*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" November 08, 1991 No.7.44 ========================================================================== 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 __________________________________________________________________ > 11/01/91: STReport #7.43 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine! ------------------------- - The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - TOS 3.06 - TOS 2.06 - DELPHI KERR CO. - FSM GDOS Update - ATARI Press Releases - Chicago Show News - STR Confidential -* TOS UPGRADE INFO! *- -* SEGA & ACCOLADE IN COURT *- -* STALKER 3.0 OFFER! *- ========================================================================== 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 ========================================================================== 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 (November 8) LIBRARY CHANGE Now that CompuServe's Forum Libraries support "Across Library Searching", we have closed down our exclusive "NEW UPLOADS" Library. All new files will now be made available in whichever Library can best classify them. Use the powerful BRO LIB:ALL command to browse through all of our Forum Libraries. Files will be displayed in reverse chronological order -from most recent to oldest. Download file NEWLIB.TXT from LIBRARY 1 of ATARIARTS or ATARIPRO (now called "Forum Help/Info") for complete informa- tion on other new and powerful Library commands. LEXICOR ANIMATION CLASS Starting this coming Saturday, November 9, the Lexicor Online Animation Class will be beginning a three-part tutorial on the creation of the T-1000 Polyalloy Terminator from the film TERMINATOR II. When completed, the animation you can create will look just like a scene from this fantastic film. Don't miss this chance to discover what "Power without the Price" really means! Join us Saturday at 10 PM EST here in the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN) NEW FROM CODEHEAD Download file MPAINT.TXT from LIBRARY 16 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN) for information on MegaPaint Professional -- the brand new, com- bination bit-map and vector graphics powerhouse from CodeHead GT! NEW VERSION OF CAL! Cal 6.0 lets you look at any month/year, and schedule events by date, position, or every so many days. All new screens, more room to describe each event, cyclic events, save/load/merge events, keyboard shortcuts, auto conversion from previous versions, much more! Includes new Calshow to show upcoming events at boot, full docs. Download file CAL.ARC from LIBRARY 6 of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO). EDHAK DISCOUNT FOR ATARI FORUM MEMBERS Download file EDHAKD.LZH from LIBRARY 2 of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO) for a full demo of EdHak version 2.25. This version can be used with the soon-to-be-released QuickCIS version 1.70. Craig Harvey (the author of EdHak) has also announced a special discount for CompuServe mem- bers who which to order the full functioning version. Contact Craig at User ID number 73047,600 for details. ATARI ST MODEM-TO-MODEM GAMES The CompuServe Modem-to-Modem Challenge Board (GO CHALLENGE) now supports the following two modem games by Forum member David Becker. Both of these games are available in LIBRARY 2 ("Games") of the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS): Download these games, find an opponent through the Challenge Board, and even play them against your opponent through CompuServe at reduced connect rates via the MTM Gaming Lobby (GO MTMLOBBY): PAIGOW.ARC - Las vegas style PaiGow poker. Play against the computer or over the phone line with a friend! Monochrome freeware. BGAMMO.ARC - Online backgammon can be played over the phone lines with a modem. Many options including the ability to play the computer make this a fun and challenging monochrome game. Freeware. ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM (GO APORTFOLIO) BJ Gleason, Don Messerli, and David Stewart have accepted the challenge to upload a new program to our Portfolio Forum Libraries EVERY DAY, beginning November 1st, through the end of the year !!!! (And in return, they chal- lenge the rest of the collected membership to match their output with an equal number of uploads) The programming marathon continues to provide some of the greatest Portfolio programs anywhere. Check out the latest entries by going into ANY library of the Atari Portfolio Forum and typing "BRO LIB:ALL". 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 #45 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. -- Sega Sues Accolade Sega has filed suit against Accolade alleging that Accolade is marketing software compatibles with Sega's 16-bit Sega Genesis without being a licensed Sega third-party developer. Sega claims Accolade is unfairly competing and "causing confusion in the marketplace by having programmed many of its software products in such a manner that end users are informed that such products have been either produced by Sega or under a license from Sega." Sega recently announced a deal with Atari Games Corp under which Tengen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atari, would duplicate Atari games to run on the Sega home and portable systems as a third-party developer. -- Accolade Vows to Fight Sega's Suit Software publisher Accolade Inc. promises to fight game-maker Sega En- terprises Ltd.'s allegations. Calling Sega's suit this week "frivolous, without merit, and in some cases facetious," Accolade said in a state- ment it will "vigorously defend its right to develop and market software for the Sega Genesis video game system and intends to file counter- claims against at least the Japanese corporation." -- Virus Wrecks Disk Drives at Queen's University A virus, a variant of the 1575 virus also known as the Green Caterpillar virus, has wrecked three disk drives at Queen's University. The virus forces repeated accesses to track 0 of the diskette until it wears out the drive mechanics if not stopped in time. -- Apple Goes To Moscow The first official Apple dealer in Russia, ComputerLand/Moscow, has sold $47,000 worth of Macs to a local video company. According to Computer- Land/Moscow, the Macs will be used by "Russkaya Troyka" to make video- clips. -- Two New Chips from Motorola Motorola has announced the 68LC040, a new, lower-cost version of the 68040 microprocessor. The 68LC040 is aimed at price-conscience personal computers such as the Mac Classic and LC systems, and operating system-- dependent embedded control applications such as high-end network devices like routers and concentrators, telecommunication switches and cellular network systems. The company claims that it optimized the 68LC040 by removing non- essential features such as the floating-point processing unit. Without the extra circuits the 25 megahertz chip executes 22 million instruc- tions per second. Also announced was a low-voltage version of the 68340 that has direct memory access, which Motorola claims is suitable for powering handheld and battery powered equipment such as computers, instruments, data-entry and communications terminals, games, weapons guidance systems, CD-ROM, and CD-I systems. -- National Semiconducter Announces Voice Recognition Chips National Semiconductor has announced a line of small and power efficient single chip voice recognition products. These products will allow users to give spoken commands to their toasters, for instance, or have a wrist watch that can also double as a dictation machine. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 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! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > Delphi's Kerr Conf. STR FOCUS Cap't Midnight's Game Room ============================= Transcript of formal CO with Drew Kerr, Publisher of Capt. Midnight's Game Room Tuesday, November 5th, 1991 .Gordie> Tonight, Drew Kerr will discuss the notion that the ST is a game machine. Drew is the creator of Capt. Midnight's Game Room, a new online games magazine. With no further ado, Drew, the floor is yours! .Drew> And a nice floor, too. First, let me correct your intro -- the ST is much, much more than a games machine... As a matter of fact, if we keep track of who shows up tonight, I may make my point -- that it is rapidly fading from this function! I use my ST for DTP, WP, database, you name it. And it seems that ironically, as the ST still carries the tag of "games machine," it is losing that very base. This may be Atari's bid for survival, and although it is admirable, we are probably losing game support faster than other areas. The question is -- can we survive on the ST for all the work and DTP stuff, and sacrifice the games support to a small amount? But, the h**l with all the deep talk, I still play the h**l out of my ST!! I do want to make a couple of brief announcements.... First, if any of you have Populous and it doesn't work on your STE, I understand EA is fixing that problem. You can send your game to them and they'll replace it. This game is too valuable to not play. Second, and here's the big one -- I am announcing Captain Midnight's Railroad Tycoon Scenario Contest! Now that the fix is out and the game is being played, I'd like to see some mean-lookin' railroads built. The object: to build the most efficient railroad in any time period. The deadline: December 31, 1991. I am assembling some pretty hefty judges and there will be a grand prize. The prize will be a grab bag of games and books and other assorted goodies I am assembling. I am trying to get Russell Sipe, author of the RRT book, to be a judge. I have been up all night for the past week on this thing and I've got to say, it's amazing. I am encouraging all of you, if you don't have this one, buy it and join the contest. Official rules and info will be posted very shortly. JBEAU> Are the "fixes" reliable on all ST(e)s and what is the current price...? .Drew> Yes, the fix, which is MAKE1MEG.TOS, works perfectly. It can be found here in the ST databases. No price -- freeware. JBEAU> I meant for RRT... .Drew> The game can be bought from anywhere like $30-$40. I'd advise mail order. This game will give you more long lasting action and thought than the average release. KWAI> Drew, I thought EA had dropped support for the ST. .Drew> EA dropped ST support, but they have a Populous fix. Call them for information. KWAI> Oh, that figures. Thanks! RMORROW> Would the IBM'ers be calling the ST a 'game machine' because they're either not familiar with it or jealous of it's ability to blow their machines out of the water? Or what? .Drew> I think most IBM-ers have never seen an ST! It's just that the ST made its reputation over the years as a games support system, especially with the popularity of its video games. Also... Since the ST fell behind in DTP and other functions, but games companies still continued to support it, it retained a games image. That was the visible part. .Terry> Do you think that the "games support" is completely leaving Atari, or just being redirected to the LYNX etc? .Drew> In the US, Atari doesn't give a second of thought to games support. They want to be taken seriously. That's why support has dropped off the face of the earth here. In the UK, they are very games serious and that's why it's still such a big market there. Atari already has a foothold with Lynx and they are playing it for all it's worth. But they never speak with Sierra, Spectrum Holobyte, etc. .Gordie> Drew, any feeling on why the domestic software companies are so lagging in bringing over games from overseas? .Drew> Almost all games we see these days are imports from the UK. US firms have entirely dropped the ST because it's not worth their time domestically. We usually get games released here right when they are released in the UK, unless they don't work on American machines. .Gordie> Although the FOTI flap was due to a delay in releasing the NA version, right? .Drew> That was their last domestic release. Everything from now on will be imported. A very big screw-up on their part, if you read the new CMGR. JBEAU> With the recent announcement of IBM compatible machines coming out in the Atari line of machines, do you think Atari is "giving in" to the inevitable? Or do you think they will take these machines and use them to stem the tide of Atari abandonment? ...specifically in the games arena... .Drew> Well, I don't think it has anything to do with games, Jerry, but I think it is to stay competitive in the US. Whether they can market this in the US against other IBM machines remains to be seen. They need to make as much $$$ as possible in their condition. If you can't beat'em, join'em! JBEAU> Don't you feel this might encourage ATARI SW developers to go ahead and become IBM programmers .Drew> It takes a lot of money to switch platforms to develop. To become a registered devloper requires a steep fee, especially for IBM. JBEAU> I read an article by Richard Brown of GEnie fame called "Atari, IBM, and the Real World" and it makes a killer comparison argument between the two machines...I'm scared this kind of passionate defense of Atari is becoming a thing of the past... .Drew> Actually, Al Fasoldt, the tech editor of the Syracuse, NY, paper just syndicated two columns on his ST and how great it is, despite the dwindling numbers. Let me throw out this question -- if there was any game you'd love to see ported to the ST, what would it be?? JBEAU> Space Quest 4 & 5, Ultima 6 .Sky> Wing Commander! KWAI> Wing Commander? JBEAU> Mario brothers .Gordie> The Might and Magic series. Maybe the Wizardry series. JBEAU> Yes!!!!! Wizardry, I knew I had others but couldn't remember... KWAI> I like Carmen Sandiego. RMORROW> Actually, I'd like to see Atari put some of their older arcade video games on ST disks, or make the 2600 cart's fit on our cartridge port somehow. .Drew> Unfortunately, we will never see Spellcasting, Earl Weaver