Z*Net: 27-Nov-92 #9220

From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 11/28/92-02:13:03 PM Z


From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: Z*Net: 27-Nov-92 #9220
Date: Sat Nov 28 14:13:03 1992



 #######################################################################
 #######################################################################
 #######################################################################
 #######################################################################
 #######################################################################
 #######################################################################
 ##########(((((((((( ##########((( ##(( ##((((((( ##(((((((( ##########
 #################(( ####(( ####(((( #(( ##(( ##########(( #############
 ##############(( #####(((((( ##(( (( (( ##((((( #######(( #############
 ###########(( ##########(( ####(( #(((( ##(( ##########(( #############
 ##########(((((((((( ##########(( ##((( ##((((((( #####(( #############
 #######################################################################
 #######################################################################
 #######################################################################
 #######################################################################
 #######################################################################
 #######################################################################
 
                       Z*NET: ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE
                       ----------------------------
                           "Happy Thanksgiving"
 
    November 27, 1992          Issue #20          Volume 7, Number 20
 
             Copyright (c)1992, Syndicate Publishing Company

          ~ Publisher/Editor..........................Ron Kovacs
          ~ Assistant Editor...........................John Nagy
          ~ Contributing Editor........................Ed Krimen
          ~ Writer............................Michael R. Burkley
          ~ Writer.....................................Bob Smith
          ~ Z*Net News Service........................Jon Clarke
 
          $ GEnie Address..................................Z-NET
          $ CompuServe Address........................75300,1642
          $ Delphi Address..................................ZNET
          $ Internet/Usenet Address................status.gen.nz
          $ America Online Address......................ZNET1991
          $ AtariNet Address...........................51:1/13.0

      * Z*Net: News Service FNET 593  AtariNet 51:1/13 (908) 968-8148
      * Z*Net: Golden Gate  FNET 706  AtariNet 51:1/9  (510) 373-6792


                              *--CONTENTS--*

 
         ###  The Z*Net Newswire.................................
         ###  Bob Brodie In Conference On GEnie..................
         ###  PowerDos Review - Part Two..........Kevin J. Conway 
         ###  The Unabashed Atariophile...........Michael Burkley
         ###  Perusing GEnie............................Ed Krimen
         ###  Bob Brodie In Conference n Delphi..................
         ###  Lynx Game Reviews.........................AtariUser
         ###  Perusing The Internet.....................Ed Krimen
         ###  Z*Net Calender...........................Ron Kovacs
         ###  Marketing Strategy.................Andreas Barbiero
 
 
 
 ######  Z*NET NEWSWIRE
 ######  Atari News Update
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 
 PHOENIX COMING SOON
 Lee Seiler from Lexicor Software has announced that his company's new
 software product, Phoenix, will be released on December 12, 1992.
 Phoenix will enable ST computer users to create stunning 512-color
 animations as well as still images.  TT and Falcon users will be able to
 use anywhere from 256 colors to 32,000 colors.  Phoenix supports all
 sorts of cameras, including universal and aeronautic, with zoom,
 perspective, and bank capabilities.  A variety of lights is also
 supported, including ambient, point, and solar, which can all be edited
 to suit any need.  Attributes can now be added to 3D2 objects, including
 two completely adjustable procedural mapping systems with custom
 texture-map wrapping.  Objects can be transparent, with or without
 shading.  Full shading is also supported; you can select polygon,
 gouraud, phong, or phong with shadows shading.  Additionally, Phoenix
 supports Cyber Control.  Images can be saved as SPC, GIF, or TGA,
 depending upon machine type.



 INTERNATIONAL CATALOG NOW AVAILABLE
 The 1992 International Software Catalog (Item# C303288-001) is now
 available from Atari Corporation.  If you ever had a question about the
 availability of software on the Atari platform, this catalog is a "must"
 for your bookshelf.  Here are some examples:
 
 "Is there a program that will run on my Atari that will allow me to
 create and edit fonts for my desktop publishing software?"  (YES)

 "There are so many MIDI sequencers available for the Atari line of
 computers.  What are the features that each has to offer?  Which would
 be best for me?"  (READ AND COMPARE)
 
 "I was just put in charge of a fairly large organization.  Is there any
 software available to make my job easier."  (YES)
 
 "I would like to build a library of software that would be educational
 for my kids."  (CHECK THE LISTINGS)
 
 "I need software for my Atari that will help me design printed circuit
 boards and then provide drill control for the manufacture of prototypes.
 NO PROBLEM)

 "Do you think I could use my Atari to decode and display image data from
 a meteorological satellite?"  (YES)
 
 "Will there be any applications that create a voice-mail environment by
 taking advantage of the DSP in the Atari Falcon030?"  (YES)
 
 "Would you happen to have any software that I could use with my Atari to
 assist with soil mechanics evaluation and ground water analysis?"  (OF
 COURSE WE DO)

 The catalog has more than 400 pages, contains nearly 500 entries, and
 features almost 175 screen shots.  Categories covered include:
 
 o Publishing and graphics
 o Multimedia and hypertext
 o Personal productivity
 o Connectivity and communications
 o Music
 o Business
 o Education
 o Entertainment
 o Computer-aided design
 o Medical
 o Development tools and system software
 o and Peripherals.  

 Atari Falcon030 listings are also included.  Along with the product
 description, the reader is provided with developer information designed
 to help them acquire the product if it is unavailable from their local
 dealer.  Suggested retail price is also listed.

 If your local dealer runs out of catalogs, you may order your catalog
 directly from Atari by writing to:

     Atari Customer Relations
     International Software Catalog
     P.O. Box 61657
     Sunnyvale, CA  94088

 The price is $12.00 per book.
 Add 8.25% sales tax if ordering from California, Illinois, or Texas.
 Also include $5.00 shipping and handling per order.  Payment may be made
 by check, money order, MasterCard, or VISA.  (Allow 2-4 weeks additional
 if paying by personal check)
 
 If you wish to order from GEnie, just leave a message to G.LABREC with
 the following:

      Name
      Address
      City, State, Zip
      Daytime phone number
      How many catalogs you would like
      Whether using VISA or MasterCard
      Card number
      Expiration Date
 
 Your request will be forwarded to customer service.


 
 
 ######  BOB BRODIE IN CONFERENCE ON GENIE
 ######  Edited By Ron Kovacs
 ######  Copyright (c)1992, GEnie ST RT, Atari Corporation
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 The following RT conference took place on GEnie, Friday evening 
 11/27/92.
 
 
 <[Lou] ST.LOU>
 Our guest this evening is Bob Brodie... the famous and loquacious
 Director of Communications for Atari Corporation ;-) It is a real treat
 to have Bob join us and I would like to personally welcome him back to
 the Real Time Conference "Hot Seat" <grin>.

 Bob, I noted that you posted a dozen messages today while enjoying some
 holiday time at home with your family.  In one message you commented
 about getting back to online support now that your previous role has
 been reinstated.  Can we deal with that question first?  Will you have
 the time (during office hours) to provide GEnie support equal to the
 quality of today's messages?

 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 Sure Lou, I'm happy to deal with that.  As some of you have already
 either discerned, or heard, we've had another change in our leadership
 at Atari US.  The former GM was a gentleman named Ron Smith, who was a
 22 year veteran from Wang Corporation.  He didn't really share my view
 of the value of online support.  Basically, he eliminated that role from
 my job.  This meant that I was reduced to only a few hours per week of
 online time here on GEnie.  Most of that time was spent in email, or in
 real time conferences.  I was not able to allocate much more time than
 that.  As you can imagine, the Bulletin Boards here on GEnie can be a
 very time consuming task for us at Atari to deal with.  It can easily
 take more than a couple of hours a day to handle everything in the
 fashion which it should be handled.  I now report to Garry Tramiel,
 who's view on online support is quite similar to mine. :)  It needs to
 be done, and our customers need to be supported.  So, I'm much happier
 with this situation, and wish Mr. Smith well in all of his future
 endevors.
 
 I do have a prepared opening remark regarding COMDEX, which I will be
 happy to send up now.

 This is a unique time for a real time conference on GEnie, and I'm happy
 to be participating.  Tonight, I'd like to focus on COMDEX and the Atari
 Falcon030.  I'm prepared to answer just about any questions relating to
 those two topics.  Then if time permits, we'll take on any other issues
 that our audience would like to discuss.

 For this years COMDEX, we showcased the Atari Falcon030.  It is the
 clear centerpoint in all of our efforts.  We also showed the TT030, and
 the Portfolio.  As in years past, we showcased our machines around the
 applications of our developers.  We had a different booth than in the
 past few years, which lent itself to a different type of "island" or
 themed approach.

 I'd like to go over briefly the products that were shown at each stand.
 Then we'll open it up to questions from the floor.

 On the telecommunications island, we had a brand new developer for Atari
 called Digital-Optical-Analog.  Their product, BlackMail is a voice mail
 system that runs on the Atari Falcon030.  BlackMail permits the design
 of an automated single or multi user voice mail system.  This product
 will also function in the background under MultiTOS.
 
 Also on the telecommunications stand was STraight Fax from Joppa
 Software Development, running on a TT030, using a Supra FAXmodem.
 
 Micro Creations was showcasing their unique telecommunications program
 G.I.M.E. Term, and G.I.M.E. BBS.  What sets G.I.M.E. apart from other
 terminal programs is the unique graphics that are easily set up and viewed
 by other G.I.M.E. users.  Micro Creations was showing their products on an
 Atari Falcon030.

 Prominently shown in the very front of the booth was the Kodak Photo-CD,
 running with a TT030 with a Matrix graphics card, and also running on an
 Atari Falcon030.  The Photo-CD was being shown by Michael Bernards of
 Color Concepts in Germany.  Some of you may have already corresponded
 with Michael here on GEnie.  He is also well known as one of the members
 of the team that programmed Calamus SL, as well as his own
 telecommunications program, Rufus.  Michael was chosen to go to Eastman
 Kodak's headquarters in Rochester, NY.  He spent time there getting your
 basic "brain dump" <grin> on all things related to the Kodak Photo-CD. 
 He's completed the enabling software that will allow our users to be
 able to access the Photo-CD, as well as a developer tool kit for the
 Photo-CD.  As you might imagine, he's a talented guy.
 
 Adjacent to the Photo-CD was DMC Publishing showing off Calamus SL,
 already accessing images from the Kodak Photo-CD.  Calamus was shown on a
 TT030, with a GE-Soft TT ram board and a Cyrel Sunrise color board
 installed.  I believe that Nathan told me he had a total of 42 megabytes
 of ram installed in his TT.  The CyberCube card was a true 24 bit color
 board, fully compatible with both Calamus SL and the Photo CD.  The card
 was driving a 21" Mitsubishi color monitor, and looked phenomenal!!  As
 usual, Mario Georgiou of DMC was fully capable of stopping anyone in their
 tracks with his beautiful work in Calamus SL.

 On the other side of the Photo-CD we had the most unique application at
 the show, a high end embroidery machine controlled by an Atari TT030.
 The product is called the STitchitizer, and is produced by a company
 from Minnesota called Data Stitch.  This unit was powering a Toyota
 embroidery machine, and used a Nanoa monitor running at 1024x768 with a
 Dover Research graphics card.  The unit on display at the show was
 busily churning out baseball caps with a series of differnet Atari logos
 in full color, at the rate of about 1 hat every 10 minutes.  The hats,
 as you might imagine, were very popular with show goers.  This
 particular application caught the eye of Jack Tramiel, who promptly
 instructed us to make a deal to buy every hat that was produced at the
 show.  The STitchitizer is capable of much more complex projects than
 just baseball caps.  In the past we've had them produce some jackets for
 us with a beautiful rendition of the Shanghai image off of the Lynx
 game.
 
