ST Report: 11-Jan-91 #702

From: Bruce D. Nelson (aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 01/20/91-05:09:55 PM Z


From: aj434@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 11-Jan-91  #702
Date: Sun Jan 20 17:09:55 1991



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 January 11, 1990                                                   No.7.02
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 > 01/11/91: STReport? #7.02  The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine!
   -------------------------
     - The Editor's Desk      - CPU REPORT        - CPU STATUS REPORT
     - MacWorld Opens         - CBM Layoffs       - CES REPORTS!
     - The Flip Side          - PORTFOLIO NEWS    - STR Confidential

                           * UK COMPUTER FAIRE *
                         * DAREK MIHOCKA, ONLINE *
                       * 68000 BASED GAME CONSOLE? *

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 Node 350  direct at  904-786-4176, and  enjoy the excitement of exchanging
 information relative to the Atari ST  computer arena  through an excellent
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 > The Editor's Podium?


     The CES  show is going full blast.... The new products are intended to
 excite most of us  and of  course instill  confidence in  the coming year.
 Although there  are no  confirmations, the 68000 based super game console,
 whose name might just be "Panther" is in  Las Vegas,  being 'shown' behind
 closed doors.   Atari  is embarked  on the  "rebuild" course  and from all
 indications has a definite plan to follow.

     About four weeks ago, there was a rumor of the German GM being recrui-
 ted to  head up the vacancy left by Elie Kenan.  Now, with the UK Computer
 Faire over,  we to hear  this story again.   The best that can be  said is
 that Atari  Corp. may  be doing  something along  these lines, Atari US is
 certainly not part of the plans or so someone would  have us  believe.  In
 any case,  nothing but good can come of any international influence on the
 entire North American market.  After  all, that  would virtually guarantee
 a flow  of the  'hard to  get' European  software to the USA.  Thus rejuv-
 enating the USA's rather sluggish market.

                                   Thank you again for your support!

                                                  Ralph




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                 WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (Jan. 11)


 ATARI REGISTERED DEVELOPERS...

  Atari Developer Support has  uploaded  TTLANG.ARC  to  LIBRARY  7  of the
 Atari Productivity  Forum (GO  ATARIPRO) for  Atari Registered Developers.
 This is the TT030 "Language Disk"  &  Advanced  Hard  Disk  Utilities Disk
 that is currently shipping with the FCC ClassA TT's.

 NEW FROM DOUBLE CLICK SOFTWARE

 DCMSHF.ARC,  available  in  LIBRARY  13  of  the  Atari  Vendors Forum (GO
 ATARIVEN).  DC MOUSE SHIFT emulates  any  of  the  modifier  keys (SHIFTs,
 CONTROL, and/or  ALTERNATE) by  pressing the  RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON.  Perfect
 for selecting multiple files  at the  desktop or  a MOVE  operation on TOS
 1.4  and  up.    Built-in  configurator  allows  you  to assign key(s) and
 whether  or  not  emulation  is  turned  off  in  programs.  ST,STe,and TT
 compatible.

 DCMN1A.ARC,  available  in  LIBRARY  13  of  the  Atari  Vendors Forum (GO
 ATARIVEN).  DC MENU V1.0a is a DC DESKTOP extension.  DC MENU  v1.0a fixes
 a small  'oversight' of  1.0: the  path is  now set to that of the program
 being launched.  Programs  launched  will  now  find  their  resources and
 other associated  files.   DC MENU  lets you launch 24 programs with a key
 from DC Desktop without the need for a program icon  on the  desktop. 100%
 assembly.

 NEW PORTFOLIO LIBRARY

 As requested  by the  members, we've  established a separate Library (#11)
 for GRAPHICS files in the Atari  Portfolio  Forum  (GO  APORTFOLIO).   The
 sysops have  moved all  of the  previously uploaded graphics files to this
 new location.

 NEW PBASIC, UTILITIES FROM B.J. GLEASON

 The prolific  B.J. Gleason  has generously  provided us  with some heavily
 requested utilities  and a  new version  of his PBASIC interpreter.  Check
 out these files, now available in Library 1  of the  Atari Portfolio Forum
 (GO APORTFOLIO).


   NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE


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

   Issue #A01
   ----------

 Temporary Editor - Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.



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



 - San Francisco, CA                          MACWORLD EXPO OPENS THIS WEEK
   -----------------


     The  semi-annual  Mac  World  Expo  opens this  week in San Francisco.
 The Expo runs from Thursday through Sunday, at the Moscone  Center and the
 San Francisco  Civic Center/Brooks  Hall.  It is not anticipated that much
 new will be announced but all sorts of  rumors are  swirling around Apple.
 Some of  the new  hardware that  may be  announced is  a slightly enhanced
 Portable and a new mid-range printer to replace the unpopular  and trouble
 prone  Imagewriter  LQ.    Apple's  System 7 software isn't to be released
 until sometime during the first 1/2 of the year, so it will  not be shown.
 Prior to  the show, Apple announced high-speed Ethernet expansion cards or
 the Mac II and LC lines and three  types of  Ethernet cabling,  so the new
 cards  will  work  with  fiber  optic,  thin or thick coax or twisted pair
 wiring cables.

     Microsoft plans a news conference sometime during the  show and  it is
 anticipated to  unveil version  3.0 of  its  Excel spreadsheet.   However,
 Lotus's long-awaited Mac version  of 1-2-3  isn't expected  to be  shown.
 Reports say  that several  companies will  be showing  new music and sound
 tools.  Also, some new accelerator cards (based  on the  68040) are  to be
 demonstrated.



 - Santa Monica, CA           NORAD INTROS RADIATION SHIELD FOR MAC CLASSIC
   ----------------

     NoRad Corporation has introduced a NoRad Shield (Model 2524-P) for the
 Mac Classic.  Bruce Sperka, NoRad  director  of  marketing  said  that the
 reason  the  shield  was  developed  so  quickly was because the Mac users
 represent a strong customer base for his company and due to the popularity
 of the recently introduced Mac Classic.

     NoRad shields have been certified as the most effective product avail-
 able for blocking  video  display  terminal  non-ionizing electro-magnetic
 radiation.   It is said to provide "broad spectrum EMR attenuation includ-
 ing better than 99.9 percent of  virtually the  entire E-field (electric),
 including ELF  and VLF,  and better  than 50  percent of the H-field (mag-
 netic) above 30 kiloHertz".  Suggested  retail price  for the  Mac Classic
 model is $129 and has immediate availability.



 - New York City, NY                                   COMMODORE MAKES CUTS
   -----------------

     Commodore  International  has  announced  cuts in its U.S. operations.
 The cuts will mainly  be in  administration and  factory overhead.   It is
 reported that  the company will lay off about 10% of its 600 U.S. workers.
 The  company said that the action was necessitated due  to the reorganiza-
 tion   of certain  functions and  it is  hoped to result in more efficient
 operations.



 - San Francisco, CA                   HAYES WINS ONE ROUND IN PATENT FIGHT
   -----------------

     Instead of going to  trial,   Promethus Products  agreed to  an out of
 court   settlement with Hayes Microcomputer Products concerning the rights
 to a patent issued to Hayes in 1985 (number 4,549,302).  Promethus (one of
 three  defendants  in  the  case)  agreed  to pay license fees to Hayes in
 connection with Hayes' Modem  with Improved  Escape Sequence  patent.  The
 1985 patent  covers most  personal computer  async modems running at up to
 2,400 bits/second (2400 baud).



 - Waterloo, Ontario, Canada               HAYES BUYS WATERLOO MICROSYSTEMS
   -------------------------

     In an effort to boost  its  Canadian  presence,    Hayes Microcomputer
 Products   has hired  all the  staff of Waterloo Microsystems (which Hayes
 acquired late last year) and has changed the name on the office  to "Hayes
 Canada".   A spokesperson  for Hayes said that the acquisition of Waterloo
 brought Hayes considerable technical expertise.



 - San Jose, CA                                NINTENDO BEING SUED...AGAIN!
   ------------

     American Video Entertainment (AVE) filed suit for $105 million against
 Nintendo of  America and  Nintendo of  Japan in  US District  Court in San
 Francisco on January 8th.   AVE  charges Nintendo  with having  an illegal
 monopoly and  that Nintendo  changed their  machines so that they will not
 work with non-Nintendo cartridges.

     In 1989, AVE's Macronix engineers created  a cartridge  which was able
 to  defeat  Nintendo's  "lockout"  chips  and would work on the 28,000,000
 Nintendo game machines on the market.  But AVE claims Nintendo changed the
 internal design  of its  video game  players in  November and they will no
 longer play AVE's cartridges.

     Nintendo has been in court  before  concerning  it's  lock-out scheme.
 Atari Games'  1988 suit (also charging Nintendo with monopoly) is still in
 the courts and the Federal Trade Commission is also investigating.



 - Sydney, Australia                 MAC CLASSIC BUNDLED AND BARGAIN PRICED
   -----------------

     Reliable Australian Distributors (RAD) is offering the RAD Mac Classic
 Starter Pack.  The starter package offered is a Mac Classic with 3 megs of
 memory, a 50-meg Microtech internal hard  drive, Norton  Utilities for the
 Mac, Total  Recall back-up  software and the SmartBundle - Write Now, Full
 impact, SuperPaint 2.0 and RecordHolder Plus  - all  for AUS  $1,350.  The
 Starter Pack  is also  available with 40-meg or 100-meg hard drives and/or
 1-meg memory upgrade.



