Z*Magazine: 5-Jun-87 #55
From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 07/16/93-10:17:24 AM Z
From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: Z*Magazine: 5-Jun-87 #55
Date: Fri Jul 16 10:17:24 1993
_____________________________________
ZMAGAZINE "CES SPECIAL REPORTS"
_____________________________________
ISSUE 55 June 5th, 1987
_____________________________________
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: RON KOVACS
ASSISTANT PUBLISHER: KEN KIRCHNER
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAG INDEX 55
-1- CES SUMMER 1987
<ATARI NEWS>
<VIDEO NEWS>
<AUDIO NEWS>
<CD NEWS>
<COMPUTER NEWS>
All this and more....
_____________________________________
Xx PUBLISHERS PAGE
_____________________________________
This is a SPECIAL Edition of Zmag.
Our regular edition will appear on
Monday at the regular scheduled time.
This issue pertains to CES News and
only that. Topics on CES are varied
and since there really wasn't much to
report on from ATARI, we have (as
with the COMDEX Winter Report),
included with the Atari News, other
news from the Electronics mfg'rs.
Zmag will return with Issue #56 June
8th. Thanks for reading!!
_____________________________________
Xx ATARI PRESS RELEASE
June 1, 1987
_____________________________________
In an effort to increase its piece of
the US computer market, Atari Corp.
is expected sometime this summer to
release its first IBM PC compatible,
a computer analysts think will be
among the lowest-priced clones
available.
Jerry Brown, recently hired Atari
vice president for US operation, has
told Paul Freiberger of The San
Francisco Examiner, "We operate in
the same style as the Japanese. Most
companies in corporate America are
bloated. Atari operates like a
startup."
Brown says he'll score in the PC-
compatible market as Atari gradually
builds momentum for its ST line of
products in the United States, but
acknowledges he will need more
retailers.
Colleagues agree. Says President
Bruce Davis of Activision, "Their
distribution has been a bit
fragmented and constrained here in
the US. (Atari needs) more places for
consumers to buy their computers,
whether it's dealers, discount stores
or mail order."
Freiberger says Atari is expected to
spend $10 million on TV ads this
year, compared with about $2 million
last year.
And, while the IBM clone probably
will grab the media attention, Brown
also told the paper the company will
release this summer a low-cost laser
printer and a more powerful version
of its ST called the Mega ST. The
products, packaged together for about
$3,000, are expected to court the
desktop publishing market.
Freiberger comments, "The question is
whether these moves will be
sufficient to persuade a major retail
chain such as ComputerLand or
Businessland to carry the Atari line.
... Brown also said Atari could opt
to sell the inexpensive ST nationwide
in mass-market retail stores."
This article ctsy of CompuServes'
Online Today (c) 1987 CIS
_____________________________________
From the Atari Booth, topped with a
real Cessna Airplane, the word was
"flying high with Atari". The theme
followed through into the exhibit
space where Flight Simulator II
played from a cartridge on a large
screen monitor inside the cockpit of
a Cessna. Atari chose to push its
game side, and the new computer lines
were not being shown. There was a PC
Clone getting minimal attention but
the absence of MEGA ST's, Laser
printers, 1200 baud modems, Blitter
enhanced ST's, IBM emulator,and 80
Column Cards, left little doubt that
this was to be a game show. Recently
appointed Vice President and General
Manager of US operations, J. J.
(Jerry) Brown confirmed this in his
press release of today stating "Atari
intends to remain the leader in video
game systems and to increase its
share of the US personal computer
market."
While this author's first impressions
(as an Atari _Business_ computer
user) were quite negative, given that
the preceeding release, titled "ATARI
ANNOUNCES AGGRESSIVE NEW MARKETING
CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT VIDEO GAMES AND
PERSONAL COMPUTERS" was
simultaneously issued with releases
titled "ATARI ANNOUNCES 40 NEW GAMES
AND LICENSING AGREEMENTS WITH
COMPUTER GAME AND ARCADE COMPANIES"
and "ATARI TO BEGIN SHIPMENT OF NEW
XE GAME SYSTEM BUNDLED WITH THREE
POPULAR GAMES" and given that no
"business" computer releases were
made, a closer reading of the
releases lead to some rather
surprising hypotheses of the
situation. (See Following Article).
