ST Report: 17-June-93 #925

From: Bruce D. Nelson (aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 06/20/93-06:46:56 PM Z


From: aa789@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bruce D. Nelson)
Subject: ST Report: 17-June-93 #925
Date: Sun Jun 20 18:46:56 1993


                            SILICON TIMES REPORT
                            ====================
                        INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
                        =============================

                                    from
                         STR Electronic Publishing


 June 18, 1993                                                    No. 9.25
 =========================================================================

                            Silicon Times Report
                       International Online Magazine
                            Post Office Box 6672
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                             Publisher - Editor
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          FNET.. 18 : ///Turbo Board BBS Support...1-416-274-1225
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          FNET. 460 : The Atari ST Connection......1-209-436-8156
          FNET. 489 : Steal Your Face BBS..........1-908-920-7981
   _____________________________________________________________________


> 06/18/93 STR 925    "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
  """"""""""""""""
     - The Editor's Desk      - CPU Report        - PORTFOLIO NEWS
     - CENSORSHIP!            - MISTFEST V        - OREGON RESEARCH
     - KCFEST'93              - PEOPLE TALKING    - STRAIGHT FAX NEWS
     - CODEHEAD NEWS!         - BLUE RIDGE FEST   - STR Confidential

                    -* CTFEST'93 EYEWITNESS REPORTS! *-
                   -* ATARI'S BRODIE TO ATTEND MIST V *-
                       -* FALCONS SHIPPING SLOWLY *-

 =========================================================================
                   STReport International Online Magazine
                The Original * Independent * Online Magazine
                           -* FEATURING WEEKLY *-
                 "Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
      Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
             Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
 =========================================================================
STReport's  BBS, The Bounty, invites BBS systems, worldwide, to participate
in  the Fido/NEST/Atari F-Net Mail Network.   You may also phone The Bounty
BBS direct @  904-786-4176, and enjoy the wonder & excitement of exchanging
information relative to computers, worldwide, through the  use of excellent
International Networking Systems.  SysOps, worldwide, are quite welcome  to
join  the STReport International Conferences.  The Crossnet Code is #34813,
and the "Lead Node" is # 620.   All BBS systems are welcome and invited  to
participate.  Support your favorite computer!  Teleconference Today!
 =========================================================================
          CIS ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ NVN  ~ FIDO ~ FNET ~ NEST ~ EURONET
                CIX ~ CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ GEnie
 =========================================================================

                               =============
                             * ATARI EDITION *
                               =============


     COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME

                             to the Readers of;
                                      
                  ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
                  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                  "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"

                         NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!

                CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198

                  You will receive your complimentary time
                                    and 
                        be online in no time at all!

                WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (June 18)

NEW JAGUAR AREA IN ATARI 8-BIT FORUM

With  the  announcement  from  Sunnyvale  on  the  new  JAGUAR   Multimedia
Entertainment  System, we've  added a  Message Section  and Library  to the
ATARI8 Forum. We  invite you to join  us in sharing news and  views of what
promises to be an exciting machine. GO ATARI8 for Section 15 [Jaguar].

TWENTY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FALCON ... ANSWERED BY ATARI CORP.

Download  file 20Q_01.TXT  from  LIBRARY 15  of the  Atari  Arts Forum  (GO
ATARIARTS) for the  first 20 QUESTIONS file  of questions submitted by  the
members to Atari  Corp and answered  by Bob Brodie,  James Grunke and  Bill
Rehbock.

AGITATION PUZZLE GAME

Download  file  AGIT.ZIP  from  LIBRARY  2  of  the Atari  Arts  Forum  (GO
ATARIARTS) for Agitation.  Agitation is easy to learn, tough to solve. This
is the  most indescribably difficult, infuriatingly  impossible program you
could choose to run!

        * create custom puzzles
        * upload and share
        * point and click puzzle solving
        * multiple cheat, peek and help modes
        * watch the computer solve puzzles
        * custom graphics and dialogs
        * check out the other puzzles here online! mono freeware

B/STAT VERSION 2.46 NOW AVAILABLE

Download file BSTAT4.LZH from LIBRARY 5 of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO
ATARIPRO) for version  2.46 of B/STAT.   B/STAT is a shareware  statistical
analysis  and business graphics program.  It requires a  1 megabyte machine
and  double sided drive at a  minimum. B/STAT  makes use  of GDOS or SPEEDO
GDOS if installed but requires neither. This is version 2.46  of B/STAT and
offers some improvements in  graphing over earlier versions. B/STAT  may be
registered online by GOing SWREG and selecting ID # 263.

OREGON RESEARCH JOINS ATARIVEN!

Message Section 12  and Library 12 have been established for online support
of Oregon Research's products.  Please read OREGON.TXT in Library 12 of the
Atari Vendors  Forum (GO ATARIVEN) for an overview of the company. Also, be
sure  to check out the other files  in the Library for in-depth information
on their entire product line.

NEW SOFTLOGIK DEMO IN ATARIVEN


Download  file FLAGS.LZH  from LIBRARY 11  of the  Atari Vendors  Forum (GO
ATARIVEN) for Sample EPS (Adobe Illustrator)  files of the new Flags of the
World clipart  collection now  being sold by  Soft-Logik Publishing.    The
archive contains four flags.


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

            "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"

        "ENJOY CIS' ATARI FORUMS WHERE CENSORSHIP IS A DIRTY WORD!"


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



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

     It's showtime!!  Shows are opening up all around the country in the
next few weeks.  Let's hope the flow of Falcons can keep up with the
numerous shows and the Falcon hungry users out there wanting the new
machines.  Atari should've planned on the show circuit placing an extra
demand on the availability of the new Falcons.  I'm sure they did plan on
it and simply have to get the planned accommodation of the show demand into
place.

     Not too much to talk about except that the "behind the scenes games
playing by the "same old few" hasn't stopped for a single moment.  The
threats, the castigations and maneuvers in the many futile attempts at
silencing STReport have reached new and rather interesting heights. 
Thankfully, there are still principled people in this world who will have
none of the "arrangement seekers" pressure filled entreaties.  This latest
spate has to be the very worst in terms of blatant attempts at censorship
and derisiveness at hiding the truth.  Forget about righting the wrongs
that would be too much to expect.

     The "summer doldrums" have been accused of setting in, but you can't
prove it by me.  The action on the networks around the world are simply
hopping like crazy.  The amazing thing is its happening on all the
platforms.  Even those long thought to have been dead and buried.  The
International BBS scene is very much alive and well.  
   
                                                   Ralph...




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



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

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


          PC DIVISION         AMIGA DIVISION           MAC DIVISION
          -----------         --------------           ------------
          Roger D. Stevens    Robert Glover            R. ALBRITTON


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

                      Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor Emeritus

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



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

                    Compuserve.................... 70007,4454
                    Delphi........................ RMARIANO
                    BIX........................... RMARIANO
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                    FNET.......................... NODE 350
                    NEST.......................... 90:21/350.0
                    GEnie......................... ST-REPORT


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


> CTFEST'93 REPORT I STR SHOW NEWS
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



                   CONNECTICUT ATARIFEST '93 A SUCCESS
                   ===================================


by Joe Mirando



     On the weekend of June 12/13 Atari computer users from across North
America flocked to the Windsor Court Hotel in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. 
The showroom, which was larger than last year's, enjoyed an constant flow
of enthusiastic users eager for hardware and software, as well as a peek of
the fabled FALCON030.

     Although the crowd was a bit smaller than last year's and indeed,
smaller than projected since the Washington Area Atari Computer Enthusiasts
(WAACE) computer club will not be sponsoring a large show this year, the
turnout was still a respectable one.

     The show, which was sponsored by the ACT (Affiliated ConnecticuT)
Atari User's Groups, an umbrella organization of Users Groups throughout
the New England area, brought dealers such as The Computer Zone, Derric
Discount Electronics, East Hartford Computer Repair, and Toad Computers.

     Developers included Barefoot Software, Gribnif Software, A&D Software,
Clear Thinking, Straight Edge Software, Evangilo's Software, Best
Electronics, BaggettaWare, Lexicor Software,CodeHead Technologies, Kurlan
Music, Megatype Software, Oregon Research, Software Spectrum, Wizztronics,
Soft-Logic Publishing, and ABC Solutions.  While vendors and developers
alike sold less than they did at last year's show, all went home happy with
the results.

     The crowd of showgoers eagerly surrounded vendor tables looking for
bargains on merchandise and to get a glimpse of Atari's new wonder, the
FALCON030.  The developers that had Falcons gladly showed them off (in
conjunction with their own products, of course).

     While the 'fest was coupled with a small business show this year, the
lion's share of the activity went to the AtariFest.  Most participants in
the small business end were philosophical about the light turnout for their
offerings.

     The applications that were shown on the Falcons were nothing short of
astounding.  The application that first caught my eye was a true-color
video digitizer.  The images were sharp, with great color.  The screen was
updated at a rate of somewhere between three and five seconds.  Other new
apps for the Falcon included a new version of CodeHead Technologies' WARP
9, which was displayed, but not quite ready for sale.

     On display at the Lexicor booth were their amazing Nova card, and the
video "roaster".  The graphics on display were, to say the least,
astounding.

     On a less happy note, Atari had much less to do with this year's show.

Last year Atari not only sent Bob Brodie, Director of Communications, but a
truck-load of equipment including TT030s, MegaSTEs, and monitors.

     This year Atari, as a result of shortages both in personnel and
equipment, sent no one and no equipment.  The Affiliated Users Groups were
able to cover the deficit of equipment for use by vendors and developers,
but the Atari personnel would have been nice.


     The inconvenience of Atari not sending equipment or personnel would
have been forgotten by attendees if only they had been able to ensure that
the dealers that were present had a adequate supply of Falcon030s. 
Although there were two dealers authorized to sell Falcons at the show,
only one, The Computer Zone, had any available.  The Falcons arrived during
the early hours of the show and were greeted by enthusiastic "Falcon
Groupies" outside the hotel as they were unloaded from the delivery truck. 
The small crowd followed the machines into the showroom in hopes of snaring
one of the elusive birds for themselves.  Four Falcon030s were delivered to
Bob Leviton of The Computer Zone.  The machines were sold within a matter
of minutes, including one to the other authorized dealer, Tom Allard of
East Hartford Computer Repair, for use in his display.

