ST Report: 24-May-91 #721

From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 05/30/91-11:53:32 AM Z


From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 24-May-91 #721
Date: Thu May 30 11:53:32 1991



           *---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
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 May 24, 1991                                                       No.7.21
 ==========================================================================

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                               R.F. Mariano
                            Publisher - Editor
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 > 05/24/91: STReport  #7.21  The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
   -------------------------
     - The Editor's Desk      - CPU REPORT        - MAC REPORT
     - EDHAK-A Review         - VIRUS ON RISE     - LEMONADE?
     - ATW & INMOS            - BIG APPLE LAYOFF  - USERGROUPS PART II

                       -* SPRING COMDEX COVERAGE! *-
                     -* LOSS OF WORD PERFECT HURTS! *-
                         -* NO ENGLISH TURBO C *-

 ==========================================================================
                  ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
                     The _Number One_ Online Magazine
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                     "UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
       Current Events, Original Articles, Hot Tips, and Information
             Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
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 STReport's support BBS, NODE 350, invites systems using Forem ST and Turbo
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 350 direct  at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging infor-
 mation relative to the Atari ST computer arena through an excellent Inter-
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 > The Editor's Podium

     Its happened again!  Because of  our trying  to bring  as much  of the
 past week's  happenings to  you, this week's issue is on the "large" side.
 Therefore, I'll keep the editorial small.   'Tis  truly great  news to see
 the Mega  STE is  class B,  now, to  see it  begin to ship in BIG NUMBERS.
 Atari is having no problems selling what they have to offer, they do, how-
 ever, need  larger numbers shipped to really excite the US market.  Things
 sure seem better than they were last year at this time.

     Recently online, folks have been reading  about ICD's  great hard disk
 software offerings  and its  being compared to Atari's AHDI, HDXxxx.  Sort
 of like ... comparing a "Kentucky Derby Champion to a billy goat."   Sure,
 the Atari  software does the job, but how sweet it would be if ICD's soft-
 ware were licensed by Atari and made available  to the  entire Atari plat-
 form without  the hardware  recognition "hobble."  ICD provides the finest
 and most user friendly  hard drive  software possible.   What  a marriage,
 Atari's superb hardware and ICD's premier software.  Would be nice......

     Start  Magazine's  chances  of  rebirth  are  now comparable to an ice
 cube's chances in Lucifer Land.   Seems  all  the talk  of buyers, changes
 etc. could  very possibly  have been  a diversion.  Seems there is a great
 need to "buy time" for some reason.  Word has it the FTC is  now awake and
 very curious.   Hmmm,  the more  things change,  the more  they remain the
 same.

     In the nasty rumor department, it  seems there's  a real,  first class
 bruhaha in  the works....   If  you happen  to see  the "sparks" ....DUCK!
 Time will tell this story for sure.  Smart money sez it will be  THE story
 of 1991 in the Atari computing arena.  Hopefully, it will be settled 'qui-
 etly behind the scenes.'  After all, its the ONLY smart thing to do.

                       thank you again for your continued support!

                                     Ralph...........







                           TODAY'S NEWS ..TODAY!

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 > STReport's Staff              The regulars and this week's contributors!
   ================

                            Publisher - Editor
                            ------------------
                             Ralph F. Mariano


 Staff Editors:
 --------------
          Michael Arthur      Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.     Dana P. Jacobson
          Lucien Oppler       Brad Martin              Walter Daniel
          Oscar Steele        Robert Allbritton        John Szczepanik
                              Dan Stidham

 Contributing Correspondants:
 ----------------------------
          Michael Lee         Richard Covert           Roger Stevens
          Brian Converse      Oliver Steinmeier        Ed Krimen
          Tim Holt            Andrew Learner           Norman Boucher


                             IMPORTANT NOTICE
                             ================
      Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
                              via E-Mail to:

                 Compuserve.................... 70007,4454
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                  WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (May 24)

                           ST WRITER ELITE 4.0!

 Bruce Noonan has uploaded version 4.0 of ST  Writer Elite!   The following
 files are  now available in LIBRARY 1 ("New Uploads") of the Atari Produc-
 tivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO):

  STWEL4.ARC - ST Writer Elite 4.0 Word Processor
  STWELD.ARC - Documentation for ST Writer Elite 4.0
  STWGER.ARC - German and Spanish ST Writer Elite 4.0 Word Processor

 PROGRAM OF THE WEEK FROM DOUBLE CLICK

 DC ASCII Dump is another program of the week by Double Click Software.  DC
 ASCII Dump  will do a screen dump of a TOS or GEM screen as text!  This is
 the only program which does GEM screens as text! 100%  assembly.   ST, STe
 and TT compatible.  Available in LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO
 ATARIVEN).

                    NEW SYSOP IN ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM

 Please join us in welcoming Marty Mankins to the sysop staff of  the Atari
 Portfolio Forum  (GO APORTFOLIO)!  Most of you probably already know Marty
 from his frequent informative message posts, but in  case you  haven't met
 him yet,  he is available to help you with your Atari Portfolio!  Drop him
 or any of the other sysops a message with your Portfolio questions.

                   Marty's User ID number is 73217,3305.
                          Welcome aboard, Marty!

                           NEW VERSION OF PBASIC

      BJ Gleason has uploaded a new version of his BASIC interpreter:
   PBASIC v4.5, now available in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Portfolio Forum
                             (GO APORTFOLIO).

 Additionally, the following files are also available in  LIBRARY 1  of the
 Atari Portfolio Forum (GO APORTFOLIO) courtesy of BJ Gleason:

 STOPW.ZIP  - A multidisplay stopwatch/event counter.  Up to 10
              timers/event.

 CLOCK.EXE  - Turn your Portfolio into a BIG clock!

 BM2.ZIP    - Battery Monitor Version 2; smaller than the old version.

 ADDRES.EXE - Address Viewer for the PC, Version 1.0

 BATTST.ZIP - Battery Test for the Portfolio, version 1

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

            "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"


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



 > CPU REPORT
   ==========


   Issue # 111
   -----------

 by Michael Arthur


 CPU INSIGHTS
 =============


        Apple's System 7.0:  Revolution, Evolution, or Adaptation?
        ----------------------------------------------------------


     Ever since OS/2 was introduced,  many  of  its  capabilities,  such as
 virtual memory  and interprocess communication, have come under much focus
 in the computer industry.  While being praised  as the  future of  the IBM
 industry, OS/2  has also been used to renew the IBM/Macintosh controversy,
 in that many are comparing OS/2's features to  the Mac's  System Software,
 in  a  "features  checklist  war"  to  see which is the "better" operating
 system.  However, with Presentation Manager's  debut, OS/2  has been  at a
 clear advantage  in features, as PM gave OS/2 a proven graphical interface
 to complement its versatility, and as the Mac's  System Software  began to
 falter in comparison.

     While MultiFinder  helped to  advance the Macintosh's OS, it's limited
 multitasking ability actually showed some of the Mac's  shortfalls.  This,
 along with  Steve Jobs'  innovations with  the NeXT system, only helped to
 amplify the perception that the Macintosh was fast becoming obsolete.

     In order to alleviate any fears  in  the  Macintosh  market  that it's
 technical  edge  was  lost,  Apple  recently  announced  System 7.0, a new
 version of the Mac OS, which promised to both take the Macintosh  into the
 1990's with  sophisticated, yet  vital features,  and to  extend the Mac's
 lifespan by helping to fix its inadequacies, and greatly improving  on its
 present capabilities.   System 7.0 will be the new standard for the entire
 Mac product line, running on the Mac Plus,  SE and  SE/30, and  the Mac II
 family.   But there  is a  price for  progress:  while Apple has said that
 System 7.0 will fit in 1 Meg of RAM, it recommends at least 2  Megs of RAM
 for effective  use.  However, for the cost of extra RAM, System 7.0 has an
 impressive list of new capabilities, such as:

              InterApplication Communication (IAC) Facilities
              -----------------------------------------------

     For several years, the Macintosh's  form  of  IAC  operations  was the
 Clipboard, a  way to "cut and paste" graphics or text from one application
 to another.  System 7.0 refines the concept  of the  Clipboard with  a new
 feature called Live Copy/Paste.  With the Clipboard, a cut/paste operation
 was permanent, meaning that if  you  placed  a  graph  from  a spreadsheet
 rogram to  a DTP  application, but later updated the graph, you would have
 to "copy" the graph into the Clipboard and "paste" it into the DTP program
 again.

     In Live Copy/Paste, instead of performing a "Cut/Paste" operation, you
 would  "Publish/Subscribe"  data.    Once  you  "Published"  a  graph  (by
 essentially  "Copying"  it  to  a  disk  file called a 'publication'), the
 spreadsheet program would become a Publisher.   In  order to  "Paste" that
 graph into  the DTP,  you would "Subscribe" it.  Now, once you revised the
 graph, the "Publisher"  (or  the  spreadsheet  program)  would  notify the
 "Subscriber" (or  the DTP  program) that  the graph had been changed, save
 the graph into a new 'publication, and automatically update the graph that
 had previously been "Pasted" into the "Subscriber", which would be the DTP
 program.  The reason  that "publications"  are used,  instead of  having a
 direct,  two-way  data  exchange,  is  that  a  Publisher  can  have  many
 Subscribers.  This means that, when the graph was updated, the spreadsheet
 program would perform the same operation on a Word Processing program that
 had subscribed to the  graph, as  it did  to the  DTP program.   Simple as
 quantum physics, isn't it?

     Another element  of System  7.0's IAC  abilities is Program-to-Program
 Communication (or PPC), which extends  the  function  of  the Interprocess
 Communication (or IPC) facilities provided by multitasking OS's. Like IPC,
 PPC lets a program send messages and commands to other programs running on
 the system.   However,  PPC also  allows you  to send messages through LAN
 systems, so as to allow programs that are running on  disparate systems to
 "converse",  and  will  store  messages  sent  to  a program not currently
 running, sending them when the program is reactivated.

     The third component of 7.0's IAC  strategy is  AppleEvents, a standard
 set of  commands and messages sent through PPC that can control actions of
 other running applications.  For  example,  a  DTP  application  could use
 AppleEvents to  tell a  terminal program  to send a full Capture Buffer to
 itself.  So as  to fully  utilize this,  Apple is  designing an Arexx-like
 user-scripting language  called AppleScript, which will allow Mac Users to
 write their own macros  for  controlling  an  application's  actions using
 AppleEvents.   Interestingly enough,  while AppleEvents  will be available
 with System 7.0, AppleScript itself won't be provided until much later.

                   32-Bit Addressing with Virtual Memory
                   -------------------------------------

     Virtual  Memory,  first  used  in  mainframe  operating  systems,  and
 recently, in  OS/2, is  the ability to use hard disk storage as additional
 memory, so you can use more applications and  data than  can ordinarily be
 placed in  RAM at  one time.   It  does this by swapping a segment of data
 that isn't being used by a  task or  program running  on the  system, from
 system memory  to a hard disk.  Later, when there is enough memory to hold
 the data segment (or if the task needs to use the data  segment), it loads
 the segment back into memory.  However, if there still isn't enough memory
 to hold the segment,  then  it  simply  performes  the  same  procedure on
 another data  segment which  hasn't been  used by  tasks for  a while.  In
 order to use virtual memory, the  Macintosh  will  need  either  the 68851
 Memory Management  Unit (MMU), for use with a 68020 chip, or a 68030 chip,
 which has an MMU built in.  68000-based  Macs, like  the Mac  Plus and SE,
 won't  be  able  to  use  virtual  memory.   System 7.0 will allow up to 1
 Gigabyte of hard disk  storage to  be used  as virtual  memory, but buying
 more system  RAM will  still be  a wise idea.  Reason:  Virtual memory can
 sometimes slow down a  system considerably,  especially when  running some
 system-intensive applications, such as spreadsheets.

     System 7.0  will also have a 32-bit memory address space.  The Mac now
 has a 24-bit address  space, allowing  it to  access 16  Megabytes of RAM,
 because  its  Memory  Manager  was  designed  for  the 68000 chip's 24-bit
 external bus.  System 7.0 will now be  able to  use the  32-bit addressing
 ability of  the 68020  and 68030  chips to  access up  to 128 Megabytes of
 physical system RAM.  However, the Mac Plus and Mac SE will  still only be
 able to access 4 Megs of RAM, and only applications that are 32-bit clean,
 having 32-bit handles to access all 32 bits of the  68020's address space,
 will be  able to  access this  extra memory.  Interestingly enough, one of
 the major innovations in  A/UX (Apple's  version of  Unix), in  an ongoing
 committment  to  both  run  "well-behaved" Mac software, and A/UX programs
 simultaneously, and to allow programs that  can run  on both  the Mac's OS
 and A/UX, was designing the standard for "32-bit clean" applications.

