ST Report: 18-May-90 #620
From: Phillip M. Chow (aa400@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 06/10/90-09:49:40 PM Z
From: aa400@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Phillip M. Chow)
Subject: ST Report: 18-May-90 #620
Date: Sun Jun 10 21:49:40 1990
*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
_____________________________________
from
STR Publishing Inc.
""""""""""""""""""
May 18, 1990 No.6.20
=======================================================================
STReport Online Magazine?
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida
32205 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT
BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST/14.4
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EDT
_________________________________________
** F-NET NODE 350 ** 500mb Online **
STR'S owned & operated support BBS
carries ALL issues of STReport Online Magazine?
and
An International list of private BBS systems
carrying STReport Online Magazine for their users enjoyment
__________________________________________________________________
> 05/18/90: STReport? #6.20 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
-------------------------
- The Editor's Podium - CPU REPORT - CPU STATUS REPORT
- ANNUAL STOCK REPORT - TRACKER UPDATE - PHONEY D/L's?
- RTX OS Overview - RENTALS OK? - LOOSING GROUND
- CIS FOLIO CONTEST - MT C-Shell - CPU CONFIDENTIAL
---===** DEVELOPERS RECEIVING TT030 UNITS! **===---
--==** CONSUMER REPORTS-> PORTFOLIO "CUTE" **==--
-=** STe-> LATE JUNE -- EARLY JULY **=-
==========================================================================
ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE?
"Only UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
-* FEATURING *-
Current Events, Up to Date News, Hot Tips, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
==========================================================================
STReport's support BBS, NODE # 350 invites systems using Forem ST BBS to
participate in Forem BBS's F-Net mail network. Or, Please call # 350
direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging ideas about
the Atari ST computers through an excellent International ST Mail Network.
==========================================================================
AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX
==========================================================================
> The Editor's Podium?
Well, five months have passed since we changed our name and frankly,
the vast majority of our readers have expressed that they liked the
STReport name and wanted it back. So.... in yielding to the wishes of our
readers we have reverted back to our original name. And to celebrate the
change we have set the volume number to six and the issue number to the
twentieth week of this year. Its heart warming to know how many readers
we have who really care to seek out and read our humble offering of
STReport each week.
Lately, there has been a flurry of 'infobits' circulating that have
been flawed or reported incorrectly, STReport too, has t0 &5J9
Issue # 67
----------
by Michael Arthur
Remember When....
In December 1979, a Xerox Employee named Lawrence G. Tesler was
showing Steve Jobs and Apple execs some of its innovations in Graphical
User Interfaces, and was so impressed by Apple's sophistication in the
field of computer science that he immediately decided to join Apple?
And when Tesler then became the software director of the group
developing the Lisa computer, was later involved with the design of the
Macintosh, and is now the Head of Apple's Advanced Technologies R&D
Division?
CPU MacNews?
===========
Apple Makes Bid to Regain Educational Market, Delays System 7.0
---------------------------------------------------------------
Apple Computer has announced that it will be providing Educational
Sales discounts of around 40 - 60 percent for its Macintosh Plus and SE
line of compple officials have commented that a low-cost
version of the Mac (rumored to cost $2500 - $3000) will be introduced in
1991, and one official recently said that Apple II compatibility was a
"major concern" for such a machine....
Apple has also announced that Version 7.0 of the Macintosh System
Software won't be shipping until 1991. Apple first announced System 7.0
to cost a fiscal year net loss of $19 million
dollars for Mediagenic, whose estimated 1990 net revenue will be $65
million....
Mediagenic is discontinuing Infocom Inc., which helped pioneer the
entertainment software industry, because of "continuing poor financial
performance", and what it calls a "stagnant domestic...entertainment
software market". Media of its DR-DOS Operating
System. DR-DOS is an MS-DOS compatible OS which provides several
features not found in MS-DOS, and which now has a growing share in the
DOS marketplace. Version 5.0 includes support for several DOS LAN
Networks (such as Novell Netware), FileLink (for improved file transfer
capabilities), disk caching, and other features which were Intel's '286, '386, and '486 chips....
- Minneapolis, MA CRAY RESEARCH OFFERS UPDATED, LESS EXPENSIVE CRAY Y/MP
---------------
Cray Research has introduced the Cray Y/MP2E, a new version of the
Y/MP Supercomputer, which features Cray Y/MP Performance for $2.2 Million
dollars, or a fraction of the old Cray Y/MP's price. The Y/MP2E runs
UNICOS 6.1 (Cray Resabytes of RAM, which are priced from $2.2 - $5 Million Dollars.
However, the real benefit of this new supercomputer is in its lesser
installation and maintenance costs. It can also be either air-cooled or
water-cooled. With the Y/MP2E, Cray Research is expected to become a
dominant competitor in the growing minisupercomputer industry, which first
emerged to fill the are an updated filing system, and an X/Windows
Toolkit. Support for TCP/IP, NFS (Network File System), and X/Windows
Release 11.4 (with Version 2.0 of the X/Desktop GUI) will be available
later this year....
Also, Atari has established a new Research and Development Office in
England (which is expected to focus on the ATW), and has set up a series
of new support p =====================
by R.F. Mariano
This last week on GEnie, the accusations have been flying fast and
furious about the supposed padding of the download counts of the two
major on-line publications. The discussion even reached the point where
statements like "....I find it rather astounding that GEnie, via one of
its sysops, would be an agent or aHEIR OWN DOWNLOAD COUNTS." It got so bad that the editor of
one of the smaller, and newer, on-line magazines got caught up in all of
the rhetoric and resorted to the words "FRAUD AND FRAUDULENT" in his
reporting.
What was it that caused this 'TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT' TO BOIL OVER?
What started out as unsupported and questionable accusations by the Z-Net
On-Line editors stitorials/tirades in the future, just make sure its spelled
correctly) and ridiculous innuendos that Darlah, the ST Roundtable Lead
sysop on GEnie, was yielding to pressure exerted by STReport if she
disagreed with any Z-Net's accusations....for example, we quote:
"Stepping into the STR area brings calls to you and myself and I
suppose those calls are reflective in yoOWNLOAD COUNT.
....(We will not repeat their explicit instructions as we would rather
loose the download 'race' and know that our count was as accurate as
possible than resort to such chicanery.
While we firmly believe that the editors of a magazine have the right to
state their own opinions in their editorials, we also feel that an editor
should make every legitimain question, we
pressed ST-ZMAG to an absurd 700 plus. And guess what? The "other"
magazine stayed...60 ahead"
While the above might make for exciting reading, in reality, it only takes
a moment or two to check the real download figures. And the real download
figures show that ST-Zmag didn't reach the 700 plateau until 12-08-89 (not
September, 1989) and that week ST-Zmag ding' of download counts for
over a year, we felt that the responsible thing to do was to be discreet
and pursue the phoney download count situation behind the scenes and not
create a public spectacle. We felt that 'suspicions' and 'feelings' did
not add up to _facts_ and that it would be sensationalistic grandstanding
nonsense. And above all else, it would represent the epitand regarding this 'tempest'? Not withstanding
the fact that ST-Zmag has had to resort to padding of their download
counts (by their own admission), we know this; we have never padded our
download count and we would hope that our readers have not "tried to help
us". We would hope that our readers have enough confidence in the premier
on-line magazine to know that what's imreporting it.
---------------\
| Don't have a \
| cow man but.. \
| |
| WHAT'S the |
| BIG DEAL |
| over the STUPID |
|\/\/\/| | DOWNLOAD |
| /
| (o)(o) | _____________ /
C _) |/
| ,___|
| /
/____\
/ \
Thanks Neil....:-)
____________________________________________________
> RENTALS.. OK? STR Spotlight? What's the story, Jerry?
===========================
of
renting copyrighted software, as presented by the legal department of a
multi-million-dollar software publisher. I'd wanted to write a story on
software piracy for an ST-related mag. So I told the legal expert, "I
want to rent a copy of your software from a rental house. I'll keep all
records and turn them over to you. Then you take action against these
rental coriginal docs and original disks. The procedure
is illegal *only* if pirate copies are supplied, which most renters are
too smart to do.
The publisher's legal staff that I contacted had hoped to lobby
Congress to pass a bill making *all* software rental illegal. I doubt
that such a bill has been passed by Congress, or every computer magazine
in the U.S. would (I have not checked this recently with an attorney.)
What does this all mean? It means that a bunch of self-righteous
clowns have probably -- and most unfairly -- smeared members of a
Pittsburgh Atari association, whose providing of rental programs may well
be as legal as ambling across the street on a "walk" light. They've fed
one another's indignation with its. (I didn't have to consult an attorney to
write this article. But *they* should have done so before playing with
the possibility of slander.)
