Z*Net: 06-Apr-90 #514

From: Kevin Steele (aj205@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 04/14/90-01:59:33 PM Z


From: aj205@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Kevin Steele)
Subject: Z*Net: 06-Apr-90  #514
Date: Sat Apr 14 13:59:33 1990


 =======================================================================
     //////       //    //  //////  //////   Z*Net Atari Online Magazine
        //   /   ///   //  //        //      ---------------------------
     //    ///  // // //  //////    //              APRIL 06, 1990
  //       /   //   ///  //        //        ---------------------------
 //////       //    //  ///////   //                  Issue #514
 =======================================================================
                    (=) 1990 by Rovac Industries, Inc.
                            Post Office Box 59
                       Middlesex, New Jersey 08846
                     Z*Net Online BBS: (201) 968-8148
 =======================================================================
         Available on: * CompuServe * GEnie * Cleveland Free-Net *
 =======================================================================
                              *-{CONTENTS}-*
 
 - THIS WEEK
     Free magazine offer....................................Ron Kovacs
 - Z*NET NEWSWIRE
     Weekly news update...............................................
 - SPECTRE UPDATE
     Version 2.65..........................................Robert Ford
 - TORONTO ATARI USERS CONVENTION
     Exclusive Report......................................Jerry Cross
 - ST STACK
     Hagterm Reviewed......................................Alice Amore
 - PD/SHAREWARE STOP
     Weekly PD reviews......................................Mark Quinn
 - ALTERNATIVE MEGA KEYBOARD CABLE
     ......................................................Robert Ford
 - TRACKER-ST
     Press Release....................................................
 - WIND-X
     Press Release....................................................
 - CLEVELAND FREE-NET
     System description.......................................Len Stys
 
 
 
 ***********************************************************************
                          THIS WEEK - Ron Kovacs
 ***********************************************************************
 
 
 SPECIAL FREE MAGAZINE OFFER CONTINUES
 
 You and your User Group or friends can have a free box full of brand
 new back issues of ST-Xpress for just the cost of shipping!
 
 Sprockets is a new ST hardware and software development company in Los
 Angeles, and it has taken over the old storage area belonging to ST-
 Xpress Magazine.. and there are lots of full boxes of back issues that 
 must go.  Z*Net has talked Sprockets into offering the magazines to user 
 groups and readers of Z*Net Online rather then allow them to be 
 destroyed.  ST-Xpress was a respected, quality slick newsstand magazine
 supporting the Atari ST from 1986 through November 1989, when they
 released their final issue.
 
 Sprockets will be happy to send you or your user group a full box of
 issues if you send an address plus a short written statement saying that 
 you will accept COD ground shipping charges though United Parcel 
 Service.  You should expect this charge to be $8-$15.00 at most typical
 locations.  Remember, UPS will not ship to post office boxes.
 
 Each box typically contains 50 copies of a single issue, and many 
 different issues are available... but please don't ask for specific
 months or mixed issue boxes.  If you want more than one box, we can be 
 sure to ship you a different month in each box.  Most boxes are of the 
 later issues... and a few might even come with the subscription disks in 
 them!
 
 Remember, this offer is basically to see it that these old issues of ST-
 Xpress can go to some good use.  Sprockets has volunteered to ship them
 without labor charges if your group will cover the shipping COD charges.
 
 If you want a box (or several) for your club or friends, send a card or
 letter right away to:
 
                       Sprockets Magazine Giveaway
                      417B Foothill Blvd., Suite 381
                        Glendora, California 91740

 This offer is open to any Z*Net reader and expires when the supply of
 magazines is exhausted or on May 15, 1990, whichever comes first.
 
 

 
 ***********************************************************************
                              Z*NET NEWSWIRE
 ***********************************************************************
 
 
 STE GETS APPROVAL?
 Messages and rumors are floating through the pay services and some local 
 BBS systems about the STE getting FCC approval.  We have not validated
 the information yet, but hope to next week.
 
 
 PORTFOLIO FORUM
 Compuserve added an Atari Portfolio Forum this week to the current
 Atari line-up already available.  To enter this area type go APORTFOLIO
 at any CompuServe prompt.
 
 
 ELECTRONIC ARTS AND NINTENDO
 Electronic Arts and Nintendo announced this week the signing of a
 licensing agreement under which Electronic Arts will develop and market
 videogames for the Nintendo Entertainment System.  Nintendo will
 manufacture the videogames and allow Electronic Arts to utilize
 Nintendo's trademarks in the marketing of the products.
 
 
 INDIANA SYSOPS ARE NEXT
 Business rates being placed on Bulletin Board Systems continues to
 spread.  BBS operators in Indiana are complaining that GTE is forcing
 them to accept extra-cost business rates rather than the residential
 rates they have been paying.  A sysop of the 1149 BBS in Elkhart, Ind.,
 says that the changes were a surprise.  The worst part of the surprise
 seems to be the large jump in monthly rates.  A typical BBS would find
 its monthly bill increased by almost 200 percent.  The Indiana Utility
 Regulatory Commission said a tariff approving business rates for home
 computer lines was approved in January.  The new tariff gives GTE wide-
 ranging control over its customers and can limit the length of calls
 when in GTE's judgement such action is necessary.  GTE claims authority
 to change a BBS to business rates because the service is provided for
 use of the general public.
 
 
 MAXTOR TO PURCHASE MINISCRIBE
 Maxtor has agreed to pay $46 million to buy disk drive maker MiniScribe
 Corp.  MiniScribe filed for Chapter XI bankruptcy reorganization on
 Jan. 1.  The company had to be sold by this week or face a court-ordered
 bank auction.
 

 

 ***********************************************************************
                     SPECTRE UPDATE - by Robert Ford
 ***********************************************************************
 
 
 Spectre 2.65 is now available from Gadgets by Small, Inc.
 
 I got the latest Gadget News-Herald, The Journal of Leading Emulation
 Technology & Sorcery.  In case your wondering what the heck that is, it
 is Gadgets by Small's newsletter.  Very informative and damn fun to
 read!
 
 Anyway, they've just finished up version 2.65 of the Spectre software
 and what follows is a list of the improvements...
 
