ST Report: 29-Jun-90 #626

From: Len Stys (aa399@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 07/21/90-11:42:55 AM Z


From: aa399@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Len Stys)
Subject: ST Report: 29-Jun-90  #626
Date: Sat Jul 21 11:42:55 1990



                  *---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
                         """""""""""""""""""""""""
                  "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
                   _____________________________________
                                   from
                            STR Publishing Inc.
                            """"""""""""""""""


  June 29, 1990                                                   No.6.26
  =======================================================================

                         STReport Online Magazine?
                          Post Office Box   6672
                          Jacksonville,  Florida
                               32205 ~ 6672
  
                               R.F. Mariano
                            Publisher - Editor
                 _________________________________________
                   Voice: 904-783-3319  10 AM - 4 PM EDT
                  BBS:  904-786-4176   12-24-96 HST/14.4
                    FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EDT
                 _________________________________________
  
                  **  F-NET NODE 350 ** 500mb Online  **
                    STR'S owned & operated support BBS 
              carries ALL issues of STReport Online Magazine
                                    and
               An International list of private BBS systems
        carrying STReport Online Magazine for their users enjoyment
    __________________________________________________________________

 > 06/29/90: STReport? #6.26  The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
   -------------------------
     - CPU REPORT             - CPU STATUS REPORT      - MIST SWAPFEST
     - NIGHTMARE II           - WAACE Updates          - ATARI APOCALYPSE
     - DTP Corner             - QWIKDRAW TROJAN        - STR CONFIDENTIAL
     * STe - 1990's BOOM OR BUST? * SPECIAL TURBO ST 1.82 UG OFFER! *
           * DEALERS MUST BUY STe BROCHURES? * STe RAMRODDED?? *
                  * SEARS TO CARRY NEWEST IBM PC, PS/1 * 

 ==========================================================================
                         ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE?
                  "Only UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
                              -* FEATURING *-
        Current Events, Up to Date News, Hot Tips, and Information
             Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
 ==========================================================================
 STReport's support  BBS, NODE  # 350 invites systems using Forem ST BBS to
 participate in  Forem BBS's  F-Net mail  network.   Or, Please  call # 350
 direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging ideas about
 the Atari ST computers through an excellent International ST Mail Network.
 ==========================================================================
       AVAILABLE ON:      COMP-U-SERVE  ~  DELPHI  ~  GENIE  ~  BIX
 ==========================================================================

 > The Editor's Podium?

     Hey STReport!  Why are you so negative?  Is it a  personal thing?   If
 you can't  say something  nice, don't  say anything  at all.   This is the
 rhetoric being posted by a small segment of folks in the Chicago area.  Or
 so STR  thought, as it turns out it is a _very small segment_ of folks who
 it seems, are all close friends  of STR's  distant competition.   In fact,
 one of the critics is the founder of the original zmag.  Have fun guys.
  
     STReport welcomes  the honest  to goodness input of the users and will
 respond to any comments that make good sense and show promise to  help the
 overall picture  in the  US Atari  userbase.  For anyone to recommend that
 we talk only about the 'good  things'  from  Atari  or  only  the positive
 occurrences in  the userbase,  is ludicrous.   Or,  for STR to say nothing
 when a particular product or products is very vexatious and  allow many of
 the lesser  informed users  to plunk down hard earned cash for a less than
 desirable product is a  prime example  of yellow  journalism and certainly
 borders on  insane irresponsibility.   Not to mention that, in many cases,
 Atari could very well be  unaware  or  'mis-informed'  about  a particular
 situation.   As an  example, in  a recent conversation with a good soul at
 Atari, she told us that most of the 'close to  Sam' execs  are intimidated
 and usually  only willing  to tell  Sam and his brothers what they want to
 hear or less.  In any case, STReport will not yield to the thoughtless and
 equally baseless  screeching by  the few who are caught up in the dead end
 throes of the Lemming Syndrome.

     Unlike other companies who  live the  roles they  play, Atari  and its
 sales and  marketing group  is like an unhappy marriage.  "All show and no
 go."  When it is convenient, sales and marketing at Atari is regarded as a
 viable entity.   As soon as it appears that there may be 'costs' of either
 dollars or priorities dedicated to this  group, Atari,  develops a serious
 case  of  the  dumbs  or  cheaps.    While there is no simple solution, it
 certainly is apparent that the  methods  employed  by  Katzenjammer (Garry
 hates that  moniker) have  failed and  failed miserably.  Other members of
 the press are still playing the kissy, kissy game.   Hopefully,  they too,
 will soon realize that they will not have a market in which to play if the
 course of action being taken by Atari's present  leadership is  allowed to
 prevail.
  
     There is  hope and  good news  right around the corner, the new regime
 has a great deal going for it .... Surely most folks realize  things can't
 get much  worse in the Atari arena.  Therefore any improvement is going to
 be to the positive.  STReport pledges to support the  NEW regime  at Atari
 North  America  in  its  endeavors  to  revive  our  favorite company's US
 computer market place.   To that  end, we  wish all  the luck  and success
 possible to the new leaders.

                                          Ralph..........









    *******************************************************************




 > CPU REPORT?
   ==========

   Issue # 73
   ----------



 by Michael Arthur


 Remember When....

 In  November  1971,  Nolan  Bushnell  started  Atari by shipping Pong, the
 first commercial video game,  or in  December 1978,  when Atari introduced
 the Atari 400 and 800 computer systems?



 CPU INSIGHTS?
 ============


           LASER BREAKTHROUGHS, BLUE LIGHT, AND A NEW OPTICAL AGE
           ======================================================

     Bellcore (a division of AT&T's Bell Laboratories) has demonstrated the
 first working prototype of a "quantum wire" laser.   Sized  at near-atomic
 dimensions, this technology involves directing electricity through a laser
 wire core measuring 30 atoms high by 300  atoms wide.   This  process then
 generates coherent  (or single-wavelength)  light, which is directed along
 the wire.  This "quantum wire device" uses principles of quantum mechanics
 (a theory  in physics  which deals  with phenomena at the atomic level) to
 generate coherent  light (or  laser light)  with extremely  low amounts of
 electricity.

     Bellcore's  quantum  wire  device  is  1/4 of a millimeter long, and a
 thousandth the thickness of a human  hair  (or  20  times  smaller  than a
 compact  disk  laser).    Also,  it is the most efficient laser technology
 currently developed, and could provide great benefits in the future.   For
 example, today's compact disk lasers operate at 1/10 of an amp of current.
 Quantum wire lasers can operate at one millionth  of an  amp, meaning that
 they use up to 100,000 times less energy....

     This  potential  also  holds  great  promise for optical computing (or
 photonic) devices like the one shown by AT&T  a few  months back.   In the
 future, computers  may use  this laser technology in data transfers and in
 performing calculations.  The resulting microchips would be both extremely
 compact,  and  use  much  less  electricity  than present computers.  This
 technology (if used in computers)  may  even  eliminate  the  need  to use
 gallium  arsenide,  or  even  "high-temperature"  superconductors,  in the
 future to make faster supercomputers....

     Around the same time  frame that  Bellcore made  its announcement, IBM
 scientists showed  an inexpensive laser which can efficiently produce blue
 laser light.   IBM's  new laser  diode is  five times  more efficient than
 other devices at converting electricity into blue laser light, which could
 be made commercially available  within a  few years.   In  IBM's device, a
 diode laser  converts electricity  into infrared  laser light that is sent
 through a small (1/4 inch long) potassium niobate  crystal.   This crystal
 halves  the  laser  light's  wavelength  (doubling its frequency), thereby
 producing blue laser light.

     This device is usable for a wide range  of applications.   One example
 is in  CD-ROM or  other optical disks, which store information as a series
 of embedded grooves created by a  laser.    While  current  infrared diode
 lasers create grooves which are around 0.8 microns in diameter, blue laser
 light can be focused on a much smaller  area (about  0.4 microns), because
 it has a shorter wavelength.

     In the  future, this  could allow a CD-ROM to hold four times the data
 (or about 2.6 Gigabytes of storage space) than currently possible.   Also,
 this  technology  could  be  quickly  converted for use in color displays,
 optical computing (in the near future), or in the field of medicine....




 CPU MacNews?
 ===========


       "TROJAN HORSE" INIT APPEARS DISGUISED AS QUICKDRAW ACCELERATOR
        =============================================================


     Recently, a person uploaded an INIT program called  Steroid to several
 BBSes in  California.   Steroid was  supposed to  be a  program similar to
 Turbo ST or Quick ST, being able to  speed up  QuickDraw routines  on Macs
 with 9-inch  screens.   However, when  the Sysop  of the Mousehole BBS (in
 Sunnyvale, CA) gave this  program  to  Apple  Computer's  Desktop Services
 group, they  disassembled it and found that it was actually a Trojan Horse
 program.

     Once placed in the System Folder,  Steroid was  designed to  check for
 any  date  greater  than  July  1,  1990.   It would then erase/format all
 mounted hard drives having files with a date on or after July 1.   While a
 warning  alert  has  went  out  over AppleLink (Apple's online network for
 dealers and developers), many other BBSes may not  know of  the dangers of
 the Steroid INIT.


          APPLE, & "THE ART OF HUMAN/COMPUTER INTERFACE DESIGN"
          ====================================================

     Addison-Wesley has  recently announced the availability of "The Art of
 Human/Computer Interface Design", a  book  by  Brenda  Laurel  which deals
 with current  view points on how people and computers interact, and how to
 maximize that interaction  in  a  range  of  applications.    According to
 Addison-Wesley, this  book was "conceived of and technically supported by"
 members of Apple's Human Interface Book, and features  articles on several
 related fields  (such as animation, multimedia, and speech recognition) by
 more than 50 experts on the field, including Ted Nelson, Alan Kay, Timothy
 Leary, and  Nicholas Negroponte, head of MIT's Media Laboratory, which has
 been a major innovator in human/computer interfaces.  Cost: $30.00....




