ST Report: 21-Jun-91 #725
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 06/24/91-11:41:07 AM Z
From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 21-Jun-91 #725
Date: Mon Jun 24 11:41:07 1991
*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
from
STR Publishing Inc.
""""""""""""""""""
June 21, 1991 No.7.25
==========================================================================
STReport International Online Magazine?
Post Office Box 6672
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32205 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
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> 06/21/91: STReport #7.25 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
-------------------------
- The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - VERTICAL or VERTIGO?
- AMWAY DB REVIEWED - TANDY EXPANDS - MAC '040 ACCEL. SHIPS
- Codehead Updates - TURBO BBS V2 - STR MailCall
-* EXCLUSIVE! VANCOUVER SHOW! EYEWITNESS REPORT *-
-* ATARI ON NATIONAL TV - SOON! *-
-* XCONTROL PANEL RELEASED! *-
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> The Editor's Podium
Some weeks you just can't win no matter what you do. Two weeks ago,
some of our critics accused us of being too sensationalistic and rumor
mongering, then last week many of these same people took us to task for
not being sensationalistic enough.
In last week's STReport (STR724), we referred our readers to a head-
lined item in the San Jose Mercury News; "Ex-employee sues Atari,
Executive" STR remarked; "Pratt has his own problems now, (Mercury News,
San Jose, CA. (06-12-91). The incident in the San Jose Mercury News is
SAD! And may drag Atari into even more mud." Even though Atari Corp. was
also involved in this situation, a multi-million dollar lawsuit, STR felt
that many of the alleged accusations in the lawsuit against Greg Pratt,
president of Atari Corp., were of a personal nature and shouldn't be ex-
panded upon. At least, not at that time. Since Atari Corp. was involved
in the lawsuit, we felt it needed to be mentioned though. If our readers
wanted to know more, they could reference it themselves.
Comments about that brief reference varied greatly. Some congratul-
ated us for not expanding on the subject and showing self-restraint, some
wanted to know why we printed anything about the lawsuit at all, while
some wanted to know why we just printed a teaser and did not give all of
the 'dirty' details (amazingly, it was some of these same folks who took
us to task just last week about being to sensationalistic). One of the
other on-line magazines even felt it necessary to critique our issue
(however, they only critiqued about 300 bytes out of a 139,000 byte
issue). One of their writers got so involved in the discussion that, ac-
cording to his posted apology, "the powers above" had to remind him "that
derisive condescension is not appropriate" (I believe the phrase he used
was "sycophantic slobber" in reference to people who paid to get online
and offer positive support to STReport). There were even some who had an
opinion about the issue and hadn't even read it!!
We read all of the comments with interest. STR appreciates construc-
tive criticism. However, if we had it to do all over again, we'd still
print same information. What some folks don't seem to understand is that
we can't "hide our heads in the sand" and pretend that bad news didn't
happen or that it will simply "go away". No matter how much we might ad-
mire a person, if he is accused of something that could cost him AND Atari
millions of dollars, it has moved out of the personal arena and has become
news. While we agree that a person's personal life should be his or her
own, once that personal life overlaps into the public arena, it becomes
public and news.
While we will not 'try' this case in our publication, the reality of
the situation is, the lawsuit was filed on Monday, 06-10-91 in the Santa
Clara County Superior Court in the State of California by Atty. Mark Alan
Fong on behalf of his client, Leslie Schmick. The reality of the situa-
tion is that it was reported in a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper, the
San Jose Mercury News 06/12/91 on page 7f. The reality of the situation
is that in America, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Just repor-
ting that there was a lawsuit filed does not make them guilty nor does it
make the reporting media sensationalistic or rumor-mongering.
Also in last weeks STR, my Quotable Quote said "WAY TO GO, GREGG!".
Some folks know more about what I meant by that statement than I do. Some
are convinced that the comment referred to the lawsuit against Greg Pratt
and in no way could it be a reference to the good things that Greg has
been doing at Atari. All I can say is, I hope these folks don't try to
leave their current jobs and start a "career" of mind-reading. BTW, yes,
I did misspell Greg's name in last weeks issue - this was brought to my
attention by Dorothy Brumleve.
Now, onto more pleasant topics. Last weekend, Terry Schreiber staged
a very pleasant, well organized, weekend Atari show in Vancouver, Canada.
From most all reports, it seems that everyone that attended the two day
show, (both developers and users), had an enjoyable time. STReport spoke
with Terry about the show. He said that the attendance was light, there
was a considerable amount of sales enjoyed by the exhibitors. The overall
attendance was 750-1,000 for the two days with Sunday (Father's Day) being
the slowest day with an attendance of approx. 250 people. Some of the
exhibitors reported loosing money, while some said they broke even or made
"a couple of bucks" and there were a few who reported that they did well.
Terry, a Znet correspondent, had six [6] ZNet buttons made up and passed
them out at the show. Terry did a fine job in staging this show, it's a
shame the turnout was so disappointing. Elsewhere in this issue is an
EXCLUSIVE, EYEWITNESS REPORT of the VANCOUVER SHOW.
Thank you once again, for your support!!
Ralph............
TODAY'S NEWS ..TODAY!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> STReport's Staff The regulars and this week's contributors!
================
Publisher - Editor
------------------
Ralph F. Mariano
Staff Editors:
--------------
Michael Arthur Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. Dana P. Jacobson
Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Walter Daniel
Oscar Steele Robert Allbritton John Szczepanik
Dan Stidham
Contributing Correspondants:
----------------------------
Michael Lee Richard Covert Roger Stevens
Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Ed Krimen
Tim Holt Andrew Learner Norman Boucher
Ben Hamilton
IMPORTANT NOTICE
================
Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
via E-Mail to:
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COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers of;
ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (June 21)
FINDING FILES FAST!
During June, explore the many programs and files available in
CompuServe's Atari ST Forums with File Finder -- now reduced to $6 per hr
for all baud rates, including 9600. The Atari File Finder includes all
files within the Atari Arts Forum, Atari Productivity Forum, and Atari
Vendor Forum. Type GO ATARIFF to access this service.
LEXICOR ONLINE SUPPORT
""""""""""""""""""""""
Lexicor Software welcomes Bill Rayl as their official CompuServe on-
line support person! Bill will be uploading graphics and animation files,
running the upcoming Lexicor animation tutorial conferences and answering
questions about Lexicor's hot new product line. Please continue to send
all messages to the Lexicor User ID number 75300,763.
NEW FILES FROM LEXICOR SOFTWARE
The following new uploads have been added to the Lexicor libraries:
Library 1 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS):
DINO2.LZH -- TT Low rez PNT picture of a dinosaur skeleton.
ALBERT.LZH -- TT Medium rez PNT picture of Albert Einstein.
