Atari Explorer Online: 4-Sep-93 #0215
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 09/05/93-11:55:15 AM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: Atari Explorer Online: 4-Sep-93 #0215
Date: Sun Sep 5 11:55:15 1993
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:: Volume 2 - Issue 15 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 4 September 1993 ::
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:: ::
:: ATARI .............. News, reviews, & solutions ............ ATARI ::
:: EXPLORER ............ for the online Atari .......... EXPLORER ::
:: ONLINE ................. Community .............. ONLINE ::
:: ::
:: Published and Copyright = 1993 by Subspace Publishers ::
:: """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: Publisher ........................... Michael Lindsay EXPLORER ::
:: Editor .................................. Travis Guy AEO.MAG ::
:: News and Features Editor ............... Ron Kovacs Z-NET ::
:: Assistant Editor GEnie............... Ron Robinson EXPLORER.1 ::
:: Assistant Editor CompuServe......... Albert Dayes AEO.1 ::
:: Assistant Editor Delphi........ Andreas Barbiero AEO.2 ::
:: Assistant Editor Internet....... Timothy Wilson AEO.8 ::
:: Atari Asylum .................. Gregg Anderson AEO.7 ::
:: Unabashed Atariophile .... Michael R. Burkley AEO.4 ::
:: Atari Artist .................. Peter Donoso EXPLORER.2 ::
:: ::
:: Contributors ::
:: """""""""""" ::
:: Ken Baum Robert G. Brodie Jerry Davis ::
:: ::
:: Telecommunicated to you via: ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: GEnie: AEO.MAG ::
:: CompuServe: 70007,3615 ::
:: Delphi: AEO_MAG ::
:: Fnet: AEO Conference, Node 706 ::
:: AtariNet: AEO Conference, Node 51:1/10 ::
:: ::
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Table of Contents
* From the Editors ....................................... There is a time.
* Z*NET Newswire ...,,,,,,,,........... Atari posts Second Quarter results.
* Dateline: Atari! ............. Falcon030 and Jaguar news direct from Bob.
* Atari Artist ............. New hardware, including video editing for the
Falcon030 from Wizztronics? Peter interviews.
* Houston Atari Safari ......... Jerry Davis reports on a hot day in Texas.
* AEO Calendar of Events ............... Events to note in the World Atari.
* Delphi Jaguar RTC ............... Bob and Sam Tramiel meet the videogame
crowd to talk about the new Jaguar.
* Atari Asylum ....................... More ScreenBlaster tests from Gregg.
* The Unabashed Atariophile .............. New PD and Shareware files made
for _your_ Atari computer.
* The Second Twenty Questions .............. Atari Corp. answers questions
posed by CIS users.
* An Open Letter from Bob Brodie ......... On the ongoing online imbroglio.
* How Many Colors? ................. An AEO reader wanted to know how many
colors just were in those Targa files.
* News from Usenet ............... Tim digs up more news from the Internet.
* Andreas' Den ................. Still in the Orient, Andreas thinks small.
* Developing News ....................................... STraight FAX 2.0
ImageCopy
Oregon Research
Raystart
CyRel Catalog Disk
ATARI UNITED!
MegaType
* Shutdown ...................................................... "YOU DO."
--==--==--==--==--
||| From the Editors ....... Atari Explorer Online: The Next Generation
||| Travis Guy
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.MAG Delphi: AEO_MAG Internet: AEO.MAG@GENIE.GEIS.COM
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings everyone! Here in America, it's the Labor Day weekend - the
traditional end of summer, and for our children, the marker for the
beginning of another school year. Labor Day, a harbinger of change.
Hurricane Emily skirted across the Outer Banks of North Carolina
before changing course into the Atlantic; David Letterman is back on
late night television after changing networks, and he's in vintage
form ("Same Dave, better time, different station." - Yep, those
promos are everywhere.); and Atari's role in the marketplace is
changing, with the respect that accompanies the excitement generated
by the new Jaguar.
I'd like to thank all of the readers who took the time to send us
feedback on our Jaguar Special Edition. Responding to y'all has kept
me busy these last two weeks (and has grown to be the part of my job
that I enjoy the most), and I would like to encourage more EMails. As
Editor of AEO, it is my duty to see that the magazine reflects your
interests. Keep those messages coming!
What I've seen is that there is overwhelming interest in the Atari
Jaguar, enough so that I can't see why it won't be a phenom when it's
released. Oct-Nov-Dec for New York and San Francisco, and early 1994
for the US and Europe. Late maneuvering by Nintendo and 3DO shows that
they are clearly worried about, "that upstart, Atari." This battle
should be fascinating. Back in the 70s, Atari _created_ videogames.
Today, Atari has the power to _redefine_ videogames. Again, the next
18-24 months should be interesting.
For those of you who were introduced to AEO with our Jaguar Special
Edition, welcome to an ordinary, text-only edition of the best online
source there has ever been for Atari news. This issue is our largest
to date; there is so much that is happening in the World Atari these
days, that I had to make it all fit. (And like me, it wound up too
big. <grin>)
If you have ever read AEO all the way through to EOF, you would have
noticed a cryptic tagline that sits just above the legal notices. The
line reads "DNFTEC" and stands for "Do Not Feed The Energy Creature."
It's a gentle reminder (to me, if no one else) to ignore slight, snide
comments made while online. In most cases, Energy Creatures are
harmless, but will Feed off of your replies to them, grow in size, and
continue their juvenile attacks. Sometimes, however, the Energy
Creature isn't harmless, and is self-sustaining.
There's a open letter from Bob Brodie to Ralph Mariano in this issue
on a subject that AEO has steadfastly refused to cover. The GEnie ST
RT / Lexicor / STReport dispute has been waged in sometimes vitriolic
style over the past few months, and despite pleas from some AEO
readers to balance out the "coverage," we have remained aloof.
However, stands must be taken. After an online exchange with Mr.
Mariano this week, Bob Brodie felt compelled to clear the air of the
charges and countercharges being levelled. While this isn't AEO's
usual fare, together, the editorial staff felt that Bob's point of
view as an outsider should be expressed. We have always encouraged
feedback; and here too, if you have any comment on this issue, please
send EMail to me, your editor.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Z*NET Newswire
||| By: Ron Kovacs
/ | \ GEnie: Z-NET CIS: 75300,1642 Delphi: ZNET
------------------------------------------------------------------
//// ATARI REPORTS SECOND QUARTER RESULTS - Atari recently reported
========================================= its operations for the
second quarter ended June 30, 1993. Net sales for the quarter were
$5.7 million as compared to $23.3 million for the same quarter in
1992. During the quarter, Atari incurred an operating loss of $4.0
million as compared to an operating loss for the second quarter of
1992 of $45.0 million. In addition, during the quarter the company
incurred loss on exchange of $3.1 million and had other income items
totalling $0.5 million, which resulted in a net loss for the second
quarter of 1993 of $6.6 million as compared to $39.7 million in 1992.
Commenting on the results, Sam Tramiel, president of Atari, said, "The
company has focused all of its efforts on the development and launch
of its new multi-media video entertainment system called Jaguar, which
will be launched in the fourth quarter of this year in the New York
and San Francisco markets. We have approximately $35 million in cash."
//// AMD DISCLOSES INCORPORATION OF INTEL IN CHIP - Advanced Micro
================================================= Devices has
disclosed that its scientists may have incorporated parts of Intel's
computer language in its new "built from scratch" microprocessor. An
AMD spokesman said the development will not significantly delay
release of the new chip, which could occur as early as this month or
in October. AMD had previously pledged that it would release the
AM486SX chip during the current quarter. The new chip was designed to
be a non-cloned version of Intel's 486 with the circuitry largely
reverse-engineered from Intel's. The chip will be "pin-compatible" -
that is, like other AMD chips, it will be able to be plugged into
sockets designed for Intel chips.
//// COMPUTER ORDERS RISE - A government report on factory goods
========================= orders, released earlier this week shows
that demand for computers is rising sharply. Overall, orders for all
products made in U.S. factories and manufacturing shops is growing
slowly, rising 3.7 percent from July 1992 to July 1993. But orders for
computers and office equipment climbed 21.6 percent in that one-year
span. Computer and office equipment orders each month this year: -up
8.1 percent, July; down 5.3 percent, June; up 6.1 percent, May; down
2.5 percent, April; down 4.8 percent, March; up 9.6 percent, February;
down 0.8 percent, January.
//// HP ANNOUNCES TAKE BACK PROGRAM - Hewlett Packard has announced a
=================================== pilot program to collect used
inkjet printer cartridges. The cartridges are used in HP's
market-leading DeskJet brand printers, as well as in its inkjet
plotters and fax machines. In the U.S. program, customers may return
their used cartridges to any participating dealer. HP will provide
dealers with cartridge collection bins and retrieve the cartridges
periodically at no cost to the dealers. After the cartridges are
collected, they will be sent to processing facilities where the
precious metals (gold and copper) used in the cartridges will be
reclaimed. Ore smelters will use the remaining plastic parts as an
energy source. The plastic, which can be burned at extremely high
temperatures, is a much cleaner source of energy than traditional
fossil fuels.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Dateline: Atari!
||| Captured and Edited by: Ron Kovacs
/ | \ Courtesy: GEnie
------------------------------------------------------------------
<[Host - Lou] ST.LOU> Welcome to the First Anniversary Edition of
Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie. This evening we have not selected a
specific topic. Instead the topics of discussion will be your choice.
No doubt Bob will provide us with the latest news on Atari computers
and game machines. The last few conferences have been dedicated to
those topics and I expect there is still great interest in developing
and marketing those products.
We also have some special giveaways to celebrate the anniversary
edition of this conference. Sometime during the evening Bob will post
a skill-testing question. If you answer correctly, you may be one of
the winners of Atari Works - the integrated application, MultiTOS or
SpeedoGDOS. Just a quick note... only paying customers are eligible
for the prizes :-) Without further ado............. Here's Bob!
<BOB-BRODIE> Paying customers only!!!!
Good evening everyone! And it's a great pleasure to gather together on
the eve of this long weekend. I hope that you have a chance to enjoy
being with your loved ones, relax and just enjoy the long weekend. I
know that here at Atari, we're all looking forward to it.
It is with great joy that I look back at our last year together in
this setting! Here on our official online service, GEnie, we had
wonderful series of monthly conferences!! We've had quite a series of
events to share. In addition to being able to visit with you
personally, I've been privileged to have as special guests Eric Smith,
the author of MultiTOS, Pradip Fathepuria, author of Atari Works, and
James Grunke, Director of Atari Music. In the very near future, we'll
be scheduling another special CO to discuss in greater detail our
exciting new 64 bit home entertainment system, the Jaguar!!!
I'd like to take this opportunity to that Darlah Potechin and her
entire staff of sysops for making the Atari RTs on GEnie THE PLACE TO
BE for all Atari owners! Without their help and support, our efforts
to support our customers online wouldn't be nearly as effective as
they are. Further, I'm grateful that she lets me have these monthly
events! Not every sysop is as supportive of real time conferences as
Darlah, and as the contract holder of the RT, it really is up to her
if we have these events. Thanks, Darlah! I'm grateful for your
support!!! I also appreciate the hosts of these real time events, as
they make sure that things are always "going the right way" and keep
the flow in tow! <grin> Lou, Brian, and Mike...thank you!!!
As a part of the commemoration of the one year anniversary of
Dateline: Atari, tonight we're going to be giving away a number of
Atari products! The way that we'll do this is that I'll include in my
opening remarks some key information that you'll have to repeat later
on in the CO. The first one with the correct answer will have his
choice of our prizes! We're giving away one copy of Atari Works, two
copies of MultiTOS, two copies of SpeedoGDOS, and as SPECIAL EXTRA
BONUS, I've added a copy of our latest Lynx offering, Lemmings to the
prize list! First correct answer picks first, second second, and so
on. So pay attention, and get those capture buffers open! <grin>
Let's begin our time together tonight discussing the BEST handheld
game system on the market; the Atari Lynx! We just gotten two more
games in stock: Lemmings and Jimmy Connors Tennis. Approval has been
given to start manufacturing on two more titles, Malibu Bikini Beach
Volleyball, and Ninja Gaiden III. Lemmings is an excellent conversion
of the popular computer game, brought to life with the superb color of
the Lynx. It's really a fun game!! At our house, my 11 year old has
always been semi-interested in the Lynx. When I brought home Lemmings,
he couldn't put it down for hours!!! I guess that's one of the highest
endorsements I can give it: it captivates the interest of Brian Andrew
Brodie. <grin> Truly a fun game, and reviewers have their copies on
the way to them now. Jimmy Connors Tennis is a title that is full of
all kinds of exciting digitized sound, one of the largest games that
we've produced to date (4 megs!). This is an excellent tennis game,
filling a niche in our line up of sports titles for the Lynx!
One of the titles that I know where anxious to get going on for the
Lynx is Eye of the Beholder. Work is progressing along with that
title, and I'm hopeful that we'll see that title in time for
Christmas. That pretty much covers all the things going on regarding
the Lynx. One of the questions that I'll be asking tonight is which
Lynx game has my son's attention, and the answer is LEMMINGS! Be sure
to pay attention when we ask that question during the RTC! You don't
have to take the Lemmings game if you win...you can pick from any one
of the prizes available at that time!!!
