ST Report: 7-May-93 #919
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 05/08/93-05:31:25 PM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 7-May-93 #919
Date: Sat May 8 17:31:25 1993
*---== STReport International Online Magazine ==---*
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from
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May 07, 1993 No.9.19
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> 05/07/93 STR 919 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
""""""""""""""""
- The Editor's Desk - PEOPLE TALKING - PORTFOLIO NEWS
- ITS A LONG WAIT! - CT Atari FESt'93 - THE RANT & RAVE
- PGST VER. 3.0 - STR MAILBAG - TOS 4.04 & FALCON
- ATARI WORKS BUGGY? - BLUE RIDGE FEST - STR Confidential
-* DREW KERR - OPEN LETTER *-
-* ATARI EXPLORER - THE TRUTH! *-
-* "FALCONWAIT" The USERBASE WAITS! *-
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Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (May 7)
SPEED OF LIGHT GIF VIEWER!
Download file SPOFLT.LZH from LIBRARY 14 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO
ATARIARTS) for a new Speed-of-Light .GIF file viewer. Shows all colors,
squash the picture to fit the screen or just scroll it, adjust flicker,
color quality/levels, etc.
NEW PRINTER DRIVER FOR DESKJET
Download PrintAll Version 1.1 (file PRTALL.LZH in LIBRARY 9 of the Atari
Productivity Forum -- GO ATARIPRO). A Printer driver program for the HP
Deskjet 500 and 500C. Prints multiple file formats in color or
black-and-white in multiple sizes and orientations. Latest version adds
Prism Paint PNT support, Tiny low and medium-res .TNY and Sun Microsystems'
"Rasterfile" .RAS support. Also numerous bug-fixes and speedups, ability to
cancel without quitting and cancel long operations. This version supersedes
PrintAll 1.0.
New "CMYK" output options simulates Deskjet 550C output on 500C printers!
SHAREWARE FROM DOUBLE CLICK IN ATARIVEN
Double Click Software has decided to release DC Xtract Plus as SHAREWARE!
Included in the LZH file are DC Xtract Plus 2.1v and a doc file. Download
file XTRPLS.LZH from LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN).
Double Click Software has also decided to release DC SEA as SHAREWARE! Make
ARC/LZH/ZIP/ZOO into a self-extracting file. Download file DCSEA.LZH from
LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN).
MANY NEW FILES IN ATARIPRO!
Lots of new files in the Libraries of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO
ATARIPRO). Type BRO LIB:ALL to check out the most recent entries!!
REVISED PRINTER DRIVERS FROM SOFTLOGIK
SoftLogik has made the following two files available for download from
LIBRARY 11 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN):
PS2299.ARC - PostScript printer driver for ImageSetters and Color PostScript
printers version 2.2.99. This is a temporary driver that fixes problems
with v2.2.11 printing to Linos and Color PS printers.
PS2211.ARC - Newest PostScript printer driver version 2.2.11. This driver is
good for users printing to PostScript lasers. For users needing to print to
Color PS and high-rez imagesetters, you should use the v2.2.99 driver.
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE
HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN
OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION
"GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"
"ENJOY CIS' ATARI FORUMS WHERE CENSORSHIP IS A DIRTY WORD!"
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> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
There is, apparently, a new "game" afoot. Kinda sad since it appears
the few who are making all the noises have obvious agendas to follow. Now,
with the latest of moves by them they are "tipping" their hands for all to
see the "palms". Neither I, nor any of our staff have ordered any quantity
of Atari compatibles not ever. In addition, I did not, under any
circumstances initiate the exchanges of information relative to the
conception, design or hopes of marketing such a device in the USA. Further
any and all information spoken of by STR, myself or our staff was cleared
with the party, who by the way requested that we contact them, before any
discussions public or private. I say these things to clear the air of all
the lies and innuendo being spread by those who have these strange agendas
and IOUs to honor at any price. Including their own integrity. I have the
proofs to back up what I say. If and when it becomes necessary to produce
them I shall but only on the advice of counsel and with the permission of
other equally concerned parties. The persons who are harping about this
matter are actually the very same antagonists STReport and its staff was, at
one time, obliged to painfully endure week after week.
It's really sad to see such things going on in the Atari platform
especially at a time when truth and fairness to the users should be the
prevalent concern of every participant in the platform. Of course, one of
the rather outspoken, if not the outspoken person is also claiming to be
directly responsible in reporting to Mr. Brodie all things relative to the
compatible project. I'd say that's a pretty neat connection. Now, if one
considers the obvious obsession it becomes extremely easy to fully
understand the most recent onslaught occurring in the STRT on Genie. A
masterful plan indeed to take away attention from the Explorer Hard Copy
debacle. The only thing left to say relative to entire matter is; please
pay particular attention to the participants and their trumped up
allegations. They've jumped the gun on this one and indeed blown it. They
sure do give STReport a great deal power to sway things in the Atari arena.
Even I find that very hard to believe, but its there for all to read and see
in the STRT Cat 18, topic 2... beginning with message 197. Lo and behold
look who "started" it all. Not surprising.
Reports are slowly trickling in about alleged "Falcon" sightings.
Unfortunately, its seems these sightings thus far, are only of the dealer
demo machines of developer machines in action or on loan. Rumors abound but
solid reports of private individuals making purchases of Falcons and taking
them home have yet to materialize. Hopefully, we'll hear of some Real Soon
Now.
Thanks again for the wonderful support!
Ralph...
ps; Methinks another PC DITTO type thing is brewing!
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STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
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Publisher - Editor
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Ralph F. Mariano
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?"
<>###############################<>
"There is no comparison! The Atari Falcon
is far superior to the PC platform."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
About the scathing Forbes Magazine Critique of Atari;
"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
About marketing plans and the future....
"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
A fantastic observation, considering the date it was made...
"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
Again, the dates of the statement conflict with the facts now known....
"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 $0.81
CHRISTMAS '92 has COME and GONE...
AS HAS...
JANUARY 1993, FEBRUARY 1993...
FALCONS ....anyone?
By the Way.... Does the Falcon work well
with
any... of the SLM Laser Printers?? NOPE! NOT YET!
Wanna bet there won't be any?
Better yet...
Which _MAJOR_ US Software Developers & Publishers
are
producing NEW Software for Atari's FALCON???
Besides, who _needs_ a CARTRIDGE PORT anyhow!
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> ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
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PEOPLE ARE TALKING
==================
On CompuServe
-------------
compiled by Joe Mirando
73637,2262
Well folks, its that time again. Time to look through the forums on
CompuServe and check out the news, info, and helpful tips available to us
all. Let's jump right in and check it out...
>From the Atari Productivity Forum
=================================
Interesting news from Ian Braby:
"I paid a visit to Atari UK today, just to be nosey, and was given a quick
tour (accidental, my guide and I were looking for someone to help me!) and I
managed to glean the following, having asked about Speedo gdos.
MULTITOS: The final version is with them, now and will be shipped to
registered Falcon owners in a matter of days; as soon as English docs are
finished. The product will then be available to other Atari owners,
distributed by HiSoft.
D2D: As above; this is also likely to be distributed to other interested
users by HiSoft.
SPEEDO GDOS: should be following along within a week (?Atari-speak for Real
Soon Now) and distribution of this is likely to also be handled by HiSoft.
ATARIWORKS: Original version received by Atari UK was rejected back to the
US because of bugs. No new version has been forth-coming from Atari US,
since.
And, for the Lynx:
LEMMINGS: The EPROM is now in-house. Available RSN!!!
Just thought you might be interested!"
The Big Cahoona, Master Sysop Ron Luks tells Ian:
"Thanks for the updates! Sounds like something is finally rolling out the
doors. Its been a long wait."
Alex Kiernan adds this about LEMMINGS:
"And it is truly wonderful; I half-inched Bill's Lynx at CeBIT & played for
a while - it is truly excellent!"
Well, well, well. Products? From Atari? THIS could be the start of
something big! ;^)
Hans Albert posts:
"I've heard about the Atari-Works - but how can i get it in germany?"
Jim Ness tells Hans:
"It was mentioned yesterday that HiSoft, in England, will be distributing
Atari Works, MultiTOS, and some other stuff. So, whoever handles HiSoft
products should be able to get it for you."
Ain't that amazing, folks? It gets mentioned in Great Britain that Hisoft
will be distributing products for Atari, it gets posted on an American
Service, and the information and helps out a guy in Germany... all in the
space of one day. Isn't technology great? Meanwhile, as the question of
reading ST formatted disks on a DOS machine with Gemulator, Bob Retelle
posts:
"I suspect the GEMulator will do whatever the software tells it to do...
if a boot sector tells it that there are 81 tracks on the disk, it will try
to read out to track 81.
The only reason exactly the same thing doesn't happen under DOS is that DOS
only recognizes 9 sector, 80 track formats. If it had the built-in
flexibility that TOS does, it too would seek out to track 81 if it was told
to.
The answer would be to not put an 81 track disk in your PC drives, I
guess..."
That's right, friends and neighbors, the much-maligned (of late) ST, for
all its dated architecture, was more flexible than the original PCs, the
286s, and is STILL more flexible than today's 3-and-486s. Elsewhere, Jim
Lohman asks about unpacking MAC files with his ST:
"Can anyone tell me if there are any ST utilities available here or
elsewhere that will unpack Macintosh StuffIt files? I see some text files
over in ShowBiz that I'd like to check out, and I've used Atari File Finder
w/various keywords, but no luck so far. Thanks for your help."
The short and (not so) sweet answer from Sysop Keith Joins replies:
"There is no Stuffit utility for the ST."
Well, even sysops can't be right all the time. Robert Aries tells Jim:
"I'm not sure of the keywords, but I downloaded an un-Stuffit utility for
the ST from the libs here a while ago, so Keith is wrong. I don't think it
works on all Stuffit files, though (it wouldn't do a few GIFS I downloaded
from MacFun)."
Jim thanks Robert:
"I found the file you referred to - it's UNSIT.LZH in Lib. 4. It works fine
for unpacking the text files I found over in ShowBiz, except I had to write
a quickie Basic prg. to add linefeeds. Jeez, those Mac disk files are kinda
different, eh? Resource fork, data fork, salad fork...
Anyway, thanks a lot for the tip."
Robert tells Jim:
"Glad it worked out. BTW, I think an old utility I use called DCOPY (don't
know if it's still around here) will add linefeeds to those Mac text files."
Our own Dana Jacobson adds this bit of info:
"After seeing the messages here in the Forum ... a reader sent me a file
which may help resolve the problems experienced by users wanting to use
ST-formatted disks on their PCs. If you feel that this file would have some
benefit in the Atari areas, let me know and I will post it to wherever you
feel appropriate. Here's the file description, to give you a brief summary
of what the program does:
Format and read extended format floppies on MS-DOS machines. The FDREAD
portion of the program will allow you to use ST formatted extended
(including "twister" format) disks on an MS-DOS machine (with the right size
drive, of course). The file is named FDFORM18, in case it matters!"
Ron Luks, being the top-notch Sysop that he is, tells Dana:
"We'd absolutely *LOVE* to have that file here. It would answer a lot
of questions.
Where to put it..... Tough Question. for now, please upload it to lib 17
(Miscellaneous) and if we find a better location, we can move it
internally."
Jim Lohman asks:
"Can anyone here explain how the ST floppy drives recognize a media change?
Some time ago, I hacked a Matsushita J-253 double-sided drive onto my trusty
old 520ST (external drive). It works, but it only sees a disk change if I'm
changing to or from a write-protected disk. Because of this I have to be
_real_ careful to keep from clobbering directories right & left.
So far I've tried a utility called Force Media Change in the Auto Folder,
but it didn't always work exactly right. I also tried connecting pins 2 & 28
on the 34-pin connector, but then it thought all my disks were WP'ed.
I should also mention that my drive has the extra intelligent controller
board, as opposed to the older(?) models which apparently had the computer
more or less directly connected to the drive. Does anyone know the purpose
of this extra hardware? The 8048 controller IC seems to "process" the head
step pulses & other signals in some way. Rather intriguing."
Larry Green tells Jim:
"Ref media change. I am aware that when the ST formats a disk it gives it a
unique (random) ID number which is put in the boot sector. If it detects
that this number is different then it knows that the disk has changed.
The problem with this is if you are using PC disks which do not use the
number idea and swop the disk, the ST senses that no number has changed and
files can be over written!
Likewise if you have ST disks that are copied (I knew someone who formatted
one disk and then copied it using blitz turbo or something), the serial
number never changes and so files can be damaged.
If this is no help I can look up the rest. Of course I bet someone can beat
me to it."
Jim replies to Larry:
"Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, I have no DOS-formatted disks in my
setup, and after checking a few of them w/a disk editor, the serial #'s do
appear to be random.
This seems to boil down to some sort of hardware difference between the
original big old SS drive and the new DS one, but I can't finger out what it
is. I've read that the ST doesn't use pin 2 (DISK CHANGE) of the 34-pin
connector, which I find puzzling; and I don't see any difference in logic
levels on pin 28 (WRITE PROTECT) between the two drives for a given
operation (not with a meter anyway - I'll be checking it with a scope as
soon as I remember to bring the damn thing home from work!).
To troubleshoot this, I've been booting w/a blank, formatted disk & using
the Esc. key to update the open directory window. If the disk is
write-protected, no problem - but if it's not, and I remove & replace it,
then hit Esc., the window flickers, but the drive doesn't run (i.e. no
directory update). Of course, that is a Very Bad Thing.
Sumpin's goofy here, but I dunno what."
Sysop Bob Retelle adds:
"That stuff about the random serial number is right... but the problem Jim
is having is getting the ST to read the directory (and serial number) in the
first place..
The ST uses a somewhat, er.. unusual method of detecting that the disk has
been physically changed.. when you replace the drive with a different type,
sometimes the detection doesn't work.. thus the ST never reads in the
directory and serial number from the new disk, and thinks you've still got
the old disk in there. (Which makes writing on the new disk an invitation
to disaster..!)
Now if only I could remember what the fix is..."
