ST Report: 13-Nov-92 #845

From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 11/14/92-11:46:53 PM Z


From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 13-Nov-92 #845
Date: Sat Nov 14 23:46:53 1992



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 November 13, 1992                                                  No.8.45
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                               R.F. Mariano
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 > 11/13/92 STR 845    "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
   """"""""""""""""
     - The Editor's Desk      - CPU Report        - PORTFOLIO NEWS
     - NEW 486 Chip [SL]      - PMC NEWS!         - Diamond Edge Review
     - Tramiel RSN @ Comdex   - Atari Safari      - Syquest 3.5" Debut
     - Viewtouch & POWERDOS   - STR MAILCALL      - STR Confidential

                      -* ATARI'S FALCON --> WHERE? *-
                     -* ATARIANS CATCH FALCON FEVER *-
                    -* TURTLE BEACH SOUND CARD SPECS *-


 ==========================================================================
                  ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
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     Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
             Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
 ==========================================================================
 STReport's BBS, The Bounty, invites BBS systems, worldwide, to participate
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               WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (November 13)

 BEST OF GO GRAPHICS...

 The Atari Forums have been invited to participate in Issue 4 of  the "Best
 of GO  GRAPHICS", a  print publication  produced by the Graphics Forums on
 CompuServe.

 We would like to include YOUR .GIF images!  Please upload your  320x200 or
 640x480 (or close to these aspect ratios) .GIF graphic images to LIBRARY 4
 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) as soon as possible.   Deadline for
 participation is November 15, 1992.

 NEW SYSOP WANTED!

 Also a  quick reminder that SYSOP*Ron Luks is still accepting applications
 for a MIDI/Music sysop.  If you have experience and  knowledge of  MIDI in
 the Atari  computer environment,  please send a CompuServe Mail message to
 76703,254 outlining your qualifications.

 VENDOR DATABASE UPDATED!

 Bill Aycock has uploaded VENDOR.DAT to LIBRARY 6 of the Atari Productivity
 Forum (GO  ATARIPRO).   This is  an update  to the VENDOR.DAT Atari vendor
 data file, which lists names, addresses, phone numbers,  product info, and
 CIS  UserIDs  for  developers  and  vendors of Atari products.  Please see
 VENDOR.ARC in the same library for the viewer PRG/ACC and documentation.

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

            "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"



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



 > From the Editor's Desk             "Saying it like it is!"
   """"""""""""""""""""""


     Comdex, Comdex, Comdex.... that's about all you hear talked about this
 time  of  the  year.    Its  right  around  the  corner and while most all
 companies are dropping press releases left and right, what do we hear from
 the gurus in Sunnyvale?  NADA... at least formally for public consumption.
 All that can be said at this time is to pay close attention to  the doins'
 in the  Atari Booth  at Comdex.   Is  doubtful the Governor of Nevada will
 open the  proceedings  this  year  but...  be  prepared  to  be pleasantly
 surprised.
   
     On  another  note,  I  recently  received  the  latest  version of the
 Gemulator Software and the hardware card.  I installed it into a 486/50 PC
 yesterday  and  so  far,  its  a  screamer.  The whole machine is for that
 matter.  Next week, we'll have an in-depth  overview of  Gemulator and the
 following week wrap up of our impressions of this first class effort.
   
     Remember to  send in your questions for the GEnie ST RT Tramiel Comdex
 conference.  It sure to be 'highly' informative.
   
             Ralph @ STReport International Online Magazine




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





  STReport's Staff                      DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
  """"""""""""""""

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


          PC DIVISION         AMIGA DIVISION           MAC DIVISION
          -----------         --------------           ------------
          Roger D. Stevens    Charles Hill             R. ALBRITTON


  STReport Staff Editors:
  """""""""""""""""""""""
          Lloyd E. Pulley Sr. Dana P. Jacobson         Michael Arthur
          Lucien Oppler       Brad Martin              Judith Hamner
          John Szczepanik     Dan Stidham              Joseph Mirando
                    Steve Spivey        Doyle C. Helms

  Contributing Correspondents:
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""""
          Michael Lee         Richard Covert           John Deegan
          Brian Converse      Oliver Steinmeier        Tim Holt
          Andrew Learner      Norman Boucher           Harry Steele
          Ben Hamilton        Neil Bradley             Eric Jerue
          Ron Deal            Robert Dean              Ed Westhusing
          James Nolan         Vernon W. Smith          Bruno Puglia
                              Clemens Chin


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      Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
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                      STR'S "BELIEVE IT?  OR.. WHAT?"
                    <>###############################<>

                "There is no comparison!  The Atari Falcon
                   is far superior to the PC platform."


                                                  Sam Tramiel, 08/92


          "As I said before, all marketing announcements will be made at
          Duesseldorf.  I will not comment on future models of the Falcon.

                 WE ARE TALKING TODAY ABOUT A MACHINE.....
                    WHICH WILL BE SHIPPING NEXT WEEK."


                                                  Sam Tramiel, 08/92


          "The Atari Falcon will be sold with MultiTOS.
               It will be a combination of ROM and disk based."


                                                  Sam Tramiel, 08/92


          "I've just returned from Asia, where I saw the first Atari Falcon
          production coming off the lines.  Let's hope this new offering
          will make it in North America.  I know that the specs are great."


                                                  Sam Tramiel, 08/92


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 > CPU STATUS REPORT                 LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS 
   =================
  
    Issue #46

    Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
  

  -- Hayes Unveils Portable Modem
  
 Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc. has announced a $399 internal, credit 
 card-size modem called the Smartmodem OPTIMA 2400 + FAX96 for PCMCIA.

 Hayes says the new unit supports CCITT V.42 error-control and CCITT V.42 
 bis data compression for data and fax transmission to 9600 bit/s.  The 
 firm sees the new modem as "a perfect complement for companies that have 
 standardized on Smartmodem 2400 and OPTIMA 24 + FAX96 for the office and 
 now want the advanced features for their portable computers equipped 
 with PCMCIA slots."

 The unit supports Hayes AutoSync and is powered by a PCMCIA Bus, requ-
 iring no external power. It provides asynchronous communications to 
 information systems, corporate hosts, corporate LANs and Group 3 fax 
 machines.



  -- Canon Claims World's Smallest Fax Machine

 Canon has developed a small fax machine, which it is claiming is the 
 smallest on the market. It is claimed to be smaller than that of NEC and 
 Ricoh.

 The fax machine is even smaller than the keyboard of a regular notebook-
 type personal computer.  It measures 29.7 by 11.1 by 3.1 cm., and weighs 
 only 950 grams.  The small size is due to a new image scanner developed 
 by Canon.

 The transmission speed of this fax machine is 20 seconds for an A4-size 
 document. The major advantage of this device is that it supports a B4-
 size document. The device can be hooked into a mobile phone or car phone 
 to transmit and receive faxes.

 The retail price of this fax machine is not yet set. But it is expected 
 to be around $1,650, according to Canon.
  
  

  -- New Group Shooting for Holographic Storage
  
 A group of Texas computer researchers have formed a company to market 
 products that use a holographic data storage technology as an 
 alternative to the floppy disk.