On the Jaguar front, we're overwhelmed at the amount of attention that
the Atari Jaguar is garnering. Retailers and the media alike are
excited at the views that they've seen of our 64 bit home
entertainment system. As seems to be ALWAYS the case in the Atari
market, while we've projected the Jaguar to be a home entertainment
system, the rest of the world is coming up with all kinds of things
that they want to do with the Jaguar!! There has been interest in
using it as a main board in coin-operated video arcade games from a
number of companies. A number of people believe that the Jaguar has
enough power to finally be able to start the promise of Virtual
Reality. And of course, the techies among us want to know everything
about everything, why it is, how it is, and how can they get it.
I've gotten contacts from potential developers ranging from self
described "brilliant, but poor college students", and some of the
greatest names in gaming. The video game magazines are virtually
camping out on our doorstep.. I'm getting to know the people from
GamePro by their voice on the phone! <grin> For those of you that
haven't seen a lot of the information on the Atari Jaguar, please take
a look at the recent issue of Atari Explorer Online Magazine, Special
Jaguar Edition. It's here in the libraries of GEnie as file
AEO_SE_J.ZIP, and includes some GIF format pictures to give you some
screen shots from the Jaguar.
The entire staff at AEO, lead by publisher Mike Lindsay, editor Travis
Guy, and news editor Ron Kovacs have put a tremendous amount of effort
into making this a terrific resource for everyone interested in the
Jaguar. Congratulations, guys!!
For those of you that have taken the time to download and check out
the GIFs and Targa pictures from AEO, thanks for your comments!! We
will be putting out some more pictures later on, but we want to be
certain that we don't step on the toes of the game magazines by giving
away too much before they publish, either!! But rest assured there
will be more Targa files uploaded. And naturally, they will be on
GEnie, our official online service FIRST!
We're now just a few weeks away from one of my favorite events of the
year, The Southern California Atari Faire!! This year Faire
Chairperson John King Tarpinian will once again be putting on the best
fest in the West at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. GEnie will be
there, as will a host of other notables, including Bill Rehbock from
Atari. In addition to attending the show, Bill will be hosting a
developer conference held in conjunction with the Glendale Show. Be
sure to check in category 11 for the latest updates to the show vendor
list!!!
Well, I think I've gone on just about long enough now! I'm really
excited to be here, and lets get started with some questions!!!! My
apologies for the typos, I got home late due to heavy traffic.
<[Graham] B.STEVAN> 1) Do you have any info yet on higher end Falcons?
2) Do you have any release dates on Atari's 14MB RAM board? 3) Does
Atari have any plans for LDW Power? 4) Do you have a name yet for the
new service manager you mentioned at the last RTC? 5) How is Atari
handling VARs right now (with regard to the Falcon)? I'd also like to
encourage Atari to contract IBM to produce the Falcon. Right now we
have to pay 3.9% duty to bring the Falcon into Canada since it is made
in Taiwan. If it could be made in the US we could avoid this duty, and
would be able to offer the Falcon at a lower price.
<BOB-BRODIE> OK, On the higher end Falcons, not at this time. As I've
said in the past, I've seen the plans, and I think you will be pleased
with what we've got in the works. Our service manager is named Jim
Jackson, and he has years of quality control and service experience. A
real first rate professional, and very famililar with dealing with
manufacturing in the Far East. Re the 14 meg boards, Sorry. I forgot
to check on that issue, but until ours is available, please use the
very excellent board from Chro- Magic Software, the Ram Gizmo. Works
great, and is a very nice product indeed. RE LDW, we're kicking around
a number of ideas with it. Our deal that we were working on with a
developer fell through, so we're looking at other options right now.
Regarding VARs we have no specific VAR program per se at this point on
the Falcon. We simply confirm that they are in fact VARs, and then we
treat them just like a normal dealer in terms of ordering, etc. I
appreciate your input on the manufacturing, we'd love to be a totally
US produced company as soon as it is practicial to do so.
<B.AEIN> Any news on the GE SOFT speed up board? Will dealers like
Toad get Jag's to sell for the holidays? Any promo deals for Falcons?
How about advertising the Jag in movie theathers with trailers? Pro
Logic surrond on Jag?
<BOB-BRODIE> Please gang...ONE question. We haven't firmed up our
plans for sales to dealers like TOAD yet but I suspect that they will
be able to purchase Jaguars after the holidays. We don't plan on
opening up mail order until after the initial roll out in NY and San
Francisco. The advertising for the Jaguar will primarily be
television.
<P.CHAMBERLA2> We've been working on the design spec for the worlds
first and only digital signal processing, solar powered flashlight.
We want to know when we can expect to see the falcon developers kit we
ordered more than 6 weeks ago.
<BOB-BRODIE> Please send email here on GEnie to Mike-Fulton and cc
Ataridev on the mail. I don't handle developer orders, and since I'm
(for a change) doing this RTC from home rather than the office, there
isn't any way for me to check on it for you tonight in real time.
Sorry. Mike has already left the office as well, as we were having
some maintence done in the building.
<RHETT> Why should I develop for the Jaguar, when Sega and Nintendo
have shown themselves to be top-notch marketers? What can you offer
developers to tempt us away from those companies? Superior technology
doesn't always sell best, as we've seen.
<BOB-BRODIE> There are two big reasons why, Rhett. First, the real
thing that sells entertainment systems is quality software. And as a
developer, you will have more power at your disposal with the Jaguar
than with ANY OTHER SYSTEM ON THE MARKET, period!!! That means that
you will be able to create games for the home in a fashion that before
you only dreamed about being able to do. The Jaguar has the power to
make games unlike ANY of the systems that Sega and Ninetendo have. As
a developer, you also know that the price is a prime consideration of
these systems. Neo Geo had (or should I say has) a very nice system as
well, but it is simply too expensive to be a success in the home
market. We feel that the price of the Jaguar is agressive enough, and
the technology is so far advanced that we will have some of the finest
games available on the planet. While I am not familiar with your
company, and I'm not in a position to release names tonight, I can
assure you that we have some of the finest names in gaming that are
coming on board to develop for the Jaguar.
<R.HALL49> Personally, I feel that the Jaguar trounces the competition
into dust. So recently when Denny Atkin-formerly of Computes Amiga
Resource had a conf. on the Amiga Roundtable, I asked him to compare
the CD32 to the Jaguar...He replied that he thought the 2 machines
were aimed at different markets...(strange!) Anyway from the close
relationship that you have with the developers how much superior do
THEY think the Jaguar is? <BOB-BRODIE> Every developer that has seen
the system is very excited. There are admittedly "camps" in these
meetings. The bean counters tend to take a look at Atari, the company,
and question how much real support we will give the system. The
programmers and technicians can't wait to get the system in their
hands, especially after they hear that there is NO OPERATING SYSTEM to
get in their way. They get to write directly to the hardware! They all
love that!!
<K.CAVAGHAN2> Hi Bob, I know I'm going to sound like a broken record
but when could we see some (any???) ads for the present systems
including the Lynx? I haven't even seen any ads in the comics lately!
<BOB-BRODIE> Kent, we had a promotion proposed for the summer, but we
have decided to hold off and make a big push for the Lynx at the same
time as we will do the Jaguar roll out. I'm sure you will be pleased
with the ads that we will be running then. Titles are starting to come
out at a better pace, too.
<J.TORRES17> I love the LYNX and cant wait to get Lemmings (I'll have
my cousin in NY send me a Jaguar... :> ) But around here (tampa)
NOBODY seems to carry the LYNX anymore! (Toys R us, etc.) Any deals
with companies to keep the Jaguar and LYNX on the shelves. I've got
$1000 in the LYNX now. (and can't wait for Lemmings!)
<BOB-BRODIE> The Lynx is set to be back on the shelves of Electronic
Boutique very, very soon. In fact, it should have already have
happened by now. Re the Lynx/Jaguar combo, there is no question that
we will be using the Jaguar as a leverage tool to also place the Lynx
in the stores. But we also have to be mindful that the entire handheld
business is just 17% of the total video game market. So we're not
going to be shipping Lynxes in to the stores on a 1:1 basis with the
Jaguar. BTW, we haven't had a single retailer tell us they DON'T want
to do business with us on the Jaguar...they have ALL told us that they
want to sell the product.
<SAM-RAPP> Bob, I can no longer buy Lynx games here in the
Chattanooga, TN area. A Service merchandise ad I recieved today
featured the LameBoy for $44.95, on sale from $49.95. What is the
current pricing on the Lynx?
<BOB-BRODIE> The current price on the Lynx is $79.96, Sam. Like I just
told the previous questioner, you will be able to purchase them in
Electronic Boutiques again, very, very soon.
<D.ELLIS16> Thanks Bob for being here! Any word on Blackmail the voice
mail program for the Falcon? I saw a picture of the Jag in the paper..
Great Job to the entire team ! Really looking forward to seeing
production line units ;-) Thanks again!!!
<BOB-BRODIE> Dale, last I heard of Blackmail, they were awaiting the
approval of the FCC to market the program. I saw them at a conference
that I attended back in May, and they were still wrestling with that
problem.
<D.VICHA> Glad to have you here bob. With RAM prices going up, How are
Atari prices for Falcon and Jaguar going to be affected.
<BOB-BRODIE> We don't envision a change. For one thing, the increases
in RAM prices were pretty artificial anyway. There was a report that a
major factory was destroyed in an earthquake in Japan, but that turned
out to be an epoxy factory...not a chip site. So, most of the increase
has been temporary. Locally, we've been very encouraged by two events,
#1) The big, big comeback that US semiconductor companies are making
against their Asian competitors. They really are doing a great job of
getting back into the competitive standpoint. And #2) we have
benefitted from Apple's problems. As a result of their sales slump,
they have cancelled some huge orders for parts (like DRAM), which
naturally made the product available to other companies!
<ORA.TECH> Along with the push for the Jaguar, will there be any
advertising or other means of getting the word out about the Falcon?
The market needs to see a large number of units in the hands of those
other than Atari die- hards.
<BOB-BRODIE> Right now, the plan is for the Jaguar to get the big
push, and then we'll take some of the funds from the Jaguar's success
and put it toward the Falcon. The reason we have changed our mind and
gone this way is that PC sales, across the board are really poor.
There are a handful of companies that are making any money in the
hardware business right now. However, we are still committed to the
Falcon. We believe in it, and intend to support it.
<S.LAPHAM1> I'd love to upgrade my '86 vintage 1040 to a Falcon but
refuse to sell my SLM605for a big loss then spend 100's more for
another laser. Any word on being able to hook up an SLM to a Falcon
(and why were SLM owners abandoned)?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Scott, the interface for the SLMs has not materialized
yet. And I confess to not knowing what the problem is. Bill is just
back from Europe, and I haven't had a chance to discuss this issue
with him. The reason for the change is that we wanted to bring the
system more in line with the standards that the rest of the computing
world was using, so we eliminated the DMA port. At some point in time,
every peripheral becomes obsolete. We also did away with the floppy
disk port, which made useless every external floppy disk drive ever
made.
<C.CASSADAY> Any news on the next batch of TT's; changes; TOS updates;
RAM configurations? (with only one question mark, that should count as
one question.
<BOB-BRODIE> I asked about this before I left the office tonight,
Chris. And I KNEW that someone would ask about this!! :) But I wasn't
able to get a definitive answer about how many, when, what, etc. I can
tell you that we're continuing to work on MultiTOS, and have another
beta rev going thru testing now. It's stable enough that it is in use
in the office. I don't have a time frame on it being released, or cost
at this point.
<AEO.MAG> Bob, AEO has received a tremendous amount of feedback from
our readers on the Jaguar Issue, and on the screenshots. (They want
more!) Many of the letters have been coming from Europe asking if and
when Atari plans to market the Jaguar over there. Do you have an
answer for these very interested (potential) customers?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Travis, we have plans to sell the Jaguar in the first
half of 1994 in Europe, going first to London, then Paris, and
Frankfurt with our European lanuch of the Jaguar. I've gotten a lot of
wonderful compliments about the AEO Special Jaguar Edition as well,
and I'd like to take this opportunity to say thanks for your efforts
in making this such an outstanding issue. I'm particulary grateful
that AEO is a magazine that has a balanced editorial staff, that is
such a pleasure to work with. Unlike a certain other online magazine
which is piloted by an obsessive, overbearing, vindictive, self
centered ego maniac.
<K.KOZORIZ> Any chance of a 14 meg, no HD config Falcon?
<BOB-BRODIE> Kevin, not directly from us, no. But it would be an easy
system to create by purchasing a one meg no HD Falcon, and then
installing the Chro-Magic RAM Gizmo.
<L.LOZO1> Hi bob i am a dealer in australia, i met you 2 years ago at
the vancouver atari fair. Over 6 years i have been an atari dealer. I
don't agree you can critcize apple, may be years ago you could not any
longer. The Ste was late, The TT was Late, The stacy was late, The not
book we never saw, The falcon was late, Why Should i remain an atari
dealer or anyone for that matter? P.S. what about my atari dealers
access to genie? (I've requested this for over 1 1/2 years!
