ST Report: 16-Oct-92 #841
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 10/18/92-06:59:16 PM Z
From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 16-Oct-92 #841
Date: Sun Oct 18 18:59:16 1992
*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
from
STR Publishing
""""""""""""""
October 16, 1992 No.8.41
==========================================================================
STReport International Online Magazine
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida
32205 ~ 6672
R.F. Mariano
Publisher - Editor
-----------------------------------------
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_____________________________________________________________________
> 10/16/92 STR 841 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
""""""""""""""""
- The Editor's Desk - CPU Report - PORTFOLIO NEWS
- USR -> NEW MODEM - Software Seized! - Apple Modems!
- Ninetendo & Sony Join - STraight FAX News - Tracker PC
- Software Sells CPU's - Supra/FAX - STR Confidential
-* WAACE EYEWITNESS REPORTS! *-
-* POLITICS AS USUAL? *-
-* FALCON030 A BIG HIT! *-
==========================================================================
ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
The Original * Independent * Online Magazine
-* FEATURING WEEKLY *-
"Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
==========================================================================
STReport's BBS, The Bounty, invites BBS systems, worldwide, to participate
in the Fido/TurboNet/Atari F-Net Mail Network. You may also call our BBS
direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging information
relative to the Atari and other computers worldwide through the use of
excellent International Messaging Networks. SysOps, worldwide, are quite
welcome to join the STReport International Conferences. The Crossnet Code
is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is # 350. All BBS systems are welcome and
invited to actively participate. Support Atari Computers; Join Today!
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WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (October 16)
GIF TO JPG CONVERSION
Be sure to download file JPEGST.LZH from LIBRARY 14 of the Atari Arts
Forum (GO ATARIARTS) for a program that will convert between .GIF and .JPG
formats.
FAVORITE FILES...
Be included in CompuServe Magazine! Please read and respond to message #
34449 in the Atari ST Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) regarding your favorite
Forum files!
NEW SYSOP INFORMATION FROM SUPRA
Revised information and order form for sysop purchase plan offered by
Supra for their SupraFaxModem V32 and V32bis. Download file SYSOP.TXT from
LIBRARY 15 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN).
THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE
HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN
OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION
"GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
The WAACE Show was, as usual, a very pleasant experience. In
travelling to the greater Washington - Virginia area once a year to
'celebrate things Atari' the fun of seeing old friends and making new ones
never seems to diminish. This year had extra special meanings to most all
of us attending WAACE'92. The appearance by Atari in the presence of Bill
Rehbock was a delight indeed. But the real pleasure was seeing the Falcon
first hand and using one for some time. There were ten Falcons in the
Washington Scene, all were providing visual and auditory delights to one
degree or another for all who attended.
Bill Rehbock has proven to all that his ability to deliver an
informative, enthusiastic seminar is above reproach. The demonstrations
he gave relative to the Falcon on Saturday, Saturday night at the banquet
and on Sunday were outstanding both for the information and entertainment
content. What more can one ask for? It was a great show that was well
attended with the latest in Atari hardware readily available for all to
see, hear, touch and drool over.
To the folks at WAACE, a hearty thank you for another job well done.
To Atari's Bill Rehbock, thank you for doing the right thing and of
course, thanks a bunch! Next time, I think we ought to rehearse any duets
we become involved in. You did a great job Bill!
To all the exhibitors, as always a 'tip-o-the old hat' to all for
making the show so very exciting and interesting.
THE STORM IS BREWING!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
""""""""""""""""
Publisher - Editor
""""""""""""""""""
Ralph F. Mariano
PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION
----------- -------------- ------------
Roger D. Stevens Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON
STReport Staff Editors:
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Lloyd E. Pulley Sr. Dana P. Jacobson Michael Arthur
Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Judith Hamner
John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando
Steve Spivey Doyle C. Helms
Contributing Correspondents:
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Michael Lee Richard Covert John Deegan
Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Tim Holt
Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Harry Steele
Ben Hamilton Neil Bradley Eric Jerue
Ron Deal Robert Dean Ed Westhusing
James Nolan Vernon W. Smith Bruno Puglia
Clemens Chin
IMPORTANT NOTICE
""""""""""""""""
Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
via E-Mail to:
Compuserve.................... 70007,4454
Delphi........................ RMARIANO
BIX........................... RMARIANO
FIDONET....................... 112/35
FNET.......................... NODE 350
NEST.......................... 90:19/350.0
GEnie......................... ST-REPORT
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"There is no comparison! The Atari Falcon
is far superior to the PC platform."
Sam Tramiel, 08/92
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
=================
Issue #42
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
--Toshiba to Cut Chip-Making Costs
Toshiba is instituting a number of measures to cut the cost of manufac-
turing semiconductors by 20%. A Toshiba spokesman said that part of the
savings will come from lower-cost clean rooms being developed by equip-
ment suppliers. Toshiba will also try to save money by cutting the cost
of the chip- baking process and increasing automated production to take
advantage of cheaper nighttime electricity.
-- U.S. Robotics Offers Modem Sharing Kit
U.S. Robotics Inc. has announced its new Modem Sharing Kit Version 1.5
which it says allows for pooling of modems on a local area network so
any user can dial out and access remote host systems. Also, the system
enables remote users to dial in to the LAN through the shared modems to
run applications and transfer files.
The single-port version of the kit lists for $995, while a two- modem
version lists for $1,595.
-- Nintendo and Sony to Create Next Generation Video Games
Nintendo Co. Ltd. and Sony Corp. announced this week they are joining
forces to create the next generation of video game technology. According
to sources, the two Japanese companies will manufacture and market a new
game system that will offer clearer pictures and more life-like action
by combining Nintendo's Super NES home video game system with a CD-ROM
drive.
In addition, the agreement calls for Nintendo and Sony to license other
companies to develop, manufacture and sell disc software.
Nintendo will continue to work with Philips Consumer Electronics to
develop a way to make Super NES compact disc software compatible with
Philips Compact Disc Interactive hardware.
-- Intel to Manufacture "GREEN" Chips
Intel Corp. announced this week that it will support the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency's voluntary "Energy Star Computers Program" by
incorporating energy saving technologies developed for the mobile
computing market into all of the company's future microprocessors.
This will provide personal computer makers with one of the key building
blocks for making energy-efficient computers -- or "green machines" --
in the near future.
The EPA program, which promotes the creation of energy efficient com-
puters, encourages the manufacturing and marketing of computers and
monitors that have the capability of going to a low-power state when not
in use. The low-power state would use 30 watts or less of power,
compared to several hundred watts typically used by computers today.
Dataquest, a Silicon Valley market research firm, reports that over 80%
of today's PCs are built using Intel chips with more than 20 million new
PCs based on Intel microprocessors produced each year.
-- Apple to Release Low-End Modems
Rumor is that Apple Computer Inc. will introduce a pair of low-priced,
high-speed internal modems for its newest notebook Macintoshes. The $320
PowerBook Express Modem will provide a base data transfer rate of
14.4Kbps and 9,600-bps send-and-receive facsimile capabilities.
-- Fujitsu Makes 3-D Graphics System
Fujitsu Ltd. and Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. say they have developed the
world's fastest three-dimensional computer graphics system.
Reports say that the prototype SUBARU system "cannot only render solid
images using standard shape and color functions but can use shadow and
light reflection functions to generate photorealistic images in real
time."
Fujitsu says the system uses a new computer architecture, called
"reconfigurable parallel processing architecture," that enables it to
generate photorealistic animation images for television and movies in
real time.
The firm adds the system also can be applied to computer-aided design
and computer-aided manufacturing requirements.
-- Small Business BBS Established
A computer bulletin board service (BBS) has been launched by the federal
government's Small Business Administration to provide free information
on starting or running a small business.
The number for callers with a 2400-baud modem is 1-800-859-INFO. The
number for 9600-baud modems is 1-800-697-INFO.
SBA administrator Patricia Saiki said, "This is high-tech help for small
business owners when they need it. It's free, it's fast it's easy and
it's a government service that never sleeps."
Sources say that the BBS will include information on the agency's loans
and on specialized programs for women, minorities and veterans as well
as information on agency events and seminars.
-- IBM to Study Links Between Miscarriages and
Computer Chip Manufacturing
An IBM-commissioned study finds a high incidence of miscarriage among
women who manufacture computer chips. Researchers at Baltimore's Johns
Hopkins University found a 33.3% miscarriage rate among 30 women who
worked with two chemicals widely used in making the chips.
The New York Times reported that, while the small sample involved only
10 miscarriages, researchers believe the rate is significant.
"The suspect chemicals are diethylene glycol dimethyl ether and ethylene
glycol monethyl ether acetate, solvents that help etch away material
deposited on a silicon wafer."
Reports say that some chip makers are offering other jobs to workers
exposed to the solvents, "Intel, Texas Instruments, AT&T, Advanced Micro
Devices, Signetics and National Semiconductor have issued warnings about
the chemicals in recent weeks."
The Johns Hopkins research, examining workers at IBM plants in East
Fishkill, N.Y., and Burlington, Vt., from 1980 to 1989, found that the
miscarriage rate among workers who did not use the solvent was 15.6%,
compared with 33.3% among workers who did.
The Times notes IBM made no public announcement of the findings but
reported the company notified its employees, the Environmental
Protection Agency and members of the Semiconductor Industry Association.
-- Marshals Grab Counterfeit Software
According to Microsoft Corp., U.S. marshals in California and New Jersey
have made the largest-ever seizure of unauthorized computer software,
impounding more than 150,000 counterfeit copies of its MS-DOS operating
system. The software retails for approximately $60 a copy, bringing the
value of the seizure to more than $9 million.
____________________________________________________________
> WAACE'92 STR SHOW NEWS THE PREMIER EAST COAST SHOW * REPORT 1
""""""""""""""""""""""
SIMPLY THE BEST!
================
by D. D. Martin
It's hard to believe that another year has gone by and another WAACE
show over. As a long time Atari computer user, I have come to look
forward to sharing 'things Atari' with fellow users and developers at the
annual WAACE gathering. This year's show was no disappointment.
I arrived at Dulles International Airport about 3:00 PM Friday and got
checked into the Sheraton Reston by 4:00. After quickly unpacking and
freshening up, we (John and I) joined GEnie friends and developers in the
lounge for drinks and gossip. It was so much fun seeing the faces at the
other end of the fingers that post messages and upload files. I was busy
passing out "I (heart) GEnie" ribbons so that we could identify each other
during the weekend. By the end of the show I think I had passed out about
120 ribbons. I'm sure I missed a lot of folks, but hopefully next year
the registration committee will be sure to put names on the attendee's
badges.
One thing I really enjoy about WAACE is the informal ambience created
by the hotel setting. It allows for meeting and chatting with people
during non-show show hours and tends to set a cordial atmosphere.
John and I had dinner Friday night with George Richardson, Ted Evans,
Jeff "STer", John Eidsvoog, and Tomas Ensley. It was most interesting to
gain insights of the Atari market from the developer point of view. After
dinner we gathered again in the lounge and met more Atarians and GEnie
users.
