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


 January 22, 1993                                                   No.9.04
 ==========================================================================

                  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

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   _____________________________________________________________________


 > 01/22/93 STR 904    "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
   """"""""""""""""
     - The Editor's Desk      - CPU Report        - PORTFOLIO NEWS
     - NEW IBM PS1 UNVEILED   - SAC EXPO NEWS!    - 2.5" 340mb
     - COMPATIBLE LIST        - UPDATE PGST       - FONT COPYRIGHTS?
     - PMC UPDATES!           - PHOTON COMPUTER   - STR Confidential

                     -* REVOLVING DOOR AT IT AGAIN! *-
                           -* ATARI & NAMM'93 *-
                             -* FCC & ATARI *-


 ==========================================================================
                  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  all  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 your favorite 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 (January 22)

 AMIGA .HAM PICTURES - SUPERB GRAPHICS ON YOUR STE!

 Download file AMIGAH.LZH from  LIBRARY  4  of  the  Atari  Arts  Forum (GO
 ATARIARTS) for  superb Amiga  graphics that  were converted.   A viewer is
 included in the archive.

 K&R COMPLETE "C" COMPILER/DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM

 Download file HSC140.LZH from  LIBRARY 3  of the  Atari Productivity Forum
 (GO ATARIPRO) for a complete C compiler system for the Atari ST.  Includes
 GemFast v1.8 GEM programming  library.    The  compiler  is  based  on the
 Sozobon   compiler,   but   contains  many  modifications,  bugfixes,  and
 extensions. The compiler features an automatic installation process.  Just
 unpack  the  archive  and  run  INSTALL.PRG  to  install and configure the
 compiler.

 CODEHEAD ANNOUNCED RELEASE OF CALLIGRAPHER 3...

 Download file C3NEWS.TXT from LIBRARY 16  of the  Atari Vendors  Forum (GO
 ATARIVEN) for  the official  announcement of the release of Calligrapher 3
 -- the next generation of the  Ultimate Writing  Machine.   Read this text
 file for  details about  the new  version of this powerful word processor.
 Information on upgrading from earlier versions is included.

 MONOCHROME .GIF VIEWER

 Download file MGIF40.LZH from LIBRARY  14  of  the  Atari  Arts  Forum (GO
 ATARIARTS)  for  version  4.0  of  the  MONOCHROME  viewer  for GIF files.
 Includes several general improvements and faster display.

 SORRY! ON YOUR ATARI ST...

 Download file SORRY3.LZH from  LIBRARY  2  of  the  Atari  Arts  Forum (GO
 ATARIARTS) for the computer version of the board game Sorry!

 NEW VERSION OF B/STAT!

 Download file  BSTAT4.LZH from  LIBRARY 5  of the Atari Productivity Forum
 (GO  ATARIPRO)  for  version  2.44  of  B/STAT.  B/STAT   is  a  shareware
 statistical analysis and business graphics  program. It requires a minimum
 of 1 meg of memory and a  double  sided  drive.  B/STAT  can  use  GDOS if
 installed but does not require it.

 EMPLOYEE SCHEDULING PROGRAM

 Atari Explorer  Magazine has  uploaded file ON_SCH.ARC to LIBRARY 5 of the
 Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO).    This  program  is  a monochrome
 employee scheduling program.

 NEW IN ATARI VENDORS FORUM (GO ATARIVEN)!

 ICD has  just made available their latest Host Adapter software.  Look for
 the file NEWHST.LZH in Library 7,  ICD, Inc.   This  file inlcudes ICDBOOT
 6.0.7, ICDFMT 6.06, HDUTIL 5.03 and other utilities.

 NEW IN ATARI 8-BIT FORUM (GO ATARI8)

 Now available!   A  demo of the eagerly awaited MAZE OF AGDAGON, the first
 multiplayer, multi computer, 3-D  maze  game  for  the  8-bit.    From the
 creative minds  of Chuck  Steinman and Jeff Potter, you won't want to miss
 this one!  File AGDEMO.ARC in LIB 10 [Games]

 Lynxsters unite!  Message section 16 and LIB 16 (both named LYNX) are what
 you're looking for.  Issue #2 of The Atari Gaming Gazette is now available
 for download!  Pick up the latest Lynx news, views, and hot  tips from the
 ultimate Lynx  source.  Available in both ARC and LZH format: AGG_02.ARC &
 AGG_02.LZH in LIB 16.

 Is Crime taking a Bite out of YOU, in the  form of  a certain  Count??  If
 so, check  out Tom McComb's hints for DRACULA THE UNDEAD.  File DRACUL.TXT
 in LIB 16. Don't forget your notebook...

 NEW FILES IN PORTFOLIO FORUM (GO APORTFOLIO)

 You asked for it and SYSOP*BJ Gleason finally released it...

          PPPP  BBBB    A    SSSS III  CCC     55555    000
          P   P B   B  A A  S      I  C   C    5       0  00
          PPPP  BBBB  AAAAA  SSS   I  C        55555   0 0 0
          P     B   B A   A     S  I  C   C        5   00  0
          P     BBBB  A   A SSSS  III  CCC     55555 .  000

 The major change is that the serial I/O is now interrupt driven.

 Download the following files from LIBRARY 8 of  the Atari  Portfolio Forum
 (GO APORTFOLIO):

 PBASIC.EXE -  PBASIC 5.0 Interpreter ONLY, BASIC for Portfolio.

 PBASIC.ZIP -  PBASIC 5.0 Complete Package, BASIC for Portfolio.

                  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!"
   """"""""""""""""""""""


     Not much  to report  this week.... it seems the old cliche fits rather
 well at this time.  "All Quiet on the Western Front"....  In any  case the
 entire  Atari  userbase,  what's  left  of  it,  is anxiously awaiting the
 arrival of the Falcon030.  We are hearing reports of "tons of  'em sold at
 Namm" etc...  but then  again we heard the same hype last year and most of
 that was "rumored" to be exuberant prophesies.  One can only hope that the
 "hundreds" of  music stores  (dealers) that  were signed  on last year can
 survive the ever present Atari drought.  Many have not.
   
     Hang in there bunky, you'll get a shot  at owning  a Falcon.   Of that
 much you can be sure.  When?? Well, that's another question entirely.  Our
 snoop sez don't expect the Falcon030 to be  arriving in  big numbers until
 after Easter... sigh.  No ripe 'easter eggs' please.
    
             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:
  """""""""""""""""""""""
          Dana P. Jacobson    Michael Arthur           John Deegan
          Lucien Oppler       Brad Martin              Judith Hamner
          John Szczepanik     Dan Stidham              Joseph Mirando
                    Steve Spivey        Doyle C. Helms

                     Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor Emeritus

  Contributing Correspondents:
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""""
          Michael Lee         Richard Covert           Scott Birch
          Brian Converse      Oliver Steinmeier        Tim Holt
          Andrew Learner      Norman Boucher           Harry Steele
          Clemens Chin        Neil Bradley             Eric Jerue
          Ron Deal            Robert Dean              Ed Westhusing
          James Nolan         Vernon W. Smith          Bruno Puglia



                             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


     "My new office, which has a better view than my old one, is so far
     quite satisfactory. And Richard Miller is in my old office.  The
     Forbes article was a mish-mash and misconstrued article full of half
     truths.  We are anxiously awaiting the release of the Atari Falcon to
     bring us back to the forefront.  The article has given us some laughs,
     but otherwise has not affected us."

                                                  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 have not yet even given the machine to the FCC.  And we are only
     applying for Class B approval.  According to our "experts", it should
     pass Class B."

                                                  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 $1.12 

                    CHRISTMAS '92 has COME and GONE...
                          FALCONS    ....anyone?

                 By the Way.... Does the Falcon work well
                                   with
            any... of the SLM Laser Printers??  NOPE!  NOT YET!



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



 > CPU STATUS REPORT                 LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS 
   ================= 
  


                  Computer Products Update - CPU Report
                  ------------------------   ----------
                 Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
  
                                Issue #03
  
                             By: John Deegan
  
  
    JOINT CHIP VENTURE - Hewlett-Packard Co. and Advanced Micro Devices 
 announced they are joining forces to develope technology to build 
 cutting-edge computer chips. The companies plan to develop the tech-
 nology necessary to manufacture chips containing 5-10 million transis-
 tors. The chip would be the densest arrangement of circuitry ever used 
 in mass production of microprocessors.
  
  
    IBM FORMS FIREWORKS PARTNERS - IBM announced the formation of a unit 
 to develope multimedia applications for business and consumers. The 
 unit, called Fireworks Partners, will be part of the IBM Personal 
 Systems division, which includes personal computers and computer work-
 stations.
  
  
    CANON DEVELOPING 24-INCH LCD - Canon Inc. has made a 24-inch mono-
 chrome liquid crystal display and a 21-inch color version. The Japan 
 firm says the units are the largest LCDs developed so far. Reports are 
 that Canon plans to launch the 21-inch version on the domestic market 
 this year for use in PCs, workstations and desktop publishing systems.
  
  
    PACKARD BELL OFFERS '486 SYSTEMS - Using the company's new Power Pack 
 system to accelerate operating speed in graphical interfaces like Micro-
 soft Windows, Packard Bell has interduced a new line of 486-based compu-
 ters featuring enhanced graphics-handling capability.
  
    The Power Pack incorporates a video accelerator into the graphics 
 controller chip, adding the system has 512K of video memory, which can 
 be expanded to 1MB.
  
  
    IBM POSTS $4.96 BILLION LOSS IN 1992 - IBM has reported $4.96 billion 
 loss for the fiscal year just ended. In the 4th quarter alone, the com-
 pany had a $5.46 billion loss, including a $7.2 billion pre-tax restruc-
 turing charge.
  
    Revenues for the year dropped slightly to $64.52 billion, compared 
 with $64.77 billion a year ago. However, for the fourth quarter, 
 revenues fell to $19.56 billion from $21.97 billion.
  
  
    FUJITSU TO DEVELOP COLOR LCDs FOR PORTABLE COMPUTERS - Although years 
 behind its major competition, Fujitsu Ltd. has begun making color LCDs 
 for portable computers.  Fujitsu sees major changes in the market, in-
 cluding a rapid expansion for small computers and demand for multimedia-
 related products.
  
  
    TOSHIBA SAMPLES 340MB HARD DISK - Starting next month, Toshiba Corp. 
 plans to sell samples of a 2.5-inch 350MB hard disk drive. Toshiba feels 
 that worldwide demand for 2.5-inch disks will be 50% higher in 1993 than 
 in 1992.
  
  
    NEW IBM PS/1 UNITS UNVEILED - IBM Personal Computer Co. has expanded 
 its Personal System/1 PC line with three new models.  The new desktop 
 systems are called the Model 78, and there is a new model for each of 
 IBM's three lines of PS/1 computers.

 The PS/1 Essential line is aimed at the small business market; the PS/1 
 Expert line is for the more advanced user who may aleady own a PC; and 
 the PS/1 Consultant line, is for those who do business or school work at 
 home.

 The units are powered by a 486DX-33MH microprocessor and come standard 
 with 8MB of RAM and a 211MB hard drive.
  

      _______________________________________________________________







 > CIS Atari Fora News STR InfoFile   More power in message systems
   """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



  DISTRIBUTION LIST FEATURE ENHANCED
  ----------------------------------

  CompuServe Mail added a new feature that automatically lists all
  recipients of a message.

  The new version of ASCII CompuServe Mail specifies all receivers as
  primary (To) recipients.  Users can keep the list private by
  selecting "6 SET options" and then "6 Show Recipients" to toggle the
  option to read "6 Show Recipients [NO]".  When members receive a
  message with ASCII CompuServe mail, they see the recipient list
  appended to the end of the message.  Distribution lists will also
  appear on faxes, telex messages, postal letters.  Beginning January
  11, the Distribution list will include the To or Cc designations as
  well.

  CompuServe Mail now offers additional options for handling recipient
  lists.  Depending on what program is used to access Mail, senders can
  specify that recipients are either Primary, Courtesy Copy, or Blind
  Copy (To, Cc, or Bc).  The list of To and Cc recipients is
  automatically made available to readers of the message, while the Bc
  recipients are never disclosed.  Users also have the option of
  keeping the entire recipient list private so that none of the readers
  are shown who else received the message.

  When members send a Mail message using the newest versions of the
  CompuServe Information Manager, each recipient is entered as a To,
  Cc, or Bc.  Since the recipient list is available to readers of the
  message, CIM displays it in a dialog box.  CIM will also help readers
  address a Reply To All just by clicking on a single button.  WinCIM
  and MacCIM users can keep the recipient list private by unchecking
  the Show Recipients box on the Recipient List screen.  DosCIM users
  do so by unchecking the Show List box on the CC:List screen.  To
  utilize these features, GO CIMSOFT and obtain the latest version
  DosCIM, MacCIM, or WinCIM.

  Also beginning on January 11, when messages are sent with Show
  Recipients [YES] to other mail systems such as MHS, Internet,
  SprintMail, AT&T Mail 400 or Western Union 400 (Easylink) the
  recipient list is transferred intact.  Therefore, the specification
  of To, Cc, or Bc will be sent to the interconnected mail system as a
  header item SEPARATE from the message itself, and the distribution
  list will NOT be appended to the body of the message.  The receiving
  mail system will then determine if the recipient list is displayed to
  the reader and its format.

  If messages are sent with Show Recipients [NO] to these other
  systems, the recipient list is kept private.  In messages to X.400
  gateways, MHS and Internet, the list is hidden by converting all
  recipients to Bc before transferring them across the gateway.

  NEW NOTIFICATIONS FOR MESSAGES

  Members sending messages from the new Windows CompuServe Information
  Manager (WinCIM) have the ability to send messages with an expiration
  date, a notation of priority, and a notation of sensitivity.  These
  capabilities will affect how messages are displayed to ASCII users of
  CompuServe Mail.

  Messages from CIM may be denoted as * Important * or * Private *.
  These designations reflect the sender's assessment of the importance
  or sensitivity of the message and DO NOT affect how CompuServe Mail
  handles delivery of the message.

  Messages may also display an expiration date.  An expiration date
  will appear if:

   - the message was sent (from CIM) with an expiration date
   - the message is SAVEd after reading

  ASCII messages are stored in your mailbox for up to 90 days after
  they have been read.  Binary messages are stored for up to 30 days
  after they have been saved.  In the past, the expiration date of a
  message has not been visible to the reader.  You can now make the
  expiration date appear, as explained above, by choosing to SAVE the
  message after reading it.  The next time you access mail, the message
  will with an expiration date.  For example:

  1 Joe Smith/Test message
    * Expire:(+90) *

  In order to save the message for another 90 days, you must choose to
  go in and SAVE the message again.


  Remember:  Type HELP at most any menu in CompuServe Mail for a
  complete list of valid commands.  Also, typing HELP "command" will
  display even more detailed information about a specific command.