  -  Quick Disk Detect.  (GCR users)  Very quickly checks to see if disk
     is GCR (Mac) format if so you pop right into Mac mode.  No more long
     delay while disk is analyzed.
 
  -  Configuration Page.  (128/GCR)  Press Help key while in Mac mode to
     get the Configuration Page.  Doesn't work in 832K Mac mode.  Allows
     you to select Mac 512k or Mac Plus mode, make right mouse button a
     shift key or a toggle for left button (use this for Stacy), select
     "SLM-804 via ImageWriter II emulation" and other stuff.
 
  -  European Laser Printer Support.  (128/GCR)  Can now use standard A4
     and standard American paper sizes.
 
  -  Right Mouse Button.  (128/GCR)  Hold down right mouse button and it
     functions as a shift key.  Great for shift-clicking with one hand.
     Second option for the right button is as a toggle.  Click it once
     and the computer thinks you are holding down the left button.  Click
     again and it thinks you let the left button go.  Great for the
     Stacy.
 
  -  Defaults to Mac Plus mode.
 
  -  Extended Parameter RAM is now supported.
 
  -  Now works with the Moniterm 1.0 driver.
 
  -  Booting is more flexible.  (128/GCR)  Can know have System boot from
     hard drive via keypress even if you didn't select it under Spectre
     menu.
 
  -  60hz VBL!!!  (128/GCR)  Vertical Blank is now 60hz instead of mono
     monitors 70hz.  That means sound plays at normal speed instead of
     15% faster.  Benchmark programs are now accurate.  Great to tease
     your Mac friends, especially if you have a T16!
 
  -  Xon/Xoff Serial Support.
 
  -  True Serial Break Support.
 
  -  MS Word 3.02 NOW WORKS!!!
 
  -  MultiFinder is now "rock solid."
 
  -  No More Mouse Lockups at Bootup!
 
  -  SLM-804 Emulator Tall Adjusted.
 
  -  Slow SCSI sped up some.
 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Contact:
 
                          Gadgets by Small, Inc.
                     40 W. Littleton Blvd., #210-211
                        Littleton, Colorado 80120
                              (303) 791-6098
 
                  Free upgrade to registered 2.3 users.
                   $20 to version older version owners.
 
 Robert Ford <- the CyberPunk   Z*Net BBS Sysop
 
 
 

 
 ***********************************************************************
           TORONTO ATARI USERS CONVENTION REPORT - Jerry Cross
 ***********************************************************************
 
 
 The Toronto Atari Users Convention was held last weekend, drawing what
 I estimate a little under 1000 attendees.  The room was never packed
 elbow to elbow like many shows I have attended, but a steady stream of
 people still made it difficult to move around.   Parking was impossible!
 Even though there was a huge lot at the hotel it was filled to capacity
 and I ended up parking in a pay lot next door for $10.  OUCH!

 The most noticeable thing about this show was the abundance of dealers
 and lack of software/hardware developers.  There appears to be a number
 of reasons for this.  The upcoming WOA and Pittsburg shows, trouble
 getting past the Canadian border trolls, being a one-day show instead of
 the more traditional two-days, and the long drive from California and
 other parts of the country all had a part in their decision not to
 attend then TAF show.  The TAF committee still did an outstanding job
 filling the booths, and had an excellent assortment of seminars.  If you
 were looking for Atari products to buy this was the show for you.  For
 folks who came to see new products this show was a disappointment.  For
 us reporters it was just another slow news day.

 This was the very first show I have attended that Atari displayed their
 ENTIRE product line, from the 2600 game machine and LYNX right through
 the PC-Clones!  You could even buy (yes, that's right, BUY) some of
 these products from the dealers attending the shows.  Lynx, STacy's and
 Portfolios were in abundance, and the quick shopper even saw a few Atari
 CD-Rom's being sold (until Atari put a stop to that!).  Seems the
 CD-Roms were supposed to be released to developers first, but one dealer
 had some for sale ($750 Canadian + tax).  Boy was I tempted, but the
 thought of those border trolls scared me away.

 Among some of the new products was a new update to the VIDI-ST
 digitizer.  It now supports full color.  Unfortunately, they did not
 have any for sale at the show and the flyers were gone before I could
 get my hands on one.  I did order a copy and will review it in a later
 issue.

 Simple Software showed their "Survival Guide To The ST", a small book
 that explains "all those terms you don't understand, shows you how to
 avoid problems and what to do when you do encounter them".  This is a
 good book to give a first time ST users.  They also were showing a few
 Clip Art disks, and "The Loan Arranger", a loan and mortgage calculating
 program.  Contact Simple Software for more information.  (416)427-4361.
 
 Michtron, one of the regular Atari show attendees, was "blowing out"
 their entire product line at fantastic prices.  D.A. Brumleve was
 showing her line of educational programs.

 Clear Thinking Software displayed a new desk accessory called "Diary &
 Edhak".   This inexpensive program will edit any size file (up to 99
 megs) by loading the part needed.  It has many of the standard word
 processing features, Macros, cut and paste, and many others.  This is a
 great little word processing accessory.  Write to Clear Thinking, PO Box
 715, Ann Arbor, MICHIGAN  48105.

 Lantech, a Canadian hardware developer, was showing their 10 Megabit
 local area network.  They had three ST's networked together and visitors
 could experiment around with it.  Features include 10 megabit transfer
 rate, self-contained interface that plugs into the cartridge port, and
 quick connect cabling.  You can access any disk drive and any printer
 from any of the computers connected to the network.  Cost is only $179
 per computer.  Call (510)744-7380 for more info.
 
 Strata Software was showing STalker 2.0, a background terminal program
 loaded with features but low in price ($30).  One feature I noticed in
 their literature is the ability to use the DC-Port interface to provide
 multiple sessions, each with it's own window.  Another toy for you modem
 addicts!  Two bbs's at once!  For more info call them at (613)591-1922.

 Intrinsic Software displayed "Command!", a windowed command line
 interpreter.  If you just are not happy with GEM and want something with
 more of an MS-DOS feel, this is for you.  Features a CLI window that can
 be scrolled and moved around, 20 built-in commands like Dir, Erase,
 Rename, etc. and is user configurable.  It works as either an ACC or PRG
 file, and works in all resolutions.  Price is $24.95 but is available
 through the end of April for $19.95.  Call Intrinsic Software at
 (416)421-1494.

