*---== STReport International Online Magazine ==---*
                  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                  "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
                                   from
                              STR Publishing 
                              """"""""""""""


 December 11, 1992                                                  No.8.49
 ==========================================================================

                  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
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          FNET. 350 : The Bounty *<Home of STR>*...1-904-786-4176
          FNET. 489 : Steal Your Face BBS..........1-908-920-7981
   _____________________________________________________________________


 > 12/11/92 STR 849    "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
   """"""""""""""""
     - The Editor's Desk      - CPU Report        - PORTFOLIO NEWS
     - Midi Music Maker!      - LYNX OFFER!       - 256 meg DRAM 
     - COMPAQ SELLS DIRECT!   - Atari Dead? II    - Programmer Delights!
     - People Talking         - STR MailCall      - STR Confidential

            -* TWO WEEKS 'TILL CHRISTMAS -> FALCONS ANYONE? *-
                    -* JAGUAR PROJECT HAS NEW HEAD! *-
                  -* DEVELOPER BLASTS ATARI ON USENET! *-


 ==========================================================================
                  STReport 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/NEST/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  Networking Systems.  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!
 ==========================================================================
              CIS ~ GENIE ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ FNET ~ NEST
               EURONET ~ CIX ~ CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET
 ==========================================================================

                               =============
                             * ATARI EDITION *
                               =============


     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 (December 11)

 PLAY ASTEROIDS BY MODEM!

     Download file RAYOID.LZH from LIBRARY 2  of the  Atari Arts  Forum (GO
 ATARIARTS) for  a three-in-one  package of games.  Includes a game similar
 to  Asteroids  with  great  sounds  (DMA  sound  supported).    Action and
 strategy.  Documentation in English and French.

 VERSION 6.5 OF WHATIS!

     New version! WHATIS 6.5 identifies over 125 file types - ARCs, LHarcs,
 PRGs, pics, ACCs, animations, etc... no more "what kind of  file is this?"
 problems! Runs  as a  PRG or ACC or a TTP-like program on any ST/TT in any
 rez. Short docs included  in  the  ARC.    All  the  features  of previous
 versions, plus adds Warp9 Extend-O-Save modules and five other file types,
 and allows the dialog to be centered with a double-click.

     Download file WHATIS.ARC from  LIBRARY  6  of  the  Atari Productivity
 Forum (GO ATARIPRO).

 GTHOR - ONE OF THE WORLD'S BEST OTHELLO PROGRAMS

     Download file  GTHOR.LZH from  LIBRARY 2  of the  Atari Arts Forum (GO
 ATARIARTS) for GTHOR 2.0, an Othello program that is considered one of the
 four  top  Othello  programs  in  the  world.  If you think you're good at
 Othello, try this program!

 STALKER STUFFR BACKTALK UTILITY

     Download file STKSTU.ZIP from  LIBRARY  2  of  the  Atari Productivity
 Forum (GO  ATARIPRO) for "STalker Stuffr", a utility for use with STalker3
 desk accessory.  Use with CLI or Hotwire to automate Stalker tasks.  Run a
 BackTALK script  without opening  the Stalker  window.  Create HotWire LGR
 entries for STalker DA sessions.

 MIDI MUSIC MAKER

     Version 2.21 of Midi Music Maker is now available in LIBRARY 5  of the
 Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) as file MMM221.LZH.  This program plays 16
 different types of music including SMF. It also  will create  SMF format 0
 or 1  from any  of the  types played. New features include ability to play
 Dr. Ts  (Atari or  Amiga) and  Sound Blaster  CMF files,  full screen file
 display, user  definable keys, selectable drum tracks when transposing and
 several other new features and fixes.

 VERSION 6.4 of WHATIS

     Version 6.4 of WHATIS is now available for download from  LIBRARY 6 of
 the  Atari  Productivity  Forum  (GO  ATARIPRO)  as  file WHATIS.ARC. This
 version identifies over 125 file types - ARCs,  LHarcs, PRGs,  pics, ACCs,
 animations, etc...  no more "what kind of file is this?" problems! Runs as
 a PRG or ACC or a TTP-like program  on any  ST/TT in  any rez.  Short docs
 included in  the ARC.   All  the features  of previous versions, plus adds
 PageStream 2.2 docs and LaserJet II soft fonts to the list.

 PAGESTREAM PATCH

     A patch to convert PageStream  2.1  (UK)  to  PageStream  2.2  (UK) is
 available for  download as  file UKPATC.ARC  from LIBRARY  11 of the Atari
 Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN).  This is equivalent to the US version  of the
 patch which  creates PageStream 2.2 (US). The UK version of PageStream has
 the word 'color' spelled as 'colour' in the Global menu.

 SIMPLY LOADING XTERM2 ONTO PORTFOLIO!

     Download XLOAD.ZIP  from LIBRARY  2 of  the Atari  Portfolio Forum (GO
 APORTFOLIO)  for  a  small  program  and batch file to simplify first time
 loading of xterm2 onto your Portfolio through the  serial port.  The batch
 file is  run from  your PC  and copies xload.com across to your Portfolio.
 Xload.com is then run from your Portfolio to copy xterm2 across. The batch
 file contains  further instructions  and the program has a number of error
 trapping routines. NB. The zip file does not contain xterm2  itself - this
 can be downloaded separately from library 2.

 ULTIMATE ADDRESS BOOK!

     The  ultimate  Address  Book  for  the  PC!  Reads and edits Portfolio
 compatible Address Book files.    Advanced  features!  Commercial Quality!
 Written and  uploaded by Artisan Software. Even dials the modem for you...
 just like the Portfolio dials  over  the  speaker!  Requires  DOS-PC. Save
 feature disabled until registered.

     Download file  ADR_BK.ZIP from  LIBRARY 6 of the Atari Portfolio Forum
 (GO APORTFOLIO).

                  THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE
                          HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN
                OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION

            "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"



  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



 > From the Editor's Desk             "Saying it like it is!"
   """"""""""""""""""""""

     Christmas is right around  the corner,  loyal Atarians  are poised all
 'round the  globe to pounce on a new "Falcon for the Holidays".  Or, maybe
 a "Lynx"..  then again..  perhaps an  "STBook" or  "Portfolio".. all sweet
 dreams aren't  they?   Well at least they'll be able to get a Lynx.  Seems
 the Lynx is the only  goodie  that's  available  in  any  real quantities.
 Elsewhere in this issue, there's a special Lynx promotion for the holidays
 that can put a new Lynx under your Christmas Tree or Chanukah Bush.

     On another note, one can only wonder why the Minister  of Information,
 Bob Brodie, decided to slag John Amlser's really great job of reporting on
 Atari's performance at Comdex.  Its truly sad  to see  such petty nonsense
 coming from  Atari.   In slagging  Mr. Amsler's report, Mr. Brodie made it
 quite evident  he failed  to realize  the perspective  STReport wanted the
 Comdex Report  done from.   Brodie  quips; "Why didn't Amsler come forward
 and introduce himself?"  

     To that remark STR replies; Would it have made any difference once you
 knew he was from STReport?  Why should we even "check-in" at all?  Perhaps
 to ensure we get the full  company "pep-talk"?   No  thank you.   We "got"
 that already.   To  be more  explicit, John  Amsler's instructions were to
 "report on Atari's showing  at the  Comdex show  as a  spectator would see
 it."  Thus, giving the reader the resulting impressions as they would have
 appeared  to  the  average  spectator.    Not  as  an  involuntary company
 'spokesperson'.

     Its  sad  to  see  the good director 'bad-mouthing' Amsler's excellent
 efforts when in fact, his report was right on the mark and  quite factual.
 To  say  it  even  plainer,  why  didn't Brodie take advantage of Amsler's
 Comdex observations and those  of others  who were  in attendance  and use
 them to  Atari's benefit  instead of  crying foul  and lamenting the "less
 than enthusiastic blind joy"  that was  eagerly anticipated  but never did
 materialize?   Easy!   The honest reporting of our eyewitness reporter was
 not what _they_ "wanted  to  hear"  and  Brodie's  selfish  obsession once
 again, got  in the  way of  true professionalism.   Maybe Ron Smith wasn't
 wrong after all.

     Its more than vaguely apparent that Brodie did  his best  to discredit
 STReport  and  John  Amsler's  excellent  Comdex  report.    After all the
 'smoke' cleared, most everything Brodie detailed  in "his  special report"
 was also  detailed by  John Amlser.   In  fact, Amsler had presented a few
 items "Master"  Brodie missed!     Its rather  easy to  realize why Brodie
 would resort  to most  anything to  take a  few cheap shots at STR, but to
 continue the "obvious  obsession"  in  AEO's  newest  release?    And.. at
 Amsler's expense to boot?  Why is Brodie obviously trying to start another
 magazine war?  In any case, Brodie can "try" to  start one  all he wishes,
 he'll be there _all alone_.   One can only imagine how it could've been if
 Brodie placed the very same enthusiasm  and effort  into promoting Atari's
 future.

     Since it  is so  close to  Christmas, I'd  like to  wish everyone, yes
 everyone.. the very best of Holiday Cheer, Health and Fortune.
   
             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
                    Delphi........................ RMARIANO
                    BIX........................... RMARIANO
                    FIDONET....................... 112/35
                    FNET.......................... NODE 350
                    NEST.......................... 90:21/350.0
                    GEnie......................... ST-REPORT


  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

                      STR'S "BELIEVE IT?  OR.. WHAT?"
                    <>###############################<>

                "There is no comparison!  The Atari Falcon
                   is far superior to the PC platform."


                                                  Sam Tramiel, 08/92


          "As I said before, all marketing announcements will be made at
          Duesseldorf.  I will not comment on future models of the Falcon.

                 WE ARE TALKING TODAY ABOUT A MACHINE.....
                    WHICH WILL BE SHIPPING NEXT WEEK."


                                                  Sam Tramiel, 08/92


     "I've just returned from Asia, where I saw the first Atari Falcon
     production coming off the lines.  Let's hope this new offering will
     make it in North America.  I know that the specs are great."


                                                  Sam Tramiel, 08/92




            "......  We are not working for Wall Street but to
        make money for our shareholders and only think long term."


                                                  Sam Tramiel, 11/92

 psssst.
     FYI.... The Shareholder's equity is fine.... NOT!

                    The Stock is hovering around $1.31 


                   ITS DECEMBER'92 -> FALCON030 - WHERE?

  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""




 > CPU STATUS REPORT                 LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS 
   =================
  
    Issue #49

    Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
  


  -- IBM Calls Special Meeting
  
 IBM scheduled a special meeting of its board of directors as rumors 
 swirled that the troubled computer maker would take additional steps to 
 cure its financial problems.  The directors will meet next week, accor-
 ding to an industry executive. Amoung the actions the board may consider 
 are the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs and plant consolida-
 tions. In addition, the board may speed plans to give some IBM busines-
 ses more autonomy.
  

  
  -- Microsoft Faces Injunction Action
  
 Attorneys investigating Microsoft for the Federal Trade Commission have 
 requested the agency's permission to seek a premliminary court injuc-
 tion to stop alleged monopolistic practices, a Washington, D.C. news-
 letter has reported. The acton was the lastest move in a lengthy inves-
 tigation into Microsoft's pricing practices and, if pursued by the FCC, 
 could force the software manufacturer to change the way it deals with 
 thousands of computer makers who buy its MS-DOS operating systems.
  
  

  -- Compaq Enters Direct Sales Market
  
 Compaq Computer Corp. began direct sales using toll-free phone and mail 
 orders, entering a marketing niche that many personal computer makers 
 have used for years. The move is part of Compaq's drive to market its 
 products more widely.
  
  

  -- Fujitsu Developes 256-meg Dram

 Fujitsu Ltd. says it has developed the world's first 256-megabit DRAM 
 chip, boasting a capacity four times as large as any DRAM chip yet de-
 veloped.  A company spokeswoman is quoted as saying the new chips are 
 scheduled to be marketed in 1996. She added the company won't have to 
 build new facilities  to manufacture the advanced chips, and instead
 will convert its current production lines.

 The quarter-sized chip is thought to "likely to pave the way for the 
 development of palm-sized multimedia devices like telephones or facsi-
 mile machines".
  
  

  -- Novell Denies Apple Merger Talks
  
 Novell Inc. is denying a report in the San Jose Mercury News that said 
 the networking giant was negotiating a merger with Apple Computer Inc.

 "There is no truth to that," said a Novell spokeswoman. "We're always in 
 industry discussions with them, but we're not having discussions with 
 them about merging."

 An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the report.

 The Mercury News said talks between Apple Chairman John Sculley and 
 Novell Chairman Ray Noorda were a closely held secret and only known by 
 an elite group of senior executives at the two firms.
  
  

  -- Chip Shipping Ratio Up In November
  
 The U.S. chip industry's book-to-bill ratio rose to 1.13 in November, up 
 from 1.11 in October, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association
 trade group.  A 1.13 book-to-bill ratio means that for every $100 of
 products shipped, or billed, manufacturers received $113 in new orders,
 or bookings.
  
  

  -- Intel to Increase Spending 33%
  
 Intel Corp. has announced it will increase capital spending 33% next 
 year, more than any other semiconductor company in the world.

 Intel Executive Vice President Craig Barrett said the company plans to 
 spend $1.6 billion on new plants, equipment and research. Research and 
 development expenditures alone will total about $900 million, compared 
 with about $800 million this year.

 Barrett said Intel's investment will amount to more than one-third of 
 the company's revenue for 1993.



  -- Former Computer Whiz Kid Caught
  
 Kevin Poulsen, a former Silicon Valley computer whiz kid, has been charged
 with stealing Air Force secrets that allegedly included a list of planned
 targets in a hypothetical war. The 27-year-old Los Angeles resident was
 named in a 14-count indictment that includes a charge of gathering
 defense information. If convicted, he would face 7-1/2 to 10 years in
 prison.

 In the early 1980s, Poulsen was accused of breaking into UCLA's computer
 network, but he escaped prosecution because he was a juvenile. He later
 went to work for Sun Microsystems. It was while Poulsen was employed by
 Sun that he illegally obtained a computer tape containing an order
 concerning a military exercise code-named Caber Dragon 88, the government
 said in court papers.

 Poulsen was also charged in 1989 along with two other men with stealing 
 telephone access codes from a Pacific Bell office, accessing Pacific 
 Bell computers, obtaining unpublished phone numbers for the Soviet 
 Consulate in San Francisco; dealing in stolen telephone access codes; 
 and eavesdropping on two telephone company investigators.  Sources say 
 he remained at large until a television show elicited a tip that led to 
 his capture in April 1991. He is scheduled to be tried in March on these 
 charges.


    ___________________________________________________________________





 > PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHTS STR Spotlight     A LITTLE 'CHEER' FOR YOU!
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



                  THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR C PROGRAMMERS
                  ======================================



 by Henry Spencer


 Thou shalt run lint frequently and study its pronouncements with care,
 for verily its perception and judgement oft exceed thine.

 Thou shalt not follow the NULL pointer, for chaos and madness await thee
 at its end.

 Thou shalt cast all function arguments to the expected type if they are
 not of that type already, even when thou art convinced that this is
 unnecessary, lest they take cruel vengeance upon thee when thou least
 expect it.

 If thy header files fail to declare the return types of thy library
 functions, thou shalt declare them thyself with the most meticulous care,
 lest grievous harm befall thy program.

 Thou shalt check the array bounds of all strings (indeed, all arrays), for
 surely where thou typest ``foo'' someone someday shall type
 ``supercalifragilisticexpialidocious''.

 If a function be advertised to return an error code in the event of 
 difficulties, thou shalt check for that code, yea, even though the checks 
 triple the size of thy code and produce aches in thy typing fingers, for
 if thou thinkest ``it cannot happen to me'', the gods shall surely punish
 thee for thy arrogance.

 Thou shalt study thy libraries and strive not to re-invent them without
 cause, that thy code may be short and readable and thy days pleasant and
 productive.

 Thou shalt make thy program's purpose and structure clear to thy fellow
 man by using the One True Brace Style, even if thou likest it not, for thy
 creativity is better used in solving problems than in creating beautiful
 new impediments to understanding.

 Thy external identifiers shall be unique in the first six characters,
 though this harsh discipline be irksome and the years of its necessity
 stretch before thee seemingly without end, lest thou tear thy hair out and
 go mad on that fateful day when thou desirest to make thy program run on
 an old system.

