ST REPORT WEEKLY ONLINE MAGAZINE Monday, MAY 09, 1988 Vol I No. 34 ========== APEInc. P.O. BOX 74 Middlesex, N.J. 08846-0074 Publisher: Ron Kovacs Managing Editor Technical Editor T."Rex" Reade W. K. Whitton Headquarters Bulletin Boards ============================ ST Report North ST Report Central ST Report South 201-968-8148 216-784-0574 904-786-4176 CONTENTS ======== * Editor's Comments * FoReM V-2.2 Update * Contest Rules * GEnie AIR WARRIOR CONFERENCE * Apple against ? * The Drive Mysteries Unravel * EasieST RAM * SLM 804 BUGGY? * Word Starved * The Saga Continues * Visit with an Old Friend ====================================================================== Serving you on: Comp-u-serve - Delphi - GEnie ====================================================================== From the Editor's Desk.......... Over the past month I have watched the reader reaction to the various articles we have published and the one thing that stands out like a sore thumb is the only reaction we have seen is the messages about Issue # 27. The subsequent issues must not have been read by anyone! Here, at ST Report we try to bring to you the latest news and "rumors" FOR YOUR OPINIONS and THOUGHTS. How else are the powers to be in any area to know what you like or dislike about a planned product or upgrade if we don't hear from you? Our staff is dedicated to bring you ALL the facts and opinions that are current and available. Some you may or may not like, that is your right. Ever since # 27, we have put a simple policy in place, that is to be sure to tell just like it is, no sugar coatings, no fluff and we will present "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". I noticed on one service that it was represented that T.Rex Reade "made peace" with Word Perfect, well I am sure that Word Perfect will agree that Rex never made war with them but merely amplified on the original releases and that after having gone over the finer points of what actually occurred over that time period, both Rex and WP did in fact agree! Oh well, life goes on, currently, we are featuring articles about software, Atari Corp. and our Art Work Contest....We have some of the finest people in the Atari Circles as judges and feel that the winning submission will be a dilly! Be sure to get your work in before the deadline and most of all, HAVE FUN. ST Report sincerely hopes you enjoy reading our magazine and do encourage your participation....if you have an article you wrote, or care to have a letter published, just send it in....SEND ALL your opinions to any of the services or to either of our support BBSs and we will either publish them or reply to you and make sure you wish to have it published. Please stick to the issues as that's what directly effects us all. Let us know how you feel, The Editor ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ST-Report Official Contest Rules ================================ THE JUDGES LIST =============== Service Name -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CIS Ron Luks CIS Dan Rhea CIS Mike Schoenbach Delphi Clayton Walnum Delphi Charles Bachand Delphi Maurice Molineux GEnie (3) to be announced We are waiting for confirmation from Darlah, Sysop GEnie, and whomever else she cares to appoint from the Sysop list of GEnie's Atari area. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No purchase necessary. Deadline for consideration in this contest is midnight August 31, 1988. Winners will be annouced in ST-Report on September 12, 1988. We guarantee to award all prizes. All readers are eligible to enter except employees of APEInc., CompuServe, GEnie, Delphi and their immediate families. This contest void where prohibited or restricted by law. We are not responsible for lost, delayed or undelivered artwork. All submissions must be drawn with any Atari ST drawing program. All submissions must be drawn by the original artist. Copyrighted artwork will not be accepted. All submissions become the property of APEInc. All submissions must be uploaded to specified BBS systems by the deadline date. All systems have time and date stamping capability. Any entry dated after 8/31/88 will be void from the contest. ~~~~~~~ Artwork Requirements -------------------- All artwork considered for this contest must be drawn with any Atari ST drawing program. Any person submitting artwork must leave an address and telephone number, and drawing program used. Artwork must contain the following: ST-REPORT The winning entry will be used at a later date for a newsletter or magazine cover. All submissions become the property of APEInc. PRIZE LIST ---------- [1] - WORD PERFECT first place prize. [2] - TIMEWORKS DTP second place prize [3] - NEODESK third place prize All entries will be acknowledged More prizes will be announced as they are received by the participating Software Publishing Companies. We at ST Report request that you support the companies that are helping this Art Work Contest be a success. Where to Send ------------- All artwork may be uploaded to the following systems. More will be added during the contest. Syndicate BBS (201) 968-8148 Bounty ST BBS (904) 786-4176 Entries by mail are also permitted. PLEASE use a S/S, 3.5 ST Disk. You may send to: ST-Report Logo Contest Post Office Box 74 Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0074 (Please include your name, address and telephone number) Updates ------- This contest will update uploading areas every two weeks. Contest rules will not be changed, but judges may be added during the run of the contest. This contest commences May 2, 1988 and will end Midnight August 31, 1988. If you have any questions, Please leave email on the services at the following addresses: CompuServe: 71777,2140 GEnie : ST-REPORT : R.KOVACS DELPHI : RONKOVACS The Source: BDG793 Rules and Regulations 1). Use any full color program written exclusively for the ST to draw your own personal design of an ST-Report logo. 2). Artwork ported over from any other computer is void. 3). No X-rated artwork will be accepted. 4). Winners will be announced by mail, email, phone call or equivalent on or before September 12, 1988. 5). Judges decisions are final. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- A VIEW FROM ANOTHER ANGLE ========================= Apple Versus Whom? As most computer users are aware, Apple has initiated legal action against Microsoft (MS) and Hewlett-Packard (HP). The suit by Apple is brought against HP's New Wave interface manager and MS's Windows (Presentation Manager). Several market pundits have stated that the suit by Apple is really designed to stop IBM from developing a graphics interface capability similar to the MacIntosh. In other words, the suit concerns the "look and feel" of HP/MS software, not an issue of coding. A number of strategic business issues are related to this suit (aside from the potential impact upon Atari). A very interesting column explaining the situation is Jerry Pournelle's in InfoWorld on April 4, 1988. Additional insight was provided by a full page article in the Washington Post of April 10, 1988 (Outlook section, P. B3) written by Gary Hoffman and Geoffrey Karny, legal specialist. Some excerpts from this article follow - (Note, a patent traditionally protects designs and inventions while copyrights are granted to written material): "A patent may be viewed as a social contract. Society grants the inventor the right to exclude others from making, using or selling his invention for a limited period of time. In return, the patent must fully and publicly disclose the invention by describing it in sufficient detail to enable a 'person skilled in the art' to make and use it. In this way, society can immediately begin to build upon the new technical knowledge. Until 1981, patent protection for software inventions in the