful enough to leave a crater! Or, that chasm
you've encountered is quite deep. How do you get across? Hmmm, perhaps
you can float across using that umbrella you found under that last movable
tile? Yep, that would work! In addition to those I've mentioned, there
are numerous other tokens and objects that will be encountered. Each one
has its own unique, and unknown affect. On occasion, you will have to
combine the affects of one object with another to gain the necessary final
goal. Curiosity and guts is the name of this gameplay; you must take
chances and try different things to progress. Once you learn the
characteristics of certain objects, you can use that knowledge in the
future.
As I mentioned earlier, the manual becomes absolutely necessary after
reaching the 11th level. Starting at Level 11, you will encounter (the
first of many throughout the rest of the game) a magic token. This token
is in the shape of an unmovable tile, usually blocking your path toward
the completion of a specific needed task or movement. Written on the top
of each of these tokens are "magic formulas" which can help remove these
roadblocks. Actually, these really aren't formulas, but references to a
specific page, column and line within the manual. Locating the page and
correct column & line will give you a 3- character code. If you've
located this code correctly, typing it in will result in that once
unmovable block blowing up and allowing you to pass. So, you can see how
it is necessary to get the manual; there are 100+ pages of just codes!!
To add to this type of copy protection, the codes are protected even more
by being printed, in printer's terms, in non-repro blue. This means that
it's extremely difficult to xerox these pages, if not impossible. You may
get a few codes, but definitely not all. Without them all, they are
useless.
Along the way, you come across some unusual landscapes, called
meditation landscapes. In each of these, instead of moving your marble in
search for the Oxyds, you must move several (usually four) green balls
into various shallow pits. It sounds easy, but the problem is that ALL of
the balls are controlled by a single movement of the mouse! Move one
left, and they all go left. Unfortunately, to make things even more
complicated, all of the balls don't start at the same position. And then
(what else could you possibly do to make it more difficult?), the
landscapes are designed so you may be surrounded by a chasm or other
obstacle! Remember those toys when you were young that had those small
silver balls within a plastic case? You had to shake the case in order to
move the balls so that each one ended up in a hole or slot? This is very
similar. You can get one ball in the pit and while moving another you
knock the first one out!! All of the balls must end up in a pit, and not
moving, before you've completed these landscapes. And you thought finding
all of the Oxyds was hard!
Oxyd has a number of variations which can enhance the game play (as
if it need it!). You can play against the clock. Beat the "best" time
and you can enter your own initials in the list. You can also play with a
friend, using two computers. This can be accomplished with a null modem,
connecting with MIDI cables, modem to modem, or by network.
Oxyd is available for the Atari ST/TT/Falcon computer, as well as for
the Mac, IBM, Amiga, and NeXT. On the Atari line, Oxyd is available
separately for color, monochrome, and TT/Falcon systems.
If you don't want to download the program (usually 500 - 800K), you
can order the disk directly from Dongleware, by phone. The disk, and
manual, are available worldwide. Even bookstores carry it (American
version: ISBN 3-928278-12-6). It's also available in England, France, and
Germany.
Dongleware Publishing
Cambridge, MA
(617) 497-1130
Toll free orders: 800-228-OXYD
Great Britain
CACHET UK, Inc.
PO Box 170
Sittingbourne, Kent
ME10 3NG
Telephone/Fax - 0795-435594
France
Application Systems Paris
Rue Germain Dardan
F-92120 Montrouge
Telephone (1)40.92.80.81
Fax (1)40.92.04.01
Germany
Dongleware Verlags GmbH
Postfach 1163
D-W6903 Neckargemuend
Telephone/Fax 06223 / 8740
Questions and/or help:
OXYD SOS Telephone: (617)497-1130 Thursdays 5-8 pm, or contact Thomas
Tempelmann on Compuserve at (72377,351). There may be Oxyd reps on
Delphi and GEnie in the near future.
Oxyd is one game that I highly recommend. It provides hours on end
of enjoyment, mixed in with the inevitable temporary frustration which
makes for a challenging game. See you all at the end when the world of
Oxyd is restored; I'm currently on Level 31!
Until next time....
___________________________________________________________________
> NVN WANTS YOU! STR InfoFile Another Network Supports Atari!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
National Videotext Network (NVN) has recently added an Atari ST Forum
to it's growing lists of available services. The Atari ST Forum is ready
and waiting for you!
