*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" from STR Publishing Inc. """""""""""""""""" June 28, 1991 No.7.26 ========================================================================== STReport International Online Magazine¿ Post Office Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32205 ~ 6672 R.F. Mariano Publisher - Editor ----------------------------------------- Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EST BBS: 904-786-4176 USR/HST DUAL STANDARD FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EST ----------------------------------------- ** Fnet 350 * Fido Node 1:112/35 * NeST Node 90:3000/350.0 ** privately owned & operated STReport support BBS ALL issues of STReport International Online Magazine are available along with A worldwide list of private bbs systems carrying STReport __________________________________________________________________ > 06/28/91: STReport¿ #7.26 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine! ------------------------- - The Editor's Desk - CODEHEAD UPDATES! - Apple Lays off 900 - HAYES -> 14400 - 50mHz 486 HERE! - LEXICOR INTERVIEW - PORTFOLIO NEWS - RESPONSIBLE ADS - AMWAY DB p II - SFAN GETS TT030 - WILLY WEASELY! - STR Confidential -* TOP TEN COMPUTER MAKERS *- -* INCREDIBLY, ATARI RAISES PRICES!! *- -* 512K PORTFOLIO? *- ========================================================================== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE¿ The _Number One_ Online Magazine -* FEATURING *- "UP-TO-DATE News and Information" Current Events, Original Articles, Hot Tips, and Information Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports ========================================================================== STReport's support BBS, NODE 350, invites systems using Forem ST and Turbo Board BBS to participate in the Fido/F-Net Mail Network. Or, call Node 350 direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging infor- mation relative to the Atari ST computer arena through an excellent Inter- national ST Mail Network. All registered F-NET - Crossnet SysOps are wel- come to join the STReport Crossnet Conference. The Crossnet Conference Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is # 350. All systems are welcome and invited to actively participate. Support Atari Computers; Join Today! ========================================================================== AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON: GENIE ~ CIS ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ F-NET ========================================================================== > The Editor's Podium Last week, on one of the online services, a gent asked me why I do STReport. I have given the answer some thought and can come up with only one answer... Simply put, its because I 'enjoy' doing so. And to add to that I must say yes.. a book concerning my 'experiences' in the Atari com- munity is definitly in the works. Thank you for the good advice. Congratulations to our friends to the north, enjoy your long Canada Day weekend. The fourth of July is next weekend here and of course, for both weekends a safe and ejoyable holiday to all. This week I'll keep this short... Hope everyone fared ok in the earth- quake today in southern California. Thanks once again for your strong support, Ralph..... TODAY'S NEWS ..TODAY! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > STReport's Staff The regulars and this week's contributors! ================ Publisher - Editor ------------------ Ralph F. Mariano Staff Editors: -------------- Michael Arthur Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. Dana P. Jacobson Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Walter Daniel Oscar Steele Robert Allbritton John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Contributing Correspondants: ---------------------------- Michael Lee Richard Covert Roger Stevens Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Ed Krimen Tim Holt Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Ben Hamilton IMPORTANT NOTICE ================ Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc... via E-Mail to: Compuserve.................... 70007,4454 GEnie......................... ST.REPORT Delphi........................ RMARIANO BIX........................... RMARIANO FIDONET....................... 112/35 FNET.......................... NODE 350 NEST.......................... 90:19/350.0 *********************************************************************** COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME to the Readers of; ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY! CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198 You will receive your complimentary time and be online in no time at all! WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (June 28) ======================================== **** SPECIAL NOTICE **** The CompuServe Atari Forums are pleased to announce an online COnference with Dave Small, of Gadgets by Small. This CO is scheduled for July 11th, starting at 10PM Eastern. For more details, please check the postings in the Atari Arts or Atari Pro forums on CompuServe... "The Nicest Place Your ST Can Take You!" FINDING FILES FAST! ------------------- During June, explore the many programs and files available in CompuServe's Atari ST Forums with File Finder -- now reduced to $6 per hour for all baud rates, including 9600. The Atari File Finder includes all files wit- hin the Atari Arts Forum, Atari Productivity Forum, and Atari Vendor Forum. Type GO ATARIFF to access this service. ATTENTION REGISTERED DEVELOPERS! -------------------------------- Release 3 of the Atari Debugger is now available in LIBRARY 7 ("Registered Developers") of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO). LEXICOR ONLINE SUPPORT ---------------------- Lexicor Software welcomes Bill Rayl as their official CompuServe online support person! Bill will be uploading graphics and animation files, run- ning the upcoming Lexicor animation tutorial conferences and answering questions about Lexicor's hot new product line. Please continue to send all messages to the Lexicor User ID number 75300,763. NEW FILES FROM LEXICOR SOFTWARE ------------------------------- The following new uploads have been added to the Lexicor libraries: Library 1 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS): DINO2.LZH -- TT Low rez PNT picture of a dinosaur skeleton. ALBERT.LZH -- TT Medium rez PNT picture of Albert Einstein. Library 9 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN): GROUND.LZH -- GroundWalker animation for the ST. HELCYL.LZH -- Helicycle animation for the ST. SEAHRS.LZH -- Awesome 3D Seahorse animation for the TT! NEW ST CONTROL PANEL -------------------- XControl is the newest newest version of the Atari control panel. It is designed to take advantage of features only available in the latest (>2.0) versions of the operating system. It is released into distribution with the following notice. Read the warning in Xcontrol.txt in the archive. Atari Corporation is not responsible for any damage that results from the use or misuse of this program. Copyright 1991 Atari Corporation. It is now available in Library 1 of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO) under the name CPX.ARC. NEW FROM DOUBLE CLICK FOR CONTROL PANEL Now that Atari has released the new Extensible Control Panel, what are you going to do with it? Double Click Software has the answer. Download file DCECP.ARC from LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN) and learn about their new package, DC CPXtensions. NEW IN ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ---------------------------- Please note that SYSOP*Marty Mankins has a new User ID number. Please address all correspondence to Marty at 75300,1770. A program for Windows 3.0 users that will read/write/convert the Portfolio's .ADR files to .CRD format. Download file PRTCRD.ZIP from LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Portfolio Forum (GO APORTFOLIO). Custom Base, a program to turn your Portfolio into a data collection device, is now available in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Portfolio Forum (GO APORTFOLIO). A copy of the File Manager program, distributed by Atari Corp. with all new Portfolios is now available in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Portfolio Forum (GO APORTFOLIO) for those who purchased their units before the FM card was included. File provided courtesy of Atari Corp., all rights reserved. THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM" *********************************************************************** > CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS ================= Issue #27 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. - Sunnyvale, California ATARI PLANT SALE FINAL --------------------- Atari Corporation on June 27th announced the closing of the sale of its Taiwan property for $60 million and has relocated assembly operations with subcontractors in various countries in the Far East. Portion of the proceeds will be used to reduce bank debt of approx. $27 million. Atari also reported that due to adverse market conditions, especially a slowdown of sales in Europe, that it expects sales for the current quar- ter ending June 30, 1991 to be substantially below that of the second quarter of 1990. - Tokyo, Japan SUPER-FAMICON SET TO LAUNCH IN U.S. ------------ Nintendo's Super-Famicon, which will be named the Super NES in the U.S., is being readied for launching in the U.S. this September. Despite the fact that it is incompatible with the original Famicon computer system, Super-Famicon has become a best-seller in the Japanese market since its release last November with sales topping the two million mark. The sales figure is expected to double by the end of the year with the opening up of the U.S. market. - Austin, Texas DELL COMPUTER FASTEST GROWING PC ------------- FIRM IN U.S. Dell Computer is the fastest growing personal computer company with a 77.85% growth rate increase in year-on-year terms. Second place was cap- tured by Compaq with 25.1% with Tandy as third with a respectable 23.39% increase. The top three in revenues for the year were IBM with $9.6 