ST Report: 28-Jan-94 #1005
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 02/03/94-06:34:08 PM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 28-Jan-94 #1005
Date: Thu Feb 3 18:34:08 1994
SILICON TIMES REPORT
====================
INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
=============================
from
STR Electronic Publishing Inc.
January 28, 1994 No. 1005
======================================================================
Silicon Times Report
International Online Magazine
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155
R.F. Mariano
Publisher-Editor
-----------------------------------------
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM-4 PM EST
STR Publishing Support BBS Network System
* THE BOUNTY BBS *
FIDO 1:112/35 ~ ITCNet 85:881/253 ~ FNET 350 ~ Nest 90:21/350
904-786-4176 USR/HST 24hrs-7 days
2400 -38.4 bps V.32-42 bis 16.8 Dual Standard
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM-6 AM EST
-----------------------------------------
Fido 1:112/35 The Bounty STR Support Central 1-904-786-4176
FNET. 620 : Leif's World ................1-904-573-0734
FNET. 690 : PASTE BBS....................1-206-284-8493
FNET. 489 : Steal Your Face BBS..........1-908-920-7981
MNET - Toad Hall BBS.....................1-617-567-8642
______________________________________________________________________
> 01/28/94 STR 1005 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
"""""""""""""""""
- CPU INDUSTRY REPORT - LEXICOR NEWS! - WINCIM VISITED!
- Snoopy, A Review - MAC Mail Order - SPIN DOCTOR
- ALDUS NEWS! - SHOCKER 2 - The Old Fishin' Hole
-* WORD PERFECT LAYS OFF 1000! *-
-* EB SNUBBING MAC PRODUCTS? *-
-* CHICAGO DUE MID-YEAR *-
-* MCAFEE GOES PUBLIC!! *-
======================================================================
STReport International Online Magazine
The Original * Independent * Online Magazine
-* FEATURING WEEKLY *-
"Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
======================================================================
STReport's BBS - The Bounty BBS, invites all BBS systems, worldwide, to
participate in the Fido/PROWL/ITC/USENET/NEST/F-Net Mail Networks. You
may also call The Bounty BBS direct @ 904-786-4176. Enjoy the wonder and
excitement of exchanging all types of useful information relative to
computers, worldwide, through the use of excellent International
Networking Systems. SysOps, worldwide, are welcome to join the STReport
International Conferences. The Fido Node is 1:112/35, ITC Node is
85:881/253 Crossnet Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is #620. All
computer platforms BBS systems are welcome and invited to participate.
======================================================================
CIS ~ AOL ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ PROWL ~ ITC ~ NEST ~ EURONET
USENET ~ CIX ~ CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ FNET ~ GENIE
======================================================================
COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers of;
STREPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198
You will receive your complimentary time
and
be online in no time at all!
"Enjoy CompuServe's forums; where information is at its very best!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
Incredibly, one has only to read a little bit in any direction on
the lesser platforms to hear the most absurd of arguments. "I manage a
200 computer network of PCs and MACs...(this makes this person an
"authority" ...NOT!) and I'll tell you...." this guy goes on trying to
sound like an authority by badmouthing everything but the computer he and
his wife have networked together at home. Blah, blah blah. The real
computing world is PCs and MACs. Currently all the rest, unfortunately,
are losing also-rans. In one breath of sanity one person make real
sense, he said in so many words, "if your preference is such a great
computer, why isn't the world using it instead of PCs and MACs? There
you have the whole thing in one simple but very eloquent statement. The
shame of it is... these "pro this and pro that" outspoken types are
really leading the lesser informed astray, sooner or later those being
lead astray are going to wake up. Then... the fun'll really begin.
Speak of "Pied Pipers" from the dark side! They'll never wake up.
Word Perfect has recently undergone an enlightening exercise in the
"conservation of resources". Some of you may recall this expression
being used in the not too distant past. Hmmm, seem they've cut most of
the "fat" away from their operation. The information is in this week's
issue. The "800" numbers are soon becoming another dinosaur in the
computing community... Apparently, the "cute" abusers are becoming far
too plentiful.
Most all the online services are either busy trying to put front end
navigators in place or already have them in place and are very busy
upgrading and enhancing them. These navigators are capable of saving the
user a considerable amount of money if used properly. Compuserve has
theirs in place for both DOS and Windows its called CIM and WinCIM. Its
quite powerful and fairly easy to use. Be sure to check out the article
about this fine front end in this week's issue.
Ralph...
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
""""""""""""""""
Publisher -Editor
""""""""""""""""""
Ralph F. Mariano
Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
"""""""""""""""
PC SECTION AMIGA SECTION MAC SECTION ATARI SECTION
---------- ------------- ----------- -------------
R.D. Stevens R. Glover R. Noak D. P. Jacobson
STReport Staff Editors:
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Dana P. Jacobson Michael Arthur John Deegan
Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Judith Hamner
John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando
Doyle Helms Frank Sereno John Duckworth
Jeff Coe Steve Keipe Guillaume Brasseur
Melanie Bell John Donohue
Contributing Correspondents:
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Tim Holt Norman Boucher Harry Steele
Clemens Chin Neil Bradley Eric Jerue
Ron Deal Robert Dean Ed Westhusing
James Nolan Vernon W. Smith Bruno Puglia
Glenwood Drake
IMPORTANT NOTICE
""""""""""""""""
Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
via E-Mail to:
Compuserve................... 70007,4454
America Online..................STReport
Delphi......................... RMARIANO
BIX............................ RMARIANO
FIDONET........................ 1:112/35
FNET........................... NODE 350
ITC NET...................... 85:881/253
NEST........................ 90:21/350.0
GEnie......................... ST-REPORT
Internet.............RMARIANO@DELPHI.COM
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
IBM/POWER-PC/PC SECTION (I)
===========================
> WP CORP. LAY-OFF! STR Spotlight 1,025 to "Hit the Bricks"!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WORDPERFECT CORPORATION RESTRUCTURES OPERATIONS
===============================================
OREM, Utah, Jan. 24, 1994 WordPerfect Corporation announced today that
it is restructuring its operations to adapt to changing market conditions
in the software industry. The reorganization will result in a reduction
in force of 1,025 employees or 17% of the company's worldwide workforce.
"Because of the intensely competitive nature of our industry and
rapidly declining software prices, we must continually monitor the
effectiveness of our internal organization," said Ad Rietveld, president
and chief executive officer of WordPerfect Corporation. "This reduction
in workforce is a painful process for us, but a step we can't avoid if we
are to maintain long-term competitiveness."
Employees at WordPerfect's Utah County headquarters who receive
lay-off notification will continue to receive full salary and benefits
for 60 days, and will also have access to career counseling, placement
services and a full-service career resource center.
The company is offering support for employees who will remain with
WordPerfect Corporation as well. "Employees will always be our greatest
asset and we are deeply committed to providing them with a stimulating
and rewarding work environment," said John Lewis, executive vice
president of WordPerfect Corporation.
As part of its restructuring, WordPerfect Corporation is
consolidating related workgroups; reducing the core in-house
manufacturing services; shifting the localization of some international
language versions to outside contractors; and outsourcing many other
functions that were previously performed in-house.
"Maintaining efficiency is an ongoing process," said Lewis. "We will
continue to review the effectiveness of our organization in light of the
dynamic industry where we work."
_________________________________________________
> SNOOPY! STR Review
""""""""""""""""""
Kids' Computing Corner
======================
SNOOPY!
by Frank Sereno
In my review of the Club Kidsoft magazine and CD-rom package, I reported
that the subscription price was $19.95 but the actual price is $12.95.
You can reach Kidsoft at 1-800-354-6150 to order a subscription to the
magazine or to order software.
This week I made a purchase from Kidsoft by downloading a product from
the CD-rom. Your first step should be to run the Club Kidsoft program,
then click on "Catalog" on the main screen. In the catalog section, you
may browse the titles or you may go directly to purchase software area.
If you have not made a purchase from the current CD-rom, you will be
shown a screen with the 800 telephone number to call so you can register
your disc. You cannot download any software without registering the disc
first. The sales person will ask for your name, address and credit card
info and then give you the registration code.
Once the code is entered properly, the Kidsoft program will go to the
buying screen. At the top of the screen is a daily password which you
must give to the Kidsoft representative. In a box you will see a list of
the downloadable software on the CD-rom. Click on the title you wish to
purchase and then say the title to the Kidsoft representative. At this
point, the representative told me that she would call me back with the
activation code. This procedure required about 10 minutes but the time
will vary according to demand at Kidsoft.
Upon entering the code, the software was transferred to my hard drive in
very rapid fashion. In a week or so, Kidsoft will ship the printed
manuals for the product. All in all, the procedure was quite simple.
The Kidsoft representative was very friendly and helpful. If you enjoy
the convenience of shopping at home, Club Kidsoft is the best way to go
to purchasechildren's software.
This week I wish to review the first of two educational programs based on
the Peanuts comic strip of Charles Schulz. Both programs are intended
for pre-schooler through early elementary grade students. The first to
be available on the market is Snoopy's Game Club from Accolade Software.
The second program is Image Smith's Yearn2Learn Peanuts. Program
requirements for Snoopy's Game Club are an IBM compatible computer with a
least a 286 cpu, 640k of ram, 4 free megs of hard drive space, an EGA or
better display and a mouse. Sound blaster and compatible sound cards are
supported but not necessary to run the program.
Snoopy's Game Club consists of three learning games with many options and
difficulty levels. The first game is Charlie Brown's Picture Pairs, a
matching game in which the child clicks on picture tiles to reveal
different pictures beneath. Finding a match will cause those tiles to
dissolve to various sound effects and partially reveal a scene. Once
all the tiles are matched, the scene will be animated. Options allow
matching 8, 18 or 36 tiles. The child may choose to match letters of the
alphabet and the letters are pronounced when revealed. One or two
players can play, competing for the most matches. This game is good for
increasing concentration and memory skills.
The second game is Snoopy's Animated Puzzles. Nine different animations
can be turned into puzzles with as few as 4 and as many as 64 rectangular
pieces. The child simply clicks the mouse on one piece, then clicks on a
second piece and the pieces will trade locations. The child swaps pieces
around the puzzle until all the pieces are in the correct place. A
counter keeps track of the number of moves the child makes to complete
the puzzle. Two players can compete by trying to do the same puzzle in
the least amount of moves. This game is intended for improving
concentration and problem-solving skills.
The final game is Woodstock's Look-Alikes. Intended to enhance
observation skills, the child must find the pair of exact matches from a
number of objects in the shortest possible time. Each round becomes more
difficult as more items are added and the differences between the items
becomes more minute. Play can start with 6, 12 or 18 items. If 18 is
chosen, all levels with have 18 items.
One or two players can play and can compete for the shortest time to find
the matches.
The graphics in this program are very true to the Peanuts comics. The
sounds and music used are interesting, lively and clear. All three games
are well-done but my children do not seem to enjoy the Animated Puzzles.
Maybe they will like it more at a later age (my oldest is only 5). For
puzzles, they prefer the jigsaw type made from wood or paper that are
interlocking in design. Also included with the software are 4 crayons
and a free membership in the Accolade Kids Club. The Kids Club sends
occasional mailings to your child and also puts your address on numerous
mailing lists for children's products around the nation.
The flaws I find in this package are the lack of audible encouragement
for correct answers and audible explanations of the icons or directions
for the games. While the program does display text encouragement for
correct answers, this program is intended for pre-readers. If an older
person is not helping them, they will never get the intended
encouragement. Contrast this with Sierra's Alphabet Blocks in which
players are constantly vocally encouraged by exclamations of "Way to go!"
and other phrases upon correct answers. Many new edutainment titles also
include audibile help to describe game play and options. In defense of
Accolade, Snoopy's Game Club was published before audible encouragement
and help became the norm in children's software and it also takes up much
less space on the hard drive. This is a good software package and I
recommend it as long as an adult is willing to give vocal encouragement
to the child while he works with the software.
If you have a comment or suggestion, please feel free to send e-mail to
me at the following addresses:
Fidonet: Frank Sereno 1:2235/10
Internet: frank.sereno@utibbs.chigate.org
Or if you wish to use letter and pen, snail mail can be addressed to:
Frank Sereno
528 West Ave.
Morris, IL 60450
Submissions for review will be accepted. Shareware authors are welcome
to submit programs too. Readers are invited to suggest software titles
to review or to make inquiries about different programs. Your feedback
is important because I am here to serve YOU. Thanks for reading!
__________________________________________
> WINCIM 1.1 STR FOCUS! A REAL FRONT END that WORKS!
"""""""""""""""""""""
TAKING A LOOK AT WINCIM!
========================
Part I
Compuserve has a winner here!
* GENERAL:
WinCIM now supports resumable downloads.
Sounds can now be associated with various WinCIM events (starting WinCIM,
mail messages waiting, new forum messages, etc...). The sounds can be
associated via sound module of the Windows Control Panel.
A stock "Portfolio" option is now available under the Services pull-down
menu. The Portfolio option enables you to create and maintain a record
of your stock purchases and produce a report analyzing their market
performance.
"Basic" and "Extended" service notifications are now displayed above the
connect time clock on the main WinCIM ribbon.
WinCIM now honors the "Run Minimized" setting of the Windows Program
Manager. This setting is useful when running WinCIM in the Windows
"Startup" group.
The CompuServe Directory has been moved from the WinCIM to directory to
the CSERVE (top level) directory.
Various printing problems were addressed in this version of WinCIM.
* SESSION SETTINGS:
The INT14 connector has been added to the WinCIM Session settings dialog
box (for use with LANs and modem pools).
The password field can now be updated in all sets of the session
settings. If a change is made to the password field all sets of session
settings that match the same ID number will be updated with the new
password.
Named session settings can now be deleted from the session settings
dialog.
* FORUMS:
The subjects and section of forum messages can now be changed in the
Reply message window. This should be used when message threads wander
off of their original topic.
The message/threads counts in the forum message "browse" window have been
switched. The new order is "topics" and then "number of messages".
WinCIM will now display the size, date, and time of the messages listed
in the Map window.
* MAIL:
WinCIM will now detail any problems reported with the address of mail
messages (ie. bad addresses) when using "Send All" from the out-basket
dialog.
The Create Mail dialog has been changed to support a new type of mail
object. Mail messages can now be sent as "Reformattable" or as "Send as
shown." The "Reformattable" option will send the message so that it will
be reformatted to the receivers' screen size. The "Send as Shown" option
will cause the message to be sent exactly as it appears (maintaining any
column data that may be present).