The future of NVN will be one which continues to remain sensitive and
responsive to market needs. Additional services and advances in electronic
information will continue to be added, to provide unique and interesting
services on an on-going basis.
NVN service offerings can be broken into three categories: Basic,
Premium, and Premium Plus.
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Premium Services
----------------
For Premium services, Members pay connect charges for the amount of
time spent in a particular service. Premium services are accessible
Monday through Friday for a connect time charge of $9.00/hour from 8 am to
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_____________________________________________________________
> TAX WIZARD II STR InfoFile Program is ready for '92 Taxes
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Tax Wizard II
=============
PRESS RELEASE
-------------
Tax Wizard II Program ready for '92 taxes
For the third year in a row, A&D Software, a subsidiary of MacDonald
Associates Publishers, is providing a tax preparation program under the
name of Tax Wizard II. This program handles tax forms filing and includes
helpful preparation information. No complicated overlays are necessary
as the total program is contained on one disk.
Tax Wizard II is a stand alone GEM oriented tax preparation program
for the 1992 tax year. The program will serve the needs of most
individual and joint return taxpayers, including those taxpayers who are
self employed and have capital gains, home offices expenses or run a sole
proprietor business. More than 25 forms are supported with the 1992 year
version.
The program is much improved over the 1991 tax year version, and is
easy to use. Both ST and TT compatible (no support for ST Low or TT Low
rez), once you backup the program, you can use the backup disk for the
program and saving of your data. The Tax Wizard II developers recommend
that you work from a back up, and indicate that you can use either the
single disk approach or move the program files to a WIZARD II folder on
your hard drive. When printing, no user prompting is necessary. The
program does NOT support electronic filing.
Supporting a wide scope of tax forms, Tax Wizard II can help users
prepare taxes with ease. Regular 1040 and 1040A support is provided along
with Schedules A,B,C,D,E,EIC,F,R,SE and Forms 1116, 2106, 2441, 3800,
3903, 4562, 6198, 6251, 8582, 8829, in addition to 1040A support Schedules
1,2,3. The package includes the new 8829 home office expense form. Other
forms are continually being added to the program as the government and the
IRS continue to make filing more difficult and as the scope of filing
returns gets more complicated. The current selection should handle the
bulk of private and sole proprietor business returns filed under the
present federal tax system.
Each form is uniformly displayed on screen with complete cursor and
page view control of your work. The program transfers needed information
between forms and does all the math needed to complete your forms. The
program uses a unique variables data system. You do not need to work
forms in any particular order as the program contains an UPDATE feature
that instantly updates all forms with information that is needed from any
previously filled out forms.
ITEMIZATION is available on the appropriate lines of any form. The A
separate Itemization dialog is enabled allowing the taxpayer to list with
some specifics, the expense type and amount to be included. Itemization
printout is included when the all forms print cycles takes place, so that
your return will be complete with supporting itemization lists. The
itemization is printed out during final printout to be included with your
return and with the form the listing supports.
You can save your data on disk and recall it later for correction. A
ROUGH COPY Form 1040 (by user request) is included with this years program
so that users can check their data before entering on the submittable 1040
form. All other forms are submittable as printed out and should be
attached to your Form 1040 before filing.
Forms title information and taxpayer identification is automatically
included from information provided by the user in the file start up dialog
that is completed with the start of a NEW file. This allows efficient
final printout without intervention by the user. As a preparation guide,
all forms supported by the program are included in hard copy form within
the Tax Wizard II package, along with the documentation. Users can check
against the actual hard copy forms during preparation.
Tax Wizard II, from A&D Software is priced at $49.95 for new
purchasers, or $39.95 for prior registered owners (Plus $2.90 postage).
Registration cards of non-registered users is sufficient to claim the
discount.
A&D Software
909 NW Starlite Place
Grants Pass, OR 97526
Support or questions (503) 476-0071
Orders at 1-800-800-2563
Shipping started March 1, 1993 and will continue.
____________________________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
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- San Francisco, CA ST MICROWORLD WINS ARBITRATION
-----------------
Reports are filtering in that ST MicroWorld, owned by Bill Yerger, has
won a decision in arbitration sessions. Yerger brought suit against Atari
for wrongfully revoking his dealership. Pending appeal, the decision has
reportedly awarded ST Microworld $200,000.00.
