*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original Online ST Magazine" _______________________________ November 24, 1989 Vol III No.115 ======================================================================= ST Report Online Magazine¿ __________________________ Post Office Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32205 ~ 6672 R.F. Mariano Publisher - Editor _________________________________________ Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST/14.4 FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EDT _________________________________________ ** F-NET NODE 350 ** Our support BBS carries ALL issues of STReport and An International list of private BBS systems carrying STReport for their users enjoyment __________________________________________________________________ > Issue: #115 STReport¿ The Online Magazine of Choice! -------------------- - The Editors' Podium - CPU REPORT - NEW Games for LYNX - QINDEX TESTING - Dealer Manhandled? - Best Mouse Review ---====**** LYNX ON SALE IN TIME FOR HOLIDAYS! ****====--- --==** LHARC051 ACCEPTABLE FOR CIS AND GENIE! **==-- ======================================================================= STReport's support BBS NODE # 350 invites systems using Forem BBS to participate in the Forem BBS's F-Net mailer system to call direct at 904-786-4176 to participate in an excellent International Mail Network ======================================================================= AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX ======================================================================= > The Editor's Podium¿ Noticing the various reactions to my positive impressions concerning Atari's performance at Comdex I respectfully request that we please remember the single most important item that makes life so grand and interesting; that being the wonderful variety of thought and expression we are able to enjoy on a daily basis. Again, variety, that's what makes it all worthwhile. As far as anybody calling 'em like they see 'em. I always have. Isn't that the way it is supposed to be done? And if it is supposed to be done that way ...then it only makes "good sense" to continue to do so.... In continuing to call 'em as I see 'em, the bottom line is and must remain an exercise in common sense. Atari's execs had nothing to loose and everything to gain by offering a cordial welcome and friendly conversation, no doubt they did see where, as I would, that they could come away in better shape by doing so than they had been before the show and reception. Especially, since they now have the products and the plan. They acted accordingly and I for one, was overjoyed to have been there and been part of the proceedings. In response to those who seem to think my editorial opinions must be cut in granite, regardless of change and have expressed themselves in a rather strange disjointed and critical manner.. I feel a twinge of sorrow for them. How horribly painful having a closed and unyielding mind must be. As with all things governed by the passing of time, they change, as all things must do. Being positive about the future of Atari is nothing new, just refreshing and different at this time. That, Ladies and Gentlemen is the point. Atari gave all of us a great glimpse into the future with the new hardware and plans.. The least we can do is give them (the new leadership) an opportunity to get the job done. If I am wrong for trying, then so be it. At least, knowing I tried makes the effort worthwhile... Thanks for your support, 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 The Online Magazine of Choice! NEW USERS SIGN UP TODAY! Call any of the St Report Official BBS numbers (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 # 42 by Michael Arthur Remember When.... In response to IBM's introduction of the OS/2 Operating System, a slogan started circulating which said, "OS/2: Just Say No"? CPU Systems Roundup¿ XV ======================= Motorola's 68040 Chip: Jack of All Trades? ------------------------------------------- Motorola has recently made information available about its upcoming 68040 chip which reveal much about both its capabilities, and the future of the 680x0 line of microprocessors. But in order to understand its potential, let us take a look at the information which is currently available.... Using over 1 million transistors, the 68040 chip is a 32-bit microprocessor which has an Integer Processing Unit (IPU) which is both compatible with the 68030's IPU, providing the same 4 Gigabyte memory addressing range and full compatibility with the 680x0 line, and is reportedly up to 2-3 times faster than the 68030 chip. The 68040 also has an on-chip IEEE-compatible Floating Point Math Unit which has the same functions as the 68882 Math Coprocessor. Most of the 68882's instruction set is implemented in hardware, for greatly increased speed, and the lesser-executed instructions are in microcode, for full compatibility. Like the 68030, the 68040 has a Harvard chip architecture. This means that it is designed with independent virtual addresses for data and instructions, enabling them to be accessed simultaneously, and providing much more versatility than the classical Von Neumann architecture. In order to optimize this, the 68040's paged Memory Management Unit has two separate Address Translation Caches, each with 4K of Static RAM. This enables the 68040 to both access data, and compute integer and floating point math simultaneously, at a very high speed.... However, the most important feature of the 68040 is its support for multiprocessing, or the coordination of independent microprocessors in such a way that they can perform each other's tasks. This is possible with its "Snoop Controller". This is a bus-monitoring unit which works alongside the 68040's bus controller, which handles both the internal bus architecture, and all external I/O operations for the 68040, to ensure data coherency. This is used as a form of error protection, making sure that all data and instructions in a multiprocessing system are handled properly. This allows powerful multiprocessing to be implemented now on the 68040, but what Motorola eventually has planned for multiprocessing, should be VERY interesting. The 68050 has the potential to become revolutionary in this regard.... But ponder, if you will, these questions: 1) Given the Mach OS's support for multiprocessing, should Atari port this version of BSD Unix (which is used by the NeXT system) to a 68040-based version of the TT? 2) Given that the 68040 chip costs $1000.00, should Atari make a 68040 TT that is as powerful as possible, with 24-bit Color supported by the GEM VDI, Megapixel resolutions, and multiprocessing support, and concentrate on "Power Without the Price" for a higher segment of the workstation market? - CPU REPORT INTERNATIONAL¿ ======================== - LONDON, UK ATARI UK GETS