ST Report: 19-Apr-91 #716

From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 04/27/91-10:09:14 PM Z


From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 19-Apr-91 #716
Date: Sat Apr 27 22:09:14 1991



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 April 19, 1991                                                     No.7.16
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 > 04/19/91: STReport  #7.16?  The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
   -------------------------
     - The Editor's Desk      - CPU REPORT        - MAC REPORT
     - NEW 68000 Chip         - Ear Candy         - Michigan Bell?
     - Hayes Pocket Modem     - Quantum Pro!      - UG BBS - Any Good?
     - Multi-Gem              - PORTFOLIO NEWS    - STR Confidential

                        -* ATARI'S MEGA4/50 STE *-
                -* TALON'S S-CHARGER 286 -> ON THE WAY! *-
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 > The Editor's Podium


     Here we are a week after CEPS Spring/91,  and most  of the  Atari com-
 munity is still charged up over the new software and hardware shown recen-
 tly in Chicago.  The amount of inquiries STReport has received about Avant
 Vektor and  Studio Junior  and the other fine products shown has been out-
 standing.  The majority of inquiries were from users wanting to know where
 and how  to purchase these two programs.  For the time being, you may call
 TradeiT in Germany and they will  handle your  orders and  info inquiries,
 ask for  Micheal Wagner.   The  number for voice; 06071-41089 and for FAX;
 06071-41919.  Both of these programs ARE ingeniously written and  are very
 powerful, they fill a gap that has long plagued ST DTP enthusiasts.

     The Mega  STe is shipping, the new monitors are shipping, the TT030 is
 shipping, Atari is getting itself back to the  "front and  center" posture
 all of  us have  long waited  for.  And what do we hear from "Loyal" Atari
 dealers on the east coast of the USA??  Gripes....  more gripes  and still
 more!   No regional  rep, moaning  over the  fact that Atari computers are
 available through wholesale distributors,  and  finally  dispersions being
 cast about  other dealers who are involved in alledged "deep discounting".
 Recently, I heard the screaming and  wailing  all  the  way  down  here in
 Florida when they found out J&R's $429.00 price for the 1040STe.  Oh well!
 Did someone bring the cheese and crackers?   Those guys  brought plenty of
 "whine".

     The new  computers are  shipping and that's great news.  Folks, please
 remember that for Atari to excel, they must  sell mucho  machines and they
 simply  are  not  going  to  do  this through a few small "loyal" dealers.
 STReport has noticed that one dealer is very busy setting  the pace  and a
 fine example  of positive  thinking, he  has been extolling the wonders of
 the TT.. He has  the right  idea, instead  of wallowing  in lake  of salty
 tears like  some of  the others,  he has  tight grip  on the reigns of his
 future and is definitely headed in the right direction.  Hats off  to this
 fine Texas dealer, three cheers for the right attitude!  The others should
 only know it takes more effort to squawk, than it does to  find a positive
 note and get with the program.

     Atari did  respond to the knashing of teeth and bellowing of dealers a
 few years ago, when  they took  the ST  out of  wholesale distribution, it
 almost put  Atari out of the computer business!  Its sad to see that a few
 vocal kvetchers are still around.   I  am  confident  of  one  thing, that
 period in  time taught  Atari a  big lesson and as a result, the one-sided
 interests of a few dealers will not decide  the fate  of the  entire user-
 base.   Besides, I  am sure  these "vastly experienced entrepreneurs" will
 soon find they have not won any friends or influenced people..

     The STe power is soon to be in most areas of the  country, be  sure to
 check an  STe out soon, especially the MEGA4 STe.. its awesome.  Actually,
 its the "baby" TT!


                               Thanks for your solid support!

                                      Ralph.........



     Speaking of  beautiful babies......  Compuserve's Head  ST Forum Sysop
     Ron Luks  and his  lovely wife Dawn have a wonderful little girl to be
     all bubbly over and brag about.  Jennifer Anne Luks was born April 12,
     1991 at  9:41pm.   Jennifer is  a very healthy and robust 7lbs 12oz at
     birth.  Both mother  and baby  are doing  simply mahvalous!!   Its the
     father who is a wreck!  Well, not really, folks, Ron is quite proud of
     his gorgeous baby daughter.  Congratulations!!  Mazel Tov!



                           TODAY'S NEWS ..TODAY!


  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



 > STReport's Staff              The regulars and this week's contributors!
   ================

                            Publisher - Editor
                            ------------------
                             Ralph F. Mariano


 Staff Editors:
 --------------
          Michael Arthur      Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.     Dana P. Jacobson
          Lucien Oppler       Brad Martin              Walter Daniel
          Oscar Steele        Robert Allbritton        John Szczepanik

 Contributing Correspondants:
 ----------------------------
          Michael Lee         Richard Covert           Roger Stevens
          Brian Converse      Oliver Steinmeier        Ed Krimen
                              Andrew Learner


                             IMPORTANT NOTICE
                             ================
      Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
                              via E-Mail to:

                 Compuserve.................... 70007,4454
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                 BIX........................... RMARIANO
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                 FNET.......................... NODE 350
                 NEST.......................... 90:19/350.0




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     COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME

                              to the Readers of;

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                 WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (April 19)

 Forum members and fellow staff of  the Atari  Forums wish  to congratulate
 SYSOP Ron  Luks and his wife Dawn on the birth of their daughter, Jennifer
 Anne.  Jennifer was born on Friday, April 12th at 9:42 PM.  Best wishes to
 the new Mommy and Daddy!

                           DOUBLE CLICK SOFTWARE

 Double Click  has announced  the winners of their "Name the software" con-
 test.  Please read CONTST.WIN in LIBRARY 13 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO
 ATARIVEN) for details.

 Also be  sure to  check out  DCTOPR.ARC, DC Topper, another PROGRAM OF THE
 WEEK from Double Click Software available in LIBRARY 13 of the Atari
 Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN). DC Topper  will automagically  top the window
 under the mouse.  Best at the desktop, but can be turned on in programs.

                         NEW UPLOADS POLICY CHANGE

 Effective immediately,  the sysops will adopt the following policy for new
 uploads to the Atari ST and 8-Bit Forums:

 All new uploads will be placed ONLY  in  the  NEW  UPLOADS  LIBRARY  for a
 period of 2-3 weeks.  After this time, they will be MOVED to the appropri-
 ate long term library and deleted from LIB-1.

 The old policy was to immediately place 2 copies of new files online.  One
 in the  NEW UPLOADS LIB and another in the long-term lib, giving users the
 option to download from either location.  This old policy  was wasteful of
 storage and  confusing to some members who downloaded both copies thinking
 they were different versions.

 We realize that this will require everyone to scan the NEW UPLOADS  LIB in
 addition to the other LIBs when searching for a specific type of file, but
 this is a temporary problem that will be  eliminated when  future versions
 of the  CIS software will allow members to scan all files in all LIBS from
 a single point (a feature that is on the "enhancement" list).

                         ATARI USERS GROUP LISTING

 Modems are nice, but nothing beats getting together realtime with hometown
 folks who  share your  interest!   The 1991  list of Registered Atari User
 Groups is now available in file USERGP.ARC, LIBRARY  1 of  the Atari 8-Bit
 Forum (GO ATARI8).

                        ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM NEWS

 Don't miss  Walter Daniel's  FORUM NOTES  files in  LIBRARY 1 of the Atari
 Portfolio Forum (GO APORTFOLIO) for  news  on  the  latest  happenings and
 events in our online community.


                  THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE
                            HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN
                OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION


            "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"




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

   Issue #107
   ----------


 By Michael Arthur


 Dream Systems  IX
 =================



             UNIX MACHINES, RISC WORKSTATIONS, AND 68040 MACS
             ------------------------------------------------

       Change  is  the  only  constant  in  the  computer industry.  As the
 capabilities of microcomputers increased during the 1980's, they  began to
 provide  the  functionality,  versatility,  and  speed  of the workstation
 industry.  Unix, for example, was  once  the  domain  of  workstations and
 non-IBM  minicomputers,    but  is  now  competing to become the operating
 system of the future  for  the  microcomputer  industry.    However, while
 microcomputers evolved  characteristics of  workstations (including cost),
 many workstation companies began  making low-end  workstations, in  an at-
 tempt to  combine the innovations microcomputers had fostered, such as the
 idea of graphical user interfaces, with the inherent versatility of works-
 tation-class machines.  RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Circuitry) chips are
 an offshoot of this development,  as  their  increased  speed  and  use of
 modern chip  technologies gave workstations the power of small mainframes.
 However, now  that conventional  CISC (Complex  Instruction Set Circuitry)
 microprocessors, such  as the Intel 80486 and Motorola 68040 chips, are as
 powerful as the best RISC chips, the choice to determine the best microco-
 mputers only becomes more difficult.

       In this essay, a list of "Dream Systems", or powerful configurations
 of current computer systems, has  been  formed  in  order  to  analyze the
 potential of  current computer  systems and  hardware peripherals.  I have
 chosen not  to include  variables like  operating systems  and software in
 this  analysis,  and  to  concentrate  on  the  actual computers' hardware
 capabilities, the greatest amount  of mass  storage you  could attain, and
 the best graphics that system could provide.

       While  operating  systems  and  software  are a definite factor in a
 complete computer system, software can generally be easily added or ported
 to a  computer system.   As such, the focus of this essay is to "spec out"
 the best hardware with  which one  could use  a given  operating system or
 software package.   Furthermore, since many of the high-end microcomputers
 featured here are beginning to rival workstations in  both performance and
 price, this  essay includes  some low-end workstations in its analysis, in
 order to both study the state  of high-end  microcomputers as  compared to
 low-end  workstations,  and  to  see whether microcomputers can outperform
 some workstations in certain areas.

       After doing some research, I found several configurations that could
 truly claim  to be "Dream Systems".  Shown in no particular order, here is
 my list:

         (Warning:  Do not be surprised by the Retail Prices Shown.)



 System #1:     Proteus 486/33 with EISA Expansion Bus
 ---------

 Total Cost of System: $13,799.00 (US Currency)

      This IBM Compatible is a system with a 33 MHZ 80486 chip, 8 Megabytes
 of RAM  onboard, and  8 EISA Expansion Slots.  The Proteus also comes with
 1.2 MB and 1.44 MB disk drives, a 128K CPU  Cache, and  a SuperVGA display
 system  as   standard  equipment.    To  boost  this  system's  networking
 capabilities, one could add an ethernet port via 3Com's Etherlink II Card.