 We also had a sound/audio/music area, located in the back of the booth.
 This put us head to head with another multimedia company, called AdLib.
 I think we won this battle. :)  Having live music using the Atari Falcon
 030 at the show was a major coup.  No other booth had such a truly "show
 stopping" performance.  Our developers showing their music products
 included Bare Foot Software, D2D Systems Systems, and Singular
 Solutions.  Some of you may recall some of the staff at Bare Foot
 Software from their previous company, Hybrid Arts.  D2D Systems has
 exhibited previously at NAMM with us, and is the developer that created
 the Falcon D2D program that is bundled with every Atari Falcon030 sold.
 Falcon D2D is a direct to disk recording package that allows users an
 easy way to get started.
 
 It was a common sight througout the show to find Paul Wiffin of D2D
 Systems on the wrong side of his stand, jamming with Jeff from BareFoot.
 To say that their products will work as well with each other as they do
 with each other is something of an understatement! <grin>

 Singular Solutions was showing their digital recording and editing
 package that is capable of producing CD quality sound, and provides a
 high quality analog-to-digital conversion.
 
 We also showed the System Audio Manager (we call it SAM for short!),
 which will allow you to be able to assign a sound file to a keypress, a
 la the Sound Master on the Mac.  Of course, we have gone one better than
 the Mac, because you can do that on an Atari with NO system slow down at
 all.  SAM will play AVR files, Sound Master files, and sound files in
 the WAV format used by the SoundBlaster card from Creative Labs on the
 PC side.  BTW, SAM will also work on STE's, Mega STEs, and TT030s!!
 
 SAM is just one of the products that we will be bundling with the Atari
 Falcon030.  We will also include FalconD2D (which I already mentioned),
 Calappt, a very useful rolodex type application, a Talking Clock, a true
 color version of BreakOut and Landmines...complete with DSP generated
 sound for a terrific game.  We also ship ProCalc, a complete scientific
 calculator useful for programmers or the rest of us that just need a
 couple of quickie calculations.  ProCalc and Calappt both run as either
 applications or as desk accessories. 

 We also had a host of Portfolio applications, which I suspect this is
 the wrong crowd to discuss with. :)  However, I will be happy to
 entertain any questions that you might have about our palmtop computer.
 
 Last, but certainly not least, we had HiSoft and Oregon Research showing
 a passel of new things for the Atari.  Not the least of these was a true
 color paint program for the Atari Falcon030 called TruePaint.  Also
 showing in our booth was COMPO, with their PC board for the Falcon030,
 and GoldLeaf...but I'm worried that I've run on too long with this
 already.
 
 <[Chuck] C.KLIMUSHYN>
 Bob, thanks for being on line during a holiday!  As an "average Joe
 User" I feel I was seriously misled about the Falcon being a true 32 bit
 computer.  Could you address what broke down in the line of
 communication?
 
 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 Chuck, I've been offline more than online lately.  I may have missed out
 on some of the controversy.  But based on what I saw in the BB today,
 most of the dis-statisfaction appears to be over the width of the direct
 processor slot, and it's capabilities.  Please bear in mind that we
 envision the Atari Falcon030 to be first and foremost, an entry level
 home computer.
 
 We don't envision people doing high end upgrades to this machine.  We
 will have another unit that those things will be possible with in 1993.
 However, the slot will work, and work well with other things like PC
 boards to allow you to run DOS software, not just as an emulation, but
 by having a true 486SX processor doing the work for you.
 
 <[Chuck] C.KLIMUSHYN>
 Bob, I agree the Falcon is a *great* entry level machine.  I'm confused
 because the initial specs from Sam and Bill seemed to indicate something
 else.

 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 Chuck, I apologize for the confusion.  And I think you will be very
 pleased when you finally get to see the unit in person.

 <[Robb A.] R.ALBRIGHT7>
 Can you give the latest info on the arrival date of the 2 demo Falcons
 to dealers.  I've heard as early as this weekend.  This is rather
 important, as I have arranged with our local dealer to borrow their unit
 for a demonstration event at an upcoming Club meeting, complete with
 some advertising.
 
 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 Robb and I have played phone tag before, Lou. :) Robb, I indicated
 before, the idea of the two demo units to dealers was just that, an
 idea.  We've not set out on such a plan yet.  Any rumor that you have
 heard that it might be this weekend is wrong.  I'm a proponent of such
 a plan, although modesty prevents me from taking credit for being the
 author of the plan. :)  In short, we want to get them out just as quick
 as we can, but we also want for them to get out to you when everything
 is perfect.
 
 <[James] J.VOGH>
 Some rumors have said the Falcon has a low compatibility rate with ST
 games, what is the real story?

 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 The Atari Falcon030 is HIGHLY compatible, and is in fact much more
 compatible with the STE than the TT030 is.  I was recently in Houston
 for their Atari Safari.  A corp of young testers came to the show armed
 with their disks, ready to test compatiblity with the Falcon030.
 Without going thru everything they did, they left the show VERY
 impressed with the compatibility.  They even ran the Flight Simulator,
 in all modes.  Worked great!! :)
 
 <[James] J.VOGH>
 Are there any CD ROM games in site for the Falcon?

 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 I have seen a few new game titles for the Falcon, but they don't require
 a CD rom.  However, everything is there in the Falcon to make doing such
 games very easy.  Keep in mind that the Falcon having the DSP chip in it
 makes the sound that games can, and SHOULD be doing of a much higher
 quality.  Truly better than CD quality sound!!  The games that we showed
 at COMDEX were Raiden, which is a conversion from the NeoGeo, Steel
 Talons, Cyber Assault, and....something else that escapes me at the
 moment. 

 <[Keith Horiz] K.BROOKS1>
 With Concierge, will there be any import/export in the wp to Word-less
 than-Perfect and what about Lotus import/export in the spreadsheet
 module?  Also, how soon is Speedo/MultiTOS - realistically?  Sorry to be
 late!
 
 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 RE Conceierge (hate the name!), there is an export, but not to
 WordPerfect.  I think that it only exports ASCII and GEM metafiles.  The
 spreadsheet is EXCEL compatible from what I've seen.  Not 1-2-3.  Sam is
 considering bundling it with the Falcon030 when it is done.  However,
 there are still some changes that need to be made to the product to make
 us all happy.  Speedo, perhaps 6 weeks last I heard.  MultiTOS, January.

 <[Lou] ST.LOU>
 Bob... how about suggesting that Atari bundle Diamond Back and Diamond
 Edge with the HD version of the Falcon?  Is that feasible?  It is a
 great program set.
 
 <[Keith Horiz] K.BROOKS1>
 I hate DOS but the rest of the world wants WP.  How hard can it be to do
 a driver for word processing??  I thought a name like Suite or Ensemble
 would have been sorta ok.  Concierge?!  With our Quebec problem? :-)
 
 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 The guy who came up with the name is gone.  I'll see what I can do :)

 <[Curmudgeon] M.ALLEN14>
 *Bob - it IS good to see your increased participation on GEnie - thanks.
 I hope the excellent support by TOWNS during your hiatus hasn't gone
 un-noticed by Atari Management.  I think the hoo-haa over the F030 specs
 is due to the fact that many users and developers felt that Atari
 deliberately misled them as to what the F030 was not the actual F030
 specs themselves.  Anyway, my question has to do with dealer support.
 My local dealer (El Paso - 1 Hour away) has switched almost completely
 to IBM crap.  He says that he isn't going to invest in anymore Atari
 stuff until he gets rid of the stuff (mostly old and outdated) he
 already has on the shelves.  How is Atari going to re-attract existant
 dealers who are disillusioned?
 
 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 Hi Mike, I'll be sure to pass along to the Tramiel's your praise for
 TOWNS.  John has always done a great job online, I know I've benefitted
 from his expertise too.  Re the Falcon030 bruhaha, it was never our
 intention to mislead anyone.  Rather, from my view at least, it seems as
 if the community has focused in on just one portion of the system, one
 that we consider to be important, but not the be-all, end all for the
 system and looked at it as being the most important item on the unit.
 That's just not true.  We want to focus on other things, like the unique
 DSP presence on the Falcon030, which no other CPU has, save the NeXT.

 This means that our users, present and future, will have access to
 unsurpassed computing power in their homes.  THAT'S EXCITING!!  However,
 we all know that you can't please all the people all the time.  And it's
 apparent that the online crowd is much more interested in a high powered
 system.  Remember, we view the Falcon030 as an entry level computer,
 with tremendous capabilities.
 
 Now, re the dealer.  This is quite a problem.  There are several
 different issues at play here.  Who did he buy his products from?  Is he
 dealing directly with Atari, a distributor, or is he really purchasing
 his products from another dealer?  All of those are very germain issues
 in resolving his problem of stock.
 
 <[Curmudgeon] M.ALLEN14>
 Most of the dealer's stuff is software - sometimes from folks who are
 out of business <e.g. Neocept>.  He has been a very good dealer in the
 past.  I still think the point about the F030 specs is that had we not
 been lead to believe that it was a 32/32 bit address/data bus instead of
 the 24/16 bit buss it seems to be there would have been no problems.
 All of us agree that the F030 is a very good entry level machine.  We
 just wish that Atari had let us know up front what it really was.  I
 deal with DSP on a professional basis and know what magic can be
 performed with it.  I'm really excited about the DSP as are most of us.
 
 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 Mike, re the software problems your dealer is having.  I'm gonna take a
 different tact and suggest that he talk with Sheldon Winick of Computer
 STudio.  Sheldon is a very fine businessman, in addition to be president
 of the Dealers Association.  Of which, your dealer should probably be a
 member.  He's very interested in helping Atari dealers nationwide, and
 I'm sure he would be happy to help your dealer figure out how to move
 that stock.  This is not unique, I assure you.  I visited a dealer here
 in California that had all kinds of stuff on the shelf that was ancient,
 and he was trying to get full retail price for it.  That included a
 program that had been taken off of the market, and released by the
 author as PD, and was on the disk of the month for the UG that I was
 going to visit!!!  Not a pretty picture.
 
 Again, I apologize if you felt misled about the capabilities of the
 Atari Falcon030.  It has never been our intention to mislead any of our
 customers in any way.

 <[Chuck] C.KLIMUSHYN>
 Bob, I heard that Falcons hit the streets in England last week.  Any
 good news you can share about how they're doing?  Like, hopefully, doors
 are being ripped off hinges at the local Atari dealer by crazed punters!
 
 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 Shipments of Falcon030's to England are quite small, as we have
 indicated in the past.  Most of the production will not really ramp up
 for any of our subsidaries until January.  However, there are some
 wonderful applications coming out of the UK.
 
 <[Robb A.] R.ALBRIGHT7>
 You mentioned the ability to run a 486SX in the processor slot, but
 according to Z*Net, there was only a 386 running Windoze in Black &
 White.  How soon do you think the 486, & Colour, will be available.
 (And maybe a rough SRP too?)

 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 Robb, thanks for asking that!  There has been considerable confusion on
 the PC board, in part because one had never been seen publically until
 COMDEX.  I spoke with Theo Bruers of COMPO personally about this.  He's
 the president of COMPO, so he is well equipped to answer this question.
 He tells me that he NEVER planned to do a 386 board.  He's going to do a
 286 version, and  will follow it up with a 486SX board.  The 286 will do
 color, and run Windoze (nice touch, Rob!), and all the other right
 things.  It was indeed running in Mono at the show, but they ran into a
 set back in their development a few weeks before the show.
 
 To tell you the truth, they had decided not to show the product at all,
 but we were able to convince them that it was important that they show
 a working version of the product, and I promised Theo that we would make
 sure everyone knew that it was merely an early prototype, the production
 units will do VGA, and will be available by the time Falcon030s are
 available; ie January.
 