How do we prevent such folly in the future? Let's get our facts
straight before charging into the fray with loud allegations. If we feel
that software rental should be made illegal (as I most certainly do),
let's_____________________________________________
> SEZ WHO? STR SOUND OFF? "Let he who is without sin cast...."
======================
READER MAIL OF NOTE
===================
Dear Ralph,
I am not a particularly good writer, but I feel there may be some
facts thamust be brought to light.
I have been following the messages and articles concerning the
events that took place in Pittsburgh the weekend of April 28-29 in your
publication and on GEnie and one very interesting comment was made in
error. You see, I attended the show both days in Pittsburgh and you could
say that I was in the right place at the right time to over hear a
conversack, but let
my membership expire for several reasons. I do however, have friends in
both groups, and have a good friend who is an officer of PACE. That's why
" & ask that you not reveal my name.
Well, let me paraphrase a message that appeared on GEnie and in your
publication last week. It was mentioned that a certain individual had
been speaking with Rick of Gribnif Software and had a purchased copy of
version 1.0 of NeoDesk that he wanted to upgrade. Rick told him that the
upgrade would cost $20.00 and the gentleman was offended by the price and
stated that he could get it cheaper "somewhere else." Rick was taken back
by this because he knew that NeoDesk could not be purchased anywhere for
that price and immediately concluded that the individual was going to
pirate the software.
The funny thing about this is that all of the PACE representatives,
such as Phil Hanze, Bruce Markey, and Jeff Solomon and even Bob Brodie
have stated that this person was a member of the infamous Atari Elite
club. Well, let me tell you that these people where either 1)
Misinformed, or 2) trying to cover something up. The person we are
talking about here is the Vice President of PACE, JG Thayne!!!
Now, my question is this: What the heck is going on in Pittsburgh?
Is someone is trying to 'frame' the Atari Elite and pin this entire piracy
issue on that group when they can be no more accountable for the piracy
problems than PACE?! If PACE was aware that their Vice President goofed,
and I am told that even Bruce Markey, the President of PACE was aware of
this situation, then why have they turned this event up side down and
claimed that it was an Atari Elite member who made this comment???!!!
Does it not seem a little strange that this story got twisted by 4
different people, all of which are members of PACE and want nothing more
than to see the 'other group' go down in flames? Interesting is it not?
In closing, I feel that I must make a statement here to all of the
Atari people who have been following the events of April 28-29. Do not be
too quick to make a decision to condemn the Atari Elite group in
Pittsburgh until you have filtered through all of the facts and fantasies!
It appears that a lot that we are seeing message wise coming from PACE may
be a bunch of rubbish brought about to try to end a cross town rivalry
that has been going on now for 5 years! Time will tell, however, and we
will soon see who really is responsible for the deplorable situation in
this city.
Sincerely,
NAME WITHELD AT WRITER'S REQUEST
Donora, Pennsylvania
EDITOR NOTE:
Last week, we carried a letter by Mark Spires from At Your Service of
Pittsburgh. And even though reader response was rather light we took
extreme exception to certain of his remarks concerning Bob Brodie's
decision to NOT give away the designated show prizes.
STReport is in full agreement with Brodie's decision and now, in
light of the "Spires - At Your Service" letter, we feel strongly that the
"Pittsburgh wars" between the two usergroups, who by the way, have many of
the same folks members of BOTH GROUPS leaves a great many more unanswered
questions. For example, the actual vendors present and the statement that
there were 77 some odd tables set up. Or the guarantee made to certain
vendors that this was a "buyinin PGH get together and put an
end to this petty rivalry and backstabbing contest. They must resolve
their differences and put an end to the creepo politics. If these two
groups really have the PGH users best interests at heart they will resolve
this nonsense ASAP. That includes the shutting down of the rental
library.
__________________________
==============
by Michael Arthur
Concept by Glenn Gorman
The price of Atari Stock stayed the same on Monday, and went down 1/4
of a point on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Atari Stock fell by 3/8 of a point,
and stayed the same on Thursday. On Friday, it went up 1/8 of a point.
Finishing up the week at 5 1/8 points, the price of Atari Stock went
down 1/2 of a point since the last report.
Apple Stock was up 2 5/8 points from Friday, May 7, 1990.
Commodore Stock was up 1 point from 5/7/90.
IBM Stock was up 3 1/2 points from 5/7/90.
Stock Report for Week of 5/7/90 to 5/11/90
_________________________________________________________________________
STock| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
Reprt|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|
-----|------------|-------------|------------|------------|--------------|
Atari|5 5/8 ---- |5 3/8 - 1/4| 5 -3/8| 5 ---- |5 1/8 + 1/8|
| | | | | 85,300 Sls |
-----|------------+-------------+------------+------------+--------------|
CBM |7 1/8 + 3/8| 7 - 1/8|7 3/8 +3/8|7 3/8 ---- |7 3/4 + 3/8|
| | | | | 129,600 Sls |
-----|------------+-------------+------------+------------+--------------|
Apple|41 1/2 |41 3/4 + 1/4|41 3/8 +1/8|41 3/8 ----|42 5/8 +1 1/4|
| +1 1/2| | | |1,921,800 Sls |
-----|------------+-------------+------------+------------+--------------|
IBM |110 1/2 ---|110 3/4 +3/4|111 1/4 |112 3/8 | 114 + 1 5/8|
| | | +1/2| +1 1/8|2,547,300 Sls |
-----'-------------------------------------------------------------------'
'Sls' refers to the # of stock shares that were traded that day.
'CBM' refers to Commodore Corporation.
'----' means that the stock's price did not change for the day.
_________________________________________________
> ATARI '89 REPORT STR FOCUS? ... Worthwhile reading
==========================
FROM THE PRESIDENT
==================
ATARI CORP. 1989 ANNUAL REPORT
==============================
excerpts from..
"Atari Corp. is one of the largest manufacturers of personal computers
and video game systems in the world. Through the creative application of
advanced technologies, the company offers its customers a wide range of
computing power and entertainment. Among the Company's latest products
are the palmtop Portfolio computer and the hand-held Lynx color video game
system. In addition to these revolutionary portables, Atari features a
variety of powerful desktop systems including the enhanced version STe and
TT030 computers, a range of PC compatible computers, and the established
2600 and 7800 game systems. The Company also produces peripherals,
accessories, and an expanding library of computer and video game software
that is sold in almost every major country in the world. Atari is a
multi-national company employing approximately 1400 people throughout the
world. Corporate Headquarters, including computer and video game product
design, are located in Sunnyvale, California. R & D centers are located
in the United States, England, Japan, and Taiwan. Manufacturing is
carried out in Taiwan, Japan and at various subcontractors in the far
east. The Company operates through wholly owned subsidiaries in
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong,
Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States."
TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS
-------------------
"The Year 1989 was a productive one for Atari Corporation. We set out
in the beginning of the year with the objective of disposing of The
Federated Group? and subsequent to year end, Atari consummated the sale
of the majority of its Southern California land
our focus is on our primary objective, Atari's core business.
For the year ended December 31, 1989;
Sales: 423.6 million Income: 4.0 million
For the year ended December 31, 1988;
Sales: 452.2 million Income: 39.4 million
The decline in total sales for 1989 as compared to 1988 can be attributed
to the decline in the United States of our traditional video game line.
European markets continue to out-perform all other markets in both
computers and video games. In addition to witnessing the disposition of
an extraneous business segment, Atari introduced a new generation of
products: two revolutionary handheld machines - the Lynx? Video Game
System and the Portfolio? computer - and the new STe? an enhanced member
of the Atari ST? family."
IMAGINATIVE DIRECTIONS
----------------------
"In the fall of 1989, Atari launched the first full featured MS-DOS
command compatible portable palmtop computer - the Atari Portfolio. The
Advent of Portfolio ushered in an entirely new dimension in computer
practicality. It operates on 3 'AA' batteries with an approximate life of
4-6 weeks of regular use. The Portfolio provides its owner all of the
power of a computer anywhere - on a plane, a classroom or in hotel room.
The system's credit card sized memory and program cards take the place of
disks allowing the user to store data and enter programs. A number of
Portfolio programs soon to be released include: DOS Utilities, Finance, GW
BASIC, as well as a spell checker, a math/engineering program, a modem
package and a chess game with many others to come. The growing popularity
of this new product and the concept of portable computer technology is an
area we intend to pursue. Projects are underway to develop even more
elaborate portable systems.