SERIOUS! ====================== Atari UK is claiming success for its recent 250,000ukp national advertising campaign. The company's UK division said that several million pounds-worth of business has been accomplished in the past two weeks. "The business-is-war" theme suggests that a company cannot afford to be nonchalant about retaining a competitive fringe in the ever changing marketplace. The campaign expands on past successful Atari practices of producing high-quality products at low prices by highlighting computers of value and technical innovation," said Atari UK in a statement last week. Atari isn't stopping with a simple 250,000 ukp advertising spending spree. The advertising campaign will continue through this month with promotional advertisements in the London Times, Financial Times and Sunday Times, as well as the Daily Telegraph. The advertising strategy changes abruptly near Christmas, where Atari moves to National TV with a 2 million ukp campaign to tell the UK that Atari is the epitome in the home and business computer marketplace. ___________________________________________________________________ > LYNX ARRIVES! STR Spotlight¿ The march of the Cats.... =========================== NEWS RELEASE ============ LYNX IN STORES FOR THANKSGIVING =============================== SUNNYVALE, CA. Thanksgiving, 1989 Lynx, the portable color game system that took the home entertainment industry by storm, will be in retail and department stores in time for the holidays, announced Sam Tramiel, Atari Corporation president. The one pound hand held video game system, which has been called the most innovative consumer electronics product since the introduction of the Sony Walkman, provides players with full color graphics, fast action and sound effects that were previously available only in arcade games. According to one system reviewer, "Atari zapped Nintendo" with the new hand held color video game. "Atari's compact, high performance game system caught Nintendo totally by surprise," he commented. "The sophisticated technology, larger screen, full-color graphics and sleek design of the Lynx system leaves the Game Boy behind." According to Tramiel, industry analysts have been especially impressed with the portable system's color LCD display and detailed graphics. "The backlit 3.5-inch display boasts a resolution of 160x102 pixels with 16 colors from a palette of 4,096," he said. He added that the sharp resolution, color and back lighting not only reduced eyestrain, but also enabled video game players to use the system anywhere, under any lighting conditions. "Whether you're in a car, at the office, on the beach, by a campfire or even on a boat in the middle of a lake," Tramiel noted, "with the Lynx, you can play the games you play at home or at the arcade." Analysts wholeheartedly agreed with Tramiel's assessment, saying that the Lynx is the first portable game system that is as versatile and powerful as a home system. "It (the Lynx) is more like a full sized game machine that's been connected to a small monitor," commented one industry observer. "There's really no comparison between this and other handheld game machines. In fact, the Lynx has faster animation and quicker game play than most television and computer systems. Its truly state of the art technology." The Lynx comes with an eight way controller and two sets of fire buttons. Three option buttons accommodate up to five different functions. The system also includes volume, brightness and contrast controls, as well as jacks for headphones and a Lynx port. Users may flip the screen 180 degrees for right and left handed play. With linkable game cartridges and the ComLynx Cable, up to eight systems can be connected for multi-player or team challenges. The one pound portable system operates on six (6) "AA" batteries and includes California Games (four action packed games on a single cartridge), a Comlynx cable for multiuser play and an AC adapter. Four additional game cartridges are currently available for the Lynx, including Blue Lightning, The Gates of Zendocon, Electrocop and Chip's Challenge. Numerous software developers are licensing game titles for the Lynx and Atari expects that the new games will be available for the system by early next year. Tramiel said that the company is making every effort to supply the retailers with systems as rapidly as possible and that production is being ramped up to meet the holiday demand. "We'll be operating 'round the clock to catch up with the volume of orders," he commented. The Atari Lynx has a suggested retail price of 179.99. Games are sold separately and have suggested list prices ranging from $34.99 to $39.99. For more information, please contact: Ron Stringari, president, Atari Entertainment Products Division 1196 Borregas Avenue Sunnyvale, CA. 94088 1-408-745-4968 ____________________________________________________________ > Best Mouse STR Review¿ Mouse Ahoy! A comfy mouse! ===================== THE BEST MOUSE ============== by Daniel Stidham One of the most important pieces of equipment on the Atari ST is the mouse, for obvious reasons. But at times I have found it to be one of the cheesiest pieces of equipment also (no pun intended here). What you say? Well if you have ever used the Macintosh mouse you'll know what I mean. The Mac mouse has better tactile design -- it clicks sweetly and effortlessly. When I played around with one at a local Mac dealer I almost felt like I was playing music as it double clicked its way into my heart. So, coming back to my Mega's mouse was like driving an Escort (sorry to all you Escort owners) after cruising in a Caddy. Heck, I thought it was normal to have cramps in my thumb,forefinger and wrist after a day of clicking! Until recently, I thought that this was one of the trade-offs of working with the ease of the GEM desktop -- something that I had to live with. But in an October issue of STart magazine a company that I know many of you have dealt with and heard of -- Best Electronics in San Jose,California -- announced shipping of their Best Mouse alternative. Hmmm...I pondered if it was color-coded for my system...was it really a big enough improvement to justify the 49.95 investment...would it be an improvement at all. Then I wandered over to the telephone and called the people at Best ..they promised me that the Best mouse did indeed fulfill all of the above. They testified that at the WOA show in Dallas (where it was introduced) it had developed quite a fan club (possibly called the Best Mouse Club as opposed to the Mickey Mouse Club?). "But are you _sure_ that it will not look out of place with the rest of my equipment?", I asked. Oh no, they said it would satisfy the most fashion conscious ST owner out there. I said, "Sounds wonderful, dawhlink!". Raul, my fashion coordinator, agreed and so I ordered one. So did it live up to the hype? Well read on.... I paid a total of $55.00 for