*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original Online ST Magazine" _______________________________ June 23, 1989 Vol III No.93 ======================================================================== ST Report Online Magazine __________________________ Post Office Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32236 ~ 6672 R.F. Mariano Publisher - Editor _________________________________________ Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EDT _________________________________________ ** F-NET NODE 350 ** FIDOMAIL NODE 1:363/37 ** Our support BBS carries ALL issues of STReport and An International list of private BBS systems carrying STReport for their users enjoyment _______________________________________________________________________ > Issue: #93 STReport¿ The Online Magazine of Choice! ------------------- - The Editors' Podium - CPU REPORT - MULTI-DESK a Full Review - CODEHEAD UTILITIES!! - CODEHEAD Conference - New Products from ATARI! - CPU NewsWire Usergroup Offer! - ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL ======================================================================== AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ THE SOURCE ~ BIX ======================================================================== > The Editor's Podium¿ World of Atari Show in Dearborn is upon us and with it, all the hot new information concerning Atari and the third party support companies will soon be flooding our information channels. We certainly hope the activities at WOA can earmark an end to the rank non-sense transpiring between the two online magazines. At this time, we would like to assure all the readers, that henceforth, we will not participate in * any * conflict with the other online magazine. In any event, we still feel owed an explanation for the "bashing" that took place in their "Article/Editorial concerning the TOS 1.4 matter ." Hopefully, our intentions to avoid further conflict will not be thought of as an open invitation for our 'friends' to bestow upon us ..more of their unique, if not bizarre, 'attention'. Since this is an Online Magazine dedicated to the Userbase, we will concentrate more on the viewpoint of the users and what they expect of Atari Corp. Simply dancing to a company tune is not what we call the honest to goodness reporting of news, views, commentary and feature articles. The userbase recently saw what can occur when a reporting agency is given erroneous information by allegedly informed and reliable sources. The upheaval is outrageous. Certainly, we regret the erroneous info release, but we regret further the outrageous exploitation of that very simple incident by our 'friends'. Therefore, we reaffirm to all interested parties, that we will diligently verify all data presented as "fact". Naturally, rumors must and will be treated in a different manner. While it is our enthusiastic desire to see Atari attain all the success possible ..at the same time, we wish to see the predominant wishes of the users met. After all, they do spend the dollars and ..those are the dollars that PAY the bills. Our detractors would have you believe most anything when it comes to us and Atari, fact is, we are decidedly interested in seeing Atari become a "force" in the home computer market place. Recently, it was noticed where a remark was made about certain people who used to get online have now decided not to do so as often because of the "flames" that seem to be aimed at them. What a shame that these people can't remember when they took "joy" in typing "FLAME ON" and then proceeded to tear some hapless soul to pieces. Frankly, Atari doesn't need this type of emotional person online to begin with, ninety percent of the criticism is directed at the procedures and performance of Atari not the individual, yet they seem to take most of the critiques personally. Besides, if it takes a combination of criticism, suggestions and compliments to give cause to the leadership at Atari to pay more attention to the user's wishes, then ..so be it. This weekend is the second in a planned string of World of Atari Shows, we certainly wish the very best to the exhibitors at WOA who have gone to great expense and sacrifice in demonstrating strong support for Atari Corp. As always, your support is greatly appreciated! Thank you one and all! Ralph..... ATARI IS BACK! ******************************************************************* NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME to the Readers ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE NEW USERS, SIGN UP TODAY! Call the St Report Official BBS (Listed at the top of ST REPORT) or Leave E-mail to St Report - R.Mariano Be sure to include your full mailing address so your Compuserve kit can be immediately mailed to you! NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE ******************************************************************* > CPU REPORT¿ ========== Issue # 26 by Michael Arthur Remember When.... The Sieve of Erastothenes, a famous mathematical equation, was made into a computer performance benchmark by Jim Gilbreath, in 1981? CPU Systems Roundup IX ======================= Dream Computer Systems III: Workstations R Us ---------------------------------------------- Part II In Part I of this Series, I showed a list of the most powerful Dream Systems that could be configured from both the microcomputer industry, and the growing crop of low-end workstations. While there were newer computers and peripherals that could have been included, the list was generally accurate. Now I will compare the Dream Systems, their various features being stacked against each other to determine which ones you could safely consider the "best". However, the cost of these Dream Systems, which is admittedly out of the reach of the majority of computer users, may cause some to believe that configuring such a list is useless. But analyzing how far current computers can truly go with current peripherals not only helps in realizing the capabilities of our machines, but can be useful in setting priorities for the level of price/performance in our systems, and in defining more clearly what we should demand from our computers.... In the last issue, these items were excluded from the list of peripherals making up the IBM Dream System: IBM Dream System Cost: $19,350.00 Wells AT (Primary) Expansion Bus Module (Cost: $200.00) Wells PS/2 (Secondary) Expansion Bus Module (Cost: $250.00) Wells PS/2 Bus Adapter (Cost: $1000.00) Here is a Graph of the features of each Dream System: Dream Systems List: (Comparison of each Systems' Optimal Features) _________________________________________________________________________ Dream |Main Chips,|MainChip|Mass |Expansion|Graphics Displays/ | System |Megs of RAM|Speed |Storage | Slots |Best Resolution(s) | -----------|-----------|--------|----------|---------|-------------------| IBM 386 |80386/W3167| 33 MHZ |1 Gigabyte| 7 PC AT |640*480*256 Colors | System |Eight Megs | |Tape Drive| 5 MCA |1024*768*16 Colors | -----------|-----------+--------+----------+---------+-------------------| Mac IIx |68030/68882| 33 MHZ |650 Meg | Six |640*400*256 Colors | System |Eight Megs | |Tape Drive|NuBus |1024*768*16 Million| -----------|-----------+--------+----------+---------+-------------------| Amiga 2000 |68030/68882| 16 MHZ |10 MB-Tape| Seven |320*200*4096 Colors| System | Nine Megs | |300 MB- HD|Zorro II |1008*800 w/Monochr.| -----------|-----------+--------+----------+---------+-------------------| NeXT |68030/68882| 25 MHZ |256MB Tape| Four |1120*832 w/Monochr.