Atari Explorer Online: 16-Jan-93 #0202
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 01/18/93-12:08:17 AM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: Atari Explorer Online: 16-Jan-93 #0202
Date: Mon Jan 18 00:08:17 1993
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:: Volume 2 - Issue 2 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 16 January 1993 ::
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:: ::
:: ATARI .............. News, reviews, & solutions ............ ATARI ::
:: EXPLORER ............ for the online Atari .......... EXPLORER ::
:: ONLINE ................. Community .............. ONLINE ::
:: ::
:: Published and Copyright = 1993 by Atari Corporation ::
:: """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: Editor ....................................... Travis Guy ::
:: Assistant Editor ....................... Ron Robinson ::
:: Assistant Editor .................. Albert Dayes ::
:: Assistant Editor ........... Andreas Barbiero ::
:: News Editor ........................ Lyre ::
:: Software Editor ....... Doyle C. Helms ::
:: Editor-at-Large ........ Ed Krimen ::
:: ::
:: Contributors ::
:: """""""""""" ::
:: John J. Lehett Timothy Wilson ::
:: ::
:: ::
:: Editorial Advisory Board ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: President, Atari Corporation........................Sam Tramiel ::
:: Director of Application Software...................Bill Rehbock ::
:: Director, Computer Marketing ........................Don Thomas ::
:: Director of Communications...........................Bob Brodie ::
:: Corporate Director, International Music Markets....James Grunke ::
:: Atari Explorer Magazine............................Mike Lindsay ::
:: ::
:: Telecommunicated to you via: ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: GEnie: AEO.MAG ::
:: CompuServe: 70007,3615 ::
:: Delphi: ABARBIERO ::
:: Fnet: AEO Conference, Node 706 ::
:: AtariNet: AEO Conference, Node 51:1/10 ::
:: ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Table of Contents
* From the Editors ..................................... Meet the Editors.
* Dateline: Atari RTC .......... Bob Brodie on Atari Falcon030 ship dates,
MultiTOS, Atari Works, SpeedoGDOS and
more. Atari news galore. A must read!
* Atari Users Online: GEnie .......... GEnie chat from the past two weeks.
* Lynx Special ......... Last Call! Treat yourself or a friend to the best
deal ever on the best handheld video game ever!
* Andreas' Den ..................... A nice place - done in a manly decor.
* GEnie News ........................... New files & happenings on Atari's
Official Online Resource.
* Atari Users Online: The Internet ........... It's not just college kids.
* An Introduction to UNIX and the Internet ........... Part 1 of a series.
* GEnie's IAAD RTC .............. Take a healthy dose of Atari developers,
mix in some interesting questions, and
you've got a jam-packed two hour
online session.
* Developing News ...................... DynaCADD OutBurST Straight FAX!
Teradesk Seurat G_MAN D_Graph
Calligrapher3 Cyberdrome.
* Shutdown ...................................... What we're fighting for.
--==--==--==--==--
||| From the Editors ....... Atari Explorer Online: The Next Generation
||| Travis Guy
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.MAG
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to Atari Explorer Online! There's been lots of news the past week
or so, concerning The World Atari and the approaching release of an
avalanche of new products. Rather that trying to interpret the news for
you, ("Well, so-and-so said... but what they _really_ meant was....") AEO
will take the C-SPAN approach and let you see what was said, and let you
make up your own mind. Check out the Bob Brodie and the IAAD RTCs (both
of which took place on GEnie).
We don't think you're a group of children who need to be told what to
think.
We also have some interesting items from (and about) the Internet to show
you. THe Internet isn't a BBS. Nor is it an online "service" like GEnie,
Delphi or CompuServe. It's a mix of the two - and a bit of a mystery to
the average telecommuter. We hope to enlighten some of you to its ways.
As always, there are messages from GEnie and news from developers.
What there isn't is the preview of SAM - Atari's System Audio Manager.
It's underwent two changes since I last spoke to you, and is liable for
some more in the days ahead. Briefly, SAM allows DMA-sound able STs,
TT030s and Atari Falcon030s to "tie" audio samples to system events,
keystrokes, etc. Having played with a version of SAM for a month now, all
I can say is that it's really neat (note use of computer geek term
"neat"). I am including a PC3 snapshot I created from two views of the
SAM configuration accessory - just use your favorite picture conversion
utility to view it. Filename: S_A_M.PC3.
And now....
Finally....
(They say that editors jobs are easy. I've been trying to pull _this_one_
off for over a month!)
Without further introduction, here are some short bios of the editorial
staff here at Atari Explorer Online. Together, we hope to present the
finest mix of Atari news and information (sprinkled with light
entertainment from time to time) you can find on the electronic aether
stream.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// EXPLORER.1 - Ron Robinson
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ron Robinson is one of the Atari Explorer Magazine reviewers and our GEnie
online representative. He has used Atari computers since the early Atari
8-bit days and still has the 260ST box his first ST computer arrived in.
Over 100 of his reviews have been published in several Atari specific
publications since 1985.
Ron holds a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering and Masters degree
in Computer Science. He works as Project Engineer for a major
international biomedical instrumentation company and teaches Engineering
and Computer Technology evening courses at a midwest college.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// AEO.1 - Albert Dayes
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I am the on-line representive for Atari Explorer and Atari Explorer
Online magazines to Compuserve. My degree is Computer/Science from Loma
Linda University. I have enjoyed Ataris from the 2600 VCS to the present
Atari ST series with great relish (hold the mustard). My main interest in
computers is in the area of filesystems. Currently I am writing software
in the areas of networking, filesystems and PostScript. Learning all I can
about computers and how they work is much easier on an on-line service....
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// AEO.2 - Andreas Barbiero
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
My name is Andreas Barbiero, I have owned Atari computers since 1980, and
have owned an ST since 1986. My 520ST lasted me, in an unmodified form,
through college, and only when money and time permitted, in 1992, was I
able move up to the Mega STe. I call that value for my money! Presently
my system is a Mega4 STe/50, with a SyQuest 44meg removable, ICD Link
(love it!), and SM124 & 1224 monitors. I have written before for Z*Net,
and AEO. I also have had experience as the vice-president of BAAUG, the
Bay Area Atari User Group - my wife and I have been active with these
duties and have had the fun (torture?) of putting together a 10 page
monthly newsletter.
With new products, Atari is regaining old users and finding new ones. I
believe it is important to work with both these groups to keep up the
flow of information and news as Atari changes its form to meet the
challenges of an evolving marketplace. Atari is really trying to put the
HOME back into home computers. These machines are more than the sum of
the components placed into the grey cases we all use, and a magazine
should be more than the total of the words placed on a page. I wish to
help AEO continue its quick, and forthright communications to and from
the users, who are the reason why Atari exists today.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// AEO.3 - Lyre
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Greetings everyone, my name (or more accurately, handle) is Lyre. I am a
customer service representative for a large bank during the day and work
for AEO in order to relax. Normally I prefer productivity software and
dabble in almost anything that allows me to be creative. For games
though, I prefer role-playing games over the "shoot-'em-up" type. With a
strong desire to communicate and a penchant for helping others, I find
bulletin boards like GEnie immense fun. Away from my Mega ST2 I enjoy
skiing, reading fantasy and science fiction, comics, "paper" role-playing
games and vain attempts at programming in C ("What do you mean you can not
compile 'Foo Bar'?"). If you have any questions, concerns or just want to
chat, feel free to contact me anytime at AEO.3!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// AEO.4 - Doyle C. Helms
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Greetings! My name is Doyle C. Helms Jr. I will will be your Software
Editor for Atari Explorer Online Magazine. I will be covering the files
that are uploaded to the ST Roundtable on GEnie each issue. I will also
cover new software releases for the Atari computers. Let me take a moment
of your time to introduce myself.
I have been an Atarian since the Atari 800 came about with 48K of memory.
I had the immense pleasure of using a casette tape drive as my primary
storage medium. I spent my weekends typing in programs from ANALOG and
ANTIC magazines. Now that was the 'good ol' days!<G>. I moved onto a 600XL
with a Indus GT disk drive. After a short stint with that configuration, I
moved up to the Atari 130XE with 128K of RAM!! Wow!
Shortly after the 130XE the 520 ST came into life and I purchased one post
haste! The included software was LOGO and the TOS on DISK. This was all in
August of 1985. From that point I moved to a 1 Meg 520 to a Mega ST2 and
onto the present MegaSTE4.
A little bio on me before the computer years included becoming a
Cryptology Technician with the U.S. Navy/NSA. After my tour with Uncle
Sam, I progressed into the Bio-Medical Electronic field and worked as such
for a major local hospital. After my employ there, I was offered a
position with Uncle Sam again(this time civilian in status) as an
Aerospace Pneudralics Technician troubleshooting military helicopter
hydraulics systems. I have retained my employ as the latter for the past
16 years.
In closing, I would like to say that I am an AVID Atarian and hope to
remain so for MANY years to come! I enjoy writing about and working with
the ST/E Atari computers. I hope to obtain a TT030 AND a Falcon in the
very immediate future to further expand my Atari computing pleasures.
Please feel free to contact me via GE E-mail (AEO.4) with any questions or
ideas you may have about Atari Explorer Online and if I can not answer or
help you I will try my utmost to find someone who can. See you online...
EDITOR'S NOTE: Doyle's column is missing from this issue. He has spent
the better part of the past week attending his wife, who
is now recovering from a hospital stay.
--==--==--==--==--
|||
||| Dateline: Atari ....................... Bob Brodie's Jan 8 GEnie RTC.
/ | \ Courtesy: GEnie
---------------------------------------------------------------------
===========================================================================
(C) 1992 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May
be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie
are *official* information services of Atari Corporation.
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 XJM11877,GEnie and hit RETURN. The system will prompt you for your
information.
===========================================================================
Friday Night Special Edition Real Time Conference
Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie
Host - Lou Rocha
Friday, Jan. 8th, 1993
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Happy New Year to all our GEnie members! Welcome to the
first 1993 installment of Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie. Bob is typing
at us from Sunnyvale, the home of Atari Corp. and we expect to hear all
the latest developments, especially with regard to the Falcon and its
software-in-progress.
This week we saw a post from John Towns that SpeedoGDOS was very, very
close. There was also a later comment that it will be sold due to
licensing fees. Let's start there... Bob, what is the status of
SpeedoGDOS?
<Everyone else, please /RAIse your hands if you have a question for Bob.>
<BOB-BRODIE>
Good evening, and a Happy New Year to one and all! I hope that the
holidays were enjoyable for everyone. I know that I enjoyed the time that
I spent with my family in the two weeks of vacation time that I had over
the Christmas holidays.
Let's get started and talk Atari!!
First I'd like to give some status reports on some projects that we're
working on here at Atari. MultiTOS has a recent beta version go out to
our developers just before Christmas. This version appears to be working
quite well, although not perfect (I found a bug today, and got it
fixed!!). We're now focusing on an installation program for MultiTOS,
which was presented to me for evaluation yesterday. You'll be pleased to
know that the entire package fits on a single 1.44 meg floppy. At this
point in time we're planning on allowing ALL Atari 68000 computers to be
able to run MultiTOS. There was some discussion that we might compile
MultiTOS in such a fashion that only users with 68030 boards, TT030s, or
Atari Falcon030s would be able to use MultiTOS. In speaking to the TOS
group, they feel confident that they will have a shippable version of
MultiTOS next week. Still to be decided is how we are going to distribute
MultiTOS to our customers. Once that decision is made, we'll let you know
via an announcement here on GEnie, and in Atari Explorer Online Magazine.
SpeedoGDOS, our scalable font replacement for GDOS/FontGDOS/FSM GDOS is
just about ready, too. As is the case with MultiTOS, we're evaluating the
installation package very carefully so as to make it very easy for end
users to install SpeedoGDOS. Presently the package consists of a five
diskette set, which includes lots of BitStream fonts. I have been VERY
impressed with this system. I had lived with extreme system slowdown when
running FSM GDOS with more than 12 fonts on my system at work. I'm now
running 71 Speedo fonts, with no noticeable performance degradation at
all!!
Our customers will be able to call an 800 phone number that BitStream
operates to order fonts to use with SpeedoGDOS. While not all of the
BitStream font families have Speedo fonts in them, there is over 1,000
typefaces available that do.
We've decided to change the name of Concierge (previously ST Sutra) to
Atari Works. It is still undergoing some testing, although it is much
improved from when it was shown back at the Toronto Show last April. Much
of the work has focused on the database portion of the program to improve
the database import capabilities of the program. We're in the process of
expanding our beta test group, and we're getting lots of good input from
them for improvements in Atari Works. I'm very pleased with how the
program is improving, and am even starting to use it myself much more
often than before. Many of our staff members here at Atari, like the
Administrative Assistants are starting to use Atari Works for their
everyday word processor of choice.