       For this system's disk  storage needs,  a SmartConnex/EISA  Floppy &
 Hard Disk  controller from  DTP Inc.,  and an HP3176 Magneto-Optical Drive
 made by Hewlett-Packard (which can store 650 Megabytes of data per Remova-
 ble Cartridge),  seems suitable for a Dream System.  Another boost to such
 a system's performance would be InfoChip's  Expanz data  compression card,
 which would  double the  cartridge drive's  storage capacity to around 1.3
 Gigabytes of data per Cartridge.

       For video displays:  A Hercules Graphics Station Card (with a TI
 34010 Graphics Processor and support of the TIGA Graphics Standard) and an
 NEC Multisync 4D monitor.


 So with this system, you would have:


        Proteus 486/33 EISA w/SuperVGA support (Cost: $5700.00)
        DPT SmartConnex/EISA Disk Controller  (Cost: $730.00)
        Infochip Expanz data compression card (Cost: $200.00)
        Hewlett Packard 650 Meg Magneto-Optical Drive  (Cost: $4300.00)

        Hercules Graphics Station Card  (Cost: $1024.00)
        3Com EtherLink Card  (Cost: $345.00)
        NEC Multisync 4D Monitor  (Cost: $1500.00)


 VGA Graphics Resolution: 320x200 with 256 Colors out of 256,000
                          640x480 with 16 Colors Displayable out of 256,000

 SuperVGA Resolutions: 640x480 with 256 Displayable Colors out of 256,000
                       800x600 with 16  Colors out of 256,000

 TIGA Resolutions:   512x480 w/16 Million Displayable Colors
                     1024x768 with 256 Displayable Colors out of
                                  a 16 Million Color Palette



 System #2:     - Macintosh IIci with Radius 68040 Board -
 ---------

 Total Cost:  $19,086.00 (US Currency)


       The Macintosh IIci uses  a 25  MHZ 68030  with a  25 MHZ  68882 Math
 Chip,  Five  Megabytes  of  RAM  (and  a 32K CPU Cache), 6 NuBus Expansion
 Slots, and a 1.44 Meg High  Density Disk  Drive.   It uses  the SWIM (San-
 der-Woz  Integrated  Machine)  Disk  Controller  chip  to allow the Mac to
 read/write to MS-DOS and OS/2 formatted disks.  To boost total memory to 8
 Megs of  RAM, one  would add 3 1-Megabyte SIMM RAM chips.  To boost system
 processing speed, one could add Radius' Rocket Accelerator.  It  uses a 25
 MHZ 68040  chip (which  is several times faster than a 25 MHZ 68030 chip),
 and features a display list processor for speeding up CAD applications.

       To further improve this system, one  could add  Mirror Technologies'
 RM600  Magneto-Optical  Drive  (which uses 650 Megabyte Removable/Erasable
 Cartridges  like  those  found  for  the  NeXT  Computer),  Sigma Designs'
 DoubleUp data compression board (which can effectively double the capacity
 of a hard drive), and an Adaptec Nodem Ethernet LAN Interface Unit.

       Other necessities:  An NEC  Multisync  4D  Monitor,  and  a SuperMac
 Spectrum/24 Video  Card.   The latter lets the Mac have a 1024x768 display
 with  16  Million  colors  at  the  same  time,  and  makes  Mac Quickdraw
 operations  display  5  -  10  times  faster  than  before.  The former is
 recommended if the latter is to be made useful.


 So with this system you would have:

       Macintosh IIci w/5 Megs of RAM  (Cost: $5300.00)
       Radius Rocket 68040 Accelerator  (Cost: $3500.00)
       3 sets of 1 Megabyte SIMM Memory Chips (Cost: $156 total)

       Mirror RM600 Magneto-Optical Cartridge Drive  (Cost: $3500.00)
       Sigma Designs' DoubleUp data compression board  (Cost: $230.00)
       Adaptec Nodem Ethernet Unit  (Cost: $500.00)

       NEC Multisync 4D Color Monitor  (Cost: $1400.00)
       Spectrum/24 III Video Board  (Cost: $4500.00)


 Macintosh II Resolution:  640x400 with 256 Colors out of 16 Million

 With Spectrum/24 it has:  1024x768, with the ability to simultaneously
                                     display 16 Million colors.



 System #3:         Atari TT030/8 with 33 MHZ 68882 Math Chip
 ---------

 Total System Cost: $11,000.00 LIST (US Currency)

       An Atari TT030/8 system features a 33 MHZ 68030 chip  with a  33 MHZ
 68882 floating  point math unit and 8 Megs of RAM onboard.  It also has an
 80 Meg Hard Disk Drive, an  AppleTalk Port,  and 1  VME Expansion  Slot as
 standard equipment.

       To fully  use the  TT's Graphics capabilities in a Dream System, one
 would probably wish to have an Atari PPC-1246  Multisync Color  Monitor, a
 Matrix  C32  VME  Color  Board  (which  supports  800*600  resolution  and
 displaying 256 colors simultaneously out of  a 16  million color palette),
 and an NEC Multisync 4D Monitor for the Matrix board.

       To boost such a system's storage capacity, one could also add a
 Hewlett Packard 650 Megabyte Magneto-Optical Cartridge Drive, using an
 ICD Host Adapter to interface it with the TT.


 So with this system you would have:

       Atari TT030/8 with 80 Megabyte Hard Drive  (Cost: $3500.00)
       Atari PPC-1246 Multisync Monitor  (Cost: $550.00)

       Matrix C32 Color Board  (Estimated Cost: $1000.00)
       NEC Multisync 4D Color Monitor  (Cost: $1400.00)

       Hewlett Packard 650 Megabyte Removable Drive (Cost: $4300.00)
       ICD Hard Disk Host Adapter (Cost: $250.00)

 (As Rio  Datel Computers  is in  the process  of importing  the Matrix C32
 board from Europe, the cost stated above is only an approximation, and its
 actual list price in the USA will, more than probably be different.)


 Atari STe Resolutions:  (Supported by TT)

       320*200 with 16 displayable colors out of a 4096 color palette
       640*200 with 4 Colors out of 4096
       640*400 in Monochrome

 Atari TT Resolutions:

       320*480 with 256 Displayable Colors out of 4096
       640*480 with 16 Colors out of 4096
      1280*960 in Monochrome (with Image Systems' Monitor)

 Matrix Video Board Resolutions:

       800*600 with 256 Displayable Colors out of 16 Million
      1280*960 in monochrome (also can display 256 colors in this mode)




 System #4:       MIPS Magnum 3000 with 25 MHZ MIPS R3000 RISC-based Chip
 ---------

 Total Cost of System: $18,000.00 (US Currency)
       MIPS  Computer  Systems  makes  the  Magnum 3000, which has a 25 MHZ
 R3000 microprocessor and a 25 MHZ  R3010  Math  Coprocessor.    It  has 16
 Megabytes of  RAM onboard (with separate 32K Instruction and Data Caches),
 an Ethernet port, and no expansion ports.

      This system comes with  two 200-Megabyte  Hard Drives  and a  150 Meg
 Cartridge Tape  Backup Drive.  The Magnum 3000 has a 1280*1024 resolution,
 with 256 colors displayable out of a 16 million color palette.  Since MIPS
 also includes  a Sony  Trinitron Color  Monitor, its  graphics and storage
 capabilities are all parts of the complete package.


 So with this system you would have:

        MIPS Magnum 3000  (Cost: $18,000.00)
        Sony Trinitron Monitor (standard)

 Magnum 3000 Resolution:

             1280x1024, with 256 displayable colors out of 16 million.




 System #5:       IBM RISC System/6000 Model 320 with Ethernet Card
 ---------

 Total System Cost: $17,000.00 (US Currency)

       This is a IBM PowerStation 320, with a  20 MHZ  P.O.W.E.R chipset, 8
 Megs of  RAM (and  a 32K  CPU Cache),  4 "Enhanced MicroChannel" Expansion
 Slots, and a 240 Megabyte Hard Drive as standard equipment.

       It also has a Color Graphics Adapter with a Geometry  Engine Chip, a
 bundled color  monitor, and  a 1.44  Meg Disk  Drive.   IBM also bundles a
 3Com Ethernet Card made for the RS/6000.  Like most Unix workstations, the
 IBM RISC System/6000 is available only as a complete computing package.


 So with this system you have:

       IBM RS/6000 PowerStation Model 320  (Cost: $17,000.00)
       3Com Ethernet Card  (Bundled with System)
       240 Megabyte Hard Drive  (Bundled with System)
       Color Graphics Adapter w/Monitor  (Bundled with System)


 RISC System/6000 Resolution: 1280x1024 with 256 Colors out of 16 Million




 System #6:     NeXTCube workstation w/NeXTDimension 24-bit board
 ---------

 Total Cost of System:  $13,000.00

       Made  by  NeXT  Inc.,  the  NeXTCube workstation comes with a 25 MHZ
 Motorola 68040 Chip having a built-in  Math  Coprocessor,  8  Megs  of RAM
 onboard, and 4 Expansion Slots as standard.  It also comes with a 2.88 Meg
 Disk Drive,  a 256  Meg Magneto-Optical  cartridge Drive,  and an Ethernet
 port as  standard.   To boost its graphics capabilities, one would wish to
 add the NeXTDimension 32-bit graphics  board,  which  displays  16 million
 colors simultaneously at a 1120*832 resolution.


 So with this system you have:

       NeXTCube system w/8 Megs of RAM  (Cost: $10,000.00)
       NeXTDimension 32-bit color board  (Cost: $3000.00)


 NeXT Resolution:  1120*832 in Monochrome

 With NeXTDimension Board:  1120*832 with 16 million colors displayable
                            simultaneously




 Here, the Dream System are graphically shown:

                            Dream Systems List:
              (Comparison of each Systems' Optimal Features)
 _________________________________________________________________________
 Dream      |Main Chips,|MHZ Rate|Data      |Expansion|Graphics Displays/ |
 System     |Megs of RAM|(Speed) |Storage   |  Slots  |Best Resolution(s) |
 -----------|-----------|--------|----------|---------|-------------------|
 IBM 486    |Intel 80486| 33 MHZ |1 Gigabyte|Four (6) |512*480,16 Million |
 System     |Eight Megs |        |Tape Drive|EISA Bus |1024*768,256 Colors|
 -----------|-----------+--------+----------+---------+-------------------|
 Mac IIci   |   68040   | 25 MHZ |1 Gigabyte| Two (3) |640x400, 256 Colors|
 System     |Eight Megs |        |Tape Drive|NuBus    |1024x768,16 Million|
 -----------|-----------+--------+----------+---------+-------------------|
 Atari TT030|68030/68882| 33 MHZ |650 Meg   |Zero (1) |800*600, 256 Colors|
 System     |Eight Megs |        |Tape Drive|VME Bus  |1280*960,Monochrome|
 -----------|-----------+--------+----------+---------+-------------------|
 MIPS Magnum|R3000/R3010| 25 MHZ |400 Meg   | None (0)|     1280*1024     |
 3000 System|  16 Megs  |        |Hard Drive|         |     256 Colors    |
 -----------|-----------+--------+----------+---------+-------------------|
 IBM RS/6000| P.O.W.E.R | 20 MHZ |240 Meg   |Three (4)|     1280x1024     |
 System     |Eight Megs |        |Hard Drive|M-Channel|16 Million (Colors)|
 -----------|-----------|--------|----------|---------|-------------------|
 NeXTCube   |   68040   | 25 MHZ |256 Meg   | Two (4) |     1120*832      |
 System     |Eight Megs |        |Tape Drive|NuBus    | 16 Million Colors |
 -----------'-------------------------------------------------------------'


       In the  Data Storage column, Tape stands for removable storage (like
 Magneto-Optical cartridges  or  Syquest  cartridges),  and  HD  stands for
 fixed, or hard disk storage.