| System |Eight Megs | |670 MB- HD|NuBus |(Color in future) | -----------|-----------+--------+----------+---------+-------------------| SPARCStat. |SPARC/W3170| 20 MHZ |650 Meg | Three |1152*900*256 Colors| System | 16 Megs |12 MIPS |Tape Drive|S-Bus | | -----------|-----------|--------|----------|---------|-------------------| ATW | 13 T-800s | 20 MHZ |300 Meg | Four |512*480*16 Million | System | 16 Megs |130 MIPS|Hard Drive|Abaq |1280*960*16 Colors | -----------'-------------------------------------------------------------' In the Mass Storage column, Tape stands for removable storage, and HD stands for fixed, or hard disk storage. In the IBM Dream System, 5 MCA stands for 5 MicroChannel Expansion Bus Slots. Also, while there are many measurements to determine the number of MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second) that a system can do, in this case, one MIPS is equal to the ability to compute 1500 Dhrystones per second.... Based on both this graph, and the System Descriptions, I have determined these Standings: IBM 386 Dream System: Third Place The IBM Dream System is truly a good example of a Dream System, providing powerful capabilities, and being very well rounded in features which are superb in themselves. There are virtually NO weaknesses apparent in this system, and the IBM Dream System is definitely First Place among the high-end microcomputers. However, the only thing stopping it from being First Place overall are the ATW and SPARCStation Dream Systems, two RISC workstations which surpass the IBM System in some aspects. However, given that the IBM Dream System has improved steadily in all Dream System Essays, the ATW and SPARCStation may merely have a temporary advantage.... Mac IIx Comparison: The IBM is superior to the Mac IIx in the number of Expansion Slots, and amount of mass storage, is equal in the amount of RAM, system speed, and is inferior only in graphics capabilities. And since the Mac IIx system costs almost 1 1/2 times as much as the IBM System, the IBM scores higher than the Mac IIx.... Amiga Comparison: The IBM is superior to the Amiga in system speed, amount of Mass Storage, graphics, and the # of expansion Slots, and is inferior only in the amount of RAM, by only 1 Megabyte. So if 1 Meg isn't too great an advantage, the IBM scores MUCH higher than the Amiga. NeXT Comparison: The IBM is superior to the NeXT in # of Expansion slots, color graphics, system speed, and amount of mass storage, and is equal only in the amount of RAM. Therefore, the IBM scores higher than the NeXT.... SPARCStation Comparison: The IBM is superior in the amount of Mass Storage, # of expansion Slots, and is inferior in system speed (since the SPARC chi has a higher MIPS rating than the 80386 chip), amount of RAM, and graphics capabilities. And given that its advantages are better than the IBM System's, the SPARCStation scores higher than the IBM. ATW Comparison: The IBM is only superior in the # of Expansion Slots, and in Mass Storage, where it crushes the Abaq. But in every other aspect, including system speed, graphics, amount of RAM, the Abaq is far more powerful than the IBM. So if you can wait for an ST/ATW Compatible Magneto-Optical drive, the ATW scores MUCH higher than the IBM's.... Macintosh IIx Dream System: Fourth Place While the Macintosh IIx System is very powerful, is well balanced in features, and has a nearly unbeatable lead in the graphics arena, it simply has not improved since the last Dream Systems Essay. As such, other systems both rival and surpass it in capabilities. Also, since the Mac IIx Dream System is the most expensive on the list, the other systems beat it in price/performance. While it may have been First Place last time, it failed to improve enough to hold any high Standing. Oddly enough, the same thing happened to the NeXT Dream System.... Amiga Comparison: The Mac is superior in system speed, graphics, amount of Mass Storage, and is roughly equal in the # of expansion slots, and its amount of RAM. As such, if you can afford more RAM, the Mac IIx scores MUCH higher than the Amiga. NeXT Comparison: The Mac is superior in graphics, system speed, and the # of Expansion Slots, is roughly equal in the amount of RAM, and is inferior in the amount of Mass Storage, but only by a slim margin. As such, the Mac IIx scores higher than the NeXT. SPARCStation Comparison: The Mac is superior in the number of expansion slots and graphics capabilities, is equal in the amount of Mass Storage, and is inferior in system speed and amount of RAM. Therefore, if you considers system speed and amount of RAM to be more important than graphics and the # of expansion slots, then the SPARCStation scores higher than the Mac IIx.... ATW Comparison: The Mac is superior in Mass Storage, its # of Expansion Slots, and graphics, and is vastly inferior in system speed and its amount of RAM. Since the Mac System also costs 7500 dollars more, then the ATW scores higher than the Mac IIx.... Amiga 2000 Dream System: Last Place While some of the Amiga 2000 System's features were strong, other aspects of this system, such as the main processor's speed and graphics, are relatively weak. Also, since it has not improved, its peers have been able to surpass it. Some of the features of this system are superb, while others are lacking in ability, resulting that it is not well rounded, and ends up being left in the sidelines.... NeXT Comparison: The Amiga is superior in the # of Expansion slots, amount of RAM, and color graphics, while the NeXT is superior in system speed, amount of Mass Storage, and monochrome resolution. Therefore, if you can wait for color graphics, the NeXT scores MUCH higher than the Amiga. SPARCStation Comparison: The Amiga is superior in the # of Expansion Slots, and is inferior in everything else, including system speed, graphics capabilities, amount of Mass Storage, and the amount of RAM. As such, the SPARCStation wipes out the Amiga.... ATW Comparison: The Amiga is only superior in the # of Expansion Slots and in Mass Storage. As the Abaq is greatly superior to it in every other aspect, including speed, graphics, and amount of RAM, it also scores MUCH higher than the Amiga.... NeXT Dream System: Fifth Place This computer rated First Place in the first Dream Systems essay, and even though its features are still both VERY well balanced and powerful, it hasn't improved since then, resulting in that, just like the Mac IIx System, other systems have since surpassed it. And as NeXT is not likely to improve it anytime soon.... SPARCStation Comparison: The NeXT is superior in the amount of Mass Storage, and # of expansion slots, and is inferior in system speed, amount of RAM, and graphics capabilities. So if you don't need an additional hard drive for it, the SPARCStation scores MUCH higher than the NeXT. ATW Comparison: The NeXT is vastly superior in Mass Storage, and is inferior in everything else, including graphics, # of expansion slots, amount of RAM, and system speed. So as always, if you can wait for a Magneto-Optical drive, then the ATW scores MUCH higher than the NeXT.... SPARCStation Dream System: Second Place The SPARCStation 1 is an EXCELLENT Dream System, being well balanced in features that are VERY powerful in themselves, and using its SPARC RISC chip's speed to surpass many of the other systems. The SPARCStation's main competition was the ATW, the only other RISC-based system, and while it rivalled the ATW in many areas, the ATW's inherently better system speed prevented the SPARCStation from earning First Place.... ATW Comparison: The SPARCStation is superior to the ATW in its amount of Mass Storage and high resolution graphics, is roughly equal in the amount of RAM and # of expansion slots, and is inferior in system speed and low resolution graphics. As such, since the SPARCStation and the ATW are divided, ability-wise, in graphics, then the only real points of comparison are system speed and amount of Mass Storage. Since the ATW uses its parallel processing capabilities to trash the SPARCStation in system speed, then, as