<BOB-BRODIE> Hello Lucas, of course I remember meeting you, both here
at the office, and it the airport on the WAY to the Vancouver show. I
did not criticize Apple, I merely pointed out that they were
cancelling their orders for certain parts, and that had impacted the
prices of those parts.
Re your GEnie access, I gave that to you, but if you do not go in to
the dealer category at least once a month, you will automatically LOSE
that access. That is not something that we have set up, it is simply
the way that GEnie's software operates. And for the most part, the
information in the dealer topic is for US/Canadian dealers. They deal
directly with us in Sunnyvale, while you are to conduct all of your
business with our office in North Ryde. If you want back in, I'll set
you up, but all of your questions about pricing etc are going to be
referred to our office in OZ. I'm not 100% up to speed on what they're
pricing/policies are there. I believe in the last year they have
primarily focused on selling the Lynx, and have become profitable in
the process there. This is in marked contrast to most of our
subsidiaries that have operated in the red for the last several years.
//// Editor's Note: At this point a drawing was held. This part has been
//// edited out of the transcript. The winners, and their prizes were:
////
//// <C.CASSADAY> Atari Works.
//// <D.SHORR> SpeedoGDOS.
//// <C.WAWRZYNIAK> MultiTOS.
//// <R.PERRY4> Speedo.
//// <B.CONNOLLY1> Lemmings.
//// <D.VICHA> MultiTOS
<BOB-BRODIE> Congratulations to the winners!
<[Host - Lou] ST.LOU> OK back to the conference.
<E.BAIZ> Are there any CD Rom games being developed for the Jaguar?
<BOB-BRODIE> Ed, the initial games that we are working on are
cartridge products. The CD will be available next year.
<C.S.SMETON> So, Is there any chance of a keyboard attachment for the
Jaguar, so that us application devs will have something to develop
software for? ;-)
<BOB-BRODIE> Hmmmm, I'm not aware of any plans for that, Charles. But
there will be a DSP expansion port, that is envisioned as being
something that interactive media (including modems) could take
advantage of.
<[Jeff] J.WHITE99> And a gracious good evening to you, Robert. Have
you guys decided where you want the booth to end up after the San
Diego show next week?
<BOB-BRODIE> I believe that we will want it to be in Glendale, home of
the Southern California Atari Faire, version 7.0. We'll be putting it
up on the stage to showcase the Falcon, and perhaps some video tape
displays that will give the attendees a look at some of the
capabilities of the Jaguar.
<S.OLSON2> While I plan to purchase a Jaguar asap I am underwhelmed by
the targas released, will these be touched up in any way? Also what
happened to Battlezone 2000?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Steve, well, I'm sorry that you didn't like the pics.
We have gotten all kinds of reactions to them, like Travis from AEO
indicated earlier, including mail from Europe that was high praise for
the pics. We've also heard from some people like you that didn't care
for them. Which ones didn't you like?
<S.OLSON2> PrimariMostly the Kasumi ninja ones...they seemed bland...
especially the one with the two fighting...the title screen shot
seemed alright
<BOB-BRODIE> Ah, right. Those are very preliminary shots. Please bear
in mind that part of what gets lost in these pictures is the motion,
and of course, the sound. It really is a terrific game but I agree
that the still shots didn't do it justice. Releasing the pics was a
tough decision. A lot of people here were opposed to it, because of
the mixed reactions that we knew would occur. Especially because the
way the pics looks isn't entirely in our control. Seeing them in ST
low rez on a stock ST really doesn't do them justice. On the other
hand, on a Falcon030 in true color mode, they look terrific. They were
also previewd on a Mac, with a SuperMac video board, and they looked
terrific there too. Anyway, the pictures are not retouched in any way.
They are the real thing.
<H.HAMMOUD> Hi Bob. I joined late so I hope that this was not covered
yet. Are there any plans to hook a Falcon up to the Jag? (I think it
would produce a pretty interesting animal, don't you? :) ) Also, will
the CDrom drive work on other Atari computers?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hmmm, not directly, Hassen. It does sound like a very
interesting idea though. I'll pass that idea along. Re the CDROM,
no...it is designed to fit onto a special spot on the case of the
Jaguar, and plug into the cartridge port. And it also has a "pass
through" cartridge port to allow you to play cartrdige based games
while you have the CD Rom unit installed.
<C.WAWRZYNIAK> Thanx Lou. Hi Bob! Thanks for the prize! Will games for
the Jaguar be designed like the card type for the Lynx or a box type
of cartridge? Battery backed games are appealing. Especially for the
RPG games.
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Chris, my pleasure...you're welcome! The Jaguar games
are designed to be cartridges, the idea of battery backed systems has
been discussed, and is possible.
<J.VOGH> Bob, how do you view the Nintendo/SGI system announced for
late 95? If it ever makes it to market, will the Jaguar compete and
can the Jaguar be easily upgraded so that in will blow the
Nintendo/SGI away if it ever comes to market (i.e. can the clock rate
be increased, memory expanded etc.). BTW I want Star Raiders for the
Jaguar! What type of monitor does the Jaguar RGB port work with?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi James, well I view the Nintendo/SGI announcement as an
attempt discourage, cause fear, and place uncertaintity in the
marketplace. It isn't a real product, they haven't even signed the
agreement so far as we know. SGI is a terrific company, but they are
not known for making inexpensive systems, which is what needs to be
done for a home based system. Most of the analysts here in the Silicon
Valley have decried it as a FUD announcement...if it shows up in a few
years, they're going to be WAY WAY WAY, behind us. Not a good position
to be in.
Re the monitor, the Jaguar is incredibly versatile in the way that it
handles video. There are plans to have an accessory that will handle
composite RGB output.
<J.TORRES17> Is there an editor for SpeedoGDOS drivers & Fonts. It
doesn't seem to support my HP 500C in color mode. BTW does Works do
color pics?
<BOB-BRODIE> Joe, the fonts are a propreitary format from BitStream.
They don't produce an editor, they just make more fonts. Re the
driver...hmmmm I thought that there was a 500C driver! Works doesn't
do Color pics though at this time.
<D.KAUFMAN> MTOS v. Geneva: Comments? Opinions? Recommendations?
(Three question marks, one question.) (-; Hi, Bob from sweltering,
humid, sweaty NYC.
<BOB-BRODIE> MTOS vs. Geneva, why choose...you can use BOTH at once!
Really, my friends at Gribnif, Rick and Dan, are talented programmers
with yet another great product. From the talks that I had with Rick on
the phone, there is no reason to choose, as Geneva really replaces the
AES, not TOS.
<R.HALL49> I heard the Simarils was going to do a 65,000 color 16 bit
sound version of Ishar 2 for the Falcon...from a hardware standpoint
can the Falcon move this type of game well and are they probably using
the DSP to do it?
<BOB-BRODIE> I haven't had a chance to talk to Bill Rehbock about
this, but if they were going to do a 16 bit sound version of the game,
yes, the DSP would be the way to do it...and I think it can handle it
very well.
<D.ELLIS16> How about a comment on the production schedule for the
Jaguar roll-out. Are we still on schedule? Really looking forward to
both the Jaguar and the Falcon But have to get the money first.
<BOB-BRODIE> Yes, we are still on schedule. We have just done the
first pilot production run, and Sam Tramiel is in North Carolina to be
there as the first units come off the line. I know what you mean about
having to get the money first, the economy here in California
continues to be horrible!!!
<G.ROUSH> Why is the Falcon at the rate of 16 MHZ? Why not put in a
faster one like the rest of the competition? And how many software
companies are bringing out new programs?
<BOB-BRODIE> Gary, the reason that we used a 16Mhz 030 was because of
the way that our system works. We don't just rely on the CPU in order
to make the system work. We have an DSP chip, DMA, and FPU chip that
are all available to take the workload off of the CPU. We have in fact
discussed using a Jaguar chipset as a card for other products,
including a PC card.
<R.WHITMAN2> Will Atari be making a 24 bit (Jaguar based) graphics
card for The falcons pds???
<BOB-BRODIE> We're considering it, but we haven't committed to it yet.
<[Host - Lou] ST.LOU> Well, that wraps up our Anniversary Edition of
Dateline Atari! Many thanks to Bob and Atari Corp. for providing the
prizes. Congratulations to our lucky winners. Don't forget to send
your addresses in email to BOB-BRODIE.
Join us on Saturday, September 18 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time (7 EST, 6
CST, 5 MST) for a special Glendale RTC live from the Glendale Show.
Our guests will be Bob Brodie, Glendale Coordinator John King
Tarpinian, and ZNET/AEO writer Ron Kovacs. Goodnight everyone and
thanks for coming.
<BOB-BRODIE> Thanks for coming tonight, everyone. I'm grateful, as
always to have the opportunity to participate on this network where
the staff and system have taken a strong stance to ensure that you
have the _BEST_ of everything at your disposal to serve your computing
needs. I'm also proud to be associated with these people, both as
professionals, and friends. Be sure to read our next issue of AEO, it
will be in the libraries this weekend. Good night.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Atari Artist
||| By: Peter Donoso
/ | \ GEnie: EXPLORER.2
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ])=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [ ATARI ARTIST ] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ])=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=)[ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This issue features a talk with Steve Cohen of Wizztronics. We cover
some familiar ground, and then delve into a number of their upcoming
hardware enhancements for Atari ST/STe/TTs, as well as the Falcon030.
I had the pleasure of being able to talk with Steve at length in a
recent, exclusive interview, during which he shared with me details
concerning a number of Wizztronics' exciting new products. While some
of these have just recently been released, I'll also be telling you
about the soon-to-be available products which they plan to debut at
the upcoming Glendale Atari show in California, along with a brief
review of the company's current roster of quality hardware
enhancements, you'll also get a glimpse into what's on the Wizztronics
drawing board for '94. So, without further ado....
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
= =
- -=-=-=- [ EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! ] -=-=-=- -
= =
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
//// NEW HARDWARE PRODUCT PREVIEWS:
//// A TALK WITH STEVE COHEN OF WIZZTRONICS
Companies who venture into the area of hardware-based computer
enhancements often have to contend with a number of unique challenges.
Although handling the distribution of third-party products has certain
advantages, there may be faulty parts and/or assemblies, as well as
warranty and service requirements to deal with. If the original
developer is based elsewhere in the world, there's the added
frustration of contending with foreign shipment. Anticipated
feature-upgrades can sometimes meet with costly delays, and
suggestions for improvements to make the product more marketable may
meet with negative reactions and resistance from the inventor. Each of
these factors can whittle the licensing "edge" down... and then down
some more.
If both design and distribution is assumed by the same outfit, the
profit margins become potentially greater, but then, so do the risks.
Research and development costs for materials and prototypes have been
known to put a product permanently to pasture, often taking the
company with it. As Tarzan said to Jane after relaxing with his third
martini from a hard day swinging through the big primeval,
"Jshane...ish a jshungle out there!"
As the founder and principal developer of Wizztronics, Steve Cohen
knows only too well the joys and pitfalls of being both a hardware
developer and product distributor. Located in New York's Port
Jefferson section of Long Island, the company is presently headed by
Steve and his partner, senior programming engineer Joseph Rodomski.
Both men have certainly had their share of rewards and frustrations,
and though the rewards may not have all necessarily been of a
financial nature, the company continues to be responsible for
producing a number of excellent, quality ST/STe/TT/Falcon products.
And, as they often say... the best is yet to come! But first....
//// Some Background
The birth of every company shares the common proverbial beginning, "It
all started when... In keeping with that tradition, I'll ask Steve to
fill us in.
"Well...Back in 1979 I was on my way to visiting my family when I
became intrigued by a store sign advertising video games, so I
pulled over to check it out. Even though I had a strong
electronics background, I really had little experience in
computers at that point. Little did I realize I'd soon be closing
that gap, though. I ended up walking out of that store with an
Atari 800 8-bit computer, loaded with an impressive (at that time)
16k of memory, along with a couple of video games and some
software. Within eight months I had upgraded my machine to a
whopping 48K, and gladly abandoned storing my data on cassette
recorders for a 5 1/4" disk drive."
Like so many small companies, the business end of Wizztronics'
computer hardware development grew out of Steve's own personal desires
and requirements. He found himself wishing his computer had features
and capabilities beyond the manufacturer's standard factory specs, and
since neither they, nor anyone else, for that matter, could supply him
with those options... he promptly decided to design, build and install
them himself!
"Our first product grew out of my frustration of having to put up
with having to sit there, notching my floppies just to get the
drive to read and write both sides of the disk. After figuring out
all I needed to do was bypass the write-protect feature on the
drive, I came up with the design for installing a hardware switch
which would allow any model 810 or 1050 floppy disk drive to
access both sides of any 5 1/4"floppy. It worked great!"
A friend convinced him to market it and, though it may have seemed at
the time like a rather small step for Wizztronics into the formidable
arena of computer hardware developers, it would prove to be a giant
step for the world of Atari users.
When Atari upgraded their operating system with the release of the
800XL, there were incompatibilities with a number of software titles.
Wizztronics solved the problem by coming out with a board that allowed
users to switch between any one of 5 operating systems, including the
original 800, the 800XL and a number of alternate software-based
operating systems as well. Its release was greeted with great
enthusiasm. People really began to take notice of Wizztronics, and the
company soon became an established name among the pantheon of Atari
8-bit developers.
