*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original Online ST Magazine" _______________________________ December 08, 1989 Vol III No.117 ======================================================================= 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: #117 STReport¿ The Online Magazine of Choice! -------------------- - The Editors' Podium - CPU REPORT - NEW! - ARC521c - STACY PASSES FCC!! - INSIDE THE STE - Kidpublisher Pro. Part II - PROBING THE FUTURE - ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL ---====**** PC DITTO II BEGINS TO SHIP! ****====--- --==** USR TO UPGRADE HST MODEMS TO V.42 FREE! **==-- ========================================================================== STReport's support BBS NODE # 350 invites systems using Forem ST BBS to participate in Forem BBS's F-Net mail network. Or, Please call # 350 direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging ideas about the Atari ST computers through an excellent International ST mail network. ========================================================================== AVAILABLE ON: COMP-U-SERVE ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX ========================================================================== > The Editor's Podium¿ Only two weeks 'till Christmas. This is the time of the year to renew old friendships and begin valued new ones. Hopefully, with the heartening signs coming from Europe, the world will see an era of true peace. In the past two years, we have met many folks in the Atari ST community, all of whom were sincerely interested in the future of the ST computer. Elsewhere in this issue the subject of the future is covered as seen by yours truly. I would enjoy seeing your opinions on this subject. With the Stacy about to begin shipping, (within 30 days), and the STE not far behind, Atari is embarking on the new direction we all have been hearing about. Also, let's not forget about the success of the Portfolio. This palmtop computer has taken the MS-Dos world by storm. I can think of no better way for the Atari name to gain prominence in the computing community than to have the disciples of messy dos using a Portfolio. As most have already heard, PC DITTO II is beginning to ship, just in time for Christmas. Its reassuring to see things coming together in favor of the ST ....at last. Thanks for your support, Ralph..... "ATARI IS BACK!" ********************************************************************** :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT: _________________________________ To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt. Type XJM11877,GEnie and hit RETURN. The system will prompt you for your information. THE GENIE ATARI ST ROUNDTABLE - AN OVERVIEW ___________________________________________ The Roundtable is an area of GEnie specifically set aside for owners and users of Atari ST computers, although all are welcome to participate. There are three main sections to the Roundtable: the Bulletin Board, the Software Library and the Real Time Conference area. The Bulletin Board contains messages from Roundtable members on a variety of Topics, organized under several Categories. These messages are all Open and available for all to read (GEnie Mail should be used for private messages). If you have a question, comment, hot rumor or an answer to someone else's question, the Bulletin Board is the place to share it. The Software Library is where we keep the Public Domain software files that are available to all Roundtable members. You can 'download' any of these files to your own computer system by using a Terminal Program which uses the 'XMODEM' file-transfer method. You can also share your favorite Public Domain programs and files with other Roundtable members by 'uploading' them to the Software Library. Uploading on GEnie is FREE, so you are encouraged to participate and help your Roundtable grow. The Real Time Conference is an area where two or more Roundtable members may get together and 'talk' in 'real-time'. You can participate in organized conferences with special guests, drop in on our weekly Open COnference, or simply join in on an impromptu chat session. Unlike posting messages or Mail for other members to read at some later time, everyone in the Conference area can see what you type immediately, and can respond to you right away, in an 'electronic conversation'. ********************************************************************** > CPU REPORT¿ ========== Issue # 44 by Michael Arthur Remember When.... In 1976, Jim Adkisson of Shugart Associates created the 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive after a request to make a floppy disk that was the size of a napkin, and in 1981 when Sony introduced a 3 1/2 inch floppy disk drive (which had disks the size of a shirt pocket), and submitted it to ANSI, where it became the standard for 3 1/2 inch drives? CPU Systems Roundup¿ XVI ======================== Practical Future Computer Systems III: The Price of Performance --------------------------------------------------------------- Part I In the computer user's quest for faster, more powerful systems that will do more than the "older" computers, much of the focus in the computer industry has been on the high-end of the market, highlighting low-end workstations like the NeXT system, or high-end microcomputers, such as IBM Clones using the 80486 chip. To attempt to determine if this is feasible, I have made a list of "Practical" Future Systems that could be configured from the major computers in the low/middle end of the market, and compared their features to make an objective opinion about which is the best. I ignored variables like operating systems and software, and concentrated on the actual computers' features and speed, the largest hard disk you could attain, and the best graphics that system could provide. While operating systems and software are a definite factor in a computer, I wanted to aim for the best hardware itself, to which you could add the other items. All of the Practical Future Systems shown cost from $3000 to $5000 dollars, since surveys have shown that the majority of computer owners own systems that are in that price range. Also, all of the Dream Systems should have from 1 - 2 Megabytes of RAM, since this is quickly becoming a requirement for applications software. For example, AppleWorks GS needs 1.25 Megs of RAM just to boot up, and MultiFinder, as well as the Amiga's OS, need 2 Megs of RAM to be able to multitask several programs, as well as to run more smoothly. Since the main reason for a Practical Future System is to provide more "bang for the buck", a large factor in deciding a system's worth will be its price/performance ratio, to see if it meets the criteria for having "Power Without the Price".... After doing some research, I found several configurations that could truly claim to be "Affordable Future Systems". Shown in no particular order, here is my list: System #1 --------- - Dell System 316 - Total Cost of System: $3700.00 Dollars. This IBM Compatible is a 16 MHZ 80386SX system with 1 Megabyte of RAM onboard, 7 IBM PC AT expansion slots, a 3.5" 1.44 Meg disk drive, and a built-in EGA/VGA video board with a VGA Monitor. To augment this system, a Dell 1 Meg SIMM RAM Card and a CompuAdd 70 Megabyte Hard Drive would be added.... So, with this system, you would have: Dell System 316 with Intel 80386sx chip (Cost: $2500.00) Dell 1 Megabyte RAM Upgrade (Cost: $500.00) CompuAdd 70 Megabyte External Hard Drive (Cost: $700.00) EGA Graphics Resolution: 640*350 with 16 Colors out of 64 VGA Graphics Resolution: 320*200 with 256 Colors out of 256,000 640*480 