       Also, the Expansion Slot Column now measures the number of available
 expansion slots in each Dream System  AFTER installing  the various add-in
 boards in  each System  Configuration.   The number  in parentheses is the
 total number of expansion slots in the system.


                             Dream Systems List:
                        Basic System Performance List
 _________________________________________________________________________
 Dream      |Dhrystones |Data Transfer| Linpack  |Size of Bus|Size,Type of|
 System     |in VAX MIPS|    Rate     |  MFLOPS  |Architectr.| CPU Cache  |
 -----------|-----------|-------------|----------|-----------|------------|
 IBM 486    |11-14 MIPS | 33 Megabytes| 1.2 - 1.5|  32 Bits  | 128K SRAM  |
 System     |           |  Per Second |  MFLOPS  |    Wide   |            |
 -----------|-----------|-------------|----------|-----------|------------|
 Mac IIci   |10-12 MIPS | 10 Megabytes|   N/A    |  32 Bits  |  32K SRAM  |
 System     |           | Per Second  |          |    Wide   |            |
 -----------|-----------|-------------|----------|-----------|------------|
 Atari TT030|5 - 7 MIPS |     N/A     |   N/A    | 16/24 Bits|  32K SRAM  |
 System     |           |             |          |    Wide   |            |
 -----------|-----------|-------------|----------|-----------|------------|
 MIPS Magnum| 21.3 MIPS |     N/A     |   N/A    |  32 Bits  |  64K SRAM  |
 3000 System|           |             |          |    Wide   |            |
 -----------|-----------|-------------|----------|-----------|------------|
 IBM RS/6000| 27.5 MIPS | 40 Megabytes|7.4 MFLOPS|  32 Bits  |  32K SRAM  |
 System     |           | Per Second  |          |    Wide   |            |
 -----------|-----------|-------------|----------|-----------|------------|
 NeXTCube   |    N/A    | 20 Megabytes|   N/A    |  32 Bits  |  None on   |
 System     |           | Per Second  |          |    Wide   | Motherboard|
 -----------'-------------------------------------------------------------'

       MFLOPS - Million Floating Point math Operations performed Per Second
       SRAM - Static RAM memory (much faster than DRAM chips)

       VAX MIPS is a unit of measuring a computer's Integer processing
       speed.  It is equal to approximately 1750 Dhrystones per Second.




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                             IMPORTANT NOTICE!
                             =================

     As a reader of STReport Online  Magazine,  you  are  entitled  to take
 advantage of  a special DELPHI membership offer.  For only $29.95 ($20 off
 the standard membership price!), you will receive a  lifetime subscription
 to DELPHI,  a copy of the 500-page DELPHI: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE and over $14
 worth of free time.

  NOTE: Special offers can be found in your favorite Atari magazines:

              START             CURRENT NOTES         ST INFORMER
                          ATARI INTERFACE MAGAZINE

                          SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
                          ======================
       Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
                  DELPHI services via a local phone call

                              JOIN -- DELPHI
                              --------------
     1. Dial 617-576-0862 with any terminal or PC  and modem  (at 2400 bps,
        dial 576-2981).
     2. At the Username prompt, type JOINDELPHI.
     3. At the Password prompt enter STREPORT.

 For more information call:
                 DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005
                                    or
    at 617-491-3393 from within Massachusetts or from outside the U.S.

 DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass.


                           SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
                           --------------------

       The 20/20  Advantage Plan  IS FANTASTIC!   And  it features 20 hours
 online for just $20 a month!  The $20 is  a monthly  fee that  covers your
 first 20  hours online via direct dial into one of DELPHI's two direct-ac-
 cess lines, or via a special Tymnet 20/20 Access code.   It  also gets you
 additional  hours  at  just  $1.20  per  hour.  And you get free access to
 several services on DELPHI as part of the Advantage Perks.

     Other telecom services may have additional  charges.   Canadian Tymnet
 users have  an additional telecom charge.  Office Time access (7 a.m. to 7
 p.m., weekdays) may have an  additional  charge.    And  of  course, other
 restrictions may apply.  But this is still an amazing deal!

     For  more  information,  contact  DELPHI at 1-800-544-4005 and ask for
 Member Services.

                 DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!




  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""





 > CPU STATUS REPORT               LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS
   =================

   Issue #17

   Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.



 - Buffalo, New York                            HEART DISEASE DIAGNOSIS
   -----------------

 In  an  attempt  to help cardiologists to diagnose  heart  disease  more
 accurately,  researchers at the State University of New York at  Buffalo
 are attempting to develop a new interactive computer vision technique.

 The  research,  which is funded by a Biological Research Support  Grant,
 should eventually allow a computer to focus on a specific problem  area,
 namely the heart walls,  in a digitized image of an echocardiogram.  The
 hope  is  that an approach can be developed whereby  the  computer  will
 automatically trace a moving image of the cardiac wall and make  precise
 measurements of it for analysis.



 - Austin, Texas                   NEW LOW-COST CHIP LINE FROM MOTOROLA
   -------------

 Motorola is offering four new low-cost,  32-bit, embedded control micro-
 pocessors  which  are based on their current 68000 family  of  micropro-
 cessors.  The new line will be tailored for applications such as  laptop
 and palmtop computers and laser printers,  where manufacturing costs are
 especially important.

 To  keep the cost low on the new chips,  Motorola said it stripped  away
 all of the non-essential functions of the 68000,  68020, 68030 and 68040
 processors, which are used in the Apple line of computers. The new chips
 will range from $2.95 each in quantities of 10,000 to $160 each for  the
 most powerful version of the family.



 - Stamford, Connecticut               IBM FIGHTING A LOOSING BATTLE
   ---------------------

 The Gartner Group, an information technology industry research, analysis
 and consulting firm,  predicts that by 1995, Microsoft Windows will have
 41% of the new installation market share, while OS/2 will have only 21%,
 and  most of that will be to the large corporate  market.  Garner  Group
 predicts  that IBM will not be successful in its efforts to encourage  a
 majority of users to move to OS/2.

 Looking  at other major vendors,  Gartner predicts that  Macintosh  will
 have  20 percent of the market in 1995,  Unix will have six percent  and
 DOS will hang on to 10 percent of the market versus the 69 percent  they
 have now. Other operating systems will account for two percent.



 - Peoria, Illinois                ELECTRONIC MUSICIANS BLOW OWN HORN
   ----------------

 To  help advertise their own talents,  a group of  electronic  musicians
 have banded together and to produce their own publication,  The Computer
 Musician  Coalition,  who describe themselves as 'the nation's  computer
 music enthusiasts users group' has introduced 'Ear Candy.'

 The  publication describes electronic music compositions  by  electronic
 music  artists,  and appears to concentrate primarily  on  instrumentals
 composed  using MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)  technology,
 although vocal offerings are also listed.

 Volume One is a 30-page offering,  listing at least 18 artists and their
 works.   Most  artists have their own page which describes the music  on
 offer, and the individual tape prices, which range from $5 to $20.

 The descriptions of the music are unique.  Sally Daley's 'From Death  To
 Life' is described as "...a fusion of things...  contemporary Classical,
 the Romanticism resembling Mahler, plus a feeling of the beyond which is
 realized in the sound effects used.  Parts of it,  especially sections 3
 and 5, can be used very well as background for guided meditation."

 The  Ear Candy catalog is available through music and  computer  stores,
 and a year subscription is priced at $5 for six issues.  A sample  issue
 costs $1 which covers postage and handling.  All compositions listed  in
 the  catalog  can  be  purchased  direct  from  the  Computer   Musician
 Coalition.

 More  information  on how to get electronic compositions listed  in  Ear
 Candy,  or how to order the catalog, can be obtained from Ron Wallace at
 Computer Musician Coalition,  1024 W.Willcox Ave., Peoria, IL 61604. The
 telephone number is 309-685-4843.



 - Lansing, Michigan            NEWSPAPER ATTACKS MICHIGAN BELL LOBBYING
   -----------------

 Peter Luke,  in an article in the Grand Rapids Press News  Service,  has
 charged that Michigan Bell bought itself favorable treatment in the cur-
 rent rewrite of the state's telecommunications law.

 The article charges that Bell tripled its campaign contributions in  the
 year  before  the rewrite started,  and that the chairwoman of  a  House
 committee  reviewing the bill was taking campaign checks from  lobbyists
 the morning of the first hearing.  Also,  the article alleges that  Bell
 has  spent  more than $1 million lobbying on the  measure,  loaning  its
 offices near the state Capitol to lawmakers for receptions,  and  giving
 away  phones  to legislators after they listened to an  elaborate  sales
 pitch on the bill.

 Finally,  Bell hired as lobbyists a former aid to governor John  Engler,
 Gail  Torreano,  and a legislative aide who months earlier helped  draft
 the phone law.



 - Calgary, Alberta, Canada                          AMIGA EXPO PLANNED
   ------------------------

 The  Amiga  Users of Calgary are getting ready to stage  the  first-ever
 Amiga Expo on Sunday,  May 5 at the Marlboro in Calagary,  Canada.   The
 show is scheduled to include an appearance by Commodore Canada  (showing
 CDTV,  Unix and multimedia demos),  and seminar presentations by profes-
 sionals who use Amigas.  The organizers feel the event should appeal  to
 Amiga enthusiasts and newcomers alike.



 - Cupertino, California                       APPLE POSTS A NICE GAIN
   ---------------------

 Apple Computer cites a gain of approximately 85% in sales of its popular
 Macintosh  personal computer in its second fiscal quarter,  compared  to
 the same quarter a year ago. This lead to net revenues increasing by 19%
 and earnings per share increasing by 3%. Overseas sales continue to inc-
 rease  with  international revenues accounted for 52  percent  of  total
 revenues,  compared  to 47 percent during the second quarter  of  fiscal
 1990.

