*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" from STR Publishing Inc. """""""""""""""""" August 09, 1991 No.7.32 ========================================================================== 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 ----------------------------------------- STR East: FNET 350 - The Bounty ST BBS 1-904-786-4176 STR West: FNET 075 - Bloom County BBS 1-415-965-9347 STR Canada: FNET 018 - ///Turbo Board Support 1-416-274-1225 STR Europe: FNET 1031 - <<>> 011-44-296-395-935 __________________________________________________________________ > 08/09/91: STReport #7.32 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine! ------------------------- - The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - WRIST-MACS? - Oracle ships "Virus" - Thumbelina! - Ashton-Tate Layoff - PIRACY HURTS WHO? - PORTFOLIO NEWS! - STR Confidential -* STREPORT ANSWERS CRITICS! *- -* STREPORT'S ONLINE CONFERENCE *- -* ATARI SUPPORTS GENCON! *- ========================================================================== 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 BBS systems, worldwide, to participate in the Fido/F-Net Mail Network. Or, call Node 350 direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging information relative to the Atari ST computer arena through an excellent International ST Mail Network. All registered F-NET - Crossnet SysOps are welcome 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 In the past few weeks phrases like, 'irresponsible', 'gossip rag', and 'National Inquirer' have been used to describe myself, some of our colum- nists and editors, and STReport. What is really amazing is that many of these phrases have been publicly stated by people who emphatically proclaim they "never read ST Report or to only have read it once or twice." What is a responsible news publication? There are as many definitions of that as there are people using the term. We've found that most of the time it depends on whether or not they agree with what's been printed. Since the name "ST" is in our masthead, some feel that we should only say positive things about the ST and Atari and that any negative comments about the ST or Atari are improper and 'irresponsible'. We at STReport feel that truth is more important than being a simple mouth piece for Atari, feeding the users a company pablum line. If Atari does something that deserves a positive article, we print it. However, if we feel that any of their policies or decisions could have an adverse effect on the ST community, we also feel responsible to publish that, whether Atari might consider the reporting to be 'irresponsible' or not. For example, suppose we discovered that Atari was coming out with a new generation TT, one that would pass class B certification and maybe have additional hardware that the current version didn't have. Should we report about it or not? If we report it, current TT sales might drop and Atari would consider that we had been 'irresponsible' in our reporting. However, if we don't report it, someone might buy a TT who, if they had known of the new generation TT, would have waited and gotten more for their money. So they would consider us 'irresponsible' for not reporting about it. Or, suppose we were informed that Gadget's GCR had problems working with some TT's (which they admit). By reporting that, both GBS and Atari could possibly be upset at us because we could potentially hurt their sales. But by not reporting it, we are 'irresponsible' to our GCR owning readers who might be thinking of buying a TT. There are times when a news magazine is placed in a "no-win situation regardless of what they do or do not print. Some will read into the ar- ticles what they want and ignore everything else, or they'll come up with their own rationalization for why we printed certain articles. Take this partial post from the STReport Fnet from Bill Merik for example: "I see in the latest STreport (730) you have somebody go on at fair length about the XControl panel. I am confident that this extra nice treatment resulted partly from all the critical com- ment directed at you lately. But you go and blow it with your sniveling about FSM GDOS. Did you ever think the reason "loyal Atari users have to wait" for the release is because it's not ready yet? Naw, you have to infer that Atari is holding it back just to torture us pore Atari users." The issue Mr. Merik is discussing had a favorable article about Atari's new XControl Panel by Lloyd Pulley [NOTE: anyone who knows Lloyd, knows he doesn't change his opinion because of 'critical comments']. The only comments that I made about either FSM GDOS or the XControl Panel were in the following editorial comment: "As another week goes by, while most folks anxiously await the highly touted new "Standard" FSMGDOS. The XControl Panel is here and it is everything we were told it would be and then some. We have reported that B. Rehbock said FSM would be released August 1, 1991. We shall see." As you can see, this user put his own interpretation on why we printed the XControl Panel article and what we meant in our editorial. We know that Atari is not holding up the release of FSMGDOS "just to torture us pore Atari users". We have been reporting for weeks about how some last minute bugs had been found in FSMGDOS, and that was what was holding it up (reports which were denied by some of Atari's in-house apologists). This user isn't the only one that only reads parts of STReport and ignores the rest. One middle-level Atari corporate-climber will ignore 101 positive Atari articles in ST Report, to concentrate on a single 3 line news item reported in the CPU Report three months ago. Is STReport a National Inquirer type of publication? Again, this is going to depend on whom you ask and whether they agree with what we said or whether we should have said it. Usually these types of references fall into one of three categories. One, the reporting was hard hitting and said something they didn't want said, or didn't want the average ST owner to know about. Two, they are referring to one of our editorials. To enlighten them somewhat, editorials are simply an editors opinion about something. Many responsible publications have editorials. Three, they are referring to rumors which we've printed. Sometimes rumors come true, sometimes they don't. That is the nature of rumors. Unfortunately, there are times when we have to be oblique in some of our editorial comments. Sometimes this is to protect our sources and sometimes the comments are only meant to be understood by one or two people. There have been questions as to whether or not we support the IAAD. We support what the IAAD stands for 100%! We believe the IAAD is needed and necessary. Naturally, there will be times when we will disagree with how some individual developers use the IAAD and/or its auspices for their own ends but still, that doesn't mean that we don't support the IAAD. Some have taken us to task for accepting captures of the IAAD private area on Genie. All news media have sources. Sources into Grand Juries, sources into private conversations between various public officials and more. Recently, IBM took 'Information Week' to task for printing informa- tion from the private IBM BBS. If STReport was as 'irresponsible' or as "National Inquirish" as some would have you believe, we would have already printed some of the more juicer comments. STReport will never turn into a house magazine, we fervently guard and value our independence and above all else, the trust our readers have in us. We will always be more hard hitting, be willing to voice our opinions and share the latest rumors with our readers. To keep up with the pulse of the ST community, we go where necessary and we will not dis- tance ourselves from any of its users. There's going to be times when we blow it, and we want our readers to let us know when that happens. It would be easiest to go with the flow, and become an Atari apologistic publication, as others have done, but we're not going to change. As always, Thank you for your support Ralph.... TODAY'S NEWS ..TODAY! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > STReport's Staff The regulars and this week's contributors! ================ Publisher - Editor ------------------ Ralph F. Mariano PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION ----------- -------------- ------------ Robert Retelle Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON STReport 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 Doyle Helms 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 (August 9) MORE WINNERS ANNOUNCED... Once again, sysop voting was split for our second period upload con- test. The winner of a $25 CompuServe credit is Lloyd Pulley for his wealth of font uploads to the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO). Thanks Lloyd! Also, congratulations to the winner of our second period upload con- test in the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS), Richard Brown. He will receive a $25 CompuServe credit. Upload YOUR entry now. The third period ends on August 15th. Be sure to send your uploads for the third period contest quickly. The total download counts are a fac- tor in the judging. WIN $25 COMPUSERVE CONNECT-TIME CREDITS Traditionally, summertime has been the slowest time of the year for online activity in the Atari telecommunications community. The CompuServe Atari Forums would like to help boost this activity with a promotion that just about anybody can win! We're looking for new and interesting files for the file libraries of Atari ST Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) and the Atari ST Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO). Twice each month, during the months of July, August, and September, the sysops of the Atari Forums will award a $25 CompuServe con- nect time credit to the individual who uploads the best new file to Library 1 ("NEW UPLOADS"). This $25 credit can be applied to *ANY* ser- vice on CompuServe, not just time spent inside the Atari Forums! What defines the "best" new upload? Factors