two day air shipping (5.00 for 2 day--not bad). I ordered on a Monday and got it on a Wednesday. Had to pay COD as the Best people don't do credit card orders -- but for my convenience they accepted a personal check. The Best mouse came in a small box not much larger than the mouse itself. Fingers shaking, I fought with the clear tape that sealed the package. Inside the small box was a Best catalog folded to fit inside the box. I threw it to the side like so much packing material...and...there it was, my mouse (if you think that I over-reacted to receiving the mouse you should have seen me when I got my hard drive kit from ICD--I had Katie bar the door). Looked nice, real nice. As a matter-of-fact it matched the colors of the ST _exactly_! Raul was delighted, I was satisfied. The Best mouse looks just like the real thing. The right and left clickers look like two little mouse eyes in front. They have a rough textured feel and look compared to a smoother texture covering the body of the mouse. Imagine a pear sliced in half down its length and blocked off at the stem side. This is exactly how the mouse is shaped. The part where your palm would rest is the bulge of the pear and the clickers are in front, stem-ward. Ergonomically speaking (Raul loves that word!), its near perfect and seems to be very accommodating to the hand that uses it. Its tail is twice as long as the Atari mouse. You may look at this as being both good and bad. Good in that it allows you to be farther away from the computer(comes in handy when you are demoing and someone else is sitting in front of the computer). Bad in that you have that extra cord to deal with on the desktop getting in the way of disks,etc. But this isn't that big of a deal and if I had my druthers I'd keep the longer cord. Raul agreed. Enough of the fluff you say and on with the performance -- how does the rubber meet the road and all those other over-used metaphoric phrases. You probably thought that I held this for last due to disappointment with its performance. Not true! I was only building up to the most exciting aspect of the Best Mouse. Remember the Mac mouse? Well forget it...the Best mouse has an even _better_ feel and look. It is very smooth and clicking is effortless. Double-clicking is rapid but sure as you can feel a distinct click without having to work for it. I had no fatigue after many straight hours of usage. The people at Best told me that it was designed to eliminate strain on the wrist and that it does. I parked my Escort(wish I could have traded it in) and now do all my clicking with the Best mouse. A couple notes...The mouse is manufactured using teflon rollers. This will eliminate dirt build-up that would eventually cause Atari's mouse to function poorly (and you to get out the Q-Tips and alcohol). Also when I called Best they told me that I would need a higher density mat because their mouse has three feet/pads instead of four. Sure enough when I got the mouse it didn't work properly on my Suncom mat. I gave the mat away and just use the bare desktop now with no problems. But, if you prefer, there are higher density mouse mats out there. Raul is looking for one but he's real particular about color.... Best Electronics (408)243-6950. Compatible with all ST and Mega products. Editor Note: Daniel is vice-president of Cintari users group of Cincinnati,Oh and runs a DTP sig. He uses his system for dBase programming through dBMAN and has several clients in the Cincinnati area. Presently, he is engaged in creating a system for former Cincinnati mayor and now councilman, David Mann, to track his law references. Dan also operates a small DTP business out of his home called PageSmith Publishing. _______________________________________________________________ > ANGUISHED DEALER STR Spotlight¿ Who.. dropped the ball?? ============================== ctsy GEnie Roundtable Just a few weeks ago, I was touting to all of you about the great new dealer we had in Birmingham, Alabama. He has a very professional store front in the affluent side of town. His store was dressed out mainly with Mega business computers, Moniterm Monitors and plenty of high end software to make the ST's performance potential gain a lasting positive impression in the eyes of the home computer buying public. John Lavoy, the owner even spent money on advertising. He is using the 30 second and 60 second Atari business computer commercials on our 5 local cable stations. All's great right, WRONG! He is ready, at this time, to return the ST's he has in stock to Sunnyvale. WHY? Because of Atari's contemptuous attitude. Now, folks you tell me if this is a way to market computers in the USA. Here we have a dealer who has to buy his computers with cashier checks. There is NO NET 30 ON ANY ORDERS. That is bad enough to scare most if not all dealers away from carrying the Fuji symbol, game image and all. But nah, John believes so much in the DTP end that he has invested quite heavily to sell the ST DTP concept. This could very well be the straw that has broken the camels back. Computers Etc., has been running commercials for the last two weeks. And now he is faced with the dilemma of getting computers from Atari so he can meet the demands created by the commercial advertising. Simply put, he has paid cash up front for his computers but cannot get them, PERIOD! I don't want to hear this cra* from you folks that say; "Oh, we don't have a problem at all in getting ST's". That is not the case here in Alabama. I know for a fact that he has called Atari on a number of occasions (don't give me BSA distributing as a solution, they're a joke) They, simply put, cannot help with anything more than lip service. Editor Note: Wonder_ BSA_ stands for..... hmmmm Meanwhile back at the ranch: He negotiated a business deal with Atari to purchase the ST's at an agreed price relative to certain promotions. He asked them if he needed to put money upfront to get the promo deal. He was told by the sales rep (Marianne); "No that was not necessary, the deal would be good until the first of the year". He called back a few days later and is now told that he has to send full amount UPFRONT to get the ORIGINAL OFFER! (what a joke!) After running the commercials, Atari is telling him that they are NOT SURE THEY ARE GOING TO HONOR THE PROMO PRICE THEY AGREED UPON. Please allow me remind you this store is not part of a national chain. This is a local mom and pop dealership. Apparently, Atari is not intimidated by them or, simply has no respect for those trying to support them. He is being told that he has to proffer fantastic and unrealistic funding to still enjoy the benefits of the original offer. Well, after the advertising costs etc., he finds it somewhat difficult to raise large amounts of upfront capital. The dealer then made a counter offer, saying he will send in $10,000 to get additional machines (plus has a $3,000 credit he