 On to other things.  RiteWay Computers of Warren, Michigan deserves some
 attention for their support of user groups.  Faced with hauling a large
 truck load of merchandise past the border trolls, and then trying to
 compete with a number of other Toronto area dealers, RiteWay could
 easily have said "no way!".  But instead they bought a booth and spent
 their time pretending to be a carnival booth.  They set up a craps table
 at their booth and if you rolled "craps" you got a FREE T-shirt.  They
 also had a Panasonic 24-pin printer to be raffled off.  No products to
 sell, no pretty girls in mini-skirts ("We're saving them for Pittsburg",
 Ron said), just a pile of sales flyers and lots of happy visitors.
 Thanks for the support, RiteWay!

 I was a little disappointed with the seminars, but they were still a
 great success.  Nearly all of them were well attended with people being
 forced to stand during some of them.  However, they seemed to be more of
 a sales-pitch then a seminar.  I would have preferred to have a couple
 local people on the panel to give their own views on the products and
 how they use them.  One example is the MAC-Emulation seminar.  It
 consisted mostly of a history of the Spectre/GCR products and little
 discussion of the practical use of the product.  But it was still very
 interesting.

 The "Ask Atari" seminar was worst.  I got the impression the folks at
 Atari Canada didn't seem to know much about their products.  A few of
 the technical questions seemed to get poor answers.  There was still a
 reluctance to answer questions about the TT.  It seems that Atari Canada
 is also having a hard time getting products.  When questioned about the
 STacy, it seems Canadian stores did get a couple computers.  But the
 stores are reluctant to sell them because they want one as a store
 display model.  Future shipments are not expected until fall.  Also, I
 realize that Atari-Canada is separate from Atari-USA and they have their
 own user group coordinator.  But why was Bob Brodie delegated to a seat
 in the back of the room and not up front where he could help field
 questions?  What a waste!

 That's it!  The TAF show was well worth the visit.  It will be a few
 days before we find out just how well they did but from what I saw it
 seems the dealers sold an awful lot of computers and hardware.  I hope
 the TAF folks can put together another show next year, and I hope more
 developers can attend it.



 ***********************************************************************
                          ST STack - by Alice Amore
 ***********************************************************************
 
 
 The big news this week concerns communications software.  Read on.

 HAGTRM33.LZH         Programmer:  Hagop Janoyan         * SHAREWARE *
 ======================================================================
 HagTerm Elite, version 3.3, is a powerful and sophisticated
 communications program which contains not only a bounty of useful
 features, but its own script language.  This script language
 ("HagScript") allows the user to manipulate over 90 commands.  In fact,
 many of HagTerm's functions are controlled by script commands.  The user
 is thus able to build custom-made menus.
 
 Let's look at the program.  The following features are offered:
 
 o  User-friendliness.  Icons, buttons, and instructions can all be
    accessed via mouse from the Main Menu.  In fact, all of HagTerm
    Elite's features can be mouse-driven.
 
 o  Keyboard equivalents are available, too.  The ALT/CTRL keys can
    enable most menu items and settings.
 
 o  Xmodem, Xmodem 1K, Ymodem, and ASCII protocols.  Partially compatible
    with Shadow transfer protocols.
 
 o  Compatible with DCOPY.  UnLZH is also supported.
 
 o  A full-featured disk formatter, plus other disk utilities.
 
 o  Outside programs can be run from within HagTerm Elite. 

 o  To save memory for those using 512K, screen redraws can be 
    eliminated by storing a menu in memory.  The user has the choice of
    which menu to store.

 o  Dozens of commands can be saved in the same default file.

 o  Screen colors can be changed and saved.
 
 o  Keyclick and bell can be toggled on or off.
 
 o  Turn off VT52, if desired.
 
 o  Set the time and date from within the program.
 
 o  Upper right-hand corner displays system time and program timer.
 
 o  Many toggles/settings are contained right on the Main Menu.  You 
    don't have to wade through a series of configuration screens to
    change a setting.

 o  Highly variable baud rates, from 50-19200.

 o  Desk accessories are available through the Main Menu.
 
 o  Four modes (Main Menu, Terminal Mode, Dial Mode, and Editor Mode) are
    interactive.
 
 o  Insert script commands via the INSERT key from menus.  Also, the
    "history buffer" will store 50 commands.

 o  Fast Dial Option.  This option will let you type all or part of a 
    BBS name.  This information is then treated as a string.  The correct
    BBS will be dialed, and any name/password/whatever information
    related to the BBS will be sent automatically.  Or, you can type in
    just the phone number and the same BBS-related information will be
    sent.

 o  80 slots are available for names/numbers of BBSes.  Each slot also 
    contains optional user name and password, plus default files which 
    load automatically on connection to a BBS.  Also, something we've
    all been waiting for:  a two-line comment area for storing
    miscellaneous notes about each BBS!  (If ever there was a time-saver,
    this is it.  Throw away those scribbled notes.)  Each "dial item" can
    contain its own auto-log sequence.  You can define a wait/answer
    string, and your answer string can even contain variables.  Multiple
    dial items can be selected very easily.
 
 o  BBS lists can be organized into "pages".  Five pages (with titles)
    are available, each holding 16 entries.

 o  Dialing items can be deleted, inserted, cut, and pasted.
 
 o  Dialing directories can be printed out in short, detailed, or 
    summary form.

 o  Different file paths are available for scripts, defaults, dialing 
    directories, uploads, downloads, etc.

 o  The autodialer (which can multiple-dial) can recognize specific 
    connect/failure strings.  Delay time can be specified.
 
 o  Info about the last-dialed BBS is stored in a system variable. 

 o  A status line in terminal mode can be toggled on/off.  (This allows a
    true "full screen" while BBSing.)

 o  There is a "clear screen" feature which also resets the colors.

 o  Includes a full-featured text editor using assembler routines for
    text display (for very fast text display and scrolling).

 o  Mouse-controlled function-selection and text-scrolling. 

 o  On-screen display of X,Y position of the cursor, line number, and 
    CAPS status.