Cullan Briggs asks:
"Can anyone tell me if there is a way of speeding up a Mega STE 4meg/50? I
am wondering if adding say, a math co-processor would speed up things like
the generation of patterns in Band in a Box or the processing of things like
quantization in Notator. I am also wondering about Atari's future. Atari
Canada no longer exists and some of the programs I need are only available
on Mac right now.I am looking for an editor/librarian for the Kurzweil K2000
and the only ones that I know of are Opcode's Galaxy and Unisynth.The Falcon
should be a great computer IF it gets adequate support but it has yet to
arrive in my neighborhood.Oh and as far as speeding things up, I already use
Warp9 but I need even more speed. Any light shed on these questions would be
appreciated."
Jim Ness explains about the co-processor:
"A math coprocessor will only speed up computations on programs which use
it.
As far as I know, only DynaCADD and some Lexicor graphics products use the
coprocessor.
Your best bet is to look into an accelerator card. Fast Tech and Gadgets by
Small both make accelerators, although I believe only the Fast Tech product
can fit into your MegaSTE. The speed up is dramatic."
Sysop Brad Hill tells Cullan:
"...Warp 9 is a graphics
accelerator, and speeds up screen redraws, but doesn't affect processing
speed.
About the K2000 editor... Last night I saw a note in the new MIDI C
Vendor Forum about Dr. T's possibly offering one. You might want to stop
over there (GO MIDICVEN) and encourage them!"
Stefan Daystrom at Barefoot Software tells Cullan:
"The Mega ST_E_ is capable of running (as I recall) at three speeds:
8 MHz
16 MHz cache off
16 MHz cache on
Are you running at the fastest (16 MHz cache on) already? If you're running
at 8 MHz, that change would give you roughly a 50% speedup.
_BUT_: Last I heard (which _was_ quite a while ago, so they may have fixed
this by now), Notator was still not compatible (because of timing tricks
with the cartridge port) with even _that_ faster speed, and would not run on
any faster Atari models such as the TT. Do you now have a version of
Notator which will run on faster machines? If not, an accelerator will
speed up your Band in a Box and most _other_ sequencers, but will make your
Notator stop working!"
Sysop Ron Luks adds:
"As others have already mentioned, a math co-processor would be of limited
value in speeding up your system, but an accelerator board would help
significantly.
As for Atari's future in the computer business, that's the $64,000 question
lately. Although we have been promised the new Falcon030 model since last
fall/winter, to the best of my knowledge, no units are currently shipping
for customer purchase. Recently a limited number of units went out to
select dealers as demo units. All I can say at this point is that unless
Atari ships the Falcon in significant numbers, I don't know that you can
count on much independent software vendor support for the current models."
>From the Atari ST Arts Forum
============================
It seems that everyone has been interested in displaying SPECTRUM 512
picture files on DOS machines of late. As Yogi Berra said "It ain't over
'till its over", and friends, it ain't over. "Jon" posts:
"With the risk of getting some "anti-IBM" messages I will ask a stupid
question. Is there any way to display the *.SPC graphics files on an IBM
compatible PC? Go easy on me."
Bob Retelle tells Jon the unfortunate news:
"Jon, unfortunately I don't know of any direct way of viewing SPC graphics
files on a PC...
The files can be converted to GIF format, but the utilities to do that only
run on Atari computers.
The good news is that one of our members has been looking into writing a PC
program that could view SPC files, but it may be some time until that's
ready..."
Ron Luks sets Jon's mind at ease:
"First of all, don't worry about seeing anti-IBM messages here. A
significant number of our members also have PCs at home or work.
Unfortunately, there is no PC viewer for SPC files. At least one member
was working on a viewer but I don't think he's finished it yet. Its one of
our most requested utilities lately."
Neil Burton asks:
"...And doesn't it make you sick when you see some of the stuff out there
for the PC ???"
Tim Myers answers:
"Yep it sure does. Some of the games that use fractal generated landscapes
with solid, shadowed, shaded graphics in 256 colors are visually amazing!
You'd think that the falcon could do as well with it's 256 color mode BUT
the screen draws are comparatively slow so it doesn't look half as good and
the animation is jerky. Is it just that the 16bit bus and slowish processor
speed cripple the Falcon? There are already a number of accelerator boards
available for the falcon. Does that tell us something or what !"
Neil says:
"I've not seen any yet.. My brother-in-law was showing me a helicopter sim
on their 486, (A C.D. game..) but the bugger refused to work !!! SO he
started playing with buffers etc.... I bogged off home !!!
I smell Atari all over this one... Buggy RS232 on TOS 4.04... What will
they think of next ?? <G>"
Brian Gockley of ST Informer and CAF '93 (Connecticut AtariFest)
Co-Coordinator, posts:
"I heard that the Falcon did _not_ have serial port bugs? Alex over at
HiSoft stated that they had a whole new chipset for the serial ports, which
rectified the old problems. 4.04? I thought we were on 4.02? Is this our
weekly TOS update? At least they're updating ROMs, better now than later!"
Jim Ness tells Brian:
"I've heard that TOS 4.02 still has some serial problems, but they aren't
the same ones seen in TOS 1.04 and earlier, because there are different
algorithms to handle the new port hardware.
I don't know if 4.04 still has problems. 4.02 is the one appearing in
dealer demos in the US. 4.04 is supposed to appear when Atari begins
shipping inventory units. Mike Fulton says that even 4.04 has some minor
graphics bugs remaining - but he did not address the serial bugs issue."
Bob adds:
"Kind of expensive, wouldn't you think, changing ROMs at this rate..?
We've been hearing all kinds of wild numbers on UseNet, regarding the number
of Falcons being produced... not that very many people seem to believe
them.. but just think how much it would cost to toss out 10,000 ROMs and
order new masked ROMs to clear up ANOTHER bug before you ship your
product...
Unless they're EPROMs...
Unless they're not really making that many..."
Doug Finch, the other Co-Coordinator of the Connecticut AtariFest (see info
in this issue), asks about "old games":
"I recently picked up some old games for my Atari 520 ST (upgraded to 2.5
mb) and became enamored by some of the games from Mindscape inc., creator of
Balance of Power 1990, Defender of the Crown & others. I later found out
they were no longer located in Illinois, which was ID'ed as HQs on the
packages. Is Mindscape still in business? Bought out by some other company?
Gone the separate ways of their designers/programmers? Can anyone shed some
light on the matter for me? I'd love to see what some of these individuals
are working on now, whether or not it's for the Atari."
Doug's post reminded me of all those "old games" I've got tucked away in
strategic places around the house. I dug them up and played a few of them.
Boy, I had forgotten the sheer fun of playing them.
Now,back to our regularly scheduled program...
Greg Kopchak tells us:
"SKware One has some neat things in the works for the Falcon too.
We've got two new programs in the works too...
I'm uploading some Photo-CD to Falcon XGA photos here tonight. They are the
4 images featured on the cover of Atari Explorer magazine.
We have a super program called View II in the works right now. Will be out
in about two weeks.
We publish a super Photo CD / multimedia program for Windows called Virtual
BookMaker. The Atari port is about 50% done now and is expected to be ready
in about 4 weeks. The XGA photos on the Falcon are super.
Both Dr. Bob and SKware One have posted XGA utilities/viewers for the
format."
>From the Atari Vendors Forum
============================
On Atari's marketing strategy, Thomas D'Alimonte says:
"Every Xmas its the same thing. They build up hope with 'the next new
product' in early Fall. Middle Fall there are promises of a Xmas ad blitz
and a TV commercial. Come Thanksgiving, no ads in sight 'cept for maybe a
gaming ad in comic books. Come December, no product anywhere in the
pipeline, therefore, no Xmas again, just coal. Come January, denials of
lack of product, yet no idea when product shipments will 'resume'. March,
product possibly available, IF the product ever sees the light of day at
all.
Feel free to jump in deny any of this anyone from Atari! ... Hmmm no
answer.
This has happened for the last <ugh> 7 years at least. To real products
like the Falcon, STE, Megas, STacy. And to too many products we never saw
like the ST game machine the 1 meg 8 bit-er, the CD-ROM. (announced in '85
with the original ST wasn't it?) I think when you hire out manufacturing
like Atari has to, it costs less to get manufacturing time AFTER Xmas than
before it.
A pity. "
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Tom:
"You're not supposed to remember all that stuff...
After all, this is the Year of Atari... (or was that last year?)"
On the subject of CodeHead's new product, DigiTape (see info elsewhere in
this issue), Ron Luks tells CodeHead Charles F. Johnson:
"Sounds like cool products. (My musical talents do not extend beyond
playing the stereo, unfortunately). Now, if there were some Falcons
available
.........."
Charles tells Ron:
"DigiTape really takes advantage of the Falcon's unique strengths (the DSP
chip, specifically); we feel it has a good chance of winning popularity with
musicians. We're expecting Falcons to be available to the public within the
next week or two."
It always causes a few pats on the back when "one of our own" (someone who
frequents CompuServe) gets a mention in a publication, so it came as no
surprise when Ron Luks told Boris Molodyi:
"Hey Boris. You're a celebrity now. I just saw the quote you made in this
months issue of CompuServe magazine in the DTP article. Now, all we need is
a picture. [g]"
Nathan Potechin, of DMC/Calamus fame, posts:
"What? Hmmm, where's my copy of the magazine? Which issue was it? What did
you say? Did I miss it? No way! ;-)
Boris ... On another issue, is it possible that you have placed your special
characters in the wrong ASCII position? Calamus SL looks for hyphens in
ASCII position 252, 253 and 254. Is this where you have your
hyphens located? 252 is the en-dash that I always use to hyphenate but I
believe the 253 is the proper standard hyphenation dash."
Jim Ness tells Nathan:
"See the May, '93 issue of CIS Magazine. The DTP article includes a quote
from Boris, and even mentions Calamus. Too bad they didn't print a picture
of Boris. Heh heh.
As I recall, I sent you an email, when Michael Naver requested input for his
article in these forums, a few months ago. I did the same for Dorothy
Brumleve, when another CIS Mag author requested the same regarding
educational software. Dorothy said she did respond. You gotta jump on
these opportunities for exposure."
Nathan replies to Jim:
"Thanks Jim. I haven't gotten that issue yet. I do recall your email and I
thank you for bringing it to my attention."
Jim, ever-helpful guy that he is, tells Nathan:
"If you don't get the issue, let me know, and I'll fax you the article."
Nathan keeps us updated on the magazine situation:
"The magazine arrived here yesterday. ;-)"
>From the Atari Portfolio Forum
==============================
Don Thomas, Atari's Portfolio Guru, tells us:
"Whenever you have a full blown computer with the OS in ROM, there will
always be bugs of some sort... if nothing else misconceptions or assumptions
of how it should work when it doesn't. We had a couple OS upgrades and as
old bugs are fixed, new ones crop up... The UPDATE.COM comes in handy to fix
that."
Sysop BJ Gleason posts:
"Atari [as far as I am aware] made a VERY big investment in the portfolio,
and [might still] have a warehouse full of them. If the Portfolio II came
out, they wouldn't be able to sell the old ones...
There are different versions of the ROMs about, but not very many. It looks
as if the Portfolio will remain as is, for a very long time..."
Another jewel from the mind of BJ:
"Soon... everything will be the size of the Portfolio... :-)"
Ain't it the truth? Everything is getting smaller! Perhaps, when
everything is the size of the Portfolio, the portfolio will be the size
of... size of... oh, heck, pick something you think a computer could be as
small as.
Jeff Tucker tells us:
"I bought a Portfolio (R19B1008926). It was exactly what I needed - size
weight and price. Unfortunately I began to get increasingly frequent
"**SYSTEM ERROR**SORRY" messages and/or a screen full of high ASCII
characters scrolling by. I would start over and download my small
spreadsheets, addresses and notes from my desktop. It also became difficult
to make a connection to download files - like 20 tries before a connection
would be made.
I still liked the idea of the Portfolio, so I paid $120 more and swapped the
original for a different one (F2031911895). Unfortunately, the second one
shared the fate of the first one and I now have a very expensive calculator.
I recently tried once more without loading any old files - all information
was keyed in. Died again.
The only explanation I can think of is that the airport security x-rays may
have scrambled its brains when I forgot to take it out of my briefcase,
although I don't believe that it ever died immediately after an x-ray. I
only used the applications that came with it, never used memory cards.
I tried a 7 pound notepad, but it has more horsepower than I need while
travelling and it was too heavy (I don't check plane luggage).
Anyone had similar experiences? Is there hope of reviving the Portfolio?
Are there any diagnostics that might locate problems?"
Don Thomas tells Jeff:
"Download UPDATE.COM from the libraries and place it on your Memory Card. In
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file include the word UPDATE on the first line by itself.
The problem will probably disappear forever."
If only everything in life was that simple. Just put the name on a line of
an autoexec file. What the heck, let's give it a try...
AUTOEXEC.BAT for Atari
ADVERTISE
LISTEN TO CUSTOMERS
ADVERTISE
LISTEN TO DEALERS
ADVERTISE
PRODUCE IN QUANTITY
ADVERTISE
end
Nope. But it was worth a try, wasn't it?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jon Faiers posts:
"I have recently become the proud owner of a Atari Portfolio which I use
to store all my contact addresses. Could someone please tell me what I
need to buy so that I can download this data from my PC and vice versa? As
my batteries ran out when I was on holiday last week causing me to type
everything back in, I don't think that I can cope with doing that again!"
Marty Mankins tells Jon:
"There are 3 different items that you can buy for the Portfolio;
1) Parallel interface: This device comes with software that will let you
download files to and from the Portfolio to an IBM PC. You can also print
directly from the Portfolio to a parallel printer. ($40)
2) Serial interface: This device does not come with software, but will let
you use a communications program to download files to another computer
running a communications program. This is needed if you have a computer
other than an IBM PC (Macintosh, Atari ST, etc.). You can also use a modem
to dial up places like CompuServe or a BBS. ($60)
3) PC Card Drive: This hooks up to an IBM PC via a board inside the
computer. It's a small device that lets you take a RAM card from the
Portfolio and back it up to your desktop. This is the best way to transfer
files, but it's also the most expensive of the bunch ($100)."