- Hannover, Germany ATARI DTP CENTERS DROP IN NUMBERS
-----------------
According to our sources, the DTP centers in Germany that are Atari
related used to be as high as 585, now the latest count is they're down to
between 50-60 DTP service centers. The reason is alleged to be the lack
of advertising, support and a total lack of public awareness. Analysts
seem to favor that under the current conditions, there is little hope for
improvement.
- Chicago, IL LYNX ALL BUT ASLEEP
-----------
"The fabled Atari Lynx game machine, really a very good one, never
really achieved the marketshare it had the potential for. Many of the
larger outlets have stopped carrying the Lynx. The Lynx is all but
asleep. Its sad to see happening.. it had everything going for it." This
was a portion of a letter sent to our reporter by a developer for the Lynx
who wanted to remain unsigned. In his letter the dev said the Lynx was of
a superior design to anything on the market when it was released but it
too, was never given the real push it needed to take off. He also
expressed his lack of confidence in the new person appointed to head up
developer relations and Atari for the Lynx.
- Santa Clara, CA BANKRUPTCY COURTHOUSE RENDEZVOUS SAVES DAY?
---------------
As snoop rumor reports go, this one is quite interesting, it seems
there was a meeting in a courtroom corridor this past week involving a
very special courier carrying a few certified bank checks that apparently
nipped certain proceedings (about to begin) in the bud.
- Los Angeles, CA SIG HARTMAN SPEAKS UP
---------------
Recently, STReport had the wonderful opportunity to talk to Mr. Sig
Hartman. Hartman, best known as Mr. Atari in years gone by, took a few
moments to reflect on the times. We asked Mr. Hartman a few questions
about the past and of course the future. Rather than go for the usual
question and answer array, we'll present this in an informal, conversation
type presentation. Sig was asked what he thought about the new Falcon and
its chances in the US marketplace. He began by telling us about how he
met and spoke to Jack for the first time in almost two years at Comdex.
Sig thought the Falcon was a great idea but at the same time he expressed
concerns over the lack of substantial US Developer support for the
machine. He added that the machine would seemingly have to fend for
itself until it established itself then the big developers may respond.
When asked why he hadn't spoken to Jack in so long, especially since
everyone knew they were such good friends, he responded it was because I
had left Atari with some very hard to get over feelings because of the
tough time I had with one of his sons. When asked which of the sons it
was, his answer came as no surprise. Sig replied Leonard. Back to the
Falcon, Sig continued to comment about the Falcon and the fact that it was
an impressive machine. In fact, he made it a point to wish Jack and the
company all the luck in the world with its USA release. When asked about
his involvement with Goldleaf, and the "credit card incident" he said the
bank had cleared the problem up for him and he has heard no more about
the matter.
Sig began to illustrate what he's doing "these days"... he went on to
report he is now heavily involved in Multi-Media and CD Rom production.
Additionally, he pointed out that is a "booming business" and he expects
to sell "jillions!" It was good to talk to Sig, we reminisced about the
"good old days" talked about the current state of the Atari market and of
course, we parted with the promise of more of the same. Sig made our day
letting us know he understood what STReport was all about in trying to say
it like it really was and not how certain folks would've liked it to be
told.
To take moment or two, one can't help but wonder what heights Atari
may have attained had Sig Hartman stayed on with them.. Of course, his
dynamic personality kept the peace in the Atari community and it also
provided a cohesive element we haven't seen since his departure. If
anything, Jack ought to seriously consider bringing Sig back in. It would
be a darn sight better than the rank amateurs managing the company's
public relations and sales now. There isn't a soul out there who will not
agree that Sig certainly has his act together and could easily be the
catalytic ingredient in driving Atari into holding a major marketshare and
a strong corporate recovery.
__________________________________________________________
> STR Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard"
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STReport's MailBag
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Messages * NOT EDITED * for content
-----------------------------------
Presented below is the latest tirade from Jerry Cross. It appears he
has taken off the "kid gloves" and outrightly called myself and STReport
liars. That's good.. as there is nothing as good as a direct accusation
to prove definitely wrong and put an end to his non-sense and double talk.
Please overlook his use of expletives.... <sigh>
An Open letter to the editor of ST-Reports. I am requesting that this
message be published but hold little hope it will be.
Permission is granted to reprint as long as entire message is left intact.