 o  Four markers can be placed within text files, and you can jump to 
    any of the marks.  You can go to a specific line number by mouse-
    clicking and typing in the line number.

 o  Automatic word-wrapping on/off.
 
 o  Cut, paste, move, merge, or delete a block.  Upload, or save the
    block to disk.  

 o  Upload the entire buffer or only a marked block.

 o  HAGSCRIPT
 "HagScript" is what makes HagTerm so user-configurable.  Scripts can 
 become very complex.  Among the more than 90 commands available through
 HagScript are the following:
 
 WAIT      DELAY     MODE      KEYPRESS  PRINT     PAUSE     TERMINAL
 OUT       INPUT     STRICT    BAUD      LINEFEED  DUPLEX    CLS
 DIAL      MAIN      INKEY     MACRO     STATUS    ALERT     FILESELECT
 MENU      DIR       EXECUTE   LOADDIAL  LOADDEF   IF        DO
 GOTO      GOTOL     LABEL     LET       SGET      SPUT      DRAW
 PLOT      LINE      BOX       CIRCLE    COLOR     SETCOLOR  DEFTEXT
 TEXT      ACCESS    STOP      DELETE    MFOLDER   DFOLDER   TYPE
 COPY      EDITOR    CAPTURE   OPENCAP   CLOSECAP  RENAME    DIALNUM
 DIALNAME  PARITY    FLOW      STOPBITS  CHAR      BUFFER    AUTOPAUSE
 PRINTER   KEYCLICK  VT52      REDIAL    BELL      PRINTFILE COLORTOG
 WAITTIME  WAITDATE  WAITTIMER TIMER     PLAY      SETMACRO  AUXCLEAR
 SETTIME   SETDATE   UPPER     DCOPY     UPLOAD    DOWNLOAD  LOADBUFFER
 LOADSCRIPT          DIAL.CONFIG         DIAL.AUTODIAL
 DIAL.LOG            DIAL.AUTO.REDIAL    DIAL.AUTO.SCRIPT
 DIAL.AUTO.DEFAULT   REDIAL.TIME         MONO.LINES


 The author of HagTerm Elite and HagScript is a 16-year-old college
 student.  He is to be commended for working so hard on this monstrous
 project, and he is to be doubly commended for telling us that there are
 bugs in HagTerm Elite.  (I couldn't get this program to run on a 1-meg
 520, but it did run nicely, for the most part, on a Mega 2.) He outlines
 most of these bugs in his documentation, and has promised to spend the
 summer of 1990 working furiously on bug-fixes and enhancements,
 something he has had little time to do during this past school year.
 Atarians will be eager to see a finished product, as this program is
 potentially a modem-bender.
 
 As per his request, please send bug reports to the programmer via the 
 BBSes he lists in the docs, or by phoning or writing to him.  And
 remember to encourage him.  Better yet, register!  HagTerm is
 *SHAREWARE*.


 MINI_BBS.ARC             Programmer:  Mike Hill          *SHAREWARE*
 ======================================================================
 MINI BBS is an extremely small utility.  Simply put, it allows someone 
 to call your computer via modem and read a message.  The message itself
 can be as long as desired.  The caller is logged on, sent the message,
 and logged off.
 
 This arrangement is handy for many purposes, but especially if you're a
 SysOp whose hard drives have crashed (I can identify with that), and you
 want to keep your callers informed about any progress you're making.
 MINI BBS can be run on a "bare-bones" system (a 512K machine and a
 single/sided floppy).
 
 Be sure to give MINI BBS a trial run before slapping it online.  You
 might have to do a bit of modem-tweaking to make it work properly with
 your particular modem.
 
 
 
 ***********************************************************************
                    PD/SHAREWARE STop - by Mark Quinn
 ***********************************************************************
 
 
     File name:  BODYSHOP.ARC             Author:  F.Hundley
  Program name:  Body Shop             File type:  Educational

 If your elementary or junior high school age child doesn't know a left
 metatarsus from a right scapula (personally, I fit into this category as
 well), then he or she ought to spend time boning up with BODY SHOP.  The
 program allows the child to click on the medical or common names of
 bones and organs and either have them appear within the framework of
 great-great-great Uncle Clarence, who donated his body so your budding
 orthopedist or neurosurgeon can get cracking, or place them there
 himself with the mouse.  The student is given a certain number of tries
 when attempting to place the parts in their niches.

 The menu items are large enough for most children to read, and the
 skeleton itself is colorful and detailed to the extent that most of the
 parts are recognizable.

 Most children could use a visit with Clarence at the Body Shop.  Those
 who don't require such a visit could probably build their own computer
 or Uncle, for that matter.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 (The following program runs in monochrome ONLY.)

    File name:  GILGALAD.ARC             Author:  Markus Dheus
 Program name:  GILGALAD              File type:  Game

 "A dark King threatens your country and you are the only one who can
 save your people from total slavery.  To defeat the enemy, you must go
 through plain, forest, town, temple, and swamp in order to reach his
 fortress and push him from his dark throne."

 Swamp?  Ugh.  I don't think I'll wear my designer chain mail this time.
 
 In GILGALAD you control a young maiden (who is handy with a knife,
 surprisingly) with the mouse and have her do all the above before her
 energy runs out or a number of moons (nicely displayed in the lower
 left-hand corner of the monitor) have passed.  It's refreshing to see
 heroine in a male-dominated genre.  The King in Gilgalad's homeland is
 appropriately dark.  I met two nasties (a wizard and a monster) in
 particular that reduced a once-strapping Gilgalad to a shadow of her
 former self.  Gameplay is confined to a window with a 'frame' around it.
 The graphics are, in a word, superb.  I'll add some more words here:
 they are also pleasing to the eye.  I haven't seen such finely-detailed
 rocks on my screen since MEGAROIDS.  And the movements of the on-screen
 objects are smooth enough to satisfy the most jaded joystick jockey.

 Be sure to follow Mr. Fass' directions before attempting to boot the
 game (and thanks to him for uploading such a prize).

 This game was written in '86, and it has aged well.  I would say that
 ANY monochrome user who likes this sort of scenario will love Gilgalad.
 Highly recommended.

