ST Report: 12-Aug-94 #1033
From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 08/21/94-01:11:51 AM Z
From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 12-Aug-94 #1033
Date: Sun Aug 21 01:11:51 1994
SILICON TIMES REPORT
====================
INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
=============================
from
STR Electronic Publishing Inc.
August 12, 1994 No. 1033
======================================================================
Silicon Times Report
International Online Magazine
Post Office Box 6672
Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155
R.F. Mariano
Publisher-Editor
-----------------------------------------
Voice: 1-904-783-3319 10am-4pm EST
STR Publishing Support BBS Network System
* THE BOUNTY BBS *
ITCNet 85:881/253 JAX HUB ~ FNET 350 ~ Nest 90:301/3
904-786-4176 MULTI-NODE 24hrs-7 days
2400-57.6 bps V.32-42 bis 28.8
Hayes Optima 28.8 V.FC Data/FAX
USRobotics Dual Standard 28.8 V.FC Ready Fax
FAX: 904-783-3319 12am-6am EST
-----------------------------------------
Fido 1:374/147.3 The Bounty STR Support Central 1-904-786-4176
FNET. 620 : Leif's World ................1-904-573-0734
FNET. 690 : PASTE BBS....................1-206-284-8493
FNET. 489 : Steal Your Face BBS..........1-908-920-7981
MNET - Toad Hall BBS.....................1-617-567-8642
______________________________________________________________________
> 08/12/94 STR 1033 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
"""""""""""""""""
- CPU INDUSTRY REPORT - NAVCIS v 1.25 - Compute! Closed
- ATI & QEMM - Millie's Math - AWE 32 Enhancements
- WUGNET Special! - People Talking - WPerfect MACNEWS
- Jaguar NEWSWIRE - Dino Dudes - STR Confidential!
-* Verbatim Offers NEW Recordable Cds! *-
-* Borland Ships dBASE for Windows! *-
-* World's Fastest Modem Debuts! *-
======================================================================
STReport International Online Magazine
The Original * Independent * Online Magazine
-* FEATURING WEEKLY *-
"Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
======================================================================
STReport's BBS - The Bounty BBS, invites all BBS systems, worldwide, to
participate in the ITC/PROWL/USENET/NEST/F-Net/Fido Mail Networks. You
may also call The Bounty BBS direct @ 1-904-786-4176. Enjoy the wonder
and excitement of exchanging all types of useful information relative to
all computer types, worldwide, through the use of excellent International
Networking Systems. SysOps and users alike worldwide, are welcome to join
STReport's International Conferences. ITC Node is 85:881/250, The Fido
Node is 1:374/147.3, Crossnet Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is #620.
All computer platforms and BBS systems are invited to participate.
======================================================================
CIS ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX ~ PROWL ~ ITC ~ NEST ~ EURONET ~ CIX
USENET ~ USPOLNET ~ CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ FNET ~ AOL
======================================================================
COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME
to the Readers of;
STREPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!
CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198
You will receive your complimentary time
and
be online in no time at all!
"Enjoy CompuServe's forums; where information is at its very best!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""
There's not too much to talk about this week because of summer
vacations, going fishin' or any number of other wonderous outdoor
activities that simply "must come first". In any case, The Boston MAC
Show produced a good deal of info that'll keep you reading and of course,
the PC world is literally booming. Enjoy our humble offering.
Ralph....
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
""""""""""""""""
Publisher -Editor
""""""""""""""""""
Ralph F. Mariano
Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor, Current Affairs
Section Editors
"""""""""""""""
PC SECTION AMIGA SECTION MAC SECTION ATARI SECTION
---------- ------------- ----------- -------------
R.D. Stevens R. Niles J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson
STReport Staff Editors:
"""""""""""""""""""""""
Michael Arthur John Deegan Brad Martin
John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando
Doyle Helms Frank Sereno John Duckworth
Jeff Coe Steve Keipe Guillaume Brasseur
Melanie Bell Jay Levy Jeff Kovach
Marty Mankins Carl Prehn Paul Charchian
Contributing Correspondents:
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Tim Holt Norman Boucher Clemens Chin
Eric Jerue Ron Deal Mike Barnwell
Ed Westhusing Glenwood Drake Vernon W.Smith
Bruno Puglia Paul Haris Kevin Miller
Craig Harris Allen Chang Dominick J. Fontana
IMPORTANT NOTICE
""""""""""""""""
Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
via E-Mail to:
Compuserve................... 70007,4454
America Online..................STReport
Delphi......................... RMARIANO
BIX............................ RMARIANO
FIDONET..................... 1:347/147.3
FNET........................... NODE 350
ITC NET...................... 85:881/253
NEST........................ 90:21/350.0
GEnie......................... ST-REPORT
Internet.............RMARIANO@DELPHI.COM
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
> CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
"""""""""""""""""
IBM/POWER-PC/PC SECTION (I)
===========================
Computer Products Update - CPU Report
------------------------ ----------
Weekly Happenings in the Computer World
Issue #33
Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
******* General Computer News *******
** AST Unveils New Machines **
New personal computers in the Bravo value line and the Premmia high
performance desktop line have been unveiled by AST Research Inc.
Reports say a fully configured Premmia MX 4/100t (486DX4) with 8MB
RAM, 256KB cache, 420MB hard drive and a CD-ROM drive has an estimated
sales price of $3,000. Meanwhile, the Bravo MS 4/66d with 8MB of memory,
420MB hard drive, 1MB video RAM and a dual-speed CD-ROM has an estimated
sales price of $2,300.
AST says the Bravo MS and the Premmia MX systems will be available
through AST resellers starting this month.
** Fujitsu to Enter U.S. Multimedia **
With a new software and services division, Japan's Fujitsu Ltd. is
seeking to enter the U.S. interactive multimedia market early next year.
Called "Cultural Technologies," the new division has purchased for
undisclosed terms the worldwide rights to a telecommunications-based
interactive entertainment technology from LucasArts Entertainment Co.
** CD-ROM Market Set to Soar **
The number of multimedia - capable PCs with CD-ROM drives will rise by
about 10 million to more than 17 million by the end of 1995, according
to a new study from SIMBA Information Inc.
The study notes that Microsoft's Multimedia PC (MPC) will be the
dominant multimedia platform, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all
multimedia PCs. Macintosh systems, with 32% of the market, will account
for most of the other third.
Besides computers, the 1.4 million CD-ROM-equipped videogame machines
in play at the close of 1993 will more than triple to 4.9 million by the
end of 1995, according to the study.
** Gateway Enhances Pentium Models **
Gateway 2000 says it has enhanced the value of its standard Pentium
PC packages by as much as $333 without raising prices. The direct market
PC manufacturer reports that most of its systems now include high-
performance multimedia kits and larger-capacity IDE hard drives.
** World's Fastest Modem Makes Debut **
AT&T Paradyne has introduced what it claims is the world's fastest
modem, with capabilities of transmitting nearly 6,000 more words per
minute than the next quickest modem.
Reports say the faster speed of the new 33,600 bits-per-second modems
is ideal for medical image transfers, online information access, remote
LAN interconnects and innovative video applications, such as video-
phones, desktop video conferencing and remote security surveillance.
The new 33,600 bps speed will be available in the fall on AT&T
Paradyne's COMSPHERE 3800 Plus and COMSPHERE 3900 modems. In addition,
customers will be able to have the 33,600 bps speed, as well as other
new features, remotely added to the modems via software downloads over
the telephone line.
** Microsoft in Kids Software Deal **
Microsoft Corp. says it has signed a development and publishing
agreement with the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), the company
that created Sesame Street.
The agreement calls for CTW to develop and Microsoft to market soft-
ware that combines characters and stories from CTW's Ghostwriter tele-
vision series with the creative tools provided by Microsoft's Creative
Writer product.
Ghostwriter fans will be able to crack their first computer case this
fall when The Case of the Blue Makva arrives on dealer's shelves. Micro-
soft notes that the software will let kids use Creative Writer tools to
solve the mystery, uncovering secret codes and collecting clues and
evidence in a casebook.
The Case of the Blue Makva is scheduled to become available in
November for for approximately $19.95.
** Franklin to Offer Puzzle E-Book **
Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. says it has signed an agreement
with Dell Magazines, a major publisher of word puzzles, to produce a
pocket-sized electronic book featuring 500 crossword puzzles.
Franklin reports that the handheld unit will offer instant access to
crossword puzzles for a range of skill levels -- easy, medium, hard,
expert and champion. It will also contain hints to help players find the
right word.
Dell, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Magazines, has been
publishing crossword puzzles for more than 60 years. The company sells
more than 17 million puzzle magazines annually, with retail sales of
over $30 million. It has no corporate relationship with Dell Computer.
** New Sharp Wizard Makes Debut **
Sharp Electronics Corp. has introduced the new Wizard Pocket Communi-
cator, a pen-based, touch-screen personal information organizer.
Reports say the OZ-952OFX comes complete with a CE-FM4 Fax/Modem,
which allows users to create and send faxes, transmit and receive modem
messages and files and connect to online services through any standard
RJ-11 phone jack. The built-in modem software also allows users to
communicate with remote computers, including mainframes and online
information services. It provides both ASCII TTY and VT100 emulations.
The OZ-9520 Wizard, with 512K of internal memory, measures 6.1 by 3.8
by 0.9 inches and weighs just 10.5 ounces with batteries. Two conven-
tional AAA batteries power it for 70 hours, or about two months of
normal use.
Retail cost is $179.99.
** Borland Ships dBASE for Windows **
Starting this week, the long-awaited new dBASE for Windows database
software is being shipped by Borland International Inc. The product was
launched in late June at the PC Expo trade show.
Borland also is set to announce a new version of its Paradox software
called Paradox 5.0 for Windows.
** Ziff-Davis Ends Compute Magazine **
Assets of Compute magazine, including its list of subscribers, have
been acquired by the Ziff-Davis Consumer Media Group, which, says the 15
year old publication, will cease after its September issue.
Ziff says Compute subscribers will be offered the option of subscribing
to Z-D's Computer Life or FamilyPC magazines.
** Interactive Users Above Average **
Dataquest reports that home interactive multimedia consumers in seven
of the largest U.S. interactive television test sites are well above the
national average in terms of income, education, and technical
orientation.
The market researcher adds that the test market customers also own
more computers and cable TV subscriptions than average consumers.
** Software Sales Up 11.1% **
North American application software sales were up 11.1% in the first
quarter of this year, compared with the same period in 1993. The quar-
terly sales reached $1.49 billion, according to the Software Publisher
Association.
Windows applications sales led the pack, rising 42.9% in the quarter,
to $898 million. DOS applications, while still the second largest source
of sales, declined 32.3% to $318 million. Apple Macintosh applications
totalled $259 million, up 17% from a year ago.
Further analyzing the sales, SPA said:
-:- The best sellers were word processors, up 23.5% to $225.6 million
and spreadsheets, up 5.9% to $216.8 million.
-:- Database sales were off 65.8% to $47.6 million from a very strong
product-launch period a year ago.
-:- Business-related software still outsells all other categories,
but home applications sales are growing fastest. Home education software
sales rose 127% to $89.4 million and entertainment software sales
climbed 57% to $81.3 million for the quarter.
** Dell Launching Latitude Laptops **
Featuring battery systems that last five to 17 hours, the new
Latitude laptops for consumers and businesses are being launched this
week by Dell Computer Corp. These are the first products of Dell's own
design in more than a year.
The units feature 9.5-inch screens and a trackball pointing device
located below the keyboard. Prices range from $1,400 to more than $5,000
depending on the kind of microprocessor, amount of memory, size of hard
drive and whether the screen is color or monochrome.