The show opened Saturday at 10:00 AM and I was torn between hitting
the booths and shopping for great show specials or attending Dave Small's
seminar. I opted for Dave Small. Dave's seminars are always fun and full
of surprises. Dave showed us a video of his Camaro (Sandy at the camera,
Dave at the wheel and the kids in the back seat). We all got to ride
along at "Warp Speed" (150 MPH) to the thunderous sound of the well tuned
engine. Dave again regaled us with stories of Hacker's Con." and updates
on projects of Gary Hudson and Tom Hudson. Dave advised us that Spectre
3.1 is right around the corner. Seems he was encountering problems that
appeared to be in the Spectre code only to find out that his TT had a bad
DMA chip. Now that that is solved, he says to keep your eye out in the
Gadgets RT library for the upload of version 3.1 (TT support). He also
said that version 3.7 will follow shortly (also as an upload to the on
line services) and explained the jump in version numbers as being
appropriate since version 3.7 will deal with System 7 stuff. Dave invited
everyone to stop by his booth to get some hands on time on a Falcon, take
pictures and peek inside the mystical bird.
After Dave's seminar it was off to shop! So many goodies! So little
time! I finally got my turn at the popular CodeHead booth where Tomas
was helpful in checking out my many disks and advising which ones needed
updating. Along with a new Warp 9 and Codekeys update I got a copy of
LookIt-PopIt and a neat CodeHead tee shirt.
One "must have" on my list was Diamond Edge. I had the opportunity to
chat with Bob Luneski and also got a Diamond Back II update. If you own a
hard drive, Diamond Edge is the most powerful tool available. The
optimizing routine alone is worth the price. There is also a feature that
lets you undelete files on your hard drive! I've already used that
feature since getting back home.
Next a peek at Mission Software's Flash II. John Trautschold gave me
a quick rundown on features and installation. I'm going to have to find a
quiet weekend to study up on this one, but it will be fun exploring new
worlds. We rode with John back to the airport in the hotel van. Turns
out that John is a pilot and flew into WAACE in his Cherokee!
My day is not complete unless I get up in the morning, have a cup of
coffee (or two), read the paper and work the daily crypt-o-quote. Hutch
(John Hutchinson) at Fair Dinkum Technologies assured me that his
Cryptographer program would provide hours of fun and challenge. It does
just that! I'm hooked. Now if I can just get someone to encode new
puzzles for me...<g>
Since I just received my HyperLink update a couple weeks before the
show, I wanted to stop by the JMG booth and congratulate George and Dave
on the great improvements in the latest version. We also discussed
possible ways to improve the report generation. I look for even greater
things for HyperLink in the near future.
At last year's WAACE show, I failed to pick up Clear Thinking's EdHak.
I didn't make that mistake this year. Now I can't believe I've gone this
long without this fantastic text editor installed as an accessory. I love
the Kwicksend feature which is about as close to the MAC clipboard cut and
paste feature as anything on the Atari platform.
I think everyone at the show made a trip by the Wintertree Software
booth to pick up a copy of Spelling Sentry. This spell checker works in
real time and it even works in telecommunications programs.
I was very impressed with Computer Studio's booth and Sheldon Winick.
Sheldon brought along his family and they were doing a bustling business.
They brought six TTs and sold them all. John bought one of them along
with the BIG Atari moniterm monitor! How big was it? Well, when we got
back to the Orlando airport and picked up our car the only place it would
fit was in the front seat. So, I made the two hour drive from Orlando
home in the back seat while the monitor rode shotgun.
Bill Rehbock of Atari Corp. (USA) was the guest speaker at the
Saturday night banquet. Many thanks to Atari Corp for sending Bill and
all the Falcon 030s to the WAACE show. Bill gave us a demonstration of
the powerful multi media features of the Falcon at both the banquet and at
a seminar on Sunday. One can not appreciate the graphics and sound
capability of this computer until you see something like Tina Turner's
Olympic video "Simply The Best" played in full color and surround sound
(or Bill Rehbock and Ralph Mariano singing a duet in distorted sound.)
At his seminar on Sunday, Bill Rehbock introduced a new software
package for the Atari computer called SUTRA. Sutra is billed as Atari's
version of the popular Microsoft Works. He was asked if Sutra would be
bundled with the Falcon or sold separately to which Rehbock replied that
its marketing has yet to be determined, but his vote would be to bundle
the software with the machines. He also demonstrated the Speedo-GDOS
(based on Bitstream postscript fonts). This scalable font GDOS was well
received by the audience.
Sunday was another day of demos and visiting. I took a peek in the
midi room and was delighted by an informal jam session of Atari midi
musicians. The education room was bustling with kids doing neat things on
computers and having fun.
Late Sunday afternoon I finally got a chance to chat with Dave Small
and George Richardson in the Gadgets booth. As promised, Dave had a
Falcon up and running and another one opened up so the techies could ohhh
and ahhh over chips and solder traces. Dave was kind enough to explain to
me in simple terms what causes Spectre to lock up sometimes when I'm in
the middle of a Freehand project.
I managed to catch Neil Harris (V.P. marketing for GEnie) in a quiet
moment while his two daughters had lunch. We had a chance to catch up on
old friends and share some fond memories.
Congratulations to the winners of the three grand door prizes and the
donors: ABCO Computer a 130 meg hard drive, DMC a Calamus SL package, and
Fast Tech a 25 mhz accelerator board.
To the WAACE committee...
WELL DONE! "Simply The Best!"
Hugs...Swampy
_______________________________________________________________
> STraight FAX!STR InfoFile GOOD STUFF!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""
STraight FAX! Version 1.05 Enhancements
=======================================
(C)1992 Joppa Software Development
All Rights Reserved
Joppa Software Development
P.O. Box 214
Dallastown, PA 17313-0214
Tech Support Line (717) 428-3231
FAX Line (717) 428-0424
- If either Shift Key is held down when selecting the Save command in
the Preferences menu, the File Selector will appear allowing the
system preferences to be saved to a user selected preferences file.
The user selected preferences file may be later passed as a parameter
to the STraight FAX! (i.e. via the new GEM Desktop drag and drop
method of launching programs with parameters).
- In the Page Preferences dialog, a new option exists for the Failed
Pages Popup Menu. 'Re-Send Failed Pages w/Cover Page' will cause a
new Cover Page to be sent before the remaining pages of a FAX transfer
made to complete a previously partially completed transfer, if a Cover
Page has been specified for the FAX document.
- In the Page Preferences dialog, a new popup menu exists: Page Height.
The Page Height Popup Menu specifies the height of a FAX page that
is transferred (i.e. Letter, Legal, A4 or B5). The Page Height is
used during ASCII Text to FAX conversions to determine the number of
text lines per page, for GEM Meta File to FAX conversions, for
Image and DEGAS to FAX conversions and for the Full Page Scan maximum
page height.
The heights will be displayed in Inches or Centimeters as per the
Units parameter in the General Preferences dialog.
- In the Receive FAX Preferences, a new option exists for the Auto
Receive Popup Menu. 'Selectively Enabled' allows the user to specify
the time interval that the Auto Receive mode is active. When this
mode is specified, the start (From) and end (To) times may be entered
by clicking on the Up and Down Arrow Buttons in the Receive Time
field.
The 'Always Enabled' option is the same as the 'Enabled' option from
earlier versions of the software.
- In the Print Preferences dialog, a new popup menu exists: Page Size.
The Page Size Popup Menu allows selection of the size of the paper
used in the printer of the selected Printer Device. The choices are
Default, Letter, Legal, A4 and B5. The Default choice will utilize
the Default Page Size (that is displayed at the bottom of the dialog
box) that is currently configured into the selected GDOS printer
driver.
Note: Some GDOS printer drivers may ignore the Page Size and use
an internal page size that is not configurable (i.e. a Laser
Printer may assume the page size of the paper tray in use.)
- When selecting files via the File Selector, a File Type Warning
alert box will be displayed if the extension of the selected file is
not the proper extension for the type of file being selected.
This alert box will present three button choices:
Select - Re-Display the File Selector to select another file.
OK - Use the File Selected as is.
Cancel - Cancel the File Selection.
The user may change the default button choice by holding down the
Alternate Key while making the selection. The default button choice
will be saved with the system preferences.
- The user may abort an ASCII Text to FAX Conversion in progress by
holding down the Undo Key.
- In the Receive Log, a new command is in the Receive Log Popup Menu
that appears when an entry in the log is double-clicked on. This
command, Rename, allows the name of the FAX files that are received to
be renamed to a user specified name. When this command is selected,
the File Selector will appear allowing the user to specify a new name
that the received FAX files for the log entry should be renamed to.
- The maximum number of View Windows that may be opened has been
increased from 4 to 7.
- The Send Log and Receive Log limits of 500 entries has been removed.
The Log sizes are now only limited by available memory.
The Loading, Saving and Re-Ordering times have also been reduced.
- The user may now print the entire Send/Receive Log or the selected
entries in the Log. When there are selected entries, the alert box
that is displayed when the Print button is selected will allow three
button choices:
All - Print the Entire Log.
Select - Print ony the Selected entries in the Log.
Cancel - Cancel the printing of the Log.
- The STraight FAX! now incorporates more detailed error message alerts.
- The STraight FAX! will now recognize all serial ports on the Atari
TOS computers including the TT/030 and Atari Falcon 030 computers.
- The Print FAX/Print Image problem with GDOS messing up status message
dialog has been corrected.
- The STraight FAX! now supports improved Wild Card support for
selecting multiple FAX Files at a time from the Send Multiple Files
dialog box. Multiple FAX files may be specified at a time from the
File Selector by manually entering a file extension of ".J??".
All FAX files starting with the extension of ".J01" through ".J99"
that exist will be loaded (up to the 33 file limit).
Multiple FAX files may also be specified from the File Selector that
is presented when the (Print) FAX command is selected in the File
menu.
- The Company Name field in the FAX Phone List will now allow ordering
of proper names as follows:
A name entered as:
Last_Name|First_Name
will appear in the Send FAX Status and Cover Page as:
First_Name Last_Name
This will allow sorting the Phone List by a last name.
Registered STraight FAX! users may order the upgrade directly from Joppa
Software Development by sending the master disk and $2.00 (US funds, no
checks drawn on foreign bank accounts) to the address above.
Users with a STraight FAX! manual Version 1.00 manual may also purchase a
new Version 1.04 manual for $5.00 (US funds), by also sending in the cover
from the old manual.
Atari Corporation's FONT GDOS is available direct from Joppa Software
Development to registered STraight FAX! owners. The three disk FONT GDOS
package comes complete with the FONT GDOS program, three Desk
Accessory/Control Panel Module utilities for customizing the FONT GDOS
setup, bit mapped screen and printer fonts in various point sizes for
Swiss and Dutch styles, printer and use.