 "Quinn's Quickies"

 ARCLZH21.LZH
  Version 2.1.  Converts ARC format to LZH, or LZH to ARC.  Create self-
  extracting LZH files, convert between self-extracting and non-self-
  extracting LZH files.  Switch between the program and your accessories.
  Format a disk.  Looks good in medium or high resolution.

 HACK30.LZH
  A role-playing D&D game.  Uses ASCII characters.  See if you can find
  the amulet somewhere below level twenty of the maze.  Has editable
  configuration file.  Runs in monochrome too.

 SAM_SAM2.LZH
   1-meg demo from Gator Gulch BBS.  Has 9 digitized samples and MIDI
   sound effects.  Often funny.



 
 ***********************************************************************
               AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE MEGA'S KEYBOARD CABLE
 ***********************************************************************
 by Robert Ford --> the CyberPunk!  (ZNet BBS SysOp)
 
 
 I've had my Mega for a few years now and suffered long enough with the
 awkward placement of the keyboard cable connector.  Those with Megas
 know that it is right next to the cartridge port.  The problem with this
 setup comes up when you need to install a cartridge.  Small cartridges
 like Spectre 128 or ST Replay have no problem, but cartridges like
 ComputerEyes, VidiST, Discovery Cartridge, etc. are so wide that the
 extending keyboard cable is in the way.
 
 To remedy this you have to bend the cable down and out of the way.  This
 is a very unnatural position for the cable causing stress on the wires
 and the jack itself.  There are quite a few ways of fixing this and it
 wasn't until I ruined my keyboard cable recently that I actually did
 anything about it.  What follows is what I did.  There are other, more
 obvious, solutions, but I figure I'd tell you the route I took.

 Because the keyboard cable jacks are standard telephone style jacks it
 seems obvious to just use a telephone extension cable.  Well,
 unfortunately, standard phone wire you have in your house has four
 wires.  Atari uses a six wire cable like the multiline cables that
 business' use.  That wasn't too much of a problem for me because I came
 across a six wire phone extension.  Unfortunately when I plugged it in
 my keyboard didn't work.  Upon closer inspection I realized that the
 wire on the Mega was reversed.  The obvious solution here would be to
 get a crimper and a new male jack, cut one jack off and put the new jack
 on upside down.  Well, I didn't have a crimper or a new jack.
 
 What I did was to take a trip to good old Radio Shack and picked up two
 6-Wire Modular Jacks (Cat. No. 279-420.)  All that has to be done is to
 wire these two boxes together.  What follows is the wiring directions:
 
                BOX 1
                ~~~~~

               Yellow  <----------------->  Black
               Black   <----------------->  Yellow
               Blue    <----------------->  White
               White   <----------------->  Blue
               Green   <----------------->  Red
               Red     <----------------->  Green

 Now that you have the boxes wired together you can put the covers back
 on them.  Included with each box is a piece of double-sided adhesive
 foam.  With the adhesive attach the backs of the boxes together to make
 a nice little cube.
 
 To hook your keyboard up to the computer take your standard cable, the
 one that came with the computer, and attach it to your keyboard jack and
 into one of the jacks on your "box."  Now take the 6 wire phone cable
 and insert one end into the other jack in your "box" and the other end
 into the computer's keyboard jack.  That's it.
 
 Since the phone wire is pretty flimsy, maybe flexible is a better word,
 when you plug in a cartridge the cable can now be easily tucked out of
 the way.
 
 Besides having the cable out of the way of the cartridges you also have
 the added bonus of an extended keyboard cable.

 Hope this little hack was helpful to some of you.
 
 

 
 ***********************************************************************
                        TRACKER-ST - Press Release
 ***********************************************************************
 
 
 Step Ahead Software is proud to introduce Tracker/ST, an exciting new
 productivity package for the Atari ST which combines mailing list, mail
 merge, and person-tracking features in a single integrated software
 solution.  Fully GEM based for ease of use, Tracker/ST is the ideal
 program for anyone who does mailings on a regular basis, or who needs to
 keep track of people for any reason.  Some of Tracker/ST's powerful
 features include:

  >>>  Powerful and easy to use mail merge.  Merge letters to everyone or
       set up exact criteria for a merge.  Full GEM text editor _built
       in_ to the program with automatic reformatting (no need to press
       the F10 key), bold, italic and underline attributes, etc.
 
  >>>  Computer aided entry saves you thousands of keystrokes when
       entering names--up to 10,000+ keystrokes saved for every 250 names
       you enter into Tracker/ST.

  >>>  Sixteen preset label formats for single, 2 or 3 across labels, and
       laser printed labels (with _no_ label creeping).  Edit these and
       add your own for custom label formats.

  >>>  One-step "subscription aging" command automatically tracks
       remaining time in a membership or subscription.  Great for groups
       with memberships that need to be adjusted on a weekly, monthly, or
       annual basis.

  >>>  Full GEM interface with drop down menus, click on buttons and
       keyboard commands for ultimate ease of use.

  >>>  Unique "Quick Letter" option for those occasions when you need to
       send a single "almost form letter."  Great for business reply mail
       and follow-up letters.

  >>>  Unlimited notes for each person in your Tracker/ST files.  Notes
       are not limited to a few characters or words.

  >>>  Category, rank, source and I.D. fields to help you identify each
       entry in your list.

  >>>  Full reports to screen and printer, including easy to use sorting,
       filtering, grouping, counting, and summarizing.  No need to use
       complicated "dot prompts" or learn a confusing database language.
 
  >>>  Import and export names in ASCII and Tracker/ST formats.

  >>>  Easy transfer of names from all popular ST data management
       packages (Timeworks Data Manager, Zoomracks II, SuperBase, DBMan,
       etc) into Tracker/ST.

  >>>  Number of names limited only by disk space.

  >>>  Comprehensive manual with full tutorial and complete index.
       Manual is spiral bound for easy reference.

  >>>  Installs easily on your hard drive--not copy protected.

 Tracker/ST is perfect for businesses of all types, religious and school
 organizations, theater and music groups, photographers, freelance
 writers and artists, clubs, newsletter publishers, salesmen and
 saleswomen, etc.