Library 9 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN):
GROUND.LZH -- GroundWalker animation for the ST.
HELCYL.LZH -- Helicycle animation for the ST.
SEAHRS.LZH -- Awesome 3D Seahorse animation for the TT!
**** NEW ATARI CONTROL PANEL ****
XControl is the newest newest version of the Atari control panel. It
is designed to take advantage of features only available in the latest
(>2.0) versions of the operating system. It is released into distribution
with the following notice. Read the warning in Xcontrol.txt in the
archive. Atari Corporation is not responsible for any damage that results
from the use or misuse of this program. Copyright 1991 Atari Corporation.
It is now available in Library 1 of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO
ATARIPRO) under the name CPX.ARC.
NEW MICHTRON DEBUTS!
The new Michtron has uploaded a file containing their new address and
phone number along with a price list on their product line. See the file
MTPRIC.TXT in library 3 of the Atari Vendor Forum (GO ATARIVEN).
PROGRAM OF THE WEEK
DC Reserve, another program of the week from Double Click Software,
acts as a reserve tank of RAM. It will save a predefined amount of memory
when you execute a program that grabs all available RAM for its own use.
See DCRSRV.ARC in Library 13, Double Click Software, in the Atari Vendors
Forum (GO ATARIVEN).
NEW IN ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
Custom Base, a program to turn your Portfolio into a data collection
device, is now available in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Portfolio Forum (GO
APORTFOLIO).
A copy of the File Manager program, distributed by Atari Corp. with
all new Portfolios is now available in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Portfolio
Forum (GO APORTFOLIO) for those who purchased their units before the FM
card was included. File provided courtesy of Atari Corp., all rights
reserved.
A new version of Don Messerli's PGSHOW and STReport's Forum Notes by
Judy Hamner are now available in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Portfolio Forum
(GO APORTFOLIO).
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE
HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN
OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION
"GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"
***********************************************************************
> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
=================
Issue #26
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
- Tokyo, Japan TOSHIBA TO LAY OFF 10% OF ITS US WORK
------------ FORCE - CUTS PRODUCTION AND PRICES
Due to the slump in the U.S. PC market, Toshiba says it will lay off 10%
of its employees in the U.S. by the end of June. About 200 out of 2,000
employees will be laid off at Toshiba America in Irvine, California.
Toshiba will cut production of its best-selling T3100 laptop computer by
20% and has lowered the prices of PCs from 19 to 33 percent. Currently,
Toshiba has about a 2 percent share of the U.S. PC market.
- Fort Worth, Texas TANDY TO OPEN COMPUTER SUPERCENTERS
-----------------
Tandy Corporation has announced that it will open a new nationwide chain
of computer supercenters selling IBM, Apple, Compaq and Tandy brand
machines at what the company described as 'low' prices.
The computer supercenters will be called Computer City and will also
provide repair service and training. Each facility having about 20,000
square feet of selling area, a servie facility and warehouse space.
Tandy anticipates opening as many as six supercenters in 1991.
In addition to the supercenters, Tandy said it will open satellite
stores in each market. The satellites will carry most of the products
sold in a supercenter, and will use a 'just-in-time' delivery system,
receiving product from the area supercenter. The stores will also carry
software, peripherals, accessories and supplies, as well as personal
office equipment, and will provide training.
- Tokyo, Japan MEGABYTE DRAM CHIPSET UNPOPULAR;
------------ SALES ARE SLOW
According to the Nikkei, a Japanese daily newspaper, sales of 4 megabit
(MB) dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips are slumping. The reason
for the slump is simple - U.S. computer companies are cutting purchases
of the chips as the recession begins to bite. NEC and Mitsubishi had
been planning to increase production of 4MB DRAM chips but have now
shelved those plans in the face of falling sales. NEC is considering the
possiblity of switching the bulk of its 4MB production over to 1MB
chips.
- Austin, Texas MAC 68040 ACCELERATOR NOW SHIPPING
-------------
Owners of the MAC SE/30 and the IIsi, can now increase the performance
of their machines with the TokaMac SX. Fusion Data Systems manufacturers
of the TokaMac SX says it is the only Motorola 68040 accelerator
available for the Macintosh SE/30 and the IIsi, and the only accelerator
compatible with Apple's new System 7.0.
The company claims that the accelerator will increase the performance
well beyond the levels of the IIfx, Apple's fastest Macintosh, as well
as the i486 based PCs and Sun's SPARCstation IPC. Applications which are
floating point intensive will obtain workstation-type processing times
up to 300% faster than those of the Macintosh IIfx. Users of graphics
and desktop publishing applications are also expected to benefit from
processing speeds up to 185% over the IIfx. Both these type applications
are input/output intensive.
The TokaMac has a suggested list price of $2,995 plus $50 for an 030 PDS
adaptor card. The unit will be available in July.
- Santa Clara, California NATIONAL BRINGS 7 DRAM CONTROLLER
----------------------- CHIPS TO MARKET
National Semiconductor has just announced seven entries in its family of
very large scale dynamic memory controller chips, offering speeds up to
33mhz. Intended for 32-bit and high-performance RISC systems, the new
chips will be used in mainframes as well as workstations, peripherals,
imaging systems, and communications applications.
Why the need for the new chips? As the industry moves toward much faster
80386 and 80486-based systems (Intel is talking about 50- and 100-MHz.
486 chips), there is a great need for faster memory access and the chips
that can control faster memory, such as these just announced by National
Semiconductor.
- Solon, Ohio TECMAR INTROS 1 GIGABYTE TAPE DRIVE
----------- FOR PCS
Tecmar has introduced 2 models of a one gigabyte (GB) quarter-inch tape
system, the Proline 1000 and QT-1000. The new units are believed to be
the first gigabyte capacity systems, and offer a data transfer rate of
14.4 megabytes-per-minute. The company claims that, in some instances
data transfer rates faster than those of the non-compressed drive can be
attained.
The new units are compatible with IBM AT, 286, 386 and compatible sys-
tems, PS/2 systems and the Macintosh. Tecmar provides a SCSI (Small
Computer System Interface) kit which includes a SCSI interface board,
cabling, a user manual and software.
- San Francisco, California MICROSOFT & EVEREX WIN MS-DOS
------------------------- COUNTERFEITING CASE
Microsoft Corp. and Everex Systems Inc. have announced a jury award in
their lawsuit against eight defendants responsible for counterfeiting
the Microsoft MS-DOS operating system. The jury "awarded Microsoft and
Everex damages that will exceed $4.3 million after the anticipated treb-
ling provided by statute."
Now that the trial of this case has concluded, Microsoft and Everex plan
to refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney and the FBI for possible
criminal prosecution.
