*---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" _____________________________________ from STR Publishing Inc. """""""""""""""""" July 20, 1990 No.6.29 ======================================================================= STReport 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 ** 500mb Online ** STR'S owned & operated support BBS carries ALL issues of STReport Online Magazine and An International list of private BBS systems carrying STReport Online Magazine for their users enjoyment __________________________________________________________________ > 07/20/90: STReport¿ #6.29 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine! ------------------------- - Editor's Podium - CPU REPORT - CPU MACNEWS - UScript & NEODESK - WAACE Updates - WP UPDATE INFO! - STe DMA WOES FIXED - SM124 BLUES! - STR CONFIDENTIAL * ATARI 24-BIT COLOR FROM LEXICOR * GFA US TO BEGIN SHIPPING! * * NEW PORTFOLIO O.S. * REVOLVING DOOR ALIVE & WELL! * ========================================================================== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE¿ "Only UP-TO-DATE News and Information" -* FEATURING *- Current Events, Up to Date News, Hot Tips, and Information Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports ========================================================================== 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¿ Its summertime and that's the outdoor time of the year all over the country. People become more athletic minded and active during this refreshing time of year. In fact, the activity levels at Atari are seemingly at an all time high. Elie Kenan is now in Sunnyvale becoming fully acclimated with the 'system'. STReport and its entire staff wishes him all the success possible and we forward, publicly, our pledge to continue to support Atari's userbase to the best of our abilities. From when I was a youngster, I always remembered my mom saying a "new broom always sweeps clean". At this time, STR hopes the broom clears the slate and the entire userbase can look forward to a clean slate both at Atari and in the userbase. STReport has every intention of supporting the new Director and will strive to provide any assistance needed. STReport hopes to see the renewed enthusiasm among the users grow right along with the many anticipated Atari successes and triumphs under the capable guidance of E. Kenan. Many thanks to our loyal readers and special thanks for fantastic quantities of support mail received in E-mail and from the Postman in the last few weeks, its certainly what makes it all worthwhile. Ralph........ *********************************************************************** > CPU REPORT¿ ========== Issue # 76 ---------- by Michael Arthur Remember When.... In December 1980, a company called Infocom introduced a text-based fantasy/adventure game called Zork (which was ported from a similar game running on an M.I.T. mainframe), which became one of the first popular microcomputer games? CPU Systems Roundup¿ XXXIV ========================== COMMODORE, FLICKERFIXERS, AND AMIGA 3000 GRAPHICS MODES ------------------------------------------------------- Here is a posting from Peter Cherna of Commodore Corp., which provides details on the graphics capabilities of the Amiga 3000: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A3000 Graphics Modes (Peter Cherna) Following a specific request I received, and some general confusion, I thought I should present a discussion of the complete set of modes supported by ECS and AmigaOS 2.0. Mode Name Size Color Monitor Type De-Interlacer Notes Lores 320x200 (A) NTSC Scan-doubles (1) Lores-Interlaced 320x400 (A) NTSC De-interlaces (1) Hires 640x200 (B) NTSC Scan-doubles (1) Hires-Interlaced 640x400 (B) NTSC De-interlaces (1) Lores 320x256 (A) PAL Scan-doubles (2) Lores-Interlaced 320x512 (A) PAL De-interlaces (2) Hires 640x256 (B) PAL Scan-doubles (2) Hires-Interlaced 640x512 (B) PAL De-interlaces (2) SuperHires 1280x200 (C) NTSC disable it (*) (3,7) SuperHires-'lace 1280x400 (C) NTSC disable it (*) (3,7) SuperHires 1280x256 (C) PAL disable it (*) (3,7) SuperHires-'lace 1280x512 (C) PAL disable it (*) (3,7) Productivity 640x480 (C) VGA pass-through (4,7) Productivity-'lace 640x960 (C) VGA pass-through (4,7) A2024-10Hz 1008x800 (D) A2024 (NTSC) N/A (5) A2024-15Hz 1008x800 (D) A2024 (NTSC) N/A (5) A2024-10Hz 1008x1024 (D) A2024 (PAL) N/A (6) A2024-15Hz 1008x1024 (D) A2024 (PAL) N/A (6) Size: The nominal sizes of each mode are given. The regular NTSC and PAL modes can be overscanned. TheSuperHires NTSC and PAL modes can also be overscanned, though less that proportionately to the regular NTSC or PAL modes. The two productivity modes can also be overscanned. The A2024 modes may not be overscanned. Colors Notes: (A): 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64(EHB), or HAM, from a palette of 4096. (B): 2, 4, 8 or 16 from a palette of 4096. (C): 2 or 4 from a palette of 64. (D): 2 or 4 shades of gray. Signal Type: NTSC: Requires NTSC-type monitor, including 1080, 1084, television. Some PAL-type monitors also can handle NTSC. Most (?) multiscanning monitors can support NTSC rates. PAL: Requires PAL-type monitor, including PAL 1080, 1084, television. Some NTSC-type monitors also can handle PAL. Most (?) multiscanning monitors can support PAL rates. VGA: Requires VGA-class or multiscanning monitor. A2024 (NTSC): Requires NTSC version of A2024 monitor. A2024 (PAL): Requires PAL version of A2024 monitor. De-Interlacer: The de-interlacer is a circuit on the A3000 motherboard that works with a VGA-class or multiscanning monitor. When enabled, the de-interlacer provides a VGA-compatible output on its 15-pin connector, from what would be NTSC or PAL or VGA modes from the 23-pin video connector. To use this, you require a VGA-class or multiscanning monitor. De-interlacing means that instead of pushing out two fields in alternation at 60 (NTSC) or 50 (PAL) fields per second (30 or 25 full screens per second), the de-interlacer buffers one field and pushes it out with the other, so that both fields come out together, for 60 or 50 non-flickering full screens per second. Scan-doubling means that a single (non-interlaced) field is pushed out twice as fast, and is replicated on adjacent lines. The result is a solid display of color, with no visible scan-lines. (*) The SuperHires modes require that you disable your de-interlacer. If you do, then the output from the 15-pin connector will become NTSC or PAL rate, and will not be scan-doubled or de-interlaced. If you leave the de-interlacer on, you will get a de-interlaced or scan-doubled display, though you will only see every second pixel horizontally, since the display-enhancer is sampling for 640 (plus overscan) pixels per line, and not the 1280 pixels that are being generated. Pass-through means that the de-interlacer detects these modes and passes them through directly to the 15-pin VGA connector. N/A is because the A2024 plugs in to the 23-pin video connector, and doesn't come near the de-interlacer and its 15-pin connector. Notes: (1) Requires NTSC Amiga or any Amiga with Super Agnus. (2) Requires PAL Amiga or any Amiga with Super Agnus. (3) Requires Super Agnus and Super Denise, and AmigaOS 2.0. (4) Requires Super Agnus and Super Denise, and AmigaOS 2.0. (5) Requires NTSC A2024 (with JumpStart or with AmigaOS 2.0) (6) Requires PAL A2024 (with JumpStart or with AmigaOS 2.0) (7) These modes take up twice the bandwidth of a comparable Hires mode, so Super-Hires Interlaced 4 colors is comparable in bandwidth to Hires-Interlaced 16 colors. As well, there is only one sprite available. Other modes: For completeness, I should note that there are also some smaller members of the Productivity family that output VGA-class signals, and have resolutions of 320 x 480, 320 x 960 (interlaced), 160 x 480, and 160 x 960 (interlaced). These modes were basically "free" given that we have Productivity mode, but they aren't particularly useful. -- Peter Cherna, Software Engineer, Commodore-Amiga, Inc. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CPU MacNews¿ =========== APPLE BUYS "CLASSIC" NAME, INTRODUCES PERSONAL LASERWRITERS ----------------------------------------------------------- Apple Computer has recently introduced a new version of its Laserwriter printers, designed as a low-cost entry into the laser printer market. Called the Personal LaserWriter, it can print four pages per minute and has a print life of 150,000 pages. This is half as powerful as Apple's more expensive Laserwriter II line, which is capable of printing 8 pages per minute, with a print life of 300,000 pages. All members of Apple's Laserwriter line have a 300 dpi resolution.... Apple has introduced two versions of its new printer: The Personal Laserwriter SC, which uses Quickdraw for printing and cannot be networked using AppleTalk. However, the Personal Laserwriter NT is both Postscript-compatible (using Adobe Postscript), and can be connected to an AppleTalk Network. Cost: $2000.00 for a Personal Laserwriter SC with 1 Meg of RAM, and $3300.00 for a Laserwriter NT with 2 Megs of RAM.... Apple has also reportedly paid Modular Computer Systems one million dollars for the rights to use the name, "Classic" in its computers. This has caused several to speculate that the name, "Macintosh Classic" will be used on Apple's upcoming low-cost Macintosh. To be introduced in September, Apple's "low-cost Mac" is expected to replace the Mac Plus and SE at the low-end of Apple's Macintosh line. Rumors about the "Macintosh Classic" abound. Some say that it will cost $1500.00, use an 8 MHZ 68000, have 1 Meg of RAM,a 1.4 Meg Superdrive, and 1 Expansion slot. However, others speculate that it will use a 16 MHZ 68020, feature 3 Mac II NuBus Expansion slots, and have 2 Megs of RAM, for $2500 - 3000.00. _______________________________________________________ > LEXICOR 24 BIT COLOR! STR Spotlight¿ 24-bit color & ATARI STs. =================================== ATARI 24-BIT COLOR FROM LEXICOR SOFTWARE CORP. ============================================== With the announced availability of true color for the existing ATARI ST and SC1224 ATARI color monitor in the form of a 24-bit color board from LEXICOR SOFTWARE later this summer, a whole new world is now a reality for the ATARI user. This new world will in many respects be mystifying to the average computer user in general and the limited 16 color ATARI user in particular. The following article dealing with color perception is the first in a series of articles intended to inform and educate the ATARI user in 24-bit color theory and its use on the ATARI computer. NEW COLOR THEORY ...FOR USE WITH THE ATARI ST COMPUTER by Lee M. Seiler (c) 1990 With the creation of 24-bit color for the ATARI SC1224 color monitor by LEXICOR SOFTWARE, comes the problem and consequences of color perception and manipulation for the computer graphics artist, and animator. Currently, when it comes to selecting and working with color effectively, even simple desktop paint programs aren't much easier to use than those found on the sophisticated systems, The user typically will choose colors from a fixed palette arranged in a grid such as found it Spectrum. Colors are usually grouped into hues (that is, the various colors, such as red and yellow based on wavelengths of the color spectrum), often in a rainbow-like progression. Each hue is then arranged in order from lighter to darker shades. But there is usually little consistency. In one area of the palette, vast differences will exist between one color and its immediate neighbor; in another, the differences between adjacent colors will be nearly imperceptible. No clear relationship exist between colors placed together in vertical or horizontal rows. And the overall effect is haphazard to the eye. In more sophisticated color system available on the ATARI computer, such as Cyberpaint, users can create their own palettes by specifying percentages of primary colors (RGB) or by clicking on a slid-bar across a primary color range, These percentages are preset in incremental amounts equal to one seventh the total allowable for a given RGB color. Yet even though limited to 512 variations with this interface, most users find it difficult to navigate through color selection. The color that appears in the selection box when you click on a color, for example, is often unpredictable, making the process one of trial-and-error. It's often hard to know what you have to do to move from the color you see to the color you want. An attempt to make an incremental change too often results in a major swing in an unwanted direction. The reasons for this visual disorientation is because most current color palettes are based on a faulty understanding of how humans see color and the fact that computers deal with color in a way that makes sense to the computer, but not the human eye. Up until now with the ATARI 16 color limitation this reality has not had serious creative consequences. This is now how ever a substantial and real problem when you consider having to order 16 million colors instead of 512. The ATARI color display, of course, generates color by illuminating combinations of phosphors in common additive primaries: red, green and blue (RGB). Colors are "mixed" by varying the intensity of the electron beams eliciting the phosphor. The number of possible colors is a direct result of the number of bits available per pixel. in a 24-bit system such as is now available for the ATARI, 8-bit control of each of the three primaries, making it possible to direct the electron gun at 256 different levels of intensity. The combinations, or colors, are usually stored in the form of a lookup table, which is accessed by the screen driver. This lookup table of unifnormally sized increments has little relation to color as the human eye perceives it. It is after all just a mathematical table based only on the sequentially changing of the numbers that represent 256 possible combinations for each pixel displayed. In the first place, perceptual differences between colors are not constant as one moves from one part of the color spectrum to another. Under constant illumination, for example colors at high (lighter) values we see more yellow than blue, and conversely, at low (darker) values, we can see more blues than yellow. Because the increments in the current lookup tables are constant, however, it may take a movement of a dozen units in the high-value blues to produce a color that we perceive as different by one pallet space. In high-value yellows, on the other hand. a movement of only a single unit in the lookup table may be perceived as a very abrupt color shift. This same paradox exist with respect to the amount of chroma, that is, how saturated a color appears (a purer red, for example, as opposed to a red that has other wavelengths mixed in and, thus appears greyer), varies each hue at different value (lightness) levels. This means that color locations in the lookup table, while linear from a numerical point of view, are non-linear in terms of visual progression. There is no clear, straight path across the dimensions of color, from one hue to the next from a darker to lighter(lower values to higher values), and from grayer to brighter (less saturated to more saturated). Currently the limitations of the ATARI system architecture is in both numbers of colors 512 but also is restricted in color dimensions, the RGB cannot be manipulated independently. In the ATARI RGB-based system, for example, a change in value (lightness) automatically affects a change in chroma (brightness). To get brighter, more saturated red, you would need to adjust the percentages of red , green, and blue in a way that is not visually obvious. You can't simply increase the percentages of red because that would increase lightness as well. Up until now these realities have not been a serious problem, however these complex relationships between color components and the lack of visual uniformity and predictability be come a significant problem with the new 24-bit ATARI color environment. The obvious and intuitive solution with respect to the color perception problem is to develop a color spectrum based on the perceptual way in which the eye sees color. The goal then becomes; to provide a means of numerically specifying additive color (RGB) mixtures not tied to any specific set of primaries. The resulting lookup table would then provide the computer with a more natural and user friendly color environment. To do this a set of x,y,z"primaries," which are actually mathematical abstractions is used to plot the entire range of the visible spectrum. Light-dark, red-green, and yellow-blue are plotted along the horizontal "u" axis, with positive values denoting red and negative values denoting green. Yellow-blue values are plotted along the vertical "v" axis. Light-dark