VIDEO GAMES
-----------
The new portable Atari Lynx system represents a major leap in video-game
technology. It has a unique full color, high-resolution graphics LCD
which allows for the best arcade hits to be produced for the Lynx. Lynx
was recognized as a revolutionary achievement by the trade when it was
first introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago last summer.
Shipments began just prior to Christmas in New York City and Tokyo and
these two test markets were sold out. The Lynx features a full color
liquid crystal display driven by a 16 bit graphics engine. A palette of
4096 colors permits as many as 16 colors to appear on screen at once
creating extraordinary graphics. The system also has a 32 bit audio
processor with 4 channel sound to enhance game action. 'AA' batteries
enable the game player to enjoy arcade excitement on the beach, in the
schoolyard and in the car. The unit comes with a headset jack, an AC
adapter and a Comlynx cable so that, depending upon the game, as many as
16 players can compete with one another. Software support for the new
Lynx has been equally impressive. In less than four months, six top game
titles were released. The most recent, Gauntlet - The Third Encounter is
a 1,2,3 or 4 player game. The future for the Lynx product category is
extremely bright. We recognize that the success of this important product
depends chiefly on software. I am pleased to say that our video game
software group is currently producing exciting titles, which include some
arcade hits. As many as 25 new games are planned for release by
Christmas and new hardware peripherals are presently under development.
BUILDING FOR THE YEAR AHEAD
---------------------------
In addition to our portable Lynx and Portfolio systems, new product
development for our flagship ST line is continuing. Volume shipments of
the STe, an enhanced general application system, began during the fourth
quarter. In 1989 we also introduced the versatile TT030, a 68030-based
computer which will run the TOS operating system in the native mode, as
well as having the option to run UNIX V3.1. Shipments of the TT030 will
start during the second half of 1990, while shipments of the Stacy, an ST
compatible laptop, began at the end of the first quarter of 1990. enter a new year, our biggest opportunity still awaits us. Earlier plans
to enter the US market were impeded by a lack of product availability
caused by the DRAM situation. With this and other interferences behind
us, we are eagerly preparing for the American market. A multi-million
dollar advertising plan for both Atari video games and computer systems is
now being revin this new marketplace. With increased business
comes the need for larger facilities. Our German subsidiary is now in the
process of building its own 110 thousand square foot office-warehouse
facility in Schwalbach, a suburb of Frankfurt. I want to extend my thanks
to our colleagues at Atari France, who last fall suffered a devastating
fire which began in an adjacent building and spread to the Atari facility.
Despite the total destruction of their, our French team salvage what
records they could, and continued business in a speedy and efficient
manner. They have relocated to a new Atari-owned, thirty-three thousand
square foot office-warehouse complex. I also wish to extend my
appreciation to our many customers, shareholders, suppliers, employees and
enthusiastic usergroups everywhere, for their support and encouragement.
I am confident that in the year ahead, we will continue to gain market
share in our important sectors, as well as innovate and bring exciting
products to our customers.
Sam Tramiel, President
THE ATARI PC LINE
-----------------
Early in the year Atari began to ship the first significant volumes of
the 80286-based PC compatible, the PC4. Atari is now shipping a range of
PC compatibles, and during the second quarter of 1990, the company will
add the ABC386SX to this family. The ABC386SX is Atari's entry into the
field of affordable 32bit compatible PCs. Built around the 386SX high
performance microprocessor, the ABC386SX has a clock rate of 16MHz. Its
five display modes include EGA, CGA, MDA, HGC, and VGA, providing a range
of resolutions from 320x200 color to 720x350 monochrome. With one full
megabyte of RAM, expandable to 8 Mbytes on the motherboard, the ABC386SX
has all the memory needed to run today's sophisticated software
applications. The ABC386SX comes standard with 3 1/2 inch 1.44Mbyte
floppy disk drive and/or a 5 1/4 inch 1.2 Mbyte floppy disk drive and a
hard disk drive. The system also has serial and parallel ports, an analog
video port and 3 AT/XT expansion slots. The unit has 101 key AT style
keyboard.
MORE ST POWER
-------------
The basic ST system has been enhanced. In addition to all of the proven
features of the original model, the new STe has an increased palette of
4096 colors. Its sound has also been expanded by the addition of two
digital stereo audio outputs. The two stereo outputs allow users to play
digitized samples directly from their computer without any costly
synthesizer equipment. The STe has been made into a very powerful game
system as well. It can accommodate up to 6 joysticks, or 4 paddles, or a
light gun. Horizontal and vertical scrolling combined with its new
enhanced digitized sound, and extensive color palette, provides realistic
arcade excitement. As a broad application, affordable business tool, the
STe has made a very successful entry into Atari's established European
markets and is planned for the US market in the second quarter.
TT030 - THE POWER TRAIN
-----------------------
The 68030-based TT030 is the top-of-the-line systems Atari begins the
90s. Previewed during the last quarter of 1989, this 16MHz powerplant is
designed to be a fully functional workstation at PC prices. Incorporating
Atari's own expanded Rainbow TOS operating system, the TT will also run
the industry-standard UNIX V3.1 operating system with X-Windows and an
easy-to-use user interface. The new unit provides six video display
modes including 1280x960 high resolution monochrome. Since the system
also features enhanced color graphics and has a palette of 4096 colors,
its 320x480 mode is able to create superb TV-like images with up to 256
colors on the screen at one time. Among the many built-in highlights of
the TT030 is an industry standard VMEbus. This allows the TT030 to
accommodate such local area network standards as Ethernet. A complete
range of peripherals will be available to support the system.
STACY - THE PORTABLE ST
-----------------------
For people on the go, the Atari Stacy puts al includes built-in floppy and
hard drives, plus all of the standard modem, printer and midi ports found
on the ST. Beneath its top cover is a large backlit 640x400 high
resolution super twist liquid crystal display. In addition to its full
sized keyboard, the Stacy has an integrated Trak Ball controller. The
unit features Atari's latest Rainbow TOS operating system and is driven by
the Motorola(tm) 68000 microprocessor.
MUSIC AND MOTION PICTURES
-------------------------
The unique combination of Atari's precision operating system, its built-in
MIDI ports, ease-of-use, and affordability, has made the Atari computer an
essential instrument in the music and movie industry. For Dave Grusin
1989 Oscar winner for his musical score in the Milagro Beanfield War, the
Atari ST is a major asset in his work. Having also earned three Grammys
including one for the Fabulous Baker Boys, Grusin admits that, "the ST was
indispensible in editing the vocals for both the motion picture and the
soundtrack. Scott Gershon, sound effects editor for Oliver Stone's Born
on the Fourth of July, agrees. His Atari ST was used to edit the audio
for this major motion picture. Other recent pictures on Atari's marquee
are Tri-Star Pictures' Glory and Steel Magnolias and Honey I Shrunk the
Kids from Walt Disney Studios. A partial of popular bands and artists who
rely upon their Atari ST systems today and are rapidly discovering the
added convenience of the new portable Stacy include: Beach Boys, Blue
Oyster Cult, Dire Straits, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Fleetwood Mac, Peter
Gabriel, Debbie Gibson, The Go Gos, Dave Grusin, Hall and Oats, Ice House,
Madonna, Dave Mason, Midnight Oil, Miami Sound Machine, The Moody Blues,
New Kids on the Block, Donny Osmond, The Pointer Sisters, Lee Ritenour,
Supertramp, Tangerine Dream, 38 Special, Ultravox, Van Halen, Whitesnake,
Steve Winwood, and Joseph Zawinual.
______________________________________________________
> LOOSING GROUND! STR OnLine? Longtime, loyal users getting nervous
===============
CTSY COMPUSERVE
Read action !
20495 S17/Community Square
18-May-90 02:09:46
Sb: #20463-Atari or Amiga
Fm: Bob Retelle 71550,3312
To: ST Informer 70007,3615 (X)
Oh, I wouldn't mind having an STe, but not for those reasons.. The STe
STILL uses "CPU driven" sound... that is, to make any kind of sound,
whether it's from the built-in Yamaha chip or from the DAC converters, it
STILL requires the ST's CPU to be involved... and if it's making sound, it
can't be doing anything else...
The Amiga on the other hand has a "co-processor" chip that does all the
work of making sound... you program it, and it runs independantly of the
CPU.. also, while the digitized sound of the STe is nice, it requires
*immense* amounts of memory to store the digitized sounds.. the Amiga can
use EITHER digitized sound, or programmed sound (which takes far less
memory, but can sound almost as good).
No, the Amiga is still far superior to the STe in sound.. As for "plug
and play", the Amiga is *designed* with memory expansion in mind.. even
the original Amiga 1000 had a connector for expansion memory to be just
plugged in... it's taken *FIVE YEARS* for Atari to come around to "plug
and play"...