** Lotus Readies New Products **
Lotus Development Corp. reports that it has begun manufacturing Lotus
1-2-3 Release 5 for Windows, Approach 3.0 for Windows, Lotus Ami Pro
Release 3.1 for Windows, Freelance Graphics Release 2.1 for Windows,
Lotus Ami Pro Release 3.0b for OS/2 and 1-2-3 Release 4 for DOS.
The software publisher says the new products will be available in
U.S. retail stores by mid- August. SmartSuite 3.0 for Windows, the
company's integrated desktop suite product that includes Windows
versions of 1-2-3, Ami Pro, Freelance Graphics, Approach, Organizer and
ScreenCam is expected to ship in late August in the U.S.
Lotus has also announced introductory promotions for the Ami Pro and
Approach products. All versions of both applications will be offered at
$129 through Dec. 31. Customers in the United States who purchase Ami
Pro 3.1 for Windows before Sept. 30, will receive a $30 rebate coupon
that can be redeemed 60 days after purchase, bringing the effective
price to $99.
** Crayola CD-ROMs Released **
Software publisher Micrografx Inc. and crayon maker Binney & Smith
are now offering CD-ROM versions of their Crayola Amazing Art Adventure
and Crayola Art Studio programs.
The products are the first in a line of home software titles planned
by Micrografx and Binney & Smith.
The CD-ROMs feature the same creative activities, games and crafts
found in the diskette versions, plus additional video, animation and
sounds. The discs include a video tour through the Binney & Smith plant
in Easton, Pennsylvania.
The programs will be sold through software retailers as well as mass
market outlets. The products' estimated shelf prices will range from $34
to $49, depending on location.
The products are immediately available in Windows format. Macintosh
versions are planned for release before year's end.
** House Bills Now on the Internet **
The U.S. House of Representatives will make legislation accessible to
constituents over the Internet, a month after U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer (R-
N.J.) introduced legislation calling on House leaders to make the
service available to the public.
The congressional "Text of Legislation service" is now available on-
line free of charge, according to House Information Systems, which runs
the service.
** Compaq Finds, Fixes Elite Defects **
A defective part discovered in its flagship line of notebook
computers caused Compaq Computer Corp. to halt production on three
models for one week last month. However, manufacturing resumed 11 days
ago, the company says.
The PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association)
controller card was performing more slowly than product specifications
advertised, slowing communication transmissions, Compaq spokeswoman
Yvonne Donaldson said.
She said the company "found a couple of issues," but only a "small
number of units were affected," adding an internal manufacturing audit
had discovered the flaw.
Compaq had been manufacturing its new Elite notebook line for 3-4
weeks when the problem was discovered in three of the line's five models
during mid-July. The three models affected were the LTE Elite 4/50 CX
Model 340, the 4/75 CX Model 340 and the 4/75 CX Model 510.
Donaldson said Compaq intends to repair or replace "LTE Elite" units
sold since they first shipped in mid-June, that as soon as the problem
was discovered, the company began contacting customers, offering to
dispatch technicians to replace the defective parts on site or to repair
the units via a mail-in program with a turnaround time of five to seven
days.
** Holographic Data Storage Studied **
Stanford University engineers say they have developed a way to digit-
ally encode text, sound and pictures into a three-dimensional framework,
which may lead to holographic data storage technology.
Writing in the journal Science, the scientists say the new system can
store information on the full thickness of non-moving wafer (as opposed
to current disk technology, which stores data on a single layer measured
in microns on the top of a rotating disk).
Reports say the stationary wafers could store 1,000 times more
information than current disks.
At a recent demonstration of the method, Lambertus Hesselink,
Stanford professor of electrical engineering at Stanford, said he and
his team stored and retrieved reprints of the Mona Lisa and other famous
paintings and, writes Schuster, "The color that was retrieved appeared
to be an exact likeness of the original."
Said Hesselink, "In the past, people have used holography to store
images like pictures, but we have stored digital images and used the
power of digital processing to enhance the holographic process and
improve the accuracy of recording and recall."
In the process, a laser beam shines on a stationary wafer, much as a
beam reads bar codes in a retail checkout counter, which generates a
checkerboard pattern on a detector. The detector reads the dark spots as
zeroes and the bright spots as ones and likes the computer process the
digital information.
** Verbatim Offers New Recordable CDs **
Disk maker Verbatim Corp. has introduced recordable CD media for the
new generation of recorders that operate four times faster than first
generation equipment.
Jim Riggs, optical engineer at Verbatim's Charlotte, North Carolina,
facilities said in a statement, "First-generation recorders spin about
between 200 and 550 rpms. The newest recorders spin four times as fast
and they require enhanced media that few companies currently can
produce. Verbatim now is ready to ship its 63-minute recording length
media that meets Orange Book standards, is fully compatible with today's
4X recorders and is downward compatible with first and second generation
recorders." The disks cost $24.
Riggs says the advantage of faster recorders, which are retailing in
the $6,500 range, is that it now takes about 16 minutes to record a 63-
minute disk.
"CD-R is a complementary technology to CD-ROM," Riggs said. "It is
perfect for applications which don't require high volume production.
Most users of CD-R are in low volume multimedia replication, service
bureaus or in software duplication."
_____________________________________________
> NavCIS ver 1.25 STR InfoFile Fast - Solid - Easy to Use
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
NavCIS Version 1.25
===================
Announcement
------------
Dvorak Development has just released version 1.25 of NavCIS, its
navigation utility for CompuServe. As an off-line navigator, the product
reduces the amount of connect time spent on-line with CompuServe. This
means big savings for the CompuServe user. Feedback from users indicates
a substantial reduction in connect time of between 45% and 75% per day,
while actually yielding more information.
NavCIS makes the actual process of using CompuServe much easier since the
CompuServe paradigm is shifted in the mind of the user from that of a
poorly defined geographical realm into a task oriented environment. For
example, instead of having to know how to go to a specific forum, and a
specific library in order to download a specific file, a user simply
"picks" the desired filename from a list (called a "catalog") while
off-line, then NavCIS logs onto CompuServe, performs the specified task,
and logs off.
NavCIS includes a host of features which makes using CompuServe easier
and more efficient: a built in spell checker, a viewer for GIF, JPG and
BMP graphic files, a graphical thread viewer that simplifies viewing
conversational threads in natural organic order. Font control so a user
can use bold and italics along with Arial , Times Roman, Courier,
WingDings and System fonts to add even more personality.
NavCIS is available for free from the DVORAK forum, library 1. The
30-day demo version, called NavCIS TE, is a fully functional version that
works for 30 days. After 30 days it stops going on-line, but does not
destroy any collected data. An in-depth overview is also available in
Library 1, called DVORAK.EXE.
NavCIS is available in both Windows, and DOS GUI (graphical user
interface) versions. The Windows version requires version 3.1 of Windows
(and is compatible with Windows/NT), or higher running in enhanced mode.
The DOS version requires at least 2mb of RAM, and an EGA or better
monitor. A mouse is recommended.
Contact info: Mike Ceranski, Pres.
Dvorak Development & Publishing Corp.
385 S. Pierce Ave.
Lousiville, CO 80027 (midway between Denver and Boulder)
Phone: 303-661-0345
Fax: 303-661-0635
CompuServe: GO DVORAK
Internet: 71333.11@compuserve.com
Editor's Note; Next week... look for a complete review/overview of NavCIS
version 1.25.
_________________________________________________
> ATI & QEMM STR FOCUS!
"""""""""""""""""""""
ATI Video Cards & Quarterdeck Products
======================================
OVERVIEW
--------
The ATI product line includes a number of video cards, including the
VGAWONDER, the VGAWONDER+, the VGAWONDER XL24, the ATI Graphics ULTRA, the
ATI GRAPHICS ULTRA+, and the ATI GRAPHICS ULTRA PRO. These have been
tested with Quarterdeck's QEMM, DESQview, and DESQview/X products. The
following notes are intended to help with any potential conflicts; they
are intended neither to endorse nor disparage the products of either
company.
RESOLVING VIDEO CONFLICTS WITH QEMM
-----------------------------------
Q: How do I resolve conflicts with the ATI INSTALL program?
A: 1) Some versions of ATI's INSTALL have been known to hang on exit
if the range from B000-B7FF is being used as High RAM; this is
QEMM's default behavior unless X=B000-B7FF appears on the
QEMM386.SYS line in the CONFIG.SYS file:
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM <other parameters> X=B000-B7FF
Adding this parameter, however, reduces your available High RAM
by 32K. Therefore, Quarterdeck and ATI recommend very strongly
that instead of using this EXCLUDE, you simply boot your system
with a minimal number of programs loading. This is discussed in
the next step.
2) If you are having problems running ATI's INSTALL (either at
startup or on exit), it is worthwhile to boot with a clean
system configuration. This ensures that nothing in the
CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files is coming into conflict with
ATI's INSTALL program.
To boot with a clean system:
If you are using MS-DOS 6 or later:
Reboot the machine, and hold down the <F5> key after you see
the message "Starting MS-DOS". Run the ATI INSTALL program,
make the necessary changes to your configuration, exit the
INSTALL program, and reboot your system without holding down
any keys.
Please note that if you are using any disk compression
programs that require a driver to function, or your hard drive
requires a driver to be loaded, then you should use the <F8>
key instead of the <F5> key; this will allow you to load ONLY
those drivers required to boot.
If you are using any other version of DOS:
Rename your CONFIG.SYS file to C.SYS. Rename your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file to AE.BAT. Reboot your system. Run the ATI
INSTALL program, make the necessary changes to your
configuration, and exit the INSTALL program. Change to the
root directory, rename C.SYS to CONFIG.SYS, rename AE.BAT to
AUTOEXEC.BAT, and reboot your system.
Please note that if you are using any disk compression
programs that require a driver to function, or your hard drive
requires a driver to be loaded, then you should NOT rename the
AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, but instead place a "REM "
(no quotes) in front of every line in these files EXCEPT those
required to boot the machine.
Q: How should I configure QEMM to avoid conflicts with ATI graphics
cards?
A: 1) If you are using an ATI GRAPHICS ULTRA PRO or GRAPHICS ULTRA+
with Microsoft Windows on an ISA system that has more than 12MB
installed, you may find that you are unable to set the Memory
Aperture feature. In this case, the video card will attempt to
set up a memory aperture using the 128K of address space between
A000-BFFF. This will conflict with QEMM's default behavior,
which is to map High RAM to the addresses normally used by
monochrome video adapters (B000-B7FF). On ISA systems with a
GRAPHICS ULTRA PRO or GRAPHICS ULTRA+ and 12MB or more of memory
installed, add the X=B000-B7FF parameter to the QEMM386.SYS line
in the CONFIG.SYS file:
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM <other parameters> X=B000-B7FF
2) If you have both a Hercules-compatible monochrome display and a
color monitor and your computer is setup up to start in VGA
mode, add the X=B000-B7FF parameter to the QEMM386.SYS line in
the CONFIG.SYS file, exactly as shown in item (1) above.
3) VIDRAM, a part of the QEMM package, adds extra memory to DOS by
using the address space normally used by EGA/VGA graphics. Note
that VIDRAM disables graphics use while it is ON, but can
increase conventional memory up to 736K. Typing VIDRAM ON
results in a blank screen on some ROM revisions of the ATI
VGAWONDER series. If this occurs, try using VIDRAM ON EMS
instead.
Q: What should I do to troubleshoot ATI video conflicts with QEMM?
A: The following troubleshooting techniques should help to resolve any
video conflicts. Please take the time to note the results of the
steps below.