- Dayton, Ohio COMPUTERS MAY HELP REDUCE FIRE RISK
------------
Mark Dietenberger, a researcher at the University of Dayton (Ohio) may
save your life. Dietenberger has developed a computer model that he says
can predict the spread of fire, smoke and toxic gases on different fur-
niture materials and designs. According to Dietenberger, most people who
die in fires in their homes or aboard aircraft die from smoke inhalation
- that is breathing in carbon monoxide or other toxic gases that are
released when furniture burns.
Says Dietenberger, "Using my furniture fire model, manufacturers may be
able to evaluated materials that are developed to be safer or more fire
retardant or to burn without the fire getting too big." Dietenberger's
research is sponsored by the Building and Fire Research laboratory of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
- Spokane, Washington SOFTWARE CUTS SOME JAIL COSTS BY 50%
-------------------
Pricor, a private jail company headquartered in Tennessee has purchased
the JALAN JAIL system. The system will be installed at the Angelina
County Corrections Facility in Diboll, Texas, with five other Texas fac-
ilities to be installed in the future.
According to Jan Robinson, president of JALAN, the system documents an
offender's activity from the minute he is taken into the jail. It tracks
court appearances, medical visits, personal belongings, funds, and other
details. Robinson says the system "practically makes paperwork obsolete
and decreases booking time by 50 percent or more."
JALAN's prosecutors system was recently recognized by the Western Region
Government Technology Conference with its "Featured Solution" award.
JALAN says it has installations of its specialized software for the
criminal justice field in 21 states and the Virgin Islands.
Addendum
========
One thing that the we forgot to include in last week's article about
the refunds for Masterlink owners. If you already sent in your disk for
upgrading, you don't have to do anything else. Intersect has all of your
information and will automatically send you your refund.
However, there is no set date for when the refunds will be sent. It is a
very time consuming job to write all of the refund checks. So the re-
funds will be sent out when they get the time.
Lloyd Pulley
Intersect Software
3949 Sawyer Rd.
Sarasota, Florida 34233
Work: 813-923-8774
BBS: 813-924-4590
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
As a reader of STReport International Online Magazine, you are entitled to
take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. For only $29.95 ($20
off the standard membership price!), you will receive a lifetime subscrip-
tion to DELPHI, a copy of the 500-page DELPHI: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE and over
$14 worth of free time.
NOTE: Special offers can be found in your favorite Atari magazines:
START CURRENT NOTES ST INFORMER
ATARI INTERFACE MAGAZINE
SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
======================
Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
DELPHI services via a local phone call
JOIN -- DELPHI
--------------
1. Dial 617-576-0862 with any terminal or PC and modem (at 2400 bps,
dial 576-2981).
2. At the Username prompt, type JOINDELPHI.
3. At the Password prompt enter STREPORT.
For more information call:
DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005
or
at 617-491-3393 from within Massachusetts or from outside the U.S.
DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
--------------------
The 20/20 Advantage Plan IS FANTASTIC! And it features 20 hours online
for just $20 a month! The $20 is a monthly fee that covers your first 20
hours online via direct dial into one of DELPHI's two direct-access lines,
or via a special Tymnet 20/20 Access code. It also gets you additional
hours at just $1.20 per hour. And you get free access to several services
on DELPHI as part of the Advantage Perks.
Other telecom services may have additional charges. Canadian Tymnet users
have an additional telecom charge. Office Time access (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,
weekdays) may have an additional charge. And of course, other restric-
tions may apply. But this is still an amazing deal!
For more information please contact:
DELPHI at 1-800-544-4005 and ask for Member Services.
DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> VANCOUVER! STR SHOW NEWS **** EXCLUSIVE EYEWITNESS REPORT! ****
========================
VANCOUVER - A FUN EVENT!
========================
by Edward F. Flanigan
Stepping out into the brisk air Sunday afternoon, I felt happy that I
was able to attend the Vancouver Atari show. By now stories have begun
floating around, some saying that developers didn't do so well in terms of
sale, others saying that most at least covered their costs or did reas-
onably well. That's important because it sets the stage for future shows.
It's the long term story.
The short term story is about the Atari users that went to the show.
I don't think there were many that didn't have a good time or that didn't
enjoy themselves. It was truly a fun event. And a big round of thanks
goes to all the people that worked to put it together. Terry Schreiber
dedicated much of his time to show production. He's the one who pulled
all the pieces together. And even though the turnout of users was less
than expected, that doesn't detract one iota from the good time had by the
people that did attend.
Walking into the Stevenson High School gymnasium, the first booth to
greet me was JMG Software showing Hyperlink and selling it at a discounted
price. All I can say is wow. George has got a winner on his hands. Once
he adds what he is planning on adding, it will be a top of the line Hyper-
Card clone (my opinion, no hype or comparisons coming from anyone else).
HyperLink was running beautifully on a TT (is it quick?!).
To the right was Canoe Computers selling their accelerator board.
There wasn't a machine setup for display, but it looked like sales were
going pretty well. They also had ST travel bags which looked quite handy.
Right next to them was PDC Software. They had a bunch of stuff.
Starting from the right was a Mega running the Stealth telecommunications
program. This really looks like it has potential. I was impressed by
what I saw and am planning on picking this sucker up real soon. Next
there were some Calamus Fonts (Mirthful! Fonts, Fonts by Guber) and the
Calamus Font Resource Guide. Not being a Calamus freak, the RAM upgrades
caught my eye more - unpopulated to 2.5 megabyte upgrades and STE 2
megabyte upgrades from Frontier. On another Mega there was the Monster
Stereo Cartridge playing a TCB Tracker music demo.
To the left was Dave Small showing off the SST and the Spectre GCR.
He had a couple of machines and had a small crowd about him while he was
explaining his magical wizardry.
About this time, a fellow started a music demonstration that really
impressed the dickens out of me. This guy was very good. He was using a
STacy laptop somehow to help him along in playing his music. It was loud
and enjoyable!
Walking farther along, there was Double Click software showing their
wares. These included DC Data Diet (DC Data Diet? Who comes up with these
names -- it's fine, makes you think...), DC Utilities, and DC Desktop.
Great stuff at a great price. I know what's next on my list of software
to buy!
GoldLeaf was showing off WordFlair II, which is mighty impressive, and
ProFlight, a great flight simulation game. They also had other HiSoft
products.
Gribnif was next to GoldLeaf and they were showing their absolutely
awesome NeoDesk 3 (if you don't have it, get it, now!) They had two bo-
oths setup with demonstration units.
Compo Software came all the way from England to show their products
which included That's Write, Write ON, and a great mouse.
Remik Enterprizes was showing off MultiGEM, a great program that al-
lows you to multi-task, in a way, several programs. It worked fairly
well.
Soft Aware was showing Informer II, a database.