Now, regarding the Atari Falcon030. I spoke at length with Sam Tramiel
about the production/shipment status of this product on Monday. The
sub-contractor that has been manufacturing Atari Falcon030s for us has not
been able to meet our Q/A or production requirements. The number of the
machines coming from this factory that have failed diagnostic tests is
completely unacceptable to Sam. He is _angry_ about this, as producing
Atari Falcon030s is of paramount importance to us. Representatives from
the factory were due in Sunnyvale on Monday afternoon to discuss a
resolution of these problems with Sam. Regardless of the outcome of that
meeting, Sam indicated to me that he was meeting with a representative
from another factory to bring on board another manufacturer to produce
Falcons for us. We expect this to delay significant shipments of Falcons
until March.
There have been some rumors circulating that the Falcon030 is not FCC
approved, and this is reason for the delay. This is simply not true!! As
Atari indicated months ago, the Falcon has met with FCC approval. I note
with some amusement that a request for FCC numbers was made by ST Report's
staff in the message bases on GEnie, AFTER our offices had closed for the
holidays. Until today, there was never a request made to our offices for
the actual FCC number via anything resembling conventional means, like a
phone call, letter, or fax. Not even a request in email!! Today, Ralph
Mariano called me and asked about the FCC status of the Falcon, and
discussed in detail with me his attempts to have the FCC provide him with
the number. I don't understand why he has had problems getting this
information, as it is a matter of public record.
At the time of his call, I didn't have the number at my desk...but I do
now! So, as promised, here is the FCC approval number for the Atari
Falcon030: EBAF030ST, application dated September 18, 1992, granted
November 5, 1992.
Falcon030s will continue to be available in small quantities until we get
our second sub-contractor on board, or the production problems with the
original contractor are resolved. Review units are being provided to
publications that we believe can assist us in "getting the word out" on
the Falcon. I'm ready to take on any questions that might be ready, Lou!
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks Bob... our first question is from JCD at New
Dimensions. Go ahead JCD
<[JCD] NEWDIMENSION> Bob, what are Atari's plans to help deter low-ball
prices from mail-order houses? Will The Falcon only be available through
Atari or will they be available through distributors, too? Atari only, I
hope.
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Jeff, we are working on a new dealer agreement that we
think will have a lot more "teeth" to it, something akin to what some
other well known manufacturers, although not necessarily a computer
manufacturer use as their dealer agreement. We feel, as do many of our
dealers, that the issues isn't so much mail order, it's the price that the
units are sold for. ga
<BRIAN.H> Hi Bob, A few people have been inquiring in the BBS about an
up-to-date list of AUTHORIZED Atari Service Centres. This would prevent
some mail order problems and keep the customers happy. Can this be done?
ga
<BOB-BRODIE> Brian, I'd prefer to hold off on that, since we're in the
process of re-doing the dealer agreement. I can understand the concern
about some users in finding out about authorized vs. Non author.. and I'll
try to make that available AFTER we have the new set up done. Probably
happen in April or March. ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks Brian. Next we have Andreas from AEO magazine.
<[Andreas@AEO] AEO.2> Atari Works(better name!) is a great program, and
with the addition of Speedo, even on a mere MSTe, it is fast and clean.
The output is some of the best I have seen on my DJ500. I hope we can see
this program bundled with new machines and available for older machines
too... can you expand on this Bob?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Andreas, I need to send you an updated version. You're
not... up to date with some latest changes!! Atari Works is a fully
integrated data base, word processor, and spread sheet with a
spell-checker and thesaurus included with the program. I think as you
have indicated, everyone will be very pleased with the results of the
product. Many different printers are supported, and the new installation
program makes things a BREEZE! ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks Andreas... you took part of my question ;-) Next we
have Chris Cassaday.
<[Chris C.] C.CASSADAY> Bob, all that you have said is extremely good
news! Any comments on pricing of SpeedoGDOS, MultiTOS, and Atari Works?
And when can I realistically expect to see them on my hard drive? About
Multi-TOS: Are there separate 68000 and 68030 ? ga
<BOB-BRODIE> Thanks Chris, re pricing on MultiTOS, I'm not sure what the
price will be for it. I'm confident that you'd love the pricing I have in
mind.... I think we should UPLOAD it exclusively to GEnie, and let nature
take it's course. I'm not 100% sure that will happen at this point,
though...but it might!! Pricing on Speedo is more related to the pricing
of the fonts. We have to pay a royalty on the fonts, and that is the real
determining factor. Works is probably going to retail for about $100, and
perhaps be bundled with all machines that are sold after it's ready. ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Here comes Jonesy!
<[Jonesy] M.JONES52> Bob, are the review units being bundled with a 'setup
package' to help the reviewers get a representative look at what's
available now, and a taste of things to come? And what's in it? <g> (Love
your idea for MultiTos, btw!)
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Mark, yes they are. We also bundle a copy of the
International Software Guide. We try not to show them too much of what the
... future might hold, as we want them to write about the here and REAL
SOON NOW <grin>, and yet show them that we are planning for the future.
ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Ringo is next Bob... on his own account so be gentle!
<[Ringo] R.MONFORT1> Bob B. I notice that Computer graphics world
magazine had a Falcon announcement what other publications will have a
Falcon for review. specially the ones that doe multimedia? GA
<BOB-BRODIE> Yes Ringo, we have made inroads with about 19 different mags
to have announcements and or reviews on the Atari Falcon030. Let me look
real quick on my desk and see if I have it handy... Found it! Applied
Techniques, Business Week, BYTE, CNN, Computer Retail Week, COmputer
Technology, Computing NOW, Datamation, Design News, E.Q. Magazine, EDN
News, Eyecom Magazine Keyboard, Motorola DSP Newsletter, MultiMedia World,
New Media, Newsbytes, Noteworthy, PC Laptop Computers, Scientific
Computering & Automation, Studio Software Report and a bunch of others
that I can tell you about in email! :) ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> JCD is back with his second question... then C.FLUEGEL and
Kent Cavaghan. Others may /RAIse their hands again! ;-)
<[JCD] NEWDIMENSION> Will Jerry Pournelle be getting a Falcon soon? I
understand he's had an Amiga A1200 for some time now to review. Also,
MultiTOS looks great on my TT030. I think everyone will be very pleased.
ga
<BOB-BRODIE> We have already spent quite a bit of time with Jerry showing
him a Falcon030, and expect him to get a review unit soon. We opted to
provide one to BYTE Magazine first, rather than just one for Jerry.
Perhaps saying JUST one for Jerry is a bad way of phrasing it, because
obviously we want him to have one. I was present when we did the demo for
him, and he's very enthusiastic about the Atari Falcon030. Especially the
sound capabilities. I agree with your sentiments about MultiTOS, I'm in
the process of doing everything to it that no one should do <GRIN>, and
finding a few more interesting events. Eric Smith was in my office for a
while today, and we had a nice time...and an update came out in a matter
of hours. ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> GA C.FLUEGEL.
<C.FLUEGEL> I was talking to James Grunke about the NAMM show and the
Falcon roll out. He said originally he had planned on having plenty of
Falcons on hand but that there were problems and he may not have any for
sale, but he hoped to have a few. What are the current plans at the NAMM
show? As the Falcon already has a good following in the Audio Realm ( I
get people in everyday asking about it, they don't know who makes it, but
they here it is supposed to be great)... How big of a showing will atari
have?? ga
<BOB-BRODIE> We have a very large room at NAMM this year, that will
feature... 16 workstations with developers manning them. There will be a
number of Atari Falcon030s there for people to see, and try there In the
event we are able to resolve our problems with the production at the
factory (particularly with the Q/A issues) then we will be able to fill
the orders that much sooner. I expect to take orders for machines at NAMM,
we will once again, be the premier computer at NAMM, as Apple and IBM have
both bowed out. There has been terrific coverage in the music mags have
been ringing my phone off the hook for information on the Falcon. I can
also assure you that the show will be well covered here on GEnie, and in
the Atari Press as well. Atari Explorer Online, our official online
newsletter, and the excellent Z*Net Online magazine will be covering the
show, as well as AtariUser Magazine providing the memorable print coverage
for the show. ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks Bob... now we have Kent Cavaghan. GA Kent
<[Kent@OakSpri] K.CAVAGHAN2> Bob, in regards to your idea on uploading
MultiTos, would disk vendors be allowed to distribute it as well or will
it be limited distribution like FontGdos (just curious :} ) I think it's a
great idea either way. ga
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Kent, I confess that I haven't even considered that at
this point in time. I'm much more focused on getting the product done. I
appreciate you bringing that issue to my attention, and I'll be sure to
pass along that concern to the staff here. Good Point!!! ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> GA Matt Rivman.
<[Matt] M.RIVMAN1> Mr. B. (Bob) I appreciate the entry level status of
the Falcon 030 and agree with it. But as one of those who long for tower,
pizzabox', detachable Keyboard what can you say about near future 030, 040
config's ? Sorry to harp on it! Re: Apple and IBM bowing out of NAMM
.... Cowards!
<BOB-BRODIE> :-) Hi Matt, I've always respected someone who knows when to
do a graceful retreat! :) Re the Falcon box, let me put it this
way....we've made other entry level home computers in the past, like the
ST, and the STE. Both of them _ultimately_ were placed in a two piece unit
later on in the products life span. So it is not unreasonable to guess
that the Falcon might one day be in a different case...many of our
products have. But the real issue is when will it happen? With the ST, it
was over a year after the original machines shipped. With the STE, about
two years. ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> GA Andreas.
<[Andreas@AEO] AEO.2> Atari ST Format had a comparison of the A1200 to the
F030, favoring (guess who?) AEO should have an article based on a similar
topic soon. Already there are graphics cards and accellerator cards
available for the F030. Bob, do you think once the crush is over we can
get the TOS crew on GEnie or Delphi to bug them about TOS hints? thanks
Lou!
<BOB-BRODIE> Sure, that would be an excellent idea, Andreas. Once the
"crush" is over, I think we can probably get someone like Eric Smith (who
will probably kill me for volunteering him) online for a CO or for some
activity in the message bases. Of course, here on GEnie, John Townsend is
already online, although not as active as before. There is a topic here on
GEnie for programming q's to be left to TOWNS, I think it is CAT 3 Topic
31...could be wrong though! :) ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Harj... save us! ;-)
<[Harj] H.NAGRA1> Any idea on the number of Falcons that will be released
in January to the general public? I'm very disappointed in the
delay...any chance the Falcons in March will have the much rumoured new
case design? ga
<BOB-BRODIE> Harj, I'd prefer not to give out actual numbers, until they
are in the warehouse. Believe me, when I spoke to Sam about the
availability of the Falcon, he was thoroughly disgusted with the entire
situation. The shortage of the Falcons is not a US problem it is a world
wide problem...we're almost competing against our subsidiaries around the
world to get product at this point in time Re the case...check out my
answer from before. :) I share you disappointment in the delay and so does
Sam.
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Ready for more Bob? Chris. GA.
<[Chris C.] C.CASSADAY> Bob, there are some rumors in Euro mags about
CD-ROM versions of the Falcon030. Can you comment on future variants of
the Falcon030, and whether these new machines will necessitate the newer
cases. ga
<BOB-BRODIE> Chris, No...I can't. Other than what I've already stated
about the case structure in other questions. There is no question that the
machine will mature, the question is how quickly will that happen.
Current versions of the Falcon030 are ready for a CD unit out of the box,
there will be no reason to wait. I can only guess that having the CD
included (if such a thing were done) would be reflected in the price of
such a wonderful machine. :) ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> LYRE from AEO... fire away!
<[33] Lyre] AEO.3> Bob, you mentioned that their will be developers
displaying their products at NAMM. Can you tell us which developers will
be attending and the programs they will be demonstrating?
<BOB-BRODIE> I can tell you the developers, but I'm not 100% up to speed
on what they are going to be showing. The developers are D2D Systems
Chro-Magic, CodeHead Software, Barefoot Software, Goldleaf Pub.
Thinkware, Dr. T's, Compo, Gadgets by Small, Hotz Technology, Digital FX,
Okital, Steinberg, and Yamaha, along with a new developer that I am not
personally familiar with name MGI. They are from Germany. GA
<[Lou] ST.LOU> C Fluegel.
<C.FLUEGEL> VERY large hard drives, where and what will be available? Is
PLI still supporting the Atari? SCSI-2 and 2 1/2 drives are still quite
uncommon. Also, when will WE the public and or dealers find out how the
meeting with the folks who are actually building the Falcons went? GA
<BOB-BRODIE> I think it really depends on the application that you're
using as for how much hard disk space you will need to get things done.
I've not had any problems with connecting any type of common disk drives,
like a Maxtor to a Falcon030. You don't have to have a 2 1/2" drive,
that's just what the IDE drive is that is internal for the Falcon. Since
the SCSI-II port is there it is EASY to connect up bigger units. We have
hooked up 340 meg Maxtor units with no problems, pulled 'em right out of a
TT030, which isn't SCSI-II. Please bear in mind that the pricing on the
hard disks is not something we control, but is the same for all of hard
disks that are produced across the market. Re the meeting... after I have
a chance to speak to Sam, I'll try to pass along the meeting. I can assure
you he wasn't going into the meeting with the reps that are NOT meeting
our expectations with a smile on his face. On the other hand, the second
company that we will be bringing on board is run by an old friend of the
Tramiels, and I expect to see results from them quickly, like within a
month. ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Oooo... I love techie-talk, Bob ;-) Next we have JCD, then
Chris Oates and George from JMG Soft in Hamilton, CANADA! GA JCD...