       _____________________________________________________________




 > ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine          The wires are a hummin'!
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""""
         
          
              
                            PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
                            =====================
             
              
 On CompuServe
 -------------
 compiled by Joe Mirando
             73637,2262




 Well folks, what can I say?  Do you remember last week's column?  In it
 Ralph stated that I suffered a system crash just as I was finishing the
 column.  That's exactly what happened.  I would have been fine if I had
 saved the darned thing periodically, but I didn't.  Well, thanks to Ralph
 for standing in for me last week.  I'll try to make sure that I don't have
 the same problem this time around (he says as he saves this paragraph to
 disk).

 Okay, I guess that you've had enough of this.  After all you don't read
 this column to hear my problems, do you? Well, in the words of that famous
 mouse.... On with the show!  haha




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



 One of the saddest stories in the Atari world right now is the "Double
 Click Affair".  Double Click is no more.  Don't get the impression that
 this is the end of the world for the ex-doubleclickers... these guys are
 good!  I'm sure that they will land on their own feet.  The sad part is
 that we, the users, will be without yet another top-notch developing
 outfit.  It has been said that a large portion of the programs put out by
 Double Click will be released into the public domain.  While this is good
 news, it is still troubling to think that there will be no more new
 programs with the DOuble Click label.

 Mike Stockton posts:


     "...I may now be able to get a complete version of Shadow.  Because of
     [The] Storm Double Click wouldn't sell me Shadow."


 To which Dom Alvear replies:


     "Actually, I don't think they can sell you Shadow because Antic still
     has the rights to it.  You might be able to get it from a vendor, but
     that is about it.  I also don't think that DC can put Shadow in the
     public domain since they don't own the distributing rights to the
     program.

     It's too bad about Double Click.  I was hoping that somebody might
     pick up their remaining programs and update them, specifically the DC
     utilities and DC Shower come to mind."


 Mike tells Dom:


     "DC were quite willing to sell me Shadow.They changed their minds
     because of Storm and told me so.The problem I have is that the copy of
     Shadow was obtained from a U.K.Public Domain library. DC told me that
     they hadn't released it any part of Shadow into P.D.This P.D.version
     has no instructions and is probably incomplete. I gave D.C.the address
     of the p.d.library and they agreed to sell me a complete copy of the
     program.Do you know if Antic have a U.K. distributor?"


 While on the subject of Double Click, John Amsler asks:


     "Is DC Showit (the version that runs on MegaSTes) still available by
     any means?  I used to run the public domain version on my old 1040ST."


 Dom tells John:


     "You could try any of the mail-order companies.  Maybe, Toad or D&P
     computers.  They usually have good selections.  Tell 'em Dom Alvear
     sent ya.  :-)


     P.S.  Here are their numbers:

     Toad Computers: (800) 448-TOAD
     D&P Computers: (800) 535-4290"


 Meanwhile, back in the music studio, Charles Kivio tells us:


     "Although I've been using my Atari for several years, only with one
     program (CLab Notator) I have never learned how the machine really
     works (operating system)

     Last night one of my friends called me and asked some questions that I
     couldn't answer for sure and that lead me into asking some questions
     in this forum.

     He said that he was going to buy an Atari Mega ST with 2 MB RAM but
     the computer is an English one and wonder if he could use scandinavian
     characters, for instance in a word processor. This guy also write in
     slavic languages and want to use those specific characters too.

     In my Atari manual there is a mention about 'language disk' that you
     start the computer with. My question is how the Atari starts, what
     happens and so forth.  How can one use different character-sets and so
     on...?"



 Fellow Atari computer user and all-around well informed guy Boris Molodyi
 tells Charles:


     "While I'm not sure if English Atari would allow easy use of
     Scandinavian letters (I hope somebody with experience with European
     models will add something here), given proper software, you can use
     almost any language.

     I'm doing some Russian DTP and translating, and I quite successfully
     use graphic word processors for slavic alphabets."


 Tim Rule jumps in and tells us:


     "The word processor you want is PROTEXT which allows you to use a
     multitude of different languages."


 Well, speaking of music (hey, it's a good lead-in 'cuz we were talking
 about notator and such), one of the nice selling points of that new Kodak
 Photo CD is the fact that you can play, aside from the photo-CDs that it's
 intended for, regular music CDs.  This means that you don't need two CD
 players in the house... Well, it could be worse... you could have a CD-ROM
 drive for your ST.  That would have brought the total up to three
 machines, right?  Well now you can play music CDs through your CD-ROM
 drive.  Sysop Keith Joins posts the following:


     "[70007,3615]    Lib: 4
     CD_AUD.LZH/Bin  Bytes:  20992, Count:    1, 19-Jan-93

       Title   : CD Audio player version 1.2 (for CD-ROM drives)
       Keywords: CD-ROM CD AUDIO PLAYER SHAREWARE ATARI ST TT

       CD Audio player for CD-ROM drives.  Includes documentation and is
       shareware. This current version is 1.2 and works on both STs and    
       TTs.  It should work with both asci and scsi ports.  CD-ROM drive   
       required."


 Next up is one of my favorite subjects:  Null modems.  If you are reading
 STReport, chances are that you got it from a BBS or on-line service so you
 probably already know what a modem is.  For those who don't know what a
 _NULL_ modem is, it's a cable that makes both computers that it's
 connected to think that they are attached to a modem.  Null modems have 2
 major advantages:  They are inexpensive, and they are capable of great
 speeds (I use a null modem cable to transfer text between my Portfolio and
 STe at 9600 baud and have used them successfully on other machines at
 19,200 baud).

 Dom Alvear tells us:


     "I purchased these null modem cables from a company and it turns out
     they sent me regular cables!  Argh!  I don't want to send back the
     cables since it would be cheaper for me just to buy new ones or fix
     the ones I have.  Since these cables have snap-together hoods, it
     would be a simple matter of switching around the correct wires.  These
     cables are 9-pin to 25-pin serial cables,  so it should be a matter of
     swapping just a few lines, right?  Since the 25-pin side has more room
     to play with please tell me which wires to desolder and switch."


 But what must you do to construct a strange and wondrous device like this?
  Dick Paddock tells Dom:


     "All you need do to convert to a null modem is to swap pins 2 and 3.
     They should be labeled somewhere, usually on the face of the female
     connector.


 Dom replies:


     "That's it?  Nothing else?  I'll do that this weekend."




 From The Atari ST Arts Forum
 ============================



 I went to my User Group's monthly meeting and,as always, the subject of
 games came up (hey, we're all just kids at heart, aren't we?) and just
 about everyone had an opinion as to what the best game was.  By the
 following post I can tell that people really are the same everywhere.
 Scott Hazdra asks:


 "What do you all feel are the 10 best games for the Atari?  I am wallowing
 in a sea of no new good programs and I might be missing some old ones
 which are
 good."


 John Damiano of Transierra tells Scott:


     "I like Pacific Islands...Zenon II..Falcon.......Oids ......Stunt
     Track Racer....Varoom......All the Sierra stuff is
     good....Tetris...David Becker's stuff is great.....Flight of the
     Intruder"


 Hmmm... those all sound like winners to me.  John did, however, leave out
 my favorite... LEMMINGS!  

 While we're on the subject of games,John Amsler tells us:


     "I did my testing tonight, finally.

     The following games DO NOT run on a MegaSTe under TOS 2.06:

     Sky Chase               (Damn!  This was a great one on the old ST.)
     Flight of the Intruder  (Double damn!)
     Falcon                  (Ditto; see Flight of the Intruder <g>)
     StarGlider
     Chess Player 2150
     DungeonMaster
     Spitfire 40

     The following games DO run on the above configuration:

     Battle of Britain (installable on a HD!!)
     BattleHawks 1942 (HD)
     F-15 Strike Eagle
     F-15 Strike Eagle II
     StarGlider 2 
     Carrier Command
     F-19 Stealth Fighter
     Star Raiders (HD)
     Silent Service
     Dive Bomber
     Jet
     Universal Military Simulator (HD)
     Nations At War:  Universal Military Simulator II (HD)
     Gunship
     Colossus Chess X
     Aces of the Great War (Blue Max) (HD)
     Knights of the Sky (HD)"


 Bob Ledbetter tells John:


     "Thanx a BIG BUNCH for testing out those prgs on your MSTe.  I hadn't
     expected that much info!  WOW!  Bravo!"


 John replies to Bob:


     "Happy to be of service to the Atari community!  As time goes on, the 
     list, er, liST, should expand to include PD and SW games.

     I think I'm going to scout around and see if I can buy the disk
     version of TOS 1.0 -- then ALL games will run on a MegaSTe!

     (Oh, yeah, get a load of this:  the FOTI box said, "Not compatible
     with TOS 2.2."  What the heck is TOS 2.2???!!!)"



 It's an old story folks.  You buy a computer to do one thing, and before
 you know it, you can't live without it.  Jeff Heft posts:


     "My brother is a new computer user and bought his 1040 to use
     specifically with sequencing software for his midi studio. Now that he
     has tunes to send around to publishers he would like to dress up the
     cassette packages with graphics and text. Finances being limited, he
     is looking for an all-in-one package that will allow him to both
     create simple drawings/graphics of specific sizes as well as type,
     edit, and arrange text on specific sheet sizes.  Failing an all-in-one
     pkg he would like a word processor that can import images easily from
     Cyberpaint ver 2. He is currently using an old version of Wordwriter
     that does not allow graphics import. His setup is basic: a 1040
     (bought in the last year so I'm not sure what version that is);
     monochrome monitor; Panasonic 1123 24p dot matrix printer. Any
     suggestions would be greatly appreciated."


 Our own Dana Jacobson tells Jeff:


     "It would really depend on what your brother wants to spend.  Most DTP
     packages will sell at $150-200 new (Pagestream, etc.)  You may be able
     to find Timeworks Desktop PublisherST (old) or the updated one from
     GST.  Calamus is good (mono only).  Calligrapher is a word processor,
     but allows you to import graphics.  Personally, I use Pagestream _and_
     Calligrapher.  I do have the Timeworks package, and use it still on
     rare occasions."


 Jeff replies:


     "...$200 is fine for the right program. When you mention that Calamus
     is mono only do you mean monochrome monitor only and the others
     (Pagestream & Calligrapher) support color monitors as well? You say
     you use both the wp and the dtp pgms. What strengths/weaknesses of the
     various prgs cause you to switch from one to the other? Does
     Calligrapher accept the PI1 & PC1 formats of Cyberpaint V2?"


 Dana tells Jeff:


     "Yes, Calamus will only run on a monochrome monitor, only (actually,
     the ideal resolution for DTP).  But, you can use Timeworks,
     Pagestream, and Calligrapher on either monochrome or color monitors. 
     I usually use a word processor to create my text files prior to
     importing them to a DTP program because it's faster.  Typing in a text
     file with a DTP program is usually very slow; DTP programs are not
     word processor programs although you _can_ type in text (or edit
     imported text).  I just find it much easier to use a word processor
     first, then import the text.

     As to art created from CyberPaint, yes, you can use Degas pictures for
     most DTP packages.  For Calligrapher, it primarily uses .IMG formats,
     but it can import Degas and NeoChrome pix and convert them to .IMG for
     you then import the resulting .IMG pic to Calligrapher."




 From The Atari Vendors Forum
 ============================



 What rights do you have as the purchaser of "second hand" software?  I
 guess that a lot depends on the the developer/distributer.  Eric Hall
 tells
 us:


     "I've just purchased PageStream from a formerly loyal Atari owner
     who's gone over to the '486 camp.  This is a fully registered copy of
     version 2.1  with an upgrade to 2.2.  I have all the original disks
     and manuals, as well as a photocopy of the registration form.  Is it
     possible to change the registration to me and if so what is required
     from me and/or the  original owner to make this official? Also, is 2.2
     the latest version?"


 Michael from Soft-Logic tells Eric:


     "Yes, it's easy to transfer your registration. You can get all the
     details from our sales line. 1-800-829-8608. If you're outside the US
     or Canada, call 314-894-8608.  The latest Atari version is 2.2b, but
     it says 2.2 at the top of the screen. You can ask your friend which
     version he has. Unfortunately, we forgot to mark it with a b. I'm not
     sure how many bytes either version is, but there is a kind of a test
     you can do if you want to find out right now. Open up the font manager
     (Save/Set Paths command, then the Manager button), hold down the Shift
     key and click on Remove. If it doesn't crash, you have 2.2b. (That's
     what we fixed in the 'b' version. ;-)"


 Richard Gordon asks Mark at Gadgets by Small:


     "Dave Small always provided the best service in the industry. What's
     happened! No newsletters. No upgrades to software. And no Dave in
     evidence.  It's OK if you can't do system 7.0 on the ST and it's OK if
     you can't provide MegaTalk on the old ST's, but don't lead us on.  I
     just bought a Powerbook 100 and I never realized how slow the 1040ST
     and Spectre is. I always thought the hype has always been that's it's
     faster than many of the Mac's. I know the Powerbook is faster than the
     Classic/Plus, but I think the Classic is faster than the ST and a GCR. 
     Anyway how bought keeping us users a little better informed.  I would
     like to use system 7.0 on the Atari, but I would at least like a
     little better compatibility with the newer programs."


 Mark tells Richard:


     "I will relay your comments on to Dave the next time I speak with him. 
     Rest assured, I >know< that Dave >is< working on Spectre 3.1.  Why it
     is taking so long??...I don't know.  I will post any news when I get
     it."


 Adam Poole asks another "Gadgets" question:


     "What do you have to do to connect an HPdeskjet to an Atari running
     the Gadgets By Small Inc Mac emulator? Does it have to be a serial
     HpDj that will only connect to Macs or is there an option to have one
     Deskjet and to be able to run it from either the Mac emulator for from
     the Atari and/or PC?"


 Mark at Gadgets tells Adam:


     "Just as with a "real" Mac, all you need is the proper printer driver.
     Fortunately, in the Mac world, only one printer driver is needed for
     each type of printer.  This means that you will be able to print from
     all your Mac applications once you acquire the proper printer driver. 
     My personal recommendation is PowerPrint from GDT Softworks.  There
     are others on the market such as MacPrint."


 Well the news is out:  The CodeHeads are almost ready to begin shipping
 Calligrapher3 (the Ultimate Writing Tool).  Doug Anderson asks:

     "I own the Gold version of Callig2 but I'm sorry to say that it's been
     gathering dust on the shelf because you can't change the screen
     magnification.  i do a lot of work at 6, 8, and 9 point and although
     you can type it and print it, you can't read it on the screen which
     makes editing rather difficult.  Has this been corrected in version
     3?"


 Charles F. Johnson tells Doug Anderson:


     "Calligrapher 3 still has no options for changing screen
     magnification.  Believe it or not, yours is the first request we've
     had for such a feature; we'll communicate it to the developer in the
     UK.  (If you do that much work with really small type, you may be
     better off with a DTP program than with a word processor.)"


