ST Report: 09-Aug-91 #732
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 08/12/91-07:08:31 PM Z
From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 09-Aug-91 #732
Date: Mon Aug 12 19:08:31 1991
*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
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from
STR Publishing Inc.
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August 09, 1991 No.7.32
==========================================================================
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32205 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
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__________________________________________________________________
> 08/09/91: STReport #7.32 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
-------------------------
- The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - WRIST-MACS?
- Oracle ships "Virus" - Thumbelina! - Ashton-Tate Layoff
- PIRACY HURTS WHO? - PORTFOLIO NEWS! - STR Confidential
-* STREPORT ANSWERS CRITICS! *-
-* STREPORT'S ONLINE CONFERENCE *-
-* ATARI SUPPORTS GENCON! *-
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904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging information relative
to the Atari ST computer arena through an excellent International ST Mail
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> The Editor's Podium
In the past few weeks phrases like, 'irresponsible', 'gossip rag', and
'National Inquirer' have been used to describe myself, some of our colum-
nists and editors, and STReport. What is really amazing is that many of
these phrases have been publicly stated by people who emphatically
proclaim they "never read ST Report or to only have read it once or
twice."
What is a responsible news publication? There are as many definitions
of that as there are people using the term. We've found that most of the
time it depends on whether or not they agree with what's been printed.
Since the name "ST" is in our masthead, some feel that we should only
say positive things about the ST and Atari and that any negative comments
about the ST or Atari are improper and 'irresponsible'. We at STReport
feel that truth is more important than being a simple mouth piece for
Atari, feeding the users a company pablum line. If Atari does something
that deserves a positive article, we print it. However, if we feel that
any of their policies or decisions could have an adverse effect on the ST
community, we also feel responsible to publish that, whether Atari might
consider the reporting to be 'irresponsible' or not.
For example, suppose we discovered that Atari was coming out with a
new generation TT, one that would pass class B certification and maybe
have additional hardware that the current version didn't have. Should we
report about it or not? If we report it, current TT sales might drop and
Atari would consider that we had been 'irresponsible' in our reporting.
However, if we don't report it, someone might buy a TT who, if they had
known of the new generation TT, would have waited and gotten more for
their money. So they would consider us 'irresponsible' for not reporting
about it.
Or, suppose we were informed that Gadget's GCR had problems working
with some TT's (which they admit). By reporting that, both GBS and Atari
could possibly be upset at us because we could potentially hurt their
sales. But by not reporting it, we are 'irresponsible' to our GCR owning
readers who might be thinking of buying a TT.
There are times when a news magazine is placed in a "no-win situation
regardless of what they do or do not print. Some will read into the ar-
ticles what they want and ignore everything else, or they'll come up with
their own rationalization for why we printed certain articles. Take this
partial post from the STReport Fnet from Bill Merik for example:
"I see in the latest STreport (730) you have somebody go on at
fair length about the XControl panel. I am confident that this
extra nice treatment resulted partly from all the critical com-
ment directed at you lately. But you go and blow it with your
sniveling about FSM GDOS. Did you ever think the reason "loyal
Atari users have to wait" for the release is because it's not
ready yet? Naw, you have to infer that Atari is holding it back
just to torture us pore Atari users."
The issue Mr. Merik is discussing had a favorable article about
Atari's new XControl Panel by Lloyd Pulley [NOTE: anyone who knows Lloyd,
knows he doesn't change his opinion because of 'critical comments']. The
only comments that I made about either FSM GDOS or the XControl Panel were
in the following editorial comment:
"As another week goes by, while most folks anxiously await the
highly touted new "Standard" FSMGDOS. The XControl Panel is here
and it is everything we were told it would be and then some. We
have reported that B. Rehbock said FSM would be released August
1, 1991. We shall see."
As you can see, this user put his own interpretation on why we printed
the XControl Panel article and what we meant in our editorial. We know
that Atari is not holding up the release of FSMGDOS "just to torture us
pore Atari users". We have been reporting for weeks about how some last
minute bugs had been found in FSMGDOS, and that was what was holding it up
(reports which were denied by some of Atari's in-house apologists).
This user isn't the only one that only reads parts of STReport and
ignores the rest. One middle-level Atari corporate-climber will ignore
101 positive Atari articles in ST Report, to concentrate on a single 3
line news item reported in the CPU Report three months ago.
Is STReport a National Inquirer type of publication? Again, this is
going to depend on whom you ask and whether they agree with what we said
or whether we should have said it. Usually these types of references fall
into one of three categories. One, the reporting was hard hitting and
said something they didn't want said, or didn't want the average ST owner
to know about. Two, they are referring to one of our editorials. To
enlighten them somewhat, editorials are simply an editors opinion about
something. Many responsible publications have editorials. Three, they
are referring to rumors which we've printed. Sometimes rumors come true,
sometimes they don't. That is the nature of rumors.
Unfortunately, there are times when we have to be oblique in some of
our editorial comments. Sometimes this is to protect our sources and
sometimes the comments are only meant to be understood by one or two
people.
There have been questions as to whether or not we support the IAAD.
We support what the IAAD stands for 100%! We believe the IAAD is needed
and necessary. Naturally, there will be times when we will disagree with
how some individual developers use the IAAD and/or its auspices for their
own ends but still, that doesn't mean that we don't support the IAAD.
Some have taken us to task for accepting captures of the IAAD private
area on Genie. All news media have sources. Sources into Grand Juries,
sources into private conversations between various public officials and
more. Recently, IBM took 'Information Week' to task for printing informa-
tion from the private IBM BBS. If STReport was as 'irresponsible' or as
"National Inquirish" as some would have you believe, we would have already
printed some of the more juicer comments.
STReport will never turn into a house magazine, we fervently guard
and value our independence and above all else, the trust our readers have
in us. We will always be more hard hitting, be willing to voice our
opinions and share the latest rumors with our readers. To keep up with
the pulse of the ST community, we go where necessary and we will not dis-
tance ourselves from any of its users. There's going to be times when we
blow it, and we want our readers to let us know when that happens. It
would be easiest to go with the flow, and become an Atari apologistic
publication, as others have done, but we're not going to change.
As always, Thank you for your support
Ralph....
TODAY'S NEWS ..TODAY!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> STReport's Staff The regulars and this week's contributors!
================
Publisher - Editor
------------------
Ralph F. Mariano
PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION
----------- -------------- ------------
Robert Retelle Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON
STReport 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
Doyle Helms Ben Hamilton
IMPORTANT NOTICE
================
Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
via E-Mail to:
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (August 9)
MORE WINNERS ANNOUNCED...
Once again, sysop voting was split for our second period upload con-
test. The winner of a $25 CompuServe credit is Lloyd Pulley for his wealth
of font uploads to the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO).
Thanks Lloyd!
Also, congratulations to the winner of our second period upload con-
test in the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS), Richard Brown. He will
receive a $25 CompuServe credit. Upload YOUR entry now.
The third period ends on August 15th. Be sure to send your uploads
for the third period contest quickly. The total download counts are a fac-
tor in the judging.
WIN $25 COMPUSERVE CONNECT-TIME CREDITS
Traditionally, summertime has been the slowest time of the year for
online activity in the Atari telecommunications community. The CompuServe
Atari Forums would like to help boost this activity with a promotion that
just about anybody can win!
We're looking for new and interesting files for the file libraries of
Atari ST Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) and the Atari ST Productivity Forum
(GO ATARIPRO). Twice each month, during the months of July, August, and
September, the sysops of the Atari Forums will award a $25 CompuServe con-
nect time credit to the individual who uploads the best new file to
Library 1 ("NEW UPLOADS"). This $25 credit can be applied to *ANY* ser-
vice on CompuServe, not just time spent inside the Atari Forums!
What defines the "best" new upload? Factors in judging will be
uniqueness, general interest (the number of downloads received), quality
of graphics (if applicable), usefulness or entertainment value.
All uploads to Library 1 ("NEW UPLOADS") will automatically be entered
into this promotion. Of course, uploads of files already existant in our
libraries do not count. (Although, new versions of previous entries are
eligible.) You do not need to be the author of the upload to win, but
you MUST have sufficient rights to the program to make it an acceptable
upload according to CompuServe operating rules (public domain and
shareware programs are acceptable, for example.)
In case of duplicate uploads of the exact same file, the sysops will
accept files based upon time of the first uploaded copy. The first
upload period will run from July 1st thru July 15th (inclusive). Judging
will be done by the sysop staff of the Atari Forums (influenced by
comments from the membership, so be sure to let us know which new files
you like and why!)