<[JCD] NEWDIMENSION> Concerning the redesign of the ST Book, what are some
of the changes it is going through? Additionally will the floppy drives in
future machines ever be replaced with Floptical drives or the like?
C.FLUEGEL: We sell fixed HD's up to 3.6 Gig!!
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Nice plug JCD ;-)
<BOB-BRODIE> You forgot to include pricing, Jeff. You're slipping. <-: Re
the ST Book, you can expect things like back lighting in the LCD screen,
and possibly floppies or PCMIA connectors. There are some discussions
about changing the microprocessor in the unit to something that is a
little bit more "contemporary" than an 8Mhz 68000. Please bear in mind
that we're focusing on the Falcon and the Jaguar right now, the ST Book is
not getting 100% of our attention at this point in time. ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Chris Oates, thanks for waiting. Your question please?
<C.OATES2> Hi Bob. I already take the hypothetical nature of two- piece
Falcons as a given, but do you see it as likely that if and when such
machines ship they will contain the VME bus slot that we Mega STE and TT
owners have? I for one have already invested a good deal of money in a
Crazy dots 15 board, which surpasses current Falcon graphics (and possibly
future) and would like to think that I can take the card with me when I
upgrade my machine... GA
<BOB-BRODIE> Chris, obviously I can't make promises about such a
prospective product with certainty, but I will be happy to encourage that
suggestion to the design team. We use graphics cards here at Atari as
well, and believe me, we hate spending money we don't need to just as much
as you hate to. ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Let me put in an extra plug for the VME Bob! Now we have
George from JMGSoft.
<[George] JMGSOFT> First off, thanks Bob for doing these RTCs. I don't
envy the position myself... But to the question... What is being done, if
anything, for the Canadian market. Since the Canadian Sub closed up, it
has been pretty bleak and dismal up here when it comes to Atari support.
No service, information, parts, and things just aren't ticking very well.
I am still trying to resolve issues that date back to August when the
subsidiary closed up. It this all we can expect up here in the North? It
doesn't look pretty, since I don't think the Atari brass considers Canada
too seriously anymore. GA
<BOB-BRODIE> George, I was not aware that there were problems in getting
service and repairs done. We have a specialist in Canada to deal with our
Canadian dealers, who is well acquainted with Canada in the persona of
Randy Tjin. Before we went off on holidays, Sam and I personally checked
on the repair logs, and we were told that they were running about a week
to get each item out, and in fact were on target for their dates. If there
is other needs that haven't been taken care of, please FAX the details to
me at the office so we can address them. Certainly the changeover to the
US from Canada has not gone smoothly, but we are committed to continuing
to do business in Canada. If you have specific needs as far as information
goes...we know each other, George. ASK! My address online, and phone
numbers are pretty well known, and I invite your call. Thanks for the
comments about being online, though!
<[George] JMGSOFT> Thanks for your continuing commitment. I'll be in
touch :-)
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Dave Stuart is the last one in line.... last chance to
/RAIse your hands folks. GA Dave. Bob... let me know when have had enough
for this month ;-)
<[D. STUART] AEO.7> Does the FALCON include any 'bundled' software? And
if so, is there an opportunity to develop said software directly for ATARI
??? GA
<BOB-BRODIE> Yes, the Falcon will be bundled with 8 applications when it
is shipped. The products include Audio Fun Machine, Falcon D2D, a direct
to disk recorder, System Audio Manager, ProCalc, a full scientific
calendar, Talking Clock, CalAppt, a calendar/rolodex type of utility, and
a couple of games, BreakOut and LandMines. YES...there is an opportunity
to write that software for Atari. We in fact used outside developers for
some key components of the software, like the System Audio Manager. GA
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Here's Dorothy...!
<D.A.BRUMLEVE> I've seen numerous rumors about the Falcon already
shipping to dealers in small quantities in Germany and in England, and yet
you refer here to "when it is shipped". Are the rumors false? Or do you
just mean "when it is shipped in NA"?
<BOB-BRODIE> Excellent question, Dorothy. I do in fact mean in North
America. There are small shipments of Falcon030s being sent to dealers in
other parts of the world. Some of those units have been sold without
MultiTOS, and with other minor problems. Like the CalAppt Manual that
shipped in Germany is written in English. Another example of the Q/A
problems that we've had with the factory.
<D.A.BRUMLEVE> I don't think many of us would consider an English manual a
problem. ;-)
<BOB-BRODIE> Virtually all of the machines that we've had here in the US
have gone to either review sources or developers. I agree with your
sentiments about the English manual here, but the German TOS and Keyboard
might prove challenging...or should I say educational??? <grin>ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Whew.... you must be getting tired. Four more Bob.
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Kent Cavaghan, C.Fluegel, Dave Stuart and Brian Harvey.
<[Kent@OakSpri] K.CAVAGHAN2> Bob, there has been some concern about
registrations that are sent into Atari and what if anything they are used
for? Will the lists that are created used for follow ups and promos or are
they just being recycled :} ga
<BOB-BRODIE> Kent, they are indeed used, we build customer lists from them
and they are in fact used for follow ups. We expect to be using them much
more in the future than in the past. GA
<[Curt/ Guitar] C.FLUEGEL> The original plans were to have "demo units" at
dealers before Job 10 is now listen-only. any major rollout, is this still
the plan? Even if you have to change manufacturers, can we still expect
to see a demo unit here at Guitar Center? (James Grunke said we should, I
hope it is true).. GA... Ps if I send you $900, will you send me a Falcon
j/k
<BOB-BRODIE> Curt, the bidding is much higher than that at this
point....NO! <grin> Seriously, we intend to make demo units available for
the dealers and regard this as a very important step in the process of
both selling and marketing the Falcon. We do have a demo unit plan for
our dealers that purchase directly from us, which is one of the benefits
of dealing directly with Atari, rather than thru another re-seller or
distributor. We have, when possible, shipped units to dealers for special
exhibitions on a temporary basis. If you have a specific need for a unit
for a really important event for your dealership, then feel free to
contact me. ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Dave Stuart... from AEO! GA
<[D. STUART] AEO.7> BOB ... Just thought I'd mention here, then, that I've
E-mailed you a proposal re: the previous query! Aside from that, what is
the latest concerning AIM - if you know anything. I know this is a change
of topic, but one of interest to all! GA
<BOB-BRODIE> I always forward those things along to our dev support group,
but I'll be happy to send it along again. We do get an awful lot of those,
it's possible that they overlooked yours, and for that, I apologize.
Regarding AIM, I really haven't spoken to Pattie or Bill in sometime
myself. I know no more than you... it's been a while since I've seen an
issue of AIM, and they seem to be a bit behind in their issues. But since
Explorer is also a bit behind, I'm not about to cast stones. But since
we're now speaking about EXPLORER, I'm happy to report that the latest
issue of Atari Explorer has just come back from the printer, and looks
FABULOUS! This is the first issue under the capable efforts of Mike
Lindsay and Darren Meer since they have taken over the magazine. Mike is
lurking tonight here online as AEO.MAG, so be sure to say hi to him!! ga
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Our last questioner is from my fellow RTC sysop... Brian
<Brain> Harvey. ;-) GA
<BRIAN.H> What about the Jaguar? Will it be finished this year? Is it as
good as the rumours? Will this be the GAME machine??? I am not trying for
rumours, just the facts [grin].GA
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Brian, it looks FABULOUS. Sometimes mere words are a poor
tool to describe things...and this is one of those cases. During my
discussions with Sam earlier this week, we went over to the lab and had a
peek at the Jaguar. I was astonished at the quality of the machine. We've
begun shipping developer units out now, and have had developer symposiums
for the units as well. The very-well-known-programmer, whose name I cannot
reveal that is here in Sunnyvale working with us on the Jaguar is VERY
enthusiastic about the machine. The demo that he showed us was
extraordinary, both colorful and fast, the horizontal scrolling was
smooth, and very, very very fast!!!! Howzat, Brian?? :) ga
<BRIAN.H> Thanks Bob. Sounds great!!!!
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Bob... while you get your closing statement ready.. Brian
has a little announcement... then so do I ;-)
<BRIAN.H> I have a quick plug for the next RTC!! Everyone, don't forget
the roundtable conference next Wednesday night with the IAAD. What's the
IAAD? The Independent Association of Atari Developers (IAAD) The RTC
begins at 10 pm EST, Wednesday, January 13. Ask about current and future
products. Meet the folks who bring your computer to life with software and
hardware enhancements!
D.A. Brumleve DMC Publishing
WizWorks! FAST Technology
Step Ahead Software Inc. ICD Inc.
CodeHead Technologies Dragonware Missionware
Ditek Clear Thinking
Oregon Research Associates Lexicor
Dr. Bobware Beckemeyer Development Tools
Paradigm Software Products Fair Dinkum Technologies
It's All Relative TEAM Software
NewSTar Technology Management and more... GA
<[Lou] ST.LOU> Thanks to Bob for a magnificent evening and thanks to all
the users who stopped by - old and new faces alike... especially my good
friend Martha Dycus who stayed to the very end! Yea Martha! I would also
like to mention that the inaugural GEnie Notes Column will appear in the
next issue of Current Notes! Eight pages of great GEnie news. Make sure
your friends see it!
<[Lou] ST.LOU> OK Bob... you were great, great, great!!!! So you can have
the last word tonight. GA
<BOB-BRODIE> Lou, thanks again for doing such a stellar job of running the
RTC. Once again, I've had a wonderful time being here on GEnie, our
official online service. I appreciate the opportunity to gather here on
this monthly basis, and think that it will continue to work well for ALL
of us. I'm looking forward to next months CO already with great
anticipation, the first ones have gone over so very well. Thanks again for
attending, and good night!!
Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie is held on the first Friday of each month.
Watch the RTC Banner for details. See you on February 5th, 1993 for the
next installment of Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie.
You are also invited to drop in on Monday or Wednesday evenings each week.
Bob Brodie can often be found "with the gang" on those nights too! All
Real Time Conferences begin at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Atari Users Online: GEnie
||| Compiled by: Lyre
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.3
-------------------------
Greetings Everyone!
In order to keep you informed and up to date on the various issues being
discussed on GEnie, various messages will be reprinted here from the
bulletin board. Normally these messages are taken "as is"; however, if a
comment made in a message moves significantly away from discussion that
comment (and that comment only) may be deleted.
If you have always wanted to be "published" now is your chance. As the
staff of AEO read the messages posted, we look for clear and concise
messages that provide help or interesting information for our readers.
You do not have to use perfect grammar or correct spelling (admitted this
does help though), but your message should be easily understood. Your
personal responce to a program, bug reports, bug fixes and work arounds,
whatever it is, it will be considered for publication here.
So, enjoy reading these messages. But more importantly, continue to
enjoy posting interesting comments on the GEnie ST RT bulletin board.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Are you a Data Diet user? If you are this next message could be of some
importance to you.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 2, Topic 12
Message 50 Fri Jan 08, 1993
K.GERDES [TraceTech] at 19:10 EST
M.SHANNON,
STENO:
Thanks for that tidbit. STENO saves to itself, therefore I assume that it
should _not_ be _Squished_ (<-note).
IMGs:
Looks like I opened a can of worms that shouldn't have been brought up in the
first place... :)
There are _NO_ problems associated with dietizing IMG files. Come to think of
it, there are actually no extenders that have to be excluded, the ones in
DATADIET.INF generally relate to files that don't compress well or at all.
Now I realize I was giving too much credit to standalone IMG compressors since
I figured a mono graphic could be reduced better (using IMG compression
schemes) than DD can dietize it; but, as you pointed out you can 'squeeze'
IMGs and still dietize them some more. Oh, and as I pointed out, you may get
better compression by dietizing the non-compressed version of files.
- Keith [TraceTech]
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
GEMSound seems like it is a wonderful program. I just wish that I had a
STe so that I could use it! For those that do have STe's you might want
to keep the following in mind.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 2, Topic 16
Message 174 Sat Jan 09, 1993
C.OATES2 [Chris] at 16:22 EST
Help! I loaded Gemsound, but the CPX will not show up in the control panel! It
is listed in the "active" box in the setup, but neither the scrolling list or
the "configure CPXs" will show it... Anybody know what could be wrong?
-Chris
------------
Category 2, Topic 16
Message 178 Sat Jan 09, 1993
OUTRIDER [Terry] at 22:59 EST
Chris,
Check your maximum number of CPXes and be sure you haven't gone over that
amount.
-----8<-----
Gerry,
No, he should NOT run MAKE_CPX.TOS. That creates a buggy CPX. He should use
the CPX that's already in the archive.
((( Terry )))
------------
Category 2, Topic 16
Message 179 Sun Jan 10, 1993
T.GIRSCH [TJ@EuroGames] at 01:21 EST
Chris -
Are you running the GEMSOUND.PRG program in your AUTO folder? If you don't,
the CPX won't appear in the menu. That's probably the problem.