     Much has been made of the effort put forth by Atari to "sign up" a
local authorized dealer in time for the show and, because of this rush,
there were some "T"s not quite crossed and "I"s not quite dotted.  The
reasons given for East Hartford Computer Repair not receiving Falcons for
the show were that,

A)  There was a dispute over commissions for the Regional Representative and,

B)  Gary Tramiel had reservations about authorizing a dealer who's 
    store was actually a large room on the first floor of his
    house.

     These excuses are poor at best.  Even taking into account that the
paperwork was put through and approved more quickly than in other cases,
there was still more than enough time to inform the dealer that the
"Falcons had flown the coupe".  The first excuse shouldn't have affected
the dealers receipt of machines under any circumstances.  It is purely a
matter to be kept between the representative and Atari.

     Above and beyond the disappointment of the crowd over the lack of
salable Falcons, this episode left many with the feeling that Atari is,
again, not serious about selling their wonderful machines.  Throughout both
days of the show many individuals could be heard uttering phrases such as: 
"They dropped the ball", "Its the same old story", and my personal
favorite, "Why am I not surprised?"

     If Atari is to market this computer successfully, they must, first of
all, produce them in numbers sufficient to satisfy at least the majority of
the demand.  Once production is up to speed, they must work harder at
convincing us (customers and dealers alike) that they are serious about and
committed to this machine.

     Glib lines such as "We sell all we make" are not acceptable to many
who have seen it all before and are now tired of excuses and delays.  

     Although the shortage of available Falcons at the show was due in part
to the aforementioned dealer sign-up problem, it still casts more of its
shadow upon Atari than it does the dealers.  East Hartford Computer Repair
lost at least two sales because there were no machines to sell, but Atari
itself may have lost dozens.  To his credit, the dealer resisted taking
deposits for the Falcon until the problem has been sorted out.  I don't
know what criterion Atari uses to decide who is good enough to be a Falcon
dealer (actually, I do.  But let's not get into that), but this single move
on the part of the dealer should prove to the powers that be in Sunnyvale
that he is worthy.

     On the subject of the machine's capabilities, I can only say what I
have said all along:  The Falcon is a wonderful machine.  While it lacks
the blinding speed of the fastest processors available, it also lacks their
price tags.  The machine is a worthy entry level computer for the home
entertainment/productivity market, and comes with features and abilities
that could easily cost the price of the machine itself to add on to other
platforms.

     Despite the lack of available Falcons and Atari personnel, most
showgoers were happy just to be among other people who knew that Atari
didn't just make game machines.  The mood was generally upbeat, as anyone
who has spent any time in the Atari arena is now use to ball-dropping and
such.  The innovative products sold by the attending dealers and vendors
got the attention they so richly deserve, and the glimpses of the Falcon
that vendors had brought with them seemed to impress almost all.

     For the Falcon030, only time will tell if it will succeed.  For the
Connecticut AtariFest, time has already told the story...

And.. it had a happy ending.
                   
     

          ________________________________________________________



> ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine          The wires are a hummin'!
  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""
         
          
              
                            PEOPLE... ARE TALKING
                            =====================
             
              
On CompuServe
-------------
compiled by Joe Mirando
             73637,2262


Hey there folks, I hope that your week has been better than mine.  With the
Connecticut AtariFest last weekend, and the hectic time both before and
after, I'm about ready to fall down.

I can hear some of you thinking to yourself "why is he telling me this?"...
The answer is that I'm letting you know gently that this week's column will
again be shorter than normal.

So let's get to it...



>From the Atari Productivity Forum
=================================


On the subject of CompuServe's "20 Questions" project, Bob Brodie, Atari's
Director of Communications, tells us:

"Glad you liked the 20 Questions project. We enjoyed it here, too. Although
I think it took longer than the typical real time conference would. Anyway,
let's see what happens on the conference. I'm certainly up to it, I enjoy
those a lot."


Jim Ness tells Bob:


"I'd like to think that the 20-Questions project took longer than a
conference because you had the chance to do some research in the office,
and give each answer extra consideration.  Things that are hard to do in a
conference, when 25 people are waiting for an answer.  It took more of your
time, but the result was longer and more informative than the normal
conference transcript.

I think they both have their place, though."


Tim Myers says what a lot of us are thinking:


"It's good to see Atari Corp establishing a presence here on CIS. I look
forward to more of the 20 questions type of event and I'm still looking
forward to the conference !"


On another subject, Michael Robillard tells us:


"I have a MEGA2 with TOS 102.I was wondering when I format my disks is
there a limit to how many tracks and sectors I should have or is the sky
the limit."


Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Magazine tells Michael:


"There are two factors.  The formatting program itself and drive mechanism.
Most of the time its a physical hardware limit of the drive itself that
does impose the limit on the number of tracks, etc."


Robert Aries adds:


"The limitation is in your drive, not in the particular version of TOS.
Formatting from the desktop will always give you 9 sectors/80 tracks; this
is for compatibility with the IBM format.  There are extended formatters
available that will do up to 11 sectors/86 tracks.  I have used 11/83
before but I don't believe that will work with an Atari drive.  Not only
that but you run the risk of disk errors if the drive goes slightly out of
alignment or you try to use the disk on another system (or you eventually
get a different drive).  I have used 10/82 with no problems.

If you browse the libs you'll surely find several formatting programs. The
best way to see what will work for you may be to just go for it...if your
drive can't handle past track 79 you'll know immediately as the head will
make a clicking noise as it hits against a stopper.  I might keep my finger
on the power switch to shut the system off if I hear that, though!"


Sysop Bob Retelle tells Michael:


"There are two limitations to how far you can push a floppy disk format
(even with software that will go beyond that)...

The first is how fast the disk spins..   putting more sectors on a track
depends on cutting down the space between the sectors, and how much time it
takes for each sector to pass by the disk head.  If you speeded up the disk
rotation, you could put more sectors on the same track.. but then the drive
wouldn't be compatible with anything else..  (another way to accomplish the
same thing is to speed up the clock signal that the floppy controller uses
to write the data to the disk.. which is exactly how the "High Density"
1.44 Megabyte drives do it.. they write 18 sectors in the same space as the
normal ST drive can write 9..)

The practical limit on an unmodified ST floppy drive is 11 sectors, and
even that requires that your drive is running on the fast side of "normal".

The second limitation is how many tracks the drive will physically write.

Every drive has a "Track Zero" sensor, which is where it gets its basic
positioning information.  When you hear a drive going "Honnnk  Honnnnk"
when it tries to read a bad sector, it's "recalibrating" by finding its
Track Zero sensor, then trying to read the track with the bad sector again.

Track Zero is thus defined by the way the drive is built.  How far the
drive head will step out in the other direction defines how many tracks the
drive can write.  The specification for a 3.5" floppy drive is 80 tracks,
but many will actually write a few tracks beyond that before the head can't
physically move any farther.  The problem is that not all drives have the
same amount of "slop", and so a disk you format to 83 tracks on one drive
may not be able to be read all the way on a drive that can only move out to
81 tracks.

Also, some people are concerned that driving the head against a physical
stop may in time damage it, or force it out of alignment.

The total storage of a drive is found by the number of bytes per sector,
times the number of sectors in a track, times the number of tracks on the
disk.  The only practical way to determine the maximum for a particular
drive is to experiment with a formatting program that lets you change the
number of sectors and tracks.

I found that one of my ST drives would do 82 tracks, but the other will
only go to 81 tracks.  I used to format all my disks at 10 sectors, 81
tracks until I started using a PC heavily, at which time I started using
the standard 9 sectors and 80 tracks format so I could use the same disks
on both systems.

It's up to you whether any risks or incompatibility are worth the extra
disk storage gained by an "extended format"


Tim Myers talks about the scourge of all computer platforms... Piracy:


"...Just about every program on every platform can be found in pirated form
( I was offered MSDOS6 for a fraction of it's retail cost in some very
poorly copied packages at a car boot sale ) This state of affairs is sad.

The computer and it's software have become status symbols to a certain
section of our society and what they can't buy legit they'll pirate. Where
there's a market there's a supplier....."


Rob Nicholson tells Tim jokingly (I hope):


"What's worse is many young people are turning to crime to obtain Nintendo
and Sega consoles and/or carts. Very sad :-("


Tim adds:


"A bit of a sad comment on the state of our society isn't it? It's not the
actual hardware but the kudos of saying that you own it that counts. We've
bred a society where you're judged on what you own and what you look like
instead of who you are. Superficiality seems to hold the cards at the
moment...

Chasing the Gods of status seems to have been the start. Media created
images of how we should look and behave are major contributors as well as
images of what we must own to be seen to have succeeded.  That's why I like
e-mail so much, we are judged on what we SAY not how we
LOOK."


>From the Atari ST Arts Forum
============================


Darkin asks:


"When is the release date for the Jaguar?  Will Atari actually be able to
support *this* machine with good software and licensees?  Also, will they
be able to stick to the amazing $200 price they gave?

2) Can anyone with first hand experience with the Falcon give me the
lowdown. How do Falcon prices run?"


Rob Nicholson tells Darkin:


"I don't think an exact release date has been given yet. As for the price,
yes - I'd say it's just about achievable. Although the machine is very
powerful, all of the hardware is crammed into a few chips. It all depends
upon how cheaply the VLSI chips can be made I'd guess. In terms of amount
of bits, there's probably about the same amount of hardware as in the SNES
and Genesis."


Master Sysop Ron Luks tells us:

"The old 8-bit Forum will be restructured into an Atari Games forum,
specializing in the Lynx, the Jaguar, and will still contain 8-bit support.
The forum name will be changed when we do the formal overhaul later this
summer. We are waiting on some new software from CompuServe before
restructuring all the Atari forums.  We opened up the Jaguar section a bit
early because of Atari's pre-release press announcement."


