Current Notes April 94 Online Magazine
From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 04/20/96-06:34:55 PM Z
From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: Current Notes April 94 Online Magazine
Date: Sat Apr 20 18:34:55 1996
Article 403 of freenet.sci.comp.atari.news:
From: ap748@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Fred Horvat)
>Newsgroups: freenet.sci.comp.atari.news
Subject: Current Notes April 94 Online Magazine
Date: 31 May 1994 03:51:51 GMT
===================================================
C U R R E N T N O T E S
Helping Atari Owners Through the World of Computing
===================================================
For the very first time ever, here is a complete ascii version of
CURRENT NOTES. It includes every article from the April, 1994 issue. Not
included are advertisements, illustrations, screen shots, graphics, etc.
For those Atari users who have never seen a copy of CN, here, at least, is a
sample of a typical month's contents. --Joe Waters, Publisher, Current
Notes.]
This document, in its entirety, is (c) 1994 by Current Notes, Inc.
=================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================
Vol. 14, No. 3: April 1994
REGULAR FEATURES:
=================
(Note: page number refer to the hardcopy edition. However, the order of the
articles in this ASCII version is as indicated by the page numbers below.)
Letters to the Editor.................................... 4
News and Announcements................................... 7
STatus Atari, Paul Lefebvre.............................. 12
"Powerful Alternatives?"
Atari Myths & Mysteries, David Troy...................... 14
"The Information Highway:
Is This the Correct Paradigm?"
ST Toolbox, J. Andrzej Wrotniak.......................... 18
"Spies, Morons and the Rest of Us:
How to Run Circles Around KGB and NSA"
Running Out of Ram, David Barkin......................... 22
"Graphic Cards: Crazy Dots II and Cyrel Sunrise"
GEnie Notes, Lou Rocha................................... 27
Around GEnie: The FAX RT, by Lou Rocha
RTC Highlights, by Brian Harvey
Cat's Eye View, by Brian Harvey
ST Library, by Gordon Meyer
Hot Topics, by Terry Quinn
8-Bit Tidbits, Rick Reaser............................... 34
"Latest News for the Classic Atari"
TextPRO: Part 7 - Printing Tips.......................... 38
by Frank Walters
Rebuilding the TAF 8-Bit Library......................... 41
by Robert Boardman
Atari Works, Michael 'Papa' Hebert....................... 43
"Page Setup, Labels and Graphics"
Woods Music, Gary Woods.................................. 46
"Cubase Score"
Atari in the STicks, Henry van Eyken..................... 50
"The Little Engine That Could've"
Geneva - Part 2.......................................... 56
Review by Jim Fouch
Stalk the Market vs Stock Smart.......................... 58
Review by Terry Quinn
Using Two Computers and One Monitor...................... 60
By Alvin Riesbeck
Squish II................................................ 62
Review by Paul Lefebvre
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Current Notes (ISSN 8750-1937) is published monthly (excluding January
and August) by Current Notes Inc. 122 N. Johnson Rd, Sterling, VA 20164
(703) 450-4761. Direct subscriptions in the U.S. to Current Notes are
available for $27/year. Second Class postage paid at Sterling, VA and other
offices.
Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual
authors and do not represent or reflect the opinions of Current Notes.
Current Notes is not affiliated with Atari Corp.
PUBLISHER: Joe Waters, 122 N Johnson Rd, Sterling VA 20164 (703)
450-4761.
GEnie: JOE.WATERS, CIS: 74005,1270.
ST EDITOR: Paul Lefebvre, 78 Winter St., Portland, ME 04102; GEnie:
P.LEFEBVRE; Internet: P.LEFEBVRE@genie.geis.com; Delphi: PLEFEBVRE. (207)
828-1225.
8-BIT EDITOR: Rick Reaser, 5510 W. 140th Street, Hawthorne, CA
90250-6404; GEnie: R.REASERJR1; CIS: 72130,2073; Internet:
reaser@mt2.laafb.af.mil. Phone: (310) 643-8626.
COPY EDITOR: Joyce Waters
CN's ANSWERMAN: Dave Troy, (410) 544-6943. Write c/o Toad Computers,
570F Ritchie Hwy, Severna Park, MD 21146. GENIE: Toad-Serv.
CN COLUMNISTS: D. Barkin, L. Duke, H. Van Eyken, B. Harvey, M. Hebert,
T. Quinn, L. Rocha, D. Small, D. Troy, A. Wrotniak, G. Woods.
Articles or review material and press releases should be sent directly
to the appropriate editor. Deadline date for articles is the 1st of the
month.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: $27 per year ($48/2 years). Foreign surface subscriptions
are $36/year, ($66/2 years). Disk subscriptions are $60/year ($115/2 years).
Foreign disk subscriptions are $71/yr ($137/2 yrs).
AIR MAIL RATES: Canada/Mexico $44; Cen.Am., Caribbean, $57; S.Amer.
Europe, N.Africa, $69; Mid East, Africa, Asia, Australia, $80. Foreign
subscriptions are payable in US $ drawn on a US bank.
Send check, payable to Current Notes, to CN Subscriptions, 122 N.
Johnson Rd., Sterling, VA 20164. NOTE: VISA and MasterCard accepted. Call
(703) 450-4761.
ADVERTISING MANAGER: Joyce Waters, 122 N. Johnson Rd, Sterling VA 20164
(703) 450-4761. Call for rates.
BACK ISSUES: 1987/88/89 ($2 ea), 1990/91 ($3 ea), 1992 ($4 ea), 1993 ($5
ea).
CN FAX: (703) 430-2618.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
=====================
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
=====================
ATARIWORKS TOO BIG
Dear Joe:
I applaud Current Notes' decision to add a regular AtariWorks tutorial
to their pages. Too often last year it seemed as if your columnists wanted
to talk about anything BUT the Atari ST. It's good to see some
meat-and-potatoes articles about getting the most from one's machine.
AtariWorks does sound like a great program. Of course, I'll never know
because I have only a one meg machine and, by all accounts, AtariWorks takes
at least two megs to run. I have to question the wisdom of releasing a
program which, by its very size, excludes the vast majority of Atari owners
who, like myself, have never upgraded their RAM from the original 512 or
1024K configuration, especially when it doesn't have to be that way.
AtariWorks itself only runts to a half meg in size, and looks as if
features were intentionally left off so that it would remain small enough to
run on a 520ST. Then they went and added SpeedoGDOS to it. While SpeedoGDOS,
by all reports, is everything GDOS was supposed to be, it gobbles up a whole
megabyte of RAM to install. GDOS was never that bad. Even Pagestream, which
also uses scalable vector fonts, doesn't consume that much RAM. It can be
run on a one meg machine!
I can't imagine that it would take all that much effort to add a module
that would enable AtariWorks to use system and printer fonts in place of
SpeedoGDOS. Making AtariWorks run on a one meg system (and, optimistically,
a half-meg system as well) would add tremendously to its value.
Brian Earl Brown
Detroit, MI
A MATTER OF ETHICS
Dear Joe,
The Atari "Industry" seems to be fading and blinking out more and more
each day. Much of the Atari user's demise and disappointment, the vendors of
the all-important Atari compatible "stuff," seem also to be unable to
deliver at a time when they should be in a desperate need to win more of the
diminishing market share. This isn't, however, just about market share. It's
really about ethics. You know, that old fashioned word that our parents used
to teach us that meant honor, reliability, word/bond, etc. This practice, of
course, has been discontinued due to a seeming lack of interest in the
concept.
As a small business owner/manager/worker in a two person (my wife and I)
printing business, I can vouch for the undisputable FACT that the customer
is always 100% correct. Of course, we know that isn't true literally, but if
you want to stay in business, thus feed your family, etc., you must do
exactly what the customer asks and deliver it EXACTLY when they ask for it.
They are not concerned about your problems. If I have the flu, I come to
work and work as if I didn't. If there is a major ice storm (we live 20
miles away), we somehow make it to work on time. In other words, there is NO
excuse for non-performance. It really doesn't matter if you died, the
customer would still be there at the pre-determined deadline asking for
their "stuff."
And they get it. And with a smile, too. Because once you open your mouth
about a mutually agreeable delivery time, that is it. If everyone went to
work with this degree of dedication to deliver exactly what they say, we
would have many fewer social problems in this country. . . .
I'm upset with folks like Jim Allen who promised delivery on the Tiny
Turbo board last June and still hasn't delivered, even though he has had
everyone's money since about May, 1992. When the UPS or FEC-EX systems can
have anything you want delivered to your door on the same day you order it,
I want to know exactly what these people are thinking when they promise a
specific delivery date then make excuses day after day for going on a year?
Isn't that fraud? Can't that be prosecuted?
Before I learned how to print, I was an electronic tech. I understand
the engineering problems can be unrelenting, and that sometimes when all you
have is YOU to rely on, things get frustrating and almost impossible to
overcome. Again, that is NOT the customer's problem. We all assumed all of
that was behind these people when they made the promise. When I keep
hearing, "Two weeks, the manual is at the printers," over and over again, I
can't describe the anger and frustration I feel. Am I alone?
Aside from the radical thought of prosecution, . . . doesn't it occur to
anyone that it just plain isn't right (ethical)?? One of the best guys in
the Atari high tech aftermarket business, Dave Small, is also very guilty of
this. Just read the messages on GEnie in the Gadgets SIG. The common, "It's
due any day now," or "That's our next project," or whatever excuse that
would actually excuse them from delivering promised goods on time, is
everywhere! We all know Atari does this all the time. (Where's the Falcon?)
But just because it's common, doesn't mean it's right; and if we are to
have an Atari market in this desperate time of diminishing support, doesn't
it make sense to gear up instead of gear down? Lead, Follow or Get the H_
out of the way! This concept of making excuses has got to stop. Once
something is promised, I for one, expect programmers, engineers, etc. to
work all the way around the clock, if necessary, to deliver promised goods.
Then, if they don't make it, they can bow before their customers and BEG for
forgiveness. Maybe we will forgive; then again, maybe we will go someplace
else that is more reliable. In the mean time, before I go out and buy a TT,
does anyone have a suggestion on where to get a 030 system with at least
virtual memory expansion for my Mega STe right NOW??
Dave Krehbiel
McPherson, KS
MAKING LIFE EASIER
Dear Mr. Waters
. . . I am not one of those who intends to give up using Atari
equipment.
I use MS-DOS clones and Apple Macintosh computers at work, which is fine
by me, because I get paid by the hour. I also used a Sun WorkStation, with a
Motorola 680x0 processor inside, on a Unix mainframe system, and found it a
little slow, but likeable enough. One would expect an operating system made
up of two to three million lines of C code to be at least as competent as
one in 192K of ROM.
I own a DOS machine, which is stacked in a pile in the corner of my
bedroom. I bought it because I was taking a course in C, as part of a
masters program in computer science, and needed to use the same compiler as
everybody else. Having a lower-paying job now, I dropped that class, honor
student or not, and put that computer away.
In my not-humble opinion (IMNHO), a computer is supposed to make my life
easier, at least when I'm not getting paid for my time.
Part of what I want out of a computer is that it save my time, and
present me with the least inconvenient way of doing things. For those
things, I prefer Atari.
And I do use my 1040STf pretty heavily. It is on its third floppy disk
drive, and my 24-pin printer is on its third head.
The dying gasps of my second floppy drive marked the only time I almost
lost data, even though I have been formatting disks 10 sectors skewed for
years.
IMNHO, the layers of non-woven cloth inside a 3 1/2 inch floppy are
intended to provide damping, to keep the disk from flopping around too much,
and bouncing across the heads. The failed ones I have taken apart have worn
through to a high spot in the plastic and send the disk whipping around.
That makes a growling sound. Before it gets that bad, the sound from the
drive is a tick-tick. What happened was that the drive spindle bearing,
running out of oil, provided enough drag to keep worn-out floppies from
acting up, until one day it got too bad, and suddenly I had quite a few
disks to redo, with a drive that could only keep up to speed for long enough
to copy short files. I presume that this has happened to other people, who
think that the formatting did it.
The printer's third head is made up of parts of the first two. The first
one died of a broken flexible cable circuit. The second one died when drive
transistors on the mother board went up with a plume of smoke and a flash of
light, and in doing so, burned out four pin-driver coils, and took out the
printer's custom logic array chip. Those got replaced, and I learned how to
work with surface mount components.
Urethane adhesives, sold as GOOP or Shoe Goo, trademarks of whoever
sells the stuff, are good reinforcements for a patch on a broken flex cable
conductor, and masking tape is what to use to keep 23 pins firmly in place
while replacing the 24th. My experience is that if you don't tape things
down, it will be about 16 hours before you have it back together.
This has nothing to do with the fact that I have been re-inking printer
ribbons for so long that the foamy ink reservoir rollers have turned to
something that does not bounce back, and does not hold ink, but are still
basically round.
My monitor (SM124) is on its third flyback transformer. The second one
probably failed early because I damaged it trying to get the shield can from
the first one over its replacement. My best guess so far is that the flyback
has an IBM number, three numbers removed from one in replacement part
catalogs. I got a local repair place to order the transformer, the vertical
output transistor and the nonpolarized resonating capacitor, and installed
them. Those, I think, came from Best, who will sell only to service
operations. The cost was reasonable, considering.
In other words, I am not just a casual user of computers, and have a
reason for my preferences.