===================
Mr. Mariano,
I have requested several times that we discuss this matter in the Genie
message bases in hopes that we could somehow resolve this nonsense.
Instead, time after time you refuse to reply to my messages, and you now
resort to replying to my concerns in the pages of STR. Unfortunately this
is a one-way dialog since I have no way to reply to your comments in a
public forum. You constantly refuse to publish any of my messages, and
therefore your readers only know your side of the story.
Your recent commentary in Issue 9.09 of STR has finally forced me to come
forward as forcefully as possible. You have now resorted to defaming me
in public, and I no longer will allow this.
In short, Mr. Mariano, I am now publicly calling you a liar. It's time to
sh** or get off the pot.
For the benefit of those who don't read your newsletter, let me reprint
your comments and I'll give my side of the story.
From Issue #9.09
===============
"To our readers;
"Mr. Cross decided to resurrect an old and very tired matter about the
FCC and Atari with his outrageous claims that STReport didn't have the
facts, was blowing smoke, etc.. STReport's contention is its Mr.
Cross who's very busy "blowing smoke" in an attempt to cloud the
entire matter for some unknown reasons. One can only wonder who or
what is "prompting" him. The information STReport obtained from the
FCC is obtainable by anyone caring to take the time and initiative to
seek it out. Anyone doing so will soon discover STReport did indeed
present the whole truth."
===============
Nothing was resurrected. I have been attempting to get the facts about
this story out since November, when Ralph first made public statements on
the F-Net that the Falcon was not FCC certified. Even though Mr. Mariano
had a statement from Mr. Bob Brodie that the story in Z-Net was not
accurate, Mr. Mariano continued to spread this story without any serious
attempt to investigate it. I'll explain about this later.
Mr. Mariano implies that I am being put up to this by some unknown source.
This is not true. I am a serious Atari supporter who is tired of
constantly trying to stop the spread of rumors published in STR. This
rumor was spread for one purpose only. To discredit Mr. Bob Brodie and
make him look bad by implying that he was lying about the statis of the
Falcon's certification. No one encourage me to speak up about this, and
I'm insulted that Mr. Mariano constantly implies this every time I have
the nerve to speak up and challenge something he reports on.
And yes, the information reported on is readily available to anyone who
cares to seek it out. It only takes a phone call. I strongly encourage
anyone who doubts the accuracy of what I'm reporting to verify it
yourself. Mr. Mariano made the mistake of believing that most of his
readers believes what he says with unquestionable loyalty. I am not one
of them. Therefore, he must now be asked to explain his sloppy reporting.
Mr. Mariano then went on to question why I objected to having my messages
printed in STR. As explained, I have no problem with that. The trouble is
I have sent him dozens of messages over the past two months, and he has
constantly refused to publish them. Most of the messages posted on Genie
were simply ignored altogether. The message that he has reprinted in Issue
#9.09 and #9.07 were actually messages sent to another person. It's
curious how he can find the time to answer other people's mail and not
have time to answer my messages to him.
To continue...
=======
"Mr. Cross continues to accuse and bleat nonsense about the accuracy
of our presentation relative to the FCC and the events surrounding the
certification of Atari computers and in particular, the Falcon030.
Rest assured, STReport would not dare to misquote the Federal
Communications Commission. Extreme care was exercised in composing
the reports and we guarantee accuracy in their presentation."
========
As I have stated to Mr. Mariano in the past, I do not question his facts,
only his interpretation. I have made every attempt to try and show him he
was wrong. I have supplied him with a number of sources I have called at
the FCC. I was willing to give Ralph the benefit of the doubt. It was
possible his source gave him inaccurate information. It was possible that
a misunderstanding had occured. Either way, all I wanted was to clear
this matter up and make everyone happy.
After all, the information was public knowledge. There was simply no
reason for him to withhold his sources at the FCC. But instead this is
the reply I get...
==============
"In the meantime, we welcome anyone's input in this matter. In fact,
we would be pleased to assist anyone caring to verify the information
by providing the telephone numbers in Washington D.C. and in Laurel
MD. where the individuals are located. Mr. Cross, in the ever so
usual litany, is demanding we reveal our "sources" within the FCC.
How very original. Simply put, STReport will not, as always, comply
with such requests. Our sources are just that.... OURS!"
===========
Gosh, you can just about SMELL the smoke, can't you? On one hand he's
willing to assist anyone wanting to verify the information, but then he
turns around and says it's STR's practice NEVER to honor such requests.