Baseball, and many others. But in the next issue of Captain Midnight, I will be asking everyone what game they would like to see ported and then presenting it to that company. PENDZICH> I just bought an IBM and have loaded 2 games that I have for each. One is Lemmings, and I like the graphics on the ST best. .Drew> What's the other? PENDZICH> The other is Elvira and they are equivalent graphically. So far no one has used the higher graphics (800x600 or 1024x768) VGA that I have available. But I got to admit the GIF's I have are incredible. .Gordie> I believe the latest version of Ultima is VGA only. Or one of those fantasy rpg type games. (At this point Drew was knocked off by line noise. The rest of us chatted informally until he returned.) .Gordie> Welcome back, Drew! JBEAU> Where is Captain Midnight available and any chance of it becoming a DELPHI regular publication? And add the latest SIERRA releases. I have everything they've made available to the ST to date! .Drew> The latest issue of Captain Midnight is now in the ST Advantage databases in the Recent Arrivals section. Sierra has Space Quest 4 all ready to go, but no one knows what they are going to do with it. JBEAU> Selling it is my suggestion... .Drew> Parts of Captain Midnight will be reprinted in Atariuser magazine, by the way. .Gordie> While you were off line, Ron made an interesting point about VGA and game playing. .Ron I'll resend it... I'd just like to point out that a VGA screen really slows down the IBM computer. At work we have people who use 20 MHz 386SX computers and play games with them at lunch. The display is very sluggish. One of them commented that the EGA version worked MUCH faster. These computers are all fairly new (less than one year old) and have the best VGA boards and Super VGA boards available out there. (Also, about half of the games they play are pirated copies.) .Drew> We may have a great computer, but unfortunately, in the marketing race, we are well, well, well behind! The US is a IBM and Mac country. We may have a computer that moves quickly, but it doesn't matter. Most people don't know from Atari. It's our little secrret. .Gordie> Okay, if there are no further questions for Drew, I'll let him make a final comment. .Drew> Just that I appreciate all you're downloading. This place is real friendly. I hope that you will all particpate in the RRT contest. I hope to do something similar with SimCity afterwards. Thanks for dropping by. .Gordie> Thank you, Drew! This CO is officially over! *********************************************************************** :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 Announcements (FREE) 1. NEW FCC COST INCREASE THREATENS COMPUTER SERVICES...........*FCC 2. NEW NEW NEW The 1992 Version GEnie Satin Jacket............*ORDER 3. If you love Soap Operas, check out the >free< RTC in........SHOWBIZ 4. Subscribe now to DUNGEONS & DRAGONS(tm) games...............TSR 5. November issue the Caribbean Travel Roundup is here.........TIS 6. Win MICROSOFT SOLUTION software at FREE RTC.................HOSB 7. RECHARGER Magazine RTC on the...............................PSRT 8. Computer Football League opens..............................SCORPIA 9. Looks like a MAC, runs like a Mainframe, on an IBM..........DBMS 10. LIVE from LEIPZIG...........................................GERMANY 11. Play the weekly Fantasy Football Pool and win $$............FF 12. Upload contest wins FREE time, Usenet news, and more in.....UNIX 13. Visit the GEnie Info Library today..........................*LIBRARY 14. FREE LANDS' END CATALOGS. Clothing for the whole family.....LANDSEND 15. REALLY put yourself in the quarterback's place, during......QB1 GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission *********************************************************************** > The Flip Side STR Feature "... A different viewpoint..." ========================= A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT ================================== by Michael Lee Have you been waiting for Jim Allen's Turbo030 (68030 accelerator)? Here's some information straight from Jim Allen (Fast Tech) - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... In a general sense, we have placed special circuitry on the Turbo030 that allows our 32bit ram to REPLACE the 16bit ram on your mother- board...for ALL purposes. So your Mega ST becomes a true 32bit system. The Turbo030 is not an appendage that bolts on to add some ram and a new cpu chip, instead it's a complete system enhancement, so your system acts as though Atari had gone back and purposely built a 32bit ST. The TT is not a 32bit ST, it's much more, with other major architec- tural enhancements beyond being a 32bit computer. The Turbo030 also has special circuitry built in that converts your current video board into a 32bit board. With the Turbo030, you don't need to buy a seperate 32bit video card to get your video up to speed, the Turbo030 does the whole job. You don't get more resolu- tion, or more colors, but we had assumed that if you wanted such things you'd purchase the currently available options...Moniterm, ISAC, Matrix, Omnichrome, etc. We instead committed ourselves to speeding up all the other addons, giving you the maximum flexibility, and protecting your already heavy investment in one of the currently available video boards. As for "ports", well, the 68030 socket itself leaves the whole world of opportunities open to us in the future. Heaven only knows, there are already 040 cards for the Mac that do nothing more than plug into the 030 processor direct slot, there is no "technical" reason some- thing like that can't be done someday for the T030., or any other wild, fantastic, outrageous, even nutty possibility. And all this is accomplished with a few pals, some buffers, and 8 ram chips. So it does all this, and lives happilly with your video board, without forcing you to get a new power supply...a viable alternative to which does NOT exist ;- ) I won't discuss HOW this is done. When the patent is issued, I will post the number, and you can go read about it. Needless to say, such an amazing feet has never been done before, not on the Mac, no on the Amiga, not on the PC. It's a real breakthrough!!! BTW, we have also licensed the new QuickST with 32bit code, and it does indeed run great. As an example, the NBM 1.1 benchmark "DRAW" test has the "cahce- only" T030 getting a.....3.66 secs...using QuickST. Way to go Darek!!! So we will be bundling QuickST with the T030 board, and we will also be bundling QuickST 3.0 with the Turbo20 boards from now on. Again, many thanks to Darek for allowing us to benefit from his ex- cellent work in improving the STs video performance!!! ---------------- Discussion on CIS about the new GE service contract - From Jim Ness... The GE service contract thing was announced at Glendale, in one of the seminars. I think Bill Rehbock was the speaker. The rest of us then read about it in the online mags. Part of the deal