 Tracker/ST will run on any Atari ST with one megabyte of RAM and a
 double sided disk drive.  The program runs in medium resolution color
 and high resolution monochrome, and also completely supports the
 Moniterm large screen monitor.  A hard drive is recommended.

 Tracker/ST is available NOW.  See your local dealer or send a check or
 money order for $79.95 to:

                         Step Ahead Software, Inc.
                      496-A Hudson Street Suite 39F
                         New York City, NY  10014

 For more information please call Step Ahead Software at 212-627-5830
 during normal East Coast business hours, or visit our on-line support
 area on GEnie, in Category 6, Topic 23 of the ST RoundTable.
 



 ***********************************************************************
                          WIND-X - Press Release
 ***********************************************************************
 March 28th, 1990
 
 
 ENiGMA Software
 4431 Lehigh Road
 Suite 299
 College Park, Maryland  20740
 (202) 636-9078


 Wind-X is (c) ENiGMA Software, 1990.


 What It Does
 ============
 Wind-X works as both a desk accessory and as a  program.   It operates
 solely using legal GEM and TOS calls, and thus, permits itself to work
 in conjunction with other GEM programs.  By utilizing this method,
 Wind-X can work in conjunction with most GEM based applications,
 allowing the user to utilize the power of the Wind-X utilities and
 applications while within another application.  On top of that, Wind-X
 lets the user work with it using the familiar GEM AES environment, so
 there is no need to worry about adjusting to a new graphics environment.
 
 Utilities within Wind-X are allowed to run using information passed to
 the individual copies of Wind-X running on that system.  Wind-X
 utilities have the ability to patch themselves to everything in their
 parent [the actual Wind-X program/DA], including the window redraws,
 timer events, message events, keyboard events, and mouse button events.
 By allowing so many possibilities, the Wind-X utility can be as open
 ended as the programmer requires.
 
 The main use for Wind-X would obviously be to relieve Atari ST users of
 the feeling that they must carefully pick and choose what accessories
 and programs are run.  Not to be confused with programs like MultiDesk?
 by CodeHead or FlexCessory? E.A.B., Wind-X doesn't run standard GEM
 programs and accessories under its interface, but customized utilities.
 The advantage in this is that the utilities can present their graphic
 interfaces to the user for use at any time.  What it all boils down to
 is that Wind-X lets the user see the program and interact with it while
 simultaneously permitting input to the program's "peers" [other Wind-X
 utilities in this case].  In essence, it expands the capabilities of the
 limited multitasking kernel running under GEM on the Atari ST.

 With a number of Wind-X applications in the works, we expect that it
 will become a viable alternative to using standard desk accessory
 technology, since it will offer comparable capabilities to the end user,
 with the addition of the multitasking capabilities.

 How To Use Wind-X
 =================
 Wind-X will be sold in a single package consisting of:

   1)   Several pre-configured copies of Wind-X.
   2)   A collection of WNX utilities in order to make the program worth
        using! [it really isn't much without the WNXes!]
   3)   A utility called WindXCnF, which is a "Wind-X Configuration"
        Utility, which runs as both a desk accessory and as a stand-alone
        program.
   4)   A manual.

 All you need to do is make a few copies of the accessory, and use
 WindXCnF to set up the particular utilities you want to run within that
 particular copy of Wind-X.

 It is possible to run multiple copies of Wind-X *simultaneously* so that
 the user can access a slew of WNXes at once.  I have personally tested 
 nd run over 40 applications at one time.  However, your system will show
 signs of slowing down as you use more and more utilities that need to
 latch into the timer routines of Wind-X.

 [In the pictures used in this demo, you can see how my desktop looked
 using a bunch of clock programs!]

 How you interact with each utility is up to the WNX programmer, and it
 can range from keypresses to mouse clicks.

 Wind-X Features
 ===============

 o  Wind-X runs as both a desk accessory and as a program.
 o  Full compatibility with all ST's from 512k to 4MB, with the ability
    to run on everything from TOS 1.0 to TOS 1.6/030.
 o  Complete access to the existing "limited multitasking" kernel of the
    GEM AES via Wind-X itself for its child processes [WNXes] via a TRAP
    handler.
 o  Up to 16 applications running per Wind-X window within ANY GEM
    application that permits the user access to desk accessories.
 o  Interprocess communication between WNXes, particularly those running
    under different copies of Wind-X.
 o  A "cookie jar" for WNXes running so that they can decide whether to
    run or not, so that if multiple copies will cause a conflict, the
    application will be "smart" enough to know how to react.
 o  Hopefully (fingers crossed) compatibility with MultiDesk [if Wind-X
    doesn't already work under MultiDesk]
 o  Works with Quick ST by Darek Mihocka.  In fact, due to the vast
    improvement in redraw speed for the WNX utilities, I recommend using
    Quick ST in conjunction with Wind-X.
 o  Takes advantages of special features in DC Desktop?.
 o  Pending a chance to talk to Eric Rosenquist (hey, dude!), Wind-X will
    probably support the clipboard interface utilized by Strata
    Software's "STalker" [an excellent telecom package, with the ability
    to do *everything* in the background] and "STeno" [text editor/
    capture buffer].
 o  ....a LOT of .WNX utilities!

 Price
 =====
 Wind-X will retail for $29.95.  Because we're honest, we'll say $30.
 Dealer inquiries are welcome, and encouraged!

 A public domain utilities disk for Wind-X users will probably be
 released for free.

 Other ENiGMA Software Products!
 ===============================
 ENiGMA was founded after we decided to do a disk magazine, called STatus
 Disk Magazine.  You have probably seen some of our articles in STReport/
 CPU Newswire or Atari Interface Magazine.  Due to the response to STatus
 Magazine, we took the plunge into writing more software for the Atari
 ST.

 STatus requires a 1MB, a double-sided drive, and a color monitor.  A
 future revision [due October, for the WAACE AtariFest 1990] should
 permit it to run on single-sided drives, on just 512k of RAM.  Whether
 or not support for monochrome, Moniterms, and Image Systems' card is
 possible is dependent upon the number of requests we get for those.