James P. DeClercq
Roseville, MI
ULTIMA VI GAME FOR ATARI
To Joe Waters
I'm looking for the game Ultima VI (6) for the Atari ST 1040. I called
all your advertisers in the November 1993 issue of Current Notes. They all
say that their distributor does not carry it. I called Origins also and came
to a dead end there,
also.
Somebody must have a copy of Ultima VI. Do you have any suggestions as
to where I might get access to Ultima VI? I loved playing Ultima I, II, III,
IV, and V. Even though I'm very slow at completing these games, I would like
to at least finish the series up to Ultima VI, since the first six games
were made for the Atari.
I appreciate any help you can give me. My son, Chris Hinds, insisted
that I renew my subscription to Current Notes, in order to "support" Atari,
but now that I do this, I find there is no support for Atari machines. I
can't find the games I want, and the local computer service center I was
using only services "IBM" now.
Pat Hinds
Orono, ME
TOPIC SUGGESTIONS
Dear Joe:
I see that my subscription is due for renewal, so here's my check for
$27 for another year of Current Notes.
I still value CN as an outstanding Atari magazine and resource.
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much happening with Atari
computers to report on except a lot of Jaguar hoopla. I hope it works, and
enables and inspires Atari to pump new energy, bucks, creativity,
production, and market support into non-obsolete and appropriately priced
computers.
Here are some article topics that I'd like to see in the next six
months:
- Reviews of the European accelerators for the STs, Megas, and Falcons.
- How to adapt a decent $100-$200 PC graphics card to the STs (not just
Megas with the Megabus, but all STs) and TTs too--and the magical
availability of a good driver for the adaption.
- Whatever happened to Pixel Wonder, the alternative overscan type of
product for the STs and Megas from Maxon of Germany?
- How to get AtariWorks to bypass the SpeedoGDOS fonts and use the fonts
that are built into my printer. (Graphics-mode printing of Speedo fonts is
too darn slow--at least with my old Panasonic 1092I-II 9-pin printer.)
- Why Atari now must sell the new production of TTs with 8 MB of RAM and a
big hard drive for well under $1000 to be competitive at today's PC and
Macintosh prices (probably followed by another article about why Atari will
do no such thing.)
- How to adapt low-cost surplus 19-inch to 24-inch monochrome ECL
high-resolution monitors for use with the Mega, the STs, and the TTs. Maybe
the Falcons, too.
- Reviews of some of the new inkjet/bubblejet printers by Epson, Canon,
etc. and some of the low-cost laser printers (Sharp, HP, Epson, Panasonic,
etc.)
Thank you and continued good luck keeping the magazine timely, relevant,
and solvent.
Donald J. Wilhelm
Menlo Park, CA
P.S. Also an update article on 1) the SST (Gadgets) and 2) Jim Allen's
68030 accelerators; and why can't somebody do it better (cheaper and more
available) than these guys--although I note that accelerators for the
various Macintosh computers are just as pricey. Yep--the old production
volume-demand issue--in part.
DAVE & DAVE TIP THE SCALES
Dear Joe,
I just wanted to thank you and Joyce for all your work on such a fine
magazine. When STart magazine went belly-up I really had no clue where to
look to find a publication that could fill the gaping hole. I wanted a
magazine that would give me more than just "news and reviews."
As it happened, I was given a few back issues of Atari User, one of
which (Aug. '91) contained a review of other Atari-oriented publications, by
someone I knew at Phillips Music & Sound in Phillipsburg, NJ. The place must
be good luck for me because, if I'm not mistaken, I believe I only became
aware of the existence of the ST line of computers when I saw them on
display at Dave Phillips. After reading the glowing review of Current Notes
in AU, I believe I wrote to you to confirm the subscription information
given in the article. You subsequently sent me a free trial copy. I was
happy to see that the praise was justified. I found the candor refreshing.
I'll admit it's taken a bit of getting used to! At the time, my main source
of information on the world of Atari computing was the "Official Atari
Journal," which I had subscribed to for some time. I had become less and
less enthusiastic about the idea of renewing my subscription as the delays
between issues grew. With the big shake-up in the "Journal's" editorial
staff, I knew it was time to "explore" my options.
I must admit that I looked into a few other magazines before finally
settling on CN. They were all fine publications and worthy of consideration.
In the final analysis, it was the little differences that tipped the scales.
Or should that be the Small differences? I had become quite fond of Dave
Small's columns during his days at STart. (Only Dave could have made reading
about Unix so enjoyable!) Dave's presence at CN combined with that of Dave
Troy, the "Director of Propaganda" at Toad Computers. I knew I had found a
home.
Before I close, I'd jst like to praise the gang at Toad. Just knowing
that they exist takes away a lot of the anxiety of owning an Atari computer.
Jennifer's friendly, helpful voice at the other end of the phone is enough
to make you want to buy more stuff just to keep them in business. Besides,
their catalogs are almost as fun to read as CN! ...almost.
Paul Doerwang
Washington, NJ
P.S. The game, "Thurg'n'Murg" on PD disk #852 is a great addition to
your PD library. "Droid" (on #855) looks good, too. Unfortunately, my drive
light won't go off when I play it. I don't know if this is more cold-related
damage or a bug that affects Megas STs, or something else altogether. Has
anyone else reported any similar problems?
NOVA CARD NOTES
To: Joe Waters, Current Notes
In your February issue, David Barkin said he was still unable to get his
Nova color card working. If he is still having problems, or just wants to
compare notes, I am running a TT with the Nova card and would be glad to go
over things with him. A friend is using the card with his Mega STe. We both
have settled on 1024x768x256 as our boot-up setting.
I can't get Calamus SL to show graphics past 256 colors, but I
understand there is an Auto folder patch for that. Pagestream is happy up to
2546 colors, but won't let me set palette colors in 256 color mode and only
uses the 1st 16 colors anyway. Retouche Pro CD* goes up to 32,000 colors. In
either 256 or 32k colors, the outline color for blocks is virtually
invisible. GEMView seems to work in any rez/color setting. The only program
to work correctly at 16M colors. Flash 1.52 works in 640x400x2. Touch-Up
works in some 2 colors rez's and 640x480x16. ImageCopy II and Style don't
show pictures with board. (ImageCopyII also doesn't show pics with a
friend's Cyrel board. He said this is normal with CodeHead products.)
Hope this is of use.
Jim Hood
Concord, CA
P.S. It was David's review that finally convinced me to get Retouche.
[You will have noticed in the March issue that David has surrendered his
Nova card, but your information may be helpful to others who have the card
or our considering purchasing it. Thanks. -JW]
(c) 1994, Current Notes Inc.
(Reprinted from the April, 1994 issue of Current Notes.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
======================================
ATARI INDUSTRY: NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
======================================
PROCESSOR DIRECT MAGAZINE UPDATE
--------------------------------
Two Worlds Publishing is happy to announce that the first issue of
Processor Direct Magazine is fast approaching, and we are now looking for
dealers interested in selling the magazine in their stores.
The first issue is expected to be mailed to dealers and subscribers in
the month of February (1994). All of our subscribers were mailed a notice
regarding this on January 18, 1994. If you have subscribed and did not get
one, or have moved since sending in your subscription, please contact us so
we can update our records and make sure you get the first issue as quickly
as possible.
Subscriptions to Processor Direct are still $25.00 ($32.00 in Canada)
for 12 issues, and are payable by check or money order made out to Two
Worlds Publishing, paid in US funds drawn from a bank in United States or
Canada. Individual issues can be purchased directly from TWP for $3.50
($4.00 Canada) each, paid in the same manner as subscriptions.
[Two Worlds Publishing, Inc., 3837 Northdale Blvd. #225, Tampa, FL 33624.
GEnie: P-DIRECT; Internet: p-direct@genie.geis.com]
IAAD ELECTION RESULTS
---------------------
November 11, 1993: The Independent Association of Atari Developers
(IAAD) is pleased to announce the results of the annual election of our
Board of Directors. Newly-elected Board members include Greg Kopchak of It's
All Relative, David "Dr. Bob" Parks of Dr. Bobware, and Charles Smeton of
NewSTar Technology Management. Nathan Potechin of DMC was reelected to a
fifth term, and Dorothy Brumleve of D.A. Brumleve was reelected to the Board
and to the Presidency by a unanimous vote.
The IAAD is an organization of third-party commercial hardware and
software developers supporting the Atari ST family of computers, including
the ST/STe, TT030, and Falcon030 series. An IAAD Membership Directory,
including product listings, is updated regularly and made available on major
online services.
Commercial developers are encouraged to apply for membership by sending
GEMail to the PERMIT$ address on GEnie. Developers, or individuals who would
like to contact Atari develoeprs, may contact D.A. Brumleve at (217)
337-1937, DABRUMLEVE on GEnie or Delphi, dabrumleve@genie.geis.com on the
Internet, or 76004,3655 on CompuServe.
MOUNTAIN SOFTWARE ANNOUNCES NEW PRICES
--------------------------------------
Mountain Software has lowered the retail price of four of their products
(Easy Base, $10; Easy Go, $15; Mountain QWK, $30; and The Recipe Box, $35),
They are also now providing free shipping on all direct orders. (Residents
of Washington state, please add 7.6% sales tax!)
For more information, or to place an order, write to: Mountain Software,
6911 NE Livingston Road, Camas, Washington 98607. GEnie E-mail to:
A.WATSON6. (Make check or money order payable to: Mountain Software.)
CONNECTICUT ATARIFEST '94 ANNOUNCED
-----------------------------------
10am-5pm, Saturday, August 27;
10am-4pm, Sunday, August 28
ACT Atari Group is running another major Northeast computer event. Last
year's successful move to the Windsor Court Hotel means only one thing:
Encore! CT Fest '94 is just as convenient to reach as ever--only two hours
from Boston or New York. The hotel has excellent room rates, easy access
from Interstates 91, 95, 90, 84, and 80 and plentiful parking.
It is located just one mile from Bradley International Airport (free
shuttle service for hotel guests). Join us for an informal, low cost, dinner
Saturday night, and mix with old friends.
What about the Jaguar? Come on out and get (64)BIT! We'll have the
largest Jaguar competition in New England, with the latest games and gear.
We'll have our Lynx Competition, with multiple Comlynxed competitions
underway at all times, the Portfolio Corner, staffed with industry experts,
an endless stream of door prizes and seminars in abundance (in the past
we've had everyone's favorite Atari Corp. personality--Director of
Communications Bob Brodie, John Eidsvoog of Codehead, Jeff Naideau from
Barefoot, Dave Troy of Toad Computers, Joe Mirando & Dana Jacobson from ST
Report and many others). Stay tuned for this year's list of speakers.
All in all, we hope to have the best Northeast show yet, and we look
forward to your participation. Make your plans now for the most exciting
Atari Weekend this summer!
The Windsor Court will be offering special rates for CAF '94 attendees,
call them at 203-623-9811 (Fax 9808).
For further information, call Angela or Brian Gockley at 203-332-1721.
E-mail can be directed to 75300,2514 on CIS.
HEATSEEKER ALLOWS SLM LASER PRINTERS TO CONNECT TO FALCON030
------------------------------------------------------------
Specification: Interface between Falcon030 and SLM 804 or SLM 05.
Supplier: O.M., Berlin, Raschdorffstrasse 99, 13409 Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49 / 30 492 41 27
FAX: +49 / 30 491 93 67
If you're calling the phone lines, please think about time differences.
Berlin's in the Central European Time Zone (CET), which is Greenwich Mean
Time plus one hour. FAX lines are open 24 hrs. a day.
Includes: Heatseeker interface-hardware; GDOS-driver software; Diablo
printer-emulation; Drivers for 1st Word Plus and similar Drivers for That's
Write, Composcript etc.; Installation, setup and test software; FontGDOS;
Special configuration CPX for the Diablo emulator; Documentation.
Price: 99 DM (currently $110)
Optional: SpeedoGDOS 4.2 package., Calamus / Calamus SL drivers.
Features: The hardware was designed to be very error-tolerant. The problems
you might have had using the old "SLMC" controller when switching off the
laser with the computer turned on or booting with an offline laser no
longer
exist. You can now turn the laser on and off whenever you want. The hardware
is very small and handy and does not consume as much space as the
SLMC-controller. Its current size is 50mm xz 77mm x 13mm. The Heatseeker is
easily installed and can, as well, be easily removed with a single grip. The
software provides a maximum of compatibility, since it is licensed original
Atari software that was modified to control the Heatseeker hardware. This
allows you to run even those programs that are relatively close to the
hardware.
Programs printing plain ASCII text work, as well as those printing bitmap
rasters through the functions provided by the Diablo emulator.
Gnu-Ghostscript, Gnu's postscript emulator, runs without any problems. The
memory consumption is very low (at about 100 k). Compatibility to
GDOS-applications such as Xact, Prolist or such is provided through a GDOS
driver that can handle scalable SpeedoGDOS vectorfonts as well as graphics.
The package includes special drivers for some programs, such as That's Write
or Composcript. Easy-to-use CPXs allow fast configuration of your system.
MARCEL 2.2 RELEASED AS SHAREWARE
--------------------------------
Marcel Software is pleased to announce the release of its latest word
processor--Version 2.2. Marcel WP is now SHAREWARE! This means you can make
free copies of it for yourself and your friends and, if you use Marcel
regularly, you pay only a $10 user registration fee. The fee also gets you a
free manual. (And you get a free bonus gift poster, while supplies last.)
