Info-Atari16 Digest Wed, 16 Oct 91 Volume 91 : Issue 527 Today's Topics: .IMG to .BMP/.PCX convertor? GDOS question graphics for MegaSTe, SLM804/Pagestream (2 msgs) Install an app for two diff filetype Message Router VMSmail Gateway nondelivery notification News on TT Unix... OS's People dumping machines (was.. Atari Mega 2 system.. for sale) Populous / Powermonger Rufus with Matrix M110 pos Using gcc/g++ to cross compile for the ST Wot A Scorcher !!! Z80 assembler 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: 4 Oct 91 15:12:36 GMT From: stanford.edu!CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU!solitary.Stanford.EDU!news@uunet.uu.net (System test) Subject: .IMG to .BMP/.PCX convertor? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <1991Sep30.133125.2980@syma.sussex.ac.uk> grahamt@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Graham Thomas) writes: > > What are the best programs (either ST or PC based) for >converting files from .IMG to .BMP or .PCX? An alternative would be to >use a 'half-way-house' format such as .GIF, as we already have a .GIF >to .PCX convertor. Are there any .IMG to .GIF convertors? > I'm posting rather than replying by email because I think this might be of use to many people. There is a shareware product which can convert between all the formats you mentioned and some others as well, including the .RLE compressed bitmaps you need for Windows startup logos. It is a Windows program called PaintShop and is available on cica. cica.cica.indiana.edu:/pub/pc/win3/util/ps201.zip Don Taber news@solitary.stanford.edu ------------------------------ Date: 4 Oct 91 12:34:31 GMT From: mcsun!hp4nl!phigate!alp!johnj@uunet.uu.net (John Janssen) Subject: GDOS question To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hi, Until recently I never used GDOS, but last week I bought a cheap DTP program to find out how it works. It uses GDOS. I installed it on my hard disk of my MEGA STE. Copied GDOS in the AUTO folder of the hard disk (drive C: ofcourse). Copied the fonts to the C:\FONTS directory. Copied the ASSIGN.SYS file to the root directory of drive C: (Note that drive C: is the boot drive on the MEGA STE). One thing puzzles me. Since I did this, at boot time the computer inspects drive A: (after presenting the normal desktop) but as I never have a floppy in it, I get an error message. After aborting the operation (or so), by means of clicking on the appropriate button of the alert box which tells me about drive a:, everything works fine: The program works, prints correctly and so on. (OF course I changed the path name in the assign.sys file to C:\FONTS). So my question: 1. WHY is drive a: being inspected (by GDOS I asume)? 2. How can I avoid drive a: being inspected? 3. Who can point me to GDOS documentation? (note that I can not use ftp, only email) Thanks in advance, john -- John Janssen Email: johnj@echo.philips.nl The Netherlands Work: +31 40 756588 Atari Mega STE, MIDI, C-lab Notator and Unitor. Home: +31 77 513177 Astro -Birth/Place/Date/Time you > you.doc -- -- John Janssen Email: johnj@echo.philips.nl The Netherlands ------------------------------ Date: 4 Oct 91 16:41:07 GMT From: noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!know!daemon@arizona.edu Subject: graphics for MegaSTe, SLM804/Pagestream To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu A local MegaSTe owner wants to know if there are any large monitor graphics cards for the MegaSTe. Re: the person who posted about Pagestream and the SLM laser. I have an SLM605 and the Rev A Diablo Emulator and have had no problems with either Pagestream 1.82 or PAgestream 2.1. The only gripe I have is that Pagestream prints to the SLM605 at a fraction of the speed Calamus does. I am impatiently waiting for Calamus S. While I find Pagestream easier to use than Calamus 1.09N, Pagestream has always been VERY slow to print (I use it on an HP/Pacific Page postscript system as well as the SLM605). For PURE, RAW speed, Calamus and the SLM605 is the ticket to hyperwarp!!! This is not empty pro Atari dribble; I use 80486/33Mhz systems with postscript and they cannot match an 8 MHz MegaST with an SLM laser! ------------------------------ Date: 4 Oct 91 18:13:51 GMT From: noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!wupost!