Ultra Speed Plus / Operating System / commercial
From: Michael Current (aa700@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 06/05/92-10:01:39 PM Z
From: aa700@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Michael Current)
Subject: Ultra Speed Plus / Operating System / commercial
Date: Fri Jun 5 22:01:39 1992
Reprinted from Atari Interface, Vol. 4, May 1992
A-T-A-R-I
Answers, Tips and Relevent Information
Ultra Speed Plus
----------------
Paul Alhart (AFED)
One of the most cherished things we have is time. It
seems we never have enough of it, so whenever something
comes along that promises to helps us save time we jump at
it. Be truthful now, why else would you have bought that
super-duper dicer/slicer Veg-O-Matic that is stored over the
refrigerator? OK, but that microwave oven sure is a time
saver.
Well, in the computer world where time is measured in
microseconds, faster is definitely better. After all, a big
selling point of any computer is how it will help you get
organized and save you lots of time.
Sooner or later though, time seems to lose its
relevency. Two minutes to do a former 30 minute job seems
much too long if the same task can be done in one minute.
This is the main reason I was anxious to try out the Ultra
Speed Plus from CSS.
US+ is designed to be installed in an 800XL or 130XE
computer and gives you three different operating systems
(O/S) that are switch selectable. (More on those later.)
Installation requires some soldering, but the
instructions and diagrams are clear and easy to follow.
Installation takes about an hour from start to system
checkout. If you don't feel at ease inside your computer,
CSS offers free installation for this, as well as any of
their other products.
As mentioned above, the US+ has three switch-selectable
operating systems. Following is a description of each.
XL-FIX Plus--This O/S makes your XL think it is a
400/800. This eliminates need for Translator programs and
still allows you to use a RAMdisk on machines with extended
memory. A Binary file loader is built in, the key repeat
rate has been speeded up, and the effect of the Option key
has been reversed when booting. (Hold down the Option key
to enable BASIC.)
Standard XL/XE--This O/S is the same as what is in your
computer now.
Ultra Speed Plus--This O/S gives your computer more
speed in several ways. Disk I/O is about three times faster
than normal when used with XF551 drives or modified drives
like Happy (810/1050) or Super Archiver, US Doubler, Klone,
Duplicator or Density Doubler (all 1050 mods). The key
repeat rate has been increased for faster editing. The
Fastchip math routines have also been included for faster
and more accurate floating point math which increases
program execution speed.
Although the speed is what sold me, US+ has many more
great virtues. Any one of them could be a good enough
reason to purchase US+. Some of them are:
A built-in RAMdisk handler allows a RAMdisk to be used
with any DOS
Several functions such as key click, background color,
screen DMA, I/O sound and more can be toggled via
the keyboard
Drive numbers can be reassigned using a drive
configuration menu, so you can boot from any
floppy, or even from your RAMdisk
Cold Boot without losing RAMdisk contents, even if the
system is locked up
A sector copier is included that uses no program memory
The OPTION key is reversed during boot. (Hold down
OPTION to enable BASIC)
So what do I think of US+? I couldn't live without it.
I get this warm feeling whenever I hear my programs loading
in at Hyper-Speed. My wife thought the faster I/O sound was
the phone ringing. Although it's still not as fast as hard
disk, it sure is a lot more affordable.
I have used the drive configuration menu to make my
RAMdisk Drive #1. That way, I can run programs out of
RAMdisk that only support one or two drives. You may not
associate this with speed, but it is a real time saver. I
copied AtariWriter's dictionary to RAMdisk, made the RAMdisk
Drive #2, and watched it _fly_ through documents as it
checked my spelling.
another time saving use is with disk/sector editors. I
can search or scan a whole disk in seconds if it is first
copied to RAMdisk. Making the RAMdisk Drive #1 allows me to
cold boot from the RAMdisk to verify my changes. I then can
set any other drive to be Drive #1. reboot any DOS with my
RAMdisk still intact, and copy the RAMdisk back to floppy.
All this copying may sound time consuming, but it isn't with
US+ fast I/O.
I have found no compatibility problems with any XL/XE
software using US+. However, the original XL/XE operating
system is always just a switch click away just in case.
CSS claims that, with US+, powering down to recover
from a lock up is a thing of the past. So far, I have
proved tham right. No matter how bad I freeze up my system,
pressing HELP/RESET always initiates a cold boot without
erasing my RAMdisk or clearing any extended program memory.
Is there anything I would change? Sure, but only out
of personal preference. both the XL-FIX and US+ operating
systems reverse the effect of the OPTION key at boot up,
while the standard XL/XE O/S does not. To avoid confusion,
I would make them all the same. Since I will probably spend
99 percent of my time using only the US+ O/S with all its
neat features and speed anyway, forget I mentioned it.
Try it, you'll like it.
Ultra Speed Plus $69.95
Computer Software Systems
PO Box 17660
Rochester, NY 14617
(716) 429-5639
--
Michael Current, Cleveland Free-Net 8-bit Atari SIGOp -->> go atari8 <<--
The Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG is the Central Atari Information Network
Internet: currentm@carleton.edu / UUCP: ...!umn-cs!ccnfld!currentm
BITNET: currentm%carleton.edu@{interbit} / Cleveland Free-Net: aa700
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