values are plotted along the "l" axis, which is located perpendicularly to the u,v plane. While this approach is not perfect, one quite similar to this has been adopted by both KODAK and Tektronix as a basis for desktop color systems. One effective way to create or compose a way to move through a path of orderly, progressive steps of "natural color is to create a color tree, which is arranged by hue. Within each hue "leaf", colors are arranged in a grid, with discernible progression of chroma (saturation) along the horizontal x axis and discernible progressions of value (lightness) along the vertical y axis. Unlike the mathematically symmetrical grids of the typical lookup table, the resulting color space (tree) more closely captures the geometric irregularities of the human visual perception of color. Each "leaf" is different in size (the lookup table) because within different hues, the number of discernible colors varies with the degree of value and chroma. The significant points of this approach is that it provides a straight-line progression of steps in equal increments along both the chroma and value dimensions. This characteristic provides a foundation for computer application in the new 24-bit ATARI environment. The approach based on the forgoing then becomes that the user picks colors from a pallet that " looks right" instead of being offered a choice that is numerically right. Visual color is what it looks like, not what it is made of. What is now offered by the computer is a display that gives us scales of ingredient differences. What we need are scales of visual differences. This visual difference is just what the new LEXICOR AGE does by providing for a uniform straight-line progressions along all color dimensions, providing for a logical visual display closely attuned to actual human color experience. For each hue chosen (the hue axis need not be aligned to any specific set of "primaries"), a range of chroma positions is allocated at each value, based on the proportion of chroma discernible at that value relative to the total extent of chroma available for the hue. For example, similar to the adjustments made for the high-value yellow hues. You create yellow by combining red and green phosphors in a transmissive, additive process. That process inherently multiplies the luminance level. You can reduce that yellow reflective process, by using the same luminance value. The computer has to "know" that and then, automatically reduce onscreen luminance for you in order to locate a corresponding color. that color won't measure the same, but it will look the same. in this way the user need not have any basic color knowledge to build useful color pallets that look right. The whole idea is to provide a user interface that will lead to intuitive logical visual display that enable non-experts to make color adjustments easily. PRISM AGE provides visual "housekeeping tools" that organize color in a way that makes it easy to understand color elements and relationships, (for example, if the user wanted a green that's brighter, but not lighter, or a red that's grayer, but not darker) it will now be possible to do this with out knowing the math or science behind making the change. PRISM AGE is also designed to support exploration of color relationships, for browsing, playing and understanding how color works at the human visualization level. ________________________________________________________ > WORD PERFECT UPDATE! STR InfoFile¿ Atari Maintenance Update ================================= compiled by Dan Stidham WordPerfect Atari Maintenance Update Information ------------------------------------------------ At or near the time of this writing, a maintenance update of WordPerfect 4.1 for the Atari ST is scheduled for a July 1990 release. The update includes several feature enhancements and support for large screen monitors. Enhancements ------------ Using a set of common rules, the Auto-Hyphenation feature automatically hyphenates words. Auto-Hyphenation can be turned on or off, and the psoition of the hyphen can later be changed by inserting a hard hyphen. The look feature in List Files will now show the document in a standard GEM window, allowing the use of scroll bars to move up and down, as well as right and left. In addition, you can directly import or export files between WordPerfect 4.2 for the IBM PC and WordPerfect 4.1 for the Atari ST. The maintenance update also provides support for several new printers. An additional print disk is sold seperately and provides improved support for PostScript printing. The Post Script printer drivers offer several point sizes for each font. Available fonts include Helvetica, Times Roman, Avant Garde, Bookman, Hevetica Narrow, New Century Schoolbook, Palatino, Zapf Chancery, and Courier. Ordering Info ------------- Registered WordPerfect users may obtain the maintenance update for a $12.50 shipping and handling fee by calling (800) 222-9409, or by writing to: WordPerfect Corporation Atari Products Division P.O. Box 731 Orem, Utah 84059-0731 The additional PostScript print disk is available for $10 by itself or for an additional $2.50 if ordered with the maintenance update. registered users can receive technical support by calling (800) 321-3271 or (800) 226-8660. (I would give WP a few days on ordering the update as I called this past Thursday, July 19, and they were just a few days away from shipping) _______________________________________________________________ > TOS 1.6 STR InfoFile¿ TOS 1.6 and your hard disk.... ==================== From: apratt@atari.UUCP (Allan Pratt) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: TOS 1.6 & Re: Hold that computer... Message-ID: <2236@atari.UUCP> Date: 12 Jul 90 23:52:06 GMT References: <1990Jul6.190229.19792@sun.soe.clarkson.edu> <10766@chaph.usc.edu> Organization: Atari Corp., Sunnyvale CA Lines: 39 In article <1990Jul6.190229.19792@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>, AAron@image.soe.clarkson.edu (AAron nAAs) writes: >By the way, TOS 1.6 waits about 6 seconds for the harddrive to get up to >speed before continuing to boot. Actually, I think he meant 60 seconds. The actual number is 90 seconds. If the manual that came with the computer didn't contain a comment about this, it should have. The comment would read something like this: "When you turn on your computer, the Floppy Disk Access light will come on, then go out, then come on again. After this there is a 90 second delay, to allow your hard disk to become ready. If the hard disk becomes ready in less than 90 seconds, or if you have no hard disk, you can press any key to terminate the delay and continue the startup sequence." Believe me, people, I tried to come up with a solution which didn't involve a simple delay. It turns out that hard disks vary widely in their spin-up time, and also in their responses to commands between the time they are powered up and the time they are ready. Hitting a key too early will not stop the delay because the system hasn't initialized the keyboard yet. Wait for the floppy access light to come on, then go out, then come on again: that's when everything is initialized, and you can hit a key to stop the delay. The 90-second delay addresses the need for machines you can turn on with one power switch, and most notably for unattended machines which might come up all at once after a power outage. The logic goes like this: (A) 90 seconds is more than enough for all hard disks we're aware of. (B) If you're there, you can hit a key when your HD is ready. (C) If your system comes up unattended, an extra 90 seconds won't hurt. ============================================ Opinions expressed above do not necessarily -- Allan Pratt, Atari Corp. reflect those of Atari Corp. or anyone else. ...ames!atari!apratt Conf : General Discussions Msg# : 407 Lines: Extended Read: 2 Sent : Jul 17, 1990 at 4:28 PM To : ALL From : LE SYSOP at C.C.B.B.S. - Bridgeton, N.J. Subj : It gets better Well, I left for the far reaches of Wilkes Barre Pa on Sunday night. My wife and I stopped in the Poconos to stay overnight (might as well make a party out of it right?). We were only one exit away from W.B. on Monday morning so we proceeded to find our way to Computer Garden with STe packed in trunk and hard drive packed in back seat of car. When we got there, we of course were met by very friendly and competent personnel. They took the time to do a thorough test on