 - Kazan, Russia                    RUSSIAN SOFTWARE FACTORY UNSATISFACTORY
   -------------

     Microsoft and  Nantucket representatives  say that  the software pack-
 aging plant  established two  years ago  in Kazan,   Russia  by the Soviet
 State Committee on Computers and Informatics  is not  satisfactory.    The
 quality of  packaging that comes from this factory is not very high and is
 only good for use in producing some parts  of dBase  and Clipper packages.
 Also, the service is limited.  The factory can't respond quickly enough to
 marketing moves required by Microsoft.







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               Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
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           The system will now prompt you for your information.

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


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




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


 by Michael Lee

 In  last weeks column I mentioned that "I might get someone's name  wrong
 on occasion".   Well,  last weeks column was one  of those occasions.   I
 gave  credit to "Doug Williams" for a post and it should have been  given
 to Doug Wheeler (I think I've done that before).   Doug,  I apologize and
 I'll try not to let it happen again.

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

    From Mike Loader on the SoftLogic (PageStream) RT on Genie:
 For those wondering,  PageStream ST does not currently run on the TT. The
 version  you  always see at shows is an in-house beta,  not  a  for  sale
 version.  The  current  version  is still 1.82.  Now that  Amiga  2.1  is
 shipping, all attention will be given to 2.1 Atari which will run on both
 machines. The Atari manual will be the same as the Amiga 2.1 manual, with
 the  usual  changes  for  machines,   plus  a  whole  bunch  of  spelling
 corrections!

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

    From Jack Hickey on Genie:
 I  have it from a reliable source that a simple jumper change  in  either
 the TT or the MegaSTE will enable 1.44MB drives to be  used.  Also,  that
 same source mentioned an upgraded WDC 1772 that also accommodates 1.44MB.
 Should make for an easy upgrade of all ST's!

 Don't  ask Atari to confirm this,  and don't run a modified system  in  a
 residential, non commercial application. (FCC you know)

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

    From Gantry Gappmayer (Editor ST Journal) on Genie...
 ST Journal will not be printing a Feb/Mar issue.  The purpose of this  is
 to give us time to:

 Reevaluate the market and our place in it. Prepare for expansion to cover
 TT,  Mega  STe,  and the Portfolio.  Change the format of  the  magazine,
 possibly going monthly.

 Subscribers  will still receive the same number of issues,  resuming  the
 next published issue.

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

    From Lauren (WordFlair) on Genie:
 Sorry  for  the  delay.  We  pride  ourselves  on  meeting  our  shipping
 schedules.  We announced Wordflair,  the original product,  at COMDEX '89
 and  projected a December 15,  1989 ship date.  It actually shipped  just
 after  Christmas that year.  This year's COMDEX announcement projected  a
 January 2, 1991  ship  date  (trying  not to  repeat  prior  year's  per-
 formance)  and  will  ship two  weeks  late  anyway.  Murphy's  Law...But
 seriously,   we work hard to find as many bugs as we can,  and we fix all
 that we find, so it is hard to be 100% accurate with projections.

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

    From Mike Schuetz on Genie:
 I  just returned from London yesterday,  so here is my (German) 10  cents
 worth about the London show.

 There  were over a 120 vendors at that show showing off  soft-&  hardware
 for the ST & Amiga.  Typical for the English ST market the whole show was
 dominated  by  Game  software.  Where for example at the  Atari  fair  in
 Duesseldorf,   Germany,   probably  80%  of  the  show  is  dedicated  to
 application software or hardware devices and may be less than 20% to game
 software,  the  16  Bit Atari fair in London it was just  the  other  way
 around.

 Naturally there was also other stuff to see & buy besides games:
    Double Click Software was showing off DC Desktop and DC utilities
    AIM introduce their Atari magazine to the English crowd
    PC emulators - PC Speed, AT Speed, Supercharger and AT Once were seen
    Softlogik demoed Pagestream
    Retouche Professional was shown by the English distributor
    HiSoft was there with their full range programming languages
    Even some German companies like the modem supplier CSR,  the  harddisk
    manufacturers  LACOM  & PROTAR had come to London to  show  off  their
    products.

 The show was held at two rooms in the Novotel and was very well  accepted
 by the English public. There were often times during the three days where
 some  rows  between  the  booths were blocked  by  the  large  number  of
 visitors.  A very high percentage of the visitors were kids and students,
 naturally attracted by all the games.

 Quality games like Captive,  Powermonger, Speedball II, Populos, could be
 purchased for 17 Pounds (~US$ 30).

 There  weren't  too many developers among the over 120  vendors.   A  very

 high  percentage was made up of dealers selling commercial  software,  PD
 stuff and/or hardware.

 All in all there was nothing new to see for the ST but I take it the show
 was  a  very  good  success  for both  the  organizer  and  most  of  the
 exhibitors.

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

    Have you ever wanted an alternative to the SM124 mono monitor?  Here's
 a post from Larry Rymal on Genie about the NEC MultiSync GS2a that  might
 interest you (slightly edited)..

 The  NEC MultiSync GS2a is not a color multisync but a paper  white...The
 monitor  is capable of many resolutions including gray scale but not  for
 the  ST.   The  ST doesn't have have the right outputs to  give  us  gray
 scale...You  have to use the GS2a in ST monochrome mode  only.  I  almost
 returned  the GS2A but the paperwhite monochrome is so beautiful  on  the
 ST, that I fell in love.

 At first,  I had a few problems getting the NEC GS2a to work. The problem
 was not in the monitor or the ST, but in getting the video to go where it
 was  supposed  to  go.  Without modification the  NEC  GS2A  cannot  plug
 directly  into  the  ST but it will work  with  the  the  OmniSwitch,  an
 interface  box that allows multisyncs to directly work with the  ST.  The
 OmniSwitch  has  two D receptacles allowing use with both 9  and  15  pin
 multisync plugs. Sounds great, right? However, in spite of the OmniSwitch
 the NEC GS2a did not work properly at first.

 The   display looked terrible,  with lots of shadows and video  "ringing".

 Upon  accident,  as I was preparing to disconnect the NEC plug  from  the
 OmniSwitch, a ring on my finger touched the two D connectors. BINGO!  The
 display  flickered,  most of the shadows disappeared and the ringing  all
 but stopped.  Using a test lead, I alligator clipped the two D connectors
 together.  Wow...!   Things looked really great, but being picky about my
 monochrome display,  I was upset about a few "hardly noticeable"  shadows
 that were present. I wondered if the OmniSwitch was the problem.

 Grabbing some more test leads,  I decided to experiment and hook the  NEC
 GS2A directly to the ST.  Just for reference sake,  the NEC GS2a only has
 three  lines  that  are relevant to the ST (four if  you  want  to  count
 ground).  These are the VIDEO,  the H.SYNC,  and the V.SYNC. I hooked the
 NEC  H.SYNC  to ST pin 9 (HORIZONAL SYNC),  and NEC V.SYNC to ST  pin  12
 (VERTICAL SYNC), and played with the NEC VIDEO line, hooking it to ST pin
 11 (MONOCHROME),  I think. I say, "I think" because, if I recall right, I
 was able to get a great display with the NEC VIDEO line hooked up to  the
 ST MONOCHROME pin mentioned above,  and had equally beautifully  displays
 with that line hooked up to any of the ST color lines.  To get the ST  to
 monochrome mode, I grounded ST pin 4 (MONOCHROME DETECT).

 The results were amazing to my eyes. No shadows, no ringings, and best of
 all,  truly adjustable video size with a screen considerably larger  than
 the SM124. Needless to say, I removed the OmniSwitch!

 I  was  so  shocked that this jewel worked  right  off,  that  I  stopped
 experimenting,  soldered the working wire combination to the ST plug  and
 was  up and running.  This monitor is really sweet and will work  on  the
 MAC, the Amiga, the ST, and the IBM. Its versatility speaks for itself at
 a price not that much more than the SM124.

    Question from Daniel.H...
 What happened when you tried the color lines without the mono detect?  Do
 you think there'd be some way to rig something that would grey-scale?

    Answer from Larry Rymal...
 Without the mono detect,  you lose sync. I went inside of the monitor and
 saw several clearly labeled pots for sync adjustments.  Well,  I regained
 sync,  but  the image was so large,  that it overlapped the edge  of  the
 monitor's screen and just could not be adjusted...I restored the pots  to
 their original size and regained my beautiful paper-white ST  screen,  by
 the way.

 I  know absolutely nothing about IBMish grey-scale video cards,  but  I'd
 bet  that  color is converted to grey-scale prior to  reaching  the  line
 feeding  the monitor,  somehow--a luxury that we don't have on the  68000
 STs.


 Until next week....



        ___________________________________________________________





 > COMPUTER FAIRE STR SHOW NEWS?  * EXCLUSIVE * Show Report from London UK!
   ============================




                           16 BIT COMPUTER FAIRE
                              LONDON, ENGLAND


 January  1991


 by Gordon Monnier


     I will give you a brief description of  what was  happening at  the 16
 bit computer  faire.   Atari people  in England  are the same as the Atari
 people in the US.  Scared and Worried.  Trying to figure out what the HECK
 Atari is  doing.   All the  Europeans have heard is that the ST is totally
 dead in the US and they can't figure out why its still  selling in Europe.
 Not as  good as  the Amiga  but "still  alive".  One figure I heard from a
 few people is that the Amiga is outselling the ST about 6-1 in England.