 "We  have  successfully  launched  Apple on a  new  course,"  said  John
 Sculley,  chairman and chief executive officer,  "While many  challenges
 remain  ahead of us,  we are addressing them from the  most  competitive
 position in our history."



 - Redmond, Washington               FTC WIDENS MICROSOFT INVESTIGATION
   -------------------

 The  Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to expand the  scope  of
 its investigation of Microsoft Corporation.   The investigation is based
 on  third-party  charges that the giant software firm  allegations  that
 Microsoft  is monopolizing the market for operating  systems,  operating
 environments,  computer  software and computer peripherals for  personal
 computers.

 The FTC,  which investigates anti-trust and restraint of trade cases, is
 apparently interested in whether Microsoft was intentionally restricting
 the functionality and features of future versions of Windows.



 - Armonk, New York                IBM IN THE RED FOR THE FIRST TIME
   ----------------

 For  the first time in its corporate history,  IBM has posted a loss  in
 revenue of 4.5% for the first quarter of 1991 compared to one year  ago.
 Much  of it was due to a 20% loss from its normally profitable  Japanese
 wing.  This resulted in an earnings-per-share of only $.93 compared with
 $1.81 in 1990.



        __________________________________________________________





 > The Flip Side STR Feature            "........A different viewpoint"
   =========================




                    A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT
                    ==================================


 by Michael Lee


 The old saying "in the Springtime, a young mans fancy turns to love" has
 been replaced with "in the Springtime,  a young mans fancy turns to get-
 ting a hard drive or upgrading his old one" - or maybe, in this new com-
 puter age, they are the one and the same?

 Recently, Delphi and CIS have had a lot of discussion about hard drives,
 upgrading hard drives and problems with hard drives. So this weeks issue
 will be dominated by hard drive posts. I hope you find them interesting.

                             ----------------

 What else is needed to setup a ST hard drive system from scratch besides
 the bare drive?  Answer from Greg Wageman on CIS...
    You need a Host Adaptor,  power supply and case [and  cables]...Supra
    and ICD...both make Host Adaptors that will connect to the Atari  DMA
    (hard disk) port,  and output SCSI commands to a 50-pin IDC connector
    (SCSI 1 standard)...The whole setup will cost you about $220; $90 for
    a  case and power supply,  and about $130 for the Host  Adaptor.  The
    adaptors  sold  by the above-named companies  come  with  formatting,
    partitioning, boot and driver software.

    From personal experience I think ICD has an edge both in the hardware
    and software. Supra's product is a little less expensive. (I have one
    of each.)

                              ----------------

 Comments about the new WordFlair II from Matt (BLACKICE) on Delphi...
    I  just got my copy of Wordflair II the other day and wanted  to  say
    that  it's  neat.  I had WordUp 3.0 and Flair is by  far  the  better
    program. I haven't worked it hard enough to find any bugs, but so far
    it has tun flawlessly.  If anybody is interested in a good crossbreed
    wordprocessor  and  desktop  publisher you  might  consider  the  new
    Wordflair.

                              ----------------

 From Gary Gray (Megabyte Plus) on CIS...
    Just for fun we benchmarked a drawing using DynaCadd on the  TT,  and
    the same drawing on AutoCadd on a Sparstation.  Guess what killed the
    Sparcstation?

    A  4-meg  TT  with no Fast ram,  running the new  DynaCadd  with  FPU
    support redrew the Survey drawing 3 seconds. An 8-meg TT, running the
    old Dynacadd without FPU support (with DynaCadd running in fast  ram)
    took 6 seconds. The Sparstation took 14 seconds.  The new DynaCadd on
    a  TT with Fast Ram should redraw it in well under 2  seconds,  maybe
    less than one.

    Autocadd and the SparcStation 18k, The TT and DynaCadd 3.5 K is maybe
    14 times faster...

                              ----------------

 Bill Repetto with a 1040ST problem on CIS...
    ...my  four year old 1040 ST is giving me the first problems  I  have
    experienced  with it.  It will not boot!  I get a TOS error 35  every
    time I try to start it from disk. I have TOS 1.0 with a single double
    sided floppy drive...

 Reply from Bob Retelle (Sysop) on CIS...
    ...the first thing to try is the old standby of opening up your  ST's
    case and carefully pressing all the socketed IC chips back down  into
    their sockets.  This includes all the square special chips,  the  TOS
    ROM chips,  and anything else that's not soldered down in place.  The
    floppy  controller  chip in my ST is soldered,  but  yours  might  be
    socketed.

    Some people recommend gently prying the chips up a little bit  before
    pressing them down (to help clean any oxidization from the contacts),
    but I usually just give them a gentle push...If that doesn't fix  it,
    it may need a trip to the shop...

 Reply from Michael D. Mortilla on CIS...
    ...the culprit maybe an auto program on your disk. You might try boot
    without  the  disk in the drive.  It will take the ST 45  seconds  to
    "self-boot"  and  the screen will be blank for that period  of  time,
    *but* if the system does boot, you can open the directory on the disk
    and kill the offending program.  I'm not a programmer,  but I use the
    ST a lot.  The only time I get TOS 35 errors is when I try to boot  a
    program  intended for an IBM (which is why I think you might have  an
    auto boot problem!

 Reply from Lee (Lexicor Sofware) on CIS...
    There is yet another possible problem.  Your floppy drive may not  be
    up  to snuff.  You might consider trying to get a new  floppy  drive.
    They are cheap, easy to install and if you find the problem elsewhere
    you  will  have a backup drive...We have had several  older  machines
    fail in exactly this way, TOS error and all.

                              ----------------

 Question from Chris Scullion on CIS...
    Anyone  know  where I can get a WD1772 chip?  It's  the  floppy  disk
    controller and I need to replace mine.

 Answer from Bob Retelle (Sysop) on CIS...
    ...you  might try calling Best Electronics to see if they  stock  the
    floppy controller chip...their phone number is: (408) 243-6950

 Answer from Ron Shue on CIS...
    You can get them from most mail order electronic houses since that is
    a  industry  standard  chip.  You might try JDR or BG  Micro  out  of
    Computer Shopper.

                              ----------------

 Question from Kenneth A. Webb on CIS...
    I  am  trying  to determine if an Atari SH205  HD  mechanism  can  be
    replaced with a larger mechanism (40 - 60 megs)....

 Answer from Richard Turner on CIS...
    ...the  HD  itself can be replaced.  My brother...replaced  the  hard
    drive  in  his SH205 with 2 higher capacity drives.  The  hard  drive
    controller card in the SH205 is a MFM I believe.  You can replace the
    HD  itself with any MFM ST-506 HD.  The ST-506 designation means  any
    standard IBM type hard drive. My brother is using Seagates I believe.

                              -----------------

 Question from Gary Houser on CIS...
    Where can one get a listing of Names & Addresses of Atari Usergroups?
    I would like to contact several of them and haven't been able to find
    a listing anywhere

 Answer from Hal Dougherty on CIS...
    Start Magazine has a list of user groups on this month's disk.

 Answer from Keith Joins (Sysop) on CIS...
    ...you can also contact Atari directly.  Get a hold of Bob Brodie,  I
    am sure he can get you some information.

                              ----------------

 Comments about Notator from Brian Campbell on CIS...
    ...I'll  tell you that Notator on the ST platform has about the  best
    timing/resolution  in the market,  including the  dedicated  hardware
    sequencers.  Also,  it  will  allow  up  to  64  simultaneous  tracks
    outputting to up to (I think) 80 separate MIDI channels (with the use
    of some external stuff),  plus allows for interfacing with SMPTE, and
    even an adaptave groove and manual tempo adjustment,  so the computer
    can follow the band, rather that the undesirable option...

                              -----------------

 From Kevin Engler on CIS concerning whether you can use a Seagate ST238R
 IBM hard drive on a ST...
    You  can  use the ST238R with an ST,  but not  the  controller  card,
    simply  because it's designed for an IBM's motherboard  slots  (which
    the ST doesn't have).  You still need a controller,  host adapter  (I
    HIGHLY recommend ICD's),  and a power supply. Unless you're cash flow
    situation  is  really tight,  I'd recommend going with  a  commercial
    unit.  As to which one,  they're pretty similar,  although you  can't
    beat ICD's support. Check with your local dealer (if you have one).

                             ----------------

 How one ST user uses his system (slightly edited). From HGM on Delphi...
    I'm a college professor and use my ST for most of my work.  I connect
    to  a  VAX at school via Uniterm,  one of the best  VT-100  emulators
    around.  I use Word Perfect for my writing (it's quite a good program
    and  the  files  are portable to  the  ubiquitious  clones).  For  my
    records, I use Informer II (really nice database). To keep my grades,
    I use OPUS (a fairly good spreadsheet).  I am also director of a pro-
    gram and faculty secretary, so I use DTP a fair amount.  Mostly I use
    PAGESTREAM.

    All of the programs are quite good, the major limitations are imposed
    by me,  not by the hardware or software...DTP takes talent and design
    ability.  I doubt if the top-of-the-line IBM or MAC programs will  do
    more than PAGESTREAM,  FLEETSTREET or CALAMUS.  I AM sure that the ST
    programs  allow  plenty of room to grow.  The ads  that  show  people
    turning  out dazzling copy the first time they use the  new  software
    with all its bells and whistles is a joke. Kind of like thinking that
    a new camera will turn you into a great photographer.

    ...I  get more out of my computer,  and do more with it  than  people
    with  386's and MAC IIs -- mostly because they don't know how to  use
    their  computers  but knew that they wanted "power."  I  have  fooled
    around  with getting one of the IBM emulators so I could run some  of
    the  educational software,  but it is easy enough to run that at  the
    school, and the ST/VAX combo that I use is really quite powerful...

                             ----------------

 Question from David L. Leon on CIS...
    Has anyone heard any news on the Acer Multi-sync and the Atari STs? I
    was  just curious if anyone had any positive or negative feedback  on
    it.

 Answer from Jim Ness (Sysop) on CIS...
    ...this is second hand,  but those who have posted messages regarding
    the ACER say that it works fine with the ST, but the mono mode is not
    exceptionally sharp...with the mono mode being just a tad fuzzy, they
    found it difficult to do any lengthy mono work...Basically,  you  get
    what you pay for in multisynchs. The ACER is very reasonably priced.

                             ----------------

 Question (compiled) from Ron Luks (Sysop) on CIS...
    I've been using Supra's auto-booting software for a while without any
    problems.  I've  even  added a Supra FD-10 (10Mb floppy disk)  to  my
    system in addition to the regular HD.