with 16 Colors out of 256,000 Faults with System: The 80386sx chip isn't as fast as the 80386 chip or a comparable 80286 chip.... System #2 --------- - Macintosh SE/30 with FDHD SuperDrive - Total Cost: $5100.00 The Macintosh SE/30 has a 16 MHZ Motorola 68030 chip with a 16 MHZ 68882 Floating Point Math Chip, 2 Megs of RAM onboard, uses 256K Mac ROMs, and has a 1.4 Meg FDHD SuperDrive for the Mac. To enhance this system, I have added La Cie's Cirrus 70 Meg Hard Drive. So, with this system you would have: Macintosh SE/30 w/1.4 Meg Disk Drive (Cost: $4300.00) La Cie's Cirrus 70 Megabyte Hard Drive (Cost: $800.00) Macintosh SE/30 Resolution: 512*342 in Monochrome Resolution. Faults with System: Lacks a Color display, having a monochrome resolution which is only adequate at best. It is also far more expensive than the others.... System #3 --------- - Amiga 2000 w/CSA Midget Racer - Total Cost of System: $3690.00 The base system is an Amiga 2000 with 1 Meg of RAM, and 7 expansion slots. Along with this would be a CSA Midget Racer board, which has a 14.32 MHZ 68020 w/68881 Math Chip, a Megaboard 2000 RAM board from Progressive Peripherals, with 2 Megs of RAM onboard, for 3 Megs of system RAM, and a 65 Megabyte Hard Drive from ABCO Inc., would be included. So, with this system you would have: Amiga 2000 w/color monitor (Cost: $1900.00) CSA Midget Racer 68020 Accelerator Card (Cost: $500.00) Megaboard 2000 RAM Board w/2 MB of RAM (Cost: $600.00) ABCO 65 Megabyte Hard Drive (Cost: $690.00) Amiga 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 16 colors 640*400 with 2 to 16 colors (interlaced) Faults with System: None whatsoever. An EXCELLENT system.... System #4 --------- - Mega 4 ST w/Turbo 16 Accelerator Board - Total Cost: $3890.00 This is a Mega 4 ST with 4 Megs of RAM, 1 Expansion Slot, and an Omnimon Rainbow Monitor from Wuztek, which supports all of the ST's resolutions. Along with this would be a Turbo-16 Accelerator Board from FAST Technologies, having a 16 MHZ 68000 chip, and an ABCO Inc. 44 Meg Removable Cartridge Drive, which uses Syquest Cartridges. So, with this system you have: Mega 4 ST w/4 Megs of RAM (Cost: $2000.00) Wuztek Omnimon Rainbow Monitor (Cost: $700.00) Turbo-16 Accelerator Board (Cost: $300.00) ABCO Inc. 44 Megabyte Removable Cartridge Drive (Cost: $890.00) Atari ST Resolution: 320*200 with 16 Colors out of 512 640*200 with 4 Colors out of 512 640*400 with Monochrome Resolution Faults of System: Could use more expansion slots. Support for a math coprocessor wouldn't hurt either.... System #5 --------- - Apple IIgs w/TransWarp GS Accelerator Board - Total Cost: $4170.00 The base system is an Apple IIgs with 1 Meg of RAM, a 65816 chip which runs at 2.8 MHZ, 3 Expansion Slots, and a Color RGB Monitor. In addition to this, two peripherals made by Applied Engineering, the TransWarp GS Accelerator Board, which uses a 7 MHZ 65816 chip, and a GS-RAM Memory Card, with 1.5 Megs of RAM onboard, would be added on. Also, a Western Digital Preference 40 Megabyte Hard Disk is included. So, with this system you have: Apple IIgs w/RGB Monitor (Cost: $1650.00) TransWarp GS Accelerator Board (Cost: $400.00) GS-RAM 1.5 Meg Memory Board (Cost: $920.00) Western Digital Preference 40 Megabyte Hard Drive (Cost: $1200.00) Apple IIgs Resolution: 320*200 with 32 Colors out of 4096 640*200 with 16 Colors out of 4096 640*400 with 4 Colors out of 4096 Faults of System: Is far too expensive for the features it provides.... Please note, I did not mention products that are not shipping yet, like the 68030 TT, or products which have not been fully announced. In Part I of this series, I have given a list of the best affordable systems to currently be found in the market, and shown their individual features. In Part II these "Practical" Dream Systems will be compared to each other, in order to determine the "best" one. Based on this article alone, the Apple IIgs System is in serious jeopardy, given that every other system provides similar capabilities for a lower price. The IBM Dream System has maintained its good pricing, while growing in versatility, with the 80386sx's ability to run 80386 programs. While they may not be affordable to ALL low-end computer users, they ARE priced well enough for a significant part of the low/middle end of the market. The Macintosh Dream System, while having superlative capabilities, is VERY expensive for this type of list.... However, the Amiga 2000 System has maintained its lead over the Mega ST System. Both are the SAME price, and the A2000 System has greater speed performance. Both of these systems pass the "Power Without the Price" criteria well, as they are the least expensive systems in this list, and are equally powerful Dream Systems. But since the Amiga and Mega ST Systems have fallen out of the $2500.00 - $3000.00 price range to the price range of the other systems, the competition in determining the best system may not be decided in terms of price/performance.... But ponder, if you will, this question: 1) How important is price, as compared to performance, in the decision to buy a microcomputer? ---====***====--- CPU REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿ ======================= Osaka, Japan Matsushita Corp has announced a new 12-inch Gas-Plasma ------------ display (commonly used in laptops), which is capable of displaying 4096 colors or 16 gray scales, with a 640*400 resolution. Sample units of this new screen will ship in Early 1990, and Matsushita will price it to be lower than any comparable color LCD screen to be used in Laptops with Color Displays.... San Francisco, CA Apple reportedly won't introduce a $1500.00 Macintosh ----------------- until Early 1991, due to plans to incorporate segments of System 7.0 (like Outline Fonts, the Communications Manager, etc.) into its 256K ROMs, and to make it inexpensive enough for Apple to make at that price. This new Macintosh, which will replace the Mac Plus (and maybe the Mac SE), will probably have 2 Megs of RAM, an 8 MHZ 68000, 1 Mac SE Expansion slot, a sound port, and a 1.4 Meg SuperDrive disk drive, in addition to the other features of the Mac SE.... Armonk, NY IBM has introduced a new MicroChannel Expansion Card ---------- called the Wizard, which uses Intel's new 80860 chip to compute up to 64 million floating Point operations per second (MFLOPS), or several times faster than a Cray-1. It will be introduced at around the Second Quarter of 1990, along with a Developer's Kit to allow applications to use the Wizard. Cost: $10,000.00.... Dallas, TX Texas Instruments has been granted Japanese patents ---------- for the fundamental aspects of the Integrated Circuit, which is the basis of all computer chips. TI will now negotiate with Japanese chip manufacturers for licensing fees on these patents, which are valid thru November 27, 2001. Industry analysts predict that TI's royalties could exceed $500 Million dollars a year, based on the size of Japan's IC market.... Interestingly enough, while Jack Kilby, a former TI employee, invented it in 1959, and TI applied for Japanese patents in 1960, the patents for it were only granted in October.... __________________________________________________________________ > ARC_521C STR Tech Notes¿ ARC & ARCX 521c ======================= ARC 521c - SOUPED UP! ==================== Appearing on the major services, ARC 521C has made its debut. And it, by all the stats, shines.... Perhaps, the influx of the LHARC compression efficiency has given rise to renewed enthusiasm in bringing the ARC format to bigger and better heights. As with most all programs, the more they are used the better they become. ARC 5.21C features ================== o larger buffers for file buffering (28,672 bytes as opposed to 512) for greater speed. o new data compression algorithms for greatly improved speed AND compression. o allowing invocation of 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 bit file crunching. To select bit size, insert 12-16 in the command line (e.g. "a16 sample game.prg", "c14 sample", etc.). Each larger bit size requires more free memory. The resultant compression ratio grows more dramatic the larger the file. o on some files, 12 bit crunching (the default) results in a smaller compressed file than ARC 5.12 produces, although it is completely compatible with the original ARC 5.12. o a bug in all versions of ARC that caused a crash whenever a verbose list of a file with an invalid month (less than 1 or greater than 12) has been fixed. I've run into this on STart disks. o the bug in ARC 5.21 that allows an archive to be built that is larger than the sum of its included files has been fixed. o the original wild card expansion algorithm has been reinstated ('*.