in judging will be uniqueness, general interest (the number of downloads received), quality of graphics (if applicable), usefulness or entertainment value. All uploads to Library 1 ("NEW UPLOADS") will automatically be entered into this promotion. Of course, uploads of files already existant in our libraries do not count. (Although, new versions of previous entries are eligible.) You do not need to be the author of the upload to win, but you MUST have sufficient rights to the program to make it an acceptable upload according to CompuServe operating rules (public domain and shareware programs are acceptable, for example.) In case of duplicate uploads of the exact same file, the sysops will accept files based upon time of the first uploaded copy. The first upload period will run from July 1st thru July 15th (inclusive). Judging will be done by the sysop staff of the Atari Forums (influenced by comments from the membership, so be sure to let us know which new files you like and why!) One credit will be awarded to the best new upload in ATARIARTS and another for the best new upload in ATARIPRO. Please address any questions to Ron Luks [76703,254] via CompuServe Mail (EMAIL) or a message in any of the Atari Forums. LEXICOR ANIMATION CLASSES Information concerning Lexicor Software's on-line Animation classes is now available. Included is the text of the first class lecture. See the following files in Library 9, Lexicor Software in the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN): ANIM1.ARC Lexicor Animation classes lecture #1 INTRO.TXT Transcription of Intro Lexicor Animation class SYL1.TXT Syllabus for Aug-Sept. Lexicor Animation classes PROGRAM OF THE WEEK FROM DOUBLE CLICK Double Click Software's latest Program of the Week helps cure your hard disk stiction blues! DC No-Stic will prevent hard disk stiction from happening. Stiction was such a problem with Seagate drives that they put in circuitry to move the hard disk heads after a length of disk inactivity. DC No-Stic emulates this logic. Be sure and get DCNOST.ARC from Library 13, Double Click Software, in the Atari Vendor's Forum (GO ATARIVEN)! ATARI 8-BIT OWNERS... SUMMER DOLDRUMS got you down? Can't find anything NEW? Is that your problem, bunkie?? How about finding something OLD that's NEW to you! Our Master Catalog listings are available in LIBRARY 1 [New Uploads] These contain a list of all files in the forum. BRO LIB*.ARC in Library 1. Reminder: the special key word SIG_CLASSIC is used for some of our favorite files from years past. Type GO ATARI8 to access the Atari 8- Bit Forum. ANNOUNCING THE NEW COMPUSERVE PALMTOP FORUM The CompuServe Palmtop Forum will cover all palmtop organizers and computers other than the Portfolio, which will remain in its own forum. Please drop by and take a look around. Type GO PALMTOP at any CompuServe service prompt. 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 #32 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. --Washington, DC SOFTWARE PIRACY EXCEEDS $2 BILLION -------------- PER YEAR IN U.S. According to figures released by Dataquest and the Software Publishers Association (SPA), piracy of business software is costing the software industry $2 billion a year. The figures were completed by extrapolating hardware and software sales, then comparing them with the average numbers of packages in use in the U.S. Although the loss to piracy exceeds previous estimates, there is a bright spot in the study for software manufacturers. Over the last four years, business software units sold per DOS machine have increased from 1.31 in '87 to 1.78 by '90. For the same period, business software units sold per Macintosh increased from 2.03 to 2.55. The data only pertain to business systems because there is little hard data on potential piracy in the entertainment and educational software areas, but the SPA is planning a study of home computer usage for the fall which should provide more information. --Kennedy Space Center, Fl. ASTRONAUTS USE WRISTMACS ------------------------ WHILE IN SPACE Atlantis Space Shuttle astronauts went into space wearing WristMacs, digital wristwatches that store and display mission information loaded from Macintosh computers. The astronauts, who will return to earth on August 11th, use the four WristMacs to alert them to scheduled photographic opportunities at the time desired features on Earth come into view from Atlantis. When the alarm sounds, the WristMac displays two 12-character lines of text to indicate the specific photo information. The WristMacs are updating during flight by a radio link to a portable Macintosh on the shuttle. "NASA chose to equip the astronauts with WristMacs because these com- municating wristwatches are the smallest, most efficient means to display Macintosh text messages while sounding critical alerts at predetermined times," said David Rose, president of Ex Machina, Inc., the manufacturer of the WristMac. WristMac is a Seiko quartz digital watch enhanced with memory, that can download or optionally upload 80 two-line screen pages of text or numeric information to and from a Macintosh. The unit is used by earth- bound wearers to manage phone numbers, appointments, reminders, and calendar information. It comes in a variety of styles and colors, and is available from Macintosh hardware and software retailers. WristMac carries a suggested retail price of $149 to $249 depending on the style chosen. --Broomfield, Colorado PENTAX SHIPS CONTINUOUS-FORM -------------------- LASER PRINTER Pentax Technologies has announced that it it has started shipping its Laserfold 240 continuous-form laser printer. The Laserfold 240 prints at the rate of 16 pages-per-minute and the print resolution is 240 dots- per-inch on continuous form paper. The printer is targeted primarily at users with high volume text printing requirements such as banks, finan- cial, legal and accounting firms. The Laserfold 240 will not print graphics. Washington, DC DID ORACLE "STONE" ITS CUSTOMERS -------------- WITH VIRUS? Computerworld is reporting that Oracle has sent out 800 demo discs for its Windows DDE/Toolbox infected with the so-called "Stoned," virus program. The program is also known as the Marijuana, or New Zealand virus. The Stoned B virus infects a disk by replacing the boot record, but it also stores the original record elsewhere on the disk, possibly as a challenge to hackers to restore their own disks. When activated the virus prints out the message: "Legalize Marijuana - Your PC is now Stoned," or some similar variation of that text. --Washington D.C. IBM PC 10 YEARS OLD THIS MONTH --------------- The IBM PC, based on the Intel 8088 microchip, carrying a whopping 64 kilobytes of memory and a low density, 5.25-inch floppy drive, was int- roduced to the world just 10 years ago this month. The first system was unveiled to the press running a Microsoft operating system, MS-DOS 1.0, and nothing else in the computer was made by IBM except the nameplate, case, and the keyboard. Many industry observers then and now say that nameplate was the most important contribution IBM made to help legitimize the fledgling PC industry. --Boston, Massachusetts OUTBOUND INTROS NEW "MAC NOTEBOOK" --------------------- Outbound Systems has unveiled a series of notebook sized Mac-compatible computers. The new machines will replace the original Outbound Mac por- table clone, which the company has been shipping for the past 18 months. All five machines in the line measure approximately 8.5 inches deep by 11 inches wide by 2 inches tall. All of them weigh about 6.25 pounds. This makes them the lightest Mac-compatible portables on the market. Prices start at $2,529 for the basic Motorola 68000-based machine with two megabytes (MB) of RAM, a superdrive compatible floppy disk, battery, and power adapter - to $4,299 for the top of the line model which fea- tures a 68030 microprocessor, 4MB of RAM, the floppy drive, a 60MB hard disk, battery and power adapter. Projected operating life on a single battery charge is three hours. The machines provide all of the standard Macintosh connectors including a single SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) connector. It is possible to dock a Notebook to a regular Macintosh via the SCSI cable and then all of the Notebook devices become regular SCSI devices on the base Macintosh. Outbound Systems has solved the problem of providing a set of ROMs for their machines by signing an agreement with Apple Computer. When a cus- tomer purchases an Outbound Notebook, he also purchases a used Mac 512KE or SE. Outbound then repurchases the "shell" of the used Macintosh (i.e. everything but the ROMs) back from the customer and disposes of it. As a matter of fact, the customer never sees the used Macintosh that he pur- chased. If the customer has a used Macintosh, Outbound will sell the Notebook to him for $200 less. --Torrance, California ASHTON-TATE TO LAY OFF 200 -------------------- Ashton-Tate has announced it is laying off 200 people, leaving its world-wide workforce at about 1,300 employees. --Maynard, Massachusetts DEC CUTS 250 FROM CREATIVE SUPPORT ---------------------- Plagued by financial setbacks and layoffs in the past year, Digital Equipment Corp. has restructured its marketing operations and has terminated 250 creative support people. -Scotts Valley, California NEW LAYOFFS AT SEAGATE TECHNOLOGIES ------------------------- Seagate Technologies has layed-off another 450 from its US and European workforce. When added to the previous 1200 layed off on July 12th, this totals to a 4% reduction in the US and European workforce. The Asian operations have not been affected. --Redwood City, California NEXT COMPUTERS POSTS HUGE SALES ------------------------ INCREASE FOR 2ND QUARTER Next Computers has surprised many in the computer industry by announcing that revenues for the second quarter ended June 30, 1991, reached $46 million, an 86 percent increase over the prior quarter. According to the company, 70% of its workstation products went to cus- tomers in business and government, while the remaining 30% went to colleges