                 Outline Fonts and Typographic Line Layout
                 -----------------------------------------

     One  of  the  main  reasons  for PostScript's quick rise as a printing
 standard, especially  in  the  Mac  world,  is  its  use  of  outline font
 technology.    Using  mathematical  descriptions  of  lines  and curves to
 specify characters, outline fonts retain their  appearance when  scaled to
 any point  or size, and can be twisted, rotated, and generally manipulated
 without degradation of quality.  In comparison, bitmapped  fonts cannot be
 scaled, twisted, rotated, or manipulated without a loss of quality, and in
 order to  fully utilize  DTP software,  one would  have to  have an entire
 library of  files just  to cover  all of the possible sizes of a bitmapped
 font.  However, if you used an outline font, you would only  need to scale
 it to  the size that you required, and only need one file on disk to cover
 any possibilities.  It was this type of  appeal that  secured Postscript's
 place as an industry standard.

       However,  Apple has expressed a desire to remove Postscript from its
 product  line's  appeal,  and  in  an  effort  to do this, System 7.0 uses
 TrueType, the outline font standard being marketed by Microsoft.  System 7
 will also function with existing  Mac bit-mapped fonts.   One disadvantage
 of outline fonts is that they don't display/print well with low-resolution
 monitors or printers. In order to make them look as good on these displays
 as on high resolution or laser printer output,  Apple's outline fonts have
 support for grid fitting,  which tells System 7.0 how to modify the font's
 appearance so it looks its best at a particular resolution. In addition to
 a  standard set of  outline  fonts,  other  font  vendors  (including Afga
 Compugraphic,  Casady & Greene,  and Bitstream)  will be selling Truetype-
 compatible outline fonts that should work on both System 7.0 and Microsoft
 Windows 3.1 (which Microsoft has indicated will also use TrueType). System
 7.0 will  also  have  support  for typographic line and text layout.  This
 will be useful in kerning, right/left justification, and in displaying and
 printing  foreign  languages  that don't have letters  based on the  Roman
 alphabet, such as Japanese and Hebrew.

                     Finder 7.0, Enhanced MultiFinder
                     --------------------------------

     The Macintosh Finder has  long  been  considered  the  front-runner in
 Graphical User  Interface (GUI) technology.  Due to its innovations in the
 field (combined with Apple's marketing expertise), it has  become a litmus
 test, by  which many  GUI's have  been compared.  However, in the past few
 years many of Mac Finder's innovations  have  been  met  or  surpassed, by
 newcomers like  Open Look  and NextStep, and by old favorites like Windows
 and GEM.

 In an effort to revitalize it,  System 7.0  has made  many improvements to
 Mac Finder.   First,  all menu items, including those on the Menu Bar, and
 hierarchical submenus, will be  able to  be detached,  or "torn  off" from
 their original locations.  In order to install fonts and Desk Accessories,
 all one will need to do is to place them  in the  System "Folder", instead
 of using  the Font/DA Mover.  Similarly, in order to print a document from
 the desktop, one will simply have to drag it onto a Printer Icon.

     As far as the  Finder's desktop  is concerned,  some helpful additions
 have been  made.   One will  be able to play a sound, activate a Desk Acc,
 show samples of a font, or perform  a  varied  set  of  actions  by double
 clicking on  the appropriate  icon.   One will  also be  able to create an
 alias, or an icon which represents another icon,  and which  is capable of
 accessing it.   Aliases  would be useful in many instances, such as filing
 an icon by subject in one folder, and using its  icon's alias  to organize
 it  by  date  in  another  folder.   Also, when one manipulates or zooms a
 window, the Finder will only scale it enough to show its contents, and one
 will also be able to display a help screen on any icon or menu bar.

     Finder 7.0's  most important  feature, however, may be its file-search
 capabilities.  The Finder will be  able to  search for  files containing a
 word or  phrase, for files edited within a certain date or time, for files
 that are a certain  size,  or  for  any  number  of  combinations  or file
 characteristics in between.  Also, MultiFinder will be able to temporarily
 hide any or all of the  windows  of  open  applications  operating  in the
 background, resulting  in easier  system use,  and faster overall graphics
 performance.  The last benefit is due to  the fact  that MultiFinder won't
 have to  take up  so much  CPU time  on graphics operations for background
 windows....

                           Audio/Sound Toolkits
                           --------------------

     With System 7.0, Apple has put a great deal of emphasis into  the area
 of how  the Mac  handles sound,  in all  its forms.  System 7.0 features a
 MIDI Toolkit  for Mac  MIDI programs,  and multiple  audio channel support
 with a  multichannel sound  mixer for various sound effects.  7.0 also has
 real-time event sequencing for  sound/graphics demos,  and uses algorithms
 to compact  sound files  by a  3:1 or  6:1 ratio,  as well  as playing the
 archived files in real time.

                Communications Toolbox, Print Architecture
                ------------------------------------------

     The Macintosh's telecommunications support  has  always  had  room for
 improvement.    Besides  the  early  problems with the buggy serial driver
 included in the 64K Mac ROMs, Mac applications  have never  had a standard
 way to configure modem communication parameters, such as the baud rate and
 the number of stop bits, and in order to do so, had  to access  the serial
 drivers  directly.    To  solve  this  problem,  Apple  has introduced the
 Communications Toolbox.  Designed (like  32-bit  QuickDraw)  to  work with
 earlier versions of System Software, the Communications Toolbox provides a
 ser of device-independent routines for applications to use  in controlling
 I/O activity.   For  example, while low-level serial drivers will still be
 necessary for modem use, they  will  now  be  used  by  the Communications
 Toolbox.   It will  then provide Macintosh terminal programs with a set of
 standard dialog boxes for configuring things like baud  rates, word sizes,
 and stop  bits.   The Communications Toolbox also has support for standard
 terminal emulation and file transfer protocols, also through dialog boxes.

     Apple has also developed a new Print Architecture,  for improved color
 and gray-scale  printing, custom  page sizes,  and background printing, as
 well as a new Print dialog panel, for a standardized set of print options.
 But while  it is compatible with old Mac programs, this Print Architecture
 will require new printer drivers.

     System 7.0 has other  improvements,  including  support  for  the CL/1
 Remote Database  Access language,  allowing Mac applications to access SQL
 databases located on other  computers,  improvements  to  its Hierarchical
 File System  (such as faster directory searches, unique ID numbers for all
 files, and hooks for accessing files  from DOS,  OS/2, and  ProDOS disks),
 and Desktop Manager, a new utility for managing large amounts of files.

       System Software Version 7.0, released this week by Apple,truly is an
 impressive leap forward that shows promise in helping revitalize the aging
 Macintosh, helping it to escape obsolescence in the 1990s.  However, while
 it does have many impressive new features,  some of these features seem to
 be works in progress, as System 7.0's outline font  and  DTP functionality
 pales  in  comparison  to  Postscript,  its  main competition.  Also, many
 other  preferred features,  such as complete multitasking capabilities for
 MultiFinder and full memory protection for Mac programs, has been left for
 later incarnations of the Mac's System Software. But this in itself may be
 a good sign,  as it indicates  that the Macintosh still has some  untapped
 potential.  And an obsolete computer is one that lacks potential.





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

    Issue #22


 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.



 - San Jose, California                       J.D.POWER RANCS PC'S
   --------------------

 J.D.  Power,  a  market-research  firm best known for  ranking  customer
 satisfaction with car makers,  listed the 10 computer manufacturers that
 consumers like the best.

 Topping the list is Texas mail-order computer maker Dell Computer  Corp.
 one index point above Apple Computer Inc. Surprisingly, IBM ranked below
 the industry average in the eyes of these users.

     Manufacturer       Ranking        Manufacturer      Ranking
     Dell                 125          Apple               124
     AST                  117          Hewlett-Packard     116
     Everex               113          CompuAdd            106
     Compaq               106          Epson               104
     Toshiba              103          NEC                 101

            (100 = The industry average rating for a company)



 - Atlanta, Georgia                  IBM MAKES WORLD'S FASTEST MULTICHIP
   ----------------

 In an announcement made at the Electronic Components and Technology Con-
 ference  in  Atlanta,  IBM said that it has set a record for  speed  and
 closeness in a 121-chip ceramic package capable of speeding along  elec-
 tricity at 280 million miles per hour.

 Engineers say they have packed a new glass ceramic chip bundle measuring
 five  inches  square with 121-chip packages  spaced  only  three-eighths
 inches apart.  The design of the package, an evolution of IBM's patented
 "Thermal Conduction Module" (TCM),  invented in 1980, resembles a multi-
 layered club sandwich with chips bonded directly to a 63-layer slice  of
 the glass ceramic.  140 feet of thin copper wires - each only  1/1,000th
 inch thick - link the chips together.



 - San Jose, California             BUSINESSLAND IN TROUBLE - CHPTR. 11?
   --------------------              NEXT CUTS TIES, IBM GIVES CREDIT

 Effective at the end of May,  Next Computer Inc.  and Businessland  Inc.
 will terminate their sales agreement, an agreement that's been in effect
 since  March  1989.  The  severing of relations  comes  as  Businessland
 teeters on the brink of bankruptcy

 According to Next, the two companies have taken different directions and
 "Next  is expanding its independent retail dealer channel for  sales  to
 small and medium size businesses and has expanded its direct sales force
 and  VAR  and systems integrator channels for sales  to  corporate  cus-
 tomers."

 Businessland,  once  one of the strongest retail chains in  the  country
 with 62 stores and branch offices throughout the world, suffered various
 financial  blows  over the past two years and has  had  six  consecutive
 quarterly losses,  and may seek either Chapter 11 bankruptcy  protection
 or a buyer to take over the company.

 With Businessland nearly on the rocks,  IBM Corporation has thrown it  a
 life jacket;  a line of credit so that it can continue to sell and  ship
 IBM products.



 - Redmond, Washington                      TETRIS INVENTOR HAS NEW GAME
   -------------------

 Alexy Pajitnov,  the inventor of Tetris,  is now working on a new  game,
 Hatris,  for Bullet Proof Software.  The soviet game inventor, is in the
 U.S.  as a Soviet citizen in a trade relationship between the  U.S.  and
 the  Soviet Union.

 Pajitnov  has  written  5 games which are sold in both  America  and  in
 Japan. Pajitnov, a graduate in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute
 of Aviation in 1979, attributes his interest in game puzzles to his ear-
 ly teens, when he broke his leg and needed something to occupy himself.

 Hatris  is planned for release on the Nintendo Game Boy system in  June,
 with versions for the new 16-bit Nintendo Entertainment system,  and for
 the personal computer as well.



 - Washington, D.C.                               SPA MAKES AN 'OOPS'
   ---------------

 Last week,  the Software Publishers Association (SPA) dropped a software
 piracy suit against Snap-on Tools.  The suit was apparently dropped when
 Snap-on employees were able to convince SPA watchdogs that they were  in
 legal possession of the questionable software.



 - Guildford, Surrey, England             WINDOWS SUPPORT FOR AUTOCAD
   --------------------------

 According  to  Autodesk,  a Windows extension  kit  for  AutoCAD,  their
 computer-aided  design  software,  is under active  development  and  is
 expected  to ship in the first half of next year.  The kit  will  enable
 users to run AutoCAD Release II under DOS, under Windows, or in both en-
 vironments interchangeably.



 - White Plains, New York                IBM ANNOUNCES PS/2 PRICE CUTS
   ----------------------

 IBM  has  joined the personal computer price cutters.  On the  heels  of
 price  reductions by its arch-rival,  Compaq,  plus  Texas  Instruments,
 Dell,  and others,  IBM has reduced prices on several Personal  System/2
 (PS/2) models by six to 24 percent.



 - Cupertino, California                         APPLE TO LAYOFF 1560
   ---------------------

 Apple  Computer will institute an across-the-board layoff of 10  percent
 of its 15,600 workforce this fiscal quarter,  and will restructure parts
 of the company in order to be more profitable.

 Ironically,  much of this Apple's current financial problems are due  to
 the overwhelming success of the Macintosh Classic. This has forced Apple
 to  revamp  its market strategy,  from one which  emphasized  high-gross
 margins  to  that  of  a volume  dealer.  Customer  demand  for  Apple's
 Macintosh,  the company says,  has soared,  increasing unit shipments in
 the company's last reported fiscal quarter by over 85 percent.

 Apple  says  it  will take a number of other  short-term  and  long-term
 actions  --  including relocating and consolidating some  functions  and
 reducing management levels -- to reduce expenses.



 - Toronto, Ontario          COMMODORE OFFERS NEW 386, 486 PCS IN CANADA
   ----------------

 Commodore  Business  Machines has introduced three  new  25mhz  personal
 computers  using Intel's 80386 and 80486 processors.  These new  systems
 will  cost from $3,599 to $7,999 (Canadian).