    Recently, my system does not recognize that one or both of the floppy
    drives  is attached at boot-up.   When I try to access them from  the
    desktop,  the  little  box  pops up saying that  this  drive  is  not
    active...Rebooting with the ctrl-alt-delete ALWAYS brings every drive
    on line. Its just the initial powerup sequence that misses these. And
    it doesn't always happen...I've checked all the cable connections and
    they  are  solid...I'm using a MegaST4 with standard  TOS  1.2...Does
    anybody  have  any  thoughts about this?  It's annoying  to  have  to
    powerup twice each morning...

 Some suggestions from Lee (Lexicor Sofware) on CIS...
    Do you let your drives warm up a few seconds before booting?  I  have
    found  that  with all the "junk" I run on our  computers...ie  Matrix
    card/ISAC/ two color monitors,  modems, etc...I will get a boot where
    the polling of devices sometimes fails. You may just be the victim of
    cold hardware.

    There  is one other possibility...your HD driver may not  be  finding
    the right device ID in the eprom on your floppy controller. It should
    have its own SCSI ID #.  Do you have HDX 4.02?  This advanced HD pack
    has an install utility which will ensure that when you cold boot, the
    system will poll and recognize all SCSI devices in the chain.

 Also from Lee (Lexicor Sofware) about a similar problem with Syquest  44
 removable media hard drives...
    ...Generally  when adding the removable media (Syquest 44) type  HD's
    the software fails or even corrupts the fixed HD partition C with the
    usual consequences.

    To  fix  this  problem  you need the most recent  HDX  4.0  Atari  HD
    utilities.  You  will have to install the new HDX software  and  also
    install all logical drives.  Then the problems you have will go away.
    Your system will also see the changes in Media but will not tell  you
    so.

    If  you use the ICD HD Utilities then you will get the added  benefit
    of disk change alerts and better partition use.

    We have had the same problems with each developer who changed over to
    Removable media systems. The one thing that will never work is to try
    and run a mixed system of both Surpra/Atari with Syquest HD's at  the
    same  time,  it is one or the other for now.  I understand this  will
    change soon.  Keep an eye pealed for an announcement from ICD.

                             ----------------

 Until next week.....





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


                    :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.


               -> NOW!  GENIE STAR SERVICE IS IN EFFECT!! <-


 GEnie is changing for the better.  To  make things  easier, we're changing
 the names  for each  level of  service (beginning  April 25, 1991).  GEnie
 Star*Services will now be known as  GEnie*Basic.   We haven't  changed the
 rates.

 GEnie set  the standard  for reasonable online pricing when we established
 our $4.95 flat rate for a wide range of services.  The  response was over-
 whelming.   We also  offered services  at other  rates.  Then, GEnie users
 like yourself told us they were confused about which services  were avail-
 able at each rate.

 GEnie*Basic is the new name of the full range of services available at a
             flat rate of $4.95 per month.  (These used to be called
             Star*Services.)  We haven't changed the services available
             at this rate except to continue to add new ones.

 GEnie Value is the new name for the services available for $6.00 per
             hour non-prime time.

 GEnie$Professional is the new name we apply to the many specialized
             services available at variable hourly rates.

 At GEnie, we are always looking for ways to improve our service to users.
 We think the new names will help clarify our service levels.

 We're glad you are part of the GEnie family.  We hope you will continue
 to tell us how we can better serve you.

                                   GEnie Pricing
                              (effective April 25, 1991)
              +-------------------------++--------------------------+
              |          USA            ||         CANADA           |
 -------------+-------------------------||--------------------------+
 Monthly      |                         ||                          |
 Subscription |      $4.95/month        ||     $5.95/month          |
 Fee          |                         ||                          |
 -------------+---------------+---------||--------------+-----------+
 Rates        |    Non-Prime  |  Prime  ||  Non-Prime   |  Prime    |
 -------------+---------------+---------||--------------+-----------+
 GEnie*Basic  |    No hourly  | $18/hour||  No hourly   | $25/hour  |
 Services     |     Charge*   |         ||   Charge*    |           |
 -------------|---------------|---------||--------------|-----------+
 GEnie Value  |     $6/hour   | $18/hour||    $8/hour   | $25/hour  |
 Services     |               |         ||              |           |
 -------------|---------------|---------||--------------|-----------+
 GEnie$Pro-   | Prices vary per individual service.  These include  |
 Fessional    | Charles Schwab Brokerage Service (not available in  |
 Services     | Canada), Dow Jones News/Retrieval, Official Airline |
              | Guides, QuikNews clipping service, Telebase's       |
              | Investment ANALY$T and Telebase's POP-MED.          |
 -------------|-----------------------------------------------------+
 Notes:  Non-Prime rates apply Monday-Friday, 6 p.m.-8 a.m. local   |
 time, and all day Saturday, Sunday and GEnie holidays.  Rates are  |
 for 300, 1200 and 2400 baud access only.  Some GEnie services may  |
 not be available outside the United States.  Canadian rates are    |
 quoted in Canadian dollars.                                        |
                                                                    |
 [* In a few areas, there is a $2 per hour remote access surcharge. |
 Where applicable, this charge applies to all services, including   |
 the user of GEnie*Basic Services in non-prime hours.]              |
 -------------------------------------------------------------------+




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





 > MAC REPORT
   ==========

   Issue #007
   ----------



 by Robert Allbritton


     Sorry that  I missed  you folks  last week,  but its that time of year
 when us college students get quite busy.  For the past ten days I have had
 a major  paper or  exam due every day of the week, so my brain is about on
 par with lime Jell-O.   As  a result,  this week  will just  have news, no
 review.   However, as soon as my schedule permits, I will continue my aim-
 less blabbering!


 MacNews


 ***     Apple to use Motorola RISC chip.

     The hot rumor flying around both Motorola and Apple at the end of this
 week was  that Apple  will in fact continue its relationship with Motorola
 when it begins production of its next generation of computers.  Beyond the
 68040 Mac seems to lie a future of RISC based UNIX (or A/UX) workstations.
 Look for public announcements in about 6 months.



 ***     Apple vs. Microsoft lawsuit expands.

     Apple has added Windows 3.0 to its suit against Microsoft over copyri-
 ght infringement.   This  is a  significant move because the original suit
 was based on Windows 2.03, but Apple has always considered  Windows 3.0 to
 be a  derivative work  of 2.03.   This sent a shiver down the spine of Mi-
 crosoft on the market on Wednesday,  and  legal  experts  are  saying that
 Apple could  demand much  larger than originally expected royalty payments
 should they win the  suit.   Apple originally  licensed some  parts of the
 Macintosh interface to Microsoft for Windows 1.0.



 ***     New Wireless Networking

     A few weeks ago, Apple petitioned the FCC to allocate certain parts of
 the radio spectrum for  wireless personal  computer networking.   On April
 11, Dr.  David Nagel,  Apple VP for Advanced Technology testified before a
 Senate subcommittee in support of the upcoming Emerging Telecommunications
 Technologies Act  of 1991 that could provide the needed frequencies.  This
 could allow computers to be "wirelessly" networked within 150 feet  of one
 another, truly  any portable computer owners dream come true.  This legis-
 lation would benefit all computer makers, not just Apple.



 ***     Profits: some up, some down.

     While Apple profitability went up  to  $1.07  per  share  this quarter
 (compared to  $1.04 per share last year) there was a fair amount of disap-
 pointment.  Most analyst has  expected  between  1.15  and  1.20  from the
 California computer  company, but  overall year earnings expectations have
 not changed.  Other factors mentioned  were  the  runaway  success  of the
 Classic, but  a failure  to have  similar significant success with the new
 Mac LC and the Mac II line.

     On other notes, Radius, maker of Monitors and Mac accelerators lost $1
 Million  in  the  second  quarter,  while Mac Monitor maker RasterOps made
 $1.55 million in the third quarter.



 ***     SIMM prices on the rise.

     After hitting the low price of $25 six  weeks ago,  1 Meg  SIMM prices
 seem to  be on  the rebound.  Current pricing from The Chip Merchant has 1
 meg SIMMS at $40.  On a brighter note, 4 meg SIMMS are now at price parity
 with their 1 meg cousins. Current pricing for 4 meg SIMMS is now $160.




          ______________________________________________________





 > STR Portfolio News & Information           Keeping up to date...
   ================================



                         THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
                         =========================

 On CompuServe


 by Walter Daniel  75066,164


     Read message  #11354 for  details of an appearance by the Portfolio on
 the Lifetime cable-TV network.  It will be  demonstrated during  a program
 segment on "gadgets."

     DIP,  the  British  developers  of  the  Portfolio, have announced the
 Pocket PC-512 in the UK.   The machine  has more  memory, more  power, and
 enhanced built-in software.  See message #11378 for more information.

     Dave Stewart has announced a new version of his Port-a-Sketch program.
 Details are in message #11319.

     I've reported in the past of various efforts  to get  the Turbo Pascal
 compiler running  on the  Portfolio.  BJ Gleason analyzed version 3.01 and
 discovered an incompatibility due to the display speed.   While  the Turbo
 Pascal compiler  can be  modified, there's  a quicker  solution.  Call the
 Setup utility, select Display, select Speed, then choose  Fast.   The dis-
 play is now updated more quickly and Turbo Pascal 3.01 should work.

     With RAM  card space  at a premium, most Portfolio developers use com-
 pression programs such as LZEXE to  reduce the  size of  stored files.   A
 newer compression  program, PKLITE,  has been gaining some converts within
 the Portfolio community.  It is  stored  in  the  IBM  Utilities  Forum as
 PKLITE103.EXE.

     News version  of existing  programs were  uploaded this week.  INHOCK-
 3.WKS is an update of the loan comparison worksheet in library 1.  CC3.BAS
 is version  1.3 of Conversion Calculator, a PBASIC program to perform unit
 conversions between pounds and kilograms, etc.  This new version  uses the
 MENU statement  in PBASIC extensively.  Chris Burns has updated his Power-
 BASIC programs for using a Tandy PDD2 disk drive.  The command-line utili-
 ties are in TDUTIL.ZIP; his new file manager is TM2.ZIP.

     A new  PDD2 program was uploaded this week.  This program, PDD210.ZIP,
 is for desktop PCs and is not Portfolio-compatible at this time.



         _________________________________________________________





 > HAYES MODEMS STR InfoFile             NEW Hayes Pocket 2400!
   =========================



                   HAYES INTRODUCES POCKET EDITION 2400
                   ====================================


                  The Ideal Modem for Business Travelers
                                    and
                          Palmtop - Laptop Users

     Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc.  announced April  1991 availability
 of Pocket Edition 2400, a 3-ounce, 3-inch long modem designed specifically
 for the business traveler and the laptop market.  Pocket Edition 2400 does
 not require an electrical outlet, battery pack or a serial port adapter to
 connect to a laptop or portable computer.

