______________________________________ |////////////////////////////////////| |////////////////////////////////////| |//ST-REPORT WEEKLY ONLINE MAGAZINE//| |//================================//| |//Publisher/Editor| April 4, 1988 //| |// Ron Kovacs | Issue #29 //| |//================|===============//| |//Asst Publisher |Managing Editor//| |// Ken Kirchner | Mr. Goodprobe //| |//================================//| |////////////////////////////////////| |////////////////////////////////////| |____________________________________| |SPC | |Post Office Box 74 | |Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0074 | |____________________________________| |BBS #1: Syndicate (201) 968-8148 | |BBS #2: Stairway (216) | |____________________________________| |Contents | |____________________________________| |*|Editors Desk | |*|SPC Newswire | |*|Public Domain Shelf [Alice Amore] | |*|Michtron Update | |*|New Product Annoucements | |*|MAC Report [Mr. Goodprobe] | |*|A Few Words... [Rex Read] | |*|Digisound ST Review | |*|Turbo ST Review | |_|__________________________________| ______________________________________ Editors Desk ______________________________________ by Ron Kovacs Please make a note that any commentary in this magazine is of the author stating such and not that of ST-Report. Since ST-Report Issue #27 created a new feeling in online publishing for me, a new practice of responsible journalism is being attempted. We will continue to make mistakes, make enemies etc.. If you see something that you oppose in this magazine, I encourage you to write something and send it in! _______________________________________ SPC Newswire _______________________________________ SOFTWARE PIRATES FACE NEW SUITS By Don Clark Chronicle staff writer (reprinted from the San Francisco Chronicle) Oakland,Ca-- Top software publishers are vowing an agressive new round of joint piracy lawsuits against U.S. corporations and others that make unauthorized copies of programs. A joint anti-piracy campaign, announced Sunday, is being pushed and largely funded by industry giants Microsoft, Lotus Development, Ashton- Tate and Word Perfect. It includes a litigation fund of undisclosed size that will be coordinated by the 320 member Software Publishers Association, which is having an annual conference at the Claremont Hotel here this week. The SPA says it has already identified several offenders. They range from mail-order firms that have made a business of pirating software to companies and universities that buy one copy of a program and illegally make multiple copies for internal use. "I think we've found some good targets," said Ken Wasch, the SPA's executive director. "You'll see some suits very soon." The joint effort parallels similar actions taken in recent months to crack down on foreigh sellers of pirate software. The focus on copyright issues also coincides with a raging controversy triggered by Apple Computer Inc., which filed a lawsuit on March 17 that accuses Hewlett- Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp. of illegally copying the visual displays of Apple's Macintosh computer. Though unauthorized duplication is believed to be widespread at large U.S. companies, software publishers have been reluctant to go after them in court. For one thing, those companies may be large software customers. They also have ample resources to fight a lawsuit. That reluctance has ended, Wasch said. One key reason is the phasing out of copy protection built into program diskettes, due to the widespread opposition of software customers. Lotus, for example, has announced plans to remove the electronic protection from a new version of its top selling 1-2-3 program being released next fall. "Since copy protection has been removed, the entire industry is at the mercy of an honor system of users," Wasch said. The SPA named Joe Bainton, a New York attorney with a reputation for agressive litigation, to carry out the suits against the pirates. R. Duff Thompson, general counsel of the Utah based Word Perfect, will serve as chairman of the association's litigation fund. Major software companies banded together once before on domestic piracy under the auspices of ADAPSO, the computer software and services industries association. It also set up a litigation fund, but brought only one suit in 1985 before focusing mainly on educating corporations about software piracy laws. In other matters, software industry executives said Apple's suit casts a cloud over future development of software based on Microsoft's Windows program for IBM-compatible computers. Phillipe Kahn, chief executive of Scotts Valley based Borland International, was roundly applauded for proposing that the SPA set up an arbitration system so that copyright disputes between companies are not settled by judges and juries. "Apple's telling us Microsoft Windows has AIDS,' Borland said. "We're anxiously waiting to hear that the tests come back negative." SPA TO SETTLE SUIT ================== Online Today reported this week that Apple Computer's recent "look-and- feel" lawsuit should be settled, not in the courts, but by the Software Publishers Association, Borland International founder/President Phillipe Kahn said in his keynote address at the SPA's spring symposium here. MICROSOFT SAYS APPLE COMPUTER'S COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT HAS NO MERIT ============================================================== REDMOND, Wash. (MARCH 21) BIZWIRE - Thursday, Apple Computer filed suit against Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft Corp. for alleged copyright infringement. As to Microsoft, the complaint alleges that the visual displays of Microsoft Windows 2.03 violate Apple copyrights. After careful review of the complaint and a 1985 license agreement between Apple and Microsoft, Microsoft is convinced that the case has no merit. Microsoft has not exceeded the license agreement, nor has it infringed any Apple copyrights or patents. Specifically, no visual displays in Microsoft Windows 2.03 exceed the 1985 agreement. William H. Neukom, vice president of law and corporate affairs, said ''We are puzzled that Apple has brought this suit in light of the 1985 license agreement between us. ''That agreement covers visual displays, and we are in full compliance with that agreement. We have not infringed any copyright or patent held by Apple.'' Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) develops, markets and supports a wide range of software for business and professional use, including operating systems language, and application programs, as well as books and hardware for the microcomputer marketplace. APPLE COMPUTER CO-FOUNDER STEVE JOBS DODGES QUESTIONS ON NEW COMPUTER ===================================================================== BERKELEY, Calif. (MARCH 29) UPI - Steve Jobs, the mercurial entrepreneur who co-founded Apple Computer Inc., dodged questions Tuesday about a new computer he has promised to deliver to the market in early 1988. ''I wish I could tell you about our product today,'' Jobs told an annual meeting of the Software Publishers Association in Berkeley. ''I cannot,'' Jobs said, telling an audience of approximately 200 that he will introduce what is expected to be a computer workstation for use in colleges ''when it's ready''. Jobs, who has founded a new company called NeXT Inc. to produce a machine to fit his vision of the needs of academia, explained his silence by saying, ''a young company needs the advantage of surprise.'' But he described the machine under production as ''the best product that I've ever seen in my life. The product that we're working on will speak louder than anything I can say.'' Jobs also expressed puzzlement over a copyright infringement lawsuit recently filed by Apple Computer against two other computer companies, Microsoft Corp., of Redmond, Wash., and Hewlett-Packard Co., of Palo Alto, Calif. The suit alleges that Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard illegally copied the audio-visual display of Apple's Macintosh computer in designing their own software. Jobs urged software developers in the audience to ''express themselves'' on the subject, saying the issue of copyrights and computer software is vital to innovation in the industry. _______________________________________ PUBLIC DOMAIN SHELF _______________________________________ by Alice Amore Sysop of:Pipeline BBS (216) 336-3774 Ohio Software Exchange (216) 334-4145 How to show aSTounding demos to humans First, get some really great ST demos (more on this later). Then, boot them up and show them to anyone who wanders into the room. You'll quickly discover that each person falls into one of four categories: 1. The Uninterested These people are the hardest to understand. They will stare blankly at the most spectacular demo and say, "Oh, that's very nice", but all the while they are thinking to themselves, "What's all the fuss? I've seen better pictures on Saturday morning cartoon shows and in comic books". The Uninterested, being uninterested, have no desire to understand what it takes for a computer to display a picture file. They're not interested in learning about pixels. 2. Latent Compufreaks These are possibly the most frustrating. They have the potential of becoming technomaniacs, but they never give into it. They are impressed with EVERYTHING you show them. According to them, they don't have the time/money to "get into" computers. The truth is they're afraid of getting sucked into something that'll squeeze them dry. They're like latent alcoholics who are afraid to take that first drink. 3. Generic Computerists These people just love computers of any kind. They politely sit there watching your ST go through its paces, but no matter how impressed they are, they won't take action. The truth is that they missed the boat when they chose to ignore the ST in favor of a lesser computer. And now it's too late for them. They have their pride, though. They use the word "wonderful" a lot. 4. ST Supremacists The best audience for a new ST demo is another ST fanatic. ST fanatics absolutely love demos. Most often, they understand what the computer is doing. If they don't understand, they want to understand. Boot up a new demo in front of an ST Supremacist and watch his/her jaw drop. A group of ST Supremacists watching a new demo makes a strange sound, kind of like the sound people make when watching fireworks at the start of a new summer (true awe). After they've seen the demo, they won't stop talking about it until the next aSTounding demo comes down the ol' RS-232. ... but I digress. I was going to recommend the best of the ST demos, and here they are. If I omit your favorite one, it is only because there are so many good ones that I can't cover them all here. Next time, I'll talk more about the following files, but for now, here's a list to ponder. All are in the public domain. -- SBDEMO -- "Shiny Bubbles" from Analog Computing -- TINY -- Slideshow for D.E.G.A.S. and NEOchrome pictures -- SPXSHOW -- Slideshow for SPECTRUM from Antic Publishing -- ANIMATE -- Demonstrates what can be done with Cyber Studio -- GRDEMO -- Whimsical sound/animation demo from W. Germany -- PAWNDEMO -- Demo for "Pawn" from Magnetic Scrolls Ltd. -- PDREPLAY -- Digital demo player for MichTron's "ST Replay" -- DMDEMO -- Demo of "Dungeon Master" from FTL Show anyone with an open mind the above demos, and you just might have another ST Supremacist on your hands. _______________________________________ Michtron Update _______________________________________ March 24, 1988 Below is a list of updates to our software. The list contains the current version number, the date of the update, and the cost to obtain the update. If you find that you have old version please contact MichTron to receive a R.M.A.