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

                             IMPORTANT NOTICE!
                             =================

 As a reader of STReport International Online Magazine, you are entitled to
 take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer.  For only $29.95 ($20
 off the standard membership price!), you will receive a lifetime subscrip-
 tion to DELPHI, a copy of the 500-page DELPHI: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE and over
 $14 worth of free time.

  NOTE: Special offers can be found in your favorite Atari magazines:

              START             CURRENT NOTES         ST INFORMER
                          ATARI INTERFACE MAGAZINE

                          SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
                          ======================
       Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
                  DELPHI services via a local phone call

                              JOIN -- DELPHI
                              --------------
     1. Dial  617-576-0862 with  any terminal or PC and modem (at 2400 bps,
        dial 576-2981).
     2. At the Username prompt, type JOINDELPHI.
     3. At the Password prompt enter STREPORT.

 For more information call:
                 DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005
                                    or
    at 617-491-3393 from within Massachusetts or from outside the U.S.

 DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass.


                           SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
                           --------------------

 The 20/20 Advantage Plan IS FANTASTIC!   And  it features  20 hours online
 for just  $20 a month!  The $20 is a monthly fee that covers your first 20
 hours online via direct dial into one of DELPHI's two direct-access lines,
 or via  a special  Tymnet 20/20  Access code.  It also gets you additional
 hours at just $1.20 per hour.  And you get free access to several services
 on DELPHI as part of the Advantage Perks.

 Other telecom services may have additional charges.  Canadian Tymnet users
 have an additional telecom charge.  Office Time access (7 a.m. to  7 p.m.,
 weekdays) may  have an  additional charge.   And of course, other restric-
 tions may apply.  But this is still an amazing deal!

 For more information please contact:

           DELPHI at 1-800-544-4005 and ask for Member Services.

                 DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!



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





 > STR Mail Call                            Letters to the Editor
   =============



 Date:  18-May-91 23:19 EDT
 From:  Charles Hill [76370,3045]
 Subj:  STR719 Atari NEWS 1st!

   TO: Ralph Mariano/70007,4454
 FROM: Charles E. Hill/76370,3045
   RE: ST Report #720

 Ralph,

 In reference to the STAND-ALONE VIDEO TOASTER article  in the  most recent
 ST Report...I'd like to offer further clarification.

 1) The Amiga is selling hotter than ever (unit sales up over 100%
    world-wide last quarter [according to the quarterly report].  This
    hardly constitutes a "fading" market.
 .
 2) The stand-alone Toaster looks like an Amiga 2000 because it IS an
    Amiga 2000.  Specifically, Commodore is selling OEM units to New Tek
    consisting of an Amiga 2000, Commodore A2091 hard drive controller,
    a Quantum 50Q hard drive, 3 Mb of RAM and no Commodore/Amiga face
    plate.  The Toaster resides in the video slot of the Amiga.  All the
    features mentioned in the article (24-bit paint program, color
    processing engine, etc.) all come bundles with the Toaster whether
    it is the Amiga internal board ($1495) or the New Tek OEM Amiga unit
    ($3995).

 New Tek has made no other modifications to the OEM machine.  Interestingly
 enough, the OEM unit has a 7.14 MHz 68000 w/3 Mb RAM.   The  Toaster requ-
 ires a  _minimum_ of  3 Mb  to run, and then you must unload it to use the
 paint or color processor.  New Tek recommends 5 -  7 megs  of RAM  (to run
 everything concurrently [multitasking] and more for large presentations or
 animations.  They also recommend an accelerated Amiga  (68030/68882 based)
 for operations.

 As for specifically designed for the broadcast TV market -- that is simply
 the Amiga.  It's bus runs at 7.14 MHz (or 14.28 MHz depending on the mach-
 ine) which is what NTSC video is [no coincidence].

                                                        -Chas







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


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                     _________________________________

      To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.

               Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
                         Wait for the U#= prompt.

                 Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.

                       **** SIGN UP FEE WAIVED ****

           The system will now prompt you for your information.

               -> NOW!  GENIE STAR SERVICE IS IN EFFECT!! <-

         GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
            Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission


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






 > The Flip Side STR Feature        "...a different viewpoint.."
   =========================



                    A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT
                    ==================================


 by Michael Lee


 About  the  new  AT-SPEED C16 from J.Webb - from the  ST  Roundtable  on
 Genie...
    To those of you who may be considering an IBM/DOS emulator, I thought
    I could give you some insight into the newest device out  there,  the
    AT-SPEED  C16.  This is a 16 mhz version of a CMOS 80286  machine.  I
    just recently installed it in my old 1040 ST and it runs GREAT!!  The
    whole process took about 45 minutes,  with the software  installation
    taking  an additional 15 minutes.  One hour to a FAST,  FAST IBM  (it
    blows my friends 10 mhz clone away).  A [few] things to mention.

    One, my machine is a very old 1040, with the CPU near the disk drive.
    You do have to snip some plastic support for the drive away, but they
    can  be  placed  elsewhere,  and  the finished  product  can  not  be
    distinguished form a non-modified ST.

    Second, I did not install the co-processor. I can only guess how much
    that will speed up floating point processes.

    Third,  I  have run up against a problem of not being able to  access
    SCSI  0,  LUN 1 my second,  larger hard drive.  I have to settle  for
    three  partitions totaling about 30 meg (TOS 1.0 in these old  relics
    you know!!)

    Lastly,  watch out for complex sound calls.  It WILL lock up the mac-
    hine.  Many of the newest games have these digitized sounds that seem
    to  be too much for the algorithms.  If your software has a no  sound
    option though, you are good to go!

    Well,  that's about it for now. So far, I am thrilled with the speed,
    and I run a 368/33 in my office.  I am using pfsWrite to prepare this
    document,  and it rips along even during spell checking. No more slow
    disk I/O, no more slow screen draws. This puppy hums.

    If  anyone  out there comes across a way around the  sound  or  drive
    issues,  please drop me a line.  Any one interested in more  specific
    info on the installation or performance, write me too...

    ADDENDUM:   ...the  installation  was  very  straight  forward,   and
    shouldn't  be a problem for the average user.  Regarding the info  on
    how I got it, I spoke with a gent at Talon named Ashley. He indicated
    that this new version was just getting ready to ship from Germany. It
    was  $450 plus $50 for a virtual memory driver for use  in  DOS.  The
    virtual memory driver makes my hard drive act like  extended/expanded
    memory.

    Beyond that, it has been so easy to setup and use, that I'm taking it
    for  granted.  The  only problem I have is with complex  sound  calls
    which  frankly are the domain of games,  and I prefer my ST mode  for
    games!

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

 A  Seagate  hard  drive problem - questions and  replies - from  the  ST
 RoundTable on Genie...
 From Nevin Shalit...
    Help!   My  old not-so-trusty Seagate 65 meg drive (277N?) is  really
    freaking  out.  About 10 times yesterday when reading or  writing  it
    sort of restarted.  It just made all the startup sounds it makes when
    it starts up,  and I had to turn everything off and reboot. Any ideas
    what's going on?

 Help is on the way from Larry Rymal....
    Your  trusty  old  Seagate 65 meg drive  is  fine.  Just  clean  your
    mechanism's power connectors and check your ground wire.  Unplug  the
    connectors,  clean them, plug them back in. Your Seagate will be back
    up to snuff.

    I have to do this treatment every three months on my Seagate 296N and
    it makes the same noises as you say. I think what's happening is that
    resistance is building up in the connectors as surface corrosion sets
    in. The power supply is marginal and the resistance is just enough to
    push the power requirements past what you have.

 Confirmation from Jim Allen (FastTech)...
    Larry's  right Nevin,  I had the same thing happen,  it was just  the
    power connectors at the power supply, check them all out, clean them,
    and  bend  all  the tabs in so you get a real  good  connection  when
    plugged in.

 A happy Seagate owner - from Nevin Shalit...
    T H A N K Y O U.....Larry and Jim..!

    ....my  hard  drive  did its restart thing  about  4  times.  It  was
    horrible.  I read your messages and cleaned all the power supply con-
    tacts and pushed them in firmly, and since then NO problems at all.

    I owe you each a beer...!

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

 There  have been some reports that DynaCADD (the demo and  the  complete
 version)  doesn't work properly if UIS III is installed.  It  supposedly
 locksup right after a part is selected.   Here's how to fix that problem
 and  be  able  to  use  DynaCADD and  UIS  III  together - From  the  ST
 RoundTable on Genie...Fix from Lloyd Pulley...
    You do not have to disable UIS III to use DynaCADD. To get UIS III to
    work with DynaCADD, just...

    1) Open up UIS III
    2) Click on the "Universal Item Selector III" name,  this will  allow
       you to go into the option menu.
    3) At  the top of the option window,  you'll see  another  "Universal
       Item  Selector III".  Click on it and it will turn black  (reverse
       colors).
    4) Now save this configuration.

    ...Now you'll find DynaCADD works just fine.  (NOTE:  Anytime you run
    into a program that doesn't work properly with UIS III,  give this  a
    try.  Sometimes it will fix the problem.)

 More information from Alan Hamilton...
    The reverse video title has to do with the way UIS does  redraws.  It
    normally uses a buffer,  but this won't work with some programs. With
    the title highlighted, it will issue regular redraw messages.

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

 Have  you ever wanted to use a PC keyboard with your ST?  Now  you  can,
 Larry Rymal tells us about the D.E.K.A.  interface device - from the  ST
 Roundtable on Genie...
    The D.E.K.A.  interface device allows you to connect any PC  keyboard
    to ANY Atari ST/TT computer.  Earlier devices like this  experimented
    with using the MIDI port.  The D.E.K.A. actually replaces things from
    the keyboard end. This makes it fast!

    On  a  1040STf,  you  merely open  the  case,  unplug  your  keyboard
    connector,  plug in the D.E.K.A.  wiring harness,  install a provided
    modular plug onto the plastic ST case, close the case up, plug in the
    D.E.K.A.,  and plug in your favorite IBMish keyboard to the  D.E.K.A.
    Works great and I love it!

    There  are a lot of keyboard variations that one can have for the  ST
    now,  whereas before, we had to use whatever BEST products would give
    us  with their keyboard switches.  You can buy the Mega keyboard  and
    harness it in (not THAT difficult) but, although its quality is great
    (I  have  one),  its feel is nothing like what you can get  when  you
    select your own clone keyboard. Now, you have your choice of whatever
    IBMish  keyboard you want.  I bought a cheap CompuDyne 101+  keyboard
    for $35.00! This is a sturdy clone keyboard, has a great feel, and of
    course, is cheap.

    By the way,  support from Omnimon is fantastic and support  continues
    to  optimize  the product.  Fixes have been fast and furious  as  the
    D.E.K.A.  interface is being exposed to more and more ST  variations.
    Recall that not all STs are created equal.

    The D.E.K.A. has joystick/barcode scanner support built-in, mouse and
    joystick  ports  (scans up to twice the speed of the  original  Atari
    ports), and an optional internal Ni-Cad battery-backup clock.

 More information on D.E.K.A.  from Paul Wu (WuzTEK) - from the ST Round-
 table on Genie...
    The DEKA's MSRP is $129.95. We sell them direct for $99.95 (for those
    poor souls that don't have access to a dealer)  We accept MasterCard,
    Visa, and COD.

    You can contact us at:
                               714/753-9253
                            Omnimon Peripherals
                           One Technology Drive
                          Building 1E, Suite 301
                         Irvine, California 92718

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

 From Lee Seiler (Lexicor) - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
    We are nearly ready to release the 24Bit card for the ST. It comes as
    a Kit (you plug in one chip) so FCC regs are met, and install it into
    the  68000 socket.  You must install a plug (drill 1 hole for  a  new
    monitor jack) in the back, and zap you have "true Color".

    What  you  will  have is 24 Bit Color with a  palette  of  16,000,000
    colors  with  26  on  the screen at  any  one  time  (for  now).  The
    Resolution is 512x512,  this is in the standard ATARI RGB format,  so
    you  don't need a new monitor.  Any SC1224 will work just  fine.  You
    will  see  a full screen which just happens to be  smaller  than  the
    screen resolution we are using.  This is not an overscan system, just
    full screen.

    There is just one catch at the moment,  you must run our software  or
    should I say only our software will run in this new color environment
    (sic).  We  will  have  a developers kit soon  so  that  other  ATARI
    software developers can port to the new color world about to hit  the
    ST world.

    Best of all is the price!!! Our current target price $300 to $400 But
    not more.

    LEXICOR  is now shipping  Phase-4  products,  Rosetta,  Chronos,Prism
    Paint and Prism render.

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

 About Turbo-C from Rick Flashman (Gribnif) - Cat.  17, Topic 13, Message
 52 from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
    There  isn't an official distributor of Turbo-C ST in North  America.
    However,  we at Gribnif Software are set up as the 'equivalent' of  a
    Turbo-C ST Dealer and are therefore have several copies in stock.