my STe and eventually after about an hour of warm up, it started to do the write fails. We then switched over to an ICD FAST kit hard drive and it also had the write fails with my STe. Soooo, to make a long story a little shorter, they gave us the STe that had been running on the hard drive in the store for the past two weeks after putting my 4-1 mb simm modules into it and testing that out for an hour or so. They called me back after I got home Monday night to see that everything was ok and to tell me that the 'brother' to the STe that I originally had (it came in the same shipment as my original) had also checked out bad after warming up a bit! Good thing I took the one that I did!! They were considering giving me THAT one, but thought better of it since it hadn't been tested like the one that I have now was. I waited until this morning to get things arranged so that I could give this new STe a testing and to transfer the files from the old 42 meg. SH-204 to the new 48 meg. 157N. Everything went swimmingly and I am typing away on the STe keyboard with all 4 mb of memory at my disposal! Gee, all that and super sound and graphics too!! And as I say about my original ST, as reliable as a stone axe! Hats off to the folks at Computer Garden!! They took care of my problem and devoted a few hours to helping me! They will of course be keeping a closer eye on the STe's before they go out the door. I hope Atari will get this problem fixed soon, so others won't have to concern themselves with it.. Category 14, Topic 40 Message 161 Sat Jul 14, 1990 P.MCCULLOUGH at 00:23 EDT Okay... I have a reputation for being psychotically "Pro-Atari" but this STe seems to be a product that's definitely in need of MAJOR fixes. Yes, the Low- res boot problem was no big deal. Yes, its great that the STe finally washed ashore! But even my Pro-Atari side winces at the thought that some STes can't write to ANY hard drive configuration without doing major damage to files on said drive. This is NOT a minor problem. In fact it sounds like a joke until you realize that its true. How could this fact have been missed? This is not a situation that'll "just go away". It shows COMPLETE irresposibility on the part of someone at Atari Corp. Its almost as bad as the PC-Ditto II debacle... I say almost because, evidently, the majority of STes (Mostly outside the US) seem to work fine. Those users who have defective STe (Yes, if they can't write to a hard drive, they ARE defective!) computers should bounce them back to the dealer for replacement at once. Or, if your dealer seems unwilling to take them back (and don't blame the dealer, after all, he's caught in the middle, right?) send them back to Atari. Do it now, before you drift out of warranty. We can blink at boot resolutions... but not the ability to do something as simple as writing to a hard drive... I am very thankful that I chose to wait before purchasing an STe, and my heart goes out to those that plunged in... the above is NOT a flame, just my opinion. ------------ Category 14, Topic 40 Message 162 Fri Jul 13, 1990 S.WHITNEY [Steve W.] at 22:52 PDT The neat thing is that Atari's willing to take them back! That's a step in the right direction. ------------ Category 14, Topic 40 Message 163 Sat Jul 14, 1990 C.WALTERS1 [Chet] at 03:08 EDT No probs on the return of STe's in warranty. However, what of the guy who unwittinlgy buys an STe virgin and uses it with floppies only for a good six month to a year then decides to upgrade to an HD? There have still been no good answers to that question! Will he bite the big one on "repairs?" Yes, there is a fix for it, but will that be public? Dunno, wait and see. STaceys are moving and the TT is close. Atari is moving on up! Glad to see it. ______Chet at \/\/iz\/\/orks :^{) ------------ Category 14, Topic 40 Message 164 Sat Jul 14, 1990 K.LEYDEN at 00:34 PDT According to my dealer, who called Atari Service today (or is that yesterday?) Atari says that they have heard a little about hard drive problems but haven't found the cause, so no problem exists! Interesting logic, eh? I have a SupraDrive 30, pre- clock vintage, which ran for 2 1/2 years on my 1040STf with _NO_ problems. EVER... Then I got the STe bug. The first thing I lost was both Spectre partitions, never backed up. Then I copied a disk to drive D: which had about 4 Megs free. Halfway through, I got a Disk Full message. Checked with Turbo Toolkit- found 177 unattached clusters and other assorted problems. After taking the drive to my Ste dealers, it totally crashed - couldn't even format it. So I bought an ICD host and a Seagate 1096N drive. Couldn't format the drive with the STe. Tokk it to the dealer and formatted it and partitioned it on his 1040 Stf. Brought it home, took my Stf apart again and reseated some chips (it died the day I brought home the Ste). It runs beautifully with my new drive. The Ste, however, can't even read the hard drive correctly. When I booted it after running on the STf, I only got the LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE DESKTOP!!! Also got MANY bombs (I'd never seen 11 before)! According to my dealer, Atari won't take back the computer, because it's failng on someone elses drive. What the heck good is the 90 day warranty? My dealer is going to let me hook up to an Atari drive next week, so maybe I can finally sent the STf back. To the people griping because Atari doesn't ship in a timely manner, I say COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS. It really hurts to be a loyal Atari user, to make the decision to upgrade to an Atari ST instead of a PCompatible with molto superior VGA graphics, and then get screwed! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Your move, Atari ... ------------ Editor Note: It has been rumored that Sam was made aware of the situation with the TOS 1.6 vs 1.62 situation and other problems "thought" to be present in the current batch of STe units. It was also rumored that he was "advised" that the problem were "insignificant" and therefore, "would present little or no problems". The advisors strike again. ____________________________________________________________ > Stock Market ~ STR Stock Report¿ Summer Doldrums & Computer Stocks =============================== THE TICKERTAPE ============== by Michael Arthur Concept by Glenn Gorman The price of Atari stock went down 1/4 of a point on Monday, and was down 1/4 of a point on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the price of Atari stock went up 1/4 of a point, and stayed the same for the rest of the week. Finishing up the week at 5 3/4 points, the price of Atari Stock is down 1/4 of a point from the last report. Apple Stock went up 2 points from Friday, July 6, 1990. Commodore Stock stayed at the same price it was on 7/06/90. IBM Stock was up 3 points from 7/06/90. Stock Report for Week of 7/09/90 to 7/13/90 _________________________________________________________________________ STock| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Reprt|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|Last Chg.|Last Chg.| -----|------------|---------------|-------------|-----------|------------| Atari|5 3/4 -1/4|5 1/2 - 1/4|5 3/4 + 1/4|5 3/4 ----|5 3/4 ----| | | | | | 62,700 Sls | -----|------------+---------------+-------------+-----------+------------| CBM |7 3/4 ----|7 5/8 - 1/8|7 3/4 + 1/8|7 7/8 +1/8|7 3/4 -1/8| | | | | | 46,500 Sls | -----|------------+---------------+-------------+-----------+------------| Apple|46 5/8 | 47 + 3/8| 47 ----|47 3/8 +3/8|46 3/4 +5/8| | +1 7/8| | | |# 2,062,300 | -----|------------+---------------+-------------+-----------+------------| IBM | 119 + 1|117 3/4 -1 1/4|119 1/2 | 120 +1/2| 121 + 1| | | | +1 1/2| |# 2,155,400 | -----'-------------------------------------------------------------------' '#' and 'Sls' refers to the # of stock shares that were traded that day. 