United States was relatively difficult to obtain. The Patent and Trademark Office approached computer software as a written expression of a mathematical algorithm, and hence adamantly opposed protection on the grounds that no one can have exclusive rights to mathematical functions. Copyright protection has been accorded to the program code of computer software for several years. But recently courts have had to confront the issue of whether that protection should cover not only the exact, literal expression of the program code but the idea behind it as well - the so-called "look and feel" of the software as perceived by the operator. An analogous case would be extending a fiction writer's rights beyond the written words to the plot and characters of his novel. The trend is clear: Because Congress has failed to enact a new body of law to adequately protect software technologies, courts have been obliged to fill the gap. And in doing so, some courts have expanded the scope of copyright protection beyond the original intent of Congress. If that protection is construed to cover the basic concepts of the sequence, structure and operation and not the expressed details of the program, then copyright passes into the realm of the protection of ideas - for which the patent laws have been devised. Such an extension could have a stifling effect on software innovation by effectively preventing developers from enhancing or modifying an overall program design once it was created. As courts deal with the troublesome cases now at issue, their decisions will have a dramatic impact on the future of America's software industry and its ability to compete in markets abroad." Naturally, HP and Microsoft state in their counter-suits the interface techniques are not copyrightable. From my readings, most industry analysts believe Apple's legal case is shaky. I agree. Apple must eventually find a graceful way out of this situation or risk possible damage to its corporate image. The circumstances of this case are not similar to DRI's (developer of Atari's GEM interface). HP, MS and IBM are corporations with considerable financial resources and will not shy away (or fold as did DRI) from a prolonged legal battle. With Apple targeting the business community, a prolonged legal encounter could steer large corporations away from purchasing the Mac. Thus, Apple loses in or out of court - it's their choice. Apple's legal action in the future may be regarded as a classic example of a corporation going to the well once to often. Apple Computers and the MacIntosh up to now have grown in acceptance (penetration of markets) not on myth, but substance. Their machine is easier to use than keypunching the IBM. Why else would firms develop similar graphic techniques? Apple should return to substance. How about the slogan " Why not purchase the real Mac-coy ?" The Blundering Giant?.....Not Hardly! Myth has it that IBM got where it is in the PC market because it just happened to have the right idea and right people at the right time. Oh, what a lucky corporation! This story has been carefully handed down for quite a few years and surprisingly many people believe it. DON'T, because it just ain't true! IBM is a calculating, highly competitive firm that got where it is today by smarts, not luck. IBM is ready to make another move and I am glad I don't own stock in a clone. Some examples: IBM has announced drastic price reductions on its PC models over the next 18 months that will drive some clones out of business. IBM has announced a flood of new products that will severely strain the financial resources of many of its competitors to keep up. IBM is reported to be buying DRAM chips while a portion of its production facilities remain idle. IBM is paying top price for the chips. As a result, fewer clones will be produced at higher prices. Some dealers are complaining they cannot meet the quotas set by IBM and their margins are very low. IBM's goal is to recapture market share. The most likely response by IBM will be to let the inefficient dealers fall by the wayside. This, my fellow users, is not myth, it is hardball. Capitalism is not dead. Pardon a play on words, but the only blue to be seen will be manufacturers pounded by IBM. Thanks to Computer Notes ....ED. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ easieST RAM Upgrade for the ST Computers ======================================== by T."Rex" Reade The AERCO ram board for the ST is a compact, plug-in memory expansion that can be configured in three progressively larger stages. Maximum versatility is provided for the user since memory can be expanded whenever needed or as the budget allows. The RAM board utilizes the latest state-of-the-art 1 megabit RAM chips in stages 2 and 3 to provide the maximum possible memory that can be addressed by the computer's logic. You can, of course, proceed to any stage at any time without any soldering or trace cutting on the mother board. The easieST board taps into the MMU and Video Shifter chips on the mother board. A small extender board fits between the chips and sockets. The RAM board has provisions for a total of thirty two ram chips. It is designed to be as dense as possible to enable proper fit under the RF shield while providing access to the processor and other chips. It can be completely removed by simply reversing the installation procedure. Stage 1 is the foundational setup and consists of sixteen 256k RAM chips for a total of one megabyte. This essentially makes the 520ST a 1040ST. Stage 2 requires the insertion of sixteen 1 megabit RAM chips in the front bank and the removal of the original 256k chips from the rear bank. No other rework is required on the ram board for this stage. The total memory will be increased to 2.5 MB. Stage 3 requires some minor rework to the ram board. The rear bank of sockets originally used for the 256k chips must be modified for 1 megabit chips. Some soldering and cutting on the RAM is needed to implement this stage since the 1 megabit RAM chips are not pin compatible with the 256k chips. The total system memory is increased to 4 megabytes. For more Info call: AERCO PO BOX 18093 Austin, Texas 78760 512-451-5874 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Word STarved ============ by Bob Rosendale Not everyone started out with ST computers. Even some with ST's didn't even start out with "Atari" computers. I have seen the "Atari" community starving for information. Of course, there are some periodicals for the ST computer, while other publications only hint about the ST, either a column or assorted small articles. Some of the more well known ones are "ST Quarterly", "STart", "ST X-press", "Atari Explorer", ST Log", "ST Report" that are aimed directly at the ST while "ANTIC", ANALOG, COMPUTE!", and "Computer Shopper" have either a column or several articles concerning the ST. There are several missing from the above lists. One I have heard of from way back in 1985 but only recently found it for purchase, "Current Notes". It is published by Current Notes, Inc., 122N Johnson Rd., Sterling, Virginia 22170 ($20 a year/$36 for 2 years). Current Notes is edited and published by Joe Waters. The copy I currently have in front of me is the March 1988 (1987 if you believe the cover page date [-grin-]). The editorial in this edition is superb and Joe needs to be commended for another fine piece of work. Desktop publishing is discussed, actually how CN has been put together over the last couple of years to its present form. Including the "trials and tribulations" of getting "WordPerfect" working with a MEGA and the laser printer, AND an example of a page done with "Publishing Partner" that took over 20 minutes to print out also using the laser printer. Want to know more about the reason for the problems?...... Finish