*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" from STR Publishing """""""""""""" May 01, 1992 No.8.18 ========================================================================== 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 Support BBS Network System * THE BOUNTY BBS * * TURBO BOARD BBS SYSTEM * FNET 350 ~ Fido 112:35 ~ TNET 100:2/0 904-786-4176 USR/HST 24hrs - 7 days 1200 - 19.2bps V.32 - 42 bis 16.8 Dual Standard FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EST ----------------------------------------- FNET.. 18 ~ TNET 100:3/0: ///Turbo Board BBS Support...1-416-274-1225 FNET.. 75 ~ TNET 100:28/0 Bloom County BBS.............1-415-965-9347 FNET. 350 ~ TNET 100:2/0 The Bounty **...1-904-786-4176 FNET. 489 ~ TNET 100:20/0 Steal Your Face BBS..........1-908-920-7981 FNET 1031 ~ TNET 100:1/0 <<< INTERNET - UK>>>.... 011-44-296-395-935 _____________________________________________________________________ > 05/01/92 STReport 818 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!" - The Editor's Desk - CPU Report - PORTFOLIO NEWS - IBM INTROS 50Mhz - JUSTICE? - ICD ADSCSI UG - Delphi Codehead Co. - TOS 306 OVERVIEW - BLUE RIDGE FEST - CT. ATARIFEST - CHECKMATE! - STR Confidential -* ATARI LOSES NINTENDO SUIT! *- -* CODEHEAD ANNOUNCES CALLIGRAPHER! *- -* SPARROW OVERVIEW! *- ========================================================================== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE The Original * Independent * Online Magazine -* FEATURING WEEKLY *- "Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information" Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports ========================================================================== STReport's BBS, The Bounty, invites BBS systems, worldwide, to participate in the Fido/TurboNet/Atari F-Net Mail Network. You may also call our BBS direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging information relative to the Atari and other computers worldwide through the use of excellent International Messaging Networks. SysOps, worldwide, are quite welcome to join the STReport International Conferences. The Crossnet Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is # 350. All BBS systems are welcome and invited to actively participate. Support Atari Computers; Join Today! ========================================================================== GENIE ~ CIS ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ FNET ~ TNET ~ INTERNET EURONET ~ CIX ~ CLEVELAND FREE-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 (May 01) NEW IN ATARI VENDORS FORUM """""""""""""""""""""""""" Oxxi Software announces that registered Atari users of Superbase Personal/2 and Professional/3 can update to the latest version of the program. Please read message # 25350 for details. CodeHead Technologies announces the release of Warp 9, formerly known as Quick ST. This product has been revamped for usability, speed, compatibilty, and features. See WARP_9.TXT in Library 16, CODEHEAD SOFTWARE for a full description, availability, and ordering information. Oxxi, Inc. has acquired the Atari Product line formerly offered by Precision Software and has begun development on an upgrade to Superbase Professional. Oxxi is interested in your comments on new features for this upgrade. Please read and respond to message # 25112 in the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN), or send a message to Pat @ Oxxi at User ID number 76711,457 in Section 4 ("OXXI/Precision") of ATARIVEN. CONTEST IN APORTFOLIO """"""""""""""""""""" We are now running a NEW CONTEST for Portfolio Programmers. You can submit any program you have written, in any language, in either compiled or source form. Prizes will include free CompuServe connect time, ROM cards, and a subscription to "Take it With You." Please read message # 28538 for complete details. 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 #18 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. -- IBM and Time Warner Negotiating IBM and Time Warner Inc. are negotiating a global alliance to link the computer makers's technology with Time Warner's vast library of movies and TV shows as well as its cable TV systems, industry sources said. A venture between the world's largest computer maker and biggest media concern could accelerate what many experts see as the coming merger of home entertainment, computers and communications. -- Commodore Posts Profits for Third Quarter Commodore International Ltd. has posted earnings of $4.1 million, or 12 cents per share, on sales of $194.6 million for the third quarter ended March 31. This compares with net income of $1.4 million, or 4 cents per share, on sales of $246.3 million a year ago. Commodore says the decline in sales for the quarter was primarily due to the discontinuation of the unprofitable low-end MS-DOS range, and a reduction in C64 sales, due to economic softness in certain markets. This was partially offset by a 10% increase in unit sales of the Amiga line along with continued growth in the Professional PC line. -- IBM to Sell Computers by Mail In an effort to boost sagging sales, IBM has announced it will begin selling its personal computers by mail. IBM plans to sell the units for $1,500 or less through an 800 telephone number. The company said it would begin mail-order sales of its 80386SX-based PS/2 Models 35 and 40 within the next two or three weeks. -- PC's No longer Profitable? Press reports from Tokyo suggest some computer makers are "starting to say the personal computer business is no longer profitable" in the light of recent steep declines in PC sales. According to Tsuyoshi Miura, head of the management policy section of Laox Co., a mass-marketing shop at Akihabara, the last year-end selling season was the worst in recent years as far as PCs were concerned. The Japan Electronics Industry Development Association recently released figures showing PC shipments in 1991 dropped 8% in volume from the previous year and 3% in value. -- Apple-IBM Effort Proceeds Apple Computer Inc. could be selling a new generation of Mac's based on the latest in microchip technology by next year, according to infor- mation supplied by Joseph Graziano, Apple's chief financial officer, this week. Graziano siad the joint venture with IBM to develope a com- puter chip set was ahead of schedule. The computers should be far more powerful than both Apple's current Mac family and IBM's PC, since the chip set uses a design called RISC (re- duced instruction set computer) that is faster than conventional sys- tems. -- IBM Introduces Powerful PC IBM Corp. introduced a personal computer (PC) it says is among the most powerful available for use as a "server" connecting a network of PC's. The new machine will run at 50 mhz, three times faster than IBM's cur- rent top-end PC's in computer network uses, the company said. The PC also features an error-correction system that IBM says protects users from most memory errors. -- Microsoft Declares Stock Split Buoyed by a favorable court ruling, strong sales of a new product and continued investor confidence, Microsoft Corp. announced a 3-for-2 stock split this week. *********************************************************************** :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. Take a survey and help GEnie................................*SURVEY 2. The GEnie Faire is on its way. Read on for more info....... 3. HACK & SLASH SALE on Great Games at.........................SIERRA 4. Brand New Computer Books Just Arrived at....................PCBOOKS 5. Mustang Software (Qmodem, Wildcat, OLX) now online..........MUSTANG 6. HOMEBREW-Tasting RTC on 5/2, and How-To-Brew-Your-Own in....FOOD 7. Cure the moving blues - get a FREE Homes & Land Magazine....HOME 8. Get a jump on the NEWS with NEW Stories in the NEW.........*LIVEWIRE 9. RTC 5/3: How to Get ORGANIZED once and for all..............HOSB 10. Found an empire in space FREE this weekend in...............EMPEROR 11. PetWeek Celebration . . . . . Free RTC's all week in........PET 12. LA errupts in violence over King verdict. Find out more in.*CALIFORNIA 13. VIRTUAL REALITY computer sexpert Howard Rheingold 5/3 RTC...PF 14. Atari Explorer Online Magazine Arrives......................*LIBRARY 15. Newsletter Leads New Features For Amiga Owners at the.......STARSHIP Welcome to the Atari ST Roundtable -* Use option #7 on page 475 for your latest issue of GENIELAMP. *- This issue and all monthly ASCII issues will be FREE when using this option. Your TX2 option will still be available at the usual download fee. Let us know what you think by sending us mail using option #6 on page 475. The current issue is dated May 1,1992. ***ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE MAGAZINE PREMIERS FOR FREE*** Due to difficulties, we are unable to offer you your Atari Explorer Online magazine as a free option on our menu till Monday but you can STILL download it for free by typing M1075 and downloading file# 418 called AEO_9201.LZH from the GEnie practice libraries. Check it out and tell us how you like it by leaving a message in Category 15 Topic 20, right here in the ST bulletin board. 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 ---------------- A question on installing TOS 2.06 from Rich Citti - Cat. 14, Topic 8, Msgs 54-55 -from the ST Roundtable on Genie... What is the procedure for installing TOS 2.06 in an STe? My local dealer tried a straight replacement of the TOS chip and just got bombs. Is there a special adjustment to be made in the jump switches located next to the TOS chip? Answer from Frank Bell... In my machine there are (were) two jumper resisters, one called w102, the other call w104. Just unsolder the outside pin of both resisters and resolder it to the other side of the resister. +-------------------+ | - - - | | | | |+-----+| | old TOS 1.06 | - - - | +-------------------+ W104 (W102) before +-------------------+ | - - - | | |+-----+| | | | new, better, up-to-date TOS 2.06 | - - - | +-------------------+ W104 (W102) after If you're luckly, I wasn't, then all you have to do is switch/move a jumper. If you break the resister off, I did, then just replace it with short piece of wire (if you have a DOS PC then take the wire from there, any wire) ---------------- Looking for an inexpensive MNP modem? From Gordon M. on the Aladin-ST Roundtable... ...line noise problem is a problem, but its not everyones problem and its not a problem if you have an MNP modem. I was just looking throught a copy of computer shopper and there are many modems for around $100. Here is a suggestion, I have ordered from them before and got good results, Midwest Micro-Peripherals 1-800-423-8215 Infotel 2400XP modem with MNP-4 $75.00 Made in USA and has 7 year warrentee The above modem comes with a plastic case but for another $3 you can get one with an metal case. ---------------- From Cat. 6, Topic 11, Msgs 104-105 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... Question from Ken Olson... I am looking for a program to maintain Church Membership. I have dBMAN but would rather not do the programming required. I could use a program already written in dBMAN. I have heard that Hyperlink could be used for what I have in mind. Any ideas? Wednesday need to keep track of members and all the family relationships and church attendance and skills they have and etc stuff. The program needs to be in GEM (user Frendly) so that some clerk could use it with a min of training on a MEGA STe. Answer from Dorothy Brumleve... I think HyperLINK might be a good solution for you, but there is at least one existing application that is designed to do exactly what you have in mind. It's called Church Manager and it's from HiTech Advisors in FL. Don't have their address handy, but they are on GEnie. The program (at least the version I've seen) is _not_ menu-driven (GEM). It's a dbMan application and has that IBM look and feel. But it's fairly straight-forward. You press a letter (shown on a menu on the screen) to call up a certain segment of the database. HiTech's Church Manager is available in IBM and ST versions; if this kind of cross-compatibility could come in handy, you ought to investigate it. Otherwise, a customized database such as HyperLINK could provide would give you more flexibility to make sure you keep track of the info you want. ---------------- Hard drive discusion - Cat. 4, Topic 39, Msgs 73-76 - from the ST Round- table on Genie... From Rob Glover... I've heard that Quantums are very hard to find. DC Drives, in Computer Monthly magazine, had the LPS120S listed for $369. When I called about it, they'd raised it to $429 because they're hard to get. Nothing like price gouging. I may just get the Maxtor 7120S instead, as long as it gets at least the 1025K/sec that someone mentioned they were getting from their 200 meg unit. From RANDYB... Try MegaHaus in Houston, TX. They were about $400 but like everyone else lately, they have raised their prices. I think they're up to about $429 now. Phone # is: 800-426-0560. I also called my usual parts distributor since they also sell Quantums (I run a repair facility), and they wanted $435 (dealer cost!). I guess it's just the law of supply and demand. From D.LIVINGST11... I got a Maxtor 7120 (7120SCS I think) a couple of months ago. Wanted a Quantum 105 or 120, but they were hard to get, and they suggested the Maxtor instead. The Maxtor works just fine so far. I'm real happy with it. ICD's RATEHD.PRG says: Data Rate Av Access MAXTOR 7120SCS 952 K/s 22 ms SyQuest SQ555 497 K/s 33 ms After formatting into 5 partitions, this Maxtor has 124250 clusters available for data. This is 124.25 Megs, or 127232000 bytes. The Quantums have a 32 K cache, which makes them faster. I think the cache helps most if you are frequently reading/writing small files. That's not really important on the Atari, unlike other systems which have to read the disk all the time. ---------------- From Wayne Watson - Cat. 28, Topic 10, Msg 32 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... This is from a dealer. According to this dealer, some problems on the TT with the 1.44 drives can be fixed by taking the power supply out and on the bottom in the middle is a screw. Remove this screw and place some tape over it. Now install the power supply back in and give it a try. You should also make sure the floppy cable is as straight as it can be and as far away from the power supply as possible. Supposedly the reason this will work is that the screw in the power supply causes the power supply to ground through the drive which causes RF Noise. Take it away and it grounds as it should and not through the drive. ****** NOTE: Do this at your OWN RISK. I am not responsible for what you do. I am just passing this along. ****** I did not supply the name of the dealer for obvious resons. I found this message on the FNET. ---------------- Is there any connection between