Z*Magazine: 19-Nov-89 #181
From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 10/02/93-03:28:59 PM Z
From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: Z*Magazine: 19-Nov-89 #181
Date: Sat Oct 2 15:28:59 1993
ZMAGAZINE WEEKLY ONLINE MAGAZINE Issue #181
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November 19, 1989 | Volume 4 Number 44
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Publisher/Editor: ||||| Copyright (c)1989
Ron Kovacs ||||||| Rovac Industries,Inc
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The ZNet BBS ||| CompuServe:71777,2140
(201) 968-8148 | GEnie: ZMAGAZINE
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EXCLUSIVE COMDEX COVERAGE INCLUDED
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= 1989 by Rovac Industries, Inc.
Xx EDITORS DESK
by Ron Kovacs
We are releasing a special issue this week dedicated to Comdex news
coverage. You might have read coverage already, but what we have
published this week is the MOST comprehensive available. Next week in
our regular weekly issue, John Nagy will have a complete overview of
the entire show.
The ZMag/Znet BBS is now operating at 300/1200 at (201) 968-8148.
Please give us a call!
Included this week are a few of Atari Computer's press releases from
the Comdex show along with a ZNet Newswire with updated Atari news.
Thanks for reading!
Xx ATARI TAKES COMDEX - ZMAG SPECIAL REPORT
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by John Nagy
"A Computer for Everyone." This is the motto of Atari Computer at the
Fall '89 COMDEX, underway through November 17 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
They don't just mean that their computer is for everyone, they mean that
Atari has a full line of computers that will compliment the needs and
uses that any user will have. And from the miniature Portfolio (which I
am using to write this even now) through the ST's to the new TT, ABC
(PC compatibles), and on up to the ATW (not shown at Comdex), it looks
like Atari is more poised for success than ever before.
COMDEX is where the manufacturers strut their wares for dealers and
distributors to pick and choose their product lines. Here is where the
newest technology is offered into the channels that carry the products
to you and I in the coming year. And here, in exciting Las Vegas where
gambling is a way of life, Atari is looking like a sure bet.
It's Thursday night as I begin this article, and I have spent all day at
the Atari Computer booth. As we previewed last week, the booth is very
large and finally has the look of a major player in a serious business.
The sprawling display Atari area features light colors and openness, the
exact reverse of the effect at the April COMDEX in Chicago. Dozens of
mini-booths are each dedicated to individual third party developers,
some of which also had full-fledged booths elsewhere in the 9-building
trade show. (The show is really too big to see in a week, with nearly
2000 exhibitors and a crowd that actually fills every hotel and motel
for miles around, and in Vegas, that's saying something!) Nearest the
rear of the booth, Atari displayed their own newest hardware in front of
a smoked glass enclosed meeting room and second-floor conference area.
This time, there were LOTS of conferences going on. That means DEALS
with dealers and distributors. Word was that over 100 requests for new
dealerships were entered by Wednesday - halfway through the show.
The mood here is optimistic for the first time in quite some time. The
new products look REALLY GOOD. The star is the Portfolio, of which
there are probably a hundred on display... which is a few hundred less
than there are people to wooo over them.
On to bigger things. The STE is here... in a very standard 1040ST case.
Running is a game that makes very good use of the digital stereo sound
and somewhat less dramatic showing of the enhanced color palette. An XE
Game System Light Gun (the only vestige of anything even vaguely 8-bit
at the Atari booth) is attached via one of the two new controller ports.
Can there be anyone who thinks that this is not Atari's "Amiga
response"? It looks to me to be clear that the 1040-style machine is
now considered the game-end of the ST line... although officials tempt
the imagination by mentions that "more new machines at both ends of the
lineup are yet to be announced." But not now, not here.
And the TT! Yes, there are at least five on display, running, and
apparently several more for backup of versatility in setting up the
displays. Looking a bit pale in almost-white, the TT 68030 machines
literally roar through ST software (see the speed ratings, courtesy of
Darek Mihocka's QUICK INDEX, following this article).