Marcel v2.2 is packed with new features, like paragraph sorting and line
centering, PostScript output, revamped print options, improved text
insertion, to name but a few. Marcel has always had a reputation for being
easy to learn and use. Now it's even easier. And it even has a built-in
screen saver!
Marcel v2.2 requires 512KB RAM (1MB recommended), 1 720KB diskette
drive, and medium resolution screen or better. It is MultiTOS-compatible and
uses RTF format for file exchange with AtariWorks, MS-Word, etc. The new
version employs the same easy-to-use word processing engine as the earlier
version, but many improvements have been added: revamped print control for
easier selection of page layouts, simpler paragraph indenting, paragraph
sorting, keyboard commands for saving and printing, line centering, easier
text-to-function-key assignment, multi-user switching, revamped help
screens, and ready-made templates for personal and business use, to name a
few.
Marcel Word Processor made its debut early in 1993. It is a GEM-based,
user-friendly, low-fee shareware program for anyone who likes to write.
Marcel has loads of features, like auto-reformatting, instant-access
writer's note pad (saved with file, but not printed or exported), easy
accented-letter entry, easy keyboard selection of clauses, sentences, and
paragraphs, word erase, and hundreds of other features, many not found in
other word processors.
Marcel can export in the following formats: Rich-Text-Format (RTF),
1st-Word, and 7- and 8-bit ASCII. With RTF, files can be exchanged with
numerous programs in the Macintosh and DOS worlds, and with such programs as
Calligrapher and the new AtariWorks from Atari Corp. 1st Word format may be
used with programs like Pagestream. Marcel can read RTF, 1st Word, Word
Writer, ST Writer, WordPerfect 4.1, and several other file formats.
In addition to the new PostScript support, Marcel WP can print to Epson
and compatibles, Atari Laser, HP DeskJet and LaserJet. Users can create
their own printer drivers by editing a simple file.
Marcel runs on the full range of Atari 680x0 machines, from 520ST all
the way up to the Falcon. It is MultiTOS-compatible. To get your registered
version of Marcel (including manual), send $10 to: Marcel Software, 318
Mendocino 051, Santa Rosa, CA 95401.
CEEJAY SOFTWARE SPECIALIZES IN RECYCLED ATARI PRODUCTS
------------------------------------------------------
CeeJay Software is a new company specializing in the selling, trading
and purchasing of used Atari software and hardware. It was started by Carey
and Janette Cates in 1993 as an outlet for Atari users to recycle their idle
pieces. With over 500 software titles, games and productivity programs,
available and a continually changing inventory of hardware, they offer a
varied selection for their customers.
As a long time Atari user himself, the Cee half of the business, Carey,
has a first-hand understanding of the problems facing the average Atari
enthusiast. The Jay portion, Janette, while a relative newcomer to the Atari
computers, has found the platform to be very interesting and exciting. Both
are very willing to answer any questions you might have.
There is a listing of the available items uploaded on GEnie every two
weeks in the ST Software Library.
[CeeJay Software, P.O. Box 1303, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864. Phone: (618)
242-0405; Genie : C.CATES]
TEXAS ATARI FESTIVAL ANNOUNCED
------------------------------
S.A.L.S.A. (ST Atari League of San Antonio) invites you and your friends
to join us at the Texas Atari Festival '94 Computer Show! This amazing
amalgamation of technology and wonder will take place June 4th and 5th from
10am to 5pm on the campus of St. Mary's University.
This is a fantastic chance to see the newest software and hardware in
the world of Atari as well a great excuse to come to San Antonio and take a
little weekend vacation!
S.A.L.S.A. is targeting the general public, not just Atari or other
computer users. Because of this we want to show off the multitude of things
that can be done with computers and Atari computers specifically. That is
why we are asking users and user groups who attend to bring some of their
vast knowledge and experience and share it with us. If there is a program or
area of computing that you have expertise in, we'd love to have you or your
user group do a one-time demonstration.
This is the best way to help others learn what you've learned as well as
a great way to draw someone into our world of Atari. If you'd like to come
spread your knowledge around, please let me know ASAP. We are beginning the
schedule of events and the sooner we hear from you the better.
One other request for help from you: We are working from a small list of
user groups and developers/vendors. If you know of anyone who would be
interested in attending TAF '94 or might like to display their
products/services at the show please pass this information along to them. We
appreciate your support!!
There are a limited number of rooms available for lodging on the St.
Mary's campus. One night single occupancy is $20. One night double occupancy
is $16 per person. Now these rooms aren't fancy but they are CHEAP and only
a short walk from the show building. We need to have your reservations AND
your money by May 25th. Also admission will be $3.50 at the door but each
ticket will be eligible for one of many door prizes!
For more information, contact: R. Scott Helsel, Event Coordinator, 13938
Brantley, San Antonio, Texas 78233. Phone: (210) 655-4672; GEnie mail:
R.Helsel; Internet mail: r.helsel@genie.geis.com.
MIGRAPH SHIPS SCANNER FOR TT
----------------------------
Migraph, Inc. began shipping the new Migraph ColorBurst color hand
scanner exclusively for Atari TT computers. The ColorBurst has four scanning
modes: Super Color Mode (18-bit), Color Mode (12-bit), Greyscale (64
levels), and Monochrome/line art (text). Resolutions from 50 to 400 dots per
inch are available. Migraph Color KiT software scans, displays, and saves
color, greyscale, and monochrome images in TIFF, IMG, TARGA, and IFF file
formats. Migraph OCR Jr. software for scanning and reading text is
optionally available.
The ColorBurst for the TT is available separately and bundled with
Migraph OCR Jr. Omnifont Optical Character Recognition program. The
suggested list price is $519 ($569 with OCR). The Migraph ColorBurst runs on
Atari TT computers with 4MB of RAM. A hard disk is recommended.
[Migraph, 32700 Pacific Highway S., Suite 14, Federal Way, WA 98003.
Phone: (206) 838-4677; Fax: (206) 838-4702.
CLEVELAND FREE-NET ATARI SIG
----------------------------
In an effort to bring professinal support to Atari users at absolutely
no cost, the Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG has released a new version of its
SIG. The main goal of the Cleveland Free-Net Atari Sig is to offer the most
support possible to Atari users. The Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIGOps feel
that this new version is comparable to that of Atari SIGs on pay systems.
The additions to the Atari SIG include:
* Direct access to Atari related International Usenet newsgroups.
* An enhancement of the already popular "8-bit Computers Support
Area," which now includes ALL the issues published of Z*Magazine and a new
improved Technical Forum for 8-bit programmers and hardware hackers.
* A restructured "16/32-bit Support Area," which now includes more
infomation text files than ever before. The support area includes a large
list of files that can be received from popular FTP sites like
atari.archives.umich.edu. Over 400 online magazines are included online with
every issue of Z*Net and ST Report from 1989. All issues of Atari Explorer
Online are also available.
* Also available is an improved "Lynx Support Area," a new "Jaguar
Support Area," and an "Atari Library" that is truly a library for Atari
users. The Atari Library includes: many information text files and
documents; a "Time Capsule" for old, but important, information; online
publications; Usenet newsgroups; CAIN Newsletters; and Atari SIG logs. The
Atari Library also includes the Atari SIG's "Who's Who in the Atari
Community" e-mail address directory.
The Cleveland Free-Net Community Computer System is a multi-user system
that supports hundreds of users online, simultaneously. Internet users may
access the Cleveland Free-Net at the following telent address:
freenet-in-a.cwru.edu,
freenet-in-b.cwru.edu,
freenet-in-c.cwru.edu
(129.22.8.32 or 129.22.8.51)
The Cleveland Free-Net is accessible via modem by the phone number:
216/368-3888.
If there is a Free-Net in your city, the Cleveland Free-Net is
accessible through the "Teleport" option.
The Cleveland Free-Net is not just a local community computer system.
Atari users from all over the world access the Atari SIG on the Cleveland
Free-Net daily to participate in bulletin board conversations and to
contribute news and information.
Atari conferences are usually held once a month on the IRC (go irc). If
interested in participating in these conferences, check the Cleveland
Free-Net Atari SIG's General Bulletin Board for time and date information.
(c) 1994, Current Notes Inc.
(Reprinted from the April, 1994 issue of Current Notes.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
=======================
STatus: Atari
by Paul Lefebvre
=======================
POWERFUL ALTERNATIVES, MAIL-ORDER FALCONS, CURRENT NOTES RTC
Hello again, everyone. The response to my becoming editor has been
wonderful, and I wish to thank everyone who has taken the time to send me
mail. Now, on with the news.
POWERFUL ALTERNATIVES?
In the February issue of UNIX World's Open Computing there are reviews
of Norton Desktop and x.Desktop, two programs that provide desktop functions
to PC's and Unix Workstations, respectively. The reviews weren't lengthy,
but they did focus on some of the unique features of each product:
Norton Desktop:
- will allow you to drag a data file on an application icon and have
the application load and open the data file.
- needs 500K RAM and 9MB disk space
x.Desktop:
- will allow you to link data files with program applications so that
a program will automatically load and open the data file when the data file
is double-clicked.
Hmm... do these two features sound very familiar? Yes, that's it: We
have had the "link" feature (we call it Install Application) since 1985 with
GEM and the "drag and drop" feature with NeoDesk (and now Newdesk) since
1988. Granted, these programs do lots more than what I have listed here,
but the reviewer chose to focus on two features that we Atarians have had
for many years. Our Atari's may not have the most sophisticated software
available, but it is probably the most useful.
TIME FOR A DIATRIBE
I think the preceding paragraphs completely describe the dilemma people
have when using and choosing a computer today. Often, software publishers
keep adding features to their programs (just to sell upgrades, I imagine),
without any consideration as to what would be genuinely useful. DOS (and
Windows) machines are incredibly powerful computers, but also incredibly
complicated to use and set up.
I spend a lot of time in my day job dealing with MS-DOS machines, and
look forward to the chance to use my Atari. I've seen many people completely
screw up their machines because they don't understand how a CONFIG.SYS or
AUTOEXEC.BAT file works. End-users shouldn't be expected to understand the
intricacies of a computer, but with DOS (or Windows) you have no choice.
Regardless, I have found that people migrate to DOS machines, mostly for the
following reasons:
1. They are the standard so there is much software.
2. They are readily available.
3. They are inexpensive.
These same people also tell me that they would love to have a system
that is not so complicated to use, but still provide the functionality they
need. I feel that the Atari provides the ease-of-use that many are looking
for. How many users really need the power that Microsoft Word or WordPerfect
6 have? These programs require something like six megabytes of RAM before
you can even load them. Is that necessary? People are always amazed at how
easy it is to use my MegaSTe setup and want their DOS machine to also be as
simple to use, but it just won't happen. Granted, Atari machines are less
sophisticated than 486DX2 machines with OS/2, but is that much power really
needed by the average computer user?
CURRENT NOTES REAL-TIME CONFERENCE
There will be a Current Notes RTC on GEnie this month. Show up
Wednesday, April 27 for the RTC. Many of your friendly Current Notes authors
will be there: Joe Waters, myself, Rick Reaser, Dave Troy and (possibly)
J.A. Wrotniak. We will even give away a free subscription.
MARCEL IS NOW SHAREWARE
Be sure to read the news and announcements this month. Marcel, the word
processor that was reviewed by John Godbey in the September issue is now
shareware with a registration fee of only $10! This is an exceptional
bargain for a complete word processor with spelling checker. Registration
also includes a manual. See the press release for more details. (Available
on CN Disk #884.)
ST GAMING DIGEST CEASES PUBLICATION
This online ST games magazine has stopped publishing, citing the lack of
new game releases for Atari machines. ST Gaming Digest has been publishing
since October, 1991. I have never been much of a games person, but it is
always sad when another Atari publication is unable to continue.
MAIL-ORDER FALCONS
No longer the oxymoron it once was, Atari has decided to allow dealers
to sell Falcons via mail order. What this means is not exactly defined;
perhaps Atari just wants to more completely focus its energy on Jaguar.
There have been rumors around that Atari is planning on clearing out
existing inventories of Falcons--don't believe them. Atari is still building
and selling the Falcon. Hopefully, Atari didn't wait too long to implement
this. On another note, the TT030 is now available again as is Atari's co-op
advertising program. Signs of good things to come? We hope so.
CURRENT NOTES SHAREWARE CORNER
Current Notes is testing a new method of distribution for shareware
programs. We will be taking orders for several shareware programs
(shareware authors: contact us if you want to be added to the list).
Currently, we have the following titles available: (These are the FULL,
REGISTERED versions.)
* DataBasement Registration Deal, $30. (See the press release in the
March News and Announcements.)
* MasterBrowse - Text File Viewer, $15.
* Oracle - GEnie or Delphi front-end for STalker 3, $15. You can
order with your Visa or MasterCard through the Current Notes Library.
ATARI SHOWS
When I started to write this month's column, I was going to comment on
the lack of Atari show announcements so far this year. Well, if you read
the News and Announcements section you should now know that the Connecticut
AtariFest is returning for its fourth year. Hopefully, there will be as many
attenders and vendors as there were last year. I have had a good time
attending the Connecticut AtariFest the last couple of years, especially
since I don't have a local dealer (closest is in southern
Massachusetts--about three hours away). Reserve your room now. I'll see you
there!