wishes to use for additional hardware). Guess what? He is told that it is now TOO LATE FOR HIM TO GET THE ST'S AT THE ORIGINAL AGREED UPON OFFER. Certainly, this is not the way to attract and keep NEW dealers. Especially, in the highly communicative, US Marketplace. I am so angered that the straw has apparently broken my back also. How can Atari possibly have the gall to announce new hardware when the real issue is attracting and keeping dealers. This type of business practice is unfair to the dealer, the developer and the customer. I have had it. I have been a loyal ST user for the last 3 years. I have carried the torch for what seems like an eternity, trying to convince the world that the ST is a great machine (It is). Having great hardware is only one part of the entire picture. If you can't take care of your dealers then Atari, you are pi**ing in the wind. Atari, wake up! The computer industry is service oriented! If you can't service your dealers than please see how long you last using your tactics in Europe. As for myself, I am beginning to see the light. The US buyer is very smart marketwise. I don't think image is the problem, its the support you render to the customer. WE all know how well Atari has done. I have gone on long enough. Let me say that the Mega is, at this time, my LAST Atari computer. In the future, I will give my $5,000 or $6,000 dollars to a company that is awake and in the mainstream. Closing comment: =============== A person walked in with one of the Time magazine ads to show John. It is a very impressive 6 page add on the Amiga. John looks at me and says; "Maybe I should be carrying the Amiga, at least, they advertise". I honestly could not look him in the face and say; "No, the Atari line of computers is a better way to go". Not after all this. I now see how Atari views the US market. One fed up and loyal user, Tom Moore STreamline Tech. Editor Note: =========== Coming on the heels of Comdex... the above message is truly heartbreaking. However, it clearly demonstrates how a concept at the executive level is a clear as glass, and yet when placing the concept into action, the responsible department's personnel appear to have dropped the ball, muddied the waters, stumbled, fumbled and positively allowed this dealer to not fall, but plummet through the cracks! Come on Atari, let's get this one cleared up and fast. Its occurrences such as this that make all the promise and wonder of Comdex look like so much vaudevillian hype. We will present the further developments in this matter as they unfold. We do believe the best part of the problem here is attributable to a lack of communication (BSA) and the proximity of Comdex. In keeping with the new Atari attitude, towards the customers and dealers, we find that they are very responsive to reasonable requests and are making sincere attempts at solving problems instead of fighting or ignoring them. In that light we present the following reply as proof of Atari's new direction. Well, it's time for some encouraging news. I met with Bill Crouch today, along with our Senior Credit Administrator Eric Leet, and personally gave him a copy of the above message. Bill tells me that he is in the process of re-doing all of the dealer requirements, which are quite frankly, confusing and perhaps even unfair. Most of the changes will take place within 30 days...believe me, I made sure before I posted this tonight!! The new requirements will make it much easier for a dealer to be able to carry the Mega line, the rest of the criteria is still being worked on. Overall, we expect to make life much easier for the dealer to order product, get qualified, and make the order flow more decentralized and faster. As the entire criteria is not made up, I cannot go into more specifics. I do make one request. I had to get a phone call from Ralph Mariano pointing me into this topic to find out what was going on. While I can appreciate the need to vent a little frustration and steam, I still confess to being confused by some of the messages that are pointed at just ATARI! Come on, gang!! We are not strangers to you, why haven't you sent me, or some other Atari person E-Mail? I suppose I could check this topic everyday, but frankly, I'm starting to feel a little stretched already. Help me out, and *Yourselves* by sending me e-mail with your dealer problems. I will help, as I have helped in other instances. But, if I don't know about the problems, I cannot do anything about it. *Please*, make me more productive and send me e-mail about your problems! One final note: we are a *very* small company. In checking on the most recent events that T.Moore describes, let me point out just a few ignored tidbits of info. First, his dealers order arrived on the Friday that all of our executives were at Comdex. Figure it out! If Bill had scheduled the 100 appointments for one hour each for 20 appointments, over a 5 day period he would be able to make ALL the appointments. That doesn't allot a whole lot of time for him to conduct other business. Also, the above note that Tom posted was the day after his dealer had been asked to wait until the next business day to straighten the matter out: not a week, not month, not a quarter, ONE BUSINESS DAY! Who's unreasonable here?? Are you really sure it's ALWAYS Atari? Don't jump the ship yet, Tom. There are more than a few of us that have just come on board in the last few months. We're trying really hard to make a difference, and we're making progress. Tom, I'll send you more specifics via e-mail. Thanks for listening to the other side of the coin for a moment, and thanks again to Ralph Mariano for bringing this matter to my attention. Bob Brodie _______________________________________________________________ > A SECOND LOOK STR FOCUS¿ Is the hand quicker than the eye? ======================== INDEXING THE TT & MEGA4 ST ========================== STReport has found that possibly, the facts and figures presented to the userbase concerning the performance of the new Atari TT may not reflect the real potentials and power of the TT. Although, we do feel the figures were presented in good faith, we, at the same time, found that the testing program was written well before the TT was available to the public. Therefore, certain routines capable of taking advantage of the unique and superior design of the TT and its vastly improved CPU the 68030, were not included as part of the testing program. Below, we present an illustration depicting the possibilities of debatable results being produced while testing the TT. We tested a MEGA4 equipped with a T16 by Fast Technologies. We leave the results and the judgement call to the readers. We feel however, that the TT will require additional testing with an index program capable of interpreting the true performance curves of the TT. At this time, we understand D. Mihocka has volunteered to upgrade the QuickIndex program, he