Several demos were whipped up for the TT's introduction here, and the
colors and speed are outstanding. One features what could be a spectrum
picture, but even more photographic than any I have seen...even on an
Amiga. Floating around in "front" of the picture is a magnifying glass
that realistically enlarges the area beneath it...revealing even better
detail. The new monitors feature extra resolutions - even monochrome in
your choice of colors! ST programs run fine for the most part, but some
dialogs are so fast that you can hardly see them! It appears that
compatibility is there, but more ways of "de-tuning" the speed will be
needed for some software. Most programs really shine in the high speed.
REZRENDER literally does in seconds on the TT what the ST takes HOURS to
compute! And PageStream gives a new meaning to PAGESCREAM when flying
low on the TT. Developers were invited to try their wares on the demo
machines, and grins were the order of the day. Remember, this is the
machine that critics are saying is "too slow" by comparison to other
68030 machines. Nevertheless, it is rumored that a 24 mHz or faster TT
may later be available to replace or supplement the 16 mHz ones on
display now.
Although not ready for distribution, the TT is expected commercially
before March, 1990. Expect it to effectively replace the marketplace
held by the MEGA computers now, for the 2-meg TT with internal hard
drive and special monochrome monitor will be only about $2,000.00. Many
Mega machines were in use at the booth, and the Mega's figure
prominently in the Atari sales literature, but not much is being said
about them. Time marches on... maybe the prices will drop on the MEGAs?
ABC Computers grace several boothettes. These are mostly 286 AT-clones,
that offer a very nice mix of features and affordability...if you are
into clones. One was running Microsoft EXCEL, and for a moment I
thought that it was port to the ST line... wrong. Just showing speed
and graphics on the popular MS-DOS platform.
Yes, several Megafiles (removable media hard drives). No, no CD-ROMs,
although they figure prominently in announced dealer/developer support
plans (that's another story...). Nope, no LYNX portable game machine
(but after all, this is a COMPUTE show, not an entertainment electronics
show). And yes, the STACY laptop ST is here... in force!
Stacy's display is one of cleanest and most stable I have seen on
backlit LCD screens to date. I could easily work at it all day. Many
of the display units are Stacy 4's, with 4 meg RAM and 40 meg internal
hard drive. At the front left corner of the Atari booth is Dave Small
and his Spectre GCR...the OTHER star of the Atari area. The anti-
emulation stance of corporate Atari seems to have softened dramatically
since Dave's better-cleaner-faster-and-mucho-cheaper-instant-laptop-
Macintosh-clone is the talk of Mac users and dealers throughout the
show. Dave is much in demand, and has interviews lined up for major
stories in most MAC magazines. I witnessed the admiration and name
recognition that the Atari public has for Dave firsthand when I traded
badges with him. My press credentials allows me to use a video camera
at the show... Dave's exhibitor one doesn't, so we swapped for about an
hour to enable Dave to get some videotape of the show. EVERYBODY wanted
to talk to me, seeing Dave's name. Yike. I was nice to me again!
Yes, for the cost of the "real" Mac Laptop unit, you can have THREE
Stacy's, each paired with a GCR emulator... and each Stacy will out-
perform the "real" one. And yes, dealers and distributors took careful
notes.
Also featured up front was Michtron's PC SPEED, the IBM emulator that
beat Avant-Garde to the US market. It was impressively compatible and
four times faster than an IBM XT.
Other booths with the Atari area:
# John Russel Interprizes had several GENLOCK displays going.
# IBP of Germany showed their rack mounted "190ST, which reduces the
entire Mega into a hard-drive size module. They are specially
designed for industrial applications.
# ISD showed DYNACADD running on a ABC PC, driving a huge roller
plotter. Another booth showed their CALAMUS.
# Electronic Arts offered a selection of games.
# First Byte had educational software running on another ABC, next to
the Microsoft EXCEL I mentioned earlier.
# Viewtouch had the point-of-sale touch-screen system, now offering
development tools for custom setups.