Aidan Heritage adds:
"Just to be awkward, if you have an Atari ST, you can use the parallel
interface with the port provided you buy SwiftLink software, which loads as
a Desk Top Accessory - I find it great and use it to backup my port files -
and to load files into the port when I want them."
Well, that's about all the space we've got for this week. I hope you
found something of interest... or that you at least read it... or that you
browsed it for a moment or two... oh heck, I just hope you didn't cut it
right out with a text editor and forget it ever existed.
Tune in again next week when we'll listen again to what they are saying
when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
_______________________________________________________
> PGST 3.0 STR FOCUS! PageSTReam 3.0 Announced for the Amiga!
"""""""""""""""""""
ANNOUNCING PAGESTREAM 3.0
=========================
Every few years a program comes along that changes the way people use a
computer. PageMaker for the Macintosh and Publishing Partner for the Atari
ST were introduced in 1986 and were the first desktop publishing programs.
Publishing Partner grew into PageStream, and quickly became the best-selling
desktop publisher for Amiga computers. AmigaWorld gave it their coveted
Expert's Choice award and proclaimed that PageStream is the best. AmigaUser
International named it the heavyweight champion and Amazing Amiga called it
a jewel of a program. But underneath the years of improvements, it was still
the Publishing Partner that Personal Publishing magazine called a knockout
program back in 1986.
The way you think about publishing has just changed again. We're proud to
announce PageStream 3.0. This is not just an upgrade, but a completely new
program.
PageStream 3: it will change the way you think about publishing.
PARTIAL PAGESTREAM 3.0 FEATURE LIST
x feature present
o feature present/limited implementation
NB unlimited means limited only by memory
+ more formats may be added before release
? could not be confirmed
INTERFACE PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Maximum number of open documents unlimited 7 1
Max number of document views unlimited 1 1
Reveal/Hide document views x
Moveable document view windows x x
Save program defaults x x
Load program defaults x x
Pasteboard/bleed area x x x
User-specified pasteboard size x x o
Toolbox x x o
set position x x
set tool size x
set toolbox orientation x
Edit Toolbox x x o
Number of palettes/panels 6 6 0
Measurement system options 11 7 3
Set ruler zero point and offset x x o
User-specified view magnification x x o
Number of view magnifications 13 6 5
View magnification zoom x x x
Show/Hide invisible characters x x
Undo levels unlimited 1 1
Online help x x
context sensitive x o
cross-referenced ("hyper") help x
DOCUMENT CONSTRUCTION PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Number of pre-defined page sizes 9 5 6
Maximum page size (in inches) 2330"x2330" 48"x48" 48"x48"
Different page sizes in a document x x
Change page size at any time x x x
Maximum document size (in pages) unlimited 2000 9999
Single and double sided documents x x x
Page spreads x o
Maximum number of master pages unlimited 127 0
Hide master page objects x
Visual page arrangement x x x
Divide documents into sections x o
Divide sections into chapters x
Automatic page numbering x o o
Link and unlink columns x x o
WORD PROCESSING PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Cut, copy and paste text x x x
standard keyboard shortcuts x x
Multiple Style sheets x o o
Load and save style sheets x x x
Find and replace text/attributes x x o
Find and replace style sheets x
Spelling checker x x o
Import/Export formats 7/7+ 9/6 9/0
auto conversion of quotes x x
auto conversion of commas x x
auto conversion of dashes x x
Maximum number of tabs unlimited 20 16
number of alignment options 4 4 1
place numerically or manually x x o
right indent tab x x
User-definable tab leaders x x
List all articles used x x
TYPOGRAPHY PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Number of outline font systems 3 2 1
Font sizes 1-50,000 2-720 2-720
increments 0.01 pts 0.001 pts 0.125 pts
horizontally scale text x x
Align text vertically x x
Indents and outdents x x x
Auto/Manual hyphenation x x o
hyphenation controls x x x
Auto/Manual kerning x x o
edit kerning pairs x x x
Auto/Manual tracking x x o
Absolute and relative leading x x x
increments 0.01 pts 0.001 pts 0.01 pts
Frameless text x
convert frameless <-> framed x
Convert shapes to text columns x
Apply color and fill styles to text x o o
Automatic drop caps x x o
Automatic bulleted paragraphs x
GRAPHICS PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Import Bitmapped Pictures x x x
number of formats 6+ 8? 5
set frequency, angle and pattern x x
contrast and posting control x x
bitmap fencing for text flow x x
display bitmaps in color x x x
externally linked bitmaps x x x
Import Structured Drawings x x x
number of formats 5+ 4 2
dissolve into paths and shapes x
Import EPS Illustrations x x x
interpretable EPS formats 2+ 0 3
show bitmap preview TIFF/PICT x x o
Make pages into EPS files x x x
List graphics in a document x x x
COLORS PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Number of color models 6 6 2
24 bit color support x x x
Create process and spot colors x x x
Color Tints x x
shade increments 0.01% 0.1%
UCR/GCR x x x
Set screen angle and frequency x x x
TRAPPING PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Automatic trapping x x
User-definable trapping x x
Chokes & Spreads x x
Knockouts & Overprints x x
Set trapping for each plate x x
DRAWING AND OBJECT EDITING PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Drawing tools x x x
basic shapes x x x
freehand x
pen/draw tool x
Select multiple objects x x x
add/remove from selection x x
select behind x x
Bring/Send to Front, Back x x
Bring/Send Forward, Backward x x
Cut, copy and paste x x x
Move and nudge objects x x
Step and repeat duplication x x
Rotate and skew objects x x o
rotation increments 0.001 0.001 1
Group/Ungroup objects x x o
Lock/Unlock objects x x o
Distribute objects x x
Set color/line/fill of objects x o o
Bitmap fills x x
Gradient fills x o
Object fills x
Text runaround objects x x o
Extend objects across page spreads x x
PAGE LAYOUT PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Margin and column guides x x
Object guides x x
snap-to-guides, snap distance x x
Grid x x x
snap-to-grid x x x
PRINTING PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Current page, range, even/odd x x o
Printer spreads x
Print CMYK/mechanical separations x x o
Plate control x x
Tiling, thumbnails, crop/reg x x x
Print PostScript to disk x x x
Render to bitmapped picture x
Custom Printer Drivers x x
PostScript x x
Hewlett-Packard inkjet/laser x
Epson compatibles x
Plotter support x
PPD support x x
ENVIRONMENT PAGESTREAM QUARKXPRESS PROPAGE
Open program architecture x x
(for adding extensions)
Text (article) editor x x
Picture (bitmap) editor x o
HotLinks compatible x x
ARexx (scripting) compatible x o
ARexx (scripting) record x
AGA compatible x n/a o
Workbench screen compatible x n/a x
Public screen compatible x n/a
create public screens x n/a
Custom screen compatible x n/a x
Follows interface style guidelines x x
Price $299.95 $895 $299.95
Price and features subject to change before release.
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
Amiga computer, hard drive, 2MB of memory (512K chip), and AmigaDOS 1.3 or
higher.
If you are a registered owner of a Soft-Logik product, you will be notified
of the release of PageStream 3.0 (expected in late summer 93).
You can order now by Visa or MasterCard and you will not be billed until
shipment of your copy.
Retail price: $299.95
Upgrade from PageStream 2.x and HotLinks Editions 1.x: $ 95.00
Upgrade from PageStream 2.x: $125.00
Upgrade from PageStream 1.x: $150.00
Competitive Upgrade (from any desktop publisher): $175.00
You must be registered to upgrade from PageStream, and must provide proof of
ownership for a competitive upgrade.
If you have purchased PageStream 2.2 on or after March 15, 1993, you are
entitled to a free upgrade.
Sales: 1-800-829-8608
Or: 1-314-894-8608
Fax: 1-314-894-3280
SHIPPING/HANDLING
$5 in USA/Canada
$15 for other countries
CALL FOR A FREE BROCHURE
PageStream is a registered trademark of Soft-Logik Publishing Corp.
XPress is a registered trademark of Quark, Inc.
Professional Page is a registered trademark of Gold Disk, Inc.
***********************************************************************
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!
TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (5/5/93)
--------------------------
(1) LITTLE GREEN SELECTOR
(2) STREPORT 9.18
(3) TOS COMPATIBILITY FIX
(4) AEO: VOLUME 2, ISSUE 9
(5) DC XTRACT PLUS 2.1
(6) Z*NET 9314
(7) REHBOCK.ARC
(8) DOUBLE CLICK'S DC-SEA
(9) XYZPATCH.ZIP
(10) SYSINFO.LZH
All of the above files can be found in the RECENT ARRIVALS database for at
least one week after the posting of this list. Please Note that in the case
of online magazines, only the most current issue in the database at the time
of this compilation is considered for the Top 10 list. Also, for all files,
a submission is eligible for the Top 10 list for only four weeks after its
original uploading.
DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!
***********************************************************************
> CT FEST'93 STR SHOW NEWS The Summertime Atari Event!
""""""""""""""""""""""""
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!
CONNECTICUT SHOW TO FEATURE ATARI'S LATEST ENTRY
================================================
HARTFORD, Conn. (April 12)
More than 1,000 Atari computer enthusiasts are expected to converge
here June 12 and 13 at Connecticut AtariFest '93, and are certain to debate
whether the star of the show -- THE LONG-AWAITED FALCON030 COMPUTER -- lives
up to its advance billing.
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).
The Falcon030 is a perfect low cost tool for the professional artist,
with 8 track, 16 bit musical capabilities, truecolor graphics and a 32 bit
DSP chip. The Falcon will be bundled with several music programs, including
a 4 track 'Direct to Disk' editing and recording program, a sound sampler
and an all purpose productivity package called AtariWorks.
The Hartford show will likely be one of the first encounters the
general public has with the new machine and software leading designers have
produced for it. Atari was performing quality control tests on the latest
production models shipped to the Sunnyvale headquarters in mid-April.
The two-day event will feature more than 40 exhibitors, including
several of the top names in music software development and MIDI equipment.
Tentative music exhibitors include Barefoot Software (formerly Hybrid Arts),
Digital F/X, Steinberg/Jones, Pro Musica, Compo Software and others. The
show, sponsored by ACT Atari Group, will be held at the Windsor Court Hotel,
just off Interstate 91 at exit 42.
Connecticut AtariFest'93 promises to showcase the work of several
musicians and will include some live music sessions.
Other vendors will demonstrate new equipment and software that will be
of interest to musicians whether they're on or off the job. Among them,
organizers have received tentative nods from A&D Software, ABC Solutions,
Baggetaware, Barefoot Software, Compo Software, Computer Studio, Derric
Electronics, East Hartford Computer Repair, Gribnif Software, ICD Inc.,
MegaType Software, Soft-Logik Publishing, Toad Computers, Wizztronics. Last
year 14 user groups participated, and that number is expected to grow by
June.
A Home Business and Entertainment Expo that will focus on high-tech
gadgetry designed for home use is also planned. Central activities will
include a New England Lynx Tournament for the gamester in the family, a
Portfolio corner for the on-the-go palmtop computer user, and other
technology such as VCRs, lap/palmtops, voice messaging systems, satellite
receivers, CD-ROM, fax-modems, large screen TV, printers, audio-video
components, cellular phones, office supplies, video games or add-on units
and accessories.
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, STReport's Dana
Jacobson and Joe Mirando 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 Forums. E-mail can be directed to B.GOCKLEY or
D.FINCH7 on GEnie or to 75300,2514 or 76337,1067 on CIS.
_____________________________________________________________________
> CLEAR VISIONS STR Spotlight "I can see clearly now..."
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
LET THE TRUTH BE KNOWN
======================
by Drew Reid Kerr
It's been several months since I dumped almost every piece of Atari
equipment I had (including two complete systems, SLM 605 printer and
Portfolio) and a whole load of software to enter the PC/Windows world. Man,
what a relief!
Atari no longer offered what I needed -- a good contact manager,
support and customer service, a word processing program that featured DTP
and didn't have to be translated from another language. I was tired of the
stupid bickering of a few small, and I mean SMALL, developers. I wanted to
be on the edge of technology to run my business, and unfortunately, Atari
couldn't cut it.
I make my way through areas online devoted to the PC and Windows and
you never see the kind of silliness and dumb behavior that goes on in the
Atari world. It's really a supportive atmosphere where nobody is taking
sides to fight a war. Most of the sysops seem to have their egos in check,
because most of the Atari sysops in GEnie were so obnoxious and egocentric,
it turned me off from hanging around their area altogether.
Before the dwindling group of Atari loyalists scream "traitor," realize
where you are and where I am now. Hardware and software prices in the PC
world are plummeting rapidly, so that Atari is far from the only bargain
these days. I've got the best and most sophisticated software on the market
from Lotus and Microsoft that run rings around most Atari programs. I'm
multitasked under Windows. Everything is totally compatible. I can go into
ANY software store and buy what I want for my computer. I've got a CD-ROM
that purrs like a racing car. I can go on-line with America Online without
the use of purchasing an additional emulator. And you'll still be bickering
and screaming at each other even as the Atari ship goes under.
I can read a trillion excellent magazines about my platform where
manufacturers care about their customers and they get spanked publicly when
they don't. You never hear the word "censorship." There's no favoritism
because all these publications are important. And if customers were
leaving, they would genuinely be alarmed, as opposed to the director of
communications saying, "Good riddance!"
During my first few months in the PC world, I downloaded STR regularly
and saw how the magazine was constantly being punished for speaking its mind
-- first its flag was removed, then it wasn't allowed to be on the Atari RT.
I was convinced that the people who ran the Atari area of GEnie were
complete control freak lunatics and made me happy that I was leaving them
behind to save themselves.
The Atari Corporation and a handful of the people who run businesses
for it have done their best to turn me off. It's hard to believe that some
lady who runs a microscopic business from her kitchen in God knows where
thinks Atari is going is save the universe and how dare we tread on its toes
is going to be taken seriously. Why wait months and months, and be filled
with such incredible fantasy bull from Bob Brodie when the machine and
software to do exactly what you want and more and EASILY is right here!