NeXT and the Falcon? - From Cat. 28, Topic 3, Msgs 152-153 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... From Ed Krimen... Did I hear something about NeXTStep on the Falcon? :^) I remember this topic was brought up before on Usenet, but then trounced on and finally refuted. The following message brings up the issue again: Article 25284 (2 more) in comp.sys.atari.st: From: Nick.Smith@f47.n282.z1.tdkt.kksys.com (Nick Smith) Subject: NeXT & Atari marriage? Message-ID: <704064906.F00002@tdkt.kksys.com> Date: 23 Apr 92 16:06:00 GMT Sender: FredGate@tdkt.kksys.com Lines: 19 Next and Atari sleeping together is not such a far-fetched idea; Just got the summer issue of _NextWorld_ magazine and Atari and other familiar names pop up. First Ditek announces DynaCadd 3.0 for NeXT at CeBIT, along with AMG debuting Avant Vector and tms Cranach showing a beta of Cranach Studio for Next... In Lt. Sullivan's gossip column: re; porting NeXTstep - 'even Atari are being courted... Did you know that Atari's 68030 is beginning to nip at the heels of high-end Macintoshes... at half their price? Did you know as well that 68040 products due this fall will list for 1/3 the price of Apple's Quadra line? Shrinkwrapped NeXTstep for HP and Atari machines would make sense for markets that are currently underserved.' Is it no coincidence that mass storage vendor PLI is the NeXT's largest 3rd party supplier? That the next generation Atari machine's are likely to be in black boxes (like PLI's offerings and NeXT workstations)? That use of a 56001 DSP is rumoured. Added all together, it doesn't seem so far fetched at all.. * Origin: FlightLine BBS Mpls,MN USRdual 612-544-5118 (1:282/47.0) From John Townsend (Atari)... I will state it again.. To my knowledge, Atari has no business re- lationships with NeXT, Inc. Also, I have no knowledge of any port of NeXTStep taking place for the Atari line of computers. Nice rumor, but I know of not one fact in it. PS. I am not attempting to cast a negative view of NeXT in any way. Just attempting to keep the rumor mill in check ;-) ---------------- From Ed Krimen - Cat. 4, Topic 34, Msg. 128 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... ...I've been through three multisync switchboxes: :^) Talon Omniswitch: stay as far away from it as possible. IB Computers MultiSwitch: Not bad, decent box. Omnimon Peripherals' Omnix3: I'm keeping this one. Doesn't need a power supply for the STE/MSTE like the Multiswitch did. Output's a bit brighter in mono than the Multiswitch. Support is here on GEnie. Long cables that the Multiswitch has aren't necessary, and the Omnix3 thankfully doesn't have them; saves space. ---------------- Question from B.AEIN - Cat. 4, Topic 39, Msgs 125-126 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... My friend took apart his Supra and there's a MiniScribe in there. The disk shaft spins, but the motor shaft locks up. He can spin it the other way 2 rotations then it locks up again. He is taking off the motor to see if a gear has slipped or something that he can repair. If it is just the motor will he be able to get a replacement motor from Miniscribe. Does ANYONE have a PHONE NUBER FOR MINISCRIBE? Answr from Tom (ICD)... MiniScribe went Bankrupt and was bought by Maxtor 1 year ago or more. I doubt you will get any warranty work done and anything else is too much money. ---------------- Some nice info from Leland Dumas - Cat. 14, Topic 3, Msg. 81 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... I was a bit surprised to see in todays paper that the Syracuse school system had bought a bunch of Atari's and software last year and was planning to buy another $460,000 worth this year! ---------------- From Chris (DRAGONWARE) - Cat. 13, Topic 4, Msg. 6 - from the ST Round- table on Genie... For Immediate release 04-27-1992 DragonWare Software Inc. is proud to announce the introduction in the U.S.of the FontKit Plus 3.5 Now there is an easy way to import Fonts into the GDOS format from the Macintosh, IBM, Amiga and other ST/TT formats. FontKit Plus 3.5 includes DragonWare's own G_MAN 3.0 program to install the fonts that are imported by FontKit. FontKit is GDOSFSM compatible and will run on all TOS based computers, including TTand ST. FontKit Plus includes a font editing program that will allow you to modify/create your own fonts for GDOS! FontKit Plus 3.5 will sell for $69.95 U.S. and comes with a two hundred and eighty page manual and 4 diskettes. ---------------- Until next week..... *********************************************************************** IMPORTANT NOTICE! ================= STReport International Online Magazine is available every week in the ST Advantage on DELPHI. STReport readers are invited to join DELPHI and become a part of the friendly community of Atari enthusiasts there. SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI ====================== Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access DELPHI services via a local phone call JOIN -- DELPHI -------------- Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002 then... When connected, press RETURN once or twice and... At Password: type STREPORT and press RETURN. DELPHI's Basic Plan offers access for only $6.00 per hour, for any baud rate. The $5.95 monthly fee includes your first hour online. If you spend more than 200 minutes online a month, you'll save money by enrolling in DELPHI's optional 20/20 Advantage Plan. You'll enjoy up to 20 hours online each month for the ridiculously low price of just $20.00! And if you go over that 20 hours, the rate goes up to only $1.20, still 1/5th the price of other services. There is no signup fee for joining the Basic Plan. There is a fee of $39 when you join the 20/20 Advantage Plan, a one-time $19 signup fee and your first month's $20 fee. These connect rates apply for access via Tymnet or SprintNet (within the continental United States) during home time (7 p.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays and all day weekends) or via direct dial around the clock. Telecom surcharges apply for daytime or international access via Tymnet or SprintNet. See Using DELPHI online for detailed information on telecom surcharges. For more information, call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005 DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass. DELPHI- It's getting better all the time! *********************************************************************** > CODEHEAD'S DELPHI CONFERENCE STR FOCUS CALLIGRAPHER ANNOUNCED! ====================================== Transcript of a formal Conference held Tuesday, April 28th, 1992, with John Eidsvoog & Charles F. Johnson collectively known as the CodeHeads! .Gordie> Okay, things look fairly stable. Let's get it started. Good evening everyone, and welcome to the formal Conference with the illustrious CodeHeads. Being a formal event, we'll use the usual signals to let the moderator (me) know when you have a question. That'd be a ? for anyone who's new tonight. I'll keep track of who's got questions and call on you in turn. Before we get into questions, do either Charles or John have an opening statement of some kind? .John @ CodeHead> Yes, I've got one. .Gordie> We're all ears! .John @ CodeHead> Good evening, folks! I'm John Eidsvoog, one of the owners of CodeHead Technologies. My partner Charles Johnson and I are here tonight to talk about our line of products, answer any questions you might have, and also announce the debut of what is destined to be the definitive word processor for the Atari line of computers! More on this in a minute... We're pleased to say that the newest entry in our catalog, Warp 9 (formerly known as Quick ST from Branch Always Software), has been very well accepted by Atari users! Warp 9, the software accelerator, is proving itself to be the most compatible program of its type _ever_ for the Atari, while maintaining (and in many cases surpassing) the performance of its predecessor, Quick ST, and far exceeding the performance of its European counterpart, NVDI. For those who don't know about Warp 9 yet, this AUTO folder utility intercepts GEM screen output and replaces the slow TOS routines with much faster, highly optimized assembly language code. The result is a vastly accelerated screen display; windows snap open, graphics appear instantly, and text literally flies onto the screen. We're especially happy tonight to announce that we'll soon be providing the first update to Warp 9 FREE OF CHARGE, as a token of our appreciation of your support. This update will be posted on the major information services, sometime within the next month. And now, I know many of you have been waiting for the unveiling of our rumored new product -- so without further ado, we're very proud to announce that CodeHead Technologies has made arrangements for the exclusive representation in the United States and Canada of: CALLIGRAPHER -- the next-generation document processor that takes you from first conception to final print! Calligrapher is the first word processor to meet CodeHead's exacting standards for user interface excellence and powerful features. Some of Calligrapher's features include an editable dictionary and spell checker, a powerful outliner (the first really useable outliner we've seen!), footnotes and endnotes, hinted outline fonts for very high quality printed output, the ability to import both bitmap graphics and GEM metafiles, built-in graphics tools for drawing lines and shapes, infinite expandability through the use of "external modules," and a whole lot more -- way too much to list here. In many ways, Calligrapher bridges the gap between a desktop publishing application and a word processor. Calligrapher Professional includes these basic features plus much more. Also available will be Calligrapher Gold which includes a grammar checker, label printer, bar code generation, automatic indexing, automatic save, mathematical equation editor, Flextext, Postscript output and more! Other options that are available are a catalog of 64 disks of very high quality hinted outline fonts, licensed from URW, a well-known type foundry and supplemental dictionaries for seven other languages. We're very excited to be able to offer Calligrapher, helping to round out our line of graphic tools which already includes Avant Vector for auto-tracing, MegaPaint Professional for bitmap and vector graphics design and the Cherry font collection. We don't want to forget to mention our full line of powerful utilities including HotWire, MaxiFile, MultiDesk Deluxe, Codekeys, LookIt and PopIt, G+Plus, CodeHead Utilities, MIDIMAX, and MIDI Spy. And last but not least we have the TOS Extension Card (TEC) which provides a means for everyone to use TOS 2.06, the very latest version of the Atari operating system, even if they have an older ST or Mega ST. The TEC has been selling very well and together with Warp 9 it offers an unbeatable combination for supercharging your Atari computer. With all of these product we could probably spend all night in conference, so we'd better get down to some questions. Thank you for coming and let's begin. Whew. .Gordie> Well, I've got to say I'm excited! And before anyone else asks, what kind of pricing are you looking at? .John @ CodeHead> Let's say that we're not quite ready to announce the pricing yet, but the basic Professional version will be well under $200. .Gordie> Okay, close enough for me. PENDZICH> Yes I purchased the ICD accelerator card, ADspeed that came with Quick ST and wondered how to get an upgrade without a disk? ga .John @ CodeHead> You can send us your AdSpeed disk and if you'd like it returned, just request that we do so. The upgrade fee is $20. ATARIPOWER7> Will Warp 9 have any effect on the ability of some programs, particularly STalker 3 and to some degree FZDS Term, to handle higher speed operation at 9600+? GA .Charles @ CHTech> Well, yes....because the main factor limiting modem communications at the higher speeds is how fast the ST can display the incoming text. So Warp 9 will definitely help the screen display keep up with the data coming from the modem. ga .MRAINEY> How much memory does Warp 9 require compared to Turbo ST, and what are the hardware requirements for CALLIGRAPHER? .Charles @ CHTech> Whoops....looks like John got bumped off. I'll answer that... I don't know exactly how much memory Turbo ST uses, but Warp 9 uses a roughly equal amount. Calligrapher will run on all Atari computers with at least 1 Meg of memory. You'll need at least 2 Meg, however, to use the SLM804/605 drivers provided. ga EIDSVOOG> I'm back, sorry. JBEAU> I have a couple quick questions: 1) Isn't "WARP 9" a Star Trekkie jargon you might get chased a bit for using? 2) Have the problems with NOTATOR been resolved. 