     The show itself was quite a success, they had well over 100 exhibitors
 selling Atari  ST and  Amiga products.   Total  attendance at the show was
 20,000 plus people.

     At the show Talon Tech was  showing their  new Beatle  Mouse (taking a
 cue from  Atari and showing the new products in Europe first!!) <The devil
 made me say that>, Hisoft was showing a new Flight Simulator and  new beta
 versions  of  the  HiSoft  Basic  and  Dev Pack, all of which are promised
 shortly through Gold Leaf Publishing here in the US. GFA has a new version
 of Basic  for the  ST and  is hoping  to have  a version  of GFA BASIC for
 windows on the PC in early February. Best news yet to GFA  users they have
 hired a  local rep  and are opening a 3 person  office in Boston as of Jan
 1. The new man is a PC person and I think most of their  plans   in the US
 are for  the PC  market.   But he should  be able to support the Atari and
 Amiga  owners.

     Other US companies at  the show  were Double  Click showing  their new
 software,  Best  Computer  Products,  SoftLogic  and Unicorn Publications.
 One interesting rumor I heard circulating  was "that  since the Frenchman,
 Elie did  not work  out, Jack is now going to try his luck with a German."
 He is going to  attempt to  transfer the  German GM  to the  US to  try to
 straighten out  the US.   One  interesting side  effect I  heard ...he was
 going to bundle some German software with the new STE's and he is going to
 pay the  German companies  to set  up offices  in the  US to support their
 software.

     Atari chose not to exhibit at the show so there  was nothing  new from
 them. The  surprising observation  was the  number of  English ST software
 companies that  have closed  up or  changed their  marketing direction and
 thrust.   Its as  gloomy as  in the US.  Some big names in Europe have ap-
 parently ceased or minimized their support of the ST.   For example, there
 was nothing  from GST for the ST.  Hisoft, GFA, Kuma and a company showing
 a photo retouching package were the only serious software people there.

     Both the Amiga and the ST  in England  are considered  a game machines
 and are  sold as  such.  Another interesting thing was the fact that there
 was at least 6 different companies selling mouse replacements for  the ST.
 Seems that  5 years  ago the  ST mouse  was ok.   Today,  its kinda behind
 times.





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






 > MIHOCKA CONF. STR FOCUS?  :DELPHI ONLINE:  "DAREK ....SAYING LIKE IT IS"
   =======================



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

     As a reader of  STReport Online  Magazine?,  you are  entitled to take
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  NOTE: Special offers can be found in your favorite Atari magazines:

              START             CURRENT NOTES         ST INFORMER
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                           SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
                           --------------------

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 that will save you  money!   The new  plan is  called the  20/20 Advantage
 Plan and  it features  20 hours  online for just $20 a month! The $20 is a
 monthly fee that covers your first  20 hours  online via  direct dial into
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 And  you  get  free  access  to  several services on DELPHI as part of the
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     Other telecom services may have additional  charges.   Canadian Tymnet
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                 DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!


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




                            A FORMAL CONFERENCE
                                   WITH
                               DAREK MIHOCKA

 January 8th, 1991

 .Gordie>
     Good evening, and welcome to DELPHI's ST Advantage.  Tonight we're
     pleased to have Mr. Darek Mihocka, of Branch Always Software, as our
     guest for a Formal Conference.  For those of you who don't read ST
     Report, Darek's column on Windows 3.0 vs. the ST/TT has been causing
     quite a stir.  But Darek is no stranger to controversy, as he is the
     author of Xformer ST, an Atari 8-bit emulator for the ST, which Atari
     didn't seem to want to see happen, when Darek first wrote it, several
     years ago.  Darek has since written several utilities for the ST,
     of which the best known is probably Quick ST, an accelerator program.
     Okay, with that out of the way, Darek, do you  have any  opening rema-
     rks?

 .Darek>
     Gordie, thanks for the intro.  It pretty well says everything I would
     have said.  Actually, I just got home 10 minutes ago so I didn't have
     time to type up anything anyway. But as most of you know, I am one of
     the two co-founders of Branch Always Software.  I'm a recent graduate
     from the U of W in Canada, and recently moved to Seattle to pursue a
     day job.  I'm the author of Quick ST II, and several of the Quick
     Tools, which are 2 of our products, as well as the author of several
     freeware programs such as ST Xformer.
     Yes, I am a Windows fan.  I have been for 3 years, but it hasn't been
     until now that I have seen the IBM PC (and clones) as a viable
     alternative to the ST line of computers.  It is for this reason that I
     am writing the series of articles in ST Report.  No, it is not Atari
     bashing, and I have tried to remain as unbiased as possible (believe
     me _that_ was hard), but facts speak for themselves.  Also, this month
     my company is mailing out roughly 10,000 newsletters to Atari ST users
     across the United States, Canada, and Europe, with product information
     about our current two products and upcoming releases.  And with that,
     I turn it over back to you Gordie!

 .Gordie>
     Okay, Bill, you can start things off.

 .Bill B.>
     Thanks Gordie.  Darek, having been an xl user, I'm more interested
     in the Xformer package.  I purchased the cable from you only to get
     the shareware release of ST Xformer.  Is the freeware version<s>
     available?

 .Darek>
     Bill, at this time, all releases of Xformer are freeware (or "public
     domain" as some people call it).  About a year ago, I decided to no
     longer pursue that project because of various reasons. <grin> The
     shareware and freeware versions can be considered to be one and the
     same.  For as long as you have version 2.55, you have the latest
     version.  However, I've recently gone back to working on Xformer, and
     will be releasing at least 2 versions.  One will be ST Xformer 2.6,
     which fixes bugs that have been reported in version 2.55.  Even though
     the source code is in the public domain as well, it seems I'm stuck
     with fixing it. <grin>  The other version will be an IBM PC compatible
     version, that emulates an Atari 800 at various speeds, depending on
     whether you have a PC, XT, AT, 386, 486, etc.  For reference, on a 386
     machine running at 25 MHz, it runs at about twice the speed of the
     Atari 800.  A possible third release will be made for the TT, if I
     ever get my hands on one long enough to figure out why ST Xformer
     doesn't run on it now.  All of these releases will be free and
     available on online services.  As for the Xformer Cable, I released
     the plans of that into the public domain, so anyone is free to build
     and sell them.  Do not try to buy one from me (if you need another
     one) since I do not carry them.

 Bill B.>
     Oustanding! I have 2.43...Looking forward to it THANKS!

 BRUCENELSON>
     You have in the past been exceptional at replying to phone calls,
     email, and other communications. As I have been trying to get a reply
     from you for over 3 months, and I have read on otehr nets that other
     customers have also had trouble contacting you, I was wondering if
     there was any particular problem - besides a fulltime job, a fulltime
     business,and a social life :-)

 .Darek>
     Bruce, first, I have no social life. <grin>  The problem with people
     trying to reach me is that Branch Always is a night job. i.e. from 6pm
     until about 3am.  To reach me, that is the best time to call (Pacific
     time).  Simply due to the cost, I cannot reply to every message left
     on my answering machine.  I prefer it when people contact me either by
     email or after 6pm.  Yes, I received several email from you in the
     last few weeks regarding your update, but you must understand that I
     did take several weeks off during the Xmas break.  A lot of people do
     ask about updates, so let me explain a bit how I do updates.  (This is
     one of the reasons people think I've gone out of business, because
     they are waiting for updates.)  At "off season" times, i.e. times not
     immediately following the release of an updated version of a product,
     updates are processed perhaps once or twice a month. This is to
     minimize the amount of time taken away from such things as software
     development.  Our typical turnaround time for an update is 4 to 6
     weeks "off season" and 2 to 3 weeks "in season".  Usually when I have
     to listen to my messages and decide which ones to call back, the calls
     regarding updates are usually left out.  Simply for the reason that
     there are too many of them and most people are expecting updates in
     a week or two. This simply can't be done.

 BRUCENELSON>
     Thanks. However, a quick email reply (I thought my mail was going
     to a black hole) would have been appreciated even if you only said
     you'd get back to me in X weeks.  I appreciate the position that
     you're in.  Thanks for the reply here .... ga next??

 SCOTTJ>
     Darek, after your column on Windows in ST Report as well as the tone
     of some of the posts you've made on GEnie (some of which were reposted
     here on Delphi), how can you expect the Atari community to support you
     and your products? Haven't your actions driven away your customers? GA

 .Darek>
     Scott, first I'd like to say that the point of the ST Report articles
     was not to focus on Windows 3.0 exclusively.  But if I didn't mention
     Windows, people would ask why, and I can't ignore Windows because it
     is one of the major pieces of software in the PC World today and will
     shape personal computing for years.  Yes, perhaps I have shot myself
     in the foot and lost customers by writing these articles, but I have
     always spoken my mind in the past, and now is not a time to shut up
     and quietly join the ranks of many developers who have already left
     the ST community to write PC software.  I plan to continue developing
     and providing support for the ST.  But of the 4 people writing
     software for BraSoft (myself, Ignac, Robert, and Ian) all 4 of us
     either own  PCs or develop on them in our day jobs.  Over the next few
     years, the number of ST users who either buy PCs  or have  to use them
     at work  will constantly be increasing, and frankly, I see the ST as a
     dead end down the road.  How long?  Maybe a year.  Maybe two.