 > CPU STATUS REPORT?
   =================



 - Minneapolis, MA        US, JAPAN REACH NEW SUPERCOMPUTER TRADE AGREEMENT
   ---------------

     The US and Japan have recently reached a new Supercomputer Procurement
 Agreement,  which  could  help  supercomputer  makers  (like  IBM and Cray
 Research) better compete in the  Japanese  market.    This  agreement says
 that  the  Japanese  public  sector  must base their supercomputer buys on
 value and performance  under  "real-workloads",  not  just  on  the lowest
 price,  or  artificial  computer  benchmarks.    This  is  to  ensure that
 supercomputer  vendors  can't   make   bids   with   supercomputers  under
 development.   This agreement  is an effort to remove obstacles which have
 kept  foreign  supercomputer  vendors   from  competing   effectively  for
 contracts with Japanese public universities and the government.

     However, a  similar 1987 Agreement, which promised the same thing, had
 many loopholes which Japanese supercomputer  companies  have  used,  so it
 will be  a long-term  process.   Cray Research has been very successful in
 the private sector, as 15 major  Japanese  corporations  (and  all  of the
 major Japanese  car makers)  buying Cray  supercomputers.   Also, it seems
 that many Japanese universities also want Crays....



 - Schaumberg, IL       68030 CONTROVERSY ENDS WITH OUT-OF-COURT SETTLEMENT
   --------------

     Motorola and Hitachi have announced that they have established a basic
 agreement,  which  will  settle  their patent infringement disputes out of
 court.  Neither company disclosed the details of  the agreement,  but both
 will ask  a federal  judge to stay the court-ordered bans on US production
 and sales of Motorola's  68030  chip,  pending  the  result  of Motorola's
 Appeal of the 68030 lawsuit....

     According to  Motorola, this  agreement will "serve as a framework for
 reaching an end to the two companies' intellectual property and technology
 disputes", which  were the  cause of the recent string of lawsuits between
 Motorola and Hitachi....



 - Armonk, NY                        IBM RE-ENTERS PERSONAL COMPUTER MARKET
   ----------

     IBM is  making a  new bid  for the  personal computer  market with its
 introduction of  the IBM PS/1 system.  The PS/1 has a 10 MHZ 80286 chip, a
 2400 baud modem, and a 1.44 Meg 3 1/2 inch  disk drive  as standard.   The
 PS/1 also  has RS-232  and disk drive ports, and can be expanded to 7 Megs
 of RAM.  It doesn't come with  expansion  slots,  but  IBM  is  selling an
 expansion slot box for the PS/1.  There will be four models of the PS/1:

      - IBM PS/1 with 512K of RAM, a keyboard, 2-button mouse, and a
        monochrome VGA display.  Cost:  $1000.00.

      - Above PS/1 configuration with a color VGA Monitor.  Cost: $1450.00

      - PS/1 with 1 Meg of RAM, a 30 Meg Hard Drive, and a monochrome VGA
        Monitor.  Cost: $1700.00.  Interestingly, this system is capable of
        comfortably running Microsoft Windows 3.0.

      - PS/1 with 1 Meg of RAM, 30 Meg Hard Drive, and a color VGA Monitor.
        Cost:  $2000.00


     IBM is  bundling this  system with  built-in software  (in ROM chips).
 When a person turns  on the  PS/1, a  "four-quadrant" screen  pops up with
 four selectable boxes:

 1) Information (a help screen)               2) Microsoft Works
 3) Your Software (for running DOS programs)  4) MS-DOS (file management)

 IBM is  targeting the PS/1 as a home appliance, selling it  through Sears'
 Brand  Central  Stores,   Dillard's   Department   Stores,   and  Dayton's
 Department Stores.   According to IBM, over 70 million US households don't
 own a personal computer.   Meaning  that IBM  is aiming  for a potentially
 large market, just as its mainframe and large business sales are beginning
 to slow.  Also, Sears itself (which has 840 Brand Central Stores) plans to
 strongly support the PS/1....

     Ironically,  IBM's  introduction  comes  at  a time when consumers are
 starting to spend  less  on  "big-ticket"  items.    Also,  many financial
 analysts  say  that  "home  appliances"  like the VCR and "camcorder" have
 become popular only AFTER their price came down to the $600 -  $800 dollar
 price range.   However,  with little  competition in the mass market arena
 (unless the Atari Advantage  comes  out  soon),  the  PS/1  could  be VERY
 successful....



 - Rochester, NY                    KODAK SELLS VERBATIM INC. TO MITSUBISHI
   -------------

     Eastman Kodak  has recently  announced that  it has finalized the sale
 of Verbatim,  its disk  manufacturing subsidiary,  to Mitsubishi.   In the
 aftermath of  this sale,  Kodak has  announced several indications that it
 plans to focus on  other arenas  in the  computer industry,  especially in
 what  it  calls  "electronic  color  imaging".    Kodak  will be licensing
 Postscript Level 2 from  Adobe.   It is  also developing  related hardware
 technologies for use in both future printers  and copiers.

     Kodak and  IBM have  also started  an effort  to develop an integrated
 computer publishing system which will handle  all of  a publisher's needs,
 from  editing  and  "pre-press"  operations  to  circulation  and  billing
 reports.  IBM may be the eventual producer of this  system, as  Kodak only
 plans to  provide its  Atex desktop  publishing system (along with related
 programming  expertise),  while  IBM   will  be   contributing  marketing,
 financial,  and  development  resources,  as  well as playing a management
 role.


 (Editor's Note: Since there is a market for such an integrated DTP system,
 and  since  Atari  has  targeted  the  STe and TT towards this market, why
 doesn't Atari introduce a similar integrated  DTP system  with the  ST and
 powerful ST Business applications like Superbase Pro or Regent Base SQL?)






     ________________________________________________________________





 > STe - DMA STR Spotlight?    1.60 VS 1.62???   DMA PROBLEMS??    NO SOUND?
   =======================



                                        THE STE.. RAMRODDED?
                                        ===================


 Below, we  present a  few of  the typical  messages we have noticed in the
 telecommunicating world concerning the STe.  While STReport does have a US
 version of  the machine on order, we find that the problems arising in the
 US marketplace pose some very interesting questions.   Our competitors may
 say we are negative, we feel the truth shall always prevail.  STReport may
 have to take some heat  initially,  but  as  usual  the  readers/users are
 finding  we  have  been  truthful  with  them  and have not lead them down
 "Primrose Lane" with double talk and innuendo.
  
 The STe US release version is having a number of  initial release problems
 that were not seen with the Canadian machines. 

                     (FCC TYPE ACCEPTANCE CHANGES?)  

                    o... TOS 1.60 not 1.62 as promised.
                    o... DMA weak signal problems.
                    o... Weak power supply output in 4mb units.
                    o... Weak or no sound from older ST prgs

      To name just few of the more prominent undocumented features...

  The messages below reflect the level of frustration being experienced.


 Conf : ST Report
 Msg# : 8906  Lines: Extended  Read: 1
 Sent : Jun 24, 1990  at 11:57 AM
 To   : DANNY RICKEY
 From : DAVID POON at Crash ST BBS  node 448
 Subj : Re: <8863> STE Memory

     If you  want an  STe, get  it as  long as  you don't have the old hard
 drives like SH204, SH205, All OLD SUPRA DRIVES  that require disconnection
 of the  DMA cable,  and the well famed ICD HOST Adaptors (don't know about
 Advantage series though) they will not work reliably  on the  STe.   I for
 one have  an STe  and a  current ICD driver, V4.8.1  (got it recently from
 ICD (they told me this driver will solve the problem) BUT IT  DIDN'T SOLVE
 a thing.  It still crashes and gives me write errors!!! ..and so forth.   

     THIS ONLY  Happens when you use the STe and reformat the HD.  It won't
 happen when you already formatted the HD with an ST or Mega.  But  it will
 happen  when  you  try  to  write  and  copy  something  from partition to
 partition.  Anyone here got a clue?  Is that new DMA chip the culprit?



 Category 14,  Topic 40
 Message 159       Thu Jun 28, 1990
 C.EISENSCHMI [Ike @ T.S.I.]  at 08:01 PDT
  
 Anyone have problems _after_ upgrading to 4 meg getting the HD to respond.
 The fine  people at Computer Rock can't get their STe to recognize the DMA
 after their upgrade?  Thanks for the info on Cyberpaint.

                                                            Ike

   
 Editor Note:

     Technically speaking, my understanding  of the  problem indicates that
 perhaps, the  fault lies  with the  "subtle internal  changes" made to the
 STe.  By enabling its passing the FCC  requirements, it  has perhaps, left
 the STe  with a  very weak  signal (strength)  at the  DMA port.  Canadian
 machines are not evidencing the DMA problem.  Try shorter  DMA cables, try
 determining what  is actually  the difference between the Canadian release
 STe and the FCC Type Accepted USA STe.  You may very well find the culprit
 there.   Or, as is happening in some cases, the power supply cannot handle
 the full 4mb version (US machines only)   The sound  problem is  a problem
 in TOS 1.6 and has been there for a while, in fact, long enough to allow a
 sound patch to be written. (which bombs on an ST) and a nifty "promise" of
 a NEW  control panel  which will  allow STE and TT users to set the master
 volume, balance, bass, and treble.  

     Of course, the BIG QUESTIONS REMAIN:

     A    WHY didn't Quality Control pick these  problems up  BEFORE the US
          Release?  WHY WAS THE STE RAMRODDED THROUGH??  

     B    Did Sam think the BUGGY TOS 1.6 and USA units would GO UNNOTICED?

     C    Could this possibly be a  subtle  torpedo  fired  by  the present
          leaders to "help" the new "North American" regime to succeed??
  
                                                    




        __________________________________________________________





 > STE - 1990's BOOM or BUST STR Spotlight?          What's up Doc???
   =======================================




                 THE STE, DOES IT WORK OR DOESN'T IT?
                 ===================================


 by Robert A. Dolson


     To begin  this little  adventure, I took delivery on my brand spanking
 new STe last Thursday (06/21/90).  I carefully  unpacked it  and hooked it
 up to  my color  monitor so  that I  could sample  the new sound chip (pun
 unintended). I had already attached my Bose Video Roommates to  the stereo
 outputs so  when I ran the STESOUND program and loaded the Korg data file,
 I got quite a WALLOP of sound!  Incredible! I thought to myself.