3) How does Warp 9 maintain its maximum possible speed regardless of its position in the AUTO folder? That's All. :-) .John @ CodeHead> The only problem that exists in Notator is with the display of slur lines. It has not been fixed yet, but we're working on it. JBEAU> Hm...my business is in creating PRINTED sheet music for studio work...and slurs are of course required... .John @ CodeHead> Everything else works fine, so if it doesn't bother you to see the slurs/ties look a little funny, then you can leave Warp 9 turned on. JBEAU> I don't mind...but clients, well......you know! .John @ CodeHead> In that case, you can still leave Warp 9 installed, but have it automatically disabled while in Notator. GA .Charles @ CHTech> The printed output of slurs, though, should be unaffected. .John @ CodeHead> Oh yeah, that's right. Your printouts will not suffer. .Charles @ CHTech> At least I think so -- I have not actually tested it. JBEAU> Are you saying the problem is display only? My printouts with QST had garbage for slurs on printout as well. Is this different for Warp 9? .John @ CodeHead> Hmmm...perhaps not. .Charles @ CHTech> From your description, probably not. As I said, I haven't actually tested this. .John @ CodeHead> We will eventually get it ironed out, but at least there's a workaround. JBEAU> I'd be happy to "beta" test that one for you! ;-) .John @ CodeHead> Regarding your other questions... We did a trademark search on "Warp 9" and found only an after shave lotion ... You can put Warp 9 anywhere in the AUTO folder, but the earlier you put it, the faster your bootup will be... The accessory (Warp 9 Control Panel) will tell Warp 9 to regrab its vectors so that it will run at optimum speed. GA .Dana@STReport> Guys, first of all, congratulations on your continued success. You've both been terrific supporters for the Atari userbase! _IF_ you both get any time off soon for some rest, what's next from your little bag of tricks? GA Charles @ CHTech> Next is Calligrapher, as we mentioned in our opening statement. After that....who knows. .John @ CodeHead> Well, some day I may actually finish MIDI Spy. :^) ga .Dana@STReport> Anything that you've been wanting to do but haven't yet? Is PinHead necessary with Warp 9? .John @ CodeHead> We'd like to cure the world hunger problem, but... who knows. .Charles @ CHTech> PinHead and Warp 9 do completely different things. Warp 9 doesn't replace it. .John @ CodeHead> You'll definitely want to continue using Pinhead. .Dana@STReport> Great! GA RMORROW> Will I be able to dump PageStream 2.1 and WordUp 3.0 in favor of Calligrapher? I use PageStream for only very basic uses, and WUP is, well, buggy. Will I be able to import .WUP files? ga .Charles @ CHTech> The current version of Calligrapher doesn't explicitly import WUP files. However, this can be added through its ability to call external modules. If you do mostly simple DTP kinds of work with Pagestream, Calligrapher will probably suit your needs just fine. It's _not_ a DTP program, so if you have very complicated layouts in mind, you should use Pagestream, but for general text and light graphics stuff, it's terrific. ga RMORROW> No, nothing too detailed being done here. Thanks. ga .Gordie> This talk of external modules reminds me of MegaPaint Pro. Is that a new concept, or is it TommySoft again? .John @ CodeHead> Calligrapher comes from England. .Charles @ CHTech> Nope....Calligrapher was developed by Working Title in the UK. .Gordie> So, it must be a concept that was long overdue. SSHUSTER> You mentioned earlier when talking about Calligrapher, the use of SLM804/605 Driver, I'm rather new to Atari, and was curious about what this was. ga .Charles @ CHTech> The SLM804 and SLM605 are Atari's laser printers. ga .Gordie> Steve, they don't have any memory resident, so you need extra in your computer to handle the page set up, etc. SSHUSTER> Thanks .MRAINEY> When will Calligrapher be available, and will there be a demo version for us to play with? ga .John @ CodeHead> That's a good question...we don't know, but I assume there'll be a demo version. Another thing that we didn't mention is that there is also a Calligrapher Lite version of the program. We don't have a price on this yet, but it will be under $100. We should have Calligrapher available within a month's time. GA MRBURKLEY> Do you feel that there is a market for extra, beyond 4 meg RAM upgrades? What with Revolver, programs and all, I could use it! .John @ CodeHead> I think that Jim Allen of Fast Technology already has something like that. GA MRBURKLEY> I'll Check. Thanks. .BobT> Are you aware of Wes Newells "knockoff" of the TEC board? .John @ CodeHead> We've heard about it... As I understand, it is quite a "hack", requiring that you cut traces on your motherboard, route wires all over the place, bend pins on your chips, and all kinds of other unruly things. There may be those who are willing to do this to their machines, but this is a far cry from the clean design of the TEC. .Dana@STReport> With the arrival of European programs by CodeHead Tech, are you "essentially" distributors...or are you able to "de-bug", re-work these programs to enhance existing software? .Charles @ CHTech> Absolutely not, Dana! I just spent three months working on Warp 9, and I'm going to spend more time on it in the near future. As far as input into the European programs, we're careful to choose only those programs that are already mature and problem-free. No, really. .Dana@STReport> Can you "add/change" them at all? .Charles @ CHTech> With MegaPaint and Calligrapher, we're able to contribute to the programs (and we already have) by writing our own external modules. If you're asking "do we have access to the source code," no, we don't. .John @ CodeHead> We've already done SEVEN modules for MegaPaint, giving it a LOT more power than it had. We plan to do the same for Calligrapher. .Dana@STReport> So you can produce add-ons, but can't alter the programs in any way. .John @ CodeHead> If our customers ask for features, we don't have to tell them that we're at the mercy of the authors...we can do something about it. .Dana@STReport> That's what I was getting at, John - thanks. .John @ CodeHead> .Gordie> Speaking of modules, are there any in the works for MegaPaint? (Since it's a little early to ask about Calligrapher?) .Charles @ CHTech> We do have some stuff on the drawing board, but nothing imminent at this moment. ga .D.Nield> Charles, does Calligrapher provide drivers for the Deskjet 500? Support endnotes? Indexes? Table of Contents? Wordperfect files? Thanks! .John @ CodeHead> There's a DESKJET5.SYS printer driver. I assume that's for the 500, but can't be sure. .Charles @ CHTech> Yes, to all of those, except the Word Perfect driver. We expect to be able to come up with a WP driver rather quickly, though. .John @ CodeHead> We have a lot to learn about Calligrapher and its options...but, if there are requests for features, we'll do our best to make them available. .D.Nield> Great Thanks .Mike> OK...back to Warp-9....(sorry for the "reversion" in topics...but)) I have Quick-ST 2.0 and a 1040ST with 1 meg ant TOS 1.0...is the speed worth the increase in RAM usage??? .Charles @ CHTech> Yes. :) ga .Mike> How much faster IS it?? I havent seen any "hard" numbers. ga .John @ CodeHead> "Hard" numbers don't really mean much...what means a lot is how fast you "perceive" the accelleration when you start using it. Everyone that's gotten the update is raving about it. Maybe that's enough for you, maybe not . .Mike> OK..last thing...I have Quick-ST 2.0, Is/are there any "concessions" if I upgrade? GA .John @ CodeHead> Yes, you save $24.95 off the price and only pay $20 .Charles @ CHTech> Quick ST 3 was faster than Quick ST 2. And Warp 9 is faster still. .Mike> I assume I gotta send in my original disk of Quick-ST? .John @ CodeHead> That would be a good idea. .Charles @ CHTech> That's right....send in the disk and a check for $20.00 to get the Warp 9 upgrade. ga More on that faster subject too: the free update we'll be releasing soon will be even faster....in fact, scrolling in many GEM and non- GEM programs will be almost 3 times faster! .Gordie> As a Warp 9 user, I have to say that things are noticably faster than the older Quick ST's and Turbo ST. .Mike> I hope ya'll accept money orders, I don't use checks. ;-) ATARIPOWER7> Will the CodeHeads perhaps do a Term program right? I'm a bit peeved, spent over $500 on a spiffy modem, and the software all fall far short... Will Calligrapher work well with the new font scaling used in the newer Epson Printers, I think it's called ESC-P.... .Gordie> Scrolling is the least enhanced currently, so that will make it much improved! .John @ CodeHead> Maybe we should just give everyone a free copy of everything we have . .Gordie> Sure, and we'll send you blank signed checks and Visa charge slips... .Charles @ CHTech> Sounds like a fair trade to me, Gordie! :-) .John @ CodeHead> We actually got a blank check from a guy yesterday. He said he'd trust us to fill in the right amount . PENDZICH> Have Codekeys, would love one long macro instead of the several short ones... could be an easy rewrite any chance? Plus... How about a group price for all your software? Say $300-400... .Charles @ CHTech> You can already chain macros together to make one long one if you want, in CodeKeys. About a group price, we have talked about this, and we may do it....but we haven't settled on anything yet. PENDZICH> Had most problems in my old copy of Fleet street you guys have that to test. Version 3.0 For the keys the problem is you have to break and start a new macro all the time. ga .Charles @ CHTech> Right...you do have to start a new macro and it takes some planning. When I get time to return to CodeKeys, I'll think about this. About AP7's telecom question --- we don't have a telecom program in the works right now....but who knows? ga PENDZICH> Oh one last thing know I will get blasted but could use you guys on the IBM, they don't know how to write software there. .Bruce from MAST> So are you bringing a truck load of product to the Milwaukee show? .Charles @ CHTech> We'll have an ample supply. :) How many people do you expect...? MRBURKLEY> Is there a limit on how fast Warp 9 can be (of course there is!). How close are you now? .Charles @ CHTech> We're _very_ close to the limit right now. The new update will be right about at the edge, and it may not be possible to squeeze any more cycles out of the machine after that. ga MRBURKLEY> Thanks .John @ CodeHead> Our efforts have been more geared toward compatibility. .Charles @ CHTech> Right.....we're as fast as you can go, while still retaining maximum compatibility. An important distinction. It would be possible to make some operations faster, but it would entail breaking rules or taking shortcuts. We prefer to be solid and dependable, AND as fast as possible. .MRAINEY> Any similar incentive to cash in my copy of Turbo ST in exchange for Warp 9? .Charles @ CHTech> Yes, you can send in your Turbo ST disk and get the same upgrade deal -- $20.00. ga .John @ CodeHead> The regrabbing of the vectors has gone a long way toward getting every last ounce or speed out of the system. .MRAINEY> I'll do it ATARIPOWER7> What about the newer Epson printer's ability for font scaling? .John @ CodeHead> I don't know. ATARIPOWER7> HPGL5? IOW, does it support the high end HP laser driver? .John @ CodeHead> Yes, there's a printer driver called HPL150 and one called HPL300 ATARIPOWER7> The one with variable size dots. Hmmm, shame. PageStream said they couldn't make a driver for the HPIII taking advantage of HPGL5 .John @ CodeHead> It's really a bit early for us to know every tiny detail about the way Calligrpaher will operate with every printer available. ATARIPOWER7> As per making a term program, CAN RTS/CTS be fixed, at any cost? .John @ CodeHead> Get TOS 2.06 ATARIPOWER7> I've heard it don't fix it, and since I will be getting a Mega STe 4, I understand the 1.44 driver dont work. .John @ CodeHead> I think you heard wrong. ATARIPOWER7> Turbo-ST dont work. Not in TOS 1.2, on my computer. STR had a nice explanation of the problem. .John @ CodeHead> Perhaps you should reconfigure your modem. There are a lot of factors involved in getting optimum performance at high speed. .Gordie> I think there is a hardware problem with the RTS/CTS part. And I don't think any software will fix it properly. .John @ CodeHead> It takes more than just one piece of magic. Charles and I are sending stuff back and forth daily at high speeds and have no problems whatsoever. .MRAINEY> I use Hotwire, Maxifile, Pinhead, and LGS. What will TOS 2.06 do for me? .John @ CodeHead> Mrainey, TOS 2.06 offers about 10-15% speedup over TOS 1.04 in the Gem dialog test. .Gordie> Anyone else have question about existing CodeHead products, or Calligrapher? WAYNEDUNHAM> I just got here.... Did the CH's leak anything about the new WP? .John @ CodeHead> Nope. .Charles @ CHTech> What new word processor? .John @ CodeHead> Yes, Wayne, it's Calligrapher. .Charles @ CHTech> Oh, THAT one. .John @ CodeHead> .John @ CodeHead> Ten demerits, Wayne. .Gordie> I won't have them repeat it, but it will be in the transcript. .John @ CodeHead> 50 pushups...now! NORMW> I'll take two! WAYNEDUNHAM> Hey, I said I just got here. :-) Are those SUGAR Free push ups :-) .John @ CodeHead> That'll teach you to be late...now get down and give me 50. WAYNEDUNHAM> 50 pushups? I hope you guys have some time on your hands. :) .Charles @ CHTech> Time? Why, we have nothing but free time these days. ...NOT! .Gordie> Any chance I could get someone to add the button fix to MaxiFile? I don't always use MultiDesk Deluxe. .John @ CodeHead> That seems to be a common request. .Gordie> I suppose I could just run BUTTNFIX, though. .John @ CodeHead> We don't feel it's fair to duplicate code in memory for the vast number of people who do use MultiDesk Deluxe. .Gordie> That makes sense, John. I'll add BUTTNFIX back into my AUTO folder. .D.Nield> John or Charles, how did you come into contact with the authors of Calligrapher?... .John @ CodeHead> We've been talking with Working Title about Calligrapher for almost a year now. Plans got pushed back as we took on other products from Germany, etc. .Charles @ CHTech> They originally contacted us, to license G+PLUS. G+PLUS has.... been included with Calligrapher for about 2 years now. .D.Nield> Did you aproach them concerning the possibility of an import? or did they seek you out in hopes you would be interested... because of your well deserved reputation? .John @ CodeHead> We asked them to send us a copy of Calligrapher out of curiosity about why they wanted to use G+Plus. Charles then suggested we ask them about importing it. They didn't want a standard export deal, but rather wanted to establish a US company specifically for Calligrapher. So we have formed a division of CodeHead called Working Title US. .Charles @ CHTech> Wayne, I haven't been this excited about a word processor in a LONG time. Calligrapher is an EXCELLENT piece of work. .MRAINEY> What are your hours and telephone numbers for tech support? .John @ CodeHead> Monday-Friday 9AM to 1PM (213) 386-5735 NORMW> Those are Pacific times. .Charles @ CHTech> And the mailing address (for the sake of completeness) is: CodeHead Technologies PO Box 74090 Los Angeles, CA 90004 WAYNEDUNHAM> I'm not familiar with Calligrapher, but it must be tops for CHTech to add it to their list of products. .MRAINEY> Does Microsoft Word (15 meg on your hard drive) do a whole lot that Calligrapher doesn't? .Charles @ CHTech> I haven't used Word, so I can't really answer that. NORMW> I have Word Charles. Come over! WAYNEDUNHAM> Is/Will there be a demo version available? I'm curious as to what would light the CHtechie's fires so much! .John @ CodeHead> We will be asking them about a demo...dunno. .BobT> Speaking of disk space, how much does it require? .John @ CodeHead> It depends on how many modules you use. The dictionary and thesaurus take up a lot of disk space. The program itself is 306K. .Charles @ CHTech> It also depends on how many fonts you want to install. .John @ CodeHead> A fairly full setup takes about 4 meg. .D.Nield> I would think they would be flattered to be associated with the best looking logo on any platform!!! .Charles @ CHTech> You mean our logo, David? Thanks! That's the work of Gregg Rodgers who wrote the Genus font editor. .Vic> Yeap....is that 306k on disk space...or operation And a few more operation details on the wp program...if you would please... .John @ CodeHead> 306K of disk space. I'm not sure how much memory it uses. .Ron I came in late, and missed a full description, but briefly, what does Caligrapher NOT do? (like Mega Paint doesn't do color, etc.) What feature is NOT included that people may ask for but you will have to tell them "It isn't in there and probably won't be" ga .Charles @ CHTech> That's an odd question -- I don't really have an answer. So far, Calligrapher has been more than capable of everything I've asked it to do. .John @ CodeHead> Well, it