# Seymor-Radix ran their DVT video tape backup unit, complete with a TV
to show what raw data looks like.
# Abacus had BeckerCad running into another big plotter, plus offered
the first Portfolio guidebook. It's bigger than the computer!
# Antic Software demoed GFA products as well as Cyber series graphics
titles.
# Migraph offerred the Touch-up and hand scanner duo.
# Fast Technology showed Turbo-16, a truely effective accelerator board.
# Atari had the "final" version of Deskset II, their entry in DTP.
# WordFlair from Blue Chip is also ready for sale, and looked better
than ever. It is more than a word processor, but less imposing than a
desktop publishing.
# Michtron had FleetStreet 3.0 for all to see, and it is clearly head-
and-sholders above the previous versions.
# Imagen showed Ultrascript, the Postscript emulation.
# Softlogik had PageStream 1.8 running in full color! They indicate a
renewed interest in the ST market.
# LDW Power, a 1-2-3 spreadsheet clone, was being demoed by the
inimitable Bob Brodie, although Bob was often asked to do his Sig
Hartmann imitation. We were not treated to a reprise of "Dueling
Sigs" since the real Sig is busy at his new position as Executive Vice
President of TeleVideo Systems, a San Jose terminal manufacturer.
# SOFTAWARE presented the remarkable semi-relational database called
INFORMER II. It features some very interesting graphic manupulations
as well.
# And WORD PERFECT continues to show 4.1 for the ST.
MIDI programs and hardware played fabulous music all day. Dr. T's,
C-Lab, and Thinkware all had dramatic presentations... enough to draw
Micheal Jackson himself to the COMDEX MIDI booths to look it all over.
Micheal's picture adorns the Thursday COMDEX NEWS daily, and he is shown
looking at an Atari! Frank Foster of Atari says Jackson will be using
Atari equipment from now on. (Who's BAD?)
Oh, BAD were NAVARRONE, who failed to show up to use their space and
show their flatbed scanner, as well as PRECISION SOFTWARE who similarly
snubbed their reserved space for SuperBase Professional.
Side notes:
Talked about but not shown is a new true multitasking system for the ST
and TT! It works under the new TOS, apparently as an AUTO program, and
allows several simultaneously running GEM windows, even for major
applications. No memory partitioning is said to be needed. The system
was to be demoed at the Wednesdy evening developer gathering, but never
got shown. This development may break through the final "advantage"
barrier that the Amiga claims over the Atari line!
The Commodore Amiga booth was about 1/4 the size of Atari's... and was
positively BORING. The Amiga 3000 was postponed until next year, and
the 2500 was being pushed in a new 68030 flavor for a mere $4000 plus.
Critics of the "NO UPGRADE PATH" from the ST to TT should observe the
upgrade offered by Amiga... you can buy the 68030 card alone and upgrade
your 2500 for a mere $2,100. That's the approximate cost for the entire
base TT with hard drive and a monitor. And with the TT "upgrade", you
get to keep your old ST too!
The air of impending resurgence of Atari was not lost on the other major
manufacturers. A rep from Star-Micronics asked me who to talk to about
the possibility of them doing custom printer hardware, laser support,
etc. That would Not have happened last year at this time!!
Leonard Tramiel has spent a great deal of time in the Atari booth,
talking to everyone. He has quite effectively dispelled the image that
some have tried to paint of him as nothing more than a cold and
disagreeable autocrat.
In all, Atari has shown enough of a new face here at COMDEX to give real
reason to believe that they really could pull it off and become a
respected and successful domestic computer company... next year.
For those who immediately say, "Yah, I heard THAT before", indeed you
have. But Atari has been there, year after year. Tenacity itself says
something... and marginal companies don't launch this many exciting new
products! Most of all, the new people in Atari have more know-how,
ambition, and particularly a more open and supportive outlook than ever
before... but that's another story.
(Hey, a 13K story, typed mostly in a single session on this tiny
keyboard! I wonder if this is the first major article done on one?