 Steve Redfield, founder/vice president of Tamarack Storage Devices Inc., 
 said that holographic storage allows computers to store much greater 
 amounts of data on a portable storage medium. The data is stored by 
 laser beam in a version of the 3D images found on credit cards.

 He added the technology entails storing a holographic image of computer 
 data on an optical storage medium, such as a crystal.

 Redfield says his firm hopes to have a prototype developed by next month 
 and have products to market by the end of next year.
  
   

   -- Storage Technology Delays Iceberg Again
  
 Storage Technology Corp. has announced for the third time this year that 
 it is delaying shipment of its Iceberg data storage system.  The company 
 said Monday it continues to encounter delays due to the complexity of 
 integrating the software and hardware of the Iceberg subsystem. It also 
 said that its recent experience with its other disk array product, 
 Alpine, has led management to conclude that debugging Iceberg is likely 
 to take longer than previously anticipated.
  

   
  -- Compaq, Motorola Announces Cellular Modem
  
 Compaq Computer and Motorola have teamed up to introduce an internal 
 high-speed cellular modem. This is the first time that two companies of 
 Compaq's and Motorola's stature have pooled their resources in this 
 respect.
  
 Both companies say that the Compaq SpeedPaq 144 utilizes Compaq's cel-
 lular direct connection feature, a cable interface between the computer 
 and a cellular phone to send data and faxes. The unit is compatible with 
 various cellular phones, including Motorola MicroTAC, MicroTAC Lite and 
 MicroTAC Ultra Lite, as well as the Nokia 121 made by Nokia Mobile 
 Phones, Inc.
  
 The 144 modem can transfer data at up to 14,400bps plus send and receive 
 fax transmissions at up to 9600bps. The unit supports MNP (Microcom 
 Network Protocol) Class 10 error-detection and data compression.
  
 Compaq said that the internal device works in conjunction with Compaq's 
 proprietary Enhanced Option Slot and consequently is not available for 
 PCs produced by other computer manufacturers.

 The modem comes with Delrina fax software for both DOS and Windows use. 
 Compaq said the SpeedPAQ 144 will have a suggested retail price of $649, 
 and will ship in late November.
  
   

  -- Intel Offers New '486 Chip
  
 A new '486 chip for portable computers that is said to offer twice the 
 performance at half the power usage of an earlier model has been 
 introduced by Intel Corp.
  
 Intel's '486 SL microprocessor operates on 3.3 volts of electricity, 
 down from the 5 volts required by most chips.  Intel says that provides 
 more computing time on battery-powered portable computers. The '486 SL 
 produces twice the computing speed and performance of Intel's earlier 
 '386 SL microprocessor, another chip designed to conserve battery power.
  
  

  -- Apple, Microsoft, Intel Bringing Video to PC's
  
 Apple Computer Inc. says it is preparing to introduce software that 
 enables the playing of video clips on most IBM-compatible PCs. Apple 
 says its QuickTime for Windows will give machines equipped with 
 Microsoft Corp.'s Windows the same capabilities that Apple Macintosh 
 systems have had for the past year.

 Apple has licensed the new technology to a number of software developers 
 -- including Adobe Systems, Lotus Development Corp., Software Publishing 
 Co. and WordPerfect Corp. -- which will build applications for it.

 Apple's announcement came at the same time Microsoft and Intel Corp. 
 unveiled a competing product dubbed Video for Windows, based on Intel's 
 new Indeo video digital technology.
  

   
  --IBM, NBC Test 'News On Demand'
  
 IBM and NBC are developing a personal computer-based system that will 
 allow viewers to retrieve videotaped news reports on demand.

 Home personal computer users would not be able to hook up to the system. 
 But businesses and other large subscribers would be able to call up 
 video news, updated stock market summaries and internally produced 
 training films or corporate announcements.

 The news reports will be supplied by NBC News and CNBC, the company's 
 business-news cable TV channel, and will be updated hourly.
  
  

  -- Digital Introduces Alpha AXP
  
 Digital Equipment Corp. this week launched its much ballyhooed Alpha 
 AXP, a new generation of computers that use the fastest chips available.
  
 Reportedly, the new computer line was first unveiled in Digital's South 
 Queensferry, Scotland manufacturing facility last February with actual 
 machines introduced today.

 The Alpha architecture is the first system to be based on full 64-bit 
 RISC technology with speeds up to 200 megahertz. The DECCHIP 21064 was 
 entered in the Guinness Book of Records in October as the world's 
 fastest chip.

 Digital officials said their strategy is to offer users the most open 
 and cost competitive of computing environments, as well as one that 
 spans everything from the palmtop computer to the supercomputer. The 
 architecture is scalable so it can change with new industry demands over 
 the next 25 years.
  
 The company this week introduced Alpha AXP mainframe class systems, a 
 departmental system, workstations and desktop/deskside servers.



     ________________________________________________________________



 > ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine          The wires are a hummin'!
    """""""""""""""""""""""""""""
         
          
              
                            PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
                            =====================
             
              
 On CompuServe
 -------------
 compiled by Joe Mirando



 From The Atari Productivity Forum
 =================================





     Yes folks, it's Fall.  The time of year when a young man's thoughts
 turn to... upgrading his computer?  What the heck, why not?  Just think of
 all of those wonderful upgrades out there just waiting for your computer. 
 Alan Moore caught the bug just before he posted:


     "I have a MEGA STe 2Mb with 48Mb hard Disk, this version seems to be
     one of the first MEGA's to come on the market here. OK now for the
     question ? The computer has a 720K internal floppy disk drive can I
     upgrade this to a 1.44Mb type like on the latest MEGA's or isn't it
     worth doing, if it is worth the effort do I need to change the floppy
     controller chip?  Any debate or advice on this would be appreciated."


 Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Magazine, who must have been bitten by the
 same bug earlier, answers:


     "You can upgrade to a 1.44meg floppy but you need a new floppy
     controller chip.  DreamPark had one for $100 and another company had
     another for $150. There are problems with reading MAC disks under GCR
     if you use Spectre.  I've only seen the review of the DreamPark one in
     an old ST Informer of long ago.

     Haven't seen any other reviews of any of the other ones out there.
     Another choice is the floptical drive since you can read/write 720K
     and 1.44meg and 21meg floppies.  Its an external and Purple Mountain
     Computers was running a special for $399 includes a floptical, 1
     floppy, and ICD's LINK (scsi2 host adapter).  Your Atari dealer may
     have a similar specials.  The floptical is a SCSI unit and external."


 Alan has just been bitten by a new bug (thanks to Albert).  Alan asks for:


     "Any more info on the floptical drive?  Do you know of any magazine
     reviews on the floptical drive ? I am interested."


 Albert tells Alan:


     "No reviews on the floptical drive that I've seen on the Atari side.
     You might try the IBM hardware forum (GO IBMHW) and leave a message to
     INSITE. INSITE is the manufacturer of the floptical if you have
     technical questions. There are usually several threads on flopticals
     that you might read through as well.
     
     Purple Mountain Computers is selling the floptical also.  You might
     check out the library for some recent press releases."


 DAZZZ Smith replies to Alan:


     "There's a floptical review in the december ish of ST Format Alan, and
     I think last months ST User.
     
