Info-Atari16 Digest Tue, 22 Oct 91 Volume 91 : Issue 545 Today's Topics: CARTRIDGE PORT-AVOIDING WEAR AND TEAR DC Programs of the Week File conversion programs GENIE email Gulam HD to TT ? MC68010 on atari ? mercury and gulam Notator 3.1 PC DITTO I ppm / pgm Re~1: Mega STe SST info SupraDrive 30 for sale TeX and LaTeX document Twister (was Re: Crikey) wanted : French version of WordPlus Wanted: GCR (no ROMS Needed) what types of joysticks work with 520ST? Why programs don't work (was Fligth Simulator on STe) 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: Mon, 21 Oct 91 17:08:07 ADT From: Alyre CHIASSON Subject: CARTRIDGE PORT-AVOIDING WEAR AND TEAR To: N Between Spectre and my MIGRAPH Hand Scanner I am worried that all the plugging and unplugging will place the cartridge port or the devices at risk. Does anyone know of a switcher or a way to avoid the above? Thanks CHIASSA@UMONCTON.CA . ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 04:30:07 GMT From: noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!utgpu!cunews!csi.uottawa.ca!news@arizona.edu (Christopher Browne) Subject: DC Programs of the Week To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Those Programs-of-the-Week have been something of a hit. My findings are that SOME are of dubious value, at least to me, but many are pretty handy. There's four or five of 'em in my \AUTO folder. Question: Are they still being produced? The 52 weeks are probably up, and some of the inspiration is probably gone, but the postings were getting a little sparse/late come August/September. It's POSSIBLE that some have been missed... Question: Is there going to be any sort of "summary" release? 'Twould be a neat idea to take all of them, stick them in a (not terribly huge) archive file, with an index. I'd even be willing to do a little bit of work to that end, IF I can ensure that I have the full set to work with. Kudos to the DC writers. There are some real gems in the collection. -- Christopher Browne cbbrowne@csi.uottawa.ca University of Ottawa Master of System Science Program ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Oct 91 08:17 N From: Subject: File conversion programs To: info-atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Here an answer those people looking for file format conversion programs. There is program which can handle .DFX format on the ATARI ST. This program is capable of converting a lot of PC formats into ST formats and vice versa. I will just list a few formats which can be converted: raster files: img vector files: dfx tiff hpgl pcx iges degas gem metafiles calamus-rg eps-postscript doodle windows metafiles targa cgm bmp gdf . . . . This program is quite expensive. Different levels are available from DM 149.- to DM 398.- (German Mark) from Softwarebuero Schlenz Am Wiesbrunnen 29 6730 Neustadt / Germany Tel: + 6321 6 01 50 I am a using a program from a German chap who wrote marvellous piece of software to convert GEM metafiles and HPGL files to bitmap (.IMG) files to include them in any program. This program is available from APiSoft Andreas Pirner Software Bundesallee 56 1000 Berlin 31 / Germany Tel: + 30 853 43 50 Fax: + 30 853 30 25 at a price of DM 50.-. Furthermore he wrote a program which converts about 80 formats available (ST, Mac, PC, UNIX) called CONVERT and costs DM 95.-. This software is easy to use and straightforward. I hope this helps you. Roland Baumann Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland E-Mail Bitnet : baumann@czheth5a Internet: baumann@vision.ethz.ch ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 14:46:32 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!wupost!spool.mu.edu!cs.umn.edu!thelake!steve@a rizona.edu (Steve Yelvington) Subject: GENIE email To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu [In article <91293.214026SML108@psuvm.psu.edu>, SML108@psuvm.psu.edu (Scott the Great) writes ... ] > Hi, is there a way to send email to GENIE accounts from BITNET or > Internet and vice versa? There is a GEnie project to build an Internet gateway, but no official gateway currently exists. Anyone in North America can get a GEnie membership for a flat monthly fee of $4.95 U.S. or $5.95 CDN. There is no additional charge for email, and most non-computer-related roundtables are included in the basic fee. There also is no telecommunications charge if you dial into a GE network port. There are GE ports in most major cities. -- Steve Yelvington, Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota steve@thelake.mn.org (In winter we walk on water) ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 11:20:50 GMT From: mcsun!uknet!ukc!warwick!nott-cs!dpg@uunet.uu.net (Dave Gymer) Subject: Gulam To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <1991Oct19.213103.29281@tripos.com> downey@tripos.com (Tom Downey) writes: >What about Mint, and where can i get that? >I only have 1/2 meg of memory in my ST. Forget MiNT in half a meg. By the time you get MiNT, and a shell like gulam in, you'll not have enough memory left to do anything serious. (Has anybody tried MiNT on a 1/2 meg machine? How much is free?) -- /* 'Grave' Dave Gymer --------- Internet: dpg@Cs.Nott.AC.UK *\ +* 42 St Marys Park, Louth, Lincolnshire, LN11 0EF, England *+ +* Olivier's Law: "Experience is something you don't get *+ \*-------------------------- until just after you need it." */ ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 10:26:11 GMT From: mcsun!news.funet.fi!hydra!kreeta!luoto@uunet.uu.net (Markku Luoto) Subject: HD to TT ? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu As Heard from many sources, TT is supposed to be quite ready for a HD-disk drive , some people claim that it only need's a dip switch change etc... but: -are they talkin about internal / external floppy drive and more important: HAS ANYONE DONE IT: replaced the internal TT disk drive with a HD ? and what are the exact procedures to make it work ? what SW is needed ? spaziba ! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>> " I'm completely operational & all my cicuits are functioning <<<<<< >>>>>> correctly...correc...corr...co...-! " : HAl9000 <<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 10:52:18 GMT From: math.fu-berlin.de!unido!fauern!faui43.informatik.uni-erlangen.de!lsmichae@uunet .uu.net (Lars Michael) Subject: MC68010 on atari ? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Patrick_Dubbrow@ms.maus.de (Patrick Dubbrow) writes: >ogj%tglobe2.tollpost-globe @ SUB, 14.10.91 15:04: >o>Is it possible to put a MC68010 in a Atari originally equipped >o>with a MC68000 ?? >If you got TOS 1.06 or higher it IS possible. The 68010 is pin-compatible to >the version of 68K used in ordinary STs (not STEs). If you say that there's no >official way of having TOS >= 1.06 in an old ST: There will be an adapter which >allows you to run the soon coming TOS 2.06 in STs! Some weeks ago I've posted some information about a small hardware hack how to adapt TOS 2.(0)5 on EPROMs to work in a MEGA ST. The main thing was to adapt the chip select to the start address of TOS 2.05. I think this should work on usual STs this way canonical ... I was kinda surprised, that I got no response for the article. If anybody is interested now, just try to grab it from a news archive. Or send me email. Good hack, --- Larry +----------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ | lsmichae@faui43.uni-erlangen.de | | | | | | Lars "Mr. GIF" Michael | | | | "Down with ATARI, | | Graduate Student of Computer Science | / | \ Long live the ST !" | | at University of Erlangen/Germany | / | \ | +----------------------------------------+----------------------------------| | Bones: "Damn it, Kirk, I'm a doctor, not a very good actor." | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: 19 Oct 91 22:11:22 GMT From: math.fu-berlin.de!grasp1.univ-lyon1.fr!frmug!mns!madmat@uunet.uu.net (Mathias Herberts) Subject: mercury and gulam To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu I am using mercury to exchange mail and news with my host site and I am having a slight problem with the uux utility. First of all Gulam uses the exclamation mark to recall the top command in the history buffer , therefore I cannot ( or just don't know how to ???? ) use this character in the command line. My second problem is that I would like to use uux to order my host to execute this command : uuto file mns!madmat which would send file on my system to user madmat ( me ! ) Could anybody explain me how to perform this operation ? Many thanks in advance. -- Email: madmat@frmug.fr.mugnet.org madmat@mns.UUCP =============================================================================== Paper mail.: Mathias Herberts 20 , rue Corneille - 92120 Montrouge , FRANCE Voice Phone: +33 1 4965 0399 ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 17:24:37 GMT From: mcsun!uknet!ukc!acorn!unipalm!ian@uunet.uu.net (Ian Phillipps) Subject: Notator 3.1 To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu pinelr@aix.rpi.edu (Robert Jeffrey Pinelli) writes: >In article <91857@bu.edu> selick@bucsf.bu.edu (Steven Selick) writes: >>I just received a mailing from Alexander Publishing about a notator 3.1 >>update from 3.0 for $45 or something. What did they update in 3.1? Is it >>worth $45 or whatever they want? >I've just received my 3.1 version, and it is very nice. >3.1's additional features include the ability to export notation as DTP >type files to be used as parts of other documents (.IMG files) plus lots of >other hardware support and display options (page preview, etc.) It is worth >the money, but you have to get both 3.0 and 3.1 since 3.0 comes with the new >manual and the fonts disk that you'll need. In the UK there are two upgrade prices - #60 for 2.x->3.1 and #20 for 3.0->3.1. Both are good value (I got 3.0) as well. For my 2p-worth, the biggest improvements in 3.1 are: Page preview (MUCH better - you can do things like alter the horizontal spacing and margins directly, as well as look at the bottoms of large pages) Grace notes and "free" notes. Ability to have n-tuplet figures up or down (and a separate font for them). Quite a few other minor goodies. What C-Lab crow most about is the graphic arrange mode, which is indeed nice. There's also a Fostex-sync mode. Doesn't seem to be much larger, though 1MB would be pretty tight nowadays. Ian ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 15:07:19 GMT From: mcsun!unido!ira.uka.de!sun.rhrk.uni-kl.de!uklirb!posthorn!news@uunet.uu.net (Thomas Neser) Subject: PC DITTO I To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu This article was probably generated by a buggy news reader. ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 19:08:27 GMT From: mentor.cc.purdue.edu!sage.cc.purdue.edu!youngmw@purdue.edu (Michael) Subject: ppm / pgm To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Does anyone know the file formats for ppm's and pgm's. I know it is a simple one, but nonetheless, I do not know it. thanks Aaron ------------------------------ Date: 20 Oct 91 15:11:44 GMT From: mcsun!unido!mcshh!malihh!shlink!lp@uunet.uu.net (Lutz Petersen) Subject: Re~1: Mega STe To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Im Artikel <1991Oct18.002945.5554@demon.co.uk> schreibt ilaskey@cix.compulink.co.uk (Iain Laskey): > > I would like to buy a Mega STe when they are released in the UK. Are there any- > known compatibility problems with them? In my case 1st_Word 3.xx doesn't work. Now I have 'downgraded' to version 2.0x to work with some old wordplus-documents. lp -- \\ lutz petersen - 2200 elmshorn, germany - +49 4121-63587 v.32 \\ \\ lp@shlink.hanse.de lp@shlink.sh.sub.org zer: lp@shlink.zer \\ ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 00:15:21 GMT From: noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!gatech!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!dkuug!a ud.dk!soren@arizona.edu (Soeren Michelsen) Subject: SST info To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hi out there. Does anyone know the address of Dave Small & co. I'd like to get some more info on the SST board. Where to order and how much etc. Does anyone know of any thing special one should think about before buying such a beast. More importanly: 1) What exactly is included as standard components? At what price? 2) How much RAM can be added to the board? Access times? Does it use SIMM's or DIL's? Thank you in advance. (Does someone please try to mail me at soren@tequila.vlsi.auc.dk since I'm not sure outside post gets to me here!) ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 21:30:19 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!olivea!a pple!equinox!cs.unr.edu!chan@arizona.edu (Kaho Chan) Subject: SupraDrive 30 for sale To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu I am selling a SupraDrive 30 that has no problems whatsoever. I had sold my old ST system and opted for a MegaSTe4 with internal 50MB hard drive. 50MBs is sufficient for my needs plus I need the funds. I paid $550 mail order for the SupraDrive 30. It is a complete package! On the previous post, I had asked for bids. I am now asking for a firm price of $330 + 1/2 S&H UPS COD. Thanks. chan@mammoth.cs.unr.edu Kaho Chan<============= ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 15:27:34 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!tamsun!tamuts!n160ao@arizona .edu (Mark Lehmann) Subject: TeX and LaTeX document To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu No more nasty TeX questions. I have it installed and working now. I will make a document containig: - Atari ST TeX experiences from the USENET - Configuring the ST TeX software for the 1st time - The font conventions - Making a "format" file - Creating a working "TeX" and "LaTeX" system - Using "dvieps" for EPSON 9-pin output - Using "dviatari" for screen output - Using "showdvi" for screen output - Using "dviprint" for EPSON 9-pin or 24-pin printers - Getting 24 pin fonts I need a few volunteers to help proof read this document and to give me additional advice on the following topics: - Getting fonts for laser printers (SLM, HP, etc) - Creating "pk" fonts. - Using TeX on a 1Mg machine witout a shell language like Gulam. Please send me E-mail for requests. The document (1st draft) should be available around November 5th. (Maybe much earlier). Mark Lehmann tamuts.tamu.edu!n160ao ------------------------------ Date: 22 Oct 91 05:13:28 GMT From: arizona.edu!cerritos.edu!nic.csu.net!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!uflorid a!mailer.cc.fsu.edu!mount!boyd@arizona.edu (Mickey Boyd) Subject: Twister (was Re: Crikey) To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <3746@krafla.rhi.hi.is>, adamd@rhi.hi.is (Adam David) writes: >There is no specified order of sectors on the disk. If you wanted to, you >could format a disk with more than one sector of the same number on the same >track. The FDC picks up and uses the first one it finds irrespective of where >it is found. That's not a bug or a feature, rather the way the FDC does what it >is supposed to do. > >An active imagination is necessary to find some useful way of exploiting >multiple occurences of the same sector number, and you might get into trouble >with some higher parts of the OS. The only obvious use for this (and it works) >is to have the boot sector repeated all over side0 of track00 so that if the >first one gets damaged the next one will be picked up instead, like a cat with >nine lives. (or more if it's been upgraded :-) Not a bad idea. By the way, one use of multiple sectors on the same track is copy protection. This is an ancient (and not very effective) method. The program repeatedly reads that sector number, head slop will allow the drive to read the