Yep, the Portfolio is going to be just fine for me. The thing that
slows me down the most is having to show it to everyone when I use it in
public. The bartender here at Las Vegas's ALADDIN called it right:
"It's a laptop without the lap!")
QUICK INDEX ON THE TT
I ran the QUICK INDEX program (by Darek Mihocka and Ignac Kolenko) on a
sample Atari TT 68030 computer at COMDEX this week, and wanted to share
the results. Please remember that the numbers only record the
performance of the TT computer running the QUICK INDEX program. While
this program provides interesting speed information, it cannot be
assured that the very standards used by the program to measure with are
in fact valid on the TT computer. Although unlikely, the possibility
that the "ruler isn't a foot long" must be considered when viewing these
results. The modes tested were, for this reason, only the LOW
RESOLUTION and HIGH RESOLUTION ST modes and NOT in the three new
resolutions offered by the TT (which cannot be measured properly
without anything to compare them to... although the new TT modes
appear to be faster).
Figures shown are each a percentage of "Normal ST" operation for that
function. 200% would be double speed. See the QuickIndex program and
documentation for more information on the tests. The CACHE referred to
in the tests are the TT's internal caches within the operating system
and CPU (which can be turned off via an entry in the OPTIONS menu item
on the desktop for adjusting compatibility with programs that cannot
cope with the caching).
QuickIndex identified the TT as having "TOS Version 3.0".
QuickIndex TT In (ST) Low Rez TT In (ST) High Rez
TEST CACHE / NO CACHE CACHE / NO CACHE
Processor Tests:
CPU Memory 360% 146% 361% 165%
CPU register 409% 197% 410% 204%
CPU divide 509% 450% 510% 451%
CPU shift 1734% 1574% 1737% 1577%
Disk Access Tests:
DMA Read (Disk) 181% 181% 181% 181%
Gem (Create File) 100% 100% 100% 100%
Screen Speed Tests:
Text write 190% 143% 193% 147%
string display 185% 148% 187% 150%
scroll 290% 208% 295% 206%
Gemdraw (boxes) 225% 173% 225% 171%
In general, ST programs will run on the TT without alteration, and
perform at speeds greatly exceeding the "old" ST machine speed.
DEVELOPERS UPDATE
At the show Atari announced it's new Developers Assistance Program and
premiered their Atari Development Partner Newsletter. Charles Cherry
the new "Tos Pusher" will have some involement in the newsletter which
is supposed to be a regular feature of the DAP. Atari is taking the
position to support their developers through this program.
Developers will be offered Atari products at fifty percent off retail
price in an effort to get software available by the time products are on
the shelves. Atari is asking all dealers/developers to re-register and
sign a new non-disclosure agreement.
In an effort to get new owners to register with Atari, four Atari
related publications will offer free three month subscriptions. These
publications include, ST-World, ST-Informer, STart, and Atari Explorer.
For the present owners who have not registered there is hope of
something, although we are not sure what Atari has planned at this time.
Xx ZNET "COMDEX" NEWSWIRE
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Compiled by Z*Staff
CMS ENHANCEMENTS
CMS Enhancements Inc. introduced a 40-Mbyte, floppy tape subsystem for
laptop computers. Designed for ease-of-use, the LiteTape includes easy
-to-use menu driven software, which automates and speeds up the backup
procedure, and a convenient ''totable'' case. The LiteTape will be
available on December 15 and is compatible with laptop computers such as
Zenith SuperSoft, Tandy 1400 LT, Toshiba 1200 and Sharp 4501. Suggested
retail price of the LiteTape is $649.
HITACHI
Hitachi Group's, a supplier of monitors for the CAD/CAE market,
introduced its model CM2186AF, a 21-inch color monitor supporting
resolution of 1280 x 1024 and a dot pitch of 0.28 mm. Its $3,795 list
prices puts it at the top of the price/performance scale. It features a
flat screen, an anti-reflective panel and dynamic beam focus for sharper
clearer display. Shipments will begin in January 1990.