is that the new TT motherboard is/was redesigned with test points that meet GE's requirements. I have to think that the service contract will not apply to older machines, since they don't meet those same requirements. Just my guess. Response from Bob Brodie (Atari) on CIS... The proposed contract (yes, still not in effect- sigh) covers all of our products that we currently sell, with the lone exception of any 8-bit products. So it will apply to STEs, Megas, TTs, Portfolios, and Lynx. The re-designing of the TT motherboard had nothing to do with the contract. It's easy to mix it in, though, since Bill Rehbock mentioned the re-layout of the TT motherboard in the same presentation at Glendale. ---------------- About the Golden Image Master drive from STACE (Sysop) on the Gadgets by small RoundTable on Genie... It has been brought to my attention that Golden Image is shipping a new version of the Master 3S drive...called the Master 3SN. As reported earlier, there is also a Master 3SD (with track display) that has proven NOT to be reliable with Spectre GCR. The 3SD was contained in a plastic drive casing with a little red LED readout for the track. Well, the "N" in Master 3SN apparently stands for NO track display. From what I've been told, the 3SN is also housed in the same plastic casing as the 3SD. Coincidently, the Master 3SN has now been reported as NOT working with Spectre GCR. The only known-reliable (with Spectre GCR) Master 3S drive is just that...the 3S. It is housed in a METAL casing and does not have any track display. Other than that, the Atari SF-314 external drives are also known to be reliable with Spectre GCR. ---------------- About TIP OFF from E.Biaz - Cat. 9, Topic 6, Msg. 1 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... The November issue of ST Action contained an for a new game called Tip Off. It is a basketball simulation and from the screen shots (even though they are from the Amiga) it looks to be quite a winner. Here are some of the game's features: multi-directional scrolling screen, five skill levels, facility to practice skills and tactics, 2 types offers ability to create own team, each player has individual attributes, each has five player on each side. This looks to be a super game. Should be out soon. ---------------- Comments about the supposed problems with TOS 1.62 that was reported in last week's STReport - From Bob Brodie (Atari) on CIS... Frankly, to the best of my knowledge [the problem that was reported in the article] is not true. If you'd be so kind as to refer the developer who is having problems with his 68010 uprgade, I'll be happy to get him the assistance that he requires...right after I ask him why he's doing a 68010 instead of an '030 or '040! ---------------- Discussion on CIS about upgrading to 68030 and 68040 - Jeff (Intersect Software)... An upgrade to a 68040 should be easier than from a 68000 to a 68030. The powers that be are pretty sure that TOS 2.0 and up is compatable with 68020/68030/68040 machines. If I understand correctly from talking to the Motorola salesmen at COMDEX the 68040 is just a faster 68030 with math coprocessor built in. It's 50% faster than a 80486 at the same clock freq. The 80486 is only 20-30% faster than a 68030 (overall). The IBM world is touting 60 Mhz 486 machines which are 16 Mhz paged memory machines with CACHE running at 32 Mhz and only the MPU running at 60 Mhz. You don't get 60 Mhz performance out of it but because of the cache in the MPU and the 32 Mhz cache it an impressive performer. Response from Bob Brodie (Atari)... Not to worry about TOS and any future Motorola processors. We speak to them on a regular basis. TOS on the TT is currently at 3.06, and I'm confident that the gang upstairs is hard at work with something else, too. Reply from Jeff (Intersect Software)... Thanks Bob. It didn't seem possible, knowing Motorola's concern with upward compatability and the new push at Atari for High end profes- sional systems, that there would be any problem Implementing a 68040 on a Atari machine. Everything I've heard for the last year or so is that there is a big push internally to "catch up" (my paraphrase). By catch up I mean offering State Of The Art machines again as you did in 85 with the most powerful personal computer available (The ST). The TT goes a long way to providing this. ---------------- Some more interesting chit-chat about the 68030 from E.DOMANGUE - Cat. 4, Topic 44, Msg. 176 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... I just received my copy of Communications of the ACM. They report on the annual computer chess contest that they sponsor every year. This year's first place was a tie, with Deep Thought/88 and Mephisto. Deep Thought is a Sun 4 with a couple of special processors. But Mephisto, although not a general purpose computer, it was built specifically for chess playing, is based upon the Motorola 68030 CPU. Yep, the same CPU that the SST (and TT) uses (if anybody reading this didn't already know.) This machine beat others based on Sun's, 80386's, MIPS 6000, etc. - some pretty high class hardware. Although this doesn't really say anything about the '030 being better than other types of CPU (those programmers did a heck of job - 128K of assembler?) it just sort of gives me the warm fuzzies knowing that RSN (that's Real Soon Now) my ST will have the same CPU that won the ACM Computer Chess Championship. ---------------- A few comments from Bob Brodie (Atari) - Cat. 14, Topic 3, Msg 126 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... Actually we have used a company to place our products in TV shows for quite some time now. Last year for example, they placed our computers in episodes of Growing Pains, Working Girl, Matlock, Night Court, and some made for TV movies, like Nasty Boys. (That's all off the top of my head...there were other placements this year as well) I'm not a big fan of the placements either, as a rule. Unless you really *know* your looking at an Atari, all you see is a computer. It's actually pretty good for the Portfolio, and the Lynx though! Another example is that we've had a Stacy on the Arsenio Hall Show for close to a year now, and there are still people that are just noticing it! We even place a much larger ATARI label on the Stacy, just so that the Atari name would be more prominent. We'll continue to pursue these, though. They have possibilities of opening up other opportunities for our company. ---------------- About installing a second 3.5" hard drive inside the case of your Mega- file 44 - From Bill Rehbock (Atari) - Cat. 14, Topic 9, Msg. 121 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... Tom, Rich, and anyone else interested in installing a second 3.5" drive inside the case of your Megafile-44.................... 1) This will void your warranty. 2) Some Megafile-44 cases have all of the necessary brackets to do the installation easily, others do not, we don't carry the brackets, but you can rig it yourself rather easily. 