TEMPEST 2000 FOR JAGUAR
During the weekend of March 4th, Atari offered Tempest 2000, one of the
most eagerly awaited Jaguar games, to folks online. GEnie, Compuserve, and
Delphi members were allowed to order Tempest 2000 via email for two days at
a reduced price. Ten lucky people were also randomly picked to receive
Tempest 2000 now, instead of waiting the several weeks for its normal
arrival. Jay Millar (JMILLAR) of Delphi was a lucky winner of a Tempest 2000
cartridge and received it just two days after he was notified.
OTHER NOTES
I still have many products that are awaiting reviews. If you are
interested in reviewing software, please get in touch with me. I don't like
to have software sitting around and would like to see reviews appear quicker
than they have in the past.
Developers, send us your new products. As they say, the best way to
increase a product's sales is by having it reviewed.
How to reach me.
U.S. mail:
Paul Lefebvre, ST Editor, Current Notes
78 Winter Street
Portland, ME 04102
Phone:(207) 828-1225
E-mail GEnie: P.LEFEBVRE
Delphi: PLEFEBVRE
Internet: plefebvre@delphi.com
(c) 1994, Current Notes Inc.
(Reprinted from the April, 1994 issue of Current Notes.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
=========================
ATARI MYTHS AND MYSTERIES
(c) 1994 David C. Troy
=========================
THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY:
IS THIS THE CORRECT PARADIGM?
Have you ever experienced deja vu? Have you ever sensed a "message" or
"feeling" that seems to come from a remote place? Have you ever felt like
you had ESP? Everyone has a story. Sometimes it seems that everything in
your life seems to revolve on a common theme. Coincidences, dreams,
sensations, premonitions. All of these can be said to be the product of a
common source.
In his 1952 essay, "Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle,"
Carl Jung says that human beings are connected together in a kind of way
that defies common sense ideas about the physical world. We, as humans, are
conditioned to thinking that the world operates on the basis of cause and
effect--that is to say, that for every event occurring in the world there is
some antecedent cause that came first in time. Newton's Natural Philosophy,
the cornerstone of modern mechanical physics, is built around the
spatio-temporal theory of causality. Every reaction (cause) has an equal and
opposite reaction (effect). Because Newton's view of the natural world (and
the theory of causality) works so well in everyday practice, it has been
applied non-stop to other areas of natural science. The theory of causality,
along with the baggage it carries, is something that most of us have come to
take for granted as plain common sense.
Jung says that there is reason to believe that the theory of causality,
so important to philosophers like Kant, is suspect at best. Jung, a great
student of dreams and other quasi-respectable psychological phenomena like
ESP, says that there are undeniable examples of "meaningful coincidences"
everyday in our lives. To his credit, Jung says that there are many
coincidences, however improbable, that can be explained away as being within
the range of mathematical probability. Jung says:
"To mention but one example of many, I noted the following on April 1,
1949: Today is Friday. We have fish for lunch. Somebody happens to mention
the custom of making an 'April Fish' of someone. That morning I made a note
of an inscription that said, 'Est homo toto medius piscis ab imo.' In the
afternoon, a former patient of mine whom I have not seen for months, showed
me some extremely impressive pictures of fish which she painted in the
meantime. In the evening I was shown a piece of embroidery with fish like
little sea monsters in it. On the morning of April 2, another patient whom I
had not seen for many years told me a dream in which she had stood on the
shore of a lake and saw a large fish that swam straight towards her and
landed at her feet. I was at this time engaged in a study of the fish symbol
in history. Only one of the persons mentioned here knew anything about it."
Jung then says that he had written this passage by the lakeside. He got
up and went to observe the water. At the edge of the lake was a dead fish,
apparently uninjured, bringing the grand fish total to eight.
However, Jung believes that this Monty Pythonish string of events is,
however startling, a coincidence that fits well within the bounds of
probability and causality. He goes on to cite various other experiments and
occurrences that might be a little more difficult to reconcile.
J.B. Rhine, a contemporary of Jung, conducted various experiments where
test subjects were asked to identify 25 cards with geometric patterns on
them. (The subjects had their own deck and would guess which card was
selected by Rhine.) The decks were shuffled and the test subjects were
separated from Rhine by a wall. Many of the test subjects performed no
better than chance would dictate. But several subjects were able to
consistently guess these cards at odds well above probability. One young man
was able to guess all 25 cards correctly with odds of over 1 to 2 million.
The next test was to determine whether these results would be affected
by distance. So on one occasion, test subjects were placed in Zagreb,
Yugoslavia while Rhine remained in Durham, North Carolina. The results were
not significantly affected--even by the huge distance. The best subjects
still performed well above average.
The last step was to remove the factor of time--and of causality--from
the testing. Test subjects were asked to predict the order of the tester's
deck beforehand. And again, the results held up. It appeared that there were
some people who were able to sense the arrangement of the cards--even before
they had been arranged. This led Jung to renounce, or at least amend, the
theory of causality. Jung's corollary is that of a theory of synchronicity.
Jung believed there was no way to reconcile arguably impossible
coincidences with the prevailing theory of causality. Jung said that for
causality to explain the copious examples of "meaningful coincidence"--and
he goes on to cite many others, such as a man sensing a distant newspaper
headline as it is printed, and another man who sensed the death of a
far-away friend--it would have to rely on energy-based theories. That is to
say, that somehow these receptors of remote messages are somehow "picking
up" what could be thought of as weak radio signals being transmitted through
the atmosphere by their source.
But if this were the case, how can we explain instances of precognition,
such as we saw with the cards? Our test subject would have to be picking up
a radio signal which did not exist yet. How could this be? Is he picking up
a molecular configuration which did not exist yet? Apparently not. Somehow,
by reaching through time, our subject is able to predict the arrangement of
these cards without relying on any causal relationships at all. So, he says,
given that causality seems to be flawed, he proposes synchronicity as a way
in which meaningful coincidences may be explained. He says, as in the title
of the essay, that synchronicity is "an acausal connecting principle."
Whether you believe in Jung's conclusions or not, there is an
interesting conclusion that we pawns of the information age can take away
with us: synchronicity is the elemental particle of the fabled information
superhighway. In fact, synchronicity is such a good model for discussing
this issue that it may warrant a reevaluation of the discussion.
One last Jungian interlude. He cites Wilhelm von Schols, a fellow
German, who was told a story of a mother who had taken photographs of her
boy in the Black Forest. She left the film in Frankfurt in 1914 to be
developed, but due to the outbreak of the war was unable to pick it up. In
1916, she purchased some film so she could take a picture of her baby girl.
When she developed the film, she noticed that it had been exposed twice; the
first time with her boy, the second time with her girl. Somehow the film, in
the confusion of the war, had re-entered circulation and inexplicably
re-entered her hands two years later. This story led von Schols to conclude
that there is a "mutual attraction of related objects" and that there is a
"greater and more comprehensive consciousness which is unknowable."
If synchronicity is the network protocol of this human information
infrastructure, then this comprehensive consciousness is, in fact, the
network. Ponder this.
COLONIZING THE UNKNOWABLE
Think about what the world ultimately hopes to gain from an information
infrastructure. Ideally, the goal is to provide individuals and companies
with the ability to open multiple instantaneous bi-directional communication
links with any number of information sources (could be computers, video
sources, telephone systems, audio servers, etc.), anywhere in the world.
The world at large is uncertain what to expect from an "information
highway." The digital information link that the world knows best at this
point is that of a modem and a telephone line. It allows one single computer
to connect with one other computer. If people perceive that an information
highway would work in the same fashion--like a really fast point A to point
B modem--then the value of this highway would be hard to see. Subsequently,
the White House, or anyone else who is excited about implementing this kind
of infrastructure is going to have a hard time justifying its costs to
taxpayers and to corporate America.
Perhaps, then, we ought to reconsider the name we've chosen for this
ubiquitous '90's craze, lest it become a pet rock. The term highway implies
a single connecting link between point A and point B. You take I-95 to get
from Philadelphia to New York quickly. While a highway does link together
many, many destinations, its structure forces you to choose just two points:
a source and a destination. Point A and point B. It is never possible for a
single user to drive from point A to both points B and C simultaneously, nor
can he do it infinitely fast. Is this the kind of infrastructure we're
after, an information infrastructure that will last into the 22nd century?
Arguably it is not. We want to be able to connect to many different
destinations simultaneously and instantaneously. If you need proof of this,
look at this scenario.
You want to pay your credit card bills. You bring up two (or more)
windows on our screen. One window is connected to your bank's computer. The
other windows are connected to your various credit card companies. In the
bank window, you see a listing of your current (up to the second) bank
statement. In the bill windows we would see a listing of our current credit
card bills (up to the second).
To pay an item on your bill, click on it and drag it into your bank
window. The charge disappears from the credit card bill window, and a
"payment" line appears in your bank window. Your balance would drop from
$1490.50 to $1169.02 automatically. If you decide that you're not ready to
pay the bill, simply drag the payment line back into the Credit Card window.
Or, just press undo.
While you're doing this (on your AT&T 21" InfoTerm), you have another
window connected to the computer at your office. You can keep an eye on
sales for that day and make sure that everyone's working hard. It keeps a
running sales total displayed at the top of the window continuously.
You have another window connected to the New York Stock Exchange. You're
keeping an eye on your Atari stock, and you watch its price as it bobs
through the day. The price is displayed in the left half of the window while
a graph plots its hourly progress on the right.
Another window is connected to a friend's hotel room in Los Angeles,
where he is on a business trip. You're typing back and forth about the
weather, but you tell him that you really must go because you're trying to
pay the bills, unless of course he wants to go to teleconference mode, which
you do. It slows down the machine a little, but you can see him, in a
resizable window, as he speaks to you from afar in stereo surround sound.
Next to him is a muted TVLink window, where you're watching Sanford and Son
reruns.
This is what people want from a global network. To do all that stuff
(without using 10 phone lines or a bunch of satellite downlinks), it is
essential that the network allow multiple simultaneous bi-directional
connections with an unlimited number of other destinations, and this desire
is not explicitly addressed in the current term "information highway." So we
have to change what we call it.
Recall now Wilhelm von Schols, and his "greater and more comprehensive
consciousness."This consciousness has none of the limitations of a highway.
It is synchronistically available to everyone, everywhere, all the time. It
is so vast and so comprehensive that it allows a single person an infinite
number of "connections." It offers simultaneous (or faster, as in the case
of the precognito test subjects) data transmission. It is, thus, what we are
after. What we want to build is not an information highway, but a global
information consciousness.
Once we have defined that this is what we are, in fact, building, this
information consciousness, we can start to snap puzzle pieces together.
Remember that von Schols said that this greater consciousness is unknowable
to us, except when it is revealed to us by coincidences or people who seem,
for whatever reason, to be in touch with it.
If we have established that both von Schols's consciousness and our
ideal information consciousness are infinitely fast, infinitely connectable
networks, then they are equivalent entities. The thing that we are trying to
build is the same thing that von Schols and Jung and countless others have
already discovered. Remember, though that von Schols said that this
consciousness is unknowable. This is precisely what we are reversing. We are
making this shared human consciousness knowable.
As we have already started this process with a dizzying myriad of
on-line services, and, of course, the Internet, we have begun the earliest
stages of mapping this unknown. The information consciousness is Cyberspace
and Cyberspace is von Schols's comprehensive consciousness. An information
consciousness may be more than just a way for business to work better and
for individuals to communicate. When it reaches equilibrium, it may, in
fact, become the key that unlocks the secret of the human condition. It may
answer the question that we alone cannot answer: why are we here?
This is a lofty claim, to be sure. But no one can know what the
implications of a worldwide, practically instantaneous (ATM derivatives
ought to deliver 1000Mbit or better transfer rates) infinitely connectable
network would be. Some people worry about the effects of information
overload (57,000,000,000 information servers and nothing's on). Can we, as
humans, endure the tidal wave of information that we are trying so
desperately to seed?
Marshall McLuhan was the poster child of media in the '60's. As people
began to struggle with the power of television, film, radio and print,
McLuhan was there to post a unifying theory. The medium is the message, he
said. He also made some startlingly Jungian claims that directly support the
idea of re-soundbyting "information highway" into "information
consciousness."
Jung's biggest gripe with causality is the evidence that disagrees with
it. To believe in causality, he says, you must also believe in three
dimensional space and time as given and a priori. Three dimensional space
and time cannot work as we think they do. If they did, the evidence he has
against it (precognition, ESP) could not exist. He believes that space and
time are crutches that we have developed to help us through an infinitely
dimensional universe which operates with synchronicity at its core.
McLuhan said the same thing of the print medium. "[The Alphabet]
fostered and encouraged the habit of perceiving all environment in visual
and spatial terms--particularly in terms of a space and of a time that are
uniform." McLuhan, then, cannot believe that causality works. And, in fact,
he does not. He believes that only the print medium is subject to causality.
One must assume, then, that he intends for all other media to operate using
some other principle as its ground rule. That principle is, it is fair to
assume, synchronicity. He says, "The alphabet and print technology fostered
and encouraged a fragmenting process, a process of specialism and
detachment. Electric technology fosters unification and involvement. The
instantaneous world of electric informational media involves all of us, all
at once. No detachment is possible." These words are 27 years old and just
as applicable to the "information consciousness" now as they were to Viet
Nam then.