always, if you can wait for an ST/ATW Compatible Magneto-Optical Tape Drive, then the ATW scores higher than the SPARCStation, but only by a VERY close margin.... ATW Dream System: First Place - The Best System Currently Available - With its capabilities, the ATW has established a new level of performance in this Dream Systems list which is not likely to be superceded soon. Many of its features, such as its VAST amount of RAM and superb graphics, are equalled only by the IBM and SPARCStation Dream Systems, its only true competition, and thanks to its parallel processing capabilities, the ATW Dream System's minicomputer-level speed boosts it far ahead of the rest. However, while it its well rounded in many excellent features, the ATW's mass storage is definitely not competitive with the rest. This is its only true weakness, though, and it isn't enough to prevent it from earning First Place.... The ATW has great potential in the workstation market, as it could set a new level of price/performance for that industry. However, with such supercomputer-like speed, the ATW Dream System's ideal market could be the emerging market for minisupercomputers, or systems that achieve speed slightly below true supercomputers, such as the Cray X/MP, with a fraction of their cost. Given that minisupercomputers with capabilities equal to the ATW Dream System now cost from $250,000 to $800,000 dollars, the ATW Dream System could end up becoming a leader in the low-end part of that market. But ONLY if Software Development for the ATW is supported STRONGLY, and if Atari's efforts to make the ATW popular in the US are MUCH better than its efforts to make the Atari ST popular in the US.... So as to account for future developments, I have included a list of Upcoming Dream Systems, so accurate comparisons can be made between present and future computers meeting the "Dream System" status. Some of these are merely improvements on old systems, but others are completely new systems which show excellent potential.... Upcoming Systems' Features: ________________________________________________________________________ Dream |Main Chips,|MainChip|Mass |Expansion|Graphics Displays/ | System |Megs of RAM|Speed |Storage |Slots |Best Resolution(s) | ----------|-----------|--------|----------|---------|-------------------| Atari |68030 | 16 MHZ | 80 Meg |Four (?) |320*200*256 Colors | 68030 TTx | Four Megs | |Hard Drive|VME Bus |640*400*16 Colors | ----------|-----------+--------+----------+---------+-------------------| Amiga 2000|68030/68882| 14 MHZ |650 Meg | Seven |320*200*4096 Colors| System | Nine Megs | |Tape Drive|Zorro II |1024*1024*256Colors| ----------|-----------+--------+----------+---------+-------------------| Sun 3/80 |68030/68882| 20 MHZ |650 Meg | One |1152*900*16 Million| System | 16 Megs | |Tape Drive| P4 Bus | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------' (Note: Keep in mind that some of these specs are not final, and that the actual systems will probably differ in some way from the systems that are shown.) System #7, the Atari 68030 TT, has a 68030 chip, 4 Megs of RAM, and an 80 Megabyte Hard Drive, as well as a VME Expansion Bus with an unknown number of slots. Cost is reportedly around 3000-3500 dollars. Resolutions: 320*200 with 256 Colors out of 256,000 640*400 with 16 Colors out of 256,000 1280*960 with Monochrome Resolution Comparisons with Other Systems: Many of the features of the 68030 TT, such as speed, amount of RAM, and mass storage, have already been surpassed by current systems, and as its graphics are only a step ahead of available Dream Systems, it seems that the 68030 TT will make its niche in the price/performance area of the market, in which it stands an excellent chance of success.... System #8, the Amiga 2000 System, is an Amiga 2000 with 9 Megs of RAM, a CSA FastCard accelerator board, and 8 Expansion Slots. To this would be added a 650 Meg Magneto-Optical Tape Drive made by Ricoh Inc., Commodore's new Graphics Card, which has a 1024*1024 resolution with 256 colors at the same time, and Moniterm's Viking I monitor, which gives the Amiga a 1008*800 monochrome display. Cost: Around 23,000 dollars.... Resolutions: (Not including Overscan) 320*200 with 32 colors out of 4096 320*200 with 64 colors out of 4096 (Extra Half-Brite) 320*200 with 4096 colors at the same time (HAM Mode) 640*200 with 4 to 32 colors 640*400 with 2 to 16 colors (interlaced) With Moniterm: 640*400 using Monochrome (noninterlaced) 1008*800 using Monochrome Colors With A2000 Graphics Card: 1024*1024 with 256 colors at the same time Comparisons with Other Systems: With its superb graphics resolution and improved removable storage, the Amiga 2000 System gains workstation-class capabilities, and could become an excellent Dream System when its peripherals are introduced.... System #9, the Sun 3/80 System, is a Sun 3/80 with 8 Megs of RAM, a 20 MHZ 68030 chip, a 20 MHZ 68882 Math Chip, and 1 expansion slot. Added to this are Pinnacle Micro's 650 Meg Magneto-Optical Drive, and two Sun Memory Expasnion Kits, with 4 Megs of RAM Each. Cost: 25,500 dollars.... Sun 3/80 Resolution: 1152*900 with 16 Million Colors at the same time.. Comparisons with other Systems: The Sun 3/80 System provides an awesome set of workstation-class capabilities, including 24-bit color graphics, a Magneto-Optical Drive, and large amounts of RAM. While it isn't well balanced in that its speed is not at the caliber of RISC chipsets, and doesn't do true justice to the rest of the system, the Sun 3/80 promises to be a VERY good contender in the low-end workstation area.... It seems, though, that these Dream Systems indicate certain future trends which will occur with microcomputers. 8 to 24 bit color displays (that is, with 256 to 16 million colors) will be the main targets in the graphics arena, while Megapixel displays (screens with 1024*1024 or better resolution), will be necessary, as well as math coprocessors. Also, the trend of RISC-based systems, while having great potential in the industry, will soon begin to slow down, as the various RISC manufacturers battle it out to see which RISC architecture will become the dominant standard.... Also, removable storage media is finally coming into its own, with magneto-optical disks threatening to make hard disks obsolete. In order to make all this work, however, the amount of standard RAM in computers will slowly increase to around 4-8 Megabytes. These improvements will then herald an eventual change in the computer industry, which may result in microcomputers, workstations, and supercomputers becoming the only real categories in the computer industry.... But ponder, if you will, this question: 1) What is more important in a computer system: Good Hardware, or Good Software? 