     "You could try asking Atari Uk about it! Well no that probably isn't a
     good idea, I think Tony from GST had a bit of trouble trying to get
     one from them."


 Well, it looks like we've got all kinds of bugs biting this week.  First
 the Floppy upgrade, and now Allan Gus asking:


     "Can anyone recommend the ultimate hard disk back-up utility??  I
     would like to find a backup utility for the Atari that will compress
     the data on the floppy disks... any thoughts??"


 Carl Barron tells Allan Gus:


     "I use Diamond Back from Oregon Research.  It compresses if desired,
     does total/partial restores, handles 1.44 HD disks if you can support
     them.  Tape support announced.   Easy point and click interface. 
     Anyway the important thing is it works..."


 When someone recommends a program, you normally should take it with a
 grain of salt.  But when a sysop recommends a program, especially a backup
 program, you can be pretty sure that it will do everything that it says it
 will.  Sysop Ron Luks tells Allan:


     "I use Diamond Back II on my system and recommend it highly.  I don't
     use compression but others have and have reported that it works well."


 Good call, Ron!  Hey, does a writer's opinion carry as much weight as a
 sysop's?         Naaahhhh.

 One of the major areas that Atari computers have been lagging behind in is
 the world of networking.  Networking is a fancy way of saying that more
 than one computer can use the same hard drive.  While networks are not
 non-existent for the ST, they are scarce.  Andrew Johnson asks:


     "I have been reading an advert for network hardware for the ST which
     claims to be  LANTECH compatible. Does this mean that it can be used
     with PCs and MACs etc. It is called DATANET and the software is
     Universal Network? Has anyone actually used or seen it before?"


 Albert Dayes replies to Andrew:


     "I recall there was some hardware in germany that ethernet and novell
     network compatibility.  I think it was called Bio-net.  The price was
     quite high.  The Universal Network supports, midi, lantech carts, and
     the lan ports on the TT and MegaSTe.  I would assume that the FALCON
     will be supported as well.
     
     Dragonware is the distributor (406)-265-9609.  They have an AtariTalk2
     which is supposed to be an Appletalk compatibility software/hardware
     for all Atari computers (ST/STe/TT etc).  This would allow you to
     connect to a MAC.  I don't not how far development has gone with the
     project.  You can get their full address by downloading the
     vendor.dat (the newest) one."


 Andrew replies to Albert:


     "I don't think that is the same product, the price for this is much
     more reasonable. It is 100 pounds sterling (dunno price in dollars)
     for one node which includes hardware and universal network software.
     If it is lantech compatible, does this mean the ability to be in
     network with macs and pcs? If this is so, then this could be the
     answer to the problem of networking PCs etc and ataris that I have
     seen so many messages on here about.  I can try to get more info if
     anyone wants."


     Actually, Lantech is also the name of the company in Billerica, Ma
 that produces the Lantech 10 megaBit per second network for all Atari ST
 computers.  Connection between Lantech and IBM or MAC networks is not
 possible because of the difference in the way that information is
 transmitted between "nodes".  It is however, a very easy to use,
 inexpensive, and very fast network solution for the ST line of computers.
 One other nice feature of the Lantech system, as Brian Gockley of
 MacDonald Associates tells us, is that, even though you can use the
 software that is supplied with the cartridges without any problems
 whatsoever, if you wish to use a different piece of software, there is an
 option:


     "The network you are seeing advertised is the Universal Network from
     A&D Software located here in the USA. It works with older SGSNET
     boxes, LANTECH boxes, the built in LAN ports in the MegaSTe/TT/Falcon
     and with new MIDI/LAN/Cartridge connectors that are also available
     from A&D. It does not at present support connection with PCs or Macs.
     For further info, you can call 1-800-800-2563."


 Also in the networking arena, Thomas Beutel asks:


     "Will it be possible to connect the Falcon to an Appletalk
     network? Will the Falcon have Appletalk protocol software
     to handle file transfers and printers?"

 That busy guy from Atari Explorer Magazine, Albert Dayes, tells Thomas:


     "Dragonware was supposed to be working on such a product.  That
     allowed a SCSI to ethernet card which would handle Apple-Talk
     protocols.  The only other possible way is maybe with a Megatalk board
     from Gadgets by Small. I'm not sure if they have any drivers for the
     ST side though ... just the Spectre side."


 Well folks, we've been told that there would be FALCONs around by the end
 of October.  Here it almost the middle of November, and no FALCONs are to
 be seen... either here or in Great Britain.  Tony at GST software posts:


     "Falcon availability in the UK

     One of the main distributors in the UK is advertising the Falcon as
     available now and have confirmed (elsewhere) that it will be released
     in November. This would seem to confirm what Dazzz has been saying
     about the 14th of this month.
     
     However.
     
     According to a developer on CIX who has been trying to buy one they
     are expecting delivery in _March_ (and no one seems prepared to say
     which year)."


 Dazzz Smith, never one to miss out on the fun, tells Tony:


     "Well i'm gonna have a ring round a few places on monday the 16th of
     November (Purely out of spite) to everyone who is advertising Falcons
     in the UK press and ask them for immediate delivery on a large order
     of Falcons........."





 From the Atari Arts Forum
 =========================




 Continuing a conversation from last week about which chess program for the
 ST is the "best", John Amsler posts:


     "It may have been Grandmaster Chess, a Motorola-oriented program that
     is available for the Macintrash and the ST.  The only other program
     that I know of with those features is Chess Player 2150 by Oxford
     Softworks in England, although Colossus Chess X is also pretty good.
     
     The only American-made chess program of any significance is
     ChessMaster 2000 by Software Toolworks (the IBM version is up to
     ChessMaster 4000, I think).
     
     A fantaSTic program that excelled in speed chess was "Techmate" but
     that company folded back in 1986, not too long after it first came
     out.
     
     There's one other program available on Internet:  GnuChess, I think
     it's called, but I don't know how well it plays or what it's features
     are.
     
     As far as chess databases are concerned, ChessBase stopped making
     their release for the Atari; currently the only one available is
     NICBase ... but that is indeed an OUTSTANDING software package!!!"


 Dan Danilowicz replies to John:


     "Thanks for the info. The mention of Colossus X jogged my memory...
     that's the one that I read about that supposedly "learns" its
     opponent.
     
     I'm trying hard to find the strongest program I can, so it'll do a
     little job for me. My sister (in Dallas) and I (in Detroit) have been
     engaged in an on-going battle with our computers. We post the moves
     they come up with, running their respective Chess programs, on my
     bbs. I've been running Chessmaster 2000 (1986 vintage)in my old Atari
     8-bit, and have beaten her 386 clone running Chessmaster 2100 6 times
     and played to a draw once. (The draw came when I had to bring
     Chessmaster in to salvage a game that Colossus 3.0 seemed to be
     losing.)
     
     Rather than purchase CM 4000 to whip my unbeatable little Atari and
     end her frustration, she abandoned the 386 and went to Radio Shack
     and spent $150 on something called the Chess Challenger. It's won,
     the two times we've played, decisively, so I'm pressing the ST into
     service.
     
     Colossus X is the only ST Chess program I've read anything about. Do
     you know how well it compares to the others that you've mentioned? Do
     you know which one is rated the best?"