     Now to see if it would work with my (42 meg.) SH-204 hard drive.  So I
 switched  my  ancient  1  mb  520  off  and  traded  places  for  the STe.
 Immediately on the first boot, I let it  go and  didn't change  any of the
 auto or  acc. programs  running.   Things seemed  to be  fine.  Pagestream
 worked, Tempus worked, Flash worked...... I then rebooted and changed some
 auto and  acc programs  using C.F.J.'s  excellent DESK MANAGER program.  I
 immediately started seeing <WRITE FAIL XXXX>  on my  screen!   I might add
 that I  am using the older 2.2 ICD handler (the latest one that works with
 non-ICD host adapters. I use that due to it's write verify function (which
  lets me  know if  something is  going wrong  with the hard drive). So, we
 switched off the STe and rechecked  my DMA  connections.   Booted back up,
 changed a few more things, same result <write fails> all over the place!

     I guess  the rumors  I had been hearing concerning the STe not working
 properly with the SH series of Atari hard  drives was  true!   I have been
 meaning to  get an  'ICD host  adapter' hard drive for a while now, so now
 might be the time?? I posted  a few  messages here  and there  in order to
 find out  more about the STe and any possible problems.  I also decided to
 try the STe out on a friend's hard  drive with  ICD host  adapter, 49 meg.
 ST157N,  and  44  meg.    Syquest  removable (since he had the fixed drive
 backed up on the removable, it would be pretty hard to do any irreversible
 damage to  it!)  So I carted the STe over to his house and we fired it up.
 I might add that by this time I had upgraded the RAM on the STe to 4 mb.

     We booted his hard drive and everything seemed to be fine.   The first
 thing that  we were  curious about was if the Supercharger would work with
 the STe.  So we booted that up  from his  hard drive  (he has  a small DOS
 partition on one of the removables so he can boot DOS from it).  It seemed
 to run but locked up the  mouse  cursor  in  the  DOS  shell  shortly upon
 entry.   I also  wanted to  ascertain that  the Migraph hand scanner would
 work with the STe.  I  had a  few pictures  to scan  so what  the heck. We
 scanned  a  few  pics  and  saved  the  images to his hard drive.  Then we
 decided to print one from Touchup  itself.   We noticed  that the  pic had
 some weird  looking streaks in it so decided to load it back into Touchup.
 Sure enough,  the same  streaks were  in the  picture as  loaded back into
 Touchup!   We did  a few more saves and got the same result everytime.  We
 then rebooted (without switching off the STe completely).

     We changed to a different preset  on  Desk  Manager  and  shortly were
 greeted by 4 bombs at one point during running the AUTO programs, etc.  We
 rebooted again and didn't change anything  but still  got the  bombs (in a
 couple of  places this  time).  We then decided to put his ST back online.
 We got the same bombs from  the auto  programs as  we had  gotten with the
 STe. We  also noticed  that the directory structure was getting screwed up
 on C: partition.  So we zeroed the partition and put it all back  from the
 removable backup (a handy thing to have!).

     Later on  that afternoon,  we tried  it all  again both  with 4 mb and
 only 1  mb and  it seems  that as  long as  we don't  run the Supercharger
 first, everything  is fair (we got an occasional write fail).  I might add
 that I discovered that my friend had the write verify and status reporting
 turned off  in the  ICD handler  prior to screwing up the C: partition the
 first time.  IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAVE THESE TWO  ITEMS TURNED ON
 since it  will help  save you  much grief!!   We  do get a write once in a
 while, but I suspect that the  Supercharger  might  have  something  to do
 with that.   We  did try disconnecting the Supercharger, but only unhooked
 the DMA cable from it and left it plugged into the ICD host adapter.

     So, at this  point,  the  results  are  still  relatively inconclusive
 however, those  who buy an STe would do well to proceed with caution until
 they are sure that things are  working properly!   Also,  be sure  to have
 write verify  and status  reporting turned on if you are using an ICD host
 adapter!   I am  hopeful that  if the  problem turns  out to  be real, and
 endemic to the STe, Atari will be able to do something about fixing it.






      _______________________________________________________________




 > MIST SWAPFEST STR SHOW NEWS?           ATARI SWAPFEST  08/25/90
   ===========================



                         MIST Plans Atari SwapFest II

                        Nashville, IN  August 25,1990

           For  a  second year,  an Atari SwapFest  is  planned  at 
      Nashville Indiana on Saturday,  August 25,  sponsored jointly 
      by  the user groups at Indianapolis and Bloomington known  as 
      MIST  (Mid-Indiana ST).   The SwapFest will be a  meeting  of 
      minds  and computers,  in the beautiful Indiana  countryside. 
      Only minutes from many lovely gift shops,  two state forests, 
      and the Hoosier National forest.

           MIST  Atari SwapFest II will open at noon August  25  at 
      the Brown County Inn motel in Nashville at the corner of Ind. 
      135   and  46.    Nashville  is  about  40  miles  south   of 
      Indianapolis, and 15 miles east of Bloomington.

           For swap,  for sale or just for display...  whether it's 
      8-bit or ST... even game machines... all are invited to bring 
      software,  hardware,  gadgets, accessories, books, magazines, 
      etc.   Commercial  sales and displays also are  invited,  see 
      below for more info.

           There will be door prizes from local vendors,  and Atari 
      Corp.   There  may  be a small fee for  door  prize  tickets. 
      There  will  also be a mini Midi-Maze  tournament,  with  the 
      possibility of prizes for the winners.

           Tables  will  be available for set-up at  11  a.m.  with 
      commercial vendors given first choice at that time.   Closing 
      time  is 4 p.m.   Table space will be free to  non-commercial 
      attendees,  on a first come, first serve basis.  Registration 
      for vendors will be a whopping $10.00.   Tables are  standard 
      motel  dining  room type (capable of seating  three  on  each 
      side),  and covers will be provided by the motel.  Our rental 
      arrangement with the motel, however, is a low-budget deal and 
      you  should supply your own sign-holders and other  fixtures. 
      The  motel  will supply electrical power,  but it is  from  a 
      limited  number  of wall outlets so exhibitors will  need  to 
      take along their own extension cords and plug strips.

      For more information, leave mail on GEnie to WLORING1, or:

           Call the BL.A.ST BBS at 812-332-0573  2400bps, 24 hours.
           Write us at BL.A.ST, PO Box 1111, Bloomington, IN. 47401
           Call me by voice at 812-336-8103 after 6:00pm (cst)

      Brought to you by MIST (Mid-Indiana ST),  the merging of  the 
      ASCII  (Atari  St  Computers  In  Indianapolis)  and  BL.A.ST 
                      (BLoomington Atari ST) user groups.

      Thanks for your interest, and we'll see you at the 'Fest!!

                                                William Loring






        __________________________________________________________




 > WAACE UPDATES STR SHOW NEWS?     The Hotel, Vendors and Banquet etc.
   ===========================


     Two additional  vendors have  signed on  with the  Fest since the last
 Update file was uploaded,  Best Electronics  and L  & Y  Computers. We now
 have a total of 16 Vendors and 26 of 60 booths sold.

     Banquet  ticket   orders  are   being  taken.  Call  Johnna  Ogden  at
 703-450-3992 or send check  made  out  to  WAACE  to  Johnna  ogden, WAACE
 Banquet  Coordinator,  213  North  Lincoln Ave, Sterling Va 22170. Specify
 Chicken Europa or Si Sirloin Merlot.  Cost is  $23.50 per  person. Banquet
 speaker will be from  CodeHead software, probably Charles F. Johnson...

     Remember the  discount period for booths ends soon.  Get your requests
 to John Barnes (J.D.BARNES) quickly. 

 New Seminars include:
 Jim Pierson-Perry         Start                 music/MIDI, 
 Lauren Flanegan-Sellars   Gold Leaf             WordFlair 
 Darek Michocka            Branch Always SW      SW acceleration 
 Ken Whitesell             NovAtari              Programming on the ST

 That is all of the latest breaking news for now.......

                                        See you at the Fest, 
                                        Russ Brown WAACE Chairman

  
                       ALL WAACE VENDORS, TAKE NOTE!

     Those of you who wish to take advantage  of our  generous early signup
 discount should  remember that the deadline for these discounts is 1 July.
 As of that date all priorities for space assignment will  be based  on the
 date on which we receive your checks.

                          HOTEL RESERVATIONS

     It is  important that  those of  you who plan to attend the WAACE show
 make your hotel reservations  before 5  August.   Reservations made before
 this date  will be  credited to our room tally for purposes of determining
 how much we have to pay  for  the  exhibit  space.    The  differences are
 substantial.   The more rooms reserved, the more we can do for vendors and
 attendees out of the funds that we take in.  Please give us a hand in this
 important area  if you  can.  Call the Sheraton Reston at 703-620-9000 and
 ask for the AtariFest '90 rate.  See some of the earlier  messages in this
 thread for more information.




       _____________________________________________________________





 > ATARI APOCALYPSE STR PROBE?         THEY DID WHAT? ....TO WHOM??

  ==========================






 NOTICE:   This is  the FOURTH  in a series of eight (8) articles which are
          designed to stimulate thought and bring to the light of  day, the
          underlying causes behind the very apparent decline of Atari

          Computers worldwide.   We  will be taking a very thorough look at
          every aspect of Atari's management, procedures  and policies that
          continually  seem   to  send  the  same  message  to  the  users,
          developers, contractors,  dealers,  distributors  and prospective
          users, "HOORAY FOR US AND THE HELL WITH YOU!"





                   THE CLOUDY OR "CRACKED" CRYSTAL BALL
                   ====================================




 by Ralph F. Mariano

     Amazingly, there  are still  those who feel that these articles are an
 indication  of  a  personal  'thing'  with   Atari.     How  extravagantly
 preposterous.   Personal has  nothing whatsoever  to do with the way Atari
 does business.  The two simply do not mix.  The entire  undertaking in the
 'Apocalypse' series  is to  point out  the shortcomings  at Atari and hope
 that the new "Atari French Connection" will surgically  remove the problem
 causing elements within Atari.
  