My dad is selling his Atari because it's become plain obvious to him
that his computer is a dinosaur. He just ordered a Gateway 2000 486SX-25
with a 170 mb hard drive and 4 mb of RAM and everything else for $1495. I've
got one more Atari computer running my recording studio, but its days are
numbered, too. I've seen some damned good sequencing/notation programs for
Windows.
I never owned a piece of Atari stock, thank God. I look in the paper
and now it has sunk to below 1. It's a penny stock.
I'm just waiting, folks. Just waiting any day now for the Tramiels to
throw in the towel and say, "We moron-ed ourselves right out of business."
Sam Tramiel will say, "We all had a good laugh at that Forbes article." Who
will be laughing then, Sam? It will be really sad that after all the
screaming, yelling and absolute immature behavior in the Atari world on and
off line, many people will be left owning the Edsel of the computer world. I
admire your loyalty.
But I am sure that after this letter is reprinted, it'll provoke some
juvenile reaction like, "Who needs you? Atari's the best! DOS stands for
dumb operating system!" I wish I could send all those people pacifiers,
spank them, and send them to bed with no supper. Meanwhile, I'm kicking
royal butt in the computer world, my documents, brochures and materials look
beautiful and better than anything I could ever do with Calamus and Word
Writer. And your days will be numbered. I won't be a lemming, folks. Wake
up and smell the coffee.
Good riddance Bob Brodie, Ron Kovacs, Darlah and her sysops, and the
Atari Corporation! Eat my dust!!!
-->=<--
Editor Note;
Mr. Kerr,a well known advertising exec and publicist from coast to
coast and once a severe critic of STReport, sent this item in this past
week. It was among approximately forty five "convert" letters we've
received over the past month with permission to re-print included. The
numbers of staunch Atari supporters leaving the platform is no longer
alarming its an outright tragedy. I suppose you've heard this many times
before, but it'll never hurt to keep it ringing in the ears of those who
KILLED Atari. Atari had it all when they intro'ed the 520ST. They had the
market by the chops and let it go. They had the new users by the heart
strings but ATE their hearts instead of gently tugging on the strings. They
literally had the "cream of the crop" when it came to developers... they
abused them, ridiculed them and fought with them instead of nurturing them
and encouraging them. Naturally the abused, insulted and angered developers
left the Atari platform for more pleasant surroundings and greater earnings.
All these things were in the direct control of the Tramiels at Atari. They
blew it big time. They took on employees they could control and control
them they did, the free thinkers were soon dumped. Take a long hard look at
Atari's "casualty list" it contains some of the finest minds in the USA's
computing community. The Tramiels either fired, encouraged to resign or
abused them all out the door! Again, they blew it big time.
Now with latest in the long line of production fiascos at hand, what do
we find? The greatest campaign of double talk the community has ever seen.
The guys handling Atari Explorer Magazine (the ever elusive Hard Copy), are
laid-off, what happens when its reported to the userbase? A disinformation
campaign the likes of which we have never seen before erupts. They're OFF
the payroll... yet the masters of doublespeak insist that they call the
numbers and find they're still there. But are they really? Nope! STReport
gets called and told there are those at Atari that are ashamed of us and
that STR had "offended" them. Hmmm Truth is truth no matter how you slice
it. If anybody is offended, it should be the loyal, continually smoked upon
userbase! They're the offended ones perhaps even violated. Where is this
Falcon?? Will it ever get here in the numbers needed to make a dent in the
market place? STReport feels the Falcon's time has come and gone without a
chance. In fact, if Atari goes behind this thing now, they'll cut their own
throats.
***********************************************************************
: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.
.________________________________________________________________________.
|============= Welcome to the... ==================== Reference =========|
|""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""|
| ###### ###### ## ## ## ## ###### BULLETIN BOARD.... M605;1 |
| ## ## ####### ## ## ## RT CONFERENCES.... M605;2 |
| ## ### #### #### ## # ## ## ## ## ### SOFTWARE LIBRARY.. M605;3 |
| ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## |
| ###### ###### ## ## ##### ###### PRODUCT SUPPORT... M606;1 |
| THE GENIE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP ROUNDTABLE MACPRO RT......... M480 |
!________________________________________________________________________!
.________________________________________________________________________.
|=[]========= Hosted by... ||=[]========= Top 10 Downloads - 04/93 ======|
|"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""|""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""|
| Kent Fillmore ............... DRACO | 1. 28145 MAZER 3D 2.2.SEA |
| Erik C. Thauvin .......... MACSPECT | 2. 28121 DISKEEPER V1.9.SIT |
| David W. Reid ..... (Unk) DAVE.REID | 3. 28085 OPEN-WIDE-3.4.SIT |
| ---{ SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS }--- | 4. 28105 THETYPEBOOK V3.24.SEA |
| Education ....... (Rob) R.WHITELOCK | 5. 28124 INSTALL ADOBE PHOTOSHOP |
| Fontography ........ (Paul) P.HENRY | 6. 28117 EDISK PRESS RELEASE.TXT |
| Games ............ (Bart) MAC.GAMES | 7. 28036 METAMORPHISIS.SEA |
| HyperCard ......... (Remo) D.BARTER | 8. 28136 GALLERY 3.0.SEA |
| (Chris) C.INNANEN | 9. 28017 FLASH-IT 3.0.2.SIT |
| PowerBooks...... (Doc) D.E.JOHNSTON |10. 28080 MAC A LOAN 3.1.SEA |
| Telecommunity .... (Steve) S.EBENER |_________________________________ |
| ------{ SOFTWARE LIBRARY }------- | For COMPLETE info and TIPS about |
| Chief Librarian ....... RANDY.SIMON | downloading read read: item #4 |
| Assistant Librarian..... [ vacant ] | pg 605 - "About The RoundTable" |
!_____________________________________!__________________________________!
GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
***********************************************************************
> IAAD PIRACY REPORT STR FOCUS! It certainly does hurt!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PIRACY IN THE ATARI COMMUNITY
WHAT'S BEING DONE TO COMBAT THIS ONGOING TRAVESTY?
Part 2
by Dana P. Jacobson
Last week, we at STReport published the recent report from the IAAD
about their _ongoing_ investigation of software piracy. I want to
apologize for some of the confusion that may have come about in areas of my
commentary. I had mentioned that I'd be quoting particular areas of that
article and then commenting. At the time that I had written my piece, I
didn't realize that we would be including the entire IAAD article. It made
sense for Ralph to edit portions of my piece so as not to repeat the
original article _and_ my comments. Anyway, since all of you have now seen
the IAAD article, I'll just refer to it rather than quote any long
passages.
To continue, the IAAD article went to on to explain what exactly a
pirate BBS is, and what is usually involved. To the naive, or the
doubters, there are many seemingly innocent bulletin boards out there. It
doesn't take much to eventually learn that these same boards have pirate
areas on them that the "typical" user is never aware. Some try to hide it
(pirated software) and some are blatant about it. There's really no way to
know without either hearing about it from a friend or being referred by
someone else you might meet online. There are ways to suspect a pirate
BBS, but it's no guarantee, nor really fair to generalize, to determine
one. The hair on my neck rises every time I call a BBS that allows, or
recommends, that you use aliases or a handle. Users hiding behind an alias
oftentimes can mean that there are other things to hide. That's also not
to say that a BBS where everyone uses their real name can't be a pirate
board. Most BBS programs allow the ability to provide certain access
levels for users, and the ability to hide certain file areas from whomever
the SysOp wants. There are many ways for a SysOp to provide pirate files
to whomever they want, so there's truly no sure-fire determining factor
without actually seeing it and downloading the files for yourself. It does
make locating piracy more difficult, but certainly not impossible.
Discussion of such things as "elite access," "warez," "cracked," and
many others are certainly something to question. Pro-piracy discussions,
etc. are also a helpful clue. The trouble is, a lot of this stuff is
hidden to the first-time caller and he/she may never come across anything
questionable unless they look or ask for it - then still unlikely. It's a
real mess.
To quote from the IAAD article:
"Successful software theft has two basic requirements: a dishonest person
willing to give away a copy of a program he has purchased -- and another
dishonest person willing to accept it. When this activity takes place on a
Bulletin Board System, a given copy can be distributed rapidly from BBS to
BBS, from user to sysop to user, all over the world. One person's
willingness to give away that first copy can lead to its possession by
literally thousands of others. Pirate boards succeed because there are
many people willing to give or take the copies -- and because the sysop
uses strategies calculated to maintain and escalate their involvement."
Once this cycle begins, piracy has the ability to run rampant. Software is
thus passed along from user to user, BBS to BBS, and so on. There's really
no way to estimate how much damage piracy causes. How about all of the
software that, once downloaded, is passed along through non-BBS channels?
A friend gives it to a friend, who gives it to a friend, ad nauseam. It
happens!
Be suspicious of boards that ask a million questions when you first
log on. What does a SysOp need to know other than your name, address,
phone number, and computer type? Be suspicious of those boards that tell
you that in order to get higher access, you're required to upload at least
one file; and if you do, you're denied that access anyway (because it
wasn't commercial). Be suspicious of those boards that list "elite" or
"private" file areas, but doesn't define what elite or private signifies.
Be suspicious of those boards that require a "byte count ratio"; this
usually means that these boards want you to upload commercial files which
are usually quite large (total number of bytes). Be wary of those boards
that demand that users call in at 9600 baud or higher (to allow more
callers to get in and out faster, allowing more files to be uploaded). Be
wary of those boards that ask you who referred you to the board, and end up
determining whether or not you gain access due to the results of that
information. There are so many possible "clues", good and bad, that it can
make the average bonafide caller go crazy trying to determine whether or
not a BBS is legitimate.
There was something in Brumleve's article that did rattle me,
somewhat. I may have considered the possibility, but never really gave it
all that much thought. To refresh your memories:
"As with other criminal activity, the big players in software theft have
formed alliances to share files, blacklists, message networks, and other
information. There are dozens of these organizations, some international
in scope. For example, The Elite, with world headquarters in the
Netherlands, is headquartered here by the Outer Region BBS in Colorado and
Dragon's Pub in Quebec. The Syndicate (TSC) has representative BBSs on
three continents and in both hemispheres; the Happy Hideaway in Florida
serves as its Eastern US headquarters and Outer Region as its Western base,
while the Shire BBS in Chile and the Eagles Nest and Slime City BBSs in
Sweden provide an international link."
"Pirate boards have aligned themselves with legitimate networks as well.
Many of the BBSs on which we discovered commercial files areas are linked
to the F-Net -- and, of course, so are plenty of responsible BBSs. For
example, according to a CrossNet Conference Node Listing, The Time Warp BBS
(F-Net node 99) serves as the lead node for the "Elite Underground" F-Net
conference, which also includes Starlight BBS (node 287), Darkworld BBS
(node 305), Outer Region BBS (node 469), Steal Your Face (node 489), Outer
Planes (node 558), Gold Nugget BBS (node 622), London Smog BBS (node 632),
Million Dollar Saloon (node 639), Speedy's Raceway (node 689) and H.B. Smog
(node 712). According to another CrossNet Conference Node Listing, The
Gold Nugget serves as the lead node for The "Pompey Pirates Elite" (not
directly associated with the Pompey Pirates cracking ring mentioned above)
F-Net conference; The Prairie Chip II BBS (node 45), The Blackhole (node
612), The Temple of Doom (node 595), and Spider-man's Web (node 711) are
among the 9 BBSs involved in this conference. The "Upper Echelon" F-Net
conference ties US and Canadian boards by serving callers on the Gold
Nugget in Ohio, Steal Your Face in New Jersey, Space Station BBS (node 248)
and London Smog in California, Million Dollar Saloon in Texas, Paybax BBS
(node 307) in Delaware, and Aardvarks from Mars (node 38) and Dragon's Lair
(node 87) in Ontario."
"Conferences of this kind allow pirates from great distances to "get to
know" each other, to exchange files as well as messages, to solicit calls
to their favorite BBSs. Participation in these conferences establishes an
online identity; a pirate recognized from his posts on one node of a
conference is likely to be accepted without question when logging on as a
new user on another node in the same conference."
It's really amazing to see the lengths groups of pirates will go to in
order to maintain their confederacy. These networks are something which I
hope the IAAD and SPA are investigating in the hopes of taking out some of
these links, and if we're fortunate, the top of the chain.
So, how can pirate boards be shut down, and what are some of the
possible consequences? Brumleve's article sums it up well:
"There are, in fact, many approaches to shutting down pirate boards.
Copyright infringement is one obvious track. The Software Publishers
Association is a watchdog agency which works with the FBI to shut down
large-scale BBS operations. There are legal departments at major computer,
game machine, and software companies devoting time and effort to this task.
There's the IRS connection for unreported caller "donations". Some boards
come down because of the availability of pornography. There are a variety
of criminal laws related to activities common on pirate boards, and,
especially in cases of copyright infringement, civil law may offer the most
effective route to compensation for the victims."
"When a board is busted by the authorities, the related equipment and
property is usually seized. Any records of callers, caller donations,
etc., are seized along with that equipment. Callers could be charged with
conspiracy. For this reason, it's not wise to have one's real name,
address, and real phone show up in the records of a pirate board, even
though the sysop adamantly insists upon it and uses verification checks to
enforce it..."
With this type of potential redress, I'm really surprised that pirate
boards are still flourishing. Perhaps with continued vigilance and
pressure, this community of piracy will diminish. I don't believe that we
can eradicate it completely, but to be able to cut out a good number of
them is a terrific start!
I think Brumleve's article ended on a very somber set of points which
she brought out beautifully: the moral aspects of piracy, and what this
might instill in people:
"8. The Moral Toll: As the Twig is Bent..."
"~ Right and wrong now seem the same ~
-- Rats Nest"
"As a parent, I'm concerned about the numbers of young people logged on to
pirate boards. These kids put themselves in a very vulnerable position.
In earning their right to download, young callers are implicated in the
illegal activity. The adults who run and participate on these boards set
an example which could, by extension, lead to ignoring the laws which
govern other areas of their lives. Do these kids also shoplift, steal from
other kids' lockers, buy termpapers to submit as their own? Children
learn to run and to use pirate boards from adults whose character is
questionable by definition. When a child has such a sysop as a role model,
what does that spell for his future?"