The STe still has the limitation of 4 "bit-planes".. that means it STILL
cannot display more than 16 colors in *low resolution* at one time...
sure, you can choose from 4096 different shades, but only *16* on the
screen at one time... the Amiga has 5 bit-planes, and has had them from
the start.. the "Hold and Modify" modes, which are *built-in* allow some
very nice graphics with a stock machine...
No, I don't have an Amiga, and probably never will... I like my ST just
fine.. but Atari has NOT given us an "Amiga killer" with the STe...
Just like the Mega was, the STe is only a minimal improvement over the
1985 technology of the original ST...
BobR
20496 S8/Hot Topics
18-May-90 02:19:29
Sb: #20459-Atari dead?
Fm: Bob Retelle 71550,3312
To: SYSOP*Keith Joins 76702,375
Sigh... State Street Computers in Ann Arbor is holding its final auction
this Saturday... everything out to the wmost of my ST hardware there, and I'll miss them...!
Atari Corp keeps telling us that they're signing up dealers by the
hundreds..
but... how many of us have seen any of these new dealers..?
On the other hand, how many of us have seen our local dealers driven into
bankruptcy or disillusionment by the games Atari has played...?
BobR
ctsy GEnie
Category 14, Topic 3
ing for the endangered species list and the
fact that as of close of business yesertday(yesterday) 5/16/90 Atari stock
was 4 7/8, perhaps Atari has already left the US market and we just refuse
to acknolwledge this.
The Amiga 3000 is on the front of Byte and still most of the US doesn't
even know Atari is still in business. If Atari still plans on doing
something in the US market other than sell the Lynx and Portfolio, they
had better pull out all the stops and get with it. It is really hard to
believe that the same guy that use to say "business is war" when he ran
Commodore is in any way involved with Atari.
CES or Comdex; Atari better make an impact at which ever show thay are
going to.
Steve
------------
Category 14, Topic 3
Message 102 Thu May 17, 1990
JACK.D at 23:02 EDT
Actually, I find it much easier to keep CES and COMDEX straight in my mind
by just remembering that it's CES where the X-Rated videos are being
autographed! <grin!> Something about that reminds me of the "prestige"
involved with the "Toys 'n Games Show"...while IBM, DEC, Sun, and other
"non-prestigious" developers go to COMDEX and show their wares to the
likes of the Wall St. Journal, the NY Times, InfoWorld, Byte, etc.... not
to mention all of those dealers who "only sell computers"...NOT teddy
bears, refrigerators, and VCRs...
Yep...I would suspect that Atari will ALWAYS be a "small company", what
with such thinking.
Sigh.
------------
________________________________________________________________
> AUA NEWSBRIEFS STR OnLine? ATARI USERS ASSOCIATION NEWS
=========================
ATARI USERS ASSOCIATION NEWSBRIEFS
==================================
by Derek C. Signorini
Now that the smoke is beginning to clear and after everyone has
pointed the finger at the other guy, we are beginning to see the facts
begin to surface concerning the Pittsburgh show. From what I have seen
and heard, I am shocked to find that those who I felt were being up front
and honest with me were not, and those who I thought I could trust, I can
not.
As you read in last few issues, there are those whose sole purpose in
life is to damage the r Community and I am sure that most
of you feel the same. No one wants to see ANY ST user group cease to
exist! This would be a serious blow to the ST userbase! The ST community
needs as much support as it can acquire and the loss of even one group
will cause the strong chain we are creating begin to rust. One thing is
for sure, however, the facts will come out. The truth will be knand wait to see what the
outcome will be. My apologies to anyone showing up at the AUA conference
this past sunday evening only to find that there was no conference. We
will resume our online conference Sunday, May 20th at 9:00pm EST and will
hold the conference every Sunday thereafter, same time, same place.
Due to the low attendance at the Pittsburgh show, the AUA was left
with several extra copies of the AUA NewsBriefs newsletter. Instead of
letting them go to waste, we will be sending several copies to each of the
User groups that we have listed in our small directory. If you would like
to receive sample copies of the NewsBriefs for your user group, then
please send us $3.00US (to cover postage) and an approximate quantity
request to the AUA address below and we will mail them to your group so
that your members can enjoy the newsletter! Also in the request, please
include the name of your group's president and any other vital information
such as BBS number and meeting dates.
After receiving many requests, we have elected to offer sample packs
of the AUA NewsBriefs for those people who would like to see the AUA
product before joining. Unfortunately, we can not afford to do this for
free, so we are asking only $2.00 for the disk and newsletter. This
covers our cost of material and mailing and we feel that many more people
will join the AUA given the opportunity to preview the newsletters first
hand. If you are interested in seeing the newsletters, then please write
to us requesting the sample pack.
News from within the AUA. We are currently working on a press
release that we will distribute to the magazines, vendors, developers and
user groups. We estimate that only 5% of the ST community has heard of
the AUA and we must increase this figure in order to gain support. 99% of
our current members own modems and have joined the AUA after hearing of it
from online services and BBS's. By distributing information to
usergroups, we will be able to spread word of the AUA even deeper into the
community. Another interesting statistic that we have calculated, the
average age of our members in the AUA is 29. This is surprisingly high
and I can probably attribute this to members having owned 8-bit computers
in the past and have moved up to the ST. While the AUA membership is
mostly male in gender, we have quite a few females, and we hope to
increase that figure as well!
As mentioned in my last column, the AUA will be publishing its own
disk based newsletter. We have named the newsletter (drum role
please...): The AUA NewsBriefs Disk Magazine. This newsletter will be
more AUA oriented and will hopefully offer information that you will finMagazine will be May 31, 1990. If you have articles, letters, comments,
or any other contribution, we must have it on or before this date. You
can email the information to me on GEnie, at node #350 (Bounty BBS), or
drop it in the mail to the P.O. box. We will accept printed material in
the latter case, and our diligent secretary will gladly type the
information to ascii. (My wife stthe second AUA
NewsBriefs Newsletter will be July 31, 1990.
That just about wraps it up for this week. In my next column I hope
to bring you some more AUA statistics, and until then, I leave you with a
request. SUPPORT SHAREWARE! It is the life of the Atari ST!
The Atari Users Association
P.O. Box 123
___________________________________________
> TRACKER UPDATE! STR InfoFile? ....First class Support
============================
Step Ahead Software is pleased to announce the availability of v2.02
of Tracker/ST, the premier mailing list/mail merge/person tracking
software for the Atari ST. This update is FREE to all registered owners of
Tracker/ST.
is is a GREAT program and it has cut my mail list
time by over half...Just wish I would have had this
program a couple of years back."
--B.R.G., Texas
CHANGES IN THIS VERSION OF TRACKER/ST INCLUDE
---------------------------------------------
--Elimination of two small bugs reported by our uty to search by Company name while in the
QuickLetter area of Tracker/ST.
--Additional filter command allows the user to print a report,
label or mail merge to an alphabetical range of _Companies_.
Previously, the alphabetical range ("Everyone between the
letters of C and G") could be performed only on last names.
(Of course, this version of Tracker/ST still has all its other
powerful filtering commands, such as selecting by category,
rank, company, state, zip code range, keyword, date, source,
country, etc, etc, etc..!)
--A slight change to the automatic mail-merge building process for
more pleasant page layout.
NOTE: This upgrade is FREE to all REGISTERED USERS
Simply send your original Tracker/ST disk to:
Step Ahead Software, Inc.
496-A Hudson Street, Suite F39
New York City, NY 10014
212-627-5830
Registered owners of Tracker/ST who have a GEnie account may receive
their upgrade by GEnie e-mail. Please send a note to NEVIN-S on GEnie (or
drop a public message in Category 6, Topic 23)if you would like your
upgrade sent to you by e-mail. (We MUST have your registration card of
file for you to be eligible for e-mail upgrading.)
"I am really impressed with the excellent service
your company is offering."
--J.M., Texas
If you have not already done so, please SEND IN YOUR REGISTRATION CARD. We
are preparing the first issue of our Quarterly Newsletter and we can't
send you a copy if we don't know who you are..!
Nevin Shalit
Step Ahead Software, Inc.
__________________________________________________________
> CIS FOLIO CONTEST STR Spotlight? A Portfolio Contest on CIS....