    Give us a call at (413) 584-7887 for information on how to get it and
    such. The price for the professional version is $275.

 About Turbo-C from Rick Flashman (Gribnif) - Cat.  17, Topic 13, Message
 72 from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
    I  talked  to the writer of Turbo C the other day.  This is  all  the
    information I have now:

    1. Future  versions  of  Turbo C will come  from  his  company  "Pure
       Software" (product will probably be called "Pure C").

    2. Somehow,  we  at Gribnif will make be able to handle  interim  up-
       grades  (those are the minor upgrades) directly from our  offices.
       More as details are worked out with Pure Software.

    3. If you have any suggestions for future versions of Turbo C, let me
       know NOW (send E-Mail to R.FLASHMAN) and I will forward it to  the
       programmer.

    4. Even  though  the product will be renamed and will  no  longer  be
       carried by Borland,  by order of Borland USA the product can still
       NOT be translated to english.

 About Turbo-C from Dan (Gribnif) - Cat.  17,  Topic 13,  Message 54 from
 the ST Roundtable on Genie...
    ...Turbo   Debugger  does  only  work  in   1-bitplane   resolutions,
    unfortunately. While it will work with an SM124 (even with Overscan),
    a Viking/Moniterm, or TT High rez, it will not work in any resolution
    that uses more than one bitplane, sorry.

    [Version] 2.0 is the current version.  We have been informed that the
    software development team responsible for TC has purchased the rights
    for TC from Borland GmbH and will soon be releasing it independently,
    probably under a different name.  As soon as we know more about this,
    we will pass it on.

    The compiler,  assembler, and debugger work fine on the TT. While the
    assembler  can generate 68030 code,  the compiler can only go  up  to
    68020  right  now.  However,  68030-specific code will not run  on  a
    68000-based machine (ST), so this is not a big drawback.

    While I have not personally seen Lattice C v. 5 for the ST, I am told
    that  though  it  will generate slightly faster  code  under  certain
    circumstances,  the  programming environment it provides  is  nowhere
    near as easy to use as that of Turbo C.  Nonetheless, Lattice C seems
    to be a very good package, from my understanding.

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

 About  the  new 'Phantom of the Laser' from V.PATRICELL1 - from  the  ST
 Roundtable on Genie...
    I  received the Phantom of the Laser modification a few days ago  and
    had it installed by a friend yesterday. It works as advertised!

    My laser is off with the backdoor closed and I do not have to turn it
    on  until I am ready....nice!  The [installation]  instructions  were
    excellent,  although you should have some experience with  electronic
    assembly  techniques before attempting to install it  yourself.  This
    was $25 well spent!

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

 Comments  about "Mega Traveler - The Zhodani Conspiracy"  from  B.STAHL,
 Cat. 9, Topic 64, Message #1 on the ST RT on Genie...
    Got it yesterday.  Runs nicely from the hard drive, or just about any
    combination  of floppies you could have,  as long as at least one  is
    double-sided.  Copy protection is off-disk,  look-it-up in the  docs.
    Documentation  is  pretty good,  having not only a  glossary  but  an
    actual index.  Character creation is pretty good,  too,  if you don't
    like the looks of one,  scrap him and try another;  up to 15 held  in
    the "pool". Haven't played it enough to comment on game play.

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

 From Doug Wheeler (ICD) - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
    The ICD BBS phone # is (815) 968-2229.

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

 A man's ST and printer rescued by Computrol - from E.GORELIK,  Cat.  14,
 Topic 6, Message 22, from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
    A few days ago I incurred some heavy damage to my computer system and
    I think other Atarians may be able to benefit from a cautionary tale.

    In  the March 1987 issue of ST-LOG,  Matthew Ratcliff ("ST  Nightmare
    Repair") related how he had fried the 74LS374 octal latch buffer chip
    in  his  Gemini printer and the Yamaha YM-2149 sound chip in  his  ST
    simultaneously  by  disconnecting the printer from his ST  while  the
    latter was still on.  After reading that article in '87 I immediately
    discontinued my habit of freely connecting and disconnecting parallel
    printer to and from ST while the latter was on; from that point on, I
    did it only rarely,  and making sure that the printer was off when  I
    did so.

    The other night I disconnected the cable from my printer at a time  I
    thought the printer was off.  I then inserted the cable coming from a
    different  computer  (IBM).  The print-head reacted at  once,  and  I
    realized  that  the printer had been on all  during  this  operation.
    After  firing  up the IBM I found that I couldn't print  with  it.  I
    thought I had damaged the IBM.  Careful testing,  though, showed that
    the ST could not print with a second printer while the IBM could,  so
    by  deduction  it  was the ST and 1st printer that  had  been  simul-
    taneously damaged,  and not the IBM at all. In retrospect, the damage
    must  have occurred when I had disconnected the ST's cable  from  the
    printer, just as had happened to Matthew Ratcliff 4 years ago.

    When I called NEC they told me I was looking at a $200+ charge for  a
    new motherboard on the printer, not counting the labor. I then called
    Eugene Varshafsky,  of Computrol.  He was familiar with the  problem,
    saying  he had made many similar repairs.  A friend carted my ST  and
    printer to his shop, and he repaired both machines the same afternoon
    (took a few hours),  replacing the Yamaha chip in the ST and a  small
    buffer chip in the printer. His bill came to $150, including tax--for
    two  machines,  both of which are in full operation again,  and  thus
    rescuing me very quickly from a truly nasty predicament.

    I  have  to  say that Computrol really came through for  me  in  this
    situation,  and  deserves a lot of credit.  Consider that  the  tech-
    nicians at NEC,  in possession of the full schematics for the printer
    and intimately familiar with their own machine, told me that it would
    be  so  much  of a hassle tracking down  and  replacing  the  damaged
    components  that  it  would be easier and cheaper for  them  to  just
    replace the whole motherboard, and that they never operated any other
    way under such circumstances; Varshafsky had to track down and repair
    the  damage  with  only the  partial  schematics,  published  in  the
    printer's handbook; and not only did he succeed, but he also fixed my
    ST at the same time, and all for under $140 (plus tax) total, and the
    same day,  to boot. (Not to mention, also, the fact that he was still
    incensed at me for the many angry messages I had left concerning  him
    and Computrol a few months back here on GEnie.)

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


 Until next week.....




       ____________________________________________________________





 > EDHAK! STR Review                         Let's Take a LOOK!
   =================




                           EDHAK -- GOOD STUFF!
                           ====================


 by Dan Stidham


     Two weeks ago, in the Windsor show report,  I touched  briefly on some
 of the  major features  of the  commercial release  of EdHak version 2.13.
 EdHak has been previously released in the shareware  domain as  a popular,
 albeit quick and dirty, text editor. Craig Harvey of Clear Thinking Softw-
 are, its author, has worked hard at making  this a  first class  editor au
 extraordinaire.   Using a  Mega ST4 and an SM124 monitor and a Viking 2400
 (big screen) monitor, I have put it through its paces. I have  found not a
 few useful features and will report on those and a few caveats.

 OmniEditor....
 --------------

     EdHak could  just have  well been named The OmniEditor or OmniED (but,
 no, Craig didn't check with me!) as Craig has endeavored, and largely suc-
 ceeded, in  making this  utility a  one-stop shop  for all of your editing
 needs. EdHak has the ability to edit text files, data files, binary files,
 disk and RAM sectors.

     EdHak ran  in all  four resolutions available to this reviewer, inclu-
 ding Moniterm 1280 by 960, ST hi-res, medium-res  and low-res.  In low-res
 EdHak works rather elegantly, automatically handling the horizontal movem-
 ent of the window, effectively handling the 40 column limitation by creat-
 ing an  80 column virtual screen.  Good thing too as EdHak has no horizon-
 tal scroll bar ( I think I remember Craig giving me a reason for  this but
 I don't  recall--must not  have been  important--just kidding).   EdHak is
 also missing the lower right hand corner button  that is  used in standard
 GEM windows  as a  resizing button.  The only resizing EdHak affords is on
 the Y axis (vertically) by using the close button as  a toggle  for a full
 screen (80  by 24) or half-screen (80 by 12).  I found this to be somewhat
 limiting on my Moniterm as I found myself wanting to move the EdHak window
 horizontally so I could view directory windows and desktop icons hidden by
 EdHak's window.  But  it seems  as though  EDHak was  recognizing only the
 leftmost 640  pixels of  the 1280  afforded by  the Moniterm horizontally,
 although it did allow me complete vertical movement over the  960 vertical
 pixel spectrum.   EdHak  also does not allow you to move a portion of your
 window off screen; its either all or nuttin'.

     Craig does have a new release (version 3.0) that is imminent and
 should address some of these limitations.


 Lets get virtual...
 -------------------

     EdHak has a very interesting and smart feature that almost enables you
 to have  your cake and eat it too.  EdHak allows you to choose a buffer of
 any size from 4K ad infinitum, but because  EdHak handles  the editing and
 loading of  ANY size file, the choice of buffer size is more a function of
 speed than necessity.  Speed?  Yes.  Because EdHak manages its buffer con-
 tents as  one continuous block of ram, if your buffer is too large, (Craig
 advises keeping it at 20K or  lower) it  can slow  down insert  and delete
 operations performed near the beginning of the buffer.  I can testify from
 experience that this  slow-down  is  appreciable  and  was  reminiscent of
 deleting text in a DTP program.

     Yeah, you say, but I have lots of files much bigger than 20K.  This is
 where necessity almost becomes a non-issue  as pertaining  to buffer size.
 When you  load in  text or data files, disk or ram sectors that are bigger
 than your buffer, EdHak allows you to choose the portion  of the  file you
 want loaded.   When  you reach  the bottom  or upper limit of your buffer,
 EdHak gives you an alert box and asks you if you want to shift to the next
 or previous  portion of your file. EdHak then checks to see if any changes
 have been made to the outgoing buffer and, if there have been any changes,
 EdHak gives you the option of saving changes first. If you clicked on yes,
 EdHak will take care to string together the buffer-residing text  with the
 old text  residing on  disk.  After this chore has been accomplished a new
 buffer-sized block is loaded into ram.

     EdHak's virtual handling of files also has the added benefit of reduc-
 ing memory overhead when running as an accessory.  I have found that EdHak
 takes approximately 94K of memory with a 15K  buffer configuration  and '-
 full hacking mode' activated.


 Ascii me about text file editing...
 -----------------------------------

     Text editing  features are complete and include such standards as word
 wrap, find, search and replace, reformat  and many  extras including func-
 tion key  text macros, searching and replacing of all 256 ascii characters
 in hex, decimal or text mode,  and insertion  of any  ascii character. All
 operations are  executed via  machine language  instructions, therefore as
 long as your buffer is at a manageable size (20K or smaller),  you'll find
 scrolling, saving and loading to be much faster than the competition.


 But there's so much more...
 ---------------------------

     But EdHak  provides much  more utility  to further enhance its editing
 capabilites.  Pressing ALT-U allows you  to send  any marked  block within
 the buffer, or the entire buffer itself, to a serial port. EdHak gives you
 three uploading 'metering' options when you send your marked block: none(-
 fast), medium and slow. I personally tried this option at all three speeds
 in a session on GEnie and got less than satisfactory  results. Not Craig's
 fault though  as I  haven't yet found a program (including STeno) that can
 dance too well with GEnie in this regard. This feature  worked much better
 on the  local BBS.   Moving  on, you  can launch a program (PRG not TOS or
 TTP) from within EdHak (works best when using EdHak as a program);  append
 and merge files at cursor points of your choosing;  insert the system date
 into your file simply by pressing ALT-D;  encrypt confidential  files that
 can be  read only  by entering  a password;   cause  EdHak to autoload the
 file of your choice by activating that option  in the  configuration menu;
 automatically send  a printer  initialization string with every file prin-
 ted.


 Alt-T stands for...
 -------------------

     Well as Craig put it, "T stands for toggle". After running the program
 or entering  it via  a desk  accessory slot (can be run as either genus by
 changing the extender) one finds himself in text mode  automatically. This
 cannot be changed in the configuration. If, though, you have saved a prev-
 ious configuration in which you have chosen the  ability to  go into "full
 hacking mode" you can enter the "Hak" mode by toggling 'Alt-T' and sudden-
 ly instead of just the text, all 256  ascii characters  are displayed wit-
 hout any  formatting.  Although I am sure this has its practical uses (one
 of which is to find out why your text file is printing out unwanted space-
 s--a hidden  TAB character somewhere?) this mode was really meant to avail
 oneself of EdHak's disk sector and ram sector editing features.