     Pocket Edition 2400 comes packaged with cables, Smartcom EZ communica-
 tions software  and a carrying case that attaches to any computer carrying
 case strap.  Because  the modem  runs off  the power  supplied through the
 telephone line  and the computer's serial port, the need for an electrical
 outlet or bulky battery pack is eliminated.

     At an estimated retail price of US$179 and CN$208, Pocket Edition 2400
 is more  than a  modem.   It is  a complete, cost-effective communications
 solution for MS-DOS and  compatible  laptop  and  portable  computers with
 standard  9-pin  RS-232  serial  ports. Pocket Edition 2400 provides 2400,
 1200 and 300 bps communications.

     Pocket Edition 2400 also provides a convenient way to send  faxes when
 used in  conjunction with  an information service such as those offered by
 AT&T, MCI, US Sprint, CompuServe or GEnie.  Users simply  call an informa-
 tion service,  send the data to the service via the modem, and the service
 does the rest.  This technique enables the business traveler to save time,
 energy and  money by  sending faxes  without leaving the hotel room or any
 other off-site location.

     "Communications from  laptop  and  portable  computers  has  become an
 integral part of the business world especially for automating sales forces
 and supporting off-site employees," said Hayes President Dennis  C. Hayes.
 "Pocket  Edition  2400  provides  the  flexibility  and convenience that a
 laptop or portable user requires at a very competitive price,  while still
 providing the high standard of performance these users expect from a Hayes
 product."

     Smartcom EZ  is a  simple-to-use communications  software program that
 enables users  to access  PCs and  on-line or  BBS services.   Smartcom EZ
 provides easy-to-follow menus and phone book  entries to  store frequently
 called numbers.   This  software also provides pre-entered phone book ent-
 ries for the most popular information  services.   Keyboard macros, exten-
 sive on-line  help screens  and Autotype,  which enables users to transfer
 text files effortlessly, are other features included in Smartcom EZ.   The
 XMODEM  protocol  allows  users  to  send or receive data files error-free
 between locations.

                         POCKET EDITION 2400 HOLDS
                                     A
                  TWO-YEAR LIMITED PERFORMANCE WARRANTY.

     Smartcom EZ holds a  unique limited  90-day performance  warranty. For
 more  information  contact  Hayes  Customer Service at 404/441-1617 in the
 U.S. or 416/283-2627 in Canada.

     Best known as the  leader  in  microcomputer  modems,  Hayes develops,
 supplies and  supports computer  communications equipment and software for
 personal computer  and  computer  communications  networks.    The company
 distributes its  products through  an international  network of authorized
 distributors, dealers, and original equipment manufacturers.


                    HAYES MICROCOMPUTER PRODUCTS, INC.
                              P.O. Box 105203
                          Atlanta, Georgia 30348
                               404/449-8791




      ______________________________________________________________






 > Quantum Pro STR Feature       "..LPS stands for Low Profile Series"
   =======================



                  FAST, FASTER AND "HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS"
                  ======================================

                                    or


     "How to convince your wife you REALLY need that new hard drive."


 By Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.


 Recently,  I bought a new Quantum ProDrive 105S hard drive to replace my
 aging,  decrepit, Fujitsu M2243AS2 (a 110 meg drive). It was starting to
 make weird and eerie noises which I interpreted as its death-knell.  The
 Fujitsu was one of the old,  full-height 5 1/4" RLL drives (can you  say
 'boat anchor'?)  that  was fast for its day,  but was a little  slow  in
 comparison  with todays technology.  Not only was it a little  slow,  it
 also  ran  hot (I kept my coffee hot by putting it on top of  the  drive
 cabinet) and pulled a lot of juice (each time I turned it on, the lights
 would dim in a 10 block area).  In mathematical terms...

     NOISES + SLOWNESS + HEAT + ELECTRICAL USAGE = a new Quantum 105S
           (or at least, that's how I explained it to my wife)

 My  new  Quantum 105S was one of the new generation of  hard  drives,  a
 half-height 3.5" SCSI drive (a little smaller than a 3.5"  bare,  floppy
 drive - about 1/8th the size of Fujitsu).  It's faster, pulls less power
 (I can probably pay for the new drive just in electricity savings...I'll
 say anything to rationalize my new drive and keep my wife happy <grin>),
 and it runs cooler than the Fujitsu (now I can keep my soda cold). Since
 it's a SCSI drive,  that meant that I no longer had to have a controller
 card,  as that's built into the drive ("See honey, I can sell my Adaptec
 4070 controller card, that way the drive won't cost me as much"...Reason
 #87  in  explaining to your wife why you need a  new  hard  drive).   So
 basically, I traded my antique 'Hupmobile' in on a nice new Mustang.

 I  was  happy...until someone on one of the on-line  services  mentioned
 that  he had one of the NEW Quantum LPS105S drives (LPS stands  for  Low
 Profile  Series) that was even smaller and faster than my "old"  Quantum
 105S.  Then  to rub salt into the wound,  someone else said that he  had
 seen  the Quantum LPS105S advertised in Computer Shopper for only  $385,
 the  same price as the Quantum 105S's - I paid $500 for my Quantum  105S
 just  2-3 months ago (needless to say,  I did not tell my wife that  the
 drive had dropped $115 in price in 2-3 months...some things a wife  just
 isn't meant to hear...for my continuing well-being).

 Needless to say, I had to investigate this. I wanted to make sure the ad
 wasn't a printers error, so last week I called Griffin Computer, Inc. to
 inquire about their ad.   "Yeap",  they said,  "we have the new  Quantum
 LPS105S for only $385,  how many do you want?".  Arrgh!!  I was hooked!!
 (Now how was I going to explain this one to my wife? I don't think she's
 going to buy "Look honey, it followed me home".)

 It was time to put Plan B in action! I still had a Seagate 296N (85-meg,
 half-height 5 1/4" SCSI drive) in my dual hard drive case  ("Honey,  did
 you  just hear the Seagate make a weird and eerie noise?  Do  you  think
 whatever  was  wrong with the Fujitsu was contagious?).  Since I  had  a
 sucker...oops, I mean 'buyer' for my Seagate 296N, it would only cost me
 $100-$150 to get 20 more megs and a faster drive ("Honey, Mark will give
 me $150 and his Seagate 157N for my old,  ancient Seagate 296N.  Then  I
 can sell Dave, Mark's Seagate 157N for $150 and that way it won't hardly
 cost anything at all to upgrade."...Guys,  if you're wife will buy  this
 story, keep her around no matter what...she's one in a million!!).

 So  I  called Griffin Computer back on Tuesday and told  them  "Send  me
 one...NOW!!!"  ("Honey,  where did you hide my credit  card?").  I  also
 ordered  a  3.5" adaptor kit for my 5 1/4" case and had  them  send  the
 whole thing to me via UPS 2nd Day Air ("See honey how I save  money?   I
 could have had it sent Next Day Air but that cost $8 more"). Thursday at
 3pm,  the UPS man was knocking on my door with a little brown box in his
 hand. My NEW Quantum LPS105S had arrived!!  Needless to say, I wasted no
 time installing my toy...oops, necessary addition

 The entire installation only took about an hour (actually,  it took over
 2  hours,  but the "wasted" hour is a source for another  article).   It
 took about 10 minutes to take out the Seagate 296N,  about 40 minutes to
 install  the  5.25"-to-3.5" converter in the drive bay (if  you  already
 have a 3.5" drive in your case, you won't have to do this), and about 10
 minutes to hook up the new drive (someone without 5 thumbs on each  hand
 could've done it all in 15-20 minutes, at least that is how long my wife
 says it would taken her).

 The  only problem that I encountered during the installation  was  which
 jumpers  on the drive should be removed and which should be kept  (there
 are a total of six sets of jumpers,  three to set the SCSI device number
 and three for some sort of IBM "junk").  Griffin Computers, sent a mini-
 data sheet with the hard drive,  but it assumed I was installing it in a
 PC and gave me PC defaults (setup for SCSI device 7).   Luckily, I had a
 friend that had a full data sheet for the Quantum 105S.  In case you get
 a  Quantum 105S/LPS105S here's how to set up the drives for either  SCSI
 device 0 or 1....


         STOCK          ST SCSI DEVICE 0      ST SCSI DEVICE 1
     . . .   . . .        . . .  . . .          . . .  . . .
       | |     |                                  |
     . . .   . . .        . . .  . . .          . . .  . . .


 Was the NEW Quantum LPS105S worth it?  You bet it was!! (Well, it was to
 me, my wife still isn't convinced...women sure are stubborn.)  It's even
 smaller  and faster than my "old" Quantum 105S (about 1" high)  ("Honey,
 think how fast your Solitaire game will now boot up...I did all of  this
 for  you.") and it's so quiet that you almost cannot hear it  work.   (I
 understand that Jim Allen of Fast Tech - T-16 fame - bought two of  them
 from Griffin recently.)

          Speed comparisons based on ICD's Rate Hard Drive v2.04

         Device Name                  Data Rate        Av. Access

       Fujitsu M2243AS2                 420K/s            32 ms.
       Quantum 105S                     671K/s            25 ms.
       Quantum LPS105S                 1125K/s            20 ms.

 Could I recommend Griffin Computers,  Inc.  to anyone else?   You bet  I
 can!!   Their sales people were very courteous,  polite and professional
 and  kept their "smile" through all of my questions (I couldn't  believe
 that  they  were selling the Quantum LPS105S for the same price  as  the
 Quantum  105S).   I was slightly concerned when I first got the  Quantum
 LPS105S  because  I  didn't  get a copy of  my  invoice  or  credit-card
 receipt.  After calling them about it,  I found the reason was they  did
 not run the credit cards through UNTIL the drive shipped (so  naturally,
 they  couldn't include the credit card receipt with the drive).   I  got
 both  the invoice and credit-card receipt the day after I got my  drive.
 Verrrry professional.

                          Griffin Computer, Inc.
                       6500 NW 12th Ave., Suite 115
                      Ft. Lauderdale, Florida  33309
                               305-771-9055
                               800-472-4743

                      Quantum LPS52S    52-meg   $240
                      Quantum LPS105S  110-meg   $385


 Acknowledgements to:
                            Doug Wheeler of ICD
                           Jim Allen of FastTech
                                Erik Mosier
                                Bill Loring

 (NOTE: My  wife says she would like to talk with all four of  the  above
 people, something about a "hit-list".)


        __________________________________________________________






 > STR Spotlight                   Looking BBS's over, what do they do?
   =============



 TAKING A GOOD LOOK AT........