asked for some "TT" keyboard time and it is rumored this will happen rather soon. QuickIndex identified the TT as having "TOS Version 3.0". The Mega 4 ST was equipped with TOS 1.4 and the T-16. It did identify the OS as being TOS 1.4 in the Mega4 QuickIndex TT TT Mega 4 ST Resolution Low High High TEST CACHE CACHE T16 & Cache Processor Tests: --------------- CPU Memory 360% 361% 126% CPU register 409% 410% 202% CPU divide 509% 510% 201% CPU shift 1734% 1737% 205% Disk Access Tests: ----------------- DMA Read (Disk) 181% 181% 10730% *** Gem (Create File) 100% 100% 7726% *** Screen Speed Tests: ------------------ Text write 190% 193% 440% *** string display 185% 187% 1837% *** scroll 290% 295% 149% Gemdraw (boxes) 225% 225% 317% *** TT figures as appeared in STZMAG ---========***========--- We present herewith the documentation for the QUICKINDEX program, thus the reader may now understand the terms and measurements as they were intended instead of perhaps guessing at their meaning. Quick Index 1.5 - the ST System Performance Evaluation Program -------------------------------------------------------------- by Darek Mihocka and Ignac Kolenko Waterloo, Ontario, Canada June 9, 1989 -===========- The categories are divided into two groups. The first group (in the top half of the screen) contains benchmarks which are relatively independent of TOS version or screen resolution. The second group is very dependent, since these are the screen output tests, and so choose the reference system carefully. Some of the categories have been recalibrated, and so the numbers may vary slightly from before. For example, the dialog box used in the GEM test has been changed to include a wider variety of objects. The BIOS text test has been changed to use all 80 columns if possible. The categories test three major areas of the ST: disk I/O, screen output, and CPU speed. The CPU results should always return 100% if your ST is not equipped with some sort of 16MHz accelerator board or cache. With about half a dozen companies now claiming to have 16 MHz accelerator boards for the ST, we would like to see some more results. We challenge the makers of these boards to run Quick Index on their hardware and show us some pleasing numbers before we shell out $300 to $500 for such boards. We'd like to see numbers in the 150%-200% range, and not less! The screen output benchmarks can be used to see how effective programs like Quick ST, Turbo ST, and GDOS are, and can also be used to test the blitter chip performance. The disk benchmarks test how fast the selected disk drive can be read, how fast it can create files, and how fast the disk drive spins. The results will partly be affected by how the disk is formatted (i.e. single sided, double sided, twisted, etc). We hope that you will find Quick Index useful. Remember to support shareware by sending us a contribution of $30. You then become a registered user of all of the Quick programs (Quick View, Quick Index, Quick Find, Quick Inf, Quick Print, etc...) and will be able to receive updates that will not released to the public. Click on the HELP button in Quick Index for more information. This release of Quick Index may be copied, and this documentation file may be reprinted, on the condition that the program and documentation are not modified and are distributed at no cost. The ARCed file may be posted on any free BBS or online service. Editor Note: This article is presented not to air who may be right or wrong, but in the interests of fair play (for Atari's TT) and whole information, we decided to check a Mega against the posted figures. We realize the figures will vary with each machine tested, but when we queried the folks at the Atari booth, during COMDEX, they requested that we not use a bench testing program written and designed for use with the earlier ST models. We understood this request and when we saw the "benchmark tests" made public decided to do some of our own. In conclusion, we at STReport feel the TT did not get a fair opportunity to strut its stuff, we realized this when we saw the figures. The representation presented to the readers was in our opinion not quite right. In recognition of the author of the original results, we are sure no harm was purposely intended. ________________________________________________________________ > ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿ Sayin' it like it is...... ====================== - Sunnyvale CA. ***** ATARI BEGINS POSITIVE USA DRIVE ***** ------------- With the Lynx in full release, and the warehouse almost emptied of the old style 520 machines, Atari is poised on the threshold of its "new beginning" in the US marketplace. As we see it the next 120 days are going to be among the most dynamic Atari has seen in quite awhile. - Columbus, OH. ***** CIS OPENS SPECIAL LYNX AREA IN 8BIT FORUM ***** ------------ Ron Luks, head SysOp Atari Comp-U-Serve, announced today that they will have available an area in the 8 bit forum (Type G Atari8) dedicated to the Lynx and its associated game cart software. Additionally, he said they would be accepting LHARC files as of today and have the new LHARC available for D/L. In the Atari Pro area. (Type G Ataripro) To d/l LHARC, type bro LHARC.ARC in the new uploads area of the Pro library. - New York City, NY. *** 150,000 PORTFOLIOS SPOKEN FOR! *** ----------------- At close to two thousand a day being sold, the Portfolio has literally taken the US market by storm. The futures of both the Portfolio and the other Atari computer related products are on a very positive upswing. According to industry observers, "if the current trends continue, the name Atari will gain respect and momentum in the cottage computer industry very rapidly", they said. - Rockville, MD. ***** GENIE ADOPTS THE LHARC (LZH) FORMAT ***** -------------- After having received version .051 of LHARC, and after extensive testing of its reliability, Darlah Pine, Head SysOp of the Atari Roundtables has announced they, (The Atari ST Roundtables), will be accepting files compressed with this format using the .LZH extender. Of course, this does not mean they are discontinuing ARC, it means they will use LHARC in addition to ARC. Since ARCShell 2.0 readily interfaces with LHARC, no problems are foreseen. However, "We will be preparing a doc file for new users", she said. File: LHARC.ARC file # 12916 - San Francisco, CA. ***** SYQUEST INTROS 2 NEW GOODIES ***** ------------------ At COMDEX, SyQuest was showing two new removable hard drives - a 5.25 inch 175MB device to be priced about the SAME as the current 44 MB version. And a 3.5 inch 42.5 MB removable. Both of these fine drives are 1 inch high (1/3 height) and the 3.5 inch could even fit in the STACY! Both drives should be available by June (probably earlier to OEMs). Also, the price on the current 44 MB drive will BE REDUCED BY $100.00 - $200.00. An special in-depth report on these