 Gotta be careful
 ----------------

     I have put the disk sector  editing capabilites  to the  test and came
 away with  some pretty  favorable impressions. I inserted a floppy into d-
 rive A, deleted a file and then went to hacking.  Loading the disk sectors
 was as  easy as  loading a file except you leave the filename part of your
 item selector blank. A dialog box then asks whether you want to search for
 a string  (text, hex  or decimal) or just pick a starting sector point. S-
 ince boot sectors are at the beginning of a disk I chose to start at point
 0.   Since I have a 15K buffer EdHak loaded in as much as that would allow
 (26 sectors at 512 bytes per sector). Almost  immediately I  found the FAT
 table, deleted  the funny  character that  designated this file as deleted
 and inserted the proper first character. While I was at it I saw one other
 file that  was toiling  in deleted oblivion and I rescued it also (it just
 seemed to scream, "Take me with  you!").   I then  hit ALT-S  for save and
 another dialog  box appeared  asking me to enter the sector at which to s-
 tart writing the 26 sector buffer  contents to  disk--of course  in almost
 all cases  you leave  this alone  or you  could destroy  your FAT contents
 entirely.  After a split second the deed was done  and I  exited EdHak and
 double-clicked  on  disk  icon  A.  There  the  newly  restored files sat,
 smiling in the bright sunshine of day.

     But alas, you must be very, very careful when attempting  this sort of
 search and  rescue mission.   If the disk or partition is really valuable,
 back it up first.  For instance...for the benefit of the reader and at the
 peril of  my 100  meg ABCO drive, I decided to delete a file in an obscure
 partition of my hard drive that I keep solely for  GEnie arc  file downlo-
 ads.   After deleting  this file, I went into EdHak out of its desk acces-
 sory slot and typed in ALT-O to open  a new  file. When  the file selector
 came up  I chose  the partition where my file lay at my mercy and left the
 filename portion of the selector blank.  Immediately  EdHak went  into Hak
 mode and  eventually I  found the copy of the FAT table.  I found the del-
 eted file,  reinserted  a  proper  first  character  in  its  filename and
 pressed ALT-S.   When  I went  back to  check on the partition, its window
 contents cheerily informed me that I had 0 bytes in 0 files.  I loaded the
 sectors back  into EdHak, but this time I started the load at a point that
 would include a few sectors beyond the FAT table.  It was here that I lea-
 rned about the second FAT table.   "Hmmmmm....lets make the same change in
 the second FAT table, resave the sectors back  out to  disk and  cross our
 fingers."   Yup, it worked. Back came all my files and even the ones I had
 just restored.


 For your info...
 ----------------

     Sooo...I can say that as a disk editor, EDHak will do what you want it
 to, with  a very  nice interface, but be careful!  Although Craig warns of
 the risks of hacking around in this fashion, I feel  he could  have dedic-
 ated a  few valuable sentences in his manual in giving some "...if you in-
 sist..." advice. That aside, Craig does afford the hacker plenty of online
 help while in Hak mode.  The bar at the top of the GEM window that is used
 to drag the window to another  portion of  the desktop  also includes some
 valuable info.  While in text mode two bits of info are given in this for-
 m--"L:00087 C:049". "L:00087" means line  number  87  while  "C:049" means
 49th column  or 49th  character on  that line; a very nice and easy way to
 perform various formatting functions while in  text mode.     While in Hak
 mode two  differing bits of info are given, in this form: "#005350 c:$0D".
 "#005350" tells us that the cursor is resting on byte  number 5350  of the
 file while "c:$0D" very politely tells us what its hex value is.  You know
 that funny little character I mentioned that is  used to  designate a del-
 eted file?  Well what if you restored the file and while still editing the
 disk sector realized you restored the  wrong file?   Instead  of trying to
 enter every  ascii combination until you unlock the mystery, all you would
 have to do is point your mouse at  another 'funny  character' and  get its
 hex value  in the  info bar,  then hit ALT-I for insert byte and enter the
 hex value to restore it to its previous deleted state.


 Drumroll please...
 ------------------

     In celebration  of the  Windsor show,  Craig added  a valuable feature
 called Kwiksend. Not planning on including this feature until the 3.0 rel-
 ease version,  Craig may have executed quite a coup  de tat.   Most  of us
 (especially those  of us into DTP) know of the great idea that Maxwell CPU
 had in allowing one to clip a part of his  editing window  (within the Ex-
 pose desk  accessory) and with the press of a key, send it to any applica-
 tion you may be working on, including PageStream  or Calamus.   Much, tho-
 ugh, has been made about the limitations imposed on this feature that inc-
 lude allowing only 6 lines of text and 60 columns per line.   Enter EdHak.
 Mark ANY  size block  within EdHak,  press ALT-K (for Kwiksend), and EdHak
 closes its window and immediately starts sending the marked text at appli-
 cation cursor point.  Because EdHak utilizes the keyboard buffer on the ST
 to execute this function, if you  have marked  a large  block, it  takes a
 while to  send it and therefore one would probably prefer to save it first
 as a text file, enter the application and import it  as text.  One sugges-
 tion here.  Allow the  option of  stripping out  carriage returns and line
 feeds after pressing ALT-K so that there are no messes to clean  up within
 the receiving application.

     Craig also hinted to me that in future development he plans to include
 code for handling bit-image files, allowing viewing and editing within the
 desk accessory window.  Craig seems determined to REALLY make this an edi-
 tor that edits ANYTHING!


 In conclusion...
 ----------------

     EdHak is a very complete, very professional program as it  sits.  Like
 any program  it has  room to  improve, specifically  in the area of window
 functionality.  Because it is such  a practical  program, the  mind floods
 with some  great suggestions for further updates.  This is not a criticism
 but a compliment of Craig Harvey's  ability to  open one's  imagination to
 possibilities and  potentials.  The manual is easy to follow, though a bit
 shallow in the area of hacking.  I have met Craig personally  and have en-
 joyed a  considerate personality that seems willing to help and patient to
 listen and teach.  This comes through in a manual that includes a two-page
 goldenrod-colored command summary sheet that is almost unneeded due to the
 mnemonic nature of all program functions.

     This program's stock can only rise in the ST community as one examines
 its performance  to price  ratio ($18.95  retail).   This is  a program to
 watch and a programmer that deserves all of our support!



        __________________________________________________________




 > SPRING COMDEX! STR FOCUS                "THE BEST YET!"
   ========================





                     SPRING COMDEX MINI-NEWS RELEASES
                             Atlanta, Georgia




 - New from Spring Comdex          Go Technology Updates Hot Keys
   ----------------------

 Go Technology introduced two new versions of Hot Keys,  the F-Key  macro
 system for the Apple Macintosh.  The packages were developed to  support
 Aldus  Pagemaker  4.0  and  Silicon  Beach  Software's  Personal   Press
 packages.



 - New from Spring Comdex          Xtree Intros Xtree Easy
   ----------------------

 Xtree Corporation has unveiled Xtree Easy,  a replacement for its  Xtree
 basic file management software.  The package is targetted at the  novice
 and  intermediate user.  The two primary new features  are  Menu,  which
 shields  the user from DOS using a shell system,  and  pull-down  menus,
 which  allows  users access to all the features of the package  using  a
 'Windowslike'  menuing  system.  Other features of the  original  Xtree
 package have been speeded up in Xtree Easy.



 - New from Spring Comdex          SAMSUNG SLASHES PRICES; INTROS NEW PCS
   ----------------------

 Samsung  Information Systems America has slashed pricing on its  16  MHz
 Notemaster  range  of notebook PCs from 24-30%.  At the  same  time  the
 computer  giant has cut pricing on its LAN workstations and file  server
 systems as much as 25%.

 On  the  new products front,  Samsung has unveiled its  first  Unix-only
 product,  the SGS-19X Windows Systems Terminal, an 18-inch monochrome X-
 terminal  based  on the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 29000  RISC  micro-
 processor. In addition, the company announced the Systemmaster 486/33TE,
 a  33MHz Unix-compatible version of its 80486-based EISA  (extended  in-
 dustry standard architecture) bus machine. Pricing on the machine, which
 is designed for between 8 and 12 node networks,  comes in at around  the
 $31,000 mark, although an entry-level system costs $7,699.



 - New from Spring Comdex          CITIZEN INTROS SMALLEST LASER-QUALITY
   ----------------------          PRINTER FOR LAPTOPS

 Citizen  announced  its "world's smallest" laster printer aimed  at  the
 laptop computer market,  the PN48 Notebook Printer. The PN48 is 2" high,
 3-1/2" deep,  and 11-1/2" wide and fits neatly in a briefcase next to  a
 notebook computer". Citizen says "Now business travelers can have a com-
 plete portable office without compromise."

 Citizen claims a business letter can be produced in a little less than a
 minute,  and the printer handles all types of paper, including envelopes
 and overhead transparencies.  Citizen also claims it is fully compatible
 with virtually all software packages. The standard warranty is one year,
 parts  and labor.  The PN48 includes a lightweight (1/2  pound)  rechar-
 geable NiCAD battery pack and lists for $549.



 - New from Spring Comdex          WINDOW 3.0'S FIRST BIRTHDAY FEATURES
   ----------------------                  ROCK GROUP CHICAGO

 Bill Gates,  chairman of Microsoft, threw a bash for Windows 3.0's first
 birthday at the Omnidome in Atlanta. The party featured a concert by the
 rock group Chicago on the first stop of their summer tour. The party was
 by invitation only but crowds were estimated at between 5,000 - 6,000.



 - New from Spring Comdex                  LOTUS BUNDLES ATM
   ----------------------

 Lotus, with Adobe Systems, announced it will bundle Adobe Systems' Adobe
 Type Manager (ATM) and 13 typefaces from the Adobe Type Library with its
 Windows  3.0  version  of  Lotus 1-2-3.



 - New from Spring Comdex          CANON INTROS THREE HOME OFFICE PCS
   ----------------------

 Canon  has released three 20MHZ 80386SX-based PCs aimed at  the  booming
 home  office  marketplace.  The machines are bundled with  MS-DOS  4.01,
 Microsoft Works,  Windows and a starter kit for the Prodigy online  ser-
 vice.  Canon  is offering each of the three machines in four  configura-
 tions. Pricing ranges from $1,998 to $3,568.



 - New from Spring Comdex          VIRUS ATTACKS INCREASING, SAYS EXPERT
   ----------------------

 A  year  ago  less than 1% of computer users  had  experienced  a  virus
 attack. Today, 11% have and within a year nearly all will.  So says Dyan
 Dyer,  president  of Command Software  Systems.  Dyer's  products,  like
 Security Guard and LANGard,  all protect against attacks in a number  of
 ways.

 But  Dyer isn't just offering dire warnings.  Most problems you'll  find
 with  your computers are likely still caused by mistakes of  the  staff.
 "Viruses like to advertise themselves," Dyer said.  "If a PC breaks  and
 there's  no code bragging about it,  chances are you don't have a  virus
 problem."



 - New from Spring Comdex                      WINDOWS WORLD:
   ----------------------          BIG FIRMS SMOKE THE WINDOWS PEACE PIPE

 Windows  World  may be a surprisingly small part of this  year's  Spring
 Comdex show, but it will go down in history as an event for which all of
 the  software  industry's leaders officially got  behind  the  Microsoft
 operating environment and committed to it with real products.

 Representatives from both Borland and Lotus demonstrated their new soft-
 ware running under Microsoft Windows 3.0,  and committed to using it  in
 new releases.



 - New from Spring Comdex                   MICROSOFT RETURNS TO BASICS
   ----------------------

 Sixteen  years after doing the first microcomputer BASIC (for  the  MITS
 Altair),  Bill Gates has released Microsoft's Visual BASIC for  Windows.
 Visual  BASIC  allows access to dynamic exchange and dynamic  link  lib-
 raries.  The  software can create Windows executable files that  can  be
 copies  and  distributed with any run-time package  and  without  paying
 royalties  to Microsoft.  Performance was said to equal that of  Quick-
 BASIC with compiling speed of up to a million lines a minute for  simple
 jobs.  Priced at $199.



 - New from Spring Comdex          COMPETITION FOR MICROSOFT BASIC FOR
   ----------------------                      WINDOWS

 The aisle between the Microsoft booth and the Within Technologies  booth
 at the Atlanta Comdex turned into a no-man's-land when Within  announced
 a competitor to Microsoft's Visual Basic,  the $395 Realizer. "We have a
 higher level approach than Visual BASIC," explained Steve Cohn, director
 of systems development. "With Realizer, the programmer only has to worry
 about a button, instead of a button-up or a button-down system message."



 - New from Spring Comdex           FIRST MULTIMEDIA KEYNOTE FOR COMDEX
   ----------------------

 "Multimedia  is  so powerful that it will expand the  (computer)  market
 almost  beyond our imagination," said Michael Braun,  vice president  of
 IBM's Multimedia and Education Division.  But,  Braun added,  there  are
 conditions that must prevail in the market before the promise of  multi-
 media  technology  (sound  and full-motion video  on  computer  screens,
 usually  with the help of CD-ROMs) can  be  fulfilled.  Primarily,  "The
 creators  of multimedia applications must do well.  For that to  happen,
 the speed, cost and risk of doing multimedia applications must go down."