 <[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE>
 As President of the IAAD, I am very pleased to see your visible
 participation in the BB of late, Bob!  I think it really helps users
 (and devs!) to have information from, if you'll excuse the expression,
 the horse's mouth. ;-)
 
 I've been having fun with my Falcon.  As an Atari-only owner, I'm
 intrigued by the ability to use a variety of third-party monitors.  The
 highest resolutions don't perform gloriously on my SC1224.  Which
 monitor is recommended for these?
 
 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 Rather than give specific brand recommendations, I suggest that you look
 into a good quality VGA monitor.  Unless of course, you are into things
 that are better done on other monitors.  For example, if you wanted to
 do GENLOCKing with broadcast quality NTSC video, you want to be able to
 do overscan.  However, the VGA standard, by definition, doesn't do
 overscan.  Which means that you will have to look at a good quality
 MultiSynch in order to have a "one size fits all" monitor.  At COMDEX,
 we showed the Falcon030 with both our own PTC1426, and the SC1224, and
 SC1435.  It was well received.
 
 <[Keith Horiz] K.BROOKS1>
 What about the ACSI for the SLMs?  Seen Nov92 'Publish"?  Atari Games
 20th bday ad produced on a Macintosh!!  For Shame! :-)  How soon for the
 486SX?  286's only do Windoze in 'real' not std or protected modes.
 
 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 The ACSI box is being done by a third party developer.  It's not done
 yet :(  I need to touch base with Bill Rehbock to find out what the
 status is on that product.  No, I haven't seen PUBLISH, although it's on
 my desk, along with a 6" high stack of mail that congregated there while
 I was at COMDEX. :)  Re the 486SX, JAN 93
 
 <[Jonesy] M.JONES52>
 How soon can I have a Falcon '030 on my desk?

 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 You'll probably be able to get a Falcon030 on your desk in Jan, we've
 said since Sam's CO in August that's when the larger shipments would
 begin to hit.  Shipments prior to that will be kind of small.  While
 it's possible that you might get one before January, I tend to doubt it.
 
 <[James] J.VOGH>
 What is the status of standard networking software for the Falcon (MSTE
 and TT03 also)?  (Appletalk in particular)  And what are the chances of
 getting X windows to run under MultiTos?  The Falcon would make a good
 system for college and X windows would make it perfect.

 <[Bob] BOB-BRODIE>
 I haven't seen any "standard" networking software yet from us.  We've
 had some turnover upstairs in the TOS group.  I think that networking is
 something that they are keenly interested in, but they are re-organizing
 some of the tasks in the group right now, so it might be a while before
 you see anything directly from us.

 Here in the office, I have used the PowerNet product from ViewTouch with
 excellent results.  The crew doing Atari Explorer uses it, and RELYS on
 it on a daily basis to do all sorts of stuff, including deciding what
 printer to print on!  They're a very good team of evangilists for the
 product.  And of course, it runs on the Mega STE, TT030, and other
 machines as well, too.  Re the X Windows, I'm not sure.  There is an
 X-Windows product that is available from Atari Germany, but I seem to
 recall that our people here in the US didn't share their enthusiasm for
 this particular product.
 
 
 
 
 ######  POWERDOS - PART TWO
 ######  Copyright 1992, Kevin J. Conway
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 (Editors Note:  Part one of this two part series was published last
 week in issue #92-19 of Z*Net)
 
 
 If you are lucky enough to have some amount of free space on at least
 one of your drive partitions you can de-fragment the drive using the
 following steps:
 
 1.  Create a new folder called TEMP on the drive with the extra free
     space.  For this purposes of this article, we will imagine that this
     folder exists on the 'G:' disk partition.  The full pathname of this
     folder would be 'G:\TEMP'.
 
 2.  Copy all of the folders and files from the root directory of the
     disk partition to be de-fragmented to G:\TEMP.  For the purposes of
     this article, we will call this disk partition 'C:'.  The root
     directory is then 'C:\'
 
 When this copy operation has been completed, delete all of the
 information from the 'C:' disk partition.  Note that if you have TOS 
 2.05 or higher, you could use the 'move' command in place of the 'copy'
 command to automatically delete the data from 'C:'.
 
 You now have a copy of all the data that was on the 'C:' disk partition
 in the 'G:\TEMP' folder.
 
 3.  Copy (or move with TOS 2.05 or higher) the data from 'G:\TEMP' back
     to 'C:\'.  All of the files will have their sectors laid out
     consecutively as this operation is completed.
 
 The drive has now been de-fragmented.
 
 If you don't have spare room on your drive, you will have to do the de-
 fragmenting the hard way:
 
 1.  Backup up the disk partition to floppy using your favorite backup
     utility.  A backup utility that writes files to folders on the
     floppy disk is ideal.
 
 2.  Delete all of the data from the drive partition.
 
 3.  Restore the data from the floppy to the disk partition.
 
 The disk has now been de-fragmented.
 
 In both these operations, we have laid the data out consecutively at the
 beginning of the drive.  There is no command or easy way to force the
 system to write to the end of the drive.  That requires some small
 amount of cunning.
 
 The amount of space in a drive partition consists of the freespace and
 the used space.  If I were to fill up the freespace with junk files
 before restoring my data from my backup, I would fill up the drive
 partition.  In doing so, the data that should be on the drive would be
 forced the end of the partition as the first available sectors would
 have been taken up the junk files.  When I delete these junk files,
 these first sectors become free leaving the (permanent) restored data at
 the end of the drive partition.
 
 So, to modify the instructions given above:
 
 1.  Select the drive (partition) icon and use 'Show Information' to get
     the amount of free and used space on the drive partition.  Write
     these numbers down for reference.
 
 2.  Backup the data from the drive partition to either floppy or another
     partition.
 
 3.  Delete the data from the drive partition that is being defragmented.
 
 4.  Create a folder called JUNK on the now-empty drive partition.  Open
     that folder and copy junk files into it until the freespace
     available on the partition is equal to or slightly more than the
     amount of space that will be needed by the backed-up data files.
 
 I have found the best way to fill up the JUNK folder is to copy data
 from other drive partitions into this folder.
 
 5.  When the freespace on the drive being de-fragmented is equal to the
     amount of disk space needed for the data files, copy the data back
     into the original disk partition.  When this operation has been
     completed the amount of free-space on the drive partition should be
     very close to zero.
 
 6.  Once the all of the original data has been restored to the drive
     partition, delete the JUNK folder.  If PowerDos has been installed,
     you should really notice an improvement in disk i/o in deleting
     these junk files alone.
 
 Depending on the amount of files that you write to your hard drive, this
 defragmentation may clean up your drive for weeks or for months.  You
 don't need to rely on perceived retrieval/execution speed to judge
 whether your hard drive is fragmented however.
 
 I have made mention of the Ness Benchmark program several times already
 in this article.  By establishing a minimum level of performance on the
 other drive (i.e. hard drive or ramdisk) comparison test, you will have
 some indication of the fragmentation on your hard drive.  To get a clear
 'picture' of the fragmentation, you can use Beckemeyer's [freeware!]
 GMAP utility.
 
 GMAP will generate a map of the drive partition or floppy requested.  It
 will show used and free sectors, fragmented data and sectors marked as
 bad.  Using this utility it is very easy to get a idea of where the data
 sits on the drive and how that is affecting disk performance.  GMAP also
 will give you its opinion on whether or not the drive requires
 defragmentation, or optimization in its wording.  Using GMAP and NESS
 together can demonstrate the effectiveness of PowerDos caching routines
 and the detrimental effects of disk fragmentation.
 
 So, having said all of this how easy is it to install Power-Dos?
 Ridiculously simple is the answer.
 
 Since PowerDos is a replacement for the GEMDOS routines, it must be
 activated in the AUTO before any other program has had a chance to run.
 Other 'auto folder' programs can be left in the AUTO folder on the 'C:'
 drive or made to run from an AUTO folder on the 'A:' drive.  [The
 experienced user may edit the CONFIGUR file to point PowerDos to an auto
 folder on any valid disk partition.]  PowerDos also requires its own
 folder to start its own processes.
 
 PowerDos requires a 'PowerDos' folder on the boot drive; normally 'A:'
 or 'C:'.  The CONFIGUR file must be in this folder for PowerDos to
 configure itself.  In addition this is where PowerDos will look for any
 additions such as the 'alias drive' pipes or background copy programs if
 set in the CONFIGUR file.  The experienced user can also edit the
 CONFIGUR file to have PowerDos continue the booting of AUTO folder
 program from this folder although I feel it is best to leave them where
 they should be.  Apart from cleaning up the AUTO folder of programs that
 duplicate the functions of PowerDos - faster FAT routines, programs to
 'add' folders, caches and memory clearing programs such as PINHEAD,
 there is no further work in setting up PowerDos.
 
 For those who like to tweak with their systems, DragonWare has supplied
 a separate configuration program called PDEXPERT.  This should reside in
 a folder named 'POWERDOS' on the 'C:' drive partition.  PDEXPERT manages
 a configuration file called CONFIGUR.  PDEXPERT is supplied as an easy
 way to manipulate the parameters that PowerDos recognizes.  I can see no
 reason to try to create my own configuration file.
 
 It should be clear that caching requires memory.  Users with one
 megabyte of less of memory should be concerned about the amount of
 memory that PowerDos will use.
 
 Since PowerDos is not only a caching system, but also provides support
 for network file systems, it can use a far bit of memory.  The variables
 that need attention are:
 
 Ramtop Kbytes:  PowerDos can set aside memory at the top of available
 memory as a reserve for network processes.  To bypass this feature, this
 variable should be set to zero.
 
 Cache sectors:  This controls the size of the cache by specifying the
 numbers of sectors in the cache.  PDEXPERT's range of values for this
 parameter is 50 to 999, or 25K to 499.5K.  This can be set to zero to
 bypass this option.  Alternatively, the experienced user can edit the
 CONFIGUR file with a text editor to set this value less than 50.
 
 If memory is a consideration remember that a small cache can be quite
 effective.  If you can spare as little as 25K, you will cache 50
 sectors.  This will help considerably with small data and program files.
 Fewer reads will also be required for larger program files.
 
 These parameters will affect available memory.  If ramtop is not
 reserved and cache is not set, PowerDos will use 60K in loading.
 
 In my opinion, PowerDos is not really useful without some memory being
 assigned as a cache.  Remember that any memory required in the hard disk
 driver for cache or extra folders will be released.  On a one megabyte
 machine, memory may be tight if you have a number of other AUTO folder
 programs or if you have a number of accessories/cpx's loaded.
 
 PowerDos has several other parameters that also affect performance:
 
 Max Program Ram:  This parameter allows you to set the amount of memory
 assigned to a program on execution.  It can stop programs grabbing all
 of the available memory.  This can help if you have problems shelling
 out to '.TTP' or other programs from inside applications.
 
 Fastload Size:  This controls the amount of memory that is cleared when
 loading a program.  If you use 'PINHEAD', you can delete it from the
 'AUTO' folder once this parameter is set.
 
 There are a couple of other options in PowerDos that I am not going to
 bother talking about as they aren't really all that important to this
 article.  Manipulating these four parameters can make quite a difference
 in disk performance.  I have found using PDEXPERT to be quite easy.  The
 documentation for this part of PowerDos is quite reasonable making it
 easy to understand the effect of changing these parameters on system
 performance.  Unfortunately, the documentation for PowerDos on a whole
 is very, very skimpy.
 