# (Return Merchandise Authorization). ALT BACKUP! BBS 2.0 Ver 1.1 Ver 1.8 Ver 2.01 3/21/87 10/21/88 7/30/87 $5.00 N/C 1.8 - 2.10 $30.00 2.0 - 2.10 $ 5.00 BUSINESS TOOLS CORNERMAN GFA BASIC Ver 2.11 Ver 2.1 Ver 2.027 6/12/87 12/16/86 11/30/87 N/C N/C 2.0 - 2.027 $5.00 1.8 - 2.027 $10.00 GFA BASIC COMPILER GFA COMPANION GFA DRAFT Ver 2.02 Ver 2.02 Ver 2.0 10/29/87 2/28/87 10/15/87 $5.00 $15.00 N/C GFA OBJECT INVASION JUGGLER Ver 1.2 - JUGGLER2 12/22/88 - - N/C - - MICHTRON UTILITIES MIGHTY MAIL PERSONAL MONEY MANAGER Ver 2.0 Ver 2.0 Ver 1.0 6/10/87 12/16/87 6/30/87 N/C $10.00 N/C PINBALL FACTORY ST-REPLAY SUPER CONDUCTOR Ver 1.1 Ver 3.0 Ver 1.6 12/4/86 12/18/87 2/22/88 N/C N/C N/C SUPER DIRECTORY SLAYGON SLAYGON # Ver 1.2 Ver 1.1 Ver 1.1 tba 3/07/88 3/08/88 tba N/C N/C TIME BANDIT TANGLEWOOD Ver 2.1 No Version 6/9/86 12/1/87 $5.00 N/C TUNEUP 220 - ST Ver 1.25 Ver 1.02 10/21/87 3/14/88 $3.00 N/C These are combination packages that will be avaliable this fall. MichTron is now offering COMBINATION PACKAGE programs, an assembly of two or more programs into one package. When you purchase a COMBINATION PACKAGE program you are insured the latest version available, and a tremendous savings. Below is a list of the COMBINATION PACKAGES that we have available at the present time and the costs of obtaining them. To place an order, or receive additional information contact MichTron, Inc. at (313) 334-5700. HARD DRIVE UTILITIES The combination of BackUp!, TuneUp, and M-Cache. Pricing: If you own 1 of the 3 programs --> $ 20.00 If you own 2 of the 3 programs --> $ 15.00 Retail price --> $ 59.95 If purchased seperately --> $129.85 UTILITIES PLUS The combination of the M-DISK Plus, MichTron Utilities, Dos Shell, STuff, and Super Directory. Pricing: If you own 1 of the 5 * --> $ 20.00 If you own 2 of the 5 --> $ 15.00 If you own 3 or 4 of the 5 --> $ 10.00 Retail price --> $ 59.95 If purchased seperately --> $219.75 * If you just own MichTron Utilities --> $ 15.00 _______________________________________ NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCMENT MT C-SHELL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM _______________________________________ SDS (Software Development System) allows you to develop sophisticated software applications that take full advantage of the MT C-Shell multiuser/multitaking features. It provides C library routines for accessing the internal data stuctures of MT C-Shell (such as the process table and users table), accessing and locking terminals, file record locking, interprocess communmication, and terminal independent cursor control- WITH FULL SOURCE CODE INCLUDED ON DISK PORT APPLICATIONS OF MT C-SHELL FROM UNIX EASILY The package includes many UNIX compatible routines to help in porting UNIX applications to MT C-Shell and many helpful hints to aid in producing portable multitakingg/multiuser software. FULL C SOUCE CODE IS READY TO LINK WITH YOUR PROGRAMS The package is written entirely in Mark Williams C, ready to link in with your C programs. Full C source is provided which you are free to use with any C Compiler you want. "No royalites on complies programs!" FULLY COMMENTED SAMPLE PROGRAMS ARE INCLUDED AS GUIDES Sample program are provided including a fully working "Talk" program. Talk is a program that allows two users to communicate in real-time. Talk splits the screen in half, and uses the top half for one person's conversation and bottom half for the other person. Each user may type at the same time with neither clobbering the other's words. Fully commented C source code to talk is provided which serves as a turorial to teach interprocess communications, accessing and locking terminal, opening and controlling terminals, using the Mini-Curses library for screen control, and much more. *Professional C function library that has never been documented before! *Working TALK program included with fully commented C souce code! *Mini-Curses terminal package supports Atari, VT-52 and VT-100 *Library source included FREE *NO ROYALTIES or funtime fees *Free BBS *Supports major C compliers including Mark Williams C Retail price $59.95 registered users price $49.95 MT C-SHELL UUCP =============== Now an implementation of UUCP is available for MT C-Shell users from Beckemeyer Development, the leader in serious multiuser/multitasking ST software. UUCP is a sophisticated file and electronic mail facility that can talk to any UNIX system (or UUCP compatable system). UUCP stands for UNIX to UNIX Copy. It connects to a wroldwide network of other MT C-shell and Unix users. Once you have set up UUCP, you have the potential of sending and receiving electronic mail, telexes, news and data files of all kinds. The basic UUCP network is a large collection (over 10,000 sites and one million users) of UNIX machines that agree to pass mail and files to each other at no charge. The agreement is informal, but new sites (each machine on the nework is called a "site" or "node") are expected to accept future nodes and pass files both both ways on the same basis. This arrangement is synergetic, because the network becomes more useful as it grows larger. Due to the size of the UUCP network, it is generally possible to find an already existing node almost anywhere in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Japan within resonable calling distance. Essentially this means that once you hook up to UUCP you can reach any remote site on the network for cost of a local phone call, even if that site is thousands of miles away! MT C-Shell UUCP retail for $49.95. The registered MT C-Shell user price is $35.00. Requirments: MT C-Shell ver 1.10 or higer Hard disk drive 1 megabyte of RAM Modem (Null modem for direct links) When ordering MT C-Shell Software Development System or MT C-Shell UUCP, please include your MT C-Shell registration number and allow $5.00 for shipping and handling. California residents add 7% sales tax. Beckemeyer Development 478 Santa Clara Ave Oakland CA 94610 415-452-1129 bbs 415-452-4792 UUCP ihnp4!hoptoad!bdt!david _______________________________________ MAC Report _______________________________________ by Mr. Goodprobe I trust you enjoyed this segment last week, and profited by it. If you are a Mac user, please let us know, we are seriously searching for a user minded person to help us by writing articles that will allow St users to familiarize themselves with the new "Mac" that sits on their desktop thanks to Davis Small and MagicSac. With that aside, let us proceed! Microsoft Word ============== Q: Using Microsoft Word 3.0 (System 4.1, Finder 5.5) text appears fine on the screen, but when printed to an ImageWriter complete lines of text are lost. Any suggestions? A: According to Microsoft, this is a known problem in version 3.0. They suggest that you hold down the SHIFT key while selecting REPAGINATE from the DOCUMENT menu. This is supposed to do a more thorough job of repaginating. This should be corrected in the next