won't allow editing of individual vector points. It doesn't do 3-D rotation . .Charles @ CHTech> That's true, John. Didn't think of that. It also doesn't know a good recipe for buttermilk pancakes. ga .John @ CodeHead> It's really not a full desktop publishing program, but rather a high-end word processor. Or should I say, document processor. It uses outline fonts. .Ron So it's a step up from Regent Word II (which I currently use) but won't replace PageStream (which I also use). Thanks. .John @ CodeHead> And graphics can be integrated...or drawn within. (hmmm...maybe it does allow vector point editing). .Gordie> What kind of output formats will it do? Like full portrait, full landscape, paginated 5.5x8.5? That kind of thing? .Charles @ CHTech> All of that, Gordie. WAYNEDUNHAM> Projected price range? For us latecomers. .John @ CodeHead> The basic "Professional" version will be well under $200, the "Gold" version will be over $200, and the "Lite" version will be under $100. Prices are not yet firmly established. .Charles @ CHTech> It's light years beyond Regent Word! .Norm> Since Wayne ask half of what I wanted, :-) When will it be availble and what are the differences to the three versions. .Charles @ CHTech> It should be available within a month. John just mentioned our tentative pricing. ga .John @ CodeHead> The Gold version will have Postscript, barcode generation, Flexible text effects, grammar checking, automatic save, equation editor, label printer, dictionary, thesaurus... .Norm> Grammar checking, that I NEED! .John @ CodeHead> Actually, some of that is in the Professional version, too. BBKBRYAN> This has probably been asked and answered, but what kind of import/ export modules exist. So that I can edit documents created on other platforms? GA .MRAINEY> Is the documentation up to your usual high standards? Is it written for the "Brits"? .John @ CodeHead> I haven't really fully read the docs . It's a British manual for sure. :^) .Charles @ CHTech> It is British....but believe me, that's a lot better than translated German! The manual is quite good, actually. (I _have_ read parts of it. Ahem.) :) ga .MRAINEY> Portuguese .D.Nield> How about the spell checker? You know the British can't spell.... .John @ CodeHead> There are dictionaries available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, and UK English, and Dutch. NORMW> And Charles is Hawaiian spelling champ! .John @ CodeHead> As for import/export modules...what does not exist can be added later as demand dictates. WAYNEDUNHAM> Hate to switch streams........ .John @ CodeHead> ......in the middle of the horse. WAYNEDUNHAM> What date are you up to with the Warp 9 Updates. ga .John @ CodeHead> We are less than a week behind right now. We sent out about a hundred today, and should completely catch up tomorrow. GA WAYNEDUNHAM> Ok, the postman gets mad when I search his vehicle every day. :) .D.Nield> You too? .John @ CodeHead> We stuck yours in a pie and lobbed it. WAYNEDUNHAM> Quite a lob from CA to CT! Sign em up for the Olympic Pie Toss! .John @ CodeHead> It's easy at Warp 9! MRBURKLEY> I was just looking throught the April issue of ST Informer Is the review of Calligrapher Professional in there of your new product? .John @ CodeHead> Yes... MRBURKLEY> Will it still be distributed through A & D Software? .John @ CodeHead> At the time that was written, Rod Mcdonald had taken the initiative to order some Calligraphers directly from the UK... He didn't realize we were negotiating directly with Working Title. We've talked to him since, and the next issue should at least have a small statement about the fact that it will be available through us. .MRAINEY> Just to give me some perspective on the ST market, how many copies must you sell to consider the project a success? .John @ CodeHead> That's a good one...I don't know if there IS such a thing as a "success"... These days, just about any amount of sales can be considered a success, although things have definitely been looking up lately. GA .Gordie> It's been a couple of hours now. Dave Shorr, you'll have the last question. .John @ CodeHead> Time's fun when you're having flies. (says Kermit) .Dave> PostScript output: does this mean I can print to a file and print it out on a LaserWriter/LaserJet instead of my nine-pin Atari grafx printer? .John @ CodeHead> Yes, or you can take to a lino service bureau. .Dave> Thanks for fixing that CAD-3D problem with Warp 9 so quickly!!! GA. .Charles @ CHTech> Dave: yes, exactly. Or you can use Ultrascript. There are equivalent fonts for most popular Postscript fonts available for Calligrapher. .Dave> Do I have to worry about special font files? Only the Gold version has this? .John @ CodeHead> Calligrapher can use standard GDOS fonts, or you can outline fonts by using any of the 64 disks full of fonts available separately. (use outline fonts) .Charles @ CHTech> The Calligrapher font library is of _very_ high quality, by the way. Many fonts are licensed from the famous URW type foundry. .D.Nield> What will the font disks cost? approximately? .John @ CodeHead> We don't have a price on the font disks yet. .Gordie> Well, I want to thank the CodeHeads for taking the time out of their busy lives to talk with us this evening. We appreciate it, and everything else you've done for the Atari market. Any closing comments? .John @ CodeHead> Thank you all for coming and thank you for supporting (and BUYing) CodeHead Software and Hardware. NORMW> Buy?? You want me to buy?? .MRAINEY> The check's in the mail MRBURKLEY> THANK YOU! .Vic> merci...!!!! .Norm> Thanks for a entertaining evening. .Terry> Thanks, gentlemen, keep up the good work. .D.Nield> Thank you for being here and for being there.... .Charles @ CHTech> You're welcome, folks. It's been a pleasure. .Gordie> This CO is formally closed! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Once again, I'd like to thank JBEAU for his work in getting this transcript into some kind of intelligible shape. This one turned out to be rather readable. Thanks! --Gordie ************************************************************************* This conference transcript is the exclusive property of the ST Advantage on DELPHI. Permission to reprint is granted only if this notice is included and the transcript is left unchanged. ************************************************************************* > CALLIGRAPHER STR InfoFile CODEHEAD ANNOUNCES CALLIGRAPHER! ========================= For immediate release CodeHeadQuarters Friday, May 1, 1992 ---------------------- CodeHead Technologies is proud to announce our exclusive representation in the United States and Canada of: CALLIGRAPHER -- the next-generation document processor that takes you from first conception to final print! Calligrapher is the first word processor to meet CodeHead's exacting standards for user interface excellence and powerful features. In many ways, Calligrapher bridges the gap between a desktop publishing application and a word processor. Some of Calligrapher's features include: o Runs on all versions of TOS in all resolutions except Low. o Standard GEM interface includes a complete desktop, with moveable icons for your documents o Powerful structured online help (one of the nicest help functions you've ever seen!) o Pop-up menus for maximum convenience o Configurable, reassignable keyboard commands o Editable dictionary and spell checker o Abbreviations (for example, type "CH" and Calligrapher can automatically expand it to "CodeHead") o Tables and formulae o Mail merge with personalizing and conditional selectivity o Automatic pagination with selectable style and linked chapters o Insertable automatically updated date function o A powerful outliner (the first really useable outliner we've seen!) o Paragraph style tagging o Embedded codes can also be affected by search and replace operations o Headers, footers, and footnotes o Selectable graphic or text-only modes when printing o Hinted outline fonts for very high quality printed output o Import both bitmap graphics and GEM metafiles o Built-in graphics tools for drawing lines and shapes o Import .DIF files o Import 1st Word Plus documents o Infinite expandability through the use of "external modules" In addition to these features, Calligrapher contains all of the standard features expected of a powerful word processor, like search and replace, global and conditional case conversion, word count, cut, copy, paste, and cursor control. Powerful ruler features include indent, outdent, multiple columns, left align, right align, center align, left tab, right tab, center tab, decimal tab, leader tabs, line spacing, vertical lines, and justification. Preview options give you a graphic view of your document as it will look on the printed page, with single or multiple pages selected from different parts of the document for comparison. Calligrapher supports a number of printers, including 9-pin, 24- pin, NEC P6, HP Laserjet+, Laserjet II, Epson GQ3500, and Atari SLM804/605. A print-to-disk feature allows you to easily print documents in batch mode. Calligrapher Gold ------------------- Also available will be Calligrapher Gold, which includes all of the features listed above plus: o Grammar checker o Powerful thesaurus with word trail and distinction between verbs, nouns, and antonyms o Automatic indexing with cross referencing o Automatic save o Interactive formula editor o Flextext text effects for bending text around paths o PostScript output to disk, or directly to a PostScript device! o Label printer o Bar code creation Calligrapher Extras --------------------- We will be offering a catalog (64 disks) of professional quality hinted outline fonts licensed from URW, an internationally renowned type foundry. We also have supplemental Calligrapher dictionaries for seven other languages. We're very excited to be able to offer Calligrapher, helping to round out our line of graphic tools: Avant Vector for auto-tracing and vector graphics editing, MegaPaint Professional for bitmap and vector graphics design, and the Cherry font collection. Pricing and Availability -------------------------- Retail prices for Calligrapher will be: Calligrapher Professional $175 Calligrapher Gold $250 Gold Extension $100 Calligrapher will be available on May 15th. Contact your local dealer or order directly from CodeHead Technologies at the address below. Mastercard, Visa, and American Express credit cards are accepted. For shipping, add $3 US, $4 Canada, and $6 overseas. CodeHead Technologies P.O. Box 74090 Los Angeles, CA 90004 Phone: (213) 386-5735 (Mon-Fri 9A-1P Pacific Time) FAX: (213) 386-5789 BBS: (213) 461-2095 ______________________________________________________________ > ADSCSI ROM UG STR InfoFile AdSCSI ROM Upgrade for Amiga Computers ========================== ADSCSI ROM UPGRADE ================== For Immediate Release ICD, Incorporated, designer and manufacturer of innovative enhancement products for Amiga computers, is pleased to announce the release of a totally new ROM release of its AdSCSI hard disk driver for its Amiga 2000 SCSI hard disk interfaces. AdSCSI 3.0 offers these features: o The AdSCSI driver has been completely rewritten. The intelligent buffering that has made the AdSCSI 2000 and AdSCSI 2080 the best performing host adapters on the market has been notably improved. o Faster transfer rates will be seen with all buffer sizes on all CPUs. Enhanced intelligent buffering yields better results than before and better over all performance than any other host adapter on the market. o Transfers to and from odd addressed buffers have been dramatically increased. You'll see transfers up to 30 times as fast as the competition from odd-aligned buffers. o Free CPU time during disk access has been increased. You'll have more CPU power for your multi-tasking applications. o The AdSCSI driver takes advantage of enhanced processors. If you have a 68030 or 68040 processor with 32 bit RAM, you'll see up to three times the transfer speeds of a stock 68000-based computer and even more free CPU time. o Installing the new driver is simple: just replace the ROM chip on AdSCSI 2000 or AdSCSI 2080 boards with a new one. No special tools are needed. Current owners of AdSCSI 2000 and AdSCSI 2080 host adapters in the United States can receive an upgrade ROM for the new driver by sending $25 to AdSCSI ROM Upgrade ICD, Incorporated 1220 Rock Street Rockford, IL 61101-1437 It is not necessary to send in old ROM chips for the upgrade. Installation instructions are included. For further information, contact: ICD Customer Service at (815) 968-2228. _________________________________________________________________ > BLUE RIDGE ATARIFEST STR SHOW NEWS "The Summertime Atari Event!" ================================== 1992 Blue Ridge ATARIFEST """"""""""""""""""""""""" Where: Westgate Shopping Center - Asheville, N.C. Take any major highway into Asheville (US 19-23, US 26 or I-40) to the I-240 loop, then take the "Westgate/Hilton Inn Drive exit" into the Westgate Shopping Center parking lot. When: 18, July 1992 Time: 10:am to 6:pm Points of contact: Van Estes, BRACE Pres. Clifford E. Allen, V.Pres. 704-685-8358 GEnie: C.Allen17 INTERNET: callen@UNCA.EDU 704-258-3758 Sheldon Winick GEnie: S.WINICK Computer STudio 704-251-0201 Come for the day or come for the weekend, but do come and enjoy yourself. Great Smokies Hilton Resort Hilton Inn Drive (704)254-3211 Toll-free reservation phone number 1-800-733-3211 Radisson One Thomas Wolf Plaza (704)252-8211 Rate: $62.00 per room (1-4 people) ====== Additional Hotel / Motel Information =========== Days Inn I-26 and Airport Road (704)684-2281 I-40 Exit 55 (704)298-5140 Econo Lodge US 70 East, I-40 Exit 55 (704)298-5519 Holiday Inn 275 Smoky Park Hwy (704)667-4501 Toll-free reservation phone number1-800-HOLIDAY Red Roof Inn I-40 and US 19-23 Exit 44 (704)667-9803 Toll-free reservation phone number1-800-843-7663 Buget Motel I-40 Exit 44 (Enka-Chandler) West Asheville Exit (704)665-2100 Best Western Asheville Central 22 Woodfin St (704)253-1851 ========= Local Bed & Breakfast lodging Information ========= Aberdeen Inn 64 Linden Ave (704)254-9336 Albemarle Inn 86 Edgemont Road (704)255-0027 Applewood Manor 62 Cumberland Circle (704)254-2244 The Bridle Path Inn Lockout Road (704)252-0035 Cairn Brae B & B 217 Patton Mountain Rd (704)252-9219 Carolina B & B 177 Cumberland Ave (704)254-3608 Cedar Crest Victorian Inn 674 Biltmore Ave (704)252-1289 Corner Oak Manor 53 St. Dunstan (704)253-3525 Cornerstone Inn 230 Pearson Dr (704)253-5644 Flint Street Inn 100 & 116 Flint Street (704)253-6723 The Lion and The Rose 276 Montford Ave (704)255-7673 The Ray House B & B 83 Hillside St (704)252-0106 Reed House 119 Dodge St (704)274-1604 The Wright Inn 235 Pearson Drive (704)251-0789] (1-800-552-5724) A more complete listing of Bed & Breakfasts can be obtained through the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Reservations should be made immediately, as July is the height of our tourist season. =========== CAMP GROUNDS ================ (reservations are a must during this time of season): Mount Pisgah: About 20 miles southwest of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile post 408.6 (National Park Service). 