     Dear hearts  be advised,  STReport's staff and contributors are indeed
 Atari DIEHARDS.  If it were any  other  way,  there  would  be  "33mhz 386
 w/SVGA  and  a  Mighty  MAC"  computers  instead  of Megas and Sts in use.
 However, such is NOT the case,  in fact,  contrary to  what certain pablum
 feeders would  have you  believe, we are all quite proud of the ST systems
 we have installed, from the Moniterms right on  down to  the simple setups
 in the shop.  

     To  get  back  on  track  here,  90%  percent of our information comes
 directly from within the walls of  Atari Corp.   It  has for  the last two
 years.   Plainly Put,  it began  approximately six  months prior to Shiraz
 Shivji's mysterious departure.  And now, we have had a rather large number
 of  individuals  at  Atari  who  continually  provide  seriously  accurate
 information.  

     Why?  You ask??  That's the reason for this article.   This past week,
 while debating  to go on with the 'Apocalypse' series or not, myself and a
 few colleagues were discussing the merits  of this  undertaking.  Suddenly
 the lights  went on for all of us.  At almost the same time.  These folks,
 a mix of high level execs and  everyday  workers  all  have  one  thing in
 common.   They take pride in their work.  The quality of their work is, by
 far, their measure of true satisfaction.   They  want to  be proud  of the
 products they  produce and  provide to  us, the users.  They are among the
 very best the industry has to offer and yet their single loudest complaint
 is that the Katzenjammer is forever pulling them up short.

     Folks, think  about this for a second or two, it takes a great deal of
 dissatisfaction to bring a  high  level  exec  to  the  point  of  using a
 publication  (any  publication)  as  a  vehicle to voice or expose serious
 problems within an organization.   Now,  consider  this,  these  folks who
 provide this  information are not receiving any enumeration at all for the
 information.  Therefore, there must be a very strong motivation  to do so.
 We submit  that the  reason is  a concerted effort in trying to save Atari
 from itself.  By itself we mean its present leadership,  the Tramiel sons.
 Below, we present a number of rather pointed and hard hitting quotes found
 zipping through the entire Atari arena.  Of course, as always no  names or
 they will,  most assuredly, loose their jobs.  Or, be subject to the usual
 retaliatory activities STReport has become so very accustomed  to.  Better
 yet,  check  out  the  chronicles  of the "Revolving Door, Atari's Hall of
 Fallen Champions".

     Without a doubt, the  Atari  userbase  should  be  seeing  a positive,
 radical departure  from the  way Atari  has been doing business in the USA
 very soon now, and now, according to our information, without  the adverse
 influence of the Katzenjammer.

 SIGNS OF THE TIMES!!
 """"""""""""""""""""

     "Look  at  it  this  way,  when  one begins looking into the Mac or PC
 worlds, its certainly convinces you  about  how  unbelievably  _lousy_ the
 support for  the ST  has been  all along.  Please, check out any technical
 bookstore, there's usually four or more bookshelves FULL  of Macintosh and
 PC MS-DOS reference guides along with volumes of instructional manuals for
 hundreds of IBM programs, tutorials, development aids, etc., you name it."

     "The MS-DOS world is truly  virgin  territory  when  it  comes  to the
 hobbyist.    All  these  years  everything  was  written  for the business
 attitude of; "we  have  no  time  to  retrain  people  therefore  keep the
 software as  it was."   Folks, this means that things like deskmanager and
 other great custom booters will be welcomed by many strong  dollars in the
 IBM hobbyist  arena.   Also, the $1000.00 PC is right around the corner as
 is the low cost MAC.  The Tramiels had better wake up and damn fast."
  
  "...84 dealers in the entire US.  Only 20 % active!  This is a shame!."

   "...It seems obvious, we've been had, and are now being cast aside."


 ED NOTE:
     Although the above may reflect a  negative picture,  one must remember
 that the folks who made these remarks really care enough to have something
 to say.  Unlike others who  feel  more  is  accomplished  by  allowing the
 current state  of affairs to progress unchecked.  I, like all enthusiastic
 Atari owners/users want very to  much  to  see  this  company  revived and
 become successful  in the USA.  At the present rate of progress this is an
 unlikely occurance.  There is even an instance  of where  an Atari  rep is
 asking that  developers hang-on  because they  have no idea what the other
 arenas are like.  This fine fellow has yet to realize that hunger combined
 with the  wolf banging  on the  door has a tendency to force developers to
 say; "the hell with struts I gotta eat! And pay my bills!"

     Considering the positive events of the last year and a half in  the US
 market place  ...  er ..ah wait,..  excuse me, hmmm, what positive events?
 Kicking out  developers,  outrageous  threats,  ludicrous  accusations and
 broken promises to mention only a few of the better decisions.  All superb
 public relations and fine examples of  the strong  desire Katzenjammer has
 in wanting  to succeed throughout the USA's marketplace.  Yessir, the fine
 examples they have given us over the past few years have been outstanding.
                ....outstanding BLUNDERS!  

     Now, with  the "new  beginnings" right  around the  corner, it is time
 that we, once again, should consider putting our shoulders to  the yoke to
 help forge  the successful  future of  both Atari and our own endeavors in
 the US Atari arena.  Surely we will be more  than ready,  willing and able
 to pitch in and help Elie Kenan revive the US marketplace.  


                            ----====000====----


     Due to  the sensitive  nature of  some of the material covered in this
 series,  we  must  protect  other  folks  lest  they  be  subject  to  the
 irresponsible reactions  so readily  apparent by the present leadership at
 Atari.  Therefore, where quote marks appear, ["]  that is  an actual quote
 but the  names will  be omitted  to protect the dedicated, loyal folks who
 still think there is a chance for Atari.

     Again, there are  those  who  would  like  to  know  who  or  what the
 Katzenjammer  are...    Well  they  are fictitious cartoon characters from
 another time.  They were the children of an old German sea captain and his
 wife.  The children (2) were constantly in trouble, were forever doing the
 wrong things and  despite  elaborate  punishment  and  corrective measures
 taken,  they   continued  on  their  destructive  course.    STReport  has
 affectionately dubbed  the Tramiel  sons (3)  as the  Katzenjammer.  Sure,
 there were  only 2  in the  cartoon but then, (a writer's liberty) in this
 case, three will do ever so nicely....







        ___________________________________________________________




 > Stock Market ~ STR Market Report?         The Start of a Different Tune?
   ================================


                                                     THE TICKERTAPE
                                                     ==============

 by Michael Arthur

 Concept by Glenn Gorman


     The price of Atari stock went down  1/8  of  a  point  on  Monday, and
 stayed the  same on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, it went up 1/2 of a point, and
 on Thursday and Friday, the price stayed the same.  Finishing up  the week
 at 5  1/2 points,  the price of Atari Stock is up 3/8 of a point since the
 last report.


          Apple Stock was up 2 points from Friday, June 15, 1990.
           Commodore Stock was down 1/8 of a point from 6/15/90.
               IBM Stock was down 4 1/8 points from 6/15/90.


                 Stock Report for Week of 6/18/90 to 6/22/90

 _________________________________________________________________________
 STock|   Monday   |  Tuesday   | Wednesday |   Thursday   |    Friday    |
 Reprt|Last    Chg.|Last    Chg.|Last   Chg.|Last      Chg.|Last      Chg.|
 -----|------------|------------|-----------|--------------|--------------|
 Atari|  5    - 1/8|  5     ----|5 1/2  +1/2|5 1/2    ---- |5 1/2     ----|
      |            |            |           |              | 107,500  Sls |
 -----|------------+------------+-----------+--------------+--------------|
  CBM |7 7/8  - 1/8|  8     +1/8|7 3/4  -1/4|7 3/4    ---- |7 7/8    + 1/8|
      |            |            |           |              |  81,700 Sls  |
 -----|------------+------------+-----------+--------------+--------------|
 Apple|39 1/4  -1/4|39 5/8  +3/8| 40    +3/8|41 7/8  +1 7/8|41 1/2   - 3/8|
      |            |            |           |              |2,535,500  Sls|
 -----|------------+------------+-----------+--------------+--------------|
  IBM |118 3/4     |118 3/4  ---|118    ----|119 1/2 +1 1/2|116 1/4 -3 1/4|
      |      -1 1/2|            |           |              |1,200,100  Sls|
 -----'-------------------------------------------------------------------'

        'Sls' refers to the # of stock shares that were traded that day.
        'CBM' refers to Commodore Corporation.
        '----'  means that the stock's price did not change for the day.




      _______________________________________________________________





 > DTP CORNER STR Feature? Outline Contest, Postscript, SLM804 & Pagestream
   ======================




                 HOW SONATA(tm) MADE MY DTP PROJECTS SING
                 ========================================



 by Daniel Stidham

     As many of us are fascinated by the power of  great DTP  programs such
 as PageStream, there are those of us who are frustrated by the limitations
 on quality that a small home-based system affords.  Many a DTP'er has gone
 the route of yours truly--started with a Star NX-10 9 pin printer, thought
 I had reached a good  price/quality  compromise  with  an  Epson LQ-800(24
 pinner),  _knew_  I'd  never  need  anything more  than my Hewlett Packard
 Deskjet, and  finally found  in my  SLM804 UltraScript  laser printer, the
 holy grail  for which  I had so diligently and vigilantly sought for.  The
 laser! How could I ever want or _need_  more? Why  with it  I had  300 dpi
 quality,  PostScript  compatibility  and  _speed_!  Man  did  it ever fly!
 Printing out of PageStream took  about  15-20%  of  the  time  that  my HP
 Deskjet took.  And if  I needed  more copies  it would  whip them out at 8
 pages per minute since they were set on the drum already!