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-stat e.edu!dhbutler@arizona.edu (David Butler) Subject: graphics for MegaSTe, SLM804/Pagestream To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <1113@know.pws.ma30.bull.com> CSULLOGG@CRL.AECL.CA writes: >A local MegaSTe owner wants to know if there are any large monitor >graphics cards for the MegaSTe. > >Re: the person who posted about Pagestream and the SLM laser. I have >an SLM605 and the Rev A Diablo Emulator and have had no problems with >either Pagestream 1.82 or PAgestream 2.1. The only gripe I have is that >Pagestream prints to the SLM605 at a fraction of the speed Calamus >does. I am impatiently waiting for Calamus S. While I find Pagestream >easier to use than Calamus 1.09N, Pagestream has always been VERY >slow to print (I use it on an HP/Pacific Page postscript system as >well as the SLM605). For PURE, RAW speed, Calamus and the SLM605 is >the ticket to hyperwarp!!! > >This is not empty pro Atari dribble; I use 80486/33Mhz systems with >postscript and they cannot match an 8 MHz MegaST with an SLM laser! ALBERT is the ISAAC card for the MegaSTe, it is the only one I now of. I have ISAAC which works well, but the settup is a pain in the a*s. The Calamus SL demo I have prints CONSIDERABLY faster than Calamus 1.09N! - David Butler - "What ever happened to free love anyway?" -innagaddadaviddababy- ------------------------------ Date: 2 Oct 91 07:08:58 GMT From: mcsun!unido!mcshh!malihh!pfunk!blackbox@uunet.uu.net (Michael Kistenmacher) Subject: Install an app for two diff filetype To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In <6446.28e738d9@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu>, Ryan 'Gozar' Collins writes: >I have two questions: > >1. Is there anyway to install an application for more than one filetype? >I was wanting to install ARCGSHL 3.5 for both ZOO and ARC, and under TOS >1.0 I could just go up to install on the menu twice, once for each >filetype. Well, it won't let you do that under 1.4 :*( So I tried to >edit the desktop.inf file adding the required lines to install the >application for two filetypes. Well, my ST just crashed on boot up >then!! Any suggestions? > Well, it should work. I run EXE_260, another ARC-shell from here and it installs itself in the DESKTOP.INF file. Take care that each line in the file has a trailing space before EOL, which is needed by the desktop. My DESKTOP.INF has the following lines in it to install my ARC shell: .......some lines del'd........ #P 03 FF *.TTP@ @ #F 03 04 *.TOS@ @ #G 03 04 D:\ARC\EXE_2_60.PRG@ *.LZH@ #G 03 04 D:\ARC\EXE_2_60.PRG@ *.LZS@ #G 03 04 D:\ARC\EXE_2_60.PRG@ *.ARC@ #G 03 04 D:\ARC\EXE_2_60.PRG@ *.ZOO@ #G 03 04 D:\ARC\EXE_2_60.PRG@ *.SFX@ #G 03 04 D:\ARC\STZIP.PRG@ *.ZIP@ #G 03 04 C:\BIN\EH_MGIF.TTP@ *.GIF@ .......etc..................... Bye.....Michael -- /------------------------------------\ | Michael Kistenmacher / blackbox | | 2000 Hamburg 61 / Schippelsweg 64 | | West Germany / ++ 49 40 552 37 66 | \------------------------------------/ ------------------------------ Help, Stalker-BackTALK help:HP Deskjet 500 utils Installing applications for multiple file types Looking for Red Output Transistor Lots of things... Mac v Atari WP NTSC->RGB? People dumping machines (was.. Atari Mega 2 system.. for sale) Problem with user-defined objects and the AES Railroad Tycoon experiences Ship program that works with NEODESK SPECTRE GCR and mac.archive-getting started STacy specific information 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: Wed, 16 Oct 91 10:05:35 MST From: "Mark F. Rhyner" Subject: Can't get anything from the digest To: info-atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu If anyone had some answers to my question concerning which transistor(s) drive the red output in a 520STfm ca. 1990 could they email to this address: mrhyner@huachuca-emh2.army.mil or mrhyner@huachuca-emh8.army.mil as I don't seem to be able to get the Digest any longer. SOme kind of hardware and software problem. Probably has something to do with low bid. ;-) Mark ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Oct 91 17:21:25 EST From: "Thomas Neser" Subject: help To: info-atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu help *************************************************************** * Thomas Neser, Zeus im MZES, Universitaet Mannheim, * * Steubenstr. 46, D-6800 Mannheim, Germany * *-------------------------------------------------------------* * bitnet: fs91@dmarum8 * * internet: zeus@sun1.sozialwissenschaften.uni-mannheim.de * * uucp: unima!fs21 * * x400: C=de; A=dbp; P=uni-mannheim; OU=rz; OU=munix; S=neser * *-------------------------------------------------------------* * fax: +49-621-292-8435 * * tel: +49-621-292-8473 * *************************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Oct 91 10:10:01 +0100 From: pinstall%bbrbfu60.