The FONT GDOS package may be ordered direct from Joppa Software
Development
for $10.00 (US funds).
Joppa Software Development currently has available a scanner driver
program for use with the STraight FAX! to allow direct scanning from a
Navarone/ Canon Full Page Flat Bed (IX-12F) or Sheet Feed (IX-12) Scanner.
Drivers for other full page scanners are being considered for development.
The Navarone/Canon IX-12 Series Scanner Driver has a suggested list price
of $19.95 (US funds) and is available for a limited time for only $14.95
(US) directly from Joppa Software Development.
The prices listed above are for shipping inside the continental USA.
Please contact Joppa Software Development for information on additional
shipping charges outside the continental USA. Please do not send checks
drawn on any foreign bank accounts.
Please include your name as it appears on the Registration Card and your
Registration Number with all orders.
_____________________________________________________________
> The Junkyard Pussycat STR FOCUS! Getting in Step!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
SOFTWARE SELLS MACHINES
=======================
by John D. Barnes
(Reprinted with permission from the Oct. '92 issue of Current Notes.)
Once again, the marketplace is all a-twitter with expectations of new
hardware from Atari. From the information being spread all over the
place, it appears that Atari's engineering wizards have put together a
fine piece of hardware in the new Falcon 030.
The hardware specifications have been widely published (see, for
example the September 1992 Current Notes, pp 8 & 9) and they have
generated a lot of excitement, as it appears that the Falcon is pretty
much up to date in this respect.
Much less is being said about software, in spite of the fact that
hardware does not sell itself any more. Software sells hardware. Back in
the days when personal computers were a novelty, users were content to see
software development lag behind hardware advances. Nowadays, however,
people will not buy a computer if they cannot get software to do the jobs
they want to do. Worse yet, the agonized screams of people who already
have substantial investments in software accompany every new upgrade.
Even neophytes expect to have plenty of things to play with as soon as
they finish taking their new machines out of the boxes.
This seems like as good a time as any to suggest ways that Atari can
make their new product attractive to people who have never owned one of
Atari's 680x0 based machines. Atari has been notably skimpy in this area
in the past, and a break with this tradition would be a real morale
booster for the legions of new dealers that Atari hopes to recruit.
Load 'Em Up
Almost any clone that is sold these days comes with a pile of
software. It is usually not the top drawer stuff, but it is enough to
give the user something to practice with.
While the Pussycat does not know all of the business details on this,
there are surely ways to make the purchaser of a new Falcon feel that he
is getting in on the ground floor of something big. There are even ways
for the Tramiels to do this in a manner that somewhat approximates their
idea of what things ought to cost.
First of all, put in lots of leaflets, one for each reasonable
product now on the Atari commercial market. Describe products like Word
Perfect, Touch-Up, Image Cat, Mug Shot, Flash, dBMAN, Superbase, LDW
Power, .... Cover the whole spectrum of commercial productivity software
and games. There is not even any real need to verify that the stuff
actually works because the user will not be running these products in any
case. The Pussycat remembers how impressed he was when 100 or so leaflets
tumbled out as he unpacked the Apple CD ROM drive for his system at the
office.
Second, put in disks with demonstration versions of products like
DynaCADD, Calamus, Calligrapher, etc. The object is to provide a
representative sampling. The choices should be made in such a fashion as
to inspire awe. Machines that have such powerful software in their
repertory must be very powerful, indeed. There is no need to supply
documentation, a short guide with a tutorial on disk should be adequate.
If the authors of these programs are willing to have the demos
downloaded from the online services, they should surely be willing to
have Atari package them with new machines. The burden of preparing the
hundreds of thousands of disks required might be a problem, and Atari
might have to pick up the tab for the disk duplicating.
Next, include a couple of real applications. These could be selected
from the vast library of available shareware and Atari could make bulk
purchase deals with the authors. The authors could incorporate
registration forms for more advanced versions into the bundled versions,
which might have some of their functionality limited.
Finally, Atari should seed the development of new software. Perhaps
they can do this be subcontracting for specific software products like CPX
modules or desk accessory applications. They should come to terms with
successful software developers for packages that can be bundled with the
new machines. Such developers have to be given the sense that they will
get worthwhile rewards if Atari is successful.
Point to After-the-Sale Support
It would certainly be desirable to let the new purchaser know that
there are places he can expect support after the sale. Sign-up offers for
CIS, Delphi, and GEnie should be included in the package, along with
working versions of QuickCIS and ST Aladdin, just to get the user hooked
on the support provided by the online services.
Introductory offers for all of the Atari magazines should be
included. A free year of Atari Explorer should be available via postcard.
This gives the purchaser an impression of vitality in the user base. The
registry of user groups should be screened to weed out the ones that are
no longer viable, the contact names should be updated, and the whole
business put into a small booklet to be included in the package.
Capture the Names
The registration cards for purchasers of these machines should be
filled in by the dealer and the results should be captured on a database.
This database should be made available to all valid commercial interests
in the community for the purpose of promoting their products. This is
needed to provide an infrastructure for direct mail advertising. Each
piece of direct mail that comes into a user's home is a reaffirmation of
the validity of his purchase decision.
If an outfit like Toad Computers can find the resources to do this in
an efficient manner surely Atari ought to be able to do so as well.
Share the Lifeboat
These kinds of collaboration have been seldom practiced in the Atari
marketplace. The Titanic has, however, gone down and everyone is sharing
the same lifeboat. The rollout of the Falcon promises to generate as much
excitement as shooting off 100 rescue rockets.
The proposals outlined above require substantial effort that is not
directly related to writing software. The developer community has to get
together and establish a standardized format for the leaflets, the
magazines have to prepare offers and ads. Atari has to make room for the
stuff in its packages.
The user groups have to get their act together. The shareware authors
have to whip their products into shape.
The direct benefits of all of this are probably as difficult to
predict as the casting of bread upon the waters was in the biblical
parable.
All too often we have seen people in the Atari community take the view
expressed by "I'll be damned if I advertise my product only to have the
customer buy from someone else." The small size of the market encourages
this kind of thinking, but the market will never get any bigger if people
keep thinking along such narrow lines.
There have been some isolated instances of collaboration in recent
months. Atari has become more open about their documentation. In the
former Soviet Union this openness was called glausnost, and we have all
seen the changes that were brought about.
The former Soviet Union analogy is apt in yet another way rebuilding
the Atari society will take effort on everyone's part. No one entity
possesses the means to effect the required restructuring on its own.
The Costs
In order for these proposals to work their cost has to be kept below
about $50 per machine. The entry cost to an individual developer or
publisher should not be much more than the cost of a full page magazine
ad. The costs can be spread out over some time because Atari does not plan
to fire off both barrels of the shotgun at once.
This means that the material can be prepared in small batches of one
or two thousand units for test marketing and evaluation. One hopes that
the response will be enough to trigger production and sales of 100,000
units or so, in which case the prospective gain will become well worth the
risk.
A New Tomorrow
Over the next several months the community will be watching for signs
that the community can regain the vigor that it possessed in those halcyon
days when the ST line was first introduced.
Many costly mistakes were made in that era. There was a big tendency
to expect that Atari would do it all. There was a fervent belief that
"Atari knows best." The players in that game have grown more mature now.
One can hope that they now understand that the market has many niches and
that those who occupy those niches are the ones who can cope with the
demands of their own environments.
Atari makes fine hardware they are fulfilling that promise by making
something that should be even finer. There are able people in the
developer community. They must be nurtured and encouraged to produce their
best. There are fine people in the user community, they must be inspired
to carry the message to the four winds.
There are some indications in Bill Rehbock's online conferences that
Atari is being more open in encouraging outsiders than it has been in the
past. This tendency needs to be expanded into full working partnerships
that recognize the value of the contributions of the software publishers
and of the other allies who aid Atari in its cause.
The new hardware, targeted on new markets, encouraging the opening of
new horizons in software, provides a vehicle that may allow everyone a
fresh start. Let us not drop the ball this time.
Current Notes: Your Monitor on the World of Atari
Vol. 12, No. 8, October, 1992
TABLE OF CONTENTS
4 - EDITORIAL, by Joe Waters
As a new "era" is introduced with the FALCON030, we look back briefly
at Atariland five years ago when the MEGA ST4 was introduced.
6 - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
8 - ST UPDATE, by Frank Sommers.
Trials and Tribulations of the Amiga.
10 - ATARI INTRODUCES FALCON030, Atari Press Release.
11 - ATARI SHIPS NEW MULTITASKING OS, Atari Press Release.
12 - MYTHS AND MYSTERIES, by Dave Troy.
Atari launches another valiant shot at appliance status.
16 - WORLD PREMIER OF FALCON030, by Oliver Steinmeier.
First hand account of the 1992 Atari Show in Dusseldorf, Germany
where Atari introduced the new Atari Falcon030.
22 - STARTING BLOCK, by Richard Gunter.
Some (mostly) recent downloads.
24 - ST TOOLBOX, by J. Andrzej Wrotniak.
Idealist and Publisher II on the PC.
28 - CONVECTOR PROFESSIONAL, by David Barkin.
This gem of a program does everything it's supposed to do, and more!
34 - GOLDEN IMAGE MOUSE, by James Parker.
A real Atari Trek to Naples in search of the Golden Image Mouse.
36 - POWER ON THE MOVE, by James Parker.
A battery pack that will put a little more portability in your
portable Atari STacy.
38 - JUNKYARD PUSSYCAT, by John Barnes.
Software sells machines.
42 - 8-BIT TIDBITS, by Rick Reaser.
Comparing GEnie and CIS.
46 - FRED, by Roger Meston
Hours of entertainment, intrigue, and just plan fun (8-bit).
48 - MAKING BATCH FILES WORK FOR YOU, by John Sandgren.
Using menus to get the most from your Atari 8-bit.
50 - ADVENTURES IN HIGH SCHOOL, by Albert Bagetta.
Using Atari 8-bits in the educational environment.
56 - STRAIGHTFAX! UPDATE, by Frank Sommers.
Getting the fax straight into your computer.
58 - LEGEND, by Alfred GIovetti.
A unique game with many fine attributes.
60 - KALAH ST, by Bill Moes.
A game of skill or thought for one or two players.
62 - POPULOUS II, by Mickey Boyd.
Secrets [of the Gods] revealed!
66 - CALLIGRAPHER PROFESSIONAL, by John Godbey.
Perhaps the premier word processor for the Atari.
70 - FALCON030 ONLINE CONFERENCE - CIS
Here is the transcript from the Bill Rehbock Falcon online
conference on CompuServe, September 8, 1992.
72 - ATARI INDUSTRY NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Link
ORA Announces Diamond Edge and Ultimate Virus Killer
DC Announces Storm
DragonWare Releases PowerDOS as Freeware
Lexicore Becomes Silicon Graphics Iris Vendor
GFA-Basic Programming Toolkit
DMC to Market Invision Elite
Purple Mountain Freedom Floptical Drive
Wintertree Announces Spelling Sentry
ST NEWS! Announced
CodeHead Announces Warp 9 V3.71 w/Extend-O-Save Screensaver
Straight Edge Announces OutBurST!