 Life on Toner Ave couldn't have been sweeter...
 -----------------------------------------------

     And I was right. For nearly all of my projects I produced output  that
 made heads  turn.   They were  especially great  looking after I had  them
 offset at the printers.  When I needed camera ready copy I  always had the
 PageStream/UltraScript PostScript  compatible solution   to  give me fonts
 with a professional consistency.  It looked  so    clean.    It  looked so
 professional.   I was  more than  satisfied...until....I got more and more
 experienced with graphic  design. I started looking a little  more closely
 at the broken lines  and clumped curves produced at 300 dpi.  As I started
 getting over  the initial fascination of what I could  produce off  of the
 little   desktop in my little family room, I started becoming choosier and
 more pragmatic in a search for  excellence.    My  cute  little  hobby had
 evolved,  through  self-taught  learning  and  much  application,  into  a
 full-fledged professional endeavor.   Suddenly I  started noticing,  as  I
 held the copy two inches from my eyeballs, the little jaggies and  lack of
 definition in some of the serifs.  Some of the PostScript   creations that
 I  had  made  in  TypeStyler,  a  Mac  logo/art  creation  program, looked
 marvelous, but I knew could look much cleaner than  300 dpi allowed.


 And then, almost as if meant to be...
 -------------------------------------

     Being  a  frequent  caller  to  GEnie   (General  Electric   News  and
 Information  Exchange)  I  knew  of  many  fellow  DTP'ers who were having
 marvelous results sending their  PageStream PostScript  files to   service
 bureaus where  high-quality, $40,000 postscript printers  called Linotypes
 were charging $10 per page  to  output  their  creations    at  a magazine
 quality 1270-2400 dots per inch!  But at the same time  I was also picking
 up threads that related horror stories  that no-one  could seem  to figure
 out.  The whole process _seemed_ complicated and a bit cryptic.  I decided
 to remain at the edge, toes dangling in the  water.  Since I didn't have a
 job that  really _required_ "magazine"  quality, I didn't feel the need to
 jump in yet.  Still, I  monitored   all the  linotype discussion  bases as
 closely as  I could,  hoping to   make sense of it all and , every now and
 then, even ventured a few   questions(like, "Just  how deep  is it  on the
 farthest end?"--hehe).     Whenever I came across any article dealing with
 linotype  experiences/procedures, I read  it  studiously.    Shoot  I even
 learned   to   pronounce   the   word  linotype,  line-oh-type,  and  not,
 lynn-oh-type.   I mean to tell you I was ready--I had my swimshorts on and
 teeshirt off and I was standing at the edge ready to jump.

 It seemed no big deal at the time...
 ------------------------------------

     One day  while doing  a new message scan in the SoftLogik RT  bulletin
 board I  came across  a message  from Geoff  Clarksmith   announcing a new
 service  bureau,   Sonata  Typographers,   that  especially    catered  to
 PageStream users.  Excitedly he announced  that  by  a  certain  date they
 would have a toll-free number set up for users all over the nation to call
 and   send   their   PgS   docs   for   direct   printing   on   a   Birmy
 postscript-compatible printer  at resolutions  ranging from  1270 to  3000
 dpi!  Since they had an ST directly interfaced with the Birmy,   there was
 no need  to create  a PS file first, in fact they encouraged  doc files as
 they were much smaller to deal with. Another advantage   for this  is that
 if  there  is  any  problem  with  the  doc, they could load  the file and
 trouble-shoot.  They also promised prices lower than  most  places already
 being  used   by  the   discriminating  PageStream  user.      I  thought,
 "Hmmmm...(isn't that  how everyone  kick starts  their brain?  With a good
 'Hmmm...'?) if I am going to need dpi resolution of  godzilla proportions,
 these will be my people--one, they use my  machine _and_ software to drive
 their   machine(therefore   they   will   be     able  to  provide  better
 service)--two, they have an  800    service--three,  they  have  very good
 prices--four, why should I  support a Mac/IBM market service bureau when I
 have one of my own  brothers in the business?"


     Later I read a text file  Sonata had  uploaded announcing  their grand
 opening  and   a  special  they  had  going  for  the  first  10  Amiga/ST
 customers.  Well soon after this I did find a need for at least  1200  dpi
 quality. I was doing a four-page worksheet for a personnel  business and I
 wanted it to be very readable and professional   looking,  especially with
 the TypeStyler  logo I  had created  for them.     I had  this 4 pages and
 another doc file with a business card ,  letterhead and envelope design. I
 dug out  the 800 number I downloaded  and called the BBS. I wasn't totally
 finished with the docs but I  wanted to get registered ahead of time. They
 requested rudimentary   info  such as  name, address,etc., and also got my
 visa number for  billing(they gave  the  option  of  billing  for checking
 customers).  The    next  day  I  got  a  call  from  Geoff  in Fairfield,
 Connecticut(where the service is located) that I was cleared for uploading
 jobs.  The next day I uploaded the five page PageStream doc file and had a
 pleasant surprise--I happened to be one of the  first 10  ST customers and
 was entitled to receive 3000 dpi(their best) RC copies of my output at $5,
 $14 off their everyday price of  $18.95. Sonata  had a  choice of delivery
 options and  I chose  next-day service as I was about a week behind on the
 project already.  

 OK, so then what happened...
 ----------------------------

     My 5 page job was  not  too  complex.    Besides  several Encapsulated
 PostScript (EPS)  images of  the logo,  I had  used Tymes, Helvettica, and
 Zapf Dingbats in the document itself  along  with  their  italic  and bold
 variations.   Still I  feared the  worst.   I remembered  vividly the long
 drawn out message threads on  GEnie  of  wretched  fellows  wrangling with
 reason and  logic over  why their  files refused  to behave and print like
 everyone else's files.  I just knew that Sonata was  going to  call me the
 next  day  and  exclaim  in  a  harried tone of voice, "We've put your doc
 through 5 times and all we get is  Courier typed  pages and  funny symbols
 where the pictures should be."  But no such call came and 24 hours later I
 received an Express mail  tube in  the mail.   I  carefully opened  it and
 found   myself gawking  at the  clarity wrought by 3000 dpi perfection. It
 was especially evident in  the logo--it  looked oh-so-clean  and detailed.
 The type  was so...so...well, so 'magazine' looking. Clean. Even. Perfect.
 I was amazed--even more amazed than when I  scanned my  first picture with
 my  Migraph  Hand  Scanner.    I  cocked my head in inspection and proudly
 thought to myself, " _I_ did this".

 All my friends ask me how I did it...
 -------------------------------------

     I have purposely avoided getting  into  specifics  about  Sonata  as I
 wanted to save this for a technical summation at the end of this  article,
 of which we are drawing near.  First let me say that the   folks at Sonata
 are _very_  courteous and conscientious.  They seemed  to really care that
 they got my doc printed correctly, and even  loaded it into  PageStream to
 'clean up' a few things they had noticed  in a draft run(keep in mind that
 if you are dealing with other service bureaus, they _cannot_  perform some
 of the  fix-ups that Sonata can as they don't use PageStream and therefore
 can't load your doc into it).  Getting your first doc printed at Sonata is
 _very_ painless  and   simple. First  you must call the 800 Sonata BBS and
 register your name   and method  of payment.  After you  are cleared  as a
 customer, you  can  send files. Files do not have to be printed to disk as
 PostScript  files if you have  PageStream.   Since Sonata  owns an  ST and
 PageStream   it can  print your PageStream doc files directly to the Birmy
 typesetter. Of course if you  have  PostScript  files  created  in another
 program--ST,Amiga,IBM,  or  Mac--it  can  print  these  as well. If you do
 send PageStream doc files Sonata requests that you  upload a  readme  file
 with your  doc files, in an arc, that tells Sonata the names of fonts used
 in the file.  THAT'S ALL FOLKS! Come  on in!  The water's  great! I highly
 recommend Sonata  as a source for your highest quality work.  They'll take
 you by the hand and treat you with kids gloves.


 Some Sonata Specifics
 ---------------------

     Sonata uses an IBM clone 386 to run  its BBS,  and MacIntosh's, IBM's,
 and Atari ST's to upload directly to the BirmySetter 300. The maximum page
 size is 11 x 17, the maximum resolution is 3000 DPI and 175 LPI.
 They output to either film or RC paper.

                         PRICE CHART
              1200 dpi      2400 dpi    3000 dpi
 8.5 by 11 
 RC Paper       $7.95        $12.95      $18.95
 8.5 by 11     
 Film          $18.95        $25.95      $29.95
 10 by 14       
 RC Paper       $9.95        $13.95      $21.95
 10 by 14
 Film          $22.95        $25.95      $32.95
 11 by 17
 RC Paper      $12.95        $15.95      $24.95
 11 by 17
 Film          $24.95        $34.95      $39.95

     Sonata is still offering the 5  dollar ST/Amiga  price offer  for 3000
 dpi.   Also the prices reflected above are for quantities of 1-10.  Higher
 volumes receive proportionate discounts.  Laser  printouts are   75 cents.
 Here is  a great value: US MAIL SHIPPING IS FREE! This means  that as long
 as you can wait from 1-4 days, your total cost is  outlined in  the chart.
 Because of  this I  really feel  that there is no  good reason to NOT deal
 with Sonata over a local service bureau    unless  you  want  to  share an
 occasional job with them to cover  yourself.

 For more information, contact Sonata at:

 1(203)368-4559 * 1(203)366-8686 voice  * 1(800)365-5745 job uploading 
 Fairfield , CT
 Geoff Clarksmith of Sonata may also be reached in GEnie EMAIL at the 
 address of G.CLARKSMITH. He also has topic #36 in the Softlogik RT. 




   _____________________________________________________________________




 > LASER'S EDGE STR InfoFile?           A FULL-SERVICE BUREAU
   =========================



                                             LASER'S EDGE SERVICE BUREAU
                                             ===========================

  
     Information about  Laser's Edge  Service Bureau  in Vancouver, B.C.; a
 full-service bureau offering the leading  edge  technology  for  Atari ST,
 IBM-PC,  and  Macintosh  computers.    Laser's Edge employs the Linotronic
 L200P and L500 printers, as well  as  a  QMS  Colorscript  100,  and laser
 printers as well.