PRINCETON GRAPHIC
Princeton Graphic Systems introduced the Ultra II, a 14 inch high-res
1024 by 768 color monitor featuring innovative screen capabilities and
exceptional performance for graphics applications such as AutoCAD and
CAD/CAE/CASE applications, as well as window-based applications, and
desktop publishing environments. The Ultra II is compatible with IBM
PC, XT, AT and PS/2 Systems, as well as the Apple Macintosh II and
compatibles.
PROCOM TECHNOLOGY
Procom Technology announced a new floppy controller for XT- and AT-type
computers that allows OEMs and systems integrators to upgrade current
floppy storage capacities to 2.88 Mbytes. The floppy controller is
priced at $99. The 2.88 floppy drive is expected to become the new
industry standard in much the same way the 1.44 Mbyte, 3.5 inch disks
replaced the 5.25 inch, 1.2 Mbyte floppies years ago.
SEAGATE
Seagate announced the industry's fastest 760 megabyte, 5.25-inch disc
drive the WRENRUNNER-2. Designed for PC customers looking to increase
system performance by reducing time to data, the WRENRUNNER-2 offers an
11.9 millisecond average access time, 2.5 millisecond track-to-track, an
average latency of 6.25 milliseconds and a maximum data transfer rate of
3 megabytes per second.
NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR
National Semiconductor announced that Canon's new four page-per-minute
laser beam printer utilizes National's 32CG16 as its main processor.
The LBP-4 joins Canon's LBP-8 Mark III Series as Canon's second family
of printers based on National's 32CG16. The new LBP-4 measures 13.8 x
15.9 inches and weighs approximately 23 pounds. It features scalable
fonts and font special effects, built-in video, parallel and serial
interfaces, extensive software support, and 512KB built in memory, which
can be increased to 2.5MB with an optional RAM expansion board. The
LBP-4 utilizes Canon's printing system language called CaPSL and is the
same command set available with the company's advanced LBP-8 Mark III
series printers.
DATA GENERAL
Data General introduced a five-pound, battery-powered portable terminal
that allows users to exchange information with home or office computers
from any location. The compact (12"w x 10.6"d x 1.9"h) WALKABOUT
terminal, fits into a briefcase and features a tiltable, 25-line liquid
crystal display (LCD) screen and full-sized keyboard. Volume shipments
will begin in the first calendar quarter of 1990.
VERBATIM
Verbatim introduced a 5 1/4-inch erasable optical disk. The TMO 5 1/4-
inch erasable optical disk is available in two versions: the Model 505,
which contains 512 bytes per sector, and the Model 510, which contains
1024 bytes per sector. Both versions are double-sided, with a user
capacity of 600 megabytes and 650 megabytes, respectively.
COMMODORE
Commodore announced the Amiga 2500/30 personal computer, the development
of several new A2000 Series peripherals, and the appointment of a former
Disney producer to head a new multimedia marketing group. The new Amiga
2500/30 comes standard with a Motorola 68030 co-processor card running
at 25 Mhz with 2MB of 32-bit RAM, (expandable to 4MB of 32-bit RAM). It
features a 25MB 68882 math co-processor, a 68851 memory management unit,
1MB of 16-bit "chip" RAM; a built-in 3.5-inch floppy disk drive; a pre-
configured 40MB hard disk drive and autobooting SCSI hard disk
controller. The suggested retail price is $4,699. Owners of an A2000
series Amiga can upgrade existing machines by purchasing a 2630 card
from an authorized dealer for $2,195 (suggested retail price).
OKIDATA
Okidata announced a new low-profile laser printer. Compactly packaged
and under 6 inches high, the specially designed OKILASER 400 is a light-
weight personal laser printer that fits as comfortably on any office
desk as it does on a home-office work table. The OKILASER 400 is
compatible with a wide array of popular word processing and graphics
software to create and crisply print dynamic reports, correspondence,
memos, graphs, spreadsheets and a wide variety of illustrative
materials.