*' means ALL files again, not just all files with extensions). The speed improvements are sometimes dramatic over earlier versions of ARC. Below are the results of running a suite of functions between each version of the ARC program currently circulating. To conduct the tests, two double sided disk drives were used. All temporary files were written to a floppy disk. Some randomly selected files of various types were read from disk B:\ to an archive created in disk A:\. After each archive was finished, the archive was tested, which actually extracts the file without writing it out to disk. Then a "verbose" listing was made of the archive. The exact elapsed time for these operations was then recorded. Then a disk directory was recorded that shows the file length of the completed archive. Each version of the ARC program started with the same disk setups. Each test was done from a script without any human intervention. The time and size differences reflect only the performance of the ARC programs themselves. ========================================================================= arc512.ttp ---------- Name Length Stowage SF Size now Date Time CRC ============ ======== ======== ==== ======== ========= ====== ==== EXAMPLE.PRG 116939 Crunched 36% 75184 1 Dec 89 9:53p 99A0 PICTURE.NEO 32128 Squeezed 51% 15816 1 Feb 88 9:24a 6B0F RLE.DOC 505 Crunched 92% 44 1 Dec 89 10:03p 5008 SAMPLE.ARC 7808 Packed 1% 7758 1 Dec 89 10:35p CD5A SAMPLE.DOC 189180 Crunched 48% 98922 2 Dec 89 9:24a 4ADC SUMTHIN.SEQ 96572 Crunched 58% 40789 1 Dec 89 10:27p FE71 TEST.ARC 127693 -- 0% 127693 1 Dec 89 11:30p 5452 ==== ======== ==== ======== Total 7 570825 36% 366206 elapsed time: 00:28:16.655 directory listing: -rw-- 366411 Sat Dec 2 09:24 test.arc ========================================================================= arc521.ttp ---------- Name Length Stowage SF Size now Date Time CRC ============ ======== ======== ==== ======== ========= ====== ==== EXAMPLE.PRG 116939 Crunched 42% 67922 1 Dec 89 9:53p 99A0 PICTURE.NEO 32128 Squeezed 51% 15816 1 Feb 88 9:24a 6B0F RLE.DOC 505 Crunched 92% 44 1 Dec 89 10:03p 5008 SAMPLE.ARC 7808 Packed 1% 7758 1 Dec 89 10:35p CD5A SAMPLE.DOC 189180 Crunched 47% 102118 2 Dec 89 9:24a 4ADC SUMTHIN.SEQ 96572 Crunched 58% 41019 1 Dec 89 10:27p FE71 TEST.ARC 127693 -- 0% 127693 1 Dec 89 11:30p 5452 ==== ======== ==== ======== Total 7 570825 37% 362370 elapsed time: 00:20:54.135 directory listing: -rw-- 405406 Sat Dec 2 09:24 test.arc ========================================================================= arc521b.ttp ----------- Name Length Stowage SF Size now Date Time CRC ============ ======== ======== ==== ======== ========= ====== ==== EXAMPLE.PRG 116939 Crunched 42% 67922 1 Dec 89 9:53p 99A0 PICTURE.NEO 32128 Squeezed 51% 15816 1 Feb 88 9:24a 6B0F RLE.DOC 505 Crunched 92% 44 1 Dec 89 10:03p 5008 SAMPLE.ARC 7808 Packed 1% 7758 1 Dec 89 10:35p CD5A SAMPLE.DOC 189180 Crunched 47% 102118 2 Dec 89 9:24a 4ADC SUMTHIN.SEQ 96572 Crunched 58% 41019 1 Dec 89 10:27p FE71 TEST.ARC 127693 -- 0% 127693 1 Dec 89 11:30p 5452 ==== ======== ==== ======== Total 7 570825 37% 362370 elapsed time: 00:15:46.390 directory listing: -rw-- 362575 Sat Dec 2 09:24 test.arc ========================================================================= arc.ttp (version 5.21C) ----------------------- Name Length Stowage SF Size now Date Time CRC ============ ======== ======== ==== ======== ========= ====== ==== EXAMPLE.PRG 116939 Crunch12 44% 65763 1 Dec 89 9:53p 99A0 PICTURE.NEO 32128 Squeezed 51% 15816 1 Feb 88 9:24a 6B0F RLE.DOC 505 Crunch12 92% 44 1 Dec 89 10:03p 5008 SAMPLE.ARC 7808 Packed 1% 7758 1 Dec 89 10:35p CD5A SAMPLE.DOC 189180 Crunch12 49% 97696 2 Dec 89 9:24a 4ADC SUMTHIN.SEQ 96572 Crunch12 58% 40762 1 Dec 89 10:27p FE71 TEST.ARC 127693 -- 0% 127693 1 Dec 89 11:30p 5452 ==== ======== ==== ======== Total 7 570825 38% 355532 elapsed time: 00:09:52.300 directory listing: -rw-- 355737 Sat Dec 2 09:24 test.arc ========================================================================= It's interesting to note that ARC 5.21C performed the functions 3 times faster than the original 5.12, and that's without using a ramdisk or hard disk for temporary files! Also note that while EXAMPLE.PRG is smaller in 5.21C, the original ARC 5.12 has no trouble whatsoever with extracting it. Notice that both EXAMPLE.PRG and SAMPLE.DOC compress to a larger size in the ARC521 archive. And look at the final size of the archive, 405,406 bytes! Even ARC521B pales with both compressed file size and elapsed time, although at least it doesn't add garbage like ARC521. ARCX 5.21c ========== ARCX 5.21C extracts all files from the archives specified. As with the original ARCX, you double click on ARCX.TTP. When the paramaters dialog box pops up, you type in the name of the archive (or archives) from which you want all of the files extracted. The extracted files are placed in the same directory that ARCX.TTP is run from. The differences between the original ARCX and ARCX 5.21C are few but significant. ARCX 5.21C: o has greatly improved speed (at least 100% faster on a floppy drive system). o can handle extracting "Squashed", "Crunch12", "Crunch13", "Crunch14", "Crunch15", and "Crunch16" files. o has far better error handling. o handles being passed archive file names not in the same directory as is ARCX (e.g. "b:\games\bestgame.arc") o is smaller! Enjoy! Patrick Dell'Era Compuserve 73157,2623 GEnie DELL-ERA Delphi DELL_ERA __________________________________________________________________ > PC DITTO II STR NewsPlus¿ It's shipping and AG is alive & well!! ======================== PC DITTO II from AVANT GARDE ============================ info provided by Avant Garde These are the latest performance trials on pc-ditto II, using various benchmark programs. The computer used is a 1040ST with two 3.5-inch floppy drives and one 30 meg drive. IBM DOS is installed on the harddrive, and the DOS was autobooted from the hard drive. No DOS resident utilities were present, and the CONFIG.SYS file contained two lines: FILES=20 BUFFERS=16 The 8087 floating point coprocessor was not installed for these tests. (It appears most benchmarks do not use or test the 8087). Rather than try to summarize the various programs, I have left the original screen dump intact to provide the detail (in some cases a summary and subsequent comparison of the benchmarks would be difficult at best; as you will see from the various performance descriptions below, there is no standard for performance common to all the programs.) ---====**====--- Program: si.com Source: Commercial product, from Norton