 John Damiano from Transierra asks another good question about the new
 version of my favorite word processor:


     "Does the new version include everything (Disk 5 and the Supp disk)
     when you upgrade?  I'm confused.  It said it doesn't use GDOS but then
     its sounds as if it does."


 Charles replies:


     "Yes, when you upgrade to Calligrapher 3, you receive all five main
     disks and the supplementary disk....


     The new version of Calligrapher does _not_ require GDOS any more...
     the tasks which were formerly handled by the external G+Plus and
     Line_Arc programs are now built into Calligrapher itself."




 From The Atari Portfolio Forum
 ==============================



 Mike Salmony, after being told about Atari's File Manager program, which
 gives you a simple menu system for running and manipulating files, posts:

     "Thanks for the hint about FM.COM ! I downloaded it and it is exactly
     what I'm looking for. However I didn't see any documentation on it and
     couldn't quite work out all its functions (e.g. what does ESC-Off do)
     and I also had some problems (e.g. can't read a worksheet, how do I
     start my comms program on a file to upload it, etc.). Also I managed
     to corrupt my C: disk while using it ! Have you any more information
     on how to use FM.COM since it really is close to perfection ?"


 Sysop BJ Gleason tells Mike:


     "The easiest way to find things out is to experiment with it.

     ESC-Off turns the machine off.  When you want to read a spreadsheet,
     put the cursor on the .WKS file and press return."


 Dom Alvear asks:


     "Is there an easy way to tell if I need UPDATE.COM?  And if I already
     have v1.072 will UPDATE.COM just gracefully exit?  I just did a "VER"
     from FM and I got "DIP OS 2.11 v1.072" so does this mean I don't need
     to run the update program?"


 Sysop Ron Luks tells Dom:


     "Even with ver 1.072 you need to run UPDATE.COM.  Ity will only patch
     those bugs necessary.  Running UPDATE.COM cannot hurt the unit so if
     in doubt, run it."


 Don Thomas, Atari's Director of Marketing and Portfolio Guru, tells Dom:


     "UPDATE.COM should be run from the AUTOEXEC.BAT files of all versions
     of the Portfolio. This would likely be a permanent suggestion. With
     any one given version of a ROM-based operating system, there will be
     enhancements discovered after release. These enhancements cannot be
     made on OS/ROM-based machines without using a small "TSR" "fix".



     Well, folks, it's that time again.  Time to wrap this all up.  I've
 just saved this file for about the 25th time so, of course, my system
 hasn't even thought of crashing on me tonight.  Better safe than sorry I
 guess. Right?

     Before I go I'd just like to put in a shameless plug for the ACT
 (Affiliated ConnecticuT user groups) Swap Meet to be held on February 6th
 in Stamford Connecticut.  If you happen to be in the area (Anywhere
 between Maine and Maryland) come on over and say hello to some good buys. 
 Stop by the C.C.C.C. table and ask for me and say hello.

 Until next time, listen closely to what they are saying when...


                            PEOPLE ARE TALKING




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                        TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (1/20/93)
   
                                  STR903
                             PREMIUM MAH JONGG
                               AEO_0202.LZH
                                 STZIP 2.1
                          NASTASSIA KINSKI IN PCS
                             NASTASSIA KINSKI
                               ZMODEMFX.LZH
                            TOS 2.06 W/O A TEC
                            GNU COMPILERS INFO
                               COLD REVENGE
                                                                         
 All of the above files can be found in the RECENT ARRIVALS database for at
 least one week after the posting of this  list.   Please Note  that in the
 case of  online magazines,  only the most current issue in the database at
 the time of this compilation is considered for the Top 10 list.  Also, for
 all files,  a submission  is eligible  for the  Top 10  list for only four
 weeks after its original uploading.          

                 DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!



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





 > NVN WANTS YOU! STR InfoFile       Another Network Supports Atari!
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""


     National Videotext Network (NVN) has recently added an Atari ST Forum
 to it's growing lists of available services.  The Atari ST Forum is going
 through its final "construction" phases and will be available to NVN
 members by mid-December 1992.  U.S. Videotel, founded in 1986, is an
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 Videotel Network launched in March of 1989, and provided electronic
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     "The nationwide launch of the National Videotex Network, which
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       _____________________________________________________________





 > NAMM COMMENTS STR SHOW NEWS     A few Comments about NAMM'93
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""


 CTSY GEnie's ST RT

 Category 14,  Topic 41
 Message 87        Sun Jan 17, 1993
 MUSE [Tomas]                 at 06:04 EST
  
 Curt,

   I just got home from the NAMM show.  The Atari room had plenty of
 Falcons running, lots of music and pretty steady activity most of the day. 
 D2D (Direct to Disk), Barefoot Software and others were showing stuff on
 the big (four foot?) monitor at the stage end.  John Eidsvoog and some
 neophyte were demoing MIDI Spy and Calligrapher 3.

   I was trying to get Bill Rehbock (gee, that spelling doesn't look
 right.) to show me Speedo-GDOS and/or Atari Works and he disappeared to
 get the disks, but then he got real busy.

   Mostly NAMM is pianos and guitars and people.  This is a really large
 show. I noticed a Falcon030 on display at the Motorola booth. Other than
 that I didn't see any Atari's outside of the Atari room. Well...  I saw an
 Atari _monitor_ at Dr. T's, but the ST/TT/Falcon was not in sight. 
 (Rumors that a guy wearing a CodeHead T-shirt was seen carting off a
 Falcon could not be verified. <grin>)

   The Steinberg people were right across from us and the stuff they were
 playing sounded great!  On the stage they were playing digital recordings
 from the Falcon while a video played on the monitor.  The Falcon was
 scrolling text across the video and processing the effects for the live
 guitar player and syncing the whole thing with SMPTE from the video.  I
 have to think there's a future for the Falcon, and I say that because I
 didn't want to get my hopes up too much.  For the Falcon to be successful
 it has to find its niche.  By Golly, those musicians at the NAMM show were
 pretty impressed.  Guitars players were looking at the direct-to-disk
 recording capability and thinking, at last!  You give these guys this kind
 of musical power at these kinds of prices and they'll go nuts.  The music
 people see and use computers in a unique way.  I would suspect that most
 of them don't use or own a modem (hard to believe, I know).  I've spoken
 to some musicians who have used STs for years and never needed a text
 editor! There is also the type of consumer that likes gadgets and toys,
 video, audio and the like.  He likes to put scrolling titles on videos of
 the recent vacation, maybe even a little music and narration.  Maybe he'd
 like a photo CD setup.  These people will buy if they hear about the
 Falcon.  When I say "hear about it," I'm not just talking about
 advertising, but also word-of-mouth and identification with a certain
 niche in the market, like the Amiga has with video, the Mac with DTP and
 the IBM with cash registers <grin, wink).

   Anyway, I had fun at the NAMM show.

  ===Tomas===
  January 17, 1993 @  1:48:24 am PST


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

 Category 11,  Topic 9
 Message 1         Mon Jan 18, 1993
 T.MYNAR                      at 00:22 EST
  
 Well, it finally started raining in California.  It held off long enough
 for everyone to move their stuff in on Thursday.  Then it poured buckets
 full on Friday.  I didn't notice any leaks in the ceiling, but I could
 just imagine what the damage would have cost if it had happened.

 I am a user group volunteer working in the Atari booth to assist, direct,
 point out "there's Gary Tramiel over there, go ask him", etc.  We are
 also responsible for assembling and disassembling the system setups. We
 had approximately 16 Falcons, 4 TT's, 4 Mega Ste's and 2 1040Ste's
 available.  We experienced trouble with 1 Ste and about 6 Falcons. I
 believe these units are from the Comdex show, with a few of them which are
 actually brand-new.  Atari has switched manufactures before making the
 production runs.  We have not identified which source the bad units came
 from.  But judging from my experience when the TT's first came out, these
 seem to be much more reliable. Most of the problems have been traced to
 the hard drives (why didn't they just put 2 SCSI controllers in these
 things like the TT).  I don't know if the problem is the IDE drives, the
 power supply or the IDE controller circuitry.  We also found that several
 developers blamed the machine for failing, when it ended up being their
 software (we went through 3 machines before they finally said, "Oh, we're
 sorry...").

 The discussion around the configurations were 1 mb, no HD; 4 mb, 65mb HD
 and 14mb.  The prices we were quoting were those from the Atari Explorer
 magazine ($799, $1299 and $?1799?, respectively).

 Most marketing complains came from Canada.  It appears the trade agreement
 between the US and our close friends has created some conflicts.  This
 information was not taken very lightly, as several "Employees" discussed
 alternate supply routes and distributed many Dealer Promotion Kits (with
 phone numbers and such).

 It's a long show and substantially busier than Atarifest.  Atari rented a
 room off to the side.  I believe this provided a much quieter environment
 then other times.  It appears that the Atari developers were much more
 willing to cooriperate (sp?) with each other.  Wheres, on the general
 floor you cannot get away from one booth playing their guitar amplifiers
 louder than the next. I don't know how many people attended this year, but
 they were even using the Disneyland parking lot.
  ------------

 Category 11,  Topic 9
 Message 14        Wed Jan 20, 1993
 MUSE [Tomas]                 at 01:31 EST
  
  One thing I thought might be of interest is a program from chro_MAGIC
 Software (417-623-7393).  These folks had a booth right next to the
 CodeHead booth.  They were demoing "Pianistics" a tool designed to help
 piano players learn chords and scales in all keys. It also gives insight
 into the concepts of improvisation and chord substitution.

  The thing that caught my interest was the fact that they were working on
 another program that would be similar to the Miracle Keyboard available on
 other platforms.  It would work with any MIDI keyboard.  I believe they
 are calling it "Pianistics Professor."

  Also available from them: Pianistics Encyclopedia and Guitaristics.
  ===Tomas===
  
 January 19, 1993 @  9:33:28 pm PST



 CTSY CIS Atari Fora

 #: 36392 S5/Music/MIDI
     21-Jan-93  20:26:16
 Sb: #J. Grunke post-NAMM talk
 Fm: Sysop*Brad Hill 75720,540
 To: ALL

 ALL,

     This will summarize my conversation of 1/21 with James Grunke, the
 head of MIDI development (I can never remember his exact title) at Atari. 
 We talked first about the NAMM show last weekend, and then more generally
 about the Falcon's approach to the music market.

     As might be expected, James was incredibly, effusively positive about
 Atari's NAMM experience.  As I mentioned in last week's summar of my talk
 with Bill Rehbock, Atari had a separate room this year, featuring a main
 stage and over a dozen Falcon workstations.  James said that in his years
 of NAMM experience, he has never seen anything remotely like the receptive
 excitement that the Falcon generated last weekend.  He reports that
 dealers were "standing in line" to enter their purchase orders.  The word
 "incredible" was rolling easily off his lips.  A press conference on the
 first day saw the attendance of about 50 press reps, including
 writers/editors from Keyboard, EM, Pro Sound News and others.

     The Atari room scheduled 5 demos each day, featuring presentations by
 D2D with their augmentations of the Falcon hard disk recording capability;
 Oktal with their Multitude sequencer -- which, btw, I know nothing
 about... anybody here used/seen it?; Steinber-Jones with Cubase.  Reps
 from Motorola, Yamaha and C-Lab (now E-Magic) participated.  Come to think
 of it, a good follow-up question would be what Yamaha's involvement is.

     Suffice to say, James was very pleased with the NAMM experience. 
 It'll be interesting, in a couple of months, to see what the perspective
 of the music magazines is, how much space they give the Falcon in their
 overviews, and how much excitement is really being generated.

     Moving on from NAMM, our conversation took a turn toward the vague
 side, and James became a bit more elusive.  My two primary concerns were:

     1)  What is Atari's marketing thrust going to be with the Falcon with
 respect to the music community, and how will it be balanced between the
 pro and reacreational worlds;

     2)  What will be done to rebuild relations with the development
 community, and what music software might we see during the next year?

     James made strong mentions of the EQ Magazine blue ribbon award after
 the AES show (which was presented during NAMM), and the current (February
 issue, not on newstands as of this writing) Byte magazine piece on the
 Falcon, both of which have been mentioned here on the board.  I was
 surprised and disappointed by his emphasis on these two bits of publicity,
 because they really do seem like "bits" to me (well, OK, maybe "bytes"),
 small indicators of what I hope to see much more of.  When I asked him
 about marketing/advertising plans, he fell back on these two items as
 indicative of the excitement being aroused in the cmputer industry, and
 didn't have much else to say about what we might expect.

     Generally, he represented Atari as being much more interested in the
 recreational consumer than the pro musician/studio world.  He allowed as
 how the pro music niche is much too small to pursue in a big way. 
 Understandable, and if Atari can sell bunches of Falcons, I don't really
 care at first who they sell them to.  What made me more nervous, though,
 was his statement that they would rely on third-party people to _develop_
 markets for the machine.

 I expressed the opinion that developers might be shy about their
 involvement until they saw markets in place or growing -- the old catch-22
 which I feel can only be broken by unprecedented boldness in Atari's
 marketing -- but voicing that feeling brought us right back to the Byte
 article.

     Not much more to report.  James's attitude was patient but defensive.
 Follow-up questions are welcome here.  (By me, I mean; can't speak for
 him!)

      -- Brad




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 Last Week's Top Downloaded Programs/Utilities:

       ---------------------------------------------------
 27279 UPS_PRGS.LZH             X PMC.INC      930109   17536    143   6
       Desc: UPS Zone and Rate calculations
 27328 SILKMSE3.LZH             X M.SLAGELL    930114   19840     94   2
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 27324 AUDIO_CD.LZH             X S.FARSHIDGH  930114   17280     92   2
       Desc: plays audio compact discs on ST/TT
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 27348 EXPAND14.LZH             X A.CULLUM1    930116   25344     77   2
       Desc: Expand-o-matic shell, version 1.4
 27311 MNUMAK24.LZH             X GRMEYER      930112   30464     71   3
       Desc: MenuMaker v2.4 for GFA BASIC
 27305 ALADSH02.ARC             X T.WRATHER    930111   29696     70   2
       Desc: Ver 0.2 of Aladdin file searcher
 27310 XB32_GFA.LZH             X GRMEYER      930112   27904     67   3
       Desc: GFA code for do_sound() music + more
       ---------------------------------------------------

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 > FONT COPYRIGHTS!?! STR FOCUS!   Will the REAL owner please stand up?
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""""




                           US FONT COPYRIGHT LAW
                           =====================


 CTSY GEnie's ST RT Library

 from the Federal Register Volume 53, Number 189
 September 29, 1988



 Copyright Office
 [Docket No. 86-4]
 Policy Decision on Copyrightability of Digitized Typefaces
 AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library Or Congress.

 ACTION: Notice of policy decision.