One credit will be awarded to the best new upload in ATARIARTS and
another for the best new upload in ATARIPRO. Please address any
questions to Ron Luks [76703,254] via CompuServe Mail (EMAIL) or a
message in any of the Atari Forums.
LEXICOR ANIMATION CLASSES
Information concerning Lexicor Software's on-line Animation classes is
now available. Included is the text of the first class lecture. See the
following files in Library 9, Lexicor Software in the Atari Vendors Forum
(GO ATARIVEN):
ANIM1.ARC Lexicor Animation classes lecture #1
INTRO.TXT Transcription of Intro Lexicor Animation class
SYL1.TXT Syllabus for Aug-Sept. Lexicor Animation classes
PROGRAM OF THE WEEK FROM DOUBLE CLICK
Double Click Software's latest Program of the Week helps cure your
hard disk stiction blues! DC No-Stic will prevent hard disk stiction from
happening. Stiction was such a problem with Seagate drives that they put
in circuitry to move the hard disk heads after a length of disk
inactivity. DC No-Stic emulates this logic. Be sure and get DCNOST.ARC
from Library 13, Double Click Software, in the Atari Vendor's Forum (GO
ATARIVEN)!
ATARI 8-BIT OWNERS...
SUMMER DOLDRUMS got you down? Can't find anything NEW? Is that your
problem, bunkie?? How about finding something OLD that's NEW to you! Our
Master Catalog listings are available in LIBRARY 1 [New Uploads] These
contain a list of all files in the forum. BRO LIB*.ARC in Library 1.
Reminder: the special key word SIG_CLASSIC is used for some of our
favorite files from years past. Type GO ATARI8 to access the Atari 8-
Bit Forum.
ANNOUNCING THE NEW COMPUSERVE PALMTOP FORUM
The CompuServe Palmtop Forum will cover all palmtop organizers and
computers other than the Portfolio, which will remain in its own forum.
Please drop by and take a look around. Type GO PALMTOP at any CompuServe
service prompt.
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 #32
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
--Washington, DC SOFTWARE PIRACY EXCEEDS $2 BILLION
-------------- PER YEAR IN U.S.
According to figures released by Dataquest and the Software Publishers
Association (SPA), piracy of business software is costing the software
industry $2 billion a year.
The figures were completed by extrapolating hardware and software sales,
then comparing them with the average numbers of packages in use in the
U.S. Although the loss to piracy exceeds previous estimates, there is a
bright spot in the study for software manufacturers. Over the last four
years, business software units sold per DOS machine have increased from
1.31 in '87 to 1.78 by '90. For the same period, business software units
sold per Macintosh increased from 2.03 to 2.55.
The data only pertain to business systems because there is little hard
data on potential piracy in the entertainment and educational software
areas, but the SPA is planning a study of home computer usage for the
fall which should provide more information.
--Kennedy Space Center, Fl. ASTRONAUTS USE WRISTMACS
------------------------ WHILE IN SPACE
Atlantis Space Shuttle astronauts went into space wearing WristMacs,
digital wristwatches that store and display mission information loaded
from Macintosh computers.
The astronauts, who will return to earth on August 11th, use the four
WristMacs to alert them to scheduled photographic opportunities at the
time desired features on Earth come into view from Atlantis. When the
alarm sounds, the WristMac displays two 12-character lines of text to
indicate the specific photo information. The WristMacs are updating
during flight by a radio link to a portable Macintosh on the shuttle.
"NASA chose to equip the astronauts with WristMacs because these com-
municating wristwatches are the smallest, most efficient means to
display Macintosh text messages while sounding critical alerts at
predetermined times," said David Rose, president of Ex Machina, Inc.,
the manufacturer of the WristMac.
WristMac is a Seiko quartz digital watch enhanced with memory, that can
download or optionally upload 80 two-line screen pages of text or
numeric information to and from a Macintosh. The unit is used by earth-
bound wearers to manage phone numbers, appointments, reminders, and
calendar information. It comes in a variety of styles and colors, and is
available from Macintosh hardware and software retailers. WristMac
carries a suggested retail price of $149 to $249 depending on the style
chosen.
--Broomfield, Colorado PENTAX SHIPS CONTINUOUS-FORM
-------------------- LASER PRINTER
Pentax Technologies has announced that it it has started shipping its
Laserfold 240 continuous-form laser printer. The Laserfold 240 prints at
the rate of 16 pages-per-minute and the print resolution is 240 dots-
per-inch on continuous form paper. The printer is targeted primarily at
users with high volume text printing requirements such as banks, finan-
cial, legal and accounting firms. The Laserfold 240 will not print
graphics.
Washington, DC DID ORACLE "STONE" ITS CUSTOMERS
-------------- WITH VIRUS?
Computerworld is reporting that Oracle has sent out 800 demo discs for
its Windows DDE/Toolbox infected with the so-called "Stoned," virus
program. The program is also known as the Marijuana, or New Zealand
virus.
The Stoned B virus infects a disk by replacing the boot record, but it
also stores the original record elsewhere on the disk, possibly as a
challenge to hackers to restore their own disks.
When activated the virus prints out the message: "Legalize Marijuana -
Your PC is now Stoned," or some similar variation of that text.
--Washington D.C. IBM PC 10 YEARS OLD THIS MONTH
---------------
The IBM PC, based on the Intel 8088 microchip, carrying a whopping 64
kilobytes of memory and a low density, 5.25-inch floppy drive, was int-
roduced to the world just 10 years ago this month. The first system was
unveiled to the press running a Microsoft operating system, MS-DOS 1.0,
and nothing else in the computer was made by IBM except the nameplate,
case, and the keyboard.
Many industry observers then and now say that nameplate was the most
important contribution IBM made to help legitimize the fledgling PC
industry.
--Boston, Massachusetts OUTBOUND INTROS NEW "MAC NOTEBOOK"
---------------------
Outbound Systems has unveiled a series of notebook sized Mac-compatible
computers. The new machines will replace the original Outbound Mac por-
table clone, which the company has been shipping for the past 18 months.
All five machines in the line measure approximately 8.5 inches deep by
11 inches wide by 2 inches tall. All of them weigh about 6.25 pounds.
This makes them the lightest Mac-compatible portables on the market.
Prices start at $2,529 for the basic Motorola 68000-based machine with
two megabytes (MB) of RAM, a superdrive compatible floppy disk, battery,
and power adapter - to $4,299 for the top of the line model which fea-
tures a 68030 microprocessor, 4MB of RAM, the floppy drive, a 60MB hard
disk, battery and power adapter.
Projected operating life on a single battery charge is three hours. The
machines provide all of the standard Macintosh connectors including a
single SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) connector. It is possible
to dock a Notebook to a regular Macintosh via the SCSI cable and then
all of the Notebook devices become regular SCSI devices on the base
Macintosh.
Outbound Systems has solved the problem of providing a set of ROMs for
their machines by signing an agreement with Apple Computer. When a cus-
tomer purchases an Outbound Notebook, he also purchases a used Mac 512KE
or SE. Outbound then repurchases the "shell" of the used Macintosh (i.e.
everything but the ROMs) back from the customer and disposes of it. As a
matter of fact, the customer never sees the used Macintosh that he pur-
chased. If the customer has a used Macintosh, Outbound will sell the
Notebook to him for $200 less.
--Torrance, California ASHTON-TATE TO LAY OFF 200
--------------------
Ashton-Tate has announced it is laying off 200 people, leaving its
world-wide workforce at about 1,300 employees.
--Maynard, Massachusetts DEC CUTS 250 FROM CREATIVE SUPPORT
----------------------
Plagued by financial setbacks and layoffs in the past year, Digital
Equipment Corp. has restructured its marketing operations and has
terminated 250 creative support people.
-Scotts Valley, California NEW LAYOFFS AT SEAGATE TECHNOLOGIES
-------------------------
Seagate Technologies has layed-off another 450 from its US and European
workforce. When added to the previous 1200 layed off on July 12th, this
totals to a 4% reduction in the US and European workforce. The Asian
operations have not been affected.
--Redwood City, California NEXT COMPUTERS POSTS HUGE SALES
------------------------ INCREASE FOR 2ND QUARTER
Next Computers has surprised many in the computer industry by announcing
that revenues for the second quarter ended June 30, 1991, reached $46
million, an 86 percent increase over the prior quarter.