The first page and 3/4's of the 3
page advertising campaign
announcement is devoted to game
machine promotions planned for the
balance of this year, including
national TV spots starting in
September, comic book ads, in store
hardware and software demos, and full
repackaging of the game machines and
XE's.
Not until the back pages did we note
that 4 TV ads (starting late 3rd
quarter and running through New
Years) and a substantial portion of
the new advertising budget
(quadrupled from previous levels)
would be devoted to the ST's! (This
as opposed to 3 new ads starting in
September for the games). The budget
also calls for some major print ads
to follow and support the TV effort.
Now the pessimist will assume that
Atari is bent on forgetting the
computers in favor of games. The
more business oriented will notice
that Atari Stock and Sales of ST's
have been doing rather well, and that
in the introduction of the ST's and
MEGA the games assets of the company
were nearly step-children. Further,
the XE is almost in direct
competition with the ST's and likely
in an overstocked condition at Atari.
The optimist will, therefore, assume
that Atari is on a campaign to
liquidate the old stock in new boxes,
maintain its game market share, and
produce the liquidity and corporate
energies to actively continue its ST
advantage. In assessing Atari's
strategies, one must remember that
the manpower of this company has
sorely lagged it's growth in home
computer market share, and that Atari
had nothing to do with the
conflicting schedules of CES and
Comdex this year. With limited
manpower and time to produce and to
sell product, I am optimistic and
feel that Atari made the right
decisions in the face of the tough
decision forced by The Interface
Group's show timing. The balance of
this quarter should tell!
--Dave Groves (c) 1987
_____________________________________
Xx CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
Press Day
(c) 1987 Dawn GOrdon
_____________________________________
After arriving in Chicago to
unusually hot weather it was time to
head out to the day's press
conferences. Not thinking clearly
due to the humid, muggy air I forgot
to wear comfortable shoes, and even
before the show has started my feet
are a mess!!
Anyway, before I even mention the
products I saw today I should go into
some detail about a number of unique
products I saw the other day.
ED Beta (for Extended Definition) was
a pleasant surprise. Producing a
stunning 500 lines of horizontal
reolution by utilizing metal tape and
moving the luminance carrier
frequency up the band, the system is
really capable of the best consumer
video yet. ED Beta, like Super VHS,
uses separate chrominance and
luminance (Y/C) outputs, and can play
standard Beta tapes. However, it is
not compatible in the sense that a
tape recording made in the ED Beta
mode, will not play back on standard
Beta decks. But don't expect to see
it very soon, as its introduction has
not been set, either here or in
Japan.
The first stop was Hitachi, where we
sat through the usual "doom and
gloom" speech regarding the state of
affairs in the consumer electronics
industry. The company showed a Bang
lufsen styled one-piece system.
The 50 Watt per channel MXW-50
features a fully-programmable
32-program CD player, digital AM/FM
tuner, a dual cassette deck with
Dolby Band high-speed dubbing. It
will retail for $799 in the early
fall.
In the TV department Hitachi is
showing a direct-view 31-inch set
with a flatter tube, PIP and dual
tuners (Model CT-3175) for $2299, and
a 42-inch rear-projection set with
the same features and a brightness of
350 footlamberts for $2799. Two new
50-inch models are also being shown.
The next stop was Memtek. Aside from
the fact that the company has
announced Super VHS tape, Memtek has
firmly established itself in the
video accessory department with some
innovative new products.
Memorex is announcing a $129 Dolby
Surround Sound decoder. It has a 15
Watt per channel amplifier, three
surround modes, an input balance
control, and front/rear balance
controls.