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

 SUMMARY. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the
 Copyright Office  has decided  that digitized  representations of typeface
 designs are  not registrable  under the  Copyright Act because they do not
 constitute original works of authorship.  The digitized representations of
 typefaces are  neither original computer programs (as defined in 17 U.S.C.
 101), nor original databases, nor any  other original  work of authorship.
 Registration  will  be  made  for  original  computer  programs written to
 control the generic digitization process,  but  registration  will  not be
 made  for  the  data  that  merely represents an electronic depiction of a
 particular typeface or individual  letterforms.   If this  master computer
 program  includes  data  that  fixes  or  depicts  a  particular typeface,
 typefont,  or  letterform,  the  registration  application  must  disclaim
 copyright in that uncopyrightable data.

 EFFECTIVE DATE: September 29,1988.

 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
 Dorothy Schrader. General Counsel,
 Copyright Office, Library of Congress,
 Washington, DC 20559. Telephone (202) 287-8380.


 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:


 1. Background

 Under section 410(a) of the Copyright Act of 1976, title 17 of the
 United States Code, the Register of Copyrights  determines whether
 the material submitted for registration "constitutes copyrightable
 subject matter and that other legal and formal requirements have been
 met" before issuing a certificate of registration.

 To be registrable and copyrightable, a work must constitute an
 "original work of authorship." 17 U.S.C. 102. Useful articles are not
 protected except to the extent the articles contain artistic features
 capable of existing separately and independently of the overall
 utilitarian shape. Variations of typographic ornamentation [or] "mere
 lettering" are not copyrightable. 37 CFR 202.1(a). In Eltra Corp. v.
 Ringer, 579 F.2d 294 (4th Cir. 1978), the Fourth Circuit upheld the
 Office's refusal to register a claim to copyright in typeface designunder
 its then regulation, 37 CFR 202.10(c)(1978) [ now codified in
 the Copyright Act in the definition of "pictorial, graphic. or
 sculptural works"]. The Eltra court reasoned that "it is patent that
 typeface is an industrial design In which the design cannot exist
 independently and separately as a work of art.- 579 F.2d at 298.

 The decision In Eltra Corp. v. Ringer clearly comports with the
 intention of the Congress. Whether typeface designs should be
 protected by copyright was considered and specifically rejected by
 Congress in passing the Copyright Act of 1976. The 1976 House Report
 states:

   A "typeface" can be defined as a set of letters, numbers or
   other symbolic characters, whose forms are related by repeating
   design elements consistently applied in a notational system and
   are intended to be embodied in articles whose intrinsic
   utilitarian function is for use in composing text or other
   cognizable combinations or characters. The Committee does not
   regard the design or typeface, as thus defined, to be a
   copyright able "pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work" within
   the meaning or this bill and the application of the dividing
   line in section 101. [H.R. Rep. No. 1478, 94th Cong., 2d Sess.
   55 (1976)].

 In rejecting copyright protection for typeface designs, the Congress
 in addition deferred a decision on a more limited form of protection
 under proposed ornamental design legislation. Title II of the 1976
 copyright revision bill as passed by the Senate could have protected
 typeface designs but the House of Representatives had doubts about
 even this limited form of protection. Consequently, only copyright
 revision passed. H.R. Rep. No. 1476 at 50 and 55. Design legislation
 has yet to be enacted, and Congress has chosen not to include
 typeface designs within the Copyright Act's definition of pictorial,
 graphic or sculptural works.

 The Copyright Office has received applications to register claims to
 copyright in material variously termed "data," "database," "computer
 program," "compilation of data," and "typefont data set" which relate
 to, or represent, digitized versions of typeface designs. A Notice of
 Inquiry was published in October 1986 requesting public comment
 regarding the registrability of this material. ((51 FR 36410 (Oct.
 10, 1986)). The Notice raised primarily four questions about the
 nature and extent of any copyrightable authorship in digitized
 typography, apart from the typeface design itself: whether there
 exist a variety of ways to express instructions for creating the same
 typeface design: are there any copyrightable elements, apart from the
 unprotectible typeface design, which comprise the "original work of
 authorship:" does the "information," "instructions," or "data"
 comprise a computer program, compilation or database; and, finally,
 if registration is permitted, what would be the appropriate form of
 deposit?

 The comment period was extended twice (52 FR 3146 and 52 FR 23476) to
 allow full public comment. A total or 19 initial and reply comments
 were received, including a videotape demonstration of the
 digitization process and other exhibits.

 2. Technology and the Digitizing Process
 In describing the process of the digitization of typefont characters,
 the Office will employ technical terms for which we adopt the
 following definitions "Digital typefont" is a bitmapped digital
 representation of an actual analog typeface design, stored in binary
 form on magnetic or optical media, or Read-Only-Memory (ROM) mounted
 on a circuit board. Sometimes, the ROM on the circuit board is
 assembled into a plastic cartridge which is inserted into a laser
 printer or other microprocessor-driven device. When decoded and
 interpreted by the "bitmapping code" software, the digital
 representation of the design will reproduce the appropriate
 character. "Bitmapping" refers to the technology that allows control
 of individual pixels on a display screen to produce graphic elements
 of superior resolution, permitting accurate reproduction of arcs,
 circles, sine waves, or other curved images. A "bitmapped character,"
 whether used on a computer screen or on a dot-matrix or laser
 printer, is a dotted representation of an analog letter or character
 image where dots are so close together that when reduced to actual
 printed or displayed size, they form an image or character without
 the need to connect the dots.

 To create a digitized typeface from an existing analog typeface,
 analog visual representations of characters are scanned and
 represented as a collection of discrete picture elements, called
 pixels. Pixels can be efficiently encoded in digital form on any
 convenient storage medium. The medium can be magnetic (e.g. tape,
 disk or diskette), electronic (e.g., ROM cartridge), or optical
 (e.g., video-disk). The encoded digitized representation is then
 organized as bits of information, manipulated and changed (usually
 reduced to minimize storage requirements) and placed in a format
 usable with a specific program and compatible digital typesetter.

 Typically, a specialized computer circuit in the printing device
 reads the information from the storage media or cartridge and causes
 a laser beam to draw a representation of a particular typefont
 character on a cylindrical surface in direct response to the digital
 data and instructions in the media or cartridge. This image is then
 transferred by a process, similar to printing, to paper from which
 the information is read or the printer may drive a set or wires
 against an inked ribbon that places dots on the paper. The visual
 representation appears once again.

 There are basically three techniques applied to represent characters
 digitally: Bitmapping, outlining and stroke definition. A digitized
 typeface could be prepared by bitmapping alone, but it is more common
 to use a combination of the three techniques to improve the quality
 of the typeface.

 Bitmapping is a dot-by-dot representation of each character. A
 different bitmap is required for each size and style of a character,
 and there are several ways to create a bitmap. The most popular ways
 are by scanning black and white images, scan converting a digital
 outline representation (soft scanning) using software written for
 this purpose, building up an image bit-by-bit using an interactive
 editor on a computer, and through a combination of scanning and
 editing.

 In the outline method, lines or curves define the boundaries of
 typeface characters. The outlines can consist of straight line
 segments only or straight line segments along with abstract
 representation of the curves. The digital information, comprised of
 instructions and date, is fixed by a computer operator who digitally
 locates only the outlines of characters. In order to form a completed
 letter on a screen display or on paper when printed out, an outline
 font program instructs a computer or printer logic to fill in the
 outline of the character. If a laser printer is used, the beam sweeps
 from side to side or up and down within the boundaries of the letter,
 filling In the bounded area with dots that will show up as solids on
 the paper or screen.

 In the stroked definition method, characters are represented like the
 "strokes" of a pen or brush following the path of a straight or
 curved line. The computer operator must define the characteristics of
 the "pen" or "brush," such as what occurs at corners and stroke
 endings. Ultimately, these descriptions must be converted into
 bitmaps.

 Finally, digitization techniques may be used to create a new
 typeface-one that has no prior analog counterpart.


 3. Summary of Comments

 The Copyright Office received 19 initial and reply comments in
 response  to its Notice.

 Two comments maintain that the digitized typefaces are not
 copyrightable. The first argues that the only difference between the
 digitized version and the unprotectible typeface itself is that the
 former is "read" by a machine to create the visually perceptible
 typeface. The "look-up" table in a bitmap, this comment continues, is
 a one-on-one correlation which involves no creativity. The algorithms
 used in the outline method likewise involve de minimis judgment and
 creativity. Finally, the commentator cautions that protection of
 digitized versions of typeface may inhibit the standardization of
 character matrixes that facilitate the compatibility of software for
 personal computers.

 The second comment opposing registration declares that bitmaps are
 static data, fixed representations of images at a given resolution.
 This comment compares the static dot pattern representation of each
 letter to the patterns cast and carved onto metal in medieval times.

 In support of registration, eleven comments espouse variations of the
 basic proposition that the data and instructions which comprise the
 digital typefont are computer programs, copyrightable databases or
 some protectible hybrid of the two. The themes which run through
 their various comments are that the data and instructions are a
 "work" apart from the typeface itself the "work" is "used directly or
 indirectly in a computer to bring about a certain result" and
 qualifies as a computer program within the meaning of section 101 of
 title 17, and/or the ultimate shape of the typefont character doesnot
 predetermine its digital representation and elements of human
 selection and arrangement are required, constituting a protectible
 database.

 One comment states that the "work" is a computer program which
 operates on a data stream and is configured in a particular format.
 Another amplifies this position, explaining that execution of the
 program calls up stored data in the form of digitized typeface
 instructions and converts the instructions into printed typeface
 characters.

 Two comments take the position that the "rule of doubt" should be
 used. The first argues that digitized databases are both databases
 and programs, and, since neither can be read by the Office,
 ultimately the courts should decide on their copyrightability. This
 comment advocates that, in any event, the "work' is protectible as a
 program, compilation or separately as a literary work. Another
 comment claims protection for the edited, complied set of
 instructions and data as a literary work. The second comment
 espousing rule of doubt would limit the registration to the typeface
 database.

 Several comments state that not all typeface programs and databasesare
 protectible. Purely mechanical translations from analog to
 digitized typefaces, they acknowledge, are not copyrightable. For
 example, they state that protection should not be extended where an
 analog typefont is merely scanned into digital form with no editing
 or selection of font characteristics, or where there is mere
 duplication of preexisting digital typefont without further editing.

 One comment recommends considering typefont a special class of
 program. Another one opines that the protectible work is a digital
 photograph.

 Copyrightable expression attaches, another comment contends, in that
 programming choices exist apart from the functional data and
 algorithms utilized in the program expressing the typeface design.

 One comment recommends protecting the typefont as a software/database
 hybrid. The "work" in the integration of all the elements of the
 software and database. The software should be protected separately
 also, this comment continues, because it is a different work then the
 typeface, and programs am protectible, it is argued, even if they
 ultimately produce an uncopyrightable end product.

 Another comment describes the choices inherent in font digitization,
 and argues that, the combination of data and instructions satisfies
 the Copyright Act's definition of the term "computer program." The
 digital image, it maintains, can be represented in different computer
 languages using different techniques. This comment also states that
 no distinction is drawn at the machine language level between data
 and instructions. In general purpose programming languages, the
 surface separation between data and algorithms is for the ease of
 human programmers. Programs are like sentences: Algorithms (verbs)
 act upon data (nouns). In some languages, data and algorithms are
 tightly bound in a single program. In others, the date and algorithms
 are initially stored separately, though they must be conjoined in
 order for the computer to successfully execute the instructions for
 rendering digital type. This comment further argues that the
 conversion from analog to digital is not an automatic computer
 process - different printers read different computer languages and
 this must be factored into the translation: the translation is a
 derivative work. Another comment states that programs to generate
 typeface design can be written in various languages and for many
 different machines with distinct programs. Typeface programs, it is
 argued, are original and creative and should be protected.


 4. Policy Decision and Rationale

 The proponents of copyright registration for data or other elements
 related to digitized typefaces seek, as they must, to present
 arguments for protection of data, or program instructions, or hybrid
 works consisting of both data and instructions that are entitled to
 copyright apart from the uncopyrightable typeface designs and
 typefonts. Both the Congress and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
 in Eltra Corp. v. Ringer decided that analog typeface designs are not
 now copyright subject matter. The Copyright Office concludes that
 typefaces created by a computerized-digital process are
 alsouncopyrightable. Like analog typefaces, digitally created typefaces
 exhibit no creative authorship apart from the utilitarian shapes that
 are formed to compose letters or other font characters.

 Congress has not only rejected copyright protection for typeface
 designs, it has refused to enact a more limited form of protection,
 the proposed "design protection law," which might be a vehicle for
 typeface design protection.

 In making this decision on registration for digitized versions of
 typefaces, the Copyright Office has been conscious of the need for
 caution to avoid a decision that would undermine the clear
 congressional and judicial findings that typeface designs are not
 copyright subject matter. Moreover, a typefont is not copyrightable
 since it constitutes the useful article itself.

 The issue then is whether the process of computer assisted
 digitization of uncopyrightable typeface designs and typefonts
 creates compilations of data or computer program instructions that
 are copyrightable and separate from the uncopyrightable elements. We
 conclude that computer programs used to control the general
 digitization process and that otherwise meet the standards for
 protection are registrable notwithstanding their use in generating
 unprotectible typefonts, but the claim to copyright must exclude any
 data that merely depicts the typeface or letterforms.

 Although most comments favored protection of the data/instructions
 actually depicting particular digital typefonts, our analysis of the
 copyright statute and relevant judicial precedent, as well as the
 arguments of the comments that opposed registration (and even the
 comments of some of those supporting registration of some elements),
 convinces us that any data that merely transforms an analog visual
 representation of a typeface or letterform into a digital electronic
 typefont or letterform is not protectible as a work of authorship.

 The Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C.101 et. seq. (1976), defines the term
 compilation as "a work formed by the collection and assembling of
 preexisting materials or of data that are selected, coordinated, or
 arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes
 an original work of authorship." 17 U.S.C. 101. To be an original
 work or authorship, a compilation must include subjective elements of
 human selection and arrangement. Financial Information, Inc. v.
 Moody's Investor Service, Inc.,  808 F.2d 2D4. 208-08 (2d Cir. 1986),
 cert. denied, 108 S.Ct. 79 (1987). Because the typefont data is
 determined by the ultimate shape of the typeface character, and
 requires de minimis, if any, selection and arrangement, it does not
 qualify as a compilation or any other original work or authorship.

 Proponents of registration argued that the data representing a
 digitized typeface should be copyrightable because, after the initial
 rendering of the letterform into electronic digital form, there is
 selection, coordination, or arrangement of data/instructions in order
 to generate an acceptable, final typeface image. One commentator drew
 an analogy to "connect-the-dots" or "fill-in-the-blanks"
 illustrations in children's books. The analogy is unpersuasive. A
 "connect-the-dots" illustration is copyrightable only if the"connected"
 illustration is a copyrightable pictorial or graphic
 work. In the case of typeface "connect-the- dots," the "connected"
 illustration is an uncopyrightable typeface, and the connecting
 process is indistinguishable from the creation of the typeface design
 itself.