 John Amsler tells Dan:


     "I'm IMPRESSED that CM2000 running on your 8-bit (!) clobbered CM2100
     running on a 386!!!!  Wow!!!  Perhaps you should post the game scores
     (the list of moves) to the Chess Forum here on Compu$erve.
         
     Drats, wouldn't you know it -- I can't find the owner's manual for
     Colossus Chess X.  I'll look for it.  I think I've got a file
     somewhere that rates the strengths of chess programs; I'll look for
     that also.
     
     Here's an extract from the Chess Player 2150 owner's manual:
     
     "Chess Player 2150 has a massive 93,000 byte library of opening moves
     and has an incredible option to learn through its play by the
     addition of strong moves to its openings library.  It thus becomes a
     tougher and meaner opponent the more games you challenge it."

     Chess Player 2150 won the 1989 British Open Personal Computer Chess
     Championship, but I don't know who it beat.  It DID, however, beat
     Colossus Chess X 9.5 - 0.5 and beat ChessMaster 2000 9 -1 in testing
     matches played at 30-45 seconds per move.  Chess Player 2150 has a
     rating of 2087 on the ELO scale."


 On another subject, John Barnes posts:


     "The "other" online service has posted a banner indicating that Sam
     Tramiel will appear on an online conference live from Las Vegas on
     November 16th.  Now, in my experience, online conferences are one of
     the worst possible ways to extract information because the dialog is
     limited by typing speed and the length of time it takes to cook up an
     answer, not to mention the slowness of the service itself.
     
     Given all of this I thought it might be nice to give Sam some homework
     by putting together a list of questions ahead of time so that he could
     prepare some nice answers and thereby get a lot of questions out of
     the way ahead of time.
     
     Please post your questions here and maybe we can collate them and send
     them to Sam early next week sometime.
     
     I have taken the liberty of posing a few questions of my own just to
     get the ball rolling:
     
     1)  Where are the Falcons? Are any currently being manufactured?
     
     2). What kind of feedback has Atari been getting from dealers who see
         their Christmas sales as ruined?

     3). What models of Atari computers can people buy from their dealers
         nowadays?

     4). Can you name any developers who have produced new products to take
         advantage of the Falcon's special capabilities?

     Maybe some of the rest of you have nicer ways to phrase these
     questions that would be more certain of getting some sort of answer
     <g>."


 Brad Hill joins in the fun and posts:


     "Thanks for the note on the conference.  Here are a couple of
     music-related question for Sam Tramiel.
     
     1)  Does Atari plan any more intensive targeting of the music industry
     in general, and the commercial recording niche in particular?
     
     2)  Is Atari building relations with the music software developers?
     Does he foresee increased development for the platform?
     
     3)  In light of the recent Forbes article:  Will the company reverse
     its non-emphasis on marketing and publicity when the Falcon is ready?
     
     4)  Where does the TT stand?
     
     5)  Does Atari see the senior market, with its many first-time
     computer and digital instrument buyers, as a valuable market group?
     
     ...I like your questions, too. <g>


 Dazzz Smith jumps into the question seat and posts:


     "Although we in Europe are slated for the first batches of Falcons
     (Nov 14th?) we have yet to see any advance promotions of any kind,
     are any likely to be planned? I was stunned when Atari UK announced
     that they would not be attending ANY shows this year, especially in
     the run up to Christmas, are you so sure that the first batches are
     going to sell?"



 From the Atari Vendors Forum
 ============================


 Rafael Hermoso posts:


     "I am in the process of buying a Mega ST and would like to know if it
     is possible to install an internal modem in it. I know ICD makes the
     Micro host adaptor. I s there any such modem device?"


 Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Magazine tells Rafael:


     "I've haven't heard of anyone installing an internal modem inside of a
     Mega ST.  Considering everything else people put in their machines
     someone may have done so already."


 Richard Cole asks Gribnif Software about STalker (the terminal program):


     "Three questions: 1) When I execute Stalker it gets part way thru
     loading the program then pauses for a few seconds while it accesses
     the A drive.  If there's no disk in the A drive the whole process
     gets screwed up.  Stalker also reads the A drive for a few seconds
     when I "quit".  Is there any way to stop this?  (I keep Stalker on my
     hard drive.)
     
     2) I've configured Stalker and Steno to use 8 point text.  Whenever I
     execute Stalker and dial someone as soon as the dialling begins
     Stalker switches to a 9 point text, which messes up the amount of
     text I can get on a screen.  I've saved the configuration with 8
     point text a number of times, but this doesn't help.  What can I do to
     keep it at 8 point text?
     
     3) Is there some way to configure Stalker so that it automatically
     brings up Steno as a type ahead buffer?  (i.e. so that I don't have to
     execute Stalker and then go about "Invoking" Steno)."


 Domingo Alvear tells Richard:


     "I am not sure if this is your problem, but if you are dialing out
     using the dial directory, you might not have the point size set
     correctly for that particular phone number entry.  Try using the
     "change for All" button that is in the dialog box.  (I am not sure if
     this will work, since I haven't used STalker in a while.  I just got
     my new modem after being without one on my ST for 5 months!)"




     Well fellow Atarians, it's time for me to go and leave some room for
 somebody else.  Get ready for COMDEX, the mother of all tradeshows.  It
 happens very soon now and there have been rumblings of some interesting
 things to be show by our favorite computer company.  Let's hope that Atari
 knocks 'em dead at the show.

     That's all for this week friends.  Tune in again next week and listen
 to what they are saying when.....


                            PEOPLE ARE TALKING


      _______________________________________________________________




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



                         THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
                         """""""""""""""""""""""""


 On CompuServe!


 by Judith Hamner  72257,271

     This will be a catch-up column recapping the activity of the last
 month.   Now that the summer doldrums are past the activity in the forum
 libraries has been brisk.

     SPAN2_.COM is a Spanish-English dictionary in PREAD format. The file
 can be executed from the command line.

     In the German language, JG100.ZIP contains a PIM for your PC which
 supports data exchange with Portfolio files. This is a shareware program
 and all prompts are in German. INSTAL.BAT is a replacement for the install
 batch file in the archive.

     For your PC, PDEMO.ZIP is billed as the ultimate Portfolio demo.

     SCRAB.BAS is a Pbasic timer program. Can be used to time turns for
 Chess or Scrabble. Great for solving arguments or maybe starting one.
 PBASIC is available in the forum library.

     Z.BAS is a Pbasic screen saver. It displays the current time at random
 locations on the screen.

     While you can't have Windows on your Portfolio, you can have your
 Portfolio on your Windows. PRTBMP.ZIP contains a .BMP file you can use as
 Windows wallpaper featuring your favorite palmtop.
   
     Don Thomas has a PowerBasic solution for those who are caught in the
 dilemma of not being able to use their serial interface without a terminal
 program for the Port. MKXTM2.ZIP contains source code which can be typed
 in to create the XTERM2 program on the Port. Another handy program for the
 Port is SETLNG.COM which can set the language option for the Port from a
 batch file.

     Just for fun try WUMPUS.EXE, the classic adventure game of Hunt the
 Wumpus.