- T.J. @ Atari Advantage
------------
Category 2, Topic 16
Message 181 Sun Jan 10, 1993
J.KUDRON [Jim~ST Sysop] at 14:38 EST
TJ,
The CPX _will_ appear in the menu without running GEMSOUND.PRG. When you try
to access the CPX though, you'll be notified that GEMSOUND.PRG needs to run
from the AUTO folder.
Jim Kudron
<ST Sysop>
10Jan93
14:36:16
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
If you are using SpiritWare's NIV Bible, these two messages are
definitely important to you.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 2, Topic 27
Message 121 Sat Jan 09, 1993
D.CLIFTON4 [Don Clifton] at 11:56 EST
As of December 31, 1992, SpiritWare's licensing agreement with Zondervan to
distribute the NIV Bible expired. The terms of the new agreement would
require us to distribute at least 1000 copies per year. This quota is
impossible considering the size of the Atari market. (We have distributed
less than 400 over the last 3 years.) Please pass this information along to
others who are using our software, and please pray that Zondervan will
consider exempting us from this requirement.
We will probably be making the Revised Standard Version available fairly soon
in place of the NIV. We are also still attempting to get permission to
distribute the New American Standard Bible. You might pray for our success in
doing that as well.
Don Clifton SpiritWare
------------
Category 2, Topic 27
Message 124 Tue Jan 12, 1993
S.SCHAPER [Meneldil] at 19:16 EST
I'm not surprised, alas. Just found out today that the New Geneva Study Bible
likewise got stuck by Zondervan (which is owned by Harper-Collins, which is
owned in turn by the British outfit that prints the sleazy, pornographic
London tabloids). Zondervan wanted 20% of the sales, which would have broken
the project, which Zondervan must have understood, so they had to go to a
poorer translation.
I hope you get the NASB to replace the NIV.
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Satellite dishes and modems. A high-tech meeting of the minds, we'd say.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 8, Topic 4
Message 55 Sat Jan 02, 1993
R.STUTZMAN2 [RUSS] at 12:16 EST
Hi all
I wondered if anyone could tell me what I need to do to get my modem to
work with my Satellite dish. There is a continuous data stream available
but I can't get my modem to recognize it. I have Stalker and Uniterm 2e.
There is no dialtone available or carrier detect signal.
What I want to do is just have the modem start accepting data without any
type of logon procedure. I hooked the modem up to the audio out on my
receiver, I get the data noise on the speaker of the modem so I think the
hookup is valid. I've tried playing with various settings on the modem
but everything seems to want a dialtone or carrier detect signal. If
anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate your response.
Russ
------------
Category 8, Topic 4
Message 56 Sat Jan 02, 1993
SANDY.W [sysop] at 13:04 EST
I'm not sure, but if you have a signal, they Hayes command to put the
modem online is ATO. To get into Hayes command mode, you need to type +++
and nothing else for a few seconds.
BTW...there is a discussion about this in the Radio RoundTable. I haven't
read it because I don't have a dish. (I wish...)
------------
Category 8, Topic 4
Message 58 Sat Jan 02, 1993
R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 20:26 EST
You may have to tie Carrier Detect to DTR to get Stalker to recognize a
CD. I did this so that I could put a switch inline in order to toggle CD
on to test a BBS program. You can hook up a switch so that you can toggle
CD on or, switch it to normal state when you want the modem to be in
normal state for calling out.
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
And here are a few comments from satisfied users of EdHak. Makes you
wonder what you are missing, doesn't it?
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 2, Topic 40
Message 165 Sat Jan 09, 1993
G.FUHRMAN [gnox] at 06:38 EST
My EdHak arrived yesterday (very fast service, Craig!) and I couldn't be
happier with it. I've become something of a connoisseur of DA text editors
(this is my third) and it looks like this one will become my default resident
editor. I was worried about some things, such as what would happen to a
dietized file bigger than the buffer when I saved to it, but there seems to be
no problem at all even though I use Dietized Size mode in Data Diet II. EdHak
works flawlessly on my TT/bigscreen monitor, and I'm finding it very intuitive
and easy to learn.
I am _very_ impressed! This has to be the best buy in text editing for the
ST/TT - and I say that as a long-time fan of STeno.
gnox [from a crater on the m()()n]
------------
Category 2, Topic 40
Message 166 Sat Jan 09, 1993
M.JONES52 [Jonesy] at 12:35 EST
gnox,
Yeah, EdHak _is_ kinda neat, ain't it? <g> After having it a while, I
don't even care to try to remember how I ever got along without it.
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Are you a user of the Recipe Box? Well, for those of you who are please
provide feedback to Anthony Watson for version 4.0
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 2, Topic 44
Message 21 Wed Jan 13, 1993
A.WATSON6 [Anthony] at 21:43 EST
ATTENTION ALL USERS OF THE RECIPE BOX!
I am conducting a survey for The Recipe Box, as I'm about to begin work on
version 4.0. I would very much like your opinions on a couple of items in this
program.
1. What do you think of the color scheme in The Recipe Box?
(If you don't like it, what would you prefer?)
2. Do you prefer the 'rounded' buttons of The Recipe Box over the
square buttons of my other programs? The rounded buttons were a
unique feature of the program, and I will retain them if you feel
they are an important part of the program. However, square buttons
allow for faster graphics, and for more information to be
displayed on screen at once.
3. And, as always... Any other opinions you may have would be greatly
appreciated!
Thanks for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Anthony Watson
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Since we know that everyone is interested in greater performance from
their computer of choice, here are some comments from Jim Allen that
might help you to decide which Fast Tech product is right for your
system.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 4, Topic 11
Message 86 Sun Jan 10, 1993
J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 20:23 EST
Jim, Tom, the Tiny's are almost there I keep getting little walls thrown up in
my way but the shipping time is coming up. I'll scream LOUD the second the
first unit goes into a box!! ;-)
Brig, I have some Tiny's that people backed out of, so you can still get one
at the special $599 (40Mhz) or $699 (50Mhz) pricing, I'll let people who've
asked recently know when they'll be ready just as soon as the units due for
shipment go out the door. So the current pricing is:
T25.....$349
Tiny030-40Mhz.....$599
Tiny030-50Mhz.....$699
Tiny030NoCPU.....$504
Turbo030-50Mhz-4Megs TTram....$1,495
Jeff, the GCR is here, all mod'd, and I'll send it out to you now. The rom
jumpers on the STE are no big deal, chances are you won't need to touch them,
but if you do it takes about 10secs to do. Congrats on getting an ICD disk
setup, it's really the way to go....always been my only choice, and the latest
SW is soooo good!
Jack, your 68000 is on it's way. If you need any help fixing the machine just
ask.
Wally, thanks.
------------
Category 4, Topic 11
Message 97 Wed Jan 13, 1993
J.BRENNER1 [See Flat] at 20:08 EST
I asked about the differences between both units. From Bob's posts the
differences I could pick up on were the TOS version, and the fact that Turbo
can go up to 8 Meg. ( Jim told me it was 16 meg)
The Tiny fits in a 1040 as the Turbo doesnt'. I guess that means there is no
extra memory on the Tiny?
I'm asking cause I'd love the speed and 500$ is more in my cash flow than
1500$.
------------
Category 4, Topic 11
Message 98 Wed Jan 13, 1993
J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 21:13 EST
The difference between the two is:
The Tiny030 is a 40 or 50Mhz 68030, with a static ram cache which speeds
access to the motherboard's ram, and TOS 2.06 is built in...since it's
required for support of the 030 chip. The Tiny is 5-6 times faster, adds the
new OS, and has an 8Mhz 68000 chip you can switch to that allows you to run
all your old SW, SW that isn't "TT'd".
The Turbo030 is basically a Tiny030 with a 32bit wide burst mode "TT ram"
memory slapped on the side. This memory adds ram to your system, so you have 4
on the motherboard and can add anywhere from 4 to 40 Megabytes of "TT ram" to
your system. This 32bit ram is also MUCH faster than the motherboard ram, and
supports the 68030 chip's burst mode accesses. The Tubro030 comes only in
50Mhz form, and fits only the MegaST computer. It is 14+ TIMES faster than the
stock ST is.
SO basically the speed/$ ratio is constant between the 50Mhz Tiny030 at
$699 and the 50Mhz Turbo030 at $1495....and the big 030 adds additional ram to
your system which programs like CalamusSL just _LOVE_ ;-)
If you are doing professional DTP'ing or CAD work or Animation work, the
Tubro030 is definitely _THE_ way to go, the added productivity is definitely
worth the extra $$ and the board will end up paying for itself... in both the
larger volume of work you can do, and the more creative that work will be now
that you are free to try anything your imagination could want WITHOUT worrying
about waiting a week for the computer to finish screen redraws ;-)
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
If you are using the HP LaserJet IIP then these comments might be of some
help to you. You might want to take a look at the file mentioned in
Mark's message.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 4, Topic 20
Message 32 Fri Jan 08, 1993
O-ZONE [Flakes] at 19:55 EST
Is there a CPX or a DA availible to control the HP laserjet IIP printer from
the computer?
Flakes
------------
Category 4, Topic 20
Message 33 Sat Jan 09, 1993
M.SLAGELL [Mark] at 05:31 EST
Flakes, there is a universal do-it-yerself printer control accessory in the
file library, I know 'cuz I wrote it (file #23162). But to use it you need to
know exactly what codes you want to send. Setting it up requires the
investment of a little time with your printer manual, an ASCII chart and a
text editor.
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Moniterm users take note. Jim Allen knows where you can find repair parts
and service.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
------------
Category 4, Topic 25
Message 161 Sun Jan 10, 1993
J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 20:26 EST
Some news for Moniterm folks. The guy who founded Moniterm has a new
company, which bought up thier stocks, so they are in a position to offer
repair services on Moniterm equipment....
Monitor Technology, (612)-551-1478
I don't actually know these people, but Jay Craswell mentioned this to me
so I am passing it along.
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Straight FAX users should take note of this information in regards to
using G+Plus. Even if you do not use G+Plus, Charles Smeton's other
comments are equally helpful to Straight FAX owners. Also, remember that
product support is performed by Toad Computers - send in your software
registration information.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 4, Topic 24
Message 163 Tue Jan 12, 1993
C.S.SMETON [STraight FAX] at 00:03 EST
To: R.VOORNEVELD,
I suspect that the problem that you may of had using G+Plus was that you did
not make an entry for STFAX.PRG in the G+Plus Installation Desk Accessory
list. Since STraight FAX! is a GDOS application (in that it uses GDOS to print
FAX/Image files and render GEM Metafiles for FAXing purposes), it needs to be
setup as such when using G+Plus.
With other GDOS versions (i.e. Atari GDOS, Atari Font GDOS & Atari FSM GDOS)
this is not necessary as ASSIGN.SYS is always used as the setup file for GDOS.
To: GRMEYER,
The STraight FAX! (as of version 1.04) can directly input GEM Metafiles for
automatic conversion to FAX format. There is a limitation in that text is not
processed during this conversion. The ability to handle text within GEM
Metafiles will be supported in a future version of the STraight FAX! and will
require the use of Atari's upcoming Speedo GDOS to be able to scale the text
items in the GEM Metafile to the proper size for the FAX page.
Any application that can export GEM Metafiles or Monochrome Image Files is by
default supported by the STraight FAX!.
Note: GEM Metafiles may contain items of different colors. Since Group III FAX
is limited to black and white pixels, all items that are non-white will be
displayed as black pixels.
Note: The MEMORY.SYS driver that is supplied with Atari's Font GDOS and FSM
GDOS (and Speedo GDOS) is required be installed as GDOS device number 61 in
order to be able to process GEM Metafiles from within the STraight FAX!
Re: Adaptive Answering
This will require cooperation with the various terminal programs with mini BBS
modes and BBS program developers. If all of these programs used the BIOS for
RS-232 communications there would be no problems in this area. Since many
bypass the BIOS and even redirect the RS-232 interrupt vectors, this causes
many complications. One terminal program actually broke on the Falcon030 as it
assumed that there is only one RS-232 port and that it was implemented with
the 68901 MFP as the RS-232 port on the ST's and Modem 1 on the Mega STe/TT
are. Since the Falcon030 uses the 85C30 SCC which supplys Modem 2 and Serial 2
on the Mega ST/TT for its RS-232 port, this application broke.
To: CBARRON,
We will be contacting the various OCR vendors in order to see if a seemless
interface can be developed between the STraight FAX! and an OCR program.
Several SCSI scanners are now being evaluated for support on the Falcon030,
TT/030 and via the ICD Link and regular host adaptors.
When a higher resolution FAX standard is approved and supported by the FAX
Modems, we will most lilely support it.
As far as Junk FAXes go, you can create a list of phone numbers that will be
effectively ignored. The STraight FAX! will not even know if it was a FAX
calling as it will hang up on it (i.e. answer the call and immeditely hang
up). This will also suffice for known junk voice callers.
To: J.NYMAN,
> unexpectantly'. Supra has been investigating, but apparently they don't have
> an Atari available for testing right now. They have been getting through to
> this fax machine with a SupraFax Plus but they're using FaxTalk Plus in >
Windows. BTW, I can receive from this fax just fine. Any ideas? -- J.C.