WinCIM now gives the sender of mail messages the ability to specify how
the charges for the message will be billed. The charges for the message
can be paid for by the sender, by the receiver, or they can be split
between the sender and receiver.
A preference has been added to the Mail preferences dialog that specifies
how "Postage Due" messages will be handled when using WinCIM's
"Send/Receive All Mail" functionality. WinCIM can be instructed to
always retrieve, not to retrieve, or to delete without retrieving any
mail message that is marked as "postage due".
* FILING CABINET:
A "File It" button is now located on article windows. This button allows
articles to be saved directly to the WinCIM filing cabinet.
WinCIM will now "remember" (and position itself to) the last filing
cabinet folder that was used when filing items.
The cursor is now be changed to an hour-glass when deleting items from
the filing cabinet.
The mail and forum message Auto-File option can now be turned on and off
on a per-message basis. The Auto-File option on in the mail preferences
dialog determine the default state of this option when new messages are
created.
There can now be different Auto-File folders for mail and forum messages.
The names of these folders can be specified via the mail and forum
preferences.
The mail and forum message Auto-File option can now be turned on and off
on a per-message basis. The Auto-File option on the mail and forum
preferences dialog determines the default state of this option when new
messages are created.
* PREFERENCES:
The WinCIM ribbon can now be customized. This functionality is located
under the "Ribbon" choice on the "Preferences" pull-down menu.
Labels can now be added to the ten WinCIM function keys (that appear when
in terminal emulation). This can be done via the "General Preferences"
dialog.
The order of the Favorites Places list can now be sorted alphabetically,
by accesses, or by the order in which they were entered. The method of
sorting can be selected via the General Preferences dialog.
A "Defaults" button has been added to the fonts dialog. This button
allows the fonts to be reset to WinCIM's default font settings.
System requirements:
"What do I need to run Windows CIM?"
An IBM or compatible personal Computer . An 80286 processor (or
higher) and 640K of conventional memory plus 256K of extended memory (an
80386SX or higher processor and at least 2MB memory is recommended) . IBM
EGA or higher resolution monitor compatiblewith Microsoft Windows graphic
environment . A Serial Port/Hayes-compatible modem . Microsoft Windows
Version 3.0 or higher (Version 3.1 or higher is recommended) . One hard
disk (with 4MB available) and one high density floppy drive . A Mouse (or
other pointing device) that is compatible with Windows
NB It is strongly recommended that you run Windows 3.1 in 386 Enhanced
Mode.
"I just upgraded to version 1.1 and now I can't use the CompuiServe
Directory?
Some members have reported that they are unable to access the CompuServe
Directory by using it's option on the WinCIM Help Menu after upgrading to
1.1. If this is happening to you use File Manager to move the file
ALMANAC.HLP from your \CSERVE\WINCIM directory into your \CSERVE
directory.
"I was online using v1.1 and suddenly the ribbon bar disappeared. What do
I do now?"
The initial release of WinCIM 1.1 has a problem with some video drivers
that causes it to lose the top half of the toolbar in certain situations.
The buttons will redraw if you minimize WinCIM and then open it back up,
and they still work normally if you click in the area that is missing.
The only solution currently is to try using a generic Microsoft video
driver, although this will not help in all cases.
Since all the toolbar functions are duplicates of menu functions, you can
actually perform any of the toolbar functions by choosing options on the
pulldown menus. We are working on a fix for this problem and one will be
made available as soon as possible.
"I tried to GO FEEDBACK and WinCIM 1.1 locked up on me!"
WinCIM 1.1 currently cannot access the Feedback area using the normal
graphical (HMI) interface. We are working on the problem and a fix will
be made available as soon as possible. In the meantime it is still
possible to reach Feedback through the text-based ascii interface. Just
GO ASCII, then GO FEEDBACK. When you are finished with Feedback just
type GO HMI to get back to the graphical interface.
"I've heard that WinCIM supports sound events now. How do I make it
work?" WinCIM version 1.1 supports sounds that can be associated with
various events. The installation program automatically installs the
necessary sound references into the WIN.INI file, but they are listed
again below for your convenience. If you did not initially install sound
support when you installed WinCIM 1.1 you can do so by adding the sound
references below to the [Sounds] section of your WIN.INI file. You then
open the Windows Control Panel Sound module and associate the sound
events (that show in the left window) with the wave files (that show in
the right window).
[Sounds]
WinCIM Forum Conf=,WinCIM Forum Conference
WinCIM ENS Notice=,WinCIM ENS Notice
WinCIM Enter ENS=,WinCIM Enter News
WinCIM Enter Forum=,WinCIM Enter Forum
WinCIM Forum Messages=,WinCIM Forum Messages
WinCIM Forum Notice=,WinCIM Forum Notice
WinCIM Get New Mail=,WinCIM Get New Mail
WinCIM Host Disconnect=,WinCIM Disconnect
WinCIM Leave CB=,WinCIM Leave CB
WinCIM Leave ENS=,WinCIM Leave News
WinCIM Leave Forum=,WinCIM Leave Forum
WinCIM Exit=,WinCIM Exit
WinCIM Start=,WinCIM Start
WinCIM Bulk Retrieve=,WinCIM Bulk Retrieve
WinCIM Inactive Talk=,WinCIM Inactive Talk
WinCIM Invitation=,WinCIM Invitation
WinCIM Async Message=,WinCIM Async Message
WinCIM Enter CB=,WinCIM Enter CB
WinCIM Wait Message=,WinCIM Wait
WinCIM What's New=,WinCIM What's New
WinCIM Terminate HMI=, WinCIM Terminate
Are you using a PC Speaker driver for your sound? If so, go to the
Drivers section of the Windows Control Panel. Select the PC Speaker
driver, click the Setup button, and make sure that "Enable System
Interrupts" is checked.
If it's not checked, your PC devotes all necessary resources to playing
the sound as cleanly as possible - to the point that it ignores comm port
activity. If you have the box checked, your sound quality suffers
somewhat, but WinCIM should have priority and be able to stay connected
without timeouts or GPFs. Or you might want to download the speaker
driver replacement SPEAKR.ZIP from the Member Uploads library section,
since it doesn't disable interrupts.
Below are the supported sound events and the WAV files that correspond to
them:
Sound Event FILENAME Message Text
Async Message WCASYN.WAV (tone, quiet)
Bulk Retrieve Complete WCRETDON.WAV All Done
CompuServe Disconnect WCHSTDIS.WAV Remote has disconnected
Conference in Progress WCFORCON.WAV There is a conf. in progress
Enter CB WCENTCB.WAV Welcome to CB
Enter ENS WCENTENS.WAV You are entering the News
Service
Enter Forum WCENTFOR.WAV You are now entering a Forum
Forum Message Waitng WCFORMES.WAV You have new messages waiting
Forum Notice WCNOTICE.WAV There is new information
Get New Mail WCGETMAI.WAV You have new mail waiting
Group Invitation WCINVITE.WAV You're invited
Inactive Talk WCINACT.WAV (ringing)
Leave CB WCLVCB.WAV You are leaving the CB
simulator
Leave ENS WCLVENS.WAV You are leaving the News
Service
Leave Forum WCLVFOR.WAV You are leaving the Forum
Wait Message WCWAIT.WAV (tone, medium)
What's New WCWHTNEW.WAV Here's What's New
WinCIM Exit WCEXIT.WAV Leaving WinCIM
WinCIM Start WCSTART.WAV Welcome to WinCIM
WinCIM Terminate WCHSWDIS.WAV You've been idle too long
The release version of WinCIM only includes nine of the above sounds
because of space limitations. You can get all of the above sounds by
downloading the file WCMWAV.EXE from the Support Files library of WinCIM
Support Forum. Just place it into your CSERVE\SUPPORT directory and
execute it.
*** Please note that there are only 20 wave files available, but there
are 21 sound events. The event WinCIM ENS Notice does not have it's own
wave file. You might use the wave file WCFORMES.WAV which says 'you have
new messages waiting' or just associate the sound event to a wave file of
your own.
"How do a move files from the old CIM directories into WinCIM"?
MOVECIM will allow you to use the contents of your old Filing Cabinet, In
Basket, and other data under the new CIM directory structure (beginning
with CIM 2.1). The new structure will allow CompuServe communications
software programs for DOS machines to share common data such as scripts,
the modem database, other support files, and the Filing Cabinet. The new
directory tree structure looks like this:
+-CSERVE-------+-WINCIM
+-SUPPORT
+-SCRIPTS
+-FCABINET-----+-BASKET.OUT
| +-BASKET.IN
| +-CABINET------+-FOLDER00.001
| +-FOLDER00.002
| +-GENERAL
| +-FOLDER00.003
+-DOWNLOAD
+-DOSCIM
NOTE: It is only necessary to run MOVECIM if you have not
already run MOVECIM to update the current directory
organization. If you originally installed CIM 2.1
from a floppy disk, MOVECIM should have run
automatically. If you are not sure, check the default
CIM directory for the presence of a directory called
FCABINET. If FCABINET exists, you probably do not need
to run MOVECIM.
Text Handling
"How do I save text when I'm in terminal mode?"
When operating under Terminal Emulation (as you always do when
accessing a "gateway" service, such as Computer Library, that doesn't run
on CIS' computers), you can save the contents of the Capture Buffer by
clicking on VIEW MODE at the bottom of the Terminal Emulator screen
then choosing SAVE AS from the CIM File Menu. You'll be prompted for the
filename to use to save the buffer contents. (You don't need to "open"
the buffer becauseit's always open, and retains the number of lines of
text you have specified under the "Set Capture Size" selection in
Terminal Emulation.) You can also do it the "long way," by displaying the
buffer window as described above, marking the text within the window that
you want to save, selecting COPY from the Edit pull-down (or by pressing
Ctrl+C), opening a New file under the File pull-down, and PASTEing the
marked text into this new file (by selecting from the Edit pull-down or
pressing-Control+V). This is certainly more work, but allows you to be
more selective about what ultimately goes into the disk file (the first
method saves the entire contents of the buffer). To save information in
a text window while operating under HMI (CIM's "native" windowed mode),
pull down the CIM FILE menu while the text window is the active window
and select SAVE AS. You'll then be prompted for the name to save the text
in. You can also the File menu's PRINT option to print the contents of
the window.
"How do I clear the Capture Buffer to get rid of menus and things I don't
want to save?"
Pull down the SPECIAL menu while in TERMINAL EMULATION and select the
option to CLEAR BUFFER.
"How do I save text when I'm not in windowed mode?"
Choosing SAVE AS from CIM's FILE menu while in windowed mode will
allow you to save the contents of the currently active window to disk as
ASCII text.
CompuServe Mail
"Why does CIM keep telling me "Invalid address" when I try to send a
FAX message? I know that the FAX number is correct."
The problem may be that you're using a the Send File option to try
to send a message to a FAX machine. The Send File option sends a file,
such as a program or word processor document, to another CompuServe
member in binary format. Our FAX servers cannot accept files in binary
format; FAX messages must be in ASCII (text) format. Hence you must make
sure that you have specified that the file is a n ASCII file when using
SEND FILE. When creating your file you'll want to make sure that you have
saved it as an ASCII text file and that there are "hard" returns at the
end of each line. The documentation for your word processing program
will tell you how to accomplish this. You may also be using an incorrect
format for the address. To send fax messages they should be addressed in
the following format:
FAX:CountryCode Area/City Code phone number
NB Use a country code of "1" for the North American and Caribbean
destinations. The ">" symbol that used to be part of external mail
addresses is no longer required!
"I've created a file using (insert favorite word processor). How do
I bring it into a message I'm creating with CIM?"
To import an ASCII text file, use the <O>pen File option from the File
pull-down menu to display the file.
Mark the text you wish to import, by dragging with the mouse.
Select COPY from the Edit pull-down.
Click on the CLOSE box to close the Windows Notepad.
Then use PASTE (also on the Edit pull-down) to paste the text into your
message.
NB If your word processor does not normally save its files in ASCII
text, you'll need to find out how to do so. For example, you cannot
import a WordPerfect file saved with the normal Save function in WP. You
must first output a copy of the document in text format, using WP's
Text functions [Ctrl-F5], and use this copy as the import file.
The recipient of a message prepared as described above and sent through
Mail will be able to read the message on their screens, or receive it
through their FAX machines, Telex machines, etc. depending on how you
choose to send it.
WinCIM does give you an option to specify whether a file is ASCII or
BINARY. This option can be used to send to files to FAX, MCIMAIL,
etc... rather than importing them into a message.
"How do I send a CongressGram with CIM?"
The current version of WinCIM does not support CongressGrams or
other "gram" type messages under the windowed Mail interface. You can
still use CIM to prepare and/or upload and send these messages, but
you'll need to do so by Terminal Emulator while off-line. Simply GO GRAMS
and you'll be able to make the appropriate choices from the conventional
ASCII interface to CompuServe Mail.
"I can't read the Internet Help with CIM"
The text of the HELP INTERNET follows:
Internet is an electronic mail system connecting governmental
institutions, military branches, educational institutions, and commercial
companies. There is no surcharge to send or receive messages through
Internet. Only ASCII messages up to 50,000 characters can be sent through
this system.
The service agreement for utilizing Internet is as follows:
The Federal Research Internet Coordinating Committee requires us to
make users aware of the following terms and conditions prior to sending
electronic mail via Internet.
1) Not to advertise by means of the Internet. An example of this
type of prohibited traffic is a message offering goods or services for
sale.
2) Not to solicit by means of the Internet. An example of this
type of prohibited traffic is a message offering a job to a user of
Internet.
CompuServe recommends customers follow these guidelines while
utilizing Internet.
SENDING MESSAGES FROM COMPUSERVE TO INTERNET USERS
To send a message to an Internet address you must use a special
addressing format. The format is:
INTERNET: recipient address@host.domain
For example:
INTERNET:Jdoe@abc.michigan-state.edu
where "INTERNET:" is required to send your message to the Internet
system. "Jdoe" is the valid address used by this recipient on the
Internet system. The "@" tells the system that the domain address is
following. The "abc.michigan-state.edu" is the domain address.
Note:
- Only ASCII text messages may be sent to Internet addresses;
binary files (such as programs) may not be sent from CompuServe to
Internet.
- Domain address elements must be separated by periods and the
domain must be separated from the recipient's address by the "@"
character with no spaces.
- The "INTERNET:" is essential. It alerts the CompuServe system
that your message is going to a remote mail location.
- You can have a space after the "INTERNET:" or have no space.
- The correct valid address used by the member on the Internet
system is essential. Without the exact address used by the recipient,
the message will not be delivered.