 To put it bluntly, there is no documentation for PowerDos!  The 'readme'
 file included with the first release is nothing more than press release.
 It talks about the plans that DragonWare has for PowerDos and how it
 fits in with their networking hardware and software.  It does not talk
 about possible hardware or software conflicts or any other problems that
 the user might run into.  Furthermore, although this is a multi-tasking
 GEMDOS replacement, the user is given _no_ information on how to make
 programs multi-task.  The only hint given is:
 
 "All legal TOS programs _will_run_ under PowerDos - and will enjoy
 PowerDos's lightning fast device I/O - but unless programs are written
 with PowerDos's extensions in mind, the ability to multitask will be
 limited."
 
 The user must be prepared to install and run PowerDos without the
 comfort of abundant documentation.
 
 Surprisingly, this lack of documentation continues with the further
 releases of 'goodies' for PowerDos.  DragonWare has released pipes,
 'alias drive' additions for PowerDos.  As well, they have released a
 background copy program and a program to name serial ports.  None of
 these have but the sketchiest of documentation.
 
 Of these additions, I have only been able to try the background copy
 program.  It works, however, I had to deduce from the documentation that
 I needed not only to install the 'back-copy.prg' in the CONFIGUR file
 but add the desk accessory also.  Not only that, but I had to deduce how
 the copy operation was to be carried out.  There was nothing that told
 me to use the desk accessory to perform background copies, nor how to
 use that desk accessory.  I would have particularly enjoyed some
 documentation with this program as after installing I experienced some
 strange crashes in Pagestream when doing a document kerning and in
 WordPerfect when moving to the bottom of a file using the 'HOME/HOME/
 DOWN-ARROW' key combination.
 
 Bugs are always a concern with any program, but all the more so with a
 program of the complexity of PowerDos.  I haven't found anything
 serious, nor have I heard anyone complaining about any real problems.
 In fact I have only noticed two real minor inconveniences:
 
 1.  Occasionally PowerDos didn't like to delete folders.  This was not
     fixed in version 1.02; characteristically released without a 'fixed'
     list.
 
 These folders can be deleted by rebooting the system.  It looks like
 PowerDos does have a minor problem with lots of folders.  I should
 emphasize, however, that I have had no problem with loss data clusters
 or hidden files.
 
 Chris Roberts of DragonWare told me that this may be a problem with
 using a printer spooler.  (I use the Word Perfect spooler.)  He
 indicated that a PowerDos printer spooler should be available in the
 near future.  This spooler will have many features including redirection
 to anther device or file, automatic selection of printer fonts and
 multiple copies.  It should retail for about $49.
 
 2.  Occasionally, PowerDos has a problem with the file selector box.
     Drive partitions seem to be locked out when their letter is clicked.
     Editing the pathname and then clicking on the shaded top of the
     filename display box does change directories however.  This has not
     been fixed in version 1.02.
 
 Other than these minor inconveniences I have not found any other real
 problems with PowerDos.
 
 I am pleased to say that Chris Roberts of DragonWare called me to
 discuss an advance copy of this article.  He told me that they had hoped
 that the users of PowerDos would be able to install the goodies without
 too much documentation.  DragonWare emphasizes elegantly simple
 solutions to problems.  I agree with Chris that, for the most part, the
 PowerDos program and goodies are useable without a great deal of
 documentation, and Chris agrees with me that some small amount of
 documentation would be nice for the goodies.  Nonetheless, the
 commercial version of PowerDos will be fully documented.  At this time,
 the idea is to find all of the bugs in PowerDos and introduce users to
 the incredibly fast i/o routines that it offers.
 
 What follows is a brief of our conversation:
 
 The alias drive program allows the user to create folders that the
 system will recognize as drive partitions.  These can be used to force
 programs to use folders on the hard drive as absolute drives.  This is
 particularly useful for games and other programs that insist on seeing
 certain drive partitions that you may not have.  I added a 'H:' drive
 partition on my 'E:' drive partition as the folder 'DRIVE_H' - it works.
 
 Alternatively, the user may format their hard drive as one BGM partition
 and use the alias drive program to create folders as absolute drive
 partitions.  In other words, there would be one physical drive
 partition, 'C:', with folders 'DRIVE_D', 'DRIVE_E' etc. acting as
 partitions 'D:' and 'E:' etc.  This means that the user would not have
 to worry about repartitioning the drive as one drive partition became
 used up.  The whole drive would be available so that drive partitions
 could grow and shrink as necessary.  The caveat is that this could tend
 to cause disk fragmentation at a faster rate with its attendant affect
 on disk i/o performance.  Incidently, PowerDos supports drives 'A:'
 through 'Z:'; 26 disk partitions.
 
 The program to name serial ports is to be used as a replacement to
 serial port 'patch' programs that set or 'patch' rts/cts or xon/xoff
 handshaking.  Several different configurations of the same serial port
 can be had by using different names for each.  The user will need the
 parameters that xbios uses to set handshaking and serial port speed.
 
 The pipes program is meant to used to allow process intercommunication
 between programs.  Specifically, it can be used to alert programs to the
 fact that a file has been created or changed.  This is of particular use
 in PowerNet to alert users to their e-mail.  Furthermore, Chris
 indicated that this could be used in a real ram-based clipboard.  Pipes
 would allow programs to keep track of what was in the clipboard and what
 it was.
 
 PowerDos will be of real interest to those wanting to play with CD-ROMS
 on their Atari systems.  Chris tells me that you should be able to
 connect a SCSI cd-rom player to your SCSI hard driver controller.  When
 you reboot, it should show as the next available drive partition on the
 system.  You should be able to access it without the MetaDos drivers.
 
 As far as the compatibility of PowerDos with GemDos is concerned,
 PowerDos is written to conform to all GemDos standards.  Any program
 that properly follows GemDos programming rules will work properly with
 PowerDos.
 
 Some Public Domain programs do not, unfortunately, follow proper GemDos
 procedure.  One of the most common violations is that a file is opened
 for read and is subsequently written to.  In GemDos, files must be
 opened for read and for write separately.  GemDos as implemented on the
 Atari will overlook this violation, but PowerDos won't.  Fortunately,
 there seem to be very few programs that do break this rule, and
 certainly none of the commercial software that I use.
 
 One of the programs that does break the GemDos rules is Atari's own
 cachexxx.prg.  Chris has told me that some people have left this in
 their systems when PowerDos was running and have experienced disk
 crashes.  It can not be emphasized enough -  do not use cache, FAT,
 folder or other hard drive 'fix' programs with PowerDos.  You may have
 conflicts and you may cause data corruption.  PowerDos does _not_ need
 help!
 
 The secret to PowerDos' multi-tasking is quite simple.  Any program that
 you wish to multi-task must _not_ write to the screen.  PowerDos has no
 facility for opening new windows on top of the main window.  As a case
 in point, the way in which the background copier works is that the
 backcopy.prg program runs as a task in the background.  The desk
 accessory passes copy parameters to the background process that then
 wakes up and works in the background.  No 'done' window, or any other
 window for that matter, pops up to announce completion, so it multi-
 tasks fine under PowerDos.
 
 PowerDos is an integral part of the PowerNet system, which allows Atari
 ST/STe/TT computers to talk to other Atari ST/STe/TT, Apple MacIntoshs
 or Ethernet systems.  PowerDos places a number of cookies in the Atari
 cookie jar to help with file sharing over the network.  These include
 cookies to handle files locks, mail and spooling among other operations.
 I expect to be reviewing this system in the near future and am very much
 looking forward to it.
 
 Chris reminded me that DragonWare sells a number of excellent products
 for the Atari system including GMan and the Stacy battery.  DragonWare
 hopes to be able to introduce a new Word processor from another platform
 in the near future with full file interchange capabilities.  As well
 there are developing a genealogy program that will work with the
 genealogical archives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints
 (the Mormons) held in Salt Lake City.  To say the least this is a
 company that is very active in the Atari world.  I am very pleased with
 Power-Dos, and excited by the other products that DragonWare hopes to
 bring to market in the near future.
 
 Getting back to subject at hand; overall, my recommendation is that
 PowerDos is for the experienced to advanced user.  To get the best
 performance out of PowerDos, you should be comfortable with the idea of
 de-fragmenting your hard drive.  Also be prepared to manipulate the
 programs in your AUTO folder.  You will need to remove some and move the
 order of them around.  PowerDos is not going to be useful to floppy-only
 users.  Users without at least 1.5 megabytes of memory may have to limit
 their use of caching.  Given these considerations, if you choose to use
 PowerDos, you should notice a real difference in disk i/o and program
 execution.
 
 I have tested PowerDos under a variety of configurations and with
 several different benchmarking programs.  I have also compared its
 performance to a number of other caches.  PowerDos is quite simply is
 the fastest cache of those I tested.  It's i/o and memory management
 routines also help to make a tremendous difference in overall system
 performance.  Improvements in system performance will vary from user to
 user, nonetheless PowerDos will make a significant difference to any
 user's system.
 
 Normally programs of this quality and complexity are not released as
 freeware.  In fact, there are a number of shareware programs available
 that require registration fees but do not offer as much as utility as
 PowerDos.  Installing PowerDos has been like putting a turbocharger
 under the hood of my MSTe.  Thanks, DragonWare, for the best public
 domain program for the ST!
 
 PowerDos was used successfully and extensively with these applications.
 (Not a complete list.)
 
 Edhack version 2.36
 MasterPlan
 MaxiMiser version 2.09G
 PageStream version 2.2
 PFX Packer  (packs programs)
 Straight Fax, versions 1.0 and 1.04
 Word Perfect 4.1, August 18, 1989 Release date
 

 
 
 ######  THE UNABASHED ATAROPHILE
 ######  By Michael R. Burkley
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 B_U_R_P!!  Oh, excuse me.  I didn't realize that anyone was listening!
 I've just finished my Thanksgiving meal, which I enjoyed immensely.
 I've read somewhere "Better are bitter herbs among friends than a whole
 roast ox among enemies."  That's true, and better yet I say is a whole
 roast ox among friends!  We didn't have a roast ox, just a roast turkey,
 but that was enough, especially with family and friends gathered around.
 We have much for which to be thankful!
 
 Thinking about food usually makes me hungry (but not tonight!).
 Tonight, thinking about food made me think about my STe.  How could I
 bring those two together and get an idea for this column?  I thought
 (very briefly) about bringing in a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy
 and dropping it all over the keyboard.  Then I could do a column on
 repairing an STe.  I ended up canning that idea.  What could I do?  And
 then I remembered "The Grocery Lister" by Randy Hoekstra, "The Recipe
 Box" by  Anthony W. Watson and "The Assistant Chef" by  Eric Coners.
 "Your Personal Vitamin Profile" by Dr.  Michael Colgan and "Calorie
 Counter" by Ron & Kathy Schaefer, MD's all came to mind, and I knew I
 had my column!  The idea began to roll.  I remembered "Blood Alcohol
 Content" by Dan Panke, "Make-A-Date v.2.5.3" by Jonathan Carroll, and
 to pass the dessert, "Big Cookie" by Mark Slagell and "Goodies" by Phil
 Comeau.  Why I could even throw in "Who stole the Peanut Butter" by
 Albert Baggetta!
 
 GROCERY LISTER v.1.8 by Randy Hoekstra is something I need right now,
 -------------------- or at least tomorrow.  We ate up all the food and
 soon we'll have to go shopping!  This program is a household utility
 program that allows you to compile a list of grocery items complete
 with current price and total estimated cost.  Making shopping lists is a
 sure fire way to save money grocery shopping, and you also stand a
 better chance of not forgetting the _one_ thing you were going to the
 store to buy in the first place (how many times has that happened!).
 Money is always a consideration (some would say a problem).  The Grocery
 Lister will allow you to pick and choose from a list of items and prices
 you can quickly maintain, and then compare the sum of their prices with
 your spending goal.  You can then add or eliminate items from your list
 with a simple click of your mouse (or with the comparable keyboard
 command).  And what good would all of that be if you couldn't print out
 your list?  Not much good, so of course you can print out your shopping
 lists.  Color only.  Excellent docs included.
 