billion and about 38% of the total market, Apple with $3.8 billion and a 15% market share and Compaq with almost $3.4 billion and 14.05$ of the market. - Atlanta, Georgia GEORGIA HIGH-TECH CRIME BILL HAS ---------------- "TEETH" A new Computer Systems Protection Act, backed by the Georgia High Tech Alliance headed by Hayes founder Dennis Hayes, goes into effect Sunday, July 1. The bill mandates prison terms of up to 15 years for computer- assisted theft, trespass, invasion of privacy and forgery, in line with terms given to convicted felons for the same crimes when they are com- mitted without benefit of a computer. Computer password disclosure is now punishable under the new act by a $5,000 fine or a one-year prison term. - San Jose, California IBM'S MOVE TO JOIN XGA STANDARD -------------------- COMMITTEE UNPRECEDENTED In a move called "unprecedented" by The Video Electronics Standards As- sociation (VESA), IBM has begun to play and active part on the VESA XGA (eXtended Graphics Array) technical committe and work with VESA to esta- blish a unified graphics platform to meet the needs of PC end-users. The move to develop a unified PC graphics standard is consistent with the trend in the computing industry toward open systems and vendor- independent computing environments, VESA said. "Our cooperation with the VESA XGA technical committee is to help establish XGA as a pervasive component in the industry, while ensuring that it is compatible with users' existing hardware and software investment," Vitello, of IBM, said. - Yasu, Japan IBM UNVEILS FIRST MULTICHIP PACKAGE ----------- FOR DESKTOPS IBM has introduced the industry's first 'thin film' multichip module for workstations and personal computers. The prototype module holds nine computer chips - and 100 feet of connecting wire - in a two-inch-square package that promises dramatic increases in speed and power for desktop computers. The announcement concerning the new product said that the: "developers expect that the new package will eventually allow processing speeds in small computers to reach 100 MegaHertz (MHz) and beyond - that's more than double the speed of IBM's RISC System/6000 Model 550. They believe the new package, based on relatively inexpensive and well-understood semiconductor technology, will bring the benefits of multichip packages - once reserved for mainframes - to smaller computers." - Norcross, Georgia HAYES ULTRA 14,400 BPS SERIES ----------------- Hayes has announced the V-series Ultra Smartmodem 14440 just one week after celebrating the 10th birthday of its original Smartmodem. The V- series Ultra Smartmodem 14400 is a V.32bis compatible product running at 14,400 bits/second. With V.42bis error correction, the new modem will be able to move data at up to 38,400 bits/second, company officials claim. The Ultra 144 also delivers connectivity to SNA, X.25 and ISDN networks and supports nearly every modem application in mainframe, workstation, and PC environments. The modem's built-in X.25 Packet Assembler- Disassembler, or PAD, will let users support up to 4 simultaneous communication sessions over packet networks like SprintNet and provides the analog-to-digital conversions necessary for digital ISDN connections through packet nets. The retail price will be $1,199 and deliveries start in August. - Washington, DC INTEL INTROS 50 MHZ 486 -------------- Intel's 50mhz 80486 is now in limited production and getting ready to go into use by Compaq and Wang. The new device will operate 51.5% faster than the standard 33mhz version. The Intel 50 MHz 80486 will go into mass production sometime in the fourth quarter, selling at $665 in quantities of 1,000. - Armonk, New York IBM EARNINGS BELOW EXPECTATIONS ---------------- According to IBM, its earnings both for the second quarter and the en- tire year will be below most industry analysts' published projections. In a prepared statement, IBM said that its second-quarter performance had been "adversely affected by weaknesses in global economies, competitive pressures, and product transitions. It is difficult to determine how long the adverse economic conditions will continue. While IBM expects the pace of business to improve in the second half of 1991, it is unlikely the company will achieve revenue growth for the full year." - Cupertino, California APPLE CUTS 900 JOBS: --------------------- TOP EXECUTIVES GET PAY CUTS OF 5-15% This week Apple 900 jobs. There are a total of 1,200 jobs scheduled to be cut but the rest will come from a "combination of factors". Not only did the company cut 900 jobs, but also reduced executive pay by 5-15%. Apple Chairman John Sculley also took a pay cut of 15% and other top executives took cuts ranging from five to 15%. It is unlikely that Apple's top management will be heading for the poor-farm though, as its five highest paid executives received a total of $9.9 million in salaries and bonuses in 1990. Sculley himself was paid $2.2 million, in addition to the $14 million he received from various stock deals. - Tokyo, Japan TOSHIBA LAUNCHES MASS PRODUCTION ------------ OF 16M DRAM Toshiba will become the second firm, following IBM, to start producing a 16 megabit dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips in quantity this fall. Other major chip makers such as NEC and Hitachi are also following suit. Toshiba will produce 50,000 to 60,000 units of the chip per month as early as in this October and will shift part of the 1Mb and 4Mb chips' production lines to the 16M chip. Apparently, demand of the 4Mb chip is slow. The main reason is that workstation makers want to leapfrog pro- duction to the 16M chip rather than use the existing 4Mb chip in their workstations. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" IMPORTANT NOTICE! ================= As a reader of STReport International Online Magazine, you are entitled to take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. For only $29.95 ($20 off the standard membership price!), you will receive a lifetime subscrip- tion to DELPHI, a copy of the 500-page DELPHI: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE and over $14 worth of free time. NOTE: Special offers can be found in your favorite Atari magazines: START CURRENT NOTES ST INFORMER ATARI INTERFACE MAGAZINE SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI ====================== Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access DELPHI services via a local phone call JOIN -- DELPHI -------------- 1. Dial 617-576-0862 with any terminal or PC and modem (at 2400 bps, dial 576-2981). 2. At the Username prompt, type JOINDELPHI. 3. At the Password prompt enter STREPORT. For more information call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005 or at 617-491-3393 from within Massachusetts or from outside the U.S. DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT -------------------- The 20/20 Advantage Plan IS FANTASTIC! And it features 20 hours online for just $20 a month! The $20 is a monthly fee that covers your first 20 hours online via direct dial into one of DELPHI's two direct-access lines, or via a special Tymnet 20/20 Access code. It also gets you additional hours at just $1.20 per hour. And you get free access to several services on DELPHI as part of the Advantage Perks. Other telecom services may have additional charges. Canadian Tymnet users have an additional telecom charge. Office Time access (7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays) may have an additional charge. And of course, other restric- tions may apply. But this is still an amazing deal! GREAT NEWS!!!! ============== As a reader of STReport International Online Magazine, you are entitled to take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. DELPHI has waived the sign-up fee! For a limited time, you can join the World's Premier Online Service for FREE! Members can access DELPHI worldwide through hundreds of local access lines. For more information please contact: DELPHI at 1-800-544-4005 and ask for Member Services. DELPHI- IT'S GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > DEVELOPING ON THE ATARI STR Spotlight LEXICOR SPEAKS UP!! ===================================== DEVELOPING THE ATARI ==================== An Interview with LEXICOR'S Lee Seiler by Pattie Rayl, Atari Interface AIM: Lee, we've all seen your artwork (on the back of the Jan. 91 and front of Mar. 91 issues of Atari Interface). What got you started in art and drawing? Lee: When I was a kid I did not do well at all. At some point, the teacher put me in the back of the room, with paper and crayons, and left me to do whatever I wanted. This was at a time in California when there was experimental education...phonetic speling(sic) and the notion that the child should be left to do as he or she pleased. Needless to say, I failed everything for the next two years and thereafter was always behind. AIM: What do you enjoy drawing the most? What have you done professionally? Lee: I like to create animalistic machines best. The relationships between the way humans have copied nature are wonderful. I am always drawn to this kind of creation when left to my own devices. As far as professional work, my work spans from mechanical illustrations in the Army in the mid 50s to current material on the Atari Computer. Along the way, I have done book and magazine covers, technical manuals, story treatments for a number of motion pictures. In 1983, I won an EMMY for best technical achievement in a locally produced show...which happened to have a science fiction theme. AIM: On these book and magazine covers...are these the type of thing we could go into our local bookstore, pick up a book, and say "Hey, Lee Seiler drew this!"