This message was followed by this....
==============
"STReport's source(s) at the Commission are STReport's business not
yours or anybody else's for that matter. As you good and well know,
STReport will only release a source ID if that source approves of such
action. But then, why should those sources be revealed? To make it
easier for others to obtain info? STReport's sources at the FCC are
not at all in question _except in your mind_. You can stand on your
interpretation all you wish. However, facts are facts and history
bears that out to the tee in this matter. As for you giving me your
sources at the FCC, all you gave me was, incredibly, a FIRST NAME!
Again, you try to color the truth with your interpretations of what
you think you 'heard'. Stick to the facts. They will, as always,
prevail."
=================
Now then, let me explain the last part of his statement. When this story
first began to unfold, Mr. Marian was insisting that Atari supply him with
the FCC Certification number. This was important so that Ralph could
continue to spread around his lies concerning the certification. It goes
like this.....
Ralph's sole source of information at the FCC was the FCC BBS. This is a
publicly accessable service supplied by the FCC so the public could access
certification records. In order to access this information it was
necessary to have the certification number. Now, that in itself is quite
funny. Stay with me with this....You need a certification number to prove
there is a certification number.
Now what would happen I gave Ralph the FCC number. He would call the FCC
BBS, of course, and search for a file on the Falcon. As he later found
out, the FCC BBS is not quite up to date. The information is not input by
the FCC labs but is gathered by the public information office. It takes
time for this information to flow down to it, so the information had not
yet been posted.
Now the next step would be Ralph not finding the files. That's all the
proof he needed to verify his claim it was not verified.
Anyway, Ralph wanted the number. So I did what should have been quite
simple for Mr. Mariano to do, I called the FCC myself. After about three
hours of being bounced around I finally was put in touch with someone
named Dave at the FCC's Technical Specifications department. Dave agreed
to search for the certification number for me, which he supplied after
about 10 minutes of searching.
Now, nice guy that I am, I tried to pass this information on to Ralph. I
made it as simple as I could. I informed Mr. Mariano that he could get his
much sought after proof of certification by simply calling the number I
supplied and asking for Dave. Unfortunately, I underestimated Mr.
Mariano's ability to do simple investigative work. After all, there could
be more then one Dave there, right? So he didn't call the number. Instead,
he continued to spread the false rumor that the Falcon was not certified,
and continued to do so until a number of messages on Genie finally forced
him to follow through and get the proof. Incredible as it may sound, he
still refused to call up Dave. Instead, he finds someone at the FCC labs
to search for it. His original report, as printed in a January issue of
STR, claimed that they couldn't even FIND a file on the Falcon. They later
managed to stumble across the information and it was published a week
later.
But here is the problem. The last thing Mr. Mariano wanted to prove was
that the Falcon was actually certified in November. HE COULDN'T! He was
reporting for over a month at it wasn't certified. To now say it was
actually certified all along would require that he appolize to Mr. Brodie
for calling him a liar, and to appolize to the readers of ST-Reports, the
users, and myself, for spreading false rumors. He even tried to cover up
his mess by blaiming Atari for not giving the number out, and even the
publisher of Z-Net for starting this mess in the first place!
We now come to the good stuff....here is another excert......
=================
"Jerry, we've known each other for quite some time and I must say your
insistence upon this tack of my not having the real facts concerning
the FCC is ludicrous! The information was dictated to STReport and
presented verbatim in STReport 902. No embellishments, nothing but
the facts just the way we got them from the Engineer in Charge. You
proved nothing, absolutely nothing except that of an attempt to build
a facade of smoke and mirrors. The Falcon was class B certified on
January 8th. Since the previous certification with its requirements
were appealed by Atari, that certification was rendered invalid. You
failed to understand that point of information."
===========
Note the phrase "The Engineer in Charge". Also referred to in past
messages to me as "The Head Engineer".
I sent Ralph a messages about this question. Unfortunately, it ended up in
the pile of other unpublished messages he received from me.
In it, I requested the source for his information. You have already read
the reply I got. So I was forced to once again get on the phone and verify
Mr. Mariano's story.
Let me clarify this again. The "facts" that I am trying to find is what
happened to the November certification.
Here is Mr. Mariano's interpretation of the "facts".