 THE RECIPE BOX v.3.4 by Anthony W. Watson (Dated Oct. 1, 1992) is the
 -------------------- most comprehensive, and in my mind, the most
 aesthetically pleasing of all the cookbook programs available.  This is
 a very useful program that allows you to enter, store, view, edit,
 resize, and print out your recipes (with lots of options all around).
 You can organize your recipes into up to 22 catagories.  It includes a
 very useful search function (find all the recipes with "Chicken" as an
 ingredient, etc.).  This version (when registered) will import Assistant
 Chef and Meal-Master (IBM) recipe files.  GEM based.  This will accept
 GDOS fonts if GDOS is installed.  You can customize your printer.  Mouse
 controlled.  Color or mono.  ST/STe/TT compatible.  It uses the handsome
 "FrontEnd" interface that can give your GFA Basic programs a NeXT
 computer-like look.  Docs (online and written) and numerous recipes
 included.  All in all this program is much improved over previous
 versions.  SHAREWARE.
 
 THE ASSISTANT CHEF v.0.9 by Eric Coners (dated 1988--another "oldie
 ------------------------ but a goodie") is an electronic cookbook that
 is an example of the saying, "Necessity is the Mother of Invention."  In
 a ploy to get his fiancee interested in his ST he bought her the various
 computer cookbooks then available.  She didn't like any of them.  So
 what did he do?  Did he give up?  No way!  He wrote his own!  With this
 program you can view the recipes in the included database, add your own
 favorites, edit them, change the portion size and more.  Recipes are
 listed by; Recipe #, Recipe name, Food Group, Food Type, Dish type,
 Temperature (Hot/Cold) and rating (1 -5 stars).  You can also print out
 your recipe.  Color only.  TOS 1.0-1.62 (at least).  Docs included.
 
 VITAMIN is "Your Personal Vitamin Profile" adapted from the book by
 ------- Dr. Michael Colgan.  This program will ask you information about
 your height, weight, and sex and then a large number of other questions
 designed to see if you are functioning as you should be.  It then offers
 some suggestions that you might implement for your increased health.  At
 the end it provides a resource on many different types of vitamins as
 well as some commonly asked nutritional questions.  Very interesting!
 Color or mono.  TOS 1.0-1.62 compatible (at least).
 
 CALORIE COUNTER is a program by Ron & Kathy Schaefer, MD's which is
 --------------- designed for your use AFTER a holiday meal.  This is a
 "golden oldie" published back in 1989 for ST Log magazine.  Using the
 mouse and keyboard, this program will help you to "count your calories"
 based on an included database of foods, their calories per serving, and
 their levels of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.  You can input a
 daily caloric intake goal, and this program will allow you to pick and
 choose from its list of foods those foods and portions that will allow
 you to meet your goal.  After you're done you can either print out your
 menu to the screen or to your printer.  This program will run on TOS 1.0
 -1.62 (at least) and a color or mono monitor.  Online docs included.
 
 BAC is a simple mouse controlled program by Dan Panke that will help
 --- you to calculate your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) based on your
 weight, the number of drinks consummed, and the time you took to consume
 them.  Don't drink and drive, PLEASE!  I do too many funerals for people
 whose deaths are alcohol related as it is.  Color only.
 
 MAKE*A*DATE v.2.5/BETA (release 3) by Jonathan Carroll (dated October
 ---------------------- 26, 1992) is an absolutely fantasic program.  It
 has nothing to do with food, or with eating (though I suppose you could
 schedule your meals with it!).  Why I have included it here is because I
 can use it to schedule my exercise program that I should be starting to
 get rid of all that extra weight I gained today!  Make*A*Date could help
 you with that and with MUCH more.  This formerly commercial product has
 been updated and expanded to make a product that could be useful to
 anyone.  It allows you to organize and store appointments, reminders
 (daily, weekly, or monthly), a TODO list, a phone numbers and an
 unlimited number of general notes.  It also features an Auto-Dialer that
 will dial the phone for you (providing you have a modem) and will keep
 track of the number of times you've called someone and what charges (if
 any) you've incurred.  Do you want to run an external program while in
 Make*A*Date?  No problem.  Up to 16 external applications can be
 installed.  You can import and export information from your databases in
 a variety of configurable ways.  Printer drivers are included for the HP
 Deskjet/Laserjet series and Epson printers with options for creating and
 loading other drivers.  So Make*A*Date can do all of that--and more, but
 what does it look like?  Does it have some clunky interface that is
 powerful but impossible to use?  Not at all.  Make*A*Date has an icon
 based interface much like DC Desktop, NeoDesk or Atari's own NewDesk.
 Simply click on an icon (or use the keyboard equivalent) to access any
 feature you wish.  It's not only easy to use, it's very eye-appealing as
 well.  Color or mono.  Extensive docs included.  Finally, the author
 says that this is a BETA test version.  Don't believe him.  I've been
 using this and I haven't managed to find anything wrong with it or to
 crash it once.  TOS 1.0- 1.62 compatible.  Recommended.
 
 BIGCOOKY by Mark Slagell (the author of SilkMouse, a great mouse
 -------- accelerator and screen saver) is a program for all ST/STe/TT
 computers (dated Nov. 15, 1992).  Fortunately for me (at this moment) it
 is not the kind of cookie that you eat, it's for your computer instead.
 It is for the true power user, whose system is full of patches and
 gadgets and enhancements.  Put it in your AUTO folder and it installs a
 nice, roomy cookie jar and vertical blank interrupt queue.  This
 prevents your resident utilities from having to expand them when they
 run out of room; ostensibly that is the responsibility of each utility
 that installs a cookie or VBI routine, but when asked to add to a full
 list, many of them behave badly in some way, or just refuse to install.
 Color or mono.  Docs included.
 
 GOODIES is a set of utility .TTP programs produced by Phil Comeau of
 ------- GramSlam fame.  They are:  Compare files, a hex dump of a file,
 a Mille Bournes game, a program to replace groups of spaces with tabs, a
 program to remove duplicate lines in a file, another to make non-
 printable characters visible, and finally, a counter for lines, words
 and characters in a file.  Color or mono.  TOS 1.0-1.62 compatible.
 
 PEANUT is "Who Stole the Peanut Butter?" by Albert Baggetta.  It never
 ------ fails.  Seems like every time you go to make a peanut butter
 sandwich the peanut butter is gone.  Oh, the jar might be there, but
 it's usually empty.  The walls are scraped clean with maybe a little
 swirling kiss of peanut butter left in the bottom center of the jar.
 You are the detective trying to find that closed mouth culprit, one of
 eleven possible suspects.  There is a wonderful list of possible
 suspects.  It makes you want to laugh just to read about them! Color
 only.  Sound and graphics.  SHAREWARE.  TOS 1.0-1.62 compatible.
 
 Well, that's it for tonight.  I think it's time to mosey out to the
 kitchen and make up a delicious turkey sandwich!

 Until next week!

 --Michael Burkley lives in Niagara Falls, NY.  He is a former
 Polyurethane Research Chemist and is presently the pastor of the Niagara
 Presbyterian Church.
 
 


 ######  PERUSING GENIE
 ######  Compiled by Ed Krimen
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 Some messages may have been edited for correct spelling, grammar, and
 irrelevant material.
 
 
 CONCIERGE, MICROSOFT WORKS FOR THE ST
 -------------------------------------
 -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14)
 -=> from the "Speedo GDOS" topic (35)
 
 Message 19        Mon Nov 16, 1992
 TOWNS [John@Atari]           at 23:59 EST
 
 P.GRIFFITH2:
 
 I am sorry that your $140 investment was wasted on WordUp.  I wish
 something different was going to come of it, but alas I am afraid that
 WordUp is probably dead at this point.
 
 But, remember, Atari didn't get one red cent of your money.  All we did
 was purchase the source code from a company that was about to go under
 and attempt to save a product from going down with it.
 
 Unfortunately, the source code was in about the same state as the
 company.
 
 The good news is that Atari will have a program called ST Works which
 will have a good word processor, spreadsheet, and database in one
 program!  All of those will be SpeedoGDOS, FSMGDOS, and FontGDOS
 compatible.  I think this program will be what alot of people have been
 looking for.
 
 Look for ST Works sometime after the first of the year. (I will provide
 more information as I receive it!)
 
 -- John Townsend, Atari Corp.
 ----------
 Message 26        Tue Nov 17, 1992
 CHAZ                         at 09:28 EST
 
 I think "Concierge" is a great name - I'm in the luxury hotel biz and am
 familiar with the term.  Seems clever to me.  BTW, it roughly translates
 to "keeper of the keys".
 ----------
 Message 25        Tue Nov 17, 1992
 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs]       at 09:04 EST
 
 At the conference last night, Sam Tramiel said that ST Sutra (the
 MSWorks- like multi-program nearing release) is being renamed
 "Concierge".  Personally, I think that's a mistake.  Only a handful of
 us (out of over 50) seemed to know what a concierge is, let alone to be
 able to pronounce it.  Sutra -- well, nobody knows what that is, maybe,
 but at least everyone knows how to say it.  Anyway, I'm looking forward
 to using the program by whatever name.
 ----------
 Message 36        Wed Nov 18, 1992
 TOWNS [John@Atari]           at 00:46 EDT
 
 I predict that everyone will be pretty happy with this GDOS.  The fonts
 are readily available and reasonably priced.  The speed issues have been
 addressed and SpeedoGDOS is pretty darn speedy.  Not to mention the use
 of the CPX modules to make GDOS much easier to manage.
 
 And, with the SpeedoGDOS, you don't have to have 200K of Font Caches
 like you did under FSM. You can get away with as little as 30K! Pretty
 amazing.
 
  -- John
 =====================================
 
 
 FLOPTICALS: 21 MEGS ON A FLOPPY
 -------------------------------
 -=> In the "Hardware" category (4)
 -=> from the "PMC Freedom Floptical Drive" topic (3)
 
 Message 91        Wed Nov 18, 1992
 D.DEMERS7                    at 23:35 EST
 
 Oscar,  My drive works great!  I purchased it instead of a hard drive
 and I am glad I did.  The access time is slow compared to a hard drive
 but it is nice to use for floppies, especially 1.44mb.  I did run into a
 problem trying to have the floptical auto-boot and could not get it to
 work. A quick call to Howard at ICD solved the problem and he is sending
 me a disk with the software to correct the problem.  This same drive is
 priced at $450-520 in the Computer Shopper, without the LINK.  Keep up
 the good work guys!!
 
 ----------
 Message 94        Sat Nov 21, 1992
 F.OLIVAS [Fred O.]           at 01:03 EST
 
 Just wanted to drop a note informing everyone how delighted I am with my
 new Freedom Floptical Drive.  I purchased my unit from Oscar so that I
 could centrally locate all of my .IMG files.  To further this goal, I
 have installed Data Diet to compress those files onto and only onto my
 floptical.  The result?  I have managed to place all 32 D/S disks (1200
 images) onto one floptical and still have 45% available space left!
 Loving it!!!
 ----------
 Message 95        Sat Nov 21, 1992
 FAIRWEATHER [David]          at 11:15 EST
 
 I am also completely satisfied with my new floptical.  I must confess
 however, that I didn't buy a Freedom.  I opted instead for the PLI
 Infinity.  My local dealer had PLI's at a good price, ($478 including
 The Link) and I wanted to support my local dealer even though I could
 have saved $79 by mail ordering a Freedom drive.  As it turned out, he
 was there for me to telephone talk me through some minor problems I had
 in setting it up in a chain with my Megafile 20 and in installing the
 ICD software.  Now everything is working great!
 