? Lee: Yes, if you can find one. Most are no longer in print, but every now and then I will come across my own work. Unfortunately, most book covers are sold outright and don't carry an artist credit or copyright. Try finding these credits in current paperback publications. You will find that there is little recognition rewards for the artist. And, in most cases, the artists are contract artists who sign all copyrights away in order to get the work. AIM: Are there any titles you can tell us for the books you did cover art on? Are the motion picture movies we'd recognize? Lee: Yes. Let me see if I can remember some..."Time Riders"... "Orbit"... "Subterrainians"... "The Travelers"... Windsurf magazine, July 1988... Airbrush magazine, Volume 4, No 4. AIM: We have a photo of you drawing a black and white picture of a woman...what is that? Lee: That is a private commission to do an interpreted female version of Cap- tain America. I used several reference books for ideas, colors.... In many cases, a client may have a favorite subject or existing piece of artwork they want to have. Because copying the original is a big no no -- just like computer software -- clients ask for interpreted works which look very much like a selected subject but are handmade individual works of art. I am sure you have seen many such similar works on both CompuServe and GEnie. What is in your photo is the final pencil sketch just before airbrush painting begins. AIM: Neat! Now that you've told us about your love of drawing...how did you get involved with computers, and specifically art on computers? Lee: That's a very funny (strange) story. It is a bit long, so you may want to drag me back to reality from time to time. I had picked up an Atari 400 in fall of 1979 thinking I would be able to do art on the computer. Well, that soon fell flat on its face when I had to try using the ATARI BASIC language cartridge. I found that I often spelled the assorted commands wrong and got lost in the editor and compil- er. But, I had gotten the hacker's manual and lots of developer materials so I could read about it. I should mention that I had spent 12 years working in the engineering department of the University of California and had a research-level working knowledge of Cobol and Pascal, but only as it applied to our research programming needs. I soon realized I would not be able to do on my 400 what was then beginning to appear on television as computer art in motion. I was able to do a nice little walking machine game using the alternate graphics symbols for the keyboard as object primitives. Time passed, and in the fall of 1987 I passed a local Atari shop and thought I would just stop in and see what was going on with the Atari. There I saw Jim Kent's CyberPaint running on a Mega4. That was all I needed to see. I got the computer and all the Antic software, thinking again that I could start using the computer to do on the monitor what I was currently doing on paper, wood and glass. AIM: And could you -- do on the monitor what you were doing on paper and glass? Lee: NO! In fact, once I had mastered CyberPaint and the more traditional animation on the Mega4, I dove into CAD3D2 and ran smack dab into CyberControl, et. al....and was very disappointed with the whole idea I had in being able to use my skills and this wonderful computer to make things of impossible creative interest real...I was very disappointed. AIM: Is that what got you started with your own company? Lee: Eventually it was, but not at first... AIM: What got you started with Antic? Lee: A wrong number, actually, was the turning point. I called Antic for sup- port when I was unable to get the tutorial examples to run in the CyberStudio editor. Instead of the support person, I got Charles Cherry. Charles was later to move on to Atari in Sunnyvale as head of the developer's division. When I explained my problems to Charles and what I wanted to do, he invited me to become an Antic developer! So, I went from being a total CyberControl code failure to Developer in 20 minutes!!!! For the next three months I learned the realities of the Atari World, computer graphics and how programs are created. I also met Dave Ramsden, Paul Dana and others who were developers for Antic. AIM: This arrangement sounded like fun...what made you and Antic part ways? Lee: It was fun and I learned a lot from Charles and the other developers. What happened was that Charles left Antic to join Atari one Friday...and through the ensuing weeks, it became clear that the assorted projects we were working on would not receive further support by Antic. Eventually, some of us got together and agreed that, if I could put the financing together, we would form our own corporation in which the developer came first instead of the usual way in which the developer was really just an employee, or nearly so, and got a minimum return for a lot of work. So, I set Lexicor Software up in such a way that the developer got paid in two ways. First, they get a percentage of the "front door gross" and then stock in the corporation, which meant the developer would share just as the other investors did. Our percentages are, give or take a percent, twice what Antic ever paid and possibly three times what might be expected for off-the-street sale of a program. We also set up a flexible support system to provide hardware and cash to the developers so they could spend as much time as possible developing instead of worrying about 9-to-5 and developing evenings and weekends. In this way, I have been able to get all my developers the latest Atari hardware and software tools. I can market their areas and get full and appropriate support from Atari. We all have each other's best interest at heart, so the usual workplace petty bickering does not interfere with our creative efforts. And, best of all, the developers don't have to worry about getting ripped off by the owners because, in a large measure, they are the owners. AIM: Who makes up Lexicor Software? You speak of "my developers." Are you the main owner/figurehead? Lee: First, right now the developers are Dave Ramsden, Robert Birmingham Paul Dana and myself. We have several subcontractors who supplement these main developers. Next, I am Vice President and a major stock holder, but I do not own the majority of the stock. The exact make-up of the Board of Directors and the specific role each developer stockholder functions is confidential. Needless to say, we have offered to ourselves the best of all possible situations and actually are open to supporting more developers. Our pro- blem is that there really are not many Developers left in the Atari arena to join us. I should comment that such well known Atari developers such as Jim Kent are involved at several levels with Lexicor, partly because we are approaching the Atari from a professional point of view and partly because, at least in Jim's case, he is my near neighbor here in Marin county. AIM: Now that we've laid the groundwork for what Lexicor is, can you tell us about what Lexicor makes? I mean, can you finally do on the monitor what you were doing on paper? Lee: Last first. Yes, I can finally do on the Atari what I wanted to do back in 1979. Just look at our advertisements...they speak for themselves. This brings us to the first part of your question. What we are doing is making it possible for the average Atari owner to have and use a "Real Off Line Graphics Workstation." This is happening right now...our first major applications are going to printers, being groomed and polished. In the coming months, given the user has the talent, patience and determination, he or she will be able to do the self-same work I now do in promoting our software. There is no doubt that many new and exciting things are coming to the current and future Atari user. Like all good tools, our first releases are just the beginning...by way of example I had a late evening meeting with Leonard Tramiel at Atari in which we discussed some new things we both want to bring to the Atari community. Obviously, I can't be specific for lots of reasons...the most fun reason is that it keeps everyone reading this interview guessing what's NEXT! AIM: Can you tell us if all of your packages depend on each other, or can an Atari owner just pick up one program and work with it alone? How sophis- ticated is the software, and how sophisticated does the user have to be? Lee: Good question. There is no required program package as such. The user can get any of our software and use it right away. We have planned it to function in the same way as other High End systems. You have access to objects, object motion control, post production tools and several levels of finishing tools. As far as how sophisticated the software is, my developers think it is very powerful and well thought out in design and execution. As far as being hard or easy to use, the user can create anything we have advertised and or uploaded as sample demos without any programming at all. There is a minimal amount of keyboard use, which is mostly keystroke equivalents and basic file handling...like load and save. The whole idea was to create an environment which did not require elaborate control codes, so there aren't any. AIM: On the ST, there are several animation programs, each with a different format...will people who've created pictures and animations in other pack- ages have to start from scratch with Lexicor products? Lee: No. We have used the Cyber series as a foundation as far as format goes. We also support GIF, IFF, Neochrome, Degas/Degas Elite pictures in high, medium and low resolution, and will support PC1 to PC6 files. In addition, for those who are code-oriented, we save Image files, C c- ode, and source code for some graphics formats. This allows the user to create screen images which can be saved and programmed right into software. We have made every attempt to support other platform formats, such as PC P.I.X.A.R RIB files, Amiga Sculpt 3D object files, Mac Sculpt files and several others when we can get them working as we would like. An example is Turbosilver. We have full support on this, but this may be a format that will be supported as an additional object file by mid-summer or as the demand requires. AIM: This sounds really exciting! I look forward to the release of your products. I understand part of the delay was due to a hardware dongle produced by Practical Solutions. They're no longer in business -- will this hold you back on releasing your products? Lee: Had to mention that, eh? Well, it was a big problem and to set the record straight, the delays from Practical Solutions cost us a lot in lost time and effort. Part of their fear may have been that we were not really going to be worth the effort. As it turned out, everything I