Steve dabbled briefly with becoming a software developer when he
wrote his first game for the Atari 800, a jump-and-shoot-'em-up that
featured multiple screens.
"Apart from the graphics and novelty of the game itself, the thing
that really stood out the most in this piece of software was how
I got the screen to scroll so smoothly! I shared a beta version
with a few friends to get their opinion, and they were gaping in
amazement that this smoothness was really possible on an Atari
800! A week later I was handed a disk by another Atari user as he
excitedly told me I had to check out this great new game that he
just downloaded off a bulletin board. I couldn't believe it - it
was my game! After that experience, I quickly lost all desire to
become a commercial software developer."
When the first ST models came out, 8-bit musicians had already gotten
the jump on using MIDI in conjunction with their computers.
Wizztronics had recently released MIDIMax, their hardware MIDI In/Out
interface which they bundled with MIDI MusicSystem, a sequencing
software package licensed from a third party developer. Although the
software was simplistic by today's standards, MIDIMax turned out to be
one of the most popular 8-bit products for the company. Wizztronics
also developed an Atari 800XL 256k upgrade, which did extremely well,
and still does even to this day.
//// Developing for the 16-Bit Atari
Surprised by the continued demand for 8-bit related products,
Wizztronics coasted through the early years of ST/STe development by
supporting their 8-bit market, and started looking into doing repairs,
installations and upgrades for DOS-based computers as well. Steve was
certainly intrigued by the direction Atari was heading, and begun to
explore the possibilitiesfor developing products for Atari's family of
16-bit computers.
"Our first ST product was Compatibility Plus ($59 - limited to
remaining stock) a bare, unpopulated board which allowed
a520/1040/Mega ST user the convenience of being able to install
and toggle between any two versions of TOS 6-chip sets through the
use of an external hardware switch. Compatibility Plus II ($99
unpopulated, $149 with TOS 2.06 pre-installed) makes Atari's
NewDesk desktop available to older ST users, and provides the
additional option of being able to switch back to their original
version of TOS in order to run older software that may not be
compatible with the newer TOS.
"Then we introduced Cartmaster ($199), which allows any ST/STe/TT
and Falcon user to simultaneously connect up to four cartridges to
their cartridge port. They can then activate any cartridge
through a desk accessory without having to turn of and re-boot
their computer. In response to a number of customers who wanted
to be able to activate a specific cartridge when auto-booting the
companion program with boot-up utilities like Super-Boot and
X-Boot, we've just recently made four Auto-Folder programs
available - one for activating each port.These are now on GEnie in
the ST Utilities library.
"Cartright ($65 assembled with enclosed case, $35 assembled
without case or $15 for the unassembled kit) frees any over-sized
cartridge interface - a hand scanner, sound digitizer, video
capture cartridge, MidexPlus or Spectre GCR - from taking up extra
desk space. It's basically a ribbon extender (10" length is
supplied, but we've tested it successfully at 6' feet; call us for
a price on a custom length) with a standard 40-pin male and female
cartridge plug on either end. You can then relocate your
cartridge to sit on top of or behind your computer. You can even
bury it underneath your desk, or put it on the opposite end of
your desk, or up on a shelf! Cartright also comes in handy for
those people who have their computer sitting on top of an external
hard drive or power switch panel. Rather that have their cartridge
just sitting out there in the middle of the air with no support,
Cartright can insure that an over-sized cartridge won't end up
with bent or broken pins."
(Editor's note: For a more detailed description and review of these
two products, please see Issue #13 - AEO_013.TXT - of Atari Explorer
Online)
"Printer Perfect ($125) is a bi-directional hardware device which
offers the convenience of being able to connect up to three
printers that use the Atari ST/STe/TT/Falcon parallel port. It's
basically an A/B/C switcher, but is totally controlled using
software - there's no physical knobs or switches. As in
Cartmaster, we supply an accessory, which can also be run as a
program, along with 3 small programs for booting your computer
with a pre-assigned port as the default. Although 1040ST/Mega
ST/STe computers unfortunately do not have parallel ports which
are bi-directional, the Falcon 030's parallel port definitely is
(we still need to check out the TT about this). This means you
could also use Printer Perfect with up to three networked Falcons
for enabling them to share the same printer.
"Stowaway Professional ($19.95) is a disk labeling software
package for printing labels on any 9 or 24-pin dot matrix printer
written by James E. Thompsen. The next update, scheduled for
release in the first quarter of '94, will add support for laser,
DeskJet and PostScript printers. The tentative price for this
release will be $44.95, and owners of the earlier versions will be
able to upgrade for $25."
//// So, What's New?
If you're one of the growing number of proud Atari Falcon 030 owners,
congratulations! If you wanted to get the MAXED version with 14 megs
of memory for doing some serious desktop publishing or digital
multi-track recording, and found they were impossible to get (Atari's
supply of upgrade boards are presently backordered), well, wait no
longer! Now you can take your Falcon to the upper)memory ozone with
Wizztronic's Falcon Memory Upgrade board ($99 unpopulated). The board
matches Atari's dimensions, measuring 2 1/4" x 4 3/4", and you have
the same option of upgrading from a 1 meg configuration to either 4
megs or 14 megs.
Installation is a breeze for even the most faint-hearted do-it-yourselfer.
The unit comes with simple and easy to understand instructions. Simply
remove the 8 case screws and then the ten screws that attach the
shielding. Next, unplug Atari's Falcon memory module board, plug your
RAM SIMMSs onto the Wizztronics board, plug the board in and secure it
to the high-insertion force pressure-fit pin connect or, re-attach the
shielding and seal the bird back up. That's it!
Although you can get the board pre-installed with RAM, Wizztronics is
not really in the business of selling RAM. They deliberately offer the
board without RAM so that you can get the absolute best price you can
find. Of course, if you're really gun-shy when it comes to doing
anything other than tying your shoes, Wizztronics will also mount your
preferred configuration of RAM onto their board and install it in your
Falcon. The total charge consists of their current market price for
RAM (market prices for RAM go up and down constantly) plus $10 for
installation, along with the cost for shipping and insurance both
ways. Insuring your unit is a very wise precaution to take, I might
ad.
Just what kind of RAM chips can be used? Want to fill us in, Steve?
"You can use 1-SIMM chips (72 pins) in a 1x32,(4 meg) or 4x32 (14
meg) configuration. Alternately, you may have a friend, or know
someone at the office with a IBM PS2 which they're about to
upgrade with more memory, and are switching to the larger memory
chips. Well, tell them you'll offer to take their existing RAM
chips off their hands, because you can also use these 1x36 or 4x36
bit module chips as well. The board we sell comes with two pairs
of mounted solder pads. Pre-configured for 14 megs, you can easily
alter the board's configuration by simply using a soldering iron
to break one of these two jumpers, which automatically
reconfigures it to 4 megs.
"I'd like to also point out that our board employs multi-layer
construction - 4 layers, to be exact - as opposed to the
traditional two-layered boards, which eliminates electrical noise,
and we use top-quality all-gold connectors manufactured by AMP. In
the interests of environmental concerns, we're also offering a $5
rebate plus a refund for the cost of shipping for sending us your
original Falcon memory board."
//// Next Up
If you're a 1040ST/STe, Mega ST/STe, TT030 or Falcon 030 owner, you
may have found yourself looking at your friends' PC towers with envy,
and wished that you could also be able to reduce the number of your
Atari components down to one case! Wouldn't it be great to finally
free up your desk space from that jungle of wires, power cables, and
varying-sized cases? One case that now stands straight up, off to the
side or, even better yet, located underneath your desk and off it
entirely! Well... you won't have to wait much longer. What's
Wizztronics got up it's proverbial disk-sleeve, Steve?
"Although we're still working out the final details - I'll get to
those in a minute - we plan to offer tower cases in either grey or
black for around $250. The present units we're thinking of using
will be 24" tall, 8" wide and approximately 18" deep, but we may
scale them down a bit in size. They'll have four external drive
bays, which could ideally be used for two floppy disk drives of
any available density, a Syquest removable media hard drive and a
CD ROM drive, but you can use any or all of them for whatever you
might want.
"These cases will be able to mount ANY Atari 68XXX series
computer's mother board, with plenty of room for expansion. Each
unit will come with the necessary cable extensions for making your
ports accessible from a supplied back case template, which will
have the appropriate ST model's punch-outs to fix their port
extensions into. The case will be able to accommodate two to three
internal hard drives, depending on their physical size and storage
capacity, as well as a FAX/modem, and even a Cartmaster! A 230
watt UL-approved power supply, and a standard three-prong power
cord will also be included.
"The cartridge port placement (and accessability) will be
optional. If you're a one)cartridge kind of person, and that's the
only thing you ever use the cartridge port for, you can just plug
it in and close up the back. For external placement, the back of
the case seems to make the most sense, but it can also be
installed in the front. Alternately, using our Cartright ribbon
extender, you can locate your cartridge port wherever you like -
on the top of the case or on the side. If you're really handy, you
can also probably cut a hole in the side of the case and mount it
there, but we won't be providing a punch-out for that, and you'd
have to work out the mechanics of securing it well enough to
withstand the pressure of inserting and removing a cartridge. For
those CartMaster owners who prefer to have their unit buried in
the case, there'll be plenty of room for locating it inside as
well!
"The front panel will have an access light for indicating internal
hard drive activity, as well as a front-mounted power switch,
keyboard port and soft reset button. The available amount of
interior space will ideally also allow for using the recently
developed European memory expansion boards, which can bring your
Atari 1040 ST/STe or Mega ST/STe up to a total of 12 megs of RAM.
"Mega ST owners who are using an ADSpeed16 accelerator, or have a
color accelerator, ATSpeed, Viking Moniterm or SoundTools card
installed in their Megabus slot would not have the room to
accommodate the addition of a 12 meg memory upgrade unit within
the dimensions of their standard Mega ST case. Once relocated in
our tower case, this would not be a problem."
Steve, that's really great news for Mega ST/STe and TT owners, since
their computers already have separate keyboards. Now, the big question
- what about Falcon and 520/1040 ST/STe owners who have their CPUs and
keyboards integrated within the same computer case?
"Well, remember when I mentioned earlier that we're still working
out the final details? This is one of the big challenges we have;
being able to offer this to ANY Atari 16bit or 32bit user, which
we really want to do. We looked at the possibility of being able
to use the original 1040ST/STe-styled keyboards, but it looks like
that solution may not end up being cost-effective in the end.
"As a viable alternative, we thought of purchasing MegaSTe/TT
keyboards from Atari to offer our 1040/Falcon customers, and we're
still checking that out with Atari. Stock status and pricing for
their keyboards are uncertain, so right now that option is up in
the air. We're presently investigating the possibility of getting
injection-molded keyboard cases made that could house the original
1040/Falcon-style keyboard, and still be able to incorporate a
mouse and joystick port as well...we're not quite sure yet what
the best solution will be, but we're hard at work on getting it
solved."
//// Debuting at Glendale
Ever since Atari unleashed the Falcon030, a video-hungry user base has
waited off-camera in eager anticipation for a video editing package to
finally be released that would take full advantage of Atari's amazing
video machine. Nothing too expensive; how about, oh, let's see... how
about less than half of what it costs on the "other" video computer,
which needs that break-the-bank, "extra-aneous pseudo-kitchen
appliance" hardware accessory to do a lot of the same video
prestidigitation? Seems too good to be true? Well, the wait is just
about over!
This September at the annual Atari Glendale show in California,
Wizztronics will unveil the first module in their total VES 2000
(Video Editing System) Prosumer package! The term "Prosumer" indicates
the unit has a number of professional features and capabilities, but
due to certain limitations, can't really be consider as a fully
professional system (they start at around $25,000!). Now that I've
drawn the curtains and cued the orchestra, I'll let Steve introduce
the cast.
"The first part of our VES package is a VFC (video frame capture)
unit which we're targeting at around $300. The unit is a
cartridge-based integrated assembly which plugs into the Falcon's
cartridge port and powered by an included UL-listed AC adaptor. It
features a composite input via standard RCA jacks, which will make
it compatible with any VTR (video tape recorder) or camcorder, and
will also contain RCA composite output jacks.
"On the technical end, the unit will have a capture rate of 20 FPS
(frames-per-second), with a resolution of 640 by 480. The VFC then
automatically scales this down to 320 by 200 for use with the
Falcon's high-res, true color capabilities. This is accomplished
using an on-board 24-bit VIM (video input module). You'll be able
to store captured images to your hard drive, which will average
around 600K per picture at uncompressed, high-res quality. In
addition we've also integrated a 1 megabyte RAM buffer into our
VFC unit to allow for fast frame buffering. The data capture rate
is 1/60th of a second, NTSC quality, and displayed to the Falcon's
monitor screen at the rate of 20 FPS, which is the Falcon's
maximum limitation. This unit supports full NTSC input and output,
as well as TBC (time-base co rrection) for syncing signal timing
from multiple sources. This particular feature will be important
for when we release the complete VES2000 system."