Revision 6.20 of the Sales-Pro System
Barefoot to Support Hybrid Arts Owners
E.Z.Arithmetic
Elfin Magics' Tinker Board
DAK's FREE Computer Club
Fair Dinkum Announces CyberDrome
STYLE: Image File Manipulator
JMG Announces HyperLink Runtime Package
WP Trade-Up is Back
Synergy Resources Announces New GEMvelope
Current Notes: Your Monitor on the World of Atari is published 10 times a
year, monthly excluding January and August.
Annual subscription price is $27
Current Notes
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Sterling VA 20164
(703) 450-4761
***********************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
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ST Advantage on DELPHI. STReport readers are invited to join DELPHI and
become a part of the friendly community of Atari enthusiasts there.
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There is no signup fee for joining the Basic Plan. There is a fee of
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For more information, call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005
DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass.
:IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
DELPHI INTRODUCES THE 10/4 PLAN.
Effective July 1, 1992, all Basic Plan members will be upgraded to the
10/4 Plan and receive 4 hours of usage each month for only $10! For full
details, type GO USING RATES. SprintNet home time to begin at 6:00 p.m.!
Effective July 1, 1992, you may access DELPHI via SprintNet beginning at
6:00 p.m. local time without incurring a telecom surcharge. To find the
SprintNet node nearest you, type GO USING ACCESS.
Try DELPHI for $1 an hour!
For a limited time, you can become a trial member of DELPHI, and
receive 5 hours of evening and weekend access during this month for only
$5. If you're not satisfied, simply cancel your account before the end of
the calendar month with no further obligation. If you keep your account
active, you will automatically be enrolled in DELPHI's 10/4 Basic Plan,
where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for a minimum
$10 monthly charge, with additional hours available at $3.96. But hurry,
this special trial offer will expire soon! To take advantage of this
limited offer, use your modem to dial 1-800-365-4636. Press <RET> once
or twice. When you get the Password: prompt, type IP26 and press <RET>
again. Then, just answer the questions and within a day or two, you'll
officially be a member of DELPHI!
We will have a live CO, direct from Las Vegas, on November 17th, at 10
p.m. We hope to have special guests from Atari Corp. join us to talk
about how things are looking for Atari, after a day or two at Comdex.
TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (10/14/92)
(1) STR840
(2) ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 9215
(3) DROIDS
(4) VIOLENCE GAME
(5) CINDY CRAWFORD SPECTRUM
(6) GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS
(7) PAULA20D.LZH
(8) SILKMOUSE 2.6
(9) POWERDOS 1.2
(10) SPC-THUMB
All of the above files can be found in the RECENT ARRIVALS database
for at least one week after the posting of this list. Please Note
that in the case of online magazines, only the most current issue in
the database at the time of this compilation is considered for the Top
10 list. Also, for all files, a submission is eligible for the Top 10
list for only four weeks after its original uploading.
DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!
***********************************************************************
> WAACE'92 STR SHOW NEWS THE PREMIER EAST COAST SHOW * REPORT 3
""""""""""""""""""""""
WAACE OVERVIEW
==============
Preface:
In the spirit of the WAACE Show, I asked John Trautschold of
Missionware Software to write his impressions of the show and the wonders
planned for the future by Missionware down for your reading enjoyment.
John has provided us with a marvelous view of the very successful WAACE
Show and many more things too.
by John Trautschold, Missionware Software
As you know, Ralph, this was my (and Missionware Software's) first
trip to WAACE. I have to say it was very well organized this year; the
folks handling the show like Ken and J.D. did an excellent job at making
me and the other developers/dealers feel quite at home. I really enjoyed
myself, as did my partner-in-the-booth, Bob Carpenter.
We came with three products to sell this year, and a fourth to show.
I'd like to talk a bit first about the products we sold, then about the
one we only showed - but what a reception it got!
lottODDS (pronounced "lotto odds") is a program that's just plain fun,
especially if you like to play local or national lotteries. This program
maintains a database of numbers already picked, and then uses those
numbers statistically in trying to determine what numbers to pick for the
next lottery game. There aren't any guarantees, naturally, but it is fun
to see how well the program stacks itself up against the odds.
The seven statistical methods used include: Least, Most, Average, Hot
Number, Between, Consecutive and Pairs. The user selects any of the seven
to use (or any combinations thereof). After the numbers are calculated
they are "merged" into a final set of numbers, which are then "wheeled"
over the number of games you wish to play. (Wheeling is a distribution
process based on odds for a particular game - it tries to evenly
distribute a universe of numbers over a set of games played.)
You can also let lottODDS pick random numbers, or wheel numbers you
choose manually. It's quite a flexible program.
Finally, one of the neatest feature in the program is it's ability to
check to see which lottery tickets have matched numbers from those picked
by the lottery. Let's say you play a LOT of games - say 50 or more. It
can be kind of a pain to have check all 50 games to see if any matches
have occurred. With lottODDS it's done automatically. All you need to do
is enter the picked numbers and lottODDS will go through all of the games
you played looking for matches.
I must say that, next to Flash II (which I'll discuss in a bit),
lottODDS was our best selling program at WAACE. I really enjoyed demoing
it to the many folks asking about the program too!
Printer Initializer is one of the other programs we sold at the show.
This is a desk accessory program that permits you to set your printer up
(serial or parallel printers only) for specific text output from within
any GEM-based program. You can create the drivers yourself from
"pinstall" which is included with the accessory.
The program comes preset for such printers as Epson compatibles,
Diconix portables, and the DeskJet 500. However, it's easy to create your
drivers as well. We showed a number of folks how simple it was to create
a driver using the Star Micronics SJ48 (Canon BJ10 compatible) printer we
had with us at the show.
Although most word processors (and other programs) support codes that
place the printer into certain modes, such as italics, bold, etc, they
normally don't support the selection of fonts or font sizes/styles. And
that's where Printer Initializer comes in really handy.
Most other non-word processing programs don't support much in the way
of printer control at all, and in those cases, Printer Initializer is a
must-have accessory.
Finally, our top-of-the-line program, Flash II, was received quite
warmly at WAACE. This program succeeds the original Flash
telecommunications program.
As you know, Flash was the number one telecom program for Atari STs.
Unfortunately, it never went any farther than that. Although it will run
on STEs, it won't run on a TT. That's the first area we attacked with
Flash II. We wanted to make sure that it would run on all current
production model STs/STEs/TTs - and that it does, all the way up to
1280x960 using a TTM195 monitor on the TT (and gee, is that nice!)
We also wanted to maintain the "look and feel" of the old Flash, and
there again, I think we've succeeded. The right mouse button is still
used for switching between editor and terminal modes. The "insert" key is
still used to activate the command line. We support DO scripts (although
they aren't as necessary as they once were).
But that's where things stop! And I must say Ralph, it's always
enjoyable watching folks' eyes light up when they see the enhanced editor
we have in Flash II version 2.01. Almost every menu function has
keystroke equivalents. The cursor can be fully controlled from the
keyboard, the cursor keys, or with the mouse. You can delete characters,
words, complete lines, text to the right of the cursor or text to the left
of the cursor - all using keystrokes!
You can also block text starting in the middle of a line and ending in
the middle of a line! Either the functions keys or the mouse can be used
to set a block. And we support block moves and copies, as well as
deletes, saves, and reformatting.
The terminal has been greatly enhanced as well. We support all of the
old Flash emulations (such as TTY, VT52 and VIDTEX) but also support true
VT100, 101 and 102 emulation, ANSI emulation with the option of using the
IBM character set for graphics (yes, you can play games now that use ANSI
graphics characters!), and other DEC emulations as well, such as VT200 and
VT300. And for you DEC users, we also support DEC character sets in all
languages!
DO scripts can still be used. We've already enhanced the scripting
language somewhat to support some of the new features in Flash II.
However, scripts really aren't needed any more for simple log ons to BBS'.
All board setups can be done with simple "pointing and clicking". Each
board (and there are 40 boards per file) can be setup to include specific
emulations, character sets, RS232 & Modem options, Type Ahead options (we
now support an editable 3-line Type Ahead window), transfer protocol
options, block lockout hours, and statistics for each board.
Additionally, each board can now have its own 20 function key macros in
addition to 10 global macros! And all of this stuff gets loaded
automagically when the board is dialed and connected.
Ralph, there are so many new features it would take a book to explain
them all (oh yeah, we include just that with the program - a 228 page
manual that explains everything with examples!). We've already released
one upgrade and are working on a second. Our number one concern, with
this program especially, is support. It's a complex program and will
continue to grow and be enhanced over the years. We've got a list about a
mile long already asking for enhanced features. And there'll be more to
come after that! Version 2.1 is just around the corner and will be sent
free (automatically) to all registered owners. 2.01, which is being
shipped right now, can be had for free to any owner of 2.0 just by sending
in their 2.0 master disk along with 75 cents in return postage.
Cyber Paint: We're really excited about this program. Although Cyber
Paint has been around for a long time, it's the case of another program
that was specifically written for the ST that wouldn't run on a TT. Well,
that's being changed!
Jim Kent, the original author of Cyber Paint, has been working
closely with me and Ian Lepore (the new programmer for Cyber) in getting
it updated to work on the TT (and all other current Atari computers) as
well as the new Falcon. The program is also being ported to Lattice C
from Alcyon C and the improvements are already outstanding.
We were showing Cyber Paint at WAACE on a TT, and those folks that had
a chance to play with it were absolutely astounded! Our current beta
works (although with some color glitches) and was really fast! We're not
sure yet just how far we'll go with Cyber Paint. A lot will depend on how
well its re-release goes, and also on how well Atari does with the Falcon.
Cyber Paint is being developed on a Falcon to ensure compatibility, and
hopefully we'll have it ready quite soon. Naturally, ST Report readers
will be some of the first to know when that happens.
As you can probably tell, we're very excited about this project.
It'll add a lot of creditability to our other fine products. As I
mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed attending this year's WAACE. I met a
lot of new folks (including you Ralph, and Dana) and just had a lot of
plain old-fashioned fun going to the show. I really look forward to next
year's show.
I think you know that I flew my own airplane to Dulles. That was an
adventure onto itself. Although we hit a few clouds and rain coming in on
Friday, it was our return flight on Monday that got a bit interesting.
Although we had clear weather almost all of the way, a strong high
pressure system really kicked up the winds and slowed our old Piper
Cherokee 180 way down. What should have been a 5 hour trip back to
Chicago took closer to 6 1/2 hours! After passing a front in Ohio, we hit
direct, headon, 45 to 50 knot headwinds! Subtracting that from our normal
cruise speed of 120 knots left us with a ground speed of only 70 to 80
knots (about 100 miles per hour). Thanks to the fine folks at Chicago
Approach, we managed to cut a few corners and make it back to DuPage
airport (in West Chicago, IL) before running out of fuel. If things had
gotten a bit tighter, we had planned on landing at either the Kankakee or
Joliet airport. But we made it, with about 45 minutes fuel to spare!
