Info-Atari16 Digest Wed, 23 Oct 91 Volume 91 : Issue 549 Today's Topics: apprentice ST skills (2 msgs) Atari Abaq auto folder woes Copy programs from drive to ramdisk at boottime Games! How much for the STE in the window? Looking For Degas Elite MultiGem Need help unsplitting files (2 msgs) Railroad Tycoon (2 msgs) Reproducing sound samples on an ST-FM. SPECTRE AND POSTSCRIPT OUTPUT TT questions - QuickST - Cons_Fix - Prism-Paint. Vortex What is the 520STe? what types of joysticks work with 520ST? 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: 23 Oct 91 14:13:07 GMT From: porthos!nvuxl!rrk@bellcore.bellcore.com (kutz) Subject: apprentice ST skills To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hi, I've been an Atari user since 1982, this is my first post, and I have some questions about the use of the ST/STE. Up to now I've not tried any programming, and had no interest in, nor need for, GDOS. Recently I upgraded to the STE (from 1040ST, which I still have as well), and bought several packages along with it: (GFA Basic 3.5e, Cyber Studio & fonts and architecture, Degas Elite, and others). I also learned how to access an FTP site (Michigan), though how to use this stuff isn't readily apparent to me yet. I've suceeded in downloading some arc and lzh programs, and can get most of the utilities I've downloaded to run. Intelligent use of these things is another matter. First question: I downloaded opus the spreadsheet, which needs GDOS and fonts. So I bought G+plus (an old version I believe - 1989 vintage). But I still need fonts. Where does one get fonts? People sell fonts for Calamus and Pagestream, but what about for general use like opus? Next question: in a very short program I wrote in GFA Basic I want to make the cursor (provided by an "input as" type command) a block and green. I tried an XBIOS(something) (specific to cursor configuration) with no result - positive or negative - no affect at all. Can I really specify cursor shape and color, or do I need to draw a green box and place it wherever the cursor is? Next question: Is First Word Plus the only word processor with graphics import and multiple windows - and works OK with a color monitor? I'm not a publisher - I need just a word processor (I have First Word and Thunder currently.) My printer is a 9-pin Panasonic 1980i - strictly school report and letter type usage. I've had an ST since 1987, but only used it for First Word, Swiftcalc, Gridiron, Dungeon Master - in otherwords applications without complicated configuration needs. With my latest purchases I'm suddenly over my head. I'm really going to be swimming when I try to do a cyber animation (incidently, my $15 check to Antic for Cybermate documentation was returned with a note saying they don't do that anymore. Are those people still in business?) I appreciate any help. Other things I've seen mentioned here like mint, gulam, g++ (different I assume from the GDOS replacement), tex, et al. are a complete mystery to me - but I'll keep lurking in the newsgroup and pick up what I can. Thanks again. Randy Kutz rrk@nvuxl.cc.bellcore.com ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 21:48:22 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!uflorida!tr avis!jgj@arizona.edu (Jeff Jackson) Subject: apprentice ST skills To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu > gdos fonts You say you have degas elite. You can use that to do your own. I know of no other source though. Bit mapped fonts at the ST's resolution aren't hard to do. > Other things I've seen mentioned here like mint, > gulam, g++ (different I assume from the GDOS replacement), tex, et al. are > a complete mystery to me - but I'll keep lurking in the newsgroup and > pick up what I can. Thanks again. Be warned. You get hooked on these and you'll sell you kids for disk space. ;-). TeX is a supper fancy, infinitly difficult to use (1/2 :-) text formating, publishing system. My setup uses 17MB. I only have it to print out gnu docs. :-(. g++ is the gnu c++ compiler. I'm still building up a gnu environment and porting to software. I expect around (sideways 8)MB. gulam is a neat little c shell like shell. Get unixtkit to round it out. mint is a multitask version of TOS. Not for the faint of heart. Lots of stuff doesn't work with it (Like PageStream), but I look forward to MiNTing emacs and bash. mgr is a windowing system that runs on top of mint. -- ============================================================================ Jeffrey Glen Jackson _|_Satan jeered, "You're dead meat Jesus, I'm gonna jgj@ssd.csd.harris.com | bust you up tonight." x5120 | Jesus said, "Go ahead, make my day." %%%%%%%%% -- Carman, "The Champion" ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 20:27:00 GMT From: ubc-cs!van-bc!jonh!jhenders@beaver.cs.washington.edu (John Henders) Subject: Atari Abaq To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In <20179@hydra.Helsinki.FI>, Markku Luoto writes: >is this abaq the same thing as something called "ATW" -transputer >station made by atari in 80'ies too ? > >and is this "parallel supporting OC" same thing as "helios" used in ATW Yes, and yes. Abaq turned out to be a name used by someone somewhere else, so the name was changed to ATW. Helios was a Uni*-like os with parallelism designed into it. It sounded like it might be a hapeening system, but reveiws I read of the implementation, and conversations with someone developing for Helios suggest it was (is) a bit of a kludge. Also, the hacking in of a Mega as a front end i/o system appearantly is a major bottleneck. From a hardware point of view, the parallel concept is still very viable for array-processing intensive applications like graphics. Imagine a ray tracing program which can assign each ray trace to a seperate processor, and the idea starts to look good. Kodak appearantly has one at Ontario Place in Toronto that does some slide to computer conversions( or is it computer to slide? ) that are very impressive. The marketing, as usual, doesn't seem to have been very effective, though I beleive the US Atari refused to even try to market it. The UK Atari people were at some North American graphics shows, showing it off. There was one at the Vancouver Atari Fest here last spring, but no one seemed to know much about it, it was just running some X-demos. ST User, or ST World did a 4 or 5 page article on a visit to Perihelion, the developers of the hardware. Interesting reading, but someone borrowed my issue, and I never got it back. :-( -- John Henders jhenders@jonh.wimsey.bc.ca MIND over MIDI Productions or ubc.cs!van-bc!jonh!jhenders Vancouver,B.C ------------------------------ Date: 24 Oct 91 00:57:51 GMT From: comp.vuw.ac.nz!actrix!Roger.Sheppard@uunet.uu.net (Roger Sheppard) Subject: auto folder woes To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <1991Oct22.193645.16783@csam.lbl.gov> keithj@ux5.lbl.gov (Keith J Groves) writes: > In article <1991Oct17.081345.24836@wg.estec.nl> chris@wg.estec.nl writes: > > > > > >I've got an atari 1040ST. I've managed to put something in my auto folder on > >the hard disk which hangs the machine. Is it possible to abort the auto folder > >or boot with the hard disk off and still be able to access it once it's > >switched on again? > > > >Any help would be appreciated. > >Regards > > > > > >Chris > >------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Chris Rouch chris@wg.estec.nl > >Serco Space Ltd. Tel: +31 1719 84672 > >ESTEC, The Netherlands. Fax: +31 1719 84192 > > > >Underfunded OAPs turn to a life of crime in the great cucumber roberies of 1989 > > > > Chris, > Your best bet is to insert a bootable floppy into your drive > and turn your hard disk and ST on at the same time. The hard disk > will not boot for at least 15 seconds, but in the meantime, your > floppy will. At that point you should have some sort of desktop. > The only procedure left is to run your harddisk's driver. This > procedure should allow you access to your auto folder so that you > may delete the offending program. > Keith Groves One thing that I will suggest is go have a play with DC Format V3.2, it has a feature to install small boot sector programs, one of these is By_pass Hard Disk. I use this with my ICD utils installed on a floppy, Auto booting, for these kind of problems. But there is another way, use Desk Manager or Super Boot, this will allow you to get out of these situations as you can control the running or programs in your Auto Folder.. -- *** Roger W. Sheppard * Roger.Sheppard@bbs.actrix.gen.nz *** *** 85 Donovan Rd * * GEnie. R.SHEPPARD5 *** *** Kapiti At least I don't Flicker, *** *** New Zealand.. * not like a dying light globe *** ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 15:38:34 GMT From: noao!ncar!midway!msuinfo!kira.egr.msu.edu!schultzd@arizona.edu (Dave Schultz) Subject: Copy programs from drive to ramdisk at boottime To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu * PLEASE RESPOND VIA E-MAIL, I like to read this group but frequently * fall behind. I need help with this long before I will get all caught * up. Thanks... I am looking for a program to copy files from the A: to a RamDrive at Boottime. I have tried AUTOCOPY and TPORT. Both of these programs have been giving me problems copying files. TPORT just out and out doesn't seem to work on the STE!!! AUTOCOPY works fine for progs in the ROOT dir, but chokes and gags at trying to copy an ENTIRE directory. -- Dave Schultz - "If it's on-line, you're a fool to think it's private." 