Utilities SI-System Information, Version 3.10, (C) Copr 1984-86, Peter Norton IBM/PC ====== Operating under DOS 3.30 5 logical disk drives, A: through E: DOS reports 640 K-bytes of memory: 51 K-bytes used by DOS and resident programs 589 K-bytes available for application programs A search for active memory finds: 640 K-bytes main memory (at hex 0000-A000) 32 K-bytes display memory (at hex B800-C000) Computing performance index relative to IBM/PC: 4.0 ---====**====--- Program: mips12.com Source: Public domain (available on this network) COPYRIGHT (C) CHIPS AND TECHNOLOGIES INC., 1986 01/01/80 BENCHMARK PROGRAM - VERSION 1.20 00:15:08 BENCHMARK PERFORMANCE IBM/PC IBM/AT COMPAQ ACTUAL RELATIVE TO => 4.7Mhz 8Mhz 386 MIPS GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2.00 0.58 0.29 0.33 INTEGER INSTRUCTIONS 4.00 0.63 0.27 0.67 MEMORY TO MEMORY 1.90 0.59 0.33 0.45 REGISTER TO REGISTER 5.25 0.68 0.29 0.94 REGISTER TO MEMORY 1.96 0.59 0.32 0.60 OVERALL PERFORMANCE 2.53 0.61 0.30 0.60 ---====**====--- Program: speed.com Source: Public domain (available on this network) DESIGNS IBM COMPATIBLE PERFORMANCE ANALYZER (C) 1986 Copyright (C) 1986 Richard B. Johnson Checking memory block write ticks: 117 compared to IBM/PC 431% Checking register to memory ticks: 204 compared to IBM/PC 240% Checking memory to register ticks: 263 compared to IBM/PC 186% Checking register to register ticks: 234 compared to IBM/PC 235% Checking divide by register ticks: 83 compared to IBM/PC 616% Checking divide by memory ticks: 135 compared to IBM/PC 447% Checking multiply by register ticks: 106 compared to IBM/PC 453% Checking multiply by memory ticks: 133 compared to IBM/PC 418% Checking stack operations ticks: 242 compared to IBM/PC 183% Checking far jumps, far calls ticks: 272 compared to IBM/PC 190% Total time is: 1789 clock ticks, (99 seconds) compared to IBM/PC 288% ---====**====--- Program: speed99.com Source: Public domain (available on this network) THE LANDMARK CPU SPEED TEST: SPEED Version 0.99 Copyright 1986 Landmark Software 1142 Pomegranate Court Sunnyvale CA 94087 408-733-4035 This system is performing like an IBM AT running at: Mhz --- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 3.6 Mhz 2.1x Performance relative to 4.77 Mhz PC or XT: 1x 2x 3x 4x 5x 6x 7x 8x Current time: 00:37:36 Elapsed time since starting program: 00:05:32 Current test: 526 Elapsed time for the latest test: 304 ms ---====**====--- Program: sse-v2.com Source: Public domain (available on this network) IBM PC IBM PC AT Routine: 8088 V-20 6 Mhz 8 Mhz Yours ========================================================================== Integer Count 24 (1.0) 23 (1.0) 9 (2.7) 6 (4.0) 10 (2.4) Real Count 29 (1.0) 26 (1.1) 11 (2.7) 8 (3.6) 11 (2.6) Table Lookup 28 (1.0) 26 (1.1) 9 (3.1) 7 (4.0) 11 (2.5) String Manipulation 29 (1.0) 17 (1.7) 10 (2.9) 7 (4.1) 9 (3.2) Empty Loop 29 (1.0) 25 (1.2) 9 (3.2) 7 (4.1) 12 (2.4) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Timing 139 (1.0) 117 (1.2) 48 (2.9) 35 (4.0) 53 (2.6) ---====**====--- System Speed Evaluator Ver #2, by T. Gray Program: ci.exe Source: Public domain (available on this network) CPU Information Version 1.10, by Simon Smith Processor = 8086 Clock Speed = 38.4 MHz Number for wait states = 10 General CPU performance factor relative to IBM PC = 2.6 ---====**====--- Program: cputest.exe Source: Public domain (available on this network) CPU Benchmark Test Running test, please wait Elapsed time in seconds . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.26 Detected V30 CPU at equivalent of . . . . . . . . 9.54 mhz Effective clock speed is . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.29 Estimate MIPS at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.45 Times faster than origianl 4.77 mhz PC . . . . . . 1.95 (C) Copyright 1989 Visionary Software Technology, Inc. Canton, CT ---====**====--- Program: bench.exe Source: Public domain (available on this network) (Part of the PC Magazine benchmark programs) PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 File Performance Compatibility Quality Set Help PROCESSOR SPEED TESTS [ ] Instruction mix L A B S [ ] 128K NOP loop [ ] Do-Nothing loop [ ] Integer add loop [ ] Integer multiply loop [ ] String sort and move [ ] Prime number sieve [ ] Floating point mix [ ] All of the above Enter Cancel Esc=Cancel Spacebar = Select benchmark V30/6.0 ---====**====--- PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 Results A B C 100 INSTRUCTION MIX Time in seconds L A B S _______________________________________ 8088 80286 80386 75 ______ _____ _____ This V30/6.0: 12.96 n/a n/a A 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 9.14 9.06 n/a B 50 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 33.01 n/a n/a C Performance index relative to: 25 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 0.7 n/a n/a 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 2.5 n/a n/a 0 ---====**====--- PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 Results A B C 100 128K NOP LOOP Time in seconds L A B S _______________________________________ This V30/6.0: 4.23 A 75 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 4.17 B 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 10.16 C 50 Performance index relative to: 25 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 1.0 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 2.4 0 ---====**====--- PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 Results A B C 100 DO NOTHING LOOP Time in seconds L A B S _______________________________________ This V30/6.0: 4.94 A 75 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 3.64 B 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 9.94 C 50 Performance index relative to: 25 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 0.7 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 2.0 0 ---====**====--- PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 Results A B C 100 INTEGER ADDITION Time in seconds L A B S _______________________________________ This V30/6.0: 3.68 A 75 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 2.14 B 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 9.94 C 50 Performance index relative to: 25 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 0.6 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 2.7 0 ---====**====--- PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 Results A B C 100 INTEGER MULTIPLY Time in seconds L A B S _______________________________________ This V30/6.0: 2.53 A 75 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 1.21 B 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 9.99 C 50 Performance index relative to: 25 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 0.5 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 3.9 0 ---====**====--- PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 Results A B C 100 INTEGER MULTIPLY Time in seconds L A B S _______________________________________ This V30/6.0: 4.23 A 75 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 2.93 B 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 11.04 C 50 Performance index relative to: 25 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 0.7 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 2.6 0 ---====**====--- PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 Results A B C 100 PRIME NUMBER SIEVE Time in seconds L A B S _______________________________________ This V30/6.0: 4.45 A 75 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 3.02 B 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 11.54 C 50 Performance index relative to: 25 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 