                              BULLETIN BOARDS
                              ===============

 by Dana P. Jacobson


      I've heard many times from some  of my  fellow Atarians:  "Where do I
 go for  help if I have problems or questions about my ST?"  Well, with the
 rapid decline of Atari dealers nationwide, that question is not  always an
 easy one  to answer.   It used to be that you could direct anyone to visit
 his/her local Atari dealer.  If the dealer was worth like most  I've dealt
 with in  the past,  he  would have a pretty good idea how to help a poten-
 tial (or steady) customer.  A  dealer could  explain various  hardware and
 software, and  answer at least the basic of questions.  From experience, I
 used to depend on the dealers to recommend  software to  fit my particular
 needs.   If I  needed certain hardware to make my task easier, he also had
 the answer to that as well.  Well folks, it  just isn't  the same anymore.
 Many of  those dealers  who were around when we first got our machines are
 just not there anymore.  So, what do we do now, sell our machines  and buy
 one that  has dealers?   If  you enjoy  the ST, then there's a good chance
 you don't  want to  change in  midstream.   Where do  we go  if there's no
 dealer easily accessible?

      In the  next couple of issues, I hope to be able to answer that ques-
 tion in detail.  The two  most common  sources for  information other than
 dealers are  bulletin boards  and user groups.  Both sources require users
 who share similar ends: to learn more about  their chosen  machine and its
 capabilities.   To access bulletin boards (BBS), one must have a modem and
 at least a few numbers of BBSs.  There are literally hundreds  of bulletin
 boards in  the U.S.; and there's a good chance there's at least one or two
 within your local area to keep  long-distance tolls  at a  minimum.  There
 are also  subscription online  services, such  as GEnie,  Delphi, and Com-
 puserve.   BBSs provide  a service  to its  users by  having message bases
 and, usually,  a files  section which  contains public domain software for
 you to access.

      User groups are made up of people who  also share  your Atari intere-
 sts.    These  groups  can  consist  of a small number of people, or large
 groups,  meeting  regularly  to  discuss  various  topics  of  interest to
 provide  its  members  useful  information  about  various  aspects of the
 machine.   Some groups  are loosely-formed  "clubs" and  others are larger
 and  more  organized.    Geographical  location will usually determine the
 size of a user group.   Larger cities  will usually  have more  users than
 small towns,  although this is certainly not always the case.  Regardless,
 user groups are an  outlet  to  either  complement  those  areas  having a
 dealer and/or bulletin boards; or being the only outlet for information.

      For most of you reading this, you most likely have access to  BBSs or
 an online service.  How else would you  obtain STReport?     Well, it's my
 assumption that  many of you don't belong to a user  group; nor call other
 sources other than an online service.  I  have  heard of  people who down-
 load STReport  and pass it along, on  disk, to other Atari users.  So, for
 those of you who may not be  fully aware of the sources available  to you,
 these articles will  be important.  To those of you who do not take advan-
 tage of these  sources, perhaps these articles  may give  you some insight
 to   become more  involved in  whatever is  available to you in your local
 area.

      Before I go any further, I can just hear you all saying:  "What about
 Atari magazines?   Certainly  they can  provide me with  the information I
 need."  Well, like the dealers,  Atari-specific   magazines are dwindling.
 And, for  those still around (support  them!), they cannot usually provide
 a reader with instant  gratification of an answer to specific questions or
 problems.   The   magazines are certainly an integral part of our learning
 experience, and I recommend that you read them.  I believe that   they can
 supplement a  user's knowledge,  but they  are certainly   limited in what
 they can provide on a regular basis.

      Although they come and  go as  much as  the weather  changes in   New
 England,  bulletin  boards  and  the  pay online services are the  easiest
 source for any user to obtain  useful information,  and   quite often very
 quickly.    My  attempts  to  discuss  BBSs will be  general in nature, as
 specific details will differ for each BBS.   Every  BBS has  its own "per-
 sonality"; including  users, messages,   files, and other relevant offeri-
 ngs.  Different BBS programs allow the SysOp  (System Operator)  and users
 to do  different things;  but  in essence, providing similar opportunities
 for everyone in  general.

      To begin with, a bulletin board usually provides  at least  two major
 services for its users: a message base and a files area.

      A bulletin  board is  the means  for which  any number  of users  can
 access a  computer remotely,  via a  modem and  telephone line  by  simply
 dialing the  BBS host  computer, usually  by means of a  terminal program.
 Different BBSs have different  means to  access   certain information, but
 essentially once  you've gained  a valid   "account", you've entered a new
 world of computing.  Most BBSs  have an area set aside for message forums,
 or bases.   Some are  broken down by topics to make it easier for users to
 look for  pertinent information.  Topics, or SIGs (Special Interest Group-
 s)    can  consist  of  many  items.    Some will be computer-related, and
 others will have social  connotations.   Whatever the  topic, it   usually
 makes things  easier to  find the  answer in the correct area  when you're
 searching for information.  Once you've  gained access   to  a BBS,  it is
 always wise  to get  involved in  the message  bases.    There's no "rule"
 which states that you must be an expert to be   active  in messages  in an
 area where  you might  not be  an authority. The messages bases are forums
 for messages.  Read them, reply to  them, and become involved.   Something
 you 'say'  might help  someone  else.  Personally, the message base is the
 first area I check out  whenever I log on to any BBS -  that's where _the_
 information is  to be found.  See what each BBS has to offer for a message
 base so  you'll know what potential information is available.  These areas
  are vital to every user who calls!

      The files  section of  a BBS  is another  vital area of any  bulletin
 board system.  It is here that you'll find, hopefully,  all the latest and
 best public  domain software  available to  you.    It is here that you'll
 find those files that will help  make  your    computing  more  easier and
 enjoyable.   All that  you'll have  to do  is choose the files you want to
 download, and do it.  You may not  be able to download everything you want
 at one session, but the  files will be there on your next call.  A word to
 the wise: if  you're calling a long-distance BBS, choose  your downloading
 wisely; those  5-10 minute downloads add up and those monthly phone  bills
 can skyrocket!  To those BBSs which  you  find  beneficial  to    you with
 regard to  downloads, return  the favor  and upload  some  files which you
 feel may be helpful to other users.  It's only  right that you give back a
 little whenever  you can.   Another  thing  to remember on any BBS is that
 the files are supposed to be in the   public  domain (shareware, freeware,
 etc.).   Commercial software  on  a BBS is piracy; don't upload commercial
 software, regardless.  If  you see a file that  appears to  be commercial,
 let the  SysOp know   as he might not be aware of it.  If there's a lot of
 commercial  software available,  let someone  know.   Pirate BBSs  are il-
 legal,  and a menace to our computing enjoyment.

      The  online   subscription  services,  such  as  Delphi,  GEnie,  and
 Compuserve, are essentially bulletin boards, but  the services  that  they
 provide are  much more  comprehensive than  our typical  neighborhood BBS.
 These services have the resources to  maintain    huge  message  bases and
 files sections,  not to  mention additional   areas for information.  Each
 has its benefits, and unless you  happen to win the lottery, you'll proba-
 bly never explore every  option available to you.  But, once you've become
 accustomed to  the various areas available to  you, you  can utilize those
 areas   which you  find most  important to you.  These services also carry
 monthly subscription charges;  and  some  charge  for  certain   services,
 including downloading files.

      The benefits of these online services usually make up for the charges
 you incur, as long as you use your online time wisely.   The message bases
 are immense;  and there  are many  support areas   where you'll find Atari
 developers, and other experts, with online help.   The friendly  banter is
 an added plus!

      I could  go on  about bulletin boards and online services,  enough to
 fill a novel or  two.   To do  so would  deprive you  of   finding out for
 yourself what these systems have to offer.   Whether you call a local BBS,
 one across the country, or a  pay   service -  you'll find  them to  be an
 invaluable source  of   information.   Even with the (hopeful) return of a
 nationwide Atari  dealer network, the bulletin boards are a major asset to
 any  computer user; and they're here to stay!



                   Next week: A look at the user group.



        __________________________________________________________





 > MEGA4 STE STR FOCUS            "Let's see what makes this baby tick!"
   ===================




                           ATARI'S MEGA4/50 STE
                           ====================


 Part I


 by Ralph Mariano


     The Atari  Mega STe  is literally  an awesome powerhouse.  Wait, I did
 have plenty of time to operate and observe the TT030  computers in  use at
 CEPS.... Hmmmm it now appears that between the two computers I have caught
 the wowie zowies.. NOT SO!  Let me point out that I have an  Adspeed and a
 T-16 equipped  Mega ST  in our STR office.  And although the TT was 32Mhz,
 the real meat and potatoes machine for the majority of us is the MEGA STe.
 This machine  is definitely  hot!   Now, let's  get back to the powerhouse
 quip, you see, the  MEGA STe  has it  all built-in,  its a  smooth running
 operating system  as opposed  to an  upgrade that's "hacked" into an older
 design.  That 'hacked'  expression is  not meant  to be  derogatory but it
 does point  out that  its not  a "factory design".  The MegaSTe takes some
 getting used to, but once you're over that the rest is a sheer pleasure.

     The NEWDESK desktop is a delight... in fact,  I am  having a  ball ex-
 ploring all  the great  things it  can do.  Next week's issue will be more
 technical than this one, after all the machine is only here so far for one
 day.   Everything you've  heard and read about the comfort of the keyboard
 is true.  Its firmer to the feel and has a positive, solid reaction to the
 keystrokes.

     The unit,  delivered here  yesterday, is  the 4mb Ram with a 50mb hard
 drive and its showing very respectable performance numbers.  My friends, I
 can't begin  to tell what Captive is like in Stereo with the added colors.
 I can tell you it is a big step forward.  And  if I  am allowed  to "think
 ahead" for a moment, i can only imagine what Atari's design engineers have
 in store for us in the future for the VME bus.

     As soon as it was delivered, we set it up and stood back to admire its
 "new look",  (as in get used to), the different appearance.  Once over the
 newness, a hard drive was assembled and attached  to the  ascsi port (DMA)
 with the  ICD top  of the  line host adapter installed.  In fact, the out-
 board hard drive is 200mb Maxtor.  The first nicety was found  that we did
 not  have  to  remove  any  terminating resistor packs when installing the
 outboard drive.  The Mega STe4 is  now  250mb  strong  and  it  rips right
 along.  Rate hard drive gave us this:

                    0,0  Seagate         -     549ks   -    34ms
                    1,0  Maxtor          -     492ks   -    23ms

     Not too shabby...... to say the very least.

     The next  step was  to begin preliminary checks with the emulators, we
 hooked up the Supercharger  IBM Emulator  and as  fast as  we could double
 click on  ABIO.TOS we  were very  busy MS-DOSing  our way through the hard
 drive partitions.. ALL of them.  C-J   Supercharger works  flawlessly with
 the Mega  STe in  the 16Mhz.Cache  On mode.  Next Week we'll check out the
 MAC/GCR world.