 Proponents also argued that the data representing a digitized
 typeface is copyrightable even though the end result a typeface or
 typefont is uncopyrightable. By analogy to a cookbook, they argued
 that the explanation and illustration of recipes is copyrightable
 even though the end result-the food product-is not. The Copyright
 Office agrees, of course, that original explanations and
 illustrations in cookbooks are copyrightable. But neither lists of
 ingredients nor the method of preparing the food product is
 copyrightable. The Copyright Office finds that digitized typeface
 data is more like an uncopyrightable list of ingredients than a
 copyrightable explanation or illustration of a process.

 Before the advent of digitized typeface technology, arguments weremade
 that, in creating new typeface designs, artists expended
 thousands or hours of effort in preparing by hand the drawings of
 letters and characters that ultimately would lead to the creation of
 an original typeface design. After several years of consideration and
 a public hearing, the Copyright Office found that this effort did not
 result in a work or authorship. The Office refused to register claims
 in typeface designs or in the drawings or the letters and typefont
 characters because the design choices were responsive to the
 functional characteristics or typefonts used in high-speed printing.
 That is, no work or authorship existed separate from the utilitarian
 aspects or typefonts and letterforms. That decision was upheld in
 Eltra Corp. v. Ringer.

 Under earlier technology, typeface designs were fixed in wood blocks,
 in cold metal, or in film fonts. With computer-digital technology,
 the typeface is fixed in an electronic font. The Copyright Office
 finds that no work of authorship is created by the process that fixes
 or depicts a particular typeface in a digital electronic form. Like
 analog typeface design, the design choices or any selection of data
 involved in the bitmapping, outlining, and stroke definition
 techniques are limited by the objective of rendering or fixing the
 uncopyrightable electronic font. This finding applies both to the
 initial scanning of the letterforms and to the subsequent refining of
 the typeface by "curving," "connect-the-dots," ; and other
 techniques. The data created is an electronic depiction of the
 typeface. In fact, there are fewer authorship choices involved in
 transforming an existing analog typeface to an electronic font than
 in using the digitization process to create a new typeface design.
 Yet clearly the typeface design and the process of creating it are
 uncopyrightable whether the process is digital or analog. The use of
 the computer in this process neither diminishes nor adds to the
 factors that determine copyrightability.

 The Copyright Office observes that more digitization of even a pre-
 existing copyrightable work does not result in a new work of
 authorship. The digitized version is a copy of the pre-existing work
 and would be protected as such, b tit no new work of authorship is
 created. A novel may be digitized and stored in an electronic medium.
 Protection depends on the status of copyright In the novel;
 digitization does not add any new authorship.

 Although the master computer program used to control the generic
 digitization process is protectible and may be registered, if
 original, this protection does not extend to the data fixing or
 depicting a particular typeface or typefont or to any algorithms
 created is an alternative means of fixing the data. The Office will
 register a program that can be used to create digitized versions of
 various typefaces but will riot register the data used to depict a
 particular typeface or individual letterforms if the computer program
 submitted for registration Includes data that fixes or depicts a
 particular typeface, typefont, or letterform, the Office requires an
 appropriate disclaimer of copyright on the application to exclude the
 uncopyrightable data.

 The Copyright Office in this decision has been conscious of the
 interests of typeface developers and the interests of typeface users,who,
 in accordance with a congressional decision not to protect
 typefaces, are entitled to copy this uncopyrightable subject matter.
 While copyright protection is not available for digitized versions or
 typefaces, the typeface industry has other avenues of protection
 through unfair competition laws, contract, and perhaps trade secrecy
 and trademark protection.

 On the other hand, the congressional decision not to protect typeface
 designers, in addition to adhering to traditional standards of
 original authorship, reflects a concern about inappropriate
 protection of the vehicles for reproducing the printed word. If
 copyright protection existed for the data representing a particular
 typeface design, a printer who innocently used an infringing
 electronic typefont to print a public domain book would presumably
 infringe the copyright in the data fixed in the electronic font. The
 Copyright Office is persuaded that this result would undermine the
 congressional policy against protection for typeface designs.

 The Office therefore concludes that, if copyright protection for the
 master computer program alone is not adequate to encourage creativity
 in the field of computer-assisted typeface design, any broader
 protection, if appropriate, should be legislated by Congress rather
 than established by administrative decision-making. Congress is the
 appropriate forum for debating the concerns that infect the question
 of legal protection for typeface designs or digitized representations
 of typefaces. Congress con legislate limitations on the scope of
 protection, including any appropriate exemptions for printers or
 other secondary, "Innocent infringers."

 Dated: September 13.1908.

 Ralph Oman,
 Register of Copyrights.

 Approved by:

 James Ii. Billington,
 The Librarian of Congress.

 [FR Doc. 88-22394 Filed 9-28-88; 8:45 am]

 BILLING CODE 1410-07-M


 IN CONTINUATION.....

 Popular opinions are however, another matter.....

 From GEnie's ST RT..

 Category 16,  Topic 18
 Message 57        Tue Jan 19, 1993
 POTECHIN [RT~Sysop]          at 09:20 EST
  
 Once upon a time, someone uploaded the "font law" file #19963.  I have
 recently been asked some questions about this file and I wanted to post
 it here to learn what you all had to say in response. If anyone cares to
 contribute to this discussion, please do not hesitate to do so.

   ****
  I down loaded your article on font law the other day.  It was
  interesting reading.  I would very much like to have you clearify
  what I think I read???

  QUESTION 1:  According to the U.S. Congress the shape and image
  of a type face cannot be copyrighted.

  QUESTION 2:  The method by which the font is produced (PostScript
  Language, Calamus Program Interpreter, Bit Stream Interpreter, etc.)
  can be copyrighted.

  QUESTION 3:  (hypothetical) If I make a copy of the Times type face
  using an Adobe compatible type designer am I violating Adobe's right
  to the Times type face.

  QUESTION 4:  (hypothetical) If I make a copy of the Times type face
  using a Calamus compatible type designer am I violating Adobe's right
  to the Times type face.

  QUESTION 5:  (hypothetical) If I scan an image of the Times type face
  from a book or other source into any type design package and create a
  copy of that type face am I violating anyone's right to the Times
  type face.

  QUESTION 6:  (hypothetical) If I sell a copy of the Times type face
  created in question 5 am I violating anyone's right to the Times
  type face or am I doing something that's just plain unethicle.

  Thanks for your time.
   ****

  I am NOT a lawyer and do not claim to know the right and wrong
  here. However, I do have an opinion. :-) In my opinion, #1 is 
  wrong. #2 is correct! The mathematical formula used to produce
  the formats can be copyrighted as software. #3 Yes, because Adobe
  has a stipulation in their contract when you purchase it that the
  font cannot be used in more than one output device. #4 Yes, for 
   the same reason. #5 is a yes and no. ;-) Yes, because some
  typefaces have some design registrations attached to them whereas
  others do not. It becomes a point of ethics when the person that
  originally spent hours, days, months and years designing the
  original and you choose to simply scan it in and recreate it,
  where does that leave the original designer? He receives no
  recompense in this regard and probably will not do it again 
  making us all the losers. Different countries have different
  laws. If a Designer has been dead 100 years then there are other
  considerations. Personally, if I use something, I pay for it.
  That's the way my mother raised me. #6 Yes, in my opinion you
  have no right to sell it as you are violating someones rights
  and I believe it is unethical.

  I know, look around me. Sigh. The fact that it is not unknown to
  see exactly what the above questions suggest, does not make it
  right, not morally, ethically or legally.

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

 Category 16,  Topic 18
 Message 58        Wed Jan 20, 1993
 S.SAMUELS [ORCA]             at 01:08 EST
  
 Morals and ethics aside for the moment, if you really want to know what
 the law in the USA covers or doesn't, I'd suggest you phone the copyright
 office in Washington DC.  They have a special person and dept. in charge
 of precisely this area of concern.  You can ask them all the
 'hypothectical questions' you want and they are happy to answer them.

 Morals and ethics are your own problem, depending upon how well you like
 to sleep.

 Opinions are opinions, but the law is the law.

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

 Category 16,  Topic 18
 Message 59        Wed Jan 20, 1993
 ISD [Mario]                  at 23:55 EST
  
 Laws Change, Hopefully they will tighten up these laws to give designers
 more control over their typefaces ... I don't care If the limit the
 protection to true font renderings that are  backed with development
 studies ... and that adhere to strict design standards and not the Lazy
 drawings of untrained typefans.

 this would allow trained artists to create and benefit from their
 creations ... The US has some of the most lax Copyright laws in existence
 and seem to benefit the pirates and freejackers rather than the creators
 of Type. There is one more factor to consider a well thought out typeface
 should take a least 60 hours to render .. it has been known to take
 months ... You tell me, how is your time worth?

 A concerned artist/designer ... Mario @ DMC Publishing

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


     STReport would like to hear from you... let us know what you think
 about the copyright laws when they pertain to fonts, font technology and
 the "ownership" of a font or its properties...
   
   
    __________________________________________________________________






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 Removable Mountain 88MB+    - $719

 Synopsis:
 ---------                               * cartridge included
             * very fast drives          * metal under-monitor case
             * portable media            * two power outlets
             * SCSI pass-thru port       * SCSI ID switch


 All drives read/write the popular Syquest removable media and include a
 cartridge with each drive.  Removable Mountains consist of true Syquest
 drive mechanisms and Deluxe cases that feature power supplies with extra
 power to support Syquest drives properly, quality metal constuction, two
 power outlets for other devices, a SCSI ID switch to easily select the ID
 number without opening the case, and a SCSI pass-thru port for additional
 devices.

 TT/Falcon cables included.  For ST we use we recommend the Link from ICD
 which we can offer for $85 (limit 1 per drive).  Cases are available for
 $109.95 each.  Extra cartridges: 44MB = $69, 88 MB = $99.

 *HOT NEWS*
 ----------
 The Removable Mountain 88+ is the newest in the line of Syquest drives!
 It offers the special feature of reading AND writing 44MB cartridges (the
 standard Removable Mountain 88MB read/writes 88MB cartrides and READS 44MB
 cartridges) for compatability with all the older cartridges.

 PMC has become a major contendor in the Removable Media Drive market and
 we
 support our customers:

 "I have recommended your company to many people that I know, with the
 secure feeling that they will receive the same outstanding service and
 product that I have.  Thanks again..."

                                            - Dennis H. Yogi


 Send check (takes 2 weeks to clear) or money order (for immediate
 processing) in US funds to PMC.  Add $15 for shipping and insurance via
 Federal Express (ask about multiple-drive discounts on shipping).  15%
 restocking fee.


 GEnie: PMC.INC

                   Purple Mountain Computers, Inc. (PMC)
                       15600 NE 8th St. Ste. A3-412
                            Bellevue, WA  98008
                               206-399-8700


    ___________________________________________________________________





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



 - Sunnyvale, CA                        THE REVOLVING DOOR IS BACK!
   -------------

     Atari's sales coordinator, A. Preczinski, is no longer with Atari.  It
 appears D. Thomas has been appointed Directer of US Sales although this is
 not  confirmed,  Thomas  has,  in  the past, handled the sales and product
 support admirably for the Portfolio.



 - Denver, CO                            SUPER PHOTON FAST COMPUTER
   ----------

     A Research Team  at  the  University  of  Colorado  has  developed the
 world's    first  fully-optical  general-purpose  computer,  using photons
 rather than  electrons to carry data.  Photons travel  faster, and  can be
 used in  closer proximity  to each other, than electrons.  Future machines
 based on this model could be  faster and  smaller than  current technology
 permits.  
                                                  -Denver Post 1/13/93

     Dauphin Technology  has announced what it calls the smallest 486-based
 personal computer on the  market.    The  device  is  being  aimed  at the
 hand-held personal  communicator market.   Weighing  2.2 pounds, the DTR-1
 measures 9" x 5 1/2" x 1 1/4", and is priced at $2,500.  
                                        -Chicago Sun-Times 1/13/93




 - Baltimore, MD                        FALCON "OVERHEATING" REAL?
   -------------

     According to our snoop, the  rumor  about  the  Falcon  overheating is
 still persisting.   It  seems some are pointing out the close proximity of
 the Hard Drive, Floppy Drive, power supply and the fan  itself.   It blows
 straight down under the Falcon.  The fan itself is a small diameter device
 with low CFM.  Additionally it  was  made  mention  of  the  heat  that is
 exhausted by the fan, rises by convection right back into the Falcon.




 - Laurel, MD                            FCC & ATARI CERTIFICATION
   ----------
   
     A few weeks ago, we presented the FCC certification number for Class B
 on both the Falcon and the  TT.   To date  neither machine,  in a  class B
 certified version,  has been  either manufactured  or sold  to the public.
 Rumor has it now, there may be further  involvment with  the FCC  over the
 final sheilding  arrangements concerning the Falcon.  On top of which, the
 dispute with the manufacturing facilities may give rise to further delays.
 One individual,  who requested  to be un-identified, made mention; "if the
 machines from the first  manufacturing facility  were defective,  why were
 the not defective for the European market too?"



 - Sacramento, CA                          SAC EXPO IS ON FOR SURE!!
   --------------
  
  
      The Sacramento  Atari ST  User Group  (the 'Mighty SST') is going all
 out for a wing ding of a rompin' stompin', Fuji  flippin' fandingle called
 the "SAC  Expo."   Saddle up  'old Paint' and hit the road for Sac town to
 join the wildest bunch of crazed  Atari  maniacs  ever  to  braze  the old
 trail.  

      Carouse with  the Codeheads, run barefoot through the Barefoot booth,
 watch out for diamond backs in the Oregon Research booth, and do  you know
 the way  to the San Jose Computer booth?  Our own STeve's Software will be
 rustlin' up deals in  his  corral,  and  you  won't  find  Marcel Software
 clowning around;  they'll be  too busy  debuting their  new product!  Help
 yourself to some Cottonwood Computer candy and make sure you mosey on over
 to the fabulous SST booth and have a chew with the gang!

      All this merriment and frivolity will take place the 13th and 14th of
 March 1993, at the Towe Ford Museum near old town  Sacramento.   There are
 zillions of  ways to  find out about the SAC Expo!!!  Call the Towe Museum
 at (916) 442-6802.   Call  Sports  Leisure  Travel  (for  hotel  or travel
 bookings) at  1-800-321-4758 (ask  for Mark  or Del).  Write GEnie Mail to
 SST's own Mark Warner at  M.WARNER8.    Or  shucks,  just  call  the newly
 elected SST  President/SAC Expo  vendor coordinator  Nick Langdon at (916)
 723-6425.  It couldn't be any easier!