0.7 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 2.6 0 ---====**====--- PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 File Performance Compatibility Quality Set Help MEMORY SPEED TESTS [ ] Conventional read L A B S [ ] Conventional write [ ] Expanded read [ ] Expanded write [ ] Extended read [ ] Extended write [ ] All of the above Enter Cancel Esc=Cancel Spacebar = Select benchmark V30/6.0 ---====**====--- PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 Results A B C 100 CONVENTIONAL MEMORY READ Time in seconds L A B S _______________________________________ This V30/6.0: 1.92 A 75 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 1.43 B 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 6.37 C 50 Performance index relative to: 25 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 0.7 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 3.3 0 ---====**====--- PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0 Results A B C 100 CONVENTIONAL MEMORY WRITE Time in seconds L A B S _______________________________________ This V30/6.0: 1.93 A 75 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 1.43 B 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 6.37 C 50 Performance index relative to: 25 8Mhz IBM PC/AT: 0.7 4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT: 3.3 0 ----======*****======---- Editor Note: After having observed the anxiety setting in on the online services, we felt it best to try to bring positive news, week after week, concerning PC DITTO II and its awaited release date. As we all saw, there was a flurry of activity a few weeks ago, but that was a one shot deal. To give all a rough idea of what actually happened, the course of events were bizarre. (at least to us and surely the Teals). The first contractor (in Texas) shipped a large batch of the 'finished' products to AG and the letdown was plain and simple.. none of the new devices would work! Murphy's Law at its best.... AG was then forced to find a remedy, after all, the users were getting restless and AG has fine reputation to uphold. A new and far more competent contractor was located (in Denver) and they were given the job of producing the new Ditto 2 boards. Needless to say, these folks got the job done and done well. PC DITTO II began shipping today in small numbers and will continue to do so until about the first of the year, by that time output will be up to full speed. Congratulations are in order to the Teals for having had the fortitude to hang in there and overcome devastating adversity and still triumphantly come forward with a fine product. Good Luck AG ..and Happy Holidays! ___________________________________________________________________ > Fontverter STR Spotlight¿ A neat product for the DTP set.... ======================== FONTVERTER IS HERE! =================== FONTVERTER for the Atari ST line of computers will begin shipping on Monday, December 4, 1989. This program allows the conversion of outline fonts between PageStream and Calamus desktop publishing packages. Users will now be able to use the exact same font outline with both packages, enabling the user owning both programs to determine which program they want to use for a certain job based on the needed capabilities of the program, instead of trying to make do because the font required is only available for one of the package. Fontverter is a conversion program, NOT AN EDITOR. Due to the radical differences in the font handling in each program, to utilize FONTVERTER, a font editor will be required in the destination format. What that means is to convert a PageStream font to Calamus, you will need the Calamus font editor to add kerning tables, to change rotation direction of some of the paths to allow the font to fill properly, and to adjust the em square. When converting a Calamus font for use with PageStream, the outline is converted to the original Publishing Partner format, from there it is converted to PageStream, and to Postscript if needed, using FONTEDIT.PRG, which is distributed with PageStream and put up on all major BBS systems by SoftLogik. This is due to the absence of a full editor for PageStream. The user will require the use of Font Design Partner or the original Publishing Partner editor to create screen fonts, and set the font widths, along with proper adjustment of the em square. Automatic screen font generation can be achieved with Font Design Partner, so it is the recomended editor. FONTVERTER is available directly from MegaType software, or from your favorite dealer. To order direct, send $39.95 in US funds, including shipping. (Money Order will ship immediately, personal checks allow 2 weeks to clear). No COD orders. Indiana residents include 5% sales tax. ($41.95 total) Send orders to: MegaType PO BOX 645 South Bend, IN 46624 Dealer and Distributor inquiries and welcome. Quantity discounts for users groups are also accepted. Address inquiries to the above address, on your letterhead, or leave E-Mail to DFTURNOCK on Genie. Dealers/Distributors please include proof of dealership, and a dealer/distributor price list will be sent or e-mailed to you ASAP. Happy Fontverting! __________________________________________________________________ > USR HST SETUP STR Tech Notes¿ Unraveling the confusion.... ============================ Getting a new modem on line can sometimes be a major task. With the advent of these new high powered modems, the options and controls are virtually unlimited. Between the dip switches, S-registers and the Nram one can easily become confused. At least with the following setting suggestions one can start off relatively easy. 1. USRobotics Courier 9600 HST Dual Standard NRAM Settings... DIAL=TONE B1 F1 M1 X6 BAUD=19200 PARITY=N WORDLEN=8 &A1 &B0 &G0 &H1 &I0 &J0 &K1 &L0 &M4 &N0 &P0 &R2 &S1 &X0 &Y1 S02=043 S03=013 S04=010 S05=008 S06=002 S07=030 S08=002 S09=006 S10=007 S11=070 S12=050 S13=000 S15=000 S19=000 S21=010 S22=017 S23=019 S24=025 S26=000 S27=000 S28=008 S38=000 -----====*****====----- 2. HST Switch Settings SW1 - Up SW2 - Up SW3 - Down SW4 - Up SW5 - Down SW6 - Up SW7 - Down SW8 - Down SW9 - Up SW0 - Up 3. MODEMDAT.TXT (FoRem) +++ AT S0=1 E0 V0 &B1 AT Z 4. FNETLINK.DAT (FoRem) Verbose disk log 0 Baud 19200 Send "AT Z" Pause 2 seconds Send "AT E0 X0 &B1" Pause 2 seconds Request Routes Maxtime 0330 3 Always call Track calls on Dial "1-713-480-9310" 40 This is all the HST info you should need. ======================================== Section 1 --------- - shows the HST NRAM settings you will notice that FIXED LINK is not enabled with this setting ..just HARDWARE FLOW CONTROL. The reason being, is it gives the greatest flexibility for all of the diffrent TERM programs available for use. Section 2 --------- - shows the dip switch setting used, ..maybe helpful. Section 3 --------- - shows how the MODEMDAT.TXT file is set up so FoReM BBS SysOps can run in FIXED LINK mode. Remember, to make the BAUD RATE line in the FOREM.OPT file read 'HST'. NOTE: if you just want to use HARDWARE FLOW CONTROL with FoReM, just remove the '&B1' command from the 2nd line of MODEMDAT.TXT. Now, you can have the BBS answer and connect at the rate the user is calling at. Please remember to make the BAUD RATE line in the FOREM.OPT file say '9600'. Section 4 --------- - shows how to make the mailer run at a FIXED LINK rate of 19200. You will notice this isn't the way the instructions say to do this, but after many hours of playing with the mailer it has been found to be the best method. It will connect with any mailer from 300-14400 at ease and without any problems. The mailer can be set up this way even if you have