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU Subject: Help, Stalker-BackTALK To: info-atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hello Stalker fan, I have got my Stalker V 3.00 last week. The first BackTALK script I write give me problems. I have write a small script to prove it, but I don't know if other configuration (computer, TOS, language) it have the same behaviour. When I run the enclosed script compiled in STalker the "time_out" (cf pg 106) doesn't seems to be effective. The script doesn't wait for the prompt. That doesn't seems to be normal to me. This is very, very annoying. // Modified script from p 21 Advanced BackTALK Tutorial, Getting started. function main() wait_for("Name?",0); printf("myname\r\n"); wait_for("word:",0); printf("myword\r\n"); endfunction Patrick, INSTALLE > V.U.B BITNET :pinstall@BBRBFU60.BITNET< > Free University Brussels FAX : 32 2 65099 99 < > Plantengenetica Voice : 32 2 650 99 45 < > 69, rue des Chevaux < > B-1640 Rhode St Genese (BELGIUM, EC) < ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 08 Oct 91 18:51 From: "heinZ Zerbes" Subject: help:HP Deskjet 500 utils To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu A couple of days ago, I bought an HP Deskjet 500. But there came no software for my ST with it. Could anyone out there post some hints, where I can find the necessary (and useful) programs for this printer ? Many thanks in advance.........................................heinZ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Oct 91 13:52:33 CDT From: Mike Dorman Subject: Installing applications for multiple file types To: Atari List You can install applications for multiple filetypes, just by editing the desktop.inf file. Install for one application, and then save the desktop, and then use any ASCII editor to edit the file. Find the line that referenced the application that you just installed (the "@"'s and such are *very* important), copy it, and change the last bit, the "*.TXT" line, for instance, to whatever other doc type you want installed, say, "*.DOC". Save the file and reboot. There is a picture viewer out ther (VIEW, I think is the name) that has an installation facility that does this for you, for all the file types it recognizes. Pretty nifty. Mike. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Oct 91 22:50:20 MST From: "Mark F. Rhyner" Subject: Looking for Red Output Transistor To: info-atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu I'm still having problems with my 520STFm. I upgraded it quite awhile ago with a JRI 4 meg board. The 4 megs are great and work fine. But after installing the board, I found I had lost all reds! When I move the red slider in the control panel there is no change in the screen. I was using a Mitsubishi TV for color along with a mono Atari monitor. I'm now using a NEC3D for both color and mono so I know it's not the RF modulator. I talked to John Russel and he thought it most likely that the red output transistor was somehow munged up. They all look ok when I take the board that plugs into the video shifter out. I have a schematic that came with my developer's kit but it is ancient history. I'd like to replace it just to make sure. Anyone got a clue as to which is which? Thanks Mark mrhyner@huachuca-emh2.army.mil DSN:879-7440 COMM: (602) 538-7440 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 Oct 91 17:03:32 CDT From: Mike Dorman Subject: Lots of things... To: Atari List I've got a list of questions for people who are familiar with GNU C and Emacs, and the MiNT-aware port of BASH: First--Is there any way I can actually set the environment variable GCC-EXEC-PREFIX under BASH? I have tried a zillion different ways of quoting the variable, but it just can't seem to be convinced that that is a valid variable, and as a result, I can't seem to use GCC. Is there any workaround for this? Next--Is there any documentation for Emacs' elisp? Using the version found in the file ++jrbemacs.zoo on atari.archive, I consistently get a report that there's a problem with one of the init files. Since I have no idea what I'm looking for, I have no way to find it. Also--is there any easy way to rebind keys for Emacs? Switching around the backspace and delete keys and such is starting to annoy. And more--is there any particular reason that the binaries have to be built with the lib