 - New from Spring Comdex             GEOWORKS UNVEILS EUROPEAN SHIP
   ----------------------                   PRICING PLANS

 Geoworks,  the Berkeley,  California-based software house has  announced
 version  1.2 of its Geoworks Ensemble graphical environment and  applic-
 ations  package.  The  new version of Ensemble builds  on  the  original
 version,  and includes a number of new features,  including support  for
 more than 300 printers and a 100,000 word spelling checker.  The package
 is scheduled to ship at the end of June. Registered users will be entit-
 led to upgrade free of charge. Pricing remains unchanged at $99-199.



 - New from Spring Comdex            HAYES CONFIRMS PLANS FOR LANSTEP
   ----------------------

 Hayes  has confirmed that its LANstep network operating system (NOS)  is
 now  shipping  to resellers in the U.S.  Hayes has gone  for  a  modular
 approach with LANstep.  The basic starter kit for up to five users costs
 $595.  A developer kit is available for the same price.  Upgrade  packs,
 which  add another five users to the network,  cost $395,  while a  mail
 gateway upgrade also costs $395.  LANstep is claimed to have a number of
 advantages  over  the competition.  These include full  NetBIOS  support
 along  with support for CD-ROM technology within DOS,  along  with  disk
 caching and fault tolerance.



 - New from Spring Comdex               ALTIMA UNVEILS 386SX NOTEBOOK
   ----------------------

 Altima Systems has announced a new notebook PC tipping the scales at 6.3
 pounds.  The machine, which retails for $2,999, will ship in the U.S. in
 June.  The basic configuration supplied for this price comes with 1MB of
 RAM,  expandable to 5MB internally,  along with a VGA display capable of
 resolving  32 shades of grey.  The display screen proper uses LCD  tech-
 nology married with cold cathode fluorescent technology (CCFT).



 - New from Spring Comdex                    DARIUS OPENS U.S. HQ
   ----------------------

 Darius Technology,  the Canadian PC manufacturer, has announced plans to
 open an office in the U.S. In parallel with the opening of the new sales
 and  distribution  office,  Darius is actively  recruiting  dealers  and
 resellers in the U.S.


 - New from Spring Comdex                       NEW "BAT" KEYBOARD
   ----------------------

 The  "BAT," an ergonomically designed keyboard from Infogrip looks  like
 two  mounds of molded plastic with seven buttons on each and the  design
 is  "chordic,"  meaning  the user types characters by  pressing  a  com-
 bination  of the seven keys without moving the hand,  much like  playing
 chords  on a piano.  The Bat has proven to be effective for  handicapped
 people as both hands are not needed to type. It is connected to the com-
 puter via the serial port,  but a regular keyboard connector is planned,
 the company said.

 The  design was developed after making a series of studies of the  human
 anatomy.  The fingers are aligned with the forearm,  and there's a  palm
 rest  for the hand to take the strain off the arm and shoulder  muscles.
 The  20%  angle of the keyboard hand rest prevents the twisting  of  the
 carpel tunnel bone that happens when the hand is held flat.  The design
 eliminates movement of the hand completely,  and anchors the fingers  to
 eliminate as much repetitive motion as possible.



 - New from Spring Comdex            RECORD TURNOUT FOR SPRING COMDEX
   ----------------------

 Spring Comdex saw a record attendance of 60,000,  with the aisles at the
 World Congress Center packed, and exhibitors all expressed pleasure with
 their quality and willingness to buy.  This was unexpected.  As recently
 as a few months ago there was speculation that Spring Comdex would  soon
 fade away.



      ______________________________________________________________






 > LEMONADE? STR Feature    ........."Was that Lemonade or Serenade?"
   =====================



                              MAKING LEMONADE
                              ===============

 by Tim Holt

 ACCEPT of El Paso

     Daddy was no fool.  He was always coming up with little sayings that I
 remember long  after they were told to me.  Your parents probably told you
 the exact same sayings.  Daddy may have not been a fool, but he wasn't too
 original.   You've heard  them: "Rolling stones gather no moss", "A stitch
 in time saves nine", etc.  One of the old sayings daddy  told me  once was
 "If life gives you lemons, just make lemonade."  Didn't make much sense to
 me then, especially since the lemonade we drank at our  house came  from a
 powder in  a can.   All  you had  to do was mix it with water, and you had
 lemonade.  But, as the years dragged on, and water flowed under my bridge,
 I had  begun to  see the wisdom in daddy's statement.  Then I bought an A-
 tari computer, and it all became pretty clear to me.   I  bought the comp-
 uter industry's "lemon", and by God, I learned to make lemonade.  Lot's of
 lemonade.

     A few weeks back, Byte Magazine, a very pro-MS-Dos, very pro Macintosh
 computer magazine,  ran an  article by world famous science fiction author
 Jerry Pournelle.  Most of the article was a hardware review of  the new A-
 tari TT.  Well, I didn't even know Jerry Pournelle wrote a column in BYTE.
 I just thought that he made lots of money writing books with  Larry Niven.
  (By the way, if you have never read "The Mote in God's Eye", you have not
 read good sci-fi.) Anyway, I guess he is a computer expert because  he has
 a column  in Byte, and he has an area on Genie.  Well,the article was cur-
 sory at best, as Jerry apparently had little  time to  do a  real hardware
 review.   He got some digs in at Atari, calling the company "Chaos Manor",
 and making fun of the time it takes for the system to cold boot.(Apparent-
 ly, if the screen is blank while the system is booting, this is bad: Atari
 TT.  If it pops up with the same information  everytime you  boot up, tel-
 ling you lots of important information like how much RAM you have, this is
 good:MS DOS.  Again, I didn't know this, but I  am not  a computer expert,
 and I don't have a column in BYTE magazine.)

     After reading this Hugo award winning offering,in which he NEVER real-
 ly said anything bad about the TT, I was left  with a  funny feeling: This
 article was  about as ambiguous as a hardware review could be.  Not great,
 not bad, just somewhere  in between.   So,  big deal,  I thought,it's more
 coverage than we Atarians have had in a long time.  Let's see, three pages
 of Atari  coverage in  a magazine  that has  some real circulation...hmmm,
 must be  worth some  big bucks.  Daddy also told me that "there is no such
 thing as BAD publicity." Madonna can verify this last claim by my Daddy.

     Some Atari users, on the other hand, got  their panties  all tied into
 knots because  Pournelle didn't tell his readers to sell their systems and
 run out to buy an Atari.  They  started crying  on the  services about how
 unfair life  is, how the world hates Atari, and how Jerry Pournelle should
 be strung up on the nearest oak and hung out to dry.Like  these folks have
 NEVER had  to face  these facts  before.  That's when I remembered Daddy's
 saying: "When life gives you lemons...

 Let's look at Pournelle's column, and I will show you how to  convert this
 "lemon" into lemonade:

 (By the  way, the  folks that make the ads for movies have been doing this
 for years! All it takes is a little creative sentence restructuring..)

 Pournelle:"The TT is what the Mega 4 should have been..."
 Now, here is what YOU can do with that statement:
     "The TT is what OTHER COMPUTERS[sic] should have been..."
                                  - Jerry Pournelle
                                    Byte Magazine

 Get the idea? Well, let's try another one:

 Pournelle:  "Like all Atari machines, it has about a zillion ports..."

 You can turn that into:

 "Has a ZILLION ports!" Now, no need to upgrade, it's already there!
                                                       -Byte Magazine

 Pournelle:"...plug in your Spectre GCR and have the  equivalent of  a fast
 Mac..."

 Becomes:"Zillions of ports"...making it better than [sic] "a fast Mac"!

 Pournelle: "...is sort of a super Atari ST."
                    Looks like "...a super" computer...

                     Jerry Pournelle
                     Award winning author

 Are you  getting the  hang of it? Do you see where something that may look
 bad really can be made to look good?

 Pournelle: "It's close to state of the art for music support."
 You, or your ad department can make that:
              "...state of the art for music support."

 Pournelle: "You can generally use it to get the job done."
 I can see this becoming:
               "...use [the TT] to get the job done."
                           Byte Magazine

     So you see, Mr.  Pournelle hasn't done a disservice to the  Atari com-
 munity.   He just  took what was given to him, and did what he was told to
 do.  No reason to be mad.   No reason  to curse.   If  Pournelle gives you
 lemons, just  make lemonade.  Hey dad, pour me another glass...




        ___________________________________________________________





 > WORD PERFECT STR Spotlight    "...has dropped further development.."
   ==========================




                        THE LOSS OF A GOOD FRIEND!
                        ==========================


 by Dan Stidham


     It has recently been reported and confirmed that  the WordPerfect Cor-
 poration has  dropped further development of its WP ST version.  Thats too
 bad; almost...well...sad.  Bear with me a bit.  Having Wordperfect  in the
 circle of  ST developers  was almost  like having Frank Sinatra perform at
 your next party or Willam Buckley  Jr. speaking  at your  next Rotary Club
 meeting--kinda classes  up the joint.  You think I've overstated the case?
 Think I'm having jilted lover blues?  Read on.

     The level of support you receive as a  WP customer  is precedent sett-
 ing, not only for the software industry, but all industries--bar none.  WP
 supports a user base exceeding 7  million registered  users with  over 750
 thoroughly trained  operators standing by at toll-free numbers.  WP states
 in their latest newsletter  that its  product support  team, the operators
 alone, make up one-third of their total number of employees.  These opera-
 tors deal with over 16,000 phone calls a  day with  WP committing  over $2
 million dollars  monthly to  cover the  salary and  long distance expense!
 MONTHLY!

     There are 22 different support teams depending on platform and applic-
 ation and  it is  the goal  of each  support team leader to route incoming
 calls to a live operator within 60 seconds of the call going  on hold (ac-
 cording to the newsletter the average wait time is 41 seconds).  WP dedic-
 ates four special operators, dubbed 'hold jockeys', to the task of monito-
 ring callers  on hold and informing them how much longer they will need to
 wait before the next operator is available.  These guys even cue  up music
 for the captive audience to listen to while on hold.

     WP operators are placed in a controlled and specially designed enviro-
 nment to ensure distraction  free assistance  utilizing more  than 30 cus-
 tomer support databases.  These databases, if printed out, would fill more
 than half-a-million pages and are managed using keyword access.  The oper-
 ator has  access not  only to  stock WP written material but the solutions
 provided by other operators to clients with similar problems.

     And the WP customer was in some great company. Talk  about classing up
 the joint.  WP operators  have fielded  calls from  the White House asking
 assistance on their Russian language module in preparation for an upcoming
 summit meeting  with the  Mick (Gorby).  Other callers have included world
 renowned authors  like  Stephen  King,  James  Michener  and actor-writers
 Steve Martin,  Michael Keaton  and Rich Little.  Recently WP was placed on
 the Defense Priority System  during the  Desert Storm  campaign, to ensure
 that all military orders received 24 hour service.

                           Aaaah. 'Tis too bad.

     Nevertheless, this  incredible customer  service is still available to
 users of the ST version of WordPerfect and all future buyers of  the final
 version that  was released  April 18, 1991.  Ironically, when I called WP-
 Corp to confirm some of the facts presented in this article, I  found that
 the general  operator was  quite sympathetic  with our plight.  Why?  Well
 the lady has an ST at home! She loves it by the  way.   She also confirmed
 that WP version 5.0 was indeed under development.

                         Sighing off....er...I mean signing off...

                              (sniff... sigh)


       ____________________________________________________________





 > ATW & Inmos STR FOCUS    A Comprehensive look at the ATW's future
   =====================




           H1 INMOS TRANSPUTER CHIP AND THE RACE FOR TERA FLOPS
           ====================================================


 by Mike Stepansky


      Has the Atari Transputer Workstation (ATW) been  discontinued
 by the Atari U.K. officials?  I think this rumor is somewhat over-
 exaggerated,  but I do know that transputer technology is NOT dead
 in the private sectors and in certain universities.   Also,  I was
 not surprised to learn that most transputer scientists argue  that
 parallel-processing  computer will be and should be the next  wave
 of  computer  technology  after  the  today's  limited  processors
 architecture,   like  those  current  RISC  or  CISC  architecture
 implementations.

      Anyway,  I  have been told that this fall will mark  the  4th
 anniversary  of  the introduction of the  INMOS  T-800  Transputer
 microprocessor.   In  the first few years the T800 had by far  out
 performed  its  competition such as Intels' 80386  and  Motorola's
 68020.   Even  in  conjunction with their  corresponding  floating
 point  coprocessors such as the 80387 or  68881,  the  competition
 could  not  surpass the performance of the T800 with  its  on-chip
 floating  point unit.   In the meantime,  the competition has  not
 slept.  More and more powerful devices have been introduced to the
 market.   At times, it appears that the microprocessor development
 groups are coming out with new products even faster than Detroit's
 three giants issue their new car models.