1) If Microsoft Windows fails to start properly on any of the
VGAWONDER series of video cards or on any card in the ATI ULTRA
family and you are using QEMM's Stealth feature, try placing the
Page Frame over the video ROM. Do this by adding the FRAME=C000
parameter to the QEMM386.SYS line in the CONFIG.SYS file:
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM <other parameters> ST:M FRAME=C000
2) If Microsoft Windows still fails to start properly and you are
using a card in the ATI Graphics ULTRA family, try step (2)
above. If the conflict still occurs, try EXCLUDEing the first
4K of the video ROM. Do this by adding the X=C000-C0FF
parameter to the QEMM386.SYS line in the CONFIG.SYS file:
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM <other parameters> ST:M X=C000-C0FF
3) If Microsoft Windows still fails to start properly after trying
steps 1 & 2 above, you should prevent the video ROM from being
Stealthed. Do this by adding the XST=C000 parameter to the
QEMM386.SYS line in the CONFIG.SYS file:
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS RAM <other parameters> ST:M XST=C000
4) If you have tried steps 1, 2, and 3 and Microsoft Windows still
fails to start properly, your problem is not likely to be a
video conflict. In this case, obtain the following Quarterdeck
Technical Bulletins from one of the sources listed at the end of
this document:
#207 Windows 3.X and QEMM Advanced Troubleshooting (WINFLOW.TEC)
#241 QEMM Version 7: General Troubleshooting (TROUBLE.TEC)
#242 Windows 3.1 and Quarterdeck Products (WIN31.TEC)
QEMM 7 users can find WINFLOW.TEC and TROUBLE.TEC in the
\QEMM\TECHNOTE directory. Again, please keep notes on your
results.
5) If you are still unable to resolve your problem, please contact
Quarterdeck Technical Support at the numbers listed at the end
of this document.
GENERAL INFORMATION
-------------------
Q: What does ATI's RAMBIOS.SYS utility do, and can I use it with QEMM?
A: RAMBIOS.SYS, included on the supplementary disk that comes with many
ATI products, is meant to speed up the operation of your video card
by copying the contents of its ROM into the RAM on your system. This
program is intended for use with non-386 systems that do not have
hardware shadowing built-in; typically 8086/8088 or some 80286
systems.
This program should not be used on 386 systems. You should use the
ROM parameter of your memory manager instead. If you are using QEMM
version 7, or QEMM version 6 with Stealth enabled, the presence of
RAMBIOS.SYS in your CONFIG.SYS file may cause your system to crash on
bootup. Remove RAMBIOS.SYS from your CONFIG.SYS file, and add the
ROM parameter to the QEMM386.SYS line:
DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS <other parameters> ROM
The location of the ROM parameter is not important. Adding the ROM
parameter will have the effect of copying all of your ROMs (not just
your video ROM) into fast RAM, mapping that RAM to the addresses
initially occupied by the ROM, and then write-protecting that
address. For more information on the ROM parameter, please obtain
the following Quarterdeck Technical Bulletin from one of the sources
listed at the end of this document:
#224 ShadowRAM, Top Memory, and QEMM (SHADOWRM.TEC)
Q: What does QEMM's Stealth feature normally do with the video ROM?
A: QEMM's Stealth technology makes extra High RAM available by mapping
High RAM into addresses that are normally used by the ROMs on your
system. When you use ST:M ("Map Mode"), QEMM maps system, video,
disk ROMs, and any other "Stealthable" ROMs out of the first megabyte
to addresses elsewhere in the processor's memory map. When the ROM
is needed by the system, QEMM maps the appropriate ROM code into the
expanded memory page frame. The ROM code now has a valid DOS address
at which it can execute, and it does so normally. When the ROM
routine is finished, QEMM then remaps the ROM elsewhere outside of
DOS's address space.
When you use ST:F ("Frame Mode"), QEMM leaves the system, video, and
disk ROMs where they are normally found. QEMM then maps the EMS page
frame such that it lies on top of a ROM. Expanded memory can then be
mapped into the EMS page frame. When the ROM that has been hidden by
the page frame is needed, QEMM momentarily disables expanded memory
usage and maps the page frame out of DOS's address space, exposing
the ROM beneath. The ROM code then executes normally. When the ROM
routine is finished, QEMM can then re-enable the EMS page frame, and
lie it back down over the ROM.
For more information on Stealth technology and troubleshooting,
please obtain the following Quarterdeck Technical Bulletins:
#168 QEMM's Stealth Technology (STLTECH.TEC)
#205 Troubleshooting Stealth (STEALTH.TEC).
Both STEALTH.TEC and STLTECH.TEC are located in the \QEMM\TECHNOTE
directory for QEMM 7 users. Users with previous QEMM versions should
see the end of this note for information on where to obtain these
files.
Software typically does not have to be Stealth-aware in order to work
properly. It must only be aware of Stealth if it attempts to access
the contents of a ROM directly, rather than via interrupt, when ST:M
is in use. ATI's Windows drivers and its INSTALL program, as of this
writing, are not Stealth-aware and from time to time need to access
information in the video ROM via direct reference. Thus, when ST:M
is on the QEMM386.SYS line in the CONFIG.SYS file
- earlier versions of INSTALL may report that you do not have an ATI
card installed;
- later versions of INSTALL may suggest that you disable your memory
manager while INSTALL is running;
- Microsoft Windows may fail to start properly.
Techniques to resolve these conflicts appear at the beginning of this
technical note.
Q: Are there any special considerations when using DESQview with an ATI
graphics card?
A: DESQview version 2.4 or earlier may have difficulty saving and
restoring the screen of Microsoft Windows when it is running in a
window in a video mode greater than 640x480 in 16 colors. DESQview
2.6 addresses this problem. If you are running Microsoft Windows
under DESQview, and the screen is not being restored properly, the
following technique may help.
1) In the Microsoft Windows window, go to a full-screen DOS window.
2) In that full-screen DOS window, press the DESQ key, and open a
window or switch to another window as you wish.
3) When you return to that same DOS window, type the word "exit" and
press {Enter}. Microsoft Windows will restore its own screen. You
may also write a Microsoft Windows macro that automates Step 1,
and/or a DESQview Script that automates Step 3.
Q: Are there any special considerations when using DESQview/X with
an ATI graphics card?
A: DESQview/X provides support for all ATI chipsets in a wide variety of
resolutions. The highest resolution available as of this writing is
1024x768 in 256 colors; this is available on the ATI VGAWONDER+, the
ATI WONDER XL24, and all of the ATI ULTRA products.
The ATI ULTRA series of video cards are register-compatible with the
IBM 8514/A graphics adapter. If you are using a Graphics ULTRA,
8514-ULTRA, GRAPHICS ULTRA+, or GRAPHICS ULTRA PRO, you may be able
to increase significantly the amount of memory available in your
DESQview/X windows.
Try adding the VIDRAMEMS parameter to the end of the QEMM386.SYS line
in the CONFIG.SYS file, and type VIDRAM ON before you start
DESQview/X.
This can result in a memory gain of up to 96K inside DESQview/X.
For complete details on the technique to do this properly, please
obtain the following Quarterdeck Technical Bulletin from one of the
sources listed at the end of this document:
#252 DESQview/X: Maximizing Window Size (MAXWINDO.TEC)
Q: How do I obtain the technotes discussed in this document?
A: The technical notes mentioned above are available on Compuserve (!GO
QUARTERDECK), the Quarterdeck BBS at (310) 314-3227, the internet
(anonymous FTP to QDECK.COM), large local BBS systems, and also via
our Q/FAX fax retrieval service (from the handset of your fax
machine, call August 12, 1994(310) 314-3214, or in Canada, (416)
665-5070).
This technical note may be copied and distributed freely as long as it
is distributed in its entirety and it is not distributed for profit.
Copyright (C) 1994 by Quarterdeck Office Systems
_______________________________________________
> Millie's Math House STR Review
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Kids' Computing Corner
----------------------
"MILLIE'S MATH HOUSE"
=====================
from Edmark
by Frank Sereno
"Millie's Math House" is an educational game in which Millie, a brown cow,
teaches math concepts to children ages 2 to 6. The program is available
for both IBM compatibles and Macintosh computers. On clones, Millie's
requires 3 megs of hard disk, 580k of free ram, EGA or greater graphics
and a mouse. Highly recommended is a Sound Blaster compatible or greater
sound card to allow the output and input of digitized sound. A printer can
be used in some of the activities. On the Mac, requirements are a Mac
Plus or later, 3 megs of hard disk, System 6.0.7 or later, plus 1 meg of
memory for the monochrome version or 2 megs to run the color version with
a color card. System 7 doubles the ram requirements for the program. This
review will be on the DOS version and the test machine was a 386DX-40
running DOS 6.2 with a Sound Blaster Pro audio card.
Millie is installed by running the install.com program on the first floppy
disk. You will be asked to indicate your sound card after the files are
installed to create a configuration file which Millie will load upon
executing. Edmark advises against running this program from Windows
because of possible conflicts. I have run the program from Windows both
from KidDesk Deluxe and from the Window's MS-DOS prompt and have had no
problems. Edmark does include a PIF file and an icon for the program, but
if you wish to run it from Windows you must create your own program group.
Millie is loaded simply by going to the Millie subdirectory created by the
Install program and typing Millie to execute the program. A title screen
will be shown listing the credits of the artists and programmers who
worked on the program, then the program will load in the main interface.
The interface is Millie's Math House which consists of six cubicles or
rooms which will load the learning activities when clicked upon with the
mouse. Each activity has two modes, an explore and discover mode which
allows the child to freely interact with the game and a question and
answer mode which prompts the child to complete certain tasks. Each
activity can be exited by clicking on the icon of Millie positioned in the
lower left corner of the screen in each game. An adult section complete
with lesson overviews, program options and suggestions for learning games
away from the computer is available by pressing Alt-Control-A at any time.
From left to right on the upper level of the Math House is a pair of
sneakers representing the Little, Middle, & Big game, a house made of
geometric shapes for the Mouse House activity, and a lumpy green creature
and three boxes is the icon for the Bing & Boing game. On the lower level
of the Math House, a strange-looking creature symbolizes the Build-A-Bug
activity, a cash register represents Number Machine and the Cookie Factory
game's icon is a cookie jar.
The Little, Middle, & Big game teaches size concepts and vocabulary.
Characters of graduating sizes must be outfitted with the proper size
shoes from a bookcase with three shelves. In explore mode, the child can
click on a character who will introduce himself as either Little, Middle
or Big, then the child can click on a pair of shoes which are described as
small, medium or large. Clicking on the picture frame in the room moves
the game to question mode and the characters will take turns asking for
the proper size shoes. If the characters are given the wrong size shoes,
they will show various amusing reactions and will tell the child that the
shoes are too little or too big. When gameplay begins, the shoes are
sorted according to size. Clicking on the cat which is sleeping on top of
the bookcase will shuffle the order of the shoes and make the game a bit
more challenging. This activity is well-designed and entertaining.
The Mouse House game teaches the names of geometric shapes, matching
shapes, choosing between sizes of the same shape and building with shapes.
The child can print out the blueprint creations. In explore mode, the
child can choose between matching simple or complex blueprints or he can
build his own designs by picking on of the three blueprint designs. The
left half of the screen will contain the shapes needed to complete the
blueprints which are shown on the right half. Each geometric shape is
announced by shape and size when it is selected. When matching
blueprints, the child clicks and drags one of the geometric shapes to its
match on the blueprint on the right. The child can continue to build on
the blueprint if he wishes. There is no negative or positive feedback in
the explore mode. I think that a small improvement would be to
congratulate the child when he matches the blueprint and then ask him if
he would like to continue building.
Clicking on the picture frame will begin the question mode. The child can
choose from three levels of difficulty based on the complexity of the
completed mouse houses. Mr. Mouse will appear holding a blueprint and he
will ask the child for a shape. The child can either click and drag the
shape onto the blueprint or he can simply click on it. Negative feedback
for choosing the wrong shape is very gentle. The child will be told which
shape he chose and will be asked to choose another. Positive feedback is
mildly enthusiastic and upon completing a blueprint, the child will be
rewarded with the animation of two mice jumping up and down for joy
accompanied by some bright music. I think this portion of the program
could be made more pleasing by coloring in the completed mouse house. On
the whole, this is a fun learning activity.