     If you feel like making a little noise, here are some programs that
 might interest you. PHONE.COM creates the phone tones for dialing from a
 batch file. KEYCLK.COM will make the keyclick sound from a batch file.
 BEEP.COM will make the beep noise from a batch file. ALARM.COM makes the
 alarm sound from a batch file.  ALARM.ZIP will change the sound of the
 Port's alarm.

     ERROR.COM will generate error messages from within a batch file.

     PA14.TXT and PA15.TXT contain the text of the latest issues of
 Portable Addiction.

     There have been some exciting announcements of new peripherals for the
 Port. INT.TXT contains the announcement of the Universal Interface from
 BSE. 




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

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

     STReport International Online Magazine is available every week  in the
 ST Advantage  on DELPHI.   STReport readers are invited to join DELPHI and
 become a part of the friendly community of Atari enthusiasts there.


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

                              JOIN -- DELPHI
                              --------------

                Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002
                                  then...
                When connected, press RETURN once or twice
                                  and...
               At Password: type STREPORT and press RETURN.

     DELPHI's Basic Plan offers  access for  only $6.00  per hour,  for any
 baud rate.  The $5.95 monthly fee includes your first hour online.

   For more information, call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005

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

                        Try DELPHI for $1 an hour!

     For  a  limited  time,  you  can  become a trial member of DELPHI, and
 receive 5 hours of evening and weekend access  during this  month for only
 $5.  If you're not satisfied, simply cancel your account before the end of
 the calendar month with no further obligation.   If you  keep your account
 active, you  will automatically  be enrolled  in DELPHI's 10/4 Basic Plan,
 where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for  a minimum
 $10 monthly  charge, with additional hours available at $3.96.  But hurry,
 this special  trial offer  will expire  soon!   To take  advantage of this
 limited offer,  use your  modem to  dial 1-800-365-4636.  Press <RET> once
 or twice.  When you get the Password:  prompt, type  IP26 and  press <RET>
 again.   Then, just  answer the  questions and within a day or two, you'll
 officially be a member of DELPHI!  

                 DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!



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




 > PMC BLOWOUT! STR InfoFile       DON'T.....    MISS THIS SPECIAL SALE!
   """""""""""""""""""""""""



                         PD/SHAREWARE DISK BLOWOUT
                         =========================


 Now Available!


     Our Hardware division has expanded so greatly that we have decided to
 sell off part of our Software holdings.

     We are selling our entire Public Domain/Shareware library to anyone:
 dealers/entrepreneurs (you can make a decent living all you need to do is
 invest some time) or end users (the prices are incredible).

         o 1260 separate disks

         o approximately 1500 disks total

 USERS
         o minimum purchase: 50 disks (we'll consider smaller amounts)

         o 50 disks: $2 each

           100 disks: $1.75

           200 +    : $1.50

          all disks should consist of 90% your own choice/10% grab-bag

 Shipping: $9.00 per order


 DEALERS/ENTREPRENEURS

         o complete library of 1380 disks

         o full catalog on disk describing 1260 disks

         o catalogers already in place to make new disks

         o 400 DS non-cataloged disks with new compressed files

         o Mac/Windows disks (about 400 DS disks full of compressed files)

         o 19,000 confirmed user mail list (available separately)

 Shipping: Negotiable

     We want to sell these disks immediately, which means that prices are
 negotiable.  Contact us right away because sales are first come first
 serve.

                      Purple Mountain Computers, Inc.
                       15600 NE 8th St. Ste. A3-412
                            Bellevue, WA  98008
                         1-206-747-1519  voice/fax
                              PMC.INC  GEnie



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

                    :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
                     _________________________________

                       To sign up for GEnie service:

      Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo)
                     Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
               Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
                         Wait for the U#= prompt.

                 Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.

          GEnie costs only $4.95 a month for unlimited evening and
          weekend  access  to  more  than  100  services including
          electronic mail,  online  encyclopedia,  shopping, news,
          entertainment, single-player  games, and bulletin boards
          on leisure and professional  subjects.   With many other
          services, including  the biggest  collection of files to
          download and the best  online  games,  for  only  $6 per
          hour.

          MONEY BACK  GUARANTEE!  Any time during your first month
          of membership if you are not  completely satisfied, just
          ask for your $4.95 back.

       GEnie Announcements (FREE)       

  1. October GEnie Billing Complete - To review your bill, type:...*BILL
  2. Charleston SC - Access Number Change..........................*PHONE
  3. Music to Your Ears: Christmas Music on CD at................NOTEWORTHY
  4. RTC 11/15 -- Year-End TAX PLANNING strategies.................HOSB
  5. Back By Popular Demand - The OW Sports League in..............ORBWARS
  6. Sunbathing AU NATUREL (in November) on the....................LEFT
  7. November Birthdays collect a =FREE HOUR= on November 15.......CHAT
  8. Stereo System w/5-CD Changer ONLY $379 Delivered at...........ZBEST
  9. RAVENLOFT Forbidden Lore Designer Bruce Nesmith...............TSR
 10. Questions answered immediately in the NEW Mac HelpDesk........MAC
 11. FONTember is filled with GEOS fonts in the....................FLAGSHIP
 12. Coppola's BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA reviewed in...................SHOWBIZ
 13. Visit GEnie at the Hartford, CT Pet Expo 11/14-11/15..........PET
 14. WPWIN 5.2 announced with Grammatik 5, ATM, and fonts on.......WP
 15. New Mac-compatible; new Toshiba color notebooks/prices on.....LAPTOPS


         Welcome    ******  ********                        ** ** **
         To the    **         **                            ** ** **
         GEnie    ******     **  ST                         ** ** **
         ATARI       **     **  Roundtable                  ** ** **
                ******     **                              **  **  **
                                                          ***  **  ***
  The Official Online Resource of Atari Corporation     ***    **    ***
  
 Atari  ST  Roundtable
 Real Time Conference Special Events Calendar
   
 Monday, November 16th.......

                           -> * LIVE FROM COMDEX * <-

                              -- Sam Tramiel --
    
  
 Wednesday, Nov. 18 - Keith Gerdes {TraceTech} will be our guest to discuss
 his latest projects. These include DATA DIET v2.0  and DATA  RESCUE. He is
 the author  of numerous  programs such as, Squish, DC Formatter, and DCopy
 Shell; just to name a few! 
   
     Regular Open Conference every Wednesday night, 10PM EDT, 7PM PDT
          DTP conference every Monday at 10PM eastern in room 3.

     November's "Darlah's Treat of the  Month"  is  now  available  at page
 475;9.  This  month's  treat  is  the  Demo of "That's Write 2" in a _self
 extracting_ format.  Product support for "That's Write 2" is  available in
 the Atari  Bulletin Board  (page 475;1)  Category 13, Topic 15.  Thanks to
 Robert Engberson (COMPO) for providing this month's treat.