- The amount of time it takes to deliver an Internet message
varies from a half hour to two days. This is a function of Internet and
CompuServe is not responsible for this time frame.
- Messages sent to some Networks via Internet require a special
domain at the end of the address. For example, addresses to mail- boxes
on BITNET must include .BITNET as a domain.
Example: INTERNET: Harryw@EDUNAB.BITNET
Special Note to UK members: If you are familiar with JANET mail
addresses, you will notice that the country identifier is at the other
end of the string. This is in fact correct - it just looks different from
JANET and other UK/European Internet addresses..
Undeliverable messages
If your message is undeliverable, it usually will be returned to you
along with the text of your message. Whether the message is actually
returned to you depends on the remote mail system, but you always will
receive notification if your message cannot be delivered.
Confirmation/Receipts
Requests for receipts will be generated only when the message leaves
CompuServe and is transmitted into Internet. Receipts to indicate when
the user actually receives the message are not available through
Internet.
"How do I send an international TELEX message with CIM?"
Each country determines its own rate for incoming Telex messages.
To determine the exact price for a specific message, you may compose your
message and enter the address information. When you choose to send the
message, CompuServe Mail will display the exact cost of your message and
you will be asked to verify that it should be sent. If you are sending a
message to one of the countries listed below, then the country code must
preceed the Telex number, like this:
TLX: 7891234567
where "789" is the Country Code and "1234567" is the Telex machine
number.
For country codes and rates for international Telex messages to specific
countries, please Go MAILHELP.
"What do the different Mail options mean?"
Members sending messages from the new Windows CompuServe Information
Manager (WinCIM) have the ability to send messages with an expiration
date, a notation of priority, and a notation of sensitivity. These
capabilities will affect how messages are displayed to ASCII users of
CompuServe Mail.
Messages from CIM may be denoted as * Important * or * Private *.
These designations reflect the sender's assessment of the importance
or sensitivity of the message and DO NOT affect how CompuServe Mail
handles delivery of the message.
ASCII messages are stored in your mailbox for up to 90 days after
they have been read. Binary messages are stored for up to 30 days
"Why won't CIM hang up the line when I log off?"
Try changing the Hangup string in your Modem Control Strings from its
default of "H" to "H0"; while "H" is sufficient for most
Hayes-compatible modems (and all true Hayes modems), some modems seem to
prefer the "H0" syntax.
Downloading
"When I start to download a file CIM tells me that it's going to take way
too long to download it for the baud rate I'm using. Why isn't this
timer right?"
The original estimated download time displayed is just that -- an
estimate. CIM updates this estimate based not just on the time elapsed
since the download began, but also on the actual throughput being
achieved.
If it finds its original estimate was overly pessimistic, it will quickly
reduce the estimated time to reflect this. After a significant portion
of the file has been trans- ferred, CIM has a pretty good idea of the
throughput likely to be achieved for the remainder of the download, so
the time indicated starts to decrement at something more like real
elapsed time. The throughput, of course, is a function of many things;
phone line quality, system and/or network loading, and other things it
would be impossible for CIM to predict before the download actually gets
under way. The first indicated time is always going to be pessimistic.
We'd much rather start out with a worst case assumption and quickly
update it based on the real throughput achieved than give you an overly
optimistic estimate and have it take longer than estimated as a result of
true throughput. For this reason, you should always allow CIM to transfer
several blocks before making any assumptions based on the estimated
download time display.
"How do I tell CIM what sub directory I want to put a file in when I
download it?"
You can change the path for a file to be downloaded using the path
list box on the Download File dialog. Click on the "\.." selection to
set the path to the parent of the current directory, or select one of the
other paths shown (including any valid drives other than the hard disk).
You'll see the path name change as you cursor through the various
selections in that window. Press the Enter key when you find the path you
want to use. You can set up a permanent directory for all file downloads
by specifying the desired directory in CIM's FORUM PREFERENCES.
Session settings
"WinCIM freezes when I access Session Settings. What do I do now?"
The cause of this problem has been identified. A fix should be
available shortly. Keep an eye on the forum News Flash announcement for
word of it's availability.
"My modem is set to COM4 but WinCIM won't let me choose it".
There are three possible causes for this. First make sure that you
don't have any kind of fax management software running. These programs
will often take over the com port so that WinCIM can't access it.
Secondly, Windows may not be aware of how your modem is configured.
1) Run Control Panel and select Ports.
2) Double-click on COM4 and select "Advanced Settings".
3) Change the base I/O address to "02E8" (it probably
says "default" currently).
4) Do likewise with the IRQ setting. Normally COM4 will
be set to IRQ3
If the above doesn't work, try this:
Put the following in your SYSTEM.INI under [386enh]:
COM3IRQ=-1 ; disables the false COM3 appearing BIOS data area
COM4Base=02E8 ; sets correct COM4 address
COM4IRQ=3 ; sets correct COM4 IRQ
"I typed in a new password in WinCIM and now it tells me 'Invalid User Id
or Password' when I try to log on."
To replace the current password in CIM, you'll need to remove the
current password. To do this, highlight the Password field in your
Session Settings; then do a click/drag through the bullets in your
PASSWORD box and press your DELETE key. Once the password field is blank,
you'll be able to type in a new one.
NB This will -not- change your on-line password. If you're wanting to
change your password GO PASSWORD and change it on-line first.
"I have two Id numbers and want to use CIM to logon with either, how do I
tell it which one to use?"
Good news! WinCIM will let you create multiple logon settings that
you can access via a pick list in SESSION SETTINGS. To do this you
should:
Go into Session Settings.
Make the desired changes.
Delete the text showing in the box labeled CONNECTION.
Type in a new name for the changed settings.
WinCIM will save these changes under the new name without. You'll then be
able to pick the desired settings from the CONNECTION pick list.
"Why do I keep getting knocked off-line by call waiting?"
The disconnection that occurs when you receive an incoming call on a
phone line that is equipped with call waiting is a function of your
modem, not of the CIM software. When the carrier signal is interrupted
by the call waiting "beep," your modem will automatically hang up (as it
does under other circumstances when carrier is lost or disrupted).
While it is possible, by modifying the modem registers, to extend the
period of time your modem will wait for a lost carrier to resume, this is
not very reliable and can cause other problems. The best solution is to
contact your phone company's business office to see if they offer a
feature called Call Waiting Disable. If so, you can dial a sequence of
digits immediately before the phone number you're calling that will
disable call waiting for the duration of that call; call waiting will
automatically be restored when you hang up. The specific code varies by
the phone company and the switching equipment they use (as does the
availability of such a disable code at all), but, if we assume for the
purposes of this discussion that the code in your area is *70
("star-seven-zero"), you could enter this in the Phone number field in
CIM along with the number itself. For example:
*70,555-1212
The comma causes your modem to wait 2 seconds for a second dial
tone before dialing the number itself. Once you've entered the disable
code, anyone who calls you during your call to CompuServe will receive a
normal busy signal, rather than interrupting your connection to the
Service.
NB In some areas of the country, the disable code includes the pound
symbol ("#") rather than an asterisk or "star" ("*"). In the current
version of CIM, the pound symbol by itself is used to instruct the
software to send a "break" sequence to the modem. Thus you cannot just
include the pound symbol in the dialing string as you would the star
symbol. When you want your modem to actually dial the tone associated
with the "#" symbol on your telephone keypad, you must prefix the pound
symbol with a caret symbol ("^#").
"I'm logging on through a data network that CIM doesn't
support. How can I use it"
One way to log on with CIM is to proceed as follows:
1. Set network to direct
2. Set dial to manual
3. Enter terminal emulator; select manual mode
4. Manually type in the dial string for your modem and
go through the necessary steps until you get User
Id: from CompuServe
5. Pull down the FILE menu and select DISCONNECT
6. Pick a menu item from CIM's basic desktop that will
initiate a connection (Get New Mail, Quotes, one of
General Services Menus, GO _____ etc.)
NB This procedure also works well for modem pools and modems that are not
Hayes compatible!
You can also create or modify a script to support the network. Check the
WinCIM Forum's Support Files Library for the file SCRIPT.DOC. User
Contributed scripts can be found in the User Contributed Files Library of
WinCIM.
"CIM keeps saying "No Protocol" when I try to logon".
Follow these steps to correct the problem:
Pull down SPECIAL menu.
Select Session Settings.
Select More.
Increase HMI TIMEOUT setting to a higher value.
Miscellania
"What download protocol does the Information Manager use???
I have noticed that the block size on my system is 512.
However, the new QB protocol uses 1024 which I would think is
faster?"
WinCIM uses CompuServe B+ protocol (a newer variant of B protocol
than QB) for all data exchanged with the host under HMI, including
messages, menus and files. The packet size is 512 characters, but B+
incorporates data compression and hence is typically as fast or faster
than Quick B. The smaller packet size has been found to provide better
performance overall with CIM, in part because much of the information
exchanged with the host consists of small "pieces" of information, such
as commands or advisories; hence the overhead of a larger packet size
would tend to slow things down.
"I've tried to view GIF graphics but they don't show all the colors
that the description says were used to create the image"
The GIF decoder included in WinCIM depends on the graphics
drivers you've installed in Windows. If you want to view 256 color GIF
images within WinCIM you'll need to install the appropriate driver. This
is typically supplied by the manufacturer of your video card.
"How do I send a private forum message with CIM?"
You can send a private message to a SYSOP by send it to *SYSOP.
This means that only the lead SYSOPs in the Forum can read your message.
While this does, in effect, make your message private, it also means that
the rest of the SYSOP team can't read your message. In general, you're
better off leaving messages you want the SYSOPs to see to "SYSOP" (no
asterisk), as all SYSOPs can then see them (along with other members). To
send privately to a specific SYSOP or Forum member, you'll need to choose
the PRIVATE option at the bottom of your CREATE FORUM MESSAGE screen. If
you receive a message which was posted by a non-CIM user using the POST
PRIVATE command and reply to it, your reply will also be posted
privately. Messages posted privately do not include any special
notation when read with CIM similar to the (P) indicator that appears
when using the conventional interface.
"I'm browsing messages and the date on the messages is correct but I
can't tell if the times are AM or PM".
This is controlled by the Windows Control Panel. You'll want to go
into the INTERNATIONAL settings and abbreviate some of the settings.
"How do I tell WinCIM to use Int14"
The following INI switches add Int14 support for networks using Int14
drivers and should be added to the WINCIM.INI file.
[General Preferences]
Want-Int14= ON -> enable Int14 support
= OFF -> disable Int14 support (default setting)
Show-INT14 = ON -> an "Init 14" checkbox will appear in the
session settings dialog.
You can use different .INI files to customize your various sessions with
CompuServe. To do so, you need to tell WinCIM what .INI file to use by
passing the filename into WinCIM as a command line argument.
You can do this by selecting the WinCIM icon and then choosing
"Properties" from the Program Manager "File" pull-down menu. In the
"Command Line" field, you can enter something like:
C:\CSERVE\WINCIM\WINCIM.EXE NEWSET.INI
This would cause WinCIM to use the settings in NEWSET.INI for that
session.
"How can I set WinCIM up so that several users can use the same copy of
the program?
If you would like to use multiple session settings files (CIS.INI), you
can add the following line under the "[General Preferences]" section of
WINCIM.INI:
CIS=pathname
(where pathname contains the full pathname and filename of the session
settings file you want to use). An example of this would be:
CIS=C:\TESTING\CIS-NEW.INI
When WinCIM is run, it will look at this line and use whatever CompuServe
session settings file is defined. You could use this to allow multiple
people to use the same copy of WinCIM (on the same machine) - but use
different session settings files.
"How do I change the size of the terminal emulation window?"
You can set the size of the terminal emulation window (if you are using a
larger size monitor) by adding the following lines to your WINCIM.INI
file under the section called "[Terminal Preferences]":
Lines=X (where X is the number of lines you want)
Columns=Y (where Y is the number of columns you want)
What does the reformat option in Mail do?
WinCIM wraps CompuServe Mail messages using the default right margin of
76 characters (if the "Reformat on Send" option is marked for the
message). To change this value, you need to add the following line to
the "[Mail Preferences]" section of the WinCIM .INI file:
Reformat-Right-Margin=X
(where X is the character position to wrap the messages at)
"How do I play Entertainment Centre Games with WinCIM"?
1. Go into the Control Panel (located in the "Main" program group under
Windows 3.1) and select the "386 Enhanced" icon.
2. Under "386 Enhanced" is the heading "Device Contention". Check the box
"Never Warn" or "Always Warn" for each COM port.
3. Create program items for each EC game that you plan to use (this can
be done from the "File" and "New" options on the main Windows menu).
These icons can be placed in any program group, but it is probably the
most convenient to just place them in the WinCim group.
4. Start WinCim, go to the ECenter, and either /START, /VIEW, or /PLAY a
game.
5. Minimize WinCim and double click on the icon to start the appropriate
game. Do >NOT< exit from WinCim. If you selected the "Always Warn" option
in step 2, you will see a box warning you of a device contention. Just
click on the button to acknowledge the contention, then click on the
minimized game icon. If you selected "Never Warn" option, this warning
will not appear.
6. When you finish with the game, you will return to the Windows desktop.
You should then double click on the minimized WinCIM icon. You will then
find yourself back in the lobby.
Note that steps 1-3 only need to be done once. Steps 4-6 are the ones
that have to be done every time you play a game.
The ECenter games can only be played from WinCim if you are running
Windows 3.1 in 386 enhanced mode. If you are running Windows 3.0 or if
you are running in standard mode (which is required if you have a 286),
then the EC games cannot be played from WinCIM.
"How do I print GIF Images (wx maps, Trends graphs, etc...)"
After displaying the GIF file (either offline, or online), you may want
to expand the image to full screen before attempting this procedure, as
it gives a larger image to be printed. (Just select EXPAND from the GIF
image Window)
At this point, hit your PRINTSCREEN key. This will copy the image to the
Windows Clipboard for use.
You can then open up Windows Paintbrush, and select the EDIT menu, then
PASTE. This will then copy the image into the Paintbrush work area.
You can then select the FILE menu, then PRINT.
This is the easiest method of accomplishing this unless you have a
Windows GIF viewer.
GO PICS (Graphics Support Forum) for more information on GIF Viewers.
** next week.... add-on goodies from third party developers!
___________________________________________________
> McAfee Goes Public! STR InfoFile
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
MCAFEE ASSOCIATES, INC. PLANS INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
OF 2,100,000 SHARES OF COMMON STOCK
SANTA CLARA, CA (AUG. 24) - McAfee Associates Inc. (proposed NASDAQ:MCAF)
announced today that on Aug. 20, 1992, it filed a registration statement
with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial
public offering at an estimated price of $13 to $15 per share.