On the subject of the Jaguar's release date, Bob Brodie posts:

"The specific release date for the Jaguar has not been given, all we have
said is that it will be sold in the fall, in time for the holidays. We're


targeting NYC for the initial shipments, and we will support the product in
a big way with advertising.

And yes, we will stick with the "amazing $200 price". :)  Glad you like it.

Re Falcon prices, for the US they are as follows: Falcon030 1/0 $799
Falcon030 4/0 $999 Falcon030 4/80 $1299 Falcon030 14/80 $1899

These prices are MSRP, video adapters are extra. Units with hard drives
include MultiTOS, SpeedoGDOS, Atari Works, and a cadre of other programs
that we bundle at no additional charge."

Greg Kopchak tells us:


"Photo CD for the Falcon is now REAL. We will be shipping a Photo CD Slide
Show program for the Falcon in the next two weeks.

Run out and buy a roll of Kodacolor Gold before you leave for vacation.

True-color on a 27 inch monitor is impressive.

We hope to have a demo of Photo CD at the KC show if all goes well.

Stay tuned here for more information here later in the week."


Albert Dayes, having the keen technical mind that he does, asks Greg:


"How programmable is the Photo CD slide-show?  It it similar to the
portfolio format where you can mix Photo CD images and audio?"




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


Richard Casey asks about "setting up" a system for a friend:


"I have to set up a musician friend of mine with an ATARI computer. The
AMEK / TAC recording console he purchased only works with an ATARI computer
(Not the Falcon) because the automation software was written specifically
for it.

They are writing an IBM Version due to be out in a few months but for now
they recommend an ATARI STe I believe.

My question is this. Will this GEMultor run all software written for the
ATARI on an IBM PC?

Where can I get more info on the gemulator?

Any tips or info would be appreciated."


Ron Luks, the Sysop big Cahoona, tells Rich:


"No, the Gemulator will not run *all* Atari software, but it will run a
remarkable amount of it.

You should post a message in the EMULATOR topic of AtariPro to get more
information."


Sysop Bob Retelle adds:

"Specifically, the GEMulator doesn't support the Atari ST's MIDI ports as
yet...

If the application your friend needs uses MIDI, it won't run on the IBM
under the emulator..."


Oscar Steele of Purple Mountain Computers tells Rich:


"Like Ron said, Gemulator won't run all software.  But it will run most
applications.  Games are an iffy subject, if you want to run the hottest in
technology games, you'd want to get a PC anyway to run them.

Send us e-mail with your address and a request for Gemulator information.
Currently, Gemulator does NOT support MIDI.

Ron, is there any way you could just set up a category here for us so that
users don't get confused over where to post about Gemulator.  On GEnie we
have a topic dedicated to Gemulator and it makes it so much easier to
support the product.  I hope we can continue to do so here, and I'd
appreciate if you would set up a Purple Mountain Computer topic.  Then we
could also support the Freedom Floptical Drive and the newly released
Removable Mountain 105mb Drive."


Ron Luks tells Oscar:


"Our software doesn't work quite the same way as GEnies.  I can set up a
section for you.  Would you want it called GEMULATOR or Purple Mountain
Computers?  (I'd recommend the latter since it covers more products.)"


In the ICD (which stands for _I_ncredibly _C_ool _D_evices) area, Mike
Mortilla posts:


"Help! My Link works great. So great that I sold my megafile 30. But I
cannot auto-boot from the hd (a Syquest 44 from Spin). The drive gets up to
speed but won't auto boot and the default desktop appears or (if there's a
desktop on the floppy, the floppy desktop's appears).

If I do a warm reset (ALT-Delete) the HD will auto-boot, but it would be
nice if it did it every time.

I've used ID#'s 0 and 1 on the HD with the same results. It seems the drive
isn't recognized at boot up for some reason.

Can you help?  Pretty please..."


Mike now answers his own question:


"I'll do the inane and answer my own question, but I'm leaving it posted
for those who might have similar problems.

I was able to solve the boot up problem by installing the prog WAIT_HD from
the Ataripro lib. It works great as long as you have the correct disk in
drive A.  If there is another work around I'd like to hear it. My HD *was*
ready to boot, but I suspect that the WAIT_HD prog forces the ST to look
for a HD.

Go figure."


Last week someone mentioned that the CodeHeads were working on a "front
end" for Microsoft Bookshelf.  This week, Charles F. Johnson tells us:


"That rumor about CodeHead developing a front end for Microsoft Bookshelf
is not true, I'm afraid.  More than two years ago we did start researching
such a project, but Atari's failure to ship a CD-ROM drive forced us to put
it on hold.  Since then the market has deteriorated drastically, and we'll
need to see some positive signs of improvement before committing any more
development time to this project.

Sorry to have to quash this rumor, but them's the facts."


Ron Luks asks Charles:


"Have you seen any hint of a pickup with the Falcon now shipping?"

Charles tells Ron:

"No, not even a hint.  At present, the number of Falcons that are available
for sale in the US is *very* small (measured in the hundreds).  And since
Atari's long-standing policy of not advertising or promoting their
computers is still in effect, the only people who'll be buying the few
Falcons that are available will probably be current Atari owners, who have
already bought most of the software they're interested in.  This means no
new customers, which in turn means no new sales.

I think it's obvious to most people who have a stake in this business that
the future of the Atari platform is in very serious doubt.  And from what
I've learned about Atari's marketing and manufacturing plans, I don't have
much hope that the Falcon will turn things around.

I wish I could be more positive, but when months go by with almost _no_
orders (even for our most popular products), it's a little hard to keep my
rose-colored glasses on."


>From the Atari Portfolio Forum
==============================


Joe Lensbower tells us:


"To those wishing a memory upgrade for the Portfolio: there is the BSE
Universal 512K Interface. It is a small box that clips onto the Port and
becomes almost a part of it. It has a serial and a parallel port and holds
512K. The current list is $249. I bought mine 3 weeks ago.  ** BUT *** I
couldn't get the 512K to be recognized! I kept getting "RAM TEST FAILURE A
0F00:0000 " when I'd reboot. I called Dan at BSE today and he acknowledged
that it is a bad unit and I need to send it back. My first peripheral and
it's a dud!

 I explained to Dan that I'm a new Port owner and that, without the
interface I'm going to have a close-ended machine and he said he'd try to
get it back to me quickly...

 I'll keep all who are interested in doing business with BSE (602-527-8843)
posted as to how long this turnaround will be..."


Robert Kelsoe tells Joe:


"A lot of us have purchased from BSE. I think that you will find that they
give good service and have great products. I bought a portable HD from them
that I use every day."


I'd just like to add here that I talked BSE into sending a FlashDrive for
the Connecticut AtariFest.  I'll tell you, this is a great piece of work!
The drive is small, connects easily to the Portfolio, is fast, easy to use,
and, if the truth be known, impresses the hell out of people.  Don't tell
the good folks at BSE this, but they're going to have a _tough_ time
getting this baby back from me.



Well folks, that's about it for this week, tune in again next week to
listen to what they are saying when...


                             PEOPLE ARE TALKING





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

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

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ST Advantage  on DELPHI.  STReport  readers are invited to  join DELPHI and
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Then, just answer the questions and  within a day or two, you'll officially
be a member of DELPHI!  
  
                        TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (6/16/93)                       
                                                                          
                        (1) ANTIBOMB, CRASH STOPPER!                      
                        (2) STREPORT 9.24  06/11/93                      
                        (3) ZNET9318, JUNE 6                              
                        (4) ATAX.ZIP                                      
                        (5) SPEED OF LIGHT 2.6                            
                        (6) GEM-VIEW VERSION 2.24                         
                        (7) GERMAN TO ENGLISH 3.0                         
                        (8) SOS HANGMAN V.2.01                            
                        (9) SUPREME SCREEN SNATCHER                       
                        (10) SCROLLING THUNDER DEMO                       
 
All of the above files can be found in the RECENT  ARRIVALS database for at
least one week  after the posting of  this list.   Please Note that in  the
case of  online magazines, only the  most current issue in  the database at
the time of this compilation is considered for the  Top 10 list.  Also, for
all files, a submission is eligible for the Top 10 list for only four weeks
after its original uploading.          
  

                 DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!



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




> CTFEST'93 Report II STR SHOW NEWS
  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



                   ATARI WEEKENDS - LET THE SHOWS BEGIN!
                            THE '93 CT ATARIFEST
               SUMMER STARTS OFF WITH FALCONS FLYING! (SORTA)


by Dana P. Jacobson


     Well, it  appears that the summer  Atari show started off  a tad early
this year  in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.   The '93 ACT AtariFest, although
not an overwhelming show attendance-wise, appeared to be a success.

     Having a "dual" role at this  year's show, as one representative of my
Boston  user  group (South  Shore  Atari Group)  and as  an  STReport staff
editor, it was a long weekend.

     I  found that the  change of "scenery"  this year  was a plus  for the
show.  The exhibition area  was larger than the  hall last year, making  it
much easier for vendors and attendees to move around more easily.  The only
complaint about  the hall that  I heard, as well  as echoed, was  that some
vendor booths had  round tables intermingled with rectangular tables making
it  somewhat difficult  to  utilize  all  of  the  available  table  space.
However, after  a while, most  people managed  to work around  it.   Vendor
booths were designed to maximize space, and it worked out very well; it was
easy to get to everybody without having to walk all the way around the room
to find a specific vendor.

     The show actually consisted  of two events going simultaneously.   The
Atari  show  was on  one  side  of  the hotel  while  the  Home Business  &
Entertainment  Expo   (BREE)  filled   the  other.   The  Atari  show   had
approximately   25  vendors  (including  dealers,  developers,  and  online
services) as well as almost 10 user groups from around the New England area
selling public domain  software and  miscellaneous other items.   The  BREE
group had almost 20 vendors in attendance.