Bing & Boing teaches pattern recognition and creation. In the upper left
of the screen are located 8 icons with 4 being animals and 4 being shapes.
Each of these icons also makes a sound when clicked. You and your child
can record your own sounds for these icons, but you have to be very quick
because the recording time is very small. The original sounds are saved
and you can use any combination of originals sounds and your creations.
In explore mode, the child can click on up to 3 icons to create a pattern
which will be played when he clicks on Bing, a green roundish creature.
Click on the picture frame and question mode will begin. Boing, a pink
creature, will repeat a pattern several times for the child, then ask him
to fill in a blank spot in the pattern. This game is very entertaining,
especially when recording new sounds for the icons, although this may a
bit difficult for younger children.
Build-A-Bug allows the child to make bugs by clicking on a bug body part
icon and then choosing one of the numerals from zero to ten. Once the
parts have been placed on the bug, the child can rearrange them by
clicking and dragging to a new location. This game only has an explore
mode. Three different bug heads can be chosen and each makes a different
sound when clicked upon. The child can choose to make his own recordings
for these heads. Bugs can also be printed. I am surprised this activity
has no question mode. I believe the addition of an activity in which
children would be asked to count spots, legs, eyes, etc., would be a
natural progression to this program. Or perhaps the parts could be
counted aloud as they are added to the body. As it is, if a child chooses
ten ears, then ten ears appear instantly on the bug.
The next activity is the Number Machine which is intended to teach the
numbers and counting as well as learning some singular and plural forms of
some nouns. The machine consists of a large cash register with the
numbers zero through ten on the keys. In explore mode, the child clicks
on one of the numbers, the cash drawer will open and the computer will
count a set of objects equal to the number selected. Click on the picture
frame and question mode begins. Annie the worm will ask the child to find
a certain. The number will be shown in a speech bubble in the upper right
corner of the screen. If the child has difficulty picking the correct
answer, the choices will be narrowed down first to the row of the correct
answer and eventually only the correct answer will be available. When the
correct answer is given, the cash drawer opens and the objects pop up as
they are counted. Feedback is evenly tempered in both negative and
positive modes.
The final activity is the Cookie Factory. Here children learn about
counting, trial and error, and problem solving. The factory consists of a
pipe, activated by clicking on its red button, which deposits the cookie
onto a conveyor belt. The belt is operated by a lever which will move the
cookie under a jelly bean dispenser. The beans are dropped onto the
cookie by clicking on the dispenser and are counted aloud as they are
placed on the cookie. In explore mode, once the child has decorated the
cookie, he can click on a mechanical hand on the left side of the screen
to place the cookie in a numbered slot below the conveyor. Cookies made
with the same number of jelly beans have different patterns to show the
number is the same regardless of the pattern.
Clicking on the picture frame starts question mode. The child now must
decorate cookies to fill the orders of Harley Horse. A cookie will be
placed beneath the jelly bean dispenser and then Harley will ask for it to
be decorated with a number of beans. If the number of beans is incorrect,
Harley will tell the child whether too many or too few beans are on the
cookie and then give the cookie to his friend Froggy.
Graphics are fairly good but not great. Sometimes the animations are a
bit jerky and the sounds are not completely in sync. In fact on the main
screen, Millie talks when clicked upon but her mouth doesn't move at all.
One nice touch is that Millie's eyes follow the cursor around the screen.
The sounds and music used in this program are enjoyable. It may be my
sound card, but sounds seemed to be a bit distorted, almost fuzzy. In
recording our own sounds for the portions of the program that allowed it,
the sounds were much clearer. The distortion did not affect the
audibility of the sounds and voices in the program.
The interface is another variation on point and click. It is easy to use
and understand although I think more audible help should be used. The
adult section is very good, especially the on-line textual help which
explains each activity and its purpose to the parents. The user's guide
is excellent. It is easy to read, written in large type with a humorous
style. It is also contains a complete trouble-shooting guide. If a
problem cannot be resolved using the guide, Edmark technical support is
available by phone at 206-556-8480.
Play value is quite good. My 3 year-old has really enjoyed Millie's Math
House. While the graphics and sound are not state of the art, these well-
designed games are still fun to play. Educational value is excellent
also. Many important concepts are taught in an entertaining manner. I
feel that bang for the buck is quite good. Suggested retail price is
$49.95 but it is available for much less than that at most national
discounters. Contact Edmark Customer Service at 206-556-8484.
Graphics............. 7.5
Sounds .............. 7.5
Interface ........... 8.5
Play Value .......... 9.0
Educational Value ... 9.0
Bang for the Buck ... 9.0
Average ............. 8.41
As always, I thank you for reading!
________________________________________________
> AWE 32 Enhancement STR InfoFile
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Wavetable Daughter boards for the SB16 & AWE32
==============================================
The Waveblaster connector has now become a De Facto standard, and
many manufactures now produce soundcards with such a connector, and also
the actual daughter boards that will connect onto these cards providing
'Wave Table' produced sounds, that far exceeds the quality and realism of
FM synthesis that is used on most of these cards.
This document covers the nine different daughter boards that are available
from seven different manufactures. It includes;
1 - Creative Labs - WaveBlaster.
2 - Turtle Beach - Rio & Maui (Not a daughter board, but it has the
connector).
3 - Roland - SCD-10 & SCD-15(SCDB-55)?.
4 - Sound Galaxy - Wave Power.
5 - Bluepoint - Wave FX Upgrade.
6 - Gallant - GMW1000 Wave Module.
7 - Media Vision - The Professional Wave Table Upgrade
1 - Creative Labs - WaveBlaster
-------------------------------
This is the one that most people probably know about. The 'Synth Engine'
used was created back in 1991 by E-mu Systems. This is the Proteus chip
that appears in other products such as E-mu's own rack mount MIDI
modules, and Turtle Beaches' famous Multisound Card. The Waveblaster has
a processor on board to interpret the MIDI messages, (the one thing that
the AWE32 lacks) so you do not have to run a separate TSR to do this.
Hence it is a great deal more reliable in such applications as games. The
Waveblaster has 4Mb (that's Mega Bytes) of digital samples in a ROM that
contain over 256 digital audio samples in 16Bit. All the sounds that the
Waveblaster produces are made up of 1 or more of these samples. These
samples are extremely good quality. There are then many different 'sample
modifiers' that are all real-time, such as reverse, chorus, flange,
digital delay, tuning, cross fading, linking etc..
When initialised, the Waveblaster is in General Midi mode, but using a
program supplied it can be altered to give you MT-32 patch compatibility,
much like the SCC-1, whereby it will not act on specific MT-32 sysex data.
There are editors available that allow you to change the 100's of
different parameters for each patch so that you can produce completely
different sounds that can be absolutely fantastic. The sound quality is
exceptional with virtually no hiss. It can produce wonderful thick low
frequency 'synth' sounds like the MOOG series used to produce. All the
effects, (delay, flange, etc..) is for each of the 32 channels, not a
global setting.
2 - Turtle Beach - Rio & Maui
-----------------------------
Turtle Beach currently have two products that can be connected to a
soundcard having a Waveblaster compatible connector. The Maui however is
NOT a daughter board, it is a standard 16Bit ISA card but can be connected
to the Waveblaster connector so that it can be controlled through the
other cards MPU-401, even though it has one of its own. Both the Maui &
Rio use the Wavefront Synth engine also found in Turtle Beaches new
Multisound Monterey card. Both of these cards has a samplestore facility
like that on the AWE32, so adding this to an AWE32 might not be a good
idea, however it would equip a SB16 with a samplestore capability, without
totally replacing the card, but you are better off getting an AWE32.
Maui - General Midi Compatible, 2Mb of compressed sounds in ROM,
Samplestore of up to 8Mb using SIMM's. No sampling capability, just a
pure Synth. Up to 32 voices. Download samples at any rate up to
16bit/44.1KHz/Stereo.
Rio - General Midi Compatible, 4Mb of sounds in ROM, Samplestore up to
4Mb. up to 32 voices. The Rio obviously sounds better, ( the same as the
Multisound Monterey). Download samples at any rate up to
16bit/44.1KHz/Stereo.
3 - Roland - SCD-10 & SCD-15(SCDB-55)
-------------------------------------
These two boards are based on the famous Sound Canvas sounds used in a
variety of Roland products (SC-33, SC-50, SK-50, SC-55, SC-155, SCC-1,
SC-7, CM-300, CM-500 etc..) There is not a great deal of information to be
found on these yet, I believe that these are available in America, but
seem to be a bit scarce here in the UK. Roland had never heard of the
product, (perhaps they were just pretending, you know a joke or
something..)
SCD-10 This provides general midi compatible 128 tones, This is an SC-7 on
a daughter board. 28 voice poly, Reverb, Chorus, and delay effects, and 6
drum sets.
SCD-15 or SCDB-55, these could be two seperate cards, I'm not sure.
This is a GM/GS daughter board, containing the 128 GM/GS capital
tones, plus the variation tones. This is an SC-55 / SCC-1 / CM300 on a
daughter board. 24 voice poly, 317 total tones, 9 drum sets, 1 SFX set,
and MT-32 mode. Sounds fantastic (and that not just the spec!!)
4 - Sound Galaxy - Wave Power
-----------------------------
This is based around an Esoniq synth with 4Mb of onboard sounds in ROM,
providing General Midi Compatibility. 128 Instruments. Some of the
instruments on this tend to do strange things as they go out of a 'normal'
range. The 4Mb sounds impressive, perhaps they mean 4Mbits?? Who knows?
5 - Bluepoint - Wave FX Upgrade
-------------------------------
A great low cost answer for games. This provides 317 Instruments, General
Midi, MT-32, GM/GS and SCC-1 patch compatibility. There is 1Mb of samples
on board and it does not use DSP emulation like in the Gravis, Soundwave,
etc.. This is the same synth that appears on the Sound FX Classic 3000
soundcard. The quality is not as good as the Waveblaster, well you
wouldn't have thought so anyway would you?
6 - Gallant - GMW1000 Wave Upgrade
----------------------------------
Similar spec to the Wave FX above, and I suspect that it uses the same
chip set but it is just implemented differently. It has been commented
that it is slightly better than the Wave FX. Probably the best
alternative price wise.
7 - Media Vision - The Professional Wave Table Upgrade
------------------------------------------------------
This is based around the KORG sound engine used in such products as the
new Korg X-3, i2, and i3, based on Korg's AI synthesis architecture. This
provides 32-note polyphony, 16-part multitimbral, reverb and chorus
effects standard. The 4Mb of sample sounds includes 128 General MIDI
sounds and four drum kits. This board seems to be the equivalent of the
Audio GallerySound Module. This was expected to be available during the
second quarter of this year.
Well there are a few to choose from now, all of these have an 'on
board MIDI processor' unlike the AWE32, so a TSR is not required for this
task, so this compatibility problem does not exist.
All this information is based on press releases and information
gathered from many people. As for as I know it is correct, but there
could be some minor errors, please check out the products thoroughly
before you buy. It is always a good idea to get a demo first also if you
can. Try using the board with some of your software.
Keith Mason 15th July 1995. [100345,3450]
All the products mentioned, trademarks and copyrights are the properties
of their respective owners.
__________________________________________________
> ENROLL IN WUGNET STR InfoFile
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
ENROLL IN WUGNET IN AUGUST
==========================
SAVE $49.95
SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP OFFER ONLY VALID DURING AUGUST MEMBERSHIP DRIVE!
Sign up for an individual membeship now at $95.00 (US) and get your choice
of a ($49.95) book free. Includes shipping! Membership includes:
Subscription to the Windows Journal, System Engineer 2.0, Enhanced full
text WINHELP version of the Microsoft Windows for WorkGroups Resource Kit
addendum. This offer valid for the month of August only so order now!