According to the company, 70% of its workstation products went to cus-
tomers in business and government, while the remaining 30% went to
colleges and universities. Additionally, Europe and Asia accounted for
more than 49% of sales.
> CPU PC STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE PC NEWS
====================
Issue #5
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
--New for the PC Enter THUMBELINA,
-------------- A mouse the size of a sugar cube
Appoint, the manufacturer of the MousePen family of ergonomically desig-
ned pointing devices and peripherals, has introduced "Thumbelina," a
mouse so small the retail version of it is one and a half inches square
and three-fourths of an inch high. Thumbelina is intended for notebooks
and palmtops where there is an immediate need to provide a full function
onboard pointing device that requires a minimum of real estate.
Thumbelina utilizes Appoint's proprietary, friction operated technology
used in the MousePen product line. The mechanism has the ability to
function on any surface, or at any angle including down, the company
said.
In use, Thumbelina is a full-featured mouse, with two input buttons
ergonomically located so they can be used simultaneously, and a third
button which functions as a drag lock key. The drag lock key is spe-
cially designed for the difficulty in pressing a button and sliding the
mouse, associated with certain drag functions. A light indicates the
drag lock is on, and the function stays on until the drag lock key is
pressed again.
Thumbelina comes in four primary versions: the IBM PS/2 version in IBM
grey color and a nine foot cable; the IBM compatible personal computer
(PC) version, also IBM grey with a nine foot cable; the portable version
for IBM compatible portable or laptop computers in IBM grey with a five
foot cable; and the Macintosh version, ThumbelinaMac, which comes in a
platinum color, has a six foot cable and is also Apple compatible. All
four units carry a suggested retail price of $99, and are distributed by
Ingram Micro.
--New for the PC Remote Communications For Windows
-------------- And DOS
-- Norton- Lambert says that it is shipping Close-up 4.0 and claims the
product is the first modem remote communications software package for
both Windows and DOS users.
"This product is perfect for Support Experts who need to help their cus-
tomers install and run Windows at remote locations and for Corporate
Users who want to access Windows or DOS on their office PC from home or
on the road via modem," said Richard de Mornay, Norton- Lambert's vice
president of marketing.
The new product allows "support experts" to remotely install and support
Windows applications on a clients personal computer at any location via
the telephone line, the company said.
The product is said by Norton-Lambert to allow a technician to start a
long file transfer in a background window, and continue working in a
foreground Window. Since transfer of applications software can be quite
time consuming, this could be an important feature.
--New for the PC 119-Channel TV Add-on Board
--------------
AView Technology has announced DesktopTV, an IBM-compatible add-on board
that turns the computer into an enhanced television, the company said.
The board is capable of receiving 119 channels, allowing VHF, UHF and
cable TV channel selection, as well as Videodisc, VCR and other RF
modulated NTSC inputs. Controls for the television are operated from the
keyboard, and the sound is delivered by an external speaker which is
included with the board.
The product has been developed in multifrequency and VGA versions. It is
available direct from the company for $395. For more information, call
416/922-6555.
--New for the PC Trellis ships EXPOSE
--------------
Trellis has begun shipping the Microsoft Windows-based Trellis Expose
network manager for the Vines local area network environment. Expose
tracks and displays network performance in real-time, showing where
problems are occurring and helping managers speed performance.
Expose runs on an Intel 80386-based or faster Windows computer with six
megabytes of memory and supports versions 3.10, 4.0, and 4.10 of Vines.
--New for the PC Radio Shack 386SX 16MHz Desktop
--------------
Radio Shack has introduced the 2500 SX, a 16 megahertz, 386-based desk-
top system which it says is priced competitively with many 286-based
systems.
The 2500 SX ships with MS-DOS 5.0, Super-VGA graphics, and Tandy's Desk-
Mate 3.5, a graphical interface program with applications for word pro-
cessing, spreadsheet, database, calendar, address book, communications,
sound, music and draw programs.
Standard equipment includes one megabyte (MB) of random access ram, ex-
pandable to 16 MB; one 3.5-inch 1.44MB floppy drive and two expansion
bays for additional floppy drives. An internal CD-ROM or tape backup
drive can be installed in one of the extra bays.
Tandy says they will also make the 2500 available in a "multimedia ver-
sion" which includes 2MB of RAM, 512K video RAM, Super-VGA, an internal
CD-ROM drive and a 40MB hard drive. The standard unit carries a price
tag of $1,299 while the multimedia system is prices at $2,799.
--New for the PC $1,000 to upgrade any '386 computer
-------------- to 486/33 says Lightning
Lightning Computers announces an upgrade for a 386 computer to a 33 mhz
80486 (486) for only $995 and an upgrade on an AT or XT computer is
$1,295. Lightning will do it for the user if the user will pay the
shipping, said Rick McCabe president of Lightning.
The upgrade requires replacement of the motherboard, the main circuit
board of the computer that everything else plugs into, McCabe said.
Existing disk drives, monitor cards, power supply, and case can all be
used, as the technician can slow down the basic input/output system
(BIOS) so the slower disk drives, monitor cards and peripherals can
still talk to the faster 486 central processing unit (CPU), McCabe said.
However, if a change in the case or power supply is necessary, an extra
$125 is charged, the company said.
The new motherboard comes with the 486 33 MHz central processing unit
(CPU), 128K of cache expandable to 256K, a seven slot industry-standard
architecture (ISA) bus, an AMI BIOS and SIMM sockets that hold up to 32
megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM) in the form of 1 MB SIMMs,
Lightning said. Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus
machines are also available, the company said.
Additional RAM is $65 per MB, if the existing RAM is not in the form of
SIMMS and cannot be reused, McCabe said.
Lightning also said it upgrades AT and XT class computers to 386 CPUs
starting at $295.
Lightning says it was the first company to ship a 50 MHz 80486- based
system in May of 1991. Lightning can be reached toll-free at (800) 347-
4486.
--Irvine, California TOSHIBA CUTS NOTEBOOK PRICES
------------------
Toshiba has announced a price reduction on its T1200XE 20 megabyte (MB)
and 40 MB hard disk drive notebook computers effective August 1. The new
price on the T1200XE with a 20MB hard disk is $1,999 while the 40MB
version will retail for $2,299, the company said. This notebook
computer, the T1200XE, is the one for which BYTE Magazine awarded the
1991 Readers' Choice Award, TAIS said.
--Fremont, California GRID 20 - 30% COMPUTER PRICE CUTS
-------------------
Grid Systems, responding to an industry trend, says it is reducing
prices on all of its laptop, notebook and desktop computer systems by 20
to 30%.
Affected are Grid's computers, hard disk drives, random access memory
(RAM) kits, central processing units (CPUs), coprocessors, and monitors,
the company said. Some examples include the Grid 1450 laptop computer
(an 80386SX-based system), reduced from $5,295 (with 40 megabyte hard
drive) to $3,995, the Grid 1720 notebook computer (an 80286-based
system) reduced from $3,495 (with modem and 20MB hard drive) to $2,895
and the Grid 386isx-20 desktop computer, reduced from $2,799 to $1,799.
RAM kit prices were decreased more than 25 percent, Grid said
Grid said it has also revised its corporate discount structures as well.
Grid is a wholly owed subsidiary of Tandy Corporation headquartered in
Fort Worth, Texas.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
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"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> PIRACY HURTS WHO? STR FOCUS "..few developers we have left.."
===========================
"REMEMBER THE ATARI 8-BIT"
==========================
by Dana P. Jacobson
Lately, there's been a lot of talk about what's wrong with Atari.
Not only have the users been complaining, but so have the faithful few
developers we have left to support us. But, to be totally fair, Atari
Corporation is just one facet of this predicament, albeit a prominent one.
Even more recently, organizations such as the IAAD, along with many
others, have been speaking out against another problem. The problem has
not been openly discussed in quite some time. It's time to once again
address this topic here in STReport, as well as other news sources.
Over two years ago, I wrote my first editorial for our user group
newsletter. At that time, there were forewarnings of doom because of lack
of Atari support. It wasn't the problem that Atari was or was not
providing support, but that developers were moving away from supporting
the Atari line, to support other machines. I was seeing that happen with
various software companies at that time, and all for essentially the same
reason:
PIRACY!
Now, here's a legitimate reason, however terribly unfair to the
honest users among us, to "force" the developers to drop their support.