Supra has stated that early revisions of their firmware had problems
connecting with some FAX Machines. We have reported to Supra similar findings
with the latest firmware not connecting to some FAX Modems. The problem is in
the FAX Modem and can not be fixed by us at this time. Supra is working with
Rockwell International, the chip set vendors to solve these problems which are
most likely due to slight timing tolerance irregularities.
We plan a work around to this by supporting the Class 1 FAX standard. With
Class 1 the timing responsibility is in the computer connected to the FAX
modem and will be handled by the STraight FAX!.
BTW, Fax Talk Plus is a Class 1 only FAX Program. In Class 2 mode, it would
not matter which Class 2 FAX program is used and what type of computer is
connected, it will still have a problem connecting with some FAX Machines.
To: P.NEREO,
STraight FAX! version 1.07 will allow printing multiple FAX files at one time
by entering a file extension of "J??" in the File Selector or by holding
either shift key down when exiting the File Selector.
Charles Smeton NewSTar Technology Management
------------
Category 4, Topic 24
Message 164 Tue Jan 12, 1993
TOAD-SERV. [David Troy] at 19:30 EST
Just wanted to say once more that all owners of STraight FAX should make an
effort to send a postcard with their:
Name
Address
Telephone #
GEnie Address
Registration Number
to: NewSTar Technology Management
P.O. Box 0122
Columbia, MD 21045
For technical support on STraight FAX!, please call:
Toad Computers
570-F Ritchie Highway
Severna Park, MD 21146
(410) 544-6943
Thanks! Once again, Toad Computers is proud to be supporting STraight FAX!
- Dave Troy
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Now that you have a wonderful computer, you migth be looking for a
monitor that will provide you a wonderful display. Al Fasoldt make some
comments about the monitors he uses. It is definitely food for thought.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 4, Topic 28
Message 52 Fri Jan 08, 1993
A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:42 EST
John,
The ADI monitors are available; they're new to the U.S., as far as I know (at
least under their own name).
There are a lot of good monitors around these days. The intense competition in
the display business has helped a lot. I'd choose a monitor that has an FST
screen (much more satisfactory viewing -- as soon as you use one you don't
ever want to go back) or a Trinitron screen. Trinitrons are entirely flat
vertically and only slightly curved horizontally.
I'd also pick one that can be adjusted for a full frame. The viewing area is
increased significantly.
For 800X600, a 15-inch is large enough.
Keep in mind that using a large-screen monitor (more than 15-inch) has no
advantage if you are sitting close, unless it's a *very* expensive display;
there may not be any more pixels in a big-screen display than in a normal size
one, and the result can be a distracting sense of looking at a grid, rather
than at images on a screen.
I speak as a professional user of many different sizes and types of large
monitor. I use a Philips 20-inch 1000X1000 color display about four hours a
day, a Mitsubishi 20-inch for a few minutes a day, a 20-inch Phillips
1200X1000 b/w display about an hour a day -- all at the newspaper office --
and my 14-inch Sony and 15-inch ADI from two to eight hours a day in my home
office. I still use one of my SM124 monitors often, too (my wife uses the
other one a lot) and also have a fondness for my JVC-made SC1224.
Um, I look at my calculator screen sometimes, too. And there's the world's
largest Atari 8-bit color display, the 72-inch VideoBeam that I use to play
those great old 8-bit games on when I'm not watching reruns of Married ...
With Children.
I sleep sometimes, too. :)
Al
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
If you have an SST board by Gadgets by Small you should make sure to read
this message before trying to download PhotoChrome. Following that,
there is a message for TT users who want to view Spectrum pictures on
their TT.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 7, Topic 3
Message 98 Fri Jan 08, 1993
K.SCHAFER4 [Necromancer] at 22:53 EST
John,
PhotoChrome uses spectrum-like techniques to display its pictures. It
will not work with the SST (You guys really must convince George to do that
SST-Brake thing... The omission of a 68000 was a boo-boo).
_Ken @ NecroWare Development_
------------
Category 7, Topic 3
Message 99 Sun Jan 10, 1993
A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:42 EST
John,
VIEW123D shows Spectrums on the TT.
Al
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Are you using a screen saver and DynaCADD? If you have, then get in
contact with David at Ditek International for an auto folder program that
will help you.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 7, Topic 7
Message 146 Thu Jan 14, 1993
DITEK [David] at 02:55 EST
Well, it looks like the dongle-screen saver problem is finished. For those of
you who wish to use a screen saver while the DynaCADD dongle is plugged into
your keyboard, please let me know either here or via email and I will send you
a small program to place into your auto folder that will fix the conflict.
I would like to thank Rick Nelson for helping out.
David
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
The times, they are a changin. And so is the Transcendence BBS support.
Here is Wayne Watson's comments concerning the change.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 8, Topic 13
Message 37 Wed Jan 13, 1993
R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 21:54 EST
** NOTICE **
Transcendence BBS will no longer be supported by David Brown. David has
turned over all rights to the program to me. I will be maintaining, selling
and supporting the BBS as of now. His BBS will not be online as of Jan. 15th.
All refernces to Twilight Zone Software should be replaced by Southern
Software. Any shareware payments that you plan to send in should be sent to
the address below.
David has decided to get out of support for the BBS as he doesn't feel like
he has the time to put into it that he thinks he should. Other things are
taking precedence. All currently registered Sysops will still be supported and
updates will still be free.
David wants to get into other things as well. He will still be around. I
wish him the best of luck. We have been working together on this thing for 1
1/2 years now and I have learned a lot from him. Now maybe my phone bill will
return to normal. :-)
You can contact me here on GEnie or at 1-803-879-4186 (my BBS).
Wayne Watson
Southern Software
1129 Lake Cunningham Rd.
Greer, SC
29651
Please be patient during this time of transition. He will be sending out all
information on registered Sysops, etc., soon. I still have access to all
registered sysop names so I know who you are. I am now Support Line 1 (as if
you couldn't guess). Please start calling my BBS number above for future
support.
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Wondering how you can get Dungeon Master to work on your TT? Wht about
other self-booting programs or games? These two messages might be just
the ticket to allow you to use an old favorite.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 9, Topic 3
Message 87 Sun Jan 10, 1993
VORTEXT at 18:26 EST
UPDATE - Dungeon Master on the TT with TOS 3.06
Earlier I mentioned DCBOOTIT. Well. I went and checked with mine copy. Upon
trying to boot DM, the system dies. However! If you do a warm boot, the
machine reads off the floppy. Now if you also hold down the control-shift-alt
keys, it will boot properly. No special timing required. Give it a try.
Daniel
------------
Category 9, Topic 3
Message 88 Mon Jan 11, 1993
C.CASSADAY [Chris C.] at 00:39 EST
VORTEXT
I've not had much luck with DCBOOTIT. Like you, I found that that warm boots
can help in loading auto-load games.
Chris
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Having problems with the print quality of your SLM laser printer on large
jobs? Well, these messages might help you to determine the "problem" and
how to "fix" it.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 14, Topic 11
Message 103 Mon Jan 11, 1993
ATARI.BENLUX [W. Kilwinger] at 04:13 EST
K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van]:
>I printed out some long AEO and ZNETs on the SLM804, recently, and found
that
>near the end things got lighter and lighter. The next day, printing was dark
>again. Is there a fix for this?
I don't know how old your DRUM is and how many copies you made with it, but it
looks to me that this is caused by your drum. When the photo-electric effect
is reduced (old drum) than you can see that in long print sessions, the heat
of such a session reduces the photo electric effect more and more. If you
switch your printer off for a while your drum gets some time to recover.
If you drum is new, than it might be caused by the high voltage supplies of
the chargers BUT DON'T TOUCH THAT yourself. You need special equipment so you
need a service center.
Regards,
Wilfred
------------
Category 14, Topic 11
Message 104 Mon Jan 11, 1993
K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 07:31 EST
Wilfred,
Thanks for the help from across the pond. (You _are_ in Belgium or Luxemborg,
aren't you?) My drum is old. My copies were still rather good when the counter
said it was time to replace it, but my Dutch thrift said to try one more pack
of toner. Besides, I hate to add another drum to the solid waste stream until
I have to. I wish there were a way to reuse or recycle them. I'll try your
suggestion, but it looks like this is going to be the last pack of toner for
this drum.
Ken Van Dellen d8^)
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Lookign for a new Atari Keyboard cable? Be careful what kind that you
purchase because they might not be what you need. Believe me, I know - I
did this same thing myself!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 14, Topic 14
Message 8 Fri Jan 08, 1993
M.DRYSDALE [Drys] at 07:00 EST
Ted,
Any four pin telephone M-F cable will work to extend the keyboard cable on the
MSTe.
Mike, TEAM COMPUTERS now POWER Computers
------------
Category 14, Topic 14
Message 22 Thu Jan 14, 1993
T.EVANS21 [<Ted E.>] at 19:52 EST
Ken,
I did?? Repeat myself?? DUH!!
Anyway I went out and bought the Archer 279-294 25ft heavy duty coiled
extension cord and since the one end is wired into my keyboard on the Mega STe
I also bought a 4 wire in line coupler..
Guess what it didn't work.. Nothing.. I have no control.. The keyboard and
mouse are dead....
Any suggestions???
<-:}Ted{:-> Wednesday, January 13, 1993 - 7:06:38 pm
------------
Category 14, Topic 14
Message 23 Fri Jan 15, 1993
R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 00:07 EST
Ted,
You need a 6 line cord. I guess that was never mentioned.
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
The Falcon030 is a machine that many users want and as always it is
drawing a lot of discussion. Take a look at these messages concerning
the software users would like to see bundled with the Falcon.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 14, Topic 41
Message 2 Mon Jan 11, 1993
S.DOUGHERTY1 [Sean@TWS] at 19:26 EST
In regard to Atari Works:
I like the idea of bundling it with the Falcon. I think I might just wait on
buying the Falcon until it is! I don't have a commercial database or
spreadsheet program for my ST, but I do think I will find uses for both of
them, especially the database.
As far as the originality of the name, I don't think originality counts for
anything today. People are buying the same old computer in droves every day.
It actually gives the program some "that should be usefull" identity.
In regard to the currently bundled software:
Does the currently bundled software have to be installed by the end-user or is
it pre-installed? If they are on disk, are they easy to install? Are there
seperate manuals for each program, and are they well organized? I personally
never read any manuals for software unless I have a problem, in fact I still
haven't read the manual to much of the hardware I have - but nearly every new
user I have seen reads them front to back and wants very clear and consise
instructions in English (or whatever language!). Atari has done well at this
in the past and I hope they continue or improve upon this trend.
Oh, and how does MultiTOS flip between programs? Does it use a Multifinder
type interface or is it more of a screen flipping thing? Do TOS applications
run in windows? And how does MultiTOS handle sound, or is that the
responsibility of the applications?
As far as monitors for the Falcon:
What monitor(s) does Atari recommend, or what specifications to they
recommend? What is a reputable brand that won't cost an arm and a leg? Being
a programmer I might want a MultiSync, since my SC1224 is getting quite old!
And lastly, what is the maximum data transfer rate that could be theoretically
achieved on the SCSI II port? I realize it is by far higher than any currently
available hard drive, but I was just wondering...
Even if I get a quarter of these questions answered I'll be happy.
Sean Dougherty
------------
Category 14, Topic 41
Message 9 Tue Jan 12, 1993
B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 12:28 EST
Wayne, You are absolutely right about the fact that the best motivation for a
manufacturing facility is competition.
We have not committed to bundling Atari Works with Falcon030, but as Atari
Work's product manager, I'd naturally like to see it bundled :-)
All of the software that does come with Falcon _is_ pre-installed on the
harddisk, ready-to-run. Unlike the Macintosh Performa, we also include back-
up floppies of everything, too.
Steve Johnson - Thanks, it is good to be back :-) The show season (Atari
Messe, BCS, Comdex, etc. was a killer!)
Screenblaster is really great, and it is very TOS-compatible. I know the guys
at Overscan personally and they are a great bunch. They are looking for a
solid U.S. distributor, if anybody is interested. "Screen Blaster" isn't
T'Marked by Creative Labs in the U.S. yet :-)
We do intend to upgrade Atari Works as time goes on. Sam has already agreed
to letting me do a free (postage and handling) upgrade when we finish the
telecommunications module. It did originally have one, but it was too weak in
by opinion. I want to make sure it has X, Y, and Z-modem so that it is fully
useful.
If users think a language would be a useful thing to be bundled with Falcon,
please send me e-mail saying so. I need to persuade the marketing people. :-)
-Bill @ Atari
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Looking to get your hands on the International Software Catalog from
Atari? Well, look no further. Just read these messages in order to find
out how you can obtain your copy!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 14, Topic 42
Message 56 Tue Jan 12, 1993
B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 12:28 EST
Steve Johnson and anyone else interested:
The Software Catalog can be ordered via GEmail!
Simply e-mail your order to G.LABREC, include quantity, Credit Card number,
expiration date, and name as it appears on the card. Visa and M/C accepted.