SoftLogik had an impressive setup with the latest PageStream output-
ting COLOR printouts of files. They looked excellent.
Zubair Interfaces had their Z-RAM upgrades.
The Codeheads were busy selling their stuff, they appeared busy most
all the time. They had G+Plus, MaxiFile, MultiDesk, Lookit/Popit and the
rest of their line.
Branch Always Software was displaying the latest version of Quick ST,
version 3. It is a sped up version of the previous version and really did
look quicker.
GramSlam, the grammar checker, was being shown by Phil Comeau
Software.
Micro Creations was showing a graphical terminal and a Poker game.
A & D Software had their excellent Universal Item Selector, a program
which no one should be without.
ICD was selling AdSpeeds left and right, as well as their other
products.
There were several MIDI producers including Musicode Software and Mind
over MIDI.
Cherry Fonts had an impressive lineup of Calamus fonts available.
And Atari had a very nice display up on center stage. This included
several Lynxes in the foreground. In the background were at least half a
dozen computers with such celebs as Nathan from ISD showing off Calamus.
I even saw some of Atari's notable personalities floating by.
In another area there was a seminar room with people such as Dave
Small, Gribnif, and Nathan of ISD giving lectures. The eating area had a
stage also where some performances were made and where user groups had
some tables
set up.
Saturday seemed pretty lively with people flowing in and out of areas.
I decided to come back on Sunday to see how things were like and admitted-
ly, they were rather bleak. I even saw a few developers leaving their
booths to chat with other developers. In talking with some of them, most
expressed satisfaction with attending the show, even though not all of
them made money. It seems some things are more important than that!
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
**** SIGN UP FEE WAIVED ****
The system will now prompt you for your information.
-> NOW! GENIE STAR SERVICE IS IN EFFECT!! <-
GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
***********************************************************************
> SFAN & ATARI!! STR Spotlight SFAN travels in fine company!
============================
ATARI TO GET ONGOING NATIONAL TELEVISION EXPOSURE
=================================================
Science Fiction, Fantasy & Adventure Network
to use TT030 in its show productions!
by R.F. Mariano
According to our sources, the Atari TT030 is the 'preferred' computer
system of the SFAN Cable network. The TT030 is intended for use in
aiding all facets of product and in particular the graphical creations
unique to the network and its various shows. In return, Atari will receive
regular, ongoing promotional exposure throughout the entire SFAN network.
Can you imagine that? At last, Atari will no longer be the Dangerfield of
computers! Lexicor Software, a high end graphics programming and
publishing house, is also heavily involved in the Graphical Productions.
In this author's opinion, there is no better compliment to the TT030 than
Lexicore's very powerful software/hardware combinations. SFAN is very
close to launching its spectacular entertainment line-up and is merely
awaiting the opportunity to tie up some loose ends. Atari's Bill Rehbock
has been very instrumental in securing Atari's commitment to supply sup-
port for the SFAN project.
Additionally, in a move guaranteed to generate controversy and
speculation, Walter Koenig and the Science Fiction, Fantasy & Adventure
Network have chosen the STAR TREK 25th Anniversary Convention as the time
and place to make their affiliation public. This decision has been made
in consideration of the point of progress of negotiations with major in-
vestors and the possibility for wide exposure as a result of news coverage
of the Silver Anniversary Convention.
In addition to the initial public revelation of SFA Network, Koenig is
announcing his position as network spokesperson and host and executive
producer of an innovative one-hour weekly original program. This hour
will allow Koenig the opportunity to explore the entertainment industry as
well as science, science fiction, and fantasy through prominent
personalities in those fields. Respected and well-liked by those in the
entertainment industry and those in the areas of serious Science Fiction
writing, Koenig will be able to call on his years of experience and
knowledge of the people involved.
Following meetings with some of the most famous members of the Science
Fiction Writers of America and conversations with the current President of
SFWA, Ben Bova, SFA Network enjoys their support. In addition, Arthur C.
Clarke continues to lend personal encouragement.
To guarantee the best possible programming mix for our audience, Kerry
O'Quinn, founder and former publisher of STARLOG magazine, is on-staff as
advisor for programming mix and scheduling. In addition, O'Quinn will be
actively engaged in the process of bringing his Science Fiction anthology
series, Future Tales, to the Network at the earliest possible date.
Future Tales, a fully-developed series concept, will consist of half-hour
programs with scripts from original works of some of the most prominent
Science Fiction writers.
Other positions within the SFA Network have been filled with
experienced executives and engineers who enjoy the respect of the
entertainment industry. Assembly of a team from within the ranks of the
industry lends necessary credibility to SFA Network. In order to live
down the general industry assessment of such a project and the assumption
that there is not sufficient programming to support such an offering, the
affiliation of well-established industry professionals was found to be
vital.
SFA Network has chosen to follow established methods of developing its
project, concentrating on the tremendous amount of work to develop a
credible offering and presence. The revelation of the existence of SFA
Network at the Silver Anniversary Convention will require no apologies.
An Open Letter to:
Atari Computer
Atari Developers (IAAD)
Atari Users
Science Fiction, Fantasy & Adventure Fans
In somewhat awed reply to the phenomenal response from IAAD and Atari
Computer, I have to take this opportunity to express our thanks and our
hopes that we are all headed, hand-in-hand, toward a much brighter future
for the Science Fiction, Fantasy & Adventure Network, Atari developers,
loyal Atari users and Atari Computer itself. There is really nothing more
appropriate than a "renegade, outsider" project to be so fully supported
by a "renegade, outsider" computer manufacturer and its developers.
From the first moment I saw innuendoes, then hints, then rumors, then
pictures of the TT030 I believed that there was a place for it with the
SFAN project. Once I saw the astounding capabilities of LEXICOR
Software's Prism-Paint teamed with the TT030 I knew that a match had been
made...and Lee Seiler (shy and retiring gentleman that he is) seemed to
"feel it in his bones" from the first time I called him and badgered him
about what Prism-Paint could "really" do. He provided invaluable insight
into dealing with Atari on matters of this nature and effectively "strung
me along" with siren promises of cooperation...and that has become more
than reality.
This week, we received word from Lee that he had wholeheartedly
decided to participate as much as necessary to make us a success...and
shortly after that word came that Sam Tramiel had decided to throw Atari's
hat "in the ring". Without a moment's hesitation, RIO Computer jumped in
with the promise of a second TT030 and open-end support...DoubleClick just
checked the address and said, "We're not sure what you need, but
everything will be in the mail today." And today Nathan Potechin,
President of ISD and IAD called to ask what we need...Calamus Outline Art
"on the way".