So consider it, then. Cyberspace, electric media, the human
consciousness, and the information consciousness we are trying to build.
They are all the same things. They all run off the same batteries. It all
runs on synchronicity.
It's understandable that Al Gore would have wanted to call this thing
the information highway. It was his father who helped create the interstate
highway system in the 1950's. It was about 10 years ago that Gore himself
first began to use the phrase "information highway," and at that time, the
only digital communication metaphor was that of a modem. Americans like
cars, and they understand highways. But to get at what this thing really is,
we must turn to a new description.
So the next time you experience an "extra-sensory" phenomenon, consider
that the incident itself may be a glimpse of the kind of transcendental
network that may one day arise out of the Internet and its National
Information Infrastructure child. While it's a stretch to say that a digital
conscious network is going to glue the world together and solve the riddle
of humanity in one shot, there's a good chance that it could come up with an
answer that is at least more satisfying than the "42" proposed in Douglas
Adams' "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Give connection machines and
neural nets time to develop. Hook them up to a worldwide network. Give
people personal digital assistants. Develop brainwave decoders. All of these
things are on the stove, and they are laying the groundwork for a vastly
comprehensive consciousness that will allow humans to interact as quickly as
neurons fire in our own brains. Only time will tell what the results will
be.
REACHING ME:
Genie: TOAD-SERV.
Internet: TOAD-SERV.@genie.geis.com
BBS: (410) 544-6999
FAX: (410) 544-1329
Mail: 570-F Ritchie Highway
Severna Park, MD 21146
If you have any comments on this subject, specificially on its relation
to transcendentalism, please write.
(c) 1994, Current Notes Inc.
(Reprinted from the April, 1994 issue of Current Notes.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
========================
ST TOOLBOX
by J. Andrzej Wrotniak
========================
SPIES, MORONS AND THE REST OF US
HOW TO RUN CIRCLES AROUND KGB AND NSA
If the allegations against Mr. Ames are true, then he is
not only a traitor and a spy, but, in the language of political
correctness, an intellectually disadvantaged person, and very
much so. Unfortunately, the last can be said, also, about those
in the CIA whose task was to prevent such cases.
Here we have the head of the Soviet counterintelligence in the,
supposedly, leading intelligence (huh?) agency in the world, selling top
secrets to the competition, at the same time throwing his money all around,
keeping stacks of supersecret documents on his front porch, and, mind you,
being able to get away with it for eight years or so. These are strange,
strange times. . .
From what I have read, the CIA was unable to spot the suspect during a
meeting with any of his Soviet/Russian contacts, but they have found quite a
lot of incriminating information in the disk files of his home computer. And
this is what worries me: with some elementary precautions, the guy could
easily have avoided that. Here, I am going to write about just one aspect of
this problem.
Welcome to the wonderful world of mathematical cryptology. (And do not
even think about turning this page before reading the rest of it; this
article does not assume any math skills beyond the fourth grade!)
CRYPTOLOGY 101
Not only in the busy and complex world of military and industrial
espionage, but also in many areas of business, a capability to store and
transfer information so that only the intended recipient is able to read it,
is a very important problem.
Here is the most common model: Ms.S (for Sender) has to send some
supersecret message [M] to Mr.R (for Recipient), but the channels through
which the message is passed to Mr.R (computer network, postal service,
messenger, denoted shortly as "mail") is insecure, i.e. the message can be
intercepted by the competition. Therefore, sending [M] "as is," i.e. in
plain, easily readable, form, does not make sense. This can be written as
S -> [M] -> mail-> [M] -> R
(which can be read as, "Ms.S writes message [M] and mails it, and then Mr.R
receives the message and reads it.")
Therefore, Ms.S will use some prescription, called encryption key (EK)
to transform [M] into an encrypted form, [EM], hopefully unreadable for the
prying eyes (or computers) of the competition. On the other end of the mail
pipeline, Mr.R will use a matched decryption key to transfer [EM] back into
[M], which he can read:
S -> [M] -> EK -> [EM] ->
-> mail ->
->[EM] -> DK -> [M] -> R
(I am not explaining my ad hoc invented notation here, but it should be
clear by now; please only notice that the square brackets are used to denote
the information being passed.)
This scheme has been used for about two thousand years, with mixed
results.
First of all, usually each of the keys EK and DK consists, really, of
two parts. One is the algorithm used for transforming [M] into [EM] and back
again; the other part is some numerical (or textual) parameter value used in
the process. It is convenient to use the same algorithm in various exchanges
(e.g., sending mail to Messrs. R1, R2, R3 and so forth) with various
parameters (or parameter pairs) for use with individual recipients. The
competition may have our algorithm, so that we have to assume it does have
it. Therefore, the security of our system depends on the assumption that
only Mr.R has the key parameter used in DK. Quite often, instead of key
parameter, we just say key without causing any ambiguities.
Second, most of the classic cryptosystems require that the length of the
key parameter be comparable to the total length of exchanged messages (and,
please, let me spare you the details). Otherwise, the eggheads in Fort
Meade, MD (National Security Agency: my neighbors, a few miles down the
road), or somewhere near Moscow, would be able to crack our key with their
supercomputers in no time. They are good, or at least so we believe.
Third, Ms.S has to know ahead of time that she will be sending a message
to Mr.R, and she has to provide him then with the decryption key. This,
again, calls for a secure channel of information. This is frequently done in
the world of spying (say, Chuck, why don't we meet in Vienna, nyet?), but it
may be unacceptable in sensitive business situations, when an urgent need
may arise to send a secure message to a party with whom we never dealt
before.
PUBLIC KEY CRYPTOSYSTEMS
What can be done, can be undone, they say. For a long time it was
understood that the knowledge of the encryption key, EK, is equivalent to
the knowledge of the decryption key, DK, i.e. that if we know one, then
(with some effort, of course), we can obtain the other.
This, indeed, was at one time true about all known cryptosystems. Let
us, for a while, assume that things do not have to be this way. In such a
case, our recipient, Mr.R, could have published his encryption key, EK, in
his corporate brochure, phone directory, or in the yearbook of the KGB,
inviting anyone to send him encrypted messages, which only he, Mr.R, would
be able to read! The same could be done by any other potential recipient
(R1, R2, R3. . .) and we could have a global network of secure
communication, with anyone capable of sending secure mail to anyone. All it
takes is to publish your EK, while, of course, keeping your DK for
yourself.
Note that the competition, now also capable of sending Mr.R an encrypted
message only he can read, is, under this assumption, unable to figure out
the decryption key, DK, even having at their disposal both the plain
message, [M], and the encrypted one, [EM].
Unfortunately, Mr.R cannot be sure from whom is he receiving all these
messages. Should he follow the one asking for six more pounds of plutonium
sent to Baghdad, or maybe the one asking for six pounds of sand?
This means that, in addition to secure encoding of messages, we also
need a secure way of message authorization, or a kind of unforgable
signature. This will require one more assumption about our keys. In addition
to the obvious
[M] -> EK -> [EM] -> DK -> [M]
we will require that
[M] -> DK -> [EM'] -> EK -> [M].
The last formula means, that using the decryption key DK on the message [M]
will also somehow encrypt it into some [EM'] (different than the [EM] in the
previous case), from which [M] can be extracted by applying EK.
Look: if I receive some encrypted letter [EM'], and then use your public
encryption key, EK to decode it and get something meaningful, then I can be
sure that the only person in the world who could have sent (or, more
precisely, encrypted) it, is the owner of DK, which means you! We have a
situation here, where anyone can read your encoded message, [EM'], but only
you could have written it. This is an unforgeable signature.
To have it both ways, i.e. to be able to send messages which only Mr.R
can read, but only Ms.S could have written, both of them need to have their
public (i.e. known to anyone) keys as well as the private ones. Let us
denote the keys belonging to Ms.S as EKS and DKS, and those of Mr.R as EKR
and DKR. Now, let us submit our original message [M] to the following
procedure (read it slowly and you'll be just fine):
S -> [M] -> DKS -> [EM'] -> EKR -> [EM] ->
-> mail ->
-> [EM] -> DKR -> [EM'] -> EKS -> [M] -> R
This scheme is critical to the concept of public key cryptosystems, so
forgive me offending your intelligence and translating everything in a plain
(if accented) English:
1. Ms.S writes the message [M].
2. She uses her private decryption key, DKS, to encode it into
[EM']--this is something only she can do, as only she has the DKS.
3. Then she uses Mr.R's public encryption key, EKR, to generate a
doubly-encoded version, [EM]. This stage can be done by anyone, as anyone
can have EKR.
4. The doubly-encoded message [EM] is sent via an insecure mail
channel to Mr.R who receives it.
5. Mr.R uses his private decryption key, DKR, to transform [EM] into
[EM'], exactly the same as the one generated by Ms.S in point (2). Oh, yes,
only he can do it, as only he has the DKR.
6. Now he uses the public key of Ms.S, EKS, to decode [EM'] into [M].
If the result makes any sense, he can be sure that it was Ms.S who produced
[EM'].
7. Mr.R reads the message [M], laughing.
The importance of this procedure cannot be overestimated. Suddenly, even
with use of insecure communication lines, anyone can send secure messages to
anyone (for example, authorizing huge money transfers) and sign them with a
signature that is impossible to forge!
The discussion above, made under an assumption that it is possible to
invent an encryption key, EK, from which one cannot compute the
corresponding decryption key, DK, should suffice to explain the search for
DK/EK algorithms meeting this requirement.
THE RSA ALGORITHM
In 1978 three American mathematicians, named Rivest, Shamir and Adelman,
published an article in a technical journal. They proposed an
encoding/decoding algorithm (abbreviated as RSA, from the authors' names) in
which the knowledge of the public key parameter is not sufficient to learn
the private one.
To encode a message, you need an appropriate computer program (and a
relatively simple one) and the public key parameter, which is a very large
integer number, being a product of two primes.
A prime number, or just a prime, is a positive integer number divisible
only by one and by itself. For example, 18 is not a prime number: it can be
expressed as 3*6 or 2*9, but 17 is a prime: you cannot decompose it (the
only two products giving 17 are 1*17 and 17*1).
The private key parameter, which every participant of the mail network
keeps secret, is the pair of primes, which multiplied give the public key.
Wait a minute, some would say, this is too simple! Obviously, if I have
a large number, N, and if I know that this number is a product of two
yet-unknown primes, P and Q, and if I have all those supercomputers,
mathematicians and programmers, then I will certainly be able to find these
primes such that P*Q=N--you cannot be serious!
Well, this is true--as long as N is not too large. When N reaches, say,
100 or 200 decimal digits, even the computer search becomes too
time-consuming to be feasible, even with the most efficient algorithms! It
may require a cluster of Cray supercomputers working for, say, ten billion
years. Fine, the computer technology is progressing; maybe before the year
2000 we will be able to cut this down to just 500 million years? If this is
not safe enough, thenadding just one or two more digits to our key will let
us sleep safely again.
Some of the Readers may ask how do we come up with the two primes for
our private key; if N is 200 digits long, then P and Q have to be about 100
digits each, and testing such numbers for primality is not a trivial
matter.
It is, however, possible, except that the best method I know works on a
statistical basis: it may give me a probability as close to one as I want,
but never exactly one, that a given M is prime. Fair enough, and, again, let
me skip the details, because playing with prime numbers is more than enough
for a whole series of articles.
Anyway, after the RSA breakthrough the world will never be the same.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENTS DO NOT WANT US TO KNOW
Back in 1979 (or was it 1978?) I found a popular article about the
RSA-based public key cryptosystems in the Scientific American magazine. I
still consider that article the best introduction to the topic. It contained
almost enough information to write a computer program implementing the RSA
algorithm. If you want to learn more on the subject, spend an hour in a
library and you will not regret the time.
At the same time, the US Government was busy working on its own
public-key encryption standard. Together with IBM (whom else?) they have
devised the DES, Data Encryption Standard. Do I have to tell you more? You
can not just keep throwing money at a big company and hope that it will come
up with something brilliant, or even useful. DES turned out to be a dog, a
laughingstock of the mathematical community: complex, mathematically unsound
and, on top of that, quite insecure.
In the meantime, all mathematicians and their mothers kept spending
countless hours trying to break the RSA algorithm. As far as I know, not
much progress has been made: the most promising approach requires the owner
of the secret key to encrypt a special message prepared by the opposition.
(Simple protection: never use your private key to encrypt messages given to
you by strangers, at least not without modifying them first. Don't accept
candy, either.)
Number factorization has been one of the most researched topics in
mathematics for the last 150 years. The problem belongs to the so-called NP
(non-polynomial) class; let us just say that the time needed to factorize a
number increases very, very fast with the number size itself. Computers or
not, RSA seems to be safe.
This is why many (possibly most) governments, except those few who do
not give a damn, like the Fiji Islands, are very unhappy. Imagine a
situation where a hobbyist teenager (or a terrorist, or an S&L embezzler)
can exchange email with his buddies, and all the learned people of Fort
Meade can only watch? Or where millions of Chinese (at least those who have
computers) are exchanging subversive literature, like copies of Orwell's
Animal Farm, and the secret police cannot participate in the reading?