'CBM' refers to Commodore Corporation. '----' means that the stock's price did not change for the day. ______________________________________________________ > ONLINE TODAY CPU/STR OnLine¿ The wires are hummin'! ============================ :CIS IN DETAIL UPDATE: by Oscar Steele Please note; that during the testing of the rates of transmission, I experienced noisy lines throughout the day. This impaired the actual transmission rates, which after restesting turned out to average 218 cps. Rates were as high as 224 cps, but slowed down noticeably when a larger number of people were online. You may calculate the previous week's rates accordingly. Also of note, using the latest version of Quick CIS 1.52a, the cps rates on CIS seem to be quicker. I had a number of transfers that were 233 cps. The bottom line is that the transfers will vary on an individual's location, phone line, modem, etc. The rates were not intended to be taken as exact amounts. Some users have inquired as to what transmission protocol's were used. On CIS it was the Quick B protocol, while on GEnie it was Zmodem. Both are quicker than Y or X modem. ___________________________________________________ > SM124 BLUES! STR Spotlight¿ When ..."Service is NOT Service!" ========================== Folks, the following is not a flame, it is meant as a documented excursion cutting through the 'red tape' that perhaps, others may follow. And thus, avoid the typical bottlenecks so often experienced today. From : MATT ALLARD Subj : SM124 Monitors Imagine sitting at your computer doing a little word processing when suddenly the monitor goes blank. Startled, you look at your computer to see if it's lost power. Nope it's still on, but wait, the little green LED at the bottom of the monitor isn't on. This is exactly what happened to my SM124 monitor. At this point you have several options. First you can take it to your dealer and send it in on atari's exchange program. This is probably the best idea if you aren't a trained technician. Secondly you can take it to a T.V. repair shop and hope that it isn't the CRT or the flyback transformer, if it's not one of these two the repair facility should be able to fix the problem. And lastly if your just too darned stubborn to pay someone else to do it, you can tear into the monitor with all the zeal of a crusader off to the holy land. I've been a technician for the last seven years and managed to trouble shoot the problem down to a bad flyback transformer in several hours, without any schematics. From here on the repair should be pretty standard. Little did I know, this was ONLY THE BEGINNING of a nightmare.... I knew which part was bad, all I should have to do now is order one from my local parts house, right? WRONG! The local parts houses said the Astronics part number I gave them for the flyback transformer didn't cross reference. Next I called my AUTHORIZED ATARI SERVICE CENTER to find out additional info for the transformer. Guess what? YUP! The AUTHORIZED ATARI SERVICE CENTER doesn't service monitors. I was told to bring it in and they would send it to Atari who would send back a working monitor for a nominal exchange fee. Wait a second here... I know what's wrong. Can't I just buy the part. Nope! Atari won't even sell the part, you have to go this route if you want the monitor fixed. Well, I've never liked to be forced into doing something so I called a local part store and got the support number for Goldstar, the manufacturers of my particular monitor. Goldstar in turn, referred me to The Astronics Company, I suspect a subsidiary of Goldstar, who makes their monitors. Astronics took the part number off the flyback transformer (KF2807G) but couldn't find it in their records. Astronics recommended that I call Goldstar back and find out the model number for the monitor since the MT-9 chassis number on the monitor didn't cross-reference. Again, I called Goldstar and was told to call Atari for the model number since they had no idea what the model number was. Reaching into my desk drawer I pulled out my trusty phone book of hard to get Atari numbers and called ATARI TECHNICAL SUPPORT. Strange that they should have this name because not once in the many times I've called them have they managed to support me, but I digress. The person in technical support said they COULDN'T RELEASE THAT INFORMATION and that I should call my dealer, who in turn should call dealer support and find out what could be done. Well I already knew what the dealer would say. In effect Atari was telling me the only way I could obtain a working monitor was to participate in their expensive exchange program and wait several weeks for a replacement monitor. I would think that Atari would freely give out this information to their authorized service reps, but they won't. This policy not only hurts the user but keeps the dealer from making a few extra dollars. Its no wonder that we see less and less dealerships in our areas with this kind of user/dealer support. Well not everyone was blind to my plight. I called Goldstar again and talked to a very helpful lady named Beverly. Beverly took the information on the monitor from me and told me should would pass the information on to her boss Mr. Kim, who she said was the general manager of Astronics. At last I had hit pay dirt! Astronics called me back several hours later and said they couldn't find any cross-reference to the part number but if I called Goldstar (another division this time) they should be able to help me. I promptly called and was shifted to several different departments before I talked to the person who is in charge of the Goldstar line of monitors. Collette was most helpful and told me that the MT-9 chassis cross-referenced to Goldstar model number 1220W. Armed with this trusty information I called Astronics again and passed the info to them. They fed the information into their trusty computers and this time came up with a valid part number for the flyback transformer (KF2825G) and said they'd ship it to me the next working day for $21.50. At last I had my part on the way. I called my dealer and passed on the info and was thanked for my time and effort. During this whole time, several things stood out. Every number I called with the exception of Atari's was an 800 number. The support I received from Goldstar was fantastic and without it, I'd still be sitting here without a working monitor. Atari didn't give a hoot for me as a user. I love my ST and wouldn't trade it for an IBM, BUT if this was an IBM would I have had to go through all this? I really don't think so. It's time that Atari recognized that users like myself that have owned every Atari computer from the first 16K 800 to the ST are what made them a business and kept them that way. We deserve much better consideration and support. We DO NOT deserve to buy a computer and be left in the dark, waiting several weeks for a replacement. We DO NOT deserve the lack of consideration exhibited over and over again with TOS versions, drive upgrades, and just about any other time Atari decides to change something and charge the users astronomical fees to fix/upgrade their computers. The current TOS 1.6 resolution situation in the STe is a perfect example of this. Take a moment and write a letter to Atari telling them what kind of service and support you expect. Don't call them that doesn't seem to do any good. Write them and tell them how you feel about their policies. Tell them that the Atari is the computer of your choice and you will continue to buy their products, but only if their lack of concern for their users ceases. Atari cannot ignore us forever. We are the people that keep them in business. Take a minute and do it today. Please... _______________________________________________________ > ULTRASCRIPT & CLI STR FOCUS¿ UltraScript & NeoDesk CLI =========================== INTERFACING ULTRASCRIPT WITH A COMMAND LINE AND NEODESK CLI or HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF ULTRASCRIPT by Daniel Stidham Many users of Imagen's PostScript interpreter, UltraScript, are not aware of some of the power it affords through use of a command line interface. Most users print through the limited GEM interface(which could use a major update) because of this and if they do know about the Command Line abilities, they don't want to invoke a command line to interface (too cumbersome, defeating many well intentioned purposes). But if you do any type of production work (or even if you don't) you may do well to give UltraScript's command line interface another look, especially if used in conjunction with NeoDesk and the NeoDesk CLI (by Gribnif software) or HotWire!