Z*Magazine: 15-Oct-90 #185
From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 10/02/93-03:34:46 PM Z
From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: Z*Magazine: 15-Oct-90 #185
Date: Sat Oct 2 15:34:46 1993
=======================================================================
ZMAG/A\ZINE - THE ORIGINAL ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE - OCTOBER 15, 1990
=======================================================================
"Your Weekly Atari and 8-Bit News Source" Issue #185
=======================================================================
PUBLISHED/EDITED by Ron Kovacs
Copyright (c)1990, Rovac Industries, Inc.
=======================================================================
/// EDITORS DESK
----------------
by Ron Kovacs
Well, you can see that it has been awhile since the release of issue
#184. We have had a few problems relating to legal situations that are
yet to be resolved. For more information on the situation, please read
Issues #538-540 of Z*Net Online.
That situation is at a stand still until November. At that time we will
see what gets resolved. This matter did put a hold on my personal
participation and at the present time seems to be progressing in a
positive manner.
We are going to weekly releases effective with this issue. Each Sunday
evening/Monday evening, we will release material. It will be available
on the Z*Net BBS, GEnie and Compuserve and then on the Blank Page BBS
which, is the official 8-bit BBS for ZMagazine.
To support the 8-bit community, we need your help. Please write up
something and send it in. We can only search a limited area for
material and will be publishing reprints from user group newsletters.
If your 8-bit group is interested in publishing your material in ZMag,
send us a disk with your text files.
This weeks edition includes the latest Atari news, a WAACE show report,
reviews of BobTerm, Term80 and BBS Express! Professional. A new ZMag
feature will be included from time to time from our corrsepondents
Terry Schreiber in Canada and Jon Clarke in New Zealand.
We are slowly returning from our LONG vacation. Help us by spreading
the word we are back and send material when you can!
Thanks for reading!
/// Z*NET NEWSWIRE
------------------
START MAGAZINE ADDS Z*NET NEWSWIRE
Beginning with the December, 1990 issue, the popular Z*NET NewsWire will
be presented within STart Magazine each month. STart's Tom Byron and
Z*Net's Ron Kovacs recently signed contracts that make Z*NET the
exclusive news column in the well known monthly ST specific glossy
magazine. STart features the largest circulation of any domestic Atari
magazine, and has recently added the subscribers of ANALOG and ST-LOG to
their rolls. Z*Net will provide about three pages of news bits and news
stories for each issue of STart. Says Tom Byron, Editor of STart, "Its
a natural progression. Z*Net has the reputation and track record for
solid news reporting." Z*Net Publisher Ron Kovacs adds, "This is a
chance for Z*Net to reach a wider audience, beyond the modem users and
user-group members who already get the Z*Net News Services." It is
expected that the added recognition and credibility that the merger of
efforts will bring to both publications, will further increase the
quality and quantity of Atari news presented in all media ventures of
STart and Z*Net. Z*Net is already a regular part of the news coverage
of a number of magazines worldwide, including PD JOURNAL of Germany and
soon ST USER of Great Britain. The Z*Net User Group Newsletter
Supplement also goes to nearly 4,000 readers in the USA, Canada, Panama,
New Zealand, Australia, and England.
STEREO COLOR MONITOR
Released to dealers this week was a new color monitor to compliment the
STE's stereo sound. The SC1435 is the latest edition to Atari's ever
growing line-up of computer products. With the release of the STE
line's stereo sound capabilities it was a natural to follow it up with
the SC1435. The monitor is not a re-structured SC1224 as was first
thought but of a completely different design.
CANADIAN COMPUTER SHOW
The Canadian Computer Show, November 12th thru 15th, International
Centre of Commerce, Toronto Ontario. Judging from last years attendance
records of 30,000 plus this is definitely Canada's largest computer
show. If you couldn't make it to Comdex then plan on trying to make it
to this one. Atari will again be attending this great event held each
year in Toronto. They will be displaying their full product line
(including TT) with staff on-hand to answer your questions. Check it
out - Booth 3530 Atari Canada.