All told, it was a great trip. But, with no more major shows to look
forward to this year, it's back to the grinding board to get some work
done. Flash II is still being worked on as is Cyber Paint. I'm working
on an upgrade to lottODDS (adding features and making it MultiTOS
compatible) and will also be looking at enhancements for Printer
Initializer. Of course, I also need to spend some time with the family
here too!
John Trautschold
Missionware Software
______________________________________________________________
> OH YEAH?!? STR FOCUS! MY DOG'S BIGGER THAN.....
"""""""""""""""""""""
BETTER THAN WHAT? NOT _MY_ MACHINE?
====================================
by Dana P. Jacobson
Recent messages and a few brief mentions in recent issues here have
prompted me to provide my own insight into this whole "defense of one's
computer" mentality.
This "my computer is better than your computer" and "I'll defend it
to the last drop of _your_ blood" is, in a nutshell, one of the most
stupid actions a rational human being could indulge oneself! And yes,
I've got myself involved in it more than once myself, but not for a number
of years.
Every time I see such messages, especially between users of different
types of computers (or different models of the same brand!), my blood
begins to boil and I'd like to shake these people until they realize the
futility in such foolish debates!
Let's see if we can make some sense out of this because I know
already that I've caused a few ruffled feathers just by stating that such
"debates" are stupid. Let's state the obvious: computers are just
machines. They are only as good as the user sitting at the keyboard. A
computer can't run by itself; it needs input from the user. It doesn't
matter what computer that you use, no matter how sophisticated or archaic;
it cannot perform its functions without us mere mortals. End of "Man vs.
Computer 101."
Think about it. Okay, you're saying about now that I have no
conception of reality. Well, now rid yourself of your emotions. That also
means forgetting about the brand name label attached to your computer. It
also means forgetting the hardware specs. Now you're sitting in front of
_a computer_. It really doesn't matter what the brand is; you're using a
functional machine.
It really doesn't matter what type of computer is being used. For the
moment, let's stick with the Atari line of computers, since that's what
I'm most familiar. Running Pagestream on a 520ST is no different than
running the same program on a TT. The output is exactly the same, barring
any printer differences. So, does that make the TT a better computer than
the 520ST? Not in this instance. Let's play Dungeon Master, shall we?
I'm assuming that the game runs on the TT, and if it does, will it play
any better on the TT than the 520ST? Nope, playability will be the same.
Let's try graphics. One of the few paint programs that I own is Cyber
Paint. Let's do some artwork. I know, I can hear those graphics mavens
now saying "ahhh, here's where we catch him with some differences!" Not
really. I'm no artist. To me, drawing some graphics on a TT is no
different from doing the same thing on an ST; they're both going to look
like an 8-year old did it! True, the TT will provide more colors, but the
program doesn't. Starting to get the picture (pun intended!)?
Playing games that contain graphics with tons of colors on a TT
doesn't make the TT a _better_ machine because your ST can't provide those
same colors? Using WordWriter ST on your ST doesn't make it less of a
machine because it also runs on a TT and a big screen monitor. This
whole idea of "better" is, for the most part, a subjective matter.
It really depends on the user and what he or she wants to accomplish
that determines which computer is best for that person. What I usually see
when I read these computer "war" messages is that "my computer, taking
advantage of _every_ optimum capability it can provide; add that to using
the most complete software package for a given application, is better than
your computer attempting a similar application on a comparable computer."
Now how many users take advantage of such capabilities, most of the time?
Compared to the total number of users, very few.
Yes, a computer artist using a TT or Falcon with software taking
advantage of the machine's capabilities will consider his machine better
than an ST, and rightfully so. And yes, a magazine editor/publisher using
Calamus on a TT to get his magazine done professionally and quickly can
claim that his machine is better than the ST. And I could go on. But now
we're getting down to the real nitty-gritty here. These users are using
the machines that are best for them because the machine (and software)
fulfills a specific need. The 520ST just won't fulfill those same goals
as effectively and timely; it wasn't built to do so.
So why are people arguing over "better"? I blame it on a number of
people: the advertisers, the PR people, the retailers, and so on. They're
the ones who keep telling the consumer that bigger is better; that faster
is better; that more colors is better, that more expensive is better; that
this name is better; ad nauseum. While some of these "claims" may be
true, some of the time, for some specific uses; one cannot make that
generalization and have it hold true for every instance. But people will
argue these generalizations as if they should hold true for everyone.
Rubbish.
So, what's the bottom line? What I usually do when I see these
typical debates is to ask the users one question: "Does the computer you
use do exactly what _you_ want it to do?" If they answer affirmatively,
then I tell them that their machine is the best for _their_ needs. It's
_better_ than a machine that won't accomplish those same needs. If you
don't _need_ a fast machine; if you don't _need_ a gazillion colors; etc.
- your ST is the best machine for you. This is not to say that having a
faster machine, like the TT or Falcon is not desirable, but wanting or
preferring such a machine is _not_ the same as _needing_ it. As far as I
am concerned, the computer that does all that I have the need to do in the
time that I have to do it, is the best machine. I like the look and feel
and ease of use of the Atari computer; so a comparable machine on another
platform doesn't even enter into the picture.
The next time you decide to get involved in a "mine is better than
yours" debate, remember that it's really a no-win argument (not that
someone actually has to win). Just ask whether or not the machine does
what is required. If the other party says yes, tell him he has the better
computer for his needs; why bother getting into an argument trying to
convince him that it isn't so? It's just wasted time and energy.
So, what's the best machine as far as _I_ am concerned? Well, until
I see the Falcon, that machine is an early model 520ST with 2.5 megs of
RAM, a multisync monitor, a laser printer, and a couple of hard drives
with never enough available space!! Would I _like_ a newer Atari
computer? Of course!!
_______________________________________________________________
> WAACE'92 STR SHOW NEWS THE PREMIER EAST COAST SHOW * Report 2
""""""""""""""""""""""
WAACE AtariFest '92
===================
Atari East-Coast Style
by Joe Mirando
Over the Columbus Day weekend, in Reston Virginia, the Washington
Area Atari Computer Enthusiasts held the WAACE '92 AtariFest. Attended by
at least 1,200 patrons and more than 40 vendors and developers, WAACE has
again secured it's place as the east coast's premier Atari-only computer
show.
The show, which took place on Saturday and Sunday, October 10th and
11th, included not only a vendor's room, but seminars and a "swap room" as
well as game, education, productivity and MIDI rooms.
On the evening before the show, many GEnie users gathered in the
hotel lounge to meet face to face, swap computer stories, and generally
just have a good time. I Love GEnie ribbons were provided by Dee Dee
Martin, a long time GEnie user and ST enthusiast. It was fun to finally
meet people you've never seen but often read on-line. The phrase "Gee,
you don't look anything like you 'sound' on GEnie" was heard often but
kept no one from having a good time.
The Exhibit room, in which vendors displayed and demonstrated their
products and services, remained busy throughout most of the show. Vendors
such as Toad Computers, Computer Studio, Joppa, and Compucellar West
provided just about anything that a hungry ST or 8-bit user could want in
the way of hardware or software while developers such as Codehead
Technologies, Gribnif Software, Fast Technology, Gadgets by Small, DMC
Publishing, and Barefoot Software proudly demonstrated their own
particular offerings.
The show volunteers were at first a bit disappointed by what they
perceived as a meager attendance until they discovered that at least 200
people were in attendance at the early-morning seminar hosted by Dave
Small of Gadgets by Small. Dave always attracts large numbers of people
to his seminars. When the seminar concluded, show attendance seemed to
jump dramatically as the crowds filed out of the seminar room. With the
"mystery of the missing patrons" solved, the exhibit room filled to
capacity with ST users looking for the latest in hardware and software.
Perhaps the most interesting booth at the show belonged to Lexicor
Software. Although Lexicor's graphics programs are outstanding, this
year the constant crowd around the booth was due to the fact that they
brought at least two FALCON030's with them and were displaying their wares
on them. Quite impressive. Both the software and the FALCON030, Atari's
latest computer. Although the constant crowd prevented any in-depth use
of the machines, the graphics capabilities of this machine is simply
astounding.
Although I didn't see it, I was told that Dave Small had a FALCON030
minus the case, with it's "guts" exposed for all to see. Many of the
comments I've heard were along the lines of "Did you see the size of the
hard drive in that thing? It was smaller than a pack of cigarettes!" The
general consensus seems to be that the FALCON030 will be THE home
entertainment computer in a very short while.
The Banquet was held on Saturday evening and consisted of salad, beef
or chicken and dessert. The highlight of the Banquet was, as is usual at
these events, the guest speaker. Bill Rehbock, head of FALCON030
development, gave a well received talk on the FALCON and its capabilities
as well as its place in the computer marketplace. The demonstration that
followed Mr. Rehbock's speech was quite impressive. An approximately two
minute demo which consisted of at least CD-quality sound and colorful
graphics showcased the FALCON's capabilities well. Parts of the graphics
portion gave the impression of a stop-action Rock video. My only
complaint has to do with the size of the display monitor used in the
demonstration. It was a standard ST monitor that, because of its
relatively small size, made viewing slightly difficult from most parts of
the room. Despite this one shortcoming, the demonstration was well
received by all in attendance.
In addition to the technological portion of the presentation, the
humor and enthusiasm displayed by Mr. Rehbock himself added to the overall
"feel" of the evening. He seemed to genuinely enjoy both showing off the
FALCON and meeting the people in attendance. In his speech, Mr. Rehbock
said that he had enjoyed the show and would be back next year even if "I
have to buy my own plane ticket". After the presentation and a question
and answer period, Mr. Rehbock stayed to answer questions about the new
machine and related topics. What struck me most about the evening was not
the FALCON, but Bill Rehbock. I was impressed by his obvious energy,
intelligence, and his enthusiasm for the FALCON and for Atari in general.
Sunday saw another respectably large crowd. Although smaller than
Saturday's crowd in size, purchases were reportedly higher. People often
"window shop" on the first day of a show and save the second day for
"power shopping", hoping that vendors will have lowered prices in order to
reduce the amount of inventory to be lugged back home.
This year's swap room was large enough to avoid the congested
conditions of last year. The swap room, set aside for individuals selling
used software and hardware, stayed busy through the weekend on "both sides
of the counter". Items in the swap room ranged from old copies of "Star
Raiders" up to complete computer systems.
The seminars encompassed subjects from MIDI music to Souping up your
current machine to Meet the developers/press to using DynaCADD and Calamus
and were well attended. The STReport seminar began with comments by the
three STReport editors in attendance: Ralph Mariano- Editor-in-Chief,
Dana Jacobson- Staff Editor, and Myself- also a Staff Editor. Following
the opening comments, the floor was opened to questions from the audience.
