Today's Topics: 1.44 HD drives Another Atari write-in campaign... Atari-To-Amiga Convert Info Source! (7 msgs) Atari U.S. Management Game bonus hint when using the D.E.K.A. adaptor HH GUIDE HINTS request If you ignore Tom Hill, he will go away... (2 msgs) Juvenile user war crap Noizetracker MOD Players Stos, again... Wanted: ZORK for Atari ST What's a STE anyway? Welcome to the Info-Atari16 Digest. The configuration for the automatic cross-posting to/from Usenet is getting closer, but still getting thrashed out. Please send notifications about broken digests or bogus messages to Info-Atari16-Request@NAUCSE.CSE.NAU.EDU. Please send requests for un/subscription and other administrivia to Info-Atari16-Request, *NOT* Info-Atari16. Requests that go to the list instead of the moderators are likely to be lost or ignored. If you want to unsubscribe, and you're receiving the digest indirectly from someplace (usually a BITNET host) that redistributes it, please contact the redistributor, not us. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 24 Jun 91 18:14:05 GMT From: noao!ncar!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!ira.uka.de! fauern!faui43.informatik.uni-erlangen.de!csbrod@arizona.edu (Claus Brod) Subject: 1.44 HD drives To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu larserio@IFI.UIO.NO (LarsErikOsterud) writes: >But where can I get a 16 MHz FDC that can handle HD disk 100% perfect ? >Or isn't this chip ready yet (could this be the reason for the socket >on the TT and MEGA STE - the FDC is soldered right on the PCB on standard >ST and STE ?) Exactly. The chip isn't ready yet, and that's why the current Mega STEs and TTs have socketed FDCs. It is also the reason why Atari didn't comment officially on the new capabilities of our favorite computer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Claus Brod, Am Felsenkeller 2, Things. Take. Time. D-8772 Marktheidenfeld, Germany (Piet Hein) csbrod@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de Claus_Brod@wue.maus.de ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 91 02:36:53 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!psuvax 1!psuvm!dearn!dmswwu1c!onm07@arizona.edu Subject: Another Atari write-in campaign... To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <1991Jun21.181638.21970@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>, lch3e@holmes.acc.Virginia.EDU (Lauren C. Howard) says: > Atari Germany canceled their advance order of 10-15,000 units under > pressure of German developers, WP contacted Atari in Sunnyvale. Reports > vary somewhat, but the result of that talk seems to be that Atari Corp > will not at this time back WordPerfect by assuring a minimum order. > This is simply not true. Atari Germany has TONS of unsold 4.1 versions. They asked WP for a beta test or preview version of 5.x, but WordPerfect wasn't able to show something -- would YOU have ordered 10000 units of a program you don't know, having lots of unsold copies of an older program version that virtually no one buys. Please don't blame the `germans'. WP is mainly an american company, and if they can't succeed in the U.S., they won't in Germany either. BTW: I would *love* to see a new WP on GEM! ___________________________ cut here _____________________________________ Julian F. Reschke, Hensenstr. 142, D-4400 Muenster, Phone: ++49 251 861241 fast eMail: ONM07@DMSWWU1A.BITNET, slow: jr@ms.maus.de (++49 251 77216) ____________________ correct me if I'm wrong _____________________________ ------------------------------ Date: 24 Jun 91 22:26:34 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia .edu!cunixf.cc.columbia.edu!cunixa.cc.columbia.edu!es1@arizona.edu (Ethan Solomita) Subject: Atari-To-Amiga Convert Info Source! To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <1991Jun24.172215.816@colorado.edu> chuj@horton.Colorado.EDU (CHU JEFFREY) writes: > >I wonder how far have you gone in comparing AMIGA machines to others, >AMIGA Fusion Forty Accelerator board is worse than a 486-25 Performance. >AMIGA flickers quite alot, NTSC standard VGA cards are available to IBM >with non-flicker options. > The first point you make isn't a computer war, but a chip war. The 040 is faster than the 486 at the same clock speed, period. A 486/50 is probably marginally faster than the 040 (except under MS-DOS), but it is still close. The 040 25MHz does appr. 18-22 MIPS depending on who you believe (I know how meaningless that is, but we are talking all CISC