120 Engineering Bldg. | schultzd@frith.egr.msu.edu | Michigan State Univ. | schultzd@clvax1.cl.msu.edu | "The Samurai" E. Lansing, MI 48823 | Work - (517)353-8891 | ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 19:51:14 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!mips!apple!equinox!cs.unr.edu!chan@arizona .edu (Kaho Chan) Subject: Games! To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hi everybody... Does anybody have the latest scoop on good action games out for the ST?! I have Speedball and am thinking about Speedball II. How is SII? Is there any game out there that matches that of Wing Commander on the IBM for the ST? Any suggestions for a new game (preferably action/xlnt graphix)? Later... chan@mammoth.cs.unr.edu Kaho Chan<============= ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 17:19:27 GMT From: wahoo.owlnet.rice.edu!kendall@rice.edu Subject: How much for the STE in the window? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu I'm interested in buying either an STE oir a Mega STE - where would be the cheapest place I could get one? I already have the a monitor, so I'd really just need the computer... Any good mail order places? Thanks, -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---> Kendall Gelner (kendall@rice.edu) "I thought ESPN was the telepathy channel!" - Doctor, Doctor --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 13:49:25 GMT From: pa.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!ryn.mro4.dec.com!rgb.dec.com!rost@decwrl.dec.com (My name is Brian Rost) Subject: Looking For Degas Elite To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Anybody got a Degas Elite package they want to sell? Must have the docs and GDOS stuff. E-mail, please. Brian Rost @rgb.dec.com 508-568-6115 **************************************************** * * * The above does not reflect the opinions of * * my employer. * * * * If music is outlawed, only outlaws will be * * musicians. * * * **************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Oct 91 14:47:38 +0100 From: Stephen Kendrick Subject: MultiGem To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Over here in the UK, there's been no news of this wee beastie. Is it commercially available here, or if not, can someone let me have the address of some US mail order firm (or even a German address if they have an English version) that I can buy it from? A price would also be useful. To what extent does it multitask (7 Window limit?) and is it going to be spewed out of my TT in a remarkably ungraceful manner? Thenks in anticipation, **~** English spelling, Honest!!! Steve. ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 19:20:18 GMT From: noao!ncar!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!odonnj@arizona.edu (James Robert O'Donnell Jr.) Subject: Need help unsplitting files To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Situation: I finally have an efficient way to get software 'ftp'ed to a local account and then downloaded to my Atari, via an IBM RS6000 w/Mtools (so I can ftp the software to my account there and then 'mcopy' it onto an IBM format disk). Problem: How do I handle files > 720K (or so, the size of my formatted 3-1/2" disk)? Solutions Attempted: We don't have Zoo v2.1 on the IBM system yet, so I can't split the archive up before putting it on disks (the file I am trying to get is 'bin.zoo' containing the gcc binaries @ 1.2Meg or so). I was able to use the 'split' command to get it in four chunks (which when reassembled via 'cat' on the IBM, running AIX by the way, are the same as the original archive), but what can I use to reassemble the pieces on my ST? I've tried the 'cat' command from gulam and the 'cat' command from my Micro C-Tools, and neither seems to work. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated... %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Jim O'Donnell, RPI ECSE Department, Troy, NY 12180 odonnj@rpi.edu %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% -- %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Jim O'Donnell, RPI ECSE Department, Troy, NY 12180 jod@rpi.edu %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 19:32:35 GMT From: noao!ncar!