(CodeHead Software) and its versatile command line capabilities. Necessity being the Mother of Invention, I have come to exclusively use the batch mode of US. Having a resume business, I found myself constantly switching between PageStream(PgS) and US. Compose the page, save, print to disk, exit, boot-up US, enter name(s) in queue, singularly is the only way in the GEM version), enter number of copies, and hit Control-P to print. Well! And this was just to proof! Invariably I had something to fix-up and I had to do the whole process over again. Something had to be done to increase my productivity so I got out the ol' manual and dug around like Indiana Jones. I found my answer and without further adieu let me give you US users out there some useful info that you may not be aware of. I will then include a batch file listing that I use with NeoDesk and its CLI, that incorporates the UltraScript command line and its parameters to fully automate my PostScript printing efforts. First here is the command line needed to enter into a batch or a command line for a TTP file(neoDesk and HotWire! both offer these): Command Syntax: uscript [-bsm][-n(copies)][-E][filename...] uscript--calls UltraScript b--invokes US in batch mode s--runs US silently, status and error messages not shown m--for manual paper feed n--global copy count E--places US directly into executive mode(shouldn't have to use this) filename--pathname that may include wildcards including ?,* OK, here is the CLI I wrote, commented and with a few extra features. Look it over and you may even see some way to enhance it or customize it to your own needs. By the way, this batch file will allow you to enter up to five filenames in a queue with _different_ copies for each file--something you can't do within UltraScript or on a single command line. I have found this to be very useful. If you hit cancel on a command line it will intelligently remember the files already in the queue and print peacefully without confusion. If you hit cancel at the very beginning, before any input, it will peacefully exit. This version will print the file number you are choosing for the queue in the selector box to help you keep things in order. It also remembers that last number that you put in for Number of Copies and defaults to that on the next prompt for the next file. Lets get to it: ;****************************************************************** ;this is a very simple batch file that uses ;Neodesk and the Neodesk CLI along with ;UltraScripts powerful command line to automate ;the printing of a PS file from the desktop. No more ;loading US and then choosing a file and no. of copies, and ;then Hitting control-P to print. THIS REVISION OF THE FIRST ;UPLOAD ALLOWS YOU TO CHOOSE UP TO 4 FILENAMES TO PRINT AND ;SET COPIES FOR EACH INDIVIDUALLY. ULTRASCRIPT'S COMMAND LINE ONLY ;ALLOWS A GLOBAL VALUE THAT WOULD APPLY TO ALL FILES IN THE QUEUE, ;THIS BATCH FILE WORKS AROUND THAT. AT ANYTIME YOU CAN CANCEL AND ;THE BATCH REMEMBERS THE FILES YOU CHOSE AND WILL PRINT THEM. ;****************************************************************** TOP; unset * FOR NUM IN 1..5 if $tos_ver < 1.4 null %alert "[1][Choose a PS file:][OK!]" endif ;First you must enter the full pathname of the folder where your ;PS files reside i.e. C:\USCRIPT\*.PS. Enter this in place of the ;word pspath below(don't remove quotes!) select "pspath" "" "Choose PS$NUM file to print:" ;Remember wildcards ARE allowed in the selection line. if $item != 'FALSE' && %FNAME $item != "" window 100 100 45 20 font 2 ;enter the correct path where Uscript.prg resides in ;place of prgpath-i.e. C:\uscript\ cd prgpath ;you will default to 1 copy, if you want a different ;default, feel free to change the number. i.e. set tot 5 If $NUM == 1 set tot 1 else set tot $last endif echo "Enter number of copies:" getstr tot2 $tot SET FILE$NUM $ITEM SET CNT$NUM $TOT2 SET LAST $TOT2 else IF $NUM - 1 == 0 exit ELSE GOTO PRINTING ENDIF endif ENDFOR ;by pressing cancel in the item selector you will peacefully ;exit the program. Also done by hitting OK with nothing in the ;selection line. PRINTING; SET NUM $NUM - 1 IF $NUM == 1 uscript -bn$CNT1 $FILE1 goto lastcall ELSEIF $NUM == 2 uscript -bn$CNT1 $FILE1 uscript -bn$CNT2 $file2 goto lastcall ELSEIF $NUM == 3 uscript -bn$CNT1 $FILE1 uscript -bn$CNT2 $file2 uscript -bn$CNT3 $file3 goto lastcall ELSEIF $NUM == 4 uscript -bn$CNT1 $FILE1 uscript -bn$CNT2 $file2 uscript -bn$CNT3 $file3 uscript -bn$CNT4 $file4 goto lastcall ELSEIF $NUM == 5 uscript -bn$CNT1 $FILE1 uscript -bn$CNT2 $file2 uscript -bn$CNT3 $file3 uscript -bn$CNT4 $file4 uscript -bn$CNT5 $file5 goto lastcall ENDIF lastcall; set choice %alert "[2][Would you like to print|any more PS files?|Huh Vern?? Huh?|][YES|Bya!]" if $choice == 1 goto top else exit endif ;I call this EasyWare cause it was so easy (after reading the ;Neodesk CLI manual, of course). Feel free to distribute freely. ;But please leave intact--Daniel Stidham. ;Neodesk and Neodesk CLI are trademarks of the copyrighted programs ;of the same name, published by Gribnif Software.(I hope I got my ;ducks all lined up...) ;THE END I hope that you can find this as useful as I have. Further info on the UltraScript command line can be found in Appendix C of the UltraScript manual, pages 25-27. 'Til next time! _____________________________________________________ > The Flip Side STR Feature¿ A different interpretation of the 'view'. ========================= A LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE By Michael Lee One of the things that impresses me the most about my ST, is it's versa- tility and how it gives me the best of all worlds. Between my ST, Dave Small's GCR, and the many IBM emulators (I prefer the SuperCharger but PC Speed and PC Ditto are also nice) there is very little software that my ST can't run. If I'm doing some DTPing and I cannot find a particular piece of software that will do what I need (something that doesn't happen very often), it's easy to jump into my Mac mode, pop in a real Mac disk, do what I need to do, transfer the information back to my ST, and go on about my business. I have a friend that's doing a full-time Desk Top Publishing business out of his house, he uses his "old" 1040ST (2.5 megs), Page Stream, TouchUp, UltraScript, and an SLM-804. One of his customers is the local Paralegal Association and his job is to produce a monthly newsletter for them. The newsletter goes out to 500-600 lawyers and paralegals every month and is a minimum of 20 full letter-sized pages. The first time he did one, they couldn't believe they could get that kind of quality from an 'Atari' (and you know how picky lawyers can be). He receives the articles on Mac and PC disks, in different formats. It is easy for him to go into Mac, or PC, mode and convert the articles to pure ASCII, then import them straight into PageStream. When they wanted their logo included, he simply scanned it from an old issue, saved it in .IMG format, cleaned it up, transferred it to the Mac mode and ran it through StreamLine (to clean it further), then transferred it back to the ST and ported it straight into Page- Stream. Presto!! About 10-20 minutes work and he had their logo ready for the next issue. Another friend of mine has to work on a XT all day long and sometimes has to bring his work home with him. When that happens, he just boots up his Super Charger and away he goes. His SuperCharger has been compatible with every program that he has tried to run on it, and it runs it as fast as the XT's that he uses at work (Note: there are programs that won't run on the SuperCharger, but they seem to be the rare exceptions). I know what's going through some of your minds. "Why", you ask, "should I buy a ST to begin with? Why not just buy a XT/AT clone or a Mac?". The best way I can answer that is, if most of us had wanted clones or Mac's, that's what we would have bought in the first place. I know that I enjoy my GEM interface and wouldn't trade it for anything (as I said earlier, I use both the GCR and SuperCharger, so I'm familiar with the Mac and MS- Dos interfaces). I find my wife and son both using my ST, where they wouldn't touch a clone. Plus, for the price of a decently equipped XT/AT clone or a Mac, we can have compatibility with BOTH of them and still have the freedom and ease of use of the ST. Another reason for owning an ST is the price of the software. Go to your neighborhood Mac or clone store and price software. Try to find some- thing that is as powerful and full-featured as PageStream or Calamus at anywhere near their price. I have had to buy some Mac and PC software (StreamLine for example) and they cost more than I paid for Page Stream! The same goes for databases, spreadsheets, word-processors, games, etc. In general, you'll find that