"What?", you're probably saying, "what does piracy and developers' support
have to do with each other?" Good question, you think to yourself...hehe,
not really. First of all, the developers, that is, programmers and
software companies, are sick and tired of trying to produce high quality
software, market it, and make a living - then have some inconsiderate
people copy the stuff and give it to all of their friends! Or even worse,
copying a commercial program, ARCing it, and uploading it to a pirate BBS!
I'd guarantee that the program would be on just about every pirate board
in the country within 48 hours of the initial upload!
"So what," you chuckle under your breath. "How bad can _that_ get?"
Let's figure it out, shall we. Let's imagine that Johnny SNEAK THIEF bor-
rows "Dungeon Master" from a friend of his and copies it. Hey, he's a
friend, he won't mind me making a copy... He then makes 10 copies and
gives them to all of _his_ friends as Christmas presents. So far, we've
got 11 illegal copies floating around. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention
that making copies of commercial software for any reason other than your
own personal use is a CRIME? Now, one of Johnny's friends just happens to
operate a BBS which has, shall we say, a "tainted" reputation. "Ahhhh,
maybe I'll post this on the board," he mumbles, "my friends will really
think I'm cool. They've been waiting to get DM forever!" Fifty people
download the DM file that week and ten of them upload it to _their_
favorite board. On each of those 10 boards, the file is downloaded 25
times. Lost track yet? Not me, it adds up to 321 illegal copies! All
because someone "loaned" his legitimate game to a "friend". Believe me,
this total is an absurdly low figure. I just didn't feel like adding up
more figures. But, let's take this hypothesis a little further. For the
sake of argument, let's assume that "Dungeon Master" sells for $50.00. A
quick few touches on the calculator makes those 321 copies worth
$16,050.00. Now, remember that I said the "321" figure was a low example.
How many commercial software titles are available for the ST? 500, 1,000?
Heck, I have no idea! But, let's say that there are 1,000, and that this
same method of piracy went on for each one of them. Getting out my trusty
calculator again......$16,050,000.00!!!! That's 16 MILLION dollars!! Not
much of bargain after the initial 50 grand spent by that dumb-witted kid
that keeps on lending his software to Johnny SNEAK THIEF, is it?
Now you know why piracy is such a thorn in the side of these
developers. More like a forest of rosebushes, I'd say! With that poten-
tial financial loss, why should they keep putting out software? How can
they afford to stay in business? Some can't, and these companies have
either folded or sold out to other platforms.
"Who does this affect besides those 'huge and rich' companies," you
might ask? Who said these companies were "huge and rich?" Some, maybe;
but most are quite small. We know the programmers and companies suffer.
Then comes the dealers who purchase the product to sell. Piracy kills
sales. Why should customers buy the product for 50 bucks when they can
spend a couple of bucks on a long-distance call to a pirate board and
download it? No sales, no dealers. So, in the long run, legitimate users
can't get the software because there are no dealers. Who profits? Unfor-
tunately, it's the illegal hackers and other damn pirates!
Getting back to who suffers from piracy... being semi-selfish on oc-
casion, it's _me_ who suffers. Some software companies try to recoup
their losses by jacking-up their prices for their products, which in turn
means that I have to pay more. HEY! Computing is already an expensive
hobby as it is. I can't afford even more costs because of piracy! Per-
sonally, I'm not going to put up with piracy any longer. Pirates, beware!
What is being done about piracy today? Obviously, not enough, as
piracy apparently flourishes as much as drug-dealing. Some software com-
panies are encoding their programs with copy-protection schemes and
"weird" disk-formatting. Others are less subtle about their copy-protec-
tion. Boot up "Carrier Command", the "Leisure Suit Larry" adventures, and
some others, and you have to answer questions or find the "answers" within
the manual to play the game. No correct answer - no play. Inexpensive
back-up copies is another means that I've seen to help deter pirate
copying.
These programs that have been copy-protected by encoding are
infuriating. I make a back-up copy of all my software so I don't inadver-
tently damage my expensive originals. Or, I might want to speed up
gameplay, or other programs by being able to run them on my hard drive.
Okay, if I have to, I'll live with it with "floppy use only", but I won't
be happy. The "docs" protection is a good idea, as I can still make a
back-up and/or put it on my hard drive. Without the manual, the program
is useless to pirates. Not a perfect solution to piracy, but a step in
the right direction. The ability to buy a back-up disk(s) is okay, but I
feel I should be able to copy, for my own uses, something that I already
paid for once. I have, however, gone this route a few time in my early
days.
What else can be done to put an end to the potential "life
threatening" ST cancer called piracy? Plenty. Articles, such as this
one, are just one way to inform people, pirates included, that piracy is
wrong, correction, illegal! Education is one means. There is no
justification for passing around or taking copies of commercial software.
No matter what reasons that you can think of to "justify" it:
affordability, ease, "prestige", excitement, or whatever; the fact remains
that it's illegal and all computer pirates are slime! Computing is an
expensive venture. If you can't afford it, then you shouldn't have gotten
involved in it. Or, stick with public domain programs; there's plenty of
legitimate "free stuff" out there. If Mommy or Daddy bought you your com-
puter, but won't keep shelling out money for every bit of software you
want - earn the money yourself. Either get a part-time job or offer to do
more around the house so your parents will give you a little extra cash
for software. If you're an adult, knowing that it's irresponsible to
pirate software _should_ be enough for you to not do it. Again, there's
plenty of PD stuff available if this doesn't work for you. Even shareware
software is another alternative, being less expensive than commercial
items, though not guaranteed to be as good (though some is!). If all this
fails, or you're too lazy to work to support your computer-habit; then
accept the fact that if you can't afford it, you don't use it. Don't be
an idiot and steal it. Take up another hobby!
Lower the prices of software so that even the pirates can "afford"
it? Nah, I doubt that would work. There are many who are going to pirate
regardless of low price incentives. Eliminating piracy may, however,
lower the prices for legitimate users.
Extreme copy-protection schemes perhaps, er possibly, but then again,
you have some hackers out there whose goals are to break every copy
protection scheme thrown at them.
Prosecution is another way to stop piracy. After all, copyright
infringement is a crime. Did you know that there are, rewards, for tur-
ning in pirate boards and having them successfully prosecuted and shut
down? Yep. Awww, you think that's too drastic? Then I suspect that
you're either a pirate, or know one. Shut 'em down, confiscate all of
their equipment, and fine them or throw them in jail for awhile. Since
most pirate boards are probably run by "young" people (my assumption), I
bet their parents will keep an eye on them in the future.
You don't want to turn in a friend? Then educate them that what
they're doing is wrong and convince them to go legit. If you know of
pirate boards, turn them in to their parents or report them to someone who
can do something about it.
Maybe all bulletin boards should be policed by some "Anti-Piracy"
Commission. I hate the need for regulatory agencies, but it may not be a
bad idea if it successfully helped to eradicate pirate boards. These com-
missions could be made up by members of local user groups to police their
local boards and report their findings to a central commission. If it
meant curing piracy, I'd volunteer the BBS that I operate to be the first
to be "inspected". Also, all BBSs should be registered. Any board
discovered not to be registered should be investigated immediately. There
are hundreds of BBS listings that would allow for these boards to be
traced, eventually.
Parents: take an interest in your kid's BBS. Check it out and
educate them about the importance of running a legitimate board. If they
won't listen, take the computer away from them. You, as responsible
parents, should watch out for these activities. If you say that your
kid's actions are harmless, then you haven't been paying attention.
Therefore, "the family that pirates together, goes to jail together!"
Still hesitant to turn in a friend or name boards because of possible
retaliation? Drop a line to us here at STReport on any of the major on-
line services in private E-Mail. Write us a letter, the address is listed
at the beginning of any issue. We'll see to it that the proper people are
notified so something can be done about it. Shutting down pirate boards
will put a severe dent in the amount of pirated software being passed
around. We can't stop it completely (or can we?), but we can show the
developers and software companies that we care enough to support them by
helping to put an end to piracy. In a way, maybe, just maybe, we'll
retain their support of our machines.
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
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Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
***********************************************************************
> STReport's Online Conference STR FOCUS GEnie's STReport RTC
======================================
GENIE'S STREPORT ONLINE CONFERENCE
==================================
August 03, 1991
---------------
Room 5, the News room.