690 acres. Elevation 5000'. One of the nicest campgrounds in Western North Carolina. 67 tent sites, 70 RV sites. For reservations: P.O.Box 749, Watnesville, N.C. 28786; phone (704) 235-9109. No showers. Groceries and resturant. Nature program. 14 day stay limit. Lake Powhatan: 4 miles south of Asheville on State road 191, 3.5 miles west on FR 806. 30 acres. 98 tent/rv sites. Reservation available thru Mistix 1-800-283-CAMP. Disposal station. No showers. Swimming; lifeguard; fishing; nature trails; bicycles. 14-day stay limit. While in the area, you might want to consider a little sightseeing, and include a visit to the Biltmore House here in Asheville (the largest single family residence ever built in the U.S.--its a "castle"). A visit to the Biltmore can be a full-day's activity as you will want to view the house, visit the winery, and walk some of the grounds and gardens. Hours: The House 9 am to 6pm The Gardens 9am to 7pm Conservatory 9am to 5:30pm The Winery Monday-Saturday 11am to 7pm Sunday 1pm to 7pm Other areas of interest include; the Thomas Wolf home (adjacent to the Raddison), the Blue Ridge Parkway and Folk Art Center. A drive up the Blue ridge Parkway to enjoy the higher elevations and incredible views of our mountains. Perhaps a hike up to Mount Pisgah and look back down to Asheville(you can see Mt. Pisgah from most anywhere in Asheville). A short drive from Mt. Pisgah will take you to Sliding Rock (for those of you travelling with kids who are still kids at heart), the Cradle of Forestry (first forest school in the country), waterfalls, trout hatchery, etc. For the adventurous, white water rafting on the Natahala River near Bryson City (approx one and a half hours from here). There's obviously loads more to see and do around Asheville (in addition to the Blue Ridge AtariFest and a visit to Computer STudio :-). If any of y'all would like maps and additional tourist info of the area I might suggest contacting the Chamber of Commerce: Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce 151 Haywood Street P.O. Box 1010 Asheville, NC 28802 704-258-6111 FAX: (704)251-0926 ___________________________________________________________________ > TOS 306 STR FOCUS "... the latest and greatest..." ================= TOS 3.06 & AJAX =============== by Clemens Chin I'm the type of person who always wants the latest and greatest when it comes to hardware. When I heard that Atari had upgraded the TT030's TOS, floppy controller and floppy drives, I wanted it! However, no one seemed to have it. I was promised it would appear "next week" for several weeks by one dealer and got fed up. This was when I decided to give Best Electronics another try (they didn't have it yet on my first attempt). They had it! I had it shipped blue label and received it the following Tuesday (since I placed my order on a Friday night). The UPS delivery man was looking at me quite bizarrely due to the permanently affixed smile on my face. I tore apart the box that it came in to get at TOS 3.06, AJAX and high density drive. Then I proceeded with taking apart my computer. Having done these sorts of upgrades many times and examined the TT's mother board before, I knew exactly what had to be done: remove the old TOS, drive controller and drive and stick in the new ones. One extra step is to change one of the DIP switch positions. Everything was finished in about 20 minutes and naturally, the first thing I did from there was boot up the system to make sure everything was working right. The system booted up and I was greeted by the new TOS with Atari's Fuji in all its glory and a new memory test. When the desktop came up I immediately tried to format a disk in high density. Everything was working beautifully, now I wanted to try some software with the new AJAX controller and HD drive. Magic Shadow came to mind. I .MSA'ed a disk then tried to un.MSA it and the system returned an error to me! I tried again and again and it yielded the same result everytime. After further testing, I realized that while the drive read and wrote in 360K, 720K and HD, it would only format in HD. I thought perhaps I had done something wrong in the installation. Back tracking proved I didn't. I called Best Electronics they told me that my problem may be a product of RF noise. I did a number of things to eliminate as much possible noise as I could, still didn't work. Then I thought that maybe it was due to the drive controller board that is part of my tower case. I disconnected the controller and connected it directly to the TT mother board, I found the problem! I needed to connect my drives to this board because it allows the connection of two floppies to my tower case. So, I decided to give System Solutions (the people I bought the tower case from) a call. This was the first time they'd heard about the problem. Great. We stayed on the phone trying to talk out the problem and he pointed out that the board didn't make all the connections of the ribbon cable that connects the drive. We agreed that it may be a good idea that I try to connect the ones that aren't there to see if that would alleviate the problem. He suggested Pin 2. Five minutes after hanging up with him I had the system working perfect harmony. It took me almost a week and a half to figure out the problem and about 5 minutes and about 2.5" of wire wrap to fix it... Well, at least everything is working now and I'm a happy camper. TOS 3.06 is nice, AJAX and the HD drive are now working great. Some things to remember if you are planning to upgrade: 1. If only certain programs don't recognize your 1.44 floppy, try running a program set the correct seek rate, some systems seem to have problems detecting it correctly. SETSEEK.PRG from Codehead does this well. Set it at 3 for standard 360K or 720K disks and 6 for 1.44 megs. 2. In some cases, it is required that you flip the ribbon cable that connects the drive. Otherwise, try to keep the ribbon cable as flat and neat as possible. 3. On Mega STes and TTs, remember to flick switch 7 on the DIP switches. Leave the others alone. This will let you format in high density from the desktop. 4. From what Best Electronics told me, some users are experiencing problems due to RF noise. Try your best to insulate the drives and its ribbon cable from the power supply and the power cables. (If you have an internal hard drive, don't forget its power cables.) * One possible way to reduce noise, is by removing the screw in the middle of the underside of the power supply (Mega STes and TTs only) and covering it up hole with electrical tape. This screw supposedly causes the power supply ground to goto the floppy, by removing it, you remove noise. 5. If you've got a Lighthouse tower case, the multi-board needs to have Pin 2 connected in where the drive ribbon cable is connected. A bit of wire wrap works like a dream. __________________________________________________________________ > SPRINGTIME! STR FOCUS "flowers" are sprouting their blossoms ===================== SPRING IS IN THE AIR ==================== by Dana P. Jacobson I don't know what the weather is like in your part of the country, but here in the northeast it certainly doesn't "feel" like a typical New England Spring. Still, the temperature is slowing climbing to "tolerable" levels; and the sun even shines brightly on occasion! Speaking of Spring, it certainly appears that a lot of new "flowers" are beginning to sprout their blossoms with regard to products for Atari machines. It's certainly starting to look like a banner year. Rumors of Atari's new machines are all over the place; and I certainly hope that these aren't of that vicious "weed" variety that everyone wants to rid their yards of them. We've heard of the new "030" machines with various cross-breeding. Will they be in 1040-style cases, or the "wedding-cake" variety? Will they have detachable keyboards, or one-piece units? Will they have networking capabilities, UNIX, etc. and become a new breed of Atari products? It's hard to say, as Atari has taken a "can't say" profile within their "breeding greenhouse". So, we're left to our imagination as to what these new machines might look like, but that's okay. We all prefer to look at a flower in full bloom anyway... The new Supra 9600 modems are shipping and all I've seen is praise for them, fax capabilities and all. Flash II is shipping and it seems to be receiving "middle of the road" feedback so far. By that I mean not great, not bad. Although I haven't seen it yet, word has it that it's basically the old program, with a few enhancements. I hope that there's more discussion on it soon (and perhaps a demo) so "non-Flash user diehards" can learn more about the program. I hope to see the new Flash receive the same kind of accolades as its predecessor. The "flowers" that seemed to discover an early Spring and have bloomed already are from CodeHead Technologies. That California sunshine must be a major factor!! Anyway, CodeHead's TOS Extension board seems to be an incredible success. Warp 9, the new breed of QuickST, is receiving blue-ribbon treatment everywhere you turn. Charles Johnson really did a great job going through the old program and improved it. This is all second-hand knowledge, as I've just recently sent in for my own upgrade. Can't wait to put it on my own system!! If you're a Delphi user and happened to log on to the weekly scheduled conference this past week, you know that both John Eidsvoog and Charles Johnson were the guests. Not only did they talk about the aforementioned Warp 9, but they also announced a newly-acquired program from Europe which will enter CodeHead's growing family of great products. They've been teasing us about this new program for months, and we've finally heard some specific info. The product, an impressive word processor program, is called "Calligrapher". If you were present during that Delphi conference you were able to learn first-hand some of the capabilities. If not, you'll see the transcript of that conference in this issue. Check it out because this sounds like an incredibly impressive and powerful word processor. It sounds like Calligrapher is going to make Word Perfect look like an overgrown capture buffer/text editor!! What's even better, CodeHead has stated that there will be four versions of the program, depending on how powerful a program you require. That, and additional modules make Calligrapher a sure-fire success. Read the transcript, and see what I mean. While on the subject of CodeHead, these two guys should receive all of the awards and praise possible. Never have I seen the dedication to perfection and support that both Charles and John provide. Sure, we've all seen this kind of support on a short-time basis, or in spurts; but they always seem to go out of their way to help out in any way possible. Others should take lessons from these two guys!! We'll learn a lot more about the CodeHeads in an upcoming issue, so stay tuned! As you may or may not have learned yet, Z-Net is no longer being offered. In its place, and making its debut this weekend, will be Atari Explorer Online Magazine. All of us at STReport wish the folks at AEO the best of luck in their endeavors and looking forward to the premier issue. Break a finger, guys!! So, Spring is here and I apologize for all of the metaphors. I'll just blame it on Spring fever and hope I can get away with it! It's always a great time of year; and we all seem to look forward to it arriving. With all of the portents for Spring in the air in our Atari environment, it looks like we're going to have a banner year! Until next time... _____________________________________________________________ > STAccounts STR InfoFile A DOUBLE-ENTRY INTEGRATED ACCOUNTING PACKAGE. ======================= STAccounts ========== STAccounts is a double-entry integrated Accounting Package STAccounts handles: Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Inventory Control, and General Ledger, all totally integrated allowing full and immediate communication within the program. Batch invoicing and Order Entry for both Sales and Purchases are handled by the system and all printed output from the computer can be altered, amended, or entirely reconfigured by the user to suit their specific needs utilizing the powerful built-in Report Generator. STAccounts was designed for the first time user of a business computer system. It is written totally within the "GEM" Operating Environment fully utilizing the graphics and mouse capabilities providing on-line Help in every transaction. STAccounts is fast, powerful, fully integrated and easy to use. "STAccounts is a friendly, simple to use, no nonsense integrated Accounting package and with an Inventory Control it represents Good value for the money." STUSER Partial List of Features Accounts Receivable - Integrated with A/P, G/L and I/C. * Number of Customers depends entirely on available disk space * Customer file contains names with bill to and ship to addresses * Invoicing/Credits * 10 Tax rates * Immediate account access * Backorders * Reports include: Sales Turnover, Aged Receivables, Customer Statments, Invoices and Packing Slips. Accounts Payable - Integrated with A/R, G/L and I/C. * Number of accounts depends on available disk space * Supplier file contains name with bill to and ship to addresses * Check writing * Remittance advices/statements * Immediate account access * Reports include: Purchase Turnover, Aged Payables and Supplier Mailing List. Inventory Control - Integrated with A/R, A/P and G/L. * Number of items depends on available disk space * 10 product groups * Turnover by quantity and value * Items stored alphabetically * Directly linked to both A/P and A/R General Ledger - Integrated with A/P, A/R and I/C. * up top 256 G/L accounts * Immediate account access * Account details including budgets * Variance percentage for budget against actuals * Period/Year End * Reports include: Income Statement, Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, List of Accounts and Audit Trail. HELP STAccounts provides you with on-line help throughout the program, no matter what you are doing. If you become uncertain of your actions during the course of running the program, just click the left mouse button on Teddy and a help screen for that particular section of the system will appear full of useful information for inexperienced users. REPORT GENERATOR STAccounts Report Generator is a powerful tool integrated into the system. It will allow you to reconfigure reports using any of the system information. Provided with the system are a number of default reports which can be