assured PS came true. Our first commercial orders were far above anything we thought they would be, and now I am stranded with a pocket full of cash and orders and no dongle source. We wish we could find whoever walked off with the goods...we were in the process of reordering when PS vanished. We have made other arrangements so that the US market won't be effected by a hardware snafu this time. We are hoping to fill all CeBIT orders in 15 days with our manufacturers shipping all orders in about the same time frame. Of course, I have to add that once we release to the market, we have no direct control of shipping priorities or speed. AIM: Do you have a date set for release in the US? Lee: Yes and NO...I discovered that if we were doing direct sales I could give you a date. I did this last fall when I thought we were ready...we were not, and I take the blame for that one. Now that we are having our products made and sold by a distributor, the best I can do is say we have shipped the masters, manuals and whatever hardware is included (i.e., safekey, graphics tablet color card (board), Genlock etc.) Then, it is up to them to get their work done in a timely fashion. How's that for duck and dodge? We think that the end of March is a safe date to shoot for today. AIM: We wish the best of luck to ya! As a closing question, could you comment on the Atari market and its future? Many developers are considering leaving, if they haven't already...what can you say to those who are still with us? Lee: That's a complex question, so this may be a bit tenuous for a closing com- ment. First, from Atari Corporation's point of view the market is just terrific. They are selling every computer they make. Their problem is forecasting what and how many to ship where. Right now, TTs are back or- dered in the US to the VAR customers. From my point of view (i.e., Lexicor), the fewer developers, the better, little or no competition gives me better than two million potential sales. Of course, this is not a healthy situation and is not how it actually is... The current developer who takes software development seriously, follows all the rules and listens to the guidance from Atari, there is and will be a very satisfactory market in the US and the world. From the point of view of the user, it has been a hard few years for very good reason. There are, and will continue to be, new and more and more powerful tools from Atari...those who leave now will wish they had waited. In just the next few months, the Atari will go from a limited (color and res) computer to being fully equal to and better than any VGA and SuperVGA system, price not withstanding. No one can guarantee that Atari or those who run it will not fall flat on their faces, but I don't believe from my associations that anyone in authority at Atari wants to fail or is running blind. As to the future (here is where I get in trouble), I believe -- and so do "my" developers -- that there is a bright and profitable future for us in the Atari world. We will do everything we can to make it so...if the users and other developers do the same, then how can Atari fail if they just keep making their fine computers? AIM: On that upbeat note, we'd like to thank you for your time and sharing your insights with our readers! [Editor's Note: Three of Lexicor's products; Rosetta-3D Prism-Paint Chronos-3D are shipping now and are available from RIO Computers.] NOTICE: This article originally appeared in the April/May 1991 issue of Atari Interface Magazine and may be freely distributed or reprinted in non-profit User Group publications as long as the article's author and Atari Interface Magazine are credited AND this notice is reprinted with the article. All other publications must obtain written or verbal per- mission from Unicorn Publications, 3487 Braeburn Circle, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, Phone: (313) 973-8825 or the author before using this article. ____________________________________________________________ > STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date... ================================ THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ========================= On CompuServe by Judith Hamner 72257,271 Since the HP95LX has been released, several Portfolio owners are lus- ting after 512K memory. Megabyte Computers has a 512k upgrade for the Port. See message #13355 for Craig Davis's report on his experiences with the upgrade. Message #13420 and 13421 contain comments from Atari on the upgrade. David Stewart 73770,2021 is accepting orders for his preliminary ver- sion of the 60 column by 10 row terminal program. Have you ever wished that the Portfolio's Apps were available for your desktop? DIP has the software. Contact Atari to express your interest if you want to help make them available in the US. DESIGN.ZIP is a new upload this week. This graphic demo produces designs on screen. Does the thought of using del with wildcards fill your heart with terror? VDEL.COM is a program just for you. This handy utility will prompt you for confirmation before deleting each file name matched. For those looking for external storage PDD1.ZIP has programs to let you read and write to the Tandy PDD1 disk drive. Windows for the Port? Not quite, but PRTCRD.ZIP offers a Windows 3.0 cardfile and utilities to con- vert between .CRD and .ADR files. It's vacation time for this columnist. There will be no report for the next few weeks as I head into the sunset. Look for a "catch up" report late in July. __________________________________________________________ > STR Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard" ============= STReport's MailBag ================== And now further replies.... from GEnie.... Item 3411848 91/06/23 18:04 From: R.JUDSON Ross Judson To: ST.REPORT Ralph F. Mariano cc: R.JUDSON Ross Judson Sub: Multi-Arc The textual documentation available for MultiArc is contained within its archive. I haven't written anything more for it. At this time there are no plans to develop MultiArc farther. It does exactly what _I_ want it to do, and does it perfectly. It works perfectly on _my_ system (2.5 meg 1040 with 30m HD, TOS 1.4). MultiArc's life cycle is a prime example of what happens when the apathy of the Atari community cuts off any source of feedback on an author's programming efforts. Several hundred downloads of MultiArc (on GEnie alone) have failed to produce _any_ feedback, let alone shareware fees. What possible motivation could I have to investigate problems with Multi- Arc? As far as I am concerned, there are none. I apologize to those who like and use MultiArc. Maybe you should have told me. The convenience with which MultiArc manipulates multiple archives was to be extended with a similar facility to managing archive creation. But I don't particularly need this feature, and it won't get written. In a further fit of pique :-), I must point out that I have several hundred K of code completed for a multiple archive handling program very similar to Stuffit Deluxe for the Macintosh. The chances of it being finished, polished and released are exceptionally minimal. I can't jus- tify the impact attempting to complete it would have on my current employment without some guarantee of recompense. To conclude, I must point out that I am _not_ negative about my Atari. I like it, and over the five years I've had it I've never wished I had some- thing else. I've written a number of programs for it, including D Edit (which was the first program for the Atari that had high speed ASM screen routines, as far as I know), Ultra Packer, MultiArc, the Better Time Set- ter, and many little utilities in a similar vein. All these were written to solve specific problems I had, and were released in the hope that they would work for others as well. Some form of response from the Atari com- munity might have guaranteed that. Back to the drawing board, although there's not much on it. Ross Judson, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada R.JUDSON on GEnie P.S. Print this if you like, Ralph. from CIS... Read action ! #: 27276 S17/Community Square 26-Jun-91 00:48:32 Sb: BYTE covers TT Fm: Joseph M. Schachner 73637,3437 To: Any On page 52 of July 1991 BYTE is about 6 column inches of text about, and a picture of, the Atari TT030. The title is "Speed, Power and Compatibility from Atari". The unit has a 32MHz 68030 and 68882 floating point coprocessor. It "includes network ready hardware" according to BYTE, and has an internal VME (A24/D16) slot. It has 2M of RAM expandable to 26MB, and has a built in cache (size not specified in BYTE). Graphics modes are 1280x960 monochrome, 640x480 in 16 colors, or 320x480 in 256 colors. Unit has 4 serial ports. BYTE mentions other features as well. It doesn not mention what it means by "compatibility". This is pretty decent coverage from BYTE. But, I find myself thinking, who would spend over $2000 on this machine? Here are my problems: 1) Most VGA cards do 640x480 in 256 colors, and SVGA cards with 1M of memory do 1024x768 in 256 colors RIGHT NOW. When IBM comes out with XGA video, this will be even more standard. 