If you're tired of tangled headphone
cords, or you don't want your spouse
to take you to divorce court for loud
TV viewing during the wee hours, then
take a look at the Memorex Infrared
Cordless Headphone Adaptor. This
innovative device consists of an
infrared transmitter that can beam
any audio source across a room to a
special receiver module into which
the user can connect any pair of
mini-plug equipped headphones! The
unit is AC powered, and plugs into a
stereo headphone jack. The small,
battery-operated receiver can be worn
comfortably (via an attached clip) on
a belt, or it can be carried in a
pocket. It costs $69.95.
In addition, Memorex has announced
two MTS decoders, and 4 new headphone
models.
_____________________________________
Xx CES REPORT DAY 1
(c) 1987 by Marc Wielage
All Rights Reserved
_____________________________________
Saturday, May 30th: the two biggest
events we expected to experience at
CES were here in full force...namely,
S-VHS and DAT. Add to that the new
initials CD-V, and you've got a
veritable alphabet soup of new
consumer electronic innovations that,
for all the hoopla, lacked the impact
many were expecting.
Other manufacturers displaying S-VHS
included Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and
Panasonic. A few unfortunate
manufacturers, including Canon and
Kenwood, introduced new higher-end
non-Super VHS decks in the $1000-1200
price range, which seemed quite
surprising to me. Given that S-VHS
should all but obsolete any VCR above
$1000, it seems to me that releasing
any standard VCR at this price is
marketing suicide, as of Summer '87.
The people to whom we spoke pooh-
poohed this argument, pointing out
the vast array of pre-recorded
standard VHS softwrare and the huge
existing market of people anxious to
upgrade their old VHS decks. Still,
it just doesn't make a lot of sense
to me. (But that figures. This IS
the consumer electronics business,
after all!)
8mm maintained a very low profile
appearance at the show, save for a
couple of new models from Sony. One
is a transportable, battery-operated
deck with multi-program PCM digital
audio (ala their other table models),
selling for under $1000, and the
other was a new Pro 8mm camcorder
with a higher-density CCD pickup.
Also seen on the top floor of the
sprawling McCormick Hall: improved
large-screen direct view tube
monitors from a half-dozen
manufacturers, including JVC,
Hitachi, Panasonic, Sanyo, Sharp, and
Toshiba. While some were prototypes,
most indicated to me that while the
overall quality of consumer monitors
is improving remarkably in
resolution, they still have far to go
in the all-important areas of
colorimetry and black level
definition. Toshiba's new Digital FST
31" monitors are a good case in
point. Most of my associates at the
show felt that Toshiba's non-
interlaced scanning is a good enough
idea, but that the overall picture
quality still leaves a lot to be
desired -- tough criticism, given the
set's $3000+ price.
On the other hand, this wasn't a
problem at all with the new
Anniversary series of audio
components shown at the Yamaha audio
booth: they included a $7000 CD
player, a $3000 phono cartridge head
amp, a $7000 true digital pre-amp,
and a $5000 amplifier. I noted that
this is one of the few set-ups in the
world that would allow you to copy
digitally from a CD to a DAT recorder
-- except, of course, for those few
CD's with the anti-copying flag in
the bits.
_____________________________________
Xx VCR REPORT
(c) 1987 by Marc Wielage
_____________________________________
NEW VCR's
In my last report, I touched on
Sony's new 8mm introductions, which
included several new prototypes
designed to show new applications of
8mm video technology for the future.
Most interesting of them all was
Sony's "Personal Video" concept,
which revolves around a combined mini
-8mm VCR and an LCD color TV, in a
pocket-sized package about the size
of a paperback book. Sony also had a
fascinating prototype, the EV-DT1,
which combined an 8mm VCR with a more
down-to-earth 5" color Trinton
portable set in a single cabinet --
perfect for desktop use by 8mm fans
with lots of extra cash (!).
Other 8mm intros from Sony included
the EV-S1 portable 8mm recorder. Also
shown was Sony's CCD-V9 "Handycam
Pro,".