reading the editorial. Another pleasant surprise in the March 1988 issue was the column entitled "IT'S A SMALL WORLD" a copyrighted article by Dave Small that is worth the $3.00 cover price of CN just to read. Before I got carried away talking about "Current Notes", I mentioned there were several other sources of noteworthy reading, have you guessed where this is leading? User group newsletters! For every user group there is one kind or another newsletter, from minutes of the previous meeting, to feature articles or reprints included from other newsletters. Not every user group prints out their newsletter but adds it to their monthly disk. User Group newsletter publishers should start tapping the membership as a resource for article submissions and see how much you will learn about your membership when the quality and content can be pointed at with a member's pride of accomplishment. If you are a member of a user group that has not started a newsletter go ahead and start one. Remember that review of a piece of software/hardware that you didn't agree with? Did you find a correction or a better solution? I mentioned at the beginning that not everyone started with an ST and the new user is starved for information about his or her new computer and newsletters are a great resource in obtaining information, besides, reading is FUNdamental. As you may well have noticed, the above paragraphs were written over a month ago. When I first showed the article to several fellow ST owners they said "But every user group has a newsletter." I have spent the last several weeks trying to convince them I was correct. I was able to finally give them a 2 word reply: "Wanna bet?" So what did I do for research? I went to my user group and asked to see a show of hands of members who have had their ST for less than a year. I then asked those who had raised their hands to write down on a piece of paper as many publications that they knew of that "covered" the ST computer. Of the 5 people who participated here are the results: Person 1: (ST owner 3 months, no prior experience) Compute! (Not a subscriber) Person 2: (ST owner 5 months, had an Atari 800XL 2 years) ANTIC (reads a friends copy) ANALOG (subscription STOPPED) Person 3: (ST owner 1 month, C-64 owner 2 years) Only the ST-JAUG newsletter (disk) he received the night he joined and didn't know how to unarc files. (ARC.TTP is now on our new user disk.) Person 4: (ST owner 9 months, 130XE owner 1 year) (The only one of the 5 with a modem) Computer Shopper ST Report (on a local BBS) ANTIC ST Quarterly Person 5: (Wife of Person 2) Saw an ad for ATARI on TV a long time ago, and her husband "hogs" the copy of ANTIC. I then read my article to the user group and displayed several copies of the different publications. Since then, with our weekly meetings being attended by 25 to 30 people REGULARLY, I thought I was going to have to search each person to make sure they weren't sneaking out with my mags (grin). The first question I was asked was "Do you have any more at home that you can bring in next week?" Last week I brought to the meeting 2 early issues of ANTIC and ANALOG and had those that were interest browse through them and tell what some of the prices were of some of the early Atari computers and drives and commercial programs. I can still hear the noise of several jaws hitting the floor! :-) ************************************************************************* IMPORTANT NOTICE! ----------------- As a reader of ST Report Magazine, you are entitled to take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. For only $29.95 ($20 off the standard membership price!), you will receive a lifetime subscription to DELPHI, a copy of the 500-page "DELPHI: The Official Guide," and a credit equal to one free evening hour at standard connect rates. Signing up with DELPHI ---------------------- Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access DELPHI services via a local phone call. Join--- DELPHI -------------- 1. Dial 617-576-0862 with any terminal or PC and modem (at 2400 bps, dial 576-2981). 2. At the Username prompt, type JOINDELPHI. 3. At the Password prompt enter STREPORT. For more information, call DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005, or at 617-491-3393 from within Massachusetts or from outside the U.S. DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Massachusetts. ************************************************************************** GOOD NEWS! ========== by T."Rex" Reade For the Super Forem BBS System Operators....... COMNET SYSTEMS of Framingham, Maryland has just released VERSION 2.2 of the now very famous FoReM ST BBS. Additional Changes/Enhancement to FoReM PC/ST Version 2.2 MESSAGE EDITOR FoReM will automatically select the storage requirements for a message based on its length. A message less than 21 lines is stored in the message data file, other wise it is stored as a file. The user no longer has to select between "standard" and "extended" messages. US ROBOTICS HST modem usage FoReM now supports the fixed link mode of the HST modem. This will allow the bbs to always talk to the modem at 19200 bps. This works with all PC compatible and Atari ST machines running with the new "Mega ST" tos roms. To use this mode, use any terminal program to write the following settings into the HST modem's nram. AT &H1 &I0 &B1 &R2 &W You should be talking to the modem at 19200 when doing this. Then, edit the FoReM.OPT file and change the default baud rate number to the word HST. NEW MESSAGE SEARCH OPTION Message may now be searched by date. Using the message [L]ocate command, you may now select to read messages entered after a given date. NEW OPTIONAL TEXT FILES Upon entering a file area, the file "SUBDIR".TXT is displayed where SUBDIR is the name of the file area. Example: if the directory is \forem\games, the file \forem\games.txt (\forem\txt\games.txt) will be displayed. DATNOTE.TXT is a DATED NOTICE file. If the file time stamp is later than the callers last logon date, this then this file is displayed after notice.txt and before the general bulletins. MESAGEX.TXT (ie: mesage1.txt, mesage2.txt) is an optional text file displayed upon entering a message base. SYSPAS.TXT may be sent before the system password. GETPHONE.TXT may be sent before the request for phone number. FILE SYSTEM CHANGES The file FTYPES.LST is now optional. If not there, the file application in a verbose list will be blank. (And no application will be asked for on an upload) Listing of NEW files is now done by the last time any file area was accessed instead of the last call date. UPLOAD CHANGES The prompt about upload size is only displayed when there is less than 500K bytes free. The prompt about Ascii or Binary uploads is only displayed if the file extender is not recognised. BATCH TRANSFER CHANGES Command R from the FILES CMD> prompt may be used to remove a file from the BATCH ARCDL CHANGES FoReM may now add a non ARC'ed file to ARCDL. This requires that ARC.TTP (ST) or ARC.EXE (PC) be "findable" by the system and that you have enough ram to run ARC. A option has been added to the ARCDL tools to remove a file from the ARCDL archive. NEW FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOLS Zmodem protocol. The new standard for fast error free file transfers. I tested it at 2400bps and it sent 224 chars a second; which is 93% efficient. Ymodem G. This is yet another X/Y modem variant meant for error correcting modems. Ymodem G does no ACK/NAK. UPLOAD/DOWNLOAD RATIO The upload download ratio is now set for each individual user via the # command from the password editor. UPLOAD/DOWNLOAD COUNTERS You may now edit a users count of uploaded and download files using the < and > commands from the password editor. FNET CHANGES Entries in FNETNODE.DAT may have an access