BRODIE PASSES 1 YEAR
Z*Net congratulates our former Z*NET correspondent who has just passed
his one-year anniversary at Atari Corporation. Bob Brodie, Manager of
User Group Services since September 1989, went to Atari after being both
a staff writer for Z*Net and President of ACAOC, the Orange County,
California user group. He was also instrumental in the organization of
the original Glendale Atari Shows. In a year, Bob has become the most
sought after public speaker for Atari, and the most respected source of
information about Atari. Thanks for everything, Bob!
FOSTER LEAVES ATARI
Frank Foster, formerly Atari's music division head, left the company
early in September. Frank came to Atari from HYBRID ARTS, a respected
software development company that lead the way for early MIDI
applications on the Atari. Although there is no official statement from
Atari regarding his departure, it is believed to have been a mutual
decision of Frank and Atari. It is known that Foster did not agree with
some of the new policies of the new administration at Atari, and had
recently failed to follow through on sales appearances and other
commitments. Friends of Foster have said that he has moved on to a
graphics company, a field Foster has had considerable experience and
success in even while at Atari. His departure leaves Atari with no
individual directly in charge of MIDI development and music industry
support.
ADVANTAGE PACKAGE TO TRY AGAIN AT COMDEX
As Atari prepares for COMDEX, November's big Computer Marketplace of the
World, the ATARI ADVANTAGE is being once again prepared for
presentation. The Las Vegas, Nevada, show draws hundreds of thousands
of people, and thousands of vendors to show their wares. Atari has said
that they will have the TT READY FOR SHIPPING by the November show, and
now, the focus is widening to cover the 520ST system (or possibly an
STe?) bundled with an array of software for a blockbuster price. This
time for SURE...?
COMPUTER SHOPPER DROPS ATARI
The editor of the largest computer magazine in the world, COMPUTER
SHOPPER MAGAZINE, told his writers and contributors this week that his
magazine will end its regular Atari coverage with the November, 1990,
issue. Editor in Chief, Bob Lindstrom, said that it was a hard
decision, and one that was just made in the last 30 days after
considerable market and supplier research. Earlier rumors of their
dropping Atari were neither based on fact nor were they an influence on
the final decision. Computer Shopper is moving more and more towards
being MS-DOS only, with Amiga and even MAC coverage under careful
scrutiny now. Shopper will probably continue to run major stories
covering Atari products when it is warranted, such as when major new
hardware is introduced.
COMMODORE INTRODUCES THE C64 GAMES CONSOLE
Commodore's UK subsidiary has introduced the C64 Games System, a C64-
based games console for Western European markets. The C64GS comes with
a joystick and a port for cartridge-based software. Cartridges will
include four games, a feature designed to give the C64GS a competitive
advantage against other game-only computers. The product will be sold
in European countries, including the UK, which has become a new center
for C64 software developers.
SIERRA ON-LINE UPDATE
Sierra On-Line announced that it will assume European distribution
rights to Sierra and Dynamix products on Oct. 1, 1990. Sierra will also
distribute more than 12 new titles for the 1990 Christmas season, with
the much anticipated King's Quest V, Space Quest IV, Quest for Glory II,
Oil's Well, Jones in the Fast Lane and updated versions of King's Quest
and Mixed-Up Mother Goose. Dynamix, a Sierra subsidiary, will offer a
mixture of products including Stellar 7, Red Baron, Rise of the Dragon
and Heart of China.
/// 1990 WAACE ATARIFEST REPORT
-------------------------------
by Jerry Cross
I want to begin by saying that the WAACE show was one of the best Atari
Shows I have attended. And I have been involved in or attended a lot
of them. One of the things I enjoy most about Atari shows is you can
get a first look at many new products. This show had them in abundance.
Joppa Comptuer Products introduced "JuST the FAX!". This is a hardware/
software product that allows you to send FAX messages using 4800 baud,
Group 3 FAX transmission. It also doubles as an excellent 2400 baud
modem that will work with any communication program, such as FLASH.
The software will allow you to convert IMG, Degas, and ASCII files into
a FAX file for transmission. There are printer drivers to allow you to
convert Pagestream and Calamus files to FAX, allowing you to produce
your page and then FAX it to someone. The price for all of this is $169
suggest retail. It was sold at the show for $139. I did a few quick
tests, and sent out a couple Pagestream pages to the FAX machine at work
and it really works nice! There will be some upcoming upgrades that
will allow both sending and receiving FAX messages at 9600 baud, and
adds addtionals features to the modem. For more info contact Joppa at
(301)679-4102.