===============================
From May 15th to July 15th, 1990, the Atari Portfolio Forum will
sponsor a Programming Contest with the winners receiving the prizes listed
below. One winner will be selected per individual category along with a
runner up. Winners will be selected from the files uploaded into Library
16, "CONTEST LIBRARY" of the Atari Portfolio Forum. The files submitted
for the contest must have the specific categories for entry listed in the
file description. Persons may enter and win in more than one category,
however a program can only be entered into one category. Although the
author shall retain any copyrights to their entry, all winning files shall
be considered 'publicly distributable files' and may be made available for
downloading from CompuServe. The contest categories and prizes are listed
below.
Categories:
The Best Entertainment Program:
any game program written for the PORTFOLIO Computer.
The Best Database Program:
any program that can classify and sort information by any number
of parameters and presents it in a useable manner. This category
will include 'to-do listers' and even outliners.
The Best Utility/Application Program:
any program that helps make your PORTFOLIO more useful. This
includes utility programs or specific application programs.
Prizes:
The winner in each category will receive the following prizes:
$100 connect time credit from CompuServe to be applied to the
CompuServe account that was used to upload the winning entry.
DOS UTILITIES ROM Card for the PORTFOLIO
donated by Atari Corporation (Retail Value $80).
The DOS UTILITIES is a ROM card based collection of powerful utility
functions for Atari Portfolio users. Over 78k of versatile files are
permanently available on a card which never requires a battery
replacement. The 22 utilities are of particular value for those who
write and use batch files with popular commands known in other MS-DOS
environments and some new ones. Each function offers extended features
for using the Portfolio and enables users to customize their system so it
works bets for them. Also, included is a 110-page manual with
descomputer plus elastic bands for
inserting 3 AA batteries. The case contains compartments to hold three
memory cards, all in a size not much bigger than the Portfolio itself. A
special 1/2" foam lining helps ensure that the computer and accessories
are kept cool if left in direct sunlight. All sides are foam fitted to
give its contents maximum protection from impact.
August 1st, 1990.
RULES:
1. The Atari Portfolio Forum Programming Contest is a skill- based
contest for any member who has properly registered and joined the
Atari Portfolio Forum on the CompuServe Information Service.
Participation in this contest is open to residents of the United
States. Employees of CompuServe Incorporated, H&R Block, Egret
Associates Inc., CompuServe Information Providers, SysOps, GameOps,
their affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, and immediate
families are ineligible to win prizes. This contest may be
discontinued at any time at the sole discretion of CompuServe
Incorporated. The contest is subject to all local, state and federal
regulations and is void where prohibited by law. All taxes are the
sole responsibility of the winners. All files must be uploaded into
the designated library. The categories in which the files are being
entered should be included in the file's description.
2. From Tuesday, May 15th at 12:01 AM EST to Sunday, July 15th 11:59 EST
members who meet the above eligibility requirements can enter the
contest. The files should be uploaded into Library 16, "Contest
Library," of the Atari Portfolio Forum. The specific categories for
entry must be designated in the file's description. One winner will
be named per category.
3. The Primary Forum Administrator and the Assistant Forum
Administrators of the Atari Portfolio Forum will judge the entries.
The decision of the judges is final and not reviewable by any other
person, agency, or tribunal. Winners will be notified by CompuServe
Mail on or about August 1st, 1990, and their names will be published
online in the Atari Portfolio Forum.
4. This contest and prizes may be publicized outside the CompuServe
Information Service. No prize may be exchanged, substituted,
modified, or redeemed for cash. One prize per family, individual,
household, or User ID number. Prizes are not transferable. Prizes
won by entrants under the age of 18 will be awarded to the winner's
parent or legal guardian. All prizes will be awarded and mailed to
the winner's address contained in CompuServe's online records. By
acceptance of their prizes, winners consent to publication of their
names, likenesses, and/or User ID without further compensation for
advertising or promotional purposes. Prizes not claimed after 21 days
of the day of notification, for any reason whatsoever, will be
forfeited. Prize winners may be required to execute an affidavit of
eligibility and publicity release within 21 days of notification.
Non-compliance within this time period will result in disqualification
and an alternate winner will be selected if possible.
5. Prize winners will be required to provide CompuServe with their Social
Security numbers by completing Federal Tax Form W-9 which will be
mailed to all winners. Non-compliance within 21 days of receipt of
the form will result in disqualification. The value of the prizes won
in the Atari Portfolio Forum Programming Contest will be reported by
CompuServe and other prize providers on Federal Tax Form 1099________________________________________________________
> MT C-Shell STR Tech Notes? RTX device driver for a TTY device
=========================
from Usenet...
I received enough requests for this via mail that I thought I
would post it.
These are the specs. for an MT C-Shell compatible RTX device driver
for a TTY (login) device. This defines the rules for doindependent
fashion, using the device driver d_cntrl() function.
RTX does not specify the details of what d_cntrl() should do. This
defines what MT C-Shell expects of a TTY device driver which is
to be used for MT C-Shell logins (getty) and UUCP (uucico). This
document describes the interface from the device driver writers
perspective. To use it from the application's perspective, ====== CUT HERE ===
MT C-Shell TTY Driver Documentaion
Confidential
Copyright (c) 1988
Beckemeyer Devleopment Tools
MT C-Shell tty drivers can support d_cntrl() functions if
desired. They will work as a simple "raw" uncontrolled
tty device if the driver simply returns 0L to all d_cntrl calls.
If the driver implements d_cntrl(), the format for MT C-Shell drivers
is t is used to determine the control function which
may be:
/* tty commands */
#define TTY_CONF 1
#define TTY_OPEN 2
#define TTY_CLOSE 3
#define TTY_DCDWAIT 4
#define TTY_STAT 5
The TTY_CONF is used to set the baud rate and rs-232 params,
it uses the t_baud and t_mask fields of the termio struct as
in the Rsconf() GEMDOS call. E.g. to set the baud to 9600
without affecting the mask, an application would use:
struct termio termio;
termio.t_cmd = TTY_CONF;
termio.t_baud = 1;
termio.t_mask = -1;
d_cntrl(dev, &termio);
TTY_OPEN is used to open the line for outgoing calls by programs
like UUCP. This should fail with a non-zero value if the line
is currently opened by another process.
TTY_DCDWAIT is used to by applications (e.g. getty) to wait for
an incoming call. The process should be suspended until an
incoming call is received and the line is available.
TTY_CLOSE ends use of the tty line by the application. The RTS
line should be lowered for a few seconds and then raised to
reset the modem; the line should be marked as clear.
TTY_STAT is used by applications to detect carrier. The call
should return -32 iff carrier is *not* present.
If all d_cntrl() calls simply return 0, the system will work.
The implementation of the above commands depends on the use
of the device and its line. Behavior with modems connected
may need to be different than with 3-wire terminals in order
for it to work. You should be able to test the basic driver
functionality by implementing a simple d_cntrl() which returns
0 first, before attempting to implement all of the tty control
functions.
=== CUT HERE ====== CUT HERE ====== CUT HERE ====== CUT HERE ===
The idea is that the application would use either TTY_OPEN or
TTY_DCDWAIT to access the line. When finished, TTY_CLOSE
should be used. TTY_STAT can be used to determine the status
of DCD.
If TTY_OPEN is used then the status of DCD is "don't care" at
the driver level -- the driver will not react to changes in DCD
(similar to UN*X NOHUP). This is also the situation when the
line is used without any TTY_OPEN or TTY_DCDWAIT d_cntrl().
If TTY_DCDWAIT is used, the processes using the TTY will be killed
when carrier goes away (hangup). This happens in the driver. The
driver doesn't have to impelement this hangup handling, in
which case TTY_DCDWAIT acts just like TTY_OPEN.
What follows is some sample code that uses the d_cntrl calls.
The hangup() routine does the close. The opentty() opens
the line and sets the baud/parity.