Of the 2,100,000 shares to be offered, 1,050,000 are being offered
by McAfee Associates and 1,050,000 by selling stockholders. The offer is
being made by an underwriting group managed by Robertson, Stephens & Co.
and Alex. Brown & Sons Inc.
McAfee Associates develops, markets and distributes personal
computer software designed for electronic distribution. McAfee
Associates' primary product line currently consists of anti-virus
software; additionally, the company has recently released its first two
general purpose utilities.
A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become
effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be
accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these
securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation of an offer to
buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which
such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration
or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
A prospectus relating to these securities may be obtained from
Robertson, Stephens & Co., One Embarcadero Center, Suite 3100, San
Francisco, CA 94111 415/781-9700, or Alex. Brown & Sons Inc., 135 E.
Baltimore St., Baltimore, MD 21202, 410/727-1700.
CONTACT: McAfee Associates Inc., Santa Clara
William S. McKiernan, 408/988-3832.
_____________________________________________
> ALDUS NEWS! STR InfoFile
""""""""""""""""""""""""
ALDUS NAMES DIRECTOR OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
================================================
SEATTLE, January 18, 1994 - Aldus Corporation today announced that
Katherine James Schuitemaker has been named director of marketing
communications. She will oversee all of Aldus' corporate marketing
activity including public relations, advertising, strategic planning,
creative services, and Aldus Magazine.
Schuitemaker, 36, assumes the new position after serving for over a
decade with Seattle-based Floathe Johnson Associates, Inc., a leading
public relations and advertising agency. At Floathe Johnson,
Schuitemaker held several positions including general manager and senior
vice president responsible for strategic counsel, profitability, growth,
and organizational vitality. Schuitemaker was also managing director for
the agency's worldwide Hewlett-Packard account and played a key agency
role in the growth of HP's LaserJet brand from a multi-million dollar
business to a multi-billion dollar business.
Before Floathe Johnson, Schuitemaker was the marketing communications
manager for Vivitar Computer Products, Inc., a multi-divisional
subsidiary of a worldwide photographic equipment company. At Vivitar,
she was responsible for all advertising, public relations, tradeshows,
and collateral material.
"Katherine brings to Aldus a wealth of experience in strategic planning,
public relations, and advertising," said Steve Cullen, vice president of
marketing for Aldus Corporation. "Her expertise and creativity will be
strong assets to our marketing team and we are excited to have her on
board." Schuitemaker will be based at Aldus' worldwide headquarters in
Seattle, where she will report to Cullen.
Aldus Corporation (NASDAQ:ALDC) creates computer software solutions that
help people throughout the world effectively communicate information and
ideas.
Aldus Corporation
411 First Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104-2871
Tel. (206) 622-5500
Media contact: Kim Bouic (206) 628-2352
Aldus and the Aldus logo are registered trademarks of Aldus Corporation.
Other corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of other
companies, and are used only for explanation and to the owners' benefit,
without intent to infringe.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
: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 Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
___ ___ _____ _______
/___| /___| /_____| /_______/ The Macintosh RoundTable
/____|/____| /__/|__| /__/ ________________________
/_____|_____|/__/_|__|/__/
/__/|____/|__|________|__/
/__/ |___/ |__|_/ |__|_/____ Managed by SyndiComm
/__/ |__/ |__|/ |__|______/
An Official Forum of the International Computer Users Group
*** STReport available in MAC RT ***
ASCII TEXT
for ALL GEnie users!
MAC/APPLE SECTION (II)
======================
Randy Noak, Editor
by Randy Noak - Editor
They say that, within every dark cloud lies a silver lining. While
this may not always be true, I've found it to be true in most cases.
Take, for example, a silver lining that I recently found.
It's my habit to check into Walden Software every week or so to
examine the latest software offerings. This week, I found very little new
Mac software and, in fact, very little Mac software at all. I asked the
manager what was going on and was informed that Electronic Boutique had
taken over the management of all Walden Software stores and they were,
incredibly, not as enthusiastic in their support of the Mac as Walden had
been. They were cutting back on Mac software! I was shocked. It had been
nice having a nearby source of Mac software and books, and I was sorry to
see them go. The manager did say that they would monitor the situation
and report their customers displeasure to Electronic Boutique. Yeah, I
bet that works. As I mentioned there _was_ a silver lining in this dark
cloud. Steep discounts on some of the remaining Mac software. I picked up
the CD-ROM version of Putt-Putt Joins the Parade for only $9.95 and the
latest version of StuffIt Deluxe for only $19.95. Great deals! Now I can
only hope that Electronic Boutique will see the error of their ways.
I spent 5 hours in various meetings today. Needless to say, I'm
pretty burned out. Out of the 5 hours, I figure that only about 30
minutes or so were actually spent in productive work. Since, in my
experience, most meetings are like this, I figure that by totally
eliminating meetings in every business in the country, America could
easily gain enough productivity to completely pay off the National Debt
in about a week or two. Three max. Maybe four. At any rate, I'd be
interested to hear your experiences with meetings. Are they productive?
Any disgusting brown-nosing going on? Do your meetings actually
accomplish anything? Write me at the EMail addresses at the end of the
column and I'll print the most interesting meeting stories in a future
column.
This week, Associate Editor Guillaume Brasseur reviews SPIN DOCTOR
from Callisto, Apple announces EARNINGS and Apple CEO Michael Spindler
recounts his GOALS for 1994. Be sure to read STReport next week. A
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT is planned!
__________________________________________
> SPIN DOCTOR! STR Review
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Spin Doctor
===========
by Guillaume Brasseur
Associate Editor - Games.
Spin Doctor is an arcade game that brings back the nostalgia and the
thrill of the pinball machine. The object of the game is to guide your
white wand around a series of dots to the flashing "goal" as quickly as
possible while facing difficulties such as enemy wands (that revolve
along the dots that have the same color), bombs, trap doors, acid puddles
and more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At the beginning, the player gets to choose among four different levels
of skill. These are named "pre-med", "intern", "resident" and
"specialist", doctor terms that suit the purpose of the game impeccably.
Moving through the levels of skill does not change the level's designs
but it does make your wand and everything around it go much faster. The
game in itself is composed of 106 nerve wrecking levels that include
names such as "syncopation", "deluge", "minefield" and "snake pit". The
first levels are designed to get acquainted with the game and then, the
difficulty gets much harder with combinations of an ever increasing
number of enemies, bombs, slime balls and doors. For example, here is an
idea of what awaits you in the level "Minefield". Notice that you have
to swing your white wand around the dots until you reach the dot with the
star to complete the level, without touching any enemy wands, mines or
the bombs that you set off.
In the last level, the game expects you to apply all of the skills you
have learned throughout the 106 levels to win the game. If you expect to
win the game by clicking on level 106 directly, you are in for a real
shock. Even though the game looks easy at some moments, you never know
what to expect and going into a high level with no basic training is
suicide. You also have to remember that perspicacity plays a major role
in this game because spending a little time examining your enemy's
actions might prove to be a wise decision. In this game the unexpected
always shows up. Observation and practice are the only two ways of
actually getting to the end of it.
This is a fine game. When Callisto Games says that this is one of the
most exciting arcade games ever made, they are not kidding! The game's
design is definitely a step beyond. The graphics are superb and really
help you understand what is going on. For that matter I recommend
having a color screen to play this game because some of the game's
subtleties might be missed with a gray scale screen. The sound is not a
thrilling but it's of no importance to the game. The game has 4
different levels of skill and 106 levels of play to assure its buyers
that many hours will be played before actually winning the game and
having to buy a new one. This game should be played by people over the
age of 10 because it requires a bit more skill and patience than most of
the "Nintendo" games on the market now.
Furthermore, Callisto Corporation has really made an effort in customer
relations. The game disk includes samples of two other Callisto games
that are Super Maze Wars and Super Mines which are, like Spin Doctor,
achievements in the field of computer games. Callisto also offers
support for its players on many on-line companies. You can reach then on
"America Online" under CALLISTO1, "Compuserve" under 71302,3374,
"AppleLink" under CALLISTO and "Internet" under CALISTO1@AOL. The
service is excellent and a representative will usually answer your
questions within 24 to 36 hours. If you are not hooked up to an on-line
service Callisto also offers telephone support at (508) 655-0707.
Spin Doctor is manufactured by Callisto Corporation and can be found in
all computer stores that carry games. It requires 256 colors or grays
(even though I recommend color), System 6.0.7 or later and 2 to 4 MB of
RAM to run properly. It costs around 35 Dollars and is well worth the
money.
____________________________________________
> MAC REPORT STR InfoFiles Latest Press Releases!
""""""""""""""""""""""""
Here are this week's press releases. Apple's EARNING REPORT is
interesting and so is Michael Spindler's GOALS for 1994.
THIS RELEASE MOVED OVER THE PR NEWSWIRE AT 1:54 PM, PST, JANUARY 20,
1994
Apple USA Announces Two Direct Response Programs
CAMPBELL, California--January 20, 1994--Apple USA, a division of
Apple Computer, Inc., today announced two new direct response
programs designed to offer Apple products to targeted small business
customers and users of competing platforms. Driving these two new
programs are evolving shopping preferences among certain customer
segments and the goal of prospecting new business from current DOS
and Windows users.
Apple Business Direct Program
The Apple Business Direct Program, targeted at small business
customers, lets U.S. customers order specific Apple products direct
from Apple by using a toll-free 800 number. The Business Direct
Program will be promoted through a series of advertisements in
selected trade publications, direct mail, and by developing affinity
programs with various business associations that reach customer
segments previously untapped by Apple.
When calling the 800 number, customers are given the option of
ordering direct from Apple or benefiting from the value added service
offered through a dealer. Customers are also referred to authorized
Apple Resellers in a variety of situations, including requests for
certain value added sales, and products not available through the
program. By investing in the advertising campaigns, Apple makes new
customers aware of its products, then gives them an option of where
to make the purchase. And because the program concentrates on
prospecting for new customers, it does not target the Apple installed
base.
Products available through Apple Business Direct are solution-
oriented bundles targeted toward discrete customer segments.
Apple Catalog Reseller Program
Apple also announced today that beginning in February, qualifying
resellers will be allowed to use catalogs to sell Apple products.
All resellers are eligible to apply. Those that participate must
meet specific requirements.
This will not eliminate the current mail order restriction in the
Apple Authorized Dealer Agreement. Apple will amend the agreement
for those dealers who meet specific requirements.
THIS RELEASE MOVED OVER PR NEWSWIRE ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 1994 AT
1:38 PM, PST.
Apple Computer, Inc. Reports First Fiscal Quarter Results. Unit
Shipments and Revenues Hit All-time Highs.
CUPERTINO, California--January 20, 1994--Apple Computer, Inc. today
announced that revenues for its first fiscal quarter increased by 23
percent compared to the same quarter a year ago--reaching a level of
$2.469 billion. Quarterly unit shipments of the Company's flagship
Macintosh personal computers were up 40 percent, surpassing the one
million unit mark for the first time in the company's history.
"Customer demand for Macintosh systems in the last quarter reached
an all-time high, and we again gained market share," said Michael
Spindler, Apple's President and Chief Executive Officer.
"Our growth in revenues and shipments came in markets that are
important to the future growth of the personal computer industry. In
the United States, shipments through our consumer channels more than
doubled compared to the same quarter a year ago. Internationally,
our shipments in Japan also grew by more than 100 percent, and a
recent survey by IDC estimates that our market share in Japan has
increased from 8 percent in 1992 to 14 percent in 1993. In the
portable computer market, shipments of our PowerBook computers were
up strongly, with nearly 200,000 units sold worldwide during the
quarter."
Net income for the quarter totaled $40.0 million, or $0.34 per
share, down from $161.3 million or $1.33 a share in the first fiscal
quarter of 1993. The decline in net income was due to a reduction in
gross margins as a percentage of net sales. Gross margins for the
company were 24.0 percent of net sales in the first quarter of fiscal
1994, down from 40.5 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 1993. The
decline in gross margins as a percent of sales was due to competitive
pricing pressures in the industry, and Apple's own decision to offer
its superior technology to customers at prices at or near competitive
offerings.
To compensate for lower gross margins, Apple began a major
restructuring of the company in July, 1993. As a result of progress
the company has made to date, operating expenses for the quarter were
reduced to 21.4 percent of net sales, down from 28.5 percent in the
first quarter a year ago, and the lowest level as a percentage of net
sales in over 10 years.
"Moving forward," Spindler said, "our challenge is to continue to
grow our unit shipments and revenues while we make further progress
in reducing our operating expenses."
The company also noted that introduction of the first Macintosh
systems based on the PowerPC microprocessor remains on schedule for
the first half of calendar 1994. These systems will provide Apple's
customers with more powerful Macintosh systems based on the PowerPC
601, the first RISC microprocessor developed by Apple, IBM, and
Motorola. More than sixty Macintosh software application companies
have publicly committed to shipping new Macintosh with PowerPC
versions of their products. Apple is also working closely with more
than 200 developers worldwide to move their existing Macintosh 68k
applications to PowerPC.
During its first fiscal quarter, Apple announced the availability
of paging and e-mail services for its Newton family of products. More
than 40 applications are expected to be soon available for Newton,
and Apple has shipped over 2,000 Newton Developer Toolkits to third
party software developers. Licensees for Newton's ground breaking
technology include Sharp, Matsushita, Motorola, Siemens and Alcatel.