     Having been an Atari 8-bit and ST user for 10 years now, I know how
     proud Atari users are of their machines, and with good reason.  But
     Atari has not been keeping up with the rest of the computer world, and
     the rest of the world has not only caught up, but surpasses the kind
     of technical innovations that Atari used to be famous for.  Being one
     of these loyal Atari users, I still have an attachment to my 3 STs and
     many former 8-bit systems, but in my case, warm memories of years past
     do not help me today.  In the last year or so, the cost of low end
     machines such as the Mac or PC clones has taken such a nosedive, that
     the ST is by far no longer a "power without the price" machine.  My
     articles are intended to very rudely awaken the ST community (even if
     it gets them peeved at me) to wake up and look around them.  Windows
     is here to stay.  The Mac is probably here to stay.  The ST, no way.

     Being a developer, I find the ST software market still very
     profitable, and so I cannot turn away from it just yet.  But as we
     all know, it is the users that have kept the momentum going for Atari
     as long as it has been and I just don't want to see all these people
     realize a year or two from now that they would have been better off
     with another computer.  The ST developers around now are only going to
     stick around so much longer before the larger markets of the Mac and
     PC draw them away. So what I am suggesting is that Atari users look
     around NOW and make plans to switch over to some other computer that
     has a chance of still being supported 2 or 3 or 5 years from now.  How
     much support is the Atari 8-bit getting now?  ZIP.  In a few years,
     the ST will be the same.

 SCOTTJ>
     Darek, if you are not going to support the ST in the future, why
     should ST owners support you now? Also, why should ST owners continue
     to invest money in a dead computer when they could spend that money on
     a new and viable computer system like a Mac or PC clone?

 .Darek>
     We both know that any mass switchover of ST users to the Mac or PC
     isn't going to happen overnight.  As with the 8-bit line, there will
     remain a core of tens of thousands of die hard users who will remain
     active users even 5 years from now.  So the ST market will never be
     dead, just smaller.  I am prepared to support that market for as long
     as it exists. Quick ST II is a hot selling product, but it only has
     about 5% of the market penetration here in North American, so there
     is PLENTY of room for more sales.  In my newsletter, I do reassure
     people that Quick ST 3 will be shipping this June, and it is the
     product that I am currently spending all my development time on.

     What's after Quick ST 3?  After June?  I don't know.  That will depend
     on the market.  On the other hand, there will be the people who do
     switch over. They may not do it right away, because a lot of people
     are still waiting to see what "ST-like" applications come out for
     Windows or the Mac. Right now, there is already a large selection to
     choose from.  A year from now, with Apple's release of System 7.0, and
     even lower prices on 386 and 486 based machines, there will be even
     more reason to switch.  But answer your question, it is up to the
     individual user to decide whether they are going to stick it out to
     the very end with the ST, and in that case, continue to support ST
     developers, or, to switch over.  By starting some minor development
     on the PC now, and more development after the release of Quick ST 3,
     I am positioning myself to support both markets.  As a first step, I
     am porting over some of my ST software to the PC, such as ST Xformer.
     Next will probably come some of the utilities from Quick Tools.  This
     way, users of my software on the ST will at least have something
     familiar for when they switch over.

 JDBARNES>
     Why did Microsoft fail on a version of Word for the ST?  How important
     are non-DOS things to their business?  I know that there is no love
     lost between you and Atari Corp.  But it seems that your latest
     actions are aimed more at revenge than anything else.

 .Darek>
     First of all, there is a very common belief that what Microsoft ported
     was MS Word.  That is not true.  MS Write and MS Word are two ENTIRELY
     different products.  MS Write on the PC is the word processor that
     comes bundled with Windows.  It is a very simple word processor,
     lacking many of the features of Word or Word For Windows (but what do
     you expect for free) and that is what Atari apparently asked for and
     got.  Atari was responsible for marketing the product, and if they
     failed (especially considering the price they charged), then how is
     Microsoft responsible?  As for "revenge tactics", certainly their
     refusal to sell me a TT had something to do with it.  But you have to
     realize that this leads back to last June when Atari officially
     "introduced" the TT to North America at the little get-together in
     Toronto.  I was there, and listened to the usual promises of TT's in
     dealers across Canada by July, and how any developer in Canada can get
     a TT immediately. Well, that didn't quite happen.  Then I move to the
     US and now have to deal with Atari US, and once again, at both the
     Glendale show and the WAACE show, Atari said things to developers
     that they didn't follow up on. Yes, now the TTs are finally shipping
     to developers, at a higher price and months later, and only to those
     developers that meet their criteria.  Considering how few developers
     there are already, this is certainly not the way to treat your
     developers.  Having been hassled by them before concerning the 8-bit
     emulator, and the resignation of Charles Cherry and Elie (Kenan), I
     do not have any belief that developer support will improve as was
     promised last year.

 JDBARNES>
     Would Atari register you as a developer if you applied and paid?

 .Darek>
     I am registered! Last year I finally decided that "yeah, Atari is
     turning things around and I should register" because I started hearing
     from other developers that supports really WAS improving.  It was
     around then that Charles left and this whole TT thing started, so I
     have very little evidence to prove that things actually were better.

 JDBARNES>
     Ok, sorry for the misapprehension.  I knew you were not registered at
     one time.  I'll let someone else in now.

 .Dave>
     Darek, can you describe a little bit how Quick Manager allows your
     accs to share memory?  Can other accs be modified to take advantage of
     this feature?

 .Darek>
      Dave, Quick Manager is really an overlay manager.  The other Quick
      Tools programs are designed to load in on top of parts of Quick
      Manager, thus saving memory.  When you switch from one Tool to
      another, it simply loads the second tool on top of the first, which
      requires no extra memory.  This concept has been around for years,
      and some operating systems like UNIX and Windows <grin> do things
      like that automatically (also known as "swapping").  Since TOS does
      not include any form of support for overlays, we developed our own
      method.  Yes, it is fairly easy to convert most desk accessories or
      programs to run as Quick Manager overlays but for the time being, we
      only provide sample code compatible with Laser C or MADMAC.

 .Dana>
      OK, a couple of my questions have been answered, so I'll ask one
      that's usually asked in this instance!!  Darek, what does Atari
      _have_ to do to win you back as an avid developer; and win back the
      respect that the company needs to regain to become a viable market
      again?

 .Darek>
      Dana, I am not a financial wizard, so all I can do is guess.  My
      first guess is that they should do what they do best - make hardware.
      Let people who know software write the operating system and
      applications.  That is what they first did with GEM, and I'm not sure
      why Digital Research didn't continue to support GEM on the ST.  Might
      have been related to the Apple lawsuit.  But, for example, instead of
      whipping together their own new desktop,  why did they not go to,
      say, Gribnif or Double Click and incorporate one of their products
      (which are very popular with the users too).  Or why not let some
      other company handle developer support.  In the case of Apple, they
      split off their own software company to function separately from the
      hardware company.  It may be the case that Atari is simply too small
      to afford to do that.  I don't know.  They're stuck in the
      unfavorable position right now of having to write their own operating
      systems as well as making the hardware.  They cannot, as is true in
      the PC clone world, simply make a cheap computer and use the existing
      software already available.  A built-in PC emulator would help a lot,
      but Atari didn't do too much to save Avante Garde did it?  I just
      think that Atari should work with its developers in developing newer
      versions of TOS, or GDOS, or whatever, instead of what they do now,
      which is, here is the computer, here is the development kit, write
      some software for us.

 .Dana>
      Thanks for your candidness.

 .Tony Messina>
      As some of you know (or may not) I've been around the Atari community
      for awhile.  Since 1979.  I have extolled the virtues of the Atari
      line since then and been an avid supporter of their machines.  I have
      closets full of stuff.  But Darek is correct in his assessment of
      ATARI and its future.  If I had to put food on my table by either
      developing SW for the Atari or the PC... the PC would win.  I use and
      develop on one daily.  The PC software development tools are far
      superior to ANYTHING available now on the ST.  I love my ST and its
      capabilities, but Windows 3.0, which I also develop for, is much
      better than GEM ever will be.  I was a registered developer for Atari
      I got one of the first ST's off the production line in 1985.  Paid my
      300 bucks and NEVER heard from ATARI again!!  Never got upgrades to
      the lousy DRI compiler... no ROMS for TOS.. NOTHIN!!  Don't get on
      Darek's case.  He's gotta make a livin folks.  So do I and my money
      is with the PC.  Thanks.

 .Greg_Zeibari>
      Darek, I have read your comments on INTERNET and your articles in
      STR and I couldn't agree with you more about the ST and PC market,
      Windows 3.0 is GREAT!  Q: What language(s) do you use to program the
      ST & PC with and what books do you recommend? (i.e. ST Internals,
      etc...) .

 .Darek>
      Greg, ok, I'll do the ST side first.  My main programming language on
      the ST is assembler.  That's not really a great place to start if
      you're just learning programming, because I at least did 6502
      programming on the Atari 8-bit, so learning 68000 wasn't that hard.
      My second choice of language is C, and I have used Megamax C and
      Laser C for a few years.  The thing that attracted me those compilers
      was the ability to mix C and 68000 assembler code easily, since the
      C compilers available for the ST tend to generate fairly poor code
      (or at least they used to.  I can't speak for Turbo C which I hear is
      great).  For debugging, I use the Tempelmon debugger.  On the PC
      side, I use Microsoft C and MASM at work (obviously!!!) but for my
      own development I find Quick C quite adequate for what I am doing
      now.  Quick C, like Laser C, allows for mixing C and assembly code,
      so on the PC, I program in both languages as well. For a debugger,
      nothing beats Codeview!  As for books, the "bible" that I have always
      used on the ST, mainly because it was one of the first books around
      and did contain a disassembly of parts of TOS, is ST Internals.  Get
      the third edition, because it has the fewest typos. <grin>  The
      COMPUTE series of books (AES, VDI, TOS) is also excellent for writing
      GEM applications.  On the PC, there is the famous Charles Petzold
      "bible" on writing Windows programs, and of course, the Peter Norton
      book of PCs to guide you through the operating system.