=== CUT HERE ====== CUT HERE ====== CUT HERE ====== CUT HERE ===
static int xbaud, xdev;
hangup()
{
struct termio termio;
termio.t_cmd = TTY_CLOSE;
d_cntrl(xdev, &termio);
}
int bdtbl[] = {
19200,
9600,
4800,
3600,
2400,
2000,
1800,
1200,
600,
300,
200,
150,
134,
110,
75,
50,
0
};
setbaud(baud)
int baud;
{
int *b;
struct termio termio;
/* set the baud rate */
for (xbaud = 0, b = bdtbl; *b; b++, xbaud++)
if (*b == baud) {
termio.t_cmd = TTY_CONF;
termio.t_baud = xbaud;
termio.t_mask = -1;
termio.t_flags = -1;
d_cntrl(xdev, &termio);
return(0);
}
return(-1);
}
/* set parity to odd, even, or none based on argument as follows:
* n == 0 no parity
* n > 0 even parity
* n < 0 odd parity
*/
setparity(n)
int n;
{
int ucr;
struct termio termio;
/* div by 16, 1 stop bit */
ucr = 0x88;
/* parity means 7-bit */
if (n)
/* n > 0 means even */
ucr |= (n > 0 ? 0x26 : 0x24);
termio.t_cmd = TTY_CONFam;
int baud, ttycmd;
{
int fd;
struct termio termio;
if ((fd = Fopen(ttynam, 2)) < 0) {
DEBUG(9, "cannot open %s\n", ttynam);
return(-1);
}
xdev = Ftype(fd);
Fclose(fd);
if (xdev < 0 || xdev >= 16) {
DEBUG(9, "%s: not a tty device\n", ttynam);
return(-1);
}
/* open the device if required */
if (ttycmd > 0) {
termio.t_cmd = ttycmd;
if (d_cntrl(xdev, &termio)) {
DEBUG(9, "tty %s in use\n", ttynam);
return(-1);
}
}
/* set the baud rate */
if (setbaud(baud) != 0 && DEBUG_LEVEL(9)) {
printf("bad baud rate: %d\n", baud);
return(-1);
}
return(0);
}
David Beckemeyer (david@bdt.UUCP) | "I'll forgive you Dad... If you have
Beckemeyer Development Tools | a breath mint."
P.O. Box 21575, Oakland, CA 94620 | Bart - "The Simpsons"
UUCP: {uunet,ucbvax}!unisoft!bdt!david |
____________________________________________________________
> MICRO RTX STR Tech Notes? ...RTX is a Real-Time Executive.
========================
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MICRO RTX
================================
by Dave Beckemeyer
In response to all the requests for information about Micro RTX, I
began working on a document for eventual posting. Before I finished it, I
realized that it was rapidly becoming a very large book. I therefore have
prepared this summary.
There is a lot to RTX and there is a lot of general Atari ST
knowledge and multitasking operating system knowledge that has to be
acquired before one can even begin to learn RTX in detail.
This document describes only briefly the Atari ST system architecture
and it barely scratches the surface of RTX and multitasking on the ST.
Unfortunately, it just isn't possible to fully describe it in a posting.
INTRODUCTION
RTX is a Real-Time Executive. RTX is accessed with system calls,
like the standard TOS/GEMDOS/BIOS services. It is not a command shell and
it doesn't have any "commands" or user interface intrinsic to the kernel.
It is a system call handler.
Atari ST programs make use of the TOS operating system via "system
calls". The whole TOS operating system has GEM calls (several different
types), GEMDOS calls, BIOS calls, XBIOS calls, and LINE-A (graphics)
calls.
After Micro RTX is installed, it intercepts and interprets the
GEMDOS, BIOS, and XBIOS calls for all programs. Micro RTX also implements
several RTX-only calls and GEMDOS extensions.
PROGRAMMING and Rwabs. These macros actually
produce code that cause a software interrupt, or trap, which jumps into
the ROM code. The application can also use library routines provided by
the compiler manufacturer (e.g. fopen, or printf). These library routines
then perform the TOS system calls on behalf of the calling program. For
example, the fopen C library routine will eventually use the Fthere are important differences between
library routines and system calls. The code that implements a library
routine is contained within the application program (it is linked in).
There is a separate copy of the printf handler linked into every C program
that uses printf. These library routines may also "cook" the programmer's
input arguments (e.g. fopen might treat certain file name system calls is normally in
the TOS ROMs. There is only one Fopen handler; all programs use the same
one. When RTX loads, it replaces the system call handlers with RTX RAM
resident versions. Therefore, there are no changes to the application. The
only difference is a new system call handler. This is one of the really
nice things about RTX. While RTX does add new system calls, it is
optional whether a program wants to use them or not.
Programs using only standard TOS calls operate as usual. Programs
that require special functions that are only available with the RTX system
calls, (e.g. interprocess comminucation, or multi-tasking) can implement
only the RTX calls that are needed.
This means that there are far fewer new operating system calls to
learn. Only the extended features that were not built into TOS need to be
learned; all the features you already know work substantially the same,
with only perhaps some new options added.
It also means that standard program development practices can be
used to develop RTX applications. The applications can even be developed
with compile-time or run-time options, to run with or without RTX
installed. Any language capable of producing system calls can be used to
develop RTX programs: C, Pascal, Modula, or Assembler.
In C, RTX calls look like regular function calls. In assembler,
they are trap instructions (just like the GEMDOS, BIOS, and XBIOS calls).
OVERVIEW OF RTX SYSTEM CALLS
RTX implements two separate types of System Calls:
ne Real-Time Services
- TOS compatible services and TOS Extensions
Both types of system calls may be used in the same application.
The RTX Real-Time kernel provides Real-Time multitasking services
similar to many popular Real-Time systems, such as VRTX, pSOS, etc. These
commercial systems sell for thousands of dollars. Micro RTX compares very
well with these systemsaid; for those that don't know what it is, don't worry about it. For
those interested, we have lots of nice brochures that describe the
real-time
properties of Micro RTX for commercial Real-time applications which we'd
be happy to send you.
RTX is designed to be easy to use. The calls are simple and
general. The calling conventions are consistent and the chance for errors
and confusion has been reduced. The basic philosophy is that a few very
general building blocks can be put together lots of different ways to
accomplish lots of different goals.
This has the drawback that the application developer must have the
vision to know how to put the pieces together effectively. When a
developer needs function X, and RTX has no X, the developer needs to be
able to build X from what RTX does have. It's analogous to UNIX users who
know what you can do with pipes and those that don't (so somebody has to
write them a shell script that does exactly what they want with no pipes).
Configuration relies on a small number of passive declarations; RTX
is mostly self-configuring.
THE PROCESS
A process is an entity in the system. The terms process and program
are NOT the same thing. A program is a file that contains code and data
that can be loaded into memory and executed. A process is a running
entity, or "being" in the system. The code loaded in from one program can
become a process when it's executed; a single program may even become
several processes when it executes.
In Micro RTX, a process is the atomic (or basic) unit of CPU
execution. While several processes may be "running" in the system, the
CPU can only execute one process at any one instant of time. The processes
appear to execute at the same time because of process switching. A process
switch can occur for several reasons. Each process has a state associated
with it.
The basic states are running, sleeping, and ready-to-run.
With RTX, the running state means the CPU is executing the process.
There is only one running process in the system. A sleeping process is
one that is waiting for something other than the CPU (e.g a message, or
event). A sleeping process consumes no CPU resources until it "wakes up".
A ready-to-run process is one that is waiting its turn to use the C of sleeping and ready-to-run processes.
Each process has several types of memory associated with it. Each
type is called a segment. All RTX processes must have all their memory
segments resident at all times. A process needs a code (or text) segment
and a stack segment. A process may also have a (static) data segment and
a (dynamic) heap segment. These segments need not beed) the child.
SCHEDULING
RTX uses two types of CPU Time scheduling: Preemptive task scheduling, and
(Round-Robin) Time-slicing.
Each process has a priority associated with it. The RTX kernel uses
a very simple scheduling algroithm. It simply selects the process with
the highest priority from those in the running or ready-to-run states.
When more than one process occupies the same priority level,
time-slicing is used to split up CPU time between the processes. Each
process has a quantum (length of time) associated with it. When this
quantum is used up, RTX schedules the next process. This repeats as long
as several processes are at same priority (and that they are the highest
priority processes that are ready-to-run). This is also sometimes called
"round-robin" scheduling.
PROCESS CREATION
Once a process' memory segments are loaded into memory (at least the
code segment), a new process may be created. Process creation simply is
the way a process is made known to RTX. RTX creates a stack segment for
the process, and places it on the ready-to-run list. The caller (the
process creating the new process) provides the priority, time-slice, load
address, input arguments, and stack-size. The priority and time-slice
quantum may be altered at run-time.
A pid in RTX is actually the 32-bit address of the process control
block (an internal RTX data structure) for the process.
The Pexec GEMDOS call also performs a process creation indirectly. A
direct call to the RTX p_create service will spawn and run a loaded
process (i.e. it runs a subroutine as a concurrent process). A call to
Pexec loads a GEMDOS formatted executable file, and spawns it as an RTX
process. RTX also provides a Pexec option that allows the caller to
continue processing while the child runs (like fork/exec).
PROCESS CONTROL
The RTX Process Control System Calls are:
p_create - create and execute a new process
p_delete - delete (kill) a process
p_priority - get/set process priority
p_slice - get/set time-slice quantum
p_suspend - suspend (stop) a process
p_resume - resume (re-start) a process
p_lookup - convert process name to a PID
p_info ies range from 0 to 255; 255 is used for "real-time"
processes and 0 is reserved for the idle deamon. A process running at
priority 255 never gets time-sliced and will never lose the CPU until it
voluntarilly blocks (waits for something) or lowers its priority.