3) Atari, myself, etc. will not be responsible for any type of inconveniences this may cause you. So..... 1) After you have it all opened up, you'll see that the Syquest is connected to J1 on the host adapter. 2) The whole thing is fairly easy: BOTH DRIVES GET SET TO DEVICE ZERO (the Syqest already is, BTW), BOTH DRIVES SHOULD BE TERMINATED, the host adapter does all of the work for you. 3) The switches on the bottom are the important part. Switches 3 & 2 select the starting address of the entire box, that is the device number of the deveice connected to J1. Switch 1 tells the host adapter that you have a second device in the box. It should be turned OFF. (Think of the switch as upside-down and backwards, when a switch is 'OFF', it is Logical-1, Switch position 3 is the least significant digit of the address #, switch position 2 is the most significant digit of the address #, and switch positon 1 tells the host adapter that there are two devices. ON _______ | |X| | |X| |X| -1-2-3- ^ ^ ^+--- 1's | +------ 2's +-------- Flag that there are two devices. With the switch setting that is shown, multiple devices are enabled, the device that is connected to J1 (usually the Syquest) is DEVICE-1, the device connected to J2 will be DEVICE-2. The device connected to J2 is always device1's ID + 1. If you configure the switches to OFF-ON-ON, the box will come up as J1-ACSI#0, J2-ACSI#1. (The terms address, device#, ACSI# are used interchangeably) I hope this was clear... It's about as clear as I get at 3:15am If you have any questions, feel free to leave me e-mail. (Leave an evening phone number) -Bill Rehbock, Atari Corp. ---------------- Until next week..... _______________________________________________ > COMDEX PRESS RELEASES STR InfoFile ATARI RELATED PRESS RELEASES ================================== ATARI SYSTEM V ============== Developer's Kit --------------- The newest addition to Atari's palette of TT software products is the Atari System V {ASV} Developer's Kit available in Alpha test form to key developers interested in creating new or porting existing applications onto the powerful TT/030 low-cost personal workstation. The kit contains a rich set of developer's tools conforming to a wide range of industry standards. The foundation is Atari's implementation of UNIX System V Release 4.0 for the Motorola 68000 series processors. Built on this strong foundation is the Atari's workstation graphical user interface. The interface based on the X Window System is designed to operate over a network or within a stand-alone machine, offering the developer the ability to work with clients running on other machines or to share clients with others on the network. To provide the most intuitive interface available and to be consistent with industry standards. Atari has adopted the OSF/Motif style, giving ASV applications a sculptured 3-D presentation Manager look. Designers of ASV applications can quickly create OSF/Motif conformant application front ends using XFaceMaker 2. The designer can paint an applications screen from a palette of OSF/Motif objects such as labels, push buttons, scroll bars and message boxes. Using FACE, a built-in, C- like programming language, the interface designer can easily mold the behavior of the interface. Included in the Developer's dKit is the Atari Style Guide an enhancement to the Motif style. By following the standards set in this guide, developers are assured of creating applications with interfaces consistent with other ASV applications. In addition to the rich set of development tools standard with System V, the efficient GNU C and C++ compilers, plus the GNU debugger, are all available in the ASV Developer's Kit. The C compiler is fully compatible with the System VELF object format and with the ANSI C Issue 5 extensions. Developers using the ASV kit are assured of maintaining compatibility, portability and interoperability with other workstation vendors conforming to open systems architecture and technical workstation industry standards. Standards, such as, POSIX, X/OPEN XPG3, FIPS, NFS, X Window System and Motif. The TT030 ASV developer workstation requires a minimum of 8-Mbyte RAM, a 213-Mb hard disk drive and a TTM195 monitor. Connectivity with workstation networks is simple with the addition of a Atari VME/Ethernet card. ATARI SYSTEM V ============== Developer's Kit --------------- XFaceMaker 2 A FULL INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT XFaceMaker 2, the key to fast and easy interface design XFacemaker 2 is an interactive tool for designing application interfaces. By creating windows, dragging widgets to the windows and setting resources in easy-to-use dialog panels, the developer can quickly design the screens for an OSF/Motif compliant application. As a prototyping tool, XFaceMaker 2 allows the designer to create sample screens in a minimum amount of time. Modifications in the resources panels provide quick visual feedback, without having to compile any code. As a programming tool, XFaceMaker 2 provides both speed and power for the programmer. It provides a significant time savings in programming applications, reducing costs to software houses and bringing products to market quickly. Also, it provides the ability for programmers to test the dynamic behavior of the interface while the application is being created. The programmer can simulate the end user's actions by clicking on buttons, displaying menus, or moving scroll bars. XFaceMaker 2 Features * OSF/Motif Toolkit * X/Open XPG3 internationalization * FACE:An interpreted language for specifying the interface's dynamic behavior * Fast prototyping tool * Test mode that simulates end user actions ATARI SYSTEM V ============== Developer's Kit --------------- HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SPECIFICATIONS HARDWARE TT/030 32 MHz MC68030 / MC68882 18-Mb RAM: 2-Mb ST RAM/16-Mb TT RAM 3-Button Mouse 200/340-Mb Hard Disk Drive TTM195 19-in. Monochrome Monitor SOFTWARE ATARI System V Developer's Kit Packages Included in the package: AT&T System V Release 4.0 BSD and XENIX Convergence Virtual File Systems {VFS} Virtual Memory Management {supporting Memory Mapped Files} User-Controlled Process Scheduler Device Driver Interface {DDI} Device Kernel Interface {DKI} Internationalization Extendible Linking Format {ELF} Graphical User Interface X Window System Release 11.4 OSF/Motif User Interface, Version 1.1.2 XFaceMaker WISh2 Desktop Manager Language Compilers and Debuggers FSF GNU C compiler {version 1.30} FSF GNU C++ compiler {version 1.39} FSF GNU gdb debugger {version 1.39} AT&T System V sdb debugger Network File System {NFS} Remote File Sharing {RFS} TCP/IP {the DARPA protocols} BSD Sockets DOCUMENTATION Developer's Kit Documentation Atari Style Guide Atari System V Developer's Guide NSL WISh2 User's Guide NSL Wx2 Users Guide NSL X FaceMaker 2 Users Guide Recommended off-the-shelf Documentation AT&T UNIX System V Release 4, available from AT&T and Prentice Hall OSF/Motif