 Thou shalt foreswear, renounce, and abjure the vile heresy which claimeth
 that ``All the world's a VAX'', and have no commerce with the benighted
 heathens who cling to this barbarous belief, that the days of thy program
 may be long even though the days of thy current machine be short.


 This little ditty (from Internet?) courtesy of Jim Redpath 70000,1045...

                        The Twelve Bugs of Christmas ....

 For the first bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      See if they can do it again.

 For the second bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.

 For the third bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Try to reproduce it
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.

 For the fourth bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Run with the debugger
      Try to reproduce it
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.

 For the fifth bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Ask for a dump
      Run with the debugger
      Try to reproduce it
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.

 For the sixth bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Reinstall the software
      Ask for a dump
      Run with the debugger
      Try to reproduce it
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.

 For the seventh bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Say they need an upgrade
      Reinstall the software
      Ask for a dump
      Run with the debugger
      Try to reproduce it
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.

 For the eighth bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Find a way around it
      Say they need an upgrade
      Reinstall the software
      Ask for a dump
      Run with the debugger
      Try to reproduce it
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.

 For the ninth bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Blame it on the hardware
      Find a way around it
      Say they need an upgrade
      Reinstall the software
      Ask for a dump
      Run with the debugger
      Try to reproduce it
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.

 For the tenth bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Change the documentation
      Blame it on the hardware
      Find a way around it
      Say they need an upgrade
      Reinstall the software
      Ask for a dump
      Run with the debugger
      Try to reproduce it
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.

 For the eleventh bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Say it's not supported
      Change the documentation
      Blame it on the hardware
      Find a way around it
      Say they need an upgrade
      Reinstall the software
      Ask for a dump
      Run with the debugger
      Try to reproduce it
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.

 For the twelfth bug of Christmas, my manager said to me
      Tell them it's a feature
      Say it's not supported
      Change the documentation
      Blame it on the hardware
      Find a way around it
      Say they need an upgrade
      Reinstall the software
      Ask for a dump
      Run with the debugger
      Try to reproduce it
      Ask them how they did it and
      See if they can do it again.


      ______________________________________________________________




 > ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine          The wires are a hummin'!
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""""
         
          
              
                            PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
                            =====================
             
              
  On CompuServe
  -------------
  compiled by Joe Mirando





 Well folks, Christmas is yet another week closer.  As I write this column,
 my part of the country (the Northeast) is looking at a rather large snow
 storm.  It looks like, for the first time in years, I will have a white
 Christmas.  Its not quite a perfect replacement for having a FALCON030
 under the tree on Christmas morning, but it beats a poke in the eye with a
 sharp stick.

 Okay, okay, enough of my ramblings, on with the show...




 From The Atari Productivity Forum
 =================================


 Ah, Christmas.  My favorite time of the year:  Snow, brisk air, Christmas
 carols, and... PRESENTS!

 On to other matters.  When was the last time you _enjoyed_ using GDOS?
 Let's face it; It slows your computer down, you usually need a different
 assignment file for each program that needs GDOS, and it can be tough to
 manage all of those different files.  The bottom line though, is that GDOS
 (or replacement programs such as G+Plus, FontGDOS, or the long awaited FSM
 (now SPEEDO)GDOS) is still the best way to get graphics from your ST to a
 printer.  Many graphics-oriented programs such as Desktop Publishers, use
 GDOS to achieve the best possible results using affordable printers.  But
 what if you have a printer that isn't supported by the GDOS file that
 came with a particular program?  Tim Rule posts:


     "I am a new user of compuserve.  I am looking for an HP Deskjet
     printer driver for GDOS, FSM GDOS or FONT GDOS on the Atari ST.  My
     printer is in fact a 550C but none of my ST software supports color,
     can anyone suggest a program as good as my CorelDraw! V3 which runs on
     the ST?.  I also need a printer driver for Calamus S which can output
     a TIFF file at FAX resolution.  Is there such thing?

     Is anyone interested in a text conversion program which allows you to
     import an ASCII file formatted for the ST screen into a 1ST Word Plus
     document?"


 Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Magazine, who seems to have a never ending
 knowledge of all things Atari related answers Tim:

     "I think there is a program by Greg Wagman for printing on the 550C. 
     It should be in the library somewhere in this forum.  I don't know
     drawing programs that well but they are quite a few good ones out
     there.  For Calamus you can try the Atari Vendors forum (GO ATARIVEN)
     under the ISD section.  Nathan of ISD answers questions about Calamus
     SL on a regular basis. (GO ATARIVEN)"


 CompuServe Users are a friendly bunch and usually welcome new users and
 make them feel right at home (which, since they are telecommunicating,
 they probably are).  Steve Gold welcomes Tim and provides some
 information:

     "Welcome, you've just joined some of the most knowledgeable (though
     some of us can't spell) people in the Atari world..  You can find
     FONTGDOS  here on-line within the archives is the DeskJet 500 driver
     which will work with the 550C.  As far as I know there are no color
     gdos drivers available for the 550C or the 500C. (Though you might
     wish to check with a company called SDS (Scott is on-line here)  There
     are several MONOChrome and Color programs for the ST.  I suggest you
     look at the Lexicor suite of programs.  StraightFAX has a print
     driver for Calamus that will output a document into their native FAX
     format.  As for TIFF files there is DATAFORMER for Calamus SL (I don't
     know if it will work with S)."


 Nathan Potechin of DMC, the "Calamus People", tells Tim:


     "There is a driver for the HP 550C for Calamus S/SL. And yes, the
     DATAFORMER module works with either S or SL and exports 24 bit TIFF
     beautifully. :-)"


 While on the subject of graphics, Richard Jay tells us:


     "I will soon be starting a DTP design service using my 4 meg STe
     (probably upgrading to a Falcon next year), and need advice as to
     software and scanners.  I have discounted Timeworks as I need
     Postscript file capability, so the choice is between Calamus and
     Pagestream.  Any advice from users would be much appreciated.  All
     scanners seem to be alike, but I'm sure they're not. Again, advice
     please.  Finally I would like to take advantage of the large clip art
     & font resources in the IBM/MAC DTPFORUM libraries (it doesn't seem to
     have any support for ST) so does anybody know of any convertor
     programs that I could d/load."


 That busy, busy, busy guy, Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Magazine posts:


     "Does Calamus have postscript output?  I thought it was only
     PageStream. Goldleaf is distributing some new scanning software call
     LOOK II.  You can read more about that software from library uploads
     that give the details.

     From what I remember you can use any PostScript type one fonts with
     PageStream without any difficulty.  There seem to be quite a few
     graphic converters on the Atari platform and with both Calamus and
     PageStream to handle 99% of your needs in my opinion.  This will help
     when it comes to the clip art part of things.

     There is flatbed scanner software and hand-held scanner software
     available for the Atari too.  I know there are quite a few people who
     use their Ataris for DTP work not even mentioning the many editors and
     representatives of the various Atari magazines."



 Hmmm... I think I'm going to have to make an "Albert" macro so I don't
 have to type "Albert Dayes of Atari Explore Magazine"  so often.  Either
 that or Albert has to stop replying and helping so many people out
 here.... Nah, I'll set up a macro!  ;-)

 Boris Molodyi chimes in with the first piece of information that Albert
 didn't have right at his fingertips (Hey somebody call the 'World Records'
 people).  Boris posts:


     "Calamus (SL) has a Dataformer module, that can output (among other
     things) PostScript files."


 This sure seems to be the week for DTP questions... Domingo Alvear posts:


     "I was wondering if anybody out there could tell me where to pick up
     "The Tray"? I will be getting a Migraph hand scanner with touch-up and
     a boatload of other DTP software soon.  I need the full-page
     capability.  Oh, please give me the list price, as well as any
     mail-order pricing you might have.  (Along with phone numbers,
     addresses, etc.)"


 Okay, _THIS_ does it!  I'm going to stop right now and install that
 "ALBERT" macro.... 

 Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Magazine tells Domingo:


     "You can try The Computer Network in Glendale. (818)-500-3900  You
     live in the general area right? (plus or minus 100 miles)"



 Ahhhh... that's much better.  Now when Albert saves the day next time,
 I'll be able to just hit one key and have that line added to the column.
 After a mention that several Euro-Mags contained advertisements offering
 the FALCON030, Sysop Bob Retelle posts:


     "If magazine lead times in England are anything like they are here in
     the US, those ads were placed months ago on the *hopes* that Atari
     would have delivered Falcons for sale by the time the ads saw print... 
     That's one of the problems of print advertising.. if you wait until
     the Falcons are really ready to sell to place the ads, it might be
     months (depending on the publication) before anyone sees your ad. 
     You've got to gamble on believing the Falcons would be ready when
     Atari said they would be..  apparently the ads appeared then, but the
     Falcons didn't.."


 Tony at GST Software adds:


     "Yup - originally it appears Atari had promised dealers supplies by
     then.  However we (and everybody else) are still awaiting the first
     real sightings."


 From the Atari ST Arts Forum
 ============================


 Boy, is this National GDOS Discussion week or something?  Ralph Kalatucka
 tells Domingo Alvear about his experiences with G+Plus, the GDOS
 replacement from CodeHead Technologies:


     "I know G+PLUS is better than GDOS; The only trouble I was having was
     using it with a hard drive (turn on/turn off) which was solved when I
     started trying Super Boot. However, this caused me to pull out the old
     instruction manual for G+PLUS, and I realized how little I really knew
     about it.  F'rinstance...The G+PLUS accessory and the accompanying
     G+PLUS MINI .acc. I just couldn't really figure out why I would need
     one or the other or either of them tying up an accessory slot (I have
     a calculator and a clock in there with other stuff.)

     So I ignored them, and all seems to be well.

     When it comes to GEMSYS, ASSIGN.SYS and the ever-puzzling Easy-Draw
     METASYS, I get easily bogged down in computer-eze language. I also
     know that I am an idiot if I own 2 ST's and DON'T understand more of
     their innards, but if I just ignore some of the stuff and don't try to
     follow it too closely, my blood pressure stays way down.  I would
     appreciate some in-person tutor some day. I'll have to see if there is
     a users group in my area in Los Angeles."


 Brian Gockley, editor for ST Informer, and a pretty good guy, chimes in
 and tells Ralph:


     "When I first got my ST, I also got EZ Draw (still one of my favorite
     'productivity tools). I could not get it too run for anything. I kept
     getting a stupid 'You must have GDOS in an Auto folder and a valid
     Assign.SYS file. After I learned how to make a folder (really), I
     copied GDOS.PRG into every partition I had, sometimes inside another
     Auto folder! After several support calls, my dealer asked me to bring
     my hard drive in to the store, where he set up a 'valid' Assign.SYS
     file etc.

     It was over two years later when I needed to learn anything more, and
     by then I was a bit more prepared (get the article 'Everything You
     Want to Know About GDOS...' by Doug Wheeler).

     I feel like a GDOS veteran by now, but there are still a lot I don't
     know about. For example, where <IS> the GDOS camera driver that I can
     use from Outprint.PRG? Why <Isn't>there a Type 1 converter yet? Why
     <don't> all program's have the ability to change drivers on the fly?
     When <WILL> we see a font preview CPX? Why <CAN'T> all GDOS program's
     print to disk? And many more...

     The recent FontGDOS and its attenuating CPX modules is a real
     improvement, I can't wait for the new Speedo version. As far as
     Meta.SYS, I believe that this is a driver (similar to a printer
     driver) that allows a GEM file to be written to disk. Without this
     driver, you cannot save a .GEM file for later use. I don't know why
     this quirk exists, but be sure it is part of the original DRI
     Operating System."


 Tony at GST Software tells Brian:


     "Meta.sys exists to allow an application to print its information to a
     file as a GEM file without needing to worry about how to create such a
     file.  In fact several apps can happily handle such files without
     META.SYS since they contain the necessary code themselves."


 Remember those great old games from the infancy of the coin-op video game
 world?  There was Missile Command and... OH HECK... What was the name of
 that other one?  The one where this long earthworm-looking thing snaked
 around on the screen while you took pot-shots at it.  Well, Mike McKee
 remembers:


     "A Russian programmer and myself would like to develop a game similar
     to Centipede for the Mac PowerBooks, since these have trackballs, but
     first we need to recall what Centipede looked like so we don't
     infringe on any copyrights. We plan to call it BookWorm (in favor of
     the PowerBOOKs) and the main worm will have nerdish round glasses on. 
     Please, can you specifically outline what old Centipede looked like?
     Did the screen scroll down? Could the centipede leave the screen and
     come back to the other side? How did the trackball affect the
     movement?"


 Albert Dayes at Atari Explorer Magazine tells Mike:


     "Centipede.  There was no screen scrolling at all.  The Centipede
     would start at the top of the screen and descending to the bottom. 
     With each new wave one additional segment would be separate from the
     rest (ie wave 0 = full centipede, wave 1 = centipede and 1 segment
     separated, etc).  The Centipede changed direction every time it hit a
     mushroom at it also descended one level.

     After a few waves you (the player) would get harassed by a jumping
     spider. The spider will not change directions so once he is past you;
     there is nothing to fear.  If you shot too many mushrooms then some
     insect would drop from the top of the screen filling at random a
     straight vertical line of mushrooms.  In addition there is a scorpion
     that would run across the middle and poison the mushrooms causing the
     centipede to come straight down from where it was first poisoned.

     The player was restricted to the lower 1/4 of the screen.  The
     trackball movement is like any other trackball it gives both speed and
     direction.  So the faster the spin the ball the quicker the player
     moves from one place to another.  The fire button is a single shot but
     it can be held down to give a pseudo-machine gun like appearance.

     Also every 10 waves or so the mushrooms grow in random locations
     across the screen.  There is no level number indicator on the screen
     but there are 3 sets of numbers.  The middle one indicates the high
     score and the two on the sides represent player one and player two."


 Sysop Bob Retelle adds:


     "The centipede appears at the top lefthand corner of the screen and
     moves horizontally from left to right across the screen until it
     either hits the edge of the screen or a mushroom. It then drops one
     row and begins moving back across the screen from right to left,
     repeating until it hits the bottom of the screen.

     At that point, it begins moving back up the screen, but only for about
     four or five rows, then begins descending row by row again.

     When it hits the bottom, several other centipede segments will enter
     the screen near the bottom and begin the same back and forth movement
     (to make it tougher on the player).

     As for copyrights, it all depends..   you might get away with it, or
     Leonard Tramiel might threaten to sue your [expletive deleted] off."





 From the Atari Vendors Forum
 ============================



 Dazzz Smith asks:


     "Has anybody heard about an new upgrade to Neodesk? Any details?"


 Pat Augustine tells Dazzz:


     "I received a newsletter in the mail the other day from Gribnif
     wherein they mentioned a new version of Neodesk for next year.  It's
     not available yet, but I believe they are taking orders (though they
     neglected to mention the upgrade price in the newsletter)."


 Meanwhile, Boris Molodyi asks Nathan Potechin of DMC about Calamus:


     "BTW, any news on WORD import module, better ASCII importer
     (selectable CR/LF configurations) and retouching software (I remember
     that it was studio, but don't recall if it was Repro or Cranach :-)"


 Nathan replies:

     "Nothing new on Word or Ascii but I did receive a rough draft of the
     TMS Cranach Studio manual this very morning. I haven't even looked at
     it yet. :-) More as it develops."


 Bill Devonshire tells Charles F. Johnson of CodeHead Technologies:


     "I seem to have missed out on quite a lot lately.  I have Warp9 3.6,
     and from what I read here there seems to have been some considerable
     upgrades to it.  What's the scoop on upgrading?"


 Charles tells Bill:


     "Please have a look in Library 16, at the file called W9NEW.TXT; it
     contains a description of the latest version of Warp 9, along with
     details about how to upgrade.  Thanks for your interest!"



 Well, that's about it for this week boys 'n girls.  Sometime within the
 next two or three issues I'll be starting to include posts from the Atari
 Portfolio Forum.  So if you have a Portfolio, tune in every week to find
 the same kind of news and helpful information that 'PEOPLE' provides for
 ST users.  If you have both an ST and a Portfolio I guess you'll just have
 to read the column twice each week!  ;-)  So whether you own an ST, STe,
 TT, or a Portfolio, be sure to tune in again next week and listen to what
 they are saying when...