revision of Word. Macintosh II Trivia =================== The Macintosh II with its 68020 microprocessor and 32-bit data bus can open and close applications and files, access data, execute graphics and calculations up to four times faster than the Macintosh Plus. The 68881 floating-point co-processor works with the 68020 to perform operations such as multiplication, division, sine and cosine calculations. When used, the 68881 enables the Macintosh II to perform these operations 40 to 200 times faster than the 68020 alone. PARM Keys Revisited =================== To zero Parameter RAM in the Macintosh SE, hold down the Shift, Option, and COMMAND keys while selecting the Control Panel. We had previously indicated in the May 8th Technical Tidbits that you should use the Control key. Thanks to everyone who pointed out our error. Multiple Macintosh Systems ========================== Q: With previous versions of the system software, you could keep different application would launch its own system. This doesn't seem to be the case with 4.1/5.5. Is there some trick we can use to allow automatic system switching? A: You should avoid, at all costs, the temptation to have more than one System and Finder on the same disk! A large percentage of Technical Support Links and phone calls deals with very unusual and serious compatability problems that result from having multiple System and Finders on a hard drive. MiniFinder ========== Q: Is there any way to put files from different folders into the same MiniFinder? If so, how? A: No, you can only use files from one folder with MiniFinder. There are several "ShareWare" applications that can span folders. "WayFinder" and "Oasis" have this capability and can be found on commercial networks such as CompuServe and GEnie. Glue ---- Q: Is there any utility that will let me look at a file created by a word processor that I don't have? A: Yes. Glue is a product which permits a user to save a printed file to disk. A second Glue user can then print the saved file without accessing the application used to create the original file. Glue is also useful for Spreadsheets and DeskTop Publication applications. Custom Mac and Third-Party Printer Drivers ========================================== DataPak has a program available "Interface For the Macintosh" for developing custom interfaces between the Macintosh and many different third-party printers. DataPak * 14011 Ventura Blvd * Suite 401 * Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 ImageWriter II - Printing in Hex ================================ Q: Recently, I have been seeing strange problems with ImageWriter II's. I have had several complaints that occasionally the output of the printer is a hexadecimal code dump. This problem seems to happen with several different types of software and has happened not only on the Macintosh family but the II family as well. A: Actually, this is a "feature" of the ImageWriter II printer and is very helpful for programmers. Hex printing occurs when the ImageWriter II is turned on while the select button is accidentally depressed. This can accidentally happen due to the proximity of the select button to the power switch. If this occurs, power down, then turn the printer back on, making sure that only the power switch is depressed. Recently, our service department has had a rash of Mac II's suffering from the same symptoms: The customer was playing a public domain/ ShareWare game, or running some other program not known to be compatible with the Mac II, and suffered a system crash. When the customer tried to re-boot from the internal hard disk, the Mac would behave as though the hard disk was not there (disk icon with flashing question mark). If the customer put in a floppy disk with a good system on it, the computer boots fine and even shows the hard disk. The first three Mac's that came in with those symptoms checked out OK on the diagnostics, but still wouldn't boot. While a motherboard swap would correct the problem, there were too many units coming in for this to be prudent. We called Apple Tech Support, who suggested using Command-Shift-Option while selecting Control panel, which will allow you to reset the Parameter RAM. It works! Some public domain programs are apparently prone to mess up the PRAM on the Mac II, resulting in these symptoms; fortunately, the solution is simple. Adobe Downloadable Fonts ======================== The Font Initializer software that keys Adobe's downloadable fonts to a particular printer is incompatible with the Universal System (4.1) release. This application will bomb with various ID='s during launch. For those users who have already upgraded to the Universal System (4.1/5.5), and need to install new Adobe downloadable fonts, there is a workaround. Start your Macintosh with the system file on the initializer disk, which is 3.2/5.3 and proceed with the initialization as normal. After successfully performing this operation, you can restart under the new system, and the font will be there, ready to use. Seeing Disk Space when Viewing Files by Name ============================================ Q: Is there any way that I can see remaining disk space when I choose the option to view files by name? A: Not a direct way. However, you can open up an empty window, set it to view by Icon, and leave it on your desktop. You will then be able to check on available disk space at a glance. FEATURE ARTICLE The Apple Magazines - An Important Resource One of the most often overlooked resources that any Dealer can have on hand are the Apple specific magazines: They are full of excellent articles, reviews and advertisements that can add greatly to your list of resources. This week, we would like to features some of those magazines. The Macintosh Buyer's Guide --------------------------- This publication is published Quarterly by Redgate Publishing Company, and includes: NEW PRODUCT LISTINGS, which includes a description of products that have become available since their last issue. DIRECTORY, which includes every product listed in the Mac Buyer's Guide Data Base, arranged by category. REVIEWS, which include a number of reviews written by indepenedent reviewers and users, not based on product information provided by vendors. ARTICLES, staff