INTERPROCESS COMMUNICATION - THE MESSAGE QUEUE
Processes in RTX can communicate by sending messages. The RTX
mee idea
is like UNIX create/open/read/write/close. Each message queue has a name
and QID. If a process knows the name of the queue, it can determine the
QID (like UNIX open). Messages are 4 long-words (16 bytes) fixed size. The
first long word (4 bytes) is reserved for RTX. The remaining 3 long-words
(12 bytes) are completely user dependent. The messages may contain data,
or pointeere waiting
processes are queued in the order that they request messages, or it can be
set up so that processes are queued in priority order. With a FIFO queue,
messages are received (read) in the order that they were sent. With a
priority queue, the process with the highest priority that is waiting for
a message will receive one first.
RTX message queues can be used for many differnt kinds of
interprocess communication/synchronization facilities, including simple
FIFO non-interlocked (simple one-way channel), fully inter-locked (using
two queues), and semaphores.
An example of many-to-many usage might be a print spool system where
several processes make print requests and several printers are available.
One incarnation of a print-spool handler exists for each printer (one
print process per printer). There is one RTX message queue which is used
for print requests. Each print-spool process requests a message from the
print request queue. A process wishing to print something sends a message
to the print request queue. The first print-spool process that requested
a message receives the print request and starts printing the job. If
another process makes a print request, the next print-spool process will
print it,until all the printers are busy and there are no more print-spool
processes waiting for a message, in which case further print requests will
be queued on the message queue and printed by the next available print
process when it requests a message from the print queue again.
The RTX message queue services are:
q_create - create a message queue
q_delete - delete (close/remove) a message queue
q_send - send (write) a message
q_req - request (read) a message (wait or no-wait)
q_jam - jam a message at the head of the queue
q_lookup - convert queue name to QID (open)
q_info - get the status of a message queue
A maximum wait interval (timeout) option may be specified when
requesting messages. In this case the caller is awakened when either a
message is available or the wait time has expired.
The q_send and q_jam system calls may be made from interrupt service
(ISP) handlers. A special RTX trap is used upon exit from the ISP to
force a pre-emptive reschedule (if necessary).
RTX EVENTS
UNIX programmers beware: RTX events are not anything like UNIX
signals. The RTX event system is a many-to-one synchronization facility.
Each process has associated with it a set of seven user events and seven
system (reserved) events. A process can signal a single or a group of
events to another process with a single call and it can wait for the
occurance of one or more of its own events.
What event is used for what is completely up to the application
developer. RTX places no restrictions on the use of the seven user
events. The primary limitation of events is that, unlike messages, events
are not queued. Where overrun is impossible or can be handled, the event
system does offer the advantage of specifying multiple events.
The event system calls are:
e_signal - signal a group of events
e_wait - wait for one or more events
A process may wait for any of a group of events, in which case it
will be awakened when any of the specified events is signaled, or it can
wait for all events, in which case it will not be awakened until all
the events are signaled. As with messages, a maximum wait interval
may be specified to handle timeout situations.
The e_signal system call may be used in ISP routines for real-time
pre-emptive applications.
RTX MEMORY MANAGEMENT
RTX uses a first-fit memory allocation algorithm. Memory segments
are allocated from system heaps. The RTX kernel splits eet a users request, returning any remainder back to the
free pool. When a segment is released back to RTX, it is merged with its
neighboring segments, if one or both of these segments are free.
The RTX memory management calls are:
m_alloc - allocate a memory segment
m_free - free a segment
m_assign - transfer a segment to anotheres the RTX m_alloc system call to
allocate memory when RTX is installed (this solves some TOS memory
management problems).
REAL-TIME PAUSING
RTX provides a call that allows a process to schedule itself at a
regular interval, or sleep for a duration of time:
p_pause - pause (sleep) for a specified time interval
The time interval is specified in millisernel.
In addition to providing compatibility, RTX also implements several
extended GEMDOS and BIOS services. The GEMDOS system calls are:
Pexec - supports "execute concurrently" mode
Popen - Pipes using GEMDOS file handles
Ftype - Determine if handle is file/pipe/device
Flock - File record locking
Fcntrl - GEMDOS-level character device control
Psettpa - control the startup TPA (stack) size
Mquota - limit the Malloc(-1) maximum
The Popen service combined with GEMDOS I/O redirection allows any
TOS program using GEMDOS STDIN/STDOUT to be used in pipelines (i.e. the
programs do not need to be recompiled to work with pipes).
The Flock call provides file locking for multiuser file access. Any
region of a file may be locked (even beyond the end-of-file). When
another process attempts to read or write the locked region, the operation
will fail, in which case the application may take appropriate actions
(i.e. pause and try again). For application developers that wish to
implement file record locking in their applications, but do not wish to
purchase the Micro RTX Developer's Kit, contact Beckemeyer Development
at the address below for details.
The Fcntrl function alters the behavior of character (tty) devices
for GEMDOS I/O operations. In the normal case, I/O to terminal devices is
"cooked". Using Fcntrl, a program can force NOECHO and/or RAWIO modes.
The BIOS-level RTX extensions are:
d_install - install a custom device driver
d_cntrl - BIOS-level device control
The installable device driver mechanism allows the developer to
install or replace BIOS devices. The devices are accessed with the Bconxxx
BIOS calls, using the device number field.
The standard BIOS devices are:
0 - PRN - Printer
1 - AUX - RS-232 port
2 - CON - System console (screen/keyboard)
3 - MIDI - Midi port
4 - KBD - Intelligent keyboard
From GEMDOS these devices may be opened by name (the standard names
work with or without RTX installed). For example:
fd = Fopen("aux:", 2);
Will return a handle that will read/write characters using the RS-232
port. Under RTX, devices may be installed with a BIOS number and GEMDOS
name. The device may then be accessed just like any other device in
the system. For example, say we have installed a driver for our custom
high-speed I/O board as BIOS device 10, and GEMDOS name "fio", then:
Bconout(10, c);
would send a character to the device, and:
fd = Fopen("fio:", 2);
opens the device for read/write, and returns a GEMDOS handle in fd that
can be used in any GEMDOS I/O call that uses handles:
Fread(fd, count, buf);
Reads 'count' bytes (normally using a line editing mechanism but this
can be changed by using the Fcntrl call). Likewise:
Fwrite(fd, count, buf);
writes to the port. The fol);
This would cause the program "shell.prg" to send it's output to the
special device and read its input from the special device without
recompiling.
A device driver may itself use BIOS calls; so one driver can access
another driver to as many levels as needed.
As can be seen, the installable device driver facility is one of the
most powerful and flexible fscheduler on top of TOS like some of the systems I have seen are.
When looking at multitasking kernels that work with TOS programs,
remember there's more to it than just adding a time-slicer. The regular
GEMDOS/BIOS handlers are NOT reentrant. The GEMDOS loader doesn't know
how to deal with more than one process family (tree). It holds the
running PID in a static variable. The multitasking kernel must perform
all program loading, exec'ing, and memory allocation, otherwise TOS will
get very confused, usually resulting in crashes and/or trashed files.
(Note: Beckemeyer Development has released the newest version of Micro RTX
as a shareware product. Full programming documentation is included with
the shareware version, including source code to "C" bindings for popular
Atari ST "C" compilers.)
End-user registration is a modest $35, which includes the program
disk and printed manual. Full developer status with technical support
services is $75. An advanced commercial version which includes an
unlimited binary redistribution license is $250.
MICRO RTX DEVELOPER KIT $250.00
Includes:
- Master copy of Micro RTX on diskette
- Micro RTX binary distribution license
- Programmer's Manual
- One year warranty including: bug fixes, minor upgrades,
and telephone support
For More Information, Contact:
BECKEMEYER DEVELOPMENT TOOLS
P.O. Box 21575
Oakland, CA 94620
(415) 530-9637
BBS: (415) 530-9682 (login as 'bbs')
CIS: 74236,625
GENIE: D.BECKEMEYER
UUCP: {ucbvax,uunet}!unisoft!bdt!david
__________________________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL? Sayin' it like it is.....
=====================
- Sunnyvale, CA. TAIWANESE MADE LYNX DESTINED FOR EUROPE
--------------
Atari Japan, subsidiary of ATARI in Sunnyvale, Ca., has commenced
production of the Lynx, their portable video game having a color LCD
(liquid crystal display) screen, in Taiwan. Structured on an agreement
with Efa Corporation, a Taiwan-based manufacturer, Atari Japan is to
supply component parts at which time EFa will then complete the video game
units. Although the production agreement, at this time, is on a trial
basis, Atari Japan intends to produce 80,000 units per month by the end of
the year.