 .Greg_Zeibari>
      Thanks.


 .Lloyd>
      Isn't it true that you're taking heat for saying publically what many
      of the remaining ST developers are saying privately?  And you say
      that Quick ST has 5% of the market for North America.  What do you
      base that figure on, since no-one knows how many ST's have been sold
      in the US and Canada.  Also, I disagree with you about Windows.  It's
      okay on a '386 system but try running it on a 8088 or even a '286 and
      you'll appreciate how fast GEM is.  Also, try running it on 512k with
      one floppy drive.


 .Darek>
      Lloyd, well, I'll let other developers speak for themselves. But I do
      know that there are quite a few developers who own non-ST computers,
      and even develop on them, either as day jobs or as hobbies.  I also
      know that I'm not the only developer to be peeved about the TT
      situation, and I'm not the only developer to ever have problems
      getting support.  As for the 5% figure, I'm basing that on the only
      figures I've heard so far, which was a CO with Tom Byron here a few
      months ago where he estimated about 100,000 US ST users.  My own
      estimate, based on that, is lower, and so based on my sales in the
      US, I come up with the 5% figure. It may be off by a factor of 2 or 3
      either way, but in any case, it shows me that there is still a
      sizable market to tap into.  That's the reason for the newsletter
      campaign, since it does not cost all that much to reach a good chunk
      of the entire US userbase by mail.  As for GEM on 512K vs. Windows,
      well, 2 or 3 years ago, yes, I most certainly would have agreed with
      you.  When I first worked at Microsoft as an intern student, I
      brought my color 1040ST to work one day and dazzled them with the GEM
      desktop, Spectrum 512, etc.  512 colors on the screen was a big deal
      back then.  3.5 inch floppies were a big thing back then.  More than
      640K of RAM was a big thing back then.  But if you shop around,
      you'll see that for the same money that you spend on that 512K floppy
      based system, you can buy a low end Mac or PC.  512K with floppy is
      pretty restrictive on the ST nowadays.  But anyway, to get my train
      of thought back, now when you can spend under $1500 for a 386SX based
      system with all the memory and graphics and color and speed of your
      ST and more, the 512K flopy based ST is not such a big deal any more.

      Look at IBM.  They just released their XGA card (which will probably
      replace the VGA in a few years as the standard graphics display on
      PCs) which offers 1024x768 resolution and up to 65 THOUSAND colors on
      the screen simultaneously.  Even the TT, with its 320x480 256 color
      graphics doesn't compare to the graphics a cheap Mac II or PC clone
      can put out.  While I gather more thoughts.

 .Lloyd>
      I saw Windows last week on a '386sx machine and it was _slow_!!  I
      think my 16mhz ST is faster on re-draws.  And my GEM based ST doesn't
      cost $1500.  While that's the minimum a Windowed system would cost.


 .Darek>
      Lloyd, I'm not trying to get into a discussion of whose computer is
      cheaper here.  Certainly a 520ST and color monitor can be had for
      under $1000, but you're looking at the bottom of the line ST system.
      Get practical and consider what most ST users use nowadays and then
      price it.  As for Windows being slow, consider also that because of
      the larger screen resolution and more screen colors, the PC screen
      memory is much larger than the ST's.  Look at the Moniterm monitor.

      It has slower screen redraws due to the larger screen.  Look at the
      ISAC card, or even regular low resolution with its 16 colors.  It is
      slow.  If you want Windows or any other graphics application to be
      "just as fast as my ST" then sure, drop in a monochrome card such as
      a Hercules, and you'll get faster screen redraws.  But your computer
      will look more like an ST then than a PC. <grin>

 .Lloyd>
      But my point is that most ST owners don't own Moniterm systems, they
      own systems that are 1040's or less and it would cost them
      considerably more to get a comparible IBM system that would run
      Windows (at a reasonable rate...compared to GEM).

 .Darek>
      Well, I wholeheartedly disagree. The feedback I have been receiving
      from users who responded to the Quick ST Challenge I posted recently,
      which required them to give me a description of their ST system,
      shows that the great majority of ST users have at least 1 megabyte of
      RAM and most have a hard disk.  I can debate that with you till dawn
      if you want, so let's move to another question.


 .Maurice>
      I pretyped my comments in my capture buffer to save everyone $$$.
      Here goes...

      Just an observation.  I, like Tony Messina, must grudgingly
      agree with a lot of what you've said -- although I can't
      really comment on the GEM vs. Windows argument.  Even though
      I've been a FIRM Atari supporter over the years I too have
      been forced onto other platforms to keep up with the times,
      particularly insofar as graphics goes, since that's my
      bread-and-butter (along with writing).  It's become so almost
      none of my "commercial" work is on or for the ST anymore, and
      is more and more PC based.  I would LOVE to be able to
      recommend an Atari, but how can I when even _I_ find its uses
      diminishing?  That's rough.  I mean, the guys who wrote all
      the ST animation tools I use (Jim Kent and Tom Hudson) are
      now at Autodesk now writing for the PC!  In order to find
      work, I have to go where the tools are.  The same goes for
      the applications software and game developers I've worked
      with.  An ST might still be a good value $$$ wise for the
      hardware per se, but with dwindling software support, how
      can we recommend it?  I love my Mega4, but it (nor the TT)
      simply cannot compete with VGA, or my 25mHz 386 running a
      graphics board displaying 32,768 colors at once.  Thanks.


 .Darek>
      No comment I guess, except to ask where I can get that VGA card too!
      <grin>

 .Maurice>
      He he!  Not VGA!  Vision 16 board.

 .Keith>
      I am concerned with the fact that there is a lot of talk, yet no
      action.  When people don't like something with the PC, they make
      their own solution, yet we sit and complain.  Any comments?

 .Darek>
      I think it has to do with that die hard Atari loyalty.  Users just
      keep hoping something good will finally happen.  You have to also
      just compare sheer scale. Last year there were somewhere between 5
      million and 10 million PCs and PC clones sold in the U.S., compared
      to some number less than 100,000 STs.  When you have that many more
      people using a machine, chances are there will be more breakthroughs
      in hardware and software.

 .ROCCO>
      I tuned in late but I caught enough to get my question answered.
      Don't buy a ST hard disk.  Save my money and get that 386 33 mhz.
      Is there any hope for the ST?  I've thought about buying a PC
      emulator to give me compatability with work.

 .Darek>
      Rocco, a PC emulator is certainly another alternative, especially if
      the rumors of a 386 based Supercharger are true.  Whether you sell
      your ST and buy a PC, or buy an emulator, most of your peripherals
      such as modems and printers will work on either setup.  Even an Atari
      hard disk can be taken apart and the mechanism re-used on a PC.  My
      only concern with emulators is that while they do give you the speed
      and compatibility of a PC (since they are in effect PCs without a
      keyboard or monitor) is that you don't have the kind of expandability
      you have with a real PC.  PCs are built with an open architecture,
      which means you can open the box, plug in a new graphics card or
      memory card or whatever, and do so in a few minutes.  With an
      emulator running on the ST, you are limited to the screen graphics
      available on the ST, which are roughly somewhere between a CGA and
      EGA. In other words, years behind the current VGA standard. But I
      have seen the Supercharger at work, running Windows even, so it is
      certainly a way to go if you can't afford to own both systems or sell
      the ST.

 .Gordie> Tim, you'll have the last question, since we've been at it over
      2 hours, then I'll wrap it up.

 .TTRYON>
      I just wanted to ask if there is any chance of an ST emulator being
      developed so those of us who have a lot of money wrapped up in
      software will be able to salvage something.

 .Darek>
      An ST emulator is something I have considered.  A hardware emulator
      (in the form of a plug in card would be the ideal solution, but is
      something beyond my hardware designing capabilities).  A software
      emulator, to run on a fast 386 or slow 486 is also possible.  I have
      been making some calculations to determine the memory requirements
      and speed of such an emulator, and something which runs at the speed
      of an 8MHz 68000 or slower is possible.  Afterall, the 6502 emulator
      runs at double the speed of real thing, and that is on my PC which is
      not say, a top of the line 486.  A year from now, when we see chip
      speeds in the 50MHz to 100MHz range, speed will not be a concern.  If
      I do decide to write such an emulator, it will be this summer or
      later.  Since most PCs now have 3.5 inch disk drives and better
      graphics than the ST, getting the software across to the PC and
      displaying the graphics is not a problem.


 .TTRYON>
      Thanks.

 .Gordie>
      Darek, one last question.  If you could change any _one_ thing about
      Atari, what would it be?

 .Darek>
      What would I do? Concede what many people have known for years, and
      that is that the Atari ST will never be a business machine as Atari
      would like to think.  It's a great game machine, and great at
      emulating other computers, but as a business machines, no.  When
      Atari stops playing this business computer game and just admits that
      what it makes are nice cheap low end computers, good for what they're
      good for, and advertise them as such, I think they would succeed.
      Sell it at Toy-R-Us.  Sell it at Sears.  Don't try to cut off your
      dealers.  I live across the street from Nintendo's U.S. head office,
      and every day I am reminded of the fact that there are 50 million of
      their machines in the U.S. and 100,000 of the STs when it could have
      been the other way around. So what if people think of it as a game
      machine? They always have!