sources included with the program? That seems wierd to me, since we're trying to move to one standard library (witness the gradual mergeing of the MiNT and GNU libraries). Has anyone done a port of 18.5.7? Is it, by chance, a bit more TOS friendly? Is the port of GNU make 3.60 any sort of official release? It states in the FSF documentation that it's a beta--what is the status of make 3.6? Is there any easy way to go from .texinfo files to a line printer? I don't need all the neat stuff that a full-up TeX station would give me, and I don't have a laser printer, so I don't think it's a good idea to try, but I would like to use .texinfo stuff, and get that output to a line printer. Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Oct 91 15:52:25 BST From: "D." Summerbell Subject: Mac v Atari WP To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu David Butler replies to David Halliday: DH >>I am thinking of buying a new ST Wordprocessor (I currently use First >>Word) what do you recommend bearing in mind that I would like it to be >>MS Word compatible. DB > As far as I know there is no ST wordprocessor that is compatible with and Mac >word processor except through text files. Why get an ST wordprocessor if you >have the GCR? Wordprocessing is one area in which the Mac really shines, beats >the ST software hands-down. Try Write Now or Nisus, Write Now is faster and >less complex, but Nisus has features to blow your mind (far better than MSWord, >and it does write MSWord files). Really, these are as far above ST word >processors as an ST is above a calculator (a cheap one anyway). I might have agreed with David up until a few weeeks ago. I have Spectre but still tended to use First Word Plus in ST mode because of the superior perfor- mance of TOS (using Neodesk as a user interface). Nevertheless I still coveted the multiple fonts and proportional spacing of the Mac. I bought several "se- cond generation" WP packages as they became available but was always disappoin- ted. Recently a colleague bought Write-On (Compo Software). I borrowed it and liked it and have just bought its big brother That's Write. I much prefer it to the Mac software that I have tried. (My wife is a Mac User). I haven't encoun- tered Nisus so I can't fairly compare it with TW. However I strongly recommend the latter. Write-On competes happily with the simpler Mac packages and That's Write has the bells and whistles. WO retails at about 45.00 Sterling TW retails at about 80.00 Sterling Write-Now retails at about 120.00 Sterling Nisus I couldn't find an ad. Anyone interested I have a (growing) summary list of ST WP software. Dr.D.Summerbell INTERNET: d-summer@nimr.mrc.ac.uk Limb Development Group or: d-summer%nimr.mrc.ac.uk@earn-relay Nat. Inst. Medical Research DARPA:d-summerbell%nimr.mrc@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk The Ridgeway, Mill Hill JANET: d-summer@uk.ac.mrc.nimr LONDON NW7 1AA Tel: 081-959 3666 ext2366 U.K. The short Internet address does not always work from the US Indirection via earn-relay is more reliable nimr is an unofficial alibi, some nodes do not have it in their YP. Real address is: @national-institute-for-medical-research.mrc.ac.uk ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Oct 91 08:28:47 -0400 From: marks@AIVAX.RL.AF.MIL (David Marks) Subject: NTSC->RGB? To: info-atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu [Note: I am not [yet] an INFO-ATARI16 reader, so apologies if this just came up. Also, of course, please respond directly to me e-mail address. ] Has anyone seen/used an NTSC->RGB converter that works with the Atari 1224 Color Monitor? I don't need a genlock capability to position the video image on the screen in conjunction with a computer generated RGB image, I just want to be able to use the Atari Color Monitor with a VCR to watch some class videotapes and let my wife & son watch the household TV. Dave Marks Rome Laboratory marks@aivax.rl.af.mil ------------------------------ Date: 3 Oct 91 23:24:59 GMT From: noao!asuvax!ukma!widener!iggy.GW.Vitalink.COM!pacbell.com!att!linac!uwm.edu!cs. utexas.edu!qt.cs.utexas.edu!yale.edu!think.com!spool.mu.edu!munnari.oz.au!bunyi p.cc.uq.oz.au!uqcspe! (Warwick Allison) Subject: People dumping machines (was.. Atari Mega 2 system.. for sale) To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In <1991Oct2.143825.26339@philce.ce.philips.nl> meulenbr@nlvs31.ce.philips.nl (Frans Meulenbroeks) writes: >TT ram is faster than the (regular) ST ram. This is due to the >fact that the processor is slowed down by the video hardware when >accessing ST ram. The video can only live in ST ram, and every 250 ns >or so the video accesses the ST ram. This is true? Then if a program Mallocs memory for use as a displayable screen, it will have to malloc from ST ram, right? How does one ensure this? Worried, Warwick. -- _-_|\ warwick@cs.uq.oz.au / * <-- Computer Science Department, \_.