     One of the  biggest highlights of  the event was  the fact that  there
were Falcons  for sale, albeit  extremely minimal.  Although  all three New
England  dealers (one  from Connecticut  and  two from  Massachusetts) were
promised a supply of Falcons for sale at the show,  only one dealer managed
to have  any; and those _few_ machines (4-5) arrived  by UPS the day of the
show.   To  give you  an  idea how  badly  people wanted  them, one  person
happened to see the  UPS truck pull up and  bring in the boxes.   Realizing
what they contained, the attendee waited to see who claimed them.  As soon
as  the dealer claimed  them, the attendee  pulled out his  credit card and
said he wanted a Falcon!  The machines hadn't even made  in to the showroom
yet!  Unfortunately, the other two dealers didn't receive any machines (one
dealer actually bought  one from the dealer  receiving his shipment).   The
available machines were gone in less than a couple of hours.

     There were numerous new offerings to be seen and had at the show, some
designed  to take advantage of  the long-awaited Falcon.   Lexicor Europe's
Yat Siu  was amazing everyone who  stopped by the booth  with Lexicor's new
Nova Graphics card, the "Video-Roaster" prototype, as well as some of their
well-known software.  If you are interested in graphics, the  Lexicor booth
was the place to visit.  All weekend long  I kept hearing great things that
were going on at  that booth.  Humorously, a friend of mine mentioned later
in the day on Saturday that he wished that  he had brought his son along to
the show so that he could have sold him off to be able to afford everything
that he wanted from  Lexicor!  As it was,  he had a bundle of  new software
under his arm when he left.

     CodeHead was  well-represented this  year by  Tomas Ensley.  Among the
CodeHead's normal excellent assortment of software, this was the first time
that the public had an opportunity to  see and hear DigiTape.  Some of  the
sounds  coming from the CodeHead booth were amazing, although Tomas somehow
had  occasional trouble with the volume, blasting out the SSAG members next
door!!  Don't worry, Tomas, everyone's hearing finally returned to normal.

     Marcel  Software  was  showing  their  newly-released word  processor,
Marcel  Word.  It's  a good word  processor worth checking out.   There's a
demo version  that has  been released to  the various  online services  and
local bulletin boards, so if you weren't  at the show (or somehow missed it
while there),  make sure to download  it.  Marcel works  with Word Perfect,
1st Word, ST Writer, RTF, and ASCII files.

  Straight   Edge    Software    was   selling    their    popular    print
accelerator/spooler,  OutBurST (the only  piece of software  that I bought,
finally!).   If  you're a  DTP-user, OutBurST  will speed up  your printing
immensely.  Straight Edge was also  showing what appeared to be a real-time
screen-grabber.   He had  a video  camera hooked  up and  was able  to grab
real-time pictures and show them.  The picture quality was incredibly good;
looking forward to seeing this software when finally completed.

     Bob  Luneski's Oregon Research was showing off  a number of their hard
drive utilities  (Diamond Back 2 and  Diamond Edge) along with  showing off
True   Paint  on  the   Falcon.    They  were   also  touting  DataLite,  a
file-compression package similar  to DC's DataDiet  program.  As  far as  I
know, DataLite isn't quite ready for sale yet, but look for it soon.

     BaggettaWare's Albert  Baggetta  was showing  off  the  newly-enhanced
Eliemouse Coloring  book and their  Shakespearean sonnets  program.   Every
time  that I see  that Eliemouse I  wish that I  had a houseful  of kids to
enjoy those programs!

     Barefoot  Software's Dana Byrd and  Jeff Naideau were  back again this
year with their collection of music  software.  Jeff Naideau was constantly
at  his MIDI keyboard  cranking out some beautiful  music via numerous MIDI
software.  It's  too bad we didn't try to convince  him to go onstage later
that  night in  the hotel's pub  and show  the "band"  how to  really play!
Maybe next year...

     Best  Electronics was  there  this year  with  just about  every  part
possible that  you could ever  want.  Their  booth was always  crowded with
people searching for  some needed part that is  probably impossible to find
anywhere else in the world!   On many an occasion I'd hear  someone walking
away from  the booth with  a small package  in hand muttering  that they've
been "searching everywhere for this part!"  If you ever need parts, Best is
the place to call for it.

     MegaType Software was  there selling their numerous font  packages and
quality clip art packages, along with their numerous font-handling programs
such as FontVerter,  BitMaker, Font Designer, and MegaKern.   They also had
some great Star Trek fonts and clip art for the Trekkies!

     Toad Computers was another of the numerous dealers attending the show.
Although Toad was not allowed  to sell Falcons due to the  dealer agreement
stipulations,  Jennifer  Troy  was  always  busy with  other  hardware  and
software sales.  Toad, as well as a few other dealers, had a number  of new
products available, most notably was Compo's new SpeedoGDOS Starter kit.

     Something  that I didn't take advantage of last year, but finally made
sure  to do  this year  was to  visit Tom  Allard's East  Hartford Computer
Repair booth.  Like  last year, Tom was offering to do  various upgrade and
repair work  right at the  booth.  I finally  convinced myself that  it was
time to  upgrade  my trusty  520ST  from  2.5 megs  to  4.   Tom  was  busy
throughout  the weekend  with machine  cases  and parts  spread out  in his
booth.

Unfortunately, it turned  out that he  was missing a  few ribbon cables  to
complete  my upgrade (he even searched  a local Radio Shack  for them) so I
had to leave my machine with him.  Hopefully, I'll get it back shortly so I
can let my wife have the Stacy back before she decides not to let me use it
anymore!!   Sheesh, to  think just a  few months  ago she'd never  dream of
using a computer  and now she's using one to do some word processing!  Now,
if I can only convince her to......

     The  most popular place to be  all weekend was at one  of the two Lynx
tables.   The tables were always  crowded with people  trying their driving
and shooting skills on  the soon-to-be-released game, Battle Wheels.   From
numerous reports, this game is  going to be one of the  most enjoyable ones
available.  One of SSAG's helpers was at the "tables" off and on  Saturday;
and on Sunday  was playing Battle  Wheels for over  three hours  non-stop!!
This sounds like one Lynx game I'm going  to have to see a little bit  more
of first-hand.

     I know that I've left out a number of the vendors showing off products
at the show; I'm  sure that others will probably mention them in other show
reports  so  I  won't  attempt  to  list  them  all here.    The  show  was
well-rounded with dealers, developers, user groups and other vendors.

     One  event that I've come to look forward  to at these shows, when the
opportunity  arises, is  to be  part of  the seminar  schedule representing
STReport.    None of  us  knows what  to  expect  at one  of  our seminars,
including us!  Joe Mirando and  I conducted the STReport seminar again this
year.  We  were the last seminar  scheduled for the  show, on a  beautiful,
slow Sunday  afternoon.  Our topic  focused on current events  in the Atari
community, some  dealing with  current issues  being discussed  in STReport
itself.  We had anticipated a number of attendees to react much differently
than they  did.   Surprisingly,  for  the most  part,  peoples' heads  were
nodding in agreement with our  assessment of current events.   Our question
and answer period went  very well, with a  number of interesting  questions
and comments.  I think one of my most enjoyable moments of the seminar came
(and I think Joe would agree) when a gentleman got up, stated that he was a
professional journalist, and  heartily thanked us for reporting  beyond the
hype and bringing to the users a different view.  The most enjoyable moment
came  after  the seminar  when  a young  lady  stayed  to ask  a  couple of
questions.  She was a concerned Atari user who wasn't sure how to  progress
to improve her computer use.   She wanted to upgrade her system, but didn't
know whether or not to move up to the Falcon, or go to another  platform to
fulfill her  needs.   It was  a discussion that  many of  us have  had with
friends and  fellow Atari  users.   It was an  interesting discussion,  and
included a number  of observations made by this woman  who didn't appear to
be one  of the typical mainstream  of Atari users.   She was  delightful to
talk with and I hope that we see her  again at another CT show, still using
Atari computers.

     Although  I  thoroughly enjoyed  this year's  show,  I can't  help but
wonder  about a number of  things.  First  of all, with  rumors flying that
there  will be no WAACE show this year, I was surprised that some who might
have  considered going  to Virginia in  the fall  didn't come  to this show
instead.  The attendance was not overwhelming as I mentioned earlier.  With
the Falcon  currently available, it would  seem as if more  people would be
out to see and possibly buy one at this  show, or any show for that matter.
Is this  possibly an omen  of things to come;  that even the  various Atari
shows are rapidly shrinking as quickly as the Atari marketplace?

     Or,  was it  because this  particular weekend was  a gorgeous  one and
people  decided they'd rather be  somewhere else?  I don't  think so, to be
honest.  Was  the show poorly planned  and/or advertised?  Again,  no.  The
ACT group,  under the  leadership of  Brian Gockley and  Doug Finch  did an
excellent job  again this year.   I can't think  of a thing more  that they
could have done  for this show  short of dragging people  inside!  The  ACT
group did its part.

Some  show-goers  asked where  Atari Corporation  was;  why wasn't  there a
representative at the show promoting the Falcon?  Was this a reason?  Nope.
It's really not a necessity for Atari to attend ALL of the shows.  It can't
hurt, but I don't think having them there would have made a difference.

     If you ask my opinion (I'll  give it anyway!), I believe there  were a
number of reasons.  First of all, people are being disillusioned by Atari's
track record  of the past.   Atari has made many  announcements for product
and just plain missed them, some altogether.  The release and  availability
of the Falcon  is just another  missed opportunity.   There's only so  much
that Atari can tell its  userbase before it starts to doubt  whether or not
Atari can produce any longer.  People have been waiting for Falcons a  very
long time now; it's  essentially the only machine  being supported/produced
by Atari  these days.   There should have  been more Falcons at  this show.
Whether it was up to  Atari or its regional distributor, Atari  should have
made sure there were  more than 4-5 machines available for  sale.  Up until
the day of the show, no one knew whether or not there were going to be any
machines present, for sale.  Why?   Miscommunication?  Foul-ups?  Available
stock?   Up  until a  few days  before the  show, one  Massachusetts dealer
wasn't even sure if  he was going to be  able to afford to buy  machines to
bring  to the show. The  consensus was that he was  going to take orders at
the  show.    The  other  dealers  were  extremely  disappointed  at  their
predicament.   You should have heard  them lament lost sales  and potential
new customers.  It was a shame  to hear them tell customers: "Well, we  may
have  some in a  few days or so,  would you like  me to put your  name on a
waiting list?"   These people were promised machines to  have for sale; why
weren't  they there?!   If it was  a matter of  money up front,  why didn't
Atari send machines on consignment?   It just doesn't make any sense.   The
Atari shows are a guaranteed sales event.  Where else are you going to have
hundreds of Atari users in one place, at one time?  Atari  should guarantee
that every show has dealers with ample supply of Falcons!  I think this one
blunder made  me more upset  than anything; I  really felt badly  for these
dealers and users who  expected to be able to take a Falcon home.  To those
few who were lucky to get one, congratulations on a fine purchase.