Job City Room Sta Mail-Address
1 Markham ontar,CA 5 N [David] ISD2
2 Vancouver,BC 5 N [Ron] R.GRANT11
3 Redondo beach,CA 5 N S.MERRILL1
4 Arlington hei,IL 5 N JEFF.W
5 Fremont,CA 1 M [John] TOWNS
6 San mateo,CA 5 N DRACO
7 North york,ON 5 N DARLAH
8 Latest news,FL 5 L [Ralph] ST.REPORT
10 Colorado spri,CO 5 N [John@GE_Lamp] ST-GUEST
11 Middlesex,NJ 5 N [Z-Net] R.KOVACS
12 Phoenix,AZ 5 N [Brien] B.KING8
13 Urbana,IL 5 N [IAAD Member] D.A.BRUMLEVE
14 Somewhere,UT 5 N SANDY.W
15 Rehoboth,MA 5 N J.LEDGARD
16 Rockford,IL 5 N [IAAD Member] DOUG.W
17 Rio piedras,PR 5 N W.VARGAS2
18 Lompoc,CA 5 N D.HADLAND
19 Wexford,PA 5 N [Bill Roberts] B.ROBERTS1
20 Jacksonville,FL 5 N [Lloyd Pulley] ST-REPORT
21 North attlebo,MA 5 N A.DIPIETRO
22 Sunnyvale,CA 5 N MIKE-FULTON
24 Middlesex,NJ 5 N [John Nagy] Z-NET
25 Peachtree cit,GA 5 N E.HANTSCH
27 Campbell,OH 5 N [Dr. Bob] W.PARKS3
28 Hamilton,ON 5 N [That Rob Guy] R.QUANCE
29 Champaign,IL 5 N [IAAD Member] C.STANFORD
31 Big swamp,FL 5 N D.D.MARTIN
33 Pacific palis,CA 5 N [Bad Dog] C.F.JOHNSON
34 Phillipsburg,NJ 5 N F.KISH1
35 Markham,ON 5 N [Nathan] ISD
36 Glendale,CA 5 N [The King] ATARIUSER
37 Sunnyvale,CA 5 N BOB-BRODIE
++++++++++++++++++++++
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> ok Ray go ahead...
<R.SKIBO1> Why was there so much trouble when your issue was pulled and
yet you can edit or delete messages in the F-Net?
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> I never did such things and that question was raised
well over a year and a half ago. No one was ever able to prove that al-
legation in any way.
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Ok Larry..
<[Larry Rymal] LRYMAL> Hi Ralph, what is the topic tonight?
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Larry, I would like to go with current events...
pertaining to the Atari world
<[Larry Rymal] LRYMAL> Ok, great. Is there any word on product, inclu-
ding monitors, etc. for the ST and TT/s in the U.S.? That would be a con-
cern I'd like to see answer, especially with Christmas coming in a few
months.
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Actually, I 'd like to see the market flooded with
product for the holidays. It would be wonderful. From what I am privy
to.. there is a ship due in about two weeks. ga
<[Larry Rymal] LRYMAL> Do you know if it includes peripherals, such as
the monitors?
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Actually I have no particulars other than there is a
great deal of goodies on board this vessel. Thank God!
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> ga
<[Larry Rymal] LRYMAL> Gosh, that is exciting, at least I hope. Ok, Ra-
lph. I am through. Great job and great service that you provide to us.
On to some other user now. GA
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> ok Larry thanks! ok Draco... its all yours....
<DRACO> Thanks for joinming us tonight, Ralph. Two questions....
1) what ever got you into the electronic newsletter biz?
2) have you quit kicking your dog? ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Answer to question 1 is a double event.... Word Per-
fect and Ron Kovacs :-) And I HAD to quit kicking the dog. He's big-
ger than me! ga
<DRACO> That's it... thanks. (done)
<R.SKIBO1> Current events - I understand you are currently receiving a
pirate crossnet on your BBS. Is this your way of supporting the Atari
computer?
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Ah yes... I was WAITING for this question..... How
nice of you to oblige. Being in the business of gathering news, I am
sometimes obliged to be in some rather unsavory places.
<R.SKIBO1> does this mean a crime reporter should go out and hold up a
store?
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Ray, get real, a crime reporter goes into the den of
thieves for stories but that does not mean he commits a crime. ga
<W.VARGAS2> Good Evening Ralph, Have you received any kind of cooperation
from ATARI when you try to report on something? ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> In most cases, yes I do get cooperation to some
extent. However when it comes to sensitive matters......... I find I am
left open to my own devices. Thankfully, I have some excellent resources
who manage to get the 'skinny' to me. ga
<W.VARGAS2> Thanks Ralph, GA.
<[IAAD Member] D.A.BRUMLEVE> If I understand your response re Z-Net's
piracy charges... you are comparing your board to a sting operation. Is
that right?
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> No Dot, you are 180 degrees out of phase... ga
<[IAAD Member] D.A.BRUMLEVE> When will you report on what you have dis-
covered in this den of thieves? GA
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> You will know when you read about it. :-) ga
<[John] TOWNS> Yes, I was wondering.. How do you feel about the fact that
a number of well-known and respected members of the Atari community
(including some at Atari) have said that they don't read ST Report and
don't recommend it to Atari owners that they come in contact with? GA
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> John, I've heard that all before. Its a plain and
simple case of kill the messenger. What goes around comes around. And..
STReport is for the users ...... :-) ga
<[John] TOWNS> Then why is it writen in such a criptic form most of the
time? They are things in ST Report that are so criptic that almost no
one can <[John] TOWNS> understand them! Are the users supposed to get
these riddles? ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> That sir..... is our style, such is life! :-) ga
<[John] TOWNS> Thanks.. GA
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Congratulations on Atari User it is a good mag!
<[John Nagy] Z-NET> Ralph, if STR is for the Users, why do you not cover
Glendale, Vancouver shows, and AtariUser mag>? Is it personal? ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Actually John, we had good coverage for the Vancouver
Show, you must've missed it. I'd be delighted to give Atariuser more
coverage. But I have to make arrangements to be sure its ok. ga
<[John Nagy] Z-NET> I mean, there are press releases from the tiniest
places, run complete... but noth anything close to ZNET. I guess that
will pass for an answer. Thanks anyway. Over. and out
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Thanks John and my compliments on Atari User it looks
good!
<MIKE-FULTON> Some months back, you solicited permission from people to
reprint messages from GENIE... I denied permission for this, but a few
issues back, you reprinted one of my messages from GENIE. Please explain
what the situation here is. ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> I have insufficient informaton at this time, but as I
am aware, you denied PARTIAL reprints to M. Lee. Not I, take it up with
him please.... ga
<MIKE-FULTON> You are the editor, right? Aren't you responsible for the
contents?
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> I am and the matter was partial reprints not a full
reprint. Your message was a full reprint and yes, I now have a copy of
your request that no partials be reprinted. The message you speak of was
reprinted in full. I followed all the requirements asked of us. ga
<MIKE-FULTON> I said I might give permission for specific messages on a
one-by-one basis, but that I wouldn't give global permission for repri-
nts.
<MIKE-FULTON> ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> this can go on all night.. send me email and I will
address this matter in its entirety. ga
<[IAAD Member] DOUG.W> What is it that motivates someone to write for and
publish an on-line magazine when no income is derived from it? In your
case, you are now publishing 4 such "magazines" (STR, PCR, MACR, and AMR)
- what is the motivation for all that effort? ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Have you got about two weeks of spare time to listen
to my reasons? It all boils down to one thing Doug, I enjoy doing it
along with the other volunteer editors in our staff. ga
<[IAAD Member] DOUG.W> Thank you. ga
<[Brien] B.KING8> Hi, I was just downloaded your latest STReport (731)
and was wondering why ther e is so _little_ coverage of the ST in it? It
had more to do with the Mac, Amiga and IBM than the ST... GA
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> This last issue was sort of top heavy in other areas,
but there was and is a reason.... you see, there are new developments
that are just happening in those areas that we've had and enjoyed for
years now. We intend to more on that to prove the grass is not greener
elsewhere. :-) ga
<[Brien] B.KING8> Well, I really dont see how most of what was in this
STReport had to do with the ST... Maybe you could _cut_ the size of
STReport and save us a few $$ in download costs if there isn't going to
be much on the ST... or.
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Thats a suggestion worth looking into... thanks ga
<[Brien] B.KING8> maybe stick all the ST stuff at the top so we dont have
to wade through all the other things to find the few articals on the ST.