The US law enforcement agencies also seem to be quite nervous. There is
a new encryption standard being prepared (what? is not DES the best?) and
there is a discussion, whether to make the standard weaker (so that you
cannot break the code on a PC, but you can on a Cray) or to make it more
secure, but giving the keys to some very honest, very trusted people (like
Mr. Ames?), who would use them only when authorized and only for our own
good.
This is not as funny as it may sound. There is a thin line between
government's protection of law and order on one hand, and violating our
privacy rights on the other. A few years ago, the Polish police could just
beat a (suspected) thief up and he would show them gladly where the stolen
goodies were; now they can't do it, and the recovery rate is drastically
down. Still, most of us would agree that this change in procedures was
rather a good thing. We should pay more attention to this encryption thing.
Whatever the future of the government-approved encryption standard will
be, the genie is out of the bottle. Nothing can stop you and me from
developing our own public key cryptosystem, giving the software to anyone we
want, and putting this thing to any use we want: good or wrong, legal or
not. And the governments of the world will have to learn how to live with
that.
FURTHER READING
Sorry, I'm too lazy to look up the Scientific American article of 1978
(79?) mentioned in the text. Finding it in the index should not, however, be
a problem if you need an hour or two of education and entertainment. Here
are two other positions which you may find interesting:
1. Possibly the most readable, simple, yet complete, introduction to
the public key cryptosystems based on the RSA algorithm can be found in the
article by Diffie and Hellman, "Privacy and Authentication: an Introduction
to Cryptography" in the Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol.67, March 1979.
Amazingly, it does not really require almost any math beyond the high school
level.
2. There is a monograph: "Mathematical Cryptology" by Wayne Patterson
(Rowman and Littlefield, 1987). Some parts of it require more math
background, but the book contains an appendix with a number of useful
procedures programmed in Pascal, including the complete code of the RSA
algorithm. If you are looking for a do-it-yourself kit, this may be it.
I have also seen a few Public Domain implementations of the RSA system
on GEnie or CompuServe (in the PC-DOS areas). At least one of them comes
with the source code in C, which may be portable to the ST.
(c) 1994, Current Notes Inc.
(Reprinted from the April, 1994 issue of Current Notes.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
================================================
CURRENT NOTES ST PUBLIC DOMAIN/SHAREWARE LIBRARY
New Disks for March and April
================================================
MARCH 1994
==========
#874/#875: Towers (2 disk set) a complete game with all the functions
intact. Works on ST/STE/Mega/TT/Falcon computers; Req 1 MB.
#876: Color Games. LANDMINE-A strategy game based on a popular game for that
other computer (c/m). MATCH_UP-For 1-4 players, this colorful game lets you
test your memory skills (c). PEARL_93-Demo version of Super Dark Pearl 3D
game with 10 levels. HTU-"Highscore Terminal Utility" maintains your high
scores in your favorite video games.
#877: Second GFA Basic Manual. 3rd Edition. A collection of example code and
text files that will help you with GFA Basic. All files compressed with
ZIP.
#878: Binkleyterm. First full release of BinkleyTerm ST includes the Binkley
program, docs, and optomized high speed serial routines.
#879: Utility #28: A host of small utilities provided by Atari Explore
Online. AFMT, ALASPEC, BIT, BITMASTR, BLKOUT, BOMB, BRDLFRMT, COLOREMU,
COPYCART, CPBOOT, DISKDOUB, DSKFIL20, F11GEM, FASTER2, FCPY_III, FIXDISK,
FLEXCOPY, FLIP, FMTUTIL, FORMATTP, KILLDRVB, KNUTSOFT, MUTATE, PCFORMAT,
PD_QUICK, SALVAGE, SPECSTUF, STDUP, STMIROR2, SUPER, TASKCOPY, UNFORMAT,
UNHIDER.
#880: Utility #29: More utilities provided by AEO. BELLTST2, B_BOOT, CDC220,
DECOMPRE, DF_SUITE, DISKSCAN, DSKMAP, DSKSPEED, DSKSWICH, FASTFIND, FF,
FOLDRSRT, GCLOCK, HDDIRECT, HDWBOOT, ICONES, KBD, LOAD_INF, MAKE512, MAPMEM,
MEMCHECK, MEMFREE, MEMTEST, MINIVIEW, RESET, RSC_VIEW, SEL_PROG, TOS_VERS.
#881: Utility #30: Still more utilities from AEO plus others. ARDVARK,
AUTO_SET, BKITE110, BOOTSIE, CLEO, CPP2, JOSHUA, SDDFR_12, SHORTBIN,
SINF158, SPLITIT, SUPRSHUF, TIMECODE, TVST15, UNDOUB, UNIX2DOS, UNIXFLOP,
VECSHOW, WO
#882: Shocker2-Mono German shareware game. Manipulate the marble to get a
hold of hearts in each level, avoiding the traps and monsters along the way.
One or two-player mode. 100 levels, with an extra 100 levels in two-player
mode.
#883: Atari Works No.4: AWHP3ENV-template for printing addresses onto
standard size envelopes to an HPIIIp printer, using Print Merge in Works.
AW_ROTAT-Text rotation in AtariWorks. AW_HMINV-AtariWorks Home Inventory
Database template and tutorial. AWNO10MP-How to print #10 Envelopes on the
Hewlett Packard LaserJet 4 MP. AW_FNFNT-17 Calamus fonts converted to GEM
fonts for use with AW. CN_DATA-Includes 1993 CN index, Atari vendors, Atari
retail stores, and CN Library.
#884: Marcel V2.2-The Marcel Word Processor is now Shareware! Marcel v2.2 is
packed with new features like paragraph sorting and line centering,
PostScript output, revamped print options, improved text insertion, to name
but a few.
APRIL 1994
==========
#885: Turbo BBS & HSModem. Turbo Board ST, Shareware V1.0, by William
Miller. Here is a full-featured bulletin board system including everything
you need to crate and run your own BBS. HSMODEM is the modular serial
fix/serial port accelerator for all ST(e)/Mega ST(e)/TT/Falcon machines.
#886: ZX81 Emulator. This is V2. 1 of an emulator program for the legendary
Sinclair ZX81 homecomputer of the year 1981. It should work on all Atari
computers of the ST(E)/TT series. The emulator needs no hardware support,
nevertheless nearly everything works and looks like on the original ZX81.
#887: Euler. Euler is a full-featured rival for the famous (and expensive)
engineering program called Mathematica, while at the same time offering even
more power in some major ways. Runs on all Ataris.
#888: The Printing Press. v.3.03 is an excellent mono-only program that will
allow you to print out Letterhead, Envelopes (with both address and return
address, and a graphic!), two types of disk labels, banners, and cards.
Includes drivers for 9 and 24-pin printers. Geneva and ST/STe compatible.
#889: Utility #31. Two in One archive shell. v1.03 . Nice-looking archive
shell for all types of archivers. Shareware from Germany (translated to
English). Ocultar v.3.01b is a shareware AUTO folder program that will
protect your hard disk from unauthorized access. ST/STe/TT compatible.
Profile v1.5 is a superb "sysinfo" type utility by Mark Baines. Not too
fancy, but the level of detail it displays about the 'innards' of your
machine is unsurpassed. Freeware from the UK.
#890: ConNect. Here is the latest version (2.46) of the CoNnect terminal
emulator. This version has improved online help, faster transfers, etc.
Still with internal x/y/zmodem/kermit, VT52/VT100/VT102/VT220/Tek4014,
multitasking. Supports ALL ST/TT/Falcon modes.
CN PD/Shareware Disks
$4 each
10 or more: $3.50 each
CN disks are, generally, double-sided. Add $1 for every 5 disks for
postage and handling. Order disks from CN Library, 122 N. Johnson Rd.,
Sterling, VA 20164. You can charge your order using your VISA or MC card by
calling (703) 450-4761. Note: DOM disks are $5 each.
CN DataBasement Special
-----------------------
DataBasement Software's ShareWare Registration Deal is now permanent!
Receive the full registered versions of 5 share programs for $30: Die
Blitzschnell Hard Drive Defragmenter/Optimizer (GEM and TTP versions); Kitty
Lock; Volume Utility; 5-of-a-Kind; and Euchre.
(c) 1994, Current Notes Inc.
(Reprinted from the April, 1994 issue of Current Notes.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
========================
RUNNING OUT OF RAM
by David Barkin
========================
GRAPHIC CARDS: CRAZY DOTS II AND CYREL SUNRISE
Readers may not be aware of my recent promotion to head the New York
branch of the Current Notes Hardware Testing Division. Armed with a $500,000
budget, I've decided to dedicate my first article to graphic cards. Taking
advantage of the prestige of this new appointment, I ordered 500 Crazy Dot
boards and 500 Cyrel boards. I also took advantage of my friend Cliff
Steward and borrowed his NOVA Board. The first, and of course, most
important, test was the torture test. How much physical abuse could these
boards take and still run? I'm sorry to report that of the 998 boards
subjected to this test, none survived. A couple of the Cyrel cards did
manage to make it through the "five little kids with sledge hammer test,"
while the Crazy Dots boards all shattered into a million pieces. But even
the Cyrel Cards failed the Oxyacetylene Cutting Torch Test.
I was unable to put the NOVA through these tests because, when Cliff
observed my testing methods, and the special, "Battery Acid Dip Test," that
I had reserved for his board, he backed out of lending me his card. No, I am
sad to relate that this kind of data from the NOVA was not done in CN's
up-to-date lab, but was phoned in by Cliff from his Long Island home.
If you followed last month's column, you are probably aware of the
review of the NOVA board. This month I will cover the Crazy Dots Board,
distributed by Gribnif Software, and the Cyrel Board, sold and manufactured
by Cybercube Research. In the tables of data, I will also include results
from the NOVA Board, distributed by Lexicor Software.
INTRODUCING THE BOARDS
To begin with, both the Cyrel and the Crazy Dots Boards are designed to
fit entirely within your computer. With the TT and Mega Ste, this is done by
removing the access plate from the VME slot on your machine, inserting the
boards, and locking the boards into place with the integral plate and
screws. Since, on the TT, this also means removing and disconnecting the two
serial ports, one result is that these serial ports are gone. If you want
them restored, it's possible to cut new holes in the back of your computer
and mount the ports in the new location. Unless you know what you're doing,
better hire a technician to do this job. With the Mega Ste you only
eliminate one of the serial ports, while with the Mega ST, the board is
connected internally to the Mega bus expansion slot. At any rate, once done
with the installation of the board, your machine presents a finished
appearance. With the Crazy Dots board you now have a new monitor port and an
auxiliary expansion port, reserved for future hardware releases. The Cyrel
Card gives you one monitor port and a LAN expansion port.
A word here on the instructions that come with these boards. The Crazy
Dots Board comes with a full printed manual. While short, being only 30
pages, it's quite complete. Aside from telling you how to install the board
and software, it gives comprehensive instructions for the accessory, and
other programs that come with the package. The manual that comes with the
Cyrel Card is really meant for people with a technical background. I really
found it inadequate. There is a comprehensive manual, but it's on the disk,
in the form of extensive "read me" files. When I say extensive, I am talking
about hundreds of pages. These pages are divided into sections with such
clear and helpful titles as "Xbios parameters" or "Vidimix8 Doc." These last
comments perhaps reflect an unnecessary "turning of the screw" on Cybercube.
There are titles like "Overview Doc" etc, but the point of this criticism is
that I would much prefer a printed manual.
The saving grace for the installation of the Cyrel Board is the install
program. This is a program for complete morons, taking you by the hand,
step-by-step, with cute little pictures showing you exactly how to install
the board,finally, this program will install the software. I appreciate
this approach to installing expensive pieces of hardware, where the fear of
mistakes has often resulted in gigantic visible ulcers, so large and painful
they assumed a life of their own. This is, in fact, how I acquired my dog.
I became intimate with this program because it has one little bug. When
I arrived at the point where you install the software (clicking through 30
or more steps to reach this point) I would get the message, "I/O Error," and
the program would crash. After running this program 20 times, it started to
look cruel and vindictive instead of cute and cuddly. It turns out that the
program expects that it will not find an Auto Folder on your hard drive. If
it finds such a folder, the program will crash. If no such folder exists,
the program will happily create its own, and load in all the necessary, and
for that matter, unnecessary software it can find.
OPERATING THE BOARDS
Once the boards are installed, they take two different approaches to
operating. Before I describe this, let me say that when you purchase a
graphics card you must have either a second monitor or a monitor switch!
While your main monitor is connected to the board, you can still plug in a
monitor to your regular ST/TT monitor port. Since many programs will not run
with either board, in many resolutions, a monitor switch becomes a
necessity. A good switch will cost $40, tops, and should not be regarded as
a handicap.
The Crazy Dots Board depends on software to boot your computer and
change the resolution of the board. The Cyrel Card, while still dependent on
software, uses re-programable Eprom chips to select different resolutions.
What does this mean, in practice? Both boards will automatically boot in the
last selected resolution. If you are working in 800 by 600 with 256 colors,
then the next time you re-boot, this will become the default. But the boards
differ in the following way. With the Crazy Dots Board, holding down the
space key during boot-up will give you access to the management program.
Here you can change the resolution and colors that the computer will boot
in. Holding down the escape key will bypass the board entirely and you will
boot in your regular ST/TT resolution. You can then either turn your monitor
switch to your normal monitor port, or if you have a second monitor, turn
your head in the direction of the second monitor.