=============
"Atari indeed had certification in late November 1992 for a very, very
short time. Counted in days. Once the appeal over the special monitor
cable was made, the certification was gone. Gone at the time we
brought the matter to the attention of our readers. Gone until the
Falcon030's re-certification on January 8th 1993. In fact there was
no certification at all during Comdex Fall'92 it was only _applied
for_. You cannot possibly have any idea of when STReport or myself
first contacted the FCC. Yet, you try to give the readers the
illusion you do. The fact is this allegation is pure fantasy on your
part. Another of your many statements made with no basis in fact.
You see, STReport was in contact with the FCC from the time period
right after Comdex Fall'92 when the first indications began surfacing
about the Falcon030 having NO FCC Class B certification. STReport
stayed in close contact with the FCC relative to this matter until
such time as we posted the most recent certification (01/08/93). As
for sources, we simply ignored your repeated feeble attempts at
confusing the matter by demanding we (as usual) reveal our sources of
information at the Commission and elsewhere. In a nutshell; In late
November, the Falcon030 was NO LONGER CERTIFIED! THEREFORE; NO CLASS
B CERTIFICATION!! Atari did not gain Class B certification for the
Falcon030 until January 8th 1993! And now, that certification may be
in question also. How many times must this 'minor' fact be
illustrated to you before it _finally_ sinks in?????"
===============================
In a nutshell, this statement is full of lies.
Mr. Mariano was never in contact with the FCC. If he was, then he
certainly would have had the certification number. His constant request
for it is proof that he had not contacted the FCC on this matter.
I contacted the FCC labs once again in hopes of finding this mysterious
"head engineer". Nobody had a clue who to transfer me to. I was shuffled
around to 5 differant engineers in hopes of verifying Mr. Mariano's story.
One engineer, named Art Busch, confirmed that what I was saying all along
was true and reputed what Ralph said.
I sent this information to Ralph last week in hopes that he would try to
verify his "facts". You saw the result of this request in this weeks issue
of ST-Reports. Note that he makes no referance at all to Mr. Busch.
Needless to say, I have had enough of this liplashing character
assassination by Mr. Mariano.
On Monday morning, March 1, I once again called the FCC labs. I requested
to talk to the head of the labs (yup, it was that easy) and I was
connected with Mr. Charlie Cobb, the Branch Chief for the FCC Labs. This
is the closest thing to a "head engineer" at the FCC, since Mr. Cobb is in
charge of the entire FCC lab. Since he ran the labs I would get the
correct "facts".
Mr. Cobb informed me that he has never talked to Mr. Mariano, Lloyd
Pulley, or any individual representing ST-Reports, nor has he answered any
questions concerning the Atari Falcon or any other Atari product.
Mr. Cobb pulled the files on the Atari Falcon. He informed me that the
original certification was "modified" by the FCC for Atari. A big
difference! As long as the computer in question was unchanged, the appeal
was a simple matter of proceedure. The original certification was never
canceled, as Mr. Mariano claims. It remained in effect throughout November
and December, and once the appeal process was finished the original
certification was then ammended to show the changes.
On the other hand, if Atari had modified the original computer and then
attempted to "recertify" it, then the original certification would have
been canceled. Since the computer would no longer exist, no certification
would be needed.
This is not a special situation with electronic devices. It is a comman
practice and it happens all the time.
Therefore, Mr. Mariano's source is either grossly uninformed about the
policies at the FCC, or Mr. Mariano concocted the whole story to cover his
past lies. You decide.
At this time I would also like to expose another of Mr. Mariano's upcoming
false rumors.
Mr. Mariano reported a while ago that Atari was being investigated by the
FCC for submitting a "queen", or a specially handled computer, for FCC
certification. The implication is that by doing this, they could ensure
that their computer passed all of the tests.
In an effort to enforce this rumor, Mr. Mariano published the following:
=========
From STR Issue 9.07 February 12
"- Washington, DC FCC DILIGENT OVER "QUEENS"
--------------
In a recent discussion with its field engineers, the commission's
brass made mention of the fact they were highly concerned over the
practice of submitting special versions of hardware or of hardware
receiving certification while the actual units offered for sale were
not exactly the same as those submitted for certification. Its been
decided that "in the field" acquisition and re-inspection of certain
devices, computers and many type 15 devices will be placed under high
priority. A number of incidents in the last 18 months involving
"Queens" and other 'substitution' abuses have made this action
necessary."