Xx ZNET NEWSWIRE
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NINTENDO WINS
The Soviet video game Tetris belongs to Nintendo for all home video
systems, a federal judge ruled in San Francisco last Monday, November
13. The U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Judge Fern M. Smith, had
earlier awarded Nintendo a preliminary injunction against Atari/Tengen
sales of its version of Tetris for home video game systems. A trial on
the question of a permanent injunction and damages was meant to
commence. The judge cancelled the trial announcing that she intended to
award summary judgments to Nintendo because there were no material
factual matters which Atari/Tengen could prove.
ATARI GAMES RESPONDS
The following is a statement by Dennis Wood, senior vice president,
Atari Games Corp.
''Today's court decision by Judge Fern Smith of the U.S. District Court
in San Francisco granting Nintendo's motion for a summary judgement
regarding the rights to 'Tetris' is a disappointment to Tengen. The
court's finding is based simply on a contract issue that has no bearing
on the larger anti-trust and patent disputes between the parties related
to 'Tetris.' The judge's ruling is confined to 'Tetris' and in no way
affects Tengen's ability to market any of its 14 independently
manufactured Nintendo-compatible video games. We are confident that we
will prevail on our anti-trust and patent infringement allegations
against Nintendo when the issues come to trial. An appeal of today's
decision is being prepared.''
ATARI POSTS LOSS
Atari reported the results of operations for the third quarter ended
Sept. 30, 1989. Net sales for the quarter were $81.4 million compared
to $98.8 million for the like quarter last year. The net loss was $5.4
million compared to net income of $.9 million. Net sales for the nine
months were $253 million compared to $300 million for the like period
last year. There was a net loss of $1.8 million compared to a net
income of $12.1 million for the like nine months last year. Sam
Tramiel, said "This has been an encouraging yet difficult quarter for
Atari. Towards the end of the quarter we began shipping many new
products which represent our future. For example, we started shipping
Portfolio, our new hand held MS DOS command compatible computer, and the
Megafile 44, our new removable media hard disk drive. Also, during the
quarter, we began shipping the STE computer, an improved version of our
core ST product. Additionally, during the fourth quarter, we expect to
start shipping Lynx, the new hand held color LCD video game system.
However, to reflect the dramatic drop in component prices, especially
semiconductors and disk drives, the company has taken a special charge
during the quarter of approximately $10 million in respect of such
inventory. With the shipment of new products and less volatile DRAM
costs in the fourth quarter, we anticipate normalization of margins as
and when the inventories of older products are sold. Portfolio
production is ramping up now as planned. Initial sales appear
consistent with our expectations." Greg Pratt of Atari Corp.,
408-745-2349
Xx 1040STE PRESS RELEASE
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Atari Computer Introduces the 1040STE
LAS VEGAS, NV (November 13, 1989)--In response to user demands for
increased graphics and sound capabilities, Atari Computer has
introduced the 1040STE, an enhanced configuration of the company's
popular 1040ST computer.
In making the announcement, Sam Tramiel, Atari Corporation president
said that the new system, which is compatible with thousands of
existing ST software packages, was developed with the requirements of
both home users and MIDI musicians in mind.
The system maximizes the speed of the 68000 microprocessor operating at
8Mhz and includes one megabyte of on board RAM (expandable to 4 MB with
SIMM modules). Users may opt to display up to 16 colors from an
extended palette of 4,096 colors with color monitor resolutions of 320
x 200, 640 x 200 or 640 x 400 monochrome resolution.
The 1040STE also provides 256K ROM and extended TOS capabilities,
including faster hard disk support, improved memory management and
automatic booting of GEM applications.
This powerful system is ideal for the person who works out of his or
her home by day, but is an aspiring musician or avid game player by
night.
"The 1040STE includes 8-bit digital stereo sound, as well as light gun,
paddle and enhanced joystick ports," said Tramiel. "With features
ranging from hi-fidelity digitized sound to the ability to support up
to six game players, the 1040STE is a dream come true for the home
enthusiast looking for both processing power and some dynamite home
entertainment'" he added.