they're much cheaper on the ST than on the Mac's or clones. It seems that the current fad is to dump your ST and buy a PC/clone. I've been at friends homes who have done this and found that in the vast majority of the cases, they do no more on their clones than they were doing on their ST's or that I'm doing on my ST. Until next week.... _________________________________________________________ > SUPERCHARGER NEWS! STR InfoFile¿ Supercharger News and Info. =============================== The new version of SuperCharger Utility software will be shipping in about a six weeks. We have not set a price for the upgrade yet, but I will be uploading a copy to Genie. The new version will come with a new manual. More on this later. Gem for IBM? I have been running Digital Research's GEM (ver 1.1) for IBM here at Talon. It is almost the same GEM interface we use on Atari ST'S. It follows the same rules and looks almost same as Atari's GEM interface. If you don't want mess around with MS-DOS commands and would love to use the same Atari style desk top on SuperCharger (or any of the other IBM emulators), than THIS IS A MUST HAVE. I have the IBM version of GEM boot up automatically, all I have to do to run an IBM program is double click the icon. It works just like your own Atari's GEM. This version is memory resident so when I leave an application (program) GEM is almost instantly there. Digital Research does not make this version of GEM any longer, so you will probably have to ask around to buy an older copy. Locks up sometimes You might try re-seating your ram chips inside SuperCharger. Sometimes they can bounce loose from the long trip from Germany. And if you have a spare DMA cable you might try using it instead of the on your currently using with SuperCharger. FCC Class B, when?, DOS, Lotus, WP, QBasic A class B version of Supercharger is being worked on by Beta Systems in Germany. We were selling some kits to get around the FCC class B requirement but have now stopped selling them. The class B version of SuperCharger should be available before the end of the year. Lotus 2.2, Microsoft Quick Basic 4.5 and WP 5.1 all run (CGA or Hercules) fine on SuperCharger. You can use PC Dos 3.3 , MS-Dos 3.2 or 4.01. I have not tested any other version of DOS. If anyone else has run another version of DOS maybe you could help here. Windows 3.0 Remember to configure windows 3.0 with a Mouse Systems mouse. Also be sure to pick the right graphics card either CGA or Hercules monochrome. More Technical Support Mike Odegard will be helping to answer some of you on-line questions here on GEnie. Please give Mike a little time to adjust to the new surroundings, thanks. ASAP! The new version of software and manual are being translated from German to English. As soon as it is forwarded to from our London office, I will let you know. Procom + does work on SuperCharger! I have uploaded a working copy to GEnie. This copy of Procom + Test drive works great. If you would like to make your version of Procom work use the following instructions: 1. Run the SETUP program provided with your version of Procom. 2. Go to the Section called "Port Assignments". 3. Give Comm port 1 the Same address as Comm port 2. The addresses are in HEX. Just make the numbers for Comm 1 look like the numbers for comm 2 and save the new settings. 4. Procom should boot up fine now. Thanks for your continued user support! >Richard R Betson >Talon Technology Inc. ________________________________________________________ > WAACE NEWS! STR SHOW NEWS¿ The Premier East Coast Show.... ========================= The WAACE AtariFest 90 is on a roll and looking good! We have 19 vendors signed on for the sales area and 4 additional vendor/developers will be particiapating in the Seminars. In keeping with the international flavor of shows past, we will again be international with representatives from Canada and the United Kingdom. Banquet update..... Charles F. Johnson of CodeHead Software will be the featured banquet speaker. Charles has titled his presentation, "Atari through the Looking Glass", a sure hit. Tickets are only $23.50 per person. Great News.... It seems that I and others at WAACE have had a misunderstanding with our hotel contract. The contract requires that we pay a deposit of 1/2 of our hotel rental charges to the hotel 60 days prior to the event. We thought that the fees would be based on the total number of rooms reserved at that time. Upon reading the contract carefully I could not find any reference to this. Upon calling the hotel I discovered that our deposit would be $1500.00. The room count that determines the cost of our hotel rental will not be taken 60 days in advance, but will be the actual room count on the 5th and 6th of October! This is a major relief to those of us at WAACE since currently only 25 rooms are reserved for Fri. and 35 for Sat. Security. We have accepted a bid from a local security outfit and have a security force on station from 6:00 pm Friday thru closing Sun. Guards are off duty police and will be armed and have power of arrest. Hotel reservations. The hotel also confirmed that the room rates are good thru 17 Sept. Rates are $59.00 single/double, $66.00 triple/ quad, Suites $150. Suites are two rooms and include a jacuzzi (Check it out Darlah!!). Booth Space. A total of 32 of 60 booths have been rented. If you want a booth and haven't told us yet, you need to let us know soon. Contact J.D.Barnes..... Well thats the current news folks. See you at the Fest. Russ Brown WAACE Chairman BANQUET INFORMATION The 1990 WAACE AtariFest Banquet will be held at the Sheraton Reston Hotel at 8:00 pm, Saturday, 6 October 1990. The dinner will be a non-smoking event this year. Ample smoking areas will be provided near the dinner area for smoking breaks. The Banquet will be proceeded by a social hour held in the hotel. Dinner will be served at 8:00 pm. The dinner will be followed by the Current Notes Author of the Year Awards presentation and then the featured banquet speaker. This years banquet speaker will come to us from Codehead Software. The banquet will be a sit down dinner this year and a ticket will cost $23.50. Please make checks payable to WAACE. The menu is as follows: Sliced Top Sirloin Merlot OR Chicken Europa Salad with house dressing Vegetable (to be determined) Starch (to be determined) Beverage (choice of ice tea or coffee) The Chicken Europa consists of chicken breast served in a mushroom and brandy sauce. Please specify with your ticket request your choice of entree, beef or chicken. Please send all ticket requests to the WAACE Banquet Coordinator, Johnna Ogden. Johnna's address is, Johnna Ogden WAACE Banquet Coordinator 213 North Lincoln Ave Sterling, VA 22170. Tickets requests are being accepted now. Tickets will be mailed out starting in August. If you have any questions please call Johnna at (703), 450-3992. ________________________________________________________ > STReport CONFIDENTIAL¿ "BLOCKBUSTER ATARI NEWS FIRST!" ===================== - Sunnyvale, CA. THE REVOLVING DOOR IS ALIVE & WELL! ------------- Ken Jacobsen and Charles Cherry are the latest of Atari's folks to take the 'trip'. Oddly enough, both have 'resigned' and both have gone to consulting in the private sector. Private Sector? Hmmm, our roving snoop has uncovered certain alleged facts about unhappy and even frustrating non-results experienced by Mr. Cherry. Seems he tried and tried to keep his word and deliver on his promises only to continually find things not going as planned. Also, Mr. Jacobsen apparently was not quite ready for wearing armour plate between his shoulder blades. Cherry and Jacobsen will be missed, they were sincerly concerned about doing the "right thing." Why does the door always seem to miss those who most need to go? Rumor also has it that there will be another "well known" in the door within 60 days. Also, the NEW "game" at Atari is a goofy form of office roulette, seems a certain egotistically inclined individual simply had to have the 'bigger' office. DUH! ....60 days. - Rockville, MD "ATARI NZ" DENIES RELEASING TT030 INFO! ------------- DATELINE: 07/17/90, SOURCE: GEnie OL Services, BY: A.DAVIDSON3 @ 21:37 PDT This is a reply to B.REHBOCK (11 July) and others: 'Atari NZ' is a privately-owned distributor, Software Supplies (NZ) Ltd. We haven't made any public announcements about the TT, in spite of what you might read on GEnie. We also haven't received any TT's yet, but are eagerly looking forward to the day. Alex Davidson, Software Supplies (NZ) Ltd New Zealand distributors for Atari computers. - Oregon City, OR. FROM THE ASHES OF CMI COMES - DIGIFEX! --------------- ...from CS... Though the future of CMI has been tenuous over the past several months, I'm happy to report that they've risen from their ashes and back in business. There's been some management changes, although a new company, called DIGIFEX is providing support for owners of products, and plans to have the full line available again soon. Contact DIGIFEX in Oregon City, Oregon at (503) 656-8818 for more information. - Chicago, IL. NEW GFA PRODUCTS ARE ON THEIR WAY ------------ GFA Products are due to begin shipping (again) in the U.S. sometime during the week of July 23rd. Retail prices will be: GFA Interpreter/Compiler Bundle...................