================
You will note that Ralph has been careful not to get Atari's name in this
story, but this is exactly the thing that Ralph implied Atari was doing in
a past message posted on one of the services.
Now, while submitting a "queen" for testing is not illegal, it is frowned
upon by the FCC. In order to police this practice, they do random tests of
various products. This is not an indication that the company did anything
wrong! It is a normal procedure performed by the FCC all of the time.
It should also be noted that since the Falcon was not even in production
at the time the computer was submitted it would be pretty hard to send
them a "production line" unit.
After explaining this to me, I informed Mr. Cobb that Mr. Mariano had
reported that the FCC was looking into re-testing the Falcon because they
suspected a "queen" had been submitted.
Mr. Cobb looked into this matter for me. What a surprise! Not one thing
was mentioned in the Atari file about it. Mr. Cobb then contacted a field
investigator to see if they knew anything about Ralph's claims, and they
stated they were not investigating Atari at all!
What we have here is yet another example of Mr. Mariano creating a false
rumor, then hiding behind his sources.
Finally, while it's against Mr. Mariano's policy to list his sources, I am
not afraid to do so. If anyone wishes to verify any of these comments
please do so. I request that you post your findings on a public message
source for all to see, since I'm sure Mr. Mariano will not believe a word
I have said here. Matter of fact, I can expect yet another tounge lashing
in his next issue.
Mr. Charlie Cobbs can be reached at 301-725-1585, extension #204. Mr. Art
Busch can be reached at the 301-257-3217. There are four other engineers
who will be happy to field your questions. I'm sorry that I didn't write
their names down but you can reach them on extensions 211, 214, 229 and
230.
Mr. Mariano can supply you with Daves phone number since I have since lost
it, and the messages have been deleted off the bbs.
Other helpfull sources are the FCC Technical Standards Division, and the
FCC's Public Information service. You don't need the number, the FCC Lab
can transfer you. Be sure to refer to the following certification number :
EBAF030FT. This number was later changed on the new certification
certificate to include the letters "ST" at the end, so whoever you talk to
be sure to mention it if they can't find the file.
Conclusion...
Mr. Mariano. You have taken me to task. I have done your work for you. How
many more reliable sources must I present in order for you to stop your
lies! I must now insist that you either present evidence that what you
have been saying is true. If you can not do this, I demand that you issue
an appology to Mr. Brodie, the readers of ST-Reports, and to myself for
your recent defamatory comments against me. I believe that I have done
everything possible to help you report this story accurately, and you have
done nothing but call me names, threaten to have my bbs expelled from your
Crossnet conferences, and assult my character publicly in the pages of
ST-Reports.
It's now up to you Mr. Mariano, get off the pot!
IN REPLY.......
Jerry,
After reading your reply, I am so embarrassed for you. For ultimately
you have proven nothing except that you take some kind of warped pleasure
in taking STReport to task. As a result of your latest effort, I took the
time and trouble to re-contact my sources of information at the FCC and
while I spoke to them I asked permission to reveal them in STReport for
verification purposes. The following is exactly what transpired.
On Wednesday morning (03/03/93) of this week, I once again, called
Arlan K. Van Dorn, Deputy Chief, Field Operations at the FCC in Washington
D.C. because of your outrageous accusations placed in public this past
week. The results of the conversation are presented herein along with the
results of other conversations with another representative of the FCC in
Laurel, MD.
During my conversation with Mr. Van Dorn, I read your missive to him
in its entirety. Needless to say he was not amused at all at your
accusations and claims. I also read the entire report detailed by us in
STR902. Mr. Van Dorn first concluded that our entire presentation was
factually accurate. He then researched the FCC listings for an "Art
Busch" at 301-257-3217, firstly the area code was incorrect and has been
for some time, secondly there is a Donovan family listed for that number
and that's who answers. (not even remotely associated with the FCC)
Lastly, there is _no_ Art Busch listed at all with the FCC either in
Washington D.C. or Laurel Md. We then discussed the matter of queens
again. I then read the piece about queens we placed in STR Confidential
and he stated it was factually correct. Mr. Van Dorn then referred me to
Mr. Charlie Cobbs at 301-725-1585 X204.