chips, not RISC, so isn't a terrible statistic). I believe the 486 is about 12. As to flicker, the A3000 comes with a flicker-fixer built in. Commodore sells a board for just over $200 which will deinterlace output on all 2000 machines. Both use standard IBM VGA ports. There is a 3rd party deinterlacer for the 500 as well. -- Ethan FF buckets of bits on the bus, FF buckets of bits. Take one down, Pass it to ground, FE buckets of bits on the bus. ------------------------------ Date: 24 Jun 91 23:19:24 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!know!dae mon@arizona.edu (Thomas Hill) Subject: Atari-To-Amiga Convert Info Source! To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu revpk@cellar.UUCP (Brian 'Rev P-K' Siano) writes: % Now, Thomas Hill's endless touting of the Amiga struck me as more %than a little strange. Not because some of his facts might be wrong, or %because he was presuming to know things about the ST marketplace that we %didn't. Please be specific about what I was wrong about. Like I've said before, I don't make a statement unless I have the facts and figures to back it up. % But think about this; Thomas Hill goes out of his way to bust on ST %users, and wants to convince us to use Amigas. Granted, they're nice %machines-- my roommate just bought a 3000-- but why is Thomas Hill so %messianic about them? I don't "bust on" ST users. I never get into needless remarks and childish statements. Presenting the facts and offering ST users help is not what I call "busting" on ST users. % I can understand, halfway, if Thomas had found Jesus or had submitted %to the will of Allah, and wanted us to do the same. But why is Thomas so %wrapped up in what computers we own? Is he an Amiga salesperson? A Commodore %marketing manager? Why, exactly, is he so emotionally committed to making %sure that we own HIS kind of machine? Does owning an ST constitute a moral %affront to him? I'm not an Amiga salesperson (though I'd love to be), but I am hoping to help those who buy computers based on no facts. % Issues of STs and Amigas aside, I think it's pretty clear that Thomas %has some problems. Not even the do-or-die Commodore 64 fans I know-- mainly %children with few other interests to hold their allegiances-- get as worked %up as THomas does. I can think of a dozen better causes for Thomas to worry %about-- say, supporting the Electronic Freedom Foundation, or better, using %his fables Amiga to crank out letters on behalf of Amnesty International. "Worked up"? Pardon me, but where in my message do I get "worked up". I pride myself on staying away form this kind of thing. % In short: what sort of deranged, socially-deprived noodnik would give %a tinker's dam about what computer anyone else uses-- and would actively %campaign to sell merchandise that he has no immediate financial stake in? %Heck, I've seen more rational stuff coming out of Jesus freaks. It always works out this way. When a person can not support his end of the conversation (this is about computers, not egos) he will resort to attacking the personality of the person he is dealing with. I don't need to call you names to support my argumentation. Please try to do the same. Tom ------------------------------ Date: 24 Jun 91 23:21:14 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!samsung!know!daemon@arizona.edu (Thomas Hill) Subject: Atari-To-Amiga Convert Info Source! To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu rjast1@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Robert J Anisko) writes: % I'm just wondering what our dear friend over in Commie-land (Amiga, not %USSR ) would feel if someone were to step into their message %base and kindly show them how to convert over from Commodore to the %Atari. While this is called a "friendly" thing, for one no one on here %asked for this "help." If someone wants help, do it in PRIVATE. %It remins me of something done in wartime and even during Desert Storm: %drop tons of propoganda on the enemy telling them step by step how %to surrender (many of the Iraqi soldiers who surrendered carried these %"information slips"). If you can find some good solid reasons for Amiga users to convert to the Atari, your more than welcome to give it a try. However, I find it hard to believe that you can find faults with a computer that is clearly a better machine than the ST. % While I admit it is a stretch comparing this to the war, the point %is that the same strategy/technique is being employed. Didn't we