written, that reflect Mac Buyer's Guide's impression of products and subjects. Subscription Information: 305/231-6904 MacUSER ------- MacUser is published monthly by Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. Its regular features include the following departments: * LETTERS in which readers comment on products and other issues * NEW ON THE MENU which has the latest updates and rumors * QUICK CLICKS which include short reviews of products * TIP SHEETS providing Mac hints, tips and shortcuts * MINIFINDERS which contains hundreds of mini-reviews * STRIP SHOW - a page of programs for Softstrip format * ENTERTAINMENT, RESOURCES and FEATURE ARTICLES Subscription Information: 1/800-MAC-USER MACWORLD -------- MacWorld is published monthly by PC World Communications, Inc., and includes the following departments: * MACWARE REVIEWS which contain short assessments of a number of products * OPEN WINDOW which is an exchange of Mac discoveries and tips * COMMUNITY which reports on the use of Macs in foreign countries * LETTERS [from readers] * MACWORLD VIEW * GET INFO * FEATURE ARTICLES and MAJOR REVIEWS Subscription Information: 800/525-0643 NIBBLE [Apple II Family] ------ Nibble is published monthly by MicroSPARC and includes: * FEATURE ARTICLES * REVIEW BOARD containing feature length reviews of products * A WIDE RANGE OF Application/utility/entertainment/educational type-in program listings. * LETTERS FROM READERS * ON THE SCENE - Difficult questions from readers answered * NIBBLE SOFTWARE CATALOG - Nibble type in programs available on disk * THE NIBBLE HOT LIST - top selling software listing Subscription Information: 617/371-1660 NIBBLE MAC [Macintosh Family] ---------- Similar in layout and content to NIBBLE. Published also by MircroSPARC. Subscription Information: As noted above. A+ -- A+ is published by Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., and contains these departments: * LETTERS from readers * NEWS+ which is an "inside" source for developments and trends in the personal-computer industry * GRAPHICS * BOOKS, providing information about Apple, computer and programming related publications * RESCUE SQUAD, containing questions from readers about problems they are having * PIPELINE, a compendium of new products for the entire Apple-computer line * THOUGHTWARE, a monthly column covering various Apple topics * THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT, which contains reviews of several entertainment programs * REVIEWS * FEATURE ARTICLES Subscription Information: Ziff-Davis Publishing, One Park Ave., NY, NY 10016 Each of these publications features a Product Information Reader Service Card for obtaining more information about all the products mentioned in the magazine, each issue. These magazines can become an invaluable source for those consumer questions that start out "Do you know if there's a program that will..." or "Do you know if XXX can do...", and the price of a subscription for your store can potentially reward you with satisfied customers and increased sales. * * * TECH.EAST * * * International AppleCare? ======================== Q: Is there such a thing as International AppleCare? Or is AppleCare purchased in the US valid overseas? A: AppleCare purchased in the U.S. is valid only in the U.S., and there is no International AppleCare. Some foreign countries offer an extended warranty, but most do not. You would need to query the dealers in each country individually to determine if they offer AppleCare. For the addresses of the Apple International Service Offices, please refer to your Apple Service Programs Binder under Level II, beginning with page 4.1.4. Apple's limited warranty is valid only in the country of purchase. A defective unit must be returned to the country of purchase if service is desired under warranty. Apple dealers overseas are capable of servicing the equipment designed for their country only. Mr. Goodprobe (on lend from Midtown TV) Atari 8/16& Amiga Sales&Repair 27 Midway Plaza Tallmadge, Ohio 44278 (216)633-0997 Stairway To Heaven BBS -> ST-Report Midwest Headquarters 216-784-0574 300/1200 24hrs. DL's for Atari 8/16 & Amiga Permission is hereby granted for the use of Tech Tidbits, in part or in whole, in any non-commercial publication, or for use by any non- commercial group or organization or Apple User Group with the following credit: Reprinted from "Tech Tidbits" with the permission of Apple Computer, Inc., East Coast Technical Support." _______________________________________ A Few Words _______________________________________ Views presented in this column are those of the Author. They are NOT necessarily those of ST-Report of it's staff. Opposing points of view are welcome and encouraged. by Rex Read 'TIS JUST MARVELOUS! ==================== To all the folks who responded to ST. Report #27 all over the country I say to you...."Regardless of your praise or criticism YOUR responses are ALL wonderful!" Now to get down to brass tacks, To those who felt it necessary to disagree, GREAT! that's what makes the U.S.A. such a marvelous country. I feel most of you made some very valid points and I will try to cover them briefly. To those who felt Word Perfect got "slammed" my reaction was not out of hysterical anger but dismay at the fact that 3 BBSs make not the world. Although I do NOT condone Piracy, I feel it is on the decline. True it will be around but I am sure it will be minimal as will it's effects. Word Perfect is truly an Industry Leader and therefore should be praised for having set such fine standards of "User Support". At the same time, we must all agree the reaction to the apparent loss of WP from the Atari arena would have been DEVESTATING as it is good to have them support the Atari ST line. We were all upset and I felt after having attended the conference that there was really too much of nothing said or accomplished other than a show of hands. It is impossible to place a blame in any one direction and attempting to do so would be futile. This author is over joyed at the fact that WP will continue to support the ST and the super reactions from all the readers.....Maybe just maybe your reactions and mine are what's needed to finally unify the Atari userbase so that we may be heard as one