 .Gordie>
      Any closing comments, Darek?

 .Darek>
      First of all, I can always print up more newsletters.  So if anyone
      wants to get a copy of the 4 page BraSoft News, just send a self
      addressed stamped #10 envelope to Branch Always Software. (14150
      N.E. 20th St. #302, Bellevue, WA  98007)  Second of all, since Ralph
      is not here tonight, I'd just like to thank him for allowing me to
      express my views in ST Report. I know that some people have called
      both of us traitors, but he is simply keeping an open mind and not
      covering things from that loyal, close-minded Atari viewpoint.

 .Gordie>
      This has been a great CO!  I want to thank everyone for attending,
      especially Darek.  This CO is officially over.

     *** Please excuse any typo's I might have missed.  It's late, and
      I'm tired, and I want to get this posted tonight.  --Gordie ***


 Editor Note:
     Can you believe it??  The  one night  I wanted  to be  here and  on my
 toes, I come down with the FLU.  Or, something much like it.  In any case,
 I have an open door for any reasonable viewpoint(s).  I feel  that Darek's
 support for the ST community has been real and sincere since day one.

     Oh! By  the way  Darek, there's a brand spanking new TT030 waiting for
 you at Sunnyvale.  All you need do is call  and make  the necessary arran-
 gements to have it sent to you.




       ____________________________________________________________





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



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

 On CompuServe


 by Walter Daniel  75066,164


     I returned  from my  2+ weeks of vacation to find a lot of activity in
 the forum.   Many  of the  messages dealt  with questions  about RAM cards
 (Korg cards have a different pinout), memory expansion (none yet availabl-
 e), cables (null modem for serial interfaces), and file transfers (to/from
 just about  everything).   While you  can always post a message with a re-
 quest for help, chances are somebody has already addressed the  problem by
 uploading a help file.  Winners of the help file contest will be announced
 soon, so more will be available.

     BJ Gleason continues his uploading onslaught.  PBASIC 3.1 (PBAS31.ZIP)
 is the  latest version  of his  free Portfolio-specific BASIC interpreter.
 This version adds error trapping, program  chaining, support  for graphics
 files, and other goodies.  While the file includes adequate documentation,
 BJ is preparing a much larger  hardcopy manual  that will  be available by
 mail order  in a  few weeks.  DATEIT.EXE and NAMEIT.EXE are utilities that
 add date/time and date/time/filename to the end of any text  file.  FTMenu
 1.1 for  the PC  (FTM11.EXE) is an update of BJUs shell program that makes
 parallel interface transfers easier.  All are currently in Library  1 (New
 Uploads).

     The BIG  NEWS is  the accelerating  development of a graphics standard
 for the  Portfolio.   I reported  last time  that Don  Messerli uploaded a
 small graphics  file viewer  for the Portfolio with more software promised
 in the future.  Well, as the late George Allen used to say, "The future is
 now!"   Don and the aforementioned BJ Gleason put their heads together and
 produced a compression scheme for the .PGF graphics  files that  they call
 .PGC (C  for compressed).   BJ  has added support for .PGC files to PBASIC
 3.1 while Don has  updated his  viewer PGSHOW  to 1.10  (PGS110.ZIP).  The
 .ZIP file also contains six .PGC graphics files.

     What if  you have  files in  the old  .PGF format?  Don has uploaded a
 compression utility called PGCOMP (PGCOMP.ZIP) that turns .PGF  files into
 .PGC files  and (usually) makes them smaller.  This utility comes in handy
 with the files in PGF01.ZIP since those files are in the .PGF format.

     If you're wondering what the format  for the  compressed files  is (in
 case you're  doing some programming), Don uploaded PGSPEC.ZIP, a text file
 explaining the .PGC file format with a couple of example files.

     How does one make .PGC files?  PGEDIT 1.00 (PGEDIT.ZIP)  is a graphics
 editor for desktop PCs (512k RAM, VGA, Microsoft-compatible mouse require-
 d).  I believe that this version creates the old .PGF files,  but I'm sure
 a version  with direct  support of  the .PGC files is on the way.  What if
 you just want to do a screen capture on your  PC?   Use SNATCH  from Wally
 Wasinger (SNATCH.ZIP).   SNATCH   is a Terminate and Stay Resident utility
 that will grab a Portfolio-sized section from your PC screen  and create a
 .PGF file (.PGC support on the way).  Don has hinted that he might program
 a .PGC editor for  the  Macintosh  eventually;  however,  PGEDIT  can read
 MacPaint files now.

     This whirlwind  of activity  has resulted in the addition of a library
 to the forum just for graphics (library 11).  The files mentioned  in this
 column will  be in  library 1  (New Uploads) for a few weeks as well.  Can
 you think  of new  and interesting  uses for  Portfolio graphics?   If so,
 please share them with us by posting messages in the forum.

     I really got my hopes up when I saw FS.EXE, a flight simulator for the
 Portfolio.  I had missed one of the keywords for the file:  GAG.  At least
 one Portfolio programmer has a sense of humor!




             _________________________________________________






 > STReport CONFIDENTIAL?                            "ATARI NEWS & EVENTS"
   =====================



 - Las Vegas, NV                        ATARI TO LAUNCH NEW PRODUCTS AT CES
   -------------


          (The  following  was  excerpted  from  an article about videogame
          makers at Winter  CES  in  TWICE,  a  consumer  electronics trade
          weekly,  Jan. 7-11, 1991 issue.)

 "...Atari is  promising to  make two major announcements at CES, though it
 won't play its hand  until the  show commences.   However,  it is expected
 that a major price cut on its Lynx color portable system will be involved.
 Apparently, Atari is setting its sights on knocking Nintendo's black-and--
 white Game Boy out of contention.

 "Lynx is  now available  nationally; a company spokesperson estimates that
 250,000 Lynx systems shipped in 1990.   By  the show,  Atari will  have 15
 titles available, with another 14 set to ship in the first quarter.

 "Lynx software has been selling at a rate of 4:1 against hardware, but the
 company says that with more software now available,  the ratio  has incre-
 ased to 6:1."




 - Las Vegas, NV              ATARI DEBUTS PORTABLE COLOR VIDEO GAME SYSTEM
   -------------


     Atari  Corp.  yesterday  unveiled  its  Lynx color portable video game
 system at the opening of the Winter Consumer  Electronics Show  here.  The
 Lynx system is priced at $99.95.

     Sam  Tramiel,  Atari  Corp.  chief  executive, also displayed 16 video
 games that are available now, as well as 16 additional games that  will be
 in stores by mid-year.

     Tramiel pointed  out that  Atari has  been able  to lower its manufac-
 turing cost for the Lynx handheld color video game system.  "These savings
 are being passed on to the consumer," he added.

     The Lynx has a full, 3.5-inch backlit LCD screen, an eight-directional
 built-in joypad, volume and brightness controls and fire buttons.  It also
 includes a ComLynx jack which can be used with the optional ComLynx cables
 to allow up to 16 players to participate in multi-player games, Atari said
 in a press release.

     In  addition  to  the  basic  Lynx  system,  Atari  is offering a more
 comprehensive system for $149.95.    This  system  has  the  Lynx, ComLynx
 cables, an AC adapter and two games.




 - Las Vegas, NV                         ATARI DEBUTS NEW PORTFOLIO GOODIES
   -------------


         ATARI ANNOUNCED 14 NEW SOFTWARE TITLES FOR THE PORTFOLIO.
                         HERE'S A LIST OF TITLES.

                    PowerBASIC from Spectra Publishing
              PORTFOLIO Stock Tracker from Lifestyle Software
              ATARI Turbo Translator from Organized Solutions
                  Personal Finance from Bytesize Software
                           Scientific Calculator
              Portfolio Bridge Baron from Lifestyle Software
             Portfolio Wine Comparison from Lifestyle Software
               Portfolio Astrologer from Lifestyle Software
                                   Chess
                                 Hyperlist
        Portfolio Diet/Cholesterol Counter from Lifestyle Software
               U.S.Traveler's Guide from Organized Solutions
             European Traveler's Guide by Organized Solutions
                    Spell Checker/Dictionary/Thesaurus





 - Sunnyvale, CA                         ATARI REVAMPS DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
   -------------

                              MIXED REACTIONS

     Although it  was shocking  news to all, just days and hours before CES
 and two weeks before the NAMM  show Atari  dismissed all  it's sales reps.
 "I couldn't  believe it,  this is  a serious mistake." said one of the now
 job-less reps. "They have CES now and NAMM right after  that.   They won't
 have anyone to man the booths, and not a soul to bring in new dealers."

     Atari has  stated the  reason for the lay-offs was because of "Lack of
 product, and slow sales."   But  is this  truly the  case?   Atari has had
 plenty of  product through  Christmas, for  example, one  sales rep., when
 Atari announced to dealers that if they purchased 10 1040STe's  they would
 get 2  monochrome monitor's for free, sold $200,000 in six days.  Also, if
 Atari is so cash short that they have to layoff their sales  force, how is
 it that  they can  afford to spend the huge sum of money they are spending
 at CES?