Wow! But wait, there's more. The full blown VES2000 system, which is
scheduled for a second quarter of '94 release, will offer a COMPLETE
hardware/software video editing package! It will support both consumer
AND commercial VTR units, be able to handle two input sources (a total
of three inputs with their VFC unit) which can then be mixed down to
one final output, and the software will feature live editing
capability on your Falcon monitor screen, as you're watching it on
your video monitor. Steve, tell us some of the features you're
planning to include in this system.
"The package will include: genlocking with titling and animation
capability; chroma keying (like they use for putting weather maps
behind TV weather casters); luminous keying; colorization; a
variety of fades and wipes; screen scrolling and rotation; digital
effects; zoom in/out capabilities, as well as solarization. You'll
be able to do such special effects, as displaying one live image
which then can be "ghosted" to allow another image to emerge from
behind - in real time! You'll be able to display anywhere from 3
to 6 frames of video in linear mode - the list just goes on and
on.
"Commercial decks, which have servo-controlled motors for
single-frame accuracy, will be controlled through either a RS232
or RS422 cable directly from the Falcon, and hopefully be able
to... [access] the bus directly for optimum
processing speed.
"Consumer decks will require a third-party hardware interface,
such as Sony's "VBox" (video computer interface), which uses
Sony's industry-standard VISCA (Video System Control Architecture)
to generate and translate a number of protocols that interface
with a variety of consumer-model VCRs. These protocols include
CONTROL-S, LAN-S and LAN-C. Sony models include their SLVR5,
SLV676, SLV757, SLVP30HF, SLV50, SLV70HF, and Beta models
SLHF1000, SLHF2100, EDV9300, EDV9500, but a number of companies
support these protocols as well.
"Basically, any VCR which has either a 5-pin DIN connector, S-3 or
other kind of wired remote plug on the back of the unit will most
likely qualify as being compatabile with the VBox, This will allow
the Falcon to control such standard VTR functions as play, record,
stop, pause, rewind and fast forward. Wizztronics, by the way,
will be a registered Sony VISCA developer.
"The audio aspects will take full advantage of the Falcon's DSP
chip to handle full digital stereo as well as digital sound
effects. This whole project is a real complicated challenge! We're
hard at work on this package, and are looking at a host of other
hardware and software features and capabilities as well, including
interfacing with third-party animation software, but we'd rather
not talk about them until we've got them worked out. Atari has
been very helpful and supportive, and we're as excited as they are
about showing what the Falcon030 can really do!"
The VES2000 system is slated to come in at somewhere around $2,000. At
this point it's not certain whether the VFC cartridge unit will be
incorporated into this total package, or remain a separate piece. You
will need to have 14 megs installed in your Falcon to take full
advantage of all the incredible features of this system.
This may seem like an expensive price tag at first, until you start to
do some comparison shopping. Even at a total price tag of $3,800 (14
meg Falcon with monitor included), a total PC-based package with
comparable features comes in at somewhere between $5,000 and $7,000
dollars, while an Amiga 4000 package - including a VideoToaster 4000 -
comes to about $6000! And that doesn't include multi-track digital
audio and effects! With the upcoming official US release of Cubase
Audio for the Falcon (8 channels of digital audio without any
additional hardware) Atari's claim that you'll be able to actually
produce your own music video or commercial spot on the Falcon will
soon be a reality!
//// On the Drawing Board
Wizztronics is working on some other exciting new projects that are in
various stages of development. One of them is a Falcon video
accelerator card! Another is a memory upgrade board which will boast
handling up to an awesome 1 gigabyte of RAM! Of course, these products
will be able to integrate with the VES2000 system as well.
Steve and all the other people at Wizztronics believe in giving their
customers FULL support for any and all of their products.
"If there's a problem, we'll stay with it until it's solved! If,
in the unlikely event that we can't solve it, we'll be more than
happy to give them a full refund. Our customers are important to
us, and that's exactly how we treat them. Talk to any of our past
customers and you'll hear the same thing: 'Wizztronics took the
time to make sure I was totally satisfied!' We also believe in
using only top-quality parts in all our products, for obtaining
the best possible response and durability.
"Wizztronics is an authorized Atari developer, as well as a
recognized Atari repair center. We have a pretty quick turn-around
for installing hardware and memory upgrades. We're very familiar
with the complete line of Atari 8, 16 and 32-bit computers, and
can help you with whatever problems you may be having."
I'd like to thank Steve Cohen for his generous time and efforts in
getting all this information together for this interview, exclusive to
AEO readers. I'm sure they share my excitement in learning about these
exciting new products and are as eagerly looking forward to their
official release as I am.
If you have any questions, you can reach Steve at:
Wizztronics,
P.O. Box 122
Port Jefferson, NY 11776
Voice/Fax (516) 473-2507
Or leave him E-mail on Genie at S.COHEN27.
Well, that's it for now. We welcome your comments, suggestions and any
interesting things you may want to see mentioned here, so feel free to
write to either of us on Genie at EXPLORER.2. Until next time, just
remember...
-=-=-=-=- Today Is The Tomorrow You Dreamed About Yesterday. -=-=-=-=-
--==--==--==--==--
||| Houston Atari Safari '93 Report
||| By: Jerry Davis
/ | \ GEnie: EXPLORER.3
----------------------------------------------------------------
The fourth annual Houston Atari Safari, sponsored by the Houston Atari
Computer Enthusiasts (H.A.C.E.), was held on August 21st, 1993, at the
Jerabeck Athletic Center on the campus of the University of St. Thomas
in Houston, Texas. As has been the case with most other Atari shows
recently, attendance this year was down sharply from previous years.
But, the mood of those attending the show did not appear to be
dampened by the low turnout.
The H.A.C.E. members put a lot of time, and effort into this year's
show, and their hard work was evident from registration to show's end.
H.A.C.E. President George Iken, Treasurer Bill Kithias, and the other
members manned the registration table throughout the day, distributing
the Safari packs, and making sure everyone got their name tags and
were registered for the many door prizes given away during the show.
Disk Librarians Bruce Fudge and Harold Gailey were busy passing out
free disks and selling compilations of PD and Shareware files from the
huge H.A.C.E. library. Other members were scurrying about attending to
the needs of the different vendors and people who came for the show.
This show seemed to be very well organized, and the members of
H.A.C.E. are to be commended on a job well done.
The hall and the meeting rooms in the Jerabeck Athletic Center
provided a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere for this year's Safari.
Although there were no local dealers present, two retail dealers from
outside the Houston area, several individuals with swap tables, and
eight different developers were on hand to answer questions, offer
upgrades, and sell their products. I believe most of the tables did a
fair amount of business. I saw many smiling people leaving the show
with new purchases in hand.
There was a good deal of excitement for many, seeing a Falcon030
closeup for the first time. Most of the developers had at least one
Falcon030 on hand to demonstrate their products. This idea worked,
because the tables garnered a lot of attention as interested show
goers checked out the demonstrations while actually getting a chance
to use a Falcon030.
The lack of a local dealer was disappointing to many, in the fact that
there were no Falcon030's for sale at the show. I spoke to several
people who had come to the show planning to buy one. There were rumors
of the arrival of a new Atari dealer in the Houston area in the coming
weeks. This will hopefully give the folks in Houston a quality dealer
to fulfill their needs.
One of the stalwart developers of software for the Atari, Codehead
Technologies, was represented by Tomas Ensley. Tomas had a Falcon030
with a VGA monitor demonstrating MIDI Spy, the background MIDI file
player/recorder and the 030 version of Warp 9's EOS screen saver.
In addition to answering questions and putting up with some good
natured ribbing from myself and others, Tomas stayed busy selling
copies of the ever expanding line of software available from the
Codeheads. Of special interest were Image Copy II, a new product that
allows you to view and convert many different types of graphics on any
ST, TT, or Falcon030 and DigiTape, a digital audio recording/editing
package for the Falcon030.
James Collins, of Chro-Magic Software Innovations, spent the day
showing Guitaristics and Pianistics, two computer-assisted instruction
tools for beginner or professional guitarists and pianists. Mr.
Collins reminded me that software updates are now available for those
who purchased Guitaristics when it was being distributed by Dr. T's
Software.
James also displayed an open Falcon030 showing Chro-Magic's new RAM
Gizmo, a unique solderless RAM expansion board for the Falcon030 that
makes use of standard SIMM modules. I must say it was impressive to
see the innards of the mighty Falcon, with the upgrade board tucked
neatly in place. With a list price of $99, this little board should
prove to be popular for those looking to upgrade the memory in their
Falcon030s.
The amiable S.K. Webb of SKWare exhibited the many features of Seurat
Version 2.80. In this relaxed setting, I saw several different people
putting Mr. Webb's excellent drawing program through it's paces. This
latest version is fully TT030 and Falcon030 compatible.
Offering many new features, Seurat now allows you to enlarge, reduce,
or re-proportion both B&W and Color images. A bundled package
featuring Seurat v 2.8, Color Scan, a utility that converts scanned
grey scale images to Color pictures, and other graphics utilities was
being offered at a special show price. This package is also available
via mail order, direct from SKWARE.
Linda Peckham of Electronic Spinster Graphics, presented a wealth of
DTP graphics, and offered some great package deals for those attending
the show. I noticed a considerable amount of interest in their new
selection of Vector Graphics. Available in CVG, GEM/3, and EPS
formats, these graphics are ready to import into your favorite DTP
software.
The lone TT030 at the show was located at the DMC table. With a large
screen monitor, Mario Georgiou exposed some of the many features of
Calamus. As with wares offered by the other developers, special show
prices were in effect for Calamus, Invision Elite, Outline Art, and
other fine DTP products offered by DMC.
Barefoot Software Inc. CEO Jeffrey Naideau and Product Specialist Dana
Byrd gave some very impressive demonstrations of SmpteTrack and
EditTrack Platinum MIDI sequencing software. Their usual array of MIDI
tools, GenEdit, a new version of EZ-Score Plus, and Take Control Music
DTP were prominently displayed also.
On the cutting edge of Atari/MIDI capabilities, Barefoot announced the
availability of AudioTrack Platinum, a new version of the EditTrack
series of sequencers. When run on an Atari Falcon030 with D2D System's
direct-to-hard-disk software, it allows MIDI sequencing along with
playback and recording of hard disk audio files. In combination with
their proprietary hardware, AudioTrack and the hard disk
recording/playback can both sync to the same SMPTE signal.
In addition to working the Barefoot table throughout the day, Jeff
conducted an informal and educational demonstration of EditTrack in
one of the adjoining classrooms. Those attending the demonstration
seemed to be genuinely impressed. Jeff's willingness to answer even
the most absurd questions was refreshing.
Keith Gerdes of Trace Technologies was exhibiting his familiar Data
Diet and Data Rescue. Squish II, the newest version of Keith's
executable file compression program was being displayed too. Keith was
also handling sales of Craig Harvey's EdHack, the edit anything
accessory from, Clear Thinking Software.
One of the busiest folks at this years Safari had to be Damien Jones
of DMJ software. Fairly new to the arena of American Atari developers,
Damien has generated a lot of interest from the Atari community
lately. His appearance at the Safari proved to be no different.
Damien's View II, being distributed by It's All Relative, is a program
that replaces the Atari desktop's show routines. Once View II is
installed, you can display text files, picture files, animations, play
digitized sounds, and display or extract ARC and LZH files. The
different viewers are completely configurable and offer many features.
In closing, I would like to thank my good friend and fellow Atari
die-hard Jim Ashly for convincing me to make the trip to this year's
show. I also appreciate him putting up with my incessant ravings and
running count of the many Bar-B-Que stands between Lubbock and
Houston.
The folks at H.A.C.E. are some of the friendliest you'll ever meet,
and I did enjoy their hospitality. I know that the low turnout will
cause some concern when planning next year's show. One alternative I
heard suggested, was to combine the efforts of the surviving user
groups in Texas into one big show at a central location in the state.
Regardless of where or how next year's show materializes, if H.A.C.E.
is involved, it will be a winner!
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||| AEO Calendar of Events
||| Compiled by: Ron Kovacs
/ | \ GEnie: Z-NET CIS: 75300,1642 Delphi: ZNET
----------------------------------------------------------------
//// Fairbanks Atari Expo September 4, 1993
The Fairbanks Atari Users Group will be holding a computer exhibition
on Saturday the 4th of September at the Ft. Wainwright post library.
The show will begin at 12:00 and go till 5:00 pm. Purple Mountain
Computers from Bellevue Washington will be there as well as Far North
Computers. The user group will have a booth demonstrating some MIDI
software and answering questions. If you have questions regarding the
show or the area, please call 907-356-9835.
//// The Glendale Show September 18-19, 1993
The Glendale Show, Version 7.0, The Legend Continues...
The show will be held Saturday and Sunday, September 18-19, 1993 at
the Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1041 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale, CA.
Hours are 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on Saturday and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on
Sunday.
General Admission is $5.00 per person. If you plan on attending and
you live outside of Southern California you may get FREE admission by
sending a self-address-stamped-#10 envelope (the long one) to
H.A.C.K.S., 249 N. Brand Bl. #321, Glendale, CA 91203 and get TWO one
day passes.