and universities. Additionally, Europe and Asia accounted for more than 49% of sales. > CPU PC STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE PC NEWS ==================== Issue #5 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. --New for the PC Enter THUMBELINA, -------------- A mouse the size of a sugar cube Appoint, the manufacturer of the MousePen family of ergonomically desig- ned pointing devices and peripherals, has introduced "Thumbelina," a mouse so small the retail version of it is one and a half inches square and three-fourths of an inch high. Thumbelina is intended for notebooks and palmtops where there is an immediate need to provide a full function onboard pointing device that requires a minimum of real estate. Thumbelina utilizes Appoint's proprietary, friction operated technology used in the MousePen product line. The mechanism has the ability to function on any surface, or at any angle including down, the company said. In use, Thumbelina is a full-featured mouse, with two input buttons ergonomically located so they can be used simultaneously, and a third button which functions as a drag lock key. The drag lock key is spe- cially designed for the difficulty in pressing a button and sliding the mouse, associated with certain drag functions. A light indicates the drag lock is on, and the function stays on until the drag lock key is pressed again. Thumbelina comes in four primary versions: the IBM PS/2 version in IBM grey color and a nine foot cable; the IBM compatible personal computer (PC) version, also IBM grey with a nine foot cable; the portable version for IBM compatible portable or laptop computers in IBM grey with a five foot cable; and the Macintosh version, ThumbelinaMac, which comes in a platinum color, has a six foot cable and is also Apple compatible. All four units carry a suggested retail price of $99, and are distributed by Ingram Micro. --New for the PC Remote Communications For Windows -------------- And DOS -- Norton- Lambert says that it is shipping Close-up 4.0 and claims the product is the first modem remote communications software package for both Windows and DOS users. "This product is perfect for Support Experts who need to help their cus- tomers install and run Windows at remote locations and for Corporate Users who want to access Windows or DOS on their office PC from home or on the road via modem," said Richard de Mornay, Norton- Lambert's vice president of marketing. The new product allows "support experts" to remotely install and support Windows applications on a clients personal computer at any location via the telephone line, the company said. The product is said by Norton-Lambert to allow a technician to start a long file transfer in a background window, and continue working in a foreground Window. Since transfer of applications software can be quite time consuming, this could be an important feature. --New for the PC 119-Channel TV Add-on Board -------------- AView Technology has announced DesktopTV, an IBM-compatible add-on board that turns the computer into an enhanced television, the company said. The board is capable of receiving 119 channels, allowing VHF, UHF and cable TV channel selection, as well as Videodisc, VCR and other RF modulated NTSC inputs. Controls for the television are operated from the keyboard, and the sound is delivered by an external speaker which is included with the board. The product has been developed in multifrequency and VGA versions. It is available direct from the company for $395. For more information, call 416/922-6555. --New for the PC Trellis ships EXPOSE -------------- Trellis has begun shipping the Microsoft Windows-based Trellis Expose network manager for the Vines local area network environment. Expose tracks and displays network performance in real-time, showing where problems are occurring and helping managers speed performance. Expose runs on an Intel 80386-based or faster Windows computer with six megabytes of memory and supports versions 3.10, 4.0, and 4.10 of Vines. --New for the PC Radio Shack 386SX 16MHz Desktop -------------- Radio Shack has introduced the 2500 SX, a 16 megahertz, 386-based desk- top system which it says is priced competitively with many 286-based systems. The 2500 SX ships with MS-DOS 5.0, Super-VGA graphics, and Tandy's Desk- Mate 3.5, a graphical interface program with applications for word pro- cessing, spreadsheet, database, calendar, address book, communications, sound, music and draw programs. Standard equipment includes one megabyte (MB) of random access ram, ex- pandable to 16 MB; one 3.5-inch 1.44MB floppy drive and two expansion bays for additional floppy drives. An internal CD-ROM or tape backup drive can be installed in one of the extra bays. Tandy says they will also make the 2500 available in a "multimedia ver- sion" which includes 2MB of RAM, 512K video RAM, Super-VGA, an internal CD-ROM drive and a 40MB hard drive. The standard unit carries a price tag of $1,299 while the multimedia system is prices at $2,799. --New for the PC $1,000 to upgrade any '386 computer -------------- to 486/33 says Lightning Lightning Computers announces an upgrade for a 386 computer to a 33 mhz 80486 (486) for only $995 and an upgrade on an AT or XT computer is $1,295. Lightning will do it for the user if the user will pay the shipping, said Rick McCabe president of Lightning. The upgrade requires replacement of the motherboard, the main circuit board of the computer that everything else plugs into, McCabe said. Existing disk drives, monitor cards, power supply, and case can all be used, as the technician can slow down the basic input/output system (BIOS) so the slower disk drives, monitor cards and peripherals can still talk to the faster 486 central processing unit (CPU), McCabe said. However, if a change in the case or power supply is necessary, an extra $125 is charged, the company said. The new motherboard comes with the 486 33 MHz central processing unit (CPU), 128K of cache expandable to 256K, a seven slot industry-standard architecture (ISA) bus, an AMI BIOS and SIMM sockets that hold up to 32 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM) in the form of 1 MB SIMMs, Lightning said. Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus machines are also available, the company said. Additional RAM is $65 per MB, if the existing RAM is not in the form of SIMMS and cannot be reused, McCabe said. Lightning also said it upgrades AT and XT class computers to 386 CPUs starting at $295. Lightning says it was the first company to ship a 50 MHz 80486- based system in May of 1991. Lightning can be reached toll-free at (800) 347- 4486. --Irvine, California TOSHIBA CUTS NOTEBOOK PRICES ------------------ Toshiba has announced a price reduction on its T1200XE 20 megabyte (MB) and 40 MB hard disk drive notebook computers effective August 1. The new price on the T1200XE with a 20MB hard disk is $1,999 while the 40MB version will retail for $2,299, the company said. This notebook computer, the T1200XE, is the one for which BYTE Magazine awarded the 1991 Readers' Choice Award, TAIS said. --Fremont, California GRID 20 - 30% COMPUTER PRICE CUTS ------------------- Grid Systems, responding to an industry trend, says it is reducing prices on all of its laptop, notebook and desktop computer systems by 20 to 30%. Affected are Grid's computers, hard disk drives, random access memory (RAM) kits, central processing units (CPUs), coprocessors, and monitors, the company said. Some examples include the Grid 1450 laptop computer (an 80386SX-based system), reduced from $5,295 (with 40 megabyte hard drive) to $3,995, the Grid 1720 notebook computer (an 80286-based system) reduced from $3,495 (with modem and 20MB hard drive) to $2,895 and the Grid 386isx-20 desktop computer, reduced from $2,799 to $1,799. RAM kit prices were decreased more than 25 percent, Grid said Grid said it has also revised its corporate discount structures as well. Grid is a wholly owed subsidiary of Tandy Corporation headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 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! IMPORTANT NOTICE! ================= 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! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > PIRACY HURTS WHO? STR FOCUS "..few developers we have left.." =========================== "REMEMBER THE ATARI 8-BIT" ========================== by Dana P. Jacobson Lately, there's been a lot of talk about what's wrong with Atari. Not only have the users been complaining, but so have the faithful few developers we have left to support us. But, to be totally fair, Atari Corporation is just one facet of this predicament, albeit a prominent one. Even more recently, organizations such as the IAAD, along with many others, have been speaking out against another problem. The problem has not been openly discussed in quite some time. It's time to once again address this topic here in STReport, as well as other news sources. Over two years ago, I wrote my first editorial for our user group newsletter. At that time, there were forewarnings of doom because of lack of Atari support. It wasn't the problem that Atari was or was not providing support, but that developers were moving away from supporting the Atari line, to support other machines. I was seeing that happen with various software companies at that time, and all for essentially the same reason: PIRACY! Now, here's a legitimate reason, however terribly unfair to the honest users among us, to "force" the developers to drop their support. "What?", you're probably saying, "what does piracy and developers' support have to do with each other?" Good question, you think to yourself...hehe, not really. First of all, the developers, that is, programmers and software companies, are sick and tired of trying to produce high quality software, market it, and make a living - then have some inconsiderate people copy the stuff and give it to all of their friends! Or even worse, copying a commercial program, ARCing it, and uploading it to a pirate BBS! I'd guarantee that the program would be on just about every pirate board in the country within 48 hours of the initial upload! "So what," you chuckle under your breath. "How bad can _that_ get?" Let's figure it out, shall we. Let's imagine that Johnny SNEAK THIEF bor- rows "Dungeon Master" from a friend of his and copies it. Hey, he's a friend, he won't mind me making a copy... He then makes 10 copies and gives them to all of _his_ friends as Christmas presents. So far, we've got 11 illegal copies floating around. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that making copies of commercial software for any reason other than your own personal use is a CRIME? Now, one of Johnny's friends just happens to operate a BBS which has, shall we say, a "tainted" reputation. "Ahhhh, maybe I'll post this on the board," he mumbles, "my friends will really think I'm cool. They've been waiting to get DM forever!" Fifty people download the DM file that week and ten of them upload it to _their_ favorite board. On each of those 10 boards, the file is downloaded 25 times. Lost track yet? Not me, it adds up to 321 illegal copies! All because someone "loaned" his legitimate game to a "friend". Believe me, this total is an absurdly low figure. I just didn't feel like adding up more figures. But, let's take this hypothesis a little further. For the sake of argument, let's assume that "Dungeon Master" sells for $50.00. A quick few touches on the calculator makes those 321 copies worth $16,050.00. Now, remember that I said the "321" figure was a low example. How many commercial software titles are available for the ST? 500, 1,000? Heck, I have no idea! But, let's say that there are 1,000, and that this same method of piracy went on for each one of them. Getting out my trusty calculator again......$16,050,000.00!!!! That's 16 MILLION dollars!! Not much of bargain after the initial 50 grand spent by that dumb-witted kid that keeps on lending his software to Johnny SNEAK THIEF, is it? Now you know why piracy is such a thorn in the side of these developers. More like a forest of rosebushes, I'd say! With that poten- tial financial loss, why should they keep putting out software? How can they afford to stay in business? Some can't, and these companies have either folded or sold out to other platforms. "Who does this affect besides those 'huge and rich' companies," you might ask? Who said these companies were "huge and rich?" Some, maybe; but most are quite small. We know the programmers and companies suffer. Then comes the dealers who purchase the product to sell. Piracy kills sales. Why should customers buy the product for 50 bucks when they can spend a couple of bucks on a long-distance call to a pirate board and download it? No sales, no dealers. So, in the long run, legitimate users can't get the software because there are no dealers. Who profits? Unfor- tunately, it's the illegal hackers and other damn pirates! Getting back to who suffers from piracy... being semi-selfish on oc- casion, it's _me_ who suffers. Some software companies try to recoup their losses by jacking-up their prices for their products, which in turn means that I have to pay more. HEY! Computing is already an expensive hobby as it is. I can't afford even more costs because of piracy! Per- sonally, I'm not going to put up with piracy any longer. Pirates, beware! What is being done about piracy today? Obviously, not enough, as piracy apparently flourishes as much as drug-dealing. Some software com- panies are encoding their programs with copy-protection schemes and "weird" disk-formatting. Others are less subtle about their copy-protec- tion. Boot up "Carrier Command", the "Leisure Suit Larry" adventures, and some others, and you have to answer questions or find the "answers" within the manual to play the game. No correct answer - no play. Inexpensive back-up copies is another means that I've seen to help deter pirate copying. These programs that have been copy-protected by encoding are infuriating. I make a back-up copy of all my software so I don't inadver- tently damage my expensive originals. Or, I might want to speed up gameplay, or other programs by being able to run them on my hard drive. Okay, if I have to, I'll live with it with "floppy use only", but I won't be happy. The "docs" protection is a good idea, as I can still make a back-up and/or put it on my hard drive. Without the manual, the program is useless to pirates. Not a perfect solution to piracy, but a step in the right direction. The ability to buy a back-up disk(s) is okay, but I feel I should be able to copy, for my own uses, something that I already paid for once. I have, however, gone this route a few time in my early days. What else can be done to put an end to the potential "life threatening" ST cancer called piracy? Plenty. Articles, such as this one, are just one way to inform people, pirates included, that piracy is wrong, correction, illegal! Education is one means. There is no justification for passing around or taking copies of commercial software. No matter what reasons that you can think of to "justify" it: affordability, ease, "prestige", excitement, or whatever; the fact remains that it's illegal and all computer pirates are slime! Computing is an expensive venture. If you can't afford it, then you shouldn't have gotten involved in it. Or, stick with public domain programs; there's plenty of legitimate "free stuff" out there. If Mommy or Daddy bought you your com- puter, but won't keep shelling out money for every bit of software you want - earn the money yourself. Either get a part-time job or offer to do more around the house so your parents will give you a little extra cash for software. If you're an adult, knowing that it's irresponsible to pirate software _should_ be enough for you to not do it. Again, there's plenty of PD stuff available if this doesn't work for you. Even shareware software is another alternative, being less expensive than commercial items, though not guaranteed to be as good (though some is!). If all this fails, or you're too lazy to work to support your computer-habit; then accept the fact that if you can't afford it, you don't use it. Don't be an idiot and steal it. Take up another hobby! Lower the prices of software so that even the pirates can "afford" it? Nah, I doubt that would work. There are many who are going to pirate regardless of low price incentives. Eliminating piracy may, however, lower the prices for legitimate users. Extreme copy-protection schemes perhaps, er possibly, but then again, you have some hackers out there whose goals are to break every copy protection scheme thrown at them. Prosecution is another way to stop piracy. After all, copyright infringement is a crime. Did you know that there are, rewards, for tur- ning in pirate boards and having them successfully prosecuted and shut down? Yep. Awww, you think that's too drastic? Then I suspect that you're either a pirate, or know one. Shut 'em down, confiscate all of their equipment, and fine them or throw them in jail for awhile. Since most pirate boards are probably run by "young" people (my assumption), I bet their parents will keep an eye on them in the future. You don't want to turn in a friend? Then educate them that what they're doing is wrong and convince them to go legit. If you know of pirate boards, turn them in to their parents or report them to someone who can do something about it. Maybe all bulletin boards should be policed by some "Anti-Piracy" Commission. I hate the need for regulatory agencies, but it may not be a bad idea if it successfully helped to eradicate pirate boards. These com- missions could be made up by members of local user groups to police their local boards and report their findings to a central commission. If it meant curing piracy, I'd volunteer the BBS that I operate to be the first to be "inspected". Also, all BBSs should be registered. Any board discovered not to be registered should be investigated immediately. There are hundreds of BBS listings that would allow for these boards to be traced, eventually. Parents: take an interest in your kid's BBS. Check it out and educate them about the importance of running a legitimate board. If they won't listen, take the computer away from them. You, as responsible parents, should watch out for these activities. If you say that your kid's actions are harmless, then you haven't been paying attention. Therefore, "the family that pirates together, goes to jail together!" Still hesitant to turn in a friend or name boards because of possible retaliation? Drop a line to us here at STReport on any of the major on- line services in private E-Mail. Write us a letter, the address is listed at the beginning of any issue. We'll see to it that the proper people are notified so something can be done about it. Shutting down pirate boards will put a severe dent in the amount of pirated software being passed around. We can't stop it completely (or can we?), but we can show the developers and software companies that we care enough to support them by helping to put an end to piracy. In a way, maybe, just maybe, we'll retain their support of our machines. *********************************************************************** :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT: _________________________________ To sign up for GEnie service: Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo) Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN. GEnie costs only $4.95 a month for unlimited evening and weekend access to more than 100 services including electronic mail, online encyclopedia, shopping, news, entertainment, single-player games, and bulletin boards on leisure and professional subjects. With many other services, including the biggest collection of files to download and the best online games, for only $6 per hour. MONEY BACK GUARANTEE! Any time during your first month of membership if you are not completely satisfied, just ask for your $4.95 back. GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission *********************************************************************** > STReport's Online