throughout the industry. To those who feel that the "Snitch Approach" is the solution to Piracy I say, that is a very dangerous method that could hold extreme ramifications in the long run...Atari has long had the reputation of "in- fighting" among it's users and that WE must overcome. We must and can slow down piracy but we must do it in a proper manner....I am working on a method that will be (I feel) very effective and "safe to all involved". Once again it is necessary to emphasize that you and every other Atari user bought and paid for your equipment and therefore have the right to use it as you wish...It is this author's firm belief that the software companies (the better ones) have come to realize that the Atari userbase is totally different from the ole 8 bit days...We WANT and WILL pay for quality! Those companies that produce sad software and ported junk deserve to get "slammed" and those whose releases and support are top notch deserve to reap the profits! I recieved a call from a user and he played a tape recording for me that was amazing!...He had called MiGraph for help.....he really had a problem, he ownes a 520 and a S/S drive....to make a long story short... the individual from Migraph at first was very terse and exhibited signs of having no patience or time for this fellow. Now I understand the fact that the rep may have many similar calls every day, but...It seemed kind of rude and crude to tell the fellow on the phone "I will hang up if you dont listen instead of getting upset with me and you can call someone else for help". Folks this is the type of representative of these software companies who give the entire industry a blackeye, regardless of what or how upset the user may have been, HE IS STILL THE CUSTOMER AND THE GUY HELPING TO PAY THE BILLS! Personally I think the help lines at MiGraph have been very good. As a result I tried to explain away the behavior of rep on the phone. One bad apple cant make for total ruin. RIGHT KEVIN? A late entry, a new rather nice looking game is out called SCRABBLE, although it is very attractive, and the boot-up looks good.....avoid this thing as the disks protection is outrageous! After a simple boot-up dont expect it to boot again until your machine has been off for at least 15 minutes! To me this is very strange it could be the new roms, it could be WHAT?..You can boot anything but this game immediately after booting it. What is happening here? 39.95 for a program causing a 1040ST go dumb? No way! TIMEWORKS DESK TOP PUBLISHER ============================ If ever there was a FINER Desk Top Publisher for the Atari Userbase it has yet to be released!.... The many features of the program would take forever to praise, but the most important is SPEED this baby makes desktop publishing a JOY! It has THE REAL...... What You see is What you Get! The graphics importation is super easy and...again very smooth with the use of the Browser...whats the Browser? you say?....well it's a window on the left side of the screen that keeps track of all the goodies you have in store for the printer, text, pics and the rotation order...very nice! I could go on and on and get super technical, however, that is really not what a review by Rex is all about. The program really is user FRIENDLY and....Ya mean there's more?...sure! The printer interfacing is a delight. The install program takes all the guess work out of getting started, just follow the prompts and you are on your way. The nice thing is, there are NO special drivers to chase down ...you will see, the Install Prg seems to have all the answers. Dollar for dollar, this program PERFORMS! Once you become familiar with all of it's features you will find it lacks nothing, we all seem to make the same mistake of looking for similar features in different programs, give this one a good going over and you will find nothing is missing that's worthwhile having. REX'S RATING: FRIENDLY = 10 QUALITY = 10 VALUE = 10 _______________________________________ Digisound ST review _______________________________________ by LeRoy Valley (TAG) Digisound ST $ 89.95 Professional $149.95 Digiplay $ 49.95 Alpha Systems 1012 Skyland Drive Macedonia, OH 44056 (216) 374-7469 By now most of you have realized that I like to buy toys. Not just plain old everyday toys, but unique and interesting computer oriented toys. If you have been reading my column since MAM (Michigan Atari Magazine) first got started, then you will believe me when I say that I buy a LOT of toys. If you haven't been reading my column (shame on you!) then just trust me (hehe). Of course, when you buy a lot of toys, your "new product" interest tends to become jaded and it takes more and more wow, pizazz, and oomph to impress you. What is all this leading up to, you say? Well, this month I'm going to review the neatest little product that I've ever laid hands on. I've had more fun, spent more hours on my computer, and generally gotten the wife more tee'd than ever before. What new and unique product could accomplish all this? The answer to all of the above is Digisound ST, a sound digitizer by Alpha Systems. Digisound ST plugs into your cartridge port on your ST and allows you to sample real world sounds, voices, or music at 5K to 40K per second. It's offered in two versions - Digisound ST and Digisound ST Professional. I've used both models and will be reviewing both. First I'll cover all of the goodies offered on both models, then I'll cover the specifics for Professional. The software included is Digiplay (once again, by Alpha Systems) and this is what really makes the digitizer sing (pun fully intended)!! Digiplay is fully GEM based and easy to use. Menus at the top of the screen include FILE, EFFECTS, BAR, EDIT, RATE, and OPTIONS. At the bottom of the screen are tape recorder style buttons that give you short cuts to 8 of the most used features - Record, Play Normal, Play w/Pitch, Real Echo, Scope, Delete, Cut, and Paste. Let's say that we want to start digitizing right away. For starters we need some form of sound input. Simply connect an amplified source (radio, tape player, microphone) to the MIC IN jack on the cartridge. If you're using a standard microphone, you'll need a preamplifier for Digisound ST (Radio Shack has them for $12.00). Next we have to select the sampling rate at which we wish to digitize the sound. Going to the RATE menu we find that Digiplay offers 8 sampling rates - 5K, 8K, 10K, 16K, 20K, 25K, 32K, and 40K! The "sampling rate" is the number of samples per second to store for the sound. Obviously, the more samples/second, the better the digitized sound will be reproduced. But, the more samples/second the more memory we consume. How much memory, you ask? On a 1MB machine, with no accessories loaded, recording at the lowest rate of 5K gives you a max of 172 seconds of recording time. The highest rate of 40K gives you a mere 22 seconds! Using 16K gives very good reproduction AND gives you 53 seconds of recording time, so we'll select 16K. Now that we have our sound source ready, and our sample rate set, let's select the RECORD button at the bottom of the screen. This brings up a dialog box which displays the Max Sample Time, and allows us to set the desired sample time. There are three buttons - SAMPLE, TEST, and CANCEL. Selecting Sample simply starts Digisound digitizing. The Test button lets you hear the actual sound as Digisound perceives it. This option is great for adjusting bass and treble controls, and is really nice for locating specific sounds on a tape recorder! Ok, now that we've got a sound captured, we select the PLAY NORM button and hear the sound reproduced extremely well through our monitor speaker! Both RECORD and PLAY can also be found in the OPTIONS menu, but if you select PLAY here you get a box with a column of buttons that allow you to test different effects on your sound. The first button (PITCH) turns your keyboard into a synthesizer! Each key plays at a different pitch. Just press keys to play a sound - It's that easy! Using the left and right mouse buttons we can select a portion of the sound wave (the selected section is marked with vertical bars and the top slider will be red between the bars) and, by selecting the SOME option, we can play just that portion! Using the alternate key and both mouse buttons we can also set loop points within the selected section so that the sound will repeat until a key is released. MIDI allows us to play the sampled sound with the syntheizer keyboard (the sound still comes through the monitor). DECAY only lets the sound play as long the key is pressed. ECHO plays the sound wave with real time echo. You can set the time in milliseconds between each echo, the length of die out time, and the loudness of the echo. The number of sounds that can be created with this one effect is staggering! The last effect in PLAY, ENVELOPE, allows you to apply an envelope to your sound. Browsing through the OPTIONS menu we find SCOPE, which shows you graphically (in real time) your current input level. This is dynamite for adjusting your input! If you're over driving Digisound, the sound waves will have red tips! ECHO lets you take a sound as it is input and apply real time echo immediately! It plays the altered sound even as you speak. APPLY allows you to permanently alter your captured sound with any of Digisounds effects (it will also make many of the effects sound better on the finished sound). STATS displays current statistics of your sound like free memory, sound length, buffer length, sampling rate, etc. The WAVE and ENVELOPE options simply allow you to display a sound with or without an envelope. UNDO BUFF enables an undo buffer that allows you to reverse many of the commands. Be wary of this command, as it can consume as much as 1/2 of your precious memory! The DRAW command lets you manually redraw your sound wave or envelope depending on the mode you're in. By going to the EFFECTS menu you can further decimate your sound with effects like RAISE and LOWER (to physically move the position of the sound wave on your screen), AMPLIFY and QUIET (to increase or decrease the volume of the sound), SILENCE and NOISE (to insert a section of silence or white noise), STRETCH and SQUEEZE (to lower or raise the pitch of the sound), FADE IN and FADE OUT (to smoothly increase the sound to full volume or decrease it to silence), and finally, you can even REVERSE a sound wave and play it backwards! All of these effects can be applied to any portion of your sound, or to all of it! Hopping over to the EDIT menu we can CUT, COPY, or DELETE a section of sound. If the sound is cut or copied, we can then PASTE it back in, or MIX it with an existing sound! A CLEAR BUF command is included to free up buffer memory if necessary. The BAR menu lets you find the beginning or end of a sound section, and also lets you zoom in to a selected portion of the sound wave. Using the SCALE function you can keep selecting smaller sections of the wave until you can see the entire wave form that makes up a sound! The USE ALL option returns you to full scale. Whew! We've stretched, echoed, amplified, and mixed our sound (and God knows what else!) and now we'de like to save it. Selecting the FILE menu we see the familiar OPEN, SAVE, SAVE AS, and QUIT options. We also see the unfamiliar MERGE (to merge two sound files together) and WRITE (this saves a sound file to disk that is compatible with Hippo, Navarone, and other sound digitizers). If all of that isn't enough to impress you, hang on, there's more! All of the above goodies are available on BOTH Digisound ST's. The Digisound ST Professional goes one step further by offering two input jacks (one straight line in and one amplified line in) along with an Input gain control to adjust the input level, and one output jack (also with a gain control). This output jack provides considerably better output than your ST monitor (you should hear it on my stereo!) and any of the sounds recorded with Digiplay can be played either through the monitor or the cartridge! The two input jacks can be used for real time mixing of two different inputs! It also offers Logarithmic sampling which gives a wider dynamic range and less distortion. Talking with George Morrison, President of Alpha Systems, I found a man confident in his product and every bit as excited as I am about it! He stands behind his product and offers a 30 day money back guarantee. (But don't buy Digisound expecting to get your money back -- once you get it, you won't let go of