the BBS just using HARDWARE FLOW CONTROL. Special Info: Just to give you an idea of stats that became very real after testing the various settings listed above. And now, after having operated the system in this manner for over 3 months without any problems the following is presented. When calling an USR/HST that isn't set for FIXED LINK you will still realize higher U/L CPS rates, they peak at about 1150-1540 CPS using Zmodem. If calling a USR/HST running FIXED LINK, an average of 1720-1790 CPS using Zmodem. The Fmailer should yield about 720-960 CPS on receive, and about 820-1050 CPS on send. Dennis McConnell Sysop, FNET #453 ______________________________________________________________ > WHERE TO? STR Spotlight¿ In what direction are we headed?..... ======================= ATARIANS, REMEMBER US? ====================== by R.F. Mariano Aside from the comfy feeling of knowing I have had a wonderful decade of using Atari Computers. I remain, upset and angered, at being forced to face a rather disturbing decision. My friends, most of whom owned Atari ST gear along with me, have since gone to either a MAC or an IBM (mostly clones) computer while preaching to me to do likewise. Here I sit, faced with the decision of forsaking the most enjoyable computer I have found to date, in favor of either IBM or MAC, both of which I find lacking in one area or another. Sure, my friends tell me they have my best interests at heart. However, I can't help but remember the old adage of "misery loving company". After having mentioned that to them, they mellowed somewhat in their enthusiastic 'conversion' efforts. I thanked them and made it quite clear I would have to make up my own mind without any outside influences. Thus, begins the long hard trek through all the 'common sense' and demeaning rhetoric I know is in store for me. Without a doubt, I am a diehard Atarian. Here then, are a few questions that provide pointers that tell me so; a) Do you get angered by anyone "badmouthing" the computer itself? b) Do you find yourself wanting to reach out and shake 'the silly' out of the bad decision makers at Atari? c) Are there times you wish lived in the 'old days' of no computers and maybe even no electricity? d) Do you find yourself being an enthusiastic 'preacher' magnifying the benefits of owning and using an ST computer? e) Have you found that when you hear of another developer 'going over' to the competition you are angered, not at him, but ATARI? f) Are there times you wish Atari had never left the 'mail order' scene, knowing full well they may have hurt dealers and sold more machines by remaining in mail order distribution? g) Do you find it easy to love the computer, preaching its wonders while deep down inside you feel very uneasy about the company's next unpredictable and usually zany move? h) Have you found, as I have, that there are times your friends think you have lost any sanity they thought had because of what you have said pro or con about Atari? i) Are you ready, willing and able to forgive and forget what you feel are Atari's transgressions against the userbase if they show to the userbase that they are serious about penetrating the US home computer market thus, supporting the ST line? j) Has it occurred, on more than one occasion, that when you cool down you are ready once again to run right out and plunk down some more hard earned bux for say.. the Stacy or a TT the minute they are on the dealers shelves? k) Would you be more comfortable if you found that Atari allowed its folks to be more open about the future and Atari's plans for the future? Of course, without betraying itself or its strategic plans to the competition. Ok, you read the questions, perhaps even twice...now, here's the kicker... If... you answered 50% with a yes... you, mah fren' are still a diehard Atarian. Its nice to let you know that in these times, you are far from being alone. There are PLENTY of us. Just a few short weeks ago, I attended Comdex/Fall '89 and came away with my now famous; "Atari enthusiasm Fix". Although I missed seeing Sig Hartmann touting the Atari line, I did get the opportunity to see him and have lunch with him, he still had kind and supportive words for Atari and its future. Afterwards, I heard the echo.. "Dat guy, he is such a guy! You just gotta get to know him! He has jillions of goot ideas all the time!" Little did I realize I would meet "Dat Guy" later on that day at the Atari reception. Strangely enough that evening, more than once I heard Sig's voice in the remote distance saying "Dat guy... Sig was right. Leonard is quite a guy. I was treated to meeting many folks associated with him and of course, his "henchmen" John and Ken.... they too were very interesting people and pleasure to meet and greet. Once more, to those who felt it necessary to bad mouth the obvious enthusiasm, all I can say is, after what I learned at Comdex, the embers of faith are glowing once again and we all are able look forward to some very interesting and enjoyable times in the future as long as we do not allow ourselves to be blinded by the past. As for the dealers who feel slighted, hear this... about how the multitude of complaints that roll into Atari's offices almost every day. Of dealers out there who lay off on Atari, their own shortcomings, ie; "its backordered" ..when the truth is the dealer owes Atari bux and can't be shipped until satisfactory arrangements are made. Or, and this is the one that really galls me, the calls about the dealers who gouge the users at every opportunity. List price plus 15% is not uncommon, how about a 520stf without TOS 1.4 or any upgrade other than a double sided drive installed (actually they come that way from the factory)... The promotional price is supposed to be 299.95 according to the statements made at the SPA meeting, but we have found certain dealers trying to sell these same computers at $450.00!! And more if the prospect is totally new to the computer scene. Well as far as this writer is concerned, the dealers who are engaged in this non-sense, (there are quite few involved in the 'gouge' game), are begging for the return of MAIL ORDER and/or factory direct sales and justifiably so! They give all Atarians a BAD name and rep. Almost everyone I talk to agrees, "its time for professionalism to enter the marketing picture from the top all the way down to the street". The time has come to eliminate the chastising and punishing and to open the market up to as many dealers as possible, teaching and training them as progress is made, (within reason) and without the inhibiting major tieups of large dollars in parts/service inventories etc. There was an excellent exchange program in place that proved to be provocatively perfect. It allowed the dealers the opportunity to put more of their capital into the computer inventory and thus, sell the heck outta the computers. And, when and if the computer acted up, or croaked, after the warranty period had expired, the customer was not caught in the middle with a dealer adversely involved. Nor was the dealer facing the expense of costly test equipment and technicians, not to mention having upset users griping in the store while the sales people were trying to sell computers. The customers/users/owners/dealers had found an equitable solution in the exchange program, they sent in the defective machine and the appropriate remittance. And in return, had a fine working machine back in no time at all. This particular exchange system was the rave of the industry, it NEEDS to be put back in place along with reasonable pricing. Truly, it, (the exchange program), could've been called the frontrunner to the