Conference STR FOCUS GEnie's STReport RTC ====================================== GENIE'S STREPORT ONLINE CONFERENCE ================================== August 03, 1991 --------------- Room 5, the News room. Job City Room Sta Mail-Address 1 Markham ontar,CA 5 N [David] ISD2 2 Vancouver,BC 5 N [Ron] R.GRANT11 3 Redondo beach,CA 5 N S.MERRILL1 4 Arlington hei,IL 5 N JEFF.W 5 Fremont,CA 1 M [John] TOWNS 6 San mateo,CA 5 N DRACO 7 North york,ON 5 N DARLAH 8 Latest news,FL 5 L [Ralph] ST.REPORT 10 Colorado spri,CO 5 N [John@GE_Lamp] ST-GUEST 11 Middlesex,NJ 5 N [Z-Net] R.KOVACS 12 Phoenix,AZ 5 N [Brien] B.KING8 13 Urbana,IL 5 N [IAAD Member] D.A.BRUMLEVE 14 Somewhere,UT 5 N SANDY.W 15 Rehoboth,MA 5 N J.LEDGARD 16 Rockford,IL 5 N [IAAD Member] DOUG.W 17 Rio piedras,PR 5 N W.VARGAS2 18 Lompoc,CA 5 N D.HADLAND 19 Wexford,PA 5 N [Bill Roberts] B.ROBERTS1 20 Jacksonville,FL 5 N [Lloyd Pulley] ST-REPORT 21 North attlebo,MA 5 N A.DIPIETRO 22 Sunnyvale,CA 5 N MIKE-FULTON 24 Middlesex,NJ 5 N [John Nagy] Z-NET 25 Peachtree cit,GA 5 N E.HANTSCH 27 Campbell,OH 5 N [Dr. Bob] W.PARKS3 28 Hamilton,ON 5 N [That Rob Guy] R.QUANCE 29 Champaign,IL 5 N [IAAD Member] C.STANFORD 31 Big swamp,FL 5 N D.D.MARTIN 33 Pacific palis,CA 5 N [Bad Dog] C.F.JOHNSON 34 Phillipsburg,NJ 5 N F.KISH1 35 Markham,ON 5 N [Nathan] ISD 36 Glendale,CA 5 N [The King] ATARIUSER 37 Sunnyvale,CA 5 N BOB-BRODIE ++++++++++++++++++++++ <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> ok Ray go ahead... Why was there so much trouble when your issue was pulled and yet you can edit or delete messages in the F-Net? <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> I never did such things and that question was raised well over a year and a half ago. No one was ever able to prove that al- legation in any way. <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Ok Larry.. <[Larry Rymal] LRYMAL> Hi Ralph, what is the topic tonight? <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Larry, I would like to go with current events... pertaining to the Atari world <[Larry Rymal] LRYMAL> Ok, great. Is there any word on product, inclu- ding monitors, etc. for the ST and TT/s in the U.S.? That would be a con- cern I'd like to see answer, especially with Christmas coming in a few months. <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Actually, I 'd like to see the market flooded with product for the holidays. It would be wonderful. From what I am privy to.. there is a ship due in about two weeks. ga <[Larry Rymal] LRYMAL> Do you know if it includes peripherals, such as the monitors? <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Actually I have no particulars other than there is a great deal of goodies on board this vessel. Thank God! <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> ga <[Larry Rymal] LRYMAL> Gosh, that is exciting, at least I hope. Ok, Ra- lph. I am through. Great job and great service that you provide to us. On to some other user now. GA <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> ok Larry thanks! ok Draco... its all yours.... Thanks for joinming us tonight, Ralph. Two questions.... 1) what ever got you into the electronic newsletter biz? 2) have you quit kicking your dog? ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Answer to question 1 is a double event.... Word Per- fect and Ron Kovacs :-) And I HAD to quit kicking the dog. He's big- ger than me! ga That's it... thanks. (done) Current events - I understand you are currently receiving a pirate crossnet on your BBS. Is this your way of supporting the Atari computer? <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Ah yes... I was WAITING for this question..... How nice of you to oblige. Being in the business of gathering news, I am sometimes obliged to be in some rather unsavory places. does this mean a crime reporter should go out and hold up a store? <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Ray, get real, a crime reporter goes into the den of thieves for stories but that does not mean he commits a crime. ga Good Evening Ralph, Have you received any kind of cooperation from ATARI when you try to report on something? ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> In most cases, yes I do get cooperation to some extent. However when it comes to sensitive matters......... I find I am left open to my own devices. Thankfully, I have some excellent resources who manage to get the 'skinny' to me. ga Thanks Ralph, GA. <[IAAD Member] D.A.BRUMLEVE> If I understand your response re Z-Net's piracy charges... you are comparing your board to a sting operation. Is that right? <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> No Dot, you are 180 degrees out of phase... ga <[IAAD Member] D.A.BRUMLEVE> When will you report on what you have dis- covered in this den of thieves? GA <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> You will know when you read about it. :-) ga <[John] TOWNS> Yes, I was wondering.. How do you feel about the fact that a number of well-known and respected members of the Atari community (including some at Atari) have said that they don't read ST Report and don't recommend it to Atari owners that they come in contact with? GA <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> John, I've heard that all before. Its a plain and simple case of kill the messenger. What goes around comes around. And.. STReport is for the users ...... :-) ga <[John] TOWNS> Then why is it writen in such a criptic form most of the time? They are things in ST Report that are so criptic that almost no one can <[John] TOWNS> understand them! Are the users supposed to get these riddles? ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> That sir..... is our style, such is life! :-) ga <[John] TOWNS> Thanks.. GA <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Congratulations on Atari User it is a good mag! <[John Nagy] Z-NET> Ralph, if STR is for the Users, why do you not cover Glendale, Vancouver shows, and AtariUser mag>? Is it personal? ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Actually John, we had good coverage for the Vancouver Show, you must've missed it. I'd be delighted to give Atariuser more coverage. But I have to make arrangements to be sure its ok. ga <[John Nagy] Z-NET> I mean, there are press releases from the tiniest places, run complete... but noth anything close to ZNET. I guess that will pass for an answer. Thanks anyway. Over. and out <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Thanks John and my compliments on Atari User it looks good! Some months back, you solicited permission from people to reprint messages from GENIE... I denied permission for this, but a few issues back, you reprinted one of my messages from GENIE. Please explain what the situation here is. ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> I have insufficient informaton at this time, but as I am aware, you denied PARTIAL reprints to M. Lee. Not I, take it up with him please.... ga You are the editor, right? Aren't you responsible for the contents? <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> I am and the matter was partial reprints not a full reprint. Your message was a full reprint and yes, I now have a copy of your request that no partials be reprinted. The message you speak of was reprinted in full. I followed all the requirements asked of us. ga I said I might give permission for specific messages on a one-by-one basis, but that I wouldn't give global permission for repri- nts. ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> this can go on all night.. send me email and I will address this matter in its entirety. ga <[IAAD Member] DOUG.W> What is it that motivates someone to write for and publish an on-line magazine when no income is derived from it? In your case, you are now publishing 4 such "magazines" (STR, PCR, MACR, and AMR) - what is the motivation for all that effort? ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Have you got about two weeks of spare time to listen to my reasons? It all boils down to one thing Doug, I enjoy doing it along with the other volunteer editors in our staff. ga <[IAAD Member] DOUG.W> Thank you. ga <[Brien] B.KING8> Hi, I was just downloaded your latest STReport (731) and was wondering why ther e is so _little_ coverage of the ST in it? It had more to do with the Mac, Amiga and IBM than the ST... GA <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> This last issue was sort of top heavy in other areas, but there was and is a reason.... you see, there are new developments that are just happening in those areas that we've had and enjoyed for years now. We intend to more on that to prove the grass is not greener elsewhere. :-) ga <[Brien] B.KING8> Well, I really dont see how most of what was in this STReport had to do with the ST... Maybe you could _cut_ the size of STReport and save us a few $$ in download costs if there isn't going to be much on the ST... or. <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Thats a suggestion worth looking into... thanks ga <[Brien] B.KING8> maybe stick all the ST stuff at the top so we dont have to wade through all the other things to find the few articals on the ST. <[Brien] B.KING8> ga <[Z-Net] R.KOVACS> I have asked you personally to come out and support the growing Anti-Piracy effort Z-Net is promoting in Fnet and you refused, can you ellaborate as to why you refuse to do so?? ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Ron, its not a matter of a refusal, its a matter of not being in that particular crossnet conference becuase Node 350 is not in your FNETLINK.DAT file. ga <[Z-Net] R.KOVACS> I fail to see the reason why that is important? The Anti-Piracy effort needs your support to? Why not support it!!! <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Simply put because Node 350 is not in the net you are talking about. You have not put 350 in there. Thus we are unable to participate. ga <[Z-Net] R.KOVACS> You need not be in the conference to support it. You can publically come out against pirating in FNET. <[Z-Net] R.KOVACS> And I can add you if that is what it will take to get you out supporting it!