altered, amended or entirely reconfigured for your individual company's needs, or create new reports as to your company requirements. Data fields and heading can be added and moved around the page; under full mouse control, even printer control codes can be inserted at any position on the report form. SYSTEM CONFIGURATION STAccounts is designed to be used on ST/STE/TT with at least 512K and either a color or monochrome monitor. STAccounts is hard drive compatible. ISD Marketing 2800 John Street Unit #10 Markham, Ontario Canada L3R 0E2 (416) 479-1880 Telephone (416) 479-1882 Fax __________________________________________________________ > CHECKMATE! STR Review CHECKMATE is GEM-based ===================== CHECKMATE - AN OVERVIEW ======================= by Kevin Miller CHECKMATE, distributed by Interplay Productions, is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful chess programs written for the 68000 series of microcomputers. The Atari ST version offers many advanced features unavailable on competing products, and is simple enough to learn to use. It is also STE-compatible. The program runs in both color and monochrome, and installs easily onto hard disk for ease of use. CHECKMATE is not copy-protected, but requires you to input a particular move from one of ten classic games included with the CHECKMATE manual before the program will finish loading. CHECKMATE is GEM-based, with a very comprehensive menu. You may load and save games, give yourself a name (instead of the generic "HUMAN"), and print moves. You may also set certain default values, such as 2D/3D display, board orientation, opening book control, your name, thinking control, and aggressive/normal play. Once set, each time you load the program, these default values will be automatically set for you upon startup. The default set of chess pieces is of the standard variety, though you can choose from several different sets available from within the program. Colors of the board and pieces can also be changed to your liking. If you wish to play the black pieces, you can set the board orientation to display the black pieces at the bottom of the board, or even the top or sides of the board! Piece movement is rather versatile as well. You have several options here. You can have the pieces "snap" to their new squares, or you can opt to have them slide to their new positions. You can also click on the "TO" square and the program will indicate the piece that it thinks you want to move to that new square. If it is incorrect (which is rare) you may click once on the correct piece and that piece will be moved. You may, of course, swap sides at any point in the game, which is handy if you find yourself losing and wish to have the computer try to salvage your game! The program will also play a game against itself, referee a game between two humans, and replay an entire game. If you're in a hurry, you can interrupt CHECKMATE's thinking process and have it move immediately. CHECKMATE will also allow you to take back moves if necessary. A special "rewind" feature will take back all moves to the start of the game, and "fast forward" will play moves forward from the beginning of a game until finished or until you press the Escape key. CHECKMATE thinks about its next move on your time, thus greatly increasing its strength, but you also have the option here of turning this feature off if you wish. Hints are available from CHECKMATE, as well as chess clock displays, score of the position, move number, and a list of captured pieces. If you want to set up a specific position for the computer to analyze, this is easily accomplished through the "alter board" command, allowing you to clear the board and select and place the pieces you need for the analysis. You may set an infinite number of strength levels to have CHECKMATE play at, by setting normal/aggressive play and time controls, such as 40 moves in 2 hours. The Opening Book Library is very comprehensive and versatile. Through compression techniques, the program contains a list of established opening moves - over 300,000 moves! This compares very favorably with any other chess program available on the market today. You may set the computer to choose opening lines at random, or by strength, or by popularity. You may also force the computer to play the line you want, if it is contained in its opening library. If it isn't, no problem. CHECKMATE allows you to add to the opening library by using any word processor in ASCII mode! If you have the "Learn" option selected, CHECKMATE will add any opening moves that it discovers and considers to be strong to its own opening library, thus increasing its own potential strength in future games. Two unique features deserve to be mentioned here. The first is a feature that will allow you to grade your own overall chess strength. After choosing your time control, you are presented with a series of twenty-four chess problems, and you are rewarded with an approximate chess rating based on your performance. You can also use this feature to rate the computer's chess strength at various time controls. Chess ratings are given in ELO points, which is an international system used to rate chess players. In the United States, the United States Chess Federation system is used. A player's USCF rating is generally 100 - 150 points higher than his ELO rating would be. A very innovative piece of programming for use in home computers is in use here in CHECKMATE. Transposition tables (or hash tables) have been used in the top-level dedicated mainframe chess monsters for several years, and now CHECKMATE has this feature incorporated into its program. Let me get a little technical here. When a computer considers a move, it looks at literally hundreds of thousands of different lines of play! However, many of these lines lead to identical positions, and each of these positions has to be individually evaluated and scored. With transposition tables, a section of memory is set up to store many of these "end positions" as the computer continues its search for the best move. If an identical position is reached, the program merely has to "look it up" in the table and see what score it had already assigned to the position. This saves a great deal of wasted time and allows CHECKMATE to search more deeply in a given amount of time - all of which adds up to trouble for you! CHECKMATE will configure its transposition size according to your machine's available memory. On an unexpanded 1040ST, this will normally be 512K. On my own machine, which has a little over 2 meg available (ignoring my 1 meg ram disk), a 1 meg table is set up. If I eliminate my ramdisk, my table size is 2 megabytes! I have tested CHECKMATE against the Novag Super VIP, which is a portable dedicated chess computer rated at approximately 1950 USCF rating points (2000 points is candidate master level). In ten games at 30 seconds per move, with a win counting as one point and a draw as half a point, CHECKMATE took the match at a score of 7-3, with no losses to the Novag machine! The makers of CHECKMATE estimate their program's rating at about 2050 ELO, which, based on my own subsequent testing, seems a reasonably accurate assessment. This program is no slouch, folks! CHECKMATE recognizes all the rules of chess, including en passant, castling, and draw conditions. However, I suspect a bug in the "draw by repetition" routine, in which a draw is declared if an identical position occurs three times in the course of a game. It seems to declare a draw before it should, though in normal play this is rarely a major obstacle. In summary, CHECKMATE is a very well-written program which concentrates on chess strength, not just "look and feel." Programs such as BATTLE CHESS are very cute and pretty, but the actual chess program leaves a lot to be desired. CHECKMATE is a serious entry into the home microcomputer chess market. Those of you lucky enough to have accelerated machines will have an even stronger program in CHECKMATE, since it will be able to search much further in less time! I have recently had the T25 68000 accelerator board installed in my machine and should reasonably expect an improvement of around 100 points USCF. I highly recommend CHECKMATE for serious chess players who also happen to own ST/STEs! CHECKMATE Interplay Productions 3710 South Susan, Suite 100 Santa Ana, CA 92704 ___________________________________________________________ > STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date... ================================ THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ========================= On CompuServe by Judith Hamner 72257,271 The deadline has passed for the Portfolio Programming Contest. Make sure to check in next week for the announcement of the winners. Multimedia for the Port? BJ Gleason has uploaded a program found in England. VOICE.COM brings speech to the Portfolio. There were some nice application programs written as contest entries. Tom Showers has submitted LISTER.ZIP. This list processor will create, save, and retrieve lists for viewing. Text files can be imported into the program. One of my favorites is DU1.ZIP, a diary utility. This program links directly with the Port's diary and allows TODO notes to be included in the diary. The author is encouraging suggestions for future improvements. BJ Gleason is back in action with a program to work with the built-in address book files. FNDADR.EXE will search all address files for a particular phrase. This was high on the wish list of those who had to split their data into multiple files due to the file size limit. Our forum's programmers do an amazing service by turning users wishes into working software in record time. Pete Bennett has entered a recipe conversion program into the contest. RECIPE.ZIP is a Pbasic program to scale a recipe for times when you need more or fewer servings of your favorite recipe. Another Pbasic program by Pete translates Roman numberals. Whip out your Port and fire up ROMAN.ZIP next time you can't decipher a cornerstone. Pbasic by BJ Gleason is also available in the forum library. PRTBIB.ZIP is a collection of address file templates by Pete Bennett. They show you how to collect bibliographic references in standard medline or psychlit formats for later importing into databases. Don Thomas has uploaded an enhanced shareware version of Viewport. VIEW.ZIP contains the file which will allow Port graphics to be displayed on a PC clone. In the graphics library we have some new animations. REPORT.EXE is the Re:Port logo by Dave Stewart. BDAY.EXE is a birthday animation by Dave. Pete Bennett uploaded DRAGON.PGC which contains (you guessed it!) the image of a dragon. GAME OF THE WEEK: Hugh J. Campbell has uploaded GOLF10.ARC. Nine holes of golf are now available in your Portfolio. Give Hugh a little encouragement and the back nine will be coming soon. Requires Pbasic to run. ____________________________________________________________ > THIS WEEK! STR Spotlight A WEEK WE'LL NEVER FORGET! ======================== JUSTICE IS "BLINDFOLDED" ALRIGHT! ================================= by R. F. Mariano What a week! Codehead announces they will be bringing in three levels of Calligrapher, John Eidsvoog becomes an "eyewitness" reporter to the Los Angeles disgrace. Speaking of Los Angeles, the "City of Angels", it has a great deal to be ashamed of. A totally reprehensible verdict was announced in Los Angeles. I've followed this Rodney King case rather closely and I too, am absolutely amazed at the audacity of the jurors in coming forward with such an absurd verdict. I must admit however, I was not surprised. After watching the superb "legal maneuvering" in getting the case moved (change of venue) to the little "Bedroom Community" of Simi Valley, whose population is predominantly made up of LAPD officers, (both retired and active), their families and many other civil service employees. When the jury was selected from this environment and overseen by the local "Judge" the astonishment was complete. The trampling of true justice was never, ever to be so complete as was perpetrated here. Thankfully, the US Attorney General's office has reopened the entire matter. The change of venue is sure to be a focal point of the investigation. The verdicts themselves are indeed atrocious but the thought process behind the verdicts is far more important. As a society, we must discover the true meanings behind these verdicts. Are they merely the product of "taking care of the boys"? Or, are they indicative of something many people throughout the USA have been trying to bring to the forefront of everyone's attention in every State in the Union. That being; "Those given the authority to govern and enforce are, in many instances, either allowing and condoning these abuses by non-professional officers or, the internal problems of this type are deeper and more far reaching than anyone has ever imagined. In our lifetimes we have, in this country, been expected to "believe" without question, the Chappaquidick "accident", the Kennedy Assassinations (both), the Hostage Release Delays (Sink Carter), the Iran Contra Affair (The Ollie & Ronnie Show), the stated causes of Desert Storm, not the Real underlying causes of "Desert Storm" (ask the "early retired" US Iraqi Diplomat, she was truthful). Of course, now we have the disgraceful manner in which this verdict in Los Angeles was arrived at, (everything stated to have been done in an "irreproachable manner"). The stark, truthful observation is revolting. The "Change of Venue in this case was a travesty of justice. No, that's too mild a description it was an actual rape of the justice system and what it stands for. The citizens of this country have long been looked upon by our political, legislative and judicial leadership as "gullible sheep", ready willing and able to swallow anything. Unfortunately, the real victims of this verdict are all of us. The level of respect for the justice system in this country is now at an all time low. The trust of Law Enforcement Organizations all across the country is virtually non-existent. Police Chiefs and department heads around the nation have been warning their officers to be very careful about the manner in which they conduct themselves in public. Once again, it surfaces that the actions of a few "CowBoys" in Policeman's Uniforms paints the entire Law Enforcement Community in disgrace with a very wide brush. Training, Professionalism and pride in one's career is totally lacking in these cowboys, they must be weeded out and dismissed from all public service. They are a disgrace to the "TIN". I know this essay has nothing to do with computers but the bottom line we are all citizens of this great nation first and computer enthusiasts second. All that occurs in our country reflects upon all of us. We must make sure our representatives in government know we are tired of the course of current