fine new products will be featured next week. - London, UK. ****** ATARI UK LOWERS THE BOOM! ******* ----------- Now, here's the lowdown about the STE "late release" in the UK... The importers could only order 1040 STE computers when their current stock of 1040 STFM's 1040 STF:s was depleted. Atari Scandinavia ordered a _low_ amount of 1040 STFMs this year, so they could be _sure_ of having the 1040 STE released and in time for christmas. Atari UK has a very large stock of 1040 STFMs, and that's why the 1040 STE is in the Swedish Shops, but not in the English ones. Also, rumor has it that Atari UK is irked at certain magazine publishers for having "jumped the gun" on publicizing the STE "before its time". As a result it is reported that Atari is pulling back all the STE machines sent to magazine publishers, non-disclosure agreements or not. Ah yes... for the actions of a few, many suffer. A very unwise move. ___________________________________________________________________ > LHARC DOCS STReport InfoFile¿ A quick explanation of LHARC v .051 ============================ _________________________________________________________________ / / / // // // //// ///// ///// ///// ////// / / // // // // // // // // // // / / // ////// ////// ///// // // //// // / / // // // // // // // // // // / / ////// // // // // // // ///// ///// // / / / v0.51 ½ 1989 by DeltaVision Systems Written in GfA 3.07 and Turbo-C/ST by J. Webb & E. van Herk Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's yet ANOTHER archiver. We've had SQ, ARC, PAK, ZIP, ZOO, and now... LZH! Well, the guys on MS-DOS seem to like it, so us ST'ers will just have to adjust, as always... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LHarc was developed for MS-Dos systems by somebody called Haruyasu Yoshizaki from Japan. It compresses typical files to about 60% of what ARC would do (e.g. if ARC compresses it 100K, LHarc will probably compress it to about 60K). This is just about the best ANY archiver can do. And for transmitting files over a telephone line that makes a hell of a difference... An ST version of LHarc is being written me, Jon Webb, with a lot of help from Bart van Herk. This is the third release of LHarc-ST, compiled with the brand new GfA 3.03 compiler and Turbo-C/ST. Neither Bart nor I take any responsibility whatsoever. If you turn your 120 Meg hardisk into a C60 cassette tape, it's your own silly fault. LHarc-ST is not completely compatible with the MS-Dos version. We don't guarantee that files created on an ST can be extracted on a PC, or vice versa. But if you follow the guidelines in this document, you shouldn't have any problems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ! WARNING ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LHarc-ST can NOT work with floppy disks when TurboDos is installed! See the section about 'known bugs' below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- STARTING LHARC ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LHarc can be started from the desktop or from a shell. If you like you can rename LHARC.PRG to LHARC.TTP or LHARC.TOS, whatever you prefer. LHarc knows when it has been started from the desktop. It will allow you to input/edit your command line, and will wait for a keypress when done. If you start LHarc without a command line, it will display a list of commands. LHarc should work fine with a standard ARCshell. You can get Gem to start LHarc automatically when you double-click on a .LZH file by going through the following steps: - Highlight LHARC.PRG, - Select 'Install Application' from the drop-down menu, - Type 'LZH' and click on 'Okay', - Select 'Save Desktop' from the drop-down menu. If you are not running the new TOS 1.4 you'll need to edit your DESKTOP.INF file with a text editor next. Any editor will do as long as it can produce ASCII TEXT. You could use 1st Word with WP mode switched OFF, the editor Tempus, or the capture buffer in Flash. Right down at the bottom of your DESKTOP.INF file you'll see a line which looks something like this: #P 03 04 LHARC.PRG@ *.LZH@ This tells Gem to start up 'LHARC.PRG' whenever you double-click on a '*.LZH' file. But Gem only stores the name of the program, not the path leading to it! So it would only be able to find LHarc if it was in the same folder as your .LZH file. You must insert the path yourself. If you have LHarc in the folder C:\COMMS\, the line would look like this: #P 03 04 C:\COMMS\LHARC.PRG@ *.LZH@ Watch out you don't change any other characters of your DESKTOP.INF file, because Gem is very choosy about what it finds in there. Leave the '@' characters in too! Once you've installed LHarc as an application you can double-click on any LZH file. Gem will tell LHarc which file you double-clicked on, and LHarc will allow you to edit your command line (e.g. insert -V in front of the name). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- INPUT AND OUTPUT ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LHarc can be redirected to a file or another device, except for extraction to the screen. Output can be paused by pressing Control-S, and resumed with any key. Pressing ESC or Control-C will abort the current operation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LHARC COMMANDS ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To use LHarc you will need to tell it what to do by giving it a command. ARC users will find LHarc commands quite (if not very) familiar. If you do not know the purpose of archivers, please have a look at the documentation which accompanies ARC from System Enhancement Associates. Optional parameters are in square brackets [..]. LHarc will automatically add .LZH to an archive name if it can't find it. If no drive/path is specified, the current drive/path is used. If no filespec is specified with any command but add, delete and rename, *.* is assumed. * Command....... A Description... Add files to an archive Syntax........ LHARC A [path]archive[.LZH] filespecs... Examples...... LHARC A \document.lzh c:\docs\*.doc LHARC A d:\games.lzh a:\pm\pacman.* LHARC A c:\download\msgs *.msg LHARC A a:source d:myprog.c c:*.pas c:\gfa\*.GFA The 'A' command adds files to an archive. If the archive does not yet exist, it will be created first. The file specification may include wildcards. * Command....... M Description... Moves files to an archive Syntax........ LHARC M [path]archive[.LZH] filespecs... Example....... LHARC M thisdir.lzh *.* The 'M' command moves files to an archive by adding them to the archive, and then deleting them from disk. The files are only deleted if the archive operation was successful. * Command....... I Description... Extract files with Inquire Syntax........ LHARC I [path]archive[.LZH] filespecs... Examples...... LHARC I \document.lzh c:\docs\ LHARC I d:\games LHARC I c:download *.msg messages\*.txt The 'I' command causes LHarc to display the filenames of each file matching the filespecs (or *.