<[Brien] B.KING8> ga
<[Z-Net] R.KOVACS> I have asked you personally to come out and support
the growing Anti-Piracy effort Z-Net is promoting in Fnet and you refused,
can you ellaborate as to why you refuse to do so?? ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Ron, its not a matter of a refusal, its a matter of
not being in that particular crossnet conference becuase Node 350 is not
in your FNETLINK.DAT file. ga
<[Z-Net] R.KOVACS> I fail to see the reason why that is important? The
Anti-Piracy effort needs your support to? Why not support it!!!
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Simply put because Node 350 is not in the net you are
talking about. You have not put 350 in there. Thus we are unable to
participate. ga
<[Z-Net] R.KOVACS> You need not be in the conference to support it. You
can publically come out against pirating in FNET.
<[Z-Net] R.KOVACS> And I can add you if that is what it will take to get
you out supporting it!@
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Actually, STReport is strongly against any and all
actions that are illegal. And yes.... Add Node 350 back into the TWO
conferences and we will be glad to support this effort. ga
<[Z-Net] R.KOVACS> Let me know what you want. Pirates need to be crushed
and we cant do it alone! Hmmm Didnt know it was that easy! Excuse me and
look for node 350 to be added soon! GA
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Ron you have a great idea and we support your efforts
and will do our best. :-) ga
<[Z-Net] T.SCHREIBER1> Ralph - a new quarter is decending upon us. Do you
perhaps think a change is in order? You catch more flies with buttermilk
than vinegar. A strong support of the IAAD is in order as well as the
people at Atari to make this happen. ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Terry that's a "paramount idea and suggestion"! I
think its definately worth a serious effort! The IAAD is an asset to the
community, of this there is no doubt and deserves our strong support!! ga
<[Z-Net] T.SCHREIBER1> thats it for now thanks.
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Folks, its three minutes of eleven pm here on the
east coast... and this old body needs its rest... so I'll take two more
and say goodnight
<[Lloyd Pulley] ST-REPORT> How come you keep insisting on right
justification? Even some of your best editors are getting away from it.
<grin>
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> As you will notice in this last week's issue, we
dropped the right justify as an experiment. Lets see how it goes... :-)
<D.D.MARTIN> hi Ralph... just wondered what may be in your future..any
plans? any projects you have in mind? ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> DD, right now its a tossup... There is a good chance
of a hard copy mag in the near future, and of course we know J. Durre is
"back in town". :-) ga
<D.D.MARTIN> town? I'd hardly call it a 'town'...grin... thanks for com-
ing tonight... ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> How true. thanks.... ga
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> At this time I would like to thank GEnie, and all the
great participants in this CO, its new to me! And... I hope that, in the
future, we will be able to come on here boasting about the GLUT of
hardware out in the US market place. And of course, all the successful
dealers. I have enjoyed it and I thank each and every one of you for
stopping by!! I must say for the record, that I am a diehard Atarian,
and love that hardware! Let's all hang in there it'll get better.
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Thanks and goodnight!!
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Room is now in the talk mode.
** Although I tried and tried to get Bob's remarks into the conference
proper, (my first time doing a conference and the commands were all
new to me), it didn't work out but here it is.
<BOB-BRODIE> Ralph, it's no secret that more and more people in Sunnyvale
are objecting to your constant slamming of Atari throughout ST Report.
You are among the most disliked people in the entire Atari Community.
You have more enemies that anyone, which is quite a reach!! What are you
doing to improve your relations with developers and Atari? Have you
sincerely ...considered Dave Small's suggestion to retire? You really
should! STReport has deteroiated into nothing more than an electronic
scandal sheet.
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Bob, everyone is entitled to an opinion, even you!
<BOB-BRODIE> I'd still appreciate a real answer to a very sincere ques-
tion If you didn't get it all, I can u/l it again. You invited me to
ask, I have, I'd like an answer.
<[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Bob the press is NEVER liked by those reported about.
Especially if its not happy press! Goodnight all.....
Editor Note:
Mr. Brodie asks;
What are you doing to improve your relations with developers and Atari?
In reply;
Mr. Brodie, in reality, the real question should be;
"What is Atari doing to improve relations with STReport and all the
press agencies, the developer corps. and the users, worldwide?" Since
when is it the responsiblity of the customers to please the company??
Nice feat if you can manage to pull it off!
As for the developers in the Atari arena, one can only have pity on
these fine souls. They have invested thousands in education, development
of product and promotions only to have all hopes of real success dashed
upon the rocks of disaster because of Atari's inability to deliver
product in the proper quantities and in a timely manner.
STReport realizes that as such, when we report these unsettling facts,
it is most disturbing to dealers and developers. And rightfully so, but
the users are our prime concern and always have been. The frustrations of
the devs is fully understood and as result STReport is able to overlook a
great deal of the animosity displayed by them during these trying times.
STReport fully understands that ninety percent of the current problems
in the Atari Computer marketplace is a direct result of Atari's absolutely
dismal performance over the last four years. Its not the fault of the
developers, dealers or even STReport (as some whould have you believe).
The buck stops squarely at Atari's door. Of this.... there is no doubt.
As the world of Atari users waits and watches, they (the ever-faithful
users) are still ready, willing and able to purchase whatever it is Atari
may offer. Atari must, at this time, show some sort of assurances to the
world's Atari users that there's a real future for <everyone> in the Atari
userbase.
So there is NO confusion, and for the record;
STReport has chosen between the needs of the company or the needs of
the users. The answer is more than apparent, the user's needs must and
will come first.
___________________________________________________________
> STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date...
================================
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
=========================
On CompuServe
by Judith Hamner 72257,271
This week the message board contained discussions on programming
languages. There was a particular emphasis on those available for the
Port. Topics of perennial interest are memory expansion and storage. The
Community Square was a forum for the debate over possibilities for memory
expansion. Msg # 14633 contains some comments from Don Thomas of Atari
explaining their philosophy.
For some basic information on the possibilities see MEMORY.THR in
Library 1. This file contains selected forum messages describing two com-
mercial and one do-it- yourself options. There is still a lot of interest
in the use of external hard or floppy disk drives with the Portfolio. Msg
#14450 in section 5 (Editors/WP) contains a tip from Michael Ceitlin of
Brazil who uses transfers data to and from Lotus Metro of his desktop. The
forum membership grows more cosmopolitan every day. The ability to share
data with their desktop computer is a major concern for many Port users.
In Lib 1, MACPBK.SIT is a Hypercard stack to aid MAC users. This one will
allow conversion of phonebook files to Port, HP95, or delimited ASCII file
formats.
If you've ever wondered what's inside those Ram cards check out the
file. CARD.THR in Library 1. John Feagans describes the results of an
autopsy he did on a dead memory card. AREACO.ZIP is the latest version of
a file that provides a cross-reference between area codes and the
locations they serve.
______________________________________________________
> Turbo Board BBS ST STR Review Turbo BBS (Shareware version 1.0)
=============================
SYSOP INTERVENING... PLEASE STAND BY...
by Doyle C. Helms
BBS. Bulletin Board System. I use one everyday (mostly commercial
on-line information systems, Delphi & GEnie) and I also use The Bounty BBS
(Home of STReport). The Bounty was my first encounter with the TURBO BBS
software. The system software was/is easy to understand for new users and
fast and efficient for the old hands. What about setting up and operating
your own BBS? I have heard horror stories about set-up and board
maintenance of other BBS software and I was a little ambivalent about
doing it myself. Then TURBO BBS appeared on Delphi one day recently and I
thought what the heck, I'll give it a shot. Now the saga begins...
Let me start out by saying that I have NEVER EVER set-up a BBS
before( I have done some SYSOP work on a small local board though) trying
this program so this overview is from a greenhorns perspective. I set-up
and got the board running with minimal difficulty with ONLY the small doc
file included with the downloaded file. I can't wait to get the 150 page
manual and then lookout GEnie <g>.
The shareware version is a little over 224K and WELL worth the
download time. After de-arcing (the proper paths were already set-up via
the folder option in LZH) to my newly cleaned drive partition, I of course
did not read the docs but dove right into the program. After the main
title screen informed me that it could not find the configuration file I
then went to the docs(dosen't it always happen like that? <:)) double chin
grin with a pointy head<G>>. I digress. Where was I? Oh yea, after reading
the small doc file, yes SMALL, you get a more in depth manual with
registration, to see what I needed to do to get this thing running.