     Since most of Atari's remaining  employees  are  at  CES,  no  one was
 really willing  to "go  on record  and comment when questioned."  However,
 one point of view was made very clear, for the  last "umpteen"  months all
 Atari has  received, concerning  the majority of their (in the field) fac-
 tory reps has been grief.  The overall  evaluation of  the rep  system has
 been a  disaster.   STReport agrees with this consensus and fully applauds
 Atari's decision to go with a full distribution  system.   "At last, Atari
 and the users are no longer subjected to the whining and devious maneuver-
 ing by certain  dealers  to  maximize  profits  through  the "exclusivity"
 afforded them  by the  old system.   Besides  the old system was literally
 eating Atari's lunch.

     Now, at least with products available through distributors, the excel-
 lent Atari products will be getting maximized exposure through many previ-
 ously unheard of outlets.  And I might add at  the right  prices for posi-
 tive consumer  reaction.   The days  of the "gouge" are finally over.  For
 the time being, Atari will deal direct with dealers.   Any dealers wishing
 to place orders for equipment should contact Shirley Taylor at Atari.

                                                       Brad Martin

 And now, a different viewpoint....

 A.WHITTEN2   POSTS... ON 01/09/91               at 20:21 PST

 Here's my question?

    Why did Atari Corp. decide to fire all of their sales reps today.  This
 move was of a great shock to all of my dealers here  in the  states and in
 Canada as well.  Although their salaries may have been a little expensive,
 I don't know!  This seems to be a very bad move for ATARI.   How  is Atari
 going to  get out  into the market place without their REPS.  It sure will
 not be through their  advertizing campaigns.   What  a joke.   Atari going
 through distrubition  channels is  good for the existing dealers, but what
 about the new dealers that are out there and know  nothing of  ATARI.  So,
 as a  concerned supplier  of ATARI  software and  hardware for the USA and
 Canada, I felt that this move may only hinder Atari's 1991 goals.

                              Aubrey J.  Sales Executive
                               Pacific Software Supply




 - Sunnyvale, CA                                ATARI FINALLY SHIPS TT/030
   -------------


     After many weeks of promises Atari  Computers has  finally shipped the
 TT/030,  which  has  only  received  a FCC Class A certification, to VAR's
 (Value Added Resellers) and authorized dealers.  By  not having  a Class B
 certification from  the FCC dealers are not supposed to sell the TT/030 to
 the general consumers, but if history is any  guide, this  won't stop many
 dealers.

     Atari has  received much  criticism for  not releasing  the TT/030 im-
 mediately after last November's Comdex like  they had  promised, and while
 they have  been sitting  on a warehouse full of TT/030s for almost a month
 now they have not been shipping them to VAR's as they have promised to do.
 The TT/030 is seen as Atari's newest, best chance to break into the United
 States computer mainstream, a goal that has eluded them for  the last five
 years.

     There are  some who  doubt Atari's sincere commitment to the U.S. mar-
 ket.  Recently, this was clearly demonstrated to this reporter  that Atari
 has been  shipping the  STacy laptop  for almost  a full  year with only a
 Class A certification and they seemingly made no real move  to correct the
 problems.  One wonders if Atari plans to only sell the TT/030 as a class A
 product, and because of a stagnant U.S. economy,  focus all  their current
 resources in  the larger  European market  that has been more receptive to
 the Atari computers.  Atari promised more exposure  in the  U.S. market at
 the last  November's Comdex,  but has  of yet not shown any deviation from
 their past market strategy.  If this strategy does not  change, many folks
 question if  Atari will  be able  to sell many $3000.00+ computers here at
 all.

                                                       Brad Martin




 - Las Vegas, NV                             SEGA TO INTRO GAME GEAR AT CES
   -------------


     At this Consumer Electronics Show, Sega will introduce  the hand-held;
 Game  Gear.    It  features  a 3.2 inch, high-resolution color screen that
 promises to deliver the finest graphics ever seen  on a  hand-held system.
 Also, rumor has it that SuperFamicon, 16-bit videogame system from Ninten-
 do, might also be available in the  U.S.  at  the  same  time  frame. Like
 Nintendo's Gameboy,  Sega's Game  Gear will require its own dedicated game
 software that will not be compatible with the home system.  Game Gear will
 be available  later this year for $170. (Atari, t'was a good time to lower
 your price on the Lynx)

     Just when you thought it was  safe to  go shopping  again, a  new home
 video game  system is showing up on retailers' shelves.  It's called NEO--
 GEO, and not only game system on the  market, it  also is  the most expen-
 sive.   For $650,  the NEO-GEO  includes the main console, two controllers
 and one game.  Additional games  will retail  for $200.   For  the purist,
 this game  is a  dream come true.  Nintendo, Sega and NEC claim their sys-
 tems as arcade-like, but the  NEO-GEO  can  safely  be  called  the _real_
 arcade game.   Game play is so vivid that after playing, you reach in your
 pocket for a quarter.   If  you're  looking  for  superb  graphics, sound,
 action and  control, and  don't care  about price... NEO-GEO is it.  It is
 available from Video Express, 800-253-6665.




 - Chicago, IL                               1.44MB DRIVE IN STE/TT FUTURE?
   -----------

     In a message found on GEnie....

 Category 14,  Topic 35
 Message 288       Tue Jan 08, 1991
 J.HICKEY6                    at 19:20 PST

 I have it from a reliable  source that  a simple  jumper change  in either
 the TT  or the  MegaSTE will  enable 1.44MB  drives to be used. Also, that
 same source mentioned an upgraded WDC  1772 that  also accomodates 1.44MB.
 Should make for an easy upgrade of all ST's!

 Don't ask  Atari to  confirm this,  and don't  run a  modified system in a
 residential, non commercial application. (FCC you know)      Since  I know
 most of  you will  ignore the caveats, might I suggest you visit the Legal
 Roundtable for advice on how to beat the rap?

                                                       Jack
  Editor Note;
     Jack there's no rap to beat... The rumor  is more  widespread than you
 would imagine.   Whether or not its true is really not important.  What is
 important is the fact  that the  users (paying  customers) WANT  that type
 drive in  the new  computers they  wish to  buy.   According to our little
 birdie, this will happen and happen sooner than you think.   The  chip and
 jumper change  is close  to what  will happen and the newer mechanism will
 cost a few bux.



 - Las Vegas, NV                             A PANTHER BEHIND CLOSED DOORS?
   -------------

      Mind you now this  is only  rumor, but  this is  suppopsed to  be the
 "cat's meow"  in game consoles that are reasonably priced.  68000 based, a
 power house and raring to go.  This baby is reportedly being  shown behind
 closed doors  at CES  to developers  and potential  developers of software
 forthe powerhouse game console.




         ________________________________________________________





 > PRODUCT SOURCES STR InfoFile?        PRODUCT SOURCES FOR ATARI COMPUTERS
   ============================




                    PRODUCT SOURCES FOR ATARI COMPUTERS
                    ===================================



  ATARI CORPORATION                     Antic Direct
  1196 Borregas Avenue                  544 Second Street
  Sunnyvale, CA. 94086                  San Francisco, CA  94107
  (408) 745-2000                        (800) 234-7001
  Hardware - Software                   Psygnosis Games etc...

  ABCO Computer Electronics             Gribnif Software
  P.O. Box 6672                         P.O. Box 350
  Jacksonville, FL. 32221               Hadley, MA 01035
  (800) 562-4037                        (413) 584-7887
  Hard Disks & Supplies                 NeoDesk & Turbo C

  1ST Stop Computers                    Horizon Computers
  7085 Corporate Way                    695 S. Colorado Blvd., #10
  Centerville, OH 45459                 Denver, CO  80222
  (800) 252-2787                        (303) 777-8080
  Full Line Dealer                      Authorized Atari Dealer

  A & D Software                        ISD Marketing Inc.
  226 NW 'F' Street                     2651 John St., Unit #3
  Grants Pass, OR 97526                 Markham, Ontario, CA *L3R 2W5
  (503) 476-0071                        (416) 479-1880
  Universal Item Selector               Calamus, DynaCadd etc...

  CompuSeller West                      Logical Design Works Inc.
  202-1/2 W. Main St.                   780 Montague Expwy., Suite 403
  St. Charles, Il 61101                 San Jose, CA  95131
  (708) 513-5220                        (408) 378-0340
  Full Line Dealer                      LDW POWER

  Alpha Systems                         L & Y Computers
  1012 Skyland                          13644c Jefferson Davis H'wy.
  Macedonia, OH 44056                   Woodbridge, Va.  22191
  (216) 467-5665                        (703) 494-3444
  16 and 8 bit Support                  Atari products and Software

  ASDE Inc.                             Maxwell CPU
  151 Rue Jolicoeur                     2124 W. Centennial Dr.
  Hull, Quebec Canada J8Z1C8            Louisville, CO  80027
  (819) 770-7681                        (303) 666-7754
  Geography Tutor etc...                Expose - Silhouette

  Atari Interface Magazine              Step Ahead Software Inc.
  3487 Braeburn Circle                  496-A Hudson Street Suite F39
  Ann Arbor, MI 48108                   New York City, N.Y.  10014
  (313) 973-8825                        (212) 627-5830
  Atari Magazine and Monthly Disk       Tracker ST

  B&C ComputerVisions                   Mars Merchandising
  3257 Kifer Road                       1041b St. Charles Rd.
  Santa Clara, CA 95051                 Lombard Il.
  (408) 749-1003                        (817) 589-2950
  Atari Products & Supplies             Atari Products & Accs.