The Cyrel Card has no such accessible management program. The computer
boots in the last selected resolution. If you wish to change resolution, you
must do so after you boot. This is done by running a separate program and
selecting your resolution from there. This is not as difficult as it sounds.
My solution was to move this program to the desktop, move the folder that
contains the various possible resolutions to the desktop and save my new
desktop. This assumes you have either TOS 2.xx or 3.xx ROMS. When I want to
change resolutions, I just drop one of these resolutions onto the "Xchange"
program and this reprograms the eprom chip on the Cyrel Card. The Cyrel also
comes with a utility program to make these changes on the fly. I couldn't
make head or tail of this utility and, even if I did, it doesn't seem
greatly superior to the method I use. I rarely change resolutions, anyway.
There is also a program to reprogram the default factory settings. You
can access the normal computer resolution by holding down both shift keys
during the boot process, and you will be presented with a simple dialogue.
"Install M16 Board: Yes/No." If you hit "n" the board is ignored and the
computer boots in normal resolution. If "y" is your response, then you are
presented with two choices. You can either select the previous default or
you can choose the eprom default settings that the board either came with or
that you later modified. In other words, when you boot the Cyrel Card, you
have a choice or two resolutions or the normal computer resolution. I prefer
the Crazy Dots method, but in practice, it really doesn't make that much of
a difference. Why do I say this?
The plain fact of the matter is that these boards are valuable in
running programs that can take advantage of the higher resolutions. Quite a
few programs can not. I run my Cyrel Board in 800 by 600 with 256 colors.
The most common change I make is to disable the board entirely. The Cyrel,
unlike the Crazy Dots, has no monochrome mode, but what if it did? I would
still have to reboot the computer to access the monochrome mode of either
board. The monochrome mode on the Crazy Dots, as long as the resolution is
the same as the programs I want to run, is compatible with just about every
program I've run. But there's no benefit in running in "Crazy Dots
monochrome" as opposed to normal ST High. Yes, the screen is larger, but the
screen is fuzzier. The screen redraws are fast, but not as fast as if I run
Warp Nine (the software screen accelerator). In other words, who cares?
Either way, I have to reboot. These boards have to be judged on their
compatibility in higher resolution and their speed in higher resolution. If
you're not interested in the type of program that benefits from more colors
or higher screen resolution, then a
graphics card is just a big waste of money.
I must admit that the NOVA Board's accompanying program, Resolution
Switcher, although not compatible with everything, did allow me to use some
monochrome programs while I was running in higher resolutions and a greater
number of colors. Of course, since I couldn't get this board to work
properly in these higher resolutions or colors, this ability is academic.
Which brings us to the next question, just what resolution and color choices
do these boards offer?
RESOLUTION AND COLOR
The Cyrel comes with predefined choices and no way to alter these
choices. You are presented with 86 different files. Each file represents
both a different resolution and a different number of colors and a different
monitor. There are a number of repititions of colors and resolutions. 800 by
600 is repeated 13 times, with each file having a slightly different name.
At least one of these files will run on your monitor.
Keep in mind that different monitors have different capabilities.
Selecting the wrong choice can terminate your monitor. If you don't have the
specifications of your particular monitor, Cybercube thoughtfully provides a
list of over 300 monitors and their exact specifications. When I realized
how this system operates, I created a separate folder containing the files
compatible with my monitor.
There are choices galore for everyone, ranging from 128 by 400 to 1600
by 1200 in 256 color mode. The other color choice offered by the Cyrel is
24-bit mode (16.7 million colors). Once again, the choices are enormous,
ranging from 128 by 400 to 1024 by 512.
Keep in mind that these are non-interlaced modes. Higher resolutions are
possible in interlaced modes. Interlacing is a way of getting around the
limitations of your monitor by constantly redrawing each line of your screen
when you are in modes that are larger then your monitor is capable of
displaying. Interlacing produces a constant, subtle flickering. I have
enough problems with my eyes as it is, and as a gesture of utter disregard
for potentials, I disregard interlaced modes. If you feel that your vision
is impervious to harm, you can go as high as 2000 by 1000 in interlaced
mode.
One might think that the Cyrel, by offering only two color modes, has a
great handicap. Such is not the case. My working mode is 256 colors and true
color (24-bit) is for final proofing. As I said before, you have to reboot
the computer to change modes, so you might as well reboot in normal mode if
you need monochrome or 4-bit color.
As far as I can determine, the Cyrel is as compatible in 24-bit mode as
in 256-color mode. There is a patch program that must be run for 24-bit
operation to eliminate color inconsistencies with some programs, like Studio
Photo, but everything I ran, with the exception of Retouche, worked
flawlessly. Also included are patch programs for Calamus SL and Outline lll
in 256-color modes. I found, after a while, that these programs ran fine
without these patches. Go figure.
The Crazy Dots Board allows choices of different colors from monochrome,
4-bit, (16 colors) 8-bit (256 colors) and 15-bit (32,000 colors). Software
is under development to run the board in 24-bit color. The Crazy Dots Board
has half the memory of the Cyrel Card so that the upper limits of resolution
are less. In 15-bit color, the maximum screen resolution is 800 by 600,
while with 256 colors, it's possible to go up to 1024 by 768. When true
color software is developed, the maximum resolution will be 640 by 480. In
monochrome mode, it's possible to go as high as 1664 by 1200.
Unlike the Cyrel Card, the number of resolutions is limited to a dozen
or so pre-prepared monitors. Once again, if you pick the wrong monitor, your
monitor's second hand value can drop significantly. To deal with this
problem, Gribnif includes a program to create your own monitor resolutions.
This program, the VMG Program, is thoroughly explained by the manual. Within
an hour, assuming you know the specifications of your monitor, you will be
up and running. Cybercube intends to release a similar program shortly, but
while I appreciate this, it's not as important as it sounds. The Cyrel Card
already comes with an abundance of selections.
One major problem with using the Crazy Dots Board is that, when running
in colors above 256, a number of programs would not run properly. These
include Calamus SL, Outline lll and Studio Photo. The included demo versions
of Chagall and Papillon ran flawlessly in higher resolutions, but these
programs are unavailable at this time and, even if they were, what about SL?
One can only hope that Gribnif, as well as releasing software to run in
24-bit, will release patches to run SL and Outline as well as others.
WHAT ABOUT SPEED?
At the present time, there are no programs capable of testing the speeds
of these boards with any consistant accuracy. Results from Quick Index gave
wild measurements. Originally, I laboriously assembled a number of tables of
data. These tables bore no relationship to the actual results of using these
boards. I put so much work into making them, and they filled up so much
space, that I almost included them anyway. Finally, just before I sent this
article out, I discovered the NVDI testing program. I had already sent the
Crazy Dots Board back to Gribnif, but I did manage to get a copy for Cliff,
so that he could test the NOVA.
In 640 by 480 by 256 colors, the Cyrel redrew screens and scrolled
slightly faster then the Crazy Dots and slightly slower then the NOVA. This
difference in speed was hardly perceptable. At that resolution, all the
boards compared favorably with TT Medium running with Warp Nine. However,
just before I returned the Crazy Dots Board to Gribnif, I tried the "text
mode" of the Crazy Dots Board. The Crazy Dots allows two methods of running
the board. Text Mode and Graphics Mode. The manual seemed to imply that you
should choose "text" for programs like Word Perfect and "graphics" for
programs like Calamus. I just follow directions. Running the Gribnif Board
in "text mode" caused a 50 percent leap in speed. Thus, in any 256-color
option, the Crazy Dots Board was clearly the fastest. Unfortunately this did
not hold true in 15-bit mode, where choosing "text" had no effect. I should
add that running programs that I think of as "graphics" programs did not
seem to faze the Gribnif Board at all. The Cyrel was noticably faster then
the Crazy Dots Board in true color mode and was much faster then the NOVA.
EXTRA'S AND PROBLEMS: THE CRAZY DOTS BOARD
The Crazy Dots Board comes with the capability of future expansions.
Genlock potential, color and resolution upgrades are all possibilities built
into the board. There is, however, no release date for these potentials, at
least as far as I know. The only real improvement promised for quick release
is the software to run in 24-bit mode. Along with the software to get your
board up and running, there is a very useful accessory program. This
program, as well as giving you the power to fine tune the color display on
your monitor, has one really useful function. Many VGA monitors do not come
with the ability to control both the size and position of the display. In
other words, booting in different resolutions may leave your display high
and to the right, or all the way to the left, etc. Using this
accessory/program, you can center your picture and save this information so
that each time you reboot, the display will always be perfectly placed.
Another advantage of this capability, even for those people with adjustable
monitors, is that when you bypass the card your normal resolution will be
properly displayed.
Another capacity of the Crazy Dots Board is "Virtual Screen." If you
boot in 800 by 600 and select the virtual screen option, for example, you
could have an actual screen of 800 by 600, but only 640 by 480 is visible.
As the mouse or cursor moves to the edge of your display, the screen shifts
the picture. Both Gribnif and Cybercube regard this option as important;
personally, I find it disconcerting and annoying and couldn't care less.
Some people will no doubt appreciate this option. Using virtual screen acts
like setting a zoom level. The Cyrel Card does not have this capability,
although they are about to release it. I have no use for this option.
When I first plugged in the Crazy Dots Board I had trouble accessing the
management program. In addition to this problem, after booting, the desktop
and programs that I ran would often display garbage, which is to say,
illegible characters and other display problems. The problem turned out to
be my ICD Professional hard drive program. Gribnif gave me two fixes that
would work. I could either run my original Atari Hard drive software or use
the optional NVDI screen accelerator program. Reinstalling the Atari driver
cured my problem. Users who have the standard version of ICD's software
should also have no problem. I had also tried this fix with the NOVA Card,
but without any improvement.
Finally, although Gribnif never sent me a copy, they are selling, as an
option for $99, the NVDI Screen Accelerator. This version of the software
will only work with the Gribnif card. While I didn't have the opportunity to
test this software, I'm sure it will speed the performance of this already
fast hardware. It will also eliminate the problems of people who use ICD's
Pro hard drive system.
This little experiment with using Atari's hard drive system also taught
me a new trick. Up until now I was under the impression that using this
software would not allow me to use my Epson color scanner. But in the
intervening time since I first ran into this problem, I installed
terminators on the mother board of my TT. With these terminators installed,
the Atari software allowed me to use my scanner without problems. This
installation of terminators is an interesting topic for a future article,
hopefully by Dave Troy, since I really don't understand what the heck they
terminate. I can repeat the verbal description. SCSI devices form a chain,
each end of this chain must have terminators, little chips that end the
chain. What does this mean? By all the known laws of relativity, if
something is plugged into your SCSI port then that device must be turned on
for the system to operate. Any computer repair person will tell you that.
But, if terminators are installed on my TT mother board, the SCSI device can
be on or off and my computer doesn't even blink.
THE CYREL SUNRISE CARD
The CyrelCard has numerous built-in expansion capabilities. Genlock and
video control hardware are available. There is an optional adapter, which
will allow you to plug in up to four Cyrel Cards and link them together. One
of the most interesting facets of buying the Cyrel is the capability of
using standard IBM serial mice or Summagraphic Compatible graphic pads. I've
always wanted a graphics pad. My main reason for not getting one was that if
you plug in a graphics pad, you have to unplug your mouse. It's often been
said that drawing with a mouse is like trying to draw with a block of soap.
On the other hand, operating a regular program with a graphics pad is like
trying to wash with a pencil eraser. Cybercubes mouse/graphic pad manager,
allows you to use both your Atari mouse and the graphic's pad at the same
time! This potential puts a graphics pad high on my buying agenda. This
program is provided free with the Cyrel Card, but can be purchased
separately from Cybercube and does not need the Cyrel Card, or any other
card, in order to work
The Cyrel comes with an accessory program to control colors. This gives
much more extensive control over color then the Crazy Dots. You can load,
save and create new color palattes; 35 palettes come with this accessory,
but I'm not sure if this isn't overkill. It's probably much more useful if
you're also taking advantage of the video capabilities of the card. There is
also an accessory to control the operation of the card. Using various
control parameters you can set up various options to make non-compatible
programs compatible. I was able to make Touch-up and Convector Professional
run in resolutions they weren't meant for, but I found that it was easier to
simply boot my computer in a normal ST/TT resolution and not bother with
setting up the accessory. Cybercube has just released a monochrome package.
I intend to try this package out, but how useful it will be, I'm not sure.
The only real lack of the Cyrel software is no VMG program like the one
that comes with Crazy Dots. As I said before, Cybercube presents so many
choices that such an option is not a necessity as it is with Gribnif's
package. But even so, I'd like to have it.
I also want the ability to position my screen via software controls as
opposed to hardware. I use a Nec 3FGx monitor, which has hardware control
over screen position, so software control is not crucial. If I didn't use
this monitor, my screams would be audible in Canada. Cybercube promises a
quick release of such software. This brings up a big advantage of the Cyrel
Card. This is a Canadian company. The board is manufactured in Canada. This
provides a quicker response, quicker updates and someone close by to
complain to. Improved software drivers are constantly being created. At some
point this should result in quicker performance. As is, the board is very
fast, if not up to the Crazy Dots speed. The above is not meant as a
criticism of Gribnif's support. The support is excellent, but they get their
updates and hardware from Germany. This gives them less control of the
entire process.