As for S-VHS, VIDEO REVIEW scored a
major coup in providing the first
published review in the United States
with their July issue, which was
released at the show. VR's specs
confirmed most of the VHS camp's
claims, in the review of JVC's S-7000
VCR, though the magazine confusingly
noted that this machine did not meet
the 60 dB video S/N ratio claimed by
the manufacturer. This appeared to
be a major faux pax, since no S/N
specs have actually been released
thus far, and all the information
we've been given has indicated that
S-VHS does virtually nothing to
reduce the noise in the image. VR's
review was also made on a prototype
machine, which some industry
observers felt was a bit misleading,
though this was clearly mentioned in
the review.
Zenith showed their own version of
JVC's S-VHS model, known as the
VRD-700, which also features full
4-system HQ recording (for standard
VHS), address search, on-screen
programming, MTS, special effects,
and the usual features you'd expect
to see in any top VCR.
Mitsubishi's HS-423 is this firm's
new S-VHS offering, with somewhat
less features than JVC's 7000,
including a 100-channel MTS tuner and
99 index points. Amusingly,
Mitsubishi claims in their press kit
that with their new machine, "the EP
mode provides the exact same picture
quality as the SP mode," implying
that the SP mode isn't needed, even
for high-quality applications!
Probably the most interesting non-
S-VHS machines we saw at the show
were Akai's new "Quick Start" series,
which includes four models using a
new loading system. This transport
allows much faster response from
"stop" to "play," essentially loading
the tape partially around the drum
during all wind modes, mirroring
Beta's U-Load technique (though not
exactly). The top of Akai's
mid-priced line is the VS-M930, which
features Hi-Fi, HQ, digital effects,
9 index and 15 address-search cue
points, along with a 167-channel MTS
tuner, all for about $850.
Unfortunately, an Akai spokesman
admitted that they didn't yet have a
"Quick Start" S-VHS model available,
and agreed with one on-looker's
opinion that their new transport was
a "videophile feature in a
non-videophile product." Next year,
maybe.
_____________________________________
Xx AUDIO REPORT
_____________________________________
AUDIO
Over the weekend, we found tons and
tons of fascinating new audio
products, though once again, I felt
that many of them reflected the
ongoing yen/dollar economic
battlefield, offering far less value
than in recent years. Happily, the
manufacturers seem to be doing the
best they can to try to try to offset
this trend, which varying results. In
particular, I felt that cassette
decks and receivers seem to be
suffering from this problem, though
CD players and the new DAT decks
appear to be as solid as ever...for
the moment.
Sony's gotten back into high-end
audio with their new ES Digital
TA-E77ESD preamp, which features a
digital interface (for connection to
pure-digital CD players and DAT
decks), isolated audio/video wiring
(for insuring minimum interference
between audio and video components),
and even a Y/C jack, for connecting
an S-VHS or ED Beta deck.
Also in the A/V area, DBX showcased
the $1500 CX-1 preamp, which, like
the Sony, also has 9 inputs (though
none are pure digital).
Infinity made four significant
introductions in their fine speaker
line: at the tip-top is the Series V
version of their world-renowned
Infinity Reference System, priced at
a wallet-busting $45,000. While we
didn't get a chance to audition this
one at CES, our impressions of
previous incarnations were very
positive -- and at that price, they
should be!
Moving a little bit lower on the
price latter are Infinity's new
Delta, Gamma, and Beta speakers,
which sell for $4,500, $5500, and
$10,000, respectively, a pair. The
top Beta model boasts four 12"
woofers, two bass-midrange drivers,
one EMIM mid-range driver, two EMIT
tweeters, and one SEMIT (small EMIT)
upper-treble driver. Our brief
audition of this speaker was fairly
positive, and we look forward to
taking a closer listen in the near
future.
In the new CD arena, one model that
impressed us was NEC's new 5300,
which uses a unique 18-bit digital
-to-analogue convertor, combined with
4-times oversampling, to achieve some
impressive specs -- and decent sound,
besides.