Call 800 WIN-USER, email 76702,1356 or fax to: 215-565-7106. Offer valid
in US only. Canada $105. Europe $135.00 Pacific $145.00
THE WINDOWS USER GROUP NETWORK
------------------------------
The Windows User Group Network is the premier international organization
for Windows professionals. WUGNET's role is to communicate windows-based
technologies and applications to an international audience through the
WUGNET forum on CompuServe, conferences, trade shows, publications, trade
books, and various membership interactions. WUGNET offers its members a
number of technical support tools and support resources designed to save
them time and solve quickly problems. These support tools include: The
Online Windows Help versions of the popular Microsoft Windows 3.1 resource
kits and Windows for WorkGroups resource Kits, (available soon) WUGNET
System Engineer, a support oriented CompuServe FORUM with a private
library for members.
WUGNET's Computing Book Series books are now available. Windows 3.1
Connectivity Secrets (Connally, Rorabaugh, Hall and Rezmovic, and Windows
3.1 Configuration Secrets by Valda Hilley and Jim Blakely (published by
IDG Books Worldwide)are now available directly from WUGNET for $39.95 + $5
shipping. Call 800 WIN USER to get your copies.
WUGNET's mission is to:
* Promote understanding and cooperation among organizations engaged in
furthering the progress and application of windows based systems.
* Provide an international clearing house for information and advancement
systems and technology.
* Conduct conferences and exhibitions for the exchange of information
* Provide document based information through the publication of a journal,
trade and reference books.
* Provide education for windows based systems
PUBLICATIONS - The Windows Journal newsletter The Windows Journal,
published bimonthly by WUGNET Publications, is the leading independent
technical journal focusing on the Microsoft Windows operating environment.
The Journal is a technical resource for consultants, corporate support
staff, programmers and power-users of the Windows environment. Its mission
is to help programmers build Windows applications more reliably and
efficiently, to help corporate support personnel setup, optimize, and
maintain Windows workstations, and to provide in-depth technical
information for end-users.
The Journal features extracts from the authors of leading books on Windows
and keeps readers up to date on the drivers, patches, and files found on
CompuServe. Written and edited by Windows professionals, the Windows
Journal is the only independent international publication focusing on
Windows solutions. The Windows Journal is a user read publication
circulated worldwide to approximately 10,000 professionals. Windows
Journal readers are expert PC users who have made the move to the Windows
environment. They are technically advanced. At least 75% of our readership
is actively programming applications in the Windows environment, either
through direct use of programming tools, application development
environment, or application customization. MIS Professionals, Windows
Programmers, and power users from industry and government look to The
Windows Journal to discover technology advances they can use in developing
software products or increasing the value of their current software
technology. Through the Windows Journal, the Windows User Group Network
acts as an information resource center, making available publications and
materials from leading software and hardware vendors, and specialized
consultants.
WINDOWS JOURNAL COMPANION DISK
------------------------------
The organization distributes each Journal comes with a working model of a
software chosen by the WUGNET staff. The working model typically meets the
high standards of technical excellence and innovation sought by members.
As an added benefit, vendors will extend a fantastic user group price to
all who wish to purchase the full version of the product.
A complete listing of WUGNET user group discounts are posted in a file
called discount text located in FORUM data library 11 (User Group Lib).
This file is updated with each issue of the journal since many vendors
choose to introduce their products through our membership.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TOOLS and UTILITIES
WUGNET'S ELECTRONIC EDITIONS OF THE WINDOWS RESOURCE KITS
---------------------------------------------------------
The Windows Users Group Network publishes and electronic version of the MS
Windows 3.1 Resource Kit and Windows for WorkGroups Addendum are diskbased
hypertext editions available to members of WUGNET. The Windows Resource
Kit 3.1 Electronic Edition converts Microsoft's 580-page guide into
interactive reference, providing immediate access to Windows 3.1
information. It is designed as to aid technical support professionals
(corporate help desks, VARs, systems integrators, resellers, developers,
and trainers) in setup, optimizing, and troubleshooting the Windows
environment.
SYSTEM ENGINEER 2.0 FOR WINDOWS
-------------------------------
New Features and Capabilities Result in Ultimate Control Panel for Window
Users
December 21, 1993 Media, PA - The Windows User Group Network (WUGNET) has
announced System Engineer version 2.0, its highly acclaimed Windows
Configuration tool. This innovative software package allows Windows
professionals and power users to fine tune their Windows environments.
System Engineer gives the Window professional a comprehensive set of tools
to manage all aspects of Windows' configuration on their workstation,
whether standalone or on networks. In addition to its powerful but
easy-to-use interface for editing individual sections and statements
within Windows configuration files, System Engineer provides a complete
librarian for storing, managing and recovering multiple configurations.
Changes to any and all INI files or entries are logged in a master file,
which creates an audit system that allows users to retrace specific
changes made to configuration files, including support for installation
and deinstallation of Windows applications and supporting system
enhancements.
Unlocking the Windows Environment
---------------------------------
System Engineer provides access to every SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI parameter
including:
* Undocumented parameters for managing memory
* Undocumented parameters supporting the Windows keyboard interface
* Network setting options, including Novell Netware specific options
* Configuration settings for managing all asynchronous communications port
* Parameters for setting Windows EMS memory and Virtual memory management
* Parameter settings for Windows operation of disk storage devices
* Parameter settings supporting DOS applications running under Windows
* Parameter settings exclusive to Windows standard mode
* System fonts used by Windows
REAL-TIME INFORMATION MONITORS
------------------------------
This release of System Engineer introduces easy-to-use real-time
monitoring facilities for both expert and non-expert Windows users.
* The Task Monitor provides a real-time data window displaying all active
tasks with their task handles.
* The File I/O Monitor allows users to track what files and devices are
currently open, and determine read/write privileges. This also supports
monitoring of open data files and Windows supported devices that are
shared, protected, or read-only in nature. This information can then be
used by general users in determining the optimum files, buffers and cache
settings for particular tasks in Windows.
* The Memory Monitor is not just a viewer, but a comprehensive statistical
monitor reporting the memory use of active module components in six
specific memory classes including fonts and DLL's. Use the monitor
snapshots to analyze application-specific GDI and USER system resource
memory heaps, and determine what discardable and non- discardable portions
of memory a particular Windows 3.1 module or application is utilizing. New
Features in System Engineer 2.0 Solve Windows Most Complex User Issues
including
NEW INTERFACE - SUPER CONTROL PANEL AND MORE!
---------------------------------------------
System Engineer's new interface now includes separate panels for all the
configuration management tasks in Windows. Windows Setup.exe and Control
Panel are incorporated into the interface, with additional tabular windows
for SYSTEM, WIN.INI, INFORMATION and BACKUP support. Version 2.0 also
supports full drag and drop support with Windows File Manager (or PC Tools
for Windows or Norton Desktop), allowing the user to select an INI file,
drag it to the SYSTEM ENGINEER icon, and immediately have the INI editor
with the INI loaded.
NOW HANDLES COMMUNICATION PORT DEVICE CONTENTION
------------------------------------------------
System Engineer 2.0 now includes OTC Corporation's KINGCOM COM PORT Driver
- an enhanced communications port driver and configuration tool enabling
System Engineer to manage all data/fax traffic, and eliminate conflicts
that develop when mutiple applications access the same fax/modem hardware.
The Windows COM driver is limited to two active serial devices, but
multiple applications may support the active port. For example, when a fax
application attempts to access a modem while a terminal communications
package is loaded the result is an error message. System Engineer's
inclusion of KINGCOM, developed by OTC Corporation, solves this problem.
By creating a "virtual" com port driver, users can designate all their
software to a specific com port to specific applications.
SE'S ADVANCED CONFIGURATION TOOLS AND FEATURES
----------------------------------------------
The System Engineer INI editing system includes support for archiving,
library, backup (full and selected) and restoration for Windows INI files
and Windows applications INI files. For example, any INI topic or
parameter can include specific comments, deleted, archived into the system
engineer archive. The INI Editor archive capability allows the user to
select a topic and store it in the active archive. Once archived, the user
can selectively restore it to another INI file or use the archived library
for network system maintenance of other user INI files. Any modification
through the INI editor is also maintained in a an active log, providing
insurance and complete UNDO support. Users can use the LOG Browser to
monitor changes to all INI files made through System Engineer. The System
Configuration Backup and Restore support has been expanded to include
Windows GRP, AUTOEXEC.BAT
SYSTEM ENGINEER USERS APPLAUD
-----------------------------
System Engineer was developed by the WUGNET support staff in 1990. We've
helped hundreds of Windows users, both novice and expert since 1988, and
incorporated virtually every support feature imaginable into this one
product.
"My first reaction to System Engineer was: 'WOW! It's about time!' Finally
there is a product that addresses the needs of the systems integrator
trying to customize the internals of the Windows environment. System
Engineer is a powerful tool for the service and support industry, and is
one of those utilities that make you think 'it should have been there in
the first place.' I highly recommend System Engineer to anyone who has
to deal with diagnosing, configuring, and supporting the Windows 3.xx
operating system environment. Mandatory equipment for the support
engineer's arsenal". Randall Kennedy
THE WINDOWS USER FORUM ON FORUM ON COMPUSERVE
---------------------------------------------
Windows professionals, from corporate professionals to consultants,
communicate in the fastest growing independent technical user forum on
CompuServe - The Windows Users Forum (GO WUGNET or GO WINUSER). Members
of the organization are also provided with access to a private library
containing advance reports on trade shows, technical notes, and product
appnotes and reviews. WUGNET maintains an active private beta testing
program where members can sign up on line and test new versions of
innovative products. WUGNET works with shareware authors in helping to
promote high quality and innovative shareware. THE WUGNET shareware of the
week program, makes available to and informs forum members about the
hottest applications to be found on CompuServe.
WUGNET has a long history of working very closely with shareware authors
and considers them an integral part of the WUGNET community.
ORIGINS OF THE WINDOWS USERS GROUP NETWORK
------------------------------------------
Founded in 1988, as an independent organization, WUGNET has positioned
itself as an industry wide technical resource, rather than as an
organization committed to any single vendor or groups of vendors.
For five years, the Windows User Group Network has dedicated their effo to
communicating trends and developments, and solutions about the Windows
environment on an international level. As a result of the technological
changes experienced in the last few years, WUGNET has evolved into an
organization which aggressively promotes the interfacing of existing
technologies with new state of the art technologies to create intelligent
solutions to today's business problems.
ENROLLMENT APPLICATION
----------------------
There are two levels of enrollment: Individual and Corporate (Group
Gov/Academic). The following membership application be used for Fax, Mail
or email
Call for Corporate and Group Membership packages.
Name_____________________________________________________
Company__________________________________________________
Title____________________________________________________
Address_________________________________________________
City_________________________________State______________
Zip__________Phone Number_________________________
Email________________________________
Fax___________________________________
Save $$$ on our hot new books
WUGNET COMPUTING BOOKS SERIES (Publisher IDG Books Worldwide, Inc)
Windows 3.1 Connectivity Secrets [ ] 39.95 + $5 Shipping
Windows 3.1 Configuration Secrets [ ] 39.95 + $5 Shipping
(Pa. Residents add 6% sales tax)
Amount Enclosed _______________________
Please Charge my Credit Card: AMEX____ VISA_____
MASTERCARD____ Card Number:_____________________________
Expiration Date:________ Signature:___________________________
Prices quoted in US Dollars
Inividual Membership includes: Subscription to Windows Journal, WUGNET
System Engineer 2.0 Windows Resource Kits(Windows 3.1 and Windows for
Workgroups* (when available next month), access to private data
library--(Send request for access to Howard Sobel 76702,1356 once you
join).
US Individual Rate: $99.00
Gov't/Academic Institutions are eligible for 50% discount (see group
pricing below) Individual Rates Ovreseas: South America $110.00, Canada
$110, Europe $130, Pacific $145
GROUP MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS
As of August 19, 1993
CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP
10 Members Program - allows System Engineer and Windows Resource Kit
(online edition) to be on a network server with access for 10 users.