THE BOTTOM LINE
I hope that this article is giving you some idea of what to expect from
a graphics card. This is a tool for professional work. If you're doing word
processing it may very well come in handy with word processors that can take
advantage of larger screen sizes. This seems like a lot of money to spend
just to see a higher proportion of a text only program. Even the speedy
Crazy Dots Board will not improve much, if any, over software accelerators
like Warp Nine.
So why buy a board? For desktop publishing, video, CAD, graphics and
related programs. Running these programs in higher screen resolutions and/or
colors has become a necessity to me. It's much like getting your first hard
drive; you don't miss it until you use it. At 256 colors, photos spring into
life. At 16 million colors, you are looking at immense blow ups, the details
of which will take your breath away. With a slew of image processing
programs, either just released or about to be released, these boards will go
a long way in making full use of them.
The same can be said about video. A program like Calamus SL in 800 by
600 mode, runs much faster. By this, I don't mean that the program actually
runs faster, I mean I run the program much faster! Instead of constantly
changing my zoom mode, I use only two zoom levels. At half page, I can
actually read the text. The improvement in speed of use is phenomenal. Let
this be a warning, the whole process of using a graphics cards is highly
addictive. You might ask why don't I run my board in even higher screen
resolutions? My monitor is simply too small. In order to take full advantage
of 1024 by 768, I would need a 15-inch or better monitor. Running at these
higher resolutions can produce text on menu options that is not easily
visible. If I had a larger monitor (someday, someday), this would not be a
problem.
Video or graphics work in 15-bit or 24-bit color shows me exactly what
my visual display will look like. This raises the question, "What is the
difference between 15-bit or 24-bit mode?" With a 15-inch monitor, like
mine, (actually 13-inch) there is no, or very little, difference in how a
full color picture appears. On the other hand, I may someday, as I hope,
purchase a larger monitor. At that point, there is a difference. I ran next
door to the neighboring design studio with a 24-bit TIF file and had them
display the file in both 15-bit and 24-bit. I could, indeed, clearly see the
difference on their big 17 and 21-inch displays.
In the interest of science, I constantly try out this kind of thing with
my neighbors' Mac's. They let me get away with this for three reasons.
First, because I'm such a nice guy, second, because they're a bunch or
weenies and easy to intimidate, and third, because the owner of the building
hired me to take care of his heating system. As a shocking coincidence, when
they refused to let me take advantage of their computers, the heat went off
in the building. This was in early January when the temperature in New York
went below zero. Ethnic and racial differences between people tend to
disappear at these temperatures. Yes, as it turns out, whether you're white
or black, or any shade in between, you just look a bright chrome blue at
these temperatures. In fact, even sexual differences are hard to determine,
due to the fact that bodies tend to be a blur of confusing motion.
Overall, this question of color should only be a relatively small factor
in determining which board to purchase. But the Cyrel Board has a big edge
because it was capable of running every 24-bit capable program I threw at
it. This could not be said for the Crazy Dots Board. It could not run
Calamus SL, Outline lll, or Studio Photo. Although the NOVA could run
Calamus, it couldn't run Outline lll or Studio Photo. If you're looking to
do professional level work, this becomes a major issue. Running in 256-color
mode is quite spectacular and adequate for many jobs, but for professional
level work, higher color modes are a necessity.
There is not a dramatic price difference between these two boards. The
Crazy Dots has a list price of $799, while the Cyrel lists for $995. You can
expect discounts on the Crazy Dots Board from retailers; even so, they are
both expensive. Gribnif is one of my favorite companies. It seems a shame
that their fine board has so many incompatibilities with 24-bit software in
true color mode. This is especially true since they were kind enough and
confident enough to lend me one of their boards. If the only factor you're
looking for is speed, then the Crazy Dots was the clear winner in 256 colors
or under, although all the boards were fast enough.
Cybercube has a written policy where, in addition to a one-year
guarantee, you have 10 days to change your mind after receiving their board.
Gribnif has a similar policy. Lexicor's policy is that, once you've
purchased the board, you can not return it, even if the board is
incompatible with your computer. They guarantee that the product will work
with their computer.
Crazy Dots ll, $795. Gribnif Software, P.O. Box 779, Northhampton MA.
01061. Tel: (413) 247-5620, Fax: (413) 247-5622.
Cyrel Sunrise, $995. Cybercube Research Limited, 126 Grenadier Crescent,
Thornhill ON,. L4J 7V7, Canada. Tel: 905-882-0294. Also available from DMC
Publishing, 2800 John Street, Unit #10, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R OE2.
Tel: (416) 479-1991; Fax: (416) 479-1882.
NOVA CARD, $529 + $40 shipping. Lexicor Software Inc., 1726 Francisco
Street, Berkeley CA. 94703. Tel: (510) 848-7621; Fax: (510) 848-7613
(c) 1994, Current Notes Inc.
(Reprinted from the April, 1994 issue of Current Notes.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
=======================
GENIE NOTES
by Lou Rocha
=======================
April showers in your neck of the woods? Personally, I would be happy
with anything that doesn't need to be shovelled! Cabin fever is rampant and
even my computers are begging for a change of venue. Speaking of changes,
this month we have some new items to share with you. Around GEnie visits
another new RT; Gordon Meyer makes his first contribution to the library
corner; Terry Quinn returns with a couple of new Hot Topics and Brian Harvey
presents a new feature for GEnie Notes-CAT's Eye View. Take your Current
Notes out to the backyard and relax with us.
------------------------
AROUND GENIE: THE FAX RT
------------------------
Continuing on our tour of relatively new services on GEnie, this month's
visit stops in the FAX RT. For those of you just getting in from the outback
of Australia, Facsimile machines have become nearly as common as cellular
telephones for the small business and for many homes. Although the prices
are falling almost as fast as hard drives, some people still don't own their
own FAX machine. Enter GEnie FAX Service!
GE Mail to FAX will allow you to send text messages to Group III
facsimile (FAX) machines. Here is some information on how to send send a FAX
via GE Mail.
To get to GEnie FAX, type "FAX" at any system prompt. This brings you to
the front door of GEnie FAX where the FAX Menu is ready to serve you:
1. About GE Mail to FAX
2. GE Mail to FAX Rates
3. GE Mail to FAX Country Codes & Zones
4. GE Mail to FAX Instructions
5. Common Questions about GE Mail to FAX
6. Send a FAX Message
7. Check Delivery Status of FAX
8. List Non-Delivery Notices
Select #2 to get an overview of the rates for this service. You can FAX
anywhere in North America for $1.15 per page. Rates to other destinations
range up to $6.50 per page and you can even send a FAX to a ship at sea for
$25.00 per page!
To get a very helpful tutorial on the use of this service select menu
item #4. Four pages of text provide very clear examples on how to use the
service. You can also send a FAX direct from GEnie e-mail. A FAX address can
be entered at the TO: or CC: prompt and be formatted as follows:
TO: JOHN SMITH/1-301-251-6421@FAX#
NOTE: JOHN SMITH is the receiver's name; 1 is the country code (U.S.
destination); 301 is the area or city code; 251-6421 is the extension; @FAX#
is the name of the connector system (it will always be called FAX#)
You also have the ability to check if your FAX has been delivered by
selecting item #7 on the FAX menu. It will bring up a list similar to the
following example:
FAX
Delivery Status Check
Queue# Item From To Sent Subject
1 1234567 PAM FAX# 90/12/27 Test
Upon entering the list number, the following information will be
displayed about your FAX message:
Status of item: 1234567
Sent 92/12/27 09:44
PAM listed 92/12/27 09:44
JOHN SMITH/1-301-251-6421 @FAX# 92/12/27
10:15 delivered
This has been a very brief tour of GEnie FAX services. There are other
features that you can explore and, of course, some helpful sysops around in
case you need assistance. The FAX RT-one more reason to come to GEnie!
---------------
RTC HIGHLIGHTS
by Brian Harvey
---------------
Welcome again to another month of Real Time Conferences (RTCs) on GEnie!
For a change this month, I will be brief, which will probably amaze Lou and
anyone who regularly reads this section.
First, I would like to remind everyone about the Programming RTCs held
the first and third Thursdays of each month. Again, you don't need to be an
expert with code to get the most out of these RTCs. Also, more goes on than
just coding, such as the camaraderie of talking with other programmers of
all levels. Plus, it's a good place to network concerning others' programs.
For example, Mike Allen was in contact with Karsten Isakovic, the author of
SysMon and informed everyone at the 17th February RTC that 1.0.9 is in beta
test. Mike stated that Karsten will no longer allow SysMon to be uploaded
onto BBSs. SysMon remains as shareware and costs $40 for non-commercial use
and $80 for commercial use.
Lou Rocha opened this month's Dateline Atari RTC on March 4, 1994 with
extending his condolences to the family of comedian John Candy who passed
away in his sleep that morning. John may not have been an Atari user, but in
this writer's opinion, he was one of the most underrated comedians in the
business. His talent will be deeply missed.
This RTC had some special guests in the form of four "new" (online)
Atari personnel; Tom Gillen, Hank Cappa, Joe Sousa, and Faran Thomason. Tom
Gillen (GEnie address TOM.GILLEN), is the Software Test Group leader at
Atari. Tom has been with Atari since back when Warner owned the company. He
has always been involved with the Software Test side of things with some
hardware testing. Joe Sousa and Hank Cappa are two of Tom's testers. The
Test Department consists, not only of play testing, but also of providing
game ideas and enhancement suggestions. They focus on the Jaguar but still
are testing LYNX games. For FALCON software, testing has been moved to the
United Kingdom. Faran Thomason (GEnie mail address F.Thomason) is a former
tester.
Bob then went on and gave out the GEnie addresses of other new online
personnel who couldn't make it that night. This list included Hans Jacobsen
(H.JACOBSEN), Sean Patten (SEAN.PATTEN) Ted Tahquechi (TAHQUECHI), and Susan
McBride (S.G.MCBRIDE).
Remember, it pays to attend these RTCs since Bob made a special offer to
celebrate the release of Tempest 2000 for Jaguar. Sorry, the offer is over
now, but maybe next time.
Of course, the big news is still the Jaguar, with the national rollout
being very close to occurring. Bob mentioned that they have 48 new Jaguar
developers, bringing the total to 86. However, not all the news was Jaguar
news. There are more TTs being shipped and information was presented
concerning the 040 board for the Falcon. Also, Atari is creating a new co-op
program in place to help dealers advertise their Atari products.
I asked Bob about the BPS (Black Page Syndrome) on later versions of
Atari Works (AW) and he stated "Pradip is deeply concerned about the Black
Page Syndrome and is hard at work on it, but you are correct . . . it is not
his number one priority." However, even after a RTC, news can be spread!
Pradip stopped by Bob's office and told Bob he thought he may have fixed the
BPS! In the meantime, Bob is talking with his bosses to get a earlier
version of AW.
Bob was asked about Atari's cash flow for supporting the Jaguar and he
commented that Sam Tramiel mentioned that Atari is planning to go to the
equity markets to raise cash. This was planned even as far back as the
November Jaguar launch.
Well, that's it for another month! Good Atari computing and don't forget
to drop in sometime to the RTCs!
------------------
CAT's Eye View
by Brian H. Harvey
------------------
Hi, everyone! This section is a small occasional column that will focus
on one or more categories in the Atari RoundTable (RT). Hence, the name of
this column. It will be only a brief look at the category and is in no way
meant to be definitive nor provide a repeat of messages in the category.
(Categories are the way thematically similar sections of an RT are
organized.) It is aimed to be a bird's, or should I say, CAT's eye view of
the category. (I will try to keep the puns to a minimum.)
What better place to start this column than highlighting the CodeHead
Product Support Category, which is category 32 in the Atari RT! These
versatile programmers, musician, developers and loyal Atari users frequent
the RT everyday. John (GEnie address J.EIDSVOOG1) and Charles (CODEHEAD)
with Tomas (MUSE) not only provide online daily support for the simplest or
most complex questions, but also talk about what they have in the works and
the chances of one of their products being upgraded shortly. Having them
online not only means quick solutions to your problems, but also provides a
medium for you to pass on your compliments and perhaps even a constructive
criticism, though their products are rock solid!
If you haven't heard of the CODEHEADS, then you, obviously, are not an
Atari user. However, just in case, here is a list of ten of the more than 37
topics they have in their category:
ARC Shell
Ask the CodeHeads
Calligrapher-the Writer's Tool!
CodeHead Quarters BBS
CodeHead Technical Info
CodeHead Update Information
HotWire
MaxiFile
MegaPaint Professional
MIDI Spy, the Background MIDI Recorder
Mouse-Ka-Mania II
MultiDesk
Troubleshooting
Warp 9, the Accelerator
Were you counting? OK, more than ten, but I can't just name ten. They
have so many great topics and it shows by the traffic they receive daily. Of
course, since they are online all the time, a search of the library would
find a ton of files with numerous updates/patches reaching GEnie before
anywhere else! This means that most of these topics seldom go long without
traffic and when these topics reach approximately 200 messages they are
archived and placed in the library for others to use. Why archive them? I
will give you an example from my personal experience. Over the past two
years I have bought almost everything sold by the CODEHEADS that could be of