level for the node at column 75 (starting at 0). The user has an associated fnet access level (0-255) set with command I at the pw> prompt. Privilege 27 has be added to restrict sending of FMAIL through FNET. SYSTEM LOGON REQUEST F8 when hit while a user is online will toggle reserving the bbs for a console logon when the current caller logs off. The BBS will bring the modem offhook for 15 minutes. USER LOGON REQUEST From the sysop prompt, the R command will ask for a users name. Only this user will be allowed to log on, until it is cancelled by entering R again or pressing the F8 key. MULTIPLE DOORS MENUS For multiple doors files: Edit a file DOORMENU.TXT. This is just like dbsel.txt as in: 1) Games 2) Quizzes 3) Music Then for each type, generate a "fdoorsX.dat file" So all games would be in FDOORS1.DAT DOORINFO.DEF FoReM 2.2 supports the new standard for passing information to Doors programs. A new line has been added to FOREM.OPT just after the via message base line. On this line, should be the full path name to where doors programs reside. In this directory, FoReM will write DORINFO1.DEF . This file is defined as: 1 BBS NAME 2 SYSOP'S FIRST NAME 3 SYSOP'S LAST NAME 4 COMPORT COM1 COM2 NO COLON 5 1200,PAR,DATABIT,STOPBIT 1200,E,8,1 6 NETWORKING 0 7 USER'S FIRST NAME 8 USER'S LAST NAME 9 CITY STATE 10 GRAPHICS ON OFF FOR ANSI ONLY 0 or 1 11 SECURITY LEVEL OF USER 12 TIME LEFT IN MINUTES BAUD RATE LOCKOUT FoReM 2.0 let you not allow 300 baud users to log on. In 2.2, this has been expanded to all baud rates. In FOREM.OPT, where previously an "ON or OFF" value was entered to turn on the 300 baud lockout, now, you may enter the minimum baud rate to allow on your system. LOGOFF BATCH FILE LOGOFF.BAT is a command file which works just like the documented FMAINT.BAT file except that it is executed after each user logs off. MONTHLY BATCH FILE MONTHLY.BAT is a command file just like LOGOFF.BAT which is executed at MIDNIGHT on the first of each month JUST BEFORE accounting is done. This might be used, for example, to run program to read the password file and print bills. DAILY BATCH FILE DAILY.BAT is a command file just like LOGOFF.BAT which is executed at MIDNIGHT. PASSWORD APPLICATION CHANGES The password application has been rewritten. The user is no longer asked to verify each input, but will be given the chance to edit his input before it is saved. NUMBER OF DRIVES ALLOWED FoReM will now support up to 16 partitions/drives. Sysgen will still only allow 8. DATA BASE CHANGES FoReM 2.1 allows user to use file transfer protocols for the sending of data base files. USR bit # 11 controls if this is on or off for each user. The user may change this with command T from within any data base. If you have more than 1 data base, FoReM will display a menu of them when entering the database area via the D command from the main menu. Other misc changes: Existing extended messages up to 200 lines long may now be edited. The lock/unlock status of a message may be changed by using the I command at the end of reading the message. This requires privilege # 28. The date of an FMAIL message may be updated by the U command after reading the message. This is useful if an fmail message you send is about to expire and you want to give the user more days in which to log on and get his file. The use of doors may now be restricted by time. The file CONTIME.DAT which for version 2.1 had two entries per line, now has 3 entries per line. Each line of this file now contains: time_percentage access level door access level Ex: 50 6 10 If this were the first line in CONTIME.DAT, then between 12 midnight and 12:30 am, only those users with access level 6 and above would be allowed on the system. Of those users, only those with level 10 and above would be able to run doors. Additionally, anyone let on the system would only be granted 50% of their normal access time. TEXT PAGING The paging option has been improved. When a user first logs on or via the * command from the main FoReM> prompt, he may elect to turn on text paging and set the number of lines at which to page. Paging will only occur for text files and for messages. On a console logon, the number of lines will always be 17 unless the no local window option is used. FoReM PC Version Enhancements ============================= Running FoReM PC under Quaterdeck's DESQview: FoReM PC version 2.2 dated 4/7/88 or later can take advantage of DESQview 2.01 or later using EEMS or LIM version 4.0 memory to 1) Run FoReM PC in the background 2) Give full memory space to "Doors" programs You must "install" under DESQview both FOREMPC.EXE and RUN_DOOR.EXE. When running DESQview, FOREM will execute RUN_DOOR.EXE telling it what door to run. FoReM will then suspend and wait for RUN_DOOR to notify it that it is done. What to do: Install FOREMPC.EXE under DESQVIEW, setting the following parameters Memory size: At least 384K Does not write directly to the screen Does not display graphics Can be swapped: If not using expanded ram, enter Y, otherwise it is better to enter no. Does not require floppy disk Install RUN_DOOR.EXE into DESQview. SET THE "KEYS TO USE TO OPEN MENU" to RD. Memory size at least big enough to run your largest DOOR plus 50K. CANNOT be swapped. Make sure the path default directory are correct. RUN_DOOR should reside in the default directory FoReM is run from. Exit DESQview. The DESQview directory, there is a file named rd-pif.dvp. Copy this file to the directory FoReM is run from. That's all there is to it! The new version of this fine BBS program now has additional transfer protocols and a host of excellent new features written into the program. For more Info: [617] - 877 - 0257 COMNET SYSTEMS 50 Eaton Road Framingham, MA. 01701 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Genie Conference with Kesmai....Creators of AIR WARRIOR ======================================================== by Bob Rosendale <[Neil] NHARRIS> Welcome to a special formal conference on the GEnie Atari ST <[John] KESMAI> well, I don't have a prepared speech BUT <[Neil] NHARRIS> roundtable. Our guest tonight is John Taylor of Kesmai <[Neil] NHARRIS> who is going to talk over my intro <[Neil] NHARRIS> Kesmai has been creating multiplayer online games for some time now, including other GEnie games like Stellar Emperor and Stellar Warrior. Their latest game, Air Warrior, uses the graphics of your computer to provide a realistic simulation of aircraft combat. Now John can get to his speech. John? <[John] KESMAI> blush <[John] KESMAI> i'll get the hang of this sooner or later. Ok, first a bit of history we founded Kesmai in 82 in order to start developing large scale multi-player games. We were of course dealing with the C-service then and that is where we encountered Bill Louden. Anyway since then we have developed several product some of which are here on GEnie. All share a common theme of being simulations as opposed to true games. Air Warrior got it's start MANY years ago when kelton was an was an undergraduate. It ran on an HP2100 computer and used cursor control graphics (yuk). The idea of doing a REAL multi-player flight simulation has been on out minds for quite a while but it was not until machines with the power of the ST came around that it was really possible. (1200 baud modems helped also) ....... <[John] KESMAI> should I give a summary of game or take questions? <[Neil] NHARRIS> Well... <[Neil] NHARRIS> Let me interject first that Bill Louden is general manager of GEnie, and had been a manager at CIS in charge of SIGs and multi-player games. Why not give us a quick game summary now and then we'll open the floor to questions. <[John] KESMAI> ok <[John] KESMAI> The basic premise of the simulation is that you are a member of a small third world country which is at war with it's two neighbors. They