action and affairs. The riots throughout the nation and in particular in Los Angeles are unforgivable. The senseless loss of lives is, by far, the most tragic by product of the whole affair. Anyone who would try to veer the revealing light of responsibility for the current events away from the Rodney King Case, The Change of Venue in the Rodney King Case and the final insult.. the NOT GUILTY Verdict, is guilty THEMSELVES of gross irresponsibility. As an individual, I was very active in the sixties trying to affect change in government from the 1930's (pre-war) way of thinking and doing things. After witnessing this "King Travesty", I must admit our generation wasn't very successful. My heart goes out to every cop out there, uniformed or plainclothes, who is trying to do the right thing. In time... the hurt, mistrust and general ill will abate. But not for a very long time. _______________________________________________________________ > FIND THE REPS! STR InfoFile =========================== In light of this being an election year, we at STReport felt we should bring you a list of our Senators and Representatives along with their FAX numbers. The Representatives. From Jim Wells on the Jerry Pournelle Roundtable on Genie... In consideration of the performance of our Congressmen, I thought a list of their FAX numbers might be handy...Drop them a line and tell them _exactly_ what you think of them; good or bad... ------------------------- * NP means Not Published CONGRESSIONAL FAX NUMBERS CONGRESSIONAL FAX NUMBERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- REP ABERCROMBIE =1-202-225-4580 REP ACKERMAN =1-202-225-1589 REP ALEXANDER =1-202-225-6182 REP ALLARD =1-202-225-8630 REP ANDERSON =1-202-225-1597 REP M_ANDREWS =1-202-225-4210 REP R_ANDREWS =1-202-225-6583 REP T_ANDREWS =1-202-225-9065 REP ANNUNZIO =NP REP ANTHONY =1-202-225-3646 REP APPLEGATE =1-202-225-3087 REP ARCHER =1-202-225-4381 REP ARMEY =1-202-225-7614 REP ASPIN =NP REP ATKINS =1-202-225-5588 REP AUCOIN =1-202-225-2707 REP BACCHUS =1-202-225-9039 REP BAKER =1-202-225-7313 REP BALLENGER =1-202-225-0316 REP BARNARD =1-202-225-1873 REP BARRETT =1-202-225-0207 REP BARTLETT =NP REP BARTON =1-202-225-3052 REP BATEMAN =1-202-225-4382 REP BEILENSON =NP REP BENNETT =1-202-225-9635 REP BENTLEY =1-202-225-4251 REP BEREUTER =1-202-225-1148 REP BERMEN =1-202-225-5279 REP BEVILL =1-202-225-0842 REP BILBRAY =1-202-225-8808 REP BILIRAKIS =1-202-225-4085 REP BLILEY =1-202-225-0011 REP BOEHLERT =1-202-225-1891 REP BOEHNER =1-202-225-0704 REP BONOIR =1-202-225-1169 REP BORSKI =1-202-225-4628 REP BOUCHER =NP REP BOXER =1-202-225-1004 REP BREWSTER =1-202-225-9029 REP BROOKS =1-202-225-1584 REP BROOMFIELD =1-202-225-1807 REP BROWDER =1-202-225-9020 REP BROWN =1-202-225-8671 REP BRUCE =1-202-225-9810 REP BRYANT =1-202-225-9721 REP BUNNING =1-202-225-0003 REP BURTON =1-202-225-0016 REP BUSTAMANTE =1-202-225-3849 REP BYRON =1-202-225-6159 REP CALLAHAN =1-202-225-0562 REP CAMP =1-202-225-9679 REP B_CAMPBELL =1-202-225-0228 REP T_CAMPBELL =1-202-225-5944 REP CARDIN =1-202-225-9219 REP CARPER =1-202-225-1912 REP CARR =1-202-225-1260 REP CHANDLER =1-202-225-7762 REP CHAPMAN =1-202-225-7265 REP CLAY =1-202-225-1783 REP CLEMENT =1-202-225-1035 REP CLINGER =1-202-225-4681 REP COBLE =1-202-225-8611 REP T_COLEMAN =1-202-225-4799 REP R_COLEMAN =NP REP B_COLLINS =1-202-225-6645 REP C_COLLINS =1-202-225-8396 REP COMBEST =1-202-225-9615 REP CONDIT =1-202-225-0819 REP CONYERS =1-202-225-0072 REP COOPER =1-202-225-4520 REP COSTELLO =1-202-225-0285 REP COUGHLIN =1-202-225-1238 REP C_COX =1-202-225-9177 REP J_COX =1-202-225-4744 REP COYNE =1-202-225-1844 REP CRAMER =1-202-225-4392 REP CRANE =1-202-225-7830 REP CUNNINGHAM =1-202-225-2558 REP DANNEMEYER =1-202-225-1755 REP DARDEN =NP REP DAVIS =1-202-225-3588 REP DEFAZIO =1-202-225-0694 REP DELAGARZA =1-202-225-2534 REP DELAURO =1-202-225-4890 REP DELAY =1-202-225-5241 REP DELLUMS =1-202-225-9817 REP DERRICK =1-202-225-5383 REP DICKINSON =1-202-225-1916 REP DICKS =1-202-225-1176 REP DINGELL =1-202-225-7426 REP DIXON =1-202-225-4091 REP DONNELLY =1-202-225-5841 REP DOOLEY =1-202-225-9308 REP DOOLITTLE =1-202-225-5444 REP DORGAN =1-202-225-9436 REP DORNAN =1-202-225-3694 REP DOWNEY =1-202-225-1275 REP DREIR =1-202-225-4745 REP DUNCAN =1-202-225-6440 REP DURBIN =1-202-225-0170 REP DWYER =1-202-225-1553 REP DYMALLY =1-202-225-6847 REP EARLY =1-202-225-3181 REP ECKART =1-202-225-1514 REP C_EDWARDS =1-202-225-0353 REP D_EDWARDS =1-202-225-9460 REP M_EDWARDS =1-202-225-1193 REP EMERSON =1-202-225-9621 REP ENGEL =1-202-225-5513 REP ENGLISH =1-202-225-8698 REP ERDREICH =1-202-225-1751 REP ESPY =1-202-225-5898 REP EVANS =1-202-225-5396 REP FASCELL =1-202-225-0724 REP FAWELL =1-202-225-9420 REP FAZIO =1-202-225-0354 REP FEIGHAN =1-202-225-1230 REP FIELDS =1-202-225-6899 REP FISH =1-202-225-0962 REP FLAKE =1-202-225-4169 REP FOGLIETTA =1-202-225-0088 REP FOLEY =1-202-225-7181 REP H_FORD =1-202-225-9215 REP W_FORD =NP REP FRANK =1-202-225-0182 REP FRANKS =1-202-225-5085 REP FROST =1-202-225-4951 REP GALLEGLY =1-202-225-0713 REP GALLO =1-202-225-0658 REP GAYDOS =1-202-225-1335 REP GEJDENSON =1-202-225-4977 REP GEKAS =1-202-225-8440 REP GEPHARDT =1-202-225-7452 REP GEREN =1-202-225-2786 REP GIBBONS =NP REP GILCHREST =1-202-225-0254 REP GILLMOR =1-202-225-1985 REP GILMAN =1-202-225-9636 REP GINGRICH =1-202-225-4656 REP GLICKMAN =1-202-225-5398 REP GONZALEZ =1-202-225-1915 REP GOODLING =1-202-225-1000 REP GORDON =1-202-225-6887 REP GOSS =1-202-225-6820 REP GRADISON =1-202-225-0758 REP GRANDY =1-202-225-5796 REP GRAY =1-202-225-2995 REP GREEN =1-202-225-0840 REP GUARINI =1-202-225-7023 REP GUNDERSON =1-202-225-6195 REP R_HALL =1-202-225-3332 REP T_HALL =1-202-225-6766 REP HAMILTON =1-202-225-1101 REP HAMMERSCHMIDT =1-202-225-7492 REP HANCOCK =1-202-225-7700 REP HANSEN =1-202-225-5827 REP HARRIS =1-202-225-0175 REP HASTERT =1-202-225-0697 REP HATCHER =1-202-225-1117 REP C_HAYES =1-202-225-7571 REP J_HAYES =1-202-225-8976 REP HEFLEY =1-202-225-1942 REP HEFNER =NP REP HENRY =1-202-225-5144 REP HERGER =1-202-225-0996 REP HERTEL =NP REP HOAGLAND =1-202-225-4684 REP HOBSON =1-202-225-1984 REP HOCHBRUECKNER=1-202-225-0776 REP HOLLOWAY =1-202-225-6252 REP HOPKINS =1-202-225-1413 REP HORN =1-202-225-1378 REP HORTON =1-202-225-5909 REP HOUGHTON =1-202-225-5574 REP HOYER =1-202-225-4300 REP HUBBARD =1-202-225-1662 REP HUCKABY =1-202-225-2387 REP HUGHES =1-202-225-1108 REP HUNTER =1-202-225-0235 REP HUTTO =1-202-225-5785 REP HYDE =1-202-225-1240 REP INHOFE =1-202-225-9187 REP IRELAND =1-202-225-6944 REP JACOBS =NP REP JAMES =1-202-225-1727 REP JEFFERSON =1-202-225-1988 REP JENKINS =NP REP N_JOHNSON =1-202-225-4488 REP T_JOHNSON =1-202-225-2427 REP JOHNSTON =1-202-225-8791 REP B_JONES =1-202-225-8675 REP W_JONES =NP REP JONTZ =1-202-225-5870 REP KANJORSKI =1-202-225-9024 REP KAPTUR =1-202-225-7711 REP KASICH =NP REP KENNEDY =1-202-225-9322 REP KENNELLY =1-202-225-1031 REP KILDEE =1-202-225-6393 REP KLECZKA =1-202-225-0719 REP KLUG =1-202-225-6942 REP KOLBE =1-202-225-0378 REP KOLTAR =1-202-225-0526 REP KOPETSKI =1-202-225-9477 REP KOSTMAYER =1-202-225-5060 REP KYL =1-202-225-1143 REP LAFALCE =1-202-225-8693 REP LAGOMARSINO =1-202-225-3096 REP LANCASTER =1-202-225-0666 REP LANTOS =1-202-225-3127 REP LAROCCO =1-202-225-1213 REP LAUGHLIN =1-202-225-8943 REP LEACH =1-202-225-1278 REP R_LEHMAN =1-202-225-5274 REP W_LEHMAN =1-202-225-5274 REP LENT =1-202-225-0357 REP LEVIN =1-202-225-1033 REP LEVINE =1-202-225-6975 REP JE_LEWIS =1-202-225-6498 REP JO_LEWIS =1-202-225-0351 REP LIGHTFOOT =1-202-225-6973 REP LIPINSKI =1-202-225-1012 REP LIVINGSTON =1-202-225-0739 REP LLOYD =1-202-225-6974 REP LONG =1-202-225-8810 REP LOWERY =1-202-225-7383 REP LOWEY =1-202-225-0546 REP LUKEN =1-202-225-2293 REP MCCANDLESS =1-202-2251040- REP MCCLOSKEY =1-202-225-4688 REP MCCOLLUM =1-202-225-0999 REP MCCRERY =1-202-225-8039 REP MCCURDY =1-202-225-7946 REP MCDADE =1-202-225-9594 REP MCDERMOT =1-202-225-9212 REP MCEWEN =1-202-225-0224 REP MCGRATH =1-202-225-3826 REP MBHUGH =1-202-225-1799 REP MCMILLAN =1-202-225-8995 REP MCMILLEN =1-202-225-8099 REP MCNULTY =1-202-225-5077 REP MACHTLEY =1-202-225-4417 REP MANTON =1-202-225-1452 REP MARKEY =1-202-225-8689 REP MARLENEE =1-202-225-1558 REP MARTIN =1-202-225-4614 REP MARTINEZ =1-202-225-5467 REP MATSUI =1-202-225-5467 REP MAVROULES =1-202-225-8023 REP MAZZOLI =NP REP MEYERS =1-202-225-0554 REP MFUME =1-202-225-3178 REP MICHEL =1-202-225-7723 REP C_MILLER =1-202-225-5132 REP G_MILLER =1-202-225-5609 REP J_MILLER =NP REP MINETA =NP REP MINK =1-202-225-4987 REP MAOKLEY =1-202-225-7804 REP MOLINARI =1-202-225-1272 REP MOLLOHAN =1-202-225-7564 REP MONTGOMERY =1-202-225-3375 REP MOODY =1-202-225-1396 REP MOORHEAD =1-202-225-1279 REP MORAN =1-202-225-0017 REP MORELLA =1-202-225-1389 REP MORRISON =1-202-225-9293 REP MRAZEK =1-202-225-7215 REP MURPHY =1-202-225-4772 REP MURTHA =1-202-225-5709 REP MYERS =1-202-225-1649 REP NAGLE =1-202-225-9104 REP NATCHER =NP REP R_NEAL =1-202-225-8112 REP S_NEAL =1-202-225-4060 REP NICHOLS =1-202-225-9415 REP NOWAK =1-202-225-3523 REP NUSSLE =1-202-225-9129 REP OAKAR =1-202-225-0663 REP OBERSTAR =1-202-225-0669 REP OBEY =1-202-225-0561 REP OLIN =1-202-225-9623 REP ORTIZ =1-202-225-1134 REP ORTON =1-202-225-1233 REP M_OWENS =1-202-225-0012 REP W_OWENS =1-202-225-3524 REP OXLEY =1-202-225-1160 REP PACKARD =1-202-225-0134 REP PALLONE =1-202-225-9655 REP PANETTA =NP REP PARKER =1-202-225-5866 REP PATTERSON =1-202-225-7664 REP PAXON =1-202-225-5910 REP D_PAYNE =1-202-225-4160 REP L_PAYNE =1-202-226-4160 REP PEASE =1-202-225-0066 REP PELOSI =1-202-225-8259 REP PENNY =1-202-225-0051 REP PERKINS =1-202-225-1411 REP C_PETERSON =1-202-225-1593 REP P_PETERSON =1-202-225-1586 REP PETRI =1-202-225-2356 REP PICKETT =1-202-225-4218 REP PICKLE =1-202-225-1103 REP PORTOR =1-202-225-0157 REP POSHARD =1-202-225-1541 REP PRICE =1-202-225-6314 REP PURSELL =1-202-225-4094 REP QUILLEN =1-202-225-7812 REP RAHALL =1-202-225-9061 REP RAMSTAD =1-202-225-0140 REP RANGEL =1-202-225-0816 REP RAVENEL =1-202-225-4340 REP RAY =1-202-225-1598 REP REED =1-202-225-9580 REP REGULA =1-202-225-3059 REP RHODES =1-202-225-0985 REP RICHARDSON =1-202-225-1950 REP RIDGE =NP REP RIGGS =1-202-225-5577 REP RINALDO =1-202-225-5679 REP RITTER =1-202-225-5248 REP ROBERTS =1-202-225-5375 REP ROE =1-202-225-3071 REP ROEMER =1-202-225-6798 REP ROGERS =1-202-225-0940 REP ROHRABACHER =1-202-225-0145 REP ROS-LEHTINEN=1-202-225-5620 REP ROSE =1-202-225-2470 REP ROSTENKOWSKI=1-202-406-4225 REP ROTH =1-202-225-0087 REP ROUMEKA =1-202-225-9048 REP ROWLAND =1-202-225-7719 REP ROYBAL =1-202-225-1251 REP RUSSO =1-202-225-0292 REP SABO =NP REP SANDERS =1-202-225-6790 REP SANGMEISTER =1-202-225-4447 REP SANTORUM =1-202-225-7747 REP SARPALIUS =1-202-225-6142 REP SAVAGE =1-202-225-8608 REP SAWYER =1-202-225-5278 REP SAXTON =1-202-225-0778 REP SCHAEFER =1-202-225-7885 REP SCHEUER =1-202-225-9695 REP SCHIFF =1-202-225-4975 REP SCHROEDER =1-202-225-5842 REP SCHULTZE =NP REP SCHUMER =1-202-225-4183 REP SENSENBRENNER=1-202-225-3190 REP SERRANO =1-202-225-6001 REP SHARP =1-202-225-8140 REP SHAW =1-202-225-8398 REP SHAYS =1-202-225-9629 REP SHUSTER =1-202-225-2486 REP SIKORSKY =1-202-225-4347 REP SISISKY =1-202-225-1170 REP SKAGGS =1-202-225-9127 REP SKEEN =1-202-225-9599 REP SKELTON =1-202-225-2695 REP SLATTERY =1-202-225-1455 REP F_SLAUGHTER =1-202-225-1044 REP L_SLAUGHTER =1-202-225-7822 REP C_SMITH =1-202-225-7768 REP LAM_SMITH =1-202-225-8628 REP LAW_SMITH =1-202-225-9816 REP N_SMITH =NP REP R_SMITH =1-202-225-3129 REP SNOWE =NP REP SOLARZ =1-202-225-9469 REP SOLOMON =1-202-225-1168 REP SPENCE =1-202-225-2455 REP SPRATT =1-202-225-0464 REP STAGGERS =1-202-225-2962 REP STALLINGS =1-202-225-2393 REP STARK =NP REP STEARNS =1-202-225-3973 REP STENHOLM =1-202-225-2234 REP STOKES =1-202-225-1339 REP STUDDS =1-202-225-2212 REP STUMP =1-202-225-6328 REP SUNDQUIST =1-202-225-2814 REP SWETT =1-202-225-0046 REP SWIFT =1-202-225-2608 REP SYNAR =1-202-225-2796 REP TALLON =1-202-225-2857 REP TANNER =1-202-225-1765 REP TAUZIN =1-202-225-0563 REP C_TAYLOR =1-202-225-0519 REP G_TAYLOR =1-202-225-7074 REP C_THOMAS =1-202-225-0726 REP L_THOMAS =1-202-225-6922 REP W_THOMAS =1-202-225-8798 REP THORTON =1-202-225-9273 REP TORRES =1-202-225-9711 REP TORRICELLI =1-202-225-0843 REP TOWNS =1-202-225-1018 REP TRAFICANT =1-202-225-3719 REP TRAXLER =1-202-225-3046 REP UDALL =1-202-225-1176 REP UNSOELD =1-202-225-1176 REP UPTON =1-202-225-4986 REP VALENTINE =1-202-225-1539 REP JAGT =1-202-225-9058 REP VENTO =1-202-225-1968 REP VISCLOSKY =1-202-225-2493 REP VOLKMER =1-202-225-7834 REP VUCANOVICH =1-202-225-2319 REP WALKER =1-202-225-2484 REP WALSH =1-202-225-4042 REP WASHINGTON =1-202-225-6186 REP WATERS =1-202-225-7854 REP WAXMAN =1-202-225-4099 REP WEBER =1-202-225-0987 REP WEISS =1-202-225-6925 REP WELDON =1-202-225-5990 REP WHEAT =1-202-225-5990 REP WHITTEN =1-202-225-4328 REP WILLIAMS =1-202-225-1257 REP WILSON =1-202-225-1764 REP WISE =1-202-225-5325 REP WOLF =1-202-225-0437 REP WOLPE =1-202-225-8602 REP WYDEN =1-202-225-8941 REP WYLIE =1-202-225-7548 REP YATES =1-202-225-3493 REP YATRON =1-202-225-5548 REP B_YOUNG =1-202-225-9764 REP D_YOUNG =1-202-225-9288 REP ZELIFF =1-202-225-4370 REP ZIMMER =1-202-225-9181 ___________________________________________________________ """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" EDITORIALLY SPEAKING - STR CONFIDENTIAL - MAILCALL """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > STReport's Editorial Page "Saying it like it is." From the Editor's Desk ---------------------- I guess Spring is finally here... Just think a whole summer of acute speculation is ahead of us. Ain't that grand? Atari has some neat things in the wings. Goodies and plans that are tuned to take all the rough edges off the past. I want to believe it and see it all come to pass. After all, it is my machine by choice and will remain so. The Sparrow.., The Falcon and other nifty products are sure to put a gleam in any Atarian's eye. Codehead has brought more good NEWS to us check their item elsewhere in this issue. What Crew! As Jimmy Durante would've said; "DA BEST!!" "HA CHA CHA!!" On another front... the $500,000,000 lawsuit against Nintendo was not decided in Atari's favor. That story is covered in STReport Confidential. Thanks for all your wonderful support! Ralph @ STReport International Online Magazine """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU! ---------------- Publisher - Editor ------------------ Ralph F. Mariano PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION ----------- -------------- ------------ Roger D. Stevens Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON STReport Staff Editors: ----------------------- Lloyd E. Pulley Sr. Dana P. Jacobson Michael Arthur Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Judith Hamner John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando Steve Spivey Doyle C. Helms Contributing Correspondents: ---------------------------- Michael Lee Richard Covert John Deegan Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Tim Holt Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Harry Steele Ben Hamilton Neil Bradley Eric Jerue Ron Deal Robert Dean Ed Westhusing James Nolan Vernon W. Smith Bruno Puglia Clemens Chin 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 ____________________________________________________________ > STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips" ===================== - Sunnyvale, Ca. ATARI LOSES LAWSUIT WITH NINTENDO -------------- Courtesy San Jose Mercury News 05/01/92 14:47:38 Atari Corp. was unsuccessful in its antitrust suit against Nintendo of America. The jury found in favor of Nintendo. The jury did however, find that Nintendo did have monopoly power in the videogame market but that Nintendo did not monopolize that market. The jury was also unable to reach a decision on two other points regarding monopolization and restraint of trade. During the 10 week trial, Nintendo claimed it had only engaged in vigorous competition and that its exclusive had legitamate business justifications. "We are disappointed the jury did not understand the negative impacts Nintendo's exclusive contracts had on competition because of Nintendo's power over its suppliers and customers," said William Jaeger, senior partner, Khourie, Crew & Jaeger, the San Francisco law firm that specializes in complex business litigation and represents Atari. "The consumer also loses from this result because the antitrust laws have worked very effectively to maintain a strong competitive environment with lower prices and better choices for consumers. This decision will seriously weaken those vital laws." "In this case, it was clear that Nintendo's practices violated our antitrust laws and thwarted Atari's ability to compete. Atari should be compensated for its substantial damages. This award is also necessary to send a strong message that our antitrust laws protect and encourage healthy competition -- no more, no less." - San Jose CA. POWERHOUSE POWER SUPPLY ------------ Best Electronics is coming out with a replacement power supply for Mega STe/TT owners. This UL Listed power supply is rated at 64.1 watts but supposedly, can handle 80 watts. Development was ramped up about a year because Best Electronics thinks that some of the problems that users are experiencing from TOS/AJAX/1.44 floppy upgrades are due to the anemic power supply that ships in certain Mega STe/TTs. It will fit perfectly where the original power supply was installed. They hope to start shipping in 4-6 weeks. The power supply should sell for approx. $125.00 - Bridgeport Ct. ATARI USERS ANNOUNCE UPCOMING SHOW -------------- Local Connecticut Atari computer user groups are joining forces to stage a spectacular two-day computer show later this year in Hartford, Conn. An umbrella organization representing Atari users in Fairfield County and the Danbury and New Haven regions has announced dates and site for Connecticut AtariFest '92. The event is scheduled for August 15 and 16, 1992 at the Sheraton Hotel at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Conn. The show is being sponsored by the ACT Group [Affiliated Connecticut (CT) Groups], an umbrella organization comprised of these Atari user groups: F.A.C.E. (Fairfield County); S.T.A.R.R. (New Haven area) and D-BUG (Danbury area). To date, the following exhibitors have agreed to participate in Connecticut AtariFest '92: Atari Computer Corporation, Atari Explorer magazine, the Boston Computer Society, GEnie, Gribnif Software, GFA Basic, Joppa Computer Products, Sam Ash Music Inc., Step Ahead Software, Soft-Logik-Publishing, Tidbit Software, Toad Computers, and ICD Inc. Organizers say the show will showcase the latest Atari products and services, and will include seminars on desktop publishing and video production, hands-on instruction from manufacturers and software developers, MIDI demonstrations, giveaways, a swap room and much more. The ACT Group has just announced that there will be an exciting dinner dance Saturday evening featuring luminaries from the Atari market. The core band will be composed of Atari Explorer's John Jainschigg and Peter Donoso, as well as Sam Ash's Fadi Hayek. Interested musicians are invited to sit in. At the cocktail hour, during the buffet, and between the live sets, pre-recorded Atari produced synthesized music will be played for your listening pleasure. With a spacious dance floor, cash bar and plenty of room for schmoozing, this should be a wonderful and fun evening. With a spacious dance floor, cash bar and plenty of room for schmoozing, this should be a wonderful and fun evening. With some of the best names, latest products, and top vendors in the Atari market, we think you'll find the CT Fest to be both thrilling and educational. With a major emphasis on the musical side of the ST/TT (via major vendors like Sam Ash and Manny's Music). we'll have non-stop performances by live and studio musicians both days. Of course, other aspects like DTP, graphics, video, telecomm, etc. will be equally represented. Raffles, door prizes, swap rooms, hands on DTP classes, desktop video classes and more! Smack dab between New York and Boston, this may be the highlight of the summer! For more information about attending or exhibiting at: CONNECTICUT ATARIFEST '92 Please contact: Brian Gockley Chairperson 18 Elmwood Avenue Bridgeport, CT 06605 [Phone (203) 332-1721] or, Doug Finch, Chairperson 203-637-1034 - Vancouver, Wa. SPARROW SPECULATIONS -------------- Among Atarians, the guesswork and speculation about new and exciting machines has always been a "fun thing". The latest info about the Sparrow, a new machine coming in the Fall, is here for you to enjoy. _Multi-Tos_ will be for all machines. - Uses Ram Cards 512-5mb - Super small motherboard - Operates @ 16-20Mhz - Has VGA Quality Rez - Will have Standard Joystick Ports - Possibly No RF Adapter - VME Port (possible) - Integrated Keyboard - NO DMA Port - SCSI 2 Port - 2.5" Built-in Hard Disk 40-50mb - 1.44 mb floppy - Internal connections provided for third party goodies MSRP: 1199.00 -- Anticipated retail cost 700.00 - 900.00 - San Francisco Ca. AJAX HAS ACHILLES HEEL? ----------------- According to sources close to BEST Electronics, the Ajax upgrades are not in stock and they will not stock any more of 3.06/AJAX/1.44Meg upgrades until a recently discovered problem is found and corrected. When a SCSI internal Hard drive is installed in the TT030 and access to the 1.44meg is attempted, the system does not acknowledge the Floppy. However, if one uses a different power supply for the SCSI drive, all is fine. They said. Also, they said there may be a problem with the AJAX chip. - Jacksonville, Fl READER SURVEY -> DETACHED OR ATTACHED KEYBOARD?? ---------------- Since STREPORT reaches many private BBS systems, we decided to participate in a joint survey with CIS and will publish the final results. To keep things extremely simple, it was decided to have the survey address one and ONLY one issue; THE ATTACHED/DETACHED KEYBOARD ISSUE """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" The Keyboard Survey questions are: 1 - Would you prefer a single case (1040 style) unit or a Mega ST/TT style unit with detached keyboard? (pick one or the other only) 2 - If price were a consideration, how much more would you spend for a detached keyboard: A- $50.00 or less B- $100.00 (approx) C- $150.00 (or if price is no object) 3 - Would you prefer a connector like that used on the Mega/TT series of computers on the new machine to allow connecting a keyboard if so desired? Thats it for the first survey. Just 3 SIMPLE questions with EASY limited responses. We will add up the online responses and comments pro or con, along with all the BBS responses and pass the results on to you and Atari Corp. If the survey is a success, we can come up with more questions in subsequent information gathering surveys. The reason for the survey is to see just what the users feel about the new machine coming along with only an integrated keyboard. Fifty million clones have been sold successfully worldwide, the Mega/TT series of Atari computers have been widely acclaimed as having very comfortable keyboards that have a good "feel". Now Atari is going back to a "1040 style" case and keyboard? Let's hear from you! - Sunnyvale, Ca . ATARI VOICE MAIL HITS THE REVOLVING DOOR! -------------- In an apparent attempt at streamlining communications, the "infamous" Atari voice mail system has been shut down. User abuse (storing too much) has been cited as the cause for abandonment of the system. As fate would have it, most folks around the country were caught off guard and many of Atari's callers found themselves listening to many rings and an unanswered phone call. The old answering machines are slowing coming back online. ____________________________________________________ STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > A "Quotable Quote" "The cat's outta da bag!" ================== "WHEN THE FANCY_FACADE_FADES WITH TIME... YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUE, UNDENIABLE NATURE OF THE BEAST!" ....ZIGGY "LIVINGSTONE" ZAGNUT (The Long Lost Cousin) """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > ABCO SPECIALS! STR InfoFile * NEW 1992 Prices! MORE Products! * =========================== -------------------------------- ****** SPRINGTIME SPECIAL!! TAKE 10% OFF _ANY_ PACKAGE!! ***** """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! ** NOTICE: ABCO will BEAT OR MATCH * ANY * Advertised or Invoiced price * WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD! 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) - Available for all Platforms - * ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS * * ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED * * SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS * * MAXTOR - SEAGATE - QUANTUM * WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE!!! >UPS!< (Cont. USA) VISA - MASTERCARD - NO SURCHARGE! *** NEW!!! ULTRA MODERN "SUPER STYLE" CABINET *** DELUXE 2 bay Cabinet W/65w Auto PS & Blower *** 90 DAY LIMITED OFFER!! *** - AT NO EXTRA COST! - Cabinet & ADSCSI Plus Host [Hard Disk Ready] $259.95 Model Description Autopark Price ================================================== SGN4951 51Mb 3.5" Y 439.00 SGN1096 85Mb 5.25" Y 519.00 SQN1055 105mb 3.5" Y 534.95 SQN1065 120mb 3.5" Y 584.00 SQN2055 170mb 3.5" Y 689.00 SQN3055 240mb 3.5" Y 839.00 SQN4055 426mb 3.5" Y 1310.00 ================================================== Standard "Shoebox Cabinet style is also available FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00 ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY "SUPER CABINET" w/250+w PS MODERN TOWER CABINETS AVAILABLE Call for Info! PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only! NOTICE - NOTICE - NOTICE - NOTICE """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" SPECIAL PURCHASE! * LPS 120 - 240 * Hard Disk Mechanisms Call for SUPER PRICING!! Limited Time Only!! FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00 ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAILABLE Call for Info! PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only! FAST TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATOR UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED ***** >> ABCO proudly offers ATARI PRODUCTS << Call for ABCO's * HIGHLY COMPETITIVE PRICING! * ATARI COMPUTERS * STILL THE BEST VALUE! ***** Original Atari Mouse replacement: $35.00 NEW! If you don't see what you want listed here, call us. Odds are, we either have it or, can get it for you! * GUARANTEED * AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE! * ** 800-562-4037 ** "WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL" ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ****** * SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCOFILE "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE * - SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A - ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable - Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart. --->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 589.00__ <<--- **** SCSI UNITS -> ONLY $519.00 **** WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE! >UPS!< (Cont. USA) COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN! Cart and Utility Software Included! EXTRA CARTS: $ 69.50 DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 339.95 ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ****** * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT * SPECIALLY PRICED ** $895.95.00 ** Includes: * TWO * cartridges! * SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS * - Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives - ** 50mb SQG51S $759.00 105mb SQG105S $959.00 ** Or, YOUR choice of Hard Disk Mechanism! LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE ** ANNOUNCING THE NEW! -> ABCO CD-ROM! ** :Special Introductory offer: ABCO CD-ROM $359.95 (limited time only) 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) * IBM - MSDOS - AMIGA - ATARI - APPLE - MACINTOSH * 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 ** $41.95 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 400 series, Panafax UF-750 Facsimile ** $41.95 shipping included ** -- ALL TONER KITS * IN STOCK * -- * Toner Starter Kits-$62.95 * * Replacement (804) Drums-$186.95 * ABCO is PROUD to announce the acquisition of the exclusive U.S.A. distribution rights for ** Bitblit Software's; ///Turbo Board BBS. ** This fine Atari ST BBS system software and user support is available through ABCO to all Turbo customers in the USA. Call for current pricing. >> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED << ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED -* 12 month FULL Guarantee *- (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE) WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE! >UPS!< (Cont. USA) QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE! _________________________________________ DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED! please, call for details VISA - MASTERCARD - NO SURCHARGE! Personal and Company Checks 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! SEND FOR YOUR NEW ABCO CATALOG TODAY! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport International Online Magazine [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STR Online "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" May 01, 1992 Since 1987 copyright 1987-92 No.8.18 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 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 STR editors, contributors and or staff are not responsible for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""