Version 1.1, Manual Series, available from Prentice Hall X Window System, available from various sources PROFESSIONAL SYSTEMS GROUP SHOWS NEW SUPERIOR PUBLISHING SOLUTIONS AT COMDEX "Direct To Press" Products Achieve Higher Quality, Faster Throughput, Extra Features The Professional Systems Group, a division of Atari Computer Corporation, will show its Direct To Press digital publishing solutions at the Comdex trade show on October 21-25 in Las Vegas. At their booth, the professional Systems Group will demonstrate the superiority of solutions that utilize their new TT030 computer as a publishing platform. Each of the pre-press solutions possesses clear advantages over the existing competition. Those advantages are manifest in a richer feature set, quicker speed of operation, and visibly higher output quality. As if that weren't enough, the Direct To Press systems are priced compared to other alternatives. Direct To Press systems provide output quality one would expect from much more expensive, dedicated typography systems. Direct To Press includes full-featured, high quality, and high performance tools for every phase of pre-press work from document processing and design to photo retouching and imagesetter film output. Direct To Press is a solution provided by the Professional Systems Group. This solution combines software, hardware, and support to implement a superior publishing system. Design and typography output workstations take advantage of the sophisticated graphics and pure processing power of the Atari TT030TM, the company's high performance computing platform. Available as custom-configurable systems, Direct To Press is targeted at pre-press and printing service bureaus and in-house design and production departments, as well as freelance designers, artists and publishers. Systems based on the Direct To Press products and concept are distributed through a network of value-added resellers and dealers. Publishing System Hardware Platform The Atari TT030 provides the ideal computing platform for the Direct To Press publishing tools. It features a 32MHz Motorola TM 68030 microprocessor with on-chip cache and memory management as well as 68882 math coprocessor, 8 MB of RAM {expandables to 26 MB}, an 80 MB hard disk, and a wide range of video and storage expansion options. Output for proofing purposes is provided by the 300 dot per inch Atari SLM605TM laser printer. The SLM605 features a small footprint, high quality output, and fast 6 page per minute operation. The TT030 performs even better in graphics-intensive applications than the specifications would indicate. Several factors help explain this phenomenon. First, the machine's architecture vastly reduces screen redraw time by using a 64-bit wide video data path. Next, the TT030 uses DMA {Direct To Memory Access} channels for disk, video printer, and sound data transfer. And, up to 10 MB of video RAM can be used. These hardware advantages are leveraged by an operating environment that minimizes overhead without sacrificing ease of use or power. "We designed the TT030 to be a great platform for sophisticated graphics applications," said Greg Pratt, President of Atari Computer Corporation. "But the performance and output quality that our strategic software and hardware partners have achieved makes these systems a compelling choice for publishing applications. When you consider that most system selections are based on output quality, speed of operation, ease of use, and affordability, we really have superior solutions across the board. You can't afford not to look at the TT030 and the Direct To Press system solutions." ______________________________________________________ > TOS UPGRADE INFO STR InfoFile TOS 2.06 & 3.06 ============================= UPGRADES OF TOS 2.06 & 3.06 =========================== Information on TOS upgrades Pricing and procedures will follow this announcement. TOS 2.06 Upgrades - November 1, 1991 ---> For MEGA STe, ST/STe* * Atari ICON (Fuji) displayed at Boot. * System memory check after a cold boot, pressing any key aborts test to reduce attendant delay. * A shrinking bar is displayed at boot, during hard disk intialization, pressing any key aborts process and attendant delay. * Pressing the Control key at boot bypasses autofolder preventing the loading of .ACC, NEWDESK.INF and Deskicon.rsc files. * Holding down the ALT key and typing a decimal number on the numeric keypad inserts an ASCII code character into the keyboard buffer. * Media Change detection on floppies works better, uses FAT checksums, MS DOS 4.X serial numbers and many other features permitting superior detection when a floppy has been changed. * Less floppy spin-up delay in systems with a hard drive. * Vacant drives detected sooner with quicker time-outs. * Floppies with only one FAT are supported to allow greater compatiblility with some DOS disk formatters. * Serial Port functionality improved. * Some programs that use Timer-A will work better (compatability improvement). * Multiple AES events when scrolling are reduced. NOTE: TOS 2.06 for ST or MEGA ST requires hardware adaption, Atari (Canada) will shortly announce the process for users to upgrade. TOS 2.06 is available as an upgrade for STe computers. ---> TOS 3.06 for the TT * High Density floppy supported. * Atari ICON (Fuji) displayed at Boot. * Boots up in 640x480 resolution, press ALT key when Fuji displayed for 320x200 resolution. * System memory check after a cold boot, pressing any key aborts test to reduce attendant delay. * A shrinking bar is displayed at boot, during hard disk intialization, pressing any key aborts process and attendant delay. * VDI improved for BITBLT operations. * Pressing the Control key at boot bypasses autofolder preventing the loading of .ACC, NEWDESK.INF and Deskicon.rsc files. * Holding down the ALT key and typing a decimal number on the numeric keypad inserts an ASCII code character into the keyboard buffer. * Media Change detection on floppies works better, uses FAT checksums, MS DOS 4.X serial numbers and many other features permitting superior detection when a floppy has been changed. * Less floppy spin-up delay in systems with a hard drive. * Vacant drives detected sooner with quicker time-outs. * Floppies with only one FAT are supported to allow greater compatiblility with some DOS disk formatters. * Serial Port functionality improved. * The 68882 is now reset at boot time. * Some programs that use Timer-A will work better (compatability improvement). * Multiple AES events when scrolling are reduced. Atari (Canada) Corp. Rob McGowan QNet3 NANet: Canada Remote Systems, Mississauga, Ont, Home of NANet _______________________________________________ > STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date... ================================ THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ========================= On CompuServe by Judith Hamner 72257,271 The Programming marathon is yielding results. If you haven't started yet get