                            PEOPLE ARE TALKING


  _______________________________________________________________________




 > THEIR WINNING WAYS STR FOCUS!     "How to win friends and......"
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""""




                     IMPLODING IS THE BEST DESCRIPTION
                     =================================



 prologue by R.F. Mariano
  
     A dear friend and colleague first used the term "imploding" some time
 ago.  I felt he had perhaps been far too premature.  Looking back, I now
 can honestly say I was being far to optimistic.  The gent was absolutely
 correct in his observation of the Atari market imploding.  This was two
 years ago last October.  Now, Atari is imploding.  Atari's actions and
 performance have been heartbreaking to say the least.  After you read this
 account of how a Loyal, dedicated developer was recently treated when
 visiting the Sunnyvale Circus and playground of the Katzenjammer, you too
 will realize exactly what is going on and why there are those of us who
 feel the way we do.  The Fat Lady is looming larger than life itself.



 From USENET.....

 Read subscription article (Usenet) 
 /Gateways/Usenet/comp/sys/atari/st/general/Good Bye Double Click
 1073.3.22743.130 Re: Hello, GW!  (was Re: Good Bye Atari)
 12/8/92 17:10 152/8244 dmb@case.ai.mit.edu (David Baggett)
 Lines 141 to 152 of 152 (100%)
 -----

 In article <greg.723853140@duke- greg@Quotron.COM (Greg "Maddog" Knauss)
 writes:

 -neil@cs.hw.ac.uk (Neil Forsyth) writes:
 -Right but as Dave said, Atari didn't seem to have that view.
 -They're weird bunch of guys there.
 -What exactly did Atari say?  I'm curious to hear their reaction to GW.  

 I can't actually post a transcript without violating major Usenet 
 etiquette rules.  :-|

 -Dave said that he got yelled at for three hours.  I'd be surprised at
 -any Atari official respond negatively to software for the ST, unless
 -the Tramiels really _are_ morons...  Which could very well be.

 Since you asked, and since I've recently been accused of being "too hard"
 on Atari, I'll give the details of our visit.

     There is no exaggeration in the following -- I had (and have) no
 reason to make anything up here, and I certainly have no desire to incur a
 libel suit (see below about Leonard the Atari Legal Attack Dog).  I went
 out there feeling very optimistic, and I still have many fond memories of
 the Atari world and ST hacking.

     But I was completely and utterly astonished by their utter idiocy.  My
 fears about Atari's future increased 100-fold just because of that visit.

     Example of technical idiocy:  We told them weeks in advance that we
 were bringing a Syquest cart, and "Would there be a cart drive there?" 
 They assured us there would be.  And, lo and behold, there was!  But they
 spent about an hour cobbling it together, and then proclaimed that my cart
 couldn't be read because it was formatted with "shi**y third party
 software."  (I'm sure ICD would be pleased to hear their opinion.) They
 scrambled all around and found something else, which they claimed would
 "fix the problem."  I went along with this, assuming they knew what was
 going home.

     After our meeting they cited our bringing "incompatible third party
 media" as a reason they were unimpressed with our "presentation" (which we
 couldn't actually give for all the heckling).  I was a bit dumfounded,
 but I didn't say much in response, thinking it best to just let it go. 
 But I found later that there AREN'T any problems reading ICD formatted
 carts in other Syquest drives.  They had simply booted up C drive and
 looked in it, found it empty, and proclaimed some problem in ICD's
 software.  But the C partition WAS blank -- I didn't put anything on it. 
 I put everything on D!  It had been working just fine -- they wasted an
 hour of our (and their) time for nothing.

     When they finally got things set up, people just wandered in and out
 randomly, like we were at some holiday party or something.  We were told
 that one of the employees was "really mad at having to come in that day so
 we'd better do a good job."  (And, indeed, he bitched *non-stop* and asked
 obviously irritating questions over and over, even after we'd given a
 simple answer like, "Yes.")

     What the he** kind of treatment is that for developers that have paid
 their *own way* out to Sunnyvale to show you some game development
 software for your new machine which you want to pitch to GAME COMPANIES. 
 They told us all about their grand plans.  All about how they'd be moving
 30,000 Falcons a month in August.  All about how EA, etc. were going to
 write games for it.  (With no game development system, of course.)  We
 were horrified at their naivete.  We were furious at their rudeness and
 lack of professionalism.  They actually told us that some of the peons
 from the Lynx group were "angry that we'd wasted their time."  That WE'D
 wasted THEIR time?!?!  Wanna reimburse us for the $3000 it cost DC to make
 that trip, Atari?  How about the 5 days WE wasted flying our butts out to
 be abused by you?

     Bill Rehbock was the only person that behaved in an even slightly
 professional manner.  (The TT dev people, whom we knew already, weren't
 involved in the "meeting," but they were also very supportive)  I have got
 to give Bill credit; he was the only person who seemed to have any *clue*
 about the reality of the situation at Atari.  He was the only one who
 wouldn't have been perfectly happy with us leaving so angry that we'd
 never do anything but write malicious viruses for Atari computers again. 
 (No, we never have, and we won't.)

     The only questions Leonard Tramiel could think to ask were, "Does your
 stuff run on the TT?"  (Yes, as we explained in detail at the start of
 "meeting.") and "What would your reaction be if we sued you for copyright
 infringement for HacMan II?"  As Dave Barry says, "I AM NOT MAKING THIS
 UP."  What POSSIBLE relevance did THAT have?!?!  Aside from being
 completely absurd (as if pacman has any sales potential anymore anyway,
 and as if I made any money off it), it was totally unrelated to the
 matters at hand.

     To give you an idea of the kinds of criticisms they had, they were
 *very* hung up on the fact that Animatic had 16 palette boxes, and hence
 "obviously could never be made to work with 256 colors."  As if the screen
 layout is impossible to change.  (And as if we were supposed to develop a
 system that supported the Falcon before we ever even saw a Falcon!)  They
 were also very mad that Animatic won't import Deluxe Paint images, because
 THEY only use Deluxe Paint on the Amiga.  (As if it would really be hard
 to add an IFF loader.  Come on, it's not like I don't have the format
 grin.)

     They complained that we didn't have real-time sprite scaling and
 rotation, an omission which they felt made the system terribly technically
 inferior because "the Lynx has it and it's only a 6502-based machine." 
 But the Lynx has *hardware scaling and rotation built in*.  I was amazed
 to find that I knew more about the Lynx hardware than the Lynx
 programmers!  (I was also amazed that they thought you could actually do
 real-time rotation and scaling on the ST without massive precalculated
 tables in anything but a specially-coded demo.  No commercial ST games do
 that, that I know of.)

     The real kicker is that GW does have image scaling and rotation
 routines, so if you *really* feel the urge to try making a game that runs
 fast enough to be playable using real-time scaling and rotation, you can
 do so easily, by hooking your own image manipulation code (that just calls
 the GW scaling/rotation routines) into the GW kernel using a simple
 technique they *refused* to let me describe!  I just never bothered to
 hook scaling and rotation into the sprite code because it would probably
 never get used.

     They then proceeded to show us their beloved Lynx development system,
 which they think is the best thing ever.  It runs on an Amiga.  THERE WERE
 NO Atari machines being used by the game developers at Atari.  And they
 groused that the management had been asking them to start trying to work
 with TT's, saying that if they moved to Atari machines they'd lose their
 favorite Amiga text editor, and that they just WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO PROGRAM
 WITHOUT IT.

     I just wanted to grab them by the lapels and shake them.  (This all
 not even considering the fact that the "awesome" Lynx system doesn't even
 have the concept of a "film" or "sprite" -- you have to tack frames
 together "by hand" by drawing them on the screen in the right order.  Give
 me a *break* guys -- arrays and linked lists are NOT new concepts.)

     I guess Bill gave us a Falcon to make us feel less like ripping the
 heads off every Atari employee we dealt with there.  But that doesn't
 change the facts of the day.

     Did I mention that they BET us that we couldn't finish the ST version
 of Vindicators before they could?  Dave Staugas had been working on it for
 about 6 months, and when we commented that the game would be fairly
 straightforward with GW, their response was not, "Really?  Then tell us
 how you'd do it, wise guy" but instead "Oh yeah, well Dave Staugas just
 sucked anyway, so it's no surprise he took so long.  *I* could write it in
 a week." 

     Kind words for the guy who wrote NEOchrome, huh?  I suppose we can
 only hope for his sake that "Bea" hasn't stabbed him in the back too.
 (Whoever she is.)

 So there you go.  That's the way it was.  Atari, RIP.

 Dave Baggett
 --
 dmb@ai.mit.edu           MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory           
       
 ADVENTIONS: interactive fiction (text adventures) for the 90's!
 dmb@ai.mit.edu *** Compu$erve: 76440,2671 *** GEnie: ADVENTIONS

    
 Editor Note;
   
     Still there are those yahoos who feel the Katzenjammer can do no
 wrong.  Will they ever wake up?  I doubt it.  The shame is they'll take a
 bunch of good people with them.  I wonder if the Codeheads ever got a
 Falcon?
   




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 > PHOTOCHROME 3 STR Review               That was then... this is NOW!
   """"""""""""""""""""""""




                         PHOTOCHROME VERSION 3.00
                         ========================




 Authored by Douglas Little
 Pixel Twins Share Utilities

 Reviewed by Doyle C. Helms
 Software Editor @ STReport



      The "standard" Atari ST computer comes with 16 colors displayable
 from a palette of 512 available colors. This has been the "standard" since
 the ST introduction in 1985. Today's "standard" is still 16 colors
 displayable, but from a palette of 4096 colors. The old standard allowed
 for only 8 shades of one color. Today's STe allows for 16 shades of one
 color. So you see some progress has been made.

      A few years after the ST's introduction, a paint program came on the
 scene that would allow the ST to display all 512 colors at once. This
 program is called Spectrum 512 (and also in a later version known as
 Unispec, an accessory version of Spectrum 512). With this program a user
 could create and edit a screen full of colors unheard of on a home/micro
 computer at that time. Several utility programs came out from various
 sources that allow GIF and IFF picture format files to be converted over
 to SPC(Spectrum) format. 

      GIF(Graphic Interchange Format) originated on Compuserve Information
 Service that was designed with compatibility between all personal computer
 systems. The GIF format allow up to 256 colors on screen at once. The
 quality of images created with GIF and SPC soon became a benchmark for
 other color graphic formats to attain and try to surpass. Several paint
 programs came into being that promised equal quality to that of SPC, alas,
 they never became widely accepted in the Atari community. We Atarians are
 a "picky" lot! :)

      So SPC and its second place competitor, GIF retained the "standard"
 crown.  That was then, this is now!

 PhotoChrome - PCS (PhotoChrome Screen)
 --------------------------------------

      Enter PhotoChrome version 3.00. SPC and GIF will have to step aside
 for the new kid on the block! This color graphic format is OUTSTANDING!
 The on-screen picture quality is as close to a photograph as ANY I have
 seen on a personal computer in the Atari ST/STe price range. The PCS
 format allows for 32768 palette colors with 19200 on-screen at once! This
 display of 19K+ colors is not a blockish dither looking screen like some
 programs have tried to drop on us in the past. This PCS display screen is
 SMOOTH! Well, enough of the sugar concerning the display, what does
 PhotoChrome 3.00 do besides display a very colorful image on screen you
 might ask? Well, let me cover the down side of PhotoChrome 3.00 first. 

      PhotoChrome 3.00 does not allow the editing of an image. This means
 that the user cannot enter PhotoChrome 3.00 and manipulate the colors and
 etc. like can be done from within Spectrum 512. PhotoChrome 3.00 ONLY
 allows the user to import a color graphic file from one file type and
 convert to another. Maybe, just maybe the author can/will produce a full
 blown color paint program from this excellent starting point. Now on to
 some of the features of PhotoChrome 3.00.
       
      PhotoChrome 3.00 allows for the importation of several color graphic
 formats that are available from the PC compatible color world.

      1. GIF - The PhotoChrome program can load GIF's of any height and/or
 width. If the GIF screen size exceeds the 320*200 size, PhotoChrome 3.00
 allows for the GIF to "squashed". This "squashing", is accomplished with
 amazing rendering quality. If the image exceeds the 320*200 and the user
 wishes not to "squash the image, the user is given the option of
 rendering a "zone" to be processed. The zone is defined by using the
 cursor control keys.

      2. IFF - ILBM IFF's of any height or width can be imported and if the
 image exceeds 320*200, the image can also be squashed or the user can
 select a 320*200 zone of the original to process.  The zone is defined the
 same as with the GIF zone definition method. HalfBrite Amiga pics are
 supported properly.

      3. RAW - QRT(Quick Ray Trace) screens can be imported also of any
 height or width.

      4. RGB - VidiChrome RGB screens are supported.

      5. TARGA (TGA) - TRUE color graphic screens.

      There are several conversion programs that allow for other formats to
 be converted over to RAW data files which can then be imported into
 PhotoChrome 3.00. Please check your favorite on-line service or local BBS
 for these programs, more format support is a sure thing!

      PhotoChrome 3.00 not only allows for conversion of the above named
 formats into PCS format, but also allows for saving in the following
 formats:

      1. Spectrum 512 - Standard "legal" SPU color files. These files
 consist of 42 colors per scanline.

      2. Spectrum 4096 - STe 4096 color Spectrum (SPU) files.

      3. PCS-ST - This format produces "non-legal" ST (SPU) color files
 with 48 colors per scanline. This format will NOT load into Spectrum or
 Unispec.

      4. PCS-STE - 4096 colors from a the STe color palette. 48 colors per
 scanline also. Not Spectrum(the program itself) compatible.

      5. Super HAM - Full 4096 colors out of 4096 on either the ST or STe.

      6. STE PhotoChrome(PCS) - 19200 colors from a palette of 32768 colors
 on an STe ONLY.

 Conclusion-
 -----------
      If you haven't picked up on my very positive outlook about
 PhotoChrome 3.00 yet, let me give PhotoChrome 3.00 an unqualified 5 STaR
 rating for this program. This program does what it says it does without
 any hype from the authors part. Mr. Little and the Pixel Twins Shareware
 Utilities staff have done an outstanding job of quality programming as
 well as pushing the ST/STe beyond it's known limits. Obtain this program
 and begin to enjoy color like you have NEVER seen before on your ST/STe!!!

 Send contributions and ideas to:

                              Douglas Little
                             160 Goremire Road
                           Carluke, Lanarkshire
                             Scotland. ML8 4PN



  ***********************************************************************

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 GEnie Announcements (FREE)       

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  2. Give The Gift Of Online Time................................GENIESTORE
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  4. PREMIERE issue of GEnieLamp MacPRO now available in...........MACPRO
  5. The Amiga Starship hosts a party in the adult space fantasy...FED
  6. STUDENTS - REGISTER Today For Winter Term COURSES.............CALC
  7. GRAND OPENING: FREE Bottle of Vitamin C w/orders at Court.....PHARMACY
  8. More from THE BYTE WORKS for current and future programmers...A2PRO
  9. HOLIDAY MUSIC ON CD (Latest & Greatest too..) at............NOTEWORTHY
 10. Star Trek author JOHN VORNHOLT, Live, Saturday in.............SFRT2
 11. Author CLIVE BARKER in RTC Sunday in..........................WRITERS
 12. What To Buy Your Technospouse for XMAS 9PM Sun 12/13 in.......RADIO
 13. Be the QUARTERBACK You Make The CALL with.....................QB1
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 15. YOUR SIGN'S forecast for 1993 now in.........................ASTROLOGY
         


         Welcome    ******  ********                        ** ** **
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                                                          ***  **  ***
  The Official Online Resource of Atari Corporation     ***    **    ***
  
 Atari  ST  Roundtable                         

              Real Time Conference Special Events Calendar             

 Dec 16  - Join guest Zenobot for a night of game discussion. Eric  
 (WED.)    will answer your questions concerning which games to buy 
           for Christmas. Come on in and get a few hints!           
  
             Happy Holidays from the Atari Roundtable and GEnie!