 For $79 I also bought the added flexibility of external SCSI ID and
 Terminator switches.  And the Infinity's smaller size is nice too.  But
 I've seen Fred Olivas' Freedom and it is also an excellent drive.  Buy a
 Floptical, you won't regret it.
 ----------
 Message 97        Sat Nov 21, 1992
 PMC.INC                      at 15:17 EST
 
 Just so everyone know, if anyone has minor problems they can give us a
 telephone call too and we'll be more than happy to work directly with
 them to fix the problem.
 =====================================
 
 
 TRUE STORY!
 -----------
 -=> In the "ISD Product Support" category (16)
 -=> from the "Calamus S/SL" topic (20)
 
 Message 81        Tue Nov 24, 1992
 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha]           at 21:04 EST
 
 I was at the Board offices today and stumbled across a fellow in the
 Music Department using a Mega 4 with a Moniterm and Calamus 1.09N.  He
 was doing layout work for people in the Public Relations Dept. 'cause
 their PC network was down!
 
 He asked me to come over and show him how to use his SL upgrade which
 was sitting idly on another partition. Forty minutes later we had five
 people standing around us as I demoed some basic features, master pages,
 the text style list, inverse modes (they loved that one), magnetic
 frames, and a few other goodies.
 
 The best part was some PC'er at the back of the crowd asking "What model
 of Macintosh is the 'Atari'"? True Story!
 =====================================
 
 
 LYNX HOCKEY!
 ------------
 -=> In the "Lynx - The Game Machine" category (36)
 -=> from the "Hockey" topic (34)
 
 Message 1         Wed Nov 18, 1992
 J.RENNER1 [Jim]              at 23:57 EST
 
 Just picked up Hockey today and I can believe people aren't screaming
 from the rooftops "buy hockey, buy hockey, only the Canadiens could do
 it better!" Well they should be. If you are a hockey fan, a sports fan,
 or just want a new playable game for the Lynx HOCKEY is a MUST!  There
 are only a few games on the Lynx that keep me coming back (i.e. KLAX,
 RAMPART, and SHANGHI) but i think i'll be adding one more to my list.
 
 The game opens up with a music score as good as KLAX (same guy did the
 sound) and a nice graphic. The main menu lets you practice fighting (a
 needed practice), and shootouts. The fighting is full screen and lets
 you throw four different punches. Shootouts are used at the end of a
 game with a tie, and turns the Lynxs long ways for a great  "feel" of
 the shootout.
 
 The actual game setup lets you choose several different options,
 including refs, difficulty, and period length. You are then given the
 option to use default teams, balanced random teams, or 'progressive'
 random teams (i.e. completely random). You are then given a password
 that lets you use those exact setting at some later date (so you can get
 revenge on the a team that beat you before).  Unfortunately it doesn't
 support league stat tracking but it does have a NHL cities by division
 (minus new expansion teams).
 
 And now the game play.  Scrolling is fast, and the controls are smooth.
 At first, I thought that having to use the option keys would hinder game
 play, but it doesn't.  You can control any player except the goalie, and
 all NHL rules apply (two line passes and all).  The animation is good
 right down to the player pumping the fist after he scores.
 
 My final thoughts on Hockey: I didn't expect much, and got most
 everything I wanted in a sports game.
 
 Note: When I was talking about random teams, I was referring to the
 stats for each team. (Neat feature)
 
 Jim. (Thanks Atari for putting out a great game, keep 'em coming!)
 ----------
 Message 2         Sat Nov 21, 1992
 T.KILBRIDE                   at 11:51 EST
 
 I am also very impressed with HOCKEY.  I wish BASEBALL HEROES had used
 the same idea regarding player control. In HOCKEY, you can control any
 skater, but you don't have to control all of them.
 =====================================
 


 
 ######  BOB BRODIE ON DELPHI - CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
 ######  Courtesy Delphi - From Capture by Chris Millar
 ######  Z*Net Edit by Ron Kovacs
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 *Unofficial* Delphi Conference Transcription
 November 17, 1992
 Special Guest *Bob Brodie*, LIVE from Comdex in Las Vegas, Nevada
 
 
 Gordie/Bob?>
 Bob> It's great to be here live from Comdex.  We'd like to keep this CO
 focused on Comdex, but if you have other questions, we'll try to handle
 them.  I apologize that I haven't been online more lately, but I hope to
 have more time here in the future.
 
 Ken H>
 Any new product announcements at Comdex?
 
 Gordie/Bob?>
 Atari specific hardware, no.  But there are a number of new applications
 being shown for the first time.  Among them, the Kodak PhotoCD.
 MUSiCOM.  A pc board from Compo.  DA's Look and DA's Vektor.
 
 Ken H>
 I was wondering about new software for the Falcon030.
 
 Gordie/Bob?>
 Well, Ken, all of the applications are for the Atari Falcon030, as well
 as some new games, which are being ported to the Atari Falcon030.  Oh,
 by the way, HiSoft also showed their TruePaint program, which looks
 really nice.
 
 Ken H>
 Can you interface the Kodak PhotoCD with the Falcon030?
 
 Gordie/Bob?>
 Yes, and with the TT030, too.
 
 ATARIPOWER7>
 When will my local dealer have a Falcon for me to see?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 The shipments into the USA are going to be small through late December.
 You will see better product availability in late December and January.
 
 JJ>
 Up until today at Comdex... has Atari booth received any national press
 attention that we may look for locally?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 The Comdex daily had a front page item on Atari and the Atari Falcon030.
 Locally?  Not yet in all probability.  But, we're located in the Sands
 Expo Center, that doesn't draw the same crowds as the main hall.  We're
 hopeful that as the show continues, the press will be making their way
 in to see us.  We have a great pr firm.
 
 Oliver>
 Bob, there have been rumors here that the TT and MSTE will be
 discontinued now that the Falcon is nearly here.  The TT's already seem
 to be in short supply.  Just a rumor or a fact?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 I'm not aware of any plans to discontinue the TT at this time.  We need
 a high end machine, and even though we're working on an 040, we have no
 date of completion or shipping yet.  Therefore the TT will continue to
 serve as the high end machine.  Regarding the MSTe, it's fate will be
 determined by demand.  My guess is as the Atari Falcon030 ramps up,
 demand for the MSTe will drop.
 
 Dave>
 I've read that some NeXT developers have begun writing for the Atari.
 Are there any programs being shown which make use of the DSP?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 Yes.  And not all of them are from NeXT developers, either.  Atari
 Falcon030 ships with a product called Audio Fun Machine, which uses the
 DSP for amazing sound effects.  There will be Atari speech products that
 will convert text to speech and speech to text.  There is a new voice
 mail product, called Black Mail.  The use of the DSP as a high speed
 modem is being done by a third party developer, that will do fax as well
 as modem and voice mail.
 
 CMILLAR>
 Could you give us some specs on the Compo PC Board?  Processor?  Video
 support?  Price?  Anything?  Also, could you even drop a HINT as to when
 Atari might announce a higher end Falcon030 or 040 (or Jaguar)  :)
 
 Gordie/Bob> On the Compo PC Board...  It's really a prototype being
 shown here.  It is a 286 being shown, not the 386 we'd hoped to see.
 However, it will be very inexpensive and they will have a 486sx out
 soon.
 
 Andreas for AE>
 Gentlemen, I was wondering if there were any NEW developers
 demonstrating Atari things....
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 Oh my stars, yes, yes, yes!  There's a wonderful developer called DOA,
 which stands for Digital Optical Analog.  Their product is called Black
 Mail, and is the voice mail system I mentioned earlier.  Another new
 registered developer, you might have heard of before, called Kodak.  :-)
 Bitstream is showing their font selections in our booth.  A new German
 development firm called Digital Arts is being shown by Goldleaf.
 Another AMAZING application being shown is a computerized embroidery
 called the STitchitizer, by Data Stitch.  A TT030 is used to control a
 Toyota high-end embroidery system.  The embroidered hats are quite
 popular.
 
 Andreas for AE>
 What is the general reception of Atari at Comdex this year, in your
 opinion, and how is interest for the F030 holding out?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 The people who have seen it are impressed, Andreas.  Unfortunately, not
 enough have seen it yet.  However, this is only the second day of the
 show, and Wednesday and Thursday should be considerably busier in the
 booth.
 
 Sluggo>
 Are any PC boards really ready now (386SX or otherwise)?  Wasn't SACK
 working on one?  _Good_ PC emulation is gonna be a prerequisite for
 justifying the purchase, says my wife.  Lots better than this
 SuperCharger anyway.
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 Yes, there is a pc board ready now, but it's just a 286.  They say
 they'll have a 486sx very soon.  Sack and Compo are the same company to
 the best of my knowledge.  To be even more direct, Compo is exhibiting
 the product in our booth, and Hans Sack is doing the demo.  Try to
 straighten your wife out.  <big grin>
 
 BAJOHNSON>
 Anyone demoing any outboard AD/DA's, to make the Falcon a real CD-
 quality multi track machine?  And, will there be Falcons at NAMM?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 Yes.  The product is from Singular Solutions, and is called the A/D64x
 Audio Interface.
 
 CHUNK>
 Thankz again Bob for sticking through the mud slinging that has taken
 place in the last couple months (years?).  There is still a small but
 DIE HARD group up here in the Tundra (Minot ND).  There are two
 STitchitizers in North Dakota BTW.   What ever happened to the G.E.
 service centre idea?  My fingers are crossed for the Walden/Falcon team.
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 The GE service center plan is still being worked on.  There are still
 some problems, but I can't comment on them.  Sorry.
 
 JDBARNES>
 What products are currently being manufactured?  As opposed to existing
 only in inventory?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 All products are currently being manufactured in varying quantities,
 depending on our needs throughout the world.
 
 JDBARNES>
 So the MSTE and the TT are currently in production?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 JD, all products means all products.
 
 ARAGONIA>
 Hello Bob, as a recent new Atari stock holder, 10k shares, I would like
 to know the planned market strategy (advert., etc) for the Falcon in the
 U.S.  As well as the closest guess on release of the 040.  My market
 expert people say that if an 040 is not released by end of 1st quarter
 93 that it will be time to dump the stock?  By the way, they are only
 going for a buck a share!!!  Couldn't help it, stock folks said it was
 a good short term, 175% by end of FEB 93!!!
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 James, the planned market strategy for the Atari Falcon030 is to pursue
 the home market.  We envision the machine to be a personal integrated
 media unit.  Finally bringing the promise of multimedia to the home at
 consumer prices.  Regarding the 040, yes we are working on one, but I
 can't comment further on it.  Regarding the stock, we work for our
 shareholders, not Wall Street, and only plan for the long term.
 

 Bry>
 Okay.. Lastly, have actual Advertising plans been made?  Is there a
 strategy you could share with us?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 Yes, plans have been made, and I'm sorry but I can't discuss them at
 this time.  In part, they depend on who the resellers will be, and we
 are in discussion with several large retailers now.
 
 Andreas for AE>
 Is there any truth the the extended graphics rumor on the F030?  The
 rumor is that the F030 has been refitted with an extended 1280*960
 graphics mode, with an indeterminate # of colors.
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 Andreas, remember when Bob mentioned that he hated rumors?  The rumor is
 not true.  Bob isn't aware of any Atari plans to support 1280x960.
 
 TIMDXX>
 Does Multitos support virtual memory?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 MultiTOS doesn't directly support virtual memory, but there is an
 inexpensive product you can stick in your AUTO folder.
 
 CMILLAR>
 Will MetaDos be shipped with Falcons?
 
 Gordie/Bob>
 MetaDOS will be shipped with CD-ROM products, and is available with
 ICD's Link.
 