  Last Week's Top Downloaded Programs/Utilities:
  ----------------------------------------------
 26351 W9STSAVE.LZH             X MUSE         921031   20992    254   2
       Desc: A Warp 9 Extend-O-Save module.
 26370 PSYCHO.ARC               X J.KOCHER1    921101   52352    226   8
       Desc: PYSCHO WORLDS - fast arcade action/w
 26417 XBOOTIII.TXT             X GRIBNIF      921103    5248    144  14
       Desc: XBoot III - Graphical boot manager
 26436 BALOON.LZH               X MYECK.WATERS 921105     896     92   2
       Desc: monochrome balloon for W9STSAVE.LZH
 26430 ZARDOSIA.LZH             X J.SCHRAM     921105  161792     79   8
       Desc: A German MULE clone for mono only...
 26432 NOSEY_II.LZH             X F.VUOTTO     921105   20992     76   2
       Desc: Multiple File Search Utility
 26441 DOC_DEMO.LZH             X D.HUBBELL1   921106   18048     72  10
       Desc: The Doctor! v1.55 Demo
 26443 AUTOFM10.LZH             X GRMEYER      921106   17408     67   2
       Desc: Auto File Mover utility


         GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
            Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission


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





 > DIAMOND EDGE STR Review     "...a total, must have system package.."
   """""""""""""""""""""""




                             GETTING THE EDGE
                             """"""""""""""""




 A review of;
 Diamond Edge.. The Hard Disk Maintenance Utility


 by Bill Pike (STEP)

     Diamond Edge is a program that contains just about everything you
 could ever want in a Hard Drive maintenance package.  It was put together
 by Robert Luneski of Oregon Research Associates.  This program along with
 Diamond Back II are a total system package that every Hard Drive owner
 must have.  It will work on any virtually Atari System and Hard Disk, also
 floppys.

     Yes, I said must.  The cost for Diamond Edge is $69.95 and very well
 worth every penny.  Especially after you are attempting to recover data
 from a Hard Drive crash.  Once you have spent maybe 3 or 4 hours trying to
 recover the files that you have been working on for 4 months, you do back
 up your Hard Drives every couple of days don't you? (not so subtle hint to
 purchase Diamond Back)  Well I guess not if you are taking 3 or 4 hours to
 recover the data.  You will find that $69.95 is very cheap.  Much less
 costly then the wig you are going to have to buy to cover all the hair you
 are tearing out.

     First let's say that this is one of the easiest to use programs that I
 have seen and that the documentation is very kind to the novice, but
 thorough enough for the expert.  The really important stuff has a check
 mark beside it.  You do read the documentation before using a program
 don't you?  Also there are selectable levels for warnings so that you can
 have extra alert boxes before you do anything or if you know what you are
 doing then you will only get the important warnings, your choice.  There
 is even a section in the end of the documentation that will explain
 everything you wanted to know about a Hard Drive but were afraid to ask.

     Ok, down to the nitty gritty.  Just what does Diamond Edge do? 
 Diamond Edge is actually 5 programs in one.  The programs are integrated
 into a single application program.

     The first area is the Disk Medic.  This section of the program checks
 out the disk structure and file integrity.  It checks to see if FAT tables
 1 & 2 are the same, they should be.  It checks for a valid boot sector. 
 It checks for Invalid Directories.  It checks for Unreadable Directory
 Sectors, Illegal File Names, Bad Directory Entries, Inconsistent File
 Size, Bad FAT entries, FAT chain collisions, and lost sectors.  You can
 also automatically fix these problems as the program finds them or
 manually tell Medic to do so or not as you choose.  Either way a file is
 written that lists the errors found and where they were/are.  You are also
 able to test multiple drives, you can select which drives are to be tested
 and which are to be ignored.

     If the FAT Tables don't match you are given the option to make a Medic
 pass selecting either one or the other FAT Table [No Other Program allows
 you to do this].  You can then determine which table has the correct
 information or has most of the correct information.  You can then select
 that FAT Table to copy to the invalid one.

     Disk Medic then makes its integrity pass and checks out all the files
 and directories.  If you selected Auto-Fix the repair will proceed as the
 pass is made.  You will see the disk map and what action the program is
 taking as it goes along.  If you didn't select Auto-Fix you will get a
 display of the disk map and an ending choice to "fix","view", or "cancel",
 "view" shows you what errors were found and where.  You also have the
 option of saving "Lost Clusters" to a disk file, this can be a real help
 in recovering text files.

     There are three methods of mapping out Bad Sectors, you can also
 select how many times to run the test.  Read-Read: which reads each sector
 twice, this is non-destructive and will not effect the data on the disk. 
 Read-Write-Read: the data for each sector is read off the drive then
 written back to the same sector then read again testing for a match, this
 also will not affect the existing data if it is OK.  Write-Read: which
 writes a random pattern to each sector and then reads it back checking
 for matching data, Kiss any Data on the Partition Goodbye with this one. 
 Of course the last method is the most effective.  Isn't it nice to have a
 backup of the data? (second not so subtle hint to purchase Diamond Back) 
 You will be presented a listing of the bad sectors and asked if you want
 to lock them out.

     You are also allowed to partition your Hard Drive.  Diamond Edge
 supports Atari, Supra, BMS, and ICD formats.  You can also just change one
 partition, hide/unhide a partition, save/restore partitioning information. 
 Diamond Edge also supports the TT SCSI IDs.

   ...Whew!!, next section please!

     Here you have the Optimize Drive functions.  Optimizing makes all of
 the sectors of a file congruous as well as packing all the files together
 into a single area of the disk.  As files are written to and erased from
 your disk the file data gets more and more spread out over the disk
 surface.  This is called file fragmentation.  The poor drive mechanism has
 to flip all over heck and gone to find the data until it reaches the point
 of giving up and the drive crashes.  Here is where Diamond Edge shines.  I
 took a Hard Drive partition that was pretty well fragmented and made an
 image back up of it on floppy disks so that I could recreate the original. 
 There were two other commercial Hard Drive Optimizers that I compared
 Diamond Edge to, Hard Disk Sentry from Beckemeyer Utilities (I was unable
 to compare with his new version, I did contact him several times, and was
 forced to use the old version).  The partition I was working on was 11mbs
 and 85% full I ignored the disk testing time, Diamond Edge took a little
 under 4 minutes, which included optimizing for writing which the version
 of Hard Disk Sentry that I was testing with was unable to do, Hard Disk
 Sentry took 8+ minutes to optimize, TuneUp took over 10 minutes.  Also
 with Diamond Edge you have the option to just compress the free space
 which just shoves all the files together without making the sectors
 congruous.  This cuts the time way down and it is recommended to use this
 once the drive has been optimized.  As you can imagine this is a LOT
 faster.  If you optimize for reading, all the data is placed at the
 beginning of the disk while if you optimize for writing, the data is
 placed at the end of the disk.  This is to let the read/write head move
 the least amount to do its thing.  The head movement is the slowest part
 of disk access.

   ....NNNNNnnneeexxxttt!

     Diamond Mirror, this section of the program makes a backup file of the
 FAT Tables and Directory Structures, saving them to a disk file.  When a
 file is deleted the first letter of the file name is replaced by a
 non-ascii character and the clusters that the file occupied in the FAT
 table are freed up for reuse.  If you accidently delete a file and have
 not written to the disk all the data is there you just cannot get to it. 
 If the drive has been recently optimized then all the data is in congruous
 sectors.  The directory entry for the file hasn't been erased but is
 hidden.  The directory entry contains the starting location for the file
 and how long it is.  By retrieving the directory entry it is possible to
 "turn the sectors back on" and recover the file.  However if the file was
 fragmented, pieces of the file were at different locations this won't
 work.  Here is where Diamond Mirror comes in.  It has remembered where the
 file was. Diamond Mirror can be set up to automatically run at bootup or
 once a day or once a week.  I use the daily option, it depends on just how
 much reading and writing you are going to do to the drive each day, which
 one you select.  There is also a Validation Program that will keep track
 of all the files on a partition via a checksum for each file, you have a
 choice of CRC (best) or Checksum.  By using this in conjunction with
 Diamond Mirror you can rest assured that you recovered all of the file
 and that the file is good.