Includes 5 Windows Journals with Companion Disks.......$495.00
25 Members Program - allows up to 25 users of System Engineer and Windows
Resource Kit (online edition) to be on a network server. Inclu 100 Members
Program - allows unlimited use of System Engineer and Windows Resource Kit
(online edition) on a single server. Additional ser.*Government,
Non-profit, and Academic organizations membership rates are 50% off .
Please direct all inquires to:
Jim Herndon
Windows Users Group Network
126 E. State St.
Media, PA 19063
Tel: 215 565 1861. Fax: 215 565-7106
Email: CompuServef
76702,1023 or WINUSER
FORUM InterNet Email:
76702.1023@CompuServe.Com
Direct Membership Enrollment:
1-800-WIN-USER (1-800-946-8737)
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
:HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
_________________________________
Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo)
Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
Wait for the U#= prompt.
Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.
GEnie Information copyright (C) 1994 by General Electric
Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
___ ___ _____ _______
/___| /___| /_____| /_______/ The Macintosh RoundTable
/____|/____| /__/|__| /__/ ________________________
/_____|_____|/__/_|__|/__/
/__/|____/|__|________|__/
/__/ |___/ |__|_/ |__|_/____ Managed by SyndiComm
/__/ |__/ |__|/ |__|______/
An Official Forum of the International Computer Users Group
*** STReport available in MAC RT ***
ASCII TEXT
for ALL GEnie users!
MAC/APPLE SECTION (II)
======================
John Deegan, Editor (Temp)
> WordPerfect NEWS STR FOCUS!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""
WORDPERFECT 3.1 FOR POWER MACINTOSH
DEMONSTRATED AT MACWORLD EXPO
New features and Apple System 7.5 support extend WordPerfect's
user benefits and ease-of-use
WordPerfect, the Novell Applications Group began demonstrating WordPerfect
3.1, the second Power Macintosh version of the world's best-selling word
processor at Macworld Expo. The product upgrade adds new features such as
QuickCorrect and enhanced data merge capabilities as well as support for
Apple's System 7.5 that significantly increase the program's ease-of-use
for the end user.
"I am looking forward to WordPerfect 3.1," said Phyllis Eliasberg,
who is a consumer and computer reporter, as well as a Compuserve Wyzop.
"While WordPerfect's support of Apple's System 7.5 will add great
functionality, the QuickCorrect feature alone would be worth the upgrade
to me. I switched from Microsoft Word to WordPerfect 3.0 because of
WordPerfect's innovative interface and ease-of-use. After struggling for
so long in Microsoft Word's difficult and restrictive interface, I am
impressed with the increased amount of work I have been able to accomplish
with WordPerfect."
WordPerfect 3.0 for Macintosh shipped in October 1993 and was the
first word processor to support System 7 Pro, including PowerTalk. In
March 1994, WordPerfect 3.0 was the first and only word processor to ship
native for Power Macintosh. WordPerfect 3.1 will ship approximately 30
days after Apple releases System 7.5.
"WordPerfect has worked closely with us in developing their word
processor to support new and emerging Macintosh technologies as they are
released," said David Nagel, senior vice president and general manager,
AppleSoft. "Supporting System 7.5 is a great opportunity for WordPerfect
to differentiate their product in the market. The adoption of the 7.5
technologies as well as the innovations that WordPerfect has added will
provide real value for the user. WordPerfect is a great example of an
application that will truly help a user be more productive."
System 7.5 Support
QuickDraw GX Printing. By supporting QuickDraw GX printing,
WordPerfect 3.1 will offer users increased printing options
and greater printer control with simplified dialog boxes and
a quick print option. Users will be able to designate the
order of print jobs, and change paper size, orientation
(landscape or portrait) and scale factor throughout the
document on a page-by-page basis.
Macintosh Drag and Drop. In version 3.1, users can drag and
drop text or graphics within a single document, as well as
between documents and other applications. Text can even be
dragged out of a document and onto the desktop where it
resides as a clippings file until it is dragged back into a
WordPerfect document or another application.
Apple Guide. WordPerfect 3.1 will incorporate Apple's on-
line help and coaching capabilities to help users learn the
necessary steps to perform specific word processing tasks,
including recording macros, inserting graphics and many
other tasks.
AOCE Enabled. Now that the system software for Power
Macintosh includes Power Talk, WordPerfect's AOCE support
will be enabled in the Power Macintosh version, and the
Power Talk option will be available from the WordPerfect
Toolbar. This will allow a user to send messages to other
PowerTalk directly from within WordPerfect.
New Features
QuickCorrect. QuickCorrect automatically corrects mistyped
or misspelled words. For example, "teh" is replaced with
"the" as soon as the user presses the space bar or another
word delimiter such as a comma, period or semi-colon.
QuickCorrect also automatically expands abbreviations and
corrects errors with two initial caps on the fly. Users can
edit the list of word substitutions to meet their individual
typing patterns.
Fat Binary Installer Option. WordPerfect 3.0 currently uses
a smart installer to detect whether a user is installing on
a Power Macintosh or a 68K-based Macintosh. Version 3.1 will
offer a Fat Binary Installer option to install a "universal"
version of the application that contains both binaries and
will run on both types of hardware. This increases ease of
administering the product from a network.
Merge Data File Options. Users will be able to perform
merges using data that has been exported from FileMaker Pro,
as well as data from WordPerfect tables.
Pricing
The suggested retail price for WordPerfect 3.1 will be $495.
Upgrades to WordPerfect 3.1 for Macintosh will be available for $89 and
users of any competing word processor can upgrade for $99. Customers
purchasing WordPerfect 3.0 for Macintosh 30 days before and 30 days after
version 3.1 ships will receive a free upgrade to WordPerfect 3.1 when it
is available. For more information, customers can call WordPerfect, the
Novell Applications Group, at (800) 451-5151.
GRAMMATIK 6 FOR MACINTOSH SHIPS IN AUGUST
Grammatik 6 brings robust grammar checking and linguistic
intelligence to the desktop
WordPerfect, the Novell Applications Group, announced that Grammatik 6,
the new version of its grammar and style-checker, will begin shipping
mid-August. Grammatik 6 offers several new writing improvement features
including a redesigned interface and a new automatic sentence rewriting
feature that brings the first linguistic intelligence of its kind
to grammar checking.
The complete revision of Grammatik is the result of user feedback,
interface design and usability testing. Thousands of hours of design and
usability studies identified the need for a simpler, more speller-like
grammar interface, as well as new ways to present powerful features like
sentence rewriting and writing styles.
"I found Grammatik 6 to be much more comprehensive than the grammar
checker that came with Microsoft Word," said Barbara Smith, administrative
assistant, University of California at Davis. "I write several kinds of
scientific manuscripts and found the custom styles for checking different
kinds of documents to be very helpful." The interface is so clear and
intuitive that I've never had to reach for a manual," said Peter
LaBarbara, a New York accountant at Ogden Corporation who uses Grammatik
for correspondence and short story writing. "As far as I'm concerned,
Grammatik is the only grammar checker on the market today that's worth
using."
Grammatik 6's new QuickCheck option provides a simple way to do basic
checks of spelling, punctuation and grammar. QuickCheck saves users time
by not checking for things like style and more esoteric characteristics
such as archaic language, cliche's and gender-specific words.
In addition to QuickCheck, Grammatik 6 offers 10 predefined style
guides and three levels of formality to choose from, so users can
personalize their proofreading processes for the appropriate audiences.
An extensive Help system gives users guidance on both writing problems and
program features.
New features have been added to help users improve writing skills.
Grammatik 6 offers a high degree of grammar and spell-checking accuracy.
It is now the only grammar checker available that offers sentence
rewriting, a feature that allows users to automatically replace their
original sentences with Grammatik s corrected sentences simply by
double-clicking. To help users learn as they go along, the software also
provides readability statistics, background information, and a new
graphical Parse Tree that provides additional information on sentence
structure by identifying subjects, direct objects, indirect objects,
infinitives, verbs, adverbs, etc. In previous versions, Grammatik 6
offers accurate error detection by using a linguistic te d chnology called
Mor-Proof, meaning morphology-based proofreading. Mor-Proof's combination
of word and sentence analysis allows intelligent replacement of spelling,
grammar and clause errors. As the software proofreads documents for errors
in grammar, style, usage, punctuation and spelling, it also explains
errors and gives advice.
Once the user makes a change, the software automatically (and
invisibly) rechecks changes for correctness. Grammatik also provides a
"bookmark" feature, which lets users stop proofreading in the middle of a
document and instantly return to that point to resume checking.
The Macintosh version of Grammatik 6 will begin shipping on August 15
and will require a Macintosh with System 6.0.5 or later, a minimum of 2MB
of RAM and 2.5MB hard disk space. Grammatik 6 will have a suggested
retail price of $49.95US. With more than five million copies sold and
because of its support for all popular word processors, Grammatik is the
best-selling writing improvement tool in the world on all platforms.
Grammatik continues to be the only grammar checker developed
internationally for English, U.K.-English, French and German, and will
soon be available in Italian, Spanish and Dutch.
The stand alone version of Grammatik 6 for Macintosh is part of the
WordPerfect Main Street consumer product line. WordPerfect Main Street
products are designed to educate, entertain and enhance a user's computing
experience in the home with titles for personal productivity, family
entertainment and home education.
NOVELL ANNOUNCES EXPRESSFAX+ 3.0 FOR MACINTOSH
ExpressFax+ Integrates Fax, Data and Optical Character
Recognition for Home and Office
WordPerfect, the Novell Applications Group, announced the development of
ExpressFax+ 3.0 for Macintosh. As part of the WordPerfect Main Street
product line, ExpressFax+ will be one of the first Macintosh products on
the market to integrate fax, data and optical character recognition (OCR)
in one product.
ExpressFax+ tightly integrates fax, data and OCR into a single
product, distinguishing itself from other dedicated fax or data
communication software products. "Macintosh users are looking for
telecommunication software that has a uniform look and feel for both fax
and data," said Sam Yee, product marketing director, consumer products
division, WordPerfect, Novell Applications Group. "ExpressFax+ provides a
consistent interface for both fax and data communication services as well
as OCR. For the first time or novice user of fax and data communications
software, ExpressFax+ will be the perfect solution for the home or
office."
ExpressFax+ allows users to send and forward faxes to single or
multiple destinations. Fax and phone numbers for both fax and data
communications may be stored in a single integrated phone book. Up to
64,000 entries may be stored in each phone book.
OCR services are provided by TextBridge 2.0, the emerging market
leader for full-featured OCR technology, manufactured by Xerox Imaging
Systems. TextBridge allows users to accurately recognize received faxes,
and convert them into editable text.
The text can then be edited and manipulated by users within their word
processor or spreadsheet. TextBridge also includes such features as the
proprietary Lexifier(tm), which significantly increases recognition
accuracy for classes of text commonly found in business documents that are
not true words such as telephone and social security numbers, and dates.
Also included with ExpressFax+ is a free starter kit for America
Online which contains software for 10 free hours of on-line time a $44.95
value.
ExpressFax+ 3.0 will require 4 MB RAM (8 MB for OCR), 4 MB hard disk
space, a MacPlus or higher with System 6.0.5 or higher (System 7 for OCR)
and a high-density disk drive. The product will have a $109US suggested
retail price and be available during fourth quarter 1994.
ExpressFax+ is part of the WordPerfect Main Street consumer product
line, which includes products for personal productivity, family
entertainment and home education with suggested retail prices between
$29-139US. The consumer division of WordPerfect, the Novell Applications
Group will lead the greater Novell into becoming one of the top two
providers of products and services in the consumer software category, the
fastest growing segment of the software industry throughout the world.