       Tickets for the show are $6 for one  day and  $10 for  both.   As an
 added  convenience,  advance  tickets  may  be purchased by mailing a self
 addressed stamped envelope, and the appropriate amount of funds to:  
   
                                    SST
                              P.O. BOX 214892
                         Sacramento, CA 95821-0892
  
       And don't forget  folks!    Paid  admission  to  the  SAC  Expo also
 entitles you  to the  auto exhibits of the fabulous Towe Ford Museum.  The
 Towe has the largest collection of antique Ford automobiles in the WORLD!!
 So dash  out of  your dude  ranch and  come see how the Towe's Ford Falcon
 compares to Atari's version.  See ya at the SAC EXPO!
    


      ______________________________________________________________




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


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


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


 FROM GENIE'S ST RT
   
 YOO HOO...... HEY Goldleaf, anybody there??

 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 135       Wed Jan 13, 1993
 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy]          at 04:28 EST
  
 VERN --

 I'm reading, but I don't have any answers fer ya.  :(

 From all I've seen and heard, Goldleaf has some definite customer
 relations problems.  I wish you luck in getting a response and/or
 satisfaction.

 I've been following this thread (when there _is_ any activity) to
 determine if either Didot or Retouche would be of benefit to me, but there
 doesn't seem to be much support or activity here.

 Hugs...Swampy
  ------------
 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 136       Wed Jan 13, 1993
 AEO.3 [Lyre]                 at 06:45 EST
  
 VH,

 While I am not a user, I do have an interest in Retouche.  However, I have
 been "lurking" (well, really Aladdin has the topic marked and with few
 messages, I have not been drawn into the "conversation" here).

 So, while I'm not a user, you are not "alone" in this topic.

                                                 Lyre

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


 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 137       Wed Jan 13, 1993
 D.STMARTIN [Binary Ink]      at 07:44 EST
  
 Me Too!  I'm interested in Retouche.  I left mail here asking for
 information. After an extended delay they got back and asked for an
 address (which I had provided in an earlier message).  I sent E-Mail with
 the address.  Guess what.  . . YUP!  No info on Retouche has arrived to
 date.  I guess they aren't very interested in selling their products, and
 it makes one think HARD about their after-market support....

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


 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 138       Wed Jan 13, 1993
 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=]             at 18:01 EST
  
 Supposedly there is a demo version of the $199 DIDOT LINE ART. They refuse
 to upload it here and will only ship it out for $5.

 I asked for a feature list of Didot Line Art (the $199 version). They're
 too busy to post one. They offered to send me some literature. I sent my
 address.  They sent me page after page of material on all of their high
 end multi thousand dollar offerings.  The ONLY mention of the $199 version
 of Didot Line Art was it's price.

 Duh.

 They aren't very interested in selling their products.
  -Tom McComb
   {1:06 pm}  Wednesday, January 13, 1993


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


 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 139       Wed Jan 13, 1993
 S.KALEITA [SAK]              at 19:37 EST
  
 Lurker #3 here...GEE; didn't this happen before.

 I requested some info a while back and received it; but I was not
 impressed. I saw a demo of the color version at the last Milwaukee show. I
 have some customers that are IBM and MAC based and were interested in 
 seeing some printed samples and professional literature. I just quietly
 stopped trying to convince them of the systems capabilities, because the
 info I received didn't represent the true potential I thing the system
 has... That's not good!

 I hope they realize this and attempt to impress the hell out of us, in the
 near future.

 SAK :)
  ------------
 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 140       Wed Jan 13, 1993
 V.HUTZ                       at 20:51 EST
  
 Hello, Swampy, SAK,Lyre,STMartin, and all!  I have almost 1K invested in
 these two products but I guess I have to go the whole banana to get them
 to work on a TT.  In the magazine news Goldleaf and Atari seemed to be 
 bedfellows about 2 years ago!  Goldleaf was almost Atari's Golden Boy? I
 don't wish to scare them off--John especially has been very helpful when I
 have called him direct-- my intention here is to open up some discussion
 on these products.  It will benefit everyone more if we get this topic  
 rolling---and just maybe it will sell a little product, which helps us
 all!  I liked retouche particularly, on my ST but it will not work on the
 TT and I think I spent $450 on it.  Didot (entry version) was ok but I
 spent the additional $375 on the color version only to find out It was of
 little use without a graphics card. 

 I could (or should) have been told that when I ordered it!  My personal
 concern is that because there are so few of us users that GoldLeaf may be
 focusing on the clone market.  I want them to succeed this is too good a
 product not to be supported!

 Swampy, that was one great hug!  Hope to get another at WAACE next year!
 Topic Police?? You're just jealous!

 Vern
  ------------
 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 141       Thu Jan 14, 1993
 V.HUTZ                       at 23:22 EST
  
 IS ANYBODY OUT THERE???  Come in Goldleaf!!!
  ------------

 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 142       Fri Jan 15, 1993
 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy]          at 18:34 EST
  
 Yeah, Vern, WAACE hugs are wonnerful! <g>

 Hugs...Swampy
  ------------

 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 143       Fri Jan 15, 1993
 M.LEE3                       at 23:25 EST
  
 V. Hutz,

 I have the programs too.  I've been told they will work on the TT under ST
 modes.  I too, wish it was in TT Mode.  The only ones that will work in
 the TT is the upper-end programs, they are also color too.  Too bad my
 wallet wasn't big enough to get the upper-end ones.


 Mike L.
  ------------

 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 144       Sat Jan 16, 1993
 V.HUTZ                       at 23:44 EST
  
 Mike,

 I can't get Retouche to work in any mode on the TT!! Just keep asking for
 at least 640x480 resolution?? I thought that was what I was already
 in!!!!!!!

 Think I will check around to see if Goldleaf is supporting anything they
 have been selling?  Sort of a self appointed support patrol.

 Vern
  ------------


 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 147       Mon Jan 18, 1993
 D.HELMICK                    at 21:41 EST
  
 Mike & Vern,

 There is a separate version of RETOUCHE for the TT.  Goldleaf's online
 silence doesn't bode too well, but try doing what I did a few months back:
 write the company directly, inform them you're a registered RETOUCHE 
 owner, and ask for the TT version.  They should mail it to you free.

 Believe me, it's worth the trouble to obtain this version, too!  I
 couldn't get anything out of the program in ST high res...but the TT
 medium res display is amazing!  Even with 16 greyscales, it's picture
 perfect.


 Donavan,

 How do you load your halftone images from RETOUCHE into PAGESTREAM?  The
 best I've been able to manage is exporting the images as IMG files, then
 loading them into TOUCHUP for conversion to TIF.  Still one step too many,
 if you ask me...

 Dan
  ------------

 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 148       Tue Jan 19, 1993
 AEO.3 [Lyre]                 at 21:40 EST
  
 Mike & Vern,

 Assuming that you do follow Dan's advice, also include a comment about
 your being available on GEnie.  If GoldLeaf begins to see a lot of their
 customers using GEnie they might stop by more frequently.

                                         Lyre

                                         8:02 pm, January 19, 1993

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

 Category 35,  Topic 6
 Message 149       Tue Jan 19, 1993
 V.HUTZ                       at 22:14 EST
  
 Lyre, they should be here---they have half a dozen other products to
 monitor and support also!  They don't need reminded about the only two of
 us who bought their Graphics programs.  Smell the coffee!  Sell to a
 bigger market and devote support time to it and so what if a couple one-
 time buyers in a finite market are lost.  Not right but it seems about 
 right.  I hope I am wrong.  I know if I called direct I would get the
 answers I need, but this could be easier and more beneficial to anyone
 interested!  When I am ready to jump I will go the direct route.

 Thanks, Vern (only somewhat frustrated with all of this)

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


 Editor Note:
    
     Perhaps the users in distress would like to contact Mark at San Jose
 Computers... 


 Falcon delivery having an impact.... of sorts.

 Category 17,  Topic 3
 Message 197       Sun Jan 17, 1993
 S.JOHNSON10 [Steve]          at 02:14 EST
  
 OUTRIDER, G.FUHRMAN, & NTACTONE - The problem isn't that I don't want to
 pay for MultiDesk Deluxe, but it's just that I'll be getting a Falcon030
 in a few months and don't want to buy any more ST upgrades (or things that
 will not or may not be needed on the Falcon030).  No offense to the
 Codeheads, but spending $40 now for something I might not need in a few
 months is kind of a waste to me.  I won't need Chameleon either in a few
 months, so I guess I can just wait.

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

 Category 14,  Topic 41
 Message 112       Tue Jan 19, 1993
 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI]       at 12:32 EST
  
 Everyone, please move this stuff over into cat 18.

 Ron, Thanks for posting the specs.  They do correctly state the 32-bit
 architecture of the '030.

 BTW, there is a group that has done bus-bandwidth comparisons of the A1200
 and the Falcon030; the Falcon030 is coming in over 25% fast than the
 A1200.  I hope to have detailed results toward the end of this week.  BTW,
 does anybody know if the A1200 can display 640x480x256 on a VGA monitor,
 completely non-interlaced?

 Somebody asked about shipping times: We are shipping developer units right
 now, and dealers should have them on their shelves within 6 to 8 weeks
 max.

 -Bill@Atari

 P.S. Thanks to all of those who gave input re: Bundling, Languages, Demos,
 etc.  I think you'll be pleased.


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

 Category 14,  Topic 41
 Message 114       Tue Jan 19, 1993
 ROB-G [Rob]                  at 20:57 EST
  
 Dot:

 I'm not surprised.  I'm VERY glad I bought my Amiga 1200.  I guess it's
 time to post the rest of my ST stuff for sale.  Atari's lost me for good.

 Soul Manager:

 As a 10-year Atari owner, I know where you're coming from.  BUT, I
 ventured into the Amiga RT last month and started monitoring things and
 asking questions about the Amiga.  I openly stated I was an Atari owner
 thinking of switching.  I got NO flames or insults.  Instead, I got a lot
 of intelligent answers.  I also cleared up a few misconceptions about
 Atari and the Falcon.  I don't dislike the machine.  I dislike the company
 and it's constant crap.

 Rob

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



 From Delphi's Atari Areas......... 

 and still MORE because of the Falcon .....

 46705 15-JAN 11:46 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46675)
      From: OCS          To: CMILLAR


   > Come on, Oliver, you know better than that.  I find it extremely hard
   > to believe that you think Atari doesn't "know" how to make computers.
   > It's not about intelligence or foresight, it is about economics, and
   > always will be...

 Depends on how you define the word computer, and what you expect from a
 computer in the year 1993.  After all it seems to me that Atari is the
 only company that tries to get away with developing a computer that is
 half as fast as a computer that they came out with three years ago
 (Falcon030 vs. TT).  Oh, right, I forgot, the Falcon030 is just the home
 user machine... but WHEN can we expect the Falcon040 to appear, and when
 will it be shipped?

 There won't be any professional customers anymore by the time Atari comes
 out with it.  A 16 MHz 68030 is NOT state-of-the-art these days, and the
 NeXT had the DSP back in 1988/89.

 They "know" how to make computers? Well, some people at Atari should learn
 to read specifications.  As those ST users who had their sound chip blown
 up because the parallel port of the ST does not comply with the Centronics
 specifications.  How come that 3rd party developers have to offer special
 centronics interfaces to allow you to hook up your standard printer to the
 "standard" centronics port?

 Another point: have you ever tried to develop software for the Atari?
 Professional software? Like an operating system? If yes, you'll certainly
 have noticed the weird hardware architecture of the ST line. There are
 chips like the sound chip who do several other things in addition to their
 primary job.  Of course, this saves Atari a few bucks.  But when you try
 to develop a modern operating system for such an architecture you'll
 notice that the Atari design (even though it has many nice features) has A
 LOT of flaws.

 This is not necessarily the fault of the designers, who might have had
 financial restraints ("make me a computer that can be produced for no more
 than $xxx!"), but this "excuse" doesn't make the hardware better.  (BTW, I
 don't like the PC architecture better, don't get me wrong).

 For your information, I have been involved in the development of a
 multitasking OS which was first implemented on the ST. It was a research
 project at Karlsruhe University.

  > Re the 16 bit bus: Come on now.  The TT doesn't have a 16 bit bus,
  > and remember the Falcon030 IS the low-end machine, so, please, give us
  > all a break.

 So where is the high-end machine then? Again, Atari is the only company
 that I know of that dares to come out with a machine slower than the
 predecessors.  And don't tell me about the DSP now...  tell my compilers,
 word processors, telecom programs etc.  etc.  how to run faster with the
 DSP! I can still live with my 8 MHz ST from 1986, but if I decided to
 upgrade to a new machine I would want something real fast, not something
 that is just a little better (and certainly slower than a TT).

 I do know that there are people who will be able to make use of the
 improved sound features and the DSP (the graphics is not an improvement in
 my view).  I never ever plugged anything into my Midi ports, and I don't
 plan to learn how to make music other than putting a CD in my CD player,
 so I don't need all that.  I just hope for you, for me and for the rest of
 us that there are enough people who will buy the Falcon 030 because of the
 DSP and the sound system.  I won't.

 Oliver



 46725 16-JAN 00:14 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46721)
      From: NORMW        To: CMILLAR

 Perhaps you are too young to be aware of all the difficulty ST'ers had in
 using HP DeskJets with the Atari's. The parallel interface is poorly
 implemented and requires a fix. HP was so annoyed by ST'ers, they
 specified that the DeskJet was _not_ Atari compatible.

 The people you pick arguments all have far better credentials than you.
 Your actions seem to portray a big mouth with nothing behind it.

 Norm


 46733 16-JAN 02:03 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46725)
      From: CMILLAR      To: NORMW

 Doesn't it seem strange, then, that I have had no problems using the
 DJ500  with any of my systems?

 Frankly my friend, I find it extremely annoying to be discriminated
 against  due to my age.  The only "credentials" I have seen from those
 that you are  referring to has been a stagnant and continually abusive
 attitude.  All I  have done thus far, is point out the obvious.  And,
 pointing out that  Oliver HAS been "whining" about the F030 is obvious, if
 you follow what he  says in this Forum and in conference.  I do not think
 I have heard a single  positive comment from him concerning the F030.  All
 he keeps saying is, "It  doesn't have this, it doesn't have that."  In
 other words, it is not good  enough for me, or anyone else.  That, my
 friend, is whining.......

  Exactly what have I said that needs to be "backed up"?



 46752 16-JAN 10:21 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46721)
      From: OCS          To: CMILLAR


  > You claim that Atari is the only company who "dares" release a
  > computer that was slower than its predecessors.  Unfortunately, for
  > you Oliver, Apple does it ALL the time! Hell, even the LCII is
  > *SLOWER* than the original LC......

 But the difference is that there are high-end machines available! Quadra,
 usable powerbooks...  A lot of power-users here bought Ataris when the
 machine came out in 1985/86.  Even universities used them, because they
 were cheaper than Macs and PCs with similar power.  This has changed.

  >  Hmmmmm, my DeskJet 500 never blew out anything on ANY of my  > 
 computers...... 520 ST, 1040 ST, Mega STe......