      In  traditional  computer  technologies,   as  we  all  know,
 performance increases are gained by faster and faster CPU's.  This
 puts  microprocessor vendors under pressure to provide the  market
 in very short development cycles with new and faster devices which
 quite  often  are  not  completely designed  or  show  only  minor
 improvements (a gain in performance by a factor 2).   On the other
 hand, Transputer based parallel processor technology is inherently
 scalable   so  that  additional  performance  can  be  gained   by
 increasing  the  number of processors and not by waiting  for  the
 next  generation.   Although the T800 has been in  production  for
 almost  4  years,  T800  systems  have  been  able  to  grow  with
 performance  requirements up to the present and most likely  could
 continue do so.

      If  the  competition  does  not  sleep  neither  does  Inmos.
 Without the pressure of issuing a minor enhancement each year, the
 Transputer  developers  at Inmos have used the time to  make  real
 improvements.  Basically, 2 major advantages are realized with the
 H1 (codename for the latest Inmos Transputer chip):

      1)  A 10 fold increase of processor and  communication  links
 performance.   This  results  in a 20 MFLOPS and  150  MIPS,  thus
 giving  you  a total data throughput of 80 megabytes  per  second.
 Think  about it!   This is now available on a SINGLE  chip!   This
 puts  an  end  to  those worrisomes when  you  need  higher  clock
 frequency  in today's serial processors (Intel or  Motorola),  yet
 where the law of quantum physics intervene.

      2) Also,  there is a modified channel communication  protocol
 in conjunction with an on-chip Virtual Channel Processor (VCP) and
 a new switching chip (called C104) allowing each processor to send
 messages  directly to any other processor.   This is done  without
 requiring any intermediary processors between sender and  reciever
 (wormhole routing).  Every processor can be every other processors
 direct neighbor.  Hypercube fashion is no problem at all!

      In addition to these improvements, the H1 will be binary code
 compatible  with the T800 so that software developed on  the  Txxx
 series can be directly transferred to an H1 system.  The result of
 this will be that H1 systems will have far better software support
 with  development environments and application software  than  any
 other  device  of  its performance class which  is  used  in  MIMD
 machines.    Also,  there  will  be  special  hardware  components
 available  which can interface between the Transputer  links  from
 the Txxx seres and an H1 link.   Specifically these features allow
 the  integration  of  the  performance  enhancements  of  the   H1
 transputer  directly  in existing  Transputer  environments.   All
 previously   developed  (or  purchased)  Transputer  host   system
 interfaces  or Transputer I/O modules can be used  in  conjunction
 with H1 components.

      "So...What is the name of the company that sells and develops
 the state-of-the-art transputer?" you might  ask.   Unfortunately,
 not  just Atari U.K.,  but Parsytec,  as I have been told,  is  an
 independent system manufacturer located in West Chicago, Illinois.
 Parsytec  has  chosen  the microprocessor it will  use  for  their
 future systems very carefully.  Parsytec has decided to stay  with
 Inmos  in  developing the next generation  of  distributed  memory
 processing systems.   The European Economic Community has  awarded
 Parsytec,  together with 4 other partners,  a contract to design a
 General  Purpose  MIMD  Computer based on  the  H1  microprocessor
 device.   It is interesting to note that Parsytec informed me that
 their partner in U.K.  already bought one or two ATW's and planned
 on improving it to H1 transputer chip in Europe!

      Their  goal  is  "to develop an  effective  architecture  for
 general  purpose parallel  computers."   Additionally,  Parsytec's
 trust  in the new H1 is so strong that they have decided  to  lead
 the European Teraflop Initiative (ETI) with a proposal for a  2^16
 (65,536)  H1 system with a scheduled delivery date late  in  1993.
 Let's hope if they win the 1.6 TERAFLOPS race in their H1 system!

      Well,  to close this statement, I am still looking forward to
 Atari  U.S.  to  integrate this H1 Inmos system  in  their  future
 system,  if  possible  and by all means necessary  to  save  Atari
 position financially in the 1990s.   By the way, news just in from
 Inmos:   H1 has just been named "T9000"!   Welcome to the true 32-
 bit  parallel computer world!   Is ATW dead?   I doubt it and  the
 price  tag continues to drop,  thus making today's RISC  and  CISC
 chip look outdated, depending on applications.



         _________________________________________________________




 > MAC REPORT
   ==========

   Issue #010
   ----------



 by Robert Allbritton


 MacReport

 ***     The Court Battle Continues...
     June 14  is the  next day  that Apple  & Microsoft  have been given to
 pound each other into the legal ground.   Subjects to  be covered  at this
 hearing include  if Apple  will be  allowed to  include Windows 3.0 in its
 lawsuit against Microsoft. In related combat,  Judge Walker  said that the
 counterclaims made  by HP "are not serious."  Looks like Apple will file a
 motion to get the counterclaims dropped.   I  am beginning  to think Judge
 Walker owns a top of the line Mac IIfx...

 ***     SuperStore Macs?!?!?
     Well the  traditional Mac dealers are not happy about it, but it looks
 like Apple will begin selling the bottom of the line  Macintosh Classic in
 PC "superstores."   While  no contracts  have been  signed, the first mass
 merchandiser to carry the Classic will probably be CompUSA, based  in Dal-
 las.   Now only  Compaq remains as a major manufacture to not sell via vo-
 lume retailer as IBM has been selling the PS/1 in  Sears stores  for quite
 some time  now (along  with the Prodigy service, which in this humble edi-
 tors opinion finds more value as  a paper  weight...groceries by computer?
 I don't think so!)

 ***     RasterOps buys Truevision
     With the  addition of  the Truevision product line, RasterOps has con-
 siderably expanded and diversified its product  line.   Previous RasterOps
 display cards  and monitors  had focused on desktop publishing and design,
 but Truevision's strength is in desktop video.   Looks like  a killer com-
 bination.

 ***     Buy MacWrite, get Correct Grammar 2.0 Free!
     Claris Corp, Apple's software division, announced that they will begin
 bundling Correct Grammar 2.0 with MacWrite  II.   The $99  grammar checker
 has been  a hot  item on its own for the past few months.  This may be the
 beginning of a move by Claris to retake some of  the Macintosh application
 market that is ever more increasingly dominated by arch rival Microsoft C-
 orp.

 ***     What do IBM and Apple Have in Common?      - Real Estate.
     Seems that when Apple's add agency BBDO of L.A. wanted to show  a pic-
 ture of  a Macintosh  hooked up  to a office building for a splashy run in
 USA Today they got what they thought was a common photograph from a studio
 specializing in  generic scenes.   What they did not know is that it happ-
 ened to be a picture of the IBM tower in  Atlanta.   Apple officials claim
 it was  all in  innocence, and said it was not significant enough to re-do
 the adds.  IBM declined to comment, but an IBM  Vice President  was overh-
 eard calling  the corporate  law firm  of Katchum & Killum. (Just Kidding!
 but the ads are real!)

 ***     Consumers like their Apples!
     J.D. Power & Associates, better know  for rating  automobile satisfac-
 tion, just  released their first survey of consumer satisfaction with com-
 puter companies.  The survey measured  users  in  small  and  medium sized
 businesses and first prize went to Dell Computer, maker of IBM clones.  In
 a close second, however, was Apple, followed by AST.   IBM was  not in the
 top  10.  2,253  users  were  surveyed.   In printers, HP was first and in
 software Borland won.

 ***     A Week With System 7.0
     I am still hesitant to write a full article on  System 7,  mainly bec-
 ause I  have not had time to let it fully sink in, but for now let me make
 a few observations.

     System 7 is for power users.  It really shines on a Mac II  class com-
 puter that is networked.  This is NOT for Mac Plus owners.

     It does  not work  with Spectre.  I tried every combination.  No luck.
 However, I think Mr. Small is going to start work on it soon (can  you say
 "red flag  in front  of a bull?  I thought you could!")  But the good news
 is the TrueType INIT and fonts  released for  the StyleWriter  printer for
 System 6.0.5 and above works well under Spectre and is a good "free" repl-
 acement for Adobe Type Manager.

     The real power of System 7 will not be seen  until new  software pack-
 ages are  upgraded to  exploit its  functions.   While it is true that the
 LATEST release of most packages work under System  7, most  older releases
 DONT. PageMaker  3.0 dies. Freehand 2.0 dies.  Adobe Illustrator 1.9 dies.
 While there are more recent versions out, they are fairly new.   I thought
 I was going to be buying a new big-screen monitor this summer.  Looks like
 all my $$$ will be going to software upgrades now.

     System 7 is a DREAM to use, much nicer than the old finder.  The built
 in file  sharing networking is QUICK. Much better than TOPS.  And speaking
 of TOPS, they just announced version 3.1 because 3.0 dies  under System 7.
 Why bother?  The file  sharing built  into System  7 is faster and in some
 ways better than TOPS, and its  free.   I think  TOPS better  do something
 quick, or  they may  lose quite  a few customers. Including myself.  Well,
 that's all for this week.  Next week I will be in Japan, so if the news is
 a little "stale" understand that I wrote it on Sunday night!


       _____________________________________________________________





 > GFA DISCOUNT OFFER! STR InfoFile     GFA USA offers SUPER Discount.....
   ================================




              GFA SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. - NEWS RELEASE

                                 CONTACT:
                              Maurice Giguere
                               508-744-0201

 GFA ANNOUNCES A 50% DISCOUNT ON GFA-BASIC FOR MS-DOS FOR ALL ST USERS!!
 --- --------- - --- -------- -- --------- --- ------ --- --- -- -------

     Salem, Ma.  April 18,  1991.  GFA Software Technologies, Inc today an-
 nounced  the  availability  of  GFA-BASIC  for  MS-DOS  to  all registered
 GFA-BASIC Atari  users for a 50% discount from the List Price.  In effect,
 GFA is treating GFA-BASIC for MS-DOS as an upgrade to  all Atari  GFA cus-
 tomers.

     The new  version of GFA-BASIC for MS-DOS means you can apply the prog-
 ramming know how you already have on your ST to the PC.  That's right, the
 GFA-BASIC programs  you have  designed for  your Atari will now work on an
 IBM computer.  With  this new  GFA-BASIC, you  get the  familiar intuitive
 syntax you know and the very best BASIC you can buy for DOS.

     GFA-BASIC for  MS-DOS gives  you over  70 commands that that were bro-
 ught over from GEM on the Atari like  menu-bars, windows,  pop-ups, dialog
 boxes, and  alert boxes.   Graphical  operations that  would take pages of
 ordinary BASIC or "C" code take only a single line in GFA-BASIC.

     The regular list price for the 8086/88/286 version  is $249;  $295 for
 the 386  version.   For a limited time, GFA will allow ST users to upgrade
 to the IBM version for a 50% Discount from these prices!

     This special offer is only available directly by phone or Fax.

 For more information contact:

                      GFA Software Technologies, Inc.
                            27 Congress Street
                              Salem, MA 01970
                                             Tel:  508-744-0201
            VISA/MasterCard accepted         Fax:  508-744-8041


     _________________________________________________________________




 > STR Portfolio News & Information           Keeping up to date...
   ================================



                         THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
                         =========================

 On CompuServe


 by Judith Hamner  72257,271

     This week brought a few changes to the forum.   I will  be taking over
 as forum  reporter. Walter  Daniel had  to step down due to the demands of
 graduate school.  Good luck Walter.

     The forum also has a new  Sysop this  week.   Marty Mankins 73217,3305
 has now donned a sysop hat. Welcome Marty.

     It was announced that Hyperlist is now in the late stages of beta tes-
 ting. The new software is eagerly awaited by some forum members.

     Discussion on the use of the  PDD2 with  the Portfolio  continued this
 week. We also had reports on the use of WP Executive on the Portfolio.

     The big  news in  the library  section is the release of PBASIC 4.5 by
 B.J. Gleason.   New  features include:  Serial port  support, user defined
 functions, source code encryption, faster .PGC graphics, and Goto/Gosub X.
 The file name  for  the  new  release  is  PBAS45.ZIP.  A  manual  is also
 available. Ordering information is in file MANUAL.INF.

     B.J. had a busy week programming.  Some of his other uploads
 include:

      ADDRES.EXE     a PC viewer for .ADR files
      BATTST.ZIP     a battery tester
      BM2.ZIP        a new, smaller version of his battery monitor
      CLOCK.EXE      turns the PORT into a digital clock
      STOPW.ZIP      Ten stopwatches or event timers!


        __________________________________________________________





 > USERGROUPS STR FOCUS                         Starting a Usergroup
   ====================




                    SO YOU WANT TO START A USER GROUP?
                    ==================================



  A primer for starting
  your own user group

                                  PART II
 by Tim Holt

 ACCEPT of El Paso


     Last time,  we discussed  how to  go about  seeing if  you need a user
 group in your area.  Hopefully, you decided to take the big plunge.    You
 checked the BBS's, you asked your friends, you asked at the local computer
 dealer, and decided that a group is just what you need.  Now we  will look
 at how to obtain the most important thing any user group needs: MEMBERS.