     This is  just one more of those missed opportunities for Atari.  Their
lack of a focused marketing  plan and advertising is not going  to help the
situation.  Other  than most of the remaining userbase,  who know these new
machines exist?  It's time  Atari took a chance and spend  some advertising
money.   Atari also needs to boost Falcon  production to be able to keep up
with the demand.  Show these machines, have them  available, and eventually
the old standard word-of-mouth  scenario will take  hold again and help  to
maintain some interest and enthusiasm.

     Let's hope  that Atari takes a lesson and makes sure that the upcoming
shows are handled differently.  I guess we'll all have to wait and see.  As
this show seasons gets  rolling with numerous shows rapidly  approaching, I
suggest that if you have  an opportunity to attend one or more  of them, to
do so.   Not only  are these shows  a great opportunity  to find plenty  of
software and hardware; but also the time to meet new people and renew old
friendships.   To me, this  is the Atari  community's way of  life, and the
most  enjoyable  aspect  of using  Atari  computers.  To  Brian and  Angela
Gockley, Doug  Finch, and all  of the  rest of  the ACT  group, thanks  for
another enjoyable Atari weekend.   Thanks for having us all!!  See  you all
next year.


         __________________________________________________________




> Lazarus Long V II STR Feature      Thank you for the humor....
  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""



                     THE NOTEBOOKS OF LAZARUS LONG 
                                Issue #2

Compiled by Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
 
Various real-life sayings (some attributed, some not) that could fit in-
to the Notebooks of Lazarus Long.  From the Jerry Pournelle RT on Genie

     Cheap, fast, good - pick two,

     "We must be open minded, but not so open minded that our brains 
     fall out." -- James Randi

     "If it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter."

     The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they 
     are sober. -- William Butler Yeats

     "The only thing worse than not getting what you want, is getting 
     what you want."

     Any benevolent system designed to aid the truly needy will be 
     abused by the truly unworthy.

     Wherever I go, there I am.

     Despite its high cost, living remains popular.

     "To desire the end is to desire the means."

     That which does not grow stronger, kills us. --M. Dederian 

     Most people would sooner die than think; in fact they do so.
     -- Bertrand Russell

     "Beware of cookies bearing fortunes"
     -- Found in a fortune cookie 

     In ten seconds I can tell you more than I know.
     -- Anonymous Government Employee

     Being right too soon is always socially unacceptable.

     "Arguments are debatable."
 
     Politicians hate to see a beautiful theory mugged by a gang of ugly 
     facts.

     Never carry a knife to a gunfight.

     The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the 
     other bastard die for his. -- Gen. George Patton

     I think the past is behind us - it'd be real confusing if not.
     From the Blues Traveller song, "But Anyway."



     _________________________________________________________________



> CODEHEAD NEWS! STR InfoFile              CODEHEAD SLASHES PRICES!!
  """""""""""""""""""""""""""


CodeHeadQuarters
For Immediate Release
---------------------



                         CODEHEAD SLASHES PRICES ON
                    WORD PROCESSING AND GRAPHICS TOOLS!

                           NOW SAVE UP TO 63% !!


Effective immediately, we have lowered the retail prices of the following
products:


           Product                  New Price  Old Price  Savings
          -------------------------------------------------------

            Calligrapher Gold         $169.00    $250.00     32%

            Calligrapher Professional  119.00     175.00     32%

            Gold Extension              50.00     100.00     50%

            URW Font Disks              25.00      34.95     28%

            Avant Vector               199.00     545.00     63%

            MegaPaint                   99.00     175.00     43%

            Genus Font Editor           79.95     175.00     54%

            Cherry Font Packs           25.00      42.95     42%

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

For more information, contact:

                           CodeHead Technologies
                               P.O. Box 74090
                           Los Angeles, CA 90004

                           Phone: (213) 386-5735
                           FAX:   (213) 386-5789
                            Hours:  M-F 9AM-1PM


       _____________________________________________________________



> MCI 800 COLLECT SERVICE STR InfoFile
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



                            MCI's 1-800-COLLECT
                            ===================



     MCI  has  announced 1-800-COLLECT,  a new  way  for consumers  to make
collect calls.  Beginning  today, children, students, men and women  in the
armed services, travelers, truckers -- everyone who takes advantage of long
distance collect  calling -- will be  able to save their  parents and loved
ones  up to  44 percent (vs.  AT&T operator-dialed rates)  on collect calls
they make from any phone in America and Puerto Rico.  Americans now  make 1
billion collect calls each year, spending more than $3 billion.

     "Until MCI's 1-800-COLLECT, collect calling lagged far behind advances
made in other products and services in the long distance marketplace," said
Gerald  H.  Taylor,  president  of MCI  Consumer  Markets.  "Reversing  the
charges,  which dates  back to  the 1890s,  is one  of the  oldest services
available.  Contemporary collect  callers  have been  stuck with  some very
old-fashioned constraints."

     When the  consumer makes a "0+"  collect call today, the  person he or
she  is calling is charged by the  long distance provider of the phone from
which the  call is placed.   Demand has been suppressed  due to complicated
dialing schemes, high prices and the absence of any true competition.

     "In  a  world where  consumers  usually make  choices  about services,
collect callers are simply left out," Taylor continued.

     To  use   the  new   service,   callers  simply   dial   1-800-COLLECT
(1-800-265-5328)  to reach an operator  who will connect  the call. Neither
the caller nor the
recipient  needs  to be  an MCI  customer.  1-800-COLLECT is  made possible
through  billing  arrangements with  local  telephone  companies and  MCI's
proprietary    ISN   (Intelligent    Service   Network),    a   specialized
software-controlled network  for MCI's Calling Card  and Operator Services.
The ISN enables  MCI to provide  the customized call  handling and  network
routing for 1-800-COLLECT calls. The network efficiency provided by the ISN
is passed on to consumers in the form of lower rates.

     MCI launches  today a  multi-media  national advertising  campaign  to
introduce 1-800-COLLECT.   Advertising  will  appear on  network and  cable
television, in print publications  and outdoor media throughout the  United
States.

CONTACT:  Kate Fralin or Su-Lin Cheng of MCI, 1-800-436-9749


            ___________________________________________________




> BLUE RIDGE ATARIFEST'93 STR SHOW NEWS    "The Summertime Atari Event!"
  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



 
                         1993 Blue Ridge ATARIFEST
                         """""""""""""""""""""""""

 
 FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""

The  Blue  Ridge Atari  Computer  Enthusiasts (BRACE)  and  Computer Studio
invite  you to  participate in the  Fourth Annual  Blue Ridge  AtariFest in
beautiful Asheville, North Carolina.  Show dates and times are:


                     Saturday July 24, 1993  10am - 6pm
                     Sunday   July 25, 1993  Noon - 5pm


Just as in previous years, we have  arranged for FREE Booth space for Atari
developers!!  (We're only requesting the donation of a door prize).

We can promise  both developers  and show-goers an  energetic and  exciting
show with as enthusiastic a crowd of Atarians as you'll find anywhere, plus
the support of Computer Studio in the mall.

We're once again  taking over the  Courtyard Shop  (mall) area at  Westgate
Shopping Center for the show (location of Computer Studio), plus the use of
vacant store  spaces for  seminar sessions.   Seminar sessions  will be  45
minutes in length, and developers are welcome to conduct a seminar on their
product  line or  approved  topic of  their  choice (seminar  sessions  are
limited, so first come, first served).

This year's show  dates also  coincide with Asheville's  annual Bele  Chere
street festival, when downtown Asheville is closed to vehicular traffic and
becomes  what must  be one  of  the largest  street fairs  in the  country.
Westgate  Shopping  Center  is  one of  the  primary  Park-and-Ride shuttle
centers for transporting people to and from downtown, and we've arranged to
have the shuttle service pick up at the front entrance of the mall and drop
off at the rear entrance, so everyone taking the service from Westgate WILL
walk through the AtariFest exhibition  area sometime during the day.   This
will be a great  opportunity to showcase Atari  and Atari related  software
and  peripherals, and  introduce them  to people  who aren't  already Atari
owners.  Bringing in NEW blood  is the key to the growth of  this platform,
and  this will  be our  opportunity to  begin that  process with  a captive
audience.

Additional  discussions of  the  show, as  well  as confirmations  of  your
participation, are welcome in GEnieMail and in the Blue Ridge
AtariFest topic 13 in Category 11 here on GEnie.

               HOPING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON.
                         HAPPY ATARI COMPUTING.
                                   IT'S HAPPENING IN ASHEVILLE!


Where: Westgate Shopping Center - Asheville, N.C.

Take any  major highway  into Asheville (US  19-23, US 26  or I-40)  to the
I-240  loop,  then  take the  "Westgate/Hilton  Inn  Drive  exit" into  the
Westgate Shopping Center parking lot.

                            When: 24-25, July 1993
                          Time: 10:am to 6:pm SAT
                               12 Noon 'til 5pm SUN

Points of contact:

                  Come for a day or come for the weekend,
                      but do come and enjoy yourself.