     This month  Darlah will  be bringing you multiple Holiday Treats.  The
 first two are a color and mono version of OXYD a HOT new game.   "Darlah's
 Treat of  the Month"  at 475;9  on the  menu is  the MONO version of OXYD.
 "Darlah's Treat of the Month II" at 475;10 is the COLOR version.  Category
 9  Topic  45  contains  useful  information  on how to use this game.  See
 Category 21 Topic 7 for explicit hints and tips.  This game  will keep you
 busy for  hours on  end.   It has  multi-levels, each level having its own
 unique puzzle.  Please share your experience, hints and tips  as you play.
 Both the Color and Mono version of OXYD are TT/ST/STE compatible!

 New Files in Your Library
 ------------------------- 
  No.   File Name    Address     Description
  ----- ------------ -----------  -------------------------------------
  26834 STOS206U.LZH D.MOSHER12   Upgrade STOS 205 to STOS 206
  26831 PCHROME3.LZH D.HELMS      PhotoChrome Version 3.00 !MUST HAVE!
  26830 AEO_SE1.LZH  AEO.MAG      AEO - Special Edition #1
  26829 DB2V251.LZH  ORA.TECH     Diamond Back II V2.50->V2.51 Patch
  26828 CMCINFO.TXT  S.GARRIGUS   Computer Musician Coalition info!
  26824 FZDS_JS.ZIP  S.PRICE19    Jekyll Shell for FzDSTerm.
  26823 RUDE_V04.ZIP S.PRICE19    Rude Dog Viewer v.0.4 Beta
  26822 LMP251.LZH   D.HOLMES14   GEnie Lamp #2.51 (TX2 version)
  26819 ESVG_2_E.ARC L.PECKHAM    Sample EPS(AI) Christmas clip-art
  26818 WARPSTUF.LZH B.JIVIDEN    Stuff for Warp 9: 8x8 Font & Fills
  26817 ESVG_2_C.LZH L.PECKHAM    Sample CVG Christmas Files
  26815 ESVG_5AE.ARC L.PECKHAM    Sample EPS (AI) files, Icons&Symbols
  26814 ESVG_5AC.LZH L.PECKHAM    Sample CVG files, Icons&Symbols
  26813 REMOTE1.LZH  R.MORROW10   Change to REMOTE.BTS for STalker.
  26812 DEMO.LZH     R.MORROW10   STalker 3 demo.bts script.
  26811 TRACKER.LZH  D.MOSHER12   Tracker for STOS.
  26810 TOMEDEMO.LZH D.MOSHER12   Tome for STOS,you asked for it.
  26809 BRODIE3.ARC  ST.LOU       Lots of Christmas Specials from Bob
  26804 LYNXXMAS.TXT EXPLORER.1   Christmas special on the LYNX!
  
     Darlah's Treat of the Month [Page 475;9]   - OXYDMONO.LZH
     Darlah's Treat of the Month II [Page 475;10] - OXYDCOLR.LZH
  
     Other NEW  FILES available  in the  Atari RT Libraries are Sound Files
 (library 11), Digitized Sounds (library 17), Graphic pictures (library 5),
 Atari Archives  (library 13),  and Sale/Wanted Files (library 26).  Sale &
 Wanted items are also available in the Bulletin Board Category 27.
   
     Regular Open Conference every Wednesday night, 10PM EDT, 7PM PDT
          DTP conference every Monday at 10PM eastern in room 3.

         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

  
 All of this weeks posts are, once again, from the ST Roundtable on Genie.

                              ----------------
  
 Latest news about DMJ GIF from Rob Pierce - Cat 2., Topic 6, Msg. 183...
  
   No, your ST isn't going to go up in smoke, the world isn't coming to 
   an end... I'd just like to announce that DMJ GIF 3.1 is available.

   Version 3.1 is just a minor enhancement over version 3.0, with the 
   following improvements:

   o The GIF analysis code has been speeded up about 300%.
   o Color streaking, always a problem, has been reduced about 20%.
   o Conversions have been speeded up about 25%.

   This is just a taste of things to come. I am currently at work on DMJ 
   GIF 4 (finally!) and work is going smoothly. If you have registered 
   DMJ GIF and would like to upgrade, just send your original DMJ GIF 
   disk back to me at the address below and I'll update the disk and 
   return it to you, free of charge. If you don't have DMJ GIF, just send 
   $15 (the Shareware price) and you'll get version 3.1.

   If you don't already know what will be updated in version 4, let me 
   BRIEFLY outline what's coming:

   o Convert images much faster (2-3 times as fast) than before.
   o Convert GIF, IFF, Spectrum, DEGAS, Tiny, NEO, TIFF, IMG, Prism 
     Paint, PCX, QRT RAW, and Vidi RGB--load or save any of these.
   o Rotate images--0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees.
   o Convert in full 24-bit color.
   o Improved 16-color and monochrome conversions.
   o Better dithering.
   o Better mapping.
   o Aspect preservation.
   o Include text (with some picture formats).
   o Create PhotoChrome- quality images (32,768-color pics) and display   
     them on  any ST with less flicker and less streaking than 
     PhotoChrome.
   o MUCH MORE!

   If there's a format you'd like to have but don't see in the above 
   list, send me details on it and I'll see what I can do. I've got JPEG 
   info, and that will probably arrive after the initial release of the 
   program. Targa files would be nice, for instance...

   There are some other things that are not certain yet, like support for 
   Falcon resolutions and maybe SPX capability, but I will do what I can 
   to get those abilities into DMJ GIF 4!

   The address for you to write to for upgrades, picture info (if you 
   have some you'd like to share with me), or just general chit-chat is:

   Damien M. Jones
   PSC 8 Box 657
   APO AE 09109

                             ----------------

 Comments about Photochrome from Dave Bowman - Cat. 2, Topic 11, Msgs. 8 
 - 10...

   Hello all, I just thought I would drop a note to all of you out there. 
   Photochrome 3 is great!! Makes makin' SPX files a true breeze and is 
   very fast to boot. I am sending my SW fee in today. (along with my 
   disk to get the newest DMJ Gif) I hate to say this but this seems to 
   be better than the reg'ed version of DMJ gif version 3.

 More from OUTRIDER -
  
   I agree the new PhotoChrome is GREAT! I was less than impressed with 
   the last version, mainly because of display problems and lack of GIF 
   and support, but also because of the lack of scaling for IFFs. But the 
   new version has won me over big time!

   The PCS pics are so much better than Spectrum 4096 pics. There IS the 
   slight flicker, but the nearly photographic display more than makes up 
   for it. And it's so FAST! I belong to PixNet, which brings in megs and 
   megs of GIFs every week. It was a nightmare to convert them all with 
   DMJ GIF, but with PhotoChrome, it's nothing to go through a couple 
   dozen GIFs in a relatively short session.

   It's not perfect, though. The new "Squash" routine is very nice. How-
   ever, it seems to squash to fit the screen, rather than squashing an 
   equal amount both vertically and horizontally. This causes some pics 
   to LOOK squashed. It should allow you to squash equally in both 
   directions.

   Also, it doesn't handle 89a nor GIFLITE GIFs well at all. Rather than 
   telling you it's a bad file, it bombs. Not good.

   Still, all in all, a FANTASTIC program, and well worth a shareware 
   payment!

   Regarding making SPX files, where did I miss that??? Are you confusing 
   SPX with PCS? If not, HOW do you make SPX files with PhotoChrome?

                             ----------------

 About the new version of 'The Recipe Box' from Anthoney Watson - Cat. 2, 
 Topic 44, Msg. 18...
  
                            ***** NOTICE *****

   The recipe database 'The Recipe Box' has been upgraded to version 3.5. 
   This version HAS NOT been uploaded to GEnie!

   The new version is functionally identical to version 3.4 with the 
   exception of the registration routines. I have modified all of the 
   Mountain Software shareware programs to use a new registration method. 
   I made the switch for several reasons. One, some folks were having 
   difficulties with the registration codes. Nothing wrong with the 
   codes, but it confused some people.

   Second, this reduces program sizes by approximately 3000 bytes. By 
   doing away with all of the unnecessary 'registration' routines, I was 
   able to shrink the program. Third and primarily the reason I made the 
   switch, was because I was starting to get several shareware products 
   out there. Each had it's own unique code. That also meant that I had a 
   seperate utility for each program to generate the registration codes. 
   I was starting to get confused about which codes went with which 
   program, so I decided to change. Now the routines are the same for 
   every Mountain Software program, and I can use the same utility to 
   personalize every program! A big help in getting out your 
   registrations!

   THE BAD NEWS: For the first time since I've started writing shareware, 
   I'm asking for a $5 upgrade fee. This is to cover the cost of the new 
   floppy disk, the shipping, and a few cents for my amusement! Ha. Ha. I 
   regret having to charge an upgrade fee, but I am just financially 
   unable to send all registered users new disks. This is a one time 
   upgrade fee, and includes a utility for upgrading to future versions 
   free of charge.

   THE GOOD NEWS: As I said, version 3.5 of The Recipe Box is 'function-
   ally' the same as 3.4. What this means, is that you needn't feel 
   rushed to upgrade. You won't be gaining any new features at this time, 
   only the ability to upgrade yourself at a later date. However, for 
   this $5 fee you will receive a DEMO disk of the latest versions of 
   most of my programs, a simple printed manual, and the UPGRADE utility 
   I mentioned above. The Recipe Box, The Recipe Converter, Manualizer (a 
   new program), and Easy-Go all have the new registration routines as 
   will any new software I write. When you send in your $5 upgrade fee, 
   this covers ALL programs you have registered. So, if you've registered 
   3 of my programs you only have to pay once, not for each program.

   NEW USERS: If you are registering for the first time, or are regis-
   tering another Mountain Software product, you DO NOT have to add the 
   $5 upgrade fee. The registration fee always gets you the LATEST 
   version. The $5 upgrade fee is only for existing registered users to 
   cover the cost of the disk/shipping/handling.

   PLEA FOR FORGIVENESS: I sincerely hope those of you who have regis-
   tered will understand my request for the upgrade fee. I regret having 
   to charge you more, but it was my only alternative to continue provi-
   ding you with prompt service! (My little brain only has so much 
   capacity for this stuff! Ha. Ha.) Once again, there is no rush to 
   upgrade. If you would prefer to wait until a newer version becomes 
   available then please feel free to do so.

   Thank you for your patience and understanding...

   Anthony Watson - Mountain Software
   6911 NE Livingston Road Camas,
   Washington 98607

                             ----------------
  
 About 'Solutions' - from Paul Dube - Cat. 3, Topic 3, Msg. 1...
  
   Solutions is a fully-featured GEM based mathematical software for the 
   Atari ST/TT. It is powerful and fast, and allow to work simultaneously 
   with various data types: real numbers, complex numbers, binary 
   integers, lists, programs, algebraic, vectors, matrices. Solutions has 
   its own programming language, so you can add your own functions if 
   over 750 overloaded functions is not enough for you. It does symbolic 
   calculation: differentiation, algebraic manipulation, and more. 
   Integration and root-finding are possible. You can plot any equation 
   (and print it!).

   A complete 200 pages manual comes with the software. We offer a 30 
   days no questions asked complete guarantee. So, if you are not 
   satisfied, send us the complete package, we'll refund you.

   The price is now set at $US 99.95 or $CDN 119.95.

   Paul Dube

   Elan Software
   550 Boul. Charest Est
   P.O. Box 30232
   Quebec, Canada
   G1K 8Y2 

                             ----------------

 Questions to Jim Allen from John E. Gniewkowski (GenieLamp ST Editor) - 
 Cat. 4, Topic 11, Msgs 16-21...
  
   Jim, maybe you can help me. I currently have a Mega STe and would like 
   to eventually take advantage of MultiTOS when and if it becomes 
   available to other than Falcon owners. I understand that a 030 is 
   required due to the 68000 having no memory protection routines.

   Do you think it would be possible to use the 030 board in my STe and 
   thereby gain the use of MultiTOS (when and if...)? My next priority 
   would be to install a video card and get 800x600x256 at a later date.

   It sounds like I need a Falcon w/o the DSP stuff, but perhaps it would 
   be more economical to switch systems instead of upgrading.

   What do you think? Can the Mega STe become a mini-Falcon?

 Answer from Jim Allen (Fast Tech) -
  
   You can slap an 030 into the MegaSTE and it will run Multitos 
   spiffily. You just need to wait until Multitos is released.

   The CrazyDots is about the only way to get the video you desire, for 
   the MegaSTE, it's sold by the Gribnif crew...cat 17, top 12. 
   Definitely a good product.

   John it is:
      CrazyDots.....$800
      Monitor.......$500
      Tiny030-40....$599
                   ------
      Total........$1899

   Looks like a lot, but you'd have just about the nastiest setup money 
   can buy, short of a full Turbo030 and a Cybercube 24bit card.  The 
   CrazyDots is quite a nice unit if you need lots of colors, if you can 
   settle for 16 colors and added compatibility, then thre AlberTT is a 
   good choice...something around $350-399 I think, not sure though.

                             ----------------

 SM124 problems from Peter Bullock - Cat. 4, Topic 15, Msgs 129 - 131...
  
   My SM124 just let out a loud squeal, a puff of acrid smoke, and joined 
   its brethren in Atari heaven. I'm looking to have some sort of miracle 
   to bring it back. Has any body had similar problems and successfully 
   brought it back from the dead. I'm going back in this topic to look, 
   but if you want to save me the time, I appreciate it.

   The smoke came from the right side (looking at the front) and I've 
   tracked it down to an evil looking capacitor type thingamabob with 
   green tape around the exterior. If I'm getting to technical, someone 
   let me know;). With the power on, the screen is reduced to a white 
   band about one inch in width, running from top to bottom. It's a 
   Goldstar monitor, BTW.

   If I can fix it, I guess I want to, or, if I can't fix it, I'll look 
   into a used one, or new one, or better yet, a multi synch. I use mono 
   95% of the time, so I need something of the quality of the 124.

 Answer from John Trautschold (Missionware) -
  
   Well Peter, what you've lost is horizontal sweep. Vertical is 
   obviously working since the "picture" you see does run from top to 
   bottom. Chances are the horizontal drive transistor shorted, taking 
   the capacitor with it. Transistors generally don't "smoke". Of course, 
   it's also possible that only the capacitor failed, although I doubt 
   it. My guess is that if you only change the failed capacitor, the new 
   one will fail too since generally some other active-type component 
   fails.

   I've got a schematic for the Goldstar version of the SM124. If you 
   could tell me the part number (off of the circuit board) of the cap 
   that smoked, I may be able to guess as to what other parts you should 
   change.
  
 Answer from Ron (AOE) -
  
   Sounds like C714 died. It is a 2.2uF, 50V, *non-polarized* capacitor 
   that may be difficult to locate locally. A replacement is available 
   from Best Electronics for $4 but there is a minimum order so you will 
   probably want to order something else you need at the same time.

   Best Electronics
   2021 The Alameda Suite 290
   San Jose, California 95126
   408-243-6950

                             ----------------

 From Jim Allen (Fast Tech) - Cat. 4, Topic 28, Msg. 196...
  
   Good news for folks, Jay has a suply of both ISAC boards for the 
   MegaST _and_ AlberTT boards for the MegaSTE/TT and both are on sale 
   for $299!!!

   Yes, just $299, and you too can enjoy hi-res color graphics!!! Just 
   give Dover Research a call, or Fast Technology if you wish.

                             ----------------

 Question from Ron Kohorn - Cat. 4, Topic 35, Msgs. 116-117...
  
   If in the future I add a graphics board to my Mega STe, how will my 
   pre existing programs handle this. For example will it make any 
   difference when I run Degas. If not, what is the purpose of the 
   expanded graphics if our software cant use it?

 Answer from George Richardson (Merlin Group) -
  
   No graphics card that exists now is compatible with Degas. It is 
   linked directly to the Atari screen modes.

   Many early programs did not support graphics cards, after all, why 
   support some thing that doesn't exist?

   However, one the Moniterm was released, along with TOS 1.4, programs 
   started being written to take advantage of extended resolutions, where 
   it was feasible to do so. Most commercial programs written since then 
   seem to work with extended resolutions.

                             ----------------

 Question by Lorne Budnick - Cat. 4, Topic 39, Msgs 151-152...
  
   Does anyone know if Carter Graphics is still in business? I have not 
   seen any ads lately. If so, and you have their phone number, please 
   post it here.

 Answer from M.TROUPE -
  
   Maybe you are just not looking in the right places. Carter Graphics 
   still advertises in ST Informer. Their phone number is 1-801-628-6111.