$139.95 GFA Basic 3.x Programmer's Guide & Disk............$39.95 GFA GEM Utility Package............................$59.95 (Advanced GEM VDI/AES programming. includes application skeletons, code fragments, procedures, etc.) GFA Mission Control................................$59.95 (Similar to HotWire. Has advanced parameter passing (to and from executed applications). GFA G-Shell........................................$39.95 (Picks up where MENUX left off) As you might have noticed, the idea of selling the interpreter and compiler separately has been dropped. The manuals are all translated and written by GFA UK. - Sunnyvale, CA. PORTFOLIO SALES ARE WHERE?? -------------- Our everfaithful snoop tells us that there is a bug free version of the operating system for the Portfolio fully completed and ready to go. But it seems that there are 35-50,000 units on hand in the USA that would require updating and, of course, that would involve some costs. So, it has been 'decreed' that the new operating system not be distributed in the USA. _________________________________________________________________ > CHERRY FONTS! STR InfoFile¿ News from Cherry Fonts and ordering Info. ========================== FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 1990 Cherry Fonts Unit #4 - 2250 Tyner Street, Port Coquitlam, B.C. Canada V3C 2Z1 Phone: (604)944-2923 GEnie: T.Johnson4 Date: July 19, 1990 Contact: Todd Johnson Proprietor Cherry Fonts announced a July release of five new Cherry FontPaks. Each FontPak contains four to six high quality fonts for use with Calamus Desktop Publishing software. They have been packaged so that all currently available fonts within an individual family have been kept together. All families consist of at least two styles and some have three or four. Each of the fully scalable outlines can be used within Calamus to produce type at any size from extremely fine print up to colossal characters larger than a page in height. Every font has been hand drawn using extremely high resolution typeface rendering software and has been subjected to rigorous testing for weight balance and character spacing. They have been optimized for the resolution offered by professional imagesetting equipment and therefore, print respectably at all resolutions. Todd Johnson, owner of Cherry Fonts explains, "Numerous professional graphics industry personalities have been enlisted in the choosing and testing of these typefaces and I'm very proud of the initial response they've received." Five FontPaks will comprise the initial release and more will be released as they are developed. They are being made available through the normal Atari dealer network at a price of $42.95 US ea. ($49.95 Canadian.) The FontPaks and the individual fonts will also be available directly from Cherry Fonts. *********************************************************************** :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: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN. **** SIGN UP FEE WAIVED **** The system will now prompt you for your information. *********************************************************************** > Hard Disks STR 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). -ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE- (you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!) (all cables and connectors installed) * ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS * * ICD ADVANTAGE+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED * * SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS * 51mb #SGN4951 519.95 65mb #SG60101 649.95 80mb #SGN296 709.95 100mb #SG84011D 839.95 120mb #SGN120FH 989.95 120mb #SG120DD 1128.95 170mb #SGN2962 1369.95 260mb #SG60102 1849.95 WE HAVE A COMPLETE LINE OF 3.5 LOW PROFILE HARD DRIVES for USE IN MEGA ST COMPUTERS AND RELATED CONFIGURATIONS. 20mb #AI020SC 379.95 30mb #AIO3OSC 419.95 50mb #AI050SC 449.95 65mb #AI065SC 499.95 85mb #AI085SC $559.95 >>> ALL ABCO DRIVES ARE HIGH SPEED UNITS <<< (500 - 600k per sec @ 23 -33ms) CALL FOR SUPER SAVINGS ON ALL OUR OTHER CUSTOM UNITS FROM 30mb @ $419.00! Ask about our "REBATE SPECIALS" --==*==-- SHIPPING AND INSURANCE INCLUDED ============================================ * SYQUEST 44MB (#555)>> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE * - SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADVANTAGE PLUS H/A - ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable - Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart. COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN! >> SPECIAL NOW ONLY __$849.00__ << *** SPECIAL SYQUEST OFFER!! *** ORDER YOUR CUSTOM SYQUEST UNIT NOW AND GET A SECOND COMPLETE UNIT! ***** for $50.00 LESS! ***** -> DO IT YOURSELF BARE SYQUEST UNITS $600.00ea 2 for $1100.00 Syquest Mechanism - 2 year warranty * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT * SPECIALLY PRICED $1539.00 * SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS * - Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives - 50mb SQG51 $1179.00 30mb SQG38 $1099.00 65mb SQG09 $1239.00 85mb SQG96 $1299.00 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE Listed above are a sampling of the systems available. Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations (over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited) *** ALL Units: Average Access Time: 24ms - 34ms *** ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - PC-DITTO/II - SPECTRE/GCR LARGER units are available - (special order only) NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets - Keyboard Custom Cables Call for Info ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED -* 12 month FULL Guarantee *- (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE) QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE! _________________________________________ DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED! please, call for details Personal and Company Checks are accepted. ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY! CALL: 1-800-562-4037 -=**=- CALL: 1-904-783-3319 Customer Orders ONLY Customer Service 9am - 8pm EDT Tues thru Sat *********************************************************************** 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 of; STREPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE """""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY! Call any of the STReport Official BBS numbers (Listed Above) or Leave E-mail to STReport - 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 *********************************************************************** > A "Quotable Quote"¿ ================= ....Through the Looking Glass; "PERFUMED PARLOR SNAKES HIDE WITHIN HAIRLESS DEMONS" ..Schmohawk, last of the Happy Schleppers -------------------------------------------------------------------------- STReport¿ "Your Independent News Source" July 20, 1990 16/32bit Magazine copyright ½ 1990 No.6.29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors, staff, STReport¿ CPU/STR¿ or ST Report¿. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Each reprint must include the name of the publication, date, issue # and the author's name. The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in any way without prior written permission. The contents, at the time of publication, are believed to be reasonably accurate. The editors, contributors and/or staff are not responsible for either the use/misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. --------------------------------------------------------------------------