* if no filespec was passed), asking you whether you want to extract this file. Type [Y]es to extract, [N]o to continue with the next file, [A]ll to extract the rest of the files or [Q]uit to stop extracting. If LHarc finds a file which already exists, it will ask you whether you are sure you want to extract it. If the CRC doesn't match that of the original, you will be warned. * Command....... X Description... Extract files from an archive Syntax........ LHARC X [path]archive[.LZH] filespecs Examples...... LHARC X \document.lzh a:\*.* LHARC X \sources\source d:myprog\calc*.h LHARC X c:games.lzh d:\pac.prg e:breakout.prg LHARC X b:download f:\ The 'X' command works just like the 'I' command, but it doesn't ask you whether you want to extract each file, it just extracts all files matching filespec. If a file already exists, LHarc will warn you and ask you whether you're sure you want to extract it. If you don't like 'X', you can use 'E' instead (to please some ARC shells). * Commands...... S and P Description... Extract files to screen or printer Syntax........ LHARC S [path]archive[.LZH] filespecs LHARC P [path]archive[.LZH] filespecs Examples...... LHARC S \document.lzh *.doc read_me.txt LHARC P \printer.lzh picture.dmp The 'S' command extracts files from an archive, just like the 'X' command, but puts them on the screen instead of on disk. The 'P' command sends them to the printer. Both commands cause the files to be sent via BIOS, so they are not redirectable. * Command....... T Description... Test files in archive Syntax........ LHARC T [path]archive[.LZH] filespecs... Examples...... LHARC T ..\badlzh importnt.doc LHARC T xfer.lzh *.* LHarc stores lots of info about the original file in the archive. One thing it notes down is the CRC value of that file. CRC stands for Cyclic Redundancy Check, and is a special way of checking whether a file has been damaged or not. If the CRC of the original file matches that of the extracted file, you can be pretty sure the files are identical. The 'T' command tests files in the archive and reports whether the CRC value in the header matches that calculated by LHarc. * Command....... V Description... Verbose list of an archive Syntax........ LHARC V [path]archive[.LZH] filespecs... Examples...... LHARC V \document LHARC V c:\archives\sources *.C D*.PAS LHARC V a:games.lzh pac*.* The 'V' command will show you a list of all files in the archive specified, which match the filespecs (or all files, if no filespec is given). You'll see the following information... - Filename: the name of the original file - Actual: the length of the original file when it's unpacked - Packed: the number of bytes the file takes up in the archive - Ratio: how large the packed file is compared to the original - Date: date of last modification - Time: time of last modification - Attr: file attributes of the original: w = Write Protected, h = Hidden, s = System, a = Archived. - CRC: The Cyclic Redundancy Check of the file. This is used to check for damages to the archive. - Methd: Compression method, Either -lh0- for an uncompressed file, or -lh1- for a compressed file. * Command....... L Description... Short list of an archive Syntax........ LHARC L [path]archive[.LZH] filespecs... Examples...... LHARC L \document LHARC L c:\archives\sources *.C D*.PAS LHARC L a:games.lzh pac*.* This command does nearly the same as 'Verbose'. The difference: the filename, original size and archive comments are displayed. * Command....... D Description... Delete files in an archive Syntax........ LHARC D [path]archive[.LZH] filespecs... Examples...... LHARC D msdos pc_ditto.prg LHARC D badlzh delete.* The 'D' command removes one or more entries from the archive. No defaults are allowed here. * Command....... R Description... Rename a file in an archive Syntax........ LHARC R [path]archive[.LZH] oldNAME newNAME Example....... LHARC R upgrade.lzh version1.prg version2.prg This command changes the name of ONE SINGLE file in an archive. You CAN'T use wildcards here! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SWITCHES ------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can influence the behavior of LHarc by adding one or more switches after the command character. These switches are valid: H Hold after command, will tell LHarc to pause for a keypress after it has done whatever it was supposed to do. Because some people might be using LHarc for running a BBS, a thirty second timeout has been added, so LHarc will exit after 30 seconds even if you don't press a key. When started from the desktop LHarc will always ask for a keypress. B keep Backup of archive. If you don't trust LHarc you can get it to leave the 'old' copy of the archive on disk. It won't be deleted, the extension will just be changed to '.BAK'. N No compression, will cause LHarc to store the file in the archive without compressing it. These files are displayed with method '-lh0-' in the verbose list. The CRC saved is a dummy (Hex 1234). O Overwrite existing files. If you add this switch, LHarc won't ask you whether you want to overwrite the file about to be extracted if it already exists. The old file will be deleted. F Disable Floppy/TurboDos check. This switch will override the checking for floppy operations with TurboDos installed. You might have a newer version of TurboDos than I have, so you can switch the checking off here. C Add Comments. LHarc can add comments to each file in an archive. These will be displayed when you extract, list, update the archive etc. By adding this switch while updating or creating an archive LHarc will prompt you for a comment. Example: You want to extract TEST.LZH, and you don't care about existing files... The command would be: LHARC XO TEST.LZH To get a verbose list of the contents of TEST.LZH, and pausing for a keypress after the list has been displayed, the command would be: LHARC VH TEST.LZH ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ERRORLEVELS AND TEMPORARY FILES ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LHarc passes a value back to the program it was called from. The desktop disregards this value, but other programs might find it useful. The value (usually called an 'error level') depends on whether the command was executed successfully. The following error levels are used: 0 Okay, no error, 1 The given command wasn't recognised, or the user aborted the operation, 2 The specified archive wasn't found, 3 GemDos reported a read error. Probably a faulty disk, 4 GemDos reported a write error. Same as above, 5 A CRC error was found in the archive tested/extracted, 6 The archive has a bad header in it, probably damaged, 7 An internal error occurred in LHarc. Any other error levels should be interpreted as program errors. LHarc creates a file called 'LHARC.