  PRICING
 All  prices  are  in  Canadian  dollars;  prices subject to change without
 notice.

  High Resolution Calamus or PostScript output
  ======================================================================
                           1-4     5+    10+    25+    50+   100+   200+
                         _______________________________________________
  Linotronic     Letter   9.00   8.37   8.10   7.65   6.30   5.25   5.00
  printouts       Legal  11.00  10.20   9.90   9.35   7.70   6.41   6.11
  (1270 dpi)    Tabloid  16.00  14.90  14.40  13.60  11.20   9.33   8.88

  Linotronic     Letter  13.50  12.60  12.20  11.50   9.45   7.87   7.49
  film (neg.      Legal  16.50  15.30  14.90  14.00  11.60   9.62   9.16
  or pos.)      Tabloid  24.00  22.30  21.60  20.40  16.80  14.00  13.30

  -Output is done on a first-come first-serve basis or for rush output
   add 50%, this will reserve a specific time for your job.
  -Normal setting 1270 dpi; add 30% for 1693 dpi, subtract 20% for 635 
   dpi Call for pricing on 2540 dpi, up to 18 inches wide on the L500.
  -Custom contracts can be negotiated for larger or periodical runs.
  ======================================================================
  LASER'S EDGE MODEM SERVICES Laser's  Edge is now operating an
  electronic bulletin board service (BBS) for receiving your file via
  modem. You can send your files to us anytime, as the BBS is usually
  running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

  PLEASE FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE WHEN SENDING US YOUR FILES!!
      -Baud rates to 9600
      -8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity.
      -Set file transfer protocol to MacBinary (first choice), or 
       straight XMODEM if you are using a PC or ST
      -Your instructions for printing MUST be FAX'd to us (681-2300)
       with a proof copy, or phoned in. Do not leave messages or print
       instructions on the BBS.
      -If you are sending more than one file, or if your file is very
       large, you may wish to "archive" your file(s) in a compressed
       format to speed transmission time. Laser's Edge supports Stuffit
       (Macintosh), PKZIP (PC), or ARC 6.02 (ST). 
      -If you have questions about modem transmission, call us on our
       voice line: 662-3774

  Logging on:
      -Have your modem dial (604)681-3278
      -After connecting, and the initial welcome message, you will be
       asked to answer a few questions by the BBS system. These MUST be
       completed.
            First Name:  your first name 
             Last Name:  your last name
          Calling from:  your City or Company 
          Change Name/Disconnect Call/Register on System: (R)egister
      -At the Main Menu, type F to go to the Files Menu.
      -At the Files Menu, type U to Upload a file to us.
      -When PROMPTED, give a name to the file you will be sending us.
       Standard MS-DOS naming rules apply; maximum 8 characters in the
       name, no spaces or numbers, optional 3 character extension).
      -When PROMPTED, press X to select XMODEM file transfer protocol.
      -When you are finished type G for goodbye to log off the system.
      -Don't forget to fax or phone in your printing instructions!
  ======================================================================
  CALAMUS FONTS

  Currently you may send a file that uses any of the standard Calamus 
  1.09 fonts, or the Calamus Fonteditor fonts (ISD Designer fonts); 
  Laser's Edge also supports Cherry Fonts and Mirthful Fonts; however 
  it is best to check on these before sending

  If you have any self-modified, original, or other fonts (including CG 
  fonts) you must include them on your disk or in your .ARC file. If 
  you feel that you will be using Laser's Edge services on a regular 
  basis, you may ask that your fonts be kept on file.
  ======================================================================
  Your Desktop Publishing Center

  Laser's Edge
  Suite 830
  789 West Pender Street
  Vancouver, British Columbia
  CANADA  V6C 1H2

  Phone (604)662-3774
  Fax   (604)681-2300
  Modem (604)681-3278

  Contact: Andy Curtis (most 'Atari-fluent' representative)
       or: Martin Curtis
       or: Dan Beuadoin

 You may also ask questions  via  my  GEnie  mail  address,  R.GRANT11, but
 since I  am not employed with Laser's Edge, merely associated with them, I
 do not download files for output.




       _____________________________________________________________




 > ISD CONTEST! STR InfoFile?            Outline Art Creativity Contest
   =========================



                  >>  ==============================  <<
                  >>  OUTLINE ART CREATIVITY CONTEST  <<
                  >>  ==============================  <<


     From July 1 to September 30, 1990, ISD Marketing, Inc  will sponsor an
 Outline  Art  Creativity  Contest  with  the  winners receiving the prizes
 listed below.  One winner will  be selected  along with  three runner ups.
 Winners will  be selected  from the  files either uploaded into our  Email
 address on either Compuserve at  76004,2246  or  GEnie  at  ISD  or mailed
 directly to  our offices  at:  ISD Marketing, Inc., 2651 John Street, Unit
 #3, Markham, Ontario, Canada, L3R 2W5.  Mailed entries  must be postmarked
 no later  than September  30, 1990  and received by us in-house by October
 15, 1990  to qualify  for entry.  This contest  is open  to all REGISTERED
 OWNERS of  Outline Art only. (Note: If you have recently purchased Outline
 Art but  have not  yet had  the opportunity  to send  in your registration
 card,  then  please  accompany  your  entry  with  a  properly  filled  in
 registration card.)

     You may enter as many times as you choose but  any one  individual may
 only win  once.   Although the author shall retain any copyrights to their
 entry, all  winning  files  shall  be  considered  'publicly distributable
 files' and  may be made available for downloading from both CompuServe and
 GEnie. As well, the winning entries  will be  published in  START magazine
 with the  appropriate Author quoted and the prize won indicated as well as
 ONLINE.

 The contest prizes are listed below.

 Prizes:

 The winners will receive the following prizes:

 1st Prize: $1,500.00 worth of AGFA Compugraphic fonts for use in either
 Calamus or Outline Art.

 1st Runner Up: 
     An Atari Megafile 44 Hard Disk Drive.

 2nd and 3rd Runner Up: 
     $50 connect time credit from both  CompuServe, to  be applied  to your
     CompuServe account and $50.00 connect time credit from GEnie.

     The Judges  for this  contest include: Geoffrey Earle, General Manager
     of Atari  (Canada)  Corp.,  Tom  Byron  (Editor)  and  Julianne Ososke
     (Director   of Creative  Services) START Magazine, and Nathan Potechin
     (President) and Mario  Georgiou  (Graphic  Artist)  of  ISD Marketing,
     Inc..


 RULES:  
   
 1.  The ISD  Marketing, Inc. Outline Art Contest is a  skill-based contest
     for any  member  who is a properly  registered Owner  of  Outline Art.
     Participation  in  this contest is open to residents of Canada, United
     States,  Australia  and New Zealand,  providing  that  their  copy  of
     Outline Art is the one published by Ditek International.  Employees of
     Comp u Serve, GEnie,  ISD  Marketing Inc.,  Ditek International,  DMC,
     Antic  Publishing Inc., Atari Corp., including all Atari Subsidiaries,
     the SysOps, GameOps,  their affiliates,  subsidiaries, the advertising
     agencies, and  their immediate families are ineligible  to win prizes.
     This contest is subject to all  local,  state/provincial  and  federal
     regulations  and  is void where prohibited by law.  All  taxes are the
     sole responsibility of the winners.
   
 2.  From July 1, 1990 at 12:01 AM EST until  September 30, 1990, 11:59 EST
     those folks who meet the above eligibility  requirements can enter the
     contest.  The  files  should either be  uploaded  directly to  the ISD
     Email  accounts in  either  GEnie at ISD,  CompuServe at 76004,2246 or
     submitted  by mail  directly to ISD at our  mailing address  indicated
     above.  (Note: Entries will not be  accepted by courier.   Use regular
     mail only.) One winner and 3 runner ups will be named.

 3.  The decision of the  judges is final and not reviewable  by any  other
     person,  agency,  or tribunal.  Winners will be notified by CompuServe
     or GEnie EMail and/or regular mail on or about  October 30, 1990,  and
     their names will be published online in the Atari Forums on Compuserve
     the Atari RT on GEnie  and in STart Magazine along with their winning
     submission. 
   
 4.  This contest may be  publicized outside  those venues indicated above.
     No  prize  may be  exchanged, substituted, modified,  or redeemed  for
     cash. Prizes  are not transferable.  Prizes won by entrants  under the
     age of 18 will be awarded  to the  winner's parent  or legal guardian.
     All  prizes  will  be  awarded  and  mailed  to  the  winner's address
     contained in their Outline  Art Registration  form.   By acceptance of
     their  prizes, the  winners consent to the publication of their names,
     likenesses, and or their User ID  without any further compensation for
     advertising or promotional purposes.  Prizes not claimed after 21 days
     of the  day  of  notification,  for  any  reason  whatsoever,  will be
     forfeited.   Prize winners  may be required to execute an affidavit of
     eligibility and publicity  release  within  21  days  of notification.
     Non-compliance within this time period will result in disqualification
     and an alternate winner will be selected if possible.  
   



 > NIGHTMARE ON LAWRENCE ST  STR Feature?     THE JOYS OF A HARDISK CRASH 
   =====================================
                 



 Part II



                      'INVASION OF THE MONSTER DRIVE'
                      ===============================



 by Gregg Anderson



      In Part I of 'Nightmare on Lawrence St' I related the joys of 
 having a hard disk crash and the importance of having a current hard 
 disk backup (which, needless to say, I didn't have).

      I learned that lesson the hard way, but that wasn't the only 
 lesson brought to my attention that day.  I was also forced to admit 
 that I needed a larger drive, that 40 meg just wasn't cutting it 
 anymore.  What, 40 meg not enough!?!  If I'd heard myself saying that a 
 year ago I'd have had myself committed!  But it was true, with the DTP 
 & Easy Draw work I do (not to mention the word processing) my data and 
 graphics files were getting way out of hand.