For those of you who will be needing lodging we have made arrangements
with the New Red Lion Hotel in Glendale. Regular rates are $129.00 per
night but if you mention ATARI/HACKS you will get a room for $79.00
per night, single or double occupancy. Reservations may be made by
calling the Red Lion at 818-956-5466. The hotel has a free shuttle
from the Burbank Airport. The guaranteed reservation cut-off date is
August 28th. If you are quoted another rate ask for Janet Waldie in
Sales.
Atari will be doing something very special in conjunction with this
year's show. Details to come.
If you have any questions send mail to:
H.A.C.K.S., 249 N. Brand Bl. #321, Glendale, CA 91203
or leave GEmail to JOHN.KING.T or call John King Tarpinian at
818-246-7276 before 9 pm PDT.
Exhibitors List:
ATARI
DMC
GEnie
Oregon Research
Clear Thinking
Branch Always
Steve's Software for Safari Fonts
J&J Computers
S.D.S.
A&D (ST Informer)
Toad Computers for Straight FAX!
Best Electronics
chro_MAGIC
Compo
J.V. Enterprises
Canoe
Gribnif
CodeHead
The Computer Network
ICD
MiGraph
Mid-Cities
MegaType
WizzTonics
Fast Technology
Fair Dinkum
//// MacWorld Expo September 20-22, 1993
The third MacWorld Expo, titled Canada '93 at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre, sponsored by MacWorld Magazine.
//// Mobile World Expo September 21-23, 1993
Mobile World Expo and Conference at the San Jose Convention Center in
San Jose California.
//// Unix Expo '93 September 21-23, 1993
Unix Expo '93 in New York City, New York at the Javits Convention
Center.
//// Image World October 4-8, 1993
Image World New York, Javits Convention Center, New York City.
//// NetWorld '93 October 5-7, 1993
NetWorld 93, Dallas Convention Center, Dallas TX.
//// Lap & Palmtop Expo October 7-8, 1993
Lap & Palmtop Mobile Computing Expo at the Chicago Mart/Expo Center
in Chicago, Illinois. Exhibitors will show the latest in mobile
computing, software, pen, peripherals and communications from the
industry's leading manufacturers. In conjunction with the exhibits is
the Mobile Systems Solutions Conference series. Featuring over 80
leading industry experts speakers, the conference provides vital
information needed to build or improve your world of mobile computing.
//// PC Expo October 19-21, 1993
PC Expo-Chicago, McCormick Place East, Chicago IL.
//// CD-ROM Expo October 27-29, 1993
CD-ROM Exposition at the World Trade Center, Boston MA.
//// EDA&T Asia '93 October 27-29, 1993
EDA&T Asia '93. The Electronic Design and Test Conference Exhibition
at the Taipei International Convention Center in Taiwan. Exhibit space
is still available. For more information contact: Betsy Donahue,
Chicago, Fax: 708-475-2794.
//// November 1-3, 1993
Online/CD-ROM '93, Washington DC.
//// GeoCon/93 November 7-10, 1993
GeoCon/93, an international conference and showcase for software
products developed outside the U.S. at the Royal Sonesta Hotel,
Cambridge, Mass. The conference program will include three days of
workshops on topics of interest to overseas developers entering the
U.S. market. Workshop presenters will discuss such issues as how to
negotiate distribution and licensing contracts, setting up a business
in the U.S., manufacturing and fulfillment, technical support,
packaging, research sources, and how to market through direct,
retail, and catalog channels. For additional information, contact Tom
Stitt, associate publisher, Soft letter, 17 Main St., Watertown, Mass.
02272-9154; Telephone 617-924-3944; Fax 617-924-7288, or Colleen
O'Shea, director, Soft letter Europe, 2 um Bierg, 7641 Chirstnach,
Luxembourg, Telephone: 35.2.87119; Fax: 35.2.87048.
//// COMDEX November 15-19, 1993
COMDEX Fall '93. Las Vegas Nevada.
//// Mobile '94 March 6-10, 1994
Mobile '94 Conference and Exposition at the San Jose Convention Center.
//// SAC Expo 94 March 12-13, 1994
S.T.A.R (formerly known as SST) proudly announces SAC Expo 94. The
second annual Sacramento Atari Computer Exposition will be held
Saturday and Sunday at the Towe Ford Museum: 2200 Front Street,
Sacramento, California 95818. The Towe Ford Museum was so excited
about the '93 show that they allocated nearly double the space in the
museum for SAC Expo 94. STAR will be mailing vendor packets by
September, if you are a vendor and did not receive a packet for SAC
Expo 93, please contact us so you will not be missed this year. Look
for future press releases containing more details, vendor lists, and
show information. For more information contact STAR at P.O. Box
214892, Sacramento, CA 95821-0892.
//// GEC '94 June 4-11, 1994
GEC '94, Milam ITALY. Centrexpo, Sheila Palka/Delia Associates, PO Box
338, Route 22 West, Whitehouse, NJ 08888; (800) 524-2193, (908)
534-6856 (Fax).
If you have an event you would like to include on the AEO Calender of
Events, please send email via GEnie to Z-NET, CompuServe 75300,1642, or
via FNET to node 593 or AtariNet node 51:1/13.0. International shows
also covered.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Delphi's World of Games' Atari Jaguar RTC
||| Courtesy: Delphi
/ | \ -----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
On August 25, 1993, a formal Atari conference was held on the Delphi
information service (e-mail to VIDGAMES@DELPHI.COM or
VIDGAMES@NETCOM.COM for signup info). The conference was held to spread
info on the recently announced Atari Jaguar game system. Moderating was
Andy Eddy, former Executive Editor for VideoGames & Computer
Entertainment magazine. Guests were Sam Tramiel, president of Atari,
and Bob Brodie, Atari's director of communcations.
After a lengthy delay of nearly 20 minutes while chaos reigned due to a
temporary bug in Delphi's conference software, the CO started and
attendees got to ask questions of Atari's execs. What follows is a *very*
edited transcript of the questions and answers. The list of attendees
were compiled from /WHO lists taken during the CO and in the
post-formal chatter that followed; apologies to those I may have
forgotten. (This "post-war" CO is in an accompanying file, for those
who are interested.)
Comments to my e-mailboxes, save your flames...
Andy Eddy
VIDGAMES@DELPHI.COM
VIDGAMES@NETCOM.COM
71333,3664 on CompuServe
=-=-=-=-=-=
Formal Atari CO attendees:
16BITTER, ADLEVIN, AEO_MAG:Tim@AEO, ALLEBARAM:Mark, ARNOLDB:Arnie!,
ATARICORP, ATARIMUSIC, ATARIPOWER7, ATARITECH, BACHAND, BMHAL1000,
BOBMATISKA:Bob M., BRIANXAP, BRYEDEWAARD:Bryan, CHRISBEST,
CMILLAR:Chris M., DAVHEBEL, DAVIDSHORR:Dave, DJSAHN, EELIAS:Eric,
EFLY:Fly, EICHER, ENFORCER2, FSDMB3, GAIARES, GENE5320, GREGG43,
GREGRPH, HODOSKO:Jeff H., INNOVATOR:Jared, JAHORN, JEFFTZ, JELLISON,
JES68K, JMILLAR:Jay 030, JMV, JONSEI, JONWOOD, JSCHEPP, KALL,
KEITHFISHER, KKORDES1:Kent@SFT, KRISJOHNSON, LEXICOR:John @ Lexicor,
LINDERDG:Dan The Man, LMCCLURE, LOUC, MARK_SCHEY, MBRADY,
MICKEYANGELL, MOSA, MRBURKLEY:Michael, NOLRAM, NORMW:NormInLA,
OLDGROUCH, PALAZZOL:Frank, PHUNKZIP, PLEFEBVRE:Paul, QUINNGRANFOR,
RDIMICK, RJUNG, ROB_G:Rob, ROM1:Raul, RONALDB1, SAM_RAPP:Sam 030,
SANZA, SBEYER, SCARPAD, SCMMETALS:Jeff, SCOTTGO, SEANSHARP, SEIGH,
SLAVGRID, STEVE677, STEVENBAKER, TACK, TELENUT, THINK, THOMAS345:Tom,
TOMFANN, VGCHRIS, VGJOSHO:Josho, VGZACH:Zach, VIDGAMES:Andy,
VILLARREAL, VILLARREAL:JMV, WHITEW, WUNDERLEYS, YOONK
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, before we start, I'll apologize for the problems. I think
Delphi... has a software bug.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
I'd like to start by welcoming everyone here tonight. Special thanks
to Sam Tramiel and Bob Brodie of Atari for taking time out of their
very busy schedule to answer some questions for us here. Finally,
I'd like
ATARIPOWER7>
.... let's <attempt> to be patient and virtueous..... :):):)
VIDGAMES:Andy>
to welcome any of the Internet crowd for coming by Delphi this
evening. I hope you like the system and will join us again.
As an introduction, you all know that Atari announced the Jaguar
last Wednesday in a press event at its Sunnyvale offices. Before the
event, there was skepticism, and since there has been lots of
speculation. Atari has thrown the gauntlet at 3DO, and tonight Sam
and Bob will be sharing with you what makes this product so
exciting.
Finally, the Jaguar has sparked a flurry of heated debate. With
that in mind, I'll set the law right now: NO SHENANAGANS (whatever
they are) WILL BE TOLERATED! We're doing this conference as an
effort to spread vital game information to the public, and
disruptions make that impossible. This is a formal conference, and
if you don't know the rules for how a formal CO works, you are asked
to exit the Conference area (/EX twice) and re-read the banner that
greets you upon entrance. Not abiding will put you in the
"audience." Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
Now, while those of you with questions will signal with a ?
(remember, only one per customer), we'll start by asking Sam and/or
Bob to open with a statement, then get to the conference...
Bob and/or Sam? Comment to start?
ATARICORP>
Good evening everyone. On behalf of Atari Corporation, I'd like to
thank you all for attending tonight's conference. We appreciate the
opportunity to meet here with you, especially with our good friend
Andy Eddy! Andy has been a long time supporter of Atari Corp., even
preceding his involvement here in the World of Games Forum on
Delphi, and we're thankful for his long-term support of our company.
Tonight, we are here to talk to you about the Atari Jaguar, our
exciting new 64 bit interactive multimedia entertainment system.
For those of you that haven't seen the specs on the Jaguar yet, here
they are:
o 64-bit RISC-based multiprocessing architecture.
o A very high speed 106.4 Mbyte/sec 64-bit Data path.
o 27 MIPs Graphic Processor with 4K bytes of zero wait-state
internal SRAM that is closely coupled with the Blitter that can
perform a full range of graphics effects (including shading and
rotations) at high speed yet is programmable for maximum
flexibility.
o A programmable Object Processor that can act as a variety of
different video architectures, such as an advanced sprite engine,
pixel-mapped based systems, character mapped based systems and many
others.
o 27 MIPs Digital Signal Processor with 8K bytes of zero
wait-state internal SRAM for CD quality sound and full stereo
capabilities.
o A Blitter that can perform a full range of logical operations at
high speed with hardware support for Z-buffering and Gouraud
shading.
o MC68000 CPU clocked at 13.3 MHz as a general purpose control
processor.
o Lifelike quality 32-bit color on NTSC or PAL television screens,
yielding greater than 16 million colors.
o ROM Cartridge capacity to 48 Megabits of compressed or
uncompressed code. When compressed, equivalent to almost 400
Megabits.
o 16 Megabits of fast page-mode DRAM.
o An optional double speed CD-ROM drive.
o ComLynx I/O for networked multiconsole games.
o Two (expandable to literally dozens) enhanced Controller Ports,
supporting digital and analog interfaces, as well as keyboards,
lightguns and mice.
o High performance, ergonomically designed, Controller with
Joypad, 3 firebuttons, Pause, Option, and 12-key keypad with
game-specific overlays.
o High speed synchronous serial port for connection to modems,
cable TV networks and other high performance networks.
With this Fall's introduction of the Atari Jaguar, the ultimate
video game system and the nation's first 64-bit interactive
multimedia entertainment system, comes a plethora of both new and
familiar game titles. While third party developers and publishers
are actively designing software for the system, Atari programmers
overseas and domestically have been developing and fine-tuning
several titles for the Jaguar for release this year.
The dramatic use of 3D rendering and 24-bit graphics is most
prevalent in games seen on the Jaguar system. Scanned and digitized
character images, as well as detailed texture mapping, lighting and
shadowing effects and unrestricted motion and speed all contribute
to the next level of technology apparent in these games. And the
16-bit stereo capabilities and high fidelity CD quality sound
combined with the imagery produce extraordinary results.
Some of the upcoming game titles include:
Crescent Galaxy - Lifelike three dimensionally rendered and shadowed
planetary objects and lifeforms prevail in this multi-leveled side
shooter. You are the young Corporal Trevor McFur of the Circle
Reserve Core. Returning from a deep space reconnaissance mission,
you and your shipmate intercept a long-range transmission telling
you that you are the only hope in saving the galaxy against a
ruthless creature. The game is visually stunning with full textured
3D renderings of creatures and planets with nine levels reflecting
five different worlds. Enemies and allies include: Pop-up Poppies
which explode when they sense an enemy nearby; Geysers which can
spurt forth abrupt blasts of nuclear steam erupting from the Planets
core; and bothersome creatures such as Skeletal Vultures, Scorpions
and Flying Dinos and dozens more.