fully disposable computer. And, indeed, it was a shining example of top notch executive thinking. Its revamp and cost hikes were, flawed decision making at best and should be corrected. Atari's future, at this time, may appear somewhat cloudy but in all fairness, lets get real for a moment. Stacy is about to hit the US market and the STE is right behind it, thank goodness for the new little shield for the STE (it'll pass now ), it is incumbent upon all of us "diehards" to hang tough as there is still a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. As for me..... I am going jump on a Stacy ASAP, and then patiently wait for a second generation, Unix TT to arrive. Yep, you guessed it. I have not given up on Atari at all. __________________________________________________________________ > Kidpublisher Pro STR Review¿ ...another look at Kidpublisher Pro =========================== Kidpublisher Professional (Part II) =================================== by Bob Rosendale It was brought to my attention that I made an error in the review of Kidpublisher Professional in STReport 116, regarding the use of the "Font" selector box. There are 33 text columns and seven lines per page, so that no matter what font the user selects, no overflow will occur at the bottom of the page. I had also stated that the user would receive an alert box if the "Blank" option was selected. This is only true in the typing mode, not in the drawing mode. I did not know that the UNDO would retrieve the picture, BUT, only if no other drawing commands had been selected. The earlier version of the careware program was not version 2.7. What I had stated was that I was familiar with the careware versions but did not state which version it was. It was also suggested to me that I might have misled readers to believe that the only improvement to the drawing program was the addition of UNDO. It is suggested that those in doubt re-read the second paragraph of the original review. I do like the Undo feature but "I" would prefer an alert box in the drawing portion for the Blank option. (Wondering how many 5 to 11 year olds have read my original review and told their parents: "Don't bother getting the program for me because there are too many problems." My intention was to bring to the readers of STReport, the fact, that Kidpublisher Professional exists and that it was not a "remake" of a careware program.) I do like the autoboot feature that allows a child "load and go". I do like the Undo feature in the drawing mode now that I know that I have to select it before any other drawing commands if I want my picture back. "I" would like an alert box in the drawing mode if I would happen to select the Blank icon. "I" would like a Load feature to load in previous saved work so that "I" wouldn't have to have the necessary Kidpublisher Professional files and saved files per separate disk, per saved project (that could end up being a lot of saved disks especially in a school environment seeing as a bulk rate order of 3.5" disks costs about $.67 (low figure) per disk. Most likely, the special version that I will order will be just the text only version. Using the Large font makes reading easier for some of the senior citizens who use and enjoy the song sheets I have done so that they can get the whole song on a single sheet of paper. Thus, saving some time in cutting and taping two half sheets together before copying. I hope my corrections of several errors meets with everyone's approval. One of the reasons that I was selected as the reviewer of Kidpublisher Professional by Mr. Mariano was because of his knowledge that I was familiar with previous "careware" programs by D. A. Brumleve. That I have had other reviews published in STReport, if my mind serves me right there is one in the famous issue #27, that I am particularly fond of. That having retired from the Navy in January 1989 after 20 years as a Yeoman (secretary), with countless volunteer hours to youth activities and senior citizen organizations (mainly to scouting and nursing homes). That my efforts to promote our local Atari User Group to anyone I meet who has an Atari computer. I was NOT selected to write the review because I am 42 years of age with the mentality of a 12 year old.. but because of my "ever watchful child's eye view". ___________________________________________________________________ > ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL¿ Sayin' it like it is.... ====================== - Sunnyvale, CA. ******** STACY.. FRONT & CENTER!! ******** -------------- Atari Corporation is pleased to announce that the FCC has certified the Stacy for Class A use in the USA. Atari will begin shipping the Stacy in the Stacy 2 and Stacy 4 models through our dealers within the next thirty days. Stacy 2 is a two megabyte version of Stacy, with a internal 40 megabyte hard disk. The Stacy 4 is a four megabytes of ram unit, also with an internal 40 megabyte hard disk. Stacy 4's have been shown at a number of recent events, including the 1989 WAACE Atarifest, the McDonnell Douglas Recreational Computer Club Show, and of course, Comdex/FALL '89. - Skokie, Il. **** USR MODEMS BOOST SPEED WITH COMPRESSION **** ----------- Faster throughput will result from the addition of V.42bis data compression to be added to all US Robotics high speed modems. V.42bis creates a data compression ratio of roughly 3:1. The smaller file takes less time to transfer, thus equating to faster throughput. "V.42bis can be manufactured with essentially the same components as MNP5, which is why we at CCITT selected it over other candidates offering similar performance" said Dale Walsh, Vice President of Engineering at US Robotics. Walsh, who participated in CCITT's V.42bis data compression recommendation process, said the protocol uses a higher level algorithm than MNP5 compression, producing about 30% better compression on typical data files. US Robotics plans to begin shipping modems with the V.42bis standard in January 1990. V.42bis will be added to the current high speed product line to no additional cost to its customers, the company said. The upgrade is free to those who have purchased their modems after October 1. US Robotics will charge $50 to upgrade modems purchased prior to that. Upgrades are available for internal, external, and rackmount models. The Courier HST, HST Dual Standard, and V.32 modems will continue to support MNP levels 1-5 guaranteeing compatibility with current de facto error control and data compression standards, said Casey Cowell, US Robotics Chairman and President. - Houston, TX. ****** DOUBLE CLICK IS ON THE MOVE!! ****** ------------ Coming soon to a desktop near you! DC DESKTOP is the ultimate GEM desktop enhancement. You're not going to believe your eyes when you see it. When DC DESKTOP is ready for release, full ordering info will be provided. Simply put, DC DESKTOP is everything you could possibly want the GEM desktop to be and do. DC DESKTOP is not a replacement for the GEM DESKTOP.. .. DC DESKTOP _enhances_ it. - Orem, UT. ****** WORD PERFECT ASSURES CONTINUED ST SUPPORT ****** --------- Word Perfect Corp. will be releasing an additional upgrade to the current version of Word Perfect in release for the Atari ST computers. The upgrade will encompass a group of upgrades including the new screen system for those users having large screen monitors, ie; Viking Moniterm. In making this statement, WP continues its promise to support the ST computer systems. There may be a 5.0 or 5.1 in the future after all. _________________________________________________________________ > INSIDE THE STE STReport InfoFile¿ Takin' a peek inside... ================================ ctsy GEnie RT INSIDE THE STE ============== Item I Since there seems to be some interest here, and Atari hasn't helped much by not releasing any detailed information, I though that some people might like to hear the (possibly inaccurate) information on the STe I've discovered so far. Having had one for over a week now, I've had the chance to answer a lot of questions for myself. Of course, the first thing I did (before even plugging it in) was to take it apart. But before that, it comes with the standard old ST (as in 1040ST) manual, with a 6-page addendum regarding the enhancements. 