2) According to a recent article in my local newspaper, the total market for software last year was $1.2 billion. Of that, 81% was for IBM compatible machines and 13% was for Mac software. That leaves 6% for "other". Worse yet, "other-machine software sales are down 18.1%, the SPA says", even in entertainment and educational software, while both PC and Mac sales are up versus the same quarter last year. The number of future application for "other" machines, such as the TT, is likely to be at least as limited as ST applications are today (for example, how many commercial, supported, C++ compilers and class libraries have you seen for the ST?) 3) Availability of compatible hardware, for example, CD-ROM drives. On page 52 of the same BYTE we find that Radio Shack is selling drive plus card for $399, and BYTE likes it - but it's only for ISA (Industry Standard Architecture, ie, PC compatible) bus. 4) The biggest blow of all: IBM will soon release OS-2 2.0. Page 25 of the same BYTE mentioned above says it will run "most DOS applications, all Windows 3.0 applications, and all current OS/2 applications as well as new 32-bit OS/2 2.0 applications" and it will run "DOS and Windows applications faster than under DOS". It will be able to multitask any of these applicaitons. Unless The TT runs UNIX with X windows... in fact, even if the TT runs UNIX with X windows... So, eventually I'll replace my 8 MHz Atari ST. Why would I replace it with a TT, even if it is lightning fast? Why wouldn't I spend my over-$2000 on an SVGA 386SX with a CD-ROM drive and OS/2 2.0? Convince me. --- Joe Schachner ___________________________________________________ > DEALERS CONCERNED STR FOCUS This is professional and above reproach? =========================== SENSIBILITY IN ADVERTISING ========================== submitted by a few concerned Atari Dealers This essay is about the hard copy magazines and their advertisers. In one magazine, in particular, there can be found some rather peculiar, if not downright outrageous, messages being sent to the readers. Like in last month's issue a blustery blurb denouncing, (YUP; DENOUNCING!), a com- petitor with less than relevant information. Its sad to see the management of the publication permit such ad copy to become part of "their" magazine. This particular magazine's new issue is now shipping. So far, its publisher and crew have managed to put together considerable support from a variety of advertisers and assemble a good assortment of informative articles as well. But their claim of having the "Largest Circulation in North America" splashed across the front cover should probably more accurately read "Largest 'printing' of an Atari specific publication in the U.S.A." if they really wanted to be truthful. One cannot help but wonder just how many copies of each issue actually winds up in the hands of individual Atari Users and how many are left over and get dumpstered by usergroups and dealers. Apparently, they have neglected to establish guidelines detailing even a modicum of acceptable minimum standards for advertisers. Guidelines that should set some sort of ground rules to avoid misleading ads from dealers splashing unrealistically low prices for Atari equipment in their advertisements and the most unsettling practice of slagging the competi- tion in the ad itself. It is the responsibility of any publication to show a minimum level of respect for the users and thus, establish a set of responsible principles under which they will operate. It appears that the publishing staff of this particular magazine has, so far, failed to ex- hibit that they have done this. Perhaps a little more "professionalism and a little less fandangoism will go a long way to improving the overall image of the Atari marketplace to all of us and especially outside, industry observers. Maybe they'll start taking us seriously. ___________________________________________________________ > AMWAY SOFTWARE! STR Review COMPUTER ORDER PLUS ST - PART II ========================== COMPUTER ORDER PLUS ST ====================== PART 2 by James Nolan Last issue I touched lightly on some of the features of Computer Order Program ST. Now I'd like to cover some of those in more detail. Let's start with the generation of an order. Without this program you know the most time consuming aspect is creat- ing and correlating all your orders together on a BA1 or SA1 depending whose group you're in. Well now it's incredibly simpler. You can create an order for your RDC if you're a direct or on warehouse, a regular distributor order or a retail order for a customer. When in the retail mode, you can switch screens between distributor cost and retail pricing for obvious reasons. You can set the markup, discount or the final cost desired and C.O.P. ST will do the rest. Your printout in retail mode can be used as a customer receipt. In the distributor mode, your screen looks like a SA1 with 5 lines available at a time for items to be entered. PV, BV, distributor cost, taxes, shipping and total is all automatically calculated based on info from the catalog section. One of the nicest and handiest features is the use of ALT F (Find). When the program is requesting a stock number input and you don't know exactly what it is, ALT F will bring up a separate dialog box into which you input key words such as L.O.C., shampoo, gum etc. Five items at a time will be displayed until you find what you're looking for. Then simply click the pointer on that item and it is added to your order. Then, as with other items, you input the quantity desired. Up to 400 back orders (or coming ins) can be track- ed with or without the inventory option selected. Unless you have a lot of customers and are maintaining some kind of inventory, you won't need the inventory option. C.O.P. ST also allows you to print messages at the bottom of your SA1 printout. The message can be printed to all or some of the SA1s. The database section is specifically designed for distributor or cus- tomer information. You will have a separate database for distributors and one for customers. You can examine, add or modify any information in either database. C.O.P. ST uses info from these databases - especially distributor, to keep track of PV and BV. Therefore, the info in distributor database such as ADA # and sponsor info should be entered cor- rectly for future functions such as performance bonus payments. In either database you can create a spot for yourself for your own personal orders or you can create multiple images of yourself for various divisions of products/sales such as health & fitness, home care, high tech. Another nice aspect is the ability to print labels based on the database information. Performance bonus calculating has never been easier. Since you already know what your downline PV/BV is based on their regular orders, all you need is to input other miscellaneous items once you receive your bonus statement. A great feature here is the assigning of function keys for different items to be paid on. You can assign the 10 keys as bonuses for MCI, VISA, personal shoppers catalog, AMVOX and so on. They can be saved as part of your initial system setup. Then enter the PV/BV amounts with the assigned function key and you're almost done. Straight payment for cash owed or return credit can also be keyed in. Your performance bonuses can be computed for all frontline and their downline. The prin- tout is very detailed and I find it easier to read than others I've seen and used. The catalog data file is the largest one supplied with C.O.P. ST. It represents the items you would find in your SA13. The copy I received had about 1500 items in it already but can be increased to a total of 2000. The catalog is easily updated for additions/deletions or changes to stock numbers, PV/BV, cost, suggested retail and tax/no-tax status. Robert up- grades this file when the new SA13 comes out for a nominal fee. Overall this program is an excellently crafted package. I can't see ever going back to the old BA1s and a calculator. It would be like the monks coping books. Robert Re has definitely put everything he had into this personal endeavor. The ease of use combined with the ability to up- date almost all areas and other countless features make this a valuable asset to every Amway distributor with an Atari ST. If you don't have an ST, GET ONE and this program. As with any program, there are some features we would like to see in future updates: 1) As Amway continues to explode in growth, the catalog limit of 2000 items will have to be raised. 2) In our group, some of our tools (tapes) start with SOT- and DBR-. The catalog will not accept these inputs. It does accept TL- numbers though. 3) The ability for the program to automatically take items from your downline and customer orders and add them to your total order that you call into your sponsor or RDC is not available. This would prevent you from having to physically enter the items on two separate orders. The best part about Computer Order Program ST is the price. Compared with $425.00 for the Amware software, $225.00 is a remarkably low investment for your business. Robert does send SA13 upgrades to registered users for about $25.00 every 6 months. Also Amway is refunding the full purchase price of its software to any user who requests it. The reason given is "distributor challenges" along with suggestions that the software is difficult to use and has had several long-standing problems not satisfactorily dealt with. With all that in mind your choice is obvious. Robert does send SA13 upgrades to registered users for about $25.00 every 6 months. So if you're seriously ready for a tool that your business needs, please contact: Robert Re 501 Ebken Street Pacifica, California 94044 1-415-355-0375. See your dreams and your business big and I'll see you at the top. GO DIAMOND! ______________________________________________________________ > RICK KEENE STR Feature ALLS FAIR & WILLY WEASELY ====================== WHEN IT'S WILLY WEASELY! ======================== by Dana P. Jacobson Okay, close the door and lock it! You don't want any children to see you reading this. Why, you say? Because we're going to be talking _comic books_, that's why!! I can just see your kid(s) telling all of their friends: Hey, my parents read comic books! What dweebs!! A few weeks ago, we spotlighted Rick Keene and his work with graphics on the ST, professionally. I briefly mentioned that Rick also does some fun stuff with graphics, and produces a comic strip character: Willy Weasely, a character right out of the '70s and the underground comics that I fondly remember. What I thought that I'd do with this article is let you know about Rick's character Willy Weasely and the computer comic "books" that Rick has created. To-date, Rick has made available three comic books for our viewing pleasure. The first two were done in 1989; one called "All's Fair" and the other was simply titled "Willy Weasely". The third was just recently previewed by a few people, myself included. All three are more than worth the download time from wherever you can get them! "All's Fair" starts off with a cover which includes pictures of various pages of the ensuing comic. What's really nice about the way Rick does this is that he set the cover up using the format of the old "Walls" animation. Remember the animation that has various pictures on walls that fold down and back up again? Rick simply substituted his Willy pictures on those walls, but they don't move! Nicely done, I might add. Rick uses a program "Talespin" to get the comic book look. While I still know very little about this program, it does allow the artist to do some interesting things. When you're finished viewing the cover, you click the mouse. A dialog "balloon" comes up and it reads just like a comic book or a strip. Click on the last balloon on the page and the page "turns". In this case, the page dissolves and the next page comes onto your screen. "All's Fair" depicts our hero walking down the street, apparently in the seedy part of town. Did I forget to tell you that Willy is not your typical comic book/strip character? Well, as long as you remember that he's a weasel, you'll get the idea of just the sort of character he is, and portrays! As luck(?) would have it, Willy happens upon a young lady. "Ah, wimmen. The fair sex," he ponders. Willy prepares to pull out all the stops to charm this lady. He utters some of his best lines to win the "favors" of our unsuspecting(?) lady. The lines _almost_ work. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how alike you are to our hero, she falls for the lines but adds one of her own: $40.00, please... The weasel that he is, Willy accepts and our last page shows the two of them walking off together. The second of Rick's early issues is what Rick called semi- biographical. As all of us must have had at one time in our past, Rick and Willy had love trouble and set out to get drunk to forget about it. This comic starts off with Willy walking, er stumbling down the street. He hails a cab, being the conscientious sot that he is. Once he's sprawled in the back seat, he asks the cabbie if there's room in front for a few beers and pizza?! The cabbie is hungry and says sure. Next thing we know, Willy ain't feeling too hot. Those comic book beers must be potent, as Willy is turning green! Uh oh, he's gonna get sick!! Ahhh, the wonders of sound effects, as we turn the page... Fortunately for Wil- ly, he doesn't get anything on himself! Poor cabbie.... The latest comic was just recently finished, and I was one of the first to preview it. It still hasn't made it online yet, but you can ex- pect it soon. We find out that our "heroine" from "All's Fair" is named Lorraine; and apparently Willy and Lorraine are an "item" now. True to form, however, Willy is still trying to win the favor, or favors, of Lor- raine. We seemed to come across Willy and Lorraine preparing for a love session; and they're discussing whether to leave the lights on or not. For the record, Willy wants the light on and Lorraine wants 'em off! Boy, Lorraine certainly changed personalities in the last two years; now she's shy! Anyway, they argue. Willy tries all of his best coaxing, and Lor- raine relentlessly says yes, but on one condition: she wants to leave the car door closed. Yep, I was lost there too! We see our loving couple seated in a car overlooking the city, on a moonlit night. Ahh Willy, you romantic beast! You hear the car door close....and fade out. Now normally, this would be the end of the comic, but Rick decided to add a more personal touch to this issue. After we say goodbye to Willy and Lorraine, we see a picture of Willy and Rick. No, Rick is not a comic book character. I mean you see a picture of Rick with ol' Willy with his arm around Rick's shoulder. What a team. Well, Willy suggests to Rick that he tell everyone about the Willy Weasely Fan Club! Such modesty. Modest or not, it's true. There is a Willy Weasely Fan Club, and you can join - I did! To receive a Willy Weasely button, a membership in the "Whoopado Clu- b", _and_ a copy of the new "Willy Weasely - The Comic Book" (hard copy), and the promise for more Willy Weasely computer comics - just send a meas- ly $6.00 to: Rick Keene P.O. Box 463 Natick, MA 01760 Rick is currently designing various Willy Weasely paraphernalia. He has no idea how much interest people will have in this sort of thing, but I think it's a unique and great idea. Imagine producing most of this stuff initially on a 520 ST! It's a great concept, and it's something different from what we've been seeing and reading about lately. Computer graphics, in the atmosphere of a comic book is not new, but something that really hasn't been explored much in the past. It's a nice touch, for a change. While I certainly don't want you to think that this article is a "commercial" for Rick (it isn't!), I do recommend that if you haven't al- ready seen the first two comics, do so. Both can be found on Delphi and GEnie. Download them and check them out. If you like them, you may want to see more. Then you can amaze your friends by showing them your Willy Weasely Fan Club membership card!! If you don't have access to either online service, drop Rick a line at the above address; I'm sure that he'll be happy to get the comics to you. A word of caution when viewing these comic books. Although there's nothing obscene about them at all, there is certainly an adult "flavor". You may not want to have impressionable children seeing these until you can decide if it's "appropriate" or not. I hope to be including more about Rick Keene and his work in upcoming issues of ST Report. From all of the feedback that I have received about these articles, people are enjoying it as much as I am, so we'll continue. I hope to be hearing about Rick's progress with DC Comics, as well as some of his other pending projects. So...stay tuned... Until next time... __________________________________________________ > STReport CONFIDENTIAL "BLOCKBUSTER ATARI NEWS FIRST!" ===================== - Austin, TX SFAN & ATARI ALL THE WAY! ---------- Atari Computer has shipped the TT030 system to the Science Fiction, Fantasy & Adventure Network as per their agreement to assist with the graphics development process. Further, support from the IAAD will put another TT as well as graphics support equipment and software into SFAN's hands. A&D will supply its MIDI-link system as soon as the networking software has been upgraded to TT standards; CODEHEAD has offered to supply SFAN with their utility programs. Additionally, Atari has entered into an agreement with Walter Koenig (STAR TREK's "Chekov") which will result in Koenig becoming an "Atarian" in private as well as in public. Atari is providing Koenig with a Mega STe4 computer and SLM605 laser printer for his personal use and the com- puter and Koenig will be featured in a print ad campaign geared to coin- cide with the advertising push for the next STAR TREK movie. To ensure that Koenig has the best chance to take advantage of his Mega, John Eidsvoog of CODEHEAD Software has offered to help Koenig set up the system and learn to use it to his best advantage. Several members of IAAD have already offered to send software to Koenig. "I am looking forward to ex- ploring all these great programs." Koenig said. - Sunnyvale, CA INCREDIBLY, ATARI RAISES DEALER COSTS! ------------- Atari has announced a general DEALER COST PRICE INCREASE coupled with a different quantity price break. Dealer COST Prices are generally up across the boards and the lot price breaks are at 2-6 and 8+. As an ex- ample, "the profit line for the MegaSTe/4-50, a real hit, is narrowed con- siderably." one dealer said. When asked how he felt about the price increases he bitterly exclaimed, "that's what we get for remaining loyal to these guys. And although I have no immediate plans on dropping the Atari line, you can be sure I will be very conservative in my inventory control." "After a closer examination of the increases, it would appear that the smaller dealers across the nation will be the most seriously effected by this latest move. It is a rather incredible move when one considers the rest of the computing industry is very busy lowering prices." he added. - San Francisco, CA ATARI STRIVES FOR INDUSTRY RESPECT ----------------- Claiming that its workstation is well-respected as a Desk Top Ppublishing solution in the Germany, Atari Computers formed a new division, called Professional Systems Group headed by Don Mandel, that aims to develop that same respect in the U.S. DTP market. To do that, the new division will provide marketing and distribution support to a group of companies offering products for the Atari TT030 workstation. In some cases, these products already have been made available in Europe. According to Atari and the Professional Systems Group, the Atari solution offers superior performance at affordable pricing. Among the products being pushed by the company are Retouch CD (a color photo retouching package), Didot Line Art (a vector graphics editor), PageStream 2 (a desktop publishing program), and SoftRIPS (a raster image processor that links the Atari directly to Linotronic or Compugraphic imagesetters.) - West Chester, PA COMMODORE LAUNCHES WINDFALL ---------------- Hoping to find gold among its competitors discards, Commodore has launched operation "Windfall", a new and unique marketing program designed to forge partnerships with educational dealers and VARs who have been dropped by Apple Computer of Cupertino, CA. - New York City, NY NATION'S TOP TEN ----------------- The following is a list of the top ten computer makers in North America by unit. The list appeared in the June 15th issue of Datamation magazine. The fastest growing manufacturer was Dell, the largest IBM and the one with the worst performance was H-P. Personal Computers Revenue ($MIL.) Market % Company 1990 1989 Change Share ------------------------------------------------------------ 1. IBM 9,644.0 8,343.0 15.59 37.66% 2. Apple 3,845.8 3,574.2 7.60 15.02 3. Compaq 3,598.0 2,876.1 25.10 14.05 4. Unisys 1,181.0 1,300.0 -9.15 4.61 5. Commodore 995.7 866.5 14.91 3.89 6. Intel 980.0 812.0 20.69 3.83 7. Tandy 850.3 689.1 23.39 3.32 8. AT&T 700.0 700.0 0.00 2.73 9. Hewlett-Packard 625.0 850.0 -26.47 2.44 10. Dell 546.0 307.0 77.85 2.13 ------------------------------------------------------------ TOTALS 22,965.8 20,317.9 149.51 89.68% A total of 10.32% of the market share is divided by a various number of companies, each with less than a 2% share. Please