     Diamond Edge will make a file containing the Boot sector, Fat Table,
 and Root Directory of each Partition.  These are saved and in the event of
 a catastrophic failure, you will be able to recover the disk as long as
 the controller and drive mechanism are functional.  You are even able to
 recover SCSI partitioning information.

     You can also copy a 20 meg partition onto a 60 meg partition, zero a
 partition(which erases everything on that drive), unzero a partition
 (which restores the drive).  "Wipe Partition" really zeros a partition. 
 It zeros the directory and the FAT tables but also overwrites EVERY sector
 with random data.  Everything on that partition is history period.

     "All Info" gives you data on how full every drive partition is and the
 percentage free including the totals for all partitions.  "Print" gives
 you a printout of the screen information.

     One third (20 pages) of the book consist of just how a disk is
 structured and what parts do what.  This is one of the most easily
 understood explanations that I have seen of a very complex subject.


 Editor Note;
     Bill Pike is probably the most widespread read ST software reviewer on
 the Atari platform.  His reviews have always been highly informative
 reading while in-depth enough to satisfy both the casual user to the most
 'vigorous' power user.


     ________________________________________________________________





 > STReport CONFIDENTIAL    "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
   """""""""""""""""""""



 - Los Angeles, CA                    SYQUEST ANNOUNCES 3.5" DEVICE
   ---------------

     The data sheet on the new Syquest SQ3105A - 3.5" Removable Hard Disk
 Drive reflects some very impressive specifications; 105 Megs, 14.5 ms
 average seek time, 1.175 to 1.95 Mbyte/sec Data transfer rate to/from
 media (4.0 Mbytes/sec to/from 64K buffer).  the new mechanism has an 8
 second spin up and stop time, and four modes; sleep(.35W), standby(.65W),
 idle(1.5W)and 4.5W during seek.  The initial release version will not be
 in the SCSI format.



 - Hamburg, Germany                   FURTHER REPORTS RE: ALWIN STUMPF
   ----------------

     The German PC weekly "PC Woche" (newsletter aimed at professional
 PC/Unix users, published by IDG Publications, a US company) this week
 reported some information relative to Alwin Stumpf departing from Atari
 Germany.  They report that alleged rumors imply Stumpf left due to a
 dramatic difference of opinion and perspective between his and those of
 Jack Tramiel regarding the future of Atari.  According to PC Woche the
 "Tramiel Clan" strongly favors the further development of a PC line (and
 wants to use a large majority of the available R&D money for this
 purpose), while Stumpf mainly wanted to concentrate on the 680x0 market
 and video games.  
   
 Editor Note; This item which surfaced last week overseas, appears to fly
 in the face of everything we have ever heard from Atari.  In fact, it
 borders on the ridiculous.  However, its been presented to give the reader
 an opportunity to see for themselves the wide diversity of rumors flying
 about worldwide, due to the obvious scarcity of solid information coming
 forth from Atari "themselves".  At a time when its most needed to keep the
 "troops smiling".... the silence is almost deafening.  How about it Mr.
 Communications?



 - Rockville, MD                   Sam Tramiel Conference LIVE @ COMDEX
   -------------
  
     The Atari ST Roundtable on GEnie will hold a live conference with Sam
 Tramiel from COMDEX on November 16th at 10:00 p.m. EST, 7:00 p.m. Las
 Vegas Time.  While it is expected that Sam will be happy to speak on all
 matters related to the Atari line of products, it is certainly
 anticipated that most of the interest will focus on the status of the new
 Falcon computer as well as the products being shown at COMDEX.

     A number of questions have been collected during the past two weeks
 here on GEnie in the Feedback to Atari topic in Category 14.  Most of
 those questions focused on Falcon SPECS and DELIVERY but there were also a
 few, more general, questions.  All of this information has been forwarded
 to Bob Brodie in the hopes that informative answers will be prepared in
 advance.  Accompanying Sam Tramiel will be Bob Brodie, Bill Rehbock and
 the rest of the Atari entourage.  User turnout is expected to be heavy and
 the formal conference will be held in accordance with regular RTC rules.

     To join the conference on Monday evening, log on to the RTC by typing
 M475;2 at any command prompt or type 2 from page 475. If you can't make
 it, watch for the transcript in your favorite online magazine!



 - San Francisco, CA                      VIEWTOUCH TO HANDLE POWERDOS
   -----------------

 PowerDos and PowerNet whose distribution rights and support were with
 Dragonware, have been sold by the programmer to ViewTouch Corporation. 
 All support, programming and general information questions for PowerDos
 and PowerNet should be directed to either Gene Mosier at 503-344-7990 or
 Christopher Latham at PowerPoint Software 503-479-6635.


        __________________________________________________________





 > STR Mail Call             "...a place for the readers to be heard"
   """""""""""""


                            STReport's MailBag
                            """"""""""""""""""


                    Messages * NOT EDITED * for content
                    -----------------------------------



 FALCON FEVER & FALCON CONCERNS ABOUND..

 From the FNET

 Conf : Atari ST Programming
 Msg# : 8597/8600  Lines: Extended  Read: 1
 Sent : Oct 25, 1992  at 7:55 PM
 To   : ALL
 From : Ken Hollis at Fnet Node 3, Node 3  Atari-OH! in Houston,
 Subj : Atari Falcon closeup report


 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   << Atari Falcon Close-up view report by Jigen (Ken Hollis) >>
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  
 Well, all of you know about the Falcon now, right?  Well, I have been to
 the latest Atari show here in Houston, and I found out some interesting
 things about the Falcon.
  
 First, when I was there, Bob Brodie was showing off some nice software,
 including the Falcon's D2D (Digi-to-disk (?? -- name)) Direct to disk
 digitizing program.  It was very elaborate, and even had a SMPTE-time
 track counter (to make it look realistic).  Also, they showed off a demo
 called something like "Moving Pixels" which was a supposed commercial for
 Atari in Australia (so I heard from Bob Brodie) and was a very nice
 program -- it had realtime video, and some great kick-ass effects in the
 process.  It was very nice in the 256 color mode.
  
 Also, I had a chance to look at programs that are compatible with the
 Falcon.  Apparently it is quite compatible with the standard ST and TT
 files, but we tried using SoundTracker and Paula trackers on it, and there
 seems to be a compatibility problem with changing screen frequency and
 using the DMA sound chip.  All in all, it was very   interesting.
  
 Also, Bob hooked the Falcon up to the standard SC1224 monitor, and an
 incredible thing (that I thought) happened.  They apparently have
 "mastered" hardware overscan, and once you change to 320X200 mode in 256
 colors, double lines, the entire screen is used for the desktop and the
 graphics.  Very nice ideas!
  