Great Smokies Hilton Resort  Hilton Inn Drive        (704)254-3211
                 Toll-free reservation phone number 1-800-733-3211


Radisson                    One Thomas Wolf Plaza    (704)252-8211
                 Rate: $62.00 per room (1-4 people)


          ====== Additional Hotel / Motel Information ===========

Days Inn                       I-26 and Airport Road     (704)684-2281
                               I-40 Exit 55              (704)298-5140

Econo Lodge                    US 70 East, I-40 Exit 55  (704)298-5519

Holiday Inn                    275 Smoky Park Hwy        (704)667-4501
                   Toll-free reservation phone number    1-800-HOLIDAY

Red Roof Inn                   I-40 and US 19-23 Exit 44 (704)667-9803
                   Toll-free reservation phone number   1-800-843-7663

Budget Motel                    I-40 Exit 44 (Enka-Chandler)
                                  West Asheville Exit    (704)665-2100 Best
Western Asheville Central  22 Woodfin St                 (704)253-1851

       ========= Local Bed & Breakfast lodging Information =========

Aberdeen Inn                64 Linden Ave                (704)254-9336
Albemarle Inn               86 Edgemont Road             (704)255-0027
Applewood Manor             62 Cumberland Circle         (704)254-2244
The Bridle Path Inn        Lockout Road                  (704)252-0035
Cairn Brae B & B           217 Patton Mountain Rd        (704)252-9219
Carolina B & B             177 Cumberland Ave            (704)254-3608
Cedar Crest Victorian Inn  674 Biltmore Ave              (704)252-1289
Corner Oak Manor            53 St. Dunstan               (704)253-3525
Cornerstone Inn            230 Pearson Dr                (704)253-5644
Flint Street Inn           100 & 116 Flint Street        (704)253-6723
The Lion and The Rose      276 Montford Ave              (704)255-7673
The Ray House B & B         83 Hillside St               (704)252-0106
Reed House                 119 Dodge St                  (704)274-1604
The Wright Inn             235 Pearson Drive             (704)251-0789]
                                                         (1-800-552-5724)

A more complete listing of Bed & Breakfasts can be obtained through the
Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Reservations should be made immediately, as July is the height of our
tourist season.


                 ===========  CAMP GROUNDS ================

           (reservations are a must during this time of season):

Mount Pisgah:
     About 20 miles  southwest of  Asheville on the  Blue Ridge Parkway  at
mile post 408.6 (National Park Service). 690 acres. Elevation 5000'. One of
the  nicest campgrounds in  Western North  Carolina. 67  tent sites,  70 RV
sites.  For reservations: P.O.Box 749, Watnesville, N.C. 28786; phone (704)
235-9109. No showers.  Groceries and  restaurant. Nature program.   14  day
stay limit.

Lake Powhatan:
     4 miles south  of Asheville on  State road 191,  3.5 miles west on  SR
806.  30  acres.  98  tent/rv  sites.  Reservation  available  thru  Mistix
1-800-283-CAMP. Disposal station. No showers. Swimming; lifeguard; fishing;
nature trails; bicycles. 14-day stay limit.

     While  in the area,  you might want to  consider a little sightseeing,
and include  a visit to the  Biltmore House here in  Asheville (the largest
single family residence ever built in the U.S.--its a "castle"). A visit to
the Biltmore  can be  a full-day's activity  as you  will want to  view the
house, visit the winery, and walk some of the grounds and gardens.

Hours:

          The House 9 am to 6pm         The Gardens 9am to 7pm
                         Conservatory 9am to 5:30pm 
          The Winery Monday-Saturday   11am to 7pm Sunday 1pm to 7pm

     Other areas of interest include; the Thomas Wolf home (adjacent to the
Raddison), the Blue Ridge Parkway and Folk Art Center. A  drive up the Blue
ridge Parkway to  enjoy the higher elevations  and incredible views  of our
mountains.  Perhaps  a hike  up  to  Mount Pisgah  and  look  back down  to
Asheville(you can see Mt. Pisgah from most anywhere in Asheville).  A short
drive  from Mt.  Pisgah will  take you  to Sliding  Rock (for those  of you
travelling  with kids who are still kids  at heart), the Cradle of Forestry
(first  forest school in the country), waterfalls, trout hatchery, etc. For
the adventurous, white  water rafting   on the  Natahala River near  Bryson
City (approx one and a half hours from here).

     There's  obviously loads  more  to see  and  do around  Asheville  (in
addition to the Blue Ridge AtariFest and a visit to Computer Studio :-). If
any of  y'all would like  maps and additional  tourist info  of the area  I
might suggest contacting the Chamber of Commerce:

                     Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
                             151 Haywood Street
                               P.O. Box 1010
                            Asheville, NC 28802
                      704-258-6111 FAX: (704)251-0926



The  Blue  Ridge Atari  Computer  Enthusiasts (BRACE)  and  Computer STudio
invite you  to participate  in the  fourth annual  Blue Ridge  AtariFest on
Saturday, July  24 and Sunday July 25,  1993.  The show  will take place in
the Courtyard Shop  area of  Westgate Shopping Center  in Asheville,  North
Carolina  (Home of Computer  STudio).  We  are still signing  up additional
exhibitors, but  those who have already  made a firm  committment to attend
include (Alphabetical Listing):

 Accusoft-ST ............................. PD/Shareware Software
                                           (Clip Art Libraries)

 Barefoot Software ....................... Professional MIDI Software
                                           applications (SMPTETrack,
                                           EditTrack Platinum,
                                           GenEdit, EZ Score Plus,
                                           etc.)


 Codehead Technologies ................... Productivity software &
                                           enhancements (G+Plus,
                                           MultiDesk Deluxe, HotWire,
                                           CodeHead Utilities, Warp 9,
                                           Calligrapher, MaxiFile,
                                           Lookit & Popit, Avant
                                           Vector, MegaPaint, TOS
                                           Extension Card, etc.)

 Computer STudio ......................... Visit a 'real' Atari
                                           Dealership in the mall
                                           (Atari computer systems,
                                           software and accessories)

 DMC Publishing .......................... Desktop Publishing System
                                           Solultions (Calamus/SL,
                                           PKS Write, Outline Art,
                                           Invision Elite, tms
                                           Cranach Studio, etc.)

 GEnieLamp/GEnie ......................... Telecommunications and
                                           Electronic Publishing

 Magic Software .......................... Entertainment Software
                                           (New products unveiling!)

 Missionware Software .................... (Flash II, lottODDS,
                                           Printer Initializer, etc.)

Showtimes are 10:am - 6:pm on Saturday, and noon - 5:pm on Sunday. Seminar
sessions will be scheduled throughout the show.

Since  this year's show coincides with Asheville's annual Bele Chere Street
Festival,  we are  not having a  Saturday evening banquet,  but are instead
encouraging guests to hop the shuttle bus at the front entrance of the mall
and spend Saturday evening downtown enjoying the  outdoor festivities (live
entertainment, food booths of all types, dancing, etc.).

Advance registration is only $3, or $4 at the door.  Additional information
about the  show and Asheville's Bele  Chere festival will be  mailed to all
who pre-register in advance.  Door prize winners will also be selected from
registered  guests.    Advance  registration  checks  should  made  out  to
"COMPUTER STUDIO" and mailed to:

                              Computer STudio
                          Westgate Shopping Center
                       40 Westgate Parkway - Suite D
                            Asheville, NC  28806

 For additional information, please contact either:

     Sheldon Winick                     Cliff Allen, Show Coord.
     GEnie:  S.WINICK                   GEnie:  C.ALLEN17
     Computer STudio                    Internet:  CALLEN@UNCA.EDU
     Westgate Shopping Center           phone:  (704) 258-3758
     40 Westgate Parkway - Suite D
     Asheville, NC  28806
     (704) 251-0201




    ___________________________________________________________________




> OREGON RESEARCH INFO PART I STR InfoFile
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



DATAlite 2
----------
Real Time Disk Compression - Disk Doubler

How would you feel if you woke up one day and found that your 50 megabyte 
hard disk had suddenly turned into a 100 megabyte hard disk! You'd be
stunned, amazed, and pretty HAPPY!  Well, that's exactly what will happen
to your disk when you install DATAlite 2.    

DATAlite  is a sophisticated, powerful program providing real time online
data compression for floppy and hard disks!   Amazingly fast you won't ever
know it's installed, DATAlite transparently doubles the storage size of
your disks!

DATAlite is completely safe and reliable because it does not patch any
GEMDOS calls.   Incompatibilities are impossible.  It works its' magic as a
BIOS level device driver completely transparent to the system.  All you
know is that your 50 meg hard drive is now a 100 meg hard drive! WOW!

*  Automatically compresses all programs AND data while storing and 
   decompresses when loaded again

*  Datalite's efficiency results in a doubling of the usable amount of disk
   space 

*  Many different compression methods automatically chosen to maximize     
   storage capacity.

*  Optimum compressing method can increase disk capacity as much as ten    
   times!

*  Completely safe and reliable.  

*  Does not patch any GEMDOS functions.

*  Supports all ST/STe/TT/Falcon030 computers

*  Supports all TOS versions including MultiTOS

*  Supports all memory and hardware configurations

*  Supports ALL disks, including hard disks, removable disks, and floppy   
   disks


                      DATAlite 2 retail price: $79.95



Devpac Version 3  
----------------

680x0 Assembly language development system

This new package has had a complete face-lift, from the editor through to
the debugger.  Devpac 3 is the ultimate assembly language developement
system for your Atari ST/TT/Falcon

Devpac 3 includes a new multi-window editor which has been designed to be 
easy-to-use, using sub-menus and pop-up menus for swift selection.  It
offers a powerful editing environment with bookmarks for remembering key
positions, mouse block-marking, complete window flexibility, extensive user
configuration and full integration with the other Devpac programs.
 
The heart of Devpac Atari 3 is the fast and powerful 68000-68040 assembler,
which is now at least 40% quicker than its predecessor giving assembly
speeds of typically 80,000 lines/minute on a standard Atari 520ST computer.