_____________________________________
Xx MORE CES HIGHLIGHTS
_____________________________________
NAD has finally announced an August
shipping date for its Monitor line
series of components. The flagship
receiver model 7600 will cost $1,600,
a very bold move from a company that,
in the past, has prided itself on
affordable products.
In car audio Blaupunkt had some
interesting stuff. The company's PSA
(Parametric Sound Amplifier) features
user-installable modules for 83
different cars. The modules are
designed to balance the environment
to exact interior specs for each car
interior. The PSA amp is a 4 channel
(X 20 watts) unit, and its priced at
$169.95. Each module sells for
$39.95. According to some reviewers
the idea worked in some floor cars,
and in others it didn't. Blaupunkt
also showed a unique idea for upscale
cars. Called the soundboard, the
unit is a rear deck panel replacement
with a built-in three-way component
speaker system. The drivers consist
of an 8-inch woofer, 4.5-inch
midrange and a 1-inch fabric dome
tweeter. Prices for these will range
from $799 to $1,099.
Probably the most interesting product
the company had was its MT 9000
cellular phone. The unit is
full-powered and weighs a mere 6
pounds or so.
Speaking of cellular technology, Oki
has the smallest and lightest unit
I've ever seen. Dubbed the CDL 300A,
the thing weighs a scant 26.1 ounces
with battery pack and antenna
assembly. It looks like a large
cordless model and features a lighted
dial, LCD display, last number
recall, mute, electronic scratchpad
memory, low battery warning, call in
absence indicator, and will have
enough juice for a 10 hour standby.
While we are on telephones I really
should mention the Plantronics
LightSet ($249.95). This device is a
hands-free cordless model that
incorporates an ear-mounted appliance
with an attached microphone pickup.
The rest of the electronics (keypad,
controls etc.) are housed in small
cigarette-sized box that clips on
your belt. The two are connected via
a thin wire, and communicate with a
base-station/charger for a 1000 foot
range.
In other cordless news Panasonic has
finally broken Southwestern Bell's
hold on the two-line market, and
Panasonic lowered the price
considerably. At only $179.95 model
KX-T3880 is almost half the price of
its competition.
Shure raised the price on one of its
popular products. I guess the
HTS-5000 Surround Sound Decoder was
just too popular, and now it's gonna
cost you an extra $250. The new price
is $750. However, if you think
that's a lot to spend check out the
HTS-5200. This $1000 unit adds Acra
Vector circuitry for "professional
quality" decoding, a true digital
time delay, wireless remote control,
motorized volume controls, 10 dB
improvement in signal to noise, and
an optional remote extender for
concealed installations.
There's a new player in the add-on
PIP department. Rabbit Systems, the
people who redefined the term
"multiplying", have a new unit called
the Double-Play. Unlike the
MultiVision 3.1, this unit features a
single tuner. It's designed for use
with an external tuner, such as one
from a VCR. The inset picture is 1/8
screen size and it can be moved into
each corner of the main screen. This
$229 unit includes infrared remote
control.
Sony has demonstrated full-sized
LaserDisc players. The MDP-9 is an
unusual affair with dual disc
drawers--one for CDs and the other
for 8 and 12-inch discs. Both
assemblies are independent of each
other, so you can play "The Right
Stuff" on LV and listen to a Tina
Turner CD at the same time. Nice
idea, but no mention of CD-V
capability. The other player is a
more standard unit, and like the
MDP-9 it features a flourescent time
readout on the front panel. Sony did
show a prototype combi-player that
would play all formats including
CD-V, but it's too early to tell if
it, or any of the others will ever be
introduced.
Finally, in the computer arena we
have the new NEC MultiSpeed screen
with a super-twist backlit display.
The backlighting can be turned on or
off depending on the lighting
conditions present, and it looks
quite good. The NEC MultiSpeed
laptop with the new backlit display
will sell for $2,395 or so. But if
you can carry a little more weight
take a look at the new Sharp PC-7200.