APPLE COMPUTER, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share amounts) Three Months Ended
December 31,1993 December 25, 1992
Net sales $ 2,468,854 $ 2,000,292
Costs and expenses:
Cost of sales 1,876,830 1,189,367
Research and development 152,612 160,282
Selling, general and
administrative 374,705 409,858
2,404,147 1,759,507
Operating income 64,707 240,785
Interest and other income
(expense), net (163) 19,442
Income before income taxes 64,544 260,227
Provision for income taxes 24,526 98,886
Net income $ 40,018 $ 161,341
Earnings per common and
common equivalent share $ .34 $ 1.33
Cash dividends paid per
common share $ .12 $ .12
Common and common equivalent
shares used in the
calculations of earnings
per share 116,956 121,156
APPLE COMPUTER, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited)
(In thousands) December 31, 1993 December 25, 1992
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and short-term investments $ 1,122,775 $ 1,445,866
Accounts receivable 1,247,954 1,198,738
Inventories 1,338,637 596,613
Prepaid income taxes 279,198 212,946
Other current assets 219,443 249,160
Total current assets 4,208,007 3,703,323
Net property, plant, and equipment 642,336 639,333
Other assets 192,097 151,953
$ 5,042,440 $ 4,494,609
(In thousands) December 31, 1993 December 25, 1992
Liabilities and Shareholders Equity
Current liabilities:
Notes payable $ 752,257 $ 191,394
Accounts payable 739,599 467,182
Accrued compensation and benefits 121,344 129,032
Accrued marketing and distribution 154,868 198,572
Accrued restructuring costs 251,539 91,541
Other current liabilities 308,554 460,098
Total current liabilities $ 2,328,161 $ 1,537,819
Deferred income taxes 661,020 673,992
Shareholders equity:
Common stock 211,108 262,962
Retained earnings 1,868,660 2,026,513
Other (26,509) (6,677)
Total shareholders equity 2,053,259 2,282,798
$ 5,042,440 $ 4,494,609
THIS RELEASE MOVED OVER PR NEWSWIRE AT 8:38 AM, EDT, MONDAY, JANUARY 24,
1994
Apple To Provide Powerful Solutions for Finding Information on the
Internet
PALM SPRINGS, California--January 24, 1994--Apple Computer, Inc.
announced today at the Demo '94 computer conference its intention to
expand its AppleSearch text search and retrieval software beyond
local-area networks to help users access and find the information
they need on the Internet. AppleSearch is client/server software
designed to give Macintosh computer users personalized, easy access
to large text and document databases.
Combining Apple's traditional ease-of-use with sophisticated search
agent technology, Apple expects the enhanced version of AppleSearch
to help users find and prioritize relevant information residing on
the Internet by providing seamless access to publishing servers, such
as Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS). Apple expects its new
Internet access capability to be available in AppleSearch by the end
of 1994.
"Just as the desktop computer came into its own in the 1980s,
the Information Highway concept is evidence that a network evolution
is poised to dominate the 1990s, giving computer users access to vast
amounts of information," said Jim Groff, senior director of LAN
Systems for the Apple Business Systems Division. "The challenge will
be weeding through the chaos of information on the network to find
the files or documents users need most. We intend to continue
enhancing AppleSearch as an intelligent assistance solution that
finds and organizes that information--no matter where it resides."
In addition to expanding AppleSearch capabilities, Apple intends
to continue working closely with commercial and university developers to
ensure a variety of Internet access solutions are available.
As more and more computer users look to the Internet to connect to
business and university databases as well as various small networks
that are often warehouses of useful information, Apple is looking to
provide tools to help users easily navigate through the stockpiles of
information available on the Internet. It's Apple's intention to
create solutions that will enhance the user's experience and increase
productivity while providing seamless access to the Internet from the
local-area network.
The Internet was originally established as a comprehensive
network to allow researchers and scientists to share data and
electronic-mail messages. Today, the scope of the Internet has
been expanded beyond the research community to include millions
of business users, noted Kahle.
AppleSearch features Reporters, which are sophisticated
search agents that quickly search through documents on the fileserver,
regardless of their format, to deliver information users need.
Reporters can be assigned to keep users updated as new and relevant
information appears on the server. Combining features found on high-end
bibliographic full-text retrieval software with Apple's traditional
ease-of-use and administration, AppleSearch can also tap into
information sources such as server-mounted CD-ROMs, news wire
services or other on-line services that feed into the AppleSearch
server. The AppleSearch server software incorporates the Callable
Personal Librarian (CPL), developed by Personal Library Software,
Inc., as its search engine.
The Demo 94 computer conference, sponsored by PC Letter, is an
annual personal computer industry product and technology showcase.
Availability and Pricing:
AppleSearch is currently available from authorized resellers and
dealers. A Server/Client 5-Pack is available in the U.S. for $1,799
(MSRP) and a Client 10-Pack is US$499 (MSRP). An AppleSearch Client
Developer's Kit is priced at US$299 and is available through APDA ,
Apple's source for developer tools. Pricing outside the U.S. may
vary. For more information on AppleSearch, contact the Apple Network
Information Line at (408) 862-3385.
THIS RELEASE MOVED OVER PR NEWSWIRE AT 8:36 AM, EDT ON MONDAY, JANUARY
24,1994
Newton Intelligent Messaging Lease Program Offered By Apple and
MobileComm $49.95/month for local service, $69.95/month for nationwide
service.
PALM SPRINGS, California--January 24, 1994--MobileComm and Apple
Computer, Inc. are offering the Newton MessagePad , a Newton
Messaging Card and the Apple Wireless Messaging Service delivered by
MobileComm at a lease price of $49.95 per month for local coverage,
and $69.95 per month for nationwide coverage. This leasing program
is designed to make the powerful combination of Newton Intelligence
and paging capabilities available to a wide range of people who will
benefit from wireless communications. The service can be ordered
starting February 1, 1994 by calling 1-800-474-MESG.
Upon signing a 24-month lease, customers receive a Newton
MessagePad, a Newton Messaging Card, local paging service, and up to 100
text messages, for as little as $49.95 per month in local markets.
Using the Nationwide service, paging coverage can be expanded to
include 550 major cities across 50 states, as well as the Caribbean,
for $69.95 per month. Nationwide service enables customers to
receive up to 125 text messages and also provides up-to-the-minute
news briefs four times daily. Other leasing and service options are
also available.
At the end of the 24 month lease period, customers may purchase the
Newton MessagePad and the Newton Messaging Card for $89 or continue
the lease program with a $10 monthly discount.
The Newton MessagePad is a handheld communications assistant that
allows people to capture, manage and share information with
tremendous ease and spontaneity. In addition to paging, the
MessagePad offers a rich variety of communications options, including
faxing, beaming and electronic mail, which enable people to send,
receive and share information through virtually every communication
method available in the workplace today. The Newton Connection Kit
for Windows and Macintosh enables people to be connected to their
desktop computer at all times.
Across the world, over 2000 Newton developers are actively
developing applications and accessories for the Newton MessagePad.
More than 40 applications have already been announced by third party
and in-house corporate developers, covering a wide range of solutions
including communications, healthcare, sales force automation,
finance, office productivity, education, real estate, and travel.
MobileComm, a BellSouth Company headquartered in Jackson, MS, is a
national paging company providing paging and voice messaging service
in markets coast-to-coast for almost 30 years. The company and its
affiliates have 1.4 million pagers in service across the United
States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
THIS RELEASE MOVED OVER PR NEWSWIRE AT 1:19 PM, PST, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY
26, 1994.
Michael Spindler Outlines Apple Goals For 1994
CUPERTINO, California--January 26, 1994--Speaking at Apple Computer
Inc's. annual shareholders' meeting, president and CEO Michael
Spindler emphasized the strategic importance of PowerPC.
Commenting on the addition of the RISC-based PowerPC to the high
end of the Macintosh product line, scheduled for the first half of
1994, he said, "We believe the PPC platform allows us to build better,
more useful, software and services for people at very aggressive price
points. You can expect to see that power and performance benefiting
customers in areas such as gesture and speech recognition and active
intelligent assistance programs. Technologies like this reflect the
leadership in innovation that people continue to expect --and
continue to receive--from Apple products."
"We believe Macintosh on PowerPC will attract many new customers to
the Apple platform," said Spindler. "At the same time, we recognize
that for many of our customers, our current Macintosh product line
will continue to meet their needs. We intend to preserve their
investment by providing them with an easy and fully compatible
upgrade to PowerPC should their needs change in the future. At the
most fundamental level, this renewed effort to take the customer's
point of view is part of Apple's larger strategy to revitalize
established markets and penetrate new ones," Mr. Spindler added.
Outlining Apple Computer's strategy over the coming months,
Spindler set out five goals:
- Successfully add PowerPC to the Macintosh product line.
- Grow the new business in software, servers, Newton and online
services.
- Put the customer at the center by aligning technical work in
products and services to deliver real, tangible solutions for
customers.
- Improve the predictability of product delivery.
- Closely manage the business, aligning costs and expenses while
maintaining an environmentfor creating and taking advantage of
opportunities.
That's it for this week. Next week we will have a special
announcement, so be sure to download STReport. As always, please feel
free to send your comments or questions to me at:
America OnLine: STReportRN
Compuserve: 70323,1031
GEnie: R.NOAK
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
STReport International Online Magazine is available every week for
your reading pleasure on DELPHI. STReport's readers are invited to join
DELPHI and become a part of a friendly community of enthusiastic computer
users 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!
DELPHI-It's getting better all the time!
**********************************************************************
ATARI/JAG SECTION (III)
=======================
Dana Jacobson, Editor
> From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Well, I have to tell you that it feels great to finally be on the
road to recovery! Saw my physician last Friday and he informed me that
I had moved into the upward recovery phase and improving more with each
day. Just hearing that did wonders for me and I'm feeling much better
these days. I'm even planning to return to work by the end of the
week, if for anything, a psychological victory. I still tire easily,
but this is something my physician informed me would be "natural" for
some time to come. All in all, I'd rather experience being easily
tired than all of the other symptoms I've experienced over the past 4
weeks! My sincerest thanks to all of you who dropped me a "get well"
message the past few weeks.
The bulk of current Atari news is still focused on the Jaguar,
expectedly. Nothing new or earth-shattering has been said, but the
online activity is still heavy. Compuserve's ATARIGAMING Forum has
been a hotbed of Jaguar activity. There, one can find out about new
Jaguar sightings, game tips, new game suggestions, mini-reviews, and
much more. It's also a big plus, for Atari and the userbase, to see
Atari's Don Thomas online almost daily answering questions and
providing information whenever possible. It's clearly a positive
attitude toward Atari and its visible support for the Jaguar to see
someone of Don's stature taking an active online role. The reaction to
Don's presence has been utterly positive, and appreciated by the users
of that Forum. STReport applauds Don's efforts to help provide timely
and accurate information. In a recent effort to help provide better
customer support via the Atari Customer Support line, Don has recently
posted a message with regard to an idea that he came up with to
minimize long waits on hold and to answer FAQs (Frequently Asked
Questions) about the Jaguar. We'll post that message a little later
on. Please take the time to read it and reply accordingly.
Regrettably, there's little to no news regarding Atari computers
these days, still. I don't wish to harp on this subject, but I would
like to suggest to those at Atari who can make a difference to
seriously consider what a lack of computer-related news can and is
doing to those who still faithfully use Atari computers. Please
consider what this might be doing to those who have faithfully
supported Atari over the years - the developers, dealers, and users.
Many are wondering what will happen to them over the next 6-12 months.
Hold that thought, many are wondering what will happen to them
tomorrow! I believe that it's extremely important that these people
have a straight-forward idea as to where Atari is headed, and when.
Lexicor Software has recently announced that the Pandora/Medusa
T40 is now available. This TT-like 040 clone was announced a few
months ago here in STReport. Please take a look at the latest
announcement from Lexicor to learn more about this new machine from
Europe.
Still working on our ongoing coverage of the online service's
support staff, to be continued with the staff of Compuserve. Look for
it in the next few weeks.
We're still looking to add to the STReport Atari staff. We're
looking for people to do software and hardware reviews, general
interest articles, and online services coverage. If you're interested,
please contact me and we can discuss it. Your input would be greatly
appreciated by our readers.
We've included a variety of interesting items for you this week.
Check out the changes in Compuserve's ATARIGAMING area to accommodate
the influx of messages in the Jaguar area. Ever want to give some
advice to Atari and actually have someone listen? Atari's Don Thomas
has suggested a means to alleviate some of the traffic with Atari's
Jaguar info line. Here's your chance to provide some responsible
feedback; check out Don's message elsewhere in this section. Want to
know more about the TT 040 clone being distributed by Lexicor Software,
the Pandora/Medusa 040? It's here. Wondering where your newest issue
of Atari Classics is hiding? The explanation is here. What are the
popular downloads these days? Check out Delphi's Top 10 listing, a
regular feature here in STReport's Atari section. What's been caught
this week at the Ole Fishin' Hole? John Duckworth has landed a couple
more "keepers" this week. Rounding out this week's issue is Joe
Mirando's "People Are Talking" column dealing with helpful hints and
useful info gathered from Compuserve's Atari Forums.
So sit back, put your feet up, and join me in enjoying this week's
edition.
Until next time...
Dana P. Jacobson
Delphi's Atari Advantage
TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (01/26/94)
(1) ST ZIP 2.4 (6) ATARI MAIL ORDER DEALERS
(2) CD ROM INFO (7) COMPUTER PATIENCE
(3) LHARC VERSION 2.99 (8) TELECOMMUNICATIONS GLOSSARY
(4) TOAD'S SYSINFO (9) PFXPAK V3.0
(5) BRODIE CES CONFERENCE (10) TOWERS
HONORARY TOP 10
The following on-line magazines are always top downloads, frequently
out-performing every other file in the databases.
STREPORT (Current issue: STREPORT #10.04)
ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE (Current issue: AEO: VOLUME 3 - ISSUE 1)
Look for the above files in the RECENT ARRIVALS database.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ever do some work involving files maintenance on your hard drive
and somehow end up creating a file, usually with an invalid filename,
and not being able to delete it from the hard drive? Earl Tate, an
active Delphi user, had that happen to him and posted a message on
Delphi asking advice on how to get rid of that file. Apparently,
either no one saw the message or couldn't help at the time. With a
little persistence, Earl came up with a solution on his own. Let's
take a look:
Remember when I asked how to remove a file from your HD when it showed it
was in the 'read only' mode and stated that a file by that name already
existed. Nobody ever replied with the solution to that problem. So
there are a lot of us apparently in the same boat. Once I had a couple
of these dudes on a partition and I moved all the other files off there
just to zero out that partition. Well, someone finally (on a BBS System)
gave me the information. You simply click on that stubborn file that
says it is in a read only mode...then click on 'show information' on your
desktop and change it to a read/write mode. Then you can remove it from
your HD. Simple when you know the answer isn't it. I hope this tidbit of
information that I am passing on will help someone else someday who had
the same problem.
~~~~~~~~~~
From Compuserve's ATARIGAMING Forum, SysOp Ron Luks tells us:
Well, the Atari Gaming Forum is expanding its Jaguar support.
In cooperation with the developer support team at Atari Corp., we will
be opening a private message section and library for Atari Jaguar
licensees in a few days. You must be a registered Jaguar developer to
have access to these areas.
To obtain access DO NOT contact the forum sysops directly. Please send
an EMAIL to J Patton, Atari Developer Support, 70007,1072. Include
whatever information (registration numbers, etc) necessary to identify
yourself as a Jaguar licensee. Mr Patton will contact the sysops
directly and we will enable your user ID for access to these areas.