Alpha Systems, had two new products. JamMaster is a powerful software
program digital sampling synthesizer program loaded with features. It
requires a cartridge based sound digitizer for output, such as Digisound
Professional, and a MIDI compatible keyboard. You create your own
sounds and assign them to your keyboard. You can have up to 32
different sounds and any number of octaves. Instead of using musical
sounds, try some digitized voices or sound effects. It's great! Also
introduced was an inexpensive clock card called Watchcart. This is a
simple, bare bones cartridge that is just what I was looking for. I'm
not sure what the retail price was (it wasn't in their flyer) but the
show price was $12.
HiSoft was showing their line of products, including lattice C Version
5, and the new HARLEKIN program. Harlekin is a bunch of useful
utilities rolled into one neat package. Just to name a few, there is a
word processor, scrapbook, disk editor, terminal program, calendar,
ascii table, RAMdisk, printer spooler...and on and on. It does require
at least 1Mb of memory however. Hisoft is a British company, but I
believe Michtron is a distributor of this product. (Sorry, I was
reading my notes about this on the plane trip back, and it was too late
to ask).
In the Gadgets by Small booth...well what can I say. All sorts of new
toys over there! Spectre GCR was running on a TT. The 68030 was
installed and strutting it's stuff. It was running next to a second ST
running the same bouncing ball demo, at TWICE the speed! The 68030
upgrade is quite large, and will probably be offered as a Mega upgrade
only, unless Dave can figure out a way to shrink it down. The Telsa
coil was a real grin. Can't wait for that to go into mass production.
Sliccware introduced their new product SLICCTOP. WOW! This desktop
replacement features multi-tasking, code swapping, process queuing,
unlimited windows, data sharing, code sharing, dynamic memory, and too
much other stuff to mention! Watch for a review of this product in the
near future.
ICD introduced their new product, AdSpeed. This is an 68000 accelerator
for all models of Atari ST's from the 520 through the STE. Using a
multilayer, surface mount design, the chip is the side of the 68000 chip
and will be no problem to install. Just unsolder the old chip, install
a socket and install the AdSpeed. I ordered one at the show and will
have more information once I can get it installed and play with it. The
flyer gives the following features: No mouse, I/O or blitter conflicts,
no jumper wires, software selectable true 68000 8 MHz mode for 100%
compatibility (switches speeds on the fly without rebooting the
computer), 32 kilobytes of high speed static RAM for 16k of data/
instruction cache and 16k of catche tag memory, full read and write-
through caching for maximum speed, and supports 16 MHZ high speed ROM
access.
Genie had a few surprises of their own. This month, Genie began their
new price cutting rates. To help the user even more, they are
introducing Aladin. This is a terminal program written by Tim Purvis of
Michtron. You now have full featured program that lets you automate
your online time by automatically capturing messages and download
descriptions. You can then read and reply to messages while off line,
and select files to download. The program will then automatically send
your messages, and download the files. Full use of the GEM interface
makes this program a must have for all Genie users. Best of all, it's
FREE. It should be available for downloading sometime this week.
Add to all of these new products a number of upgrades for many other
products, and this was a very enjoyable show. The exibition rooms
featuring a number of topics were great also! I don't know how they
lucked out and found a hotel that could fit in so many of these
"classrooms" but I sure hope they can secure it for future WAACE shows.
But you didn't think I'd leave without complaining about something, did
you? Will someone please explain the Dulles Toll road to me? You can
travel from Dulles airport directly to Washington DC for free, but get
off in the middle and you pay a toll? I smell a loophole in all of
this!
/// TERM-80 REVIEW
==================
by Dennis Lukeman
Term-80 by Mark Gamber,
Rev.0.14(c)1988 Babarsoft, Inc.
-------------------------------
Term-80, written by Mark Gamber, caught my eye, so I decided to try it,
and here is my thoughts and observations:
The only feature worth mentioning as "fair", is that it's an 80 column
term for the Atari. This is the main feature that convinced me to
download and try it in the first place.