Cybermorph - Surreal landscapes colored in both muted and bright
tones are the background for this One-Man Rescue Probe sent into an
interplanetary battlefield to rescue stranded survivors of a dying
war. The Cybermorph is an adaptable, flexible machine with an outer
skin programmed to react to its environment. If accelerating, it
grows streamlined to reduce resistance; when banking, its wings
extend to give maximum turn; when slowing up, the rear of the craft
morphs into a cowl to bring the speed down quickly and smoothly. The
probe flies in a full three dimensional world environment. The
object is to fly over the surface of each world in a low-altitude,
high speed craft saving helpless survivors and avoiding surface and
air attack and alien infestation. You defend yourself by shooting
anything that moves and avoid being hit yourself or colliding into
tall landscape features. A holographic face speaks to you giving you
information. Following lifeline sensors, you race toward the cries
for help, saving survivors from all 50 moons to complete the
mission.
Raiden - As the ultimate arcade game conversion, the Jaguar version
is considered the ideal soundalike and lookalike Raiden game. As a
vertical scroller, you control aircraft flying over enemy territory,
shooting militaristic tanks and aircraft, avoiding enemy gun fire
and hidden missiles. This full-featured game makes use of the
graphic capabilities with complex parallax scrolling and realistic
and engaging audio quality. This was essentially developed as a
yardstick for performance, color and sprite comparisons to showcase
the Jaguar's capabilities. Speed and motion are exceptional with no
slow down when mass objects are present on the screen. No other
system comes close to accurately converting this arcade game to a
home console.
Evolution-Dino Dudes - Familiar to consumers as Dinolympics? on the
Lynx or as Humans? on the PC, this title is an Atari-owned property
which, seen on the Jaguar, utilizes all the graphics and colors
Jaguar can represent. Vivid colors and creative use of animation
facilities enhance the overall look of the game, but the 80 levels
of play make this challenging as well. As a platform puzzle game,
cavemen characters are taught to survive, by avoiding man-eating
dinosaurs, discovering the spear, making fire and physically
running, jumping and climbing their way up the evolutionary ladder.
Club Drive - The most exciting vacation park in the 21st century is
the theme for this pulse quickening excursion. At this fantasy
driving resort, all vehicles are indestructible, and visitors can
challenge their skills and courage by driving some of the most
treacherous terrain and returning completely unscathed. Different
levels are represented by a futuristic city, an old western town, a
present day world and even a toy car world where you can drive in
and around your furniture at breakneck speeds as if you were inside
a toy racing car. This true 3D polygon environment is completely
new to the gaming world.
Checkered Flag II - Jaguar Formula One Racing hits its peak with
this version using real-time 3D generated action, akin to arcade
quality racing games. Cars, buildings and roads are rendered in true
3D, with options to customize your car. The game features 100% true
sound effects; crashes are realistic in both sound and imagery, with
parts flying and tires screeching. Racing speed is markedly
intensified.
Tiny Toon Adventures - Based on the popular Warner Bros. characters,
this platform game utilizes the vibrant colors and graphics to the
utmost. The storyline follows Buster Bunny, Babs Bunny and Plucky
Duck as they embark on a rescue mission to save the planet Aurica.
Bad boy Montana Max has a new toy: an Acme TiToonium-Gold Converter.
The only place to get TiToonium is on the planet Aurica. The removal
of TiToonium is causing grave ecological damage to Aurica. Armed
with Acme Crazy Net, our heroes try to shut down the Acme
TiToonium-Gold Converter. The object is to navigate through each
level, locate the TiToonium Extractor within each level and pull the
plug on it. With a transport beam pad, one of our heroes can be
selected to climb, jump and run through each level so in the end,
the planet can be saved.
Alien vs. Predator - Based on two 20th Century Fox feature film
blockbusters, what would happen if the Alien, the Predator and a
colonial Marine Corporal were put together? Who would win? You
select who you will portray and the qualities each possesses is
incorporated into your strategy. For instance, if you were the
Alien, you could climb walls; as the Predator, your night vision is
superior and as the Marine Corporal, you may be able to outwit the
other two with your computer skills. Placed in realistic texture
mapped corridors, your movement is put in real-time action. Camera
speeds race as you're being chased down hallways with a high frame
rate. Exceptional colors and shadow effects put you right into the
action.
Kasumi Ninja - The game is set on the small island of Kasumi in the
West Pacific rim. The Kasumi Ninja are the world's finest Ninja
warriors and a mist of invisibility from the Ninja Gods hides Kasumi
from the world. Kasumi is undetectable, even by radar. The Gods have
decided to intervene when Gyaku, a strong warrior, kills his family
and the Gods must find a new strong warrior to battle him. But
first, this new young Ninja must learn new skills and fight with
nine other persona, each with unique martial arts abilities and
special moves. The game incorporates superior graphics and
animation with realistic landscapes and backgrounds. Ninja warriors
utilize 91 different martial arts movements, with all the sound
effects and audio consistent with this type of fighting.
Tempest 2000 - This title is familiar to gamers as the favorite
arcade classic using vector graphics, polygons and rapid fire. Here,
the Jaguar version incorporates a starfield in the background
instead of just a black background. CD quality stereo enhances this
game tenfold as this fast-paced energetic game unfolds. Manipulative
abilities have been modernized and updated with new features that
include spins and twists not seen in the 80's, as well as an updated
version to the year 2000 which takes full advantage of the Jaguar's
3D graphic polygon capabilities.
We're very pleased with the reception that the Atari Jaguar has been
getting from the media, especially the gaming publications! We
recently had a media day, where we showed off the Jaguar and it's
spectacular effects to a standing room audience. The reception was
overwhelming, and to say the least, we're gratified!!
Our plans for the rollout of the Jaguar are for a New York and San
Francisco release in October, with the rest of the US to follow in
1994. From the US, we'll be expanding into Europe, with London,
Paris, and Frankfurt as the major target cities.
With that, I thank you for your attention, and we're now happy to
take any questions that our audience might have, Andy!
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Whew, nice to have *someone* prepared (hehe). Okay, first question..
honor go to AEOMAG.
ATARICORP>
Sorry for some of the formatting... ga, Tim
AEO_MAG:Tim@AEO>
OK, can you give a benchmark (maybe aska programmer?) on how fast
the polygons are? texturemapped and flat shaded.? ga
ATARICORP>
Tim, this is a bit more technical than I had expected, and I don't
want to hazard a guess. I'll get back to you on that, hopefully
later on tonight. Sorry. ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Follow up, Tim?
AEO_MAG:Tim@AEO>
no, that was my question.
thanks.
ATARICORP>
Tim, please be sure to send me email on who the people that are
interested in VR are, we'll be happy to talk to them.
AEO_MAG:Tim@AEO>
okeydokey.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, on to PHUNKZIP.
PHUNKZIP>
the Jag may have a 64 bit Graphics processor, but isn't it really
16 bit machine because of the 68000 CPU?
ATARICORP>
Tim, we can render 50 million goroud shaded pixels a second. Hope
that benchmark helps.
AEO_MAG:Tim@AEO>
yes it does.
ATARICORP>
No, the 68000 is a co processor. And it shares only the lower
sixteen bits of the 64 bit system bus.
ATARICORP>
It's a similar situation to the 16 bit ISA bus that you still get
in 32 bit PCs. ga
PHUNKZIP>
so what chip is the CPU of the Jag?
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Side comment: Isn't it also true that a processor in the Jaguar can
be moved... from its "main" usage (like the graphics processor) to
another task if you chose to?
ATARICORP>
The Jaguar CPU is a 64 bit custom graphics chip.
ga
PHUNKZIP>
last question from me: how can a graphics chip be the CPU?
ATARICORP>
The 64 bit custom graphics chip is a good general purpose RISC
unit, but it has been specifically optimized for 3D graphics work.
ga
PHUNKZIP>
ok thanks
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, thanks, Dave. Josh, you're up.
VGJOSHO:Josho>
Thanks, Andy! Guys, I'm one of those that felt a bit "burned" by
the... promises of third-party LYNX support, that basically never
materialized... so I'd like to know which 3rd-party publishers have
definitely been... developing for the Jaguar. GA.
ATARICORP>
We at Atari made no promises of 3rd party publishers for the Lynx.
And we are working very hard to attract 3rd party publishers to
Jaguar. We will make our first formal announcements as to who has
signed up in September. ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Follow-up, Josh?
VGJOSHO:Josho>
Ah. Okee-dokee. :-( Yes, one follow-up...
As you said, you're planning a test market release in October in NY
and SF... and I'm wondering when in 1994 you're planning the
national rollout. GA.
ATARICORP>
The NY and SF markets will be shipped product in November and the
rest of the national rollout will occur in the first quarter of '94
ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, thanks. RJUNG, you are up. GA
VGJOSHO:Josho>
Hmmmm...OK, thanks! Andy, back to you!
RJUNG>
Hi, guys. Two questions, sorry if this is against protocol. (1)
What game comes with the Jaguar? (2) How does the Lynx/Jag/ComLynx
connection work? Are you talkingh about Lynx and Jag versions of a
title, a Lynx adaptor, But there are no gasmes planned to be on both
the Lynx and Jaguar platforms?
ATARICORP>
We have not decided which game will be packed out. It will be a
surprise. :) The ComLynx connection is a not a Lynx compatible
adapter. The Jaguar will not play Lynx titles. What the ComLynx
port will allow, is for software to be developed to allow Lynxes to
be part of a Jaguar game as controllers. ga
RJUNG>
All right. Thanks. GA.
ATARICORP>
We're not sure what you mean, but we do plan to have some of the
same titles on both platforms.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, WUNDERLEYS is up. Go ahead with your question.
WUNDERLEYS>
Ok, first off, what is the CD tht you were talking about? Is it a
CD-ROM or something?
VIDGAMES:Andy>
(If you already signaled with a ?, please don't send another one.
It's confusing. Thanks.)
WUNDERLEYS>
Ok, and for my final question.... Will you have Fighting games?
ATARICORP>
We are planning a CD peripheral to be introduced during the 1st
half of 1994. It can play CD audio, CD+Graphics, and of course,
Jaguar CD software. It's a high performance double speed drive And
will allow for full motion video in the Jaguar software.
WUNDERLEYS>
Will you have fighting games? What basis of games are you going to
stick to releasing? ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Side question: How much will the MPEG 2 option cost?
ATARICORP>
by using compression techniques called "Cine Pak".
ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Bob/Sam, did you get the question about fighting games?
ATARICORP>
Next?
WUNDERLEYS>
Ok, thanx! I'm finished! GA
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Sorry, there was a question about fighting games. I thought that
was.. still being answered.
ATARICORP>
Of course, we will have a fighting game of all sorts. Man against
man, man against animal, animal against animal, Aliens against
Predators, just like we said in our opening remarks. <grin> We are
planning on having all types of games, and hope that 3rd party
publishers will add a long list of titles.
Andy, we are not annoucing prices at present.
ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
(hehe) Okay, ARNOLDB. Fire away.
ARNOLDB:Arnie!>
What language is native game code writen in?
ATARICORP>
Assembly
ga
ARNOLDB:Arnie!>
does the console have hardware scaling and rotating of individual
sprites?
VIDGAMES:Andy>
That was easy enough. Follow-up?
ATARICORP>
Yes, and lots more besides.
ga
ARNOLDB:Arnie!>
how many megabits will the average game be
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Again, easy. DAVHEBEL, you are on.
ARNOLDB:Arnie!>
and what phisical size are they?
DAVHEBEL>
Have you considered contacting Beyond Games about porting Battle
wheels from the Lynx to the jag ?
ARNOLDB:Arnie!>
asembly as in 68000 chip or that graphics chip?
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Let's move on to Dave's question so that everyone else has a
chance. Thanks. (We still have about 20 people with questions in
line.)
ATARICORP>
You cannot compare the megabit size of Jaguar carts to Sega Gensis,
and SNES. As Jaguar can compress data much more efficently and
decompress on the fly. The general amount of uncompressed data will
be far larger than anything seen on Genesis and SNES.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
I'd like to start by welcoming everyone here tonight. Special thanks
to Sam Tramiel and Bob Brodie of Atari for taking time out of their
ATARICORP>
True Color graphics and CD quality stereo sound take up a lot of data.
Regarding Beyond Games, of course we are talking to them. And as I said
earlier, we'll announce publishers in mid September.
ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
(oops)
DAVHEBEL>
thanks ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Follow-up, Dave?
ATARICORP>
Arnie: ALL the processors are programmed in Assembly.
DAVHEBEL>
no thanks!
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, Gene5320 is up. Go ahead with your question.
GENE5320>
Followup on the 3rd party question. 3rd partys do make the machine,
look at what Street Fighter II did for SNES. My question, will
Atari put the Jaguar on "Tour" (like malls) to show it off and allow
hands on with it? ga oops.. redo?
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Good question.
ATARICORP>
We are planning heavy duty marketing support, and will have point of
purchase demostration units available at stores. At present, we
don't plan "a tour", but might in the future. ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Follow up, Gene?
GENE5320>
all done
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, JONSEI is in the spotlight.