Be sure to tell J what your user ID is so he may pass this along to the
forum staff.
Secondly, with the increase in Jaguar message traffic, I think its the
right time to split the Jaguar section into two parts. The obvious split
is Jaguar HW and Jaguar SW, but I'm not sure this would give us two
balanced sections. (our goal is to even balance activity levels)
I was leaning toward the more specific section names of:
Jaguar Systems (general)
Jaguar Games (Reviews, hints and tips)
However, I'm open to any suggestions from the membership. After all,
this is YOUR forum and I'd like to configure it closest to your desires.
____________________________________________
> MissionWare NEWS! STR InfoFile
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Important Announcement
from
Missionware Software
January 24, 1994 - Palatine, Illinois
As most of you know, most Atari developers can't afford to live off of
their Atari sales. In order to feed themselves and their families, they
need a Real Job! You can include me in that category.
For those of you that don't know, my Real Job is with CBS TV. I've been
an engineer in broadcasting for 20 years, the last 10 of which have been
with CBS in Chicago (WBBM-TV, an Owned and Operated station). Although
I'd like to make Missionware Software my "full time gig", right now I
can't. Therefore, the Real Job must come first.
In this case, CBS offered me a once-in-a-lifetime deal - to work the
Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. I've been given the job of
"TX Supervisor" (TX = Transmission) which I'll be doing in Lillehammer
the entire month of February. I'm departing for Norway this coming
Saturday, January 29th. I'll be returning February 28th.
Because of the job I'll be doing and the hours I'll be working, I won't
be able to get online at all during the month. From what I understand,
access to the major online systems is limited *and expensive* in Norway
anyway. Therefore, I'll be traveling sans computer (although I'll be
operating lots of them in TX).
Missionware Software will not be shutting down during my absence,
however. Things will slow down a bit though, and support may also take a
bit longer than you've come to expect. My wife Kathy will be handling
the phones at Missionware in my absence and will do the best job she can
in answering your telephone calls. Be patient though - she's not a
computer (or telecom) expert.
She will be taking in orders and handling other day-to-day tasks.
Online support will also continue. Here's the breakdown as it now
stands:
BIX: We've never had any official Missionware Support on
BIX. I do publish an Internet email address that ends
up in my BIX mailbox. That mail will (hopefully) be
forwarded to my partner-in-crime, John "Hutch"
Hutchinson.
CompuServe: Bob Carpenter, a neighbor and long-time beta tester,
will be handling my official support account,
71333,1003, on CIS. Bob knows some of the intricacies
of our VT emulations better than I do. He'll do a
great job handling your questions there.
Delphi: Dana Jacobson will handle as many online questions as
he can. He'll also be getting email forwarded to his
mailbox. Dana's been a big supporter of Flash II and I
know he'll do an excellent job for me there.
GEnie: GEnie has our biggest support area. I'm trying real
hard to make sure that support on GEnie continues to be
what you've all come to expect from us. Therefore,
we've got an entire lineup of folks to help out. Al
Fasoldt, Flash II user extraordinaire and DO script
expert, will handle many of your Flash II questions
here. Bob Carpenter, who also frequents GEnie, will be
helping out here as well as CIS.
Our main Fair Dinkum guy, Hutch, will continue to
handle support for his old product line of educational
programs like Crossword Creator II.
As my business partner, Hutch will also be handling new product shipments
while I'm gone. The orders should continue to come directly to
Missionware Software, either by telephone or mail. Kathy will pass these
orders on to Hutch for shipment. We'll continue to process your orders
as quickly as we can, but please excuse us if things take a bit longer
than you've become accustomed to.
If any problems arise while I'm gone, I'll make sure to take care of them
first thing when I return in March. Between Kathy and Hutch handling the
business end of things, and Al, Bob and Dana handling the online support,
Missionware Software will be in good hands during February.
I'll continue to be online and available all this week through Saturday
morning. I then pull the modem plug for a month. If you've got any
questions that you've been putting off, ask them now! :-)
I thank you for your support these past couple of years and continue to
look forward to doing business with you for many more years to come.
Enjoy your February! I know I'll be enjoying mine. And make sure to
watch the Winter Olympics on your local CBS TV station. Many of the
pictures you'll be watching and the sounds you'll be hearing will be
because of my duties in TX at the IBC (International Broadcast Center).
Naturally, any mistakes that happen will be someone else's fault!
<snicker>
John Trautschold
Missionware Software
354 N. Winston Drive
Palatine, IL 60067
_____________________________________________________
> LEXICOR NEWS! STR InfoFile
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PANDORA/MEDUSA T40
==================
The first 68040 Based Atari Clone, now available at LEXICOR SOFTWARE
CORP.
PANDORA/MEDUSA T40
MC 68040 at 64 Mhz
Internal FPU and PMMU
Performance is around 26 MIPS, 4.5 MFLOPS
Main bus is:
32 Bit Data, 32 Bit Address
Bus Clocked at 32 Mhz
Full Bus snooping read and write
Atari bus is:
16 bit Data, 24 bit Address
Bus snooping, write
Own ACSI Address for full 32 Bit Address
Fast RAM
Can hold 8-128 Megabytes on board
Write 73 Mbyte/sec
Read 85 Mbyte/sec
EPROM is
2 MByte on board
32 Bit Wide
TOS 3.06 modified slightly
- ST I/O Board
-DMA
-MIDI
-SERIAL
-PRINTER
-KEYBOARD
-FLOPPY DD, HD, ED
-2 SERIAL PORTS (like TT Modem) (up to 115KBaud)
-IDE Bus (12 Mb/sec)
-ISA Bus (for own custom Graphics Board)
(This ISA Bus will work with any ET-4000 Based Graphics Board on PC
Platform with the NVDI ET-4000, however NVDI ET-4000 only supports up to
max. 32,000 colors as of this date)
Additionally you can get:
-VME Bus
VME Bus 16bit
Laser Printer Port (?)
ROM-Port
Mega Bus
-SCSI Board
TT SCSI
SCSI II
TT Lan
-DSP Board
DSP96002
and an MC68060 Board is scheduled for the year 1994
LEXICOR SOFTWARE CORPORATION
(510) 848-7621 - (510) 848-7613
Here's a Price Breakdown in United States Dollars, users in North America
will have the main parts assembled in the U.S.A. as parts are a lot
cheaper here.
The MEDUSA T40 is ideal for the high-end Atari User. Based around TOS
3.06 It is very compatible. Following this message will be a short list
of working programs.
- Basic Motherboard 68040/64
- Tower Housing
- ST Input/Output Board
Cost is: 2,490 U$D (Cost can vary depending on the exchange rate)
Availability: NOW, Transport time should take no longer than 2 Weeks!
Additionally you may purchase an ET-4000 Graphics Board 15/16bit Color
onboard for about another 100 U$D + NVDI ET-4000. A VME Bus Multiple Bus
Board (see description above) for another 400 U$D
8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 Megabytes on board, price depending on SIMMS,
current price is around 40 U$D per megabyte.
IDE Internal Drive will cost depending on drive size. Internal IDE, no
external casing required.
NOVA VME 16M Graphics Board when purchased with VME Bus (for 24bit Color)
costs 489 U$D.
All prices given are Recommended Retail, shipping not included!
Short Compatibility List:
Chronos-3D Key frame Animator Phoenix 2 Signum 3.0
Phoenix U.S.A. (Xenomorph-3D) Interface Matrix Drivers2.2
Prism Paint 1, 1.5, 2.0 Pure Pascal Snapshot
ANM-Link (Relativity) 1st Word Tele Office
Cybersculpt ( in St high) PKS-Edit ACS Pro
Cyber Color Seka Assembler Argon
ARTIS 4.0 Devpac Assembler Crypton
XCONTROL Turboasss Assembler Xenon V2.4TT
Calamus SL Easyride Assembler Crazy Sounds
Calamus 1.09N GAL-Prommer PCB
Platon V.2.21 Logic A. ST-Digital
Platine ST GFA Basic 3.0 3.6TT Profiler
Skyplus Delicious Pure C
DGRAPH Raystart Cubase
GMAN Topaz Emagic
Kobold VTX SED
Rufus Uniterm Turbo C
Multigem Connect Adimens
Multitos Iconedi Arabesque
Superbase Guck Chagall
Papillion Invaders Technobox CAD
Papyrus Piccolo and Drafter
DAs Vector Script 2.0, 3.0 LDW Powercalc
Didot Pro Compo Script ASpice
Didot Lineart ICD and AHDI Protar Manager
Retousche Pro CD v.1.04 Hushi Tempus Word
STAD and Editor
and a lot more programs that follow the VDI and Atari guidelines should
work with no problems whatsoever! I cannot make a list of ALL the
working programs, but if you have an enquiry about a single product, then
please email me, and we could look into it for you.
Yat Siu
Lexicor Software Europe
______________________________________________
> Let's hear from you! STR FOCUS!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
COMMENTS NEEDED!
Atari has been besieged with calls for the Jaguar. We have staffed up the
Customer Service Department and we still cannot seem to keep up with the
demands for information.
Most of the calls request the same information over and over. Everyone
wants to know the things we discuss in this forum. Unfortunately, I can't
easily refer nine year olds who call in to our 800 number to an FAQ file
to download, so we end up saying the same things over and over.
To better meet an objective of serving as many people as possible, I am
considering the production of a professional audio tape. The purpose of
the tape would be to offer it at a nominal charge to consumers who are
interested in the Jaguar, learn the most possible about it and obtain a
collection of other resource information which would not be possible by
other mediums.
On one side of the tape would be 10 to 20 minutes dedicated to Jaguar. On
the other side, similar information for the Lynx. Each side would
contain:
* Professional narration of features, specifications and competitive
knockoffs
* 1-3 sample radio spots used in key markets * Newest software releases
* Audio samples of gaming sequences and music soundtracks
* Interview(s) with Atari "personalities" (marketing and development)
* Answers to FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
* Third Party Interviews
* Praise from existing users (testimonials)
* Ads from key retail partners
I would want to use something like this as a way to distribute accurate
information that everyone can listen to anytime and anywhere. It would be
economical to create and distribute. We would ask people to spend
probably between $4 to $6 including shipping and possibly offer the value
spent as a discount toward future direct purchases made from Atari.
At this time, this is only an idea I am kicking around. I would like to
hear from EVERYONE a concise reflection on how you feel about such a
thing. Would you buy a copy? Would you like to see it issued like a
magazine? Do you think other people you know would buy such a thing
before investing $250 in a game system? Do you think it would be a good
in store point of purchase tool? Do you think rental stores could rent
it? Can you think of promotional tie-ins? What other ideas do you have?
Please present well thought out replies to my attention in this forum or
in E-Mail if you prefer. I plan to capture them and use them as
reinforcement for or against proceeding with such a concept.
Thank you in advance for your participation and help!
-- Don Thomas
Atari Corporation
________________________________________________
> Atari Classic STR Feature
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
Atari Classic Versus The Winter of '94 (sheesh!)
ATTENTION: Please download this message & re-post freely to all networks
& BBS systems. Thanks!
Hello Peoples,
Today is the first time since last Tuesday I am able to once again send
outgoing email coms without them bouncing back to me. Just a small
measure of what's been going on here the past couple weeks.
I reserved the period of Jan. 3-10 to put together the February issue of
AC & to edit material for the February AC Software Disk. On January 7 we
had a nasty ice storm here in southeastern Pennsylvania that wiped out
power to over a million homes. Although power to most people was
restored within 2 days, I didn't get back my power until late in the
evening of January 11.
As of Jan. 7 when the outage began, production on the Feb. AC was
half-completed & on schedule. I'm sorry to say I've made essentially no
progress on the magazine since then.
Living for the better part of a week with no heat/lights/electricity in
the middle of the most severe Pennsylvania winter this century was not
fun. I didn't shave, wash, or change my clothes for 5 days. I moved
into the den & camped out in front of the fireplace, & slept with my
shoes on. Precious editing time (part of which was also vacation time
from my job) got spent hauling firewood & on long searches for lamp oil,
wood & kerosene which were in short supply since I had to compete with a
million other people in the same situation as me. I thought I was
prepared as I had half a cord of seasoned hardwood on hand, but on the
3rd day the wood ran out (it goes up like tinder in an open fireplace), &
panic set in. I got thru the final 36 hours with the help of a friend
who gave me some old ratty wood & loaned me a kerosene heater. Were it
not for that, my plumbing would have froze & I would have been forced to
abandon my home & go to one of the emergency shelters that were hastily
set up by the local municipal authorities. I've been living here 13
years & never saw anything like this.
After the power was finally restored (it took until the 12th for the
house to warm up again, my bathroom fell to 35 degrees & the toothpaste
froze in the tube), it took me another 3 days to clean up all the mess &
begin to resume work on the February AC.
On the evening of January 15, as I was reviewing material for the AC
February Disk, an earthquake trashed my office (24 hours before the Big
One hit L.A.). I don't know if the Pennsylvania quake made the national
news, but I can tell you it scared the dickens outta me. It was only a
4.6 quake, small potatoes by California standards, but with the floor
rolling under my feet, windows rattling, & papers fluttering down all
over the place it was plenty scary. I had a whole bunch of manuscripts,
subscription forms, advertising copy, checks, disks, notes, computer
manuals,& a ton of other paraphernalia related to the magazine spread out
all over as I usually do; it all ended up in jumbled heaps on the floor.
A freakin' mess! I again gave up work on the magazine to pick up stuff &
restore some order, it took several days. A few items seem to have
gotten lost in the shuffle of papers. * sigh *
While I was preoccupied with the 2nd cleanup we got hit with the Deep
Freeze & another ice storm. Temperature on my back porch: -9 degrees F.
Wind chill: -40. On the 16th there was a sound like a cannon shot from
my neighbor's yard. Incredible, the trunk of a huge tree in his yard had
"exploded"; the sap froze & expanded and blew up the wood. Since then
I've been nervously keeping watch on the 40-odd trees growing on my
property. I already have quite a bit of minor storm damage accumulating
on my property: tree branches down every-where, damage to the doors &
roof of my toolshed, & a 24-foot section of 6-foot high fence that went
down in the 'quake.
The Deep Freeze has persisted for the past week, resulting in a big drain
of electrical power on the entire Eastern Power Grid. Southeast
Pennsylvania, being densely populated, was among the hardest hit. On the
17th the power companies here commenced a series of "rolling blackouts",
a phenomenon new to my experience, in an effort to prevent total collapse
of the Eastern Pennsylvania Grid. I pushed ahead with work on the
February AC, figuring they wouldn't dare black out my area since we'd
suffered so badly during the outage of the previous week. It was sorta
like playing Russian Roulette with the power company.