I rate it fair, simply because it's the best feature of the file. The
screen was hard to understand until I fiddled with the brightness and
contrast controls, but I was finally able to understand what was in
front of me.
Another feature, which was really nice, but didn't impress me, was that
the author's use of "windows" within the program, to help you fumble
your way around.
The documentation that came with the term explained "The functions
should be fairly self-explanatory if you've used any other terminal."
The Documentation contained within the file was "semi" helpful, and
could have been more detailed in spots.
A very disappointing part of the term was the up/download capabilities.
I attempted both X and Y-modem downloads with no success. Downloads
started out good, but after the buffer filled and was dumped to disk,
the transfer aborted a few moments after the dump.
Uploading was no better, both protocols failed to handshake with several
BBS's I attempted to send files to. Buffer up/downloads were no better.
The "autodial" list must be maintained by a seprate file that is run
from basic, unlike other terms that can be edited, updated and saved
while running the term. I found also that there were no provisions for
storing "macros" for those finger-saving, auto logons.
Overall, I found Term-80 to be nothing more that an interesting toy, but
having no other value as a term program. It's nice to see new software
still being designed for the 8 bit, but here there were good intentions,
but very disapointing results. Maybe later revisions will be more
reliable.
/// BOBTERM 1.21 REVIEW
-----------------------
by Joel Kennedy
(Reprinted from the Puget Sound Atari News, September 1990)
Well guess what the friendly UPS man had for me on August 9th? Yep,
SpartaDOS X and the R-Time 8 cart from ICD! SDX is great! I love it!!!
The R-Time 8 is just as good (never again will I set the clock! right?
Well, almost. The cart was sitting on top of my XE and fell a whole 2
1/2 inches. I now have a piece of foam stuffed inside the R-Time 8 to
keep the battery in contact. Don't set the cart on top of your
computer!). Ok, stop laughing and read about BobTerm 1.21 from Bob
Puff.
When you first boot up BobTerm (to be refered to throughout this article
as BT) you see a well done title screen. What I find most impressive
about it is its rather accurate depiction of the states. Good job, Bob!
Next, you see the Main Menu. The options are pretty self explanatory,
but I thought I would mention a few of them in more depth.
A -- You can change between ASCII, ATARI (aka ATASCII), VT-52E, and
VT-52O. VT-52 is a terminal emulator, the 'E' and 'O' denoting
even and odd parity respectively.
B -- Baud rates go clear up to 19.2k!!
D -- Well, it seems self explanatory but Bob added an embellishment. If
you press START while you press 'D' you will be switched into
"echoplex." This is primarily used when modeming between two
individuals. One sets 'echoplex' on and the other stays in full
duplex. Normally both would have to switch to half duplex, but
echoplex will echo back the characters - just like a BBS.
F&G -- For when you are talking to someone (voice) and want to go to the
computer mode (data) without redialing. Very handy!
R&S -- You can set both the transfer protocol, as well as the drive and
path, for uploads and downloads. For Downloads BT automatically
adjusts to the senders protocol. Also, for both uploads and
downloads BT eliminates the need to pad a transfer block by
switching to smaller blocks, and therefore lower protocols, if the
rest of a file won't fit in the size block in use. For example:
You are transferring a file that is 2,176 bytes long. You select
1k x-modem and two complete blocks of 1k are transfered. BT will
then switch to standard x-modem for the remaining 128 bytes of
data.
K -- basically a standard menu of DOS 2.x/MYDOS commands. If you'd
loaded the CP.BTM (as a module), it will give you an interface
directly into Sparta's command processor.
The lower menu commands are mainly used when you are in the Term mode.
You can activate word wrap, reset the online time clock, switch between
realtime/online time, do a screen dump, save a snapshot of the screen to
the buffer and even activate fine scrolling. The chat window is an
interesting feature, it allows you to pre-edit what you type before you
send it. It only has a three line capacity but it is still handy. I
don't use it much anymore because of the delay it causes. Everything
that's in the buffer is sent when you press RETURN. Most people don't
like you using it because they can't tell if you are typing something or
just sitting there 'twiddlin your thumbs.'