4 of the 6 pages discuss the "Rainbow" TOS upgrades, and the last two give the pinouts of the new ports. It is also supposed to come with a new control panel accessory with an "enhanced color palette selector", but there was no disk at all included with the machine I received. In any case, even without the cover off, there are two differences obvious: Left and Right (stereo) RCA audio output jacks under the power switch, and 2 15-pin "joystick" connectors off to the left side. The rest of the outside is EXACTLY similar to a standard 1040ST. Inside, the first difference is obvious: 4 SIMM modules sticking up from a hole in the RF shield. (I wonder if this will cause FCC problems?) It would appear that these modules can be either 256K modules (total 1 Meg), or replaced with 1 Mbyte SIMMs for a total of 4 Megs. I would assume that 512K and 2.5 meg combinations are also possible (I will try tomorrow). Well, off comes the RF shield - now the changes are more obvious. To list them briefly: The standard (Mega type) BLiTTER is right there. The 68000 is now in a PLCC (square) 68-pin chip, not the ol' faithful DIP type. (Time to revise Turbo16!) Bye bye to the old GLUE and MMU chips - The GLUE has grown to 84pins (from 68), and in an orgy of unification, the old Video Shifter and MMU have combined to make a 144-pin surface mounted chip (dated 1988). The rest is pretty familiar - DMA controller, Yamaha sound chip, the "68901 MFP" peripheral chip. An addition is a volume and tone control chip to process the sound before output. And an RF-modulator is standard. I know, a lot of you are saying "Yeah, big deal. But what does it DO?" Well, I can't review the sound quality differences or any of the other changes because I don't have a bloody thing to try them with, and I haven't had the time to try programming some tests yet. And maybe if Atari could send some developer info on it someday, I can give some more gritty details (or at least some STe Demos, please?) There's more I can add, but I'll wait to see if anyone's interested. Oh, by the way, as I'm looking at it right now beside me, there are a few glaring jumper wires and kludges on the motherboard (even a piggybacked chip with pins cut off and other icky stuff). But it's Serial #000008, after all... Got any questions? Ask away! Item II (second of two messages) First off, before Atari axes my cherished developer status, I must emphatically state that I have NOT received any developer information (yet...) on the STe, and the unit I have is NOT a developer unit. Therefore, non-disclosure is not in effect, and when you get down to it Atari hasn't told me anything to disclose anyways. (They haven't even given me access to the Developer RT yet, even though I've been a developer for over four years, and in two countries). Everything I know about the STe is from two sources: 1) Having it beside me (always a good place to start) 2) The excellent ST-FORMAT article mentioned earlier. The machine (and also, I assume, the "000008" serial number) are thanks to Atari Canada, and the short story of how I got one is that the retail store I'm related with got one to appease us for the Stacy that kept getting promised us for a short demo and then delayed. Atari Canada has some allotted for Canadian developers (this too is public information; after all, they're sitting by a wall in the warehouse in open view), but since I'm not a game developer (and the STe enhancements are primarily game-oriented) I didn't apply for one as a developer. In the end, we received it through plain ol' civilian channels for the purpose of public display. And that's being done right now, displaying (or at least describing) it to the public. As an observation, the reason I like the STe is because it makes for a very nice, evolutionary replacement for the ST series. Nothing startling or new, after all, the ST design is virtually unchanged since 1985, and it's about time some updating was done. I would have preferred a Mega STe, but ..oh well. I just hope that the STe does not mark the beginning of the end for the Mega design. "BTW" - I severely doubt if the two 15-pin controller ports would or could properly be used for audio input, any more than the joystick ports on an IBM or Apple II (ick!). They are simply designed for two digital joysticks and one set of paddles (or one analog joystick) per port! Why? Heck if I know! It would seem to me that the resolution of the X/Y analog inputs would not lend themselves to anything too fancy. However, in the hands of a hack, who knows what's possible. -- George Geczy, JMG Software. Ed... Thanks for sharing that with us George.. _______________________________________________________________ > Recruits Needed! STReport InfoFile¿ A future in programming... ================================== INTERSTEL NEEDS ATARI ST PROGRAMMERS ==================================== by Neil Bradley Recently, I called Interstel Corporation, makers of EMPIRE, STAR FLEET I, and GONE FISHING for the ST. I was curious as to the release date(s) of EMPIRE 2 and STAR FLEET 2 for the ST. I talked to Mr. Bob Jones, customer relations representative. Mr Jones was very frank and honest with me, an attitude I appreciate in both a person and a company. Mr Jones told me that yes, Star Fleet 2 was available for the IBM. The reason that it is not out for the ST is that the programmer, Mark Baldwin, found out that the "Real Money" for a programmer is in the IBM world. He based this on the amount of dollars he received for the ST version, and the IBM conversion. Mark will not be programming for the ST any more. Mr. Jones told me that Interstel Corporation is looking for a programmer willing to do the Atari ST conversion of Star Fleet 2. He said that the programmer would obtain a "Small Royalty" for each version sold. Star Fleet 2 is written in IBM 'C'. The programmer would be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement prior to being provided the code. Based upon the quality of the work done previously by Mark Baldwin on his program EMPIRE, I strongly entreat any aspiring ST programmer to contact Interstel to consider working on this project. Empire won Game of the Year from 'Computer Gaming World' Magazine. If nothing else, this will give you a reference for your own work! You may contact Interstel at: Interstel Corporation P.O. Box 57825 Webster, TX, 77598 Tel: (713) 486-4163 BBS: (713) 486-1877 ______________________________________________________________________ > STReport InfoFile¿ Introducing... a NEW Dealer! 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ORDER YOURS TODAY! 904-783-3319 9am - 8pm EDT _______________________________________________________________ > A "Quotable Quote"¿ ================= "TO INGNORE PROGRESS... ..IS TO DENY THE EXISTANCE OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS" ... Memorable Quotes "ATARI IS BACK!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ST-REPORT¿ Issue #117 "Your Independent News Source" December 08, 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------