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!odonnj@arizona.edu (James Robert O'Donnell Jr.) Subject: Need help unsplitting files To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu What is the best way to get a large binary file (greater than the size of one floppy) from the IBM RS6000 workstation (that I ftp from) to my ST? I have Mtools on the IBM so I can get stuff on to a disk, but how do I split up the files so that I can get them onto more than one disk and then how do I rejoin them on my ST? The file I am specifically trying to get right now is 'bin.zoo' (containing the gcc binaries) from atari.archive. I can use the AIX command (or maybe it's a 'bash' command, I don't know) 'split' to split the file up into smaller chunks (which when rejoined via 'cat' on the IBM are identical to the original), but how do I do rejoin them on the ST? I've tried the 'cat' from gulam and from Micro C-Tools and neither worked. I could un-zoo the archive and re-zoo it in smaller pieces, but we don't have Zoo v2.1 on the computer, and I am not up to building it. Any help would be appreciated... -- %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Jim O'Donnell, RPI ECSE Department, Troy, NY 12180 jod@rpi.edu %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 17:48:22 GMT From: mcrware!mwca!bill@uunet.uu.net (Bill Sheppard) Subject: Railroad Tycoon To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu So now that some people have had a chance to play Railroad Tycoon for a few weeks, how is it (other than the installation bugs)? I bought it recently, but haven't had time to do much other than install it. It seems to run fine, other than the install program having the misnamed file, which can be fixed by simply doing a copy of both floppies to the hard disk. Has anyone seen bugs during game play? Does it seem up to par versus the PC version? -- ############################################################################## # Bill Sheppard -- bills@microware.com -- {uunet,sun}!mcrware!mwca!bill # # Microware Systems Corporation -- OS-9 / OS-9000 / CD-RTOS -- (408)980-0201 # ############# Opinions expressed are my own and usually wrong ################ ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 21:04:24 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio- state.edu!paperboy.micro.umn.edu!cs.umn.edu!lynx!hydra.unm.edu!seattle@arizona. edu (David G. Adams) Subject: Railroad Tycoon To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <1929@mwca.UUCP> bill@mwca.UUCP (Bill Sheppard) writes: >So now that some people have had a chance to play Railroad Tycoon for a few >weeks, how is it (other than the installation bugs)? I bought it recently, >but haven't had time to do much other than install it. It seems to run fine, >other than the install program having the misnamed file, which can be fixed by >simply doing a copy of both floppies to the hard disk. > >Has anyone seen bugs during game play? Does it seem up to par versus the PC >version? > >-- > ############################################################################## > # Bill Sheppard -- bills@microware.com -- {uunet,sun}!mcrware!mwca!bill # > # Microware Systems Corporation -- OS-9 / OS-9000 / CD-RTOS -- (408)980-0201 # > ############# Opinions expressed are my own and usually wrong ################ I played the IBM version for a couple months before I got my ST version to work. The big differences I find are: Fewer animated sequences - I always skipped the Bridge building anyway. Survey takes longer on ST - of course, I was running it on a '286. The ST can load a game while you're playing - IBM has to quit and run. The graphics (opening sceen) looks better on the ST (IMHO) and I was using VGA too. I wasn't using a mouse on the IBM, but the ST version doesn't really have 'pull-down' menu's. Seems that MicroProse did a straight port and forgot about the nifty GEM windows and schtuff like that. Works great though. I haven't run into any bugs beyond the installation thingy. Doesn't crash at the end or any thing. Nearly worth the $50 bucks I paid. :-) Dave /|\ | Lords of the / seattle@hydra.unm.edu < <>--<> > David G. Adams \ < |/\ | Earth: | "Modern love is automatic" - A Flock of Seagulls | \| | Live it! \ Don't bug the University 'bout nuthin' I've said. / -- /|\ | Lords of the / seattle@hydra.unm.edu < <>--<> > David G. Adams \ < |/\ | Earth: | "Modern love is automatic" - A Flock of Seagulls | \| | Live it! \ Don't bug the University 'bout nuthin' I've said. / ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 16:24:10 GMT From: mcsun!uknet!ukc!yorkohm!minster!ach-a@uunet.uu.net Subject: Reproducing sound samples on an ST-FM. To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Can someone tell me how to convert 8-bit sound samples (in my ST's memory) into sounds through the speaker. I understand the basic principles of digital sound reproduction but not how to put it through the ST's sound chip! I also know how to address the sound chip and it's registers but not what numbers to send to which registers