it!) I mentioned that a MIX and LOAD BUFF from file command would be extremely useful, and George agreed. Hopefully we will see it in the near future. In two hours worth of work I prepared a professional sounding demo that will knock your socks off! This demo is 500K worth of music and voice and demonstrates many of the features of Digiplay. If you're interested in it, have your club librarian give me a call. To sum up the product, the cartridge is very well put together (it even looks good) and the software is very polished and complete. All of the nice little touches are there to make it a joy to use for years to come! Another gotta have! OK, that's it, I've run out of gas. The features of this product speak for themselves. I've got to stop writing and start playing with Digisound. If you can't tell that I'm in love with the product, please reread the article. If you've already got a sound digitizer, Digiplay is available separately for $49.95. My GEnie mail stop is L.VALLEY. Please leave me some mail with your comments and/or suggestions for future columns! _______________________________________ Turbo ST Review _______________________________________ by Tom Hayslett There's been a lot of curiosity lately about a new software program that just hit the market, Turbo ST!. I bought the program as soon as it was available after reading a preliminary review in ST Applications magazine. I'm going to attempt a 'twofold' explanation of the product and a little about how it operates. Lets' start at the beginning... I received Turbo ST! about 10 days after sending my check to Softrek in southern Florida. Not bad as they didn't hold the check for clearing (a 10 day delay with some companies). The program is a small package consisting of a 12 page manual and a disk. The licensing agreement specifically states you may make a backup for your personal use but the program can't be passed to a friend or rented. The disk is NOT copy protected which allows you to put the program on any disk (even a hard disk). Two files are on the disk, the program itself (a desk accessory about 25K long) and a current 'READ.ME' file with some last minute notes. The first 2 pages of the manual explain installation and use of the accessory and they tell you that's all you need unless you care to read on and learn how the program works. The entire book took about 10 minutes to read and then I made a backup of the accessory. I installed it on the root directory of my hard drive to have it automatically load when I 'booted' the system. On to operation.... Simplicity itself, put the accessory on the root directory of the disk you boot from and drop down the menu under the 'DESK' heading and click on Turbo ST!. An alert box opens offering 3 choices, install, cancel and info. Clicking cancel closes the box and returns you to the desktop, clicking on info shows you another alert box displaying program title and credits. The install function also closes the box immediately and sends you back to the desktop ('Install' is the default which can be chosen by pressing 'RETURN'). Calling the accessory again displays the alert box but the 'install' button has changed to 'Remove' (in case you want to disable Turbo ST!). Simple huh? Now for the good stuff... First, a simple explanation for the 'non-techies'. Turbo ST! does NOT speed up program execution or disk reads or writes. Your ST operates EXACTLY as it did before except that any text output to the screen such as double clicking a text file and selecting 'Show', opening a window for a disk directory (when 'show as text' is chosen), etc. The window operates as before but the text output is faster than before. The speed of the paging and scrolling functions of most word processors are sped up (not Word Perfect as it uses its own routines instead of GEMDOS). Typical increases are ST Writer, 51% faster paging, 63% faster scrolling. 1ST Word and Word Writer are faster also although not as much because they use less time in actual GEM calls. The manual suggests using the accessory for a few days with your utility type programs and then trying it a few days without. I did this and can attest to the fact that Turbo ST! DOES enhance the total speed of all the text output. GFA Basic (the editor), is sped up significantly. It will NOT speed up most games as they are usually written in machine language and use their own calls for timing and speed. For the 'techies', Turbo operates by intercepting operating system calls to the BIOS function 3 and the GEMDOS function 9. Those routines were written and optimized in assembler (GEMDOS is written in 'C'). Some programs make illegal calls to these functions and consequently, won't allow Turbo ST! to function properly (establishing the need to 'de- install' the program). An example of a program that won't function properly with Turbo, is the PD program FSELECT 4.2. The documentation accompanying Turbo lists the few programs that don't work right with Turbo installed. A few programs (such as VanTerm), will initially display an extra cursor in the upper left hand corner of the screen but any function usually removes it and it does no harm. All in all, the program functions exactly as advertised. It does not speed up graphics images although this may be included in future updates. I dislike desk accessories as many of you know but Turbo ST! has become a permanent resident on my hard drive. It works. Program upgrades are usually $10 however initial buyers, (prior to April 30th), get the first upgrade for $5. The Author, (Wayne Buckholtz), tried to make a self installing version of the program but couldn't get universal results on all machines. This is also one of the items that will be available as an upgrade to registered owners. Discounts are also offered to Users Groups and vary from 10-20% depending on the quantity ordered. I have been called personally by the author 3 times and he has been quite helpful in explaining future enhancements. Based on this and the performance of Turbo ST! in day to day use, I wholeheartedly recommend this program to all. Tom Hayslett SysOp, STarBase BBS 904-581-2866 _______________________________________ ST-REPORT Issue #29 April 4, 1988 (c)1988 SPC/Ron Kovacs _______________________________________