The pricing details are listed in message #1 or 2 of this topic. There are
special user group rates, too!
-Bill @ Atari
------------
Category 14, Topic 42
Message 58 Wed Jan 13, 1993
G.LABREC [Greg @ Atari] at 21:43 EST
A number of people at Atari have been receiving GEmail asking how to
order a copy of the International Atari Software Catalog. I was
asked to re-post all the pertinent information here, as well as
upload it as a file to the library.
The 1992 International Software Catalog (Item# C303288-001) is now
available from Atari Corporation. If you ever had a question about
the availability of software on the Atari platform this catalog is
a "must" for your bookshelf. here are some examples...
"Is there a program that will run on my Atari that will allow me to
create and edit fonts for my desktop publishing software?" (YES)
"There are so many MIDI sequencers available for the Atari line of
computers. What are the features that each has to offer? Which
would be best for me?" (READ AND COMPARE)
"I was just put in charge of a fairly large organization. Is there
any software available to make my job easier" (YES)
"I would like to build a library of software that would be
educational for my kids" (CHECK THE LISTINGS)
"I need software for my Atari that will help me design printed
circuit boards and then provide drill control for the manufacture of
prototypes." (NO PROBLEM)
"Do you think I could use my Atari to decode and display image data
from a meteorological satellite?" (YES)
"Will there be any applications that create a voice-mail environment
by taking advantage of the DSP in the Atari Falcon030?" (YES)
"Would you happen to have any software that I could use with my Atari
to assist with soil mechanics evaluation and ground water analysis?"
(OF COURSE WE DO)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The catalog has more than 400 pages, contains nearly 500 entries, and
features almost 175 screen shots. Categories covered include
Publishing and Graphics; Multimedia and Hypertext; Personal
Productivity; Connectivity and Communications; Music; Business;
Education; Entertainment; Computer Aided Design; Medical; Development
Tools and System Software; and Peripherals. Atari Falcon030 listings
are also included. Along with the product description the reader is
provided with developer information designed to help them acquire the
product if it is unavailable from thier local dealer. Suggested
retail price is also listed.
If your local dealer runs out of catalogs you may order your catalog
directly from Atari by writing to: Atari Customer Relations
International Software Catalog
P.O. Box 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94088
The price is $12.00 per book.
Add 8.25% sales tax if ordering from California, Illinois, or Texas.
Also include $5.00 shipping and handling per order.
Payment may be made by check, money order, MasterCard, or VISA.
(Allow 2-4 weeks additional if paying by personal check)
******************************************************************
* If you would like to order by VISA or MasterCard you can also *
* leave me E-mail (G.LABREC) with your name, address, phone, *
* card number, and expiration date-- I will forward the order *
* to customer service. *
******************************************************************
******************** SPECIAL USER GROUP OFFER ********************
* For a limited time, any registered user group may purchase *
* the catalog in lots of 10 books. When ordering a lot of 10 *
* books the cost would be $10.00 per book plus $8.00 shipping *
* for the lot. *
******************************************************************
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
The latest Atari Explorer Magazine (the paper version) has arrived at
NAMM. To squash any potential rumors, we're taking the liberty of posting
these messages so that everyone can see them.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 15, Topic 20
Message 164 Sat Jan 09, 1993
J.GNIEWKOWSK [GE-Lamp ST] at 16:56 EST
Did the non-on-line Atari Explorere Magazine go belly up, or did I miss a
subscription notice or two?
John E. Gniewkowski
GEnieLamp ST Editor
------------
Category 15, Topic 20
Message 165 Sat Jan 09, 1993
ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 17:20 EST
John, Bob Brodie mentioned in last night's RTC that it had just come back from
the printer... it was late getting finished. Bob was very impressed with this
first issue under the directing hand of Lindsay and Meers.
------------
Category 15, Topic 20
Message 166 Sat Jan 09, 1993
POTECHIN [RT~Sysop] at 21:51 EST
I'll wager they had a deadline to have it done and out for NAMM! So where's my
copy? ;-)
Nathan
------------
Category 15, Topic 20
Message 167 Sat Jan 09, 1993
EXPLORER.1 [] Ron [] at 23:27 EST
John, Atari Explorer Magazine is back in business having completed the move
to Sunnyvale and should be back on schedule for 1993.
Nathan, "deadline" is an understatement ;-) Seriously, the crew in Atari HQ
has been working all-nighters and holidays to get things back on track.
Ron @ Atari Explorer Magazine
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
If you use GFA, here are some tips concerning how you can make your
programs more compatable with version 4.0. Also, some comments
concerning the release date for GFA 4.0 are included - don't want anyone
thinking they've "missed the boat."
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 22, Topic 8
Message 111 Thu Jan 14, 1993
OUTRIDER [Terry] at 21:55 EST
John,
<ARGH!> Thanks for the tip... Let's try it again:
-----8<-----
Atari Computers / GFA Basic (NeST), #43 of 53
Date: 11 Jan 93 23:32:10
From: Theo Runia of 90:5/0
To: All
Subj: GFA 4.0
GFA isn't dead people.
In the german GFA area there is constant talk about it and we got
some info on what will change etc. I will try to give some info here
now and in the future from this german echo. I will translate it into
english for you guys.
This is a doc on how to code and change your GFA 3.x programs so you
can use them with GFA 4.0. Nothing you couldn't do really..
1) Remove all points in VAR/PROC/FUNC/LABEL names.
===============================================
Examples:
---------
OLD dialog1.adr%
NEW dialog1adr% or dialog1_adr% (or completely new...)
OLD FUNCTION vdi.g_text()
NEW FUNCTION vdi_g_text() or vdigtext() or vdig_text() or...
Reasons for the change:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The point will be used in GFABASIC 4.0 to be able to contact parts of
structures (STRUCTs) like in C. People who already program in GFA on
the PC already know this.
You can use the underscore in the names like before.
Suggestion:
^^^^^^^^^^^
For everybody who wants to work on more then 1 listing it is better to
get and use ergo!, this can change the points (an do a lot of other
practical things) fully automatic.
2) Check all LOCAL-variables in there right use.
=============================================
Example for PAR-transfer in GFABASIC 4.0:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
OLD: NEW 1: NEW 2:
PROCEDURE a PROCEDURE a PROCEDURE a
LOCAL b$ LOCAL b$ LOCAL b$
b$="WRONG" b$="WRONG" b$="WRONG"
@b_wandeln @b_wandeln(b$) b$=b_wandeln$(b$)
PRINT b$ PRINT b$ PRINT b$
RETURN RETURN RETURN
PROCEDURE b_wandeln PROCEDURE b_wandeln(VAR b$) FUNCTION b_wandeln$(b$)
b$="RIGHT" b$="RIGHT" RETURN "RIGHT"
RETURN RETURN ENDFUNC
Output:
WRONG RIGHT RIGHT
This example can only show in general that in GFABASIC 4.0 LOCAL
pointers are local, so LOCAL variables in deeper PROC/FUNC are not
automaticly known. In general a clean transfer of variables with CbV-
or CbR-transfers is better.
Reason for the change:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Adaptation of GFABASIC 4.0 to a more general way of treating variables
in other languages, also in MSDOS-GFABASIC. There you already needed
to miss out on FakeLOCALs for a long time. Furthermore it means that
this open concept of GFABASIC 4.0 makes it easier to port to other
computer systems.
Proposition:
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Also for this work it's best to use ergo!. This because it's (imho)
the only XREF-TOOL that is reliable enough in finding fakeLOCALs.
Alternativly you could use the "GFABASIC-Konverter 3.x -> 4.0" But on
the moment we can't say anything on it's working yet.
3. Prepare Program-Module.
=======================
Reason:
^^^^^^^
GFABASIC 4.0 will allow modular programming, this way it's possible
to keep groups of PROC/FUNC, that logical fit together, into seperate
sources and develop them. Because the GLOBAL- and LOCAL Variables are
more cleaner. Also Functionslibrary's like selfwritten VDI-, AES-,
GEMDOS-, Flydial-and other libs can be made once and used in every
future program.
The MODULE-Concept used to be supported in basic by WELLER-TOOLS if
in the REM-lines looked like this:
' MODULE soundso
Who ever used this concept can make an easy change to the new
Module-concept of GFABASIC 4.0.
Proposition:
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Write often used functions as small PROC/FUNC's. That produces
smaller code and decreases the debugging time. Small PROC/FUNCs
should use as little global variables as possible and only limited
numbers of transferrable variables. This makes it easier to debug.
With a good naming convention for PROC/FUNCs you can keep your source
overseeable and so easier to read/debug. PROC/FUNCs which should be
together should have a name that starts the same and be kept together
in the source:
>PROC window_felder_initialisieren
>FUNC window_create
>PROC window_open
>PROC window_close
OK, that's it.
I have NOT written this. I only translated it from German into
English. Neither of them is my native tongue so I may have made some
mistakes in translating.
I will forward more info from GFABASIC.GER (German) in the future if
some important things pop up.
Gr. *-Theo-*
--- JetMail 0.67beta
* Origin: The Atari BBS Connection +31-58-153849 HST/V32bis (90:5/0)
------------
Category 22, Topic 8
Message 113 Fri Jan 15, 1993
AEO.7 [D. STUART] at 01:55 EST
So when is GFA 4.0 going to make it into our eager hands?
------------
Category 22, Topic 8
Message 114 Fri Jan 15, 1993
R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 18:15 EST
>From what I hear, they PLAN to get 4.0 out in the March - May time frame.
Personally, I don't think this is gonna happen though. I will be looking for
it about the end of the year. 3.7 was to be released to beta testers about the
end of December or beginning of January but, it has been delayed. This is one
of the reasons I moved to make C my language for major applications. GFA in
it's current condition just makes major applications to buggy. They need to do
a lot of cleaning on the program to make it worth programming major apps.
There are just too many things that are happening that cannot be found as to
why it isn't working properly with my program. No logical explanation. I sure
hope they get stuff cleaned up.
------------
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Appearently there was some confusion concerning an announcement that PMC
provided. In order to make sure that the record is set straight, please
read these messages; let your friends know so that we can prevent this
from becoming yet another rumor.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Category 33, Topic 1
Message 69 Fri Jan 08, 1993
ORA.TECH at 20:29 EST
The file NEW_DEAL.TXT was recently released to the ST
Press Release Library by Purple Mountain Computers for their
Freedom Floptical drives. It contained langauage that may be
interpreted as an endorsement of their product by Oregon
Research. We have the following statement to make regarding
this matter:
1) My personal and company name was used without our permission
2) Oregon Research does not endorse Purple Mountain Freedom
Floptical drives or any other drive.
3) Purple Mountain did not "provide" Oregon Research with a
floptical drive, we purchased it prepaid cash.
Bob Luneski
Oregon Research
------------
Category 33, Topic 1
Message 70 Sat Jan 09, 1993
PMC.INC at 01:53 EST
Sigh... miscommunication.
Ok, we just want everyone to know that, Bob Luneski's and Oregon Research's
names were not used in any way that was intended to be malicious, and we do
not believe that they would be viewed in such a way. Furthermore, there was
no intent to imply that Oregon Research endoresed the Freedom Drive, as the
text explained, Oregon Research Associates (ORA) has worked on their software
to SUPPORT Floptical drives, which benefits all users who buy Floptical
drives, the makers of the drives, and everyone else that deals with the ST
Floptical market. In this vein, we commend Bob Luneski and ORA for offering a
valuable and viable product, and this was the intent of the mention of both
Bob Luneski and ORA. Finally, yes, Oregon Research did pay for a Floptical
drive and for this payment PMC "provided" a Floptical drive.
If any of this was misinterpreted by anyone else, we hope this clears up the
misinterpretation.
thanks,
oscar
------------
--==--==--==--==--
|||
||| Atari's Lynx Special
/ | \ --------------------
--------------------
ATARI LYNX: At a special low price
*** $79.95 ***
Free Federal Express delivery!
Hurry! Offer expires 1/31/93!
Call 1-800-327-5151 to order now!
Push your mind to the edge
with the Atari Lynx:
Backlit screen,
stereo sound,
50+ incredible games,
"Flip" controls for left handed players,
Play with up to 8 friends with "ComLynx",
4,000 brilliant colors (16 bit graphics engine),
The worlds largest portable video game screen (3.5" diag.)
Atari Lynx has over 50 games - all jam packed with full color graphics,
digital stereo sound and radical arcade style action that you won't find
anywhere else. Get the picture? You'll find plenty of games at your
favorite store (call us for the location nearest you).
Many titles available at these fine locations:
Electronics Boutique, Software Etc., Babbages,
Waldensoftware,
Nobody Beats the Wiz, The Good Guys, Toys 'R' Us.