second one, and the program proceeds. File oriented disk copies will not pick up both sectors (although any low level copy program probably will). -- ---------------------------------+------------------------------------- Mickey R. Boyd | "Come to your senses professor FSU Computer Science | Fernberg. You did not transcend Technical Support Group | the time-space continuum. You email: boyd@nu.cs.fsu.edu | got drunk in a topless bar." ---------------------------------+------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 17 Oct 91 16:03:59 GMT From: mcsun!unido!pbinfo!storchi@uunet.uu.net (Martin Storch) Subject: wanted : French version of WordPlus To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hello, I am looking for the french version of the 1ST_WORDPLUS Program for the Atari ST or any other text processor with a french dictionary. It is for a friend of mine; she is particularly interested in the french dictionary for automatic spell checking. I anybody got this or any other similar program or even only the french dictionary, please send me via email or diskette. If you send a diskette, I will of course send the diskette back along with german software, if you want. Just tell me what kind of software or which program you want. Thank you, or I should better say : Merci! email : storchi@uni-paderborn.de adress : Martin Storch Pohlweg 70 4790 Paderborn Germany ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 14:48:54 GMT From: europa.asd.contel.com!awds.imsd.contel.com!wlbr!lonex.rl.af.mil!longj@uunet.uu. net (Jeffrey K. Long) Subject: Wanted: GCR (no ROMS Needed) To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu I would like to upgrade my Spectre 128 to a GCR. Does anyone have a GCR that they are willing to sell me? I don't need the ROMs since I already have a set. Please E-mail details if you can help me! Jeff Long 'longj@lonex.rl.af.mil' -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capt Jeff Long Rome Laboratories, Griffiss AFB, NY longj@lonex.rl.af.mil (preferred) Network Design Laboratory jlong@cassiopeia.rl.af.mil (315)330-7751 or (DSN)587-7751 ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 22:25:00 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!cs.umn.edu!ux.acs.umn.edu! bru!obiwan!buchs@arizona.edu (Kevin J. Buchs) Subject: what types of joysticks work with 520ST? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu I am finally going to get a joystick for my 520ST. Do I need to get a particular type? Anyone have brand and source recommendations. Please Email and I summarize if there is interest. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kevin Buchs Mayo Foundation buchs@mayo.edu 200 1st St SW (507) 284-0009 Rochester, MN 55905 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kevin Buchs Mayo Foundation buchs@mayo.edu 200 1st St SW (507) 284-0009 Rochester, MN 55905 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------------------------------ Date: 21 Oct 91 16:25:46 GMT From: sun-barr!newstop!eastapps!eastnews!gaudreau@uunet.uu.net (Joe Gaudreau {Dances with PostScript}) Subject: Why programs don't work (was Fligth Simulator on STe) To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Distribution: Allan Pratt writes: Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the question "why doesn't program X work on machine Y?" Program X might have been written by real dingbats, that's why. .. [stuff deleted] My point is that we just can't fix these things. I don't like the fact that Starglider doesn't work under new TOS, but I can't help it. That reminds me... Has Atari ever considered releasing the 'classic' versions of the ROM on floppy? It would be quite useful for people who *love* Star Raiders but have brand new Mega4/Ste's (I'm now reduced to playing the 2600 version of SR :-(). I understand that Atari might not want to release 1.6, 2.??, 3.??, or even 1.4 on floppy because Atari also sell ROMs for those. But how about 1.0 and/or 1.2? As a developer, it would be useful for making *sure* my software is backwards compatible, not to mention running older software for the other folks out there. Now barring the possibility of people using these disks for hacking, virus propagation, and even (*gasp*) Atari emulators, please keep in mind, that in the "real-world" (tm) : o Almost all other platforms have OS upgrades/releases on loadable media even if they have some OS in ROM. o Viruses get spread quite nicely despite the TOS being in ROM. This is the case for most computers anyway :-( Having TOS on floppy wouldn't change this or even exacerbate the problem. It would, however, provide a benchmark to compare versions of OS against. o People have already been putting the ROMs on floppy in order to make sure they can always run all their software. o Patched versions of the OS have legitimate uses and anyone using such a version should expect the unexpected. Having the OS in ROM hasn't stopped anyone from making their own EPROMS with patches. I'll step off my soap-box now. Next. :-) --- On another point, has Atari ever considered re-releasing the classic ST games for the newer generation machines (ie Star Raiders)? Grins, Joe -=- ------------------------------ End of Info-Atari16 Digest ******************************