 Also, my brother had a chance to test a Fractal program on the Falcon that
 directly used the Falcon's DSP processor to do Fractal processing (math). 
 Amazing thing was that it only took little under 10 seconds to do the
 math, when a standard ST took 84+ seconds to do it!  Incredible.
  
 We also got to see Flight Simulator II on the Falcon - almost pure 60 fps,
 well actually about 45 fps, but what's the difference, no?  Very nice.  We
 also got to hear some digitized sound from a program that a developer made
 for the Falcon that used the Direct to Disk sampling.  Apparently when Bob
 went to Boston, he went to the nearby sound shop, bought a Boston CD and a
 walkman, and sampled the darn thing at about 11:30PM!  Egad.
  
 All in all, the Atari show (Atari Safari '92) was an excellent show. 
 Everyone was there that we knew and met from the Safari '91.  Bob Brodie
 was being very nice (but apparently was visibly tired) in asking questions
 and answered things.  Things that he couldn't answer, he politely
 answered "I'm sorry, that information is classified".  Not a bad fellow..
 He seemed to know what he was talking about.
  
 The Falcon we saw was the German Falcon, with the German keyboard, and I
 canna' imagine what the American Falcon'll look like.  It was a very nice
 computer all in all, and I recommend that EVERYONE go out and buy one.
  

 From GEnie's ST RT

 Category 14,  Topic 31
 Message 66        Mon Nov 09, 1992
 CAPT.SPOCK [Kerim]           at 19:00 EST
  
 Here is a rather involved question for Sam....

 What I would like to know is what is Atari planning to do to address all
 of the internal management problems that they have faced for the past few
 years?  I have been an Atari user since I was in middle-school, and I
 guess you could say that I've grown up with Atari. Now I am in the
 computing industry as the Marketing and Operations Manager for a
 consulting firm in Southern California.  I would very much like to
 spearhead a new business unit within my company to provide support on the
 Atari line of computers, and I have begun to try and show the other
 managers in the company what the ST can do with Calamus SL.  However, just
 as I have reservations about recommending an Atari computer to even close
 friends as a personal computer, I have serious reservations about putting
 company resources on the line to enter the Atari market. 

 These reservations exist because of the constant negative information I
 hear about Atari's business practices. I am personally an Atari supporter
 until they say (oops, DAY) I die, but reality puts a damper upon my
 enthusiasm. I cite the lukewarm advertising for even hot products like the
 Lynx (what I saw, I liked.  Why wasn't there more?), the continuing
 decline in perceived dealer support (notice I said PERCEIVED: even if
 Atari's total number of dealers has increased, it *feels* like the number
 is decreasing), and the constant revolving door in Atari's top management
 team. I don't want to hear glossed-over talk about an enthusiastic team
 ready to tackle Atari's problems, as that is the same pep-talk I've heard
 for the past few years. 

 What is Atari going to DO? Is top management ready to take a risk by
 advertising, say, the Falcon on nation-wide TV? Is Atari ready to not only
 jump light-years ahead of the competition in terms of hardware, but also
 in terms of support for the consumer and supporting businesses? I believe
 Atari can be compared to Oldsmobile or Buick -- quality in product is up,
 meeting consumer wants is better...but, the competition will still win.  

 What Atari seems to need is what Olds & Buick are now doing: offering
 "enhanced services" as a perk for buyers, just as Lexus, Mercedes-Benz,
 and Infiniti do.  Yes, they probably lose some money in the process, but
 that money is being invested in rebuilding the corporate image.  What is
 Atari going to directly do to rebuild their corporate image?  Before I end
 (sorry to ramble), let me give you Atari's REAL corporate image: "Are they
 still in business?"  "Hey, do you use a joystick for your input?" "Atari's
 can read a DISK?  I thought they were cartridge-based."  "Get a real
 computer."   These are not college dorm-room comments, but the comments I
 *constantly* hear when telling professionals that I use an Atari.  THAT
 is, painfully for both you & me, Atari's corporate image.

                                                       Thank you.
                                                     Kerim Broadbent



 From GEnie's ST RT
 Category 18,  Topic 22
 Message 75        Wed Nov 11, 1992
 C.HERBORTH [-Chris-]         at 23:42 EST
  
 Ed,

 Speaking of mute...  Has anybody cornered Bob Brodie lately to ask about
 that "October '92" availability date of the Falcon030?  I know this sad
 discussion is limping along in comp.sys.atari.st but hey, Bob shows up
 here ever now and then, right?

                                                  -Chris-


 From GEnie's ST RT

 Category 14,  Topic 20
 Message 40        Thu Nov 12, 1992
 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH]        at 10:46 EST
  
 Two questions have been posed to Atari:

   A) Is the data path from memory to the 68030 32bits wide, or not?

 As an example, the MacLC has only a 16bit path, they saved $ on not
 needing 32bit wide this and that. It DEFINITELY has an affect on speed.

   B) Does the Blitter chip place its ADDRESS on the 68030 address bus when
      it performs operations, video, DMA, etc?

 This answer will determine whether a "cached" acceleration means can be
 used in the system, or not, and I would appreciate an answer.

 Now Towns will plead "I don't know.", and Rehbock will continue to dodge
 the question or not show up online. Just what does that say about the
 company, and their level of support for the new product, if they can't
 ANSWER those two simple questions. I've tried all private means possible,
 and am forced to come here, and ask.
  

 From CIS about DC Software

 #: 29471 S13/Double Click
     11-Nov-92  19:34:54
 Sb: #Still in business?
 Fm: Matt Seitz 75300,1721
 To: all

 Is Double-Click still in business?  What is their support phone number?


 From the FNET

 Conf : Atari 16/32 Bit
 Msg# : 1259/1263  Lines: 12  Read: 1
 Sent : Nov 11, 1992  at 4:35 PM
 To   : All
 From : Don Liscombe at Fnet Node 66, The Bre(/\)ery _ Ajax_Canada _
 Subj : MultiSound board

 Clone Sound boards:

     With all of the new upcoming sound boards on the market, Turtle Beach
 Systems has lowered the price on its 16Bit Multisound board from $995 to
 $599 US.  This board uses the Motorola 56001, and includes 4MB of ROM to
 store 383 16 bit digital recordings of 126 instruments.

     Connections allow for MIDI hookup, stereo record input, aux. line
 input, and a stereo output, and it comes with 5 utilities to work with it,
 in Windows 3.0/3.1. (mixer, diagnostics, software patch bay, record level,
 Proteus 1/XR interface).

             Me thinks the Atari Falcon better get a move on!!



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



                      STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
                      """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""



 > A "Quotable Quote"           A sign of the times.....
   """""""""""""""""



               "THE ISSUE IS NOT WHAT THE FALCON CAN DO....
                  BUT WHAT ATARI CAN DO FOR THE FALCON!"

                                             ....a concerned Atarian


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




 > ABCO SPECIALS! STR InfoFile  * 1992 HOLIDAY Prices!  MORE Products! *
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""    ------------------------------------



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 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
 STR Online!           "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE"     November 13, 1992
 Since 1987      copyright (c) 1987-92 All Rights Reserved          No.8.45
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 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
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