                             ----------------

 Question from Lou Rocha (ST RTC sysop) - Cat. 4, Topic 39, Msgs 155-
 159...
  
   I could use a little help installing a new HD. It is a Quantum 240 for 
   my TT. I took out my Seagate 157 which was running fine. I put in the 
   Quantum...hooked up the SCSI cable and power supply... set the jumpers 
   for SCSI 0 and removed the terminator packs.

   Power on and I hear a faint click, click, whirr as it initializes but 
   the LED does not light up.

   Run the HDX software and I am told their is no physical unit 0 
   attached. Run the ICD software and it says I have SCSI unit 8, 
   physical unit 0 attached. Alas I cannont format because their is no 
   ICD host adapter.

   I also put the terminator packs back in and reset the jumpers to the 
   factory setting of 6. Still no go.

   Does anyone have an idea what I could try next?

 Answer from Wayne Watson -
  
   First, you need to set it to SCSI 0. Then you need to probably remove 
   the EP jumper (parity). I am not sure if it needs the terminators or 
   not but, I would leave them in first. Atari's software will not search 
   past a unit that is not found. If there is SCSI 0, it will stop 
   looking. If you have a ICD HD system, plug it into the DMA port and 
   format them drive that way. Once you get it formatted and setup, you 
   can remove the ICD drive system.
  
 Reply from Lou -
  
   Wayne, thanks for the advice. I had done all those things. I found the 
   problem.... it was the software. HDX 4.2 did not recognize SCSI HD... 
   5.0 does. Everything now works perfectly.

                             ----------------

 Hard drive questions and answers - Cat. 4, Topic 39, Msgs 162-165...
  
 Questions from Lorne Budnick -
  
   I have a question or two for anyone who might have some answers. I 
   currently have 2 hard drives installed, a Quantum 105 meg and a 
   Seagate 32 meg. Both of these drives are SCSI drives attached via an 
   ICD host adapter.

   I would like to add either a floptical or a Syquest to this configura-
   tion. I would like to simply plug this new unit into the DMA through 
   connector on the rear of my existing drive case.

   1.  Will I require another host adapter in the new drive case to 
   utilize the DMA through connector?

   2.  Might I be able to connect the ICD 'Link' to connect directly to  
   my DMA out connector, and utilize a SCSI cable between the 'Link'  and 
   the new drive?

   3.  Are there any other alternatives to consider to attach the new  
   drive to my existing drive case connector?

   Any suggestions as to how I might resolve adding the new drive will be 
   much appreciated.

   P.S. I have considered simply replacing the Seagate in my existing 
   drive case with a new drive mechanism, however, the existing case does 
   not have a face plate that will support a removable drive mechanism.

 Answer from Wayne Watson -
  
   In order to use the DMA port, you will need a HA just like you do from 
   the computer.

   You could make another SCSI cable that is long enough to reach the 
   current drives and then pass it out the back of the current one and 
   into the next case to the drive.

   You could get the Link and add centronics type plugs to both cases and 
   run your Link to the first one and then attach an SCSI cable with 
   centronics plugs to the next case.

   You could also purchase a case that would hold 3 - 4 mechanisms and 
   have it all in one case. Make sure the power supply can handle it 
   though.

   You could also modify the current case so that you could add the 
   removable type drives. In other words, butcher it up.

                             ----------------
  
 Information about Migraph from LYRE - Cat. 5, Topic 10, Msg. 132...
  
   Greetings Everyone!  Having contacted Migraph the other day, here is 
   what I found out about OCR Jr.

   Apparantly it is the same exact program as the full version OCR except 
   that it does not import/export IMG files. Therefore, I believe, that 
   the suggestions people have made here regarding the best method(s) 
   they've found for correcting scanned text are viable on Jr.

   OCR Jr is limited in regards to the scanners that it supports though. 
   Only the hand scanners mentioned (Migraph, AlfaData or Golden Image) 
   will function properly. It is *not* possible to use your existing 
   scanner with this program (assuming the scanner isn't one of the 
   above)!

   The upgrade cost to the Full OCR package is $50.00. I did not ask if 
   there was any time restraint on this upgrade though.

   Migraph will be sending me more information (Full and Jr). If there is 
   anything new, I'll let you know. :)

                             ----------------

 Timeworks Publisher upgrade information from ABC Solutions - Cat. 5, 
 Topic 13, Msg. 170...
  
   The November 1992 issue of ST Review, a leading British ST magazine, 
   contained a completely functional copy of the original Timeworks 
   Publisher for the Atari ST. Purchasers of the magazine were offered an 
   upgrade from the cover disk version to the very latest Timeworks 
   Publisher 2ST.

   By special arrangement with GST Software, ABC Solutions is pleased to 
   announce we can offer a similar upgrade to North American users, 
   including software, loads of fonts, extra printer support, a full 
   manual and more. Just clip the upgrade coupon from the November or 
   December issue and send it, along with your payment, to:

   ABC Solutions 4040 Creditview Road Unit 11-151 Mississauga Ontario L5C 
   3Y8 Phoe/fax: 416-824-8484

   The upgrade fee is $85 US, or $99 Cdn, shipping & handling included. 
   Canadian residents please include GST (and PST for Ontario residents).

   Owners of the original Timeworks package can upgrade to Publisher 2 by 
   sending in Master Disk 1 with your order.

   Regards Peter Zalesak ABC Solutions

           ===Repeat of original press release follows===


   ABC Solutions has been appointed the Canadian distributor for 
   Publisher 2ST (the successor to Timeworks Desktop Publisher).

   Publisher 2 ST is the successor to the popular Timeworks Desktop 
   Publisher (version 1.12) from GST Software of England.

   With Publisher 2ST, everyone can be a publisher. This versatile, 
   value-for- money program gives you the power to design and print 
   professional quality documents at truly low cost - and with no need 
   for previous design or computer experience.

   Publisher 2ST's friendly graphics user interface makes it easy to 
   learn and use, with on-screen 'help' to guide you. Using drop-down 
   menus and powerful page design tools, you can build your publication 
   on-screen exactly the way you want it. You can use master pages and 
   templates to create and save standard layouts and design elements on 
   each page, and standardize styles for your text so that all similar 
   elements in a document, such as picture captions, subheads, headlines 
   and so on, will appear in the same typeface and point size. It 
   supports an extended range of text and graphics imports from other 
   popular programs. When working on-screen, you can view your page in 
   six different sizes.

   A partial list of features includes:

   * same features as PC version and more; exchange files with  PC 
   version and with ST version 1.12

   * full WYSIWYG

   * GEM interface; quick keys

   * 999 pages per document; master pages & style sheets; paragraph 
   tagging; custom page sizes; page numbering

   * multiple frame operations

   * wide range of text imports; retains styling

   * text export

   * more graphics imports: Degas, NEO, GEM, IMG, EPS, PCX, IFF, PIC

   * auto/manual text flow; irregular shape wraparound; search & replace; 
   tables; word processing mode; auto hyphenation

   * 9 typefaces in a variety of sizes & styles (Autumn, Brushwood, 
   Courier, Diamond, Sage, Sans, Serif, Bullets)

   * bullet paragraphs; manual kerning; control over justification, 
   leading, word & paragraph spacing, indents

   * graphics toolbox; scaling, cropping, editing tools; 36 fills

   * improved tab handling

   * autosave, and auto creation of .BAK files

   * 1 Mb recommended, colour or mono

   * TT compatible in medium or high ST & TT resolutions

   * wide range of printers supported including Canon BubbleJet and HP 
   DeskJet; have up to 4 printers installed at once.

   * completely new manual

   "ABC Solutions ... We don't play games."

                             ----------------

 About Kodak Photo CD - Cat. 7, Topic 9, Msgs. 83-90...

 Question from Rod Cobble -
  
   Where can I get, Kodak Photo CD info? Brochures, pricing etc...

 Answer from GREG -
  
   Call Kodak at (800) 242-2424 for information on Photo CD. Leave E-mail 
   to GREG and I'll send some Atari info to you.

 Comments from Ron (AEO) -
  
   Stop by most any camera store to see PhotoCD. Quality and resolution 
   is excellent, even in 256 color VGA.

   The process involves taking your negatives to your film processor and 
   asking to have them transfered to PhotoCD (about $15 for 24 photos). A 
   few days later, you get a CD back with your digitized photographs. The 
   CD can then be played on a video disk player capable of displaying 
   PhotoCD format. Consumer players list in the $500 range but I have 
   already seen them advertised for under $350.
  
 More info from GREG -
  
   I just got a brochure from Digital Zone that was done on a Mac using 
   Photo CD technology. The output was then sent to a high end color 
   printer for printing.

   The results were most impressive. This was the first example I have 
   seen in print that was done on a Mac/PC machine. The brochure 
   highlights a new Photo- CD they are doing featuring the works of 
   Wolfgang Kaehler.

   I am looking forwrd to getting a print next week done with a new color 
   printer driver for the HP 550C printer. If the results come through 
   half as good as the Digital Zone brochure, I'll be most happy.

   ...Photo CD is a storage system for negatives or slides that are 
   scanned by Kodak onto a CD rom disc. You can take either an 
   undeveloped roll of film, loose negatives or slides into any of 
   several thousand locations across the country and get them scanned 
   onto a CD rom disc. Best Buy and a lot of corner drug stores are also 
   doing the scanning now through Kodalux.

   After creating the disc, Photo CD can be many things:

   1. The disc can be "played" on any Kodak CD rom player using your home 
   television for viewing.

   2. The disc can be put into any CD-I player and viewed.

   3. The disc can be put into a XA capable CD rom player connected to a 
   home computer or workstation.

   With options 1 and 2, the software for viewing is already in the 
   machine or on the disc.

   With option 3, you will need software to access the data on the disc 
   and convert it to a form viewable on your system. Software is 
   currently available for the Mac and PC Windows environment. Software 
   will be released in the coming months for viewing and editing on the 
   Falcon. The photos can also be viewed on the ST and STe but suffer 
   from the color and pixel resolutions of the machines (See FOUNTAIN.LZH 
   in the libraries here). The graphics are still impressive.

   If you would like to see what true color looks like using the Photo CD 
   process, the new Hot Stuff II CD by Screen Artists has examples of 
   Photo CD converted to 16 million color Targa format. Even at 512 by 
   768 pixel resolution, the Targa or TIF files are still over 1 meg in 
   size, and this is still only one fourth of the available resolution.

   If there's interest is a download this size, we can upload an example 
   to the libraries here.

   A Photo-CD disc can travel across platforms as it uses what is called 
   the 9660 standard for file storage. In fact there is a series of stock 
   photos being released on a "rights-free" use basis that will include 
   software for viewing on Photo-CD, CD-I, Mac, Windows 3.1, and 
   Multimedia Windows right on the disc. Atari support for this series in 
   also being planned but was held up due to lack of development hardware 
   and a license snag.

   The BIG advantage of Photo CD is that your picture data is stored in a 
   format better than most systems can currently use. In other words, the 
   next generation of computers will be catching up with Photo CD 
   technology rather than passing it up. The photos are stored at 3072 by 
   2048 pixels in 16 million colors. The actual uncompressed file size is 
   over 18 megs per picture. Your software only chews enough off the disc 
   to match the capabilities of your system.

   I hope this made Photo CD a little clearer for you.

 Another question, this time from Robert Goff (AEO) -

   Thanks, Greg, that helps. A couple of questions:

   Yours and Ron's post indicates that Kodak has a special CD player to 
   hook up to the television, for $300-$500. Is this a specialized, only-
   do-Kodak player, or will it do audio CDs and/or CD-ROM?

   What is an "XA capable CD rom player"?

   You said that the software for Atari isn't available yet. I thought 
   that the Falcon was running the Photo CD Slideshow software at COMDEX?

 Answer from Nathan Potechin (DMC) -
  
   Atari already has working software for the Kodak Photo CD technology. 
   It is done and working and beautiful! ;-) It was shown at Comdex on a 
   couple of Falcons AND on a TT. Greg, before you send Atari people off 
   to view a Mac solution ;-), you need to see Calamus SL, using a 24 bit 
   color card, on a decent monitor of your choice. The Kodak Photo CD 
   import driver works beautifully! By the way, if you have Calamus SL, I 
   have a brand new beta driver for the HP550C you might want to check 
   out. 
                             ----------------

 From Greg Labrec (Atari) - Cat. 11, Topic 12, Msg. 1...
  
   The 1992 International Software Catalog (Item# C303288-001) is now 
   available from Atari Corporation. If you haven't heard about it yet 
   check out the messages in category 14, topic 42.

   The catalog has more than 400 pages, contains nearly 500 entries, and 
   features almost 175 screen shots. Categories covered include 
   Publishing and Graphics; Multimedia and Hypertext; Personal 
   Productivity; Connectivity and Communications; Music; Business; 
   Education; Entertainment; Computer Aided Design; Medical; Development 
   Tools and System Software; and Peripherals. Atari Falcon030 listings 
   are also included. Along with the product description the reader is 
   provided with developer information designed to help them acquire the 
   product if it is unavailable from thier local dealer. Suggested retail 
   prices are also listed.

   If your local dealer runs out of catalogs you may order your catalog 
   directly from Atari by writing to:

   Atari Customer Relations
   International Software Catalog
   P.O. Box 61657
   Sunnyvale, CA 94088

   The price is $12.00 per book. Add 8.25% sales tax if ordering from 
   California, Illinois, or Texas. Also include $5.00 shipping and 
   handling per order. Payment may be made by check, money order, 
   MasterCard, or VISA. (Allow 2-4 weeks additional if paying by personal 
   check)

   If you would like to order by VISA or MasterCard you can also leave me 
   E-mail (G.LABREC) with your name, address, phone, card number, and 
   expiration date-- I will forward the order to customer service.

    ******************** SPECIAL USER GROUP OFFER ********************

   For a limited time, any registered user group may purchase the catalog 
   in lots of 10 books. When ordering a lot of 10 books the cost would be 
   $10.00 per book plus $8.00 shipping for the lot.

                             ----------------
  
 All of the above posts were reprinted with the permission of GEnie and 
 the ST Roundtable.
  
 Until next week.....


   _____________________________________________________________________





 > ATARI DEAD? II STR FOCUS!          Oh Yeah???   Here we go again!!
   """""""""""""""""""""""""



                            ATARI IS STILL DEAD
                            ===================



 by Tim Holt



     "I never did give anybody hell.  I just told the truth and they
     thought it was hell."
                                             Harry Truman 


 Dear STReport Reader,

     A week or so ago, I wrote you a letter explaining how I felt about the
 sorry state of Atari.The title of the article was "Atari is Dead".  I
 guess I ruffled some of your feathers, because I got all kinds of replies. 
 If I woke you up out of your "everything is bliss" stupor, then the
 message was well worth writing.  Some people wrote to me and said that I
 was saying it like it was, and thanked me for writing it.  However...

     Others wrote to me saying that I was a traitor, and that "officers of
 Atari user groups should never do anything" like what I did.  Some even
 suggested that I do things that I am convinced are anatomically
 impossible.  So, since I haven't seen this much excitement since Sears
 came out with colored pictures in the underwear section of their catalog,
 I decided to write a follow-up piece.  This one I call: Atari is Still
 Dead.

     First of all, if you read the first line of my historic article, it
 clearly says: "the Atari computer company, as a viable alternative to the
 Macintosh and IBM/MS-Dos died..."  Now, how many of you in your right
 mind, can really say that Atari is a REAL threat to IBM or Apple?  Duh. 
 If you really think that Atari can hold it's own financially or otherwise
 against the clone makers and Apple, then you have been hitting the holiday
 eggnog just a little too much.  To illustrate my point, consider this,
 that has happened SINCE I wrote that article:

     Jenkins' Computers in El Paso, one of the original Atari computer
 stores in the COUNTRY has decided that keeping the Atari line of computers
 on display, and in their store is a waste of money and time.  Let me put
 that to you again: They were an ORIGINAL Atari dealer.  Back before most
 of you even heard of Atari.  For the past 4 years, Jim and Tom have had
 MS/Dos clones and Atari ST/TT's sitting right out there for all the world
 to see.  People were never pushed to look or buy one or the other.  The
 computers were just there.  Side by side.  Always plenty of both in stock,
 both with shelves of software, and all the peripherals that go with them. 
 What happened?  In those four years, sales of Atari computers has dropped
 to less than 10% of their total sales.  Did you get that??  From an
 original Atari dealer, to less than 10% of total sales of everything!!
 From 100% to 10% in four years.  No pressure sales to buy MS/DOS, no
 pressure to buy Atari.  People made up their own minds.  The people chose
 the clones, because they never heard of Atari as a computer company, and
 still don't know.  Why?  Because Atari is still dead.  So now, there is
 now an area in west Texas, up to Colorado, and down to Tucson,Arizona that
 has no Atari dealer.  A potential market of over 5 MILLION people, with NO
 ATARI DEALER.  Is that the sign of a company that is invigorated?  A
 company that is fresh and willing to tackle the market?  To me, it is a
 sign that Atari is STILL dead.  