Well, I lost the game. Big-time. On Jan. 18 I was smack in the middle
of an editing session & got hit by a rolling blackout. It only lasted 90
minutes, but I lost all the work I'd managed to do since Jan. 7. I'll
leave to your imagination what expletives I emitted when the lights went
out for the 2nd time in as many weeks.
In the meantime, the 2nd ice storm coupled with the record-low
temperatures & a shortage of road salt turned all the roads around here
into automobile skating rinks. It's a paradise for car thieves, there
are wrecked & abandoned cars everywhere. It also turned my usual
25-minute commute into 2 hours each way. Result: instead of getting home
from work at a decent hour & resuming work on the magazine, for the past
week I get home late/exhausted/half-frozen due to sitting in monster
traffic jams for several hours watching people slide sideways & backwards
down overpasses & stuff. The whole past week has been like this, I've
made no progress on the magazine at all, I'm still stuck where I was on
Jan. 7.
On January 19 the Governor of Pennsylvania declared a state of emergency
due to the power crisis & also major problems with broken water mains
(due to the combination of severe cold plus the earthquake), in
consequence of which all commercial operations curtailed their business
activities to reduce power consumption. For me, this caused disruptions
in computer systems & telecommunications. As most of you know, the AC
Staff relies heavily on these systems for its existence, as we are
scattered all over the North American continent. I've been unable to
send messages to GEnie or Internet since the 19th, today is the first day
I've been able to get messages through.
This past weekend I've once again resumed work on the February AC, but
I've given up all hope of adhering to any sort of schedule. I'm just
going to plow along until it's done, however long that takes. The
February issue will almost certainly be late. How late, I don't know. I
can't afford to take any more vacation time from work for awhile, so I'm
pretty well confined to whatever I can accomplish on weeknights when the
roads aren't clogged (yeah, right) & weekends. I still have at least
four full days of work to do on the mag, which means probably 2 more
weeks before I'll have it ready to send to our Publisher for typesetting
& proofs.
Assuming the weather doesn't get any worse. And also assuming our
Publisher isn't having the same sort of problems I am.
Please bear with me, everyone, the temperature got up to 36F today & I
feel confident enough to guarantee the Feb. AC will get mailed out before
July :).
- Ben Poehland
Managing Editor
ATARI CLASSICS Magazine
PS: Postal mail deliveries have been very erratic the past 2 weeks.
Yesterday I noticed several mail items frozen in the ice around the base
of my mailbox (the mailman couldn't get the door closed & the wind blew
the mail out). If I take a pickaxe to the ice these mail items will get
wrecked. I've decided to let them remain there until we get enough of a
thaw so I can retrieve them without damage. One item is a Letter To The
Editor, I could read the address through the ice. The ice is over 3
inches thick.
_______________________________________________
> The Old Fishin' Hole STR Feature
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The Old Fishin' Hole
====================
-A Guide to the Online PD/Shareware Waters.
by John R. Duckworth
After a sort of new PD/Shareware drought, the online waters are once
again teeming with new life. Most notable are new graphic/sound demos
for the Falcon, but new and updates games and utilities for all the TOS
systems are being released. A new version of Master Browse will be
released soon (and I will review it in a future column), and the latest
incarnation of the very useful printing utility, "2 Columns", has just
found its way onto my hard drive and I will take a closer look at it in
next week's column (if I can get my printer configured). Before I make
any more promises, perhaps it would be a good time to take a look at what
is waiting to be reviewed _this_ week.
First up, is a game reminiscent of the popular action/puzzle game
"Oxyd". "Shocker 2" by the shareware team of Two Men At Work is able to
be played on any Atari TOS computer with at least 1 megabyte of memory.
ON the TT and Falcon computers, the game must be played in monochrome
(for some odd reason...and my biggest complaint). The object of the game
is simply to collect all of the hearts found onscreen by rolling your
marble over them by using the mouse. Several different types of rooms
will be encountered throughout the game. Some rooms have gravity, where
you will have to jump (by using the mouse button) to finish collecting
all of the hearts, others are pneumatic pipe levels where your marble is
affixed to a pipe system which you must traverse to collect the hearts
and exit safely, and lastly, some levels are called trail-setting rooms
where rolling over arrows on the ground will effect the way your marble
will travel.
"Shocker 2" is a thoroughly engaging diversion, but perhaps a bit too
nerve-wracking. A few of the rooms kept me captivated for hours, trying
to figure out the correct sequence of actions to complete the puzzles.
New elements of the game are introduced slowly (as in "Oyxd") so it gives
the player a chance to catch on without being too overwhelmed. As
interesting is the game is for one player, the fun potential when two are
playing together is staggering. The game offers a two player mode via
midi or modem. As I wasn't able to test out the two player hookup,
perhaps a fellow Delphite would like to connect sometime in the online
game lobby.
If you were a fan of "Oxyd", then I highly recommend "Shocker 2". The
graphics and sound are very nice (even in monochrome) and the play value
is tremendous. The game is Shareware, and in order to play past the demo
levels you must order the code book from the authors.
Next out of my virtual pail is a Falcon-only game entitled "Black
Hole". The game is Freeware by David Snow. First I'd like to thank Mr.
Snow for attempting to make a quality game for the Falcons...we all know
not many have come out commercially. The object of the game is two
collect two coins hidden somewhere on the game screen while trying to
avoid setting off bombs or running out of time. The game is played using
a joystick, but perhaps the mouse would have been a much better choice
for a controller to manipulate the game cursor. The graphics are _very_
colorful (245 color mode) and the sound effects are simply wonderful
(they are in AVR format by the way, so they can also be used with the
System Audio Manager). As much as I liked the visual and audio effects,
I was a bit disappointed with the gameplay. After two games I was bored
or simply moving randomly around the screen. Eventually bombs go off so
fast that it is impossible to deactivate them.
I hope Mr. Snow will continue to use his talents to create games for
the Falcon. He received high marks for originality (the game wasn't a
copy of anything I can remember), any maybe next time I won't find myself
wanting something more.
The last program I'll take a look at this week is the "Mouse
Construction Set" by Scott Sanders of Software Development Systems. This
utility is really only useful to programmers wanting to change the mouse
shape thorough their programs. While this isn't the hardest code to
program, Mr. Sanders program eliminates the need to figure the data for
the function call manually. The program is centered around a window
which displays the mask and data for the mouse pointer. Data can be
changed at will, including the colors used for the data/mask. A great
feature is the instant test button which will change the mouse
immediately into the shape you have been working on. Mouse shaped can be
loaded and saved in .CUR format, and also exports C source code which can
be combined with your own programs. If you are a programmer, hurry and
grab this file...it simplifies custom pointer shapes greatly.
Ahhh, for once so many programs and so little space...I guess I'll
just save a few for next week. Thanks for reading the column, and if you
have and comments, questions, or "Shocker 2" challenges then e-mail:
JDUCKWORTH@delphi.com.
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Old Fishin Hole Tackle Box * |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Shocker 2 |
| Delphi: Atari Advantage - read JENS SENDS |
| Black Hole |
| GEnie: Atari ST RT - #31656, #31708(fix TOS 4.03-) |
| |
| Mouse Construction Set |
| Delphi: Atari Advantage - read MOUSE |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
* The Tackle Box is meant to provide assistance in finding files
mentioned in the column. It should not be considered a COMPLETE
listing and is provided for convenience only. Delphi Atari Advantage
files should be found in the Recent Arrivals section of the database
until moved to their appropriate sections.
______________________________________________
> ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
=====================
On CompuServe
-------------
compiled by
Joe Mirando
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Life slowly returns to normal for me
and mine and I have more and more time to think about the much-touted
information super highway. Let's see, what are some of the outlandish
promises that have been made? Well, there was the one about around the
clock news. Unbelievable. Then some one mentioned shopping via computer
so that you wouldn't have to leave the house. Impossible. Someone also
mentioned the availability of photo-quality pictures over the phone
lines. Insane.
Right?
Wrong! A lot of what the Information Highway will be is here right
now on services like CompuServe. Add to the above the ability to trade
stocks, send and receive messages and programs almost instantaniously,
and the ability to"talk" with others as you would on a telephone
"chat-line".
I often think of the ancient chinese curse: May you live in
interesting times" and wonder if the first sage to utter that phrase
could ever have imagined how interesting the times could get. We do
indeed live in interesting times and they will only more interesting.
Well, let's get on with the purpose of this column: The hints and
tips available every week on CompuServe...
>From the Atari Productivity Forum
=================================
Darrell Eifert tells us:
"I just spent the better part of 6 hours trying to make the following
components talk to each other:
1 Mega 4 STe with a Seagate (?) 48 Meg hard drive 1 Maxtor 248 Meg SCSI
drive with ICD Link 1 SLM 605 Laser printer.
I could get the two hard drives to work properly (DMA 0 - internal,
DMA 7 external), or one hard drive and the laser printer (DMA 6) to
work, but NOT all three -- finally left the system booting from the
Maxtor and ignoring the internal in order to get the most hard drive
real estate. Any suggestions???"
Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine asks Darrell:
"Do you have the most current version of ICD's software? You might ask
in their section in the (GO ATARIVEN). Have you tried changing the id
to the external hard drive to 1 rather than 7? So the hard drives are
in the chain logically before the laser printer?"
Sysop Bob Retelle, a very knowledgable guy, tells Darrell:
"I'm sure others here will have more specific help for you, but I seem
to recall that Atari systems need to have the SCSI Device numbers
sequential in order for them to be found reliably (ie, 0=Internal,
1=External), and that the SLM Laser Printer has to be LAST in the SCSI
chain.
Since you could get the two drive working at IDs 0 and 7, perhaps only
the Laser's position on the SCSI bus is important. Try moving the
external drive to a device number between 0 and 6, and see if that
works."
John Damiano of Transierra adds:
"I think it might work if you have the boot HD as 0, the next HD as 1
and the printer last as 2. SCSI # that is....also make sure they are
all on. Or call Howard at ICD on Monday. I think he is there after 10
their time."
Darrell tells Albert, Bob, and John:
"Thanks for the info folks -- I tried to physically change the DMA ID
on the drive itself -- there is a switch on the bottom of the drive
that changes from 0 through 7. I tried different settings, but the
Link software didn't seem to accept the changes -- it kept looking for
the drive on DMA 7. I'll try checking over in ATARIVEN. Thanks!"
John Amsler asks Charles Smeton about STraight FAX, NewSTar Technology's
Send/Receive FAX program for ST-series computers:
"Does STraight FAX! 2 work OK with US Robotics modems, e.g., the
Sportster model?"
Charles tells John:
"Depending on which model Sportster and which revision of the
Sportster FAX Modem, you will have varying results with STraight FAX!
2.10. We are working on an update that will be released shortly that
has mant changes that have been made for the Sportster. What we have
found is that every manufacturer has their own interpretation of what
the FAX Modem standards, i.e. the official EIA Class 2 or the defacto
Class 2 should be. There are so many vendors that have FAX Modems to
day that we cant buy one of every one, so we choose the most popular
models, or a modem that uses the same chipset/firmware as many other
models.
We have a USR Sportster 14400 FAX Modem. It took a while to get one as
our distributor was out of stock for a long while. Any registered user
that has v2.00 or higher of STraight FAX! and would like the latest
beta can request it from our support BBS (Toad Computers BBS @
410-544-6999).
The changes we have made in the beta seem to correct the problems with
the Sportster, however there may be some FAX Machines that still have
problems. This is in fact the case when we tested the Sportster with
the WinFAX Lite software that was included with it for Windows. It
could not connect to some FAX Machines/Modems.
If you check in the USR message area of the Modem Vendors Forum (GO
MODEMVEN), you will find many users that have similar findings. We are
working with USR to solve these problems and to confirm that the
changes we have made in the beta are correct. We were on a waiting list
to be called back by a USR engineer, now we seem to be in "phone tag"
mode ;-).
One thing we do know is that USR Sportster 14400 FAX Modems with serial
numbers that start lower than 00026801 and 9600 FAX Modems with serial
numbers that start lower than 00026501 can not connect to some FAX
Machines at all, no matter what computer or software is used. To the
best of my knowledge there is no way to correct this in firmware. You
will have to contact USR to see what their policy is for these older
Sportsters. Newer Sportsters have to have a special init string to
communicate with these problem FAX Machines (i.e. Pitney Bowes).
STraight FAX! 2.10 has a new Init String parameter added to allow for
this. The special init string is "S36=0", this changes an undocumented
S register to compensate for these FAX Machines, the problem is that
this must be done manually for the problem FAX machines only, i.e. you
must change the Init String if you know the FAX machine is one of the
problem models."
Beth Jane Freeman asks:
"Now that I've got the laser printer, I'm wondering how to use it to
print out from DEGAS, Elite. If not with Speedo GDOS, then what?"
Lee Zion tells Beth:
"You need a DEGAS print driver for your laser printer. I haven't
managed to find one myself for my OKI (HP emulation). Tom Hudson
uploaded one for the HP Paintjet but not for any other HP.
By any chance, does your laser emulate one of the many dot matrix
printers? Drivers for them are available in ATARIARTS, just BRO ALL
KEY:DEGAS,DRIVER.
Failing that, you might want to try an offline print program. I have
used one from here in ATARIPRO (Lib 9) called DEG2HP.ARC. It prints
uncompressed DEGAS PI? files to an HP. It converts colors to
acceptable bitmapped patterns. While not as handy as a DEGAS screen
dump, it does do the job.
Your mention of NYC and your recent weather reports, lead me to wonder
where you are located in the NYC area. I am currently living in the
Eatontown/Long Branch, NJ area. We have had much the same weather here
near the New Jersey shore."
My buddy Brian Gockley of ST Informer tells Beth:
"If all else fails, there is a program called PRINTALL that will works
as a stand alone Degas (or any other graphic format) printer.
As you either know or have heard, using computers is actually an
endless struggle between upgrading and compatibility. Every time I
change a part of my system (Moniterm monitor, new computer, new hard
drives, and mostly, ne software) it requires that I diagnose the whole
system and either modify, or totally replace something. I have tried to
stick with those programs that follow the rules as closely as possible,
but sometimes, even the best program falls by the wayside. I wish there
were something that sould be done for "dead end" programs that would
give them a new life, or fix them somehow, but...c'est la vie!"