Or order all the software you can handle:
Xenophobic, Rampage, Batman Returns,
Pinball Jam, Gates of Zendocon, Toki,
Switchblade II, Steel Talons, Electrocop,
Ms. Pac Man, Zalor Mercenary, Ninja Gaiden,
Paperboy, Rygar, A.P.B,
Awsome Golf, Warbirds, Basketbrawl,
Blue Lightning, California Games, Hockey,
Viking Child, Xybots, Tournament Cyberball,
Shadow of the Beast, NFL Football, S.T.U.N Runner,
Turbo Sub, Chip's Challenge, Block-Out,
Hard Drivin', Superskweek, Crystal Mines II,
Rampart, Checkered Flag, Lynx Casino,
Shanghai, Klax, Scrapyard Dog,
Ishido, Pac-Land, Roadblasters,
Kung Food, Hydra, Robo-Squash,
Baseball Heroes, Dracula, Joust,
World Class Soccer,
Gauntlet--The Third Encounter,
Todd's Adventures in Slime World,
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure,
Dirty Larry--Regenade Cop,
and more!
COMING SOON: Pit Fighter, Dinolympics, Power Factor and more every month.
The entire Lynx game library is available from us, by calling
1-800-327-5151. And don't forget to order your Atari Lynx for only
$79.95 -- that's $20 off through 1/31/93! And get FREE Federal
Express delivery.
Or send check or money order to:
Atari Lynx
P.O. Box 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94088-1657
(For CA residents, please add sales tax)
Call for further information 1-800-327-5151.
This offer expires 1/31/93.
"Atari", "ComLynx", and "Lynx" are registered trademarks of Atari Corp.
Atari: an American company traded on the American Stock Exchange
--==--==--==--==--
||| Andreas' Den ................... Chitchat, a brew, and a game or two.
||| By: Andreas Barbiero
/ | \ Delphi: ABARBIERO GEnie: AEO.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// AUDIO COMPACT DISC PLAYER FOR THE ATARI ST/TT
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Atari Plays the Blues!
Filename:CD_AUDIO.LZH
The Atari platform has recently gained the ability to use the CDROM
technology inexpensively and easily. ICD has given us the LINK, a SCSI
adaptor which has made any external SCSI device an Atari SCSI device.
CDROM drives are the big brother of the faithful audio CD players present
in millions of homes today, and CD_AUDIO allows your CDROM to emulate it's
little brother and play audio CDs from the desktop! This is a demo of the
full program, available as shareware for $12.00, which has the demos'
delays removed. This is not as flashy as the CDPLAYER MOD file player,
which presents a mini-stereo system to play MODs with, but it will easily
allow you to play audio tracks off of a Sony or NEC CDROM. Other CDROM
players can be used, but may not be fully implemented. The author
suggests you try one of the built in CDROM drivers, and give it a go. If
you cannot get your unit to work, the author welcomes the information, and
will attempt to write a fix.
There is one caution, selection of a SCSI ID that is not hooked to a CDROM
could cause problems, if it is the ID of a hard drive or other device.
Nima Montaser has written a decent preliminary file, and with a little
help, could transform this into one of the new batch of files we need to
really unleash the power of a SCSI CDROM. The authors GENIE address
is:S.FARSHIDGH and welcomes comments and questions! Look for this file on
Delphi, Genie, or your local BBS.
Andreas Barbiero
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// PhotoChrome Update
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
PhotoChrome Linked with PhotoCD?
In regards to future implementation of Photochrome into Atari
applications Gordie Meyer, one of the friendly Delphi sysops tells about a
letter he received from the author.
FORUM>Reply, Add, Read, "?" or Exit> 45664
45664 27-DEC 19:48 General Information
RE: Graphics! (Re: Msg 45613)
From: BIBLINSKI To: ABARBIERO
I'll quote the pertinent portion of his letter...
"There is however, no reason not to spread the format towards the PhotoCD
people, as this would be an excellent way to apply the idea. I would imagine
you could cram around 4000-7000 pictures on a CD, with playback of around 6.25-
25 frames/sec. This means about 8 minutes of solid full screen 32768 colour
graphics - plenty for even professional animation."
-- Douglas Little
author, PChrome 3
--Gordie
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// RPG'in into the night
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
AMBERSTAR - An Atari Role Playing Game
Thalion is one of the few German software houses which actively pursue the
English speaking marketplace with originally written high quality
software. Prior to this, the only Thalion games I have owned were the
joystick-killers like Wings of Death. (Still an amazing STe enhanced
power-up shoot-em-up, better than Super Nintendo stuff.)
Amberstar is a Role Playing Game (RPG) in the classic Origin Systems
'Ultima' genre. In case you happen to be unfamiliar with these types of
games, the principle is this: You generate a character with numerical
representations for his physical and intellectual attributes. Different
races of characters can be used. Elves, orcs, dwarves, and other imaginary
personages can be assumed by you, each with its strengths and weaknesses.
A character can be tailored to suit the individual, with predilections
towards the intellectual art of magic, or the physical skills of using
large edged weapons to get your point across. Amberstar is unique in that
it has its own set of characteristics tuned to the game, and does not
parrot the Dungeon Master theme, or photocopy Ultima III. The skill of
understanding magic is critical to reading and memorizing scrolls, and
without it, the most powerful magician is as useless as a rubber sword.
Amberstar has really recaptured my memories of 4AM Ultima III battles on
my beloved Atari 800.
FIRST THE GOOD STUFF
Amberstar is part one of the AMBER trilogy. And as the box says it is "Set
one thousand years ago, when the world of Lyramion was almost destroyed by
a mortal man. A man who had combined his mortal being with a demon lord;
Lord Tarabos, God of chaos." (Sounds real familiar, huh?) "No one could
match his power, until the twelve magicians, using the magical amberstar,
cast a great spell, forever banishing Tarbos to the third moon of
Lyramion. Now the danger has returned. The black magus Marmion" (where
do they get these names from?) "is trying to free Tarbos from his eternal
prison, and has commenced the long ritual. No one realizes the great
danger that threatens Lyramion, no one but you!" Well, no one but anyone
else who reads the box.
Gameplay commences in a cemetery next to the grave of your family, and
leaving you with an entire world to explore from there. The city of
Twinlakes is in your immediate focus with several mysteries to solve.
Don't worry! The missions are all intertwined, and it is challenging, but
not impossible to find Felix the Cat(!), clearing out the multiple cellars
of a deceased magician in a villa just outside the town, figure out which
key fits where, and learn to speak the language of animals.
Your first real goal is found in the first set of battles. It is tough
trying to get above the power curve of experience points so you can join a
guild, which then allows you to use weapons, armor, magic and magical
implements. Along the way, the combination of 3D views in the town and the
dungeon are very reminiscent of Dungeon Master,or the old Alternate Reality
scenes. In Amberstar, the towns are more intricate and complex than just
the plain vector lines of Ultima on the 8bit, and even more than the
detailed backgrounds of Dungeon Master. In the sewers, water pours out of
the drains, and the stone patterns all around are well defined. There is
the 2D view inside certain buildings and for moving around between towns,
giving you the characteristic overhead view used in Ultima. The gameplay
is fantastic, allowing you to talk to everyone, ask custom questions, jot
down notes from inscriptions on statues, search planters, and trade
objects with people for everything from a magical viewing globe, to
potions to raise your characters' statistics.
Combat is interesting also. There is a 3D view of your enemies in a
window, and on the right side of the screen a grid is displayed with icons
of your characters, which allows you to view their positioning and get a
numerical readout of hit points taken from enemies and your own characters.
Magic is tough! Memorizing scrolls is a tricky subject, and not only is it
rough to get enough spell learning points, which are consumed as you learn
spells, and never returned, but managing to cast high level spells is a
hit or miss affair with low level magicians. As with all such things, a
complete manual to explain these procedures is critical, and while most
foreign manuals are obtuse, like the Shadowlands manual, Amberstar has a
concise and complete manual! Spell casting points are used as you cast
spells, but are returned as you rest.
The most reliable way to cast a spell is to use the scroll. You can
either get a one shot try at memorizing it, or a one shot at casting it
directly. I have a 5th level paladin that has eaten up a dozen scrolls.
With the next level, I will have to add more points to reading scrolls and
understanding magic. There are many magical items and weapons available,
some that cast spells! Buying things is expensive, finding them is
dangerous, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
NOW THE BAD...
There is not that much in the way of a downside in this game. With the
arrival of Ambermoon, the second part of this trilogy, hopefully there
will be smooth scrolling as you walk around the dungeon, rather than
jumping from block to block, and finer animation on the monsters as they
approach. Dungeon Master had a better presentation of approaching
nasties, and there is also a limit of your attack positions. On the
Attack position grid, you cannot move more than two squares forward, which
means you cannot close in on a fleeing enemy, or attack from behind for
extra points such as SSI's Curse of the Azure Bonds allowed. In the old
Ultima, the music score was repetitive, and on the 8bit it was better than
the music score here. Maybe I am spoiled by 16Bit stereo sound coming out
of CD players and the F030, but on a 4meg STe machine, there should be
better music.
With the music turned on or off there are no sound effects. Even the
addition of Dungeon Master clicks and screams would be neat. Also there
was a positive 'click' feeling to Ultima when you moved around the screen,
that I miss with Amberstar. So, maybe we don't need the computer
'clumping' around for us, but better control at 16MHz would be nice...
accidentally walking through doors in the 2D mode is bad, but it did find
me the secret Thieves guild by accident!! I realize I am nitpicking
here, but when the game is as good as this one is, I yearn for the little
things to make a game complete. This game is challenging, not too hard
for someone who has dabbled with a RPG, but not too easy for someone who
has solved Dungeon Master for the third time with only 2 characters!
(Sorry for bragging!)
SYSTEM NEEDS
Amberstar needs 1 megabyte to run, and will use all available memory to
load game data, so your 4 megs will really help on the gameplay. This
game is hard drive installable, as all big game should be. In 1993, all
games should be able to be placed on a hard drive. You can play this from
floppies, but you need a hard drive for everything else in life, so get
one! (It only took me 6 years with a TOS 1.0 520ST to figure that one
out.) This game runs on my Mega STe, but would not let me run the install
program and place my custom character into the game, I had to manually
move all the game files to the partition it started to write, and I was
stuck with the default character. No big deal, but this games needs to
run on a MSTe and a TT! F030 compatibility should be available if it runs
on a TT, and a F030 specific version would really explode in 256 color
mode.
This game is quick, even on an older 8MHz ST, well written, except for the
few bugs I mentioned, and leaves little room for improvement. Only a
little more playtesting should be needed to make sure that things like
finding answers to the riddlemouths (stone faces that pose you with
questions before you gain access to things) are relatively possible to
find. There is a very active help topic on GEnie for this game, and the
special access CAT 21 topic can really clear things up for you.
This will be a RPG that you may need a bit of help for, but you won't
regret the purchase. Thalion deserves a big hand for a game that was
written for the Atari, and not ported over with EGA screens from PCs. Who
needs a PC for original games? Not me!
--==--==--==--==--
|||
||| GEnie Atari ST RoundTable News
/ | \ Courtesy: GEnie
------------------------------
Atari Roundtable Weekly News
= GEnie NEWS =
The Hot Summer Days Sale is no more! GEnie's prime time hourly connect
charge has been PERMANENTLY reduced to $12.50 per hour (in Canada the
reduction is to $16.00 per hour).
(Note: GEnie*Basic pricing is NOT applicable during prime time hours.
Reduced prime time rates are in effect in the United States and Canada
only, and apply at speeds up to 2400 bps.)
= DARLAH'S TREAT =
***************************************************************
Darlah's Holiday Treat of the Month [page 475;9] is PHNXDEMO.LZH
from LEXICOR2. This the DEMO version of Phoenix object render from
Lexicor Software. The LZH file also includes SPC & GIF sample files.
This is a must have program for all ATARI computers. Phoenix support
different light sources, 3 different cameras, texture and image
mapping: SPC, GIF & TGA are support. This is a very fast render.
***************************************************************
= REALTIME CONFERENCES =
= Scheduled Wednesday RTC Guests =
Have an idea for an Realtime Conference? Wish to promote a product,
show or service? Atari Roundtable Realtime Conference provides an
excellent platform for announcements and discussions. Contact RTC$,
for requirements and information on holding formal RTCs. We also
capture and edit the formal conferences and uploads them into the
Atari RT's Library for you.
= Monday Realtime Conference =
Stop in for Monday's Desktop Publishing Realtime Conferences. Hosted
by Lou Rocha with regular guests dealing with all aspects of DTP and
associated topics.
= Atari ST Help Desk =
Atari ST Roundtable holds a Sunday Help Desk to answer your questions
on GEnie, Atari ST Roundtable and the line of Atari computers. Stop in
and ask questions or just visit the Atari RT staff and users. The Help
Desk starts at 9:00 pm EST Sunday on page 475;2.
= RTC Transcripts =
--------------------------------------------------
27028 GAMESRTC.ARC X BRIAN.H 921220 7808 38 13
Desc: Gaming RTC - Eric Bitton
26912 LEXICOR.ARC X BRIAN.H 921213 16384 77 13
Desc: LEXICOR RTC 9Dec92
--------------------------------------------------
For Realtime Conference inquires and comments contact: RTC$
= LIBRARY =
Last Week's Top Downloaded Programs/Utilities:
---------------------------------------------------
27231 ST_ZIP21.LZH X R.SHEPPARD5 930105 86784 353 40
Desc: Ataries ST ZIP 2 less Bugs..