in the chip. Andrew Hague | ach-a@minster.york.ac.uk University of York | York | ENGLAND | ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Oct 91 20:44:53 ADT From: Alyre CHIASSON Subject: SPECTRE AND POSTSCRIPT OUTPUT To: N The SPECTRE manual says I can send a postscript file to disk by pressing "command k"(control k on the ST keyboard) while clicking on "print". I have tried this with WORDPEFECT for the MAC and all I get is a message that the LASERWRITER is not connected. The WORDPERFECT manual is no help on this matter. Can someone who has successfully done this give me some guidance. Also thanks to the person who offered me help with MAC archives. For some reason my mail messages bounced. I have managed to get the necessary starter files from another source. Thanks . ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1991 16:01 EST From: aluminum foil ball Subject: TT questions - QuickST - Cons_Fix - Prism-Paint. To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu First is there a version of CONSFIX that is TT specific, for when QUICKST III is loaded on a TT and a TOS program is launched from GEMINI, the output write over the screen as the character i/o is not properly redirected to the GEMINI internal vt52 emulator. Second is there a program to convert pictures (gif, ppm, etc) to prism paint pictures so that one can have a different background than the standard BART that comes with quickST III, It supports only Prism Paint pictures in the TT graphics modes, so a conversion filter would be very nice. For those shareware authors outside of the US, (Gemini - Rufus) what is the best way to send a shareware fee to you, if I am stuck in the US. Can a US bank do the transaction? I would sent a check, but what type of check to send? and is ground mail okay? Regards - Scott Kolodzieski scott@sparc1.stevens-tech.edu ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 16:15:51 GMT From: IFI.UIO.NO!larserio@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (LarsErikOsterud) Subject: Vortex To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Anyone got an e-mail adress to Vortex GmbH in Germany ? Any kind of e-mail adress will do ! Lars-Erik / Registered Developer / ABK-BBS +47 2132659 / ____ ______ 0sterud / w/ Atari Scandinavia / larserio@ifi.uio.no / /___ / __________/ _______________________/ ______________________/ ____/ / ------------------------------ Date: 23 Oct 91 19:46:01 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!samsung!caen!ox.com!math.fu-berlin.de!rusmv1!n ews@arizona.edu (Joerg Ballschmiter) Subject: What is the 520STe? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hi! Can anyone tell me what the 520STe is? I thought Atari releases the STE only in a 1meg version! -Joerg. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ! Bitnet: ccc_ball@dulruu51.bitnet Internet: ccc_ball@rzmain.rz.uni-ulm.de ! ! Joerg Ballschmiter Gartenhalde 68 D-7900 ULM-Maehringen GERMANY ! ! Chaos Computer Club ULM ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: 24 Oct 91 01:03:16 GMT From: comp.vuw.ac.nz!actrix!Roger.Sheppard@uunet.uu.net (Roger Sheppard) Subject: what types of joysticks work with 520ST? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <4652@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au> warwick@cs.uq.oz.au writes: > doucetdb@vax1.mankato.msus.edu writes: > > >buchs@obiwan (Kevin J. Buchs) writes: > >> 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. > > >I have always used the good old Atari black joysticks. They work well, are > >durable, and are *cheap*. ;) By the way, I have a 1040ST. > > YUCK! I went through 4 sets of Atari joysticks before I bought myself a pair > of WICO joysticks. That was 8 years ago, and the WICOs still work perfectly! > Atari joysticks (and most others) use weak little shell switches, and all > soft plastic components - WICO use strong reed switches, hard plastic and > metal components! Sure, they cost more, but in $/year they are by far the > most economical! > > My 2 yen worth, (That's the othe thing: I think WICO are "Made in the USA") > Warwick > -- > _-_|\ warwick@cs.uq.oz.au > / * <-- Computer Science Department, > \_.-._/ University of Queensland, > v Brisbane, AUSTRALIA. Well I will second that, have played with quite a few, till I brought myself 2 WICO Bat handle ones, they are not that dear in the long run, as they out last all the otheres.. -- *** Roger W. Sheppard * Roger.Sheppard@bbs.actrix.gen.nz *** *** 85 Donovan Rd * * GEnie. R.SHEPPARD5 *** *** Kapiti At least I don't Flicker, *** *** New Zealand.. * not like a dying light globe *** ------------------------------ End of Info-Atari16 Digest ******************************