"Like the proverbial stranger who offers candy, these criminals lure
teenagers and young adults with promises of free software in exchange for
their services. The service, of course, is to provide more free software
-- which the sysop can then use to lure more callers and to keep his
current clientele calling back. The first step is to inspire fear; this is
achieved right off the bat with a new user questionnaire threatening denial
of access if caller doesn't provide just the right answers. And the second
is to force the caller to incriminate himself with his initial upload.
Once the kid begins downloading and playing commercial games he could never
afford to buy, the pressure cycle of upload/download counts begins."
The topic of piracy is not one that can be mentioned and discussed for
a short time and then be forgotten for months until someone else feels the
pinch and the need to bring it up again. This is a problem that has really
reached epidemic proportions, not only on our small Atari community, but
other platforms as well. It seems worse for Atarians because of its lesser
size. I really feel that the pressure needs to be kept on these pirate
systems. They _need_ to feel paranoid every time a caller logs on to their
BBS. There is a need for the legitimate userbase to read about pirate
systems being caught, brought down, and punished substantially to deter
others from either continuing or started. Users need to become aware of
the harm that piracy inflicts on everyone. We need to be constantly
reminded about piracy. As an example, here's what these latest articles on
piracy has done to get people to start thinking about the problem it's
causing, from an an E-Mail message to me on my own BBS:
>From User: 'XXXX XXXXX':
"Well, now I'm really bummed out. I haven't heard about pirating (though I
knew it still existed) since I [sic] STart did a cover article on it
several years back. Nobody seemed to pay it much attention. It's bad
enough that atari is caving in on itself, but the final blow seems to be
this pirate thing."
"Good article, Dana. I look forward to reading more next week. Enough
[sic] people read STR, so hopefully your series and Brumleve's article may
bring this disease to more people's attention."
"Reading the comments from Rat's Nest and Fawlty Towers, plus the actual
listings of the software was like touring some skinhead nazi's hideout. It
really made me sick. Plus when I think of the lost revenue to those
developers..."
In an ongoing discussion, we deliberated some possible steps to take
once a pirate BBS and/or pirates is discovered. Although this is not
something that can be done without proof, once a pirate or system is
uncovered, there are some possible means to publicize them:
>From User: 'XXXX XXXXX':
"It sounds like contacting the owners [of the original pirated program]
would be a good first step in their punishment. A second step may be to
publish their names in different Atari publications or uploading an ascii
file to commercial and local boards. I'm sorry, but if they're Atari
users, they know how fragile our platform is and if they can't be fined,
they should be punished in a way that would make them think twice about
what they did to all of us."
That sounds good to me, "XXXX"!! STReport has extended its full
support to the IAAD investigation. Whatever we can do, whether it's to
offer our own ongoing commentary, or publish the findings of the IAAD, will
be done. We feel that it's everyone's responsibility to help in any way
possible. If you're aware of pirate BBSs, let us or any member of the IAAD
know. The information will be kept in the strictest confidence.
Again, if you haven't read Dorothy Brumleve's article, read STReport
9.18, or the stand alone article available on any of the online services.
The article is definitely an eye-opener, and extremely well-written and
researched. Also, if you have comments about piracy, please send them
along to us at STReport - your input is always welcome.
Until next time...
_____________________________________________________________
> BLUE RIDGE ATARIFEST'93 STR SHOW NEWS "The Summertime Atari Event!"
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
1993 Blue Ridge ATARIFEST
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The Blue Ridge Atari Computer Enthusiasts (BRACE) and Computer Studio
invite you to participate in the Fourth Annual Blue Ridge AtariFest in
beautiful Asheville, North Carolina. Show dates and times are:
Saturday July 24, 1993 10am - 6pm
Sunday July 25, 1993 Noon - 5pm
Just as in previous years, we have arranged for FREE Booth space for Atari
developers!! (We're only requesting the donation of a door prize).
We can promise both developers and show-goers an energetic and exciting
show with as enthusiastic a crowd of Atarians as you'll find anywhere, plus
the support of Computer Studio in the mall.
We're once again taking over the Courtyard Shop (mall) area at Westgate
Shopping Center for the show (location of Computer Studio), plus the use of
vacant store spaces for seminar sessions. Seminar sessions will be 45
minutes in length, and developers are welcome to conduct a seminar on their
product line or approved topic of their choice (seminar sessions are
limited, so first come, first served).
This year's show dates also coincide with Asheville's annual Bele Chere
street festival, when downtown Asheville is closed to vehicular traffic and
becomes what must be one of the largest street fairs in the country.
Westgate Shopping Center is one of the primary Park-and-Ride shuttle
centers for transporting people to and from downtown, and we've arranged to
have the shuttle service pick up at the front entrance of the mall and drop
off at the rear entrance, so everyone taking the service from Westgate WILL
walk through the AtariFest exhibition area sometime during the day. This
will be a great opportunity to showcase Atari and Atari related software
and peripherals, and introduce them to people who aren't already Atari
owners. Bringing in NEW blood is the key to the growth of this platform,
and this will be our opportunity to begin that process with a captive
audience.
Additional discussions of the show, as well as confirmations of your
participation, are welcome in GEnieMail and in the Blue Ridge
AtariFest topic 13 in Category 11 here on GEnie.
HOPING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON.
HAPPY ATARI COMPUTING.
IT'S HAPPENING IN ASHEVILLE!
Where: Westgate Shopping Center - Asheville, N.C.
Take any major highway into Asheville (US 19-23, US 26 or I-40) to the
I-240 loop, then take the "Westgate/Hilton Inn Drive exit" into the
Westgate Shopping Center parking lot.
When: 24-25, July 1993
Time: 10:am to 6:pm SAT
12 Noon 'til 5pm SUN
Points of contact:
Come for a day or come for the weekend,
but do come and enjoy yourself.
Great Smokies Hilton Resort Hilton Inn Drive (704)254-3211
Toll-free reservation phone number 1-800-733-3211
Radisson One Thomas Wolf Plaza (704)252-8211
Rate: $62.00 per room (1-4 people)
====== Additional Hotel / Motel Information ===========
Days Inn I-26 and Airport Road (704)684-2281
I-40 Exit 55 (704)298-5140
Econo Lodge US 70 East, I-40 Exit 55 (704)298-5519
Holiday Inn 275 Smoky Park Hwy (704)667-4501
Toll-free reservation phone number 1-800-HOLIDAY
Red Roof Inn I-40 and US 19-23 Exit 44 (704)667-9803
Toll-free reservation phone number 1-800-843-7663
Budget Motel I-40 Exit 44 (Enka-Chandler)
West Asheville Exit (704)665-2100 Best
Western Asheville Central 22 Woodfin St (704)253-1851
========= Local Bed & Breakfast lodging Information =========
Aberdeen Inn 64 Linden Ave (704)254-9336
Albemarle Inn 86 Edgemont Road (704)255-0027
Applewood Manor 62 Cumberland Circle (704)254-2244
The Bridle Path Inn Lockout Road (704)252-0035
Cairn Brae B & B 217 Patton Mountain Rd (704)252-9219
Carolina B & B 177 Cumberland Ave (704)254-3608
Cedar Crest Victorian Inn 674 Biltmore Ave (704)252-1289
Corner Oak Manor 53 St. Dunstan (704)253-3525
Cornerstone Inn 230 Pearson Dr (704)253-5644
Flint Street Inn 100 & 116 Flint Street (704)253-6723
The Lion and The Rose 276 Montford Ave (704)255-7673
The Ray House B & B 83 Hillside St (704)252-0106
Reed House 119 Dodge St (704)274-1604
The Wright Inn 235 Pearson Drive (704)251-0789]
(1-800-552-5724)
A more complete listing of Bed & Breakfasts can be obtained through the
Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Reservations should be made immediately, as July is the height of our
tourist season.
=========== CAMP GROUNDS ================
(reservations are a must during this time of season):
Mount Pisgah:
About 20 miles southwest of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway at
mile post 408.6 (National Park Service). 690 acres. Elevation 5000'. One of
the nicest campgrounds in Western North Carolina. 67 tent sites, 70 RV
sites. For reservations: P.O.Box 749, Watnesville, N.C. 28786; phone (704)
235-9109. No showers. Groceries and restaurant. Nature program. 14 day
stay limit.
Lake Powhatan:
4 miles south of Asheville on State road 191, 3.5 miles west on SR
806. 30 acres. 98 tent/rv sites. Reservation available thru Mistix
1-800-283-CAMP. Disposal station. No showers. Swimming; lifeguard; fishing;
nature trails; bicycles. 14-day stay limit.
While in the area, you might want to consider a little sightseeing,
and include a visit to the Biltmore House here in Asheville (the largest
single family residence ever built in the U.S.--its a "castle"). A visit to
the Biltmore can be a full-day's activity as you will want to view the
house, visit the winery, and walk some of the grounds and gardens.
Hours:
The House 9 am to 6pm The Gardens 9am to 7pm
Conservatory 9am to 5:30pm
The Winery Monday-Saturday 11am to 7pm Sunday 1pm to 7pm
Other areas of interest include; the Thomas Wolf home (adjacent to the
Raddison), the Blue Ridge Parkway and Folk Art Center. A drive up the Blue
ridge Parkway to enjoy the higher elevations and incredible views of our
mountains. Perhaps a hike up to Mount Pisgah and look back down to
Asheville(you can see Mt. Pisgah from most anywhere in Asheville). A short
drive from Mt. Pisgah will take you to Sliding Rock (for those of you
travelling with kids who are still kids at heart), the Cradle of Forestry
(first forest school in the country), waterfalls, trout hatchery, etc. For
the adventurous, white water rafting on the Natahala River near Bryson
City (approx one and a half hours from here).
There's obviously loads more to see and do around Asheville (in
addition to the Blue Ridge AtariFest and a visit to Computer Studio :-). If
any of y'all would like maps and additional tourist info of the area I
might suggest contacting the Chamber of Commerce:
Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
151 Haywood Street
P.O. Box 1010
Asheville, NC 28802
704-258-6111 FAX: (704)251-0926
___________________________________________________________________
> AIM SLAMMED! STR FOCUS! Another DIVERSIONARY TACTIC!
"""""""""""""""""""""""
CONCERNING THE EXPLORER SHUTDOWN
================================
THE HEAD GAMES ABOUND!
by R. F. Mariano
It never ceases to amaze me at how clever agendas can be ingeniously
inserted into the course of current events. What is about to unfold here
clearly depicts the deft administration of a personal and heavily biased
opinion and slant on a seriously controversial occurrence in the Atari
platform. In fact, its rather neat to watch the manner in which an attempt
to change the focus of the situation is being tried.
The fact remains, Atari Explorer is, at this time, no more. Until
such time as its announced that either Lindsay or someone else is now
handling Explorer with full intentions of fulfilling its subscription
obligations, the users must be cautioned. There may be NO future issues
done.
from Delphi's Atari Area
54288 4-MAY 08:39 General Information
RE: What's going on here? (Re: Msg 53912)
From: ISDMARKETING To: DPJ (NR)
You and Ralph have jumped on the subscription issue re: Atari Explorer real
fast. I've been reading most of the thread with disgust because of the
possibility that a double-standard is being used. You stated in your
message #53912, that you took out a years subscription to Explorer. How
come STReport appears to have ignored the fact that AIM sold subscriptions
at WAACE 92 and, to date, after much yelling screaming by paid subscribers,
finally shipped a single issue 6 months later. Oh, I understand. It is ok
to start yelling "FOUL" at Atari Explorer days after the cutback is
announced although it has been made clear to us all that Mike is trying his
best to get the magazine out regardless, because Atari owns Atari Explorer.
But it is NOT ok to say one single negative word about the AIM situation
because Atari doesn't own AIM.
The above is not a commentary on the relative quality of either magazine
but a point on the manner in which Atari Explorer is being singled out.
Nathan @ DMC
Nathan,
It's nice to see you are still up to your old "tricks" of showing a
"side" of a story but NOT the whole picture. You truly are a master
debater. Let's see now, why would Nathan be so interested in bringing out
negatives relative to anything that Bill and Patti Rayle do? Could it be
because of relentless hardhearted feelings between Nathan, Darlah and the
Rayles? Say... stemming back to a certain feud that occurred in the ST RT
over a year and a half ago?? Remember?? When the Rayles told Darlah to
"keep" her free flag?
Getting to the point, Atari Explorer suffered _how long_ a delay from
the time Atari grabbed it away from John Jainschigg and took it back in
house for "so-called" money saving reasons just a year or so ago? Nothing
was said about _that_ lengthy delay. Atari announced it was doing so to
cut back the expense of producing Explorer Magazine. Now, we are being
told that to cut back expenses, Atari is contemplating taking the Explorer
Magazine "back out of house"?? Time for a _serious_ reality check! Who is
blowing smoke now with this doubletalk malarkey? Until such time as a
change in the "shutdown" condition of Explorer is made known, let the
userbase be aware that as of 4/8/93, Explorer was, for all intents and
purposes, shutdown. Temporarily or permanently? Who knows?
Now comes the TRUE AIM story; AIM has offered an alternatives to the
AIM subscription. I might add that the first notices of a choice of
refund/subscription change came well before the "six months" indicated,
unbiasedly, by Nathan. They repeatedly offered, on CIS and in STReport,
either a refund or a full subscription to their successful CONNECT magazine
which is a highly acclaimed publication. The subscriber's value was
protected and in the case of Connect, it was enhanced.
What the Rayles DID NOT DO was to obscure the truth in waves of half
truths and distraction. What the Rayles didn't do was totally ignore the
controversy and leave the entire matter hanging in mid-air. Since
Explorer's future is STILL in a state of heightened abstruseness, it's
incumbent upon all of Atari Explorer's subscribers and advertisers who've
paid in advance to be very concerned about the future of Atari Explorer
Magazine. After all, the least they could've done was be UP FRONT and
truthful about the lay-offs and the overall situation instead of trying to
sandbag the situation into oblivion.
As for "singling out".... heck, that's a given these days in the Atari
community. One can only wonder who will be singled out next for the
slaughter. Seems entire topics are devoted to the singling out of
individuals, companies, dealers and/or just about anything that may
generate some "traffic or action". It began way back before the PC DITTO
thing blew. So please, don't try to make this issue look so unique, new
and different.