      So what to do?  What were my options?  I could get one of Atari's 
 new Megafile 60 drives but I wanted something larger than that this 
 time, at least 80 meg.  How about an ICD 'FAST' drive or a Supra?  All 
 outstanding units, but I was thinking of something else.  Something to 
 simplify doing backups as well as giving me more storage room.

      The problem was the backups.  Currently there are only four ways 
 of backing up an ST hard disk; with floppies, DVT's VCR backup system, 
 ICD's streaming tape backup, or the new removable cartridge drives.

       Forget about floppy backups, nobody can afford the kind of time 
 it takes to backup 80 meg of data to floppies.  The VCR backup looked 
 interesting, being affordable and far faster than the floppies.  Sadly, 
 this unit's received mixed reviews of late and restoring data from it 
 is said to be somewhat slow.  ICD's tape backup looked VERY good, being 
 both fast and efficient.  In fact it's probably the best overall backup 
 system currently available for the ST.  Only two things kept me from 
 buying one; it's cost (over $700) and the fact that it's strictly a 
 backup device.  Strictly a backup device?  Isn't that what I wanted?  
 Yes, but there's something new out now, the removable cartridge drive.

      The SyQuest SQ 555 is a 44 megabyte RLL removable cartridge drive 
 that works with any hard-disk compatible computer system.  It's fast, 
 reasonable quiet (its sound is unique), and just about foolproof.  Best 
 of all it can be used as a boot disk, data disk, or backup disk.  In 
 short, it can do anything a fixed hard disk can do AND handle high 
 speed backups for long term data storage.

      Another advantage to the SyQuest is that you can have cartridges 
 dedicated to Mac, IBM, or ST use.  Plan on working with your Spectre 
 GCR today?  Just install your Spectre cartridge and don't worry about 
 it.  IBM?  Plug in your MSDOS formatted cartridge and got to town.  
 Each can offer 44 meg of emulation specific storage and eliminate the 
 possibility of confusing your emulator partitions with your ST 
 partitions (usually guaranteed to ruin them).

      So how is it as a backup device?  How about a desktop 'drag' copy 
 of 22 megabytes from Drive H (Seagate) to Drive D (SyQuest) in just 
 under 9 minutes?  With that type of speed who needs copy programs?

      Are there drawbacks to the SQ 555?  Yes, for one thing the drive 
 is far from inexpensive, averaging from $650 to $850.  Another is that 
 the current cartridges store only 44 megabytes each and cost anywhere 
 from $95 (mail order) to $140 (retail).  In contrast ICD's backup tapes 
 are in the $35 range and store up to 155 megabytes.  Worst of all is 
 cartridge availability that varies according to the manufacture's 
 whims, ranging from plentiful to scarcer than hen's teeth.

      Need I bother to say I picked a SyQuest?  Anyway, with that out of 
 the way I started looking for the rest of my dream drive.  I've tended 
 to be partial to Seagate drives in the past and saw no reason to change 
 now.  Since I was starting from scratch I picked an RLL drive (more 
 storage & faster data transfers).  I decided on an embedded SCSI drive 
 to eliminate the need for a separate controller card and picked a 
 Seagate ST296N mechanism with 84.9 megabytes of storage (grand total for 
 both is just shy of 130 megabytes of storage).

      There are two basic designs of enclosures; the monitor design that 
 sits under the monitor like Atari's Megafile or ICD's FAST or the 
 shoebox, an IBM design that sits beside the computer like the older 
 Supra or Astra designs.  I'd started out wanting a 'monitor' but 
 settled on a 'shoebox' design for its easier access (to the internal 
 components) and it's its longer DMA cable.  Besides, they were out of 
 'monitor' enclosures when I ordered <grin>.

      While my unit was ordered from ABCO Computers in Florida, similar 
 units are readily available from Carter Graphics, Toad Computers, Tech 
 Specialties, ICD, and a host of others.  All offer similar performance 
 so pick your supplier on the basis of price (anywhere from $1200 to 
 $1400), quality, and support.  I can't emphasize support enough, it 
 easily can make the difference between success and complete disaster.

      Hardware-wise there are a few things you'll want to check before 
 using this type of drive.  Due to delayed shipments, my unit wasn't 
 preset by Abco for 'out of the box' use (I knew about this in advance 
 and ok'd it since I wanted to set them myself for this article).  As a 
 result my unit arrived with the drive jumpers still factory configured 
 rather than 'ready to use'.  In other words, everything was messed up.
   
      I opened the unit and went to work on the jumpers and connectors.  
 The first things you need to check are the drive resistor packs (used 
 to terminate the drive daisy chain).  You'll need to remove the packs 
 from all but the last drive in your daisy chain, leave the pack on the 
 last drive though.  For drive systems with multiple controller boards 
 ignore everything I've said, you're on your own there.

      Now look for the SCSI ID jumpers on your drives.  These are 16 
 small wires set into 2 rows of 8.  You'll get a small booklet with your 
 drives that explains where to install the provided jumpers to tell the 
 computer the ID number of the drive in the daisy chain.  The main thing 
 is to be sure the jumpers are in EXACTLY the right positions, assigning 
 that drive as #1, #2, (or whatever) in the daisy chain.

      Remember, for the ST we want 'No Parity' on the drives.  Since 
 most drives come from the factory with parity 'On' you'll want to 
 remove the jumper from the parity wires if it's present.  With all 
 jumpers correctly set your formatting software should have no problem 
 recognizing the installed drives, if it can't then you need to recheck 
 the jumpers and resistor packs on the drives.  Normally isn't a problem 
 as most ST units are shipped pre-set for use.  When in doubt read the 
 booklet that comes with your drives.  If that doesn't help then it's 
 time to pick up the phone and take advantage of the dealer support I 
 mentioned earlier.

      With any hard disk using an ICD Host Adapter and/or controller, 
 the software of choice has to be ICD's own.  ICD's format software is 
 impressive, automatically sensing the specific hard drive installed and 
 providing the optimum format for them.  It easily recognized the two 
 drives installed in my system and allowed me to format, optimize, and 
 partition each one in turn (only 5 1/2 minutes for 44 meg).  By the 
 way, when selecting your disk partitions be sure to checkmark each 
 partition.  If you forget to do this the partition will be created but 
 the ST won't recognize it.

      A word of warning here.  ICD's default interleave 1:1.  While the 
 SyQuest thrived on 1:1 the Seagate was strangled.  Instead of being 
 blinding fast it barely qualified as a snail with a paltry 57 k/sec 
 data transfer rate.  Even worse, I learned that at this setting I was 
 in danger of loosing data with every access.  At Abco's suggestion I 
 reformatted it with a 2:1 ratio and the data transfer went up to around 
 500 k/sec.  Basically you need to ignore what you've heard about the ST 
 handling 1:1 interleaves and try interleave settings until you find the 
 ratio that provides YOU with the best performance.  This is where ICD's 
 excellent RATEHD program is invaluable.

      You'll have to select the drive you want to use as your boot 
 drive.  Select that drive as ID #0 and LUN (Logical Unit Number) #0 
 (ID/LUN 0,0).  This is with an embedded SCSI drive or a system with a 
 single controller board, units with secondary controller boards will 
 require additional steps.  I picked the SyQuest as ID/LUN 0,0.  The 
 Seagate was selected as ID/LUN 0,1 (IE: the second in the daisy chain).  
 Needless to say how you configure your system is up to you.

      ICD's boot software is as impressive as their formatting package, 
 offering a custom cache to speed disk reading and writing.  It even 
 provides the option of write-verifying all disk writes, something no 
 other program offers.  Best of all is that it was written with 
 removable cartridges in mind, automatically sensing a cartridge swap 
 and re-reading the directory of the installed cartridge.  All in all I 
 have to admit that the current ICD software package is possibly the 
 best I've seen to date.  A pity it only works with ICD hardware.

      And that's the story thus far.  I had a lot of fun (and more than 
 a little frustration) putting this monster together.  But I have to 
 report that it's performed flawlessly and made me wish I'd made the 
 upgrade years ago.  If you're serious about your ST and need expanded 
 storage combined with simplified backups, give this combination the 
 'once over'.  I think you'll come to the same conclusion I did; that 
 the SyQuest SQ 555 and the standard hard drive of your choice make the 
 perfect combination.


   SETTING THE SCSI ID AND OPTIONAL PARITY JUMPERS (EMBEDDED SCSI ONLY)

           jumper these two wires for drive #2 in the chain and so-on.
          /jumper the first two for drive #1 in the chain.
         // 
 |oooooooo| (this is for an embedded scsi drive with the circuit board
 |oooooooo|  facing up)
  \
   parity bit jumper, leave empty

            DMA (IN) to computer
            \                            DMA (OUT) to SLM804
 ____________\__________________________/______
 |            \                        /      |
 | |--|    [---\----------------------/--]    |
 | |  |    [-[//////////]---[\\\\\\\\\\]-]    |  Note: this layout is
 | |  |    [-----------------------------]    |  for a unit with the
 | |--|                       ___             |  ICD Advantage Plus
 |     \                     | / |            |  Host Adapter, other
 |      \                    | / |   {====}   |  units may appear
 |       power switch        | u |   {fuse}   |  different depending on
 |                           | n |   {====}   |  the controller used.
 |    [------------]         | u | |--------| |
 |    [            ]         | s | |  power | |
 |    [     Fan    ]         | e | |  plug  | |
 |    [   Exhaust  ]         | d | |--------| |
 |    [            ]         | / |            |
 |    [------------]         |_/_|            |
 |____________________________________________|
       Viewed from the rear of the unit.



 Be sure to watch for the final sequel of this exciting trilogy, 'The 
 Beast Reborn', coming soon to a theatre near you....  Would you believe 
 a newsletter?????  How about scrawled on a local bathroom wall?