When I track this back, I have to believe in luck...I've wound up with
Arthur C. Clarke as a pen-pal (who admires my "initiative and persisten-
ce"!!), the chance to get to know how bright and kind a gentleman Walter
Koenig really is, the chance to meet some of the best and brightest
Science Fiction Writers in the country, and the chance to find out more
about Kerry O'Quinn and how he brought STARLOG Group to its stature, and
the chance to find out what kind of support the IAD and Atari can offer.
The potential really is here to get the word into millions of
households in the country that Atari Computers, their developers, and
their users do more than total scores in video arcades. When we debut
there will be consistent screen credit to Atari and developers for their
contributions. In addition, we have three original programs which will
provide opportunities for exposure of Atari hardware and software to dif-
ferent degrees. CINEMAGIC will concentrate on the world of movie effects
and illusion; EXPLORING TOMORROW will deal with futurism and where
computers and man are headed together; and WIDGETS AND WHATCHAMACALLITS
will offer the opportunity for the offbeat and the unusual to make its way
into the nations' homes.
Once again, let me express my sincerest thanks to Atari, the Atari
Developers, STReport and the Atari users I hope to count among my viewers
and fans. And especially those users on CIS who helped in every way to
get these wonderful events to occur.
If 20 hour days seven days a week for better than two years is
glamourous, then welcome to the world of glamour!
Michael (Mike) Kelley, President
Science Fiction, Fantasy & Adventure Network
____________________________________________________________
> STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date...
================================
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
=========================
On CompuServe
by Judith Hamner 72257,271
There is a new feature in the forum. Threads which are deemed to be of
continuing interest will be saved in the library. Look for the .THR exten-
sion. New this week we have P2ST.THR which discusses connecting the Port
to Atari ST computers. Also, PPPMDM.THR describes the comands needed to
use Practical Peripherals Pocket Modem with the Port.
APFCAT.ARC, found in Lib 1, gives a listing of all files available in
the forum libraries. This listing includes file descriptions in a new for-
mat and is current through June 15.
B. J. Gleason has uploaded a new version of Pchess. Look for
PCHESS.ZIP. It offers a better looking board and does not require special
settings.
See message #13042 for Harry Watts' report on Comdex. Of special in-
terest is an external 512k upgrade from Autobyte Products.
Comparison of the competing palmtops is inevitable. This week there
are two interesting threads in progress. One discussing the features of
the Poqet and the other discusses the utility of the HP95LX.
_____________________________________________________________________
> STR Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard"
=============
STReport's MailBag
==================
Continued from last week...
About loyalty and the future of Atari...
from GEnie
Category 14, Topic 31
Message 165 Sun Jun 16, 1991
R.COVERT1 [Richard] at 20:31 EDT
Well, the subject of me being a Developer has been brought up. And I
have several problems that asking Atari for help might not resolve. For
one, just how much can Bob Brodie or John Townsend do? I ask them for
reasons why the TT isn't Class B certified, and they can't asnwer. OK.
They aren't in a position in Atari to know.
But, the poor USA market makes it hard for me to justify spending my
TIME (i.e money) developing ANYTHING for the ST/TT. And I am sure that
many other developers feel the same way. So, just what can Topics such as
"FEEDBACK TO ATARI" do? I don't know? But, there are many progr ams
lacking for the ST/TT that could be written but won't be. For example,
there are NO FLOWCHARTING programs for the ST/TT. There are many for the
PC or the MAC. A smart programmer could write such a program in a short
time. But why would he do it for the ST/TT? There isn't even a national
magazine to advertise your product in anymore. So, that is what I ask
Atari. What are they going to do to reverse the market here?
And *WHEN* will the TT Be Class B Certified? Ever? the STacy never
did become Class B certified, and now it has be dropped and replaced by
the ST Notebook. Which of course, isn't Class B certified either.
What a mess. Makes MS Windows 3 or X windows look better and better to
me.
------------
Category 14, Topic 31
Message 166 Sun Jun 16, 1991
N.KABACINSKI at 23:40 EDT
I've been trying to support you guys and keep Atari alive but this
recent 1040ST that I bought will probably go up for sale before the end of
the year. And that's really ashame guys, considering I've been using
Atari computers for many years now. I started with a Atari 400 w/16K and
since then bought a 130XE and now a 1040ST.
All that a software developer has to do these days is log onto GEnie
and the ST roundtable and determine that they will not support Atari just
by seeing all of us HOUNDING Atari to get their **** together. Looks real
good to these developers when they see that the very users that "invested"
in an Atari can't even get the company to support them. And you see it
happening more and more everyday. How much longer does Atari plan to stay
in business when software companies everyday are anouncing that they are
dropping ST support? Do you know how many times I wrote Atari letters
looking for technical support and never ever heard a word or peep? Some
way to treat people that generate YOUR PAYCHECKS!!!!!
All I can say now is if I can't get a decent IBM emulator for the ST,
I'm selling out for IBM where I don't have to drive 150 miles to find a
gosh darn dealer!! Its too bad that its gonna end this way. I really
liked the ST.....
N. Kabacinski
Average Atari User Since The Atari 400
------------
To both Mr. Covert and Mr. Kabacinski;
Elsewhere in this issue is an article about the very things you dis-
cuss; the shape of the Atari market and the message Atari seems to be sen-
ding out. Along with the obvious negative results many of the users are
witness to. This vertical market thing and the "groupies" orbiting around
it and cheerleading seem to have "clouded" Atari's vision of the future.
Keep up the noises, sooner (hopefully) or later, someone out there in Sun-
nyvale who makes real decisions will come up with a profound discovery
that there's more to computing than a narrow, bicycle spoke thick, slice
of the entire market! Atari had better pay attention to the entire market
instead of just a minuscule segment. And FAST!
..Editor
from the FNET...
Conf : Atari 16/32 Bit
Msg# : 18966 Lines: 14 Read: 1
Sent : Jun 19, 1991 at 10:44 AM
To : ALL
From : Sean Price at MASATEK (213)518-9524 Fnet#429
Subj : Atari
If Atari keeps with their current practices in the US, they will not
even exist here, let alone be a force in the computer industry. I sell
Atari computers and products, and deal with the largest Atari distributor
in the US. I've been trying to get Mega STEs for over two months with no
success. Atari keeps promising delivery on a certain date, and when that
date comes around it's "Oh, Sorry. There were only 5 Mega STEs on the
ship that just came in. It looks like about two more weeks.". This is a
ridiculous way to sell computers. You can't expect the public to buy
computers that aren't being delivered. It really angers me because I've
been an Atari computer user for 12 years, and believe that they make
excellent computers. Unfortunately it's hard to make other people believe
they are great computers if they never see one.