@ <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Actually, STReport is strongly against any and all actions that are illegal. And yes.... Add Node 350 back into the TWO conferences and we will be glad to support this effort. ga <[Z-Net] R.KOVACS> Let me know what you want. Pirates need to be crushed and we cant do it alone! Hmmm Didnt know it was that easy! Excuse me and look for node 350 to be added soon! GA <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Ron you have a great idea and we support your efforts and will do our best. :-) ga <[Z-Net] T.SCHREIBER1> Ralph - a new quarter is decending upon us. Do you perhaps think a change is in order? You catch more flies with buttermilk than vinegar. A strong support of the IAAD is in order as well as the people at Atari to make this happen. ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Terry that's a "paramount idea and suggestion"! I think its definately worth a serious effort! The IAAD is an asset to the community, of this there is no doubt and deserves our strong support!! ga <[Z-Net] T.SCHREIBER1> thats it for now thanks. <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Folks, its three minutes of eleven pm here on the east coast... and this old body needs its rest... so I'll take two more and say goodnight <[Lloyd Pulley] ST-REPORT> How come you keep insisting on right justification? Even some of your best editors are getting away from it. <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> As you will notice in this last week's issue, we dropped the right justify as an experiment. Lets see how it goes... :-) hi Ralph... just wondered what may be in your future..any plans? any projects you have in mind? ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> DD, right now its a tossup... There is a good chance of a hard copy mag in the near future, and of course we know J. Durre is "back in town". :-) ga town? I'd hardly call it a 'town'...grin... thanks for com- ing tonight... ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> How true. thanks.... ga <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> At this time I would like to thank GEnie, and all the great participants in this CO, its new to me! And... I hope that, in the future, we will be able to come on here boasting about the GLUT of hardware out in the US market place. And of course, all the successful dealers. I have enjoyed it and I thank each and every one of you for stopping by!! I must say for the record, that I am a diehard Atarian, and love that hardware! Let's all hang in there it'll get better. <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Thanks and goodnight!! <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Room is now in the talk mode. ** Although I tried and tried to get Bob's remarks into the conference proper, (my first time doing a conference and the commands were all new to me), it didn't work out but here it is. Ralph, it's no secret that more and more people in Sunnyvale are objecting to your constant slamming of Atari throughout ST Report. You are among the most disliked people in the entire Atari Community. You have more enemies that anyone, which is quite a reach!! What are you doing to improve your relations with developers and Atari? Have you sincerely ...considered Dave Small's suggestion to retire? You really should! STReport has deteroiated into nothing more than an electronic scandal sheet. <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Bob, everyone is entitled to an opinion, even you! I'd still appreciate a real answer to a very sincere ques- tion If you didn't get it all, I can u/l it again. You invited me to ask, I have, I'd like an answer. <[Ralph] ST.REPORT> Bob the press is NEVER liked by those reported about. Especially if its not happy press! Goodnight all..... Editor Note: Mr. Brodie asks; What are you doing to improve your relations with developers and Atari? In reply; Mr. Brodie, in reality, the real question should be; "What is Atari doing to improve relations with STReport and all the press agencies, the developer corps. and the users, worldwide?" Since when is it the responsiblity of the customers to please the company?? Nice feat if you can manage to pull it off! As for the developers in the Atari arena, one can only have pity on these fine souls. They have invested thousands in education, development of product and promotions only to have all hopes of real success dashed upon the rocks of disaster because of Atari's inability to deliver product in the proper quantities and in a timely manner. STReport realizes that as such, when we report these unsettling facts, it is most disturbing to dealers and developers. And rightfully so, but the users are our prime concern and always have been. The frustrations of the devs is fully understood and as result STReport is able to overlook a great deal of the animosity displayed by them during these trying times. STReport fully understands that ninety percent of the current problems in the Atari Computer marketplace is a direct result of Atari's absolutely dismal performance over the last four years. Its not the fault of the developers, dealers or even STReport (as some whould have you believe). The buck stops squarely at Atari's door. Of this.... there is no doubt. As the world of Atari users waits and watches, they (the ever-faithful users) are still ready, willing and able to purchase whatever it is Atari may offer. Atari must, at this time, show some sort of assurances to the world's Atari users that there's a real future for in the Atari userbase. So there is NO confusion, and for the record; STReport has chosen between the needs of the company or the needs of the users. The answer is more than apparent, the user's needs must and will come first. ___________________________________________________________ > STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date... ================================ THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ========================= On CompuServe by Judith Hamner 72257,271 This week the message board contained discussions on programming languages. There was a particular emphasis on those available for the Port. Topics of perennial interest are memory expansion and storage. The Community Square was a forum for the debate over possibilities for memory expansion. Msg # 14633 contains some comments from Don Thomas of Atari explaining their philosophy. For some basic information on the possibilities see MEMORY.THR in Library 1. This file contains selected forum messages describing two com- mercial and one do-it- yourself options. There is still a lot of interest in the use of external hard or floppy disk drives with the Portfolio. Msg #14450 in section 5 (Editors/WP) contains a tip from Michael Ceitlin of Brazil who uses transfers data to and from Lotus Metro of his desktop. The forum membership grows more cosmopolitan every day. The ability to share data with their desktop computer is a major concern for many Port users. In Lib 1, MACPBK.SIT is a Hypercard stack to aid MAC users. This one will allow conversion of phonebook files to Port, HP95, or delimited ASCII file formats. If you've ever wondered what's inside those Ram cards check out the file. CARD.THR in Library 1. John Feagans describes the results of an autopsy he did on a dead memory card. AREACO.ZIP is the latest version of a file that provides a cross-reference between area codes and the locations they serve. ______________________________________________________ > Turbo Board BBS ST STR Review Turbo BBS (Shareware version 1.0) ============================= SYSOP INTERVENING... PLEASE STAND BY... by Doyle C. Helms BBS. Bulletin Board System. I use one everyday (mostly commercial on-line information systems, Delphi & GEnie) and I also use The Bounty BBS (Home of STReport). The Bounty was my first encounter with the TURBO BBS software. The system software was/is easy to understand for new users and fast and efficient for the old hands. What about setting up and operating your own BBS? I have heard horror stories about set-up and board maintenance of other BBS software and I was a little ambivalent about doing it myself. Then TURBO BBS appeared on Delphi one day recently and I thought what the heck, I'll give it a shot. Now the saga begins... Let me start out by saying that I have NEVER EVER set-up a BBS before( I have done some SYSOP work on a small local board though) trying this program so this overview is from a greenhorns perspective. I set-up and got the board running with minimal difficulty with ONLY the small doc file included with the downloaded file. I can't wait to get the 150 page manual and then lookout GEnie . The shareware version is a little over 224K and WELL worth the download time. After de-arcing (the proper paths were already set-up via the folder option in LZH) to my newly cleaned drive partition, I of course did not read the docs but dove right into the program. After the main title screen informed me that it could not find the configuration file I then went to the docs(dosen't it always happen like that? <:)) double chin grin with a pointy head>. I digress. Where was I? Oh yea, after reading the small doc file, yes SMALL, you get a more in depth manual with registration, to see what I needed to do to get this thing running. First off, the docs say to modify the TURBO.OPT file to match your current system set-up. This involves loading the file into a word proces- sor (very difficult huh?). Partial example of the TURBO.OPT file: HST BAUD(Rates available: 300, 1200, 2400, HST, 19.2) ........ ........ \TURBO\ MAIN BBS DIRECTORY Explanation of above: Change the HST setting to reflect the MAX baud rate of your system/BBS. If you have only a 300 baud modem the change the HST to 300. \TURBO\ is the directory from which the TURBO program will be run. There are MANY more options which you the SYSOP set-up to configure the board to your and you users needs. There are other options like when to turn the SYSOP CHAT TIME ON and OFF. This is so you will not be awaken at 2:30 am by a frustrated user with a question like "Is this board a 24 hour system?" REMOTE SYSOP ACCESS is another ON/OFF option. The many op- tion choices should suffice most anyones need. After revision of the TURBO.OPT file you then execute a program called SYSGEN.TOS. The manual states that "SYSGEN will read the TURBO.OPT file, and will check the drives that you have specified as being online. If you have created a BBS directory and various system subdirectories, SYSGEN will also create them for you on all drives specified in TURBO.OPT". After the program checks out the .OPT file and verifies the settings, you will then be asked for the number of passwords/users to al- locate space for. Adding new parameters for additional users is very easy later on if your board grows beyond your original set-up. The maximum num- ber of passwords is 2000. SYSGEN will then create the appropriate data files and save them to your specified path. You are then questioned as to the number of message bases to create. You are limited to 64. An ample enough number. Each message base may have up to 500 messages in each. Once again the appropriate data files are created and saved automatically. Fur- ther set-up includes the space to allocate for E-Mail, the number of download categories (asking a name for each, e.g. GRAPHICS, DTP etc.). Initial start-up. Run TURBO.PRG. TURBO BOARD will create a window at the top of the screen displaying the status of the board while the system is in operation. Lot: Turbo Board ST Ver 1.0 Off: Page On ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Age: 0 Ph: Ca: 0-0 Dla: 0 Dba: 0 Dd: 0 Du: 0 Dl: 0 Ul: 0 Mai: 0 Fml: 0 Fnt: 0 Fre: 6604123 Mes: 0 MiS: 1295 Ni: 0 No: 21 Si: 0 So: 61 9600 8N1 Fun: Fil: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where: Lot: displays the logon time of the current user. Off: shows the logoff time of the last user. "Page On" or "Page Off" will be shown at the far right of the firstline, depending on the status of the Chat mode. You will see a an inverse "-Chat-" printed if the user had called the SysOp for chat. Name:is the current user's name. Age: is the current user's age. Ph: will contain the current (or last if no one is on) user's phone num ber. Ca: is two numbers. The first number is the total number of Callers since the system was initialized. The second number is the number of Calls since booting. Dla: stands for Download access, and is the file access level. Dba: is short for the Database access level. Except for MiS, No, and So, all data explained below is 'since booting', not since the system was initialized (first created). Dd: the number of Database file that have been downloaded (read). Du: the number of Database files that have been uploaded. Dl: the number of file downloads. Ul: the number of file uploads. Mai: is the number of E-Mail messages entered. Fml: shows the number of Fmail messages entered. Fnt: is the number of Fnet messages that have been entered on the BBS. The next line contains: Fre: the free upload space available on drives allocated to Turbo Board. Mes: the total number of messages entered. MiS: the total number of messages currently in the system. Ni: the number of Fnet messages added to the message bases during the last run of the Fmailer program. (Number in) No: the number of Fnet messages waiting to be sent. (Number out) Si: the number of SAFs (Stand-alone Files) that have been received from the FNET mailer. The far right entry shows the current Communications port (RS-232) settings. This information is available to you the SYSOP on the HOST system only, the user cannot see any of this info. TURBO BOARD is now in the "waitring" state. This means the system is awaiting an incoming call or some action by the SYSOP. At this point you the SYSOP must log yourself into the system for your password set-up the first time you use it just like a caller would do. No, you don't have to call yourself from another computer . Just press . You will then be cued like a regular user would be as to user number/name and password. In this initial procedure the board will assign you a user I.D. and let you choose your password. After this info is recorded you are ready to become THE SYSOP! You would now press the F1 key to enter the SYSOP mode. To view the SYSOP command menu just press again. You then go through another small procedure to identify yourself as a SYSOP with all the perks that go with it. I will not define this procedure due to the fact it may be sensitive in a way I'm not familiar and I don't want to be blamed for anything going wrong. The "procedure" is VERY simple, so your not missing anything by me not telling you. In the next installment I will go into detail about the setting up of your initial download databases(you wouldn't want to start-up with an empty board would you?) and a few of the other features of this fine shareware product. The following is from the included doc file accompanying TURBO_SW. Turbo Board's NEW Features over FoReM ST 2.3: -Conference Fmail (in any message base) -Ability to View, and Type Fmail arc files -Improved Message Editor (also R-emacs support if you so desire) -ARC(V6.02) LHARC, and ZIP verbose listings -TYPE a text file from any ARC or LHARC file -LZHdl.LZH in the ARCtools (ZIPdl.ZIP still under developement) -Integrated MSDOS style CLI/BATCH shell for running Batch files -FULL BinkleyTerm mailer support (Pcommand not needed) -Much easier when editing User Passwords -Local Sysop Inactivity Timer -Keyboard Lock feature -Option to set Snoop mode on bootup -New Scan file commands, does all the List commands + more! -External program hooks, Executive, Chat.prg, Survey.bat, Syspas.bat, Fmail.bat, Logon.bat, and many other new batch files -Backup command in Email base while reading Messages -Greetings message can be entered at logoff by registered users. -Sysop can now have a No-window VT-52 option if he chooses -Help key for Function key assignments displayed -Undo key will attempt to abort any file transfer in progress -Any alternate CHAT program can be used by the sysop if he so chooses -Improved (greatly) paging control ( *More?(Y/N/C) prompt) -Ringback working for long distance callers -Many bugs that were present in FoReM ST are eliminated in this program (you sysops know what they were...) -MSH program NOT needed for the Doors programs -Program size approx 200K, saves memory, and doesn't loose any! -Faster execution than FoReM ST on initialization, and operation -Smaller Window Size, frees up 2 lines on the Window -PLUS all the features of FoReM ST, including FULL F-net and Crossnet support (+ Conference Fmail support, Forem doesn't have this) -Fidonet message bases, are under developement, but Binkley and Fidodoor work just fine. Also the FIFO program is Fully Compatible with our BBS. -This board is FoReM ST data file compatible, meaning that all the data files that you use for FoReM will work on this board. THE SYSOP HAS NOW RETURNED CONTROL TO YOU... THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE... Application for ///Turbo Board Ver 2 Upgrade ___________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ___________________ ___________________ SYSOP'S REAL NAME :_______________________________________________ STREET ADDRESS :_______________________________________________ COUNTY/CITY :_______________________________________________ STATE/PROVINCE :________________ COUNTRY :________________ ZIP/POSTAL CODE :________________ PRESENT SERIAL # :________________ (Both lines of TURBOKEY.DAT) ________________ VOICE PHONE NUMBER :________________ BBS PHONE NUMBER :________________ BBS NAME :_______________________________________________ FNET NODE # :________________ FIDO NODE # :________________ $29.95 Version 2 Turbo Key Registration, Printed V2 Addendum and Version 2 Release Disk __ $ 6.00 Air Mail to USA __ $25.00 Express Mail to the USA or Canada Only __ $12.00 Air Mail International $__.__ Total - USA and International - All prices in US Dollars ($) - Canadian Residents, Use CDN $ instead - Ontario Residents please add 8% PST (No GST unless you want to add it) - Canadian Packages sent 1st Class Post - USA and International sent Ground, unless Airmail or Express paid ** DUE TO AN INCREASE OF N.S.F. (BAD) CHEQUES, WE WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT PERSONAL CHEQUES UNLESS THEY HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED. ALL UNCERTIFIED PERSONAL CHEQUES WILL BE RETURNED TO SENDER. Please make out your Certified Cheque or Money Order payable to: BITBLIT SYSTEMS Send your Completed Order Form with payment to: Bitblit Systems 1580 Liveoak Dr Mississauga, ON Canada L5E 2X6 American and Foreign residents, remember to check for correct postage. Comments:_________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ -------------------------------Cut here ---------------------------------- """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > WAACE Fall/'91 STR InfoFile "THE PREMIER EAST COAST SHOW!" =========================== WAACE ATARIFEST '91 UPDATE ========================== WAACE, Inc. AtariFest '91 Dates: -------------------------------- The Fest is scheduled for 12 and 13 October '91. The show hours are from 10 to 5 both days. We also expect to sponsor some special events on Friday evening. The show will feature a full round of seminars and demonstrations. There will also be a swap meet. There will be a cocktail party and a ban- quet on Saturday evening. Location: --------- The Fest will be held at the Sheraton Reston Hotel in Reston, VA, which is within 20 minutes of downtown Washington, DC and within 5 minutes of Dulles International Airport. This is the same location we used last year. For those who did not make the '90 event let us simply say that this is a pleasant, spacious conference facility located in a parklike suburban setting with plenty of free parking. Hotel Rates: ------------ Hotel rates are $59 per night for single or double occupancy, $66 for triple and quad. These rates are valid from October 10th through the 13th. Virginia hotel tax (4.5%) must