The 68881/2 math co-processors and the 68851 MMU are supported. There is a
wide range of switchable options allowing full control over the assembly 
process, including complete listing flexibility.  In addition, many
optimization choices are available, either automatically or selectively. 
In addition to other standard features such as conditional assembly, repeat
loops, text include and macros, the assembler also offers:

*   Completely integrated:  from the editor you can assemble to memory and 
    then switch to the debugger or any other program. When you have        
    finished, you are returned to the editor.

*   Include files are read only once, and the binary file is buffered.
*   Stand-alone assembler for those who have a favorite editor, or who use 
    a command line shell.

*   INCBIN directive:  takes a binary file and copies it to the output     
    file, ideal for sprite data.

*   No Limits:  Macro calls, IFs and Includes may be nested.
*   Three types of local labels
  
Devpac 3 is provided with a powerful debugger/disassembler for bug hunting
and ease of learning.  You can have as many views on your program as you
like, including its source code;  Then set breakpoints, single-step
instructions etc.  even at the source code level.  There is also full
debugging support for the new 68030 processors and the floating point
chips.

The debugger has all the standard features like full register and memory 
display, locking windows to expressions, comparing blocks of memory,
searching for bytes, words, longs, strings or parts of instructions and
uses its own screen so that it does not collide with your program's output.

It also offers:

*   Conditional breakpoints for even faster searching and destruction of   
    bugs

*   Full expression evaluator

*   Executable and binary file load

*   Disassembly direct to disk, with auto label generation

*   Load symbol table and debugging information - ideal for working with   
    desk accessories

*   View and debug source files from within the debugger

Devpac Atari 3 comes complete with all the include files for the Atari's
operating system, GST and Lattice compatible linkers, many examples. A
comprehensive 350 page manual is included including specific information on
the latest versions of TOS.     

                      Devpac 3 retails price: $149.95


Diamond Back II 
--------------- 
Hard Disk Backup and Restore
 
Diamond Back II is the most complete hard disk backup and restore program
available for the Atari ST/STE/TT range of computers. Diamond Back II
provides a true file backup at image backup speeds with more power and
flexibility then all of the other backup programs combined. Here are just a
few of the features you will find in Diamond Back II: 

*  Extremely fast. In fact, the fastest that we know!

*  Easy to use 100% GEM user interface with on line help

*  Backup/Restore any number of drive partitions, directory paths, single 
   directories, or specific files in a single pass

*  Flexible creation of backup sets from different paths or partitions

*  Wild card masks to include or exclude files, which may be different for 
   each path

*  Incremental backups by date/time or by archive bit (TOS 1.04 onwards)

*  Load and save custom backup configurations for ease of use

*  Flexible disk formatting options, pre-formatted disks do not have to be 
   of the same type

*  File compression and encryption, disk usage estimation, disk statistics 
   and assorted disk utilities

*  Backup to floppies or to other partitions

*  Automatic drive switching during all program functions

*  Very flexible Full or Partial restore options, restore original         
   directory tree or specify new structure

*  Create file listings during the backup, create CRC validation logs to   
   Hard disk or floppy files Extra Special Features

*  Backup and restore Spectre GCR partitions!

*  Full Support for High Density 1.44Mb floppies and 21Mb Floptical drives.

*  Intelligent Image backup option that only backs up sectors that contain 
   data

*  Restore partition images to different size partitions

*  Hard disk to hard disk copies 10 times faster than desktop copies

*  State of the Art file compression speed

Diamond Back II allows you to maintain a secure backup of your data and
provides a flexible and efficient way to restore files to your hard disk;
it is an invaluable tool for anybody that keeps important information on a
hard disk. 

COMING SOON DIAMOND BACK 3! Exciting new enhancements include SCSI Tape
backup, Full Windowed interface for background backups under Multi TOS, DSP
compression!

                    Diamond Back II Retail Price $49.95



Diamond Edge
------------
Disk Diagnostics, optimization, data recovery, and repair Your disks and
disk drives are frequently used and rarely appreciated; that is, until
something goes wrong. Diamond Edge is a complete set of disk management,
optimization, diagnostic, repair, and data recovery tools for use with any
floppy or hard disk. Whether recovering from a catastrophic disk crash or
optimizing your drive for increased performance, Diamond Edge is an
essential tool for all Atari owners. 

Disk Diagnostics 

* Analyzes your disk for critical errors that could lead to data loss.

* Complete reporting of all disk errors and the files effected. 

* Assess media integrity and mapbad sectors on your disks. 

* Assess the integrity of the data on your disks with CRC and checksum 
  validations. 
  
Disk Optimization 

* Analyzes level of fragmentation to assess disk performance. 

* Improves Disk Access. 

* Defragments files and directories, consolidates free space and optimizes
  data locations to improve disk performance. 

* FAST disk optimization for reading or writing. 

* Complete optimization or consolidate free space.
  Repair 

* Repairs damaged disk structure, damaged files, and maps bad sectors. 

* Save, restore, edit critical disk information to repair information on 
  very badly damaged disks or to recover crashed disks. 

* Assessment and validation of the integrity of recovered information. Data
  Recovery 

* The Complete Undelete. Diamond Mirror system automatically saves critical

  disk information that allows you to recover deleted files. 

* Undeletes fragmented files AND subdirectories!!! Recover as much of
  original file as possible and validates integrity of the result. 

* Identifies and recovers data from lost data clusters. Unzero Disks. 

General Disk Management 

* Powerful set of General disk management and information tools  


* hard disk partitioning, copying, zeroing, wiping, and much more. 
* All program functions work with any hard or floppy disk. 
* Supports any size disk partition or sector size. 
* Supports both Atari and ICD extended partition standards. 
* Compatible with all Atari ST/TT/Falcon computers and disks. 
* Full online Help 
* Expert and Novice Modes 

Easy to use powerful disk management, Diamond Edge is an essential part of
every Atari owners software library. Included in the 80 page wire bound
manual is a complete disk tutorial that will take the mystery out of your
disk drives.

                     Diamond Edge Retail Price: $69.95


For more information contact:

                              Oregon Research
                     16200 S.W. Pacific Hwy., Suite 162
                              Tigard, OR 97224

                         Telephone: (503) 620-4919
                      1:00PM - 5:00PM M-F Pacific Time
                         FAX:       (503) 624-2940
                               24 hours a day

   _____________________________________________________________________



> PRICE WHAT??? STR FOCUS!
  """"""""""""""""""""""""


                            The Great GENIE
                                   or
            When Is a Price Increase a Not a Price Increase?

 
by Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
 
     A long, long time ago, in a far off world, there was a rich and
powerful land called GEIS.  The ruler of GEIS was so rich that he only used
his lands during the daytime throughout the week, leaving the lands
virtually empty during the nights and weekends.
 
     One day a cousin of the ruler of GEIS came to him with a plan.  The
cousin, known as the Great GENIE, said "Why not rent me the use of your
kingdom when you're not using it? I know of many people who would pay for
the right to have some place to play in the evenings and weekends.  This
way you and I can make a few extra dinars while supplying these people with
something they want."  The ruler of GEIS thought that this was a good idea
but warned his cousin, "Make sure that you don't rent out more space than
we have. I will not spend dinars to expand my kingdom just to give your
people more room."
 
     So the Great GENIE came to control a vast territory. However, much of
this territory was a vast waste-land (what came to be known as the Basic
areas). True, there were a few oasis' with popular settlements in this
wasteland (SciFi, Religion and a few others) but most of this territory was
sparsely settled and seldom visited.  Most of the population and visitors
to his land stayed in the civilized areas (what came to be known as the
Value areas) and seldom ventured into the unsettled territories/wasteland.
 
     While the Great GENIE was a mighty man inside his own lands, he was
considered a 'minor monarch' in comparison to some of the other countries 
that surrounded his territory.  The empires of CIS, Delphi, Prodigy and 
others all had populations greater than his.
 
     The Great GENIE knew that population was the key to power and riches. 
His country had the resources (known as CPU power) to handle 2-3 times as
many people as it currently held without expending much of the gold
contained in his tightly held purse strings.  With more population, there
would be more tax money and more people to spend money in the civilized
areas.  With more population, the Great GENIE would be a power to be
reckoned with.
 
     After long and detailed consultations with his viziers, the Great
GENIE came up with a plan that would entice some of the people from the
surrounding countries to his territory.  He would allow them to settle into
is wasteland for FREE.  There they would be free to build the types of
communities that they wanted.  Social and conversational intercourse would
spread throughout this once desolate area, making it bloom.  To make the
deal more enticing, the Great GENIE decided to include free access into the
few oasis/settlements in this wasteland.
 
     The Great GENIE was nobody's fool.  While he would allow them to
settle for free, he would charge them a small monthly 'settlement' fee
(aka, service charge). This settlement fee would cover the small additional
expense that they cost him (remember, the Great GENIE had all of this extra
resources/CPU setting idle, so his additional expenses weren't great),
while adding greatly to his coffers. Not only would he make money from the
settlement fees, he knew that many of these new settlers (aka, newbies)
would also go into the civilized areas - thus spending money there and
increasing his tax revenues.
 
     The Great GENIE decided to use part of his new settlement fees to
reduce the tax-burden on his current subjects. This would keep them happy
and not be too upset over the newbies getting free what they had to pay
for.  
 
     For several years, everyone prospered.  People came and settled the
previous wasteland, creating new and exciting societies.  As word spread,
more and more people came to settle. Prosperity was had by all.  Almost
everyone raved about how wise the Great GENIE was.
 
     But a dark cloud hovered on the horizon, a cloud that kept growing and
coming closer, a cloud that brought cold winds and omens of bad things to
come.
 
     As more and more people came to this land, more and more of the Great
GENIE's resources were needed to handle them. Roads that used to be clear
and fast, now became crowded and slow. People used to be able to visit
other parts of the land in just seconds, now sometimes had to take many
minutes to make the same trip.
 
     Even inside the civilized enclaves, the area that was still being
taxed, citizens found things rapidly growing sluggish. The newbies were
clogging up streets and taking up space at the restaurants and shops. 
Resources that were needed to keep the enclaves running smoothly had been
shunted off into the wilderness in an attempt to keep that area running
smoothly.