note that the revenue figures refer to total company revenue while the market share per- centage refers only to the North American market and does not include sales in Europe, Australia, Latin/South America, Africa or Asia. - London UK 512k PORTFOLIO IS REAL & AVAILABLE --------- Reportedly, DIP corp. has made a 512k version of the famed Portfolio available to consumers. The first question asked is when is it going to be available in the USA? "Not likely in the near future" is the unhappy answer. It seems that current contractual agreements prohibit DIP from selling the newer, more powerful Portfolio directly in the States and to date, Atari has not expressed any interest in doing so. On another note, STReport has learned that representatives from DIP are in Sunnyvale at this time conferring with Atari's Leonard Tramiel. Maybe... just maybe since the NEW HP model 95 is becoming the "Palmtop" to own, Atari may reconsider their position and bring in the 512k version with the new OS. *********************************************************************** :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. -> NOW! GENIE * BASIC SERVICE IS IN EFFECT!! <- This weeks message contains a sampling of some of the files currently generating excitement in the ST Libraries located in GEnie. Number: 19472 Name: VKILL384.LZH Date: 910525 Newest version to VKILLER, the most popular virus killer for the ST/TT computers. Has a new test kill feature and recognizes every known boot sector virus. A must have! Number: 19476 Name: LHA130.ARC Date: 910525 This is version 1.30 of LHA, the comprehensive archiver/unarchiver for LZH files. Handles all known variants of the LZH archive. This ver- sion runs significantly faster than v1.21, and offers several new features, including optional archive encryption/decryption. Number: 19547 Name: XYZ201.ARC Date: 910531 A replacement for RZ.TTP. Offers resumption of aborted file transfers, all files are transfered unchanged (no more files cut short!), supports XMODEM and YMODEM, file creation dates are preserved (if you want). New features include input and output file lists, "quiet" mode, carrier detect, enhanced status display, single file mode, and more! Number: 19451 Name: DCR_TMAG.ARC Date: 910524 DC Real-Time Magnifier gives an 8X blowup of the screen. Get "fat bits" in programs that don't provide them. Or see those tiny fonts without having to reach for the bifocals. Number: 19610 Name: GVIEW105.LZH Date: 910605 This is version 1.05 of GEMView, the picture-viewing accessory. View .GIF, .IMG, .NEO, .PI?, .PC?, .TNY, .SPC, .SPU and other file formats. Dithering, half-toning, and save capabilities. A MUST HAVE for any ST/TT owner. Number: 19654 Name: COLONY.ARC Date: 910608 Game of planet colonization. Pits you marketing and management skill against the computers players. Always different and challenging. Number: 19528 Name: ENG_DRAC.ARC Date: 910529 COLOR ONLY. Drachen is a variant of the ancient Chinese game of Mah Jongh, also known as Shanghai. There's been a mono version of this German PD program in this library for some time, but the same author produced a color version. Here it is, in English translation (mostly translated, anyway -- read the .ASC file for full instructions). Number: 19700 Name: DMLTNMAN.ARC Date: 910611 This is DEMOLITION MAN, a new commercial-quality puzzle game by Clayton Walnum. One of those games that takes a minute to learn and a long time to master, DEMOLITION MAN is great for a quick diversion. A single game may last only a minute or two, but just like potato chips, one is never enough! Runs in low rez only. Shareware. Number: 19593 Name: GEM_XYZ.LZH Date: 910603 This is a GEM version of Alan Hamilton's XYZ.TTP. It is not a shell but a full featured GEM XYZ protocol. This program is shareware. Number: 19778 Name: STWEL42.ARC Date: 910616 Updated release of ST Writer Elite. Fixes some minor cosmetic bugs. This version contains a scrolling help window using the Help key from the Editing screen. Formatting commands and key strokes are listed. Number: 19537 Name: ELFBOOT.ARC Date: 910529 ELF-BOOT is a powerful new STARTUP utility for your ST, and is presented as shareware by Elfin Magic Software. Number: 19471 Name: CHEATER3.DOC Date: 910525 The Cheatmaster returns! Here are cheats for 9 more ST games. The games are: LOTUS ESPRIT TURBO CHALLENGE, ROBOCOP II, DEATH TRAP, CAR-VUP, WINGS OF DEATH, TEENAGE MUTANT HERO TURTLES, TOTAL RECALL, TURRICAN, and HORROR ZOMBIES FROM THE CRYPT. This is a text file. Number: 19807 Name: FORMDOIT.ARC Date: 910619 FormDoIt alters the way that dialog boxes and alerts behave in most programs. Latest Version Number: 19534 Name: FPPRNT.ARC Date: 910529 This program patches TOS to improve print speed when using a relative- ly high speed printer (HP Laserjet IIIP, Deskjet+, ???). Tests show it is subtantially faster than the built-in TOS routine and printer spoolers. Don't forget, for those of you with interest in the Atari Portfolio, new files are added daily. Type M950;3 followed by 2 for a complete direc- tory of Portfolio Files NOTE; The list of files is rather long this week because we afforded the ST RT on GEnie an opportunity to bring themselves up to date, henceforth, the list will include only the last week's new uploads. GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission *********************************************************************** > CODEHEAD UPDATES! STR FOCUS CodeHead Utilities Release 4! =========================== **************************************************************** * * * CodeHead Software Announces CodeHead Utilities - Release 4 * * ---------------------------------------------------------- * * * * FEATURING: * * * * RESET-PROOF PRINTER AND DISK SPOOLING * * * * KEYBOARD ENHANCER FOR HANDICAPPED USERS * * * * TT COMPATIBILITY * * * * DESK ACCESSORY TEXT EDITOR * * * * RESOURCE FILE CONVERTER * * * * MUCH, MUCH, MORE... * * * **************************************************************** The fourth release of CodeHead Utilities is now available! It brings you many exciting new features as well as new and previously-unreleased programs. Release 4 comes on two disks. The second disk contains the latest versions of all Little Green Footballs Software and demos of all other CodeHead products. Between the two disks there are 34 programs, more than ONE AND A HALF MEGABYTES OF SOFTWARE! Here's what you get: Utilities: Shareware: ---------- ---------- Art Gallery 3.0 ArcShell 2.5 Auto Organizer 1.1 Desk Manager 3.3 CapsLock 1.0 DeskSwitch 1.1 CodeCopy 1.4 Funk Alert 1.1 CodeHead ED 1.1 Little Green Selector 1.8c Call ED 1.0 PinHead 1.8 CodeHead RAM Disk 2.3 TopDown 2.7 Font Tricks 2.0 Lens 1.0 Leonard6 1.1 Demos: MultiFile 1.2 ------ No Clear CodeKeys 1.2 RSC -> ASM 1.0 G+Plus 1.0 Sentinel 1.0 HotWire 2.3 Siren 3 LookIt! & PopIt! 1.0 ShowMem4 1.5 MaxiFile III 3.0 Spooler Manager 1.0 MIDIMAX 1.2 Spooler 1.0 MultiDesk 2.1 Spooler Config Stick Shift 1.0 ZeroDisk 1.1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CODEHEAD RAM DISK: The CodeHead RAM Disk has some new and exciting features. You can now install two different drives in the same RAM disk. And you can configure the RAM disk to contain a RESET-PROOF PRINT SPOOLER! You can now perform a printing operation and reset your computer without losing a single character...the printer will pick up exactly where you left off without missing a beat. Plus, you can save your printer data to a standard disk file that can be printed at any time, with or without a print spooler! This means you can save the raw printer data of a DTP document and reprint it at any time WITHOUT EVEN RUNNING YOUR DTP PROGRAM AGAIN! The RAM disk comes with a companion "Spooler Manager Accessory" which al- lows you to save your spooled data and print as many copies as you want (up to 999) of any file with optional formfeeds between them, whether the spooler is present or not. The RAM Disk will now allow you to load any CCP file (a CodeCopy file con- taining an image of an entire disk full of files and folders) you wish. This lets you use HotWire to easily install different configurations of RAM disks complete with files already loaded, with the press of a key or the click of a mouse, in a SPLIT SECOND! CodeHead RAM Disk is now fully TT compatible (as well as working in all other ST resolutions, including the Moniterm), allowing you to install it in either ST RAM or Fast TT RAM. This turns the fastest Atari RAM disk into an even faster RAM disk. Some people have asked us why our RAM disk is so much faster than the competition...the secret is speed, and lots of it . For those who are unfamiliar with the previous features of CodeHead RAM Disk, it is not only reset-proof but will reinstall itself automatically after a reset without running the program again. If you've run out of drive letters, our RAM disk can be piggy-backed on top of an existing drive, even drive A or B, while still allowing access to the existing drive. It can be installed and removed from the desktop without rebooting and will automatically load an entire disk full of files and folders when installed. It can be any size that will fit in your memory and you can actually install your AUTO programs and accessories in the RAM disk for super-fast bootups! There is no faster, sturdier RAM disk available for ST/TT computers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ART GALLERY: Art Gallery is our picture viewer and slide show utility which runs as either a program or a desk accessory. It is now fully compatible with Mega STe and TT030 computers and is also compatible with large screen monitors. If you have a large screen monitor, you can view any type of picture that matches the current resolution, or has the same number of planes but lesser pixel resolution. This allows you to view ST high-res pictures on a Moniterm monitor and ST medium and low res pictures on an ISAC or other large screen color monitor. There's new support for all TT resolutions, including Prism Paint pictures as well as the previous Neochrome, Degas, Art Director, and TNY modes. Using a color monitor on the TT you can view pictures in any of 5 resolutions no matter what your current resolution is. Art Gallery 3.0 can now be run by remote control through its special "command line" options. This allows you to view pictures simply by double-clicking on them (without having to first install a resident program). You can also create a HotWire menu which lets you just click on a picture's entry to view it. Or you can have entries which will run pre-configured slide shows. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STICK SHIFT: Stick Shift is a new desk accessory specially designed for handicapped people. It changes the function of the shift keys (Left Shift, Right Shift, Control, and Alternate) into toggled keys. This allows complicated shift-key combinations to be typed by a single finger, or even a mouthstick. When Stick Shift is active, a symbol will appear in any of the four corners of the screen (your choice) to show which keys are currently "stuck" down. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CODEHEAD ED: Included as freeware with CodeHead Utilities is CodeHead's special desk accessory version of MicroEMACS, the popular progammer's text editor. At CodeHead Software, we've been using CodeHead ED for years. Now you too can access the power of EMACS as a desk accessory. CodeHead ED uses the GEM file selector for loading and saving files and has been optimized in many other areas to help make your text editing tasks as easy as possible. You can bind commands to different key combinations to customize it to your own preferences, and the powerful EMACS command language lets you create macros and command routines to do extremely complex tasks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RSC -> ASM CONVERTER: We've finally released another of our development tools -- RSC_ASM allows you to convert a resource file into assembly language source code. We've been using RSC_ASM for a couple of years now to embed resource files into our programs. A unique system of labelling allows you to save both time and instructions by being able to access objects and strings directly without using system calls to find addresses, and without tedious and er- ror-prone indirection. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CODECOPY: CodeCopy is our disk mastering program which is tailored to the task of making disk copies (we use it at CodeHead to make all our master disks). It features full verification of every byte on your disks plus the ability to save an entire disk as a single "image" file. It can be fully controlled either manually or from the command line. CodeCopy now has routines to override the self-parking of Atari's hard disk driver (on the Stacy). Due to a bug in Atari's driver, all disk ac- cess will fail if the hard drive parks while floppy access is taking place. You'll have no more problems with this. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FONT TRICKS: Font Tricks allows you to customize your system by changing the system screen font. You can also print ASCII files to Epson-compatible printers using the custom fonts. Almost two dozen fonts are included. Font Tricks is now TT compatible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AUTO ORGANIZER: Auto Organizer lets you change the order of execution of your AUTO folder programs. Its interface is intuitive and extremely fast, performing the actual reorganization almost instantaneously. Auto Organizer is TT compatible along with a couple of bug fixes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OTHER UTILITIES: MultiFile is the granddaddy of MaxiFile. It gives you a basic scaled down set of file and disk functions. It runs as both a desk accessory and a program. Our stand-alone print spooler can be configured to any size through a separate program. It will spool a screen dump and its buffer can be cleared with a keystroke. ZeroDisk lets you erase all of the files on a floppy disk in one quick operation. CapsLock is an accessory that shows the current state of the CapsLock key. It can be installed in the upper left or right corner of the screen. Lens is a recursive graphics toy which lets you examine the effects of a recursive system and have fun at the same time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FREEWARE: The new version of ShowMem4 works with the TT to show you memory blocks in fast RAM. It now works correctly the first time on all ROM versions. There's a new version of Leonard6, the system bomb handler, with a special option for BBS operators. You can set Leonard6 so that it will reboot upon a system error so that the BBS will automatically be reinitialized. Siren.ACC is fun little police car which drives across the bottom of your screen at predetermined configurable intervals. A patched version of Poolfix4 is included which fixes a bug in its reset-resident routine for handling the cookie jar. NoClear lets you remove the screen clear commands from your AUTO programs so that they will scroll nicely up the screen when you boot up. Sentinel watches for disk write errors and lets you know if there's a problem such as a full disk. This takes the worry out of working with programs that fail to inform you of errors. ######################################################## CodeHead Utilities has a suggested retail price of $34.95. As a current owner of CodeHead Utilities, you can obtain an update by sending your original master disk and $10 to the address listed below. Version numbers and suggested retail prices for our products as of Monday, June 24, 1991 are: Product Version Price ------- ------- ----- CodeKeys ............. 1.3 .......$39.95 G+Plus ............... 1.5 ....... 34.95 MultiDesk ............ 2.2 ....... 29.95 LookIt & PopIt ....... 1.2/1.1 ... 39.95 MaxiFile ............. 3.0 ....... 44.95 HotWire .............. 3.0 ....... 44.95 HotWire Plus ..................... 69.95 MIDIMAX .............. 1.3 ....... 49.95 CodeHead Utilities ... Rel 4 ..... 34.95 CodeHead Products are available from your local Atari dealer, through mail-order houses, or directly from CodeHead Software: CodeHead Software P.O. Box 74090 Los Angeles, CA 90004 Phone: (213) 386-5735 FAX: (213) 386-5789 BBS: (213) 461-2095 CodeHead Software accepts Mastercard, Visa, and American Express, as well as checks, money orders, and cash. Shipping charges are $3 U.S., $4 Canada, and $6 elsewhere. Current office hours are Monday-Friday 9AM-1PM Pacific time. Prices and hours are subject to change without notice. Thank you for your support! ########################################################## > Hard Disks STR InfoFile ***** ABCO PRICE CHANGES! ***** ======================= ** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! ** 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 ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED * * SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS * WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< Deluxe 2 bay Cabinet w/65w auto-switching PS Model Description Autopark Price ================================================== SGN4951 51Mb 28ms 3.5" Y 479.00 SGN1096 85Mb 24ms 5.25" Y 549.00 SGN2055 105mb 17ms 3.5" Y QUANTUM 699.00 SGN6277 120Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 789.00 SGN1296 168Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 1019.00 ================================================== FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00 ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250w PS PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only! CPU ACCELERATOR & MEMORY UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED >> ABCO is now taking orders for 1040 & MEGA STe Computers! << Call for VERY special Introductory prices! If you don't see what you want listed here, call us. Odds are we have it or, can get it for you! AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE! "We service what we sell. (when necessary)" ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ****** * SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE * - SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A - ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable - Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart. --->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 645.00__ <<--- **** SCSI UNITS -> ONLY $585.00 **** WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN! Cart and Utility Software Included! EXTRA CARTS: $ 74.50 DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 349.95 ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ****** * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT * SPECIALLY PRICED ** $1019.00 ** Includes TWO cartridges! * SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS * - Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives - 50mb SQG51 $ 819.00 85mb SQG96 $ 1019.00 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< 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 COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - AT/PC SPEED - GCR LARGER units are available - (Custom Configurations) *>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<* - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets - * SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 * * Toner Starter Kits $49.95 * * Replacement Drums $183.95 * >> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED << ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED -* 12 month FULL Guarantee *- (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE) WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< 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 ABCO is EXPANDING!! CALL FOR INFORMATION! ____________________________________________________________ > A "Quotable Quote" ==================== "REWARD YOUR FAITHFUL WITH A HEAVY, HEARTLESS HAND!" ....MARQUIS DE SADE """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport International Online Magazine¿ Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport¿ "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" June 28, 1991 16/32bit Magazine copyright ½ 1987-91 No.7.26 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors, staff, STReport¿ CPU/MAC/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 entire 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. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""