For the record, subscribers and advertisers who've paid in advance for
services "to be rendered" have every right in the world to be concerned
with Explorer's current state of affairs. Coupled with the level of
doublespeak that's been palmed off upon the userbase since April 08, 1993.
The time when Lindsay, Explorer Editor and Meer, advertising and art layout
Mgr., were laid off, only increases the urgency as to whether the questions
should be asked.
Dana Jacobson, STReport Editor, answers Nathan's equivocal missive;
54321 4-MAY 22:40 News & Reviews
RE: What's going on here? (Re: Msg 54288)
From: DPJ To: ISDMARKETING (NR)
I'll tell you why _I_ didn;t jump down AIM's throat because of late issues,
Nathan. First of all, I did get my year's subscription from AIM, and I
subscribed to them much later than AE. Also, the Rayles kept their
subscribers up-to-date with regard to the problems that they were having;
it also hasn't been 6 months in-between issues, but I can check to verify
that for you. Unicorn Publications is also just a two-person operation
with hardly as near the resources to put out a magazine than Atari is
capable of doing. This is not to belittle the Rayles - they did a fine job
with what they had to work with. They were also more regular over the
years (since the MAM days) than AE ever was.
so, had rumors come out about AIM, I'm sure that we would have discussed
them online and in STReport. I also believe that we carried an item about
AIM's problems, a number of weeks back. Why is it that "rumor" didn't
cause nearly the reaction that the AE issue has caused? You know why.
Also, why is AIM going through rough times? Mismanagement? Hardly. Could
it be just one more in a long line of Atari support problems? The
independent folks can't survive without the company doing something to help
the market. Losing AE won't hurt me (personally) as much as losing AIM or
of all of the others we lost over the years (nothing personal to the AE
staff, past or present/future). But, I can't find fault with those who
have done just about everything that they could to survive in today's Atari
marketplace, and find it extremely difficult, if at all possible any
longer.
Dana @ STReport International Online Magazine
So naturally, even though Nathan stated privately he would not post
further on the subject after his first post.... the game continues...
<sigh>
54367 5-MAY 09:43 News & Reviews
RE: What's going on here? (Re: Msg 54321)
From: ISDMARKETING To: DPJ (NR)
I agree that we are both more concerned over the loss of a 3rd party
magazine more so than over the loss of an Atari-owned publication.
I was referring to the fact that Pattie and Bill sold new subscriptions to
AIM at WAACE last October 1992. Since that time, they released one
scaled-down 8 page newsletter with dated info and no editorial or anything
in March of this year. When complaints started piling up on GEnie, STReport
carried the offer from AIM, 5 months after they had last shipped AIM. I
commend AIM for offering to refund subscription money. I commend them again
for attempting to compete in a more sophisticated market with CONNECT and
wish them the best of luck.
All I was attempting to point out to you was the fact that NO, they did not
keep their customers informed. In fact, no one heard a thing for almost 5
months Dana (or at least no mailout was done to their subscriber base to
inform them of anything). And the single issue they did publish was a far
cry from the issue upon which people paid subscriptions. Wouldn't you
agree? And yes, the Atari market has seen better days. Atari takes the
blame for that without a doubt. ;-)
My point still stands. Mike Lindsay is actively attempting to work
something out with Atari so that he can take over Atari Explorer, which
would be GREAT NEWS! The position of STReport totally ignored that aspect,
instead going off on a tangent about doom and gloom and what about the
subscribers. So I ask you, how come you didn't ask about the AIM
subscribers for 5 months but managed to wait about one day when it was
Atari Explorer. That's all. ;-)
I'll now try and go back into lurker mode and patiently wait for Calamus
questions. :-)
Sincerely
Nathan @ DMC
Doom and Gloom Nathan?? Are you serious?? Can you say that with a
straight face? The real Doom and Gloom as you say comes straight from
Atari's lack of performance and delivery. Not from the FACT that STREPORT
PRESENTS A TRUE STORY ABOUT ATARI. Talk about the ultimate "set-up" to
twist and squirm the attention away from the basic fact that Lindsay and
Meer were laid off and Explorer was shut down, this takes the cake.
As far asking about Aim the answer is easy we spoke to the Rayles on
an almost daily basis on Compuserve, they kept the users abreast of ongoing
developments and their options. What they didn't do was blow smoke and try
to amplify non-existent controversy. Nice try but no cigar.
STReport's point still stands tall; Mike Lindsay and Darren Meer were
laid off on thursday, April 08, 1993 and at the same time Atari Explorer
was effectively shut down.
While on the topic of misleading; Do you think its correct to have a
recording of Mike Lindsay's voice answering calls at the 408-745-2182
number while, in fact, he is not on the payroll and has not been sine the
8th of April.?? Don't you think THAT'S misleading and improper? You know,
the recording that sez; "they're either on another line or out of the
office"? They've been laid off that's what. Its certainly not what that
recording infers. I don't see you saying anything about that. The bottom
line... to reiterate, is to let those who have paid for subscriptions and
advertisements know a possibility of there not being another issue of or, a
lack of regularity to Explorer and to govern themselves accordingly.
__________________________________________________________________
> EXPLORER NONSENSE STR Spotlight IS IT?? OR, IS IT NOT?
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
After having received a multitude of calls and emails relative to this
matter I decided to bring forward as much material as I could fine and
allow our readers the opportunity to decide for themselves if a
"smokescreen" of confusion was perpetrated by certain of Atari's reps. You
be the judge..
>From the Delphi Atari Areas...
ABOUT THE LAY-OFFS..
53809 28-APR 15:45 General Information
RE: What's going on here? (Re: Msg 53803)
From: ABARBIERO To: RMARIANO
That was never contested, and not the point. Mike is planning restructuring
of the magazine, with or without Atari as the owner. The next issue is
being worked on, and that is all there is to say about the topic.
Andreas@AEO
FORUM>Reply, Add, Read, "?" or Exit> rep
To: [ABARBIERO]
Subj: RE: What's going on here?
> "That was never contested, and not the point. Mike is planning
> restructuring of the magazine, with or without Atari as the owner. The
> next issue is being worked on, and that is all there is to say about the
> topic.
Really??? Its the whole point! They WERE laid-off at the time we reported
the event and we've been forced to endure a barrage of empty words ever
since!!
I'm almost inclined to believe the whole thing was perped to ward off fears
of a deluge of Explorer subscription refund requests.
Ralph @ STReport International Online Magazine
53812 28-APR 19:26 General Information
RE: What's going on here? (Re: Msg 53809)
From: DPJ To: ABARBIERO
Wait just a minute, Andreas!!!! How can you say "that was never contested
and not the point"????? This is exactly what was the center of this entire
debate!! The initial story from STReport was that 22 people, including Mike
& Darren are no longer with Atari. You, along with others, jumped down
Ralph's throat because of it; and now you're saying it was never contested?!
Now you're implying that Ralph was correct all along. It sounds like you
were all side-stepping the issue and refusing to confirm it while letting
Ralph take the heat; something you had a part in also.
It's amazing to hear the story of Atari Explorer's changes and reasons for
them over the past couple of years. It goes from an in-house publication to
an outside contract. John Jainschigg has some terrific success with it; and
then Atari decides to cut back on expenses and decides to bring it back
in-house. Not only does Jainschigg lose out on the contract because he opts
not to foolhardily go to Sunnyvale, but he's owed money from Atari. Now AE
is in Sunnyvale and Atari is still trying to save some money. Mike and
Darren are no longer with Atari but have the option to "restructure" the
magazine with or without Atari as the owner. Why all the secrecy? Is Atari
concerned about possible repercussions from even more subscribers
complaining about their potential loss of subscription fees and more delays
at getting paid-for issues? With good reason - I subscribed to Explorer at
WAACE '91, and still haven't got a year's worth of issues _yet_!! How many
similar cases are there?
Personally, I don't care whether AE is published inside or out of Sunnyvale.
I do hope Darren & Mike stick with it, and I wish them and the rest of the
staff the best of luck. But, I see no shame in admitting that someone,
including STReport, reports what starts off as rumor and ends up being true.
Atari should have better things to do then try and stop the spread of the
truth just to save face. Much better things....
Dana @ STReport International Online Magazine
53833 28-APR 23:12 General Information
RE: What's going on here? (Re: Msg 53812)
From: ABARBIERO To: DPJ (NR)
The reasons why it was done is TOTALLY different than was the printed intent
of the 'report' Atari Explorer is expensive to maintain, and for whatever
reasons it was brought in house, the savings were not enough, and without a
in house magazine they had to lay off Mike and Darren. The problem is that
it was created into a negative media event, and that is the last thing it
was intended to do. Hard decisions have to made, and I am not in the
decision circuit, but all I know that all this will appear in ST R as a
major conspiracy, and yes we all have much better things to do.... we dont
try to stop spreading the truth, we just have to deal with the overreaction
that comes from sensationalism. I end up hating to answer people's questions
here as EVERYTHING that is said is turned around. I am not trying to make
Atari seem flawless, they aren't, but when I talk to Mike Lindsay and he is
upset about what is being said here and in your magazine I try to tell his
side of it all. YES they were laid off,NO there is no 'coverup', NO there
is no fear of people demanding refunds, YES it may be bad news for the
magazine, and YES it may make the magazine better than it was.
I understand now why no one from Atari wanted to take this job, or come
online regularly to help out, everything is taken to extremes, and all the
work is taken up with things like this instead of helping out with questions
and problems. this does not help anyone.
Andreas@AEO
53818 28-APR 20:44 General Information
RE: What's going on here? (Re: Msg 53816)
From: DPJ To: AEO_MAG
Travis,
I think that emotions are taking over and the original points are being
missed. The initial story was that Darren & Mike are/were no longer with
Atari. If _that_ is not true, please tell us. If this is true, and it
appears that it is, the first reaction of _anyone_ is that AE is no longer
with us, as we know it. If _this_ is true (or false), please say so.
Now, with all of this said and done, hearing that Mike and Darren are
currently in the process of restructuring AE, and on their own, is something
which we did not report because that info was not (IMO) available at the
time of our initial report. This came out _after_ we reported the initial
"layoffs" at Atari. Working for Atari, publishing AE is not the same as
working independently of Atari. publishing AE.
All of the smoke and mirrors has been coming from the west coast. All that
it did was cloud the issue. It appears that what we did report was true.
It turns out that here was more to it with the apparent re-structuring in
Oregon. All of this could have been avoided had _someone_ been up-front
right from the beginning instead of blowing out more smoke.
Dana @ STReport International Online Magazine
53859 29-APR 00:38 General Information
RE: What's going on here? (Re: Msg 53818)
From: AEO_MAG To: DPJ (NR)
Dana,
> Now, with all of this said and done, hearing that Mike and Darren are
> currently in the process of restructuring AE, and on their own, is
> something which we did not report because that info was not (IMO)
> available at the time of our initial report. This came out _after_ we
> reported the initial "layoffs" at Atari.
This is not true. If STR had called Mike _the_same_day_, Mike would have
told STR what was in AEO. The information was there from the beginning. STR,
to my amazement, did not choose to follow through. Why? Lapse of judgement?
Maybe. Everyone suffers from that. Intent to blacken Atari's eye? Maybe. It
_seems_ that could be the case, after reading some messages.
Within 24 hours, both you and Ralph have brought up the point of Explorer
susbscriber refunds. Why? Explorer is still with us. After he was laid off,
Mike has worked his behind off these past few weeks at Atari, trying to
build something positive. All I see online is attempts to tear it down.
Nothing positive has been contributed.
I feel that if STR had talked with Mike, and if STR had the best interests
of the Atari community at large, it would not have run the story as it did.
It would not have left the impression that Explorer was dead.
Anyway, Mike left a message on Ralph's machine tonight. I say, let's let
this cool down until something more concrete develops.
--Travis
Editor Note:
In all fairness, Mr. Guy must be confused as to the timetables here.
Mike and Darren left Atari's employ on 04/08/93 Holy Thursday. We ran the
bulletin on Monday April 12, 1993. Atari was closed for the long weekend.
When the number was called, we heard the announcement pertaining to their
performing "other duties".
For Mr. Guy to question the veracity of the release is one thing but to
continue the attempts to coverup a bold and very clumsy coverup is akin to a
complete disaster. Now, we find indirect admissions that the lay-off
reports were true and that the indignation has to do with subsequent
information released. Fist, the bottom line is; Both Mike Lindsay and
Darren Meer are not on the payroll. Mike Lindsay is at Atari attempting to
negotiate a deal to take over Explorer. Facts are facts Travis, if Explorer
is going to follow the bumpy road it has in the recent past, then it stands
to reason that subscribers will need some sort of reassurance that they will
receive future issues in a timely fashion. Having the best interests of the
Atari Community at heart means much more than hiding the real facts of an
occurrence from the userbase. It means letting them know all the facts and
have them make a well informed decision. I indeed had a long talk with Mike
today and I support his effort to bring Explorer back as strong as, if not
stronger, than before. I must also say he agreed that STReport, its
publisher and staff are owed an apology for the actions of AEO's reps
recently on Delphi.
______________________________________________________________
> STR Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard"
"""""""""""""
STReport's MailBag
""""""""""""""""""
Messages * NOT EDITED * for content
-----------------------------------
from Delphi's Atari area
53564 24-APR 22:01 General Information
Atari? A game company?
From: CMILLAR To: ALL
Long post about a possible future for Atari follows. Read it? <y/n>
Over the past month or so, there has been a great deal of talk
concerning Atari becoming a "game company", again. The general tone of
these discussions has been that Atari will phase out the computer line and
begin to strictly manufacture games and game machines. The obvious message
these people are trying to get across, then, is that we, the Atari
_computer_ user base, will be left out in the cold. I feel that this is an
inaccurate assessment, but not wholly without a basis in fact. This
situation was first brought to my attention when I read the numerous posts
by Norman Weinress stating that it was an almost undeniable fact that Atari
was currently in a "transition" to game company status. When I first read
this I dismissed it offhand as completely ridiculous, and, in actuality, if
one takes the statement at face value it _is_ ridiculous. But, if one looks
at such a statement as perhaps a bit overemphasized, than numerous current
events in the Atari world begin to make a great deal of sense. So, while it
is obvious that Atari is shifting its market segment emphasis and hardware
directions, to what extent and what areas remain a mystery.