$$$' when updating an archive. This file is later renamed to the actual archive name. If an error occurs during the operation, this file is left on disk and can be deleted. If a file with this name already exists, and an archive is updated, the file will be deleted without warning! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- DIFFERENCES COMPARED TO THE MS-DOS VERSION ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like I said, LHarc-ST is not completely compatible with the MS-DOS version. Some things to keep in mind: - LHarc-ST has been tested with archives created by LHarc-PC v1.12 and vice versa, - LHarc-ST can handle files with full pathnames, but will strip the path off when extracting. LHarc-ST can't handle self- extracting archives (.COM/.EXE). - For -lh0- type files (which are normally VERY small), no CRC check is done during decompression. All -lh1- files are checked of course. If you specify 'N'o compression when adding to an archive, the CRC is a dummy (hex 1234). - When extracting a file from an archive, the attributes are disregarded. I don't like the thought of archivers creating hidden read-only system files. - The archive comments might not work with future versions of LHarc on the PC or any other system. I've used a rather illegal method of adding comments, but the PC version doesn't seem to mind. Archives which don't contain comments should work fine in any case. - LHarc has a maximum of 100 files per archive at the moment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- KNOWN BUGS ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LHarc cannot work with floppy disks if TurboDos is installed. This is a bug in all programs written in Turbo-C. Before doing anything on a floppy LHarc will check to see whether TurboDos is installed and issue an error if it thinks it will have problems. If you try anyway (with the 'f' switch) your machine will probably lock up. LHarc will work fine without TurboDos, on hardisk and with any version of TOS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUG REPORTS, REGISTRATION AND DISTRIBUTION POLICY ------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you find any bugs, other than the one above, please let us know. We'd like to know a number of things: - The version number of LHarc, PC or ST? - The command line used to call LHarc, - Information about WHAT was happening when the bug occurred, - Information about the files you were adding/extracting, - Information about the archive you were adding to/extracting from, - Was that archive created on a PC or ST? By what version of LHarc? - What machine you're running (520 ST, 1040 ST, Mega-2 etc), - The version number or default date of your TOS, - Where you called LHarc from (DeskTop, NeoDesk, PCommand etc.), - How much free memory you had when you started LHarc. Please fill in as much info as you can. If possible, tell me how I can reproduce the error. You can reach me by normal mail at: DeltaVision Systems, I.B.B.-laan 37, 3582 VE Utrecht, The Netherlands. or leave a message to Jon Webb at... Computershop Utrecht BBS (FidoNet 2:282/350), Telephone : Holland (0)30 - 660 487, at 300, 1200 or 2400 bps, 24 hours per day, your Sysop is Eddy Emck. If you enjoy using LHarc-ST and would like to receive the latest version (plus utilities) on-disk, send a cheque or postal order for HFL 20,- (or more 8-]) made payable to Jon Webb to the address above. Include a note with your name, address, phone number, which version of LHarc-ST you already have, and whether you'd like the newest version right away or prefer to wait for the next update. Registered users will receive a note when each future update is released, and can obtain a copy for just the cost of a disk + p&p. LHarc-ST may be used, copied and made available for download as long as you stick to these rules: - You ALWAYS include the documentation, - You do NOT modify the program or documentation in any way, except for translation of the documentation, - You do NOT charge a fee other than nominal on-line time and copying charges. And PLEASE show the version number of LHarc with the file name. Thank you! ======================================================================== === What's new in LHarc v0.51? === ======================================================================== v0.51 already??? Yep. Sorry. Just one day after releasing version 0.50 I discovered two rather serious bugs which could cause compatibility problems with the PC version and/or make the machine lock up now and then. So I decided to release version 0.51. And to make it up to you I've added some nice little features and fixed some other problems: LHarc will no longer mess around with the mouse or the cursor. This was GfA spoiling the fun for command line interface users, but I've been digging in the libraries and doing some patching. As a result: You can now rename LHARC.PRG to .TOS or .TTP without any problems whatsoever. I found a few strings which were being sent to the screen even if output was being redirected to another device or file. Only two things are now placed on the screen: internal error messages and the 'Press Any Key' message. With version 0.51 you can add COMMENTS to your archives! By using the 'c' switch when creating an archive you will be prompted for a comment. Type in your text and press Return. This text will now be displayed when the file is extracted, updated, listed (see below) etc. The new List command 'L' will display the file name, original size and comment. An archive which contains comments MIGHT not be compatible to future PC versions, versions of LHARC running on other systems or utilities which use LZH files. However, due to the 'strategic' positioning of the comments, the PC version I have (1.12) doesn't object at all (it just tells you the CRC is 'not supported'). I don't know about the Amiga or any other versions, perhaps somebody could try it out? Electronic Greetings! - Jon - ___________________________________________________________________ > Hard Drive Info STReport InfoFile¿ Affordable Mass Storage ================================= NEW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!! ============================ 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). 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Memorable Quotes "ATARI IS BACK!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ST-REPORT¿ Issue #115 "Your Independent News Source" November 24, 1989 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ½ copyright 1989 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors, staff, ST Report¿ or CPU Report¿. Reprint permission is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. All reprints must include ST Report or CPU Report and the author's name. All information presented herein is believed correct, STReport or CPU Report, it's editors and staff are not responsible for any use or misuse of information contained herein. --------------------------------------------------------------------------