First off, the docs say to modify the TURBO.OPT file to match your
current system set-up. This involves loading the file into a word proces-
sor (very difficult huh?).
Partial example of the TURBO.OPT file:
HST BAUD(Rates available: 300, 1200, 2400, HST, 19.2)
........
........
\TURBO\ MAIN BBS DIRECTORY
Explanation of above:
Change the HST setting to reflect the MAX baud rate of your
system/BBS. If you have only a 300 baud modem the change the HST to 300.
\TURBO\ is the directory from which the TURBO program will be run.
There are MANY more options which you the SYSOP set-up to configure
the board to your and you users needs. There are other options like when
to turn the SYSOP CHAT TIME ON and OFF. This is so you will not be awaken
at 2:30 am by a frustrated user with a question like "Is this board a 24
hour system?" REMOTE SYSOP ACCESS is another ON/OFF option. The many op-
tion choices should suffice most anyones need.
After revision of the TURBO.OPT file you then execute a program
called SYSGEN.TOS. The manual states that "SYSGEN will read the TURBO.OPT
file, and will check the drives that you have specified as being online.
If you have created a BBS directory and various system subdirectories,
SYSGEN will also create them for you on all drives specified in
TURBO.OPT". After the program checks out the .OPT file and verifies the
settings, you will then be asked for the number of passwords/users to al-
locate space for. Adding new parameters for additional users is very easy
later on if your board grows beyond your original set-up. The maximum num-
ber of passwords is 2000. SYSGEN will then create the appropriate data
files and save them to your specified path. You are then questioned as to
the number of message bases to create. You are limited to 64. An ample
enough number. Each message base may have up to 500 messages in each. Once
again the appropriate data files are created and saved automatically. Fur-
ther set-up includes the space to allocate for E-Mail, the number of
download categories (asking a name for each, e.g. GRAPHICS, DTP etc.).
Initial start-up.
Run TURBO.PRG. TURBO BOARD will create a window at the top of
the screen displaying the status of the board while the system is in
operation.
Lot: Turbo Board ST Ver 1.0 Off: Page On
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Age: 0 Ph: Ca:
0-0
Dla: 0 Dba: 0 Dd: 0 Du: 0 Dl: 0 Ul: 0 Mai: 0 Fml: 0 Fnt: 0
Fre: 6604123 Mes: 0 MiS: 1295 Ni: 0 No: 21 Si: 0 So: 61 9600 8N1
Fun: Fil:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where:
Lot: displays the logon time of the current user.
Off: shows the logoff time of the last user.
"Page On" or "Page Off" will be shown at the far right of the
firstline, depending on the status of the Chat mode. You will see a an
inverse "-Chat-" printed if the user had called the SysOp for chat.
Name:is the current user's name.
Age: is the current user's age.
Ph: will contain the current (or last if no one is on) user's phone num
ber.
Ca: is two numbers. The first number is the total number of Callers
since the system was initialized. The second number is the number
of Calls since booting.
Dla: stands for Download access, and is the file access level.
Dba: is short for the Database access level.
Except for MiS, No, and So, all data explained below is 'since booting',
not since the system was initialized (first created).
Dd: the number of Database file that have been downloaded (read).
Du: the number of Database files that have been uploaded.
Dl: the number of file downloads.
Ul: the number of file uploads.
Mai: is the number of E-Mail messages entered.
Fml: shows the number of Fmail messages entered.
Fnt: is the number of Fnet messages that have been entered on the BBS.
The next line contains:
Fre: the free upload space available on drives allocated to Turbo Board.
Mes: the total number of messages entered.
MiS: the total number of messages currently in the system.
Ni: the number of Fnet messages added to the message bases during the
last run of the Fmailer program. (Number in)
No: the number of Fnet messages waiting to be sent. (Number out)
Si: the number of SAFs (Stand-alone Files) that have been received from
the FNET mailer.
The far right entry shows the current Communications port (RS-232)
settings.
This information is available to you the SYSOP on the HOST system
only, the user cannot see any of this info.
TURBO BOARD is now in the "waitring" state. This means the system is
awaiting an incoming call or some action by the SYSOP.
At this point you the SYSOP must log yourself into the system for
your password set-up the first time you use it just like a caller would
do. No, you don't have to call yourself from another computer <g>. Just
press <RETURN>. You will then be cued like a regular user would be as to
user number/name and password. In this initial procedure the board will
assign you a user I.D. and let you choose your password. After this info
is recorded you are ready to become THE SYSOP!
You would now press the F1 key to enter the SYSOP mode. To view the
SYSOP command menu just press <RETURN> again. You then go through another
small procedure to identify yourself as a SYSOP with all the perks that go
with it<g>. I will not define this procedure due to the fact it may be
sensitive in a way I'm not familiar and I don't want to be blamed for
anything going wrong. The "procedure" is VERY simple, so your not missing
anything by me not telling you.
In the next installment I will go into detail about the setting up of
your initial download databases(you wouldn't want to start-up with an
empty board would you?) and a few of the other features of this fine
shareware product.
The following is from the included doc file accompanying TURBO_SW.
Turbo Board's NEW Features over FoReM ST 2.3:
-Conference Fmail (in any message base)
-Ability to View, and Type Fmail arc files
-Improved Message Editor (also R-emacs support if you so desire)
-ARC(V6.02) LHARC, and ZIP verbose listings
-TYPE a text file from any ARC or LHARC file
-LZHdl.LZH in the ARCtools (ZIPdl.ZIP still under developement)
-Integrated MSDOS style CLI/BATCH shell for running Batch files
-FULL BinkleyTerm mailer support (Pcommand not needed)
-Much easier when editing User Passwords
-Local Sysop Inactivity Timer
-Keyboard Lock feature
-Option to set Snoop mode on bootup
-New Scan file commands, does all the List commands + more!
-External program hooks, Executive, Chat.prg, Survey.bat, Syspas.bat,
Fmail.bat, Logon.bat, and many other new batch files
-Backup command in Email base while reading Messages
-Greetings message can be entered at logoff by registered users.
-Sysop can now have a No-window VT-52 option if he chooses
-Help key for Function key assignments displayed
-Undo key will attempt to abort any file transfer in progress
-Any alternate CHAT program can be used by the sysop if he so chooses
-Improved (greatly) paging control ( *More?(Y/N/C) prompt)
-Ringback working for long distance callers
-Many bugs that were present in FoReM ST are eliminated in this program
(you sysops know what they were...)
-MSH program NOT needed for the Doors programs
-Program size approx 200K, saves memory, and doesn't loose any!
-Faster execution than FoReM ST on initialization, and operation
-Smaller Window Size, frees up 2 lines on the Window
-PLUS all the features of FoReM ST, including FULL F-net and Crossnet
support (+ Conference Fmail support, Forem doesn't have this)
-Fidonet message bases, are under developement, but Binkley and Fidodoor
work just fine. Also the FIFO program is Fully Compatible with our BBS.
-This board is FoReM ST data file compatible, meaning that all the data
files that you use for FoReM will work on this board.
THE SYSOP HAS NOW RETURNED CONTROL TO YOU...
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE...
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:_________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
-------------------------------Cut here ----------------------------------
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> WAACE Fall/'91 STR InfoFile "THE PREMIER EAST COAST SHOW!"
===========================
WAACE ATARIFEST '91 UPDATE
==========================
WAACE, Inc. AtariFest '91 Dates:
--------------------------------
The Fest is scheduled for 12 and 13 October '91. The show hours are
from 10 to 5 both days. We also expect to sponsor some special events on
Friday evening.
The show will feature a full round of seminars and demonstrations.
There will also be a swap meet. There will be a cocktail party and a ban-
quet on Saturday evening.
Location:
---------
The Fest will be held at the Sheraton Reston Hotel in Reston, VA,
which is within 20 minutes of downtown Washington, DC and within 5 minutes
of Dulles International Airport.
This is the same location we used last year. For those who did not
make the '90 event let us simply say that this is a pleasant, spacious
conference facility located in a parklike suburban setting with plenty of
free parking.
Hotel Rates:
------------
Hotel rates are $59 per night for single or double occupancy, $66 for
triple and quad. These rates are valid from October 10th through the
13th. Virginia hotel tax (4.5%) must be added to the above prices. In or-
der to obtain these rates you must mention WAACE AtariFest '91 when making
your reservations.
Admission Prices:
-----------------
The admission price has not been determined yet except to say that
show visitors who are guests of the hotel will receive a free ticket for
each night that they book (limited to two tickets per room per day).