The majority of the finished products will be sold through the
European sales groups of Atari. For the time being,., Atari Japan will
export to the U.K., West Germany, and France, and ultimately to the other
European countries by the end of the year. Additionally, Atari Japan will
export the Taiwanese manufactured Lynx to the U.S. and Japan, in hopes of
overcoming the supply side shortages in both Japn and the USA. Until this
agreement, the Lynx had only been made in Japan.
Lynx has sold about 150,000 units in the U.S. and about 100,000 units in
Jap ------------ -------
Klax June/July 2
Rampage July/August 4
Red Baron Sept/Oct 4
Vindicators September 2
Checkered Flag December 8
3-D Barrage 2
Tournament Cyberball Aug/Sept 2
720 Degrees October 1
PaperBoy Aug/Sept 1
A.P.B. October 1
Rygar Oct/Nov 1
Stealin' Home Jan. '91 2
2
Grid Runner Aug/Sept 4
Turbo Sub Oct/Nov 1
Junkyard Dog Special November 1
Masters Golf Not Set 4
Time Lords Jan. '91 4
Super Hockey Not Set 2
Pinballet ?
Editor Note: The above is subject to change
- Sunnyvale, CA. ATARI CORP. -> 1ST QUARTER INCOME OF $1.5m
-------------
Atari Corp. reported a net income of $1.5 million or $.03 per share on
sales of $85.5 million for the quarter ended Mar. 31, 1990. This compares
with net income of $3.3 million or $.06 per share on sales of $88.8
million for the first quarter ended Mar. 31, 1989. The results for the
quarter reflect positive revenue growth for the Atari ST and Atari PC
MS-DOS compatible product line, along with the new Lynx handheld color
video game machine. The decline in revenue from last year is attributable
to the impact of intense competition in the company's traditional 2600 and
7800 video game market in the United States. Atari Corporation is among
the largest companies in the world manufacturing and marketing personal
computers and video games for the home, office and educational
marketplaces.
- New York City, NY NEC CORP. TO PRODUCE 4-MEGABIT DRAMS IN U.S.
-----------------
NEC Corp., a premier Japanese electronics manufacturer, announced they
would begin production of 4-megabit dynamic ram chips (4MDRAM's) in the
United States by 04/91. NEC said its American subsidiary, NEC Electronics
Inc. established during March of 1981 in California, plans to produce two
million 4MDRAM's monthly in April-September next year and to double its
monthly production to four million units by the 2cnd quarter of 1992.
NEC is to invest approx. $400,000,000 to begin mass production of 4MDRAM's
first in the United States, where they expect ot satisfy many O.E.M.
consumers.
On another note, STRCFDL carried this note last week:
"Hmmm, some say it is just a silly rumor, other say its a distinct
possibility, with "certain new modules" being in production and talk of
the NEC monitors being bundled with the Atari computer line. It could
even be that the TT and NEC will be married. One thing is for sure, at
the rate things are going, any new blood will have a positive effect on
the entire Atari Computer scene."
Although the preceding info still remains a rumor, as we have no
confirmation YET... we have verified that NEC and Nammco (Atari Games)
have entered into a co-operative agreement concerning software development
and only that. All other "rumors" are just that rumors as is the info
from last week. Although STR's sources have alluded to the "big picture"
as being that of NEC and a full force thrust aimed at the US market in
areas of PC's and ST's being bundled with the NEC monitors. (NO
relationship to the AT&T deal) Again, only rumors, but none the less, we
felt it was important enough to at least talk about. Of course, there
will be those who think that being splashy about these rumors is a means
to an end. Here it is nice just know a little about how the 'smart money'
in the US computer marketplace is leaning.
- New York City, NY CONSUMER REPORTS SEZ PORTFOLIO "CUTE"
-----------------
In their typical "straight to the point" way, Consumer Reports has
applauded the Portfolio as being "cute" but for anyone serious about
using a portable MS-DOS computer they candidly stated "get a laptop".
"While the Portfolio is cute it hardley meets the needs of today's MS-DOS
user."
- Chicago, IL. ATARI ADVANTAGE PACKAGE PROMO STILL ALIVE
-----------
From the splashy ads in the European ST magazine, the highly
successful promotional effort of bundling software with the 520st is about
to come to life in the US.... Known as the Atari Advantage it is aimed at
the mass market and it is hoped to draw a very positive reception from the
Kresge, M.Ward areas during the CES show. As was mentioned a few months
ago in this column, Atari is about to re-enter the mass market
merchandising arena. It apparently is hoped that K-Mart etc... will carry
the entry level computer Atari plans to offer in the Advantage Package....
- San Francicso, CA. IS SOVIET SILICON VALLEY ON HORIZON?
------------------
We ran this item in issue 416, in our ongoing effort to bring the most
accurate news possible, we present this item as a leader into the
following story which is an accurate accounting of the events following
our original release...
The Soviet Union has signed an agreement with the Bechtel Group, a
major engineering, architecture, and construction company, to fund a
project studying the feasibility of developing a "Soviet Silicon Valley"
near the city of Troisk, a small city 20 miles southwest of Moscow, which
now holds a major Soviet scientific Research Community. Called the
Troitsk Research Development Project, it is aimed at designing a
commercial high technology center for international businesses to help
develop and invest in Soviet advances in fields such as nuclear fusion
and laser technology.
The Soviet Union is also giving $100 million a year to fund this
project, which is expected to provide a more conducive environment for the
Soviet Union to develop avenues into the worldwide marketplace. Among
other things, the Bechtel Glly build Conference
Centers, a new International Airport, and an advanced telecommunications
network in Troisk by the year 2010. By that time Troisk, which currently
has a population of 30,000, is expected to have a population of over
100,000...
The Soviet Silicon Summit will bring together leading Soviet and U.S.
high-technology business leaders for the first timnd U.S.S.R. high-technology organizations.
Scheduled for June 4-June 14, at Techmart in Santa Clara, the Soviet
Silicon Summit will be highlighted by a one-day conference.
The summit, featuring top Soviet government officials, is
co-sponsored by The East/West Report, Techmart, Global Development Corp.
and * ATARI. * During the 10-day summit, the Soviets wilnnels, purchase products and
provide design and development services.
On June 8, the co-sponsors will host a one-day conference on doing
business in the Soviet Union at which top Soviet government officials will
unveil plans for converting military and aerospace microelectronics and
communications technologies to commercial uses. The conference also will
feature representatives from the U.S. Department of Commerce, State of
California, international law experts and leading consultants on U.S. and
Soviet business relations.
The summmit and conference immediately follows the Bush-Gorbachev
Summit in which the United States is expected to grant the USSR "Most
Favored Nation Status", President Gorbachev's visit to Silicon Valley on
June 4, and the anticipated lifting of restrictions by the Coordinating
Committee on Multilateral Expert Controls (COCOM) on the export of
high-technology products to the Soviet Union.
After the Summit, the Soviets will open a full-time sales office at
Techmart, operated by Global Development Corp. It will feature
demonstrations of Soviet software, Soviet market research data, a research
library and a Soviet speakers bureau.
- Dover, DE. TT030 ARRIVING AT 'SELECT' DEVELOPERS
----------
The TT030, the 'fabled' TT030...Reportedly, there are now TT units in
the hands of "select" developers. Does this mean that other developers
are not "worthy" of developing on the TT030? Also a few have remarked
about the first class construction of these units. They say the machines
run quite well and rarely, if ever, crash. And that the cabinets feel
'very strong' and.
- San Francisco, CA STe UNITS ARE EXPECTED IN JUNE-JULY
-----------------
Reportedly, the shipments are arriving in the "seatainers" and must
clear the official entry point, and of course, all the paper work must be
done and then they first make the warehouse. At which time, they are
logged in and stored. Now, down comes the orders for shipment to the vast
dealer network, all the paperwork, packing etc... Lo and behold its July!
Hopefully, the STe will be shipping in the USA within 6 weeks...
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> A "Quotable Quote"?
=================
"QUISLING WAS THE EPITOME OF TREACHERY"
...an Old Exploring Partisan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
STReport? "Your Independent News Source" May 18, 1990
16/32bit Magazine copyright = 1990 No.6.20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors, staff, STReport? CPU/STR? or ST Report?. Permission to
reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Each reprint
must include the name of the publication, date, issue # and the author's
name. The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in
any way without prior written permission. The contents, at the time of
pure not responsibile for either the use/misuse
of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
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