JAPANESE VERSION OF WORDPERFECT 3.0
FOR POWER MACINTOSH SHIPS
Initial sales for the KanjiTalk-based Power Macintosh version
exceed company's projections
WordPerfect, the Novell Applications Group, announced the availability of
WordPerfect 3.0 for Power Macintosh in Japanese at an international press
conference with Apple Computer. The KanjiTalk-based version of WordPerfect
makes the world's best-selling word processor available to the growing
Japanese computer market.
Early interest in the Japanese version of WordPerfect 3.0 for Power
Macintosh spurred product pre-orders by the distributor and reseller
channels that far exceeded company expectations. "The pre-orders we have
taken for the Japanese version of WordPerfect 3.0 already total six times
our original projections," said Mark Calkins, vice president of product
and strategic marketing for WordPerfect, the Novell Applications Group.
"This increase in product sales, as well as the awards our other
international versions of WordPerfect for Power Macintosh have won, are an
encouraging sign that our commitment to be the Macintosh technology leader
is being recognized around the world."
"The Japanese market is really taking off," said David Nagel, senior
vice president and general manager, AppleSoft. "Power Macintosh sales in
Japan have been increasing, which translates into a great opportunity for
developers like WordPerfect. WordPerfect 3.0 in KanjiTalk takes advantage
of the increased computing power of the Power Macintosh to offer a great
word processing solution for Japanese computer users."
WordPerfect 3.0 has received international awards, including the
Software Excellence Award for Usability Excellence, Ziff Davis Europe; the
Software Excellence Award for Technical Excellence, Ziff Davis Europe
(Finalist); Software of the Month Award, MACupa (Germany); the Editor's
Recommendation Award, MACWELT, (Germany); and The Mice Award, SVM Mac
(France).
WordPerfect has become the Macintosh technology leader by being first
to support Apple technologies such as QuickTime and Apple Computer's
System 7 Pro, including PowerTalk, AppleEvents, AppleScript and
WorldScript. Since March of this year, WordPerfect 3.0 has been the first
and only word processor fully-accelerated for the Power Macintosh.
With Apple's WorldScript technology, WordPerfect 3.0 users can use
different languages in a single document. Through Apple's Language Kits,
many languages beyond those in which WordPerfect is localized can be used
in a WordPerfect document, including Chinese.
WordPerfect 3.0 for Macintosh and Power Macintosh provides document
compatibility with the lastest versions of WordPerfect on other platforms,
including features such as tables, equation editor and drag-and-drop text.
WordPerfect 3.0 also includes a built-in drawing package with
sophisticated drawing tools such as Bezier curves, polygons and a
free-rotation tool. Other popular features include an integrated grammar
checker, styles, columns, text boxes, macros, sort, merge, speller,
thesaurus and stationery.
WordPerfect 3.0 for Power Macintosh is currently shipping in Dutch,
Danish, US English, Australian English, UK English, Canadian English,
French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish. Exact pricing
varies by country. For more information, call WordPerfect, the Novell
Applications Group at (800) 451-5151.
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
=================
STReport International Online Magazine is available every week for your
reading pleasure on DELPHI. STReport's readers are invited to join DELPHI
and become a part of an extremely friendly community of enthusiastic
computer users there.
SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
======================
Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
DELPHI services via a local phone call
JOIN --DELPHI
--------------
Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002
then...
When connected, press RETURN once or twice
and...
At Password: type STREPORT and press RETURN.
DELPHI's 20/20 Advantage Plan
20 Hours for Only $20!
-----------------------------
Advantage Members have always enjoyed the lowest DELPHI access rates
available. On the new 20/20 Advantage Plan, members receive their first 20
hours of access each month for only $20. If you happen to meet someone
online or find some other diversion, don't worry because additional usage
is only $1.80 per hour.
20/20 Advantage rates apply for access via SprintNet or Tymnet from
within the continental United States during home time or via direct dial
around the clock. Home Time is from 6pm to 6am weekdays. Access during
business time carries a surcharge of $9 per hour. These rates apply for
most services, but note that there are some surcharged areas on DELPHI
which are clearly marked with a "$" sign.
Who is eligible to take advantage of the plan? Any DELPHI member in
good standing. Applications are reviewed and subject to approval by
Delphi Internet Services Corporation.
It's easy to join. If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can
apply online -- at any time -- for membership in the DELPHI 20/20
Advantage Plan. Your membership becomes active at 4 a.m. Eastern Time on
the first billing day of the following month.
The $20 charge will be billed to you at the beginning of the month to
which it applies. Any portion of the 20 hours not used in any month does
not carry forward into the next month.
Advantage rates may be changed with 30 days notice given online.
TRY DELPHI FOR $1 AN HOUR!
For a limited time, you can become a trial member of DELPHI, and
receive 5 hours of evening and weekend access during this month for only
$5. If you're not satisfied, simply cancel your account before the end of
the calendar month with no further obligation. If you keep your account
active, you will automatically be enrolled in DELPHI's 10/4 Basic Plan,
where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for a minimum
$10 monthly charge, with additional hours available at $3.96. But hurry,
this special trial offer will expire soon! To take advantage of this
limited offer, use your modem to dial 1-800-365-4636. Press <RET> once or
twice. When you get the Password: prompt, type IP26 and press <RET> again.
Then, just answer the questions and within a day or two, you'll officially
be a member of DELPHI!
DELPHI-It's the BEST Value and getting BETTER all the time!
************************************************************
ATARI/JAG SECTION (III)
=======================
Dana Jacobson, Editor
> From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It's hard to believe that Labor Day is only a few weeks away! It
seems like yesterday that we were all planning on what to do during the
summer; and it's almost over already! The last of the known Atari
shows is just 2 weeks away - the CT AtariFest. Hope you're planning to
attend!
With the Woodstock 25th Anniversary festival this weekend, and
Michael and Lisa Marie married now, what else could we ask for? Well,
one out of two isn't too bad! I guess these are just signs of the
times that things just aren't what they used to be. Let's hope that
these signs don't relate to all things, including Atari. Fond memories
and hopeful thinking - they have to account for something. Maybe.
Let's get to it, as vacation has made me more sluggish than usual
this week!
Until next time...
Delphi's Atari Advantage!
TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (8/10/94)
(1) AEO: SCES 94 EDITION *(6) MARCEL 2.3 AND DICTIONARIES
(2) TOAD'S SYSINFO 2.0 (7) GEMINI 1.999 - ENGLISH RSC
*(3) MAZE COMBAT V.1.095 (8) GUCK 1.8
(4) MOUNTAIN READER II (2.0) *(9) MARCEL 2.34
(5) GEMINI 1.999 DESKTOP *(10) SPEED OF LIGHT VIEWER V3.5
* = New on list
HONORARY TOP 10
The following on-line magazines are always top downloads, frequently
out-performing every other file in the databases.
STREPORT (Current issue: STREPORT 10.32)
ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE (Current issue: AEO: SCES 94 EDITION)
Look for the above files in the RECENT ARRIVALS database.
___________________________________
> Binary Sounds! STR InfoFile! - Binary Sounds Update!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Binary Sounds
ANNOUNCES
What's going on here?!
Binary Sounds has taken over the marketing, distribution and support of
the MidiTrack ST Series (Smpte/Edit/EasyTrack), GenEdit, EZ-Score and
MidiMaze of Hybrid-Arts Fame. Stefan Daystrom will continue support and
upgrading of the MidiTrack ST Sequencers. We are also reducing the prices
to make our products some of the best values available for the amateur,
semi-pro and pro musician!
Our new list prices are as follows:
(In addition we are offering some special prices thru Oct-31-1994 as an
incentive to get to know us. Demo's will be available on Genie, Delphi
and Compuserve as well as the Midiworld BBS and other fine BBS's in your
neighborhood!)
SmpteTrack Platinum 7.1 W/SMPTEmate Plus.........To be announced Soon!!
EditTrack Platinum 7.1..........List $149.95...........Special $ 99.95
EditTrack/SmpteTrack Upgrades to Platinum 7.1
(software and manuals only)
From Gold 6.xx ..................List $ 70.00
From before 6.xx.................List $ 95.00
EditTrack Gold..................List $ 89.95............Special $ 59.95
EasyTrack.......................List $ 24.95............Special $ 19.95
GenEdit 2.0.....................List $124.95............Special $ 99.95
EZ-Score Plus....................................To be Announced Soon!!
MidiMaze........................List $ 24.95............Special $ 19.95
.............2 for $ 35.00
All prices are in U.S. Dollars. Shipping and handling are additional.
For all those Platinum user who received Gold Manuals with addenda,
we now have Platinum Manuals available for $18.95 plus shipping.
Binary Sounds is operated by:
Rick Ladage and Bob Semaan in Houston, Texas, in the USA.
We can be reach by E-mail or snailmail or tele or fax!
Rick Ladage Bob Semaan
GEnie...R.Ladage GEnie...B.Semaan
DELPHI...BONDSERVANT DELPHI...BOSEM
Internet...bondservant@delphi.com Internet...bosem@delphi.com
Binary Sounds
431 Oak Dale
Houston, TX 77477 USA
713-776-9118 9am-9pm (Central Time) Mon - Sat
713-449-3129 6pm-9pm (Central Time) Tue - Thurs
Look for us in the Binary/Barefoot/Hybrid areas of GEnie, Delphi and
Compuserve. Or find us in the regular Atari areas. That's the kind of
guys we are... regular!
__________________________________________
> Speed of Light! STR InfoFile! - 'Speed of Light' Viewer Improves!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
SPEED OF LIGHT 3.5 on a.a.u.e!!
From: Stuart Denman <sdenman@wolf.cs.washington.edu>
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 02:25:06 GMT
The latest and greatest version of SOL 3.5 is out. I uploaded it to
atari.archive.umich.edu and it is in atari/Graphics. I will upload it
to some other ftp sites soon. This version adds lots of features and
fixes tons of bugs. It also lets unregistered users access filtering
and warping but with blank lines. New features include warping,
improved filtering, clean JPEG loading (lots of options, octree,
dithering, etc.), and many bugs fixed. The GIF saving bug in 3.1 was
also fixed.
I will post a complete list of changes (for those interested) in
another article. It's pretty long (this is good!)
Hope you alllike it, please let me know what you think (post, email,
whatever). I'm interesting in user feedback. This has given me a lot
of good ideas for 3.5.
-Stuart Denman
StuSoft
sdenman@cs.washington.edu
Speed of Light 3.5 CHANGES.DOC
From: Stuart Denman <sdenman@wolf.cs.washington.edu>
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 02:27:55 GMT
Changes in version 3.3 from 3.1
-------------------------------
-=> Double clicking on "Purge" in the options dialog allows you to purge
all the images except the first one.
-=> A feature "Image = Screen" fuses the screen into an actual image.
This makes any warping or filtering permanent so you can do other
alterations of the image. By making the screen an image, you can now
save the screen as a GIF by using "As Original" when you save it.
-=> The Warp feature was added. Two warping effects can be combined:
bulge (stretching) and ripple (shifting). Bulge zooms the scan line
outward or inward, causing the stretching effect. This can be applied
anywhere on the image (to the scan lines) and can be set to any size.
Ripple is merely a shifting of the scan lines a certain amount
(horizontally). Warping only effects the displayed image, not the
original image. You must use "Image = Screen" to make it permanent.
You can then rotate the image 90 degrees to apply warping on the
vertical axis, use "Image = Screen" again, and then rotate it 90 degrees
back for example.
-=> Unregistered versions now can use filtering, but every eighth line
is blank. This is the same for warping.
-=> The Display Screen Popup Menu was changed slightly to accommodate
more entries.
-=> CONTROL-F toggles filtering in the Display Screen.
-=> Rotations are FASTER!
-=> The name of the current file being processed appears at the top of
the screen during loading and color reduction.
-=> TONS OF BUGS FIXED!!!