2) What are the odds of Atari not introducing the ATW in the US until Commodore's upcoming Transputer Add-on board for the Amiga 2000 has been shipping in the US for a few months? CPU REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿ ======================= San Jose, CA Frame Technology has agreed to bundle a prerelease copy ------------ of their FrameMaker 2.0 workstation publishing program with the NeXT System. Given that Adobe Inc. has shown efforts to develop a version of Adobe Illustrator, their Postscript-based drawing program, for the NeXT System, which is partly based on Display Postscript.... Armonk, NY IBM has recently introduced the PS/2 Model P70, a ---------- transportable version of the Model 70 with a 20 MHZ 80386 chip, a 80387 Math Coprocessor, and a Gas Plasma VGA Display. The Model P70 also has 4 Megs of RAM onboard, one full-length MicroChannel Expansion Slot, and one half-length slot. Cost: $7700.00 with a 60 Meg Hard Drive, and $8300.00 with a 120 Meg Hard Drive.... The PS/2 Model P70 could be tough competition for the growing crop of IBM Laptops that use the 80386 chip, as many of the most popular 80386 laptops, including the Toshiba 5100, use a 16 MHZ 80386 and have up to 2 Megs of RAM onboard, yet cost in the same price range as the PS/2 Model P70.... Tarrytown, NY As a result of Motorola's earlier lawsuit against it, ------------- Hitachi alleges that they have found that the Motorola 68030 chip violates one of Hitachi's US Patents, and has pressed a patent infringment suit against Motorola, attempting to seek damages from Motorola, as well as to stop future sales of the 68030 chip, which is currently used in many computers, including several Unix workstations, the Macintosh IIx and IIcx line, and the Mac SE/30.... _________________________________________________________________________ > Multi-Desk / Flex STR Review¿ The Lowdown ...... ============================ Unlimited Accessories MultiDesk and Flexcessory ========================= by Ron Brunk One of the nicest features of the gem desktop is the ability to load accessories into the desktop and use them whenever the menu bar is present. Most accessories take the form of handy utilities i.e. ram disks, print spoolers, text readers, etc. Unfortunately there are two limitations. First, you can only load a maximum of 6 accessory slots, and some accessories use up two slots. Second, accessories are loaded directly into memory and stay there, making that ram inaccessible to other programs. As programs were developed for the ST, they started using more and more ram to add more features. It soon became necessary to trim down your accessory list to just the essentials to make room for these programs. To load a new set of accessories (or clear those installed to release memory for a large program) you have to reboot with the new setup installed. These restrictions have been solved by two programs, Multidesk (by CodeHead Software) and Flexcessory (from E. Arthur Brown). Both programs install themselves as a single accessory and make it possible to load,run, and dump programs/accessories from that one accessory slot. Multidesk ========= Multidesk uses 38 K of memory for itself and loads other accessories into a memory buffer. This loading process must be done from the desktop, and accessories can be added until the buffer defined is full. It cannot load/dump accessories while another program is running (or at least it is strongly recommended not to), nor can it dump one accessory at a time. Once utilities are loaded you can "shrink to fit" the buffer of ram holding the accessories to free up memory that is not required. It can automatically load a particular setup on boot up, and other "setups" of various combinations of accessories can be saved and easily recalled. Accessories can be put into one folder that MultiDesk will automatically go to when loading accessories. MultiDesk is very tight and works with almost every .ACC program I've ever used except Deskcart. Capslock.acc is also reported to have problems with Multidesk. The latest version, 1.81, has been specifically modified to support Thunder, Neodesk, Hotwire, and accessories compiled with Hisoft Basic. CodeHead has been very responsive in doing these modifications for each version to solve incompatibilities as they are reported. Multidesk can be run with the mouse or keyboard can hold up to 32 accessories. If that isn't enough, it can be loaded into itself ad infinitum (or at least, until you run out of memory) To assist you in memory management, MultiDesk can display free memory available for use. Note: the free memory displayed is the largest unfragmented block in ram. For example, if you create a ramdisk while running a program, it is created "above" the program. When you quit the program, the free memory will be in two blocks, one above and one below the ramdisk. This is one of the reasons that MultiDesk prefers not to load other accessories while inside a program. The following is a partial list of .ACC programs that the STReport staff regularly use with MultiDesk and the number of bytes (checked by MultiDesk) that each requires: 17 Alert 50 DCFormat 22 G+Plus 19 Priveye 38 Snapshot 51 Artgalry 7 Deskey 33 Ilnmulti 33 Progcalc 4 Speedtos 11 Busybud 19 Diskman 8 Importer 12 Protect 33 Stuffer 36 Calc 39 Dos 22 Memfil20 35 Rambaby 36 TurboST2 10 Calendar 12 Emulator 38 Multdesk 19 Schizo 10 WP_Spool 4 Callfsel 73 EZD_Acc1 31 Mystic 81 Shdw_acc 22 Wrdcount 27 Clock 51 Flex! 16 Neocntrl 5 Showmem3 47 Ybatch 22 Control 9 G+Mini 24 Neoqueue 12 SI_Ram MultiDesk 1.81 comes with a series of utilities on disk including: Headstart- Enables you to auto-run GEM programs at boot-up. This is an improved version of Startgem. Calc- A very powerful calculator with all the scientific functions you'll ever need. Calendar- All the months from Jan 80 to Dec 2009 ClockA- A clock face, not digital. Cannot be left on screen. Control- Standard control panel. Emulator- Atari VT52 emulator. Melt- The cutesy screen melt gag. Showmem3- Displays free memory block by block. SI_Ram- Ram disk and print spooler that can automatically load files when it is created Flexcessory =========== Flexcessory also loads as an accessory, reserving 51K for itself in memory. At boot-up it can set aside a buffer for running the programs it loads, or the buffer can be set to 0 and programs will use whatever ram is available when they are executed. It can be also be configured to automatically load a particular setup at boot, which includes the options to; set a pathname for programs to be loaded, display a desk clock, load only certain filetypes, and automatically load and configure the ram disk and/or print spooler. Other options allow you to configure each individual program in the following ways: Stack size can be set if you know what the program requires. Run time parameters allows you to pass parameters to the program when it is run Clear screen before the program runs Disable mouse hides the mouse during execution (i.e. for TOS/TTP) Enable text cursor brings up a flashing cursor for text entry of parameters (i.e. TOS/TTP) Wait for keypress causes GEM to prompt for a keypress prior to returning to desktop Disable windows tells gem not to redraw windows Once they have been run, programs remain in ram until unloaded by Flexcessory. A major drawback is that ram released by unloading program is not always recognized and will sometimes result in an "out of memory" message. This forces a reboot or use of a program to flush your ram to recover that memory. Programs can be loaded and run in one step, or executed from a drop down menu that lists all programs currently loaded. Flexcessory will load up to 15 programs with extensions of .prg, .ttp, .tos, .app, and can load and dump individual programs or dump all at once while in another program. Note: Your ram will probably be fragmented if you load a program into Flexcessory while inside another program. Once again you must reboot or flush your ram. Another major drawback to Flexcessory is that it will not run programs that use GEM (the familiar menu bar) nor will it run programs that use resource files. On the other hand, most of these types of programs are not the kind you would load into an accessory slot anyway. I tested Flexcessory with a few of the remaining "utility" types of programs that do not use GEM or .RSC (other than those included on the disk) and it successfully accessed 5 of 11: Crashed or wouldn't run Successfully ran ------------------------- ------------------ Clipboard Arcsh198 Quikview Dirdump Shdw_acc Filespy STReader Pageview Undelete Quikfind Whatis There are 21 programs included that will run with Flexcessory, many of which run and look exactly like the accessories (.acc) of the same name. There are: Two calculators, one algebraic and one RPN (reverse polish notation as used by Hewlett Packard