People who are avid game and realtime simulator players will appreciate
the 1040STE's ability to quickly scroll horizontally and vertically, as
well as the system's ability to support a range of 12-inch color and
monochrome monitors. For video overlay or desktop applications, the
1040STE offers external GENLOCK support.
A 3.5-inch 720K floppy is standard on the 1040STE. Users have the
option of adding a second floppy or a hard drive.
The 1040STE offers all of the standard ST ports, including parallel,
RS232 serial, hard disk, mouse and MIDI ports. In addition, standard
stereo output jacks and enhanced game controller ports are provided.
A 94-key keyboard with 10 programmable function keys is also standard.
"When Atari Computer introduced the 1040ST, BYTE MAGAZINE called it one
of the great milestones in personal computing," Tramiel noted. "Just
wait until they get a hold of this ENHANCED system," he added.
The 1040STE will be available first quarter, 1990. For more
information on the 1040STE or any other Atari Computer system, contact
Mike Morand, president, Atari Computer, 1196 Borregas Avenue,
Sunnyvale, California 94088; (408) 745-2000, FAX: (408) 745-2088.
Atari is a registered trademark; 1040STE, and 1040ST are trademarks of
Atari Corporation.
Xx DESKSET II PRESS RELEASE
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Atari Computer Shipping DeskSet II
LAS VEGAS, NV (November 13, 1989) -- Atari Computer is now shipping
DeskSet II, a high-end, low-cost laser typesetting software package
that offers an array of features previously available only to users of
expensive photo typesetting systems.
In making the announcement, Sam Tramiel, president of Atari Corporation,
said that DeskSet II contains all of the text editing, graphics, and
page layout capabilities that are required in a professional publishing
system.
"DeskSet II is designed for sophisticated, small business and home
office users who, in order to stay competitive, must produce high-
quality printed materials and graphics," Tramiel said. "When used with
one of Atari's more powerful computer systems such as the MEGA 4 or the
TT and a laser printer, DeskSet II provides users with a complete DTP
solution," he noted.
The program operates under the GEM interface and offers a combination
of mouse-driven, pull-down menus; icon-based commands and hot-key
sequences to help users perform functions easily. DeskSet II uses
genuine CompuGraphic intellifonts, (scalable outline fonts) which can
be set in half-point increments is sizes from 5 to 144 points. An
interface card that enables users to output files on a CompuGraphic
8400 Imagesetter at 2,540 dpi resolution is also available.
DeskSet II provides true WYSIWYG; the same font data used to display
characters onscreen is also used to print. Font data includes
automatic kerning information and allows for user definedable kerning
pairs. Reverse type and the ability to condense and expand type are
available. Users can also adjust character compensation, letter
spacing, and word space bands.
"Atari Computer has ensured that DeskSet II provides users with a full
range of text and graphics manipulation capabilities," explained
Tramiel.
Pages are easily formatted and uniform page layouts can be created by
using the master "base pages" and the clipboard functions. Text may be
distributed automtically throughout the document; inside or around
irregularly shaped regions or graphics; or flowed into graphic
configurations formed by ellipses, polygons and other geometric shapes.
The software's translation utilities will allow import of text files
from the leading word processing programs. DeskSet II also hyphenates
in eleven languages according to linguistic-based rules. Hyphenation
parameters can be set by the user and a modifiable hyphenation
exception dictionary is included.
In addition, the system automatically numbers pages and allows the user
to tag text with specific font size and style information, both
globally and locally. Users can also import graphics in standard GEM
or IMG formats, as well as from common ST paint programs.
"DeskSet II is a prime example of Atari Computer's dedication to
providing complete solutions to home office, small business and
departmental users Atari offers hardware and software combinations that
provide the capabilities that users require at the price/performance
ratio they expect," said Tramiel.
DeskSet II is now available for immediate delivery and has a suggested
retail price of $499.95.
For more information, contact Atari Computer, 1196 Borregas Avenue,
Sunnyvale, CA 94088; (408) 745-2000.
======================================================================
ZMagazine Issue #181 November 19, 1989
Special Comdex Issue Fall '89
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