This AC-powered, IBM PC compatible is
a very small transportable with a 20
MB hard disk, illuminated super-twist
display, 80286 processor running at
10 MHz, switchable speed down to 8
and 6 MHz, a socket for an 80287
numeric coprocessor, 640K, single
built-in expansion slot, 5-1/4-inch
drive, 102/103 full stroke keys with
12 function keys and a separate
numeric keypad, serial, parallel,
color and monochrome display ports,
and a weight of only 21 pounds.
Copyright 1987 Dawn Gordon
_____________________________________
Xx Atari RT CES Highlights
_____________________________________
[CES Gang] DARLAH> There were a
number of 3rd party vendors in the
Atari booth with some new products.
Gordon can tell you about Michtron/
Microdeal offerings (Airball looked
pretty slick!). EA was showing Music
Construction Set for the ST, written
by Intersect. Looked pretty nice.
Mindscape had some games like Plutos
(much...expanded beyond the bootleg
version showing up on BBSs) and a 3-D
pool game. MidiMaze from Hybrid Arts
is finally done... and is being copy
protected -- should ship in 2 weeks.
They added lots of new features like
observer modes, smart and done
drones, teams, and more -- great
game!
One small company had a strange
package called Easel that let you put
any DEGAS picture in place of the
desktop background, tends to slow
down the system overall, though.
Timeworks had a collection of
utilities in the form of a desk
accessories called Partner ST -- a
Thesauras is included.
Broderbund announced Printshop,
Karateka, and a combined version of
Art Director with Film Director
(yay!) -- they have committed to
attending the Santa Clara Atari show.
Looks like they're backing us in a
big way.
Microprose is finishing up Gunship
and one of their other games (maybe
F-15??) Atari has shipped a few of
the Arrakis educational programs like
Biology, Algebra, and some others,
aimed at middle school students.
Psygnosis has a hot new game called
Barbarian-- a fully graphic fantasy
role-playing game -- point at an
object and get a window with a list
of things to do or describe.
Eidersoft had a sound digitizer
called Pro Sound Designer.
A company called the Robot Factory
had a really neat gimmick -- a fuzzy
doll robot that was hooked up to the
ST through MIDI and was playing the
keyboard in time with a piano roll
program from QRS. Its mouth moved in
time with the voice of the announcer
through a microphone -- this one got
filmed by MTV News.
There were some other ST things too
that were talked about, we'll have to
post these to the ST RT as we dig
through our notes. On the game side,
We had the new XE Game System on
display along with a finished version
of Flight Simulator II on a 256K ROM
cart (includes the program and the
scenery disk). There were 8 or 10
new titles for both the 7800 and the
2600. One-on-One for the 7800 is
done and is *great* (I am undefeated
in the last year, it must be great!)
and Desert Falcon is also done and
into production.
Even the new 2600 games were pretty
impressive. And Activision and Epyx
announced that they're doing their
own titles for the 2600, and Atari
Explorer and ANALOG will begin video
game coverage on a limited basis.
Atari will have their own booth at
NAMM (National Association of Music
Merchants) late in June, making us
the first computer manufacturer to
ever exhibit there. We want to OWN
the MIDI market.
That's about it for now, lets open
the floor to chaos now.
<[MichTron] GORDON> before we do that
we will let John Symes from Microdeal
tell you about all the new stuff
Microdeal showed at CES.
<MICROD> i saw a 3d game player from
sega today....pretty good, We were
demoing Airball, a marble madness
type game but with rooms nearly 300
rooms and after 4days of the show we
are all still playing you cannot put
this down...shipping june 8th we also
had replay our sound digitiser this
really does digitize great and has
code for gfa as well we also showed
digi drum the drum kit sequencer.
MichTron was showing a demo version
of a new GFA Product called GFA
Object. Its similar to Antic's Cad 3D
but much easier to use and you can
take the pictures an use them in
BASIC, Vector and GFa DRAFT PLUS.