win that war? Sorry, couldn't resist! :) % or in short: I didn't ask, I don't remember seeing ANY postings here %about it, and thus we really ain't interested in your "help." %So I kindly ask our noble friend to save his blessings for those %who want and need it - in the Commodore section... I didn't say you did. I have, however, received many messages just on our local Free-Net from Atari users needing information. Where there is smoke there is fire, so I thought I'd offer my help to anybody on UseNet. Turns out that I was right, as many responses have been had. I also got about 20 negative responses, but those don't bother me much. Tom ------------------------------ Date: 24 Jun 91 23:22:24 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!samsung!know!daemon@arizona.edu (Thomas Hill) Subject: Atari-To-Amiga Convert Info Source! To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu steve@thelake.mn.org (Steve Yelvington) writes: %You and the ill-mannered Amiga fanatic from Cleveland Freenet are %engaging in a public pissing match, posting lists of messages from %Freenet's Commodore forums and recycling ignorant, inflammatory, %ill-intended messages. It sure does look like your doing the same thing, but I take exception to your remark that I am "ill-mannered". I don't post inflammatory messages directed at users. If the facts upset you then I'm sorry, but please don't rebel in a "ill-intended" manner. :) I have yet to attack a user on this subject and I hope I never do. Tom ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 91 01:01:37 GMT From: lll-winken!sun-barr!ccut!wnoc-tyo-news!toumon!wucc!ytsuji@uunet.uu.net (Y.Tsuji) Subject: Atari-To-Amiga Convert Info Source! To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu This has been really horrible. Will you please use 'Amiga' word in the subject or in the summary so that we can ignore you easily? We own Atari and are thinking very hard how to get the best from it. Not one of us will ever infiltrate into MSDOS or Mac user groups and say my machine is better than yours and mine can run your software better etc. It would help no one ; it just vexes people. Tsuji ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 91 01:04:18 GMT From: sugar!peter@uunet.uu.net (Peter da Silva) Subject: Atari-To-Amiga Convert Info Source! To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <30289@know.pws.bull.com> ai065@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Thomas Hill) writes: > In all my reading and experience with the Amiga, I have yet to hear one > complaint about "severe MIDI timing problems". There were a bunch of them back when Deluxe Music Construction Set and SoundScape first came out. It seems they did a poor job of handling timing and some folks interpreted that as being an Amiga problem. Like when the first TOS ROM upgrade came out and broke a bunch of poorly written terminal emulators. Or when the first >1M Macs came out and Microsoft's software started breaking. Or the TSR WARS on the IBM-PC. Computers are always getting bad reps from application software. -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' . 'U` "Have you hugged your wolf today?" ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 91 00:59:20 GMT From: sugar!peter@uunet.uu.net (Peter da Silva) Subject: Atari-To-Amiga Convert Info Source! To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <1991Jun24.172215.816@colorado.edu> chuj@horton.Colorado.EDU (CHU JEFFREY) writes: > What do you define as a REAL COMPUTER? One I don't have to throw out the shipped operating system to use effectively. > I wonder how far have you gone in comparing AMIGA machines to others, > AMIGA Fusion Forty Accelerator board is worse than a 486-25 Performance. I get better response on my 1000, let alone my 3000, than Microsoft Windows or X Windows provide on that 486/25... -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' . 'U` "Have you hugged your wolf today?" ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 91 04:58:51 GMT From: cleveland.Freenet.Edu!aa399@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (Len Stys) Subject: Atari U.S. Management To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hi, I have heard stories that there are some lawsuites going on between an ex-employee, Atari, and Greg Pratt and was wondering if someone could tell me in e-mail how serious they are? I have heard that Greg is a pretty nice guy and was wondering if this law suite would interfere with the leadership at Atari U.S. especially when Atari looked as if they were going to make a move here. I know someone is going to ask me, "What's it to you??" so I as might as well answer it now. I own an Atari product and the quality of leadership can effect my investment in the future. Len -- ------------------------------ Date: 24 JUN 91 19:42:05 CDT From: Z4648252 Subject: Game bonus hint when using the D.E.K.A. adaptor To: Apologies for posting bunches of messages, folks, but we just really got back on line here and I'm trying to take advantage of it, before the Amigoids do. grin OPI released their excellent D.E.K.A. keyboard adaptor in which an STer can plug in any IBMish keyboard to their ST. Being able to do this is great enough, but there is an added bonus that I thought folks might like to know about. The D.E.K.A. supports auto-firing joysticks! I'm not sure about other STs, but I have never had luck with repeat/auto firing joysticks working on my ST. The sticks that I am referring to are the ones sold for Atari and Commodore that advertise repeat/auto fire. When trying these on the ST, my ST just goes nuts. With the D.E.K.A., the auto fire works! Suddenly, I'm interested in games again! Now, with my not really being a gamer, I might have a chance. Watch out Psygnois, I might actually finish your games. This is just an added bonus that I thought others might profit from. Larry Rymal | ATARI ST USERS OF EAST TEXAS ------------------------------ Date: 24 JUN 91 19:34:41 CDT From: Z4648252 Subject: HH GUIDE HINTS request To: On just a whelm, I decided to get back into HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Does anyone have the HINTS book for this old but "gosh it is so much fun to play" text game? Larry Rymal | ATARI ST USERS OF EAST TEXAS ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 91 00:13:35 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!samsung!know!daemon@arizona.edu (Doug Wokoun) Subject: If you ignore Tom Hill, he will go away... To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu This showed up in comp.sys.amiga.advocacy lately: Article 8689 of comp.sys.amiga.advocacy: Path: usenet.ins.cwru.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung !know!daemon From: ai065@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Thomas Hill) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Check out the Atari SIG! :) Message-ID: <30271@know.pws.bull.com> Date: 24 Jun 91 02:40:08 GMT Sender: daemon@pws.bulL.com Lines: 9 I just posted a pro-Amiga message in the Atari, offering help to Atari users who needed it, and it has created a flood of messages. You might want to pop in and take a look at "Atari-To-Amiga Convert Info Source!" messages that have gone up in the last day or so. I haven't had the chance to respond to recent public responses yet, due to the many Atari users replying in Email who need info on converting to the Amiga. :) Check it out for a good laugh... Tom ---[EOT]--- Reasonably intelligent netters will realize that we are being taken, and will cease trying to argue with this certain user (who makes me want to suppress my Free-Net affiliation) before c.s.a.st is reduced to an audience of 0. I could care less whether ST or Amiga is better. I'm probably not the only one... -- Doug Wokoun / / | If you don't (aa384@cleveland.Freenet.Edu) [o]-[o] | stand for something, ||| L {_Dug_} | you will Atari / | \ S I G \___/ | fall for anything. ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 91 02:24:53 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.e du!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!mp.cs.niu.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!mrcnext.cso. uiuc.edu!chuck@arizona.edu (charles bridgeland) Subject: If you ignore Tom Hill, he will go away... To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu aa384@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Doug Wokoun) writes: >This showed up in comp.sys.amiga.advocacy lately: > I just posted a pro-Amiga message in the Atari, offering help to Atari >users who needed it, and it has created a flood of messages. You might want it does what I want. I don't need evangilization >suppress my Free-Net affiliation) before c.s.a.st is reduced to an audience >of 0. I could care less whether ST or Amiga is better. I'm probably not >the only one... -k did a good job of taking care of that stuff for me---kill for 30 days. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- chuck bridgeland---anarchoRepublican "one thing about a police state, you can always find the police" l. neil smith chuck@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu hired--leaving pit 7/5/91 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 24 Jun 91 23:10:53 GMT From: fernwood!portal!cup.portal.com!Azog-Thoth@uunet.uu.net (William Thomas Daugustine) Subject: Juvenile user war crap To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu I wasnt going to jump in, but I am a dickhead, so what the hell :-) Cease and desist!!! If I want Amiga stuff, Ill read the Amiga newsgroups, as it is, Ive gotten an Atari ST a few months ago, so Ill read this group. Ive used both Amiga, and now the Atari, Ive used Macs, and Ive used IBM Clones. Ive used Unix, and IBM large systems (370s, and 4381), and midrange VAX (my own personal 730, and the 6220 at work). I pledge loyally to _no_ machine. I got burned years back, and now I wont do the same thing again. Each machine is good, and each machine has its bad points. (correction: I _do_ pledge loyalty to VAX and its OS, VMS. Aint no way such a huge base aint gonna disappear overnight). Each does its job as well as it can, if it cant, then go out and get what can. Me? Im a hacker in the old-time sense, and the ST is perfect for me ------------------------------ Date: 24 Jun 91 23:03:24 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!wciu!abode!scale@arizona.edu (Luis Outumuro) Subject: Noizetracker MOD Players To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hi Marc, Just a note about DigiComposer. I believe that DigiComposer has a .INF or .DAT file that contains directory paths for the program. You load this file into any word processor or text editor and edit the directory paths to match where DigiComposer (and the .MOD files) are located on your hard drive; then save the information back as an ASCII text file. Bye..... Luis ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 91 03:48:40 GMT From: lll-winken!xanth!xanth.cs.odu.edu!scott@uunet.uu.net (Scott D. Yelich) Subject: Stos, again... To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hello, again. I found the stos 2.06 support files on atari archive. I upgraded both my basic and compiler as instructed, my basic seems to work, but my old as well as my new compiler wont compile any basic progra, either old or new. I always get an error about an unknown extension in a line that was never part of my program. THe line usually has something in it about "extension #C" PLEASE HELP ME! Scott ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 91 00:49:26 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!hellgate.ut ah.edu!cc.usu.edu!paradise.usu.edu!kurto@arizona.edu (869883 Olsen Kurt_Consultant) Subject: Wanted: ZORK for Atari ST To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article , gnat@kauri.vuw.ac.nz (Nathan Torkington) writes: |>If you are capable of a little hackery, you could probably compile the |>sources for dungeon (a Zork predecessor) which are available from |>VUW Comp Sci's archive as |> /archive/comp/sources/games/volume12/cdungeon/* |> |>Nat. |>-- |>Nathan Torkington Contracting to CSC, |>Internet: gnat@kauri.vuw.ac.nz Victoria University Of Wellington, For those who are interested I've managed to compile this baby with GCC 1.40 and the Mint 0.8 libs. Send me a message and I'll forward it to you or if there is enough interest I could upload it to atari.archive or comp.binaries.atari.st, which ever is prefered. Kurt Olsen kurto@cache.usu.edu internet uunet!cache.usu.edu!kurto usenet kurto@usu bitnet ------------------------------ Date: 24 Jun 91 19:46:49 GMT From: hpl-opus!hpspdla!freds@hplabs.hp.com (Fred Saavedra) Subject: What's a STE anyway? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu I have recently started reading this board, so I apologize up front if this has already been asked: What is the difference between the MEGA ST and the STE? Can a MEGA ST be upgraded to the STE? What does Atari have to say on this subject? I purchased my MEGA ST when they first were introduced, fortunately, it died about three months later, so I got a version without a lot of the first bugs. I've updated TOS since then also. I have tryed to sell the system, but I have had no real offers. I had buyers for the monitors, and one piece of software. I guess no one likes the old MEGAs. Thanks, freds@hpspdla.spd.hp.COM ------------------------------ End of Info-Atari16 Digest ******************************