  Branch Always Software                Lantech
  14150 N.E. 20th St.                   PO Box R
  Bellevue, WA 98007                    Billerica, MA  01821
  (206) 885-5893                        (508) 667-9191
  Quick ST, Software                    10 Megabit Local Area Network

  Best Electronics                      Migraph Inc.
  2021 The Alameda Suite 290            200 S. 333rd St.
  San Jose,  CA  95126                  Federal Way, WA 98003
  (408) 243-6950                        (206) 838-4677
  THE Atari parts source & Supplies     Top Notch Graphical Products

  Computer Garden                       MicroTyme
  WestSide Mall                         4049 Marshall Road
  Edwardsville, PA  18704               Kettering, OH  45429
  (800) 456-5689                        (800) 255-5835
  Discount Software                     Discount Hardware & Software

  Carter Graphics & Computers           Practical Solutions Inc.
  914 W. Sunset Blvd.                   1135 N. Jones Blvd.
  St. George, UT 84770                  Tucson, AZ 85716
  (801) 628-6111                        (602) 322-6100
  Atari Products                        Atari support products

  CodeHead Software                     Prospero Software
  P.O. Box 74090                        100 Commercial St.
  Los Angeles, CA 90004                 Suite 306 Portland, ME 04101
  (213) 386-5735                        (207) 874-0382
  Software Products "Codekeys"          Software Products

  Comput-Ability                        Rio Datel Computers
  P.O. Box 17882                        3430 E. Tropicana Ave., #65
  Milwaukee, WI 53217                   Las Vegas, NE 89121
  (414) 357-8181                        (800) 782-9110
  Atari Products & Distributor          International Products

  CompuServe Information Service        San Jose Computers
  P. O. Box 20212                       640 Blossom Hill Road
  Columbus, OH 43220-0212               San Jose, CA 95123
  (614) 457-0802                        (408) 224-8575
  Online Services                       Atari Products

  D.A. Brumleve                         Seagate Technology
  607 West Illinois Street              920 Disc Drive
  Urbana, IL  61801                     Scotts Valley, CA 95066
  (217) 337-0674                        (800) 468-3472
  High Quality Kiddie Software          Hard Drive Mechanisms

  Debonair Software                     Sideline Software
  P.O. Box 521166                       840 NW 57th Court
  Salt Lake City, UT 84152              Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
  EL CAL The Math Machine               (305) 771-9035
  Atari Support Products                International Software Source

  D & P Computer                        SofTrek
  P.O. Box 811                          P.O. Box 5257
  Elyria, Ohio 44036                    Winter Park, FL 32793
  (800) 535-4290                        (407) 657-4611
  Atari Support Products                TurboST "The Software Blitter"

  Double Click Software                 ST Informer
  P.O. Box 741206                       909 NW Starlite Place
  Houston, TX 77274                     Grants Pass OR  97526
  (712) 977-6520                        (503) 476-0071
  Software Developer                    Monthly Newspaper

  Duggan DeZign Inc.                    Strata Software
  16 Oak Ridge Dr.                      94 Rowe Drive
  West Warwick RI 02893                 Kanata Ontario Canada K2L 3Y9
  (401) 826-2961                        (613) 591-1922
  "Designs with Fun in Mind!"           Stalker/Steno TeleCom

  Fast Technology                       Talon Technology
  P.O. Box 578                          243 N. Hwy. 101, Ste 11
  Amdover, MA 01810                     Solana Beach, CA 92075
  (508) 475-3810                        (619) 792-6511
  16Mhz 68000 Accelerator               Supercharger IBM Emulator

  Gadgets by Small                      Toad Computers
  40 W. Littleton Blvd.                 556 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd.
  #210-211, Littleton, CO 80120         Severna Park, MD 21146
  (303) 791-6098                        (301) 544-6943
  Spectre GCR MAC Emulator              Mass Storage & Atari Prod.

  Goldleaf Publishing, Inc.             WuzTEK Omnimon Peripherals
  700 Larkspur Landing Circle,          One Tech Dr. Bldg. 1E, #301
  Suite 199  Larkspur, CA 94939         Irvine, CA 92718
  (415) 461-5703                        (714) 753-9253
  WordFlair Document Processor          Atari support products

  Dr. Bobware                           Wiz Works!
  180 N. Hazeltine Avenue               P.O. Box 45
  Campbell, OH.  44405-1024             Girard, OH.  44420
  (216) 743-4712                        (216) 539-5623
  MVG & Modules  Graphics               Image Cat - MugShot!

  GEnie Information Services            Taylor Ridge Books
  401 N. Washington Street              P.O. Box 48
  Rockville, MD 20850-1785              Manchester, Ct.  06040
  (800) 638-9636                        (203) 643-9673
  Online Services                       Cmanship  'C' programming

  Hayes Microcomputer Inc.              US ROBOTICS INC.
  705 Westech Drive                     8100 No. McCormick Blvd.
  Norcross, GA  30092                   Skokie, IL  60076
  (404) 662-7100                        (800) 982-5151
  Modems - TeleCom                      Modems-BBS Sysop Program

  ICD Inc.                              Soft Logik
  1220 Rock St.                         11131F S. Towne Sq.
  Rockford, Il. 61101-1437              St Louis, MO  63123
  (815) 968-2228                        (314) 894-8608
  Hardware Peripherals                  PageStream DTP Software

  Innovative Concepts (I.C.)            Hybrid Arts Inc.
  31172 Shawn Drive                     8522 National Blvd.
  Warren, MI 48093                      Los Angeles, CA  90232
  (313) 293-0730                        (213) 841-0340
  Full Service Dealer                   Software for the Musician

  Mirrorsoft Ltd                        Supra Corp.
  118 Southwark St.                     1133 Commercial Way
  London, UK SEI OSW                    Albany, OR  97321
  011-43-928-1454                       (503) 967-9075
  UK Software Dev.                      Modems - Hard Drives

  GT Software                           Word Perfect Corp.
  12114 Kirton Avenue                   1555 Technology Way
  Cleveland OH  44135                   Orem, UT  84057
  (216) 252-8255                        (801) 222-5800
  Sofware Dev.                          Word Perfect wp

  Spectrum HoloByte                     STR Publishing Inc.
  2061 Challenger Dr.                   PO Box 6672
  Alamedo, CA  94501                    Jacksonville, FL 32205
  (415) 522-3584                        (800) 562-4037
  Falcon F16 Software                   STReport Online Magazine




              _______________________________________________





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




                      NEW LOW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!!
                      ===============================
                               ALL SPECIALS
                       ** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! **


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

                   Voice: 904-783-3319  10 AM - 4 PM EDT
                     BBS: 904-786-4176   12-24-96 HST
                    FAX: 904-783-3319  12 PM - 6 AM EDT
                 _________________________________________

                   HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
                   _____________________________________

   All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
                 are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).

            *-ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE-*
                 (you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!)
                   (all cables and connectors installed)

    * ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *
      * ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED *
                  * SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS *

                           Conventional Shoe Box
            Model        Description      Autopark       Price
            ==================================================
            SGN3038      31Mb 28ms   3.5"    Y          419.00
            SGN4951      51Mb 28ms   3.5"    Y          519.00
            SGN6177      62Mb 24ms   3.5"    Y          619.00
            SGN1096      85Mb 24ms   3.5"    Y          649.00
            SGN6277     120Mb 24ms   3.5"    Y          889.00
            SGN1296     168Mb 24ms   3.5"    Y         1069.00
            SGN4077     230Mb 24ms   3.5"    Y         1669.00
            ==================================================

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

            20mb #AI020SC   379.95      30mb #AIO3OSC   419.95
            50mb #AI050SC   449.95      65mb #AI065SC   499.95
                          85mb #AI085SC  $559.95
                       MEGA ST Internal Hard Drives
                    CONNOR HIGH PERFORMANCE MECHANISMS

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

           CALL FOR SUPER SAVINGS ON ALL OUR OTHER CUSTOM UNITS
                         FROM 30mb 28MS @ $419.00!
                      Ask about our "REBATE SPECIALS"

                                 --==*==--

        ** SHIPPING AND INSURANCE INCLUDED IN COMPLETE UNIT PRICES! **

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

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

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

                  COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN!
                 --->> SPECIAL NOW ONLY __$ 719.00__ <<---
                        EXTRA CARTS:      $  79.50
                        DRIVE MECH ONLY:  $ 439.95

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

   * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
                       SPECIALLY PRICED ** $1229.00 **

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

                 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS
                      CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
           Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
      Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
    (over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)

            *** ALL Units: Average Access Time: 24ms - 34ms ***

      ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - AT/PC SPEED - GCR
             LARGER units are available - (special order only)

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

       - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets -
            * SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 *
                          Replacement Drums; CALL
                   Keyboard Custom Cables Call for Info
                      ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED

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

                 QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!
                 _________________________________________

                     DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!
                         please, call for details

                 Personal and Company Checks are accepted.

                        ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY!

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






       ____________________________________________________________





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


                            "DO THE BART MAN!"

                                             B. Simpson



 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                        STReport Online Magazine?
     Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
 STReport?           "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE"        January 11, 1991
 16/32bit Magazine           copyright = 1991                   No.7.02
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
 the  editors,  staff,  STReport?  CPU/STR?  or  ST Report?.  Permission to
 reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted.   Each reprint
 must include  the name of the publication, date, issue #  and the author's
 name.  The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in
 any way  without prior  written permission.   The contents, at the time of
 publication, are   believed  to  be  reasonably  accurate.    The editors,
 contributors and/or  staff are  not responsible  for either the use/misuse
 of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


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