     As soon  as you  decide to  start a user group, there is something you
 must be warned of: You are going to have to dump some  of your  own money.
 How much  you spend is up to you, but expect to spend at least $25 to "get
 the word out".  However, in terms of getting the group off  the ground, it
 is truly  money well  spent.   Run off a few flyers with information about
 your group.  This is very easy with any DTP program.   It doesn't  have to
 be great,  just informative.   (just  a note: If you are starting an ATARI
 group, make sure the ATARI logo is displayed very prominently in your fly-
 er..   Same goes for ANY type of logo that is associated with your type of
 computer.)  Your flyer should include AT LEAST the following information:

 a) MEETING TIME- When are your meeting
 b) MEETING PLACE- Where are you meeting
 c) CONTACT PERSON- Who can folks call for more information

 It doesn't have to be a work of art, but it should catch the eye of anyone
 passing by...

 First off,  you will  have to  let the world know that there is a new user
 group out there.  How do you do this? Go to where the computer users are:

     1.   Post the meeting times and information about your group  on every
          local BBS.   It  doesn't matter if the BBS supports your computer
          or not.  Chances are someone on that BBS knows  someone with your
          computer that  doesn't have  a modem,  and will pass the word on.
          He or she will in turn pass it on and so on.

     2.   Ask  permission to  post a  flyer in  all local  computer stores.
          Everyone hates to ask strangers to do something, but I have found
          most store owners are  willing to  let you  post info  if you ask
          politely.  Expect some anti ATARI sneers; it's part of the game.

          Some might  even let  you put up a little bulletin board in a co-
          rner somewhere in the store, where club info can be posted.  If a
          store owner  does NOT let you place club info in his store, don't
          be offended.(Just remember him when  the  club  really  gets some
          membership going...he he he...)

          Atari  specific  or  authorized  stores should even let you place
          some flyers on a counter or in a bookshelf somewhere, where pros-
          pective members  can pick on up and take it home.  Explain to the
          owner that your club can help  him as  much as  he can  help you.
          Chances are, you are already friends with the dealer.

     3.    Look  for unusual places to post information.  Are there bookst-
          ores that sell Atari Explorer or Current Notes, or AIM?   Ask the
          manager if  you can  place a flyer by the magazine rack.  Want to
          be real bold? Ask  the manager  if you  can place  flyers IN each
          magazine! This  is a  great way to grab someone's attention.  And
          do not limit it to Atari specific publications!  Many Atari users
          pass up  the Atari  mags and head right for the Computer Shoppers
          etc.

          Place a flyer in the local libraries.  Most libraries have a "Co-
          mmunity Calendar" type board.

          Place a  flyer at  the site where you are going to meet.  Place a
          small classified ad in the Computer area of the classified ads in
          your local paper.

          Place a  ad in  the local  community college or university paper.
          (This usually is very inexpensive advertising: 10 cents a word!)

          Post a flyer in the computer science or  math department  of your
          local college.

 Let the  newspaper know  about your  group.   Let the local radio stations
 know.  They usually have a community listing of groups.   The  radio stat-
 ions HAVE  to list  the groups  as part of their FCC licencing agreements.
 Its called "Community service".  Local TV stations often broadcast commun-
 ity meetings  as well.  The point is, no one will post your information if
 they don't know you exist.Let everyone know.  Some will  help, some won't.
 I am  sure that you can think of many more places to let the word be known
 about your club.

 Okay, the big day arrives! Prospective members come  to the  meeting.  NOW
 WHAT?? Well,  the easy  part is getting the members, the hard part is kee-
 ping the members.  You and your officers  must decide  on what  things you
 will GIVE  members.   That's right: GIVE the members.  From my experience,
 after the folks plop  down the  membership they  expect a  song and dance,
 with a  little magic  thrown in for good measure.  A small percentage will
 help you out (take  good  care  of  those  folks,  they  are  few  and far
 between), the  rest want  entertainment.   It's up to you to do that.  So,
 here is a little list of items that are designed to keep  the natives hap-
 py.  After all,you have their money, what are you going to do with it?

 1.  A Club Library:
 How much  pd stuff  do you have? Good, it now belongs to the club.  Gather
 as much as you can, copy it onto  disks, keep  a list  of what  is on each
 disk.   (The local  dealer should have a nice selection.   GRAB IT! Nicely
 of course..  This is one of the most important parts of the club.   People
 have come to EXPECT a club library.  There is a major need for a club lib-
 rarian here.  Remember, as leader, you need to spread  the roles  around.
 Let me digress for a moment with a word of warning: PLEASE do not let your
 librarian make the club library his own private  collection.   The library
 belongs to  the CLUB.   Buy the disks to copy, the labels, etc.   Our club
 made the mistake of accepting the offer of someone to  let his  private PD
 collection be  the club's library.  When he got mad at someone else in the
 club, he decided to regress into childhood, took  the ENTIRE  library with
 him, and  we haven't  seen hide nor hair for about 15 months.  Needless to
 say, we had to rebuild the library from scratch.  Lot's of  hurt feelings,
 lot's of  bitterness because  we let  a private collection be the library.
 Be sure that you always distinguish what is  the club's  and what  is not.
 The library can contain any public domain program, shareware, freeware, or
 demo that is produced by a company.  The library  CANNOT contain  ANY com-
 mercial programs, EVEN if the company no longer supports your computer.

 2.  Discounts:
 Local computer  stores usually will offer user group discounts of anywhere
 from 10 to 25%.  Don't press the issue if you don't get the  discounts you
 want.   Remember, dealers have a greater profit margin on software than on
 hardware, so you may not even get a hardware discount.  However, if a mem-
 ber spends $20 on membership, and gets a 10% on software at Bob's Computer
 Stand, and if the member plans to spend more than $200 on  software in the
 time his  membership, he  will recoup  any money  spent on the membership.
 Essentially, he gets his membership for free!   This is  an excellent sel-
 ling point!   Discounts  on local  products: If  there is a member of your
 club that owns a business, ask them if  you can  offer the  club members a
 discount on  his services.   In  the past,  our club has offered discounts
 from plants to car tune-ups from various members in our club.    Discounts
 on Atari  Publications: Current  Notes, and ST Informer offer discounts to
 members of official Atari user group that are registered with them.

 3.  Giveaways:
 Door prizes are a great way of getting folks to show up.     The prize can
 be ANYTHING,  but traditionally,  software is a good way to go.   Ask your
 local dealer if you can get a program AT his cost.   Then  you don't spend
 so much  on door prizes.  Members may even offer old programs that they no
 longer use, and are just collecting dust.   The giveaways don't  even have
 to appear  to be Atari related.   In the past, we have given away books on
 midi, and recordings by groups that use the Atari to compose on, like Tan-
 gerine Dream,  or Fleetwood  Mac.   You might make the giveaways even more
 spectacular at the holiday time.  Of course, the type of giveaway is dire-
 ctly related  to the  financial situation of the club.(I told you that you
 might have to dump some money early..)

 4.  Auctions:
 Every six months or so, have a club auction, and let members  sell the old
 unused items  that are  just collecting dust.   Our local dealer, Jenkins'
 Computers, loves the idea.   As  soon as  the auctions  are over, everyone
 tramps over  and buys  things from  them.    Here is how we do an auction:
 Members must bring original  Atari related  products, and  then we auction
 them off.(We  have had  some humdingers of bargains too: Timeworks DTP for
 $15!!) Then, the seller must pay the club 10% of the final  selling price.
  So the  seller gets  90% profit,  the club gets 10%, and the buyer gets a
 new toy.  We have been very successful  with these,  and you  should too.
 However, you had better advertise these as you did the original club meet-
 ing! Let everyone know you are having an auction about 1 month in advance.

 5.  A club newsletter:
 Decide who is going to do this! IT  requires a  lot of  time and patience,
 plus someone  who is  good at  desktop publishing.   Most members will NOT
 write for the newsletter, so many times it becomes a  one man  show.  (On-
 line magazines like ST Report are great sources of information for newsle-
 tters when the membership  has word  processor fright.)   This  becomes as
 much a time sucker as being the librarian.   The newsletter should be mai-
 led out at regular intervals, once a month, every 3 months, whatever.  Who
 will pay for making copies?  How big will it be? (Hint: One stamp pays for
 a nice 18 page newsletter: 9 pages front and back.) Who will  make copies?
 What if  you have  100 members and an 18 page newsletter?  That's a lot of
 copier time, plus a lot of money! A  nice alternative  to making  your own
 newsletter is  letting someone  else do it for you.  Atari Interface Maga-
 zine has made a nice reputation for doing exactly that,  and after  two y-
 ears of getting suntans from Xerox machines, they are a nice relief.  They
 are currently charging 50 cents a copy to user groups,  which was actually
 CHEAPER for  our group  than copying  and mailing  our monthly newsletter.
 Contact them at:

                        Unicorn Publication
                        3487 Braeburn Circle
                        Ann Arbor, Mi  48108

     (A word of warning however: AIM  is a  excellent publication,  but the
 publication is notorious for erratic delivery dates.  Do not expect to get
 the publication on the same day every month.They deliver the  product, but
 sometimes it  is up to three weeks past the publication date.)  Newsletter
 are great for letting members that missed the meetings know  what is going
 on, advertising  upcoming events like auctions, and getting info about new
 products out.  Members really like  to get  newsletters, even  if they are
 not professional looking.  I looked at the first ACCEPT newsletter: 2 pag-
 es, and half of one was a clip art.  The rest was a message from our pres-
 ident who flipped out.(See previous column.)

 6.  Reminder phone calls:
 Have one  member be  responsible for calling the members to remind them a-
 bout the upcoming meeting.    This should  be done  the week  prior to the
 meeting, so those that forgot about the meeting can adjust their schedule.
 This let's members also know that you are remembering them.  A nice touch,
 no matter how large your group becomes.

 7.  Get togethers:
 You do not always have to have a computer in front of you in order to meet
 with your  group.   Have semi-annual  get togethers  at local restaurants,
 have picnics  during the summer,and do other NON computer activities.  Who
 knows, you may actually make a friend for life! I have!

 Today, we looked at things to "keep the  customer satisfied".   Next time,
 we will look at what should actually happen at the meetings!



          ______________________________________________________



 > Hard Disks STR InfoFile       ***** ABCO PRICE CHANGES! *****
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          CPU ACCELERATOR & MEMORY UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED

        >> ABCO is now taking orders for 1040 & MEGA STe Computers! <<
                Call for VERY special Introductory prices!


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

       * SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *

          - SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE         - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A
          - ICD Utility Software        - 3' DMA Cable
          - Fan & Clock                 - Multi-Unit Power Supply
                          (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.
                --->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 645.00__ <<---

                   WE PAY SHIPPING!!!  >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
                  COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
                    Cart and Utility Software Included!

                        EXTRA CARTS:      $  74.50
                        DRIVE MECH ONLY:  $ 349.95

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

   * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
                       SPECIALLY PRICED ** $1019.00 **
                         Includes TWO cartridges!

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

             50mb SQG51   $ 819.00     85mb SQG96    $ 1019.00

                 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
                      CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE

                   WE PAY SHIPPING!!!  >BLUE LABEL UPS!<

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

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

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

       - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets -

            * SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 *
                       * Toner Starter Kits $49.95 *
                       * Replacement Drums $183.95 *

               >> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED <<
                      ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED

                       -* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
                         (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)

                   WE PAY SHIPPING!!!  >BLUE LABEL UPS!<
                 QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!
                 _________________________________________

                     DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
                         please, call for details

                 Personal and Company Checks are accepted.

                        ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY!

           CALL: 1-800-562-4037   -=**=-    CALL: 1-904-783-3319
           Customer Orders ONLY               Customer Service
                                9am - 8pm EDT
                                Tues thru Sat

                ABCO is EXPANDING!!  CALL FOR INFORMATION!




       ____________________________________________________________




 > A "Quotable Quotable"
   ====================




                      "......A KINDER, GENTLER ATARI"

                                                    ...Sam Tramiel



 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                  STReport International Online Magazine
     Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
 STReport            "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE"            May 24, 1991
 16/32bit Magazine        copyright = 1987-91                     No.7.21
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
 the editors, staff, STReport  CPU/MAC/STR  or  ST Report .   Permission to
 reprint articles  is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted.  Each reprint
 must include the name of the publication, date, issue #  and  the author's
 name.  The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in
 any way without prior  written permission.   The  entire contents,  at the
 time of publication, are believed to be reasonably accurate.  The editors,
 contributors and/or staff are not responsible for either the use/misuse of
 information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


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