As things look right now, I believe that Atari is making an attempt to
penetrate three markets. These markets are: music, games, and the home.
The first is obviously the music market. The Falcon030 is a
musician's dream (as I can attest to), and while definitely suitable for
professional studio work, it is _ideal_ for the low budget and "budding"
musician - perfect for a niche platform. Couple this with the fact that
Atari already has some major inroads in the music world, most importantly a
mature software base, emphasizing this market should lead to some
spectacular results.
The second market is game machines. Atari now knows that if you have a
technologically inferior product with a lot of software support (i.e. 7800,
etc.), it will fail. They also realize that if you have a technologically
superior product with little software support (i.e. Lynx), it, too, will
fail. Thus, it appears that they are approaching the Jaguar game console
from precisely the right direction. From what we have been told, and from
what some developers have leaked, the Jaguar is technologically superior to
all machines currently on the market, and all machines slated for release
this year. Also, Atari has held at _least_ two developer conferences as far
back as 6-8 months ago, and has already hired 17 people to "pave the way"
for the Jaguar. Since the release of the machine is not expected until late
summer to early fall, a great deal of support should be forthcoming. Did
the Lynx receive this much initial support? Not at all. If it had, the
Lynx would have taken the market by storm. Just having software and
developers, though, does not ensure success. Knowing this, I was very
pleased to read an article in the industrial edition of BusinessWeek which
stated that Atari had at least a $12 million advertising and promotion
budget for the Jaguar. Finally, I would like to mention that there is much
more to the Jaguar project than meets the eye. I foresee Atari going after
two markets with the Jaguar - one will be as a low priced game system, which
will appeal to children, and the other will be as an expandable platform
from which a great deal of multimedia work can be accomplished (see below
for more information). Whether Atari can successfully do this is the
question.
The third market is the home market. As things currently stand, there
are two distinct ways in which corporations are attacking the home market.
One method is the "business method". Essentially, the emphasis is based upon
all of the business related functions a person at home could perform on his
or her platform, etc. Usually, clones and Macintosh computer are marketed
via this method. The other method is the "multi-media" method, and it is
just barely beginning to catch on. There are several ways to approach this
method, but it usually involves combining two usually separate components in
some fashion and selling it as a single package. The most common examples
would be the game machine/computer amalgamate. The Coleco Adam, the Atari
XEGS system, and even Commodore's CDTV can fall into this category, and none
of them succeeded to any great extent. While the history of this approach
is bleak, it appears as though the market for this sort of machine is ready
to explode. Recently there has been a glut of "interactive" machines on the
market, but none have caught on. It is my opinion that the market only
needs a viable machine to become active, because the current slew of
interactive machines are not sufficiently useful to attract the conventional
buyer. What this buyer needs is a combination of conventional abilities
(word processing, etc.), and the multimedia features of interactive
machines. When looking at the capabilities and the software development of
the Falcon030, it is obvious that it definitely fits the bill. I don't
think that the Falcon030 is intended primarily for such a market, though,
but what I _do_ feel is that Atari realized that they could begin to grow
accustomed to such a market by testing how the current Falcon was received,
and, based on that knowledge, see if they wanted to pursue it further. Also,
from what has been said about the Jaguar:
"Electronic Gaming Monthly said (approximately): Atari is planning to do the
same (as 3DO) with their Jaguar 64bit RISC based Mega system with add-ons
for hard drives, keyboards and VR goggles to draw the computer heads....
(hmmmm Sounds like a whole computer to me. Maybe with atari emulation???
Don't know, so don't take my word for it!)
Game Pro said: Atari told us recently that they wouldn't be at the Summer
CES and would instead be showcasing their Jag at a private conference some
time after June. They said that the Jag would be VERY expandable and that
there would be available a AV for playing LYNX games over the TV. Seeing is
believing."
-it seems evident that Atari wants to make the Jaguar a lower-tier of a
double multimedia thrust. From this evidence I can see several different
situations.
1.) The Falcon line will be placed as the high end multimedia/conventional
computer which will appeal to college students, families, etc. The Jaguar
will be placed as the expandable low end system which will appeal to
pre-teens as a game system, and then as a semi-computer system as they
mature.
2.) The Falcon line will be emphasized only as a music computer, and the
Jaguar will be released as a game machine and as an expandable base from
which a computer may be built - the operating system would not be TOS
compatible.
3.) Same as above, but with a TOS compatible operating system.
All three approaches would be equally risky, as there really are no positive
precedents at such market techniques, but even if the Falcon were subjugated
to "music only" status, it would still receive support as a generic
platform, and allow it to be used as a conventional computer. Or, if the
Jaguar were eventually TOS compatible, we would all still have a platform to
work with. So, as you can see, it does not look as though Atari will become
"games-only", but it does look as though there are major changes ahead.
While the Jaguar seemingly represents "games", it will probably mean much
more. And, while 22 "computer" employees were fired and 17 "game" employees
were hired, this does not mean that computers will be phased out. It does
mean that Atari needs to keep a strict balance of manpower and that "games"
are taking on more of an emphasis.
The truth of the matter is that there is severe weather ahead for the Atari
world at large. There are going to be some major changes, and I wouldn't be
surprised if a great number of current users were "swept off the boat", so
to speak. From the way I look at it, although the technology involved is
not as divergent as with the 8 bit/ST situation, we will be going through
such a shift once again. While they are TOS compatible, once the new
machines are out in great enough numbers, the ST/STe/TT will begin to be
phased out of software development considerations. Some might ask, "Why is
this happening?!", and the plain truth is that the Tramiels need to put the
last eight years behind them. They tried, unsuccessfully, to make the ST
into a respected business platform since at least 1987, and have completely
missed the mark. Because of the lack of steady progression during that time,
they feel obligated to make a clean break and "try again", for better or for
worse. The future is as of yet completely undecided, and upcoming events in
the computer market are really going to blow things wide open. Hopefully,
with their new approach, Atari will be able to adapt accordingly and cash
in. If TOS survives, as I think it will, we would all benefit. The main
point, then, is that Atari is currently undergoing drastic changes, and for
once, Ralph Mariano and I agree...
"While the company is not going under by any means, it will never be the
company we've grown accustomed to... ever again."
Ralph, your words have never rung more true.
- Chris Millar
from the FNET
Conf : STReport Online
Msg# : 23804/23823 Lines: Extended Read: 2
Sent : Apr 25, 1993 at 10:35 AM
To : Kerry Bowman
>From : Frank Sereno
Subj : Re: Food for thought
-=> Quoting Kerry Bowman to All <=-
KB> You use another online mag as an example of wasting your online time
KB> and you turn around and tell me that you don't really care, since you
KB> have a 14.4k modem. I don't get what exactly you're trying to say.
KB> One message you're against wasting online time, now you don't care...
KB> you do have a point right?
I don't remember saying that the OTHER magazine's size was a waste of my
on-line time, but I pointed out to people that were complaining about STR's
size that the OTHER magazine was becoming just as large. As far as it goes,
there is one board in the Chicago area that carries the conference that the
OTHER magazine is distributed in but the magazine usually isn't available as
F-mail because it scrolls off the message base because of too many posts.
And apparently the powers that be in that conference like lots and lots of
posts because when traffic slowed down in the conference, they gated in the
Atari ST Fido conference to make up the difference.
KB> Well, it could be that we just have a difference of opinions. Meaning
KB> keeping which end happy, the dealer of the customers. Better if both
KB> are kept happy. I won't even go into how Atari has been handling
KB> things, you're not going to get much disagreement from me. But hey, I
KB> just wanted to hear your thoughts regarding the discount matter.
KB> Wen
This is really strange how the message is intended for me but addressed to
ALL and is posted by one person and signed by another. Back to student
discounts, I doubt if most dealers give them for Atari products. And that
wasn't what Mr. Brodie told me when the subject came up in the Anti-Piracy
Fnet Conference. He posted about colleges becoming VAR's of Atari products.
Most PC dealers probably don't give discounts to college students either.
On the other hand, most PC dealers and manufacturers are not in as dire
straits as Atari is now. If Atari wants to make sales, they have to
aggressively seek new customers by offering price incentives, discounts,
promotions, etc. But it is really blind of Atari to intimate that their
product has any kind of pricing advantage against the clones when you can
walk into almost any PC dealer and get a loaded 486DX2-66 system complete
with monitor for under $1800.
These are my opinions of course, but bear in mind that I have owned Atari
computers for over 9 years, an ST for five years and wanted to buy a Falcon
almost TWO years ago. When the waiting became unbearable, I bought a clone
system. I wanted to buy a Jaguar almost TWO years ago (heck, maybe 3) but
still nobody can buy one, so last Christmas I bought a Sega Genesis (I
refuse to own Nintendo products--something about staying away from the PC so
long, the Nintendo suit with Atari and others, and not wanting to be a darn
Lemming). I do own a Lynx, but now it appears that the Lynx will no longer
be available at Toys R Us, Babbages, Software Etc., and other stores. Atari
has disappointed me so many times that maybe I am a bit hard on them. On
the other hand, maybe my perspective on Atari is correct.
--- Blue Wave/QWK v2.10
from the FNET
Conf : DTP - ART
Msg# : 3216/3216 Lines: 6 Read: 1
Sent : Apr 26, 1993 at 5:36 PM
To : S. Michael Hallack
>From : Le SysOp at Fnet Node 168, C.C.B.B.S. - Bridgeton, N.J.
Subj : Re: <3211> Re: Atari Works & Speedo GDOS
That's a very good question! I wish I knew the answer, though it's
supposed to be that FSM-GDOS was never quick enough or something??
And it's beginning to look like I may never get a look at Speedo GDOS
either as I'm tired of waiting for Atari to get off it's dead a** and do
something with the Falcon.... Too bad they the Tramiels had to go and
screw the company up so bad...
from the FNET
Conf : STReport Online
Msg# : 23850/23854 Lines: 15 Read: 1
Sent : Apr 27, 1993 at 12:25 AM
Recv : Apr 28, 1993
To : Ralph Mariano
>From : Thomas Kolakowski at Fnet Node 669, Dateline: Atari
Subj : Re: <23825> IAAD PIRACY REPORT
I just got through reading the IAAD's Piracy Report. I was shocked! I
was amazed! I was confused! But most of all I wonder... if they have so
much damning evidence against these BBS's and users... why are are all
those BBS's still up and operating? In some ways this report seem to me
like a beginner's guide to pirating. If you were never on a pirate board
you now know where they are, how to get online, what the procedures are!
I think that if the report is 100% factual it will do more harm than
good! I agree with you, their statements about this conference were
wrong, and that the talk of piracy just began with that one user (which
led to much debate here!). Hell, for all we know that was just a plant
by the IAAD to see what users in this and other conferences have "piracy
tenancies"; so they know which users they should examine?
---
~ MMST 2.60 UnRegistered (Tagline under construction)
from GEnie
Category 4, Topic 36
Message 135 Mon May 03, 1993
TOWNS at 19:01 EDT
Steve.. CD-ROM drivers for MultiTOS.. Yet another reason to upgrade to
MultiTOS when it becomes available. You can't expect Atari to support
versions of TOS that it doesn't even sell anymore. MultiTOS is Atari's
future for TOS based machines. From my viewpoint, you either upgrade
or you stick it out with what you got.
This isn't to say that Atari isn't going to do a CD-ROM driver for the
older versions of TOS. I have no idea if they are planning one or not.
As you might imagine.. they aren't exactly keeping me up to date on their
software development efforts ;-)
-- John
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Category 4, Topic 36
Message 136 Tue May 04, 1993
S.SCHAPER [Quinctius] at 00:11 EDT
John (TiNT) Towns,
Will it be possible to run the new MultiTOS desktop without slowing down
the system by running all of MultiTOS?
------------
Category 4, Topic 36
Message 137 Tue May 04, 1993
LEPULLEY [Lloyd] at 08:47 EDT
John,
>>You can't expect Atari to support versions of TOS that it doesn't
>>even sell anymore.
Of course not - another company maybe, but not Atari. So what if 99.9%
of all Atari users still use the old TOS - just desert them.
Atari's same old upgrade path - whether hardware or software. Throw away
your old system and buy a new one if you want to upgrade.
Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
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Category 4, Topic 36
Message 138 Tue May 04, 1993
TOWNS at 14:53 EDT
But.. Lloyd.. you have known this for _five_ years. Atari's pricing doesn't
have margins built-in for upgrade paths and Atari just doesn't do it.
Complaining about it doesn't make it any better.
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Category 4, Topic 36
Message 139 Wed May 05, 1993
LEPULLEY [Lloyd] at 00:28 EDT
Towns,
>>But.. Lloyd.. you have known this for _five_ years.
At least it's nice to see you admit it. And _I_ might be stuck with the
'throw away' upgrade path that Atari supplies, but others should be warned
about it before they make their purchases. They might think that Atari is
like most of the other computer world and makes upgradable computers.
>>Atari's pricing doesn't have margins for built-in upgrade paths...
ROFLAO - Tell the truth John. Atari couldn't make as much money selling
new systems if they supplied a built-in upgrade path.
>>Complaining about it doesn't make it any better.
Complaining? No, commenting after you bring up the old saw about Atari
not being able to support previous TOS versions, the one that 99.9% of the
current owners have. The one that 95%+ (IMO) will still have next year. In
other words, not supporting most of their current customers.
Does it make it any better? Maybe not. But Jerry should be aware of the
upgrade path that Atari offers when (if?) he writes his column. BTW, has
Atari sent Jerry a Falcon030 yet? Afterall, they just got in that huge
shipment - must have been a two month run - of 150 machines. Surely they
can afford to send one free to a guy who can give them millions if FREE
publicity.
Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
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Category 4, Topic 36
Message 141 Wed May 05, 1993
S.SCHAPER [Quinctius] at 19:12 EDT
When I bought my ST, there was the understanding that all sorts of upgrades
would be available, out the DMA port, the Cart port, etc. Even the ABAQ was
originally spoken of in this sort of way. (to me a logical upgrade path
would have included some of those external boxes, as well as having the ROMS
in a cart you could exchange. However, to an extent, in a different, and
more difficult fashion, that is sort of available, with later ROMs available
in different chip sets).
I'm just sad because I don't think Atari is going to make it (maybe hang
on for another five years, if that), and I really like my ST, and wish it
held the market prominence of at least the Mac, preferably the DOS machines.
(And certainly it could be doing as well as the Amiga, but you have to have
customer support for more than just the modem-literate (I've gotten lots of
support, but I'm online), places where you can buy them, a reliable future
for the machine, and people have to know about it.
------------
Category 4, Topic 36
Message 142 Wed May 05, 1993
D.MCNAMEE [Dan @ Atari] at 19:23 EST
-> Atari's same old upgrade path - whether hardware or software. <-
-> Throw away your old system and buy a new one if you want to <-
-> upgrade. <-
Yep, just like IBMs, Apple's, Commodores, Chevy's, Ford's, Chrysler's
and everyone else's in the world (although, admittedly Commodore did
have a trade up thing going for a while).
Dan
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Category 4, Topic 36
Message 144 Wed May 05, 1993
D.PATERSON2 [Dave] at 21:59 EDT
Heck, at one point Atari was selling 520STs at half price if you sent in an
8-bit Atari. One hacker chum put all his burnt chips and blown boards into a
single 400 and sent it in for the 50% off. No problem. Of course, now
that Atari Canada has closed, who knows if anything like that will happen
again.
------------
Category 4, Topic 36
Message 145 Wed May 05, 1993
SLP at 23:31 EDT
Lloyd, I agree with Dan on the upgrade path question. I really don't see
any difference between Atari and any of the other companies (with the
possible exception of Commodore, but I don't know if they still have an
upgrade program for the Amiga) when it comes to upgrades. Sure Apple will
sell a motherboard upgrade, but the cost is about the same as buying the
computer new and selling your old system. I don't know if they even do that
much anymore. I bought my 520 in the summer of 1985 when I had to load the
operating system from disk. Right now I've added memory, a hard drive, TOS
ROMS, the CPX control panel, and several other items. I've run Speedo GDOS
on the system, and I can still run most all of the current software without
a problem. Both my color and monochrome monitors that I bought with the
machine have always performed admirably, and I really have no complaints at
all about the value that my Atari system has provided in the last 8 years.
How many Amiga 1000s, Fat Mac 512s, and 286 machines, all of which cost much
more than the 520 did, can still be used without feeling that you are
working with a tired dog of a machine?
Scott
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Category 4, Topic 36
Message 146 Thu May 06, 1993
STEVE-J [Steve @ NLS] at 03:38 EDT
D.MCNAMEE - Yeah, in fact A LOT of people are very upset with Apple for
introducing a new line of Mac's every 4-6 months! MacWorld magazine even
suggests waiting 6 months after a Mac is introduced before buying one just
to make sure it isn't immediately discontinued. However, some clones now
come with the ability to upgrade the processor w/o switching out the
motherboard, all the new Mac's have easy upgrade access (e.g. installing
cards/RAM/etc. w/o having to take the whole machine apart), and the new
Amiga 4000 has the CPU on a plug-in daughterboard so that it can be easily
switched out.
------------
Category 4, Topic 36
Message 148 Thu May 06, 1993
ST.REPORT [Ralph] at 08:09 EDT
Amazing...... Simply amazing!! Because Atari leaves its loyal and
thinning userbase hanging for months... heck, years on end with only
a bleak picture for the future, its ok if other companies do it.
That's terrific rationale...
Dan, you leave me breathless with your;
just like IBMs, Apple's, Commodores, Chevy's, Ford's, Chrysler's.."
That is really the truth right?? Its really as clear and accurate as
can be... wrong. Please Dan, don't fall into the "doublespeak" trap
others at Atari have. You've always been straight forward and frank.
Don't ruin that now with this sort of example. In the automotive world
there's trade-ins at DEALERS in every city, county, state and country.
With Apple, at least they are providing new and exciting products for
their userbase and potential new customers on a very regular basis.
Finally, with IBM & Clones... that platform is vibrant, alive and
loaded with new product like the Apple platform. So much so, that
the user must be careful in respect to what they buy. The impulsive
buyer is in trouble with these two platforms. You see, there's DEALERS
and STORES and PLENTIFUL PRODUCT available around most every corner.
Where is Atari?
Ralph @ STReport International Online Magazine
------------
from the FNET
Conf : Amiga
Msg# : 9050/9061 Lines: Extended Read: 1
Sent : May 02, 1993 at 5:59 PM
To : All
>From : Tony Astolfi at Fnet Node 683, Ayer - Force
Subj : the future of computing
All right, in the continuing "The world according to me" series, I have
decided to address the subject of the future of computing.
In about 30-50 years, computer processors will have reached the point at
which the only speed constraint will be the speed of light. At this point,
the object will be to feed the computer with enough data to keep it busy.
Once this has been achieved through the use of higher speed data transfer
in about 10 more years, the easiest way to increase the speed of computers
will be to write tighter, more efficient code. The companies that have
been doing this all along will be all set, but those that have ridden on
the success of the hardware industry will have to shape up, or go under.
In the end, about 70 years from now, the focus will be on innovation in
interface design, such as new input tools, and display devices, such as
laser-driven holographic displays. With that out of the way, there will be
no way to increase speed further than to use networking for parallel
processing and resource sharing. Everyone will own a similar box, and they
will all be connected in an extremely high-speed network. Like, if all
your neighbors were not using their computers, then you could access their
processor resources of their computers for increased speed. When your
next-door neighbor decides he wants to simulate a virtual world or
something, your computer will cease to be allowed access to your
neighbor's computer's resources. This dynamic system of processing would
be the best way of increasing speed in about 75 years.
Not that the computers of this era will be short on power. One of these
boxes would be able to do a virtual reality simulation, in 24-bit
raytraced graphics at 60 frames a second and photographic resolution for
about 10 people simultaneously without breaking a sweat.
But there will be some tasks that will require extra speed. A true
simulation of fluid dynamics in realtime in an entire environment, for
example, would be beyond the capabilities of a single unit. Why someone
would want to do this, I don't know, but the potential will be there.
The average user, of course, would usually not be able to come up with
tasks that could really strain the system. The standard, word processing,
spreadsheet, and other tasks, would be trivial compared to the sheer speed
and power of these systems. Even high-power entertainment would not pose
too much of a problem for these systems. Virtual reality street fighting
games would be common place. The next frontier would be virtual
entertainment.
What is virtual entertainment? It would be an incredible task of
artificial intelligence, realtime rendering, and human-like thought
processing. The computer would combine these to produce
entertaining programming using existing plots, jokes, themes, and other
elements from preproduced works of the past. You would never see the same
thing twice, and you could even rate the things that the computer produces
so that the computer could tailor its productions to your specific tastes
in humor, areas of interest, types of plots, etc.
Beyond virtual entertainment, the future is quite foggy indeed. There
are hints of space exploration, genetic engineering, and other things, but
not too many significant developments in the area of computers.
So this, however strange it sounds, is what the future looks like. If
you have any questions, or ideas, or things to add, please tell me so I
can respond to the best of my ability.
AND IF YOU SKIPPED OVER READING THIS MESSAGE BECAUSE IT WAS TOO LONG...
READ IT!!! you will be glad you did.
from Delphi's Atari area..
54414 6-MAY 06:04 General Information
Professional Usage of Ataris
From: OCS To: ISDMARKETING
Nathan,
the following is not really a question about Calamus, but I think you are
the appropriate person to ask it:
After reading Jack Tramiel's latest comments at CeBIT ("Our machines are
aimed at the consumer market. If some are used for professional purposes,
that's fine, but not our company's philosophy" [from ST Computer 5/93,
retranslated into English by me <g>]) and seeing their latest actions, what
do developers like DMC, 3K Computerbild, Application Systems, (i.e.,
companies that make software mainly for professional purposes) etc. think
about their future in the Atari market? Are there attempts going on in the
background to convince Atari that a successor for the TT is badly needed
NOW? Or can we expect some or all of the developers of professional software
to move on to more professional platforms (*)?
Calamus is one great piece of software, and while I have never really used
it myself, I have worked for a magazine (Atari Journal) that was published
entirely with Calamus from 1989-1993. And as some people here who have seen
some issues can confirm, the result looked absolutely awesome.
Thanks for reading this!)
Oliver
(*) "more professional platforms" does not necessarily mean more expensive
platforms. Seen yesterday:
486DX33, Vesa Local Bus, ZIF CPU socket (allows installation of
(Pentium), 4 meg RAM, 3.5" drive, Multi I/O card, 170 meg Connor hard
disk, VESA Local Bus 1 meg accelerator graphics card with true True
Color (16.7 million colors), VESA Local Bus High Speed hard disk
controller Super-VGA color monitor 0.28, free choice of case (tower, big
tower, desktop...), temperature-controlled fan, MS-DOS 6.0, Windows 3.1,
plus 4 software packages from Computer Associates (Windows word
processor, spreadsheet, DBASE compatible database, time and resource
management program)
The price for this offer: 2,998 marks ($1875)
The Falcon 030 (4/65) : 2,298 marks ($1440)
+ monitor from above : 700 marks
-------------
2,998 marks ($1875)
<sigh>
A German saying comes to my mind: "Es war schon immer teuer, einen
besonderen Geschmack zu haben." (it has always been expensive to have a
special taste).
54416 6-MAY 08:05 Desktop Publishing
RE: Customer Support (Re: Msg 54388)
From: ISDMARKETING To: FBRUCH (NR)
Yes Fred. The next update to the Calamus SL program is supposed to have
Leader Tabs in and working. It had better. That is the top of my own
personal list of things I want. Did you receive the customer mailout yet? I
think we finished mailing them yesterday. Thanks for asking.
Sincerely
Nathan @ DMC
54417 6-MAY 08:06 Desktop Publishing
RE: Customer Support (Re: Msg 54407)
From: ISDMARKETING To: BONDSERVANT (NR)
I made a blanket offer some time ago to sell Calamus 1.09N to any Pagestream
customer for $95.00. That offer still stands. And you keep the Pagestream.
;-)
Sincerely
Nathan @ DMC
54418 6-MAY 08:19 General Information
RE: Professional Usage of Ataris (Re: Msg 54414)
From: ISDMARKETING To: OCS (NR)
Hi Oliver:
The quote from Jack is just about what I'd expect him to say under the
circumstances. ;-) He's standing at a show where Atari's exhibit consists
predominantly of Atari Falcon030's. It has always been Jack's personal
business philosophy to go after the home market, in my opinion. That quote
just makes it official.
Companies such as DMC, since I am only qualified to discuss DMC, :-), are in
the process of writing Calamus SL on another platform, one that does not
consider its machines SPECIFICALLY for the consumer market, although we are
all consumers, and does have serious market share in professional
applications. However, we are very conscious of our large existing customer
user base, most of whom are loyal to Calamus far more so than they are to
Atari. ;-) We will insure compatibility. We will NOT abandon the Atari line!
That statement has nothing to do with Atari or their actions but with the
thousands of people that depend on Calamus to earn a living, on the Atari
platform. Imagine the nerve, using Jacks machine for professional purposes.
;-) And if that's not bad enough, as most of you know, I am also involved
with DynaCADD. I guess I'll never learn. ;-)
There are many things going on in the background Oliver, which, by
definition, must remain there. ;-)
Thank you for your kind words about Calamus. I naturally agree. :-)
Sincerely
Nathan @ DMC
___________________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
"""""""""""""""""""""
- Washington DC USERS GETTING WARY & WEARY OF WAITING
-------------
Although the users asked that they not be named (yet) they are quite
weary of waiting for product ordered well over a year ago, prepaid, and have
yet to receive the goods. The are however, quick to point out that they've
been kept abreast of ongoing developments but as they said... still no
product. It appears these good folks have been in contact with a number of
users both in the USA and Canada and they have, among themselves, agreed to
wait another sixty days before bringing the matter to the US Trade
Commission. During the course of the telephone conversation it was made
known that there had been a few refunds made but only after extensive
complaining and refusals of substitute offerings. At the end of the sixty
day period, if nothing has been done to rectify the matter STReport will at
the user's request publish a list of those who've paid money up front and
received nothing.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> A "Quotable Quote" "The Implosion Continues...."
"""""""""""""""""
"There'll be NO CLONES of the Atari! Understand? NO CLONES!
You did it! You said it! You You You You!! Its all your fault!
You WILL UNDERSTAND! You betrayed.... You are .... EEEEIIIII!!!
...A Freudian Observation
pssst.... a rubber room candidate for sure! :-)
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> DEALER CLASSIFIED LIST STR InfoFile * Dealer Listings *
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ---------------
ABCO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS
=========================
P.O. Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
Est. 1985
1-904-783-3319
ATARI-AMIGA-PC-CLONES-MAC
HARDWARE, SOFTWARE & SUPPLIES
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
COMPUTER STUDIO
===============
WESTGATE SHOPPING CENTER
40 Westgate Parkway - Suite D
Asheville, NC 28806
1-800-253-0201
Orders Only
1-704-251-0201
Information
Authorized Atari Dealer
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
MEGABYTE COMPUTERS
==================
907 Mebourne
Hurst, TX 76053
1-817-589-2950
Authorized Atari Dealer
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
SAN JOSE COMPUTER
=================
1278 Alma Court
San Jose, CA. 95112
1-408-995-5080
Authorized Atari Dealer
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
CompuSeller West
================
220-1/2 W. Main St.
St. Charles, IL., 60174
Ph. (708) 513-5220
Authorized Atari Dealer
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
(DEALERS; to be listed here, please drop us a line.)
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International Online Magazine
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"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STR Online! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" May 07, 1993
Since 1987 copyright (c) 1987-92 All Rights Reserved No.9.18
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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. STR, STReport and/or portions therein may not be
edited in any way without prior written permission. STR, STReport, at the
time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. STR, 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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