 
 ######  LYNX GAME REVIEWS
 ######  Reprinted from the October 1992 Edition of AtariUser
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 This article may NOT be reprinted without the written permission of
 QUILL PUBLISHING.  For further information, see the AtariUser 
 information located at the bottom of this issue.  Article Copyright 
 (c)1992, AtariUser Magazine.
 
             Reviewed:  Steel Talons - BasketBrawl - Kung Fu
 
 STEEL TALONS (Lynx)
 
 Once again, the Lynx dares to go where other portable systems fear to
 tread, with an adaptation of Steel Talons, the arcade helicopter
 simulator.  Your goal is to fly a military chopper through twelve
 missions, blowing away enemy armaments and camps.
 
 The disappointing Hard Drivin' convinced me that filled-polygon
 simulators were beyond the Lynx's abilities.  Surprise!  John Sanderson
 and NuFX have learned a lot from their earlier effort, making Steel
 Talons the cutting edge of Lynx software technology.  Only three arcade
 features are absent: two simultaneous players, fuel limits, and the
 (hard!) Apache helicoptor simulation option.  Everything else is
 preserved.
 
 As a simulator, Steel Talons gives you total control of your helicopter,
 and instruments show everything from structural integrity to the
 location of targets.  The game can be viewed from behind your chopper,
 or in the cockpit for double points.  An on-board computer tracks and
 aims for you, though your supply of bullets and missiles is limited.
 The instruction manual is a little sparse on details, leaving more for
 players to discover.
 
 Missions have different terrains and weather conditions, growing
 progressively harder, keeping the game challenging.  The yoke, pedals,
 and stick of the original game are naturally simplified, using all of
 the Lynx's buttons, alone and in combinations.  The controls feel
 properly responsive and reasonable, and learning the scheme takes about
 ten minutes.
 
 Filled polygon graphics are used everywhere, drawing enemies and terrain
 alike.  The screen is updated four times a second; while not incredibly
 fast, it's sufficient and doesn't hurt the game.  Instruments are
 visible without obscuring the view, and other graphics are done very
 nicely.  There aren't many sounds, but they're used appropriately.  The
 drumming of the chopper blades is mixed with the sounds of gunfire and
 missiles, with warning klaxons and assorted explosions thrown in.
 Finally, a slightly garbled voice gives tips, and musical tunes play
 throughout.
 
 Steel Talons on the Lynx is a lot of fun and a surprisingly successful
 conversion.  If realistic air combat action stirs your blood, buy this
 game and take off!  Atari Corp., $34.95. --Robert Jung
 
 
 BASKETBRAWL (Lynx)
 
 For some reason, combining basketball with violence is a popular video
 game trend.  Now joining titles like Arch Rivals and Punkshot is
 Basketbrawl, a Lynx version of the Atari 7800 game.  Pick your character
 from a pool of ten players, then play against another team, trying to
 score more points for six minutes of "anything goes."  Players fight and
 mutilate opponents for the ball, while spectators join in the fray.
 Weapons and power-ups appear on the field, giving benefits such as speed
 or health.  Beat five other gangs, and win the championship.  A password
 allows you to skip stages and continue games, and two players can
 ComLynx for a team-up.
 
 When Basketbrawl took away the rules, it also took away the fun.
 Neither the brawling nor the basketball aspects are done well.  Shooting
 consists solely of jabbing a button, fight moves are limited, and aiming
 attacks is difficult.  Defense is nonexistent; you can't block shots or
 passes, steal the ball, or resist attacks.  The basketball action is
 disrupted by fights, or seen a different way, fights are interrupted by
 the need to score points.
 
 The pace is frantic and confusing.  Some spectators attack players
 randomly, with another throwing knives at everyone.  It's difficult to
 tell when you have the ball, and you can throw it away accidentally.  In
 the end, there's a lot of frenzied button-pressing but little
 satisfaction.
 
 Basketbrawl takes an idea loaded with potential, then removes the
 excitement with weak sports and combat action.  The only thing to do is
 to wait for an authentic basketball game; Lynx owners may be eager for
 sports titles, but they're not desperate.  Atari Corp., $39.95.
 -- Robert Jung
 
 
 KUNG FOOD (Lynx)
 
 Your boss at the video-game company wants to put the mutagen Rynoleum
 into the newest games.  Acting on your conscience, you steal the toxin,
 haul it home, and put it in the freezer.  Unfortunately, something goes
 wrong, and now you've been turned green and six inches tall!  Worse,
 your groceries have gained sentience, and are planning to conquer the
 world!  Can you fight your leftovers, cure yourself, and stop this plan
 cold?
 
 That's KUNG FOOD for the Lynx, the video game with the goofiest plot
 ever devised.  It's a generic "beat everything in sight" video game, as
 you walk left to right through five levels, battling hopping peas and
 potato men who block your way.  You start with three lives, and helpful
 power-ups are scattered throughout, but you're constantly outnumbered.
 
 The graphics on KUNG FOOD are among some of the best on a Lynx.  There's
 great use of color, detail, and animation, and elaborate opening and
 closing sequences.  Game sounds are good and match the action, but the
 background and theme music are repetitive and grating.  Fortunately,
 OPTION 2 lets you turn the music off.
 
 Take away the story, and KUNG FOOD comes across as a very average
 fighting game.  The awkward controls and a few quirks may irritate some
 players, but fight fans should embrace the silliness and give this a
 try.  Atari Corp., $34.95.  --Robert Jung


 
 
 ######  PERUSING THE INTERNET
 ######  Compiled by Ed Krimen
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 Some messages may have been edited for correct spelling, grammar, and
 irrelevant material.
 
 
 FALCON SIGHTING IN AUSTRALIA
 ----------------------------
 -=> In comp.sys.atari.st
 -=> From: s883334@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (James Alan Hall)
 -=> Date: 18 Nov 92 03:17:28 GMT
 
 Attending the Home Computer Show in Melbourne last weekend, it was
 surprising to see Atari having one of the largest and most prominent
 stands. On display were two Falcons and a 1040 ST with MIDI setup
 (singer, lights, tone modules and electric guitar).  One Falcon ran a
 continuous slide show, whilst the other was used for DSP sound
 demonstration.
 
 Atari had sessions where they performed a full song (I've still got the
 blues for you) with the singer, guitar, tone modules, and lights.  After
 getting a crowd gathered, they then spoke briefly about the ST and its
 MIDI capabilities and then went on to demonstrate the sound digitizing
 capabilities of the Falcon.  This consisted of a member of the crowd
 singing into a microphone and the song then being played back with
 various effects such as delays, etc.  The Atari guy then spoke through
 the microphone demonstrating real time sound effects that can be
 achieved upon any input sound.  It would have been nicer to see this
 done with music rather than voice.
 
 I was told the Falcon will be available here in Australia at the end of
 January, for between (AUS$) $1000 and $1500 (I HOPE this upper end price
 is not for the 1 meg, no HD machine).  I also asked someone from Dick
 Smith (the main retail outlet of atari in Australia) and was told the
 price would be around $1000.  At the show, Atari was selling 1040 STE's
 for $499!  $400 less than their normal price.
 
 - James.
 ==========================================
 
 
 FALCON AUDIO DETAILS
 --------------------
 -=> In comp.sys.atari.st.tech
 -=> From: hyc@hanauma.jpl.nasa.gov (Howard Chu)
 -=> Date: 24 Nov 92 02:00:31 GMT
 
 The sound hardware in the Falcon can use one of three different clocks -
 32MHz, 25 MHz, or external clock input.  Additionally, the clock can be
 divided down by one of about 16 different standard prescale values.
 This is what's given in the standard sound system calls.  However, it
 seems that the built-in codec is only allowed to be used with the 25 MHz
 clock.  I don't know why that is...  It's not a problem for the DSP,
 though.  Regardless, the codec supports more speeds than just 12.5, 25
 and 50 khz, those are just the common speeds that were also supported on
 the STe.
 
 As long as this is going to be a topic of discussion, please remember
 that there are several independent elements of the Falcon audio system
 that can be interconnected in a variety of ways.  You can use all, some,
 or none of them as you see fit.  In fact there are so many different
 elements available it's difficult to choose where to start, in a system
 description.
 
 You have the codec with stereo 16-bit ADC and DAC, DMA record channels,
 DMA playback channels, external inputs and outputs, etc.  The codec's
 ADC can be connected to the mic input or to the Yamaha PSG output.
 (Independent left and right channel control there.) You can
 independently activate any of the 4 stereo audio tracks, and select any
 one of those tracks to be monitored by the internal speaker/DAC/stereo
 headphone jack.  You can record or playback in any of 8-bit mono, 8-bit
 stereo, or 16-bit stereo.  At system bootup I believe the ADC gets both
 channels from the PSG, and everything else is bypassed.  For the
 voicemail software that I wrote (that was running all week at Comdex) on
 the Falcon, I had the audio matrix connecting the ADC to the DMA record
 channels, using only a single track.  For the next version I'll have the
 ADC feeding the DSP, do some compression in the DSP, and feed the DSP
 output to the DMA record channel instead.  The Falcon audio system is
 incredibly flexible, I only need to add two system calls to my existing
 code to add this functionality. (Oh, and load my compression routine
 into the DSP, but that's really a separate issue.  That's the total
 impact on my code, tho.)
 
 One of the quirks I've noted is that the PSG doesn't have a hardwired
 connection to the speaker, and the system bell and keyclick are still
 generated there.  If you have sound software that wants to record thru
 the microphone input, those system sounds disappear (unless you only
 set one channel to the mic, and leave one channel for the PSG...).
 ==========================================
 
 
 WHY NO RECOMPILED TOS?
 ----------------------
 -=> In comp.sys.atari.st.tech
 -=> From: kbad@netcom.com (Ken Badertscher)
 -=> Date: 26 Nov 92 08:58:21 GMT

 wilsont@rahul.net (Timothy Wilson) writes:

 |With all the talk in c.s.a.st about how poor the original compiler for 
 |TOS was... why isn't there a say... 2.09 version or something
 |(one that runs in all machines), compiled with a good compiler?
 
 The main limiting factor is engineer-hours.  There's a lot of weird code
 in the guts of the OS that relies on compiler-specific things.
 Significant progress has been made, in that by now, all of the AES and
 Desktop have been rewritten with compiler portability in mind.  A big
 problem for the VDI and BIOS is that every assembler available for the
 ST uses different syntax for different features.
 
 Incidentally, Falcon TOS has a new GEMDOS which was compiled using the
 Lattice compiler.  The resulting code is considerably tighter and faster
 than the older Alcyon-generated GEMDOS.  And, of course, the
 multitasking kernel will most definitely not be Alcyon-compiled.
 ==========================================


 

 ###### THE Z*NET COMPUTER CALENDAR 1992-1993
 ###### Schedule of Shows, Events and Online Conferences
 ###### ----------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 ### December 4-6, 1992
 The Computer Graphics Show 1992 at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center
 in New York City.  This is a CMC event.  For more information call;
 (203) 852-0500, extension 234.
 
 
 ### December 12, 1992
 Lake County Atari Computer Enthusiasts (LCACE) will hold the 1992 LCACE
 Christmas Party and Swap meet.  It will be held in the Auditorium of the
 Waukegan Public Library on County Street in Waukegan.  The LCACE MIDI
 sig is planning a "jam session", there will be a door prize raffle, and
 games and other activities for everyone.  In addition to the party,
 there will be a hardware and software Swap meet.  No admission and No
 table charge!  Doors open at 1:00pm.  For more information information,
 call Pegasus BBS at 708-623-9570.


 ### December 15, 1992
 Zenobot, GEnie user and writer for AtariUser Magazine and publisher/
 Editor of the ST Gamers Digest Online Magazine will be the GEnie ST RT
 guest for a night of game discussion.  Zarth will answer your questions
 concerning which games to buy for Christmas.  This conference begins at
 10:00pm EDT.