Registered show workers will also receive free two-day passes.
Members of non-WAACE Atari User groups may register as show workers and
receive a free two-day pass. Please contact the WAACE representitives
below for details on registering as show workers.
Vendor Information:
-------------------
The basic rate for a single booth will be $500. There is a 30% dis-
count for vendors who reserve their booth space before 31 July (by
including a 50% deposit with their reservation).
The booth payment is for a single 8 x 8 ft booth. Pipe and drape
decoration, electrical outlets, tables, and chairs are provided. Prices
for multiple booths are as follows: 2 - $850, 3 - $1100, 4 - $1350.
A one half page ad in the WAACE Atarifest '91 Program is included in
the single booth price. Vendors may upgrade the half page ad to a full
page for $75. Standard full page ads may be purchased for $125.
Note: Small vendors that wish to pool their resources and share a
booth space may do so, but must elect a single point of contact with WAACE
for vendor business transactions.
Misc. Information:
------------------
In addition to participating as a vendor at the AtariFest, WAACE
provides additional areas for Atari developers and User Groups to
participate:
Seminars:
One hour long presentations of topics of interest to the Atari
community. Interested seminar presentors should contact the
General Chairman below to reserve a seminar slot. Please indicate
the topic of discussion as well as a preferred time slot.
Demo Rooms:
On going demonstrations of special interest topics (i.e. MIDI,
DTP, Games, MAC & IBM Emulation, Productivity, Swap Room). Any
Atari User Group or individuals interested in helping out in a
demo room should also contact the General Chariman.
Demo rooms also feature periodic demonstrations by Atari
Developers of the latest hardware and software.
Fest Program:
Features articles written by many popular magazine authors in the
Atari community. Interested authors should include a brief sum-
mary of their article to the General Chariman.
Further Information:
--------------------
For additional Information please contact either of the following:
General Chairman Vendor Coordinator
Charles S. Smeton John D. Barnes
P.O. Box 0122 7710 Chatham Rd
Columbia, MD 21045-0122 Chevy Chase, MD 20815
GEMail: C.S.SMETON GEMail: J.D.Barnes
CIS: 73047,2565 DELPHI: JDBARNES
FNET: Charles Smeton, Node 500 Internet: JOHNBARNES@ENH.NIST.GOV
Last year's WAACE show was a wonderful sight to behold, joyous Atari
users everywhere buying up everything in sight. Folks this is no
exaggeration, that's exactly how it was. This year promises to be even
better. There will be usergroups galore, all well represented.
The Saturday Night Banquet, a tradition at WAACE, had Charles F.
Johnson as its guest speaker last year (he was excellent).
The festivities were enjoyed by all and especially, the Atari Elite
Usergroup (a recognized usergroup) from Pittsburgh, PA. Incidently, the
AE group's members easily made up half of the attendees at the banquet.
Atari Elite's spokesperson, J. Karlovitch has assured this publication,
"they will be there again this year in full support of WAACE and the
Atari Community."
At this time WAACE is already shaping up to be the Premier Atari Show
on the East Coast. After all, it is. This show is a 'must attend'.
_________________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL "ATARI NEWS FIRST!"
=====================
- Toronto, Canada Waterloo Maple; No 5.0 for ST?
---------------
Waterloo Maple, a Canadian software publisher producing an excellent
symbolic math program for the ST and other platforms has released the new
version 5.0. However, the ST will not, at this time, be included due to
poor sales for the ST version 4.3. This does not however preclude an op-
tion for its being done at a later date. Maple 4.3 is the last version
written for the ST. Waterloo Maple may be reached at 519-747-2373.
- Milwaukee, WI ATARI "SHOWS UP" @ GENCON!
-------------
THIS ITEM (Below) CAME THROUGH THE NETS EARLIER THIS WEEK....
Atari had promised for several months to be a participant at the Gen-
con show. However, they will not be present as Atari computers in
California reportedly did not work with Atari Games Division in Lombard,
Il. Apparently, both thought the other had secured booth space and
neither did. By the time the error was caught, it was too late. Only
MilAtari Usergroup will have a few machines there, not the representation
originally promised and expected. ITS NOT ACCURATE.... Clearly an example
of either dis-information or paranoic reaction.
I put it here to show how misleading or early info can be erroneous at
publication time.
And now....
Bob Brodie is at GenCon at this time with a slew of machines setup for the
use of spectators along with a large number of Lynx game machines. The
spectators seem to be enjoying the daylights out of "MidiMaze" or, so I am
told. I hope Bob's luggage catches up with him.... :-)
- Austin, TX SFAN PROGRESS "VERY POSITIVE!"
----------
Despite some false starts with Atari shipping department the TT030 was
successfully delivered to Michael Kelley of The Science Fiction, Fantasy &
Adventure Network. With two minor "glitches" (including no manual, no
mouse, and a damaged-in-shipping keyboard) it's still not all "blue sky",
but the Mega keyboard works fine and the BEST Trackball seems the proper
fit for the TT.
In company with the TT (actually arriving shortly before the TT030
arrived on the doorstep) came LEXICOR's Prism-Paint and Chronos 3-D, as
well as Calamus Outline Art, everything that Double-Click makes, and ad-
vance access to PageStream v2.1 via the SoftLogik BBS. Perhaps there is
industry criticism of the lack of "TT-specific" software, but the function
of the software that is installed on this TT is nothing short of amazing.
LEXICOR's products are eye-catching and jaw-dropping; Calamus Outline Art
zips along admirably; Double-Click's utility programs are indispensible
(how much faster can something un-ARC?); and PageStream users will note
that a page of 12-point text in one of the three CompuGraphic fonts
requires a total of 7-9 SECONDS to format and start printing on the SLM804
follow-on pages happen so fast they actualy stack up behind each other
waiting to print and the output quality EQUALS PostScript (tested
eyeball-to-eyeball against UltraScript output).
Bill Rehbock and Mike Fulton at Atari have both been working harder
and harder and we especially appreciate Mike Fulton's efforts, answers,
and availability. As things progress we anticipate a much closer
relationship and continued development of the level of cooperation.
Walter Koenig (STAR TREK's "Mr. Chekov") made his deal with Atari for
a Mega STe4 and SLM605 laser printer, both of which have been delivered to
Eidsvoog of Codehead Software for setup and delivery to Koenig.
Anticipate seeing Koenig in a print ad sometime around the STAR TREK VI
press push.
SFA Network appreciates the cooperation of Atari, Sam Tramiel, Bill
Rehbock, and Mike Fulton, as well as the other fine members of the
Independent Association of Atari Developers who have given of their work
to contribute to this effort.
_____________________________________________________
> Hard Disks STR InfoFile ***** ABCO SUMMER '91 SPECIALS! *****
=======================
** 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
TIME PROVEN to be the most reliable!
Model Description Autopark Price
==================================================
SGN4951 51Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 479.00
SGN1096 85Mb 24ms 5.25" Y 549.00
SGN2055 105mb 12ms 3.5" Y 649.00
SGN6277 120Mb 12ms 3.5" Y 789.00
SGN1296 170Mb 12ms 3.5" Y 1019.00
==================================================
FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00
ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS
EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAIALABLE Call for Info!
PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only!
CPU ACCELERATOR & MEMORY UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED
>> ABCO is now taking orders for 1040 & MEGA STe Computers! <<
Call for VERY special Introductory prices!
ATARI COMPUTERS * STILL THE BEST VALUE!
If you don't see what you want listed here, call us.
Odds are we have it or, can get it for you!
AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE!
"We service what we sell. (IF necessary)"
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *
- SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A
- ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable
- Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply
(1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.
--->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 645.00__ <<---
**** SCSI UNITS -> ONLY $585.00 ****
WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
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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"
=================
A while back, a notation saying; "Way to Go Greg" was presented in
this area. STReport offers a profound apology for any misunderstanding
this excercise in 'humor' may have caused. Additionally, we thank those
who have so kindly brought this matter to our attention.
STReport, by including this remark, meant only congratulatory applause
for a job well done, nothing more. In our opinion, G. Pratt's performance
at the helm of Atari US has been a fine example of how its really done and
done well.
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STReport International Online Magazine
Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
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STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" August 09, 1991
16/32bit Magazine copyright 1987-91 No.7.32
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Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors/staff, PCReport, STReport, AMReport, MCReport. 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 the use/misuse of infor-
mation contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
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