Later,
Sean Price
Hang in there Sean, we see where a very "highly informed" source of
"irrefutable" information has stated publicly that Atari will be
delivering upwards of 200,000 machines per month. While its extremely
difficult to believe such figures, its likely that with the sub contrac-
ting just beginning we shall see nothing but improvement. My guess is,
and its just a guess, we'll see decent improvement but nowhere near those
dream city figures. Atari is trying.....
Editor....
from CIS....
17-Jun-91 00:57:51
Sb: #27032-#STR 724 ATARI NEWS 1ST!
Fm: Charles Hill 76370,3045
To: STReport - Ralph 70007,4454 (X)
Ralph,
While I do not own an Atari computer, I enjoy reading ST REPORT as it
contains a lot of interesting information. I only have one real complaint
it's to darned big!
I d/l STR from CompuServe and thus incur line charges proportional to
the time spent online. Hence, the bigger the file the more I pay. The
latest issue was 71097 bytes long (arced) and that is pretty darned big.
Now, I admit I don't know that much about Atari file compression, and
it may be CIS Forum policy to accept only .ARC files, but I could've sworn
I saw some others. In doing my own tests, I dearced STR724.TXT and then
recompressed it using ZIP v1.02 and LHARC v1.20 on an Amiga. The results
follow:
ORIGINAL TEXT (Uncompressed) .... 139,561 bytes
ORIGINAL TEXT (ARCed)............ 71,097 bytes
RECOMPRESSED TEXT (LHArced) ..... 60,655 bytes
RECOMPRESSED TEXT (ZIPped) ...... 57,375 bytes
Best case (ZIP) resulted in a savings of 12,722 bytes! This would
significantly decrease d/l transmission time and possibly boost the number
of d/ls since the smaller size would make the file more attractive.
Arc, ZIP, LHArc and Zoo are available on the Amiga, and I have seen
all of them except LHArc on an MS-DOS system. I know I have seen Arc and
ZIP for the ST and I was under the impression that LHArc was originally
written on an ST.
Is there any possibility of changing compression schemes?
OTHER ----In the latest ST-REPORT (724) there was an article on
upgrading a Mega ST to TT capabilities. The article stated that an 80 Mb
hard drive was $625 even though the ad for drives at the bottom of STR was
in the $500 range. Heck, I purchased a Seagate ST-296N (80 Mb SCSI) for
$350 mail order! Granted, it was a 5 1/4" drive, for the price difference
you can get an external case w/power supply.
The article fails to point out the major advantage of upgrading the
Mega as opposed to selling it and getting a TT -- it can be done a little
at a time, making it MUCH more affordable. The TT would be a major cash
outlay, not to mention the delay between the time you sold the Mega and
actually got in the TT. (As I understand it, they are scarce in the U.S.,
no?)
Finally, is it possible to put the words ST-REPORT or STR in the
KEYWORDS section on CompuServe? If I miss an issue then I have to BROWSE
through a weeks worth of uploads to find the one I missed. Boring when you
don't have an ST.
Thanks for a great online mag!
-Chas
Mr. Hill, Thanks for the input and reading STReport. We did, not too
long ago experiment with LHARC but it became obvious that ARC was the only
way to go. Maybe, at some time in the future. As for the upgrade
article, I can see the wisdom of the writer and of course, your points
also. However, I might point out a decent case with a power supply and a
blower is approximately $100.00, a host adapter $90.00, the ribbon cables
$25.00 now, if I add that to your figure of $350.00 its not too far off
the mark. I think the real point the writer was trying to make was that
upgrading an older device can become more expensive than buying a newer
model. In any case, thank you for caring to write and and thanks for your
support. As for the key words, consider it done.
....Editor
____________________________________________________
> AMWAY CONTROL SYSTEM STR Review This program is dedicated to Amway
===============================
COMPUTER ORDER PLUS ST
======================
by James Nolan
So, you're sitting at home in your office on order night when the
phone rings. As you answer it and find out who the distributor or
customer is, you bring up their record on the computer and start entering
their order. When you're done, you print out a copy with all the totals -
PV, BV, and cost. All of this is done WITHOUT filling out a BA1 or SA1.
Next you start adding this to your group order. Then the phone rings
again...
Rarely does a program package come along that can really get someone
excited and keep them that way. Then after prolonged use, the same
program prompts the user to keep asking himself while giggling, "How did I
ever survive without this jewel?" These are the feelings I experienced
while using the fine product "COMPUTER ORDER PLUS ST" written by Robert Re
of Pacifica, California. This program is strictly dedicated to Amway
distributors who are building a multi-level marketing business. Yes, I
said AMWAY, the 3.2 billion dollar MLM giant out of Ada, Michigan. So if
you're not involved in the best of two worlds, meaning "Power Without the
Price" teamed with the time leveraging/income diversifying advantages the
Amway opportunity provides, this article really may not light your fire.
If, however, you are one of those rare networking entrepreneurs with an
Atari ST looking for a way to speed up your business, this is IT! If
you've been considering buying the networking software from Amway and run-
ning it in the IBM mode, hold your keyboard until you've checked this one
out.
The program, comes on 2 disks with complete docs in a handsome binder.
It is readily evident that a lot of time and effort went into making the
docs simple and easy to read and follow. the same conscientious effort is
evident in the development of the program. It's hard to explain in detail
all of the great features that this program has to offer but I will touch
lightly on most of them. C.O.P. ST is very user friendly. It can be
installed on the hard drive or run from floppies as program and data
disks. If you're using disk drives, C.O.P. ST will prompt you when to
change data disks. It will also number the disks itself to ensure the
right one is in use. I tested the program on a monochrome system but it
also runs in medium resolution and allows you to set the colors for each
of the different screens within the program. An especially nice feature
is the security code access. This is helpful if the system is set up in a
warehouse environment. The code can be changed or bypassed.
From what I can see, anything you could do before can now be done with
the program (and much faster). This includes but is not limited to:
generation of orders, optional inventory control, back order tracking,
catalog updating, performance bonus statements, year end reports,
add/delete new distributors, "family trees", and sort & print orders ac-
cepted by the RDCs. There are separate programs for database utilities,
generating year end reports and for ordering from the Personal Shoppers
catalog.
The data utility module allows you to create new or fix old databases.
With it you can move, copy or merge different groups in your network.
This is extremely useful when your group reaches close to 1000
distributors and you want to set different databases for each leg. I
really like this feature because as your business grows, the software
doesn't slow you down. Year end reports information such as group or in-
dividual bonuses, PV/BV totals, orders and sales tax, bonuses received and
total cost PV/BV totals are generated giving you some excellent tax stats
for your IRS returns. You shouldn't rely solely on these reports for your
tax return but it can help tremendously. You will also be able to deter-
mine if you need to submit a 1099 form for any of your distributors.