     Now, wouldn't you think that something like this would elicit a
 response from Atari?  If you knew one of your dealers was considering
 dropping your line, even if it was just a rumor, wouldn't you try to keep
 them?  Wouldn't you at least call them up and try to work out some kind of
 a deal?   A better profit margin on hardware?  A few new goodies that the
 dealer could offer customers?  Wouldn't you think someone in the entire
 company would care enough to at least call, or send a fax?  As far as I
 know, no one from Atari called Jenkins' after the "rumor" was posted in ST
 Report.  Yeah,Jenkins, we're behind you all right, WAY behind you.  And
 still you don't believe me when I say Atari is still dead.

     And I still don't think you got the jest of my stock market analysis. 
 You got mad at me for saying this and that, but you really argued the
 POINTS that I made.  Let's look at the stock market claim again: If the
 performance of Atari stock were to be graphed out over a period of three
 years, the line would be virtually straight.  STRAIGHT.  Get it??  NO
 GROWTH.  Okay, let's put it in terms of money, so that you might
 understand.  If you INVESTED $10,000 in Atari three years ago, how much
 money would that stock be worth today?  That's right Ziggy, less than
 $10,000 due to inflation.  No return on your investment.  Actually, a
 loss.  Your money would have been worth more if you had put it in a
 savings account that paid anything!  So, still not convinced?  Okay, let's
 put it this way: Uncle Bob croaks and leaves you with $100,000, on the
 condition that you invest it in a company that will show growth.  Would
 you put your money in the Atari stock??  Would you trust your kids college
 money if it were invested in Atari?  Your retirement account?  I don't
 think so.  If you did, then I say your hitting the old eggnog again.  A
 few months ago, Atari introduced the Falcon.  You heard about it, I heard
 about it, and you can bet your bippy that the financial markets around the
 world heard about it.  It is no secret weapon.  The financial people were
 NOT impressed.  As I write this, Atari stock is still at 1 3/8 per share. 
 No one is buying Atari.  WHY?  Because, as far as America's financial
 markets are concerned, Atari is STILL dead.  

     So, what right do I, Tim "Know it All" Holt, have to cut down the
 computer?  What do I know about Atari?  Okay, I will admit, I am no guru
 like Dave Small.  I am not developer, no programmer, and no dealer.  I
 have no experience with Atari other than that of consumer.  True, I
 started a user group, and I have been pretty visible in STReport, and
 Atari Interface.  I have had an Atari for 5 years.  My relationship with
 Atari is probably the same as my relationship with Ford, which is, I own
 an Escort.  Okay.  So, why don't I get mad at Ford?  Well, the
 relationship between computer manufacturer and owner is different than
 that between car dealer and car owner.  Especially Atari.  Atari came out
 with the best damn computer in the WORLD for home use, and then squandered
 that opportunity into what many now consider an orphan.  Sorry.  That is
 the truth.  Most computer users in the world consider the Atari an
 abandoned computer, even though it is still being manufactured.  No
 computer in HISTORY has had that reputation.  

     I guess my grumblings have more to do with disappointment than
 anything else.  It would be the same as if Ford came out with the T-Bird
 in 1956, and then made no other car except the T-Bird for the next 30
 years, only adding an occasional new feature here, or a new fender there. 
 Pretty soon, people would say, "Oh look, another T-Bird.  Oh wow.  Pretty
 paint, but it is still a T-bird.  It has a new bumper, but it is still a
 T-Bird."  What if Ford didn't manufacture the T-Bird for a year or so, or
 was so slow to supply dealers that there were none in the showrooms? 
 Dealers would go out of business.   Sure, there would be T-Bird fan clubs,
 but the numbers would dwindle, the number of new buyers would decrease,
 and eventually, Ford would die.  Even if the T-Bird was the best car in
 the universe, it would still be a "T-Bird", and new ones would not impress
 other car owners, because they had gone to other car dealers, looking at
 newer models, that were cheaper, and had more options to offer, simply
 because there were so many of them.  That is what has happened to Atari. 
 The Falcon is here.  But it is just another Atari in the public eye, if
 the public even knows it exists..  And Atari had better do some fancy
 footwork to get this baby out there.  The Macintosh Performas are out, IN
 TIME FOR CHRISTMAS, and selling at every department store in the world. 
 The Amiga 4000 is out IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS.  THE AMIGA 1600 IS OUT, IN
 TIME FOR CHRISTMAS.  I am still waiting for "the hundreds of new dealers"
 that one of those Tramiels promised us a few months ago.  All I know is
 that the ONE dealer I had has tossed in the Atari towel, and quite
 frankly, I don't blame them one bit.  Product loyalty don't pay the rent. 

     Still not convinced?  Okay, I will hit you with the real zinger:
 Pirates.  Remember them?  Pirate BBS's?  Pirating of Falcon?  Piracy kills
 the Atari computer?  You don't hear much about Atari pirates anymore do
 you?  Why?  Is it that they all had a sudden conversion after watching
 Billy Graham and threw out their evil BBS's and software?  Heck no.  Even
 the pirates know that Atari is dead.  They are all pirating MS/DOS and MAC
 stuff.  It's a sorry state of affairs when even the criminals know when to
 throw in the towel and call it quits.  

     So, dear STReport reader,what is my conclusion?  Well, to begin with,
 I purposely write for Ralph Mariano because I know that my opinions will
 be taken for what they are worth, and he won't spit the article back to me
 and say "Tim, you know, your article will hurt sales." Also, Ralph is
 accustomed to taking heat, and he got some for running "Atari is Dead". 
 (On the other hand, you are readers of STReport, so you should know by now
 to expect controversy once in a while.)  I got some heat.  No problem-o. 
 I am used to it.  But when you are through reading this, and your neck
 hairs are riding high, and you are ready to send hate E-Mail to me (by the
 way, my Internet Address is "holt@tenet.edu".  Drop me a line) ask
 yourself why does this article make you mad?  What non-truth have either
 of my two articles said?  I challenge you to find a non-truth.  I
 challenge you to find an incorrect statement.  I don't think you can find
 one.  And maybe, just maybe, that is the real reason that "Atari is Dead"
 made you so damn mad, because sometimes, the truth can really hurt.  

     "As scarce as the truth is, the supply has always been in excess of
     the demand."
                                        - Josh Billings


   ____________________________________________________________________




 > STR Editor's Mail Call        "a few comments from the Editor's Desk"
   """"""""""""""""""""""


                        STReport's EDITOR'S MailBag
                        """""""""""""""""""""""""""


                    Messages * NOT EDITED * for content
                    -----------------------------------



                          Letters to the Editor

      From the Genie Roundtable - Cat. 24, Topic 3, Msgs 226 and 229
  
  From Dorothy Brumleve -
  
  There's been some talk about "hidden agendas" lately. Some of us have 
  our cards on the table. Developers and Atari employees typically would 
  like to see Atari in the best possible light. If there's something 
  _good_ going on, they'd like folks to know about it. God knows there's 
  plenty of bad stuff about Atari and the computer market in general. So 
  when something positive does happen, developers and employees want it 
  noticed; they make their livelihood as a result of Atari's successes.

  Once upon a time, STR publisher Ralph Mariano was asked why he knocked 
  himself out week after week to provide ST users with his online maga-
  zine. He replied, "Because I enjoy it!"  That's his public reason, and 
  we have to give it some weight.  I imagine he does enjoy it.  But the 
  magazine itself suggests evidence of additional motivations.

  Not many people know it, but Mr. Mariano was once a registered Atari 
  developer.  Atari has revoked a developer's registration in only one 
  instance: Mr. Mariano's.  I don't know what caused Atari to do that, 
  but I do know that, if it happened to me, I'd be ticked off.  Very 
  ticked off.  I'd want to get back at Atari somehow.  I don't know if Mr. 
  Mariano feels this way, but I know I'd want Atari to _suffer_.  And 
  suffer Atari does, week after week, with each editorial in STR, with 
  each article about fantastic developments on other platforms, with 
  each get-to-know- Windows article, with each review of Atari's 
  performance at such- and-such show.
  
  Not many people know it, but STR serves as the primary advertising 
  vehicle for ABCO, Publisher Mariano's mail-order company. I've seen 
  ads for ABCO in perhaps a dozen issues of Atari Interface Magazine -- 
  and in every single weekly issue of STR for half a decade. It would 
  appear that STR succeeds in advertising ABCO; certainly there are 
  plenty of customers discussing it up in Category 18 (Topic: Mail Order 
  Problems).

  Because not many people know these things, they also don't realize 
  that motivations like these could color the editorial content and 
  selection of articles in each and every issue of STR.
  
  Mr. Mariano, by his own admission, enjoys publishing STR. He must en-
  joy it very, very much. But it would seem to me that the wide distri-
  bution of free advertising and the opportunity to embarrass Atari 
  could also be on Mr. Mariano's agenda.

  D.A. Brumleve @D.A. Brumleve
  
  
  Reply from Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. Staff Editor of STReport -
   
  Dorothy,

  Allow me to address some of your points...

   >>...So when something positive does happen, developers and employees 
   >>want it noticed; they make their livelihood as a result of Atari's 
   >>successes.
  
  But does that mean they don't want any negatives, or any opinions that 
  something positive happened? Let's take the recent Comdex for example. 
  STReport, in two issues, contained 50-70k of POSITIVE reports about 
  Comdex. So we 'noticed it' and reported such to our readers.  We had 
  ONE little 2-3k editorial that offered a differing opinion.  So are 
  you saying that the readers should only hear the positives?  Any 
  opinions or facts that might not be positives should be prohibited?
  
  In fact, your statement "they make their livelihood as a result of 
  Atari's successes" might be considered one good reason to have other 
  opinions.  I am NOT saying that anyone would deliberately lie or mis-
  lead anyone about what happened, I am saying that their opinions could 
  be 'colored' though.
  
  Yes, Mr. Mariano was a registered Atari developer, and Atari arbit-
  rarily pulled his developer status.  But the problem with your whole 
  premise is that Mr. Mariano was critical of Atari BEFORE they pulled 
  his developer status - perhaps that was the major reason they pulled 
  it. It also ignores the 100's of k's of positive stuff that Ralph does 
  put into STReport.
  
  As for the "fantastic developments...", "get to know Windows.." etc., 
  could it be that STReport believes that "no man (or platform) is an 
  island"?  What happens in other platforms can directly affect what 
  happens in the ST market?  Also, with the ST being able to handle PC 
  and Mac software - and many of our readers having both emulators - 
  that we feel many of our readers want/need to know about what's 
  happening on these other platforms?  I'm sure this information is 
  boring to some of our readers, but so is the information on the 
  Portfolio and/or Lynx. Many of our readers don't own either one.
  
  You say "not many people know it, but STR serves as the primary 
  advertising vehicle for ABCO". I think it's a pretty open 'secret' 
  since, as you also say, the ad's appeared in "every single weekly 
  issue of STR for half a decade".
  
  But to make sure that no-one misinterprets, ABCO is a seperate entity 
  from STReport.
  
  Also, if, as you say, "ABCO's ads could color the editorial content 
  and selection of articles, this should mean that Ralph would only 
  print POSITIVE Atari stuff.  After all, if Atari fails, that hurts 
  ABCO's sales. If Atari draws in 100,000 new customers, that is 100,000 
  potential ABCO customers. Also if you look through this "half of 
  decade" of STReports, you'll see many articles and references to other 
  companies that also sell hard drives, etc.  No Dorothy, IMO, the 
  conclusions you arrived at are questionable.
  
  What I see is that Ralph is willing to 'pay' for telling the readers 
  information he thinks they need to know. PAYS by possible loss of 
  income for his ABCO company.
  
  Yes, the wide distribution of free advertising and the opportunity to 
  embarrass Atari could also be on Mr. Mariano's agenda. But at the same 
  time, as you so well said at the start of your post, it's to the 
  developers and Atari employees benefit to only have positive things 
  said about Atari - they make their livelihood as a result of Atari's 
  successes. So it is more possible that if any agenda's do exist, we 
  should closely inspect their motives for ridiculing, harassing and 
  threating STReport and Ralph.


    ___________________________________________________________________




 > Hey Sam! READ THIS! STR Spotlight              "Words of Wisdom"
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

 FROM: Tony Borbely
       Calgary, AB
       CANADA


 Dear Sam T.,

      There's  a  great movie out on video I'm  sure  you'd  enjoy.  
      It's called "TUCKER - The Man and His Dream".  

      Preston Tucker was an innovator,  a genius,  who developed a 
 post-war car that was literally "better than anything anyone else 
 is  building".   It  had  many  "ahead  of  its  time"  features, 
 performance,  and safety, was reasonably priced, and looked good. 
 A car that should've put the other manufacturers out of business.

      It  never  did.   Why?   There were many  reasons  involved; 

      -shortages of raw material
      -engineering shortcuts that crippled performance
      -cost cutting measures that undermined the design
      -inability to mass produce the vehicle, causing...
      -delivery dates not being met, causing...
      -dealers dropping the Tucker auto line  
       (after all, you can't sell what you don't have)
      -unfair business practices by competitors (claimed)
      -But most of all, POOR BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

      Preston  Tucker  shooting  himself  in  the  foot  with  his 
 lack  of business sense did more damage to his company  than  all 
 other factors combined.  Had he had proper management in building 
 and marketing his car, he'd have made a serious dent in the other 
 auto manufacturers' sales. 

      But, he did do something right!

      He  generated EXCITEMENT!!!  Buyers were ordering cars  even 
 before  a prototype was built!!!   Thousands WANTED  a  Tucker!!!  
 Why?   Because they recognized that it was superior to other cars 
 then being built.  And it was, BOTH on paper and in reality.  And 
 that was because THEY KNEW THE TUCKER EXISTED!!!

      Preston did this by keeping the TUCKER name in front of  the 
 PUBLIC.   He  took  every  opportunity  to  do  this.  He  didn't 
 advertise  much, but  he  constantly used  the  media..  TV, radio, 
 newspapers etc.,  to LET THE PUBLIC KNOW about the  TUCKER.   And 
 everyone knew what a TUCKER was and who built it!

      History would have turned out differently,  had Preston been 
 able  to  produce  all those cars  for  all  those  buyers.   The 
 Japanese cars wouldn't be the major auto sellers today.

      It's  quite  an entertaining film,  one that reminds  me  of 
 another company trying to take on the "Big Guys".  There are many 
 similarities to Tucker and his car,  but I hope this company does 
 manage  to make a dent in the other  manufacturers'  sales.   

      But that might be wishful thinking...   The major problem  is:  
 The  PUBLIC  (people  who  WOULD  BUY)  don't  know  the  product 
 exists,  and selling to insiders (those in "the know") is at best 
 a limited market.   Didn't someone say...    

      "ATARI Computers are the BEST KEPT SECRET in North America".
      

        Enjoy the film...  "Tramiel - The Man and His Dream"
                               (coming - "Real Soon Now")


     ________________________________________________________________




 > GUEST EDITORIAL STR FOCUS!         L.E. Pulley clears the air....
   """"""""""""""""""""""""""




 Guest Editorial
 ---------------



 By Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
 Senior Staff Editor for STReport
  
      "Sometimes we get so caught up in events that we can't see the 
      forest for the trees."

 Before starting my editorial for this week, I have a correction to make. 
 The  term "flames and games" that I attributed to one person  last  week 
 was in actuality a quote he used from one of Ralph's posts.  I apologize 
 for my error.
  
 Now onto this week's subject - "Who, is a 'reader' of STReport?"
  
 Well, that is a tough one.  I thought I had the answer all wrapped up in 
 a red-ribbon - until I started writing this editorial and LISTENING, in-
 stead of RESPONDING, to what some people had to say.
  