pocket calculators. They are used with the mouse, although numerals can be entered with the keyboard. A notepad with wordwrap, block functions, search & replace and a help menu. The screen grabber saves a degas picture of the desktop. A file comparer will tell if two files are identical or not. The control program, install printer, and RS-232 configuration programs are identical to Atari's. File utilities to delete or rename files. Two format programs, one for very simple single/double sided formatting and one for 3 1/2" or 5 1/4", single or double sided (40/80 tracks) disks, with options for IBM compatibility and write verify. A program to send printer commands to the printer as decimal or hexidecimal codes. A screensaver which turns the screen off (black) after extended periods of no activity from the keyboard to prevent burnout. Showfile continuously scrolls a text file across the screen with options to halt/continue. Stepper program to set drive stepping (used for 5 1/4" drive) A VT52 terminal emulator A program to dump a file as hexadecimal to screen with options to choose starting byte and total bytes displayed. Which is best for you? ------------------------ To sum up, both programs free you from the six accessory limit, and allow you to dump and load programs in the accessory slots without rebooting. The advantages of MultiDesk are that it requires less memory for itself, is much more compatible with the programs it utilizes (.ACC), and does not cause memory fragmentation. The advantages of Flexcessory are that it can load and dump individual programs from the accessory slot, and do it from within another program. While the programs it does run use up memory only while they are actually running, the program does not reliably free memory when it does unload them. ________________________________________________________________________ > CODEHEAD!! STReport InfoFile¿ Codehead shows it's goodies! ============================ CodeHead Software is proud to announce the release of our new product: CODEHEAD UTILITIES (#1) A COLLECTION OF USEFUL PROGRAMS AND DESK ACCESSORIES -------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDING: MultiFile --------- A multi-featured GEM-based file handling utility, with many unique capabilities! o Copy/rename/delete/move/touch groups of files with unsurpassed ease. o 20 default paths can be selected with a mouse click or a Keypress! o Send directory listings to your printer. o Format two disks at once (with _full_ control over formatting parameters like sector skewing, sectors per track, and number of tracks). o Create/change volume names. o TOS version number and free RAM display. o Set write-verify on/off. o Show info on files and folders. o Toggle write-protection on files. o Preserve time/date stamp on copies. (Or don't, if you prefer not to.) o Sort by name, extension, date, or size (or NO sort at all). o ALL configuration options can be saved, so that MultiFile always comes up ready for action! o and MUCH MORE! The multi-level warning system lets you streamline MultiFile for your own purposes. MultiFile's unique full-screen display shows up to 80 files at once, on up to five pages for directories that contain more. The entire program can be operated with either the mouse OR the keyboard, and it runs as either a normal program OR a desk accessory! (We almost released MultiFile as a separate product....it's that powerful.) AUTO Organizer -------------- Changes the order of execution of programs in an AUTO folder, IN A SPLIT SECOND! (You won't believe how fast this program works.) Art Gallery 2.0 --------------- A multi-format graphics viewer/slideshow. Shows DEGAS, TINY, NEOCHROME, SPECTRUM 512, and ART DIRECTOR pictures, with color rotation. Also imports any of these formats directly into a DEGAS Elite workscreen (MUCH faster than DEGAS Elite itself can). Art Gallery 2.0 is a greatly-expanded version of Art Gallery, originally published in ST-Log magazine. Font Tricks 2.0 --------------- Replaces the system font with a custom font, and prints it to an Epson printer, in two sizes! The desktop's 'Print' function will use whatever font you select! Dozens of DEGAS fonts are also included on the disk. CodeHead Print Spooler ---------------------- Full featured, user configurable printer spooler. The only spooler we know of that will buffer a screen dump! (You know, that thing that happens when you type Alternate-Help...) CodeHead Ramdisk ---------------- Configurable reset-proof ramdisk. The unique feature of this ramdisk is that it does NOT do a double reset on a cold start! CapsLock -------- A desk accessory that continually shows the status of the ST's CapsLock key. CodeCopy -------- A program for quickly and safely making multiple copies of a disk. Saves disk images to a file, for later use. Formats, writes, and verifies disks as fast as possible. ZeroDisk -------- Very quickly erases all files on a floppy disk, preserving the disk's format. In a split second, you have the equivalent of a freshly formatted disk without the wait for reformatting. Lens ---- Recursive graphics manipulation. Lens is a "computer toy" that's fascinating to play with. (For when you get tired of all this serious stuff...) SHAREWARE FOLDER INCLUDES: Arc Shell 1.99 -------------- A new release of this very popular utility, available for the first time on the CodeHead Utilities disk. Desk Manager ------------ Lets you easily and quickly select which AUTO programs and desk accessories to run when you boot your computer. FREEWARE FOLDER INCLUDES: Showmem3 -------- Displays current memory usage plus _total_ of all free memory. Start Selector -------------- The latest version of this popular replacement for the GEM file selector. The price for all of these useful programs? Only $29.95! (We think you'll agree that MultiFile _alone_is worth the price!) CodeHead Utilities (#1) is available NOW directly from us at: CodeHead Software P.O. Box 74090 Los Angeles, CA 90004 Telephone (or FAX) 213-386-5735 If you order by mail, please include a check or money order for the amount indicated plus $2 shipping ($3 Canada, $5 Europe). As always, thanks for your support! Charles and John........ _________________________________________________________________________ > Atari Stock ~ STReport¿ Wall Street's Sweetheart or sweathog? ====================== THE TICKERTAPE ============== by Glenn Gorman Money grabbers sell off Atari Corp. stock Atari Stock dropped 1/8 of a point on Monday, 1/8 on Tuesday, 1/8 onWednesday and 1/4 on Thursday. Finishing up the week at 7 7/8 points. Down 5/8 points from last Friday. Glenn Gorman +---------------------+ | ATARI STOCK WATCH | | Week 06-12 to 06-16 | +=======+==========+===========+=============+============+=============+ | | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | +-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+ | Sales | 3902 | 2267 | 2055 | 1018 | 920 | +-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+ | Last | 8 3/8 | 8 1/4 | 8 1/8 | 7 7/8 | 7 7/8 | +-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+ | Chg. | -1/8 | -1/8 | -1/8 | -1/4 | ---- | +=======+==========+===========+=============+============+=============+ | From > THE CAVE ST BBS <> 609-882-9195 <> 300//9600 HST <> F-NET #351 | +=======================================================================+ ________________________________________________________________________ > CodeHead Conference STR Feature¿ Online Conference straight talk =============================== Notice on door: Formal CodeHead Conference! Featuring: Charles F. Johnson and John Eidsvoog. Room 1, the General Club room. Stenographer is Miss Jane Hathaway Job City Room Sta Mail-Address 1 Ann arbor,MI 1 N [Pattie] UNICORNPUB 2 North hollywo,CA 1 N J.EIDSVOOG1 3 Arlington hei,IL 1 L JEFF.W 4 Pacific palis,CA 