At present, the Personal Shoppers module only contains items handled
by the RDCs but other items can be added up to a total of 2000. Other
features of C.O.P. ST include single unit pricing, editable printer codes
from within the program, the ability to jump between functions without
exiting the program - ie. jump out of a distributor's order screen to
update an item in the catalog and then back again, auto creation of
folders for new months, ghosting of unusable options in the pull down
menus, saving of payment info right on the SA1 (date & check#) and setting
of state sales tax and shipping charges. You can even set variable char-
ges on retail for your customers as % increase, % decrease or flat rates.
Another nice speed feature used throughout the program is the use of
ALT keys for various functions such as catalog item find, printing, sor-
ting orders, totals, RDC credits, back order marking and SCO charges.
That's all we'll cover this issue. Next time we'll go more in depth
into the main program and all of its abilities.
"COMPUTER ORDER PLUS ST"
written by
Robert Re
501 Ebken St.
Pacifica, California 94044
_____________________________________________________________
> VERTICAL NICHE MARKET? STR FOCUS "Is that VERTICAL or VERTIGO?"
================================
IS ATARI "ON THE RIGHT TRACK?"
==============================
by Ralph F. Mariano
What is this 'vertical market' thing? Is it or does it serve the best
interests of the entire userbase? A vertical market is a "slice" (usually
a very narrow slice) of the overall marketplace a company targets as an
area in which to sell its products.
Consider this; In the entire USA computer marketplace, DeskTop
Publishing holds approximately (3%) of the total computing userbase. Two
years ago, one of the more popular publishing magazines did a survey to
see what type machines were in use in DTP. They found, at that time,
Apple had 71% of the DTP market, the remainder was categorized "other".
Recently, they re-did the survey and found that IBM & Clones had 53% of
the market and that Apple had 41%. That left a GRAND TOTAL OF 6% for the
remainder of machines to enjoy. Now, lessee.... 6% of 3% is, in reality,
just how many users in the USA? Maybe 25,000 or so, perhaps a few more.
This is the 'Phoenix' Atari is trying to chase?? Who sucked Atari into
this debacle?
What about all the loyal users being left behind? Most industry ob-
servers agree that Atari has perhaps 200,000 (min) machines in use in the
USA. Now, of these how many of these users can afford, consider or are
even interested in the high end DTP vertical market? Can you say maybe
2%? Yes, those who have been buying, selling, upgrading and enhancing
their Atari hardware, release after release, since the introduction of the
520 are the real backbone. Where are they headed? What future have they
in the current scheme of things? Sure, we have heard the expression; "Oh
well, they'll have to change their way of thinking, they'll have to pay
the price." "Oh really????" Take a GOOD look around, who is really
PAYING THE PRICE at this time? The ENTIRE USERBASE is, thats who. Atari
INCLUDED! Honestly, there is nothing wrong with pursuing a vertical
market as long as the remainder of the market is not seriously neglected.
The Atari computer is a terrific machine that will do many, many
things for the user. While all the players, including the US Government,
readily recognize the Cottage Computer Industry, (computers used at home
for business or business conducted from home using computers), Atari is
roaring off in what appears to be a totally different direction. The very
sad thought is three years ago certain people, including Sig Hartmann,
recognized the enormity of the Cottage Computer Industry. Once again,
Atari had a golden opportunity. He was "up" on working this area and in
fact, had excellent demographic studies that pointed to its vitality in
the future. That can be an integral part of Atari's future but only if
someone out there realizes that NOT EVERYONE IS INTO THE HIGH DOLLAR DESK-
TOP PUBLISHING ARENA. There are literally tens of thousands of users out
there who could care less about a $10,000 - $230,000 '17 speed' "hell" or
Lino devices. They want a choice of a top drawer word processor, a spread
sheet, an accounting system, a point of sale setup w/bar code reader, an
entertainment variety, telecom, utilities, and most important of all,
solid support from both Atari and the developers.
Now, it appears a LOUD and CLEAR message about Atari's niche market
selectivity and preferences has been sent to the users, retailers, MAJOR
software developers and publishers by Atari's actions alone in the last
two quarters. This impression must be dispelled and darn fast if Atari is
to survive let alone grow in the overall computing arena.
'Tis a shame but if one ponders about how many of the major software
houses are STILL fully supporting the Atari computer with full program
upgrades, NEW VERSIONS not "maintenance support", right now - this year,
as opposed to two years ago it gets scary. In addition, check out the
number of FULL TIME - ATARI ONLY DEVELOPERS, whose sole source of income
is from development in the Atari arena, there are in this marketplace. Go
ahead, I dare you! Now, query the very same developers about the plat-
forms they are quietly adding to their development business or flat plan-
ning to move to. The alarm bells are ringing louder than they EVER have
in the past. Come on Atari.... WAKE UP!
Reality suddenly becomes shocking. SOMEBODY DROPPED THE BALL! In
both the private sector and at Atari. What happened to full developer and
dealer representation?
For example;
Monitoring the target markets and overall market trends, advising the
devs, Atari and other manufacturers of market swings and fads, etc..
Of course, the most important responsibility; Continued ongoing en-
couragement of Major third party players in the industry to continue
support of the Atari computers, (why wasn't MIGRAPH at CEPS?).
What is REALLY happening with Word Perfect? Is the relationship still
alive? Is there ongoing discussion about new releases? Has this really
been done and if yes, where are the results? How can this possibly be
achieved now? Atari has dumped Marken, a fine PR and promotional firm.
The entire Atari market is in shambles! The proof is in the pudding!
Dealers are upset, Product Rep firms are ready to drop Atari from their
support lists. I am afraid the report card for Atari this year, so far,
is an extremely dismal disappointment.
It appears, on the surface, that only one area of the market was given
any substantial attention and promotion. That area folks, is Desk Top
Publishing. STReport uses DTP programs for many things yet we still
realize the vital need to pay attention to the entire market. Desk Top
Publishing is here to stay but it is most certainly not a means to an end.
Oh! excuse me, its now called "Direct To Press" yeeech! For three
years, Desk Top Publishing clearly indicated the area in which a program
was designed to perform. All of a sudden, that's all "old fashioned".
(What ever HAPPENED to cause the DECLINE of the MIDI MARKET, APPLICATIONS
MARKET and the ENTERTAINMENT MARKET?)
Perhaps, its time for some re-thinking. Like.. Its time to go back to
basics! Forget all the hype and hoopla, stop trying to make a silk purse
out of a sow's ear. The YUPPIE era is dead and so is the thinking of that
era. The leadership at Atari must wake up and promote Atari for what it
is, not what a few "dreamers" would like to think it is. Atari must get
back to basics. Advertise the greatest, most affordable machines made.
Build to meet the generated demand. Sell these great machines to satisfy
the generated market.