 STReport has made it plain that we're writing for our readers,  not  for 
 Atari,  any particular developer or for any particular on-line  service. 
 While we do support all three, we feel our readers come first.
  
 But if a person says that they don't read STReport, for whatever reason, 
 does that automatically make them NOT one of our readers? Or if a person 
 says  they only read STReport 1-4 times a year - just to see if  it  has 
 changed - does that automatically make them NOT one of our readers?  And 
 there are people who read STReport almost every week,  but almost  never 
 have  anything good to say about it - does that automatically make  them 
 NOT one of our readers?
  
 Well, Monday when I first started this editorial, I would have said that 
 while these people might physically read STReport,  that doesn't automa-
 tically make them our 'readers'. But since then, I've changed my opinion 
 - and re-written this editorial three times.
  
 While many of these people might not be supporters of STReport, and many 
 vehemently declare their opposition to STReport, that should not automa-
 tically make them non-STReport readers.
  
 "Huh?" you say?   Let me explain.  I read a certain local paper only for 
 one reason - so I can yell,  scream, and holler at the editors and their 
 stupid editorials, policies, and liberal leanings (yes, I am a conserva-
 tive <grin>).  But does that mean I am not one of their 'readers' - just 
 because I disagree with them so much? Of course not. There has been sev-
 eral times when I let my subscription expire - or cancelled it - because 
 of their articles,  editorials, etc.  Did that mean that I stopped being 
 one of their readers?  Technically?   Maybe.   But I felt just because I 
 stopped taking their "stupid, leftist, drivel-driven paper" that it gave 
 them no right to disregard anything I said (I always go back to them, it 
 keeps my blood circulating <grin>).  When I stopped reading their paper, 
 it didn't hurt them at all - there were still plenty of other people who 
 read it.  All I did was hurt myself - I deprived myself of opinions that 
 differed from my own (but that's the subject of another editorial).
  
 All of a sudden this week I had to stop and take a good look at myself - 
 and my hypocrisy. I was automatically dismissing certain people as "non-
 STReport readers" simply because they disagreed with us most of the time 
 (even  I agree with that "liberal,  drivel-driven paper" on occassion  - 
 they can't be wrong all the time <grin>). I was automatically dismissing 
 others who only read our publication sometimes.  I was wrong,  both  ARE 
 our 'readers'.
  
 However,  no  matter what excuse,  rationalization or logic is  used,  I 
 cannot call someone who claims to never read our publication one of  our 
 readers.
  
 Where does this leave us?   STReport is still written for its readers  - 
 we just can't please all of our readers all of the time. And probably we 
 won't be able to please some of our readers almost any of the time. Some 
 might want more Lynx coverage,  while others might want less. Some might 
 want less criticism of Atari,  while others might want more hard-hitting 
 editorials.   All  we can do is try to furnish what we feel most of  our 
 readers want most of the time.  But in no case should we simply dump our 
 critical readers into the "NOT a STReport reader" category.  I was wrong 
 to do so.
  
 In case I don't get another chance before the holidays,  Merry Christmas 
 and a Happy Hanukkah to all.


    __________________________________________________________________





 > LYNX SPECIAL OFFER! STR InfoFile           "Such a Deal!"
   """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""




                   A CHRISTMAS PRESENT -- from ATARI!
                   ==================================
                   ATARI LYNX: And a special low price

                              *** $79.95 ***

              Order now and get your Lynx faster than Santa!
         Order by December 21 and receive your order by Christmas!
                      Free Federal Express delivery!
                       Hurry! Offer expires 1/31/93!
                     Call 1-800-327-5151 to order now!

 This Christmas, push your mind to the edge with the Atari Lynx:

                              Backlit screen,
                               Stereo sound,
                           50+ incredible games,
                 "Flip" controls for left handed players,
                 Play with up to 8 friends with "ComLynx",
             4,000 brilliant colors (16 bit graphics engine),
        The worlds largest portable video game screen (3.5" diag.)

     Atari Lynx has over 50 games ---> all jam packed with full color
 graphics, digital stereo sound and radical arcade style action that you
 won't find anywhere else.  Get the picture?  You'll find plenty of games
 at your favorite store (call us for the location nearest you).

  Many titles available at these fine locations:

     Electronics Boutique,  Software Etc.,  Babbages,  Waldensoftware,
                   Nobody Beats the Wiz,  The Good Guys.

  Or order all the software you can handle:

    Xenophobic,        Rampage,               Batman Returns,
      Pinball Jam,       Gates of Zendocon,     Toki,
        Switchblade II,    Steel Talons,          Electrocop,
          Ms. Pac Man,       Zalor Mercenary,       Ninja Gaiden,
           Paperboy,           Rygar,                 A.P.B,
          Awsome Golf,        Warbirds,              Basketbrawl,
         Blue Lightning,     California Games,      Hockey,
        Viking Child,       Xybots,                Tournament Cyberball,
       Shadow of the Beast,   NFL Football,        S.T.U.N Runner,
      Turbo Sub,               Chip's Challenge,    Block-Out,
     Hard Drivin',              Superskweek,         Crystal Mines II,
    Rampart,                     Checkered Flag,      Lynx Casino,
   Shanghai,                      Klax,                Scrapyard Dog,
    Ishido,                        Pac-Land,            Roadblasters,
     Kung Food,                     Hydra,               Robo-Squash,
      Baseball Heroes,
       World Class Soccer,
        Gauntlet--The Third Encounter,
         Todd's Adventures in Slime World,
          Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure,
           and more!

  COMING SOON: Joust, Pit Fighter, Dracula, Dinolympics, Power Factor,
  Dirty Larry, Renegade Cop and more every month.

 The entire Lynx game library is available from Atari, by calling:

                              1-800-327-5151.

 And don't forget to order your Atari Lynx for only $79.95 -- that's $20
 off through 1/31/93! And get FREE Federal Express delivery.
                                    Or
 Send check or money order to:

                                Atari Lynx
                              P.O. Box 61657
                         Sunnyvale, CA 94088-1657

                 (For CA residents, please add sales tax)
               Call for further information 1-800-327-5151.
                        This offer expires 1/31/93.

  "Atari", "ComLynx", and "Lynx" are registered trademarks of Atari Corp.
     Atari: an American company traded on the American Stock Exchange



   ____________________________________________________________________





 > STReport CONFIDENTIAL    "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
   """""""""""""""""""""




 - Sunnyvale, CA                               TOYS 'R' US .....UNHAPPY
   -------------
   
     According to our  roving  reporter,  Toys  R  Us  has  decided  to not
 reorder  any  further  product  from  Atari.    Rumor  has  it they became
 disenchanted with having to  deal with  a new  sales manager  almost every
 month.    Additionally  its  also  rumored  this  event may have been what
 triggered the massive "in house" sales campaign to move the Lynx products.
 Deep Discount, 800 numbers, FREE Fed-Ex whoooo!!
  


  
 - Sunnyvale, CA            LEONARD TRAMIEL TO HEAD UP JAGUAR DEVELOPMENT
   -------------
   
     Once again,  the rumor  mill is  alive and well..  Seems Leonard had a
 number of Atari's Tos Development team  members miffed  (6 or  so).. or so
 they say...  A certain in-house member of that team made a stern complaint
 to Sam and now Leonard is in charge of the Jaguar Project.  "Now then when
 did you want that Jaguar??"




 - Washington DC                           FALCON CERTIFIED?   REALLY?
   -------------
  
     According to  certain people the Falcon is FCC Certified.  Ok, if such
 is the case, then why did a another  publication carry  the following line
 in their Comdex Report;

     "..... the FCC were fended off by big stickers under each Falcon:
            FOR DISPLAY PURPOSES ONLY--AWAITING FCC APPROVAL."
   
     Its easy  to _say_they're  certified, give  the numbers out.  The same
 numbers the FCC issues, the numbers that must  be posted  on a conspicuous
 label on  each machine.  After all, IF they're certified Class B, then the
 numbers have been issued.  Numbers please....



 - San Diego, CA                        SDS to get NEW GEnie Account
   -------------

     Scott Sanders, head of SDS Software  and author  of "The  NewDesk Icon
 Editor CPX",  is in  the process  of getting  a new Corporate Account with
 GEnie thus his absence from that  service.   Sanders, currently  active on
 CIS, made  this known  in reply  to an inquiry made by STR.  "My customers
 are being notified of the change via the US Postal Service.   If there are
 no problems,  I should  be back  online by  New Year's."   He  said.  "You
 should be hearing about some fine new products any day now."  He added.



      ______________________________________________________________




 > STR Mail Call             "...a place for the readers to be heard"
   """""""""""""


                            STReport's MailBag
                            """"""""""""""""""


                    Messages * NOT EDITED * for content
                    -----------------------------------


 From GEnie's ST RT

 Category 14,  Topic 3
 Message 181       Sat Dec 05, 1992
 M.LYDA [mike]                at 03:26 EST
  
  

 Bob..   or anybody else out there that gives a flip!  I had a couple of
 people in my studio tonight who are artists & film makers, and they were
 suprised to see my Atari w/two screens.. thinking that I was a real nerd
 or something.. ;^)  anyway, they couldn't get past the image of Atari as
 being a "game" company.

   I also noticed that in the latest Delaware Valley Computer User they had
 a huge write up on Nintendo and Sega (an expanded article of the NY Times
 article from a couple of weeks ago...) that mentioned Atari in the
 beginning as the company that came out with Pong in the 70's.

    So I asked these artists and film makers WHAT advertising could change
 their preconceptions of Atari?  A demo of some of what my Mega STE 4 could
 do?  NOPE!  They suggested a barrage of still images of old boring looking
 men sitting at desks and people doing boring things like spreadsheets... 
 with the Atari name and logo in between of course!  Remember REAL
 computers have to be BORING!  :)  Then.... they said it would be ok to
 show the nifty things an Atari (computer) could do.

 remember you can completely ignore this..  they were just some of the top
 emerging artists and film makers in this area......... and we all know how
 out of touch they are!

 ml

 Category 14,  Topic 20
 Message 220       Fri Dec 04, 1992
 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp.]     at 12:07 EST
  
 Dave,

 You keep on hitting on same points, just saying them a little bit
 differently.  :)  You say that people that know computers will know that
 32 Mhz is faster than 16 Mhz. True enough. But how many times  have we
 been treated to the stories of the DOS user with Windows being outrun by
 an 8 Mhz machine?  Too many to count!  Again, you've fallen prey to the
 "Put a bigger engine in 'er, that'll make her faster" mentality of the DOS
 machines. Yes, the processor in the Atari Falcon030 is "only" 16Mhz. But
 there is also a BLiTTER chip running (which the clones don't have), a DMA
 chip running (which the clones don't have), and a DSP running (which for
 about $600 the clones CAN have), and an optional FPU. 

 In short, we provide a lot of tools for developers to use to speed things
 up without just getting them a bigger hammer!

 I liked the line about seeing higher rez with 16 million colors... which
 completely ignores the fact that the human eye can't see that 'many colors
 at once!!! :) :)

 Let me ask a really basic question of you Dave, have you seen an Atari
 Falcon030 yet?

 Most of those that have are pleased. Not all...but most.

 Your remark about preschoolers being our customers was way out of line.
 And I apologize if I'm coming off inflammatory, because that is not my
 intent. There is an excited base of people awaiting the machine, as others
 have pointed out here. KEYBOARD Magazine is the latest in the line of
 publications to discuss the Atari Falcon030, and they like what they saw.

 Mike Allen,

 I've seen a couple of programs that would pre-set the volume on start up,
 but I'm not sure how good they would be on some of those games.  Thanks
 for the
 suggestion.

 regards,

 Bob Brodie
  ------------


 Category 14,  Topic 20
 Message 224       Fri Dec 04, 1992
 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird]        at 19:37 EST
  
 Bob Brodie:

     I'm sorry for sounding repititious, but I find myself searching for
 the right way to make a point which I never seem to get across because of
 the replies.

     I apologise for the comment about preschoolers with the condition that
 I say that your comment about your intended market seemed rather
 condescending, the way you put it.

     I'm going to be blunt now. The only reason I am going to be this way
 is so that my meaning is not lost due to politeness. Do not take offense
 ANYONE.

     The F030 is a vast improvement over the STe. I feel that it has as
 much going for it over the STe as the TT does (in terms of features).
 But... it does not have as much going for it over the STe as a comparable
 clone does (in terms of features).

     These features are not only the ones you purchase, but the perceived
 features which come with a purchase. The confidence that you spent wisely,
 the availability of software and service, the proximity of other users
 with the same machine, the security of knowing your purchase will not be
 an orphan, the list goes on...

     Your worst hurdle is in name recognition. Nobody knows that Atari even
 exists, let alone makes computers. You people have been silent too long.
 Obviously, people do not buy products based on their quality alone. You
 will surely agree that the Game Boy is at a serious disadvantage in the
 area of features, yet romps the Lynx in sales. I attribute this to the
 steady stream of advertisements for the Game Boy and the name recognition
 of Nintendo. I do not think anyone will disagree.

     If you guys are back in the 'Home Entertainment' arena, you have a
 good shot at being able to revive the recognition that the 'old' Atari
 once had.

     If you're in the computer biz, then remember that you're competing
 with peer pressure to get a clone because of the ability to share programs
 with friends/workplace/etc. It is sad but true. Everyone I know with a
 clone chose it because of the 'free' programs they could get for it.
 Period. The "intel inside" ads underscore this.

    All of your points about _why_ the Falcon030 was good (like BLiTTER,
 and the limits of the human eye, etc.) could very well be 100% true. If
 "I" was ignorant of these facts, then how is the average consumer supposed
 to find out?

         My point is this: I am Joe Consumer. I have some money to spend on
 a techno toy. How do you convince me of the following:

 1) I need a Falcon030 (and not a VCR, TV, or PC) 
 2) The Falcon030 is better than it's competition (if any) 
 3) Owning one will make my friends jealous
    (Important to many folks) 
 4) The price is reasonable (whatever _that_ is) 
 5) Atari is a company I have heard of (Establish brand loyalty)

 (NOTE: List in no particular order)

 I don't know any way to do this without an investment in a good
 advertising campaign (a National one). The current strategy is clearly not
 working.

 Also, have you folks adopted a program to work towards conforming to the
 ISO9000 quality standards, or started a "Total Quality Program"? Programs
 like these have helped the company I work for _vastly_, and have worked
 wonders for morale. I highly recommend pursuit of these goals.

    I didn't mean to go this long, but I was frustrated.

             _____________________
                   \hunderbird


 Category 18,  Topic 17
 Message 3         Sat Dec 05, 1992
 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird]        at 14:09 EST
  
 I truly believe that the whole blame for the downfall of the new Atari,
 "Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.", as it has been put, is 100%
 due to the rampant nepotism in the upper levels of management (or is that
 "manglement"?).

 I challenge anyone to prove this is not hurting Atari _badly_.

       _____________________
            \hunderbird

  ------------

 Category 18,  Topic 15
 Message 86        Mon Dec 07, 1992
 J.P.C.                       at 19:53 EST
  
 RE: ST Report COMDEX coverage

 Not to give the impression of taking one side over the other, I'd just
 like to note that in the printing format that I use to print-out all STR's
 and RTC's, John Amsler's COMDEX article in ST Report is one-half page
 longer than Bob Brodie's COMDEX - The Final Report.

 Further, Amsler mentions every item that Mr. Brodie does, and in a very
 positive light. Addionally, Amsler discusses the F030's presence in the
 Motorola booth.

 I'd be interested to hear from the anti-STReport people why no mention has
 been made of Mr. Amsler's piece.  _OOPS_ Someone did mention it but, if my
 memory (look out, there it goes <grin>), serves me correctly,  only in
 passing.

 Yes, I agree that STR is highly-critical of almost anything that Atari
 management does.  Can't they voice their opinion?  Is Atari's voice
 sacred?