When "J" is selected from the Main Menu three options will replace the
lower menu. This submenu is pretty straight forward. By selecting the
first option you will be able to see what the system macros have been
set to. You can change your screen colors here as well as alter the
macros. By choosing the third option the BOBTERM.CNF file will be
written. This saves things other than just the macros and screen colors
- so make sure you have everything set the way you want it.
Selecting "E" from the Main Menu will put you in the Autodialer Menu.
The options are clear. Something of note though to you people with
'call waiting'. You can use the long distance code feature to disable
your call waiting. See the docs for the 'how to.'
As I mentioned under the 'DOS functions' selection you can activate
modules wich will add different features to BT. This are external
modules which are loaded at bootup. Two are included, these are CP.BTM
and XEP80.BTM. As I already said, CP.BTM gives you an interface to
Sparta. XEP80.BTM is the driver for the XEP80 80 column card from
Atari. I don't have this as yet, so I can't say how well it works,
though I have been told that the one included in the version 1.20 arc
file is buggy so make sure you get 1.21.
Well that's all fine and well on how to use it, but what does it feel
like to use it? Well, I like BobTerm 1.21! I have only one complaint
- you abort an operation by pressing START and begin one by pressing
SELECT. This seems reverse to me. Otherwise, to quote Dan Knauf from
his 'Black Box vs. MIO' article, "pretty is as pretty does."
BT is very nice and user friendly (except for the use of the START key).
I've used it for the past couple of months and the only time I had any
problems was when the handler wouldn't load from my 850 (I have to shut
EVERYTHING off and try again if this happens, not just the 850 and the
computer. If I even leave the disk drive on it won't work. Is there
something wrong with my 850? If you know please tell me.) or when I
attempted certain operations from the command line interface to Sparta.
Outside from the above mentioned things I have had no problems
whatsoever with BT and enjoy it very much.
///BBS EXPRESS! PROFESSIONAL
----------------------------
As I was preparing this review a persistent rumor of the sale of Express
Professional was running through the Pro SysOps network. On September
12th, 1990 Keith Ledbetter's Orion Micro Systems announced it had "sold
the rights to Bbs Express! Professional to Robert Klaas's K-Products
company." "Keith still plans to keep upgrading the shell if K-Products
asks him to, and we will still do our occasional new command for Pro."
******************************************************************
Okay folks lets face it, not much has been happening with the Atari 8
bit computers in the past few years. Sure, there has been some great
stuff released as PD/ShareWare from the few remaining die hard 8 bit
programmers. A few cartridge programs and some hardware. In that time
period, my expanded XL has only seen 3 new items pass through it. All
were purchased just to give the XL something to do other than take up
closet space and the occasional word processing duty. Discovering the
modem in 1987 opened a whole new world to me.
Logging onto the few local boards I saw the 8 bit programs available
were outdated and in need of some major help. A local IBM SysOp used to
always bust my cookies about getting a real computer and a faster modem.
He invited me over his place one day to show off his system and to
enlist my help. He wanted me to play assistant systems operator on his
board taking care of the 8 bit Atari area. My instructions were to take
all his files, arc them, send them back, answer Atari related questions
etc. Loaning me a spare 1200 baud modem I was hooked!
Another SysOp then asked for the same thing and for my troubles he gave
me an old 20 meg hard drive. With the drive in my possession I figured
what the heck and purchased ICD's MIO and a controller. Telling my wife
that it would be easier for her and the kids when using the computer.
All that searching through piles and piles of diskettes for the one
program they wanted could be eliminated. Everything, right here in this
one little spot. Little did she know that things would go as far as
they did. I had a secret desire to start my own board.
With two teenage children in the house a second phone line became a
necessity. A line just for the kids (she fell for that one too). Doing
a bit of research I decided to buy a new software package from Orion
Micro Systems called BBS Express! Professional. On June 15th 1988 I set
the system up on "our phone line" just for a test. That was the last
time I was ever able to pull one over on her.
Requirements: Atari 800XL or XE, Hard drive recommended, SpartaDos 3.2,
MIO, Black Box, 850, PRC and a Hayes compatible rs232 modem.