_____________________________________
Xx CES WINTER 87
_____________________________________
Atari Announces New Products at CES
-----------------------------------
Las Vegas, NV, Jan. 8 -- In a
dramatic press conference held this
morning at the Consumer Electronics
Show, spokesmen for the Atari
Corporation introduced a panoply of
new products for 1987. Highlights
included three significant new
additions to Atari's flagship ST line
of high-performance personal
computers, a revolutionary low-cost
laser printer, and an IBM
PC-compatible personal computer of
radically new design.
The new ST computers, dubbed "Mega
STs 1, 2, and 4" incorporate one,
two, and four megabytes of RAM,
respectively. Encased in a newly-
designed system unit with integral
800K microfloppy drive and
detachable, ergonomic keyboard, the
new machines are visibly different
from Atari's current 520ST and 1040ST
models, while remaining 100%
compatible with them. Additional
enhancements to the Mega machines
include a battery-backed realtime
clock, internal mounting space for an
additional circuit board, and full
external routing of the 68000 bus,
making their architecture "wide open"
for further enhancements. "We took
all our customer's suggestions on how
we could improve the ST, and
incorporated them in this series,"
said Neil Harris, Atari's Director of
Marketing Communications. Delivery of
the new machines, via computer
specialty stores, is expected to
begin shortly at a price-point of
"about $1000."
The new Atari laser printer, shown in
a prototype version, will match or
exceed the performance of present
laser printer systems while costing
only about half as much -- about
$1500.
Atari has accomplished this enormous
cost-saving by exploiting the power
inherent in their ST computers.
Coupled with a 2- or 4-megabyte Mega
ST, the laser printer will form the
output stage of a desktop publishing
system costing less than $3000 total.
Atari's new IBM PC-compatible
machine, the Atari PC, is a radical
departure from present "PC clone"
designs, offering top-of-the-line
compatibility and features at a
record-breaking price of under $500.
Housed in a system unit similar to
the Mega ST with integral 5-1/4"
floppy drive and detachable XT-style
keyboard, the PC/XT compatible Atari
PC sports 512K RAM standard
(expandable to 640K on the
motherboard), an additional 256K of
graphics-dedicated RAM, a custom
graphics chip providing enhanced EGA,
CGA, IBM Monochrome, and Hercules
graphics capabilities, and a
Microsoft compatible mouse. It
operates at the IBM standard 4.77 Mhz
or at a high-speed 8 Mhz "turbo
mode," and provides for the addition
of an 8087 math coprocessor at either
speed. A monochrome monitor designed
for use with the Atari PC was also
announced. Costing under $200, the
monitor supports all Atari PC
graphics modes, including the high-
resolution, multicolor EGA mode in
grey-scale. Shipments of the Atari PC
will begin in March.
The new products -- perceived by some
as the fulfillment of promises made
over a year ago by Atari CEO Jack
Tramiel -- are universally hailed as
milestones for the Atari Corporation.
One informed onlooker commented:
"It's as if Atari, in one fell swoop,
had stepped to the leading edge in
three markets: high-performance
workstations, desktop publishing
systems, and the lucrative PC-
compatible game. They're going to be
the company to watch in 1987."
With somewhat less fanfare, Atari
also announced a new slimline 20-
megabyte Winchester drive for its ST
line, incorporating an extra port for
daisy-chaining with other DMA-
compatible peripherals, such as the
new laser printer. At the same time,
Atari announced price reductions on
existing ST models. A 520ST CPU will
now be available for under $300
retail, a 1040ST with monochrome
monitor for around $899, and a 1040ST
with color monitor for a 1500.
_____________________________________
ZMAGAZINE ISSUE 55 SPECIAL EDITION
_____________________________________
ATARI is a registered trademark of
Atari Corporation.
ZMAGAZINE is in no way affiliated
with Atari.
Some of the articles here are copy-
righted by the authors. Permission
to reprint these copyrighted items
must come from the authors.
Zmagazine ISSUE 55 (c)1987 Ron Kovacs
_____________________________________
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