JONSEI>
Basically same as josho above: How many 3P's and who. Do you
anticipate 3P support at launch? Are development systems available.?
ga
ATARICORP>
We will have 3rd party publishers developing software at launch. As
a matter of fact, they are working on software as we speak. They
will not be shipping until Q-1. And yes, development systems are of
course available. ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, follow-up, JONSEI?
JONSEI>
no. GA.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, let's see if TELENUT is here...
Nope, on to ATARIPOWER7.
ATARIPOWER7>
Why the timdity in getting the product out, what with the resources
IBM has, surely we could have things in full blast already even!
Bestest and mostest is great, add fastest, and!!!!
GA followed by another !? <3 DOn't, ATARI DOES! :):):).... >
Sorry, I was almost finished retyping into my text editor... :)
ATARICORP>
We are limited by the amount of custom chips we can get this year.
1994 we should not have these limitations. ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Great, follow up, ATARIPOWER7?
ATARIPOWER7>
I'll wait in line for the next time....
ATARICORP>
IBM really does have tremendous manufacturing power. And we really
do agree that 3DO, don't, and Jaguar Does!
ATARIPOWER7>
Fair is fair!
VIDGAMES:Andy>
All right... SAM_RAPP. You are up.
SAM_RAPP:Sam 030>
Hi Guys! Thanks for being here! Thanks for all the wonderful toys!
VIDGAMES:Andy>
(Thanks, ATARIPOWER7)
SAM_RAPP:Sam 030>
I hear that there are several development systems for the Jaguar,
such as TT, PC, and a stand alone system. Could you briefly
describe the development environment and list the features of each
system? GA
ATARICORP>
This question is very complicated, but basically we have a TT
development environment, and a PC development environment. You can
use any machine you want for art development. Of course, you should
use Atari's for music work.
SAM_RAPP:Sam 030>
One more thing... Will you mailorder this year for us Die hards?
ATARICORP>
All we have time for is three more questions, sorry.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, let's move to EELIAS.
EELIAS:Eric>
Will the Jaguar be modem ready or cable ready?
ATARICORP>
We do not have a formal reply to this, but we will consider the
mail order option.
EELIAS:Eric>
ga
ATARICORP>
Again, if you are talking about the new, or yet to be available OR
clearly define {interactive networks}, we do think that Jaguar can
act as a set top in this environment. ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
We'll skip follow-ups so we can get as many people in as possible.
Sorry.
EELIAS:Eric>
Thanks. ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
RDIMICK... you are on.
RDIMICK>
Will you be bringing any of the Atari coin ops to the jaguar ? -
And can you please arrange for some of the initial Jaguars to be
sold here on Delphi - there has to be a way!!!! please
ATARICORP>
Yes, some of the coin op titles will be on Jaguar. And I already
answered regarding Mail order. We appreciate your enthusiasm... :)
ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, EFLY. Go ahead with your question.
EFLY:Fly>
Could you run the preliminary information again. I was late.
Perhaps on the way out.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
It will be in the transcript. I'll have it up in a day or so.
Another question?
ATARICORP>
We'll have a transcript for the library later.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
(I'll save Bob and Sam from repeating all that.)
EFLY:Fly>
no thanks.
ga
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, Geoff. You can go.
GAIARES>
Go on to the next person while I get my question ready.
:)
VIDGAMES:Andy>
I think they are about out of time. How much more, Bob/Sam?
ATARICORP>
One more, Andy.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, if Geoff isn't quite ready, Telenut is back and hopefully can.
TELENUT>
I'm ready.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
GA, TELENUT.
GAIARES>
As a person who was disappointed in the way the lynx turned out to
be a pretende the Jag to show us that it is a contender?
GAIARES>
Oops. GA Dave.
TELENUT>
How do you see the Jaguar as bieng supiror to the 3DO. As far as
overall quality.
ATARICORP>
We feel that the power of the Jaguar will allow for a quantum leap
in software experiences. And we will back this with serious
marketing dollars. The Lynx is not dead, and we will advertise it
in NY and San Francisco along with Jaguar. There will be 12 new
Lynx titles delivered this year.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Trip Hawkins referred to the Jaguar as the "Betamax" to 3DO's "VHS."
Any comment?
TELENUT>
Do you think you can compete with the bulk of software for the 3DO?
(sorry, that was my follow-up)
ATARICORP>
Andy, look at the prices, the 3DO is not priced to be a consumer
product at well over $500. 3DO is simply overpriced.
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Understand. Unless Bob and Sam can take anymore questions, I'll put
a close... to the formal part of the CO. Closing comments, Bob and
Sam? And, again, sorry for the glitches that delayed the start.
ATARICORP>
Thank you all for attending. On behalf of Atari, we're very
grateful for your interest in the Jaguar. We'll be seeing you in
the message bases here on Delphi. Please feel to send e-mail to
BOBBRO here on Delphi, my normal address. Goodnight!
BRYEDEWAARD:Bryan>
Kick some butt guys! :)
EELIAS:Eric>
nite!
VIDGAMES:Andy>
Okay, the transcript will be up in short order, I hope. Thanks one
and... all for attending. E-mail to VIDGAMES with comments on the
CO and future CO... guests.
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||| Atari Asylum
||| By: Gregg Anderson
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.7
----------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there and welcome back. Have you met my room-mate yet? No? Well
then; Atari Fanatic meet Napoleon.... Napoleon, meet Atari Fanatic....
Of course he's not really Napoleon, he just thinks he is. He's a
little bit crazy don't you know. How can I be so sure of that?
Easy.... I'M NAPOLEON!!!! You wanna go conquer the world?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch.... Welcome to an unusual Asylum my
friends. This one will be shorter than the last one (really, I mean
it this time) and may be the last one for a few issues. Why? Because
I'm going to be out of town for the next few weeks and, temporarily at
least, Atariless. Hopefully they'll save my room here at the Asylum
and I'll be back on the electronic pages of AEO in September.
This issue is basically an expansion on the ScreenBlaster review from
last issue. After C.G. Haines (HAINES) sent us his review I was able
to get my hands on a SBlaster myself <yea!> and ran over a week's
worth of tests on it with one of Computer STudio's Falcon systems.
This issue is an expansion of HAINES' excellent review and will,
hopefully, help the Falcon owners out there gain a better
understanding of what the SBlaster is capable of in addition to how
well it works.
First, as HAINES pointed out, the SBlaster is capable of greatly
expanding the Falcon's available screen resolutions. Rather than just
the (already excellent) standard 640 x 480 VGA or 320 x 240 TrueColor
modes, the SBlaster provides a huge range of resolutions. What are
they? Well, the following list is a PARTIAL compilation of what is
available on a Blasted Falcon.
First; The number and type of resolution available is dependent on
the type of monitor you're using. If it's a base single-frequency VGA
unit then your options are somewhat limited when compared to a
high-dollar SuperVGA MultiScan. As a rule, the better the monitor
(i.e., the wider the horizontal and vertical frequency range) the
greater the number of usable higher-resolution displays.
Second; the following list is NOT all inclusive! Depending on the
monitor used there will be variations in the available resolutions.
Finally; This list is additive. Say what? That means that as you move
from base to better VGA monitors you have access to not only the
better resolutions the more expensive monitors offer but the
resolutions available in the less capable units as well. Though there
are a few exceptions (a few resolutions dropped, others added) this
rule stays pretty solid. Therefore, when looking to see what YOU can
expect to have available on your monitor you first need to look for
the monitor in this list with vertical and horizontal frequencies
closest to your unit. Then look BACKWARDS to the less capable monitors
IN THE SAME COLOR RANGE and see what other resolutions should be
available to you in addition to the list under your monitor.
By the way, when you see "31Khz" listed but have a 31.5Khz unit don't
worry about it. There is more than enough "slop" built into monitors
that 31Khz will accept 30-32 (or more) with no problems. The same goes
for the 35Khz listing, that will usually handle 35.2 and 35.5 Khz
sweeps as well.
Available Falcon ScreenBlaster VGA Resolutions:
--Note: * indicates an INTERLACED video mode--
Base VGA Monitor
(60, 70 Hz Vertical, 31Khz Horizontal)
256 Color Mode 16 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
672x496-60.0 31.5 672x496-60.0 31.5
896x512-60.4 32.0 752x432-70.4 31.9
864x512-59.6 31.9
1072x512-59.6 31.7
1120x672-88.4 31.5*
1280x624-93.2 31.4*
4 Color Mode 2 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
672x496-59.4 31.2 672x496-59.4 31.2
896x496-60.3 31.3 896x432-70.5 31.6
1152x504-60.8 31.9 896x496-60.4 31.4
---------------------
TriSync VGA
(60, 70 Vertical, 31, 35Khz Horizontal)
256 Color Mode 16 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
640x480-70.0 31.5 640x480-70.0 35.4
768x576-60.0 35.7 1024x560-60.6 35.5
896x512-60.4 32.0 1024x768-88.8 35.6*
1280x960-63.1 31.4*
4 Color Mode 2 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
640x480-70.0 35.4 640x480-71.4 35.8
736x544-62.1 35.0 896x480-71.1 35.3
1024x560-60.6 35.5 1280x960-62.3 31.2*
1280x960-62.9 31.3
----------------------
Super VGA
(60, 70 Vertical, 31, 35, 38Khz Horizontal)
256 Color Mode 16 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
704x512-71.6 38.2 768x576-64.0 38.3
704x528-70.0 38.2
720x544-66.3 38.3
4 Color Mode 2 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
800x608-61.0 38.1 704x528-69.0 38.0
1024x528-69.8 38.1 1120x604-62.0 38.0
-------------------
EVGA
(60, 70 Vertical, 31, 35, 38, 48Khz Horizontal)
256 Color Mode 16 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
880x656-68.3 47.3
4 Color Mode 2 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
800x608-75.3 47.3 832x624-73.7 48.1
832x624-71.9 47.3
------------------
VGA MultiScan
(60-80 Vertical, 31-60 Horizontal)
256 Color Mode 16 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
640x480-77.5 40.6 640x480-75.2 39.5
720x512-70.5 37.6 764x528-70.0 38.3
736x560-62.3 36.6 720x512-69.7 37.1
800x608-55.1 34.4 720x544-72.5 41.1
800x608-92.4 30.0* 736x544-70.0 39.6
880x656-92.1 31.8* 752x560-73.5 43.1
944x720-78.7 29.2* 768x576-73.1 43.9
800x608-66.2 41.8
800x608-72.5 46.0
832x624-70.0 45.6
880x608-67.3 42.5
880x565-68.3 47.3
1024x656-61.4 41.9
1152x832-86.0 37.2*
4 Color Mode 2 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
640x480-74.5 39.1 640x480-77.7 39.5
704x528-63.3 36.3 736x544-70.3 39.8
704x528-73.4 40.2 768x576-72.0 43.5
736x544-68.6 38.8 800x608-64.1 40.7
736x560-66.7 38.8 800x608-68.0 43.2
768x576-69.7 41.7 800x608-76.8 48.8
800x608-63.4 40.3 880x656-68.4 47.3
800x608-63.4 40.3
800x608-70.4 45.3
800x608-71.4 44.6
------------------
SVGA MultiScan (Overscan 1701)
(31-68 Horizontal, 55-90 Vertical)
256 Color Mode 16 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
896x512-60.4 32.0 704x528-70.0 38.3
1024x768-85.2 34.1*
1152x656-86.0 37.2*
4 Color Mode 2 Color Mode
RES V H RES V H
800x608-61.0 38.1 832x624-73.7 48.1
896x496-60.3 31.3
------------------
Also included in the installed Driver utility (used to tell SBlaster
what type of monitor to expect) are the AOC 337 (30-60 Hz horizontal,
50-90 vertical) and the EIZO T560 (30-78 horizontal, 55-90 vertical),
the various Atari ST monitors, a TT color monitor, an Amiga monitor
(?), and a GENLOCK system. And YES, with the newest software upgrade
the ScreenBlaster offers expanded video resolutions on the older Atari
ST monitors.
Sorry, but I wasn't able to do a lot of in-depth testing in the
expanded True Color modes. I can, however, say that the SBlaster DOES
offer a lot more usable room in TC. Graphics that on a standard
Falcon030 had to be scrolled around a TruePaint "full screen" display
to see all of it now have obvious black borders around them. So yes,
SBlaster DOES GOOD THINGS for the TrueColor mode.
I have to make the same apology about the standard "interlaced" modes
the Falcon030 uses on the older ST monitors and TV sets. I had to
limit my testing to the VGA mode due to lack of time and layout.
Ok, first some bad news. The ScreenBlaster WILL NOT give you a full
screen, Non-Interlaced 1024 x 768 or 1280 x 960. Sorry, but even with
the SBlaster maxxed out with a top-of-the-line monitor these modes are
beyond what the Falcon's internal hardware can generate. The Falcon's
video bandwidth just isn't wide enough to handle that much data fast
enough to generate those resolutions. At least not yet <grin>.
However, you CAN access them in an interlaced mode on most monitors.
While you can't avoid the flicker in 1280 x 960 (it's pretty obvious)
you can use that resolution if you really need it. The 1024 x 768
mode, on the other hand, is VERY usable despite being interlaced. On
the shop's TriSync the interlaced 1024 x 768 is displayed with an 88.8
Hz (44.4 Hz effective) vertical refresh. At that speed the flicker is
quite acceptab