 Lucky you!  I know people who had this problem with the DJ500 and with the
 NEC-P2200 (I owned both printers, and use a special printer interface with
 some driver ICs!).  The magazines here were full of articles and warnings
 about this problem a few years ago.

  > I never used the MIDI ports, either, but I cannot wait to start doing
  > digital recording............Frankly, I think you sound like a big
  > baby; whining because ATari hasn't made the perfect computer for you.
  > I see a lot of potential in the Falcon030, and a large consumer base
  > - if you aren't one of those people....oh, well......

 I am not whining!  Atari has made a good computer for me, the 520 ST+ back
 in 1986!  It was not perfect, though, and I can't stand it when people
 talk about their computer like it was their baby, their girlfriend or
 something they love!  After all it is a machine!

 And right, the Falcon is certainly not the machine I want.  The problems I
 have with the Falcon unfortunately concern many other people here as well.
 As a matter of fact many, many people here use applications like GNU C and
 TeX, so I guess the user base here is a little different from the user
 base in the US (which can also be seen when reading MausNet here and
 comparing it with Delphi, or when comparing German software to US
 software).  The problem for Atari is that Germany is the largest market.

 I still like my Atari, and it still serves my needs in almost all cases.
 But -- and that was my point -- if I wanted a new computer I wouldn't buy
 something that was just a bit faster than what I have now, something that
 has graphics only a little bit better than what I have now. So I guess I
 have to wait for the Falcon 040, I guess.

 Oliver


 46756 16-JAN 10:21 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46733)
      From: OCS          To: CMILLAR


  > And, pointing out that Oliver HAS been "whining" about the F030 is
  > obvious, if you follow what he says in this Forum and in conference.
  > I do not think I have heard a single positive comment from him
  > concerning the F030.  All he keeps saying is, "It doesn't have this,
  > it doesn't have that." In other words, it is not good enough for me,
  > or anyone else.  That, my friend, is whining.......

 << humor mode on >>

 Gee, you are quite still young, so you probably are more familiar with
 "whining"...

 << humor mode off >>

 But seriously... I have posted messages about the Falcon 030 stating that
 the Falcon is not the machine _I_ want, but I always emphasized that this
 is my personal point of view, and that the Falcon 030 does not serve _my_
 personal needs.

  > The only "credentials" I have seen from those that you are
  > referring to has been a stagnant and continually abusive attitude.

 You claim to be so well-informed, better than any developer or the press I
 sometimes believe, so you certainly read my articles about the Falcon
 debut in Duesseldorf in STR and Current Notes, right? Now, tell me again
 that I didn't say any positive things about the Falcon! My review
 certainly was a positive one! Guess why? Because as a journalist I am not
 supposed to present my personal view of a computer.  I am not supposed to
 say whether it serves my personal needs.  I have to see the new machine
 with a more global view.  Here on Delphi I am telling you about MY needs,
 and that the Falcon is not what _I_ want.  YOU, however, do not have this
 ability of a certain degree of objectivity, I think.  You see everything
 with your pink (or Atari blue glasses), whether it is good or not.

  > Frankly my friend, I find it extremely annoying to be discriminated
  > against due to my age.  All I have done thus far, is point out the     
  > obvious.

 Yes, the obvious wrong! You say you don't have problems with the parallel
 port, and that means nobody else has them.  Very intelligent indeed, this
 generalization.

  > Exactly what have I said that needs to be "backed up"?

 What about the printer port thing? I can prove that certain Mega STs
 cannot properly work with the DJ500 unless a special interface is being
 used.  I invite you to come over and see this nice little effect.

 Oliver


 46783 16-JAN 14:26 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46755)
      From: CMILLAR      To: OCS

 I apologize.  I did not mean to imply that I "knew everything".  I *DO*
 find it strange, though, that mine has worked flawlessly.  Hmmm.......


 46784 16-JAN 14:35 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46756)
      From: CMILLAR      To: OCS

 1.) I never said that you were lying about the DJ500/printer port fiasco.
 I  merely inquired as to why mine would work flawlessly.

 2.)I have no objectivity?  Come on.  I do not waste my time reiterating  
 the same thing to the same people, day in, day out.  I am fully aware of
 the problems Atari is having, but I do not waste my time dwelling on them.
 What is the point?  I know things are bad, but unless I am willing to do
 something about the problems, what is the point of saying anything?
 The "problems" that I am referring to are the same damned problems that
 have been going on for years.  No offense to ST Report, but the magazine
 dedicates an enormous amount of space to outline the same thing, every
 issue!

 How about instead of wasting that time and effort, we dedicate it to
 coming up with a solution, and organizing the people who want change into
 a unified voice that packs some punch.  THEN we will have the right to
 "bitch and whine", but until then, everything is counter-productive......

  
 46757 16-JAN 10:22 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46736)
      From: OCS          To: CMILLAR


  > I give Oliver all the credit in the world for
  > his accomplishments in supporting the Atari platform, but since all iI
  > have heard from him in the last few months, (i.e. Negative commentary,
  > negative articles, and specifically stating that he could not  >
 recommend an Atari to a friend), makes me wonder what he is actually  >
 trying to accomplish.

 So, what negative articles? I want references! And I want proof that what
 I said in the article was a lie! I want to hear from you HERE where I
 wrote something negative in a magazine that was NOT true at the time I
 wrote it!  No excuses, facts!

 In a previous message you said:

  > Exactly what have I said that needs to be "backed up"?

 So, it's your chance now.  Back up your claim that I only wrote negative
 articles in the last couple of months, and make sure to prove that my
 critics (if you find some) were unjustified.  And please, hurry!!!
 Otherwise I'll prove that you are wrong, which is fairly easy, because I
 have the editions of four years of Atari Journal here, full of articles
 written by me.

 As for the recommendations, it is _MY_ business whether I recommend a
 friend (going to law school) an Atari, a Mac, a PC, or a C64.  This is
 _NONE_ of your business! You don't even know under which circumstances I
 made this recommendation!

  > Yes, I did call him a "big baby", more or less.

 Well, maybe I might help your memory out!  You said:

  > I think you sound like a big baby; whining ...

 Very friendly, actually...  Oh well...

 Oliver


 46961 18-JAN 00:31 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46858)
      From: NORMW        To: CMILLAR

 You still don't know that much.  Remember, I used to be an owner of a
 store with a repair department.  If you have never required a repair of
 you computer, you are a rare person indeed.  I had almost no experience of
 Atari before the ST, except for brief possession of a 2600.  I was used to
 more sophisticated machines than the 400/800 stuff and went for an ST
 because it was a reasonably priced 68000 computer.  In fact, I was going
 to buy an Amiga at the same time, to compare them, but found that the ST
 was all I wanted.

 Later, when I owned the store and we were selling Amigas as well, I got a
 500, which I couldn't stand and sold.  I do appreciate good machines and
 good engineering. It wasn't until much later that I found out that
 Warmer's had done the engineering on the ST, and that the Tramiels had
 almost no competence in any direction, except to do things on the cheap. 
 So we've seen the introduction (very slowly) of the STe and the TT.
 Nothing clever in their evolution, the good engineers left long ago.  The
 Falcon was done by a group in Texas, not in Sunnyvale, and when it was
 ready...over two years ago...it would have remade Atari's reputation.  But
 two years have passed.

 The final comment is that what Kevin Traherne says is absolutely accurate.
 The Tramiels cannot aim the Falcon at existing Atari users, a quickly
 diminishing number, but must attract new users. That doesn't seem to be
 the case.

 I have great respect for good machines and good programming. I bought an
 ST for those reasons, not for any regard of the Atari name.  Indeed, there
 seems to be no continuing reason to respect the Atari name.  I would
 respect any company that could actually produce something like the Falcon,
 and follow up on it. I don't think such a company would involve the
 Tramiel family.


 46890 17-JAN 09:49 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46853)
      From: OCS          To: CMILLAR (NR)


  > Re the STReport issues.  I will check them out - perhaps I am
  > confusing you with another person; which is something that could very
  > well have happened.  If it turns out that way, you have my humblest
  > of apologies.

 ...and I thought I was unique... <grin> Oh well...

 Let me help you out with quotations from my article in Current Notes (
 October 1992, page 16-21) titled "The World Premiere of Atari's New
 Falcon030":

  - Demos of two video games, specially developed for the Falcon, gave
  - everybody the chance to get an impression of a new generation of
  - computer games that make use of the fantastic sound effects and
  - graphics qualities.  "Space Junk" from Mirage Technologies, UK, is a
  - game commissioned by Atari that will make use of digitized video
  - clips.
  - [...]
  - Was the 1992 Atari Show the success Atari needs so badly? It's hard to
  - tell at this time; most of the visitors seemed to be very satisfied
  - with the show, and particularly with the Falcon.  The exhibitors sold
  - a lot of products, and therefore were satisfied with the show itself.
  - The developers and dealers, however, are still skeptical about the
  - Falcon's ability to bring them (and Atari) the success they need to
  - survive.  The technical "wizards" have done their job, it's now up to
  - the marketing guys to make the Falcon the dream machine of a new
  - generation of computer owners, to make it the "multimedia computer"
  - and workstation for everybody's home.
  -
  - A first step on this way might be Atari's participation at Germany's
  - largest consumer computer show in Cologne, Germany, in early October.
  - The Computer Shopper Show (CSS) is the successor of the traditional
  - Amiga show and is now open for all other systems as well.  Its main
  - focus is on home applications and personal use of computers, and the
  - multimedia machine Falcon 030 definitely could prove to be the "Amiga
  - Killer," provided that Atari manages to have some neat video games and
  - other software available for the show to convince Amiga and PC users
  - of the superior features of the new machine.
  -
  - The Falcon 030 is the first step on the way to a new Atari era.  But
  - it is no secret that power-users will definitely need a more powerful
  - and more extendable version with better graphics resolution.  It is
  - very important that this so-called "Falcon 040" is introduced soon to
  - complete the Falcon family. The Falcon 030, however, has the potential
  - to win the mass market.  Let's hope its manufacturer has this potential
  - as well...

 NOTE: if you find that the text in Current Notes differs from this one be
 aware that this comes from the text file I sent to the editors of CN. 
 They might have edited the text for clarity or to brush it up
 grammatically or stylistically.

 My brief article in STR was merely a subset of what was printed in Current
 Notes.

 Now, is that Atari bashing? Or Falcon bashing?

  > Perhaps my wording is not totally accurate.  When I say "Falcon
  > bashing", I think I am trying to say more that you are "kicking a dead
  > horse".  The issue(s) that are being brought out and debated have
  > already been dealt with, to the point of cliche - that gets
  > irritating.

 Hmmm, the Falcon is a dead horse?

  > I'm sorry if I had not talked about this before, but, yes.  Your
  > position as a Comp Sci graduate places you in the position to evaluate
  > Atari's hardware and software - but from an ideal perspective only.

 I know that. I haven't found the perfect computer yet.  And even then this
 computer would most likely not be your perfect computer.

  > Just as in physics, there is no "ideal world", and design has to be
  > sacrificed in many cases because of money.  A compromise is made, and
  > then we see the results.  For the PRICE, the ST was designed
  > exceptionally well, I believe - from my "uneducated" opinion, of
  > course.  <G> I think one thing that people must realize is that the
  > Tramiels are fanatical about MONEY.  They may be ridiculously poor
  > market-strategists, but they are masters of finance....

 With very little effort some things could have done better.  Like the
 printer port.  In general I agree, though.  That's why I bought my ST back
 in 1986.  Because it had the best concept/design for the price.

 Also everybody makes mistakes.  Most people, however, learn from their
 mistakes.  I sometimes have the impression that some people at Atari are
 just not willing to listen.  Why would it otherwise have taken so long to
 get the serial port bugs fixed? Or why do they always come out with this
 1980-style design? Okay, it's cheaper, but it is no problem to offer two
 different cases.  Every Taiwanese clone manufacturer does it.  I'd be
 willing to pay $100 more for a machine in a tower.  Buying the Falcon030
 and putting it in a case myself costs me much, much more money.

 Hmmm, masters of finance?  I hope so.

 Oliver


 46831 16-JAN 23:40 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46733)
      From: NORMW        To: CMILLAR

 What needs to be backed up is your confidence in then F030. I know
 developers who have them, and have found numerous faults in them.  But
 even if they performed perfectly, and were available in quantity, they
 still would be a mediocre computer. The screen resolutions have finally
 caught up with VGA, except everyone in the PC world uses SVGA.  The DSP is
 fine for specialized uses, but they are available for other machines if
 you need them.  The keyboard is not detachable, and if it were, there
 would be no third-party ones to replace it with.

 As to your printer, maybe H-P altered their interface in order to
 accommodate the poorly designed Atari one. I have a DeskJet Plus, and I
 had to put a diode in the cable to get it to work reliably with the ST.

 Oliver and I, and many others here, have lived for years with Atari's
 broken promises and ineptitude. Because of your age, you have not been
 around long enough to have experienced this. So that is why we treat your
 comments with disdain...you really don't know what you are talking about.

  
 46834 16-JAN 23:48 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46741)
      From: NORMW        To: DOMINGO (NR)

 Dom,

 I had a career designing electronic equipment, including five years
 designing computer printers. The design flaw in the Atari parallel
 interface was due to amateurish engineering.  I assume you are not aware
 of the legions of ST owners who blew out the chip driving the parallel
 port because they connected a printer while the power was on.  I owned an
 Atari dealership, and our repair department did a lot of those.

 So, yes, it is a very black mark against Atari engineering.  The people on
 this Forum who complain the loudest about Atari's faults are the people
 who are qualified to judge.

 Norm


 46838 17-JAN 00:06 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46790)
      From: NORMW        To: DOMINGO (NR)

 Dom,

 Read your own words. <buffering the lines shouldn't cost...>

 The problems with the parallel port were mainly that Atari didn't buffer
 the lines....and any junior engineer of that period knew that you don't
 connect complex NMOS chips to the outside world without buffering...except
 the incompetents at Atari.


 46839 17-JAN 00:15 General Information
      RE: Falcon in Byte (Re: Msg 46816)
      From: NORMW        To: JGALLARDO

 That's nice, but Jerry Pournelle saw the Falcon at the Glendale show last
 September, and still hasn't mentioned it in his column.


 46844 17-JAN 01:23 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 46837)
      From: TRAHERNE     To: NORMW (NR)

  That's the SINGLE biggest hurdle for Atari. We Atari fanatics can buy
  Falcon030s and Falcon040s until we crap RAM chips, but that process will
  NEVER result in the hoped-for expanded user base that Atari Corporation
  AND Atari users so desperately need! Atari developers need to put food on
  the table and in their children's (if applicable) mouths - that's their
  bottom line.

  
 47043 18-JAN 13:11 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 47009)
      From: OCS          To: ABARBIERO


  > There are many reasons why things have not worked for Atari, but the
  > biggest is the personal attack....