have enough bucks to fight but not enough to buy modern jets... SO They use war surplus planes. <[John] KESMAI> The ST program functions as a flight simulator and handles all the graphics and flight equations. The HOST program takes the data, checks it for validity and then parcels it out to the people within your sight. In addition it handles all combat resolution, your micro tells the host that it THINKS it hit something and the HOST makes the determination. The front end software is also available for the Mac, Amiga and someday the IBM clone world. (enough background?) <[Neil] NHARRIS> Sure. And interesting stuff. Let's start taking questions from the floor. Use /RAI to get in line to ask a question. <[Neil] NHARRIS> Martin, go <[Martin] M.MENDELSON> Sorry, I was moving some stuff and bumped the board> <[Dan.Reif] D.REIFSNYDER> John.. how long did it take to write this (no reflection on your typing )? <[John] KESMAI> yo martin? <[John] KESMAI> about 2.5 years, the ST port took about 6 months <[Neil] NHARRIS> (Sent by 12) you will go up next <[Neil] NHARRIS> In C, right? <[John] KESMAI> yep, it has a little asm code to speed things up <[Neil] NHARRIS> How about on them GEnie end? <[John] KESMAI> Mark Williams C (good stuff) <[John] KESMAI> it is also C on the GEnie end (not so good) <[Neil] NHARRIS> <[John] KESMAI> grin <[Bob] R.ROSENDALE1> I have found the files but what files are needed (I saw so many new Picture files. <[John] KESMAI> STARTER.ARC will get you up and running <(John] KESMAI> look in the ST section of the AIR WARRIOR lib <[Bob] R.ROSENDALE1> I have that but are all the others for different versions? <[John] KESMAI> did you select the Atari ST section before you looked? <[Bob] R.ROSENDALE1> I guess variations would be a better word....Yes. I saw about 20+ files for the St besides the STARTUP.ARC file <[John] KESMAI> there are a LOT of optional data files for art and sound In addition, the STARTER.ARC is also broken into 2 files AIRWAR.ARC and AWDATA.ARC for those people that prefer to download 2 smaller files instead of one big one <[Neil] NHARRIS> [Bob] R.ROSENDALE1, you are listen-only. <[Neil] NHARRIS> OK, ROAD.STAR is next JOHN Any chance that the MICRO-FLITE joystick set-up will work <[John] KESMAI> yes, we were told that it already does. We plan to buy one sooner or later to see if there are any problems <[John] KESMAI> ST-USER says it worked It seems it would be a lot It better Thanks <[Neil] NHARRIS> Craig? <[Rowdy Yates] CRAIG.S.THOM> In the WWI theatre, does the Camel torque hard to one side? If not, is this level of realism possible? <[John] KESMAI> yes it torques some but since we do not really want to <[John] KESMAI> make the planes that tricky to fly we do not make it a large effect. <[Rowdy Yates] CRAIG.S.THOM> To which side? <[John] KESMAI> (right side we think) <[Neil] NHARRIS> OK, Dan? <[Dan @ Atari] DANSCOTT> What are the future plans for Air Warrior on the ST computers? <[John] KESMAI> finish color version... split screen radio room is done, visible tracers remap-able keys, blitter speed ups, 3dglasses support (grin) <[Neil] NHARRIS> 3d glasses support? you mean my stereotek glasses will <[John] KESMAI> then the B&W version, then tanks, ships and other good things. <[Neil] NHARRIS> be good for something? <[John] KESMAI> maybe (grin) I realize your bread and butter is online time, but is there <[Neil] NHARRIS> The line is short if people want to ask questions any chance of drones or something to make practice mode more fun and/or give more practice? Being able to practice the gunner positions would be nice, too. <[John] KESMAI> only if we produce a distributed (i.e. sold) version. No real plans at this point. We would rather spend the time/memory on fun in flight things. Is the host software really bound to mainframes, or can it run on a micro? Consider the Mac II... Or other 68030 machines ... :-) <[John] KESMAI> it runs on our MicroVAX and would run on just about any UNIX platform. grin Thanks. Neil, next question.. <[Neil] NHARRIS> John, tell us about the practice mode, please. <[John] KESMAI> the practice mode is intended to allow people to learn how to fly and land the planes without spending big bucks. All the terrain is available but there are no targets or bombs. Once a player has mastered flying and landing then they log on for combat. <[Neil] NHARRIS> Are people free to pass around copies of the program, put them on BBS's, etc.? <[John] KESMAI>free BBS are ok, passing it around (for free) is also ok. This is true as long as the program is not modified in any way. <[Neil] NHARRIS> OK, Jeff How easy/difficult is it to learn Air Warrior? How many controls are there for the play to master? And where did the name KESMAI come from? <[John] KESMAI> it is not really all that hard to fly. Landing is a little difficult. The hard part is combat, some of the players are active duty combat pilots. The name was randomly generated by our fantasy game. We need a name for the Island that the game was set on. We liked the name and made it our company name. Thank you, John! <[Martin] M.MENDELSON> John, Is Flight SimulatorII a viable substitute to learn flying and then using <[Martin] M.MENDELSON> that experience to use Air Warrior. <[John] KESMAI> we have been told by good FS II players that Air Warrior is easy to switch to. Why would you ever want to use FSII anyway . <[Martin] M.MENDELSON> Thanx! That will make it easy for me then. <[ST User] P.R.SKLENAR> Sorry, I came in late. How many people here play AW now? <[John] KESMAI> i dunno <[ST User] P.R.SKLENAR> well, I see we have 1 of the Creators. As a player, I have to say AW is easily the BEST flight Sim! <[John] KESMAI> thanx <[ST User] P.R.SKLENAR>it Beat FSII by a country mile and then some. That's all. <[Rowdy Yates] CRAIG.S.THOM> I was late getting here, so this may be a repeat. How soon, realistically, can we hope to see lighter-than-air... <[John] KESMAI> we have really pushed hard on the realism <[Rowdy Yates] CRAIG.S.THOM> craft in the WWI theatre? And, how about putting some drones in there? Gets lonely... <[John] KESMAI> well not real soon on the l-t-a but it is something we want to do I will see about a drone or two. (a drone blimp maybe) <[Rowdy Yates] CRAIG.S.THOM> Really? That would be great! <[Dan.Reif] D.REIFSNYDER> I haven't played yet, but how about an option to 'personalize' your plane with D.REIFSNYDER> customized graphics? <[John] KESMAI> you can already do that if you are artistically inclined <[Dan.Reif] D.REIFSNYDER> Ohhh <[John] KESMAI> (it was a good question) <[Dan.Reif] D.REIFSNYDER> Is the software available from GEnie other than downloading? Nope, only download at this point. <[Neil] NHARRIS> Road.star? If not drones in practice how about targets in the hills I want to see something blow up besides me. <[John] KESMAI> a few goats and sheep to shoot at? anything I lose all the time Thanx <[John] KESMAI> we really don't have plans to expand practice mode at this time. <[Neil] NHARRIS> OK folks, that's the whole line of questioners now. I will open up the room for more, so stay around. John, thanks very much for joining us tonight, and also for a unique gaming experience! Any closing remarks before I unleash everyone? <[John] KESMAI> thanx for the opportunity to talk tonight ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE DISK DRIVE MYSTERIES UNRAVEL! ================================= by W.K. Whitton In last week's edition of the ST-Report you might remember Rex Reade's article that sought to bring to light some of the serious shortcomings of Atari. Due to our personal concern for the Atari user, it is an article which is rather strong in its flavor, but pointed in its purpose. As a furthering of this topic, I am releasing this particular hardware project. In our travels we have