1 N [Charles] C.F.JOHNSON 5 Jacksonville,FL 1 N ST.REPORT 6 Baltimore,MD 1 N [bob] B.O.B. 8 Passaic park,NJ 1 N [Vince-Cubed] V.AVERELLO 9 Sebring,FL 1 N A.AVIS 10 Calgary,AB 1 N R.BODY 11 Rockville,MD 1 N [John] JKUEHN 12 Campbell,CA 1 N [RC] R.ARP1 <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Hi all! We're happy to be here tonight.... Welcome to the InterSect RTC (that's Real Time Conference for anyone who's easily bored by abbreviations). Thank you for being here with us this evening. Before I introduce our guests, I'd like to make a few announcements. On July 12 our RTC guests will be representatives from Creative Microsystems Incorporated. CMI has a new accelerator board, called The Processor Accelerator, coming out soon. Featuring sockets for user installed BLiTTER and math co-processor chips, this board should be attracting lots of attention. Be here on July 12 at 10:00pm EDT with CMI to discuss the Processor Accelerator and future CMI products for the ST. On the following week, July 19th, ISD will be back for a formal conference. ISD is noted for products like Calamus, a world class desktop publishing application, Calamus Font Editor, and the upcoming Calamus Outline. They also bring to us DynaCadd, an extremely powerful and feature packed professional CAD package. Join us on July 19 for the ISD RTC. Now, here are the RTC rules. During these formal type conferences, you can only talk when I let you talk. To get my attention all you have to do is raise your hand. Do that by typing in /RAI and then hitting your RETURN key. I'll let you know when your turn is coming up. If you think I may have missed you please /RAIse your hand once again. Please end your questions or comments with a "ga" (Go Ahead) to indicate you're done "speaking". If you have to leave before the conference is over, your can type /EXI to return to the RT or /BYE to log off of GEnie, but please stay if you can. I need your questions! :-) Now, the introductions. It is my pleasure to have as this evening's guests Charles F. Johnson and John Eidsvoog. Together, Charles and John make up CodeHead Software, makers of mighty fine utilities and tools for the Atari ST family of computers. Products carrying the CodeHead label include G+PLUS, MultiDesk, HotWire, and MIDIMAX. John and Charles are here to tell us about the latest CodeHead product that goes on sale almost immediately! If you have any questions or comments for Charles and John, start /RAIsing your hands now. Welcome, CodeHeads! Do you guys have any opening remarks you'd like to make before we begin taking questions? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Well...not really. We're excited about the release of CodeHead Utilities. We've been promising it a long time...and everything's finally ready. Anyway, let the feeding frenzy begin! Let me start... How about telling us a bit about CodeHead Utilites? CFJ, you start? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> OK...Well, it's a collection very useful programs and desk accessories, with lots of variety, focusing on several of the.... most commonly-performed activities that people do with their STs like copying files, reformatting disks, reorganizing the AUTO folder, etc. We think it;'s got a lot of value for the very low price and at least one program (MultiFile) that could very well be a separate commercial package. Anyway, enough raving! :) We could mention a little about each program... <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Sure, John....you wanna? Ok, probably the strongest program of the package is MultiFile, which is a multi-featured file handling utility. It provides an extremely easy-to-use interface for copying single or groups of files. <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> And I might mention the AUTO Organizer that can reorganize your AUTO folder in a split second, no matter how many files it contains! Thanks! And now, Pattie! <[Pattie] UNICORNPUB> Thanks Jeff.... Firstly, I'd like to Thank you Two forcreating such fine programs, and for allowing us the opportunity for reviewing them in the Atari Interface Magazine. Now, since there are so many pd programs available to do utilities, what does your utility disk offer? As CFJ said, the AUTO organizer is almost instantaneous as opposed to 20-30 seconds taken by the PD program. There's no other file handling program that has all the features of MultiFile. Our print spooler has a couple of features that no other has...such as buffering a screen dump and a hot key for clearing the buffer. CFJ, ?? GA <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Yeah, and there's NO public domain equivalent for some of the things on the disk, like Font Tricks 2.0, which lets you use DEGAS fonts to print to your Epson printer, using the desktop's 'Print' function. Every program on the CodeHead utilities disk has at _least_ one feature that puts it above the public domain equivalents. (If they exist.) Any followup, Pattie? <[Pattie] UNICORNPUB> Thanks... I'll yield the floor... Thanks, Pattie. Dorothy? I have a few questions, First, about WOA in Dearborn...Will you be giving a seminar? Gee, no one has asked us. You're joking! What programs will you be demoing/promoting? [Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Nope. No joke. HotWire! - MIDIMAX <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> We'll have new versions of lots of things, including HotWire! Will the utilities be available? The manuals which were supposed to be ready 2 hours ago... <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Yes! CodeHead Utilities #1 will be on sale for the first time. will be ready in the morning... so, yes. GA At a special (meaning cheap) price? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Boy, give 'em an inch.... hmmm.... Also I'm interested in the print spooler you mentioned... It's cheap at any price! <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> It's already unbelievably cheap, for ten programs never before... released....$29.95! Such a deal! :) I've had a terrible time setting up a spooler that will work with graphics output, such as Timeworks and Degas. Will the spooler help me there? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Yep, could very well help out. I use it with Timeworks Desktop Publisher all the time myself. GA It sure will... Thanks much! ga and it can be set to _any_ size...2-3 meg maybe. Thanks! R.ARP1 <[RC] R.ARP1> Ditto on the fine job you guys have done. I want to know if the utility to convert from RSC to assembly will also be there. <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> No, that's planned for the second Utilities disk following sometime soon. <[RC] R.ARP1> Well, hurry up. Vince...You have the floor. <[Vince-Cubed] V.AVERELLO> How will upgrade for CU I be handled because it is a group & not 1 program ?? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Uh, John, you want to field this one? what upgrade?? Isn't it going to be perfect right out of the gate? We'll have to see what happens. <[Vince-Cubed] V.AVERELLO> You know Multi-file 1.1 & so on <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Any upgrades will be handled pretty much the same way our other upgrades are if there's a significant improvement you can update to the new version by returning your original disk and $5.00. Thank you, Vince. BOB? <[bob] B.O.B.> Hi guys...Does your Auto Re-Org Util allow for more Auto prgs than the PD one. I have more than that program will recognize. (Not enough slots) [Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Yes! Definitely. You can have up to 64. <[bob] B.O.B.> GREAT! Thanks....ga Pattie? <[Pattie] UNICORNPUB> thanks again, Jeff...I wanted to ask about a rumor I read about on one of the Online Services about your possibly re-writing the Operating System for the ST. What about that? Is that in the works? If Atari would give us the source code, maybe we could give it a shot. Otherwise it'd be pretty tough. GA That it, Pattie? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> That's just a rumor, Pattie. No basis in fact. We talk about it from time to time, but the fact is, it would be an ENORMOUS job. <[Pattie] UNICORNPUB> Is the operating system the hardest thing you've come across in programming the ST? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Wow, what a loaded question there are lots of ways to answer that in some ways the ST Operating System is terrific you get whole libraries of nice calls that do fancy graphic stuff and manage input for you and all of that, but you also get a lot of overhead and time spent learning the intricacies. And then, of course, there are the bugs. It's true, they exist. I can't hide from it any more. Our company's existence is based on the limitations of the ST operating system. Where would we be without them? The ST's shortcomings are your windfall. Sally from Zmag? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Well put, Jeff. <[S.nagy] ZMAGAZINE> Thanks, this might have been already asked? But what utilities will be found on code head utilities disk 1 and 2? GA <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> We do have a text file with full descriptions of all the programs on the first Utilities disk posted in the GEnie library (anyone know the file number offhand?) but I'd be glad... It has been asked already, but there's lots we haven't gotten to yet. I'm wondering about MIDIMAX. What's it for? MIDIMAX is meant as a live performance tool It allows you to create chord maps and macros which will automate your live performance. <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> It's designed to help professional musicians manage their equipment quickly and easily. GA We have a Kawai K-5, Roland U110, and we've been using Steinberg stuff. Will this benefit us? It's flexibility is such that it's hard to think of all... it can do. For instance, you could have it send preset patch changes to all your instruments on different MIDI channels. Thank you. <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> And in addition to all tprofessional applications, it's fun to play with too.....you can have chords played when you just touch a single note on the keyboard. And different chords for every note, not just parallel voicings. Yeah, you can instantly switch between 8 different chord maps to change the harmonization. Thanks, Dorothy. Getting back to CU #1, it looks like it will be a user group librarian's dream with 2 disk formating? And multidisk copying? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> MultiFile has lots of features that haven't been seen in an ST file maintenance program before. Including _full_ keyboard control of all program options. (Really speeds things up.) And we're including CodeCopy, which is the program we wrote to do our own disk mastering. I see that ARCSHELL 1.99 will be on the disk also? What changes will we see? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> ARC Shell 1.99 adds the ability to set each ARC option to use either the default or the alternate ARC utility allowing you to use, say, DCOPY for extracting, but ARC.TTP for archiving. Thanks. Dorothy's up again. I thought ARCShell was Shareware. Will version 1.99 not be freely distributed also? We're including a SHAREWARE folder on the disk. <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Yes, ARC Shell will continue to be shareware. We're including a SHAREWARE folder so that people can get the latest versions if they don't have access to an online service, usergroup, whatever. ...cause I have actually paid for 1.97... Maybe this has been answered.....What is TopDown? ok... <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> John, I think it's a long fly ball comin' your way. <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> TopDown forces AUTO programs and ACCs to load at the top of memory, which leaves a lower memory area available for programs which might not normally load due to ACCs taking that space. It also speeds up your bootup time...cuts it about in half. ok, Thanks! I know that Charles has be running along in a few minutes Charles...any closing remarks? <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Hope to see everyone at the World of Atari show. We're looking forward to meeting you! Thanks a lot for being here, Charles.... ...I understand we can have John for a while longer. /RAI to ask any questions. If you'd like, I can tell you about HotWire 1.2 <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> OK, sorry to leave so soon, talk to y'all later. Bye, Charles. Thanks! Yes, John. Please. <[Charles] C.F.JOHNSON> Thanks to all for their support. 1.2 allows you to install not only programs in the menu but also .HOT files, .WRK files, and documents. This allows you to do 'virtual' paging to different menus by simply clicking or hitting a hot key. You can also set up a menu of documents, such as WP files and click on the one you want to invoke your WP and load in the doc. GA Will you be doing upgrades at the show? BTW, 1.2 works with the new 1.4 ROMs, and yes we will be... doing upgrades to 1.2 at the show. What will be the upgrade fee for people mailing their disks to you? Our standard upgrade policy is $5 plus send in your master disk. GA <[Pattie] UNICORNPUB> John, each programmer has his/her own style of writing code how do you and Charles keep from fighting when you work together? That's a good question! The division of labor on G+ was basically CFJ did the ACC and I did the PRG although we passed code back and forth and both worked on both sources. It's lucky that both of us like assembly language and our programming philosophy is quite similar... But we still do have our differences of opinions. Before I open this up to informal mode ...How is FatBack coming along? Well, FatBack (as you may have heard many times) is being.. re-written in assembly (originally GFA). I expect to finish.. it in July. Sorry, it's taking so long, but there's less and less time to code as running the company becomes more and more time consuming. For those who aren't total CodeHead freaks (like me), FatBack is a hard disk backup utility. Okay. I think that brings this formal RTC to a close. I want to thank John and Charles for being with us... Room 1, the General Club room. Stenographer is Miss Jane Hathaway Job City Room Sta Mail-Address 1 Ann arbor,MI 1 N [Pattie] UNICORNPUB 2 North hollywo,CA 1 N J.EIDSVOOG1 3 Arlington hei,IL 1 L JEFF.W 4 Norristown,PA 1 N [Mobro] W.FERRELL 5 Jacksonville,FL 1 N ST.REPORT 6 Baltimore,MD 1 N [bob] B.O.B. 7 Brookfield,CT 1 N DARLAH 8 Honolulu,HI 1 N R.DEAN3 9 Sebring,FL 1 N A.AVIS 10 Middlesex,NJ 1 N [S.nagy] ZMAGAZINE 11 Titusville,PA 1 N GARY.ATMEN 14 Midlothian,VA 1 N MICKEYANGELL 18 Matawan,NJ 1 N R.GUADAGNO1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (C) 1987 by Atari Corporation, GEnie,and the Atari Roundtables. May be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie are * official * information services of Atari Corporation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________________ > User Input! STReport OnLine¿ Ongoing Current Issues! ============================ From : DAVE LOCKWOOD at THE CONTROL ROOM ST! Fnet 403 After hearing so many rumors about what TOS 1.4 does, and does not do, I've decided to put together a list of bugs/foibles/mis-features etc. for TOS. We, the users, in order to form a more perfect conception of the new TOS, to establish once and for all what does and does not work, will add to and edit this list until it contains the best knowledge we can find. STReport will carry this list until