 STatus can be ordered direct from ENiGMA for $7.50 for a single issue
 [PLEASE specify whether you want a back issue or the most recent
 issue!], or $30.00 for a 6 issue/12 month subscription.

 Who IS ENiGMA Software, Anyways?
 ================================
 Come see us at the Pittsburgh AtariFest 1990 on April 28th and 29th
 [where we hope to premiere Wind-X!] to find that out!




 ***********************************************************************
                            CLEVELAND FREE-NET
 ***********************************************************************
 by Len Stys
 
 
 The Cleveland Free-Net is the largest free, open-access, community
 computer systems in the world today.  It is often called an "electronic
 city" because it has almost everything that a real city has.  It has a
 post office, cafe, and several buildings that hold close to one hundred
 different SIGs or Special Interest Groups.  The system has 96 megabytes
 of RAM, 2.3 gigabytes of hard disk storage, and has close to 32 incoming
 lines (but is capable of supporting up to 360 simultaneous users).  The
 system has also recently become Internet accessible.
 
 The Cleveland Free-Net was first an experiment by Dr. Tom Grundner with
 support from Case Western Reserve University and the Information Systems
 division of AT&T.  The experiment was to see if a "free community
 computer system" could actually work.  On July 16, 1986, the Cleveland
 Free-Net prototype was opened by Ohio Governor Richard Celeste and
 Cleveland Mayor George Voinivich.  The prototype only had 10 incoming
 lines but attracted 7,000 users.  The community computer system was a
 complete success.  In August of 1989, the system moved up in software
 and hardware and moved out of its experimental stage and into reality.
 Case Western Reserve still provides financial support for the system but
 the key to the economics of operating it is the fact that the system is
 literally run by the community itself.  Everything that appears on Free-
 Net is there because of individuals or organizations in the community
 who are prepared to contribute their time, effort, and expertise to
 place it there and operate it over time.  This is contrast to commercial
 services which have very high personnel and information-acquisition
 costs and must pass those costs on to the consumer.

 These are some of the SIGs and sections available on Free-Net:

 Adam Computers           Aeronautics         Aging Information
 AIDS Information Center  Aircraft            All-denominational Forum
 Arts                     Atari Computers     Athletic Injuries
 Baha'i Faith Forum       BBS's               Business and Indus. Park
 Business Information     Business Computing  Byte Animal Clinic
 Cafe (User Chat)         CAMLS Library       Camping
 Commodore Computers      Community Center    Computer Corner
 Courthouse               Culinary Arts SIG   Cuyahoga County
 Network Services         Dental Health       Dr. Who Forum
 ECCO Center              Education           Electronic Mail
 Family Medicine Clinic   Fantasy             Fire Safety
 Fishing                  For Sale            Freedom Shrine
 Games                    Gay/Lesbian         Geriatrics
 Home Care                IBM                 Jobs
 Kiosk                    Law                 Legal Information
 LGCSC                    Library             Literary Arts
 Lotus Software           Media
 Natural History          Physics             Post Office
 Religion                 Safety              Schoolhouse
 Speeches                 Sports Medicine     Star Trek
 Tandy Computers          Tax Clinic          Technology
 Television               Texas Instrument Computers
 UFO's                    University Circle   Veterinary Science
 
 As you can see, there are many sections to the Cleveland Free-Net and
 you will be happy to know that the largest computer SIG on Free-Net is 
 the Atari SIG.  The Atari SIG consists of Atari News, User Group
 Information, bulletin boards for all Atari computers, a Wanted & For
 Sale Board, a Programmers' Forum for Atari programmers, Software/
 Product Information, On-Line Magazines (YES! Z*Net is available!), User
 Group Newsletters, an Information Base, Archives, Time Capsule, and the
 Atari SIG Log.  The Cleveland Free-Net seems to have something for
 everybody and it is still growing!
 
 Due to the success of the Cleveland Free-Net, a non-profit organization
 by the name of the National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN) has been
 established.  This organization's main objective is to help establish as
 many Free-Net community computer systems as possible in the U.S. and
 throughout the world.  This will be accomplished by the dissemination of
 Free-Net software (to qualified parties of $1 per year) and by providing
 the technical and management support necessary to help those systems
 succeed.  As of now, there are several Free-Net type cities in Northeast
 Ohio and are spreading across the country to Cincinnati and Peoria,
 Illinois.  Soon, your city may have a Free-Net of its own!

 If you would like to visit the Cleveland Free-Net then you can go about
 it in one of two ways.  You can dial (216)368-3888 at 300/1200/2400 baud
 or you can connect to Free-Net from Internet by the IP address of
 "freenet-in-a.cwru.edu".  Don't forget to stop at the Atari SIG while
 you're here by typing "Go Atari" at any menu.