Beth tells Brian:
"Yeah, that's true. I'm considering replacing my 720 K drives with
1.44 drives. At least floppy drives are downwardly compatible, like
modem speeds. However, there is the question of costs. That generally
keeps me from going too crazy. I haven't gotten things like STEALTH or
a Moniterm monitor, just a bit too rich for my blood, at the moment.
The biggest things I've done is to add TEC (Great product), a hard
drive (essential with WordPerfect and Pagestream), and add memory."
Mike Myers posts:
"I have a few questions that are scaring me. First, what seems to be
happening. First, I was able to load 2 accessories - A screen saver
that I took of My Master of Gribnif's Stalker, and Stalker itself as an
accessory to a Wordwriter program. I did the same with Gribnif's
Cardfile, the screensaver, and Wordwriter. After a while, I couldn't
get Stalker or Cardfile to respond. I had to change them to programs.
It worked, but... Now, my printer is doing strange things. Sometimes it
will print black blocks where the words should be, sometimes it feeds
the paper till 2 or 3 sheets come thru, without printing. Now, for the
scary question - Do computers wear out? Is that what may be happening?"
Sysop Bob Retelle tells Mike:
"First of all, relax... computers don't "wear out" from being used...
Usually symptoms like you described are caused by combinations of
things that just don't work well together. They're most always caused
by making changes to a setup that was working well before, but that
suddenly stops working, or works strangely...
The best way to make changes is to do only one thing at a time, and
check it all out thoroughly before adding anything else... if for
example you were wanting to add a new screen saver ACCessory and a new
text editor ACCessory to a disk that you knew was already working, it
would be best to add only one of the new files, and check everything
out to make sure it still works OK before adding the other. That way
you can identify the source of the problem if anything goes wrong.
It may be that STalker isn't compatible with that particular
combination of programs on your WordWriter disk, or that another of the
ACCessories is causing a problem.
The best thing to do is to try to get back to the original, working
setup by recreating your original WordWriter disk, making sure it works
properly, then slowly adding the other programs, one by one, and
testing to be sure everything still works each time."
Mike tells Bob:
"That is one big relief. I work with this computer, and I don't have
the money to buy another."
Meanwhile, Dana Rupp asks about transferring MIDI files:
"Is there a way for me to exchange midi files with a friend who uses
an ATARI 1040 ST. I'm using an IBM compatible with DOS 6.2. We need
to be able to send files in both directions."
Sysop Bill Aycock tells Dana:
"If you format a 720K diskette on your machine, you and your friend
should both be able to read and write to it. Use the command FORMAT
A: /F:720 to do the formatting, or use Windows File Manager and set
the size to 720k.
Of course, you could also send the files through Compuserve Mail. :-)"
Yat Siu of Lexicor Software adds:
"Another option would be to use a Comms package and do a direct link
(datalink, nullmodem cable, whatever you wanna call it <g>).
It works, I've tried it with Connect and Telix, then again, it should
work with any Comms package."
Sysop Bill tells Yat:
"True, a direct link would work also. However, the effectiveness
diminishes when distances more than a few feet are involved..."
Kroy Ellis tells us:
"A friend of mine was given an Atari computer, but no software or
printer. I know PCs, but nothing about Atari. Any ideas where I can
get s/w, hardware and support for him? He is a college grad. student
and particularly needs word processing software."
Sysop Bob Retelle asks Kroy:
"Do you know what model of Atari computer your friend has..?
Assuming it's one of the newer ST series of computers, he can use just
about any Epson compatible parallel printer with a standard "IBM
parallel printer cable" with the Atari computer.
Software and other accessories is more difficult, as there are very
few Atari dealers left in the country. For Public Domain and Shareware
software, his best resource is probably these Atari Forums here on
CompuServe. He can use any standard EXTERNAL modem with his Atari
computer, and we can figure out a way to get him a modem program to run
with it.
We have an excellent Public Domain word processor here in our
libraries, called STWriter. You could even download it for him and
save it on a 720K DS/DD disk for him and he could use it directly in
his Atari disk drive. (You could even do the same with a
telecommunications modem program, come to think of it..!)"
John Amsler asks:
"Has anyone gotten the RENAME function in ST-Zip 2.4 to work? I never
was able to get it to work in 2.3 and I haven't in 2.4, either.
Also, has anyone else experienced that 2.4 is _significantly_ slower
than 2.3?"
Brian Robson tells John:
"Yes, found that here too. Thought at first perhaps the program was in
'packed' format, but as I understand from other users who have also
noticed this that it doesn't seem to be. I e-mailed Vincent (the
programmer) to report this and find out if this is normal behavior, -
I'll update re. any reply."
Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Online Magazine adds:
"Only during start-up does it seem slower to me. If its more reliable
that is more important than the speed loss, in my opinion."
Dazzz Smith tells John:
"Yes version 2.4 does take a while to get going for some reason, not
sure why though, someone did say they had mailed the author to ask
about it."
>From the Atari ST Arts Forum
============================
Well folks, at least once a month someone with a DOS machine drops in and
asks about viewing pictures in one Atari-specific format or another.
Malcom Simmons asks:
"Can you tell me how to view/convert SPC/SPU files on a PC :) ? I
cannot locate a viewer in the Graphics Support Forum that will do that
for me and all the *.prg converters here require the Atari which I dont
have. Please advise if you know something."
Sysop Bill Aycock tells Malcom:
"Sadly, there doesn't seem to be any PC utility that can do anything
with SPU/SPC pictures- at least, none that our members are aware of. We
get inquiries on it all the time, too. <sigh!>"
Hal Dougherty tells Malcom:
"I've got an Atari STe, a 486 clone, and a color Mac. I'll be glad to
convert the files from .SPC/.SPU format to anything you can use. Post
them in the file area or send them e-mail.
I've not found anything for the clone that will convert them and only
one for the Mac that even has .SP? in the load file menu. (It doesn't
work!)"
Lee Seiler of Lexicor Software asks:
"Does this mean that Atari really isn't going to be making many more
Atari computers? What ever happned to the 5000 Falcons Atari promised?
and all thoses TT's which were on their way!
Is any one at Atari even communicationg with the Atari computer users
any more?"
Ringo Monfort tells Lee:
"ATARI personal are saying that they are "thinking" about using Jaguar
chipset for an future computer but after all they are saying "thinking"
and not "doing". <smile> Is ATARI providing supporting software
developers for the Falcon and TT Line? Is there a number to call if you
want to be a new developer for the ATARI?"
On the subject of CompuServe's rate decrease, Sysop Jim Ness posts:
"CIS has always considered itself the "premium" product in online
services. As a result, it prices itself above all the others, and is
the only service making a profit for its owners at this time.
I was recently chastised by a CIS executive for saying we were in the
midst of a price war. His line was that CIS was lowering prices simply
because of lower costs, and a desire to please members by passing those
savings on. Heh heh...
Fact is, it IS a price war, and it's good for members. But, it does
negatively affect profits. I'm not sure how long all those other
services will be able to exist at a loss. They need to make it up
quickly, in increased membership, and not all are succeeding in this."
>From the Atari Vendor's Forum
=============================
Bruce Matthews asks:
"Does ICD have any support in the Amiga forums? I tried calling ICD
yesterday to ask some technical questions about some ICD hardware that
I have for my Amiga and ask about new product upgrades. Instead of
speaking with someone, I was forced to go through endless (and
expensive - daytime phone charges) queries by machine. I found this
extremely annoying, for one, I am difficult to reach during business
hours so I called on a day of leave. The odds of them returning a call
when I can answer is nil.
The other thing I wanted to tell them is to update my address since
I'll be moving overseas to Moscow, Russia. And I know that I won't be
very happy to reach a machine if I call from there. However, CServe
E-mail is alive and well from Moscow."
Boris Molodyi tells Bruce:
"Sorry, can't help you with ICD, but may I ask you what brings you to
Moscow? I'm from there, originally..."
Howard Peters at ICD tells Bruce:
"Sorry about the phone system. We still experimenting in how to make
it more convenient for our customers. It is supposed to improve the
contact to us, not to cut people off.
Anyway, we are available here on CompuServe and happy to serve you
that way too. Please feel free to ask your questions here. It might
take a few days to get an answers but you will get one!"
Bruce replies:
"Thanks for your prompt reply. Pardon me, Atari fans, while I disuss
some Amiga here <g>. BTW, did you know that there are several vendors
with Amiga products on a Amiga Vendor Forum (Go AMIGAVENDOR). Since
your competition is there, it might be nice for ICD to get into a slot.
Anyway, now for my questions. I recently purchased an A4000 computer.
I still own my A2000 which is equipped with an ICD AdSCI 2080 and a
Syquest 44 Mb removable hard drive. I would like to transfer the
Syquest over to the A4000, but the A4000 comes only with an IDE
controller, Will the AdSCSI 2080 will work in the A4000? My A2000 is
currently on its way to Moscow, otherwise I would just plug it in and
try it."
What the heck, folks, we're all one big, happy computer family, aren't
we? It won't kill any of us to listen to an Amiga user once in a while.
Meanwhile, Toshi Homma asks:
"Can I use Quantum170EPS by the Link? I cannot find out the parity
enable jumper on the 170EPS. Could you tell me how I can use it?"
Howard at ICD tells Toshi:
"Yes, you can - but ... As you noticed correctly there is no parity
jumper on the drive. But it can be reconfigured by software. If you run
our BOOTFIX it will disable the parity. The problem is that you can't
use The Link to do that.
Either try a friend or a dealer who has a AdSCSI ST or AdSCSI Plus ST
to do it for you. Those adapters do support parity. Use them to run
BOOTFIX, then your EPS drive should work fine with The Link!"
Mike Mortilla posts:
"I must admit that I do have some "Mac-envy" <g> when I see how easy
the DTP progs work in that platform. But considering I haven't had to
make a single repair to my overworked Ataris in many years, I'll keep
the St line!"
Jane Freeman tells Mike:
"How true. Ataris work very well. I only had to fix a pin on the chip
that controls the floppy drives, and that was my fault. I put the
Z-Ram upgrade board in incorrectly.
I couldn't get a new chip, so my friend, his brother and I chipped away
at the plastic on the chip to expose enough area to solder on a new
leg. That was done by still another friend."
>From the Palmtop Forum
======================
Peter Amschel posts:
"I downloaded all the files on this forum regarding key words
"compare", etc. and I agree that the Portfolio is king. Those little
date keepers seem to be losers for text processing, which is my main
use; and those HP devices strike me as unconventional with the way they
double file sizes, or whatever. I can't believe that after all these
years there is not a product to beat the Port, even though Atari has
not even tried to do an upgrade. I just got the Frenchman's program
PORTMAN off here and now I am even more efficient on file transfers and
unwraps. Also, guess what, my Port has now stopped farkling on file
transfers and is making transfers just fine as if it formerly just had
a cramp or something which is now gone!"
On the subject of finding a carrying case for the Portfolio, Stephan
Sayer posts:
"As for a really inexpensive case, I've been using an Atari Lynx case
for mine which is the perfect size when there is an expansion device
attached. My BSE Universal Interface stays attached all the time this
way and the little pockets in front work well for spare batteries. It's
got a belt loop and a hand strap and at about $12 to $15 it's an
excellent value."
Mark Gordon asks Stephan:
"What is the Atari Lynx case. Was that made for the Port. I have a
vague memory of another atari computer named the lynx. how big is the
case?"
Atari's own Don Thomas tells Mark:
"The Lynx is Atari's color handheld video game..."
Stephan Sayer gets a bit more in-depth:
"The Lynx case is made for the Atari Lynx handheld game machine and is
more of a pouch than a case per se. It's only slightly loose with a
Portfolio in it and is the perfect length to accomodate an attached
expansion interface (serial or parallel expansion for example). It's
padded and opens at one end with a flap that's held closed with a good
sized piece of velcro. You should be able to find these most anywhere
that sells Lynx gear. I got mine at a Toys 'r' Us store in Michigan."
Howard Blumenthal asks Don Thomas about the future of the Portfolio:
"At CES, I was told that Atari is no longer selling Portfolio, and
that you were no longer with the company. Say it ain't so! (If you
aren't with Atari anymore, how can I find you?)
In any case, I remain a devoted Portfolio user, even after having
bought a Mac Duo. And I have talked many friends into buying Ports,
too. One needs a 64K memory card. Where can I buy one for a reasonable
price?"
Don Thomas, who is still very much "with" Atari, tells Howard:
"I'd be interested to know who said we do not sell Portfolios and that
I did not exist! <g>...
BTW, Optrol has a GREAT deal on very large capacity Flash RAM cards.
Yell to Dave Stewart for availability and price. (He's got the 64 K's
too)."
Lew Thomas posts this tidbit:
"There is a little known interface available for the Atari Portfolio
which allows one to communicate through the Hewlett Packard Interface
Loop, (HPIL), with equipment such as the HP Thinkjet Printer, the 9114
3.5" floppy disk drive, etc. I developed this interface about five
years ago and marketed it briefly through Interloop, San Jose, CA.
Some of these units are available, and surplus HP Thinkjet Printers in
excellent condition form EduCalc in Laguna Niguel, CA. The Thinkjet
Printer was going for about $100 last time I checked...
The Portfolio/HPIL Module works fine with the HP9114 Disk Drive and the
HP Thinkjet Printer. The Module is called Model 170 from INTERLOOP,
San Jose, CA. The Interface Module is provided in an Atari Module
Case. The Parallel or Serial Case.(they are both the same size). The
device driver is included on an EPROM in the unit and is installed by
booting the Portfolio twice when the unit is attached. Once to
download the driver to the Atari, and the second to boot from Drive C:
(It was easiest that way!)
One may read/write to an IBM 3.5"DD disk or an HP formatted 3.5"DD
disk. If you format a disk on the HP9114, it is in HP DOS format and
can not be read by another DOS machine. If you format a disk on the
DOS machine, then insert it in the HP9114, it will read/write in IBM
DOS format."
Well folks, that's about it for this week. Somewhere along the line, I
do intend to begin adding information about other types of computers to
this column.. especially palmtops and pentops such as the Z-7000/Z-PDA
from Casio/Tandy. It is a very nice machine with many well though out
features and represents the next step in the evolution of the personal
computer.
Be sure to tune in again next week and listen to what they are saying
when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
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=================
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Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155
Est. 1985
1-904-783-3319
1994 SPECIALS IN EFFECT!
------------------------
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INTEL 32 BIT 486 33-66 Tower PENTIUM READY
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DOS 6.2 - Windows 3.1 Incl.
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COMPUTER STUDIO
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