As our conversation progressed, Mr. Van Dorn stated quite clearly that
as far as he was concerned everything we have ever presented concerning
the FCC had always been meticulously accurate and above reproach. He also
stated that in his experience he has seen such things occur in the past,
they are usually done by those trying to protect something or other. Its
quite common, he added. As for myself, I was rather surprised to find
that STReport was outrightly accused of "lying" when in fact, we reported
the entire scenario exactly as it happened. I then thanked Mr. Van Dorn
for his time, assistance and information.
I then called Laurel Md. to speak to Mr. Cobbs. His line was on the
voice mail system, I left a message. Mr. Cobbs returned my call later
that afternoon. After the usual greetings... I asked Mr. Cobbs if he
could possibly recall our telephone conversation that took place on the
afternoon of January 8th. (the actual day Atari received Class B
certification for the Falcon030) To which he replied; "I speak to an
average of one hundred people a day here its difficult at best to recall
one or two conversations." However, when I reminded Mr. Cobbs of the
"patch call" from Mr. Van Dorn, he immediately remembered the specific
conversation. I thanked him and asked if it would be ok to read Cross'
reply to our article as Cross was accusing us of "lying". He said please
do.
After I read the article to him he agreed that our representation of
what occurred (which Cross included above in various excerpts) and how it
went down was indeed very accurate. I then went on to ask him if he
recalled his conversation with me relative to "QUEENS" and he said "yes,
he did." Additionally, Mr. Van Dorn and myself had discussed submission
of queens to the commission and I had, in my conversation of January 8th
with Mr. Cobbs, brought the subject up. Mr Cobbs and Mr. Van Dorn again
agreed that my information relative to "Queens" and the presentation of
same was accurate. I might add that nowhere, was any company name
mentioned. I do know that machines offered for sale to the public in the
USA are purchased by the FCC for retesting and comparison to the machines
originally submitted for certification. I know no "Dave" as you say and
have no inclination to start any rumors. The facts were presented and
only the facts. Sometimes they are quite hard to handle and people tend
overreact.
In closing, its again a sad day when hysterical accusation and
innuendo permeates a particularly touchy topic as it tends to cloud the
issues severely. The bottom line is, perhaps there was some type of
miscommunication or misunderstanding on Mr. Cross' part. As STReport
stands pat on everything we presented relative to the FCC, the
certification of both the Falcon030 and the TT030 and finally the
presentation of the information about the submission of "QUEENS" for FCC
certification.
As editor of STReport I must apologize for appearing to drag this
matter out as the topic re: who, how, why, about the certification of the
Falcon030 is rather menial, the questions raised by Jerry Cross relative
to journalistic integrity are not and as such, it became necessary to re-
contact the FCC and verify everything we presented that was pertinent to
the situation. As a result, STReport has been shown to be accurate. We
now consider the matter closed.
Sources of Verification:
------------------------
Arlan K. Van Dorn, Deputy Chief, Field Operations 1-202-632-7200
Julius Knapp, Acting Chief, FCC Testing Labs, 1-301-725-1585
Charlie Cobbs, Branch Chief, FCC Testing Labs, 1-301-725-1585
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> A "Quotable Quote" "...REALLY?? AWWW GEE!!...."
"""""""""""""""""
Among _other_ things Bob Brodie has informed us of in his celebrated
online conferences he clearly stated on Friday, January 8th, 1993 about
the pending release of MultiTos;
"In speaking to the TOS group, they feel confident that they
will have a shippable version of MultiTOS next week."
To continue, about the time of release and shipping of the Falcon030 we
are also told during the same January 8th conference;
"Sam indicated to me that he was meeting with a representative from
another factory to bring on board another manufacturer to produce
Falcons for us. We expect this to delay significant shipments of
Falcons until March."
It would appear that one can conclude that by saying "until March" its
easier to deduce it means "until March commences as opposed to "sometime
in March". Ah... what the hey, March is March... <sigh>
... The Ides of March
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> ABCO SPECIALS! STR InfoFile * 1992 SPRING Prices! MORE Products! *
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""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International Online Magazine
-* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *-
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STR Online! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" March 04, 1993
Since 1987 copyright (c) 1987-92 All Rights Reserved No.9.10
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors/staff of STReport International Online Magazine. Permission
to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Reprints
must, without exception, include the name of the publication, date, issue
number and the author's name . STReport and/or portions therein may not
be edited in any way without prior written permission. STReport, at the
time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. STReport, its staff
and contributors are not and cannot be held responsible for the use or
misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-----------------------------------------
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