-._/ University of Queensland, v Brisbane, AUSTRALIA. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1991 04:57:39 PDT From: sgoldthorpe.wgc-e@rx.xerox.com Subject: Problem with user-defined objects and the AES To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu This is a question for all you GEM experts out there... I'm having a problem with user-defined objects in GEM. I have written a small utility, that when given an IBOX's ID, will patch the object, so that it 'turns' it into a user-defined object. It does this simply by patching the ob_spec of the object to the address of my USERBLK, containing my object handler and changing the object type to G_USERDEF (or whatever your gem headers call it). Logically it seems fine, but when I come to display the 'fixed' tree with objc_draw, the AES appears to run out of stack space (my object handler isn't even called!). I am missing something? - Code available on request. Thanks, -Steve Goldthorpe P.S. Sorry if this appears twice, but the original post seems to have bounced (so this is a resend to a different address). %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% INET:as384@cleveland.freenet.edu | Rank Xerox Ltd, sgoldthorpe.wgc-e@rx.xerox.com | Workstation Software Group, XEROX CIN: SGoldthorpe:wgc-e:rx | European Software Development Centre, TEL: +44 707 382350 | Welwyn Hall, Bessemer Rd, XEROX INTELNET: 8*668-2350 | Welwyn Garden City, HERTS. MESG TOOL: 15556.25220325363.0 | AL7 1BL ENGLAND %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 01:49:34 PDT From: boyce@sifvs3.SINet.SLB.COM (David Boyce) Subject: Railroad Tycoon experiences To: info-atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Yup, I've had problems too.... First thing is that the installation to hard disk doesn't work properly. I had to manually copy the files over to a \railroad directory, overwriting files as necessary. Second problem is the mouse. The game can't be played with it, since it crashes if the mouse touches the bottom of the screen! (Heavy bummer...) I've tried all sorts of things, like leaving the mouse alone till I've got past the protection, but nothing helps. I'm having to use the program with keyboard only which isn't too bad, but it makes moving around pretty tedious..... I haven't seen any other real problems with the game. I've got a 4Mb STFM, with UK Rainbow TOS. - Dave ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Oct 91 15:50:37 ADT From: Alyre CHIASSON Subject: Ship program that works with NEODESK To: N I have just installed NEODESK-really great. However, the ship program I have to park my MEGAFILE 30 results in NEODESK trying to reload. Is there a program that will park the heads and halt excution of all other program and operate under NEODESK. Thanks CHIASSA@UMONCTON.CA . ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 Oct 91 10:53:39 ADT From: Alyre CHIASSON Subject: SPECTRE GCR and mac.archive-getting started To: N Having just obtained Spectre GCR I though I would have a look at the mac.archive at umich. A help command got me all the index files but it is not evident how to obtain the initial file to uuencode the files(BinHEX 4.0). Everthing in the index file already seems to be in hdx form. Secondly, what is the compression used "stuffit"? Thanks CHIASSA@UMONCTON.CA . ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Oct 91 13:37 From: "Thomas Koenig" Subject: STacy specific information To: Info-Atari16 Discussion A friend of mine owns a STacy, and he would dearly like to have some information about it. What he'd like to do, ultimately, is to write an accessory to 1) dim, switch on and off the background lighting for the screen 2) switch the hard disk drive off (reversible) when he wants to For this, he also needs to know how to 3) establish wether or not this program is running on a STacy How can this be done? Any help appreciated. -- Thomas Koenig EARN/BITNET : UI0T@DKAUNI2.BITNET INTERNET : UI0T@IBM3090.RZ.UNI-KARLSRUHE.DE X.400 : S=UI0T;OU=IBM3090;OU=RZ;P=UNI-KARLSRUHE;A=DBP;C=DE ------------------------------ End of Info-Atari16 Digest ******************************