The BBS can be run on a floppy system IF you have several of them. The
message bases alone take up tremendous amounts of space. You can
configure them as you like but you're locked into a fixed size once the
base is made. For example a typical base containing a maximum of 100
messages with a byte count of 1130 requires 156,160k of space. Once
it's filled, new messages start kicking out the oldest ones making
maintenance a snap. You can make smaller bases but if you are going to
Network with another Pro bbs the netted bases should be at least the
same byte size.
That's right, your bbs can call other Pro boards in the middle of the
night and exchange messages with them. All without your intervention.
The standard system features up to 32 message bases, 32 file areas with
descriptions, 32 command security levels, the ability to have over 1/2
million files available for download and much more. Notice I said
standard system. A few of those die-hard programmers have pushed the
system way beyond that limit. Right now my board size is at 180 megs
and I can think of another half dozen that are bigger still. Hard to
believe the old workhorse can be pushed so far eh?
The software comes on 2 SD diskettes formatted both sides with all the
necessary files to get you up and running. Each package is assigned its
own unique Node number for Network identification and access to the
support bbs. The supplied users manual is well put together and takes
you one step at a time through setting everything up correctly. Even
the novice should have no problems following it through.
The software supports normal ASCII text, ANSI (IBM) color, VT52 color,
VT52 Mono and of course ATASCII graphics. Some boards are just now
starting to put in IG graphics just for the ST'ers. If you haven't seen
that yet it is a treat. Mouse support, moving graphics and sound all
via the modem to the ST. That is just an idea of how flexible this
software really is. Because of the memory limitations on the little
Atari, Orion took a modular approach in its programming. That makes it
simple to add or update the system. The core or shell operates like a
policeman loading each module into memory as the user calls for it.
Each one of these modules are actually programs in themselves and can be
called from the the systems dosshell for ease of maintenance.
An event scheduler is included to handle up to 30 maintenance items.
Some can be set to run after every call, one or more times a week etc.
These events include purging the userlog, preparing packets for
networking, system back ups, and of course overseeing the different
online games that are available.
For the programmer you also get the system routines and equates so you
can program your own files for the bbs in either Action or Assembly
language. There are also cross assemblers available for the ST and
MS-Dozers.
Don't get the idea that the software is just a toy, my friends bbs is
gone. It seems his 286 machine couldn't compete with my little Atari
and its high speed modem. Yeah, that's right I begged a 14.4k baud
modem to reach out and touch someone (something about saving money on
long distance charges).
Operating a BBS can be an expensive proposition. I figure the XL and
the MIO worth maybe $150 dollars used. The hard drives and modem can
always be put to use in another system when I'm ready to graduate to a
"real computer". Why spend mega bucks on the latest, soon to be
obsolete technology just to run a bbs?
To order Pro send $39.95 plus $4.00 S&H to: K-Products, P.O. Box 22122
A.M.F., Salt Lake City Utah, 04120. Include another ten spot if you
want the networking modules too.
/// GENIE FILE UPDATE
---------------------
Ctsy Atari8 RT
File Number:5233
Filename: COLRVW25.ARC Uploader: JDPOTTER Size: 42840
Description: COLRVIEW 4096 color viewer V2.5
File Number:5231
Filename: DBSOURCE.ARC Uploader: T.TUCKER10 Size: 66780
Description: DISK BASE SOURCE CODE (ACTION)
File Number:5229
Filename: C_BBS.ARC Uploader: MARTY.A Size: 27720
Description: C Source Code For A BBS Program
File Number:5228
Filename: TETRA.ARC Uploader: S.KINSELLA Size: 20160
Description: Tetra: a Tetris clone demo
File Number:5224
Filename: DOSCMD.ARC Uploader: J.FULLER Size: 1260
Description: cc65 spartados execute function
File Number:5223
Filename: XIO.ARC Uploader: J.FULLER Size: 1260
Description: xio function for cc65
File Number:5222,5221,5220,5219,5218,5217,5216
Filename: BOOK5A.ARC,BOOK4B.ARC,BOOK4A.ARC,BOOK3B.ARC
BOOK3A.ARC,BOOK1A.ARC,README.1ST
Uploader: C.VANOOSTJ
Description: Daisy Dot III Manuals
File Number:5215
Filename: BATDOER3.ARC Uploader: MARTY.A Size: 13860
Description: Version 3.0 of BATDoer for SpartaDOS
File Number:5213
Filename: YATZ.BAS Uploader: M.EISSLER1 Size: 13860
Description: A Yahtzee game written in BASIC.