 ### December 20, 1992
 Eugene, Oregon.  Atari SWAP MEET planned at the GATEWAY MALL MEETING
 PLACE.  The hours have not been finalized yet but tentively they will be
 10am - 5pm.  There may be a small admission fee this year (no more than
 $1.00) and there may be a table fee.
 
 
 ### December 24-25, 1992
 Christmas 1992!  Spend time with your loved ones!  Hope you bought an
 Atari product for your favorite person!
 
 
 ### December 31/January 1,1993
 New Years Eve, New Years Day!  Happy New Year!  Make those resolutions
 stick this time around!
 
 
 ### January 6-9, 1993
 MacWorld Expo in San Fransisco California, Sponsored by MacWorld
 Magazine.  Titled San Fransisco '93 at the Moscone Center.


 ### January 12-14, 1993
 Networld '93 in Boston, Massachusettes

 
 ### January 13-16, 1993
 The Winter Consumer Electronics Show comes to Las Vegas, Nevada.  CES is
 an electronic playground, with everything in the way of high tech toys
 for kids and adults.  Game consoles and hand-held entertainment items
 like the Atari Lynx are big here, and Atari will attend with a hotel
 suite showroom.  Contact Atari Corp for more information on seeing their
 display at 408-745-2000.
 
 
 ### January 15-18, 1993
 NAMM is the largest conclave of musicians each year.  Held in Los
 Angeles at the Anaheim Convention Center, the variety of sights at the
 National Association of Music Merchandisers is wilder than at
 Disneyland, just next door.  Atari was the first computer manufacturer
 to ever display at NAMM in 1987, and has become a standard at the shows.
 A trade show for music stores, distributors, and professionals of every
 strata, entertainers are seen everywhere at NAMM.  Contact James Grunke
 at Atari Corp for more information at 408-745-2000.


 ### February 2-4, 1993
 ComNet '93 in Washington, DC.
 
 
 ### March 1993
 CeBIT, the world's largest computer show with 5,000 exhibitors in 20
 halls, is held annually in Hannover, Germany.  Atari traditionally
 struts its newest wares there, usually before it's seen in the USA or
 anywhere else.  In '93, the Atari 040 machines should be premiering, and
 this is the likely venue.  Third party developers also use this show to
 introduce new hardware and software, so expect a wave of news from CeBIT
 every year.  Atari Corp and the IAAD coordinate cross-oceanic contacts
 to promote worldwide marketing of Atari products, and this show is an
 annual touchstone of that effort.  Contact Bill Rehbock at Atari Corp
 for information at 408-745-2000.
 
 
 ### March 13-14, 1993
 The Sacramento Atari Computer Exposition is to be sponsored by the
 Sacramento Atari ST Users Group (SST) at the Towe Ford Museum in
 Sacramento, California.  This show replaces the earlier scheduled, then
 cancelled Northern California Atari Fest for the Bay Area, to have been
 held in December 1992.  A major two day effort, the SAC show is being
 held in the special events area of the Towe Ford Museum, home of the
 worlds most complete antique Ford automobile collection.  As an added
 bonus, admission to the museum is free when you attend the Expo.  The
 museum is located at the intersection of Interstates 5 and 80, just 15
 minutes from the Sacramento Metropolitan Airport.  Contact Nick Langdon
 (Vendor Coordinator) C/O SST, P.O. Box 214892, Sacramento, CA 95821-
 0892, phone 916-723-6425, GEnie: M.WARNER8, ST-Keep BBS (SST) 916-729-
 2968.


 ### March 21-24, 1993
 Interop Spring '93 in Washington DC.
 
 
 ### August 3-6, 1993
 MacWorld Expo at the Boston World Trade Center, Bayside Exposition
 Center and sponsored by MacWorld Magazine.  This event is titled Boston
 '93.
 
 
 ### September 18-19, 1993
 The Glendale Show returns with the Southern California Atari Computer
 Faire, V.7.0, in suburban Los Angeles, California.  This has been the
 year's largest domestic Atari event, year after year.  Contact John King
 Tarpinian at the user group HACKS at 818-246-7286 for information.
 
 
 ### September 20-22, 1993
 The third MacWorld Expo, titled Canada '93 at the Metro Toronto
 Convention Centre, sponsored by MacWorld Magazine.


 ### September 21-23, 1993
 Unix Expo '93 in New York City, New York.


 If you have an event you would like to include on the Z*Net Calender,
 please send email vai GEnie to Z-NET, CompuServe 75300,1642, or via
 FNET to node 593 or AtariNet node 51:1/13.0
 
 

 
 ######  MARKETING STRATEGY
 ######  By Andreas Barbiero
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 Everyone has heard about the fantastic new computer being introduced by
 Atari and the new, more aggressive, business ethic being enacted in 
 marketing this product.  But while the Falcon030 is not the end-all of 
 computers, a series of loosely connected circumstances are emerging 
 which could very well place Atari's products on more shelves than ever 
 before.
 
 Many Atari users know a great deal about one facet or another of Atari 
 computers but may have found that this knowledge does not equate 
 perfectly to the MS-DOS world of clones.  Being able to set up a 
 harddrive on a ST and run a powerful word processor is a beast of a 
 distinctly different temperment when done on an IBM clone.
 
 Will your ST knowledge ever bear fruit outside your home?

 Atari has begun a marketing strategy directed at two different groups.  
 One group is the present Atari user who is interested in increasing his 
 productivity with the existing software he already knows, with a machine
 that will be able to expand beyond his current scope of computing and 
 lead him into areas that other platforms will have to follow later on.
     
 Many complaints have been made about the machine as to its keyboard, 
 case, resolution, power, and so forth.  The Falcon is not a Cray 
 supercomputer, but it is an incredibly versatile machine for an 
 unbeatable price.  And its features balance what the old-line Atari 
 users want with the other main segment of the Falcon's future market.

 The Falcon is the first real step towards a computer as an appliance.  
 People buy expensive electronics, expecting them to work out of the box 
 with a limited amount of user preparation.  Videocameras are a good 
 example.  25 years ago, TV cameras were a big budget item, never 
 intended for the non-professional user, and so home movies on a 
 convienient, re-recordable cassette had to wait till the technology 
 could be simplified to the point where miniaturization could take all 
 the maintainance out of the process and allow a person to carry one in a
 single hand, point and shoot.

 Technology had increased to where the products sophisication had 
 developed to where it was self supporting, with only a minimum of user 
 effort.  Technology had removed itself as an impediment to creativity.
 People like that.

 Home computers have always been for the hobbyist.  Only after the need 
 for doing business at home did the market expand to embrace millions of 
 people. Computer users talk about how much of the market PCs have, and 
 how much other computers have.  Atari has a very small percentage of the
 market in comparison to the clones.  But we are talking about shares in 
 the EXISTING computer market. How many people have avoided buying 
 computers?  Despite their sophistication, the average PCs are still not 
 plug and play devices!

 On the other extreme, home game systems are the epitome of ease.... plug
 in the cartridge and away you go!  These systems have penetrated the 
 average home FAR more than computers, and have had little affect if any 
 to the purchase of actual computers.The Falcon will not be a simplistic,
 or as single purposed, but it is aimed at this market.  With the correct
 software, that one piece, grey plastic box will be able to sit on a 
 audio and video stereo shelves, or in a home office and replace several 
 thousand dollars worth of one-purpose hardware.

 This is where your Atari knowledge comes in.  After we get these things 
 into their homes something almost magical happens.... they want to know 
 more.

 So they buy more software....

     ....and buy more magazines,
     ....and buy more books,
     ....and need people to show them what to do when they can't 
 do it for themselves.  Now the Falcon030 can't change the American 
 market by itself, but it will get the foot in the door, and leave those 
 who are computer wary wide open to the idea of buying even larger 
 machines in the future.  Just as Apple made its market share in schools 
 when it set up an entire generation of computer users which were weaned 
 on their computers, Atari can make its marketplace by filling in the A/V
 hobbists dream tool, and filling in the gap between the console game 
 units and the UNIX workstations, leaving the PC with its AUTOEXEC.BAT 
 files in the dust, and taking those who know Atari with them.
 
 
                                  # # #
           **--DELPHI SIGN-UP--**       **--GENIE SIGN-UP--**
        ============================|============================
        To sign up for  DELPHI call | To sign up for   GENIE call
        (with modem)  800-695-4002. | (with modem)  800-638-8369.
        Upon connection hit  return | Upon connection type HHH 
        once or twice. At Password: | and hit return.  Wait for
        type ZNET and hit <return>. | the U#= prompt and type in
                                    | the following: XTX99436,
                                    | GEnie and hit return.
        ============================|============================
                        **--COMPUSERVE SIGN-UP--**
        To sign up for CompuServe service call (with phone) (800)
        848-8199. Ask for operator #198.  You will then be sent a
        $15.00 free  membership kit.
        =========================================================
                       **--ATARINET INFORMATION--**
        If you'd like further  information or  would like to join
        AtariNet-please contact one of the following via AtariNet
        or Fido: Bill Scull Fido 1:363/112 AtariNet 51:1/0,  Dean
        Lodzinski Fido 1:107/633 AtariNet 51:4/0,  Terry May Fido
        1:209/745 AtariNet 51:2/0, Tony Castorino Fido 1:102/1102
        AtariNet 51:3/0,   Don  Liscombe  AtariNet 51:5/0,  Daron
        Brewood Fido 2:255/402 AtariNet 51:6/0. You can also call
        the Z*Net News Service at (908) 968-8148 for more info.
 ========================================================================
 Reprints from the GEnie  ST  Roundtable   are  Copyright (c)1992,  Atari
 Corporation and the GEnie ST RT.  Reprints  from CompuServe's AtariArts,
 AtariPro,  AtariVen,  or Aportfolio Forums  are  Copyright (c)1992, CIS.
 ========================================================================
 Reprints from AtariUser Magazine are Copyright(c)1992, Quill Publishing.
 You  can  subscribe  and  read ALL  of the informative articles each and 
 every month by contacting Quill at (818) 246-6277.   For $15.00 you will
 receive 12 issues.  Send your payment to AtariUser Magazine,  249  North
 Brand Boulevard, Suite 332, Glendale, California, USA, 91203.    Foreign
 delivery is $30.00 in US funds.
 ========================================================================
 Atari is a registered trademark of Atari Corporation.   Atari Falcon030, 
 TOS, MultiTOS, NewDesk and BLiTTER, are trademarks of Atari Corporation.
 All  other  trademarks  mentioned in this publication  belong  to  their 
 respective owners.
 ========================================================================
                 **--** Z*NET OFFICIAL INFORMATION **--**
        =========================================================
 Z*Net Atari Online Magazine is a weekly online publication covering the
 Atari and related computer community.  Material published in this issue
 may be reprinted under the following terms only: articles  must  remain
 unedited and  include  the  issue number and author  at the top of each
 article reprinted.  Reprint  permission  is  granted, unless  otherwise
 noted at the beginning of the article, to  registered Atari user groups
 and not for profit  publications.   Opinions  present  herein are those
 of the individual authors and do not reflect those of the staff.   This
 publication is not affiliated with the Atari Corporation.  Z*Net, Z*Net
 News Service, Z*Net International,  Rovac, Z*Net Atari Online and Z*Net
 Publishing  are  copyright (c)1992, Syndicate Publishing,  PO Box 0059,
 Middlesex, NJ 08846-0059, Voice: (908) 968-2024,   BBS: (908) 968-8148,
 (510) 373-6792.
 ===~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~==
                       Z*Net Atari Online Magazine
           Copyright (C)1992, Syndicate Publishing - Ron Kovacs
 ===~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~==


-----------------------------------------
Return to message index