Questions ranged from what is involved in the production of an on-line
magazine to the future of Atari to the FALCON's place in the U.S. market.
According to Mr. Mariano the FALCON may herald the creation of the "Home
Computer Appliance" market: a market in which computers will be regarded
much as "toasters and washing machines are now".
The WAACE Inc. folks did not disappoint me with their '90 and '91
AtariFests, and continued the trend again this year. With its place
assured as the largest Atari show on the east coast, WAACE can now sit
back and relax for a while. They have provided yet another extraordinary
show. Enjoy the rest while you can, WAACE members: Someone will start
talking about plans for next year's show before you know it. Hmmm... I
wonder it it's too early to make reservations for WAACE AtariFest '93.
;-)
______________________________________________________________
> TRACKER WINDOWS! STR InfoFile Tracker for the PC & Windows
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Tracker/ST...For Windows!
=========================
New York City,NY
After fielding an ever-increasing number of requests for a Windows
version of their leading mailing list/mail merge software, Step Ahead
Software is proud to announce the arrival of Windows Tracker/ST. The
unveiling of Windows Tracker/ST will take place at the WAACE Atari Fest on
October 10-11, 1992.
Tracker/ST for Windows is practically identical to the current version
of Tracker/ST for the Atari ST, STe, and TT (v3.04). The program looks
the same, runs the same, and has the same features. Like its Atari
cousin, the Windows version of Tracker?ST has no limit to the number of
names in a file, no limit to the number of separate databases, and
contains its unique unlimited "Long Notes," "Quick Letter," and automatic
mail merge features, and more.
Transferring data from existing copies of Atari Tracker/ST is a
breeze, and this includes all names, Long Notes, and mail merge letters
created with the Atari version of Tracker/ST.
There are a few enhancements in Windows Tracker/ST, namely:
Mailing Labels can use any Windows font, including PostScript
fonts and TrueType fonts. Mailing label positioning is also
greatly enhanced as standard measurements (to 1/100 of an
inch) are used, instead of the older 'characters per inch'
and 'lines per inch';
The user interface has been improved in numerous ways.
Windows Tracker/ST uses true dialog boxes with radio buttons,
check boxes, and keyboard equivalents for each function. All
menu bar items are accessible from the keyboard using the
standard Windows "ALT" conventions (ALT + F, then X for Exit,
etc.);
Windows Tracker/ST has the ability to search for words
contained in the unlimited Long Notes. This works extremely
quickly, even in a system with hundreds of large Long Notes
files. You may search for any word or phrase and print out
all the names which have those words in their Long Notes, or
print out the actual Long Notes themselves;
When in edit mode, users may click the mouse on any field for
editing, without having to press [Tab] or [Return] to go to
the field they wish to change.
Tracker/ST for Windows is the direct result of numerous requests from
our registered users, who have long asked for a Windows version of
Tracker/ST. Now, owners of the leading mailing list/mail merge software
for the Atari ST, STe, and TT can use the same trusted program at work, or
on a second computer at home.
Windows Tracker/ST will begin shipping next month, at a suggested
retail price of $119.95. A substantial discount will be offered on
Windows Tracker/ST at the WAACE Atari Fest, with an additional price break
for our many loyal registered Atari Tracker/ST owners.
For further information on Tracker/ST and Windows Tracker/ST, please
contact:
Step Ahead Software, Inc.
496-A Hudson Street, Suite F39
New York City, NY 10014
212-627-5830
GEnie Address: NEVIN-S
GEnie Topic : Category 6, Topic 23 of the Atari RoundTable
***********************************************************************
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
To sign up for GEnie service:
Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo)
Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
GEnie Announcements (FREE)
1. Take the FINAL GEnie Presidential Straw Poll Today............*SURVEY
2. Check out GEnie's newest product, a database of job listings..ADNET
3. Stocks Catch A Bad Case Of The Big Blues......................SOS
4. Author VERNOR VINGE, Sunday at 8 Eastern in the...............SFRT
5. Internet gateway in Beta Test - LIVE Help Desks and more in...UNIX
6. Educating The Bright Ones ==>RTC w/Jerry Pournelle 10/21......ERT
7. Take a quiz about movie & TV show theme song lyrics over at...SHOWBIZ
8. Team GEnie goes for the National Championship in our..........AUTO
9. Barbara Young tells YOU how to be a game designer.............TSR
10. New files, RTCs, topics, a new staff-it's a new GE-MUG........MAC
11. Complete Information on Disney's Empire and SPECIAL RTC in....FLORIDA
12. Free time giveaway in our NEW Real-Time Conferences...........A2PRO
13. Version 1.5 of ST Aladdin NOW available.....................STALADDIN
14. Still time to get your October issue of.....................GENIELAMP
15. Discuss Ventura Publisher 4.1 for Windows in..................DTP
The Atari ST RT
|======================================================|
| Real Time Conference Special Events Calendar |
|======================================================|
| |
| Oct. 21 - Bob Luneski of Oregon Research Associates'|
| (Wednesay) Come on in and talk to the programmer of |
| Diamond Back II and Diamond Edge. Also, |
| the North American distributors for |
| Ultimate Virus Killer and Hisoft products.|
|======================================================|
| All Real Time Conferences begin at 10:00 p.m. EDT |
|======================================================|
= Atari ST Help Desk =
Atari ST Roundtable holds a Sunday Help Desk to answer your questions
on GEnie, Atari ST Roundtable and the line of Atari computers. Stop in
and ask questions or just visit the Atari RT staff and users. The Help
Desk starts at 7:00 pm EST Sunday on page 475;2.
Last Week's Top Downloaded Programs/Utilities:
26005 PYROTECH.LZH X J.EIDSVOOG1 921003 1408 204 2
Desc: Improved Fireworks module for Warp 9
25998 CALLTIM3.ARC X K.VANDELLEN 921003 11904 204 2
Desc: Calls Naval Observatory, sets time
26080 AUTOSRT4.ARC X EFS 921010 10112 150 2
Desc: Version 4.1 of autosort.
25999 LIFEEXPC.ARC X K.VANDELLEN 921003 14464 150 21
Desc: Calculate your life expectancy
26045 SPC3375.LZH X J.PIERCE5 921006 14848 148 28
Desc: New version 1.61 -- Bug fix
26043 PDOS_SER.TTP X DRAGONWARE 921006 1792 142 21
Desc: PowerDOS Modem port ALIAS/CONFIG
26081 BLITZ_13.LZH X E.MONACO 921010 27648 118 2
Desc: Latest Version!!!
26105 DOUBLE2.LZH X S.JOHNSON10 921012 2688 109 2
Desc: STE screen height doubler - v2.0
GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
***********************************************************************
> WAACE'92 STR SHOW NEWS THE PREMIER EAST COAST SHOW * REPORT 3
""""""""""""""""""""""
WAACE'92 - The Atari Tradition Keeps Getting Better!
====================================================
by Dana P. Jacobson
The rain started as soon as I hit Baltimore, at about 6:30 a.m.
Friday. I had been on the road since 10:00 the night before; and this
didn't appear to be an ominous omen until I took the Washington D.C.
Beltway, the wrong way! 45 minutes later, I managed to circle it around
until I came back to where I wanted to be; and the Sheraton Reston loomed
ahead. At 7:30 in the morning, not much was happening, but I tried to
check into the hotel anyway. Sorry, it's much too early, the
receptionist declared, come back after 9. I looked around and saw few
people in the lobby. I went out to the car to try to get a few winks,
but the caffeine had done its stuff, I was wired. Watching the leaves
fall was getting boring, so I wandered back to the front desk. My luck
wasn't getting any better, Ralph's reservation wasn't there. Ugh, I asked
the kind woman to check further, but to no avail. Come back a little
later, she said, and check to see if there's a room; the hotel is booked
solid! Fortunately, there was something a little later, and I grabbed it.
I was not looking forward to telling Ralph that the hotel lost his
reservation! He arrived about an hour later. I can't wait to learn
where the reservation disappeared! The weekend was not off to a good
start! I was hoping that this wasn't an omen of things to come...
We semi-unloaded everything, and JD Barnes offered to take us to
lunch, and then visit Toad Computers. Dave and Jennifer Troy were
holding a Fest before the Fest, and it was an opportunity to see what a
real Atari dealer looked like again!! What a nice store! Best wishes for
success in the new location, Dave and Jennifer. We then made a stop at
the "Junkyard Pussycat's" lair to pick up some equipment for the show.
When we arrived, people were beginning to arrive; and the GEnie
get-together was just beginning - we headed up to the lounge where we met
D.D. Martin, John Donahue, and a few others. This was more like it, the
party had started!
It was an early night as most of the early-comers were winding down
from their long trips to the Fest. Finally, I could get some rest after
being awake since the previous morning. Saturday came soon enough, and
after a quick bite, we hit the showroom floor minutes before the doors
officially opened. I managed to get to the CodeHead booth ahead of the
crowds, anticipating the usual long lines to get upgrades and the various
products readily available. I even bought a few of the font packages for
Calligrapher, and I _had_ to have at least one of the CodeHead's new tee
shirts! After I dropped off the beginnings of my many newly acquired
goodies, the crowd began to enter the show. In previous years, lines
were out the door by the time the show started. Not so this year. My
guess is that the torrential downpour kept most people away, or until
later. JD Barnes had a frown on his face when he noticed the lack of an
early "mob" at the registration desk. What had they done wrong was all
he could think about. Well, as it turned out, there was no burst of
people early on, but the crowds were steady throughout the day instead.
By lunch, JD and the other organizers were smiling more. WAACE '92 was a
hit, and getting better as the day progressed.
There were quite a number of new developers and dealers attending
WAACE this year for the first time, a good sign. These folks only add to
the pleasure of the WAACE experience. John Trautschold, from Missionware
Software, was showing off "Flash II", a completely rewritten version of
the popular Flash telecom program. He also was showing off a beta
version of CyberPaint, running on a TT! This soon-to-be-released upgrade
will be a welcome sight and capable of taking advantage of the Falcon's
capabilities! John "Hutch" Hutchinson, of Fair-Dinkum Technologies was
showing off "Crossword Creator II", "Word Search II", "Cryptographer", and
"Cyberdrome". I can't wait to get involved in Cyberdrome, and I plan to
check out Hutch's other products soon, being a word puzzle enthusiast!!
Oregon Research had a number of new products which were interesting, but
unfortunately, they weren't on my list of "must-haves" for the present.
However, I will be keeping their product line in mind for the near future.
Sheldon Winick and his family were in attendance from Computer STudio in
North Carolina. It was nice to see another Atari dealer in the ranks of
WAACE attendees. According to Sheldon, sales were quite good. He sold
out of the TTs he brought, including some TT/DynaCADD workstations. The
Lexicor demos were, simply put, outstanding!! I wish that I had a use for
their products because they're terrific programs. Watching some of the
work done with them was a pleasure to behold. Bill Rayl, from Atari
Interface Magazine, was kind enough to give me a demo of STorm, a pending
telecom program. I hope that there's a demo available soon because this
is one program that seems to be a hit even before it makes it out to the
streets.