such time as the official specifications list for TOS 1.4 is made available by Atari Corp. If you have information to add to this list let us know through either FNET Node 403, 350 or the best way you can. bug/feature/problem/wish status Source ------------------------------ ---------- ---------------------------- Flow control (RTS/CTS) Not fixed Rumor - Crossnet ST group Famous Malloc bug Not fixed Confirmed - A. Pratt/Atari Corp. 16 MEG HD partition bug Fixed Rumor - Usenet ST newsgroup wastes last 2 clusters bug Not fixed Confirmed - A. Pratt/Atari Corp. A: motor on after HD boot Fixed Rumor - FNET ST users Slow desktop disk copy Fixed Rumor - FNET ST users "Twister" format from desktop Fixed Rumor - FNET ST users Preserve file date on copy Fixed Rumor - FNET ST users Extended command line Not fixed Rumor - Usenet ST newsgroup Works with 68010/20 Not fixed Rumor - Usenet ST newsgroup Installed in new Mega STs Yes Rumor - Crossnet ST group Available to 520/1040 owners Not yet Rumor - Crossnet ST group Available to Developers Yes Confirmed C. Roberts/Atari Corp. Shipping in DTP Systems Yes Confirmed C. Roberts/Atari Corp. This is the latest information. PLEASE add to/modify this list. Let's try stopping the spread of FALSE rumors, and start compiling the facts. +---------------------------------+--------------------------------------+ | "There is no problem so big that| Dave Lockwood | | it can't be run away from" | Sysop of Meetpoint Station BBS | +---------------------------------+--------------------------------------+ | Usenet:{backbones}!{amdahl,hplabs,decwrl}!pacbell!rencon!mpoint!dave | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ _________________________________________________________________________ > Usergroup News STReport OnLine¿ A very special offer for Usergroups! ============================== CPU NewsWire International Usergroup Plan ========================================= Beginning July 1989, STReport will offer it's hardcopy version, the CPU NewsWire to all Usergroups for a flat rate annual fee of 15.00!! This offer is designed with the usergroup in mind, we offer the latest news and reviews for all usergroups and their respective memberships to enjoy. Any proceeds derived from the use of CPU NewsWire in conjunction with the usergroup's newsletter belongs to those Usergroups doing so. CPU Newswire will provide to the subscribing Usergroups a camera ready setup of each edition. The usergroup may then distribute this as an insert in their respective group newsletters. In upholding our unwavering pledge to encourage and assist all usergroups supporting Atari, we have brought forward this offer with the promotion and support of the usergroup a major priority. We felt that our regular subscribers would neither object to, nor feel slighted in any way since the usergroup has been and is the "backbone" of Atari's enthusiastic support worldwide. The regular subscription edition will, of course carry additional items pertinent to CPU and STReport. Much the same as the Usergroup newsletters will add their own copy to our supplement. Our goal is to provide the usergroup with a reliable avenue of information pertaining to the Atari Userbase and of computers in general. The idea is to augment an existing UG newsletter, not replace it. CPU NewsWire will continue to accept private subscriptions from all Atari enthusiasts. CPU NewsWire is sent to our subscribers in a protective carrier and via the US Mail, first class. Those Usergroups sincerely interested may obtain more information concerning this very special.... CPU NewsWire International Usergroup Plan by either calling our offices at: 904-783-3319 (9am - 5pm EDT) or via, E-Mail on any of the major services or directly: CPU NewsWire PO Box 6672, Jax. FL. 32205-6672. --===**===-- ________________________________________________________________________ > ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿ Sayin' it like it is! ====================== - Miami, FL. **** CALLESIS TO PORT WHAP! **** ---------- Harry Callesis, noted for the Adventure Game Tool Kit is about to embark on the "noble" adventure, Harry is going to port over the highly acclaimed CIS handler program WHAP written by S. Ahlstrom of the Amiga Sig. The porting itself, with the corroboration of Ahlstrom, will make available to ST Users one of the finest Terminal systems in use today. The entire effort is slated to take about 3 months before the first beta version is in use. "If you need anything Harry, just holler!" - Sunnyvale, CA. **** ATARI ANNOUNCES NEW PRODUCTS **** ------------- Announced as product that will be available for sale and delivery to the users at the Dearborn Show, a) the new 8 bit Terminal program, by Keith Ledbetter, SX Express, written to work with the SX 212 modem, Atari will offer this to the users with a cable included. Also the new 8 bit Midi Maze will be for sale. On display, but not for sale, will be the new Word Flair by Atari, the all in one Word Processor/DTP. Of course Atari will be showing Stacey and Portfolio and ...ah, on second thought we'll wait and let it be a surprise to everyone...be sure to go to the Dearborn Show.. STReport will carry full coverage and reviews of the show in our next issue. Issue # 94 _______________________________________________________________________ > STReport InfoFile¿ ================= ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC. P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672 Est. 1985 _________________________________________ Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST FAX: 904-783-3319 12 PM - 6 AM EDT _________________________________________ HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET _____________________________________ All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s). ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE (you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!) (all cables and connectors installed) SEAGATE HARD DISK MECHANISMS ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS * 42mb #SG44710 569.00 - (1) mech 65mb #SG60101 729.00 - (1) mech 85mb #SG840110 949.00 - (2) mech 132mb #SG3A1210 1149.00 - (2) mech *** 264mb #SGT41776 1889.00 - (4) mech *** NO Embedded controller ("N") drives used! - NO ROM HEADACHES ALL Units: Average Access Time: 26ms - 30ms ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> MAGIC SAC - PC-DITTO/II - SPECTRE/GCR LARGER units are available - (special order only) *** Available for ST - Amiga - Mac - IBM *** LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS FAST Cabinets - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets 6 month FULL Guarantee followed by 6 month Parts & Labor Warranty (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE) WE SHIP WITH * FEDERAL EXPRESS * ONLY _____________________________________ Your Personal Check is OK with us! ORDER YOURS TODAY! 904-783-3319 9am - 8pm EDT ________________________________________________________________________ > A "QUOTABLE QUOTE"¿ ================== Ziggy's Retarded Follies ------------------------ "AN OUNCE OF IMAGE IS WORTH A POUND OF PERFORMANCE!!" - Ziggy Zagnutt ATARI IS BACK! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ST-REPORT Issue #93 "Your Independent News Source" June 23, 1989 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED copyright 1989 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of ST Report or CPU Report. Reprint permission is granted, unless noted otherwise. All reprints must include ST Report or CPU Report and the author's name. All information presented herein is believed correct, ST Report or CPU Report, it's editors and staff are not responsible for any use or, misuse of information contained in this publication. -------------------------------------------------------------------------