discovered a bevy of people complaining about a particular problem with their ST 3 1/2 inch disk drives. Most users of the St have discovered a pleasant feature of TOS, which, when one inserts a new disk in their drive, and hits the "Esc" key, provides you with the directory of the new disk without having to close and reopen the directory window. What often happens is that over a period of time, something occurs and you no longer get the directory of the newly inserted disk when you hit "Esc", but rather that of the disk which was in the drive when you booted the system. That can make for some tricky file copies for sure! The problem gets worse when a user tries to get this defect repaired. Atari does NOT know what the problem is, as revealed last week and in my own conversations with them, and they proceed to tell the poor user that he must take it to his authorized service center for repair. Seems almost anything must be taken to the authorized service center for repair, and Atari has time and time again demonstrated their UNWILLINGNESS to help in this and other areas. (fortunately, some minor things are improving, and one can only hope this is a sign of "good" things to come!) From my understanding, users most often purchase Atari computer equipment due to the fact that of the power "under the hood" this was the MOST cost effective equipment one could purchase. I believe part of the "great pricing" should be Atari's cooperation whereby it not only starts out inexpensive, but stays that way due to repair information assistance! Then, after getting the rephrased "tough luck Pal!" from Atari, we then receive pleas of assistance from people across the nation, that have taken their sick St to an "Authorized Center", and the dealer doesn't know enough about the machine to even realize this feature even exists, let alone cure the disappearance of the feature. And who do they call for repair info? You got it.................! The Company that doesn't know what the problem is! When I called Atari for help in this matter, making it plain I wanted this information solely to pass on to the readers of the ST-Report, they hemmed and hawed at how they don't encourage the users to dig into their machine.(their machine?) Comfy attitude isn't it when you have a warehouse of replacement parts sitting out back isn't it? Well....finally they were able to tell me software-wise what the ST was looking for when you hit the "Esc" key, and I was able to take it from there. For that piece of information, I wish to thank John Towns of Atari. The fact remains though, that with the number of St's out there, it's more than little bit disturbing that they do not know more about their hardware. True, a minimum of 4 different drive mechanisms were contracted for, and not actually built by Atari, but I feel they should, and hopefully after reading this, WILL be more familiar with them. A few last notes before we proceed...please keep in mind that normally, until now, the only cure for this problem was replacement of the disk drive, and in a 1040ST, the minimum this would cost would be $150, usually more. It is with a warm heart then I write on, knowing someone, somewhere is going to SAVE A LOT OF MONEY, and that thrills me to no end...so, read on my friends... This has been tested and verified on the following 3 1/2 disk drive units: Chinon Model 353AT S/S Chinon Model F-354-C D/S CHINON 354AA REV A IS HOPELESS, SEND IT BACK FOR EXCHANGE! Panasonic Model JU-363-03 Epson (all models) Toshiba (all known models) Teac (all known models) Mitsubishi (Panasonic) Fujitsu (all known models) If you are using an external Atari drive, as the SF-314 or the SF-354, or most other generic 3 1/2 drives follow these procedures. If you are fortunate enough to own a 1040ST, a 520 with an internal drive, or a Mega ST, you must first remove the entire drive assembly from the computer. PLEASE be careful, the power supply in the 1040ST, and the 520FM has voltage levels that could cause you to literally jump through the roof. Please make sure the power is off, and might I remind you, you do this entirely at your OWN risk. You must remove the top of the computer, and then the shielding from the computer. Take out the 3 screws holding the drive mechanism in, and unplug the two cables attached to it. Now, you may skip to the appropriate step below and proceed. A.___ Turn the drive over on its top, and remove the four Phillips screws from the outer edges of the casing. Take the top off, and set it and the screws aside. B.___ Remove the "inner" four screws and the drive mechanism will now be able to easily be removed. Unplug the PC board carefully, and set it and the bottom in a safe place. C.___ Remove the sheet metal shielding from the drive by gently prying outward on the metal tabs at the back of the drive. Set this aside. D.___ Remove the front panel from the drive mechanism itself. To do this, as you look directly down at the top of the mechanism as it sits on your bench, you will see two screws, spaced approximately an inch and a half apart. Remove these and set them aside, along with the face plate you just removed. E.___ In the FRONT left corner of the drive, right next to the BUSY LED, is the Write Protect Switch, herein referred to as the "WPS"...saves paper! Grab a disk. If the WPS is working properly, when you insert the disk, you will see the disk physically move the little tab which is extending upward from the WPS assembly, and it will pull the part of the switch that contains a small magnet away from the WPS (usually enclosed in a small glass tube-like enclosure). As it moves the switch away, if its quiet enough, you will hear a small "Ping!" and the contacts within the switch move. THE most common cause of this assembly not working properly is (if you haven't discovered it by now) the small spring which is supposed to pull the WPS assembly back into position. If this action does not take place, the drive is basically telling the computer that there was NO disk change, and therefore you get the same directory. (Usually this spring is either broken or bent as to cause it to loose its needed tension.) The recent release of Mega's in their first month or so had a flurry of this type problem, and you can imagine the unhappy owners! (All $2700 worth for a Mega4 w/ SC1224!) E.___ Remove the small phillips screw holding the assembly in place, (It may also be glued, gently break the glue seal, and be sure to reglue it when you finish.) If the spring seems to have lost its tension, gently reshape it. If it is broken, you must then replace it. And now we come to the catch. So far, I have NOT been able to locate a source for this spring, and hopefully this will change in the near future, but I wouldn't count on it. What I have been using to replace this spring has been springs salvaged from cassette recorder mechanisms. If any of you manage to find a place to purchase these springs from, PLEASE let me know on Genie, CIS, or Delphi, and I will make that information available to the users! Assuming you have procured a replacement spring, pull the small metal rod out of the assembly, take the old spring off, and pop the new one on! If the replacement spring you obtain has physically longer legs than the original, please trim it back as the dimensions of the leg of the spring which will point towards the front of the drive is relatively critical! F.___ Now the fun, reassembly! Put it all back together in reverse order, and you should be in business. If you did all this correctly, and when the switch moves you hear the tell-tale "Ping!", and you still don't get the new directory, then my friend, you DO need a new drive! I might also add, that one of the things I run into in the repair business is the folks that seem to be under the impression that there is a one-to-one relationship between problem and cure. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as one problem usually has a multitude of things which can cause the same symptom. So please, don't assume that this is a "cure-all", as it was not written with that end in mind. It DOES though, appear to be, from my meager experience, the MOST COMMON cause of this problem, so there is a very good chance this will alleviate your "no new directory" problem. Lastly, if you have a Shugart Model 350 mechanism, due to the GREAT design of this particular assembly, you probably will NEVER have this problem! The designers of this little gem elected to use a microswitch in this application, and it appears extremely unlikely the owners of these will suffer the problems that owners of the other mechanisms are subject to. If by chance you do have a problem, due to the custom nature of this switch, you will most assuredly need to order it from the manufacturer! Keep those St's humming! W.K. Whitton ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ATARI SLM804 BUGGY? =================== by T."Rex" Reade Not trying to be negative toward Atari all the time is rather difficult when we find information arriving in "Brown manilla envelopes" with a letter explaining why it was sent to us and a few other publications. Below is a list presented for your examination, please look it over carefully and if you have any questions or solutions please send them in and we will be happy to foward them to the proper parties. [A] Loading any desk accessory or tsr that picks up trap #13 vector will cause the Diablo Emulator to be lost. It must then be reloaded (along with its fonts). This can be duplicated with ST Informer's RAM disk / spooler, DeskCart! Spooler, Turbo ST, and WP_spool, it looks like every spooler would have the same problem. [B] The SLM804 laser uses microspacing to set proportional spacing character widths and space. In microspacing the printer controls the width of the character and its position. The only thing the software needs to know is how far the print head actually moves. This is the preferred method because it is faster, cleaner and less likely to have unevenly or incorrectly positioned characters. The problem that arises is in the fact that a Diablo is an HMI controlled printer where the width of each character is set before the character is sent and has no provisions for controlling the printer on its level. Therefore, it is difficult to get properly spaced text. [C] The SLM804 prints in 1/300 inch increments but, the Diablo uses 1/120 inch increments. This causes frequent round off errors. In cases like WordPerfect and other high quality programs, where the program is capable of printing in 1/300 inch, you must measure characters to 1/300 inch, convert them to 1/120 for the Diablo, (which causes round off errors), send them to the Diablo, which takes the 1/120 inch character width, converts it to 1/300 inch (which causes round off errors) then prints. On a multi column document with few characters per column this can look completely unacceptable. WHY? [D] The buffer in the SLM804 DRIVER is only 38K bytes.!! This was done to make it fit on a 520 ST. A laser printer however needs more RAM because it must image an entire page at a time. Most Laser printers have 512K RAM minimum and occasionally, that is insufficient. Although you can access the additional RAM of the 1040 or Mega by sending a pointer to a graphic image in RAM, (completely non standard), this is not the method used by most applications that were written to use the 500 or so other printers in already in existence. AGAIN, WHY? [E] If more than 38K is sent to the Diablo emulator before a form feed is encountered the incoming data will begin to CORRUPT the Diablo emulator code. If it doesn't get confused and quit taking characters it will eventually bomb...... In any case, you are WIPED out!. [F] HP, Quadram, Cannon, Texas Instruments, Apple Laserwriter and many other laser printers will print the page as it is imaged,(progressively), as their buffers fill rather than overwrite there own control code. The lack of error checking in the diablo emulator makes it easy to send enough data to trash the emulator itself and ultimately cause a system crash...... GOOD THINKING! [G] There is no provision to move the print head by x/300 inch in microspaced units (the actual amount used by the printer). Being able to move in these small increments with out actually printing would enable very fine micro-justification. Instead, it is necessary to set the HMI value to 1/120 inch, send a space, then reset the width to that of the next character, then send the character. Unfortunately this can make up to 65K per printed page and would then overflow the SLM804 buffer which would definitely crash the computer thus rendering the entire effort as useless. .....AH YES, PROGRESS! --------------------------------------------------------------------- .......and the SAGA continues ============================= by T."Rex" Reade There comes a time when the observations of this reporter become so varied on a particular subject matter that the issue suddenly becomes ISSUES, a multitude of situations, a virtual comedy of errors! Such is the case of the "new" Atari Laser Printer.....You say, what do I mean? Well, Let's take a look and see, Right off the bat I see a file provided with the machine that is a desk accessory, Diablo.???, seems it trashes any other accessory files loaded. Atari's answer to the programmer's question of WHY?... "Your accessory spooler or ram disk or whatever is not done correctly and therefore clashes with ours." Now that's sad, you mean to tell me, that all the programmers out there are idiots and Atari's are the only ones who know what is happening? NOT LIKELY! Probably more like the Atari programmers are too pompous and self congratulatory to recognize a problem in it's early stages and correct it to everyone's professional satisfaction. I am trying to avoid getting technical with the problem descriptions however, in some areas detail is needed to convince those who would deny that these things are happening because they haven't experienced it themselves. How about some home work for the readers? Do a little research and find out what really comprises a GOOD laser printer....ie [1] On Board Memory 1mb+ [2] Quality Interfacing [3] Built in fonts [4] Ultra Compatibility These factors certainly would establish a laser as quality. Where is Atari coming from saying, the laser THEY sell is the very latest in technology and refinements......THAT is a JOKE and it's mostly on the Atari Userbase! For example, ALL the owners of regular 520 machines are out in the cold completely unless of course they add memory and lots of it to their machines (planned obsolescence?).....same goes for 1040ST owners. Those same owners can use "other" brand name laser printers and not face the same nonsense. Now we ask, Who designed this? Who approved this notion? Why wasn't the design made compatible with ALL Atari ST machines? Something is definitely lacking at Atari, perhaps it's the foresight needed by the "think tank" (if such a thing exists) to consider all the options and not discount the full userbase. My guess is that the character who planned this "beast" said "the 520/1040ST owners would never spend the money for a laser". Here's another thought, "Perhaps if we make it for the MEGA only, then the sheep will HAVE to get one to be able to use a Laser printer. This may help our overall sales". Folks, this type of thinking is totally offensive to this Reporter and I am sure to you too... Letter campaigns you say? File thirteen dept.,...Studies have shown that this type of action, except for Govt. and Political Races, are for the most part, ineffective in trying to reach