There was plenty of everything for everybody at the show. There was
simply too much to relate with regard to who was there and what they were
showing/selling. And, I know that there are going to be plenty of those
reports elsewhere in this issue so I'll let those people relate their
reflections.
I think that the biggest highlight of the show, and the one that was
the least expected, was the presence of Atari's Bill Rehbock. Atari was
not expected to have any kind of representation at this year's WAACE show;
and the WAACE organizers didn't appear to pursue the matter - it was
really up to Atari only if they wanted to be a part of the tradition. I
believe, that sometime around the BCS show in September, that Bill
realized (on perhaps a personal level) that presentations such as was
available to the BCS was a necessity to let the existing Atari userbase
know that Atari was serious with the advent of the Falcon. From what I
had heard at the show, Bill was going to attend even if he had to pay for
his own way to Virginia. This, to me, shows a serious outlook to the
determination that some at Atari have with regard to the Falcon and
Atari's userbase. It was a pleasure to meet Bill, finally, and listen to
him speak. Although he didn't have the tons of professional equipment
accompanying him as was used at the BCS meeting, this was a plus for him
because we all saw the personable Atari executive instead of the
"stuffed-shirt" stereotype (not to say that Bill was a "stuffed-shirt at
BCS!). Bill was kept extremely busy throughout the weekend. We got our
first taste at the Saturday night banquet. If you missed it, you really
missed something!
Prior to Bill's presentation, Joe Waters presented the annual
Current Notes Author of the Year Award to Richard Gunter, author of the
monthly "Starting Block" series of articles. Richard was a well-deserved
recipient of this award - congratulations from all of us at STReport,
Richard!! After the award, Bill Rehbock, with the help of John Morales on
the VCR, presented the banquet attendees with a similar talk as given at
the BCS meeting. The presentation lasted for quite some time, including
some video demos - definitely a worthwhile experience. Bill then was
available for questions which he answered quite candidly. With a number
of rounds of applause throughout his talk, Bill received the largest
applause when he announced that he was more than happy with the success of
the WAACE show and that he was already planning to return next year.
Bill was also available during the weekend demonstrating the Falcon
in the Productivity Room; and his seminar Sunday afternoon was
standing-room-only; and the seminar went _well_ beyond the normal 1-hour
limit! Everyone that I talked with during the show was very impressed
with Bill Rehbock and his enthusiasm for the Falcon and those who came to
see it. It was a pleasure to see people elated to get this opportunity
and have a good feeling about Atari Corporation again, something that's
been lacking for far too long.
My overall reaction to this year's show was, in a single word,
fantastic. I thought that last year's show was the highlight of the past
shows I've attended. Not so. This year's show proved to be as good as
last year, with attendance. This year I heard that developers and
vendors did better in sales than last year, and last year was their best!
All I could hear throughout my wanderings of the show floor was how much
people were enjoying the show and that they spent too much money (and
wanted to spend more)! In these tough times, I had to force myself to a
limitation of spending but I know that I will be eventually getting some
of the fine products that I saw that I just couldn't get this time around.
I think that one of the most enjoyable part of the WAACE experience
and tradition is the opportunity to meet, either for the first time or
getting re-acquainted, the people whom I've had the pleasure of "talking"
with on the online services or public bulletin board systems. Seeing and
talking with these people face to face, whether they be users like myself
or developers and dealers, is an unforgettable experience. THIS is what
makes WAACE so enjoyable for me. Who can forget Dee Dee Martin handing
out "I Love GEnie" ribbons at the Friday night get-together in the lounge?
Who can forget those who saw those "No More RSN" and STReport buttons
passed out all weekend, and looking for more to take home?! Who can
forget Bill Rehbock's voice doing a "surround sound" imitation at the
banquet, or the Rehbock/Mariano "duet" during Bill's Sunday seminar? Or
Tomas, from CodeHead, asking a customer "do you _really_ want me to get up
for that upgrade?" with a BIG smile on his face. How about those smiling
kids who saw Albert Baggetta's "Eliemouse" for the first time? These, and
many more, little anecdotes make the difference between a good show and
one that is simply a fantastic experience.
For all those WAACE organizers and volunteers who made this year's
WAACE tradition a reality, my heartfelt thanks for a job WELL done!!
Special thanks go to Ken Fassler, Russ Brown, Steve Rigby, and JD Barnes
for being an integral part of it. Without you all, this show would not
have been the success that it was. I _know_ that I'll see you next year
and we can relive it all over again, only better. It was a pleasure to
be part of the tradition. Congratulations on another successful show!
______________________________________________________________
> SUPRA/FAX UPGRADE STR InfoFile SUPRAFAXMODEM ROM UPGRADE 1.2J/H
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
USING YOUR SUPRAFAXMODEM ROM UPGRADE 1.2J/H
===========================================
The 1.2J/H ROM upgrade provides several sophisticated enhancements to
your SupraFAXModem. These instructions explain how to use those
enhancements.
RATE RENEGOTIATION
Several commands and S registers combine to provide improved rate
renegotiation on your SupraFAXModem:
%G0 Disable rate renegotiation on V.32bis.
%G1 Enable rate renegotiation on V.32bis, and enable rate
renegotiation with retrain on V.32.
%E Has not changed, but if both %G1 and %E1 are set, then the
modem will renegotiate the rate during a retrain. This is
also the only way the SupraFAXModem V.32 can rate renegotiate.
&F1 Default now includes %G1.
&F2 Default now includes %G1.
S Register S109.
Decimal Value Explanation
1 reserved
2 4800 bps
4 7200 bps
8 9600 bps
16 12000 bps
32 14400 bps
64 reserved
128 reserved
The slowest possible carrier speed can be limited by S109. Some
modems (including SupraFAX-Modem V.32 and V.32bis modems with early ROMs)
can only up-shift a few times, and then they will lose the connection.
The solution to this problem is to change S109 so that the modem does not
need to up-shift as many times if S110=3.
S Register S110.
0 Connect at V.32 only.
1 Enable V.32bis on V.32bis modems.
2 Enable V.32bis and automatic rate renegotiation.
3 Connect at the slowest possible V.32 or V.32bis speed,
and then upshift if quality is good.
The V.32bis standard negotiates carrier speed at 4800 baud, and then
jumps to the agreed carrier speed to negotiate error correction/data
compression. On noisy lines this can cause various con-nection problems.
Supra's solution is to set S110 to 3. This causes the modems to connect
at the slowest possible V.32 or V.32bis speed. With S110=3, as long as
the line is clean enough, the modems will up-shift to the next possible
carrier rate. The slowest possible carrier speed can be set by S109.
COMPATIBILITY WITH A WIDER RANGE OF FAX MACHINES
Rockwell chipset-based modems, including SupraFAXModems with older
ROMs, cannot connect with a select few brands or models of fax machines.
To provide increased compatibility with these fax machines, Supra has
modified the fax tone emitted by the modem, so that the modem can
communicate with a wider range of fax machines. This feature is in effect
automatically; you do not need to do anything to invoke it. However,
please note that you may hear a slight "rattling" noise when dialing out
(on fax calls only), which is the sound of the tone that allows this
compatibility.
Silent Answer
Silent answer lets one telephone line be used for two purposes:
receiving faxes with the modem, and receiving voice calls with an
answering machine or telephone. When set to this mode, the modem lets
your answering machine answer all incoming calls. If it detects fax "CNG"
tones, it routes the call to your fax software. Otherwise, it just sits
silently on the phone line while you or your answering machine takes the
call.
You must be able to modify your fax software initialization string to
take advantage of this feature. Your software probably does not allow you
to modify the initialization string. Supra is currently working with
several software vendors to add Silent Answer support to their software.
To obtain a version of your software that supports Silent Answer, please
contact the software company.
Once you have software that supports Silent Answer, if your software
uses register S0 to enable Auto Answer, set S0 to a number larger than
your answering machine. This will allow the answering machine to answer
first.
When the phone rings, the modem will start monitoring the telephone
line after the second ring. If it detects a fax tone, it will do one of
the following:
If S0 = 0, the modem will immediately answer the phone and attempt a
fax connection.
If S0 = 0, the modem will quickly issue up to 9 "RING" messages,
expecting the fax software to issue an ATA.
When installing the modem, DO NOT plug the answering machine into the
telephone jack on the back of the modem. Instead, do ONE of the
following:
Plug the answering machine and modem into different wall jacks (i.e.
jacks in different rooms).
Plug the answering machine into a wall jack and the modem into the
answering machine.
Also, if you have an older answering machine that does NOT
automatically turn itself off when it detects that a person or the modem
has answered the call, you need a $7.95 adapter from Radio Shack, part
#43-107. This adapter disconnects the answering machine from the phone
line when the call is answered. It goes between the answering machine and
the wall jack.
Adaptive Answer
Adaptive answer allows the modem to decide if an incoming call is fax
or data, and handle it appropriately. To take advantage of this feature,
you must have a software driver that knows how to switch between fax and
data. Your fax or data software may have this driver built in. The driver
must use the following commands to enable Adaptive Answer:
AT +FCLASS=0
AT +FAA=1 (if using class 2) or +FAE=1 (if using class 1)
S0=(1-255) (or ATA after RING message)
The following result codes can be returned in Adaptive Answer mode:
CONNECT XXXX if the call is a data call, or
FAX if the call is a fax call.
Caller ID
In addition to the features described earlier, Caller ID is available
as a low-cost upgrade option. If your upgrade includes this feature, you
will want to understand the information in this section.
Caller ID is only available in some areas of the country. You can
only take advantage of it if your tele-communications software supports
Caller ID. In between the first and the second ring of an incoming call,
the phone company will send information on who is calling you. For
example, if you are in terminal mode and have told the modem to answer on
the third ring, you may see the following on your screen:
RING
DATE = 0321
TIME = 1405
NMBR = 5039672400
NAME = SUPRA CORPORATION {Optional. Info may vary from one
phone company to another.}
RING
Caller ID can be used by many computer applications for improved
security, efficiency, and convenience. Here are a few of the potential
applications:
Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs). A BBS can positively identify callers
without the normal tedious logon sequences, and prevent unauthorized
entry due to lost or stolen accounts and passwords.
Screening Calls. Your computer can display the number and possibly
name of who is calling, so you can decide if you want to answer or
not.
Professional billing. Your computer can match incoming calls to your
client list and automatically create a charge to the client's account
for your phone time.
Database Lookup. Your customer's record or account can be displayed
on your computer screen before you answer the call.
The following AT commands enable and disable Caller ID:
#CID=0 Disables Caller ID
#CID=1 Enables Caller ID in formatted format
#CID=2 Enables Caller ID in unformatted format (ASCII printable hex
numbers)
As with any AT data commands, you can issue these commands from your
telecommunications software terminal mode, or include them in your telecom
software's init string. For example, to enable Caller ID, type the
following in your telecom software's terminal mode, where [CR] represents
a carriage return:
AT #CID=1 [CR]
The SupraFAXModem Reference Manual provides more information on AT
commands.