The 1040STe, MegaSTe are the backbone of this company. The TT030 is
far more than just a Graphics Work Station (as some would LOVE to have you
believe) but until software is written and released expressly for the TT,
that takes full advantage of ALL its power, is in place at the user levels
it only has the "potential" of being anything more than a decent "front
end" to a few Desk Top Publishing programs. For this end, must the com-
pany sacrifice all other avenues of revenue generation? The time for real
change is at hand.
____________________________________________________________
> CODEHEAD UPDATES! STR InfoFile LATEST VERSIONS & PRICES
==============================
CODEHEAD SOFTWARE
=================
LATEST VERSIONS & PRICES
06/21/91
PRODUCT VERSION MANUAL RELEASE NOTES PRICE
HotWire 3.0 1.3 2.3 $44.95
MaxiFile 3.0 2.0 3.0 $44.95
HotWire Plus (includes Maxifile) $69.95
LookIt & PopIt 1.2/1.1 1.0 $39.95
G+plus 1.5 1.2 $34.95
CodeHead Utilities 3 n/a Release 3 $34.95
MultiDesk 2.2 2.0 $29.95
MidiMax 1.3 1.0 $49.95
CodeKeys 1.3 1.1 $39.95
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Shipping & handling charges on the above items are as follows:
Addresses in USA $3.00
Addresses in Canada $4.00
All other Addresses $6.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------
UPGRADE POLICY
--------------
MaxiFile updates are $15.00 (which includes the 67-page addendum
manual). All other updates are $10.00 for each disk and $5.00 per manual.
If you are updating HotWire and have the old red and black manual, you'll
need the newer manual. If you are updating a version of MultiDesk less
than version 2.0, a new manual is mandatory. These charges include ship-
ping and handling. You must send in your original disk plus check, money
order, or credit card number (with exp. date) and we will make every ef-
fort to send your upgrade back to you the same day we receive it.
It's a good idea to give us a call before sending in an upgrade order,
so we can let you know about any special offers or charges that may occur.
We reserve the right to change any of the information contained in this
product list at any time without notice.
---------------------
CodeHead Software
P.O. Box 74090
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Tel: (213) 386-5735
Fax: (213) 386-5789
---------------------
_____________________________________________________________
> ///TURBO BOARD VER. 2 SHIPPING! STR InfoFile
============================================
Application for ///Turbo Board Ver 2 Upgrade ___________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ___________________
___________________
SYSOP'S REAL NAME :_______________________________________________
STREET ADDRESS :_______________________________________________
COUNTY/CITY :_______________________________________________
STATE/PROVINCE :________________
COUNTRY :________________
ZIP/POSTAL CODE :________________
PRESENT SERIAL # :________________ (Both lines of TURBOKEY.DAT)
________________
VOICE PHONE NUMBER :________________
BBS PHONE NUMBER :________________
BBS NAME :_______________________________________________
FNET NODE # :________________
FIDO NODE # :________________
$29.95 Version 2 Turbo Key Registration, Printed V2 Addendum
and Version 2 Release Disk
__ $ 6.00 Air Mail to USA
__ $25.00 Express Mail to the USA or Canada Only
__ $12.00 Air Mail International
$__.__ Total
- USA and International - All prices in US Dollars ($)
- Canadian Residents, Use CDN $ instead
- Ontario Residents please add 8% PST (No GST unless you want to add it)
- Canadian Packages sent 1st Class Post
- USA and International sent Ground, unless Airmail or Express paid
** DUE TO AN INCREASE OF N.S.F. (BAD) CHEQUES, WE WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT
PERSONAL CHEQUES UNLESS THEY HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED. ALL UNCERTIFIED
PERSONAL CHEQUES WILL BE RETURNED TO SENDER.
Please make out your Certified Cheque or Money Order payable to:
BITBLIT SYSTEMS
Send your Completed Order Form with payment to:
Bitblit Systems
1580 Liveoak Dr
Mississauga, ON
Canada L5E 2X6
American and Foreign residents, remember to check for correct postage.
Comments:_________________________________________________________________
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> Hard Disks STR InfoFile ***** ABCO PRICE CHANGES! *****
=======================
** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! **
ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
Est. 1985
_________________________________________
Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT
BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST
FAX: 904-783-3319 12 PM - 6 AM EDT
_________________________________________
HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
_________________________________________
All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).
*-ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE-*
(you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!)
(all cables and connectors installed)
* ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
* ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED *
* SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS *
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
Deluxe 2 bay Cabinet w/65w auto-switching PS
Model Description Autopark Price
==================================================
SGN4951 51Mb 28ms 3.5" Y 479.00
SGN1096 85Mb 24ms 5.25" Y 549.00
SGN2055 105mb 17ms 3.5" Y QUANTUM 699.00
SGN6277 120Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 789.00
SGN1296 168Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 1019.00
==================================================
FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00
ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250w PS
PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only!
CPU ACCELERATOR & MEMORY UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED
>> ABCO is now taking orders for 1040 & MEGA STe Computers! <<
Call for VERY special Introductory prices!
If you don't see what you want listed here, call us.
Odds are we have it or, can get it for you!
AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE!
"We service what we sell. (when necessary)"
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *
- SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A
- ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable
- Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply
(1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.
--->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 645.00__ <<---
**** SCSI UNITS -> ONLY $585.00 ****
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
Cart and Utility Software Included!
EXTRA CARTS: $ 74.50
DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 349.95
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
SPECIALLY PRICED ** $1019.00 **
Includes TWO cartridges!
* SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
- Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
50mb SQG51 $ 819.00 85mb SQG96 $ 1019.00
LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
(over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)
ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - AT/PC SPEED - GCR
LARGER units are available - (Custom Configurations)
*>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<*
- Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets -
* SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 *
* Toner Starter Kits $49.95 *
* Replacement Drums $183.95 *
>> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED <<
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
-* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!
_________________________________________
DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
please, call for details
Personal and Company Checks are accepted.
ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-562-4037 -=**=- CALL: 1-904-783-3319
Customer Orders ONLY Customer Service
9am - 8pm EDT
Tues thru Sat
ABCO is EXPANDING!! CALL FOR INFORMATION!
____________________________________________________________
> A "Quotable Quote"
====================
"HIDING ONE'S HEAD IN SAND, TO AVOID
THE FACE OF THE BEAST, CHANGES NOTHING!"
or,
"FABRICATIONS CRUMBLE WHEN CONFRONTED BY TRUTH!"
....Zircon Zagnut
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STReport International Online Magazine?
Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport? "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" June 21, 1991
16/32bit Magazine copyright = 1987-91 No.7.25
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors, staff, STReport? CPU/MAC/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 entire contents, at the
time of publication, are believed to be reasonably accurate. The editors,
contributors and/or staff are not responsible for either the use/misuse of
information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
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