 Companies mentioned in the article:

 ABCO Computers:   PO Box 6672, Jacksonville, FL 32236 (800)-562-4037
 Carter Graphics:  3006 North Main St, Logan, Utah 84321, (801)-752-2500
 ICD:              1220 Rock St, Rockford IL, 61101, (815)-968-2228
 Tech Specialties: 909 Crosstimbers, Houston, TX 77022, (713)-691-4527
 Toad Computers:   556 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd, Severna Park MD 21146
                   (601)-544-6943
 Seagate:    920 Disk Drive, Scotts Valley, CA 95066, (800)-468-3475
 Supra:      1133 Commercial Way, Albany, OR 97321 (503)-967-9075
 SyQuest:    47923 Warm Springs Blvd, Fremont, CA 94539, (415)-490-7511





        ___________________________________________________________







 > STReport CONFIDENTIAL?          "BLOCKBUSTER ATARI NEWS FIRST!"
   =====================




 - Winter Haven, FL                        UPGRADE TO TURBO ST VERSION 1.82
   ----------------                               . . . EVEN FROM QUICK ST!


     Softrek  has  announced  Version  1.82  of  Turbo  ST,  the  "software
 blitter."  Turbo  ST  is  the  only  accelerator  for  ST's that speeds up
 graphics and also speeds up WordPerfect.

     Further enhancements to Version 1.82 include  faster dotted-line zoom-
 box  drawing,  along  with  non-byte  aligned text display on Moniterm and
 other monochrome  monitors.  About  20  additional  changes  were  made to
 enhance  reliability.    The  most  dramatic  improvement, however, is the
 acceleration of graphic displays.

     As usual, registered  owners  of  earlier  versions  of  Turbo  ST can
 upgrade to  this latest  version by sending $5.00 with their original disk
 to Softrek, P.O. Box 5257, Winter Park FL 32793.

     Owners of Turbo ST Version 1.8 may update to V 1.82 free via E-mail on
 GEnie. (Send your Turbo ST disk's serial number to W.BUCKHOLDT.)

     Owners of  Quick ST  will not be left out in the cold. Until September
 1, 1990, Softrek is offering Turbo ST at a $20 discount to  folks who send
 in their  original Quick  ST disks  with only $29.95 (as compared with the
 list price of Turbo ST: $49.95  plus $2.00  shipping). Cash,  checks (U.S.
 funds only), VISA, and MasterCard are acceptable.

     When  asked   the  reason   for  this  aggressive  marketing  program,
 Softrek's Merchandising Manager, Dick Biow, replied;  "We're proud  of our
 product  and  we  want  to  see  every  single ST user in the world taking
 advantage of it. There's  no reason  Atarians should  have to  pay for two
 programs just to use the unique features of Turbo ST."




 - MILPITAS, CA              ATARI GAMES BUYS BACK STOCK from NAMCO AMERICA
   ------------

     Atari  Games   Corp.,  one  of  the  world's  leading  developers  and
 manufacturers of coin-operated video games, today announced the signing of
 an agreement to repurchase its stock presently held by Namco America Inc.,
 the wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Ltd., Japan.   Part  of the agreement
 calls for  Namco Ltd., one of Japan's largest manufacturers of video games
 and a major shareholder in Atari Games, to sell all of the  shares it owns
 back to  Atari Games,  along with  cash and other consideration.  In turn,
 Namco will receive  ownership  in  Atari  Operations  Inc.  which operates
 approximately 40 video game arcades in the Western and Southeastern United
 States.

     Atari Games  Corp.  is  one  of  the  world's  leading  developers and
 manufacturers  of  coin-operated  video  games and is headquartered at 675
 Sycamore Drive, Milpitas, Calif., 93505, 408-434-3700.   Atari  Games is a
 privately held  company whose  majority shareholder  after the transaction
 will be Time-Warner Inc.  Atari Games is  not affiliated  with Atari Corp.
 and should be referred to as Atari Games.




 - Pontiac, MI                                 NEW VERSION OF PC SPEED DUE
 -------------
  
     PC Speed II should be out in MID JULY.  This is a TOTALLY new emulator
 (It will, however, remain small enough  to fit  inside your  ST) that will
 have a  80286 microprocessor.   It  will run  at 7.6  Mhz which is roughly
 twice as fast as the hardware emulators now on the market.   The price has
 not been  set yet, but it should be very close to the current price of  PC
 Speed I. 




 - New York City, NY                   PRECISION SOFTWARE LIMITS ST SUPPORT
   -----------------
  
     Precision Software, makers of  SuperBase  Professional,  have  made it
 known that there "would be no update coming for the Atari Computer."  They
 stated that "the market simply was not present  and that  the computer has
 seen its  heyday".   Also, they  stated that  "it would  not be profitable
 enough to continue to update the software when there were  "30,000,000" PC
 compats in the world".




 - Sunnyvale, CA                           DEALERS MUST BUY STE BROCHURES?
   -------------
     It seems  dealers are appalled by yet another marketing gaffe by Atari
 US.  Distributors receiving requests for promotional material  for the STe
 - i.e.  some glossy  brochures, or  maybe a  demo program or two.  Went to
 Atari with the requests and were  politely informed  that "Atari  is not a
 marketing  company,"  and  that  these  items  were  not available.   Upon
 further investigation, it  was  revealed  that  there  are  some brochures
 available, but  they are  going to  cost the dealer approx $30.00 per 100.
 That's .30 cents each!    What happened  to all  that talk  about improved
 dealer relations?   About the "not a marketing company", Atari's sales and
 marketing folks didn't have  to tell  us that  we already  knew that basic
 fact!







  ***********************************************************************


                    :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
                     _________________________________

      To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.

               Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
                         Wait for the U#= prompt.

                 Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.

                       **** SIGN UP FEE WAIVED ****

           The system will now prompt you for your information.


  ***********************************************************************






 > Hard Disks STR InfoFile?           Affordable Mass Storage....
   =======================






                        NEW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!!
                       ============================


                      ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
              P.O. Box 6672  Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
                                Est.  1985
                 _________________________________________

                   Voice: 904-783-3319  10 AM - 4 PM EDT
                     BBS: 904-786-4176   12-24-96 HST
                    FAX: 904-783-3319  12 PM - 6 AM EDT
                 _________________________________________
                                        
                   HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
                   _____________________________________
                                        
   All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
                 are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).
                                        
             -ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE-
                 (you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!)
                   (all cables and connectors installed)
                                        
    * ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
     * ICD ADVANTAGE+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED *
                  * SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS *

         51mb #SGN4951   519.95              65mb #SG60101   649.95
         80mb #SGN296    709.95             100mb #SG84011D  839.95
        120mb #SGN120FH  989.95             120mb #SG120DD  1128.95
        170mb #SGN2962  1369.95             260mb #SG60102  1849.95

          WE HAVE A COMPLETE LINE OF 3.5 LOW PROFILE HARD DRIVES
                                    for
           USE IN MEGA ST COMPUTERS AND RELATED CONFIGURATIONS.

         20mb #AI020SC   379.95              30mb #AIO3OSC   419.95
         50mb #AI050SC   449.95              65mb #AI065SC   499.95
                           85mb #AI085SC  $559.95

               >>> ALL ABCO DRIVES ARE HIGH SPEED UNITS <<<
                      (500 - 600k per sec @ 23 -33ms)

           CALL FOR SUPER SAVINGS ON ALL OUR OTHER CUSTOM UNITS
                           FROM 30mb @ $419.00!
                      Ask about our "REBATE SPECIALS"

                                 --==*==--

                      SHIPPING AND INSURANCE INCLUDED

               ============================================

       * SYQUEST 44MB (#555)>> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *

          - SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE         - ICD ST ADVANTAGE PLUS H/A
          - ICD Utility Software        - 3' DMA Cable 
          - Fan & Clock                 - Multi-Unit Power Supply
                          (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.

                  COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
                    >> SPECIAL NOW ONLY __$849.00__ <<

                      *** SPECIAL SYQUEST OFFER!! ***
    ORDER YOUR CUSTOM SYQUEST UNIT NOW AND GET A SECOND COMPLETE UNIT!
                       ***** for $50.00 LESS! *****

      -> DO IT YOURSELF BARE SYQUEST UNITS $600.00ea  2 for $1100.00
                    Syquest Mechanism - 2 year warranty

   * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
                        SPECIALLY PRICED  $1539.00 

    * SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
         - Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
          50mb SQG51   $1179.00           30mb SQG38    $1099.00
          65mb SQG09   $1239.00           85mb SQG96    $1299.00
                       
                 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS

                      CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
           Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
      Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
    (over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)
                                     
            *** ALL Units: Average Access Time: 24ms - 34ms ***

  ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - PC-DITTO/II - SPECTRE/GCR
             LARGER units are available - (special order only)

                        NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED!

       - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets -
                   Keyboard Custom Cables Call for Info
                      ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED

                       -* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
                         (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)

                 QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!
                 _________________________________________

                     DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
                         please, call for details

                 Personal and Company Checks are accepted.

                        ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY!

           CALL: 1-800-562-4037   -=**=-    CALL: 1-904-783-3319
           Customer Orders ONLY               Customer Service
                                9am - 8pm EDT
                                Tues thru Sat






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   NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE

                          FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY

     COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME

                              to the Readers of;
  
                         STREPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE
                         """"""""""""""""""""""""
                  "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"

                         NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!

              Call any of the STReport  Official BBS numbers 
                              (Listed Above)
                                    or
                   Leave E-mail to STReport - R.Mariano

           Be sure to include your full mailing address so your 
             Compuserve kit can be immediately mailed to you!



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 > A "Quotable Quote"?
   =================



         "Because our products are designed for use with the ST...
   ..we are outraged over the condition Atari in the U.S. has dropped to...
              (lack of dealers, advertising, support, etc.)."


                         ...name withheld  (Another DEPARTING Developer)

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 STReport?             "Your Independent News Source"         June 29, 1990
 16/32bit Magazine           copyright = 1990                    No.6.26
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
 the editors,  staff, STReport?  CPU/STR? or  ST  Report?.    Permission to
 reprint articles  is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted.  Each reprint
 must include the name of the publication, date, issue #  and  the author's
 name.  The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in
 any way without prior written permission.   The  contents, at  the time of
 publication,  are    believed  to  be  reasonably  accurate.  The editors,
 contributors and/or staff are  not responsible  for either  the use/misuse
 of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------


 

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