something ready to upload to the forum by the end of the year. New Uploads: PA00.TXT, PA04.TXT, PA05.TXT are three issues of Portable Addic- tion uploaded by bj Gleason. Also, AU0891.TXT and AU0991.TXT are the Portfolio Columns from the August and September 91 AtariUser. PB49UP.ZIP is an upgrade of Pbasic by bj Gleason. This new version includes new options for the menu and cmode functions. Also the print command now works for different size text. JEOPAR.BAS is a Pbasic program by bj Gleason to help keep track of your score when you watch Jeopardy. Now you'll really know whether you can beat the studio contestants. DIAL2.ZIP is a phone dialer by David E. Stewart. This nifty little program will let you dial a number directly or from the address book. It can also be used as an editor hook to dial a number in your document. EDIR.ZIP by Don Messerli lets you view directory listings from within the Portfolio's editor. It supports wildcards and pathnames. FEET.BAS was written by bj Gleason in response to a Wish List entry. It will calculate with feet and inches so that you can easily add and subtract mixed fractions. It will also calculate area and volume. WC.ZIP is another editor hook by Don Messerli. This program works from within the built-in editor to count the lines, words and characters in the file you are editing. As a bonus it will also tell you how many bytes the file will require on disk when saved. LAUNCH.ZIP is a menu program which will scan your current direc- tory for files with extensions: TXT, DOC, BAT, BAS, WKS, ADR, and DRY. When you select the desired file, the correct program is launched automatically. CHESS.ARC is an actual PGC format screen dump of Atari's new CHESS program for the Portfolio. Ordering information is included. Dave Stewart has uploaded a new price list for Atari Products. See PRICES.DOC for prices on Atari's new software releases. Announcements: Don Thomas announced that Chess and InstaSpell have joined Power Basic in Atari's lineup of new software for the Portfolio. Also, Hyperlist is is expected to be released soon. _________________________________________________________ > STALKER/STENO STR InfoFile Stalker 3.0 & Steno 2.0 "A Powerhouse" ========================== EXPLORING ST TELECOMMUNICATIONS =============================== A few notes..... After waiting for what seemed to be forever, the box finally arrived. I just knew from all I read online, that I'd be installing this very carefully. To my surprise, it installed quickly with minimal effort. It re-configured itself quite well with the converter program too. The con- verter took my "old" Stalker files and converted them to be compatible with the newer version 3.0. This is the third day I am using this communications package and I had to call the folks at Gribnif and let them know I was delighted with the system's performance. So much so that I'd removed both Interlink and Flash from my main system. Interlink WAS my main telcom program and I used Flash for any quickie text editing that was needed to be done. Steno more than capably takes care of that need. Stalker, with all the primary transfer protocols built-in, is very powerful and its still the ONLY fully screen size compatible Term program available. My only wish is that it had Quick CIS "B". I am told that this xfer protocol will be in the next upgrade revision. Ralph..... ================================== == STalker 3 - Telecommunications == ================================== STalker 3 is a brand new and completely GEM window based telecom- munications program for the Atari ST/TT, its many features include: o Full GEM based operation o Runs 100% in the background o Runs as an ACC or PRG o Emulates VT52, VT100, & PC-ANSI o Built-in X/YModem and ZModem o GDOS support for different fonts o Complete Scripting Language o Complete 220+ page documentation Regular Suggested Retail Price: ................... $49.95 Special STReport Reader's Price: .................... ==> $39.95 <== To order just call Gribnif's TOLL FREE order line: 1-800-284-4742 and mention that you are an STReport Reader wanting the "Special Offer". _______________________________________________ > CHICAGO SHOW NEWS STR SHOW NEWS "The Midwest Atari Event!" =============================== ----- Chicago ComputerFest by Atari Update ----- During the past week, we have added a number of exhibitors to our listing, rather than just list the newcomers, here is an updated complete press release. Please note that the 8-bit exhibitors are broken out for your information. ----- EXHIBITORS (as of November 1st): ABCO Computer Consultants Mainstreet America Apple Annie Mars Merchandising Application and Design Software MaxWell C.P.U. ASTMUM MegaType Atari Interface Magazine Michtron Best Electronics Micro Creations Borland International Migraph, Inc. Branch Always Software Missionware Clear Thinking M-S Designs Codehead Software Motorola, Inc. CompuSeller West Newell Industries CSA Ltd. Oregon Research Associates D.A. Brumleve Phil Comeau Software Double Click Software Rising Star Computers Electronic Spinster Graphics Rimik Enterprises GEnie's PC and ST Aladdin RT's Roland Corporation Gribnif Software Soft-Logik Publishing Goldleaf Publishing Step Ahead Software Guitar Plus Sudden, Inc. Hybird Arts Toad Computers JMG Software WizWorks! Innovative Concepts Wuztek/OPI ----- 8-Bit EXHIBITORS: Newell Industries Mars Merchandising Palette Imaging ICD Computer Software Services ReeveSoft LJK DataQue AGDA Atari Corp JakeSoft ----- BANQUET: Gala Chicago ComputerFest by Atari Banquet 7:00 PM, November 23rd, 1991 Ramada Hotel O'Hare - Plaza Dining Room Capacity- approximately 300 Tentative Program: Bob Brodie and Greg Pratt of Atari Corp present the Midwest Atari Regional Council (MARC) Excellence Awards. Atari Lombard Lynx game programmer Steve Ryno will speak about future game systems from Atari. Dinner Choices: Roast Sirloin of Beef, Marchand de Vin Tender Slices of Midwestern Beef with a Rich Red Wine Sauce Roast Loin of Pork Calvados Roasted Pork Loin Topped with an Apple Cream Sauce Chicken Kiev A buttered breast of chicken stuffed with herb butter and cheese sauce. Grilled Halibut Steak, Sauce Choron A Center Cut Halibut Steak accompanied with a buttery herb sauce infused with tomato. Each of the above include Soup of the day, Gardner's basket salad, a seasonal selection of vegetable and potatoes, and Chicago style Cheesecake with your selection of Strawberry, Pineapple and Mandarin toppings. Coffee and Tea included- cash bar will be available with choice of Beer, Wine and Cocktails. All of this $25.00 per person (tax and gratuity included). Send your banquet ticket order NOW to: Chicago ComputerFest by Atari c/o LCACE P.O. Box 8788 Waukegan, IL 60079-8788. ----- PAYMENTS: Credit Card Payment is available for banquet and general admission tickets! Call the show hotline at 708-566-0682 to order. Be sure to leave: Your Name as it appears on the credit card Address where to send tickets Your Credit Card