27251 APPLIER.LZH X J.EIDSVOOG1 930107 14848 240 2
Desc: An enhancement for installed apps
27265 JAKEVIEW.LZH X N.DAVIS1 930108 11008 175 5
Desc: Picture Viewer/Converter.
27195 SPRTED12.ARC X D.CLIFTON4 930102 44928 148 2
Desc: GEM text-editor desk accessory.
27279 UPS_PRGS.LZH X PMC.INC 930109 17536 108 6
Desc: UPS Zone and Rate calculations
27246 ALADSHOW.ARC X T.WRATHER 930106 29312 81 2
Desc: Search ALADDIN's download lists
27248 CD_AUDIO.LZH X S.FARSHIDGH 930107 12928 78 29
Desc: audio compact disc player
---------------------------------------------------
Last Week's New Demos:
---------------------------------------------------
27203 BADTASTE.LZH X C.THORPE5 930103 1015168 33 10
Desc: 2meg demo of movie Bad Taste.
27177 EASYGO13.LZH X A.WATSON6 930102 44416 53 10
Desc: Easy Go program launcher version 1.3
---------------------------------------------------
Last Week's Press Releases in the Library
---------------------------------------------------
27295 FFD.TXT X PMC.INC 930111 1792 39 14
Desc: Freedom Floptical Drive = Quality
27280 PMC_CHNG.TXT X PMC.INC 930109 1664 88 14
Desc: PMC Changes Phone # and more!
27264 BESTPRICE.TXT X NEWDIMENSION 930108 4608 131 14
Desc: Best Floptical - Best Price!
27258 SACINFO1.ASC X M.WARNER8 930107 4224 38 14
Desc: SAC Expo Invite
27233 LAPEXPO.TXT X MORTIMER 930105 1792 25 14
Desc: FREE tickets for LAP&PALMTOP Expos
27230 SACEXPO.LZH X M.WARNER8 930105 26240 21 14
Desc: SAC Expo Ad in Pagestream format
27229 NEW_DEAL.TXT X PMC.INC 930105 3456 148 14
Desc: PMC Beats all other Floptical prices
27221 TERA125.TXT X GRMEYER 930104 2816 118 14
Desc: TeraDesk v1.25 Press Release
27217 SPAR4.LZH X D.HALL23 930104 11520 75 14
Desc: The Electronic Book For Calamus SL!
27187 IAAD_DIR.ARC X D.A.BRUMLEVE 930102 7296 33 14
Desc: Updated IAAD Member Directory
27170 NOTASALE.TXT X NEWDIMENSION 930102 2688 100 14
Desc: The "Sale That's Not A Sale"
---------------------------------------------------
--==--==--==--==--
||| Atari Users Online: Threads from the Internet
||| Compiled by: J.J. Lehett
/ | \ Internet: JJL101@PSUVM.PSU.EDU GEnie: J.LEHETT2 Delphi: JLEHETT
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Internet has always contained a wealth of technical info for
Atari owners, from the most simple beginner's questions, to the
experienced programmer's problems. This column will attempt to make that
information available to those who do not have Usenet access. Due to the
ever changing nature of discussions on the Usenet, the subjects in this
column will be directly related to the past month's Usenet subject matter.
The email addresses of the messages have been left intact to facilitate
further communication with the poster(s).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Hard Drive SCREEEECHING
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: mforget@elfhaven.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Michel Forget)
Hi!
I think I might be having a problem with my hard drive. It used to only
happen when it was cold in the room where the hard drive is, but now it
seems to happen every time I turn the drive on.
The problem itself is this; after a few minutes of operating normally, it
suddenly gets louder and sounds like it is working harder/going into Warp.
It usually stops (then again sometimes it doesn't) if I tilt the front of
the hard drive up.
The hard drive is an Atari MegaFile 30, by the way.
Do I need to clean the inside of the drive, or is it something else?
Should I worry about this? The difference in sound is very noticeable
(and there is a slight hissing as well).
Please help!
----------
From: Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com
Michael Forget wrote about his Megafile making noises..
There are two sources of such noises normally.. the first is a "head
crash" where the flying read/write heads make contact with the spinning
disk and gouge the surface of the disk. The material scraped from the
surface will cause secondary crashes until the heads and surfaces are
destroyed. The noise from a head crash will usually be a scraping and
grinding sound.
You do NOT want this to happen..! :)
The second source of noise is a "ground strap" which serves to bleed off
static electricity which would otherwise build up on the spinning
platters. The place where this strap contacts the end of the axle tends
to wear, allowing the strap to vibrate and make noises.
This is not destructive, only annoying.
There are ways to dampen the vibrations of the ground strap, but they
require disassembly of the case, and possibly removing the pc board on the
bottom of the hard drive itself. If you can get to it, a small blob of
silicone sealer on the *outside* of the strap will often cure the noises.
(A third source of noise could be failing bearings in the cooling fan, but
it would be pretty obvious where that noise was coming from.)
In the case of a head crash, you'd know it very soon, as the drive would
become unreadable, and there would be many errors.
>From the description of the symptoms, and especially because the noise
changes with the orientation of the drive, it sounds like the ground strap
to me...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// MiNT And the MINIX FileSystem
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: lehmann@cs.tamu.edu (Mark A Lehmann)
Well I finally installed the MiNT distribution kit. I had to do it
manually. I think that I had the MINIX file system working too. I placed
the file "MINIX.XFS" in the root directory of my boot drive "C:\" and I
got the message that the MINIX file system was active.
I then wipe everything about under normal TOS by simply copying a file to
the partition that stores the MINIX partition.
My questions are:
What do I do to prevent TOS writing onto the MINIX file system when
MiNT is not active?
I am supposed to be able to make large file names with MiNT and MINIX?
I could'nt find a UNIX like program that would let me have more than the
TOS sized file names. When I did "touch thisisamintfile" the system
locked up. No error messages. Maybe the program could be slow, but I
waited about 10 minutes for it to complete. I thought that "touch" would
be extremely fast.
Use the ICDFMT.PRG partition program, what should I set in the "TYPE"
field. I know that in real MINIX I should somehow make the partition
unavailable to TOS only. How do I make a partition MiNT accessable and
not TOS accessable?
----------
From: hyc@hanauma.jpl.nasa.gov (Howard Chu)
(concerning protection of the MinixFS partition)
I don't think you need to worry about this. Usually a Minix formatted
filesystem will have a valid TOS boot block, with the FAT configured to
indicate 0 sectors free, thus preventing you from writing anything to it.
(concerning long file names)
The programs need to have been written correctly in the first place, i.e.,
allow for file names longer than 13 characters. If you have a program
that only allocates 14 bytes for filenames (as most TOS programs do) and
the directory routines return a filename much longer than this, you're
bound to corrupt your memory. Depending on whether the program stored the
name in a local or a global/static variable, you could trash the program's
stack or other data areas. If the stack is trashed, the sort of lockup you
observed is not unusual.
(concerning the TYPE of the MinixFS)
The minixfs.doc file says the partition type must be GEM, therefore, you
cannot make the partition hidden to TOS.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// SLM804 SsHhAaDdOoWwIiNnGg
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: jkrakover@sma2.rain.com (jonathan)
P L E A S E H E L P.......
Just yesterday, for no reason, my SLM804 Laser Printer decided to print
shadows to the left of everything. A straight line down the page looks
like two lines about 1/2mm apart with the left one being very
inconsistant. It happens regardless of whats being printed or where its
located on the page, a very sloppy, ionconsistant, smuge of a shadow to
the left of every- thing.
Please respond with any advise you might have,
----------
From: grahamt@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Graham Thomas)
A friend of mine had a similar problem, which we cured by switching the
order of components connectd along the DMA chain - he originally had
ST-hard disks-SLM804 controller, and the problem disappeared when we
switched it to ST-SLM804-hard disks. (Or it might have been the other way
round - can't remember, and from my experience with such setups there's no
logic to it.)
No guarantees, but maybe worth a try if all else fails.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Miscellaneous Spectre Questions
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: mrz5149@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
1 - I cannot format 720 k MFS floppies with DCFormat 3.02, for
transverting (I always get a disk error);
--------------------------------
That portion of the code in DCFormat may not work correctly with the TT.
Try formmating MFS disks in Spectre.
--------------------------------
2 - I cannot get a full A3 Mac screen - the Mac does run on a 1280x800
screen, but it gives me 2 "squished" (and illegible) screens, side by
side. In ST
--------------------------------
Unfortunately, Spectre does not support really big screens or color or any
other special features of the TT's enhanced video or Crazy Dots for that
matter! The reason for the screens has to do with the way Dave programmed
it but he may allow larger BW screens in the next version of the software.
Color support will more than likely be for the Falcon only since Dave has
to plough through the 512k Roms to get color out, although I suppose Dave
could make a 16 color version for the TT but that is unlikely since the
Falcon Spectre works of the internal bus of the Falcon (this is because
you just can't use 512k Roms off the Cart port because it only supports
128k of addressing!).
Hope that helps!
----------
From: weiss@uklira.informatik.uni-kl.de (Gerhard Weiss AG v. Puttkamer)
>QUESTION:
>How can I transvert Atari -> Mac? The floppy doesn't work, the internal SCSI
>doesn't work, Transverter refuses to recognize the (functional) MAC partitions
>on my external ACSI, ... I think I feel an email to Dave Small coming on ..
I know, this is not a solution to the above problems, but did you know
that it is possible to use the same floppy on Spectre and Mac without
transverting?
First time I did not belief that, but its really simple to do!
Take a Mac that is able to read and write HD-Disks (i.e. has a FDHD
Drive), start Apple`s utility to convert files to MS-DOS (I don`t know the
english name of it) and select the menu entry to format a disk. Normaly
you have only the choice between formating 1.44 Mb or 720 kb MS-DOS Disks
or 1.44 Mb or 800 kb Apple Disks. If you click onto the disk icon you are
able to choose 720 kb Apple Disks. If you format the Disk in this manner
you get a 720kB Apple Disk, that is formated in MFM! This disk can be
read by any Mac (with FDHD) AND by Spectre 3.0 without any additional
tool! By the way: this formating can be done by Spectre, too. The Mac OS
on Spectre believes to live on a Mac Plus with a FDHD with only double
density.
From: Martin_Bartsch@mk.maus.de (Martin Bartsch)
1. You can transvert Atari -> Mac and vice versa using RS232.
2. You can use MS-DOS Disks in 720K Mode using Access PC or DOS Mounter
under Spectre, it works very well.
3. You can use Mac 720K Disks. It's not a joke, it works! Apple
distribute a Programm with System and Finder, it's called
Transverter(?) I think. In German its called "Dateien konvertieren". If
it is running and you put an unformatted Disk into the diskdrive an
alertbox apears on the screen. You can see there 3 entries like Mac
800K (standart Mac), Apple Prodos (Apple 2) and Mac 720K (disabled).
When you click with your mouse onto the Disk-Icon in the alertbox, the
Mac 720K mode is magically enabled. Then you can format your Disk as
Mac 720K (even under Spectre!). But not all Macs esspecially old Mac
Plus like this special Format. Newer Macs shouldn't have any problems
with these disks.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// TCP/IP and ST????
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: Mark Kovarski <kovarski@zooid.guild.org>
Has anyone out here experiemented with TCP/IP for the Atari ST. I remember
seeing a file on a german FTP site that was called, I believe, TCP_IP.LZH.
How does it implement TCP/IP? Is it done via the RS-232 port? What I want
to eventually do is to network my PCs with the Atari that I have. Is there
any product that will allow me to do it? Since I am running OS/2 2.0, I
would want to be able to monitor the Atari machine by having a window
activated all the time in order to do so. To go even further, any products
for the Atari ST that will allow it to network with IBM's LAN Server?
Any information is appreciated...
----------
From: s19184@seb.se (Michael Evans)
I have been thinking about the same thing. I know there are Ethernet cards
for various ST-models in Germany, but I think that most of them are for
Megas (ie expansion bus machines).
The thought that struck me the other day (it did not hurt ;-) was that
there are many "pocket" LAN adapters available for portable PCs. These
plug onto the parallel port and supply a Token Ring or Ethernet (Thinwire
or 10BaseT) connection.
Now an ST could not use the PC drivers which are supplied with the
adapter, but the hardware could be of use even for my old 1040 STF. Has
anyone looked at what is required to drive one of these adapters, and
worked out what would be required to drive it though the ST parallel port
instead?
Personally, I am most interested in a NFS client, as I have just collected
the SOSS NFS server for the PC, but I imagine that the appetite would grow
as soon as the function became available.
Is this anything more than an old man's wild ideas?
----------
From: ens@ccu.umanitoba.ca ()
They have ACSI boards too but the prices are outrageous.
A better way would be to use a MAC SCSI-ethernet board with an ICD
ACSI-SCSI connector. This would be faster, but the same problem with lack
of software drivers exists. Now if you could get software only from the
German companies at a reasonable price...
----------
From: czekall@uni-muenster.de (Ralf Czekalla)
Hello All,
I've