  ------------

 Category 18,  Topic 15
 Message 83        Mon Dec 07, 1992
 POTECHIN [Nathan @ DMC]      at 09:48 EST
  
 Speaking from experience J.P.C., as we have 1 Gameboy and 5 Lynxes :-), as
 Darlah mentioned, there is NO comparison. If the Lynx is supposed to
 compete against the Gameboy, then they blow it away hands down. And there
 is certainly a large enough  selection of games for it now. So, all that
 was left to do, is advertise and market the product. They start doing so
 in a major  way next week. I can only hope that they are incredibly 
 successful so that the extra cash can be used to just maybe do  some
 marketing on the product closer to my heart, like a monster souped up
 Falcon in this humungous CN tower case etc... :-)

 Nathan @ DMC
  ------------


 Category 19,  Topic 15
 Message 150       Sat Dec 05, 1992
 MARTYKLEIN                   at 22:21 EST
  
 Hi Folks-

 I'm using Gemulator with a 486DX2-66 with local bus video and hard disk.
 ST mode really flies! So far, everything has worked flawlessly, although I
 don't want to reformat/partition the HD for a 32 Meg C: drive to write to,
 so I'm waiting for the new HD driver. I hope to see serial support soon
 also - primarily to use some ST software that requires a DONGLE in the
 serial port!

 The Gemulator package is one fine piece of work, certainly on a par with 
 Spectre from Gadgets. Too bad  the market is so small - but its probably
 growing.

 Thanks a lot Derek for such a neat way to utilize my large library of ST
 graphics and productivity software.

 later          Marty Klein

  ------------




 From Delphi..

 FORUM>Reply, Add, Read, "?" or Exit> 
 44689 4-DEC 13:05  General Information
      RE: Atari Journal discontinued (Re: Msg 44673)
      From: OCS          To: ANALOG4


  > Ouch! When German magazines can no longer survive, Atari is in deep
  > trouble indeed.  Sad news.

 Our readership traditionally was not die-hard power-user, and many of the
 non-die-hards apparently left the Atari scene.  Omikron-Software, one of
 the best-known software companies on the Atari market here, was forced to
 reduce the number of ads for their products.  They usually had at least
 one full-page color ad in every magazine, during the last few months ATARI
 JOURNAL was the only magazine where you found Omikron ads.

 Linked to the end of ATARI JOURNAL is the (not yet officially confirmed)
 closing of the Heim-Verlag computer store.  In addition to their
 activities as magazine publishing house, book publisher, and exclusive
 soft- and hardware distributor (That's Write, PC/AT-SPEED, etc.) Heim was
 an official Atari dealer and also had a nation-wide operating mail-order
 business.

 Heim had very close contacts to Alwin Stumpf and usually was one of the
 first to know about news from inside Atari.  From what I have been told he
 had been pissed about the Falcon delays and had asked Atari Germany's new
 leadership for definite shipping information, which was answered by the
 well-known b*llsh*t.  He then reportedly said something like "Okay, forget
 it, I'm outa here!"

 Oliver



 From the FNET...

 Conf : Atari 16/32 Bit
 Msg# : 1589/1653  Lines: 16  Read: 1
 Sent : Nov 29, 1992  at 10:48 PM
 To   : Don Liscombe
 From : David Letterman at Fnet Node 722, Alcatraz Prison
 Subj : Re: <1556> Atari Canada & Toronto Compute's

 Just to add a wee bit to this discussion on lack of Atari hardware
 available to dealers.  I was required to phone Savetech last week to ask
 if they had any 1040STE's in stock....answer NONE, NAWDA, NO!...
  
 4 weeks approximately to Christmas and one of the major Atari dealers in
 Toronto cannot get stock in.  Not only did he say that he didn't have them
 in, but that he couldn't give a date that he would have one in...
  
 THAT'S SAD!...
  
 Even I'm starting to lose faith in the abilities of Atari to come
 back...what with a dealer base strinking day-to-day, not servicing
 faithful dealers and once again a computer that Atari cannot deliver
 before a major buying period...I don't know anymore...
  
 TIE


 Conf : Atari 16/32 Bit
 Msg# : 1605/1653  Lines: Extended  Read: 1
 Sent : Nov 30, 1992  at 11:22 AM
 To   : Mark Kovarski
 From : Crackers at Fnet Node 702, The Mother of All BBSs <[702]>
 Subj : Re: <1548> Atari Article in TC!


 Hmmmm, I know of one place at least that sells Atari Computers. That's
 Replay Entertainment in Village By The Grange in Toronto. And i think
 there's a place up on the Mountain here in Hamilton that sells STs.

 Replay Entertainment is owned by one of the people that Atari Canada laid
 off. Dispite his current situation he has full faith that the Falcon will
 bring Atari around to it's former glory.

 And doesn't Long & McQuade still sell Atari machines? Seems to me that
 that article has exagerated just a wee bit.

 I know that Compucentre's descision to stop selling STs had absolutely
 nothing to do with Atari itself, but everything to do with Multi-Micro.
 Every computer product that a Compucentre A.C.E. store buys has to be
 purchased from their main distributor Multi-Micro or when purchasing a
 product not carried by them it has to be approved by MM. Multi-Micro adds
 a huge percentage to the cost of everything that a Compucentre store buys
 and in the case of the ST, the amount that MM added to their cost made it
 impossable for Compucentre to sell the computers. Compucentre's cost for
 the computer was more expensive than the price everyone else was selling
 them at and since they wern't allowed to buy from anyone other than
 Multi-Micro they had no choice but to stop selling the computers. The
 Compucentre A.C.E. stores told Multi-Micro to either drop their cost for
 the STs or they'd drop the STs. So Multi-Micro said, "Go ahead, we don't
 care." And that's why Compucentre stopped selling Atari STs.  Another
 reason for them dropping the STs was because of the software. In the
 computer business software sales depend on getting the software as soon as
 it hits the market and while there's a demand for it. Multi-Micro took so
 long to approve any new software for sales that by the time they gave it
 their approval (if they ever did) everybody and their brother has 3
 pirated copies of it. At one time Compucentre was Canada's biggest seller
 of Atari computers. But because of the 'head up buttness' of the parent
 company Multi-Micro it became impossable for Compucentre to sell STs. This
 ticked off alot of Compucentre staff too because many of them owned STs at
 the time. So in this one case of a chain of stores dropping Sts it had
 absolutely nothing to do with Atari. Compucentre was forbidden from buying
 their machines from Atari in the first place.

 But I do agree with the articles statments to the effect that the Tramiels
 don't know how to run a computer business in today's market. Their sales
 tactics worked back in the 80's, but this is a whole new decade now. The
 rules of the game have changed and if the Tramiels can't change with the
 times then they're gonna lose big time. I think it's time for them to
 graciously step down and let someone else who knows how, run the show.
 They should do this before they destroy not only their own business
 reputation, but Atari Corp. as well. Some how I have a feeling that
 they're too pig headed to adapt and that they'd rather 'go down with the
 ship' than allow someone else to command the bridge.

 Helm, set a course for the iceberg. Engine Room, full speed ahead!

                                    CRACKERS
                          (Stubborness from hell!!!!!!!)


 Conf : Atari 16/32 Bit
 Msg# : 1657/1657  Lines: Extended  Read: 1
 Sent : Dec 05, 1992  at 9:57 AM
 To   : Doug Hohenstein at Fnet Node 672
 From : Ralph Mariano
 Subj : Re: <1649> FALCON ARTICLE (C.P.)


  Previously Doug Hohenstein wrote:  
 -  Ralph, just what HAS got you so irked lately?  You were asked a simple
 - question.  Instead of providing a response you took this as yet another
 - opportunity to slam Atari outright, and without providing any support,
 - I might add.  Have you been lunching with the K's?
  

 Listen Doug, and listen carefully............
    
      I am watching a marketplace I've been a part of for almost twenty
 years being run right into the ground.  All we get is double talk and
 vendetta filled agendas from certain of Atari's people.  There is tons of
 rhetorical garbage about the wonders we have yet to see.... the great
 machines we shall see bring about the resurgence of Atari and what, in
 reality, is actually happening?
      
                                  NOTHING!!!!
    
      This is the fifth Christmas sales season Atari has put right in the
 toilet.  All the new dealers signed on at NAMM, the music dealers, thrive
 on big Christmas sales volume.  Atari made sure they will not see that in
 the midi community in TWO ways...  
     
 (1) - Atari announced and blathered all over the world about the Falcon   
       and its BS delivery dates.  Sam even said in one of his conferences 
       it would be shipping in TWO WEEKS!!  That was LAST AUGUST!!  This   
       brainy manuever gave cause for the sales of all other Atari         
       computers to come to screeching halt.  The TT & MSTE production is  
       nill.  So what will all those NEW dealers we heard so much about    
       have to sell to their customer base??   
          
 (2)   No Falcons...  No Falcons....  Not anywhere.  Atari Germany, the
       stalwart entity in Europe is all but put to sleep, its personel is
       stripped to the bone, the main person who made it work quit in a
       raging disagreement over the lack of Falcon deliveries ON TIME.     
       This came after all of Atari's European subs were consolidated      
       under Atari Germany's direction.  The UK expects less than 500      
       units RSN for all its users and developers this is no where near    
       what's needed to satisfy their market alone.
          
      And you want to know what has me irked??  Take a good look around you
 in this Atari world, the Tramiel Kids have clobbered it and clobbered it
 but good.  The Katzenjammer was a priceless name for them four years ago
 and it fits better and better with every month that goes by.
     
              Ralph @ * The Bounty ST BBS * FNET Node 350


 From CIS Atari Fora

 #: 76681 S8/Hot Topics
     05-Dec-92  11:46:06
 Sb: #76627-Atari at COMDEX
 Fm: SYSOP*Ron Luks 76703,254
 To: Dana P. Jacobson 71051,3327

     Gee.  Not only did I see the Atari booth myself at the show but I also
 spoke with both Nathan and Bob Brodie and they both told me they were
 disappointed with the show.  In fact, no one I talked to at the booth
 seemed to be overly impressed with the show results.  They were very
 excited about the Falcon, naturally, but not the COMDEX results.

     Maybe something great happened after I left Thursday afternoon?

     Ron


 #: 76771 S8/Hot Topics
     06-Dec-92  10:23:32
 Sb: #76766-Atari at COMDEX
 Fm: SYSOP*Ron Luks 76703,254
 To: STReport - Ralph 70007,4454

    I arrived at the show Tuesday mid-day.  Jack was there in a private
 meeting room.  I didn't see him on Wednesday or Thursday, so he left
 sometime after Tuesday afternoon.

    I was told Sam was at the show on Monday but I never saw him on
 Tue/Wed/Thurs  (And I went back a few times looking).  Nathan told me Sam
 left after Monday.

    I never saw Gary in my 5 or 6 trips thru the booth.  I don't think
 Leonard came to the show at all.


 #: 76819 S8/Hot Topics
     06-Dec-92  20:10:09
 Sb: #76801-Atari at COMDEX
 Fm: Jim Ness 75300,3155
 To: John J. Amsler 70275,676

 John -

 Check out the latest Atari Explorer Online, which I am sure Albert will be
 uploading.

 Bob Brodie even panned your own review.  He says, maybe justifiably, that
 nobody can do a thorough review of COMDEX  based on a one day visit.

 However, he has not said anything about Ron Luks' multiple days spent
 there.

 On the other hand, he did not say Atari's time at Comdex was a success. 
 He just said there were tons of neat Atari products there which did not
 get mentioned.

 I personally agree about the neat products being there, but also think
 they were wasted, because nobody saw them.

 STR's editorial on the same subject was really flamed by Atari and some of
 the devs who are particularly close to Atari.  (Thisclose)

                                      -JN


 #: 76875 S17/Community Square
     07-Dec-92  13:02:41
 Sb: #76774-#Falcon:  Flies or Dies
 Fm: SYSOP*Ron Luks 76703,254
 To: John J. Amsler 70275,676 (X)

    I think thats a very fair assesment of what Atari needs to do, although
 any significant progress towards those goals in the time frame you
 mentioned might be enough.  There's no way they will accomplish the entire
 list in that time frame.

    Some of the points conflict with each other.  You can't significantly
 increase advertising and production and also increase revenue in the same
 time period.  Increasing the stock price is something that I'm familiar
 with due to my "second career."  The generally accepted maxim is that a
 stock price reflects 6 months in advance of what will show up on the
 books.  Normally, if Wall street thought the Falcon would be a success by
 mid 93, you'd start to see appreciation in the stock price TODAY. 
 Unfortunately, thats not happening.

    The fact that the stock price is sitting near its all time low TODAY
 tells you that Wall Street thinks of the new Falcon effort (not much). Of
 course, Wall Street is not always right, and sometimes it is spectacularly
 wrong.  Lets hope so in this case. 

     Please note that in the above paragraph, I was talking about Wall
 Streets estimate of the "falcon effort" not the "falcon hardware itself." 
 While I dont think the Falcon030 is the 'ultimate new atari computer' and
 I acknowledge some of its shortcomings, I think it has more than enough
 positive aspects in its favor to make it a success.

     As important (or maybe even more important) than the hardware design,
 is the accompanying production/marketing/sales effort that must go with
 the new machine.  Bill Rehbock demo'ed the machine for me at COMDEX and it
 was a fairly impressive demo.  (Bill still has a lot of credibility with
 me in my book and I can't say enough nice things about him and the support
 he's shown us).   However, he was unable to speak about the advertising
 and marketing of the machine and that's what still has me worried.


 #: 76944 S8/Hot Topics
     08-Dec-92  01:34:28
 Sb: #76819-Atari at COMDEX
 Fm: John J. Amsler 70275,676
 To: Jim Ness 75300,3155

 Jim:

 Actually, I was quite irked that circumSTances didn't permit me to
 spend at leaST three days at COMDEX.  That "review" of mine was merely
 a "quickie;" I never intended it to be in-depth or comprehensive.  I
 know there were things I didn't mention ... because there wasn't anyone
 around for me to ask questions of.

 I didn't mean to offend anyone and am sorry if I did.  I know I was
 vehemently critical of the Falcon's resolution--and I STill say it
 should be 1024 x 768 MINIMUM--but in the aggregate I thought I was
 rather complimentary of the Falcon (and Atari, considering how they
 are so tiny and don't have hundreds of millions of dollars for R&D,
 engineering, and marketing/advertising) like IBM and Apple do.  I
 realize that Atari doesn't have the resources that IBM and Apple do;
 I just think the resources they DO have could be used better.

 "Tons" of neat Atari products?  That might be STretching it a bit!

 - John
   Atari Forever!


 #: 76991 S8/Hot Topics
     08-Dec-92  14:19:02
 Sb: #76956-Atari at COMDEX
 Fm: SYSOP*Ron Luks 76703,254
 To: John J. Amsler 70275,676

    There's a fair amount of politics and guessing when it comes to
 selecting booth space at COMDEX.  The owner of COMDEX, the Interface
 Group, is run by the same guy who bought the Sands Hotel and built the
 Sands Convention Center.  He obviously pushes hard for companies to
 exhibit in his building where he makes the most profit.

    However, its only a fraction of the size of the main Las Vegas C.C. and
 only the LVCC can accommodate the big booths of MicroSoft, Word Perfect,
 IBM, etc.  He offered significantly cheaper booth space in the Sands Expo
 center to try to draw some bigger names to the secondary building but
 after the first year failure, it seems only Atari went for the "value
 deal." Other companies I talked to said that even if it meant paying more
 for less space inthe main CC or even in Bally's (where all the Multimedia
 exhibits were held), it was worth it to them.  One little company told me
 they could have had a bigger booth for almost 1/2 the cost in the sands,
 but in their words "We'd rather spend $5000 and have a crowd than save
 $2500 and have nobody around to look at the booth.  Whats the point in
 spending ANY money unless you get a good turnout?"

     I dont fault Atari for trying to save money and I dont think being in
 the main Convention Center would have given them much more than they got
 from the Sands.  I think that considering the type of market the Falcon is
 being aimed at, they should have been in with the other multimedia
 exhibits (this year in Bally's) even if it cost them some more $$$$. It
 couldn't have been THAT much more, and after all, they DO have $50 million
 in the bank, right?



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                      STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
                      """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""



 > A "Quotable Quote"           "... Creating An Endangered Species!...."
   """""""""""""""""



                  "LEONARD TO HEAD UP THE JAGUAR PROJECT!"



                                        ..... The SuperSnoop
                                               

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 > ABCO SPECIALS! STR InfoFile  * 1992 HOLIDAY Prices!  MORE Products! *
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                  STReport International Online Magazine
                     -* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *-
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
 STR Online!           "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE"     December 11, 1992
 Since 1987      copyright (c) 1987-92 All Rights Reserved          No.8.49
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 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
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