File Number:5202
Filename: ZMAG184.ARC Uploader: Z-NET Size: 20160
Description: Issue #184, September 4, 1990
/// Z*NET CANADA
----------------
by Terry Schreiber
ShareWares
Ever tried to get the latest version of a shareware program? Now where
is that address, I'm sorry, we don't take credit cards! A quick trot to
the bank or post office to get that U.S. or Canadian money order or
maybe not so quick. There are other problems involved as well but I'm
sure you know most of them.
Commercial software houses have distributors so why not the small
independents? Dammed good idea? I thought so, thus along with our
retail store we are opening an area called Sharewares, a one stop
clearing house for Atari ST shareware software. Shareware will be taken
on consignment and offered for sale through outlets in Vancouver and
Seattle via Visa or Mastercard with royalties paid on sales at the end
of each month.
We are also planning on advertising in Club newsletters and magazines,
this should help those Authors on a small budget to get some exposure.
For more information contact me at (604) 278-2099 during business hours.
Service Facility Expanding
Atari Canada's General Manager Geoff Earle announced today a one hundred
thousand dollar expansion to Atari Canada's service area. This includes
new equipment and more staff to handle the service and shipping of
repaired equipment. "We realize there have been some problems with the
service department in the past" said Geoff, "but with this expansion and
an inter-departmental network online we hope to become one of the elite
that is know for their service as well as their product lines".
Recent marketing studies done by Atari in Canada have found the consumer
is not buying on price but after market service. Atari is taking steps
at this time to bring their service up to standards which will equal or
surpass most in the consumer market. This will also reflect on dealer
orders with a faster turn around on parts and supplies.
Atari in Business
The Pacific Rim Computer and Communications Show is Western Canada's
answer to Comdex. This is held in Vancouver every year this year
falling on January 14th to 16th and attracts the who's who of the
computer manufacturers. Atari has attended this show before in
conjunction with dealers but this year there are a few changes.
Atari is serious about business applications and this show will be the
first in a line of a new business campaign. Atari users have long known
the positive aspects of the computer and now with the new "Atari TT"
they have a more serious contender for this market.
In attendance will be Jimmy Hotz (Hotz Box), Nathan Potechin (ISD
Marketing), Geoff Earle (Cdn General Manager), Denise Carrol (Marketing
Coordinator), Murray Brown (Western Canada Sales and Marketing Manager)
as well as Tim Breck and Paul Garay, two notables in the MIDI field.
The Atari area will be a show within a show featuring demonstrations on
Desktop Publishing, Desktop Music, MIDI, Networking, Educational and
Research, Word Processing and more. The entire line of products, Stacy,
Portfolio, and MS-DOS line as well as the Emulators for display and
demonstrations and of course, the 68000 and 68030 line.
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Z*MAGAZINE Atari 8-Bit Online Magazine is a weekly magazine covering
the Atari and related computer community. Material contained in this
edition may be reprinted without permission, except where otherwise
noted, unedited, with the issue number, name and author included at
the top of each reprinted article. Commentary and opinions presented
are those of the individual author and does not necessarily reflect
the opinions of Z*MAGAZINE or the staff. Z*Magazine Atari 8-Bit Online
Magazine, Z*Net Atari Online Magazine, Z*Net are copyright (c)1990 by
Rovac Industries Inc, a registered corporation. Post Office Box 59,
Middlesex, New Jersey 08846. (908) 968-2024. Z*Net Online BBS 24
Hours, 1200/2400 Baud, (908) 968-8148. We can be reached on CompuServe
at 71777,2140 and on GEnie at Z-NET.
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Z*Magazine Atari 8-Bit Online Magazine
Copyright (c)1990, Rovac Industries, Inc..
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