Solving Problems
If you need further assistance after following these instructions,
please contact Supra Technical support.
Supra Corporation Technical Support
(Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. PST)
IBM DOS 503-967-2490
IBM Windows 503-967-2491
Macintosh 503-967-2492
All Other 503-967-2440
Also available by BBS, fax, or mail at:
BBS 503-967-2444
FAX 503-967-2401
MAIL 7101 Supra Drive SW
Albany, OR 97321 USA
________________________________________________________
> POLITICS AS USUAL? STR FOCUS! Is this nonsense really necessary?
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
OF BEES, HONEY & VINEGAR
========================
by R.F. Mariano
Atari, through the years, has had some of the very best developers in
the industry supporting their hardware. Unfortunately, once again a
perception of the zany politics that's driven other developers away from
this platform is rearing its ugly head again. Its reprehensible to
witness the Codeheads doing without a Falcon while other, either much
newer or lesser developers have one or more Falcons. In fact, its an
outrage.
Without a doubt, the Codehead Technologies name is synonymous with
total support, outstanding software and hardware products along with top
notch creativity. The burning question is why must _they_ do without a
new Falcon030 for development purposes while other devs whose products
simply do not serve any where near the number of Atari users Codehead's
does? Codehead serves a complete, in depth, cross section of the
worldwide Atari market. For Codehead to continue to support Atarians
worldwide with the very latest in utilities, applications and enhancements
they must, simply put, be provided with only the best of developer support
by Atari.
From CIS;
#: 29083 S16/CodeHead Tech.
16-Oct-92 10:29:03
Sb: Political Correctness
Fm: john barnes 73030,2307
To: All
What's the Difference Between a Utility and an Application?
At the GEnie conference of October 14th John Eidsvoog of Codehead software
came out with the following lament:
J.EIDSVOOG1> "Boy, it sure does hurt inside to keep hearing about all
of the other developers writing stuff for the Falcon...
kinda like not being invited to the biggest party of the
year."
Bob Brodie indicated that developers of "Applications" might be
receiving preferential access to Atari Falcon030 machines over developers
of "Utilities."
On the surface of it there is some sense to this, as applications
software is much more visible to purchasers of new machines ("Can I get
WordPerfect, or Lotus, or.... for this machine?").
This viewpoint totally misses the fact utility programs like Warp 9,
Hotwire, MultiDesk, MaxiFile, or Universal Item Selector may have an
equally important long-term impact because they dramatically influence the
way the machines respond to the users' wishes. In that sense utility
programs are at the very core of the software development effort because
they represent enabling technology that facilitates the users' access to
the true capabilities of the machines that they have bought.
The rationale for dividing the developer community into two camps
appears, therefore, to be flawed.
Perhaps, however, this rationale is merely a facade for a different,
darker agenda? The guys from Codehead have long been outspoken in their
criticism of Atari's mistakes in the software area. Is it possible that
access to development systems for the next generation of Atari software is
being used as a carrot to induce more "politically correct" ways of
thinking?
This issue will only be cleared up when the supply of Falcons begins
to outstrip the demand for development systems. Let us pray that this
happens soon enough to prevent the loss of valuable talent in the
developer community. ==\\//==
Another very important fact to make mention of is highly relative to
the "application vs utility premise" (if you _care_ to call it that).
Calligrapher, Mega Paint and Avant Vektor are a far cry from "utilities"
yet they are not considered at all. Sure there will be those who will
lament; "they are _imported_ by Codehead, _not_ developed by them." The
answer to that is simple... Codehead has invested quite heavily in the
Atari marketplace in support of its users and machines. Also Codehead has
developed many modules for one of the programs and superb drivers for
another of these programs. Further, God only knows how much support code
has been generated by the Codeheads and then sent abroad for inclusion
into the main programs. As an afterthought, many Atarians have used
Maxifile and Hotwire for so long they've begun to take them for granted.
They are, (Hotwire and Maxifile), top notch applications that serve many
people's wide and varied needs while using Atari computers.
To continue, its time the petty politics and vendettas came to a
complete end if in fact, that's what is really going on. If not then the
system used to determine the distribution spread is in serious need of
re-examination and stricter evaluation. To leave the Codeheads "out in
the cold" is a grievous logistical error. This situation serves no useful
or productive means to an end for either Atari itself or its userbase both
real and hoped for. It must be corrected forthwith. How do you feel
about this matter? Let us hear from you.
_________________________________________________________________
> STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
"""""""""""""""""""""
- Sunnyvale, CA. Ken Badertscher Joins Taligent
--------------
Ken Badertscher, a long time Atari employee, has left Atari for
greener pastures. Ken, noted for his work with the TOS group and other
outstanding software accomplishments, left after a 'marathon' session of
weeks of long hours to bring the Falcon Tos to reality.
- Sunnyvale, CA STOCK FOR A BONUS?
-------------
Recently, a number of Atari employees were offered a bonus for working
long, long well over 40 hour weeks in a drive to get Falcon Tos up and
running. It has been reported by our sources that the employees were not
too happy with the stock offering as a bonus. In fact, there were those
who asked and received a cash settlement instead. The cash settlement was
reported to be in the neighborhood of 600.00.
- New York City, NY TEST MARKET AREA REPORTED
-----------------
Our sources have let us know that one of the test market areas will be
New York's metropolitan area. The Falcon ads and marketing push is
reported to be destined for this area along with others. Many market
analysts report the Falcon is Atari's final escapade and must succeed for
the company to survive. By all indications, the Falcon may very well pull
the company up from its long sleep.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> A "Quotable Quote"
"""""""""""""""""
"A free press can, of course, be good or bad,
but most certainly without freedom,
the press will never be anything but bad..."
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> ABCO SPECIALS! STR InfoFile * NEW 1992 Prices! MORE Products! *
""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -------------------------------
** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! **
NOTICE: ABCO will BEAT OR MATCH * ANY *
Advertised or Invoiced price * WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD!
ABCO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS
=========================
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)
- Available for all Platforms -
-* ICD LINK & ADSCSI PLUS HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY *-
WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE!!! >UPS!<
(Cont. USA)
VISA - MASTERCARD - NO SURCHARGE!
*_*_*_*
WAACE'92 SPECIAL
"CELEBRATE THINGS ATARI"
ABCOFILE 80mb Hard disk System - $ 419.95! Assembled Ready to run!
Includes either the ICD ADSCSI PLUS _or_ THE LINK & DMA Cable
Installed in our NEW "Super Style" Case!
(exp 11/15/92)
*_*_*_*
*** NEW!!! ULTRA MODERN "SUPER STYLE" ABCOFILE CASE ***
DELUXE 2 bay Cabinet W/65w Auto PS & Blower $119.00
Case & ICD LINK or ADSCSI PLUS Host [Hard Disk Ready] $259.95
Model Description Autopark Price
==================================================
SGN4951 51Mb 3.5" Y 419.00
SQN1096 83mb 3.5" Y 519.00
SQN2055 120mb 3.5" Y 574.95
SQN1296 213mb 3.5" Y 839.00
SQN4055 340mb 3.5" Y 1310.00
==================================================
Standard "Shoebox Cabinet style is also available
MODERN TOWER CABINETS AVAILABLE Call for Info!
PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only!
Many other configurations available.
20mb - 3.5gb
NOTICE - NOTICE - NOTICE - NOTICE
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
SPECIAL PURCHASE! * 83mb - 1345mb * Hard Disk Mechanisms
Call for SUPER PRICING!! Limited Time Only!!
FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES w/o ICD LINK Available
ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS
EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAILABLE Call for Info!
PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only!
FAST TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATOR UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED
*****
>> ABCO proudly offers ATARI PRODUCTS <<
Call for ABCO's * HIGHLY COMPETITIVE PRICING! *
ATARI COMPUTERS * STILL THE BEST VALUE!
*****
Original Atari Mouse replacement: $35.00 NEW!
If you don't see what you want listed here, call us.
Odds are, we either have it or, can get it for you!
* GUARANTEED * AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE! *
** 800-562-4037 **
"WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL"
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCOFILE "44" & "88" *
* REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES *
--->> LIMITED TIME SPECIAL! NOW ONLY 44MB $ 559.00 <<---
88MB $ 659.00
WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE! >UPS!<
(Cont. USA)
COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
Cart and Utility Software Included!
44mb CARTS: $ 69.50
88mb CARTS: $ 109.50
44mb MECH ONLY: $ 339.95
88mb MECH ONLY: $ 439.95
****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
* TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
SPECIALLY PRICED ** $895.95.00 **
Includes: * TWO * cartridges!
* SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
- Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
** 50mb SQG51S $759.00 105mb SQG105S $959.00 **
Or, YOUR choice of Hard Disk Mechanism!
LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
** ANNOUNCING THE NEW! -> ABCO CD-ROM! **
:Special Introductory offer:
ABCO CD-ROM $489.95
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)
* IBM - MSDOS - AMIGA - ATARI - APPLE - MACINTOSH *
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 -
Atari SLM 804, SLM 804PCV Laser Toner Kits
Memorex 2108, 5287
Oasys Laserpro 5287, 5308, Express 830, Express Series II
Silver Express, Gold Express
** $41.95 shipping Included **
Atari SLM 605 Laser Toner Kits
AT&T 593, CAF Laser, DSI Laser, DTP Systems, Epson EPL-6000
Facit P6060, Fontx Syslaser, Harris3M 2006, M-Tally MT905
Microtek Turbo PS, OAS Laserpro Executive, Packard Bell 9500
TEC LB 1305, Toshiba PageLaser 6
** $41.95 shipping included **
(TWO Toner Carts Incl.)
Panasonic Laser Toner Kits
Panasonic KX -P 400 series, Panafax UF-750 Facsimile
** $41.95 shipping included **
-- ALL TONER KITS * IN STOCK * --
* Toner Starter Kits-$62.95 *
* Replacement (804) Drums-$186.95 *
ABCO is PROUD to announce the acquisition of
the exclusive U.S.A. distribution rights for
** Bitblit Software's ///Turbo Board BBS. **
This fine Atari ST BBS system software and
user support is available through ABCO to all
Turbo customers in the USA. Call for current
pricing.
>> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED <<
ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED
-* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
(A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)
WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE! >UPS!<
(Cont. USA)
QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!
_________________________________________
DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
please, call for details
VISA - MASTERCARD - NO SURCHARGE!
Personal and Company Checks 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!
SEND FOR YOUR NEW ABCO CATALOG TODAY!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport International Online Magazine
[S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport
Available through more than 10,002 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STR Online! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" October 16, 1992
Since 1987 copyright (c) 1987-92 All Rights Reserved No.8.41
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
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 number 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
STR editors, contributors and or staff are not responsible for the use or
misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
-----------------------------------------
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