some large corporation. It is like trying to pull hen's teeth. Please, if you are so inclined, do go ahead and flood Atari with letters offering your advice and help. Let all of us know about how well your letter was received and what type of a response you received. It has been stated that those who are so vociferous about Atari are really very much concerned about the future of the ST and Atari...count ME among those who ARE. These folks do not sell off their Atari Equipment and purchase "the other" brand, instead, they raise a fuss with Atari and hang tough. We all know how many in users have gone to "other" computers out of sheer exasperation and dire frustration. I blame Atari for that and will find it hard to forgive them for not keeping the userbase humming along with refinements and support that is in tune with the needs of all parties concerned, ESPECIALLY the third party Programmers and Developers who are making things happen. I see all kinds of excuses, ie.."We have agreements signed", Who signed it? and WHY? Sure, you need to make agreements with other Developers and such but where in heaven's name is your legal department?? They should have had enough experience to make sure you didn't sign yourselves into a DEAD END! If a developer wants an IRON CLAD contract that will hamper the progress in a given area, LET THE USERBASE KNOW!.... I don't care who it is, this reporter believes that any entity in the public eye cringes at adversity and bad press. This reporter realizes that the bottom line is profit, make no mistake about that! However, if needed, increase the retail prices to justify the fair compensation of developers and programmers OUTSIDE of Atari. They are willing and very able to produce the correct software for the ST line. At least they will not be in the sorry position of worrying about internal corporate politics. GDOS (GDOZE) is a perfect example, the current version in use is a constant source of grief to not only you, but also, the Developers and Users. We are HEARING about a new version, (FROM GERMANY) . Can we expect the same joyride or, is it really on the way for the entire Atari Userbase......or are we looking at a POSSIBLE improvement some 6 months down the road? It has been duly noted that a spokesperson for Atari found it necessary to pass judgement on a recent software release, so recent it has been out only a matter of weeks. To me, this adds fuel to the fire already raging! A bit of good advice, (clean up your own house first!) Next week, a few "GEMS" about why a good percentage of the small business dealerships have NO Atari on the shelves and have no plans at this time to do so. Also, why many of the current Dealers are slowly moving away from Atari.... Reader comments welcome....this article may be reprinted in it's original form and content only ...(c)TRR APEInc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ VISITING AN OLD FRIEND ====================== by T."Rex" Reade How nice it is to be able to say, "That is really a very good program", it seems lately though all we see is gripes about how a program, "ain't what I want or expected", well, this past week I visited an old friend called INTERLINK VERSION 1.80. After spending some time re-acquainting ourselves with each other, Interlink and I began to have some real fun. Here is a terminal program that is truly contemporary and fast. It obeys the VT-52 codes like a fine soldier, marches in step with all the protocols and even makes the disk entries for you when you are downloading a file. Oh, we hear," well it don't see Vidtex"....How many folks call out with a modem just to look at pictures?....They are after data of all sorts. It would be nice to see that feature included some time in the future. For now, the automated log-on (8 lines) is without a doubt very easy and failsafe to use. The impressive lineup of protocols are simply outstanding and the capture buffer/editor works like a charm. Multi-tasking is pure magic, right? Multixy.txf is a background downloading protocol for Interlink ST. It must be loaded into the (???) button in the File Transfer window and the desk accessory ILNMULTI.ACC must have been loaded from your boot disk or drive. It allows background downloading and uploading allowing you to edit your buffer, perform disk commands and execute other programs from within Interlink using the Execute Program option contained in Interlink. This version of Multixy.txf will allow background downloading while running Interlink or executing a GEM Menu Based Program from within Interlink. It has been tested with First Word, TEMPEST, Wordwriter, Superbase, MCS (for composition and editing, does not multitask while playing a song) and VIP Professional GEM version. Most programs that use the GEM menu bar will work fine with Multixy.txf running and, as a general rule, programs without menu bars will temporarily pause the download. The fabulous Ansi graphics can also be seen with Interlink. You must load this Terminal Emulation protocol into the (???) button in the Style-Features Window. When selected and you are in the on-line screen Interlink will properly interpret incoming ANSI escape sequences. These include the IBM-PC graphics character set as well as color and attributes. Due to the limited number of colors on the ST in medium resolution mode (it has four, ANSI supports 8) some doubling up of colors is done automatically. This is always done in favor of TEXT rather than graphics displays and results in good graphics most of the time and fully readable text all of the time. Interlink is constantly increasing in versatility with new Transfer Protocols being developed on a very regular basis. FModem is designed to greatly enhance the efficiency of your terminal program. FMODEM sends the data packet 4K at a time. Make certain that the connection that is made with the other computer is clear and has no line noise. If you receive many NAK's in a row, Interlink sends all 4K again until the block is transmitted successfully. How many times were you dumfounded by the charges on your telephone bill for the calls made while using the modem? Well, Interlink has a sure fire way to keep track of and verify all charges. Interlog takes care of all the calculations needed to keep a perfect record and control the amounts. Operation of the program is very simple. Simply select your Dial file when you are presented with the File Selector. INTERLOG locates the name of your log file from the definition in the dial file. Once the Dial File is loaded simply select the button for the service you wish to calculate, fill in the date ranges if desired (leaving them empty causes all records to be calculated for that service) and enter the amount that the service charges either Hourly or Minutely. If you do enter a date range the calculation will include only those Connects that occurred within the specified dates. Both dates do not have to be specified, so that an unspecified THRU date will apply all Connects starting with the from date and an unspecified FROM date will apply all Connects ending with the THRU date. Interlink is truly a superb Terminal Program, worthy to be in everyone's library of "often used programs". It is easy to learn and use, simple in it's operation and the documentation is fairly complete and quite understandable. FOR MORE INFO: INTERSECT SOFTWARE CORP. 3951 Sawyer Road, Suite 108 Sarasota Fla., 34233 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ST-REPORT Issue #34 MAY 09, 1988 (c)'88 APEInc. All Rights Reserved Reprint permission granted except where noted in the article. Any reprint must include ST-Report and the author in the credits. Views presented here are not necessarily those of ST-Report or of the Staff. --------------------------------------------------------------------------