 <<< CLEVELAND FREE-NET SYSTEM INDEX >>>
 
 Area Description                   KeyWord/Direction
 =========================================================
 Adam Computers                     go adam
 Administration Building            go admin
 Administration Q & A               go admin.q
 Aeronautics                        go nasa
 Aging Information                  go aging
 AIDS Information Center            go aids
 Aircraft                           go nasa
 All-denomination Forum             go all.denom
 Alzheimer's Disease                go alz
 Animals                            go animal
 Animals                            go nat.hist
 Apple Computers                    go apple
 Apple II Computers                 go apple2
 Apple, Macintosh                   go mac
 Arts Information                   go arts
 Arts, Literary                     go lit
 Arts, Video                        go video
 Atari Computers                    go atari
 Athletic Injuries                  go sportsmed
 Baha'i Faith Forum                 go bahai
 Brecksville, City of               go brecksville
 Bulletin Board Systems             go bbs
 Business and Indus. Park           go business
 Business Information               go business
 Business, Fire Safety              go fire
 Business, Personnel                go personnel
 Business, Software                 go lotus
 Business, Travel                   go travel
 Business Computing                 go bus.comp
 Byte Animal Clinic                 go animal
 Cafe (User Chat)                   go cafe 
 CAMLS Library                      go camls
 Camping                            go outdoors
 Cancer                             go cancer
 Case Western Reserve Univ.         go cwru
 Change Password                    go password
 Change Terminal Type               go term
 Chess                              go chess
 Choose editor                      go term
 City Government                    go brecksville
 City Government                    go city.reps
 City Government                    go cleve
 Cleveland Area User Groups         go user.groups
 Cleveland Chess SIG                go chess
 Cleveland Connection               go cleve
 Colleges                           go cwru
 Commodore Computers                go commodore
 Community Center                   go community
 Computer Corner                    go computer
 Computer SIGs                      go comp.sigs
 Computers, Adam                    go adam
 Computers, Apple                   go apple
 Computers, Apple II                go apple2
 Computers, Atari                   go atari
 Computers, business                go bus.comp
 Computers, Commodore               go commodore
 Computers, editors                 go terminal
 Computers, education               go ecco
 Computers, games                   go games
 Computers, general                 go computer
 Computers, Lotus Software          go lotus
 Computers, Macintosh               go mac
 Computers, Tandy                   go tandy
 Computers, terminals               go terminal
 Computers, Texas Instruments       go ti
 Computers, Timex/Sinclair          go ts
 County Engineer's Office           go county.eng
 Court of Appeals, State            go state.reps
 Courthouse                         go court
 Culinary Arts SIG                  go food
 Cuyahoga County                    go county.eng 
 CWRU                               go cwru
 CWRU Bookstore                     go bookstore
 CWRU Film Society                  go cine, films
 CWRU Information Network Services  go ins
 CWRU Physics Department            go physics
 CWRU Student Activities            go activities
 Dental Health                      go dental
 Dr. Who Forum                      go dr.who
 e.mail                             go post
 ECCO Center                        go ecco
 Education                          go school
 Education, Administrators          go teacher
 Education, College                 go cwru
 Education, Gifted                  go gifted
 Education, Learning Center         go learn
 Education, Library                 go library
 Education, Mathematics             go math
 Education, Special Ed.             go special.ed
 Education, Teachers                go teacher
 Elected Officials, County          go county.rep
 Elected Officials, County          go state.reps
 Elected Officials, Federal         go fed.reps
 Family Medicine Clinic             go fam.med
 Fantasy                            go scifi
 Fine Arts                          go arts
 Fire Safety                        go fire
 Fishing                            go outdoors
 Food                               go food
 For Sale                           go for.sale
 Freedom Shrine                     go shrine
 Games                              go games
 Gay (LGCSC)                        go gay
 General Medicine                   go fam.med
 Geriatrics                         go aging
 Gifted Education Center            go gifted
 Government House                   go govt
 Government, taxes                  go tax
 H.O.P.E. Cancer Center             go cancer
 Handicapped Information            go handi
 History, Natural                   go nat.hist
 Home Care                          go nursing
 IBM                                go ibm
 Index                              go index
 Jobs Available                     go jobs
 Kiosk                              go kiosk
 Law                                go court
 Law                                go law
 Legal Information                  go court
 Lesbian                            go lesbian
 LGCSC                              go lgcsc
 Library Information                go camls
 Media, Science Fiction             go sf.media
 Medical Information                go medical
 Medicine                           go st.silicon
 Medicine, Psychology               go psych
 Medicine, Sports                   go sportsmed
 N. Coast SciFi & Fant Association  go ncsffa
 NASA                               go nasa
 What's New in Electronic City      go new
 Outdoors SIG                       go outdoors
 Physician Assistant                go pa
 Physics                            go physics
 Public Square                      go public
 Recipies                           go food
 Recreation                         go rec
 Religion                           go religion
 Religion, Baha'i Faith             go bahai
 Religion, All-denom                go all.denom
 Running                            go runners
 Schoolhouse                        go school
 Science                            go sci
 Science Fiction                    go ncsffa
 Science Fiction, Star Trek         go startrek
 Senate                             go fed.reps
 Skepticism                         go skeptic
 Skiiing                            go ski
 Special Education                  go special.ed
 Special Interest Groups            go sigs
 Speeches                           go podium
 Speeches                           go toast
 System Information                 go info
 Tandy Computers                    go tandy
 Tax Office                         go tax
 Texas Instr Computers              go ti
 Timex/Sinclair Computers           go ts
 UFO's                              go ufo
 User Groups                        go user.groups
 Users Guide, Online                go guide
 Video Arts                         go video
 Wanted & For sale                  go for.sale

 The number for the Cleveland Free-Net is:  (216) 368-3888.
 300/1200/2400 baud.  Type "Go Atari" to get to the Atari SIG.

                          <<< THE ATARI SIG >>>

  1 About the Atari SIG
  2 User Group Information
  3 Atari News
  4 General Bulletin Board
  5 Specific Computer Boards
  6 Programmers' Forum
  7 Wanted & For Sale Board
  8 Software/Product Information
  9 Atari Library
 10 Help-Line (Tech. Q & A)
 11 Directory of SIG Members
 -------------------------------
 h = Help
 x = Exit the Free-Net

 Your Choice ==> 

                     <<< SPECIFIC COMPUTER BOARDS >>>

  1 8-bit Computers
  2 16/32-bit Computers
  3 Atari MS-DOS Computers
  4 Video Game Entertainment
 -------------------------------
 h = Help
 x = Exit the Free-Net

 Your Choice ==> 

                          <<< ATARI LIBRARY >>>

  1 Information Base
  2 Archives
  3 Time Capsule
  4 On-Line Magazines
  5 User Group Newsletters
  6 Atari SIG Log
 -------------------------------
 h = Help
 x = Exit the Free-Net

 Your Choice ==> 

 
 =======================================================================
 =======================================================================
 Z*Net Online Magazine  is  a weekly  released  publication covering the
 Atari community.  Opinions  and  commentary  presented are those of the
 individual authors and do not reflect those of Rovac Industries.  Z*NET
 and  Z*NET  ONLINE  are  copyright  1990 by  Rovac Industries.  Reprint
 permission is granted as  long as Z*NET ONLINE, Issue Number and author
 is included at the top of the article. Reprinted articles are not to be
 edited without permission.  (No guarantees required!)
 =======================================================================
 =======================================================================
 ZNET ONLINE                                           Atari News FIRST!
                Copyright (c)1990 Rovac Industries, Inc..
 =======================================================================

  

-- 
 
Contributed by Atari SIG user, Kevin Steele.

-- 


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