-=> A bunch of other stuff I can't remember.
Changes in version 3.5 from 3.3
-------------------------------
-=> SOL now starts out with the Options Dialog (unless starting in GEM
mode) so that you can change the settings before loading an image if
you want. I found this to be better especially when loading JPEG images
because I usually want to set the truecolor loading preferences before
loading, but in earlier versions, I had to load a junk image first just
to get to the preferences.
-=> Truecolor conversion now can use Octree colormap quantization to
reduce to 256 colors. You can also dither the image using different
patterns including loaded patterns. Inverse colormaps are supported to
allow faster mapping both for truecolor quantization and with color
filtering. All truecolor octree and color reduction parameters are in
the preferences dialog box.
-=> Fixed Palette truecolor loading can also be used with other
dithering patterns besides just random dithering. Other fixed palettes
are supported with biases toward red, green, or blue, and combinations
of red, green, and blue.
-=> A new preference allows you to display the image immediately after
loading without going to the Options Dialog or GEM Menu.
-=> You can load multiple files using Selectric fileselector as well
as using wildcards [*/?]. Selectric also offers extensions of all
the images that SOL can load.
-=> JPEGs with bad data can be loaded with less trouble.
-=> Fixed GIF saving! No more messed up data! Stayed up all night to
fix this one! =)
-=> Speed is great! Just compare! A 800 x 600 256 color GIF...
SPEED OF LIGHT 3.5 GEMVIEW 3.00
LOADING/UNCOMPRESSING TIME: 8 sec 11 sec
GIF COMPRESSING/SAVING TIME: 14 sec 1 min 32 sec
FILE SIZE IN BYTES: 98846 100517
This GIF had 115 colors and lots of blank space, only SOL realized
that it could save it as a 128 color GIF and saved file space! How
about another...768 x 512 256 color GIF
SPEED OF LIGHT 3.5 GEMVIEW 3.00
LOADING/UNCOMPRESSING TIME: 11 sec 15 sec
GIF COMPRESSING/SAVING TIME: 20 sec 1 min 19 sec
FILE SIZE IN BYTES: 334829 334802
These are actual saving and loading times, no lie!
-=> Saving and loading display information in GIF89a images now works
correctly.
-=> A "Flat" wave was added in warping to allow discrete shifting of
the image in places. Ideal for corrupted JPEGs.
-=> Lots of bugs fixed involving the capture of the image when going
from display to dialogs and back.
-=> Zoom Area now centers your zoom on the screen when the area you
selected is not the same aspect ratio as the screen.
-=> Colormap Editor was changed a bit:
-=> The palette can now be edited in VDI order as well as Device
order.
-=> A new command "Take" works like "Select" except that you choose
a pixel from the image and the color you are currently editing will
be set to the image's original color at that spot. Confused? Me
too...try it!
-=> You can switch to a different image while in the Color Editor.
-=> The unimplemented feature "omit colors" was omitted (ha ha)
from the Color Editor. Ho Hum, so not all of my ideas are cool! =)
-=> Filtered Scaling was really worked-over:
-=> Greyscale Filtering is a little faster.
-=> Color Filtering is now almost as fast as Greyscale Filtering by
using an inverse colormap. The inverse color map resolution can be
changed for fast approximations or accurate renderings. Dithering
is also supported with color filtering using true random dithering
as well as standard matrix dithering.
-=> Complex color transformations now also work with filtering.
(A previous bug made this look funny.)
-=> The filtered image is much more accurate both in brightness and
in position. The pixels in previous version were shifted
incorrectly up and to the left.
-=> Up and down scrolling now works with filtering. This was caused
because the filtering routine always drew one less scan line than
it was supposed to!
-=> New filters were added and two groups were created: Standard
and Enhancing filters. Standard filters try to reproduce the
original image as closely as they can. Enhancing filters change
the image in weird ways, especially when enlarging the image.
-=> Asymmetrical enhancing filters can be flipped, and all filters
can be wrapped or faded at the edge of the image.
-=> Filters can be scaled in height as well as width both
horizontally and vertically. Scaling in height causes the filter
to brighten the resulting image. Scales less than 1 will darken
the image. Blurring by scaling the filter horizontally and
vertically can often cause the image to darken, so you can
compensate for this with height scaling.
-=> When using the "Change Picture [P]" option from the display screen,
you can now select the position on the image that you would like to
display next. This is done by dragging a small box (representing the
display area) to the position you would like to move to. You can also
move between small greyscale pictures with the arrow keys as well as
the slider bar.
-=> You can now access images 21-30 with ALTERNATE-Function Key, and
you can move to the next/previous image with the '[' and ']' keys.
-=> Holding down ALTERNATE in the display screen prevents scrolling
when the mouse moves into the scrolling area.
-=> Scrolling right and left now has less "annoying flickering" in 256
colors.
-=> "Image = Screen [X]" feature now supports a "Shrink" option so that
it only converts the parts of the screen that are used. It essentially
clips the image for you and omits any blank space.
-=> Two new histograms were added: DARKCONT.HST and LITECONT.HST. These
are contrast histograms that only apply contrast to either the dark or
light intensities in a color plane.
-=> A glossary was included (GLOSSARY.DOC) to explain some of the more
complicated image processing terms.
-=> Fixed some Graphics Card bugs.
-=> The E-Z Registration form can now be printed to an ASCII disk file
as well as to your printer. A blank file is also included: REGIFORM.TXT
-=> Speed of Light 3.5 may not be put on any magazine cover disks
without my prior permission!
-=> More bugs fixed than I can remember! (I really do have a pretty
good memory, don't get me wrong!)
__________________________________________
> Atari Classics! STR NewsFile - "8-bit Mag to Change Hands?"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
ATARI CLASSICS: Final Farewell August 10, 1994
It pleases me greatly to report that the issuing of refunds to all
former subscribers to the old AC is now essentially complete, and as of
this date the original publication may be considered officially
terminated.
I wish to officially announce my departure from the AC Staff, and
hereby declare my resignation therefrom in the positions I occupied,
Managing Editor and Circulation Editor.
The status of refunds at this time is as follows:
1.) A batch of 88 refund checks, representing the last of the American
refunds and all of the Canadian refunds, was posted on August 9 and
should be in the hands of their intended recipients shortly.
2.) A batch of 18 IPMOs and bank drafts, representing refunds to overseas
subscribers, was posted today. The IPMOs will take a few weeks for
postal processing before final delivery.
3.) Unicorn Publications is presently working up 17 credit card refunds
to overseas subscribers. Notices of account credits will be mailed
out shortly by Unicorn Publications from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
All together, a total of 351 refunds has been/are being issued. The
refund policy as announced in the April AC was followed very nearly as
given, except in the case of Australian refunds: one Australian refund
was denied and the remainder made by bank draft, in consequence of the
discovery that IPMOs are not available to Australia.
The entire stock of back issues of the old AC has been transferred
to the magazine's new management in California, including back issues
of the AC Software Disk. I will no longer respond to inquiries
concerning back issues or subscriptions to AC. Individuals desiring
such information about the new AC should contact:
ATARI CLASSICS Magazine
5507 Langford Court
Concord, CA 94521
ATTN: Jim Hood, Managing Editor
A number of people have asked what role I will play in the new AC.
I've made myself available to the new management in a consulting/support
capacity over the past 6 months and expect to continue in that role for
as long as they desire my services. Many people have begged me to
continue my "Alchemist" column in the new AC, but regrettably
circumstances will not permit me to make contributions of that nature
in the foreseeable future.
In consequence of unprecedented instability now sweeping the U.S.
pharmaceutical industry in the wake of political turmoil surrounding the
Clinton national health plan proposals, many scientists in that industry
are experiencing the loss of their jobs and wreckage of their careers.
I am one of them. In June the department where I worked for 13 years
was abolished, and I became unemployed. A few weeks later I received
news that my mother has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. In a few
days I'll be leaving for an extended visit to Mesa, Arizona to attend
my mother's needs. I trust the 8-bit community will forgive me for
placing these serious concerns far above any continued participation
in Atari magazines. However, I anticipate being an 8-bit user for quite
some time to come, and of course I'm a charter subscriber to the new AC.
The slow pace of refunds over the summer on the part of Unicorn
Publications initially hobbled the efforts of our California colleagues
to restart the magazine. Many loyal readers apparently held off
subscribing to the new AC until they had received their refund from the
old AC. By encouraging Unicorn to complete the refund process in a
timely manner I expect to see a corresponding boost in support for the
new AC in the weeks ahead. Feedback I've received from readers in
response to the refund program has consisted mainly of expressions of
astonishment that the policies stated in the April issue were actually
followed and people had a cash refund in hand from an Atari magazine
for the first time in the history of Atari computers. I'm very proud
of the legacy AC established in dealing "up-front" with its loyal
supporters and hope the new management will continue the tradition.
I don't have any real figures for the present level of support for
the new AC, but reasonable estimates place it at around 200 paid
subscriptions. Based on my experience I believe the revived
publication will probably top out with a subscriber base in the range
of 300-350. Unpublished manuscripts remaining in my hands were turned
over to the new management following their promise to continue the same
policies toward author compensation that I originally established.
Recently they've begun aggressively recruiting a staff, and I'm
pleased to report many of the former AC Staff will be serving the new
publisher. I'm also aware the new management has been in contact with
Unicorn Publications to secure transfer of the magazine's 2nd Class
mailing permit. They've also made local arrangements that will permit
them to print the new AC far more cheaply than Unicorn did, which means
they'll be able to survive financially with a smaller subscriber base.
All indications point to a revival of AC very soon, I would guess
September but must admit that's purely speculative.
Finally, many people have questioned why it was necessary to shut
down AC and start it up anew instead of just having the old publisher
turn over operations to the new. First, I must point out that plans to
shut down AC had already been laid in January 1994, well before
Bob Woolley became actively involved in saving the magazine and securing
a new publisher. Once the presses began to roll it was too late to
stop the process; the best I could do was extend support to the new
effort. Second, back in February no one knew what level of support a
revived AC might attain. Staff morale was extremely low due to the
sharp falloff in renewals in Dec.'93/Jan.'94, and even Bob Woolley
and Jim Hood were concerned there might not be enough support to
warrant their continuing the effort. The whole period of January-May
1994 was fraught with unknowns, anxiety, chaos, and instability--
punctuated by power blackouts and disruptions caused by the Killer
Winter of '94 (which left me with $2,000 in property damage and a huge
mess to clean up). For Unicorn to turn over AC to an unknown third
party in such a climate would have been an act of catastrophic
stupidity. Due to the uncertainty of future support, Bob Woolley
and I mutually agreed any continuation of AC would have to be an
independent effort. And finally, neither the Staff nor Publisher of AC
had the authority to transfer the magazine's operations even under
ideal conditions. Had AC been threatened by some external event (for
example, the collapse of its publisher), it would have been within the
scope of my authority to transfer the operation elsewhere. But instead,
AC was threatened by a failure of support from the very community that
brought it into existence. In conferring with Jeff McWilliams (de facto
representative of the 615 people whose response to the mail campaign of
1992 authorized him to ask me to start the magazine), we agreed that in
view of the situation the correct response was to "give AC back"
to the community that authorized its existence. The only way to do
that was to release the Staff back to the community and distribute the
magazine's financial resources back to the community. We have in
effect given AC back to the community from whence it sprang, in
consequence of the community's failure to support the original mandate.
People should bear in mind that the revival of AC in California is
totally independent of the original AC. All the support given by
elements of the old publication to the new have been at a purely personal
level, none of it official. For the past 8 months I've walked a fine
line between strict adherence to the original proposals upon which AC
was founded and my own personal desire to see the AC Experiment live on.
Through the intervention of Bob Woolley and a mutual spirit of informal
cooperation between elements of the old and new publications, I believe
I can at last claim success on both accounts. We have been through