               The machine has some very impressive stats:

          16 MHz 68000 CPU                   50 Meg internal hard drive
          Detachable keyboard                Built-in fan
          Mouse                              Standard parallel port
          Blitter chip                       MIDI In and Out ports
          4096 color palette                 Cartridge port
          Stereo sound output                DMA port
          SIMM memory                        Two 9-pin (RS-232) ports
          TOS 2.05 with NewDesk              8 MHz VME bus
          Double sided 3.5" floppy drive     Standard SCC LAN port


     For those who must  have  speed-o-marks,  Quindex  numbers  showed the
 Mega4STe to  be as  fast or (in many cases) faster than an AdSpeed OR T-16
 equipped Mega4 ST.   For  all intents  and purposes,  the Mega4STe outper-
 forms all  the older machines so far.  Those users involved in DTP and CAD
 packages will most certainly enjoy and  benefit from  the increased speed.
 The time it takes to ARC/LZH and unARC/LZH files is cut by at least 50%!

     The  Mega/STe  is,  in  STReport's professional opinion, the strongest
 value in a computer for the home and  small business  user that  Atari has
 ever designed produced and marketed....   For those of you who are casual-
 ly involved in DTP and could  easily  be  classified  as  hobbyists and/or
 professional  computer  operators,  this machine; the MEGASTe4/50 delivers
 more BANG for the BUCK than any other Atari, or for that matter, ANY other
 computer available in its price range.  If you are even slightly consider-
 ing the purchase of a new computer or,  thinking of  updating your system,
 make it  your business to get this computer.  It IS sweet.  The machine is
 well designed in all areas but  one, the  mouse and  joystick ports demand
 that a  right angle  connector be used.  And the coiled cord for the keyb-
 oard to CPU connection is somewhat confusing.  Why it  has a  connector on
 one end  only and  at the  opposite side  of the machine, thus forcing the
 coiled cord to transverse the width of the  machine to  be inter-connected
 is  a  puzzle.    Minor  aggravations  to be sure.  The performance of the
 machine outshines those points by a strong country mile.

     Next week, we'll get into the interior of the machine  and an in-depth
 look at  the Extensible  Control Panel  and its power.  Each week, we will
 explore a serious program and compare it to our existing  equipment.  Next
 week STReport  will be done entirely on the Mega4/STe50.  Once again, this
 machine is NICE!



        __________________________________________________________





 > STReport CONFIDENTIAL                "ACCURATE ATARI NEWS FIRST!"
   =====================




 - Salona Beach CA.           TALON'S  SUPERCHARGER 286 -> ON THE WAY!
   ----------------

     Condor Trading Ltd. has announced 286 upgrade in May 1991 for registe-
 red users.  The long awaited 286 upgrades to the SuperCharger IBM emulator
 will be shipping from the manufacturer  in the  beginning of  May 1991 for
 registered owners  of SuperCharger.  Basically, the upgrade will allow the
 SuperCharger to emulate the AT class of computers.  Currently  it emulates
 the slower XT series of machines.

     The board  is equipped with one meg of RAM and is expandable to either
 2 or 4 megs by using the easy-to-find SIMM chips.  The upgrade is rated at
 12 MHz and has a Norton rating of 14 (a 16 MHz processor is an option).

     The  upgrade  comes  in  two  configurations.  The first fits into the
 existing case and is fairly easy to install.   However,  it does  not have
 any expansion  slots.   The second  configuration consists  of a new metal
 case that contains the  new 286  board, a  built-in power  supply, and two
 extra 16  bit expansion  slots.   The installation  is just as easy as the
 first configuration.  With  the expansion  slots, users  may add expansion
 boards such  as VGA,  MODEM, FAX  BOARDS, ETC.  So now the ST can become a
 true IBM compatible machine!




 - San Francisco, CA                                MULTI-GEM REAL
   -----------------


 The Atari platform has a software multi-tasking system.   If  a program is
 written for  multi-tasking, it runs while you're executing another program
 in a different  window.  This program works very much like multi-finder in
 the MAC world.  Up to 6 programs may be active at the same time as long as
 no acc's are installed.   MULITGEM  uses the  ACC slots.   More  should be
 known very soon as this is coming in from Europe.




 - Sunnyvale, CA                              The LYNX Lineup
   -------------

                              Available NOW:

                    California Games   Blue Lightening
                    Chips Challenge    ElectroCop
                    Gates of Zendocon  Gauntlet: THe Third Encounter
                    KLAX               Rampage
                    RoadBlasters       Ms. Pac-Man
                    PaperBoy           Robo-Squash
                    Rygar              Shanghai
                    Slime World        Xenophobe
                           Zarlor Mercenary


                              Coming Soon

                    Ninja Garden       Tournament CyberBall
                    Blockout           Hard Drivin'
                    Rolling Thunder    Hockey
                    NFL Football       Stun Runner
                    World Class Soccer Turbo-Sub
                    Vindicators        Toki
                    Warbirds           Hydra
                    720                Robotron
                    Scrapyard Dog      A.P.B.
                    Casino             Pacland
                    BasketBrawl        Xybots
                    Golf               Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
                    Checkered Flag     Viking Child
                    Grid Runner        Geo Duel
                    Crystal Mines 2    Fidelity Ultimate Chess
                              Barbarian Body Guard



 - Sunnyvale, CA                                 FOR THE RECORD........
   -------------

  Ctsy GEnie

 Category 14,  Topic 14
 Message 261       Fri Apr 12, 1991
 D.MCNAMEE [Dan @ Atari]      at 15:08 EDT

 I have done some checking around here.  The Mega STe is still FCC class A,
 not B.

                              Dan McNamee Atari Softsource Administrator


 Category 14,  Topic 35
 Message 269       Fri Apr 12, 1991
 D.MCNAMEE [Dan @ Atari]      at 15:08 EDT

 I have checked around here and the TT has not yet passed  FCC class  B, it
 is still a Class A device.

                              Dan McNamee Atari Softsource Administrator

                               =-=-=-=-=-=-=

 Bill,

         The Mega  STe is  also Class A, not B.  The dealer should not have
 sold you this unit unless it was for use in a business environment, and if
 they  got  these  units  from  us  (ie, not Canada or elsewhere) then they
 should have a signed agreement with  us stating  that they  will only sell
 them to businesses.

                                                  Dan

                               =-=-=-=-=-=-=

 Editor Note:
     While the  classifications of  the two machines may be "A" rather than
 "B", one point must be made very clear.  Please  be mindful  that this FCC
 classification does not, at all, relate to the reliability, performance or
 sophistication of these fine machines.   The  TT030  and  the  MegaSTe are
 tested by  the FCC  only for  the amount of spurious emissions that may or
 may not interfere with the performance of a  nearby Television.   (Compli-
 ance with the rules and regulations of part 15.)

     Many of  you who were and may still be CBer's will remember part 95...
 :-)  And how you were allowed 5 watts of input to  the finals.   Of course
 this severely  limited your  CB radio's  range so....  there were many who
 employed the use of the "pesky"  linear amplifier.   Now,  with this added
 power 25 - 1 kw (a gallon), the TVI (TV Interference) was heightened.  The
 FCC had set guidelines for this area also.   The  thought here  is the new
 machines are  'powerhouses' and thus their shielding and bypass filtration
 circuitry must be enhanced.  And according to our info, this is being done
 at this very moment.

              "Ya, 10-4 good buddy, catcha on the flip side.
                        Threes......,  We're 10-7."



           _____________________________________________________






 > Hard Disks STR InfoFile            TAX TIME SPECIAL OFFERINGS!....
   =======================




                      NEW LOW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!!
                      ===============================
                     >> INCOME TAX REFUND SPECIALS <<
                       ** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! **

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              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
                 _________________________________________

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                 _________________________________________

   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 ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED *
                  * SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS *

                   WE PAY SHIPPING!!!  >BLUE LABEL UPS!<

                           Conventional Shoe Box
                 ADD 35.00 for 4 BAY TURBO Cabinet w/250w PS
            Model        Description      Autopark       Price
            ==================================================
            SGN3038      31Mb 28ms   3.5"    Y          419.00
            SGN4951      51Mb 28ms   3.5"    Y          479.00
            SGN6277      65Mb 24ms   5.25"   Y          519.00
            SGN6177      62Mb 24ms   3.5"    Y          549.00
            SGN1096      85Mb 24ms   5.25"   Y          589.00
            SGN1098      96mb 25ms   3.5"    Y          719.00
            SGN2055     105mb 19ms   3.5"    Y          889.00
            SGN6277     120Mb 24ms   3.5"    Y          929.00
            SGN1296     168Mb 24ms   3.5"    Y         1069.00
            SGN4077     230Mb 24ms   3.5"    Y         1669.00
            ==================================================

                      ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******
              ---- FOR USE IN MEGA, MEGA STe & TT030 SYSTEMS ----

    >>>> 96mb SCSI HARD DRIVE Mech 25-28ms 3.5" ...ONLY $349.00!! <<<<

                 16mhz CPU UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED

             ABCO is now taking orders for MEGA STe Computers!
                   Call for special Introductory prices!

                      ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ******

               >>> ALL ABCO DRIVES ARE HIGH SPEED UNITS <<<
                     (500 - 600k per sec @ 16 - 33ms)

           CALL FOR SUPER SAVINGS ON ALL OUR OTHER CUSTOM UNITS
                         FROM 30mb 28MS @ $419.00!

                                 --==*==--

       * 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.

                   WE PAY SHIPPING!!!  >BLUE LABEL UPS!<

                  COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
                 --->> SPECIAL NOW ONLY __$ 685.00__ <<---
                        EXTRA CARTS:      $  78.95
                        DRIVE MECH ONLY:  $ 349.95

   * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
                       SPECIALLY PRICED ** $1329.00 **

    * SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
         - Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
             50mb SQG51   $ 939.00      30mb SQG38    $ 819.00
             65mb SQG09   $ 969.00      85mb SQG96    $1059.00

                 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
                      CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE

                   WE PAY SHIPPING!!!  >BLUE LABEL UPS!<

           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 - AT/PC SPEED - GCR
           LARGER units are available - (Custom Configurations)

                      *>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<*

       - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets -

            * SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 *
                        Replacement Drums; $183.95

                 MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED
                      ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED

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

                   WE PAY SHIPPING!!!  >BLUE LABEL UPS!<

                 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

                ABCO is EXPANDING!!  CALL FOR INFORMATION!




       ____________________________________________________________




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




                 "HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD SILENCE?   ....AND
                          HOW LOUD IT REALLY IS?"


                                                  Clinton Walker




 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                  STReport International Online Magazine
     Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
 STReport?           "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE"          April 19, 1991
 16/32bit Magazine        copyright = 1987-91                   No.7.16
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
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 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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