 You mean the "biggest" reason for Atari's problems is that people are
 telling Atari or Atari employees what they want?  Without users telling
 Atari what they want I don't think we would have (in chronological order)

  a) a 32 (!) MHz TT
  b) TOS 2.06 for all STs
  c) a Falcon with re-designed DSP (hopefully soon)
  d) MultiTOS for all STs (hopefully soon)
  e) a redesigned ST BOOK (hopefully in 1993)

 Oliver


 47087 19-JAN 00:12 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 47009)
      From: CHRYSTAL     To: ABARBIERO


 I've been following your conversation with Norm, and find myself chuckling
 and getting frustrated with it.  I'm probably the proto-typical "end user"
 here, because I know little or nothing about programming or the technical
 aspects of compute.  I'm not affiliated with Atari and have never tried to
 sell Atari products.  I simply like my ST and think (having looked at many
 other machines) it works reliably and well.  It does what I want it to do.

 I really don't think the average buyer cares how fast a computer is, or
 how pristine the graphic images are.  Only the rare buyer checks out the
 stats and then, shrugs his shoulders and buys the machine which has
 greatest appeal, or "looks good."  Compatibility is probably the most
 important factor, so IBM and the various clones sell well.  After that,
 well . . . how many computers do you think are sold sight unseen over
 television?

 I would add that if a computer has an engineering flaw, the average buyer
 simply takes it back on warranty and says, "fix it."  How many products
 does the average buyer purchase which need repair?

 Atari has fallen down in the marketing department, plain and simple.  The
 Falcon seems to be a reasonably good product which will sell -- or remain
 on the shelves -- based upon the way it is presented to consumers.  The
 Jerry Pournelle's of the world matter not to the average buyer.  Looks do
 matter.  Price is an important factor.  The casing may or may not be
 important.  Software availability is important, too, and Atari would be
 wise to include its new software guide with every Falcon.

 Other than that, Atari should dedicate some of its spare cash to
 advertising. If they can hook up with Lechmeres or some-such store,
 wonderful, even if that does reduce their profit for each machine.  The GE
 repair deal makes sense.  Maybe they can get some super-model to wiggle
 onstage next to a Falcon, Cindy Crawford preferred.  I do _not_ think a
 rocket scientist is needed to show the Falcon in a credible light.

 Will they do it?  I am betting the Tramiels will.  Why??  Because they own
 most of the stock in Atari, and want to see it go up.

 'Nuf said.

                                        -- Chas.



 47137 19-JAN 23:34 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 47002)
      From: NORMW        To: ABARBIERO (NR)

 But you are speaking from you own experience, which is a limited sample. I
 speak for the experience of retailing and repairing ST's. And you'd better
 believe there were plenty of them that had many troubles. In fact, repair
 is the main profit center for an Atari dealer.  On the other side of the
 coin, there are many PC's that work long and consistently.

 And speaking as a electronic design engineer, you better be able to plug
 and unplug devices with the system powered on, with impunity.  People trip
 over cords while the system is running (like you and me, sometimes). If it
 breaks because of that, it is badly designed. The interfaces on the ST
 have been badly and incompetently designed, period!


 47138 19-JAN 23:43 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 47008)
      From: NORMW        To: ABARBIERO (NR)

 I'm sorry, Andreas. You are an enthusiast who knows just enough to be
 dangerous.  You do not understand which parts of the ST design are good
 and which are not. You don't understand that the good stuff was done
 _before_ the Tramiels took over.

 You will, in your zeal, lead many people down the garden path...but not
 enough to save Atari's bacon.  And you are still inexperienced enough to
 think you are getting the straight scoop from Atari Corp., that you are a
 privileged insider.  I hope your education isn't too painful.

 Norm

 47140 19-JAN 23:58 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 47014)
      From: NORMW        To: MERICKSON (NR)

 The Falcon does not keep up with current screen resolutions. It's top, in
 color, is 640 x 480.  Try to find anybody selling PC's with that limited
 screen, except as a low-end "come-on".

 As to DSP, read the page in the current BYTE magazine about the Falcon.
 The author mentions that NeXT uses the same one as Atari, but everybody
 else including Apple, is using something else.  In a year, when newer and
 better DSP chips are becoming common, I'll be able to buy a card with them
 for my PC, upgrading the older one.  My Falcon will be stuck with older
 technology. Despite it's promise, it may already be becoming passe'.

 The virtual mode is in the works, if it isn't already working.  But every
 other computer will be able to do that, too.

 If you don't think detachable keyboards are important (or using SIMMs for
 memory upgrades) you'd better read some of the messages aimed at Bob
 Brodie.
 You mention the equipment you have used, but don't say if you have had a
 DeskJet printer.  That is what showed up the parallel port flaw.  (And,
 yes, I have a 520ST from '86 still working. So what?)


 47143 20-JAN 00:20 General Information
      RE: Rumor (Re: Msg 47139)
      From: NORMW        To: CMILLAR (NR)

 I used to like ST's very much, but they've become mostly obsolete. I was
 enthusiastic about the Falcon, when i first heard about, a year and a half
 ago.  But it _still_ isn't out in any quantity, and it's getting left
 behind technologically.  I would like to be designing product for the
 Atari's. I've got software and hardware designs partly done.  But I, like
 most Atari developers, am loathe to put in effort when there is no user
 base to sell to.  The existing, dwindling userbase is not enough.

 But I'd _like_ to see them regain popularity!  I know it is very unlikely,
 under the present management, however.  But what got me talking here is
 YOU.  Your mindless, unthinking praise of ineptitude and mediocrity had to
 be answered.  Andreas is equally guilty, and he should know better.

 Norm


 From CIS Atari Fora.....

 More about Atari's great Marketing efforts....

 #: 36297 S3/ST Graphics
     18-Jan-93  14:06:36
 Sb: #36268-#.FLI to Cyber
 Fm: SYSOP*Ron Luks 76703,254
 To: Jim Ness 75300,3155 (X)

     At the last CES, in the Trade Show Daily publications, writers talked
 about the Lynx in terms like: "Surprisingly, in spite of a total lack of
 3rd party support and Atari Corps marketing track record, the Lynx seems
 poised to survive and almost prosper for at least 6 more months...."

     The article pretty much implied that the employees of Atari Corp were
 doing a good job in spite of insurmountable obstacles (the Tramiel Family
 management).  Its the first time since the Forbes article that I've seen
 this impression expressed in print.

 and now, some comments about NAMM'93 and its 'backscatter'

 #: 36420 S5/Music/MIDI
     22-Jan-93  08:47:35
 Sb: #36394-J. Grunke post-NAMM talk
 Fm: Atari Explorer mag - AEO 70007,3615
 To: Sysop*Brad Hill 75720,540 (X)

 Brad,

 Thanks for the post.  James Grunke is Corporate Director of international
 music markets.

 -- Albert Dayes @ Atari Explorer magazine


 #: 36426 S5/Music/MIDI
     22-Jan-93  09:34:14
 Sb: #36394-#J. Grunke post-NAMM talk
 Fm: John J. Amsler 70275,676
 To: Sysop*Brad Hill 75720,540 (X)

 Brad:

 Pardon me for butting in a domain (business) where I have little
 expertise, but:

 Atari "expects" third-party people to develop *markets* for the Falcon???
 Isn't that the task of the marketing/advertising division of a company?

 (Other than that, I'm VERY glad to hear that Atari had such a smashingly
  successful NAMM show!  Onward and upward, Falcon!)

 - John

 #: 36442 S5/Music/MIDI
     22-Jan-93  13:49:32
 Sb: #36426-J. Grunke post-NAMM talk
 Fm: Sysop*Brad Hill 75720,540
 To: John J. Amsler 70275,676

 John,

     >> Isn't that the task of the marketing/advertising division of the
 company? <<

     You've got that right, IMO.  When James told me that they would rely
 on 3rd-parties to develop their markets, I (after a short stunned silence)
 tried to diplomatically express my doubts, but was left with the
 impression that Atari is not interested in building cooperative
 relationships with developers.  (Keep in mind, though, that is a big
 assumption to be based on a short phone conversation with a single
 executive.  Still, that's what interviews are for.)  I've always been
 concerned and dissatisfied with Atari's feeling that building a cool
 machine is all that's required; as if the _machine_ should do the work of
 market building, or as if Atari is _owed_ market loyalty simply because
 the hardware exists.  This is my impression of James's attitude. He said
 at one point that the HD recording facility of the Falcon would generate
 interest in the pro music area.  This will be true to an extent... but
 it's _publicity_ which generates interest.  There are suddenly a gazillion
 HD recorders entering the marketplace, and the Falcon, unsupported by
 strong, educational, excitement-generating hype, gets less cool every day. 
 I'm NOT slamming the Falcon -- from what I can see, it definitely has VERY
 cool potential; just saying that ANY innovation needs publicity to fly,
 especially in a brutal marketplace.

      -- Brad

 #: 36427 S5/Music/MIDI
     22-Jan-93  09:34:24
 Sb: #36394-#J. Grunke post-NAMM talk
 Fm: SYSOP*Ron Luks 76703,254
 To: Sysop*Brad Hill 75720,540 (X)

    James's comments echo those made by other folks at Atari outside of the
 music division.  The Falcon seems to be a capable machine and the company
 would prefer to target it to the much larger consumer audience than
 professional audience for obvious financial reasons but they still don't
 seem to have a comprehensive plan for nurturing 3rd party developer and
 marketing support.

    Its the same Catch-22 Atari has faced for years (who puts up the big
 investment in time and money to do the proper marketing-- Atari Corp or
 3rd party folks) and the end result is a lot of abortive starts without
 sufficient depth and followthru.

    Like most of the 3rd party folks, I tend to feel that Atari has to make
 the big $$$$ commitment to ensure the success of the machine. Its the
 same story of Atari having $50 million in the bank but are they willing to
 spend it (and more) now that the machine has been developed?  Only time
 and actions (not words) will give us the answer.


 Uh Oh, what's not on time?

 #: 36339 S10/Atari Expl Online
     19-Jan-93  21:56:15
 Sb: #AEO
 Fm: Dazzz Smith 70374,2241
 To:  70007,3615 (X)

 Albert,

     I perceive a problem with Atari Explorer On-line magazine if it
 continues in its current format, because the magazine is fortnightly it
 tends to cover things that have already been covered in Znet and ST
 Report, most noticeably on-line conferences and to a lesser extent press
 releases.

  Unless AEO has outlets not already covered by both Znet and ST Report I
 think you may find that people will start to ignore the mag, as they don't
 want an 80-90k download to find that a fair proportion of the mag
 (Conference Transcripts most notably) have already been run by the other
 two publishers already, and in some cases a week before.

  I appreciate that a lot of the other stuff in there is different to the
 other two, but I honestly think that it may well be necessary to
 reconsider the conference transcript issue, to avoid people thinking it
 isn't worth downloading something they may have read at least once
 already.

                        Dazzz 

 Comments welcome, especially from R.K. and R.M. the other publishers.


 #: 36340 S10/Atari Expl Online
     19-Jan-93  22:19:25
 Sb: #36339-AEO
 Fm: Atari Explorer mag - AEO 70007,3615
 To: Dazzz Smith 70374,2241

 Dazzz,

 This very issue has come up many times previously with regards to AEO. It
 makes perfect sense too.  Bi-monthly rather than weekly can cause problems
 with the timeliness (sp?) of information.

 I'll be sure to pass your comments along.

 If you have any other comments you can either send e-mail or post them.

 -- Albert Dayes @ Atari Explorer magazine





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                      ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******

   * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
                      SPECIALLY PRICED ** $ CALL! **
                       Includes: * TWO * cartridges!

    * SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
         - Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -

           ** 50mb SQG51S   $ CALL!  105mb SQG105S    $ CALL! **
                  Or, YOUR choice of Hard Disk Mechanism!

                 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
                      CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE

           Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
      Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
    (over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)

              * IBM/MSDOS - AMIGA - ATARI - APPLE/MACINTOSH *

      ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - AT/PC SPEED - GCR
           LARGER units are available - (Custom Configurations)

           *** --> COMPLETE IBM CLONE SYSTEMS AVAILABLE! <-- ***
                        CUSTOM BUILT TO YOUR SPECS!
                      CALL FOR PRICING & AVAILABILITY
                  386/486 25 MHZ - 33Mhz - 50Mhz - 66Mhz
                               From $839.95

                    *>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<*

                Atari SLM 804, SLM 804PCV Laser Toner Kits 
                            Memorex 2108, 5287
         Oasys Laserpro 5287, 5308, Express 830, Express Series II
                       Silver Express, Gold Express
                      ** $41.95 shipping Included **

                      Atari SLM 605 Laser Toner Kits
        AT&T 593, CAF Laser, DSI Laser, DTP Systems, Epson EPL-6000
         Facit P6060, Fontx Syslaser, Harris3M 2006, M-Tally MT905
       Microtek Turbo PS, OAS Laserpro Executive, Packard Bell 9500
                     TEC LB 1305, Toshiba PageLaser 6
                      ** $41.95 shipping included **
                          (TWO Toner Carts Incl.)

                        Panasonic Laser Toner Kits
           Panasonic KX -P 400 series, Panafax UF-750 Facsimile
                      ** $41.95 shipping included **

                    -- ALL TONER KITS  * IN STOCK * --

                       * Toner Starter Kits-$62.95 *
                    * Replacement (804) Drums-$187.95 *

               ABCO is PROUD to announce the acquisition of
               the exclusive U.S.A. distribution rights for
               ** Bitblit Software's ///Turbo Board BBS. **
               This fine Atari ST BBS system software and
               user support is available through ABCO to all
               Turbo customers in the USA.  Call for current
               pricing.

                      ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED

                               Now Available
                   BUSINESSES, - LEASE TO OWN WITH AT&T -
                  Prices subject to change without Notice
                            15% Restocking Fee
                       -* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
                         (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)

                   WE PAY SHIPPING & INSURANCE!  >UPS!<
                       (Prepaid Orders - Cont. USA)
                 QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!
                 _________________________________________

                     DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
                         please, call for details

                COD, Personal and Company Checks accepted.

                        ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY!

                           CALL: 1-904-783-3319
                        Customer Orders & Service  
                               9am - 8pm EDT
                               TUES thru SAT

                ABCO is EXPANDING!!  CALL FOR INFORMATION!

                   SEND FOR YOUR NEW ABCO CATALOG TODAY!



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                  STReport International Online Magazine
                     -* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *-
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
 STR Online!           "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE"      January 22, 1993
 Since 1987      copyright (c) 1987-92 All Rights Reserved          No.9.04
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 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
 the editors/staff  of STReport  International Online Magazine.  Permission
 to reprint articles is hereby granted,  unless otherwise  noted.  Reprints
 must, without  exception, include the name of the publication, date, issue
 number and the author's name .  STReport  and/or portions  therein may not
 be edited  in any  way without prior written permission.  STReport, at the
 time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate.  STReport, its staff
 and contributors  are not  and cannot  be held  responsible for the use or
 misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
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