Type (Visa or Master Card) Card Number and Expiration Date Your phone number (in case there are questions) What tickets and the number you are ordering. Your Choice of Entrees (banquet only). We will add a $1 service charge for each credit card order, all banquet orders must be received by November 8th; advance show tickets by November 15th. If paying by personal check or money order, please make checks payable to "Lake County Area Computer Enthusiasts". Each general admission ticket entitles the holder to a chance at the TT030/8 Color system donated by Atari Corp. Many other valuable prizes will be given away during the course of the show. You need not be present to win the TT030! __________________________________________________ > STReport's Editorial Page ========================= From the Editor's Desk ---------------------- Being an avid sports fan... most any sports will do, I find myself finally angered at Uncle Sam. I've watch a number of movie greats succumb to AIDS along with the tragic depictions recently in Congress. My anger stems from the recent announcement by Magic Johnson. Why? Why has the government dragged its feet for so long? Aids and its sinister effects were well documented before Reagan took the oath of office. Yet, till this day, the government is STILL not in high gear attempting to find a cure for this disaster. According to a report broadcast this afternoon Dr. Salk, the doctor who provided the world with the Polio vaccine, is working on a vaccine for the HIV virus. The weather has turned snowy and cold over a large portion of the na- tion thus encouraging many folks to spend more time indoors. What a great opportunity to get re-acquainted with their ever-faithful Atari computers. The TOS upgrades are about to hit the market, the newer designs for the MSTE and TT are on the way. (1.44hd flop, etc..) The hardware, as always is great and getting better all the time. Thanks for the great support.... Ralph.... """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 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 Judith Hamner John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Contributing Correspondents: ---------------------------- Michael Lee Richard Covert Roger Stevens Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Tim Holt Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Ben Hamilton Neil Bradley Eric Jerue Ron Deal Robert Dean Ed Westhusing James Nolan Joe Mirando Vernon W. Smith 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 ____________________________________________________________ > A "TIME OUT!" ============= "Our Prayers and hopes for the future are with Ervin _Magic_ Johnson" ....The Staff of STR __________________________________________________________ > FALL SPECIALS! STR InfoFile * NEW Prices MORE Products & SPECIALS! * =========================== HOLIDAY SPECIALS! ** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! ** ABCO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS 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) (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 SGN6277 65Mb 28ms 5.25" Y 519.00 SGN1096 85Mb 24ms 5.25" Y 549.00 SGN2055 105mb 12ms 3.5" Y 629.00 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! FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00 ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAIALABLE Call for Info! PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only! CPU ACCELERATOR & MEMORY UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED >> ABCO now offers 1040 & MEGA STe Computers << (when available) Call for ABCO's Introductory prices! ATARI COMPUTERS * STILL THE BEST VALUE! If you don't see what you want listed here, call us. Odds are, we either have it or, can get it for you! AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE! "We service what we sell" ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ****** * SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCOFILE "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE * - SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A - ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable - Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart. --->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 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 - Atari SLM 804, SLM 804PCV Laser Toner Kits Memorex 2108, 5287 Oasys Laserpro 5287, 5308, Express 830, Express Series II Silver Express, Gold Express ** $54.95 shipping Included ** Atari SLM 605 Laser Toner Kits AT&T 593, CAF Laser, DSI Laser, DTP Systems, Epson EPL-6000 Facit P6060, Fontx Syslaser, Harris3M 2006, M-Tally MT905 Microtek Turbo PS, OAS Laserpro Executive, Packard Bell 9500 TEC LB 1305, Toshiba PageLaser 6 ** $41.95 shipping included ** (TWO Toner Carts Incl.) Panasonic Laser Toner Kits Panasonic KX -P 4000 series, Panafax UF-750 Facimile ** $41.95 shipping included ** -- ALL TONER KITS * IN STOCK * -- * Toner Starter Kits-$62.95 * * Replacement (804) Drums-$186.95 * ABCO's Replacement Toner Advantages =================================== A Few Pointers about the NEW and SUPERIOR replacement Toner Cartridges for the SLM 804 and SLM 605 Laser printers. Quality ------- o Better density the OEM Toner under all testing conditions. (AVG 1.40-1.50) o Formulation completely compatible with the OEM initial toner and supply toner. This replacement Toner may be added to the Laser Printer along with OEM initial toner or supply toner. o The NEW replacement initial toner will maintain a high level of quality "much longer" using the replacement toner. o Much smaller drop in density is realized when printing in the continuous mode. Test Pattern: 10 graphic pages 1000 text pages (3 alternating pages) Time Schedule: 330 prints continuously 1 hour pause, 3-4 times a day normally 1000 copies a day maximum 1400 copies a day OEM ABCO'S NEW STANDARD --- ------------------- Density 1.30 - 1.40 1.40 - 1.50 Yield 92.1 g/1000 copies 95.3 g/1000 copies Waste toner 20.3 g/1000 copies 14.3 g/1000 copies Transfer Rate 78% 85% >> 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! GOOD NEWS! ========== ABCO Computer Consultants now has a SUPER computer goodies catalog available. Drop us a note and we will mail your copy to you! You'd be surprised at the variety of products we offer at substantial savings. Don't wait! Send for your catalog now and get the great Christmas Discount Coupons. It'll make Santa feel great about the holidays! ABCO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS ========================= P.O. BOX 6672 Jacksonville, Florida, 32205-6672 904-783-3319 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport International Online Magazine Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" November 01, 1991 16/32bit Magazine copyright 1987-91 No.7.43 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 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. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""