be added to the above prices. In or- der to obtain these rates you must mention WAACE AtariFest '91 when making your reservations. Admission Prices: ----------------- The admission price has not been determined yet except to say that show visitors who are guests of the hotel will receive a free ticket for each night that they book (limited to two tickets per room per day). Registered show workers will also receive free two-day passes. Members of non-WAACE Atari User groups may register as show workers and receive a free two-day pass. Please contact the WAACE representitives below for details on registering as show workers. Vendor Information: ------------------- The basic rate for a single booth will be $500. There is a 30% dis- count for vendors who reserve their booth space before 31 July (by including a 50% deposit with their reservation). The booth payment is for a single 8 x 8 ft booth. Pipe and drape decoration, electrical outlets, tables, and chairs are provided. Prices for multiple booths are as follows: 2 - $850, 3 - $1100, 4 - $1350. A one half page ad in the WAACE Atarifest '91 Program is included in the single booth price. Vendors may upgrade the half page ad to a full page for $75. Standard full page ads may be purchased for $125. Note: Small vendors that wish to pool their resources and share a booth space may do so, but must elect a single point of contact with WAACE for vendor business transactions. Misc. Information: ------------------ In addition to participating as a vendor at the AtariFest, WAACE provides additional areas for Atari developers and User Groups to participate: Seminars: One hour long presentations of topics of interest to the Atari community. Interested seminar presentors should contact the General Chairman below to reserve a seminar slot. Please indicate the topic of discussion as well as a preferred time slot. Demo Rooms: On going demonstrations of special interest topics (i.e. MIDI, DTP, Games, MAC & IBM Emulation, Productivity, Swap Room). Any Atari User Group or individuals interested in helping out in a demo room should also contact the General Chariman. Demo rooms also feature periodic demonstrations by Atari Developers of the latest hardware and software. Fest Program: Features articles written by many popular magazine authors in the Atari community. Interested authors should include a brief sum- mary of their article to the General Chariman. Further Information: -------------------- For additional Information please contact either of the following: General Chairman Vendor Coordinator Charles S. Smeton John D. Barnes P.O. Box 0122 7710 Chatham Rd Columbia, MD 21045-0122 Chevy Chase, MD 20815 GEMail: C.S.SMETON GEMail: J.D.Barnes CIS: 73047,2565 DELPHI: JDBARNES FNET: Charles Smeton, Node 500 Internet: JOHNBARNES@ENH.NIST.GOV Last year's WAACE show was a wonderful sight to behold, joyous Atari users everywhere buying up everything in sight. Folks this is no exaggeration, that's exactly how it was. This year promises to be even better. There will be usergroups galore, all well represented. The Saturday Night Banquet, a tradition at WAACE, had Charles F. Johnson as its guest speaker last year (he was excellent). The festivities were enjoyed by all and especially, the Atari Elite Usergroup (a recognized usergroup) from Pittsburgh, PA. Incidently, the AE group's members easily made up half of the attendees at the banquet. Atari Elite's spokesperson, J. Karlovitch has assured this publication, "they will be there again this year in full support of WAACE and the Atari Community." At this time WAACE is already shaping up to be the Premier Atari Show on the East Coast. After all, it is. This show is a 'must attend'. _________________________________________________________ > STReport CONFIDENTIAL "ATARI NEWS FIRST!" ===================== - Toronto, Canada Waterloo Maple; No 5.0 for ST? --------------- Waterloo Maple, a Canadian software publisher producing an excellent symbolic math program for the ST and other platforms has released the new version 5.0. However, the ST will not, at this time, be included due to poor sales for the ST version 4.3. This does not however preclude an op- tion for its being done at a later date. Maple 4.3 is the last version written for the ST. Waterloo Maple may be reached at 519-747-2373. - Milwaukee, WI ATARI "SHOWS UP" @ GENCON! ------------- THIS ITEM (Below) CAME THROUGH THE NETS EARLIER THIS WEEK.... Atari had promised for several months to be a participant at the Gen- con show. However, they will not be present as Atari computers in California reportedly did not work with Atari Games Division in Lombard, Il. Apparently, both thought the other had secured booth space and neither did. By the time the error was caught, it was too late. Only MilAtari Usergroup will have a few machines there, not the representation originally promised and expected. ITS NOT ACCURATE.... Clearly an example of either dis-information or paranoic reaction. I put it here to show how misleading or early info can be erroneous at publication time. And now.... Bob Brodie is at GenCon at this time with a slew of machines setup for the use of spectators along with a large number of Lynx game machines. The spectators seem to be enjoying the daylights out of "MidiMaze" or, so I am told. I hope Bob's luggage catches up with him.... :-) - Austin, TX SFAN PROGRESS "VERY POSITIVE!" ---------- Despite some false starts with Atari shipping department the TT030 was successfully delivered to Michael Kelley of The Science Fiction, Fantasy & Adventure Network. With two minor "glitches" (including no manual, no mouse, and a damaged-in-shipping keyboard) it's still not all "blue sky", but the Mega keyboard works fine and the BEST Trackball seems the proper fit for the TT. In company with the TT (actually arriving shortly before the TT030 arrived on the doorstep) came LEXICOR's Prism-Paint and Chronos 3-D, as well as Calamus Outline Art, everything that Double-Click makes, and ad- vance access to PageStream v2.1 via the SoftLogik BBS. Perhaps there is industry criticism of the lack of "TT-specific" software, but the function of the software that is installed on this TT is nothing short of amazing. LEXICOR's products are eye-catching and jaw-dropping; Calamus Outline Art zips along admirably; Double-Click's utility programs are indispensible (how much faster can something un-ARC?); and PageStream users will note that a page of 12-point text in one of the three CompuGraphic fonts requires a total of 7-9 SECONDS to format and start printing on the SLM804 follow-on pages happen so fast they actualy stack up behind each other waiting to print and the output quality EQUALS PostScript (tested eyeball-to-eyeball against UltraScript output). Bill Rehbock and Mike Fulton at Atari have both been working harder and harder and we especially appreciate Mike Fulton's efforts, answers, and availability. As things progress we anticipate a much closer relationship and continued development of the level of cooperation. Walter Koenig (STAR TREK's "Mr. Chekov") made his deal with Atari for a Mega STe4 and SLM605 laser printer, both of which have been delivered to Eidsvoog of Codehead Software for setup and delivery to Koenig. Anticipate seeing Koenig in a print ad sometime around the STAR TREK VI press push. SFA Network appreciates the cooperation of Atari, Sam Tramiel, Bill Rehbock, and Mike Fulton, as well as the other fine members of the Independent Association of Atari Developers who have given of their work to contribute to this effort. _____________________________________________________ > Hard Disks STR InfoFile ***** ABCO SUMMER '91 SPECIALS! ***** ======================= ** 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 TIME PROVEN to be the most reliable! Model Description Autopark Price ================================================== SGN4951 51Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 479.00 SGN1096 85Mb 24ms 5.25" Y 549.00 SGN2055 105mb 12ms 3.5" Y 649.00 SGN6277 120Mb 12ms 3.5" Y 789.00 SGN1296 170Mb 12ms 3.5" Y 1019.00 ================================================== FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00 ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAIALABLE Call for Info! PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only! CPU ACCELERATOR & MEMORY UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED >> ABCO is now taking orders for 1040 & MEGA STe Computers! << Call for VERY special Introductory prices! ATARI COMPUTERS * STILL THE BEST VALUE! If you don't see what you want listed here, call us. Odds are we have it or, can get it for you! AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE! "We service what we sell. (IF necessary)" ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ****** * SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE * - SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A - ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable - Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart. --->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 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" ================= A while back, a notation saying; "Way to Go Greg" was presented in this area. STReport offers a profound apology for any misunderstanding this excercise in 'humor' may have caused. Additionally, we thank those who have so kindly brought this matter to our attention. STReport, by including this remark, meant only congratulatory applause for a job well done, nothing more. In our opinion, G. Pratt's performance at the helm of Atari US has been a fine example of how its really done and done well. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport International Online Magazine Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" August 09, 1991 16/32bit Magazine copyright 1987-91 No.7.32 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors/staff, PCReport, STReport, AMReport, MCReport. 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 the use/misuse of infor- mation contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""