     It wasn't long before everyone started to blame everyone else for the
problems. Some blamed the Great GENIE for not having more resources to
handle things properly. They forgot that the Great GENIE was not the real
ruler of this land and had no power to get more resources/CPU.  Others
blamed it was the newbies for not paying their way and for being system
hogs. They forgot that these newbies 'settlement fees' had helped to lower
their taxes - and that the newbies in many cases had created paradises out
of former wastelands.  While others blamed it on the old citizens for
taking too much of the system resources to play games, grab files and chat,
all the while forgetting that without the old citizens taxes, there would
have never been the new territories.

     The Great GENIE decided to play Solomon. In order to restore his
kingdom back to normal, he would cut taxes in half!!  All of his citizens
would now pay taxes, but at only half of the previous rate.  Also, to help
cover the additional costs of giving service to his now inflated
population, the Great GENIE decided to increase the settlement costs by
almost 80%.  The Great GENIE knew that his new tax plan would be unpopular
with some, and that some of his citizens would leave. While this saddened
him, he knew it was for the best.  With these citizens gone, many of his
resources would be released so that he could give better service to the
citizens that remained.

     On hearing this news, a great uproar was heard throughout the land.
The citizens of the civilized territories shouted in glee.  Their taxes had
been lowered again!! Not only that, but those ungrateful system hogs, those
newbies would now be paying 'their fair share'.
 
     However, many of the newbies did not view the new taxes with the same
enthusiasm as their brethren in the civilized lands did. They felt that
they had been enticed to this new land with the promise of free lands, and
now that they were here that promise had been broken.  They didn't see
themselves as system hogs, but rather as people who had created a paradise
where none existed before.  Now that a paradise had been created, the
creators were being asked to pay to use their creation.  Some even felt
that they'd been enticed to do a job and once it was done, they weren't
wanted anymore - that the new tax was just a way to chase them off.

     What will the future hold for the Great GENIE's territories? No one
knows for sure. Most of the old citizens will stay around but some will
leave. Some had gotten used to visiting the new territories and find the
new taxes there unacceptable - unacceptable enough that they will move to
other countries instead of staying.

     But will enough of the newbies stay? Will there be enough to keep the
quality of life in the new territories up to the current levels?  Will
there be enough to keep the quality of life in the new territories at an
acceptable level?  Or will enough newbies leave so that the new territories
will gradually sink back into a wasteland - a wasteland with memories,
echoes of better times and filled with ghost towns?
 
     The Great GENIE hopes for the first, will settle for the second and
fears the third.
 
Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr
 

         __________________________________________________________



> NVN WANTS YOU! STR InfoFile       Another Network Supports Atari!
  """""""""""""""""""""""""""



                      NVN - THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK!
                      ===============================



     The  Atari  computer platform  has support  on  yet another  top notch
telecommunications service!   National Videotex Network  (NVN) maintains an
area just for our favorite computers.  Type GO ATARI Order  an extended NVN
Membership of 6 or 12 months, pay for it  in advance and receive a bonus in
connect time at no additional charge.

                    NVN lowers its connect time charges!
   $5/hour non-prime time (EST. 7pm - 9am weekdays and all day weekends)
                $8/hour prime time (EST 9am - 7pm weekdays)

Choose from two great subscription plans:

                             6-Month Membership
                             ==================

Pay  just $30  for a  6-month Membership  and receive  a usage  credit that
entitles  you to  $15 of  connect-time  in the  Premium   services of  your
choice.  Your total savings using this plan would be over $20!

                            12 Month Membership
                            ===================

Pay $50 for a  full year's Membership and get even  more free time on-line.
We'll give you a $25 usage credit to use in your favorite  premium services
or  try  out new  ones. You  could save  as much  as $45.  NVN   now offers
Electronic   Funds  Transfer (EFT).   For  a $2  per month  service charge,
customers may have  their NVN   online charges  automatically debited  from
their  personal checking accounts.  Please contact Client Services for this
new feature!

             For more information about either of these plans..
                 Please, give us a call at; 1-800-336-9096.

                    You can join NVN one of two ways...
              By voice phone 1-800-336-9096 (Client Services)
                     or via modem phone 1-800-336-9092.

                               NVN Highlights
                               --------------

1.   For the newcomers ....
2.   NEW (MODIFIED) REFERRAL PROGRAM LET'S YOU EARN $10 USAGE CREDITS!
3.   A library built *just* for business people
4.   Board Certified Psychiatrist heads up the new Substance Abuse Forum
5.   VETERANS: Please report to the Military Forum <GO MILITARY> for C&D.
6.   Step out into the Great Outdoors Forum <GO OUTDOORS> 
7.   We've got just the cure for your medical information needs 
8.   The Diabetes & Hypoglycemia Support Forum is now online.
9.   SOUND OFF!!! Take our Game Survey 
10.  Let's talk about Coins 
11.  Call all DISNEYphiles!  Join the gang!  <GO AMERICA>.
12.  Amiga Forum now available for Amiga and Desktop Video enthusiasts!
13.  NEW Email enhancements are on-line. Including personal mailing lists!



    ___________________________________________________________________



> KC SHOW'93 STR SHOW NEWS
  """"""""""""""""""""""""



KANSAS CITY ATARI CONNECTION IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE...



                         KANSAS CITY ATARIFEST '93
                         =========================


     The location for the show is Stadium Inn, 7901 E 40  Hwy., The date of
the show will be June 26th and 27th. Ticket prices at the door will be 5.00
dollars  each. Advance  tickets  will be  4.00  dollars each.  For  advance
tickets, please send  4.00 dollars  per ticket to:  Kansas City  AtariFest,
P.O.  Box 1653,  Lee Summit,  MO 64063 or  if you  belong to  a user group,
please  mail a  request for a  user group  information pack.   To make room
reservations please call 1-800-325-7901,  we are also working with  a local
travel  agent  to  get  special  airfares  for the  show.    You  may  call
1-800-874-7691 to take advantage of the special fares.

     For more information please  leave Email as follows; GEnie,  B.Welsch,
B.Frazier2, J.Krzysztow,  for  CompuServe,  Leave  for  Jeff  Krzysztow  at
74027,707, for  Delphi, Bobtrow or you  can call (816)224-9021, or  mail to
the address listed above.

     We hope you  will join us to welcome  the following companies; Cali-Co
software,  ChroMagic Software,  Clear  Thinking  Software,  The  Codeheads,
Compu-Seller West, D.A. Brumleve, Electronic Spinster Graphics, Fair-Dinkum
Software,  Gribnif Software,  ICD, MegaType,  MissionWare Software,  Muller
Automation, New Dimensions Computer Center, Oregon Research, Paper Express,
S.K.Ware, Soft-Logik Publishing, Systems For Tomorrow, Taylor Ridge  Books,
Toad   Computer  and  a  lot   more!!    For   the  8-bit  users,  American
Techna-Vision.

     For the latest  information on GEnie,  please check  cat 11, topic  8.
Watch for updates to  this list.  Look for  the show reports right  here in
STReport following the show.

                               Bruce Welsch 
                      KCAC Special Events Coordinator



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

                    :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
                     _________________________________

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

                  Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.

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


$6 per hour.

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

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

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



> CENSORSHIP? STR FOCUS!
  """"""""""""""""""""""




               CENSORSHIP FIGHTS HEAT UP ON ACADEMIC NETWORKS
               ==============================================



Excerpt From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Monday, May 24, 1993
Page B1


INFORMATION AGE/By William M. Bulkeley


     Has political correctness gone on-line in academia?

     Battles  are  raging over  freedom  of  speech in  university-oriented
bulletin boards,  one of the few places in academia that hasn't been racked
for years by this kind of strife.

     A mild-mannered microbiologist from Rootstown,  Ohio, has stirred up a
storm  among on-line  computer users  by devising  a computer  program that
automatically wipes  out  anonymous  messages  on  Internet,  the  nation's
largest on-line network, which is widely used by scholars.  He was offended
by an  anonymous  user  who posted  a  joke about  the  last words  of  the
Challenger space shuttle crew in a scientific discussion group.

     In other cases, Canadian colleges have blocked electronic  discussions
of sex.   A California  community college recently  suspended a  journalism
professor  for running  a computer  bulletin board  on which  male students
wrote messages that allegedly  harrassed a female.

     Many on-line veterans  complain that such actions threaten  freedom of
expression.   "This  shows how the  censors are  all among  us," says Larry
Detweller, a recent graduate of Colorado State University, who studies free
speech and  "hangs around the Internet," which is often seen as a prototype
for the information  highway that  the Clinton campaign  described in  last
year's presidential election.

     Such issues  are likely to increase  as the highway connects  more and
more computers -  especially if the federal government funds  it.  In fact,
Congress has ordered a study of whether electronic bulletin boards, on-line
services and  public-access cable  television are  being used to  encourage
"crimes of hate."

     For  some time now, commercial  on-line services such  as Prodigy have
used computer  programs that  automatically  delete messages  that  contain
certain  words.  Group moderators  who often guide  discussions on services
such as H&R Block, Inc.'s CompuServe also have the power  to remove hateful
messages as soon as they see them.

     But many volunteer-run  bulletin boards decline to control what people
write.  Legally, they aren't required  to play the censor:  Board operators
aren't  responsible for things  other people write  in the wake  of a court
ruling that CompuServe wasn't liable for what people wrote any  more than a
bookseller is responsible for the contents of the books it sells.

     These cozy volunteer communities, the electronic equivalent of Boswell
and  Johnson's   18th  century   London  coffeehouses,  police   themselves
informally.   People  who are offensive  or irrelevant are  shouted down by
"flame mail," a barrage of messages by angry users that  sometimes can even
overwhelm  an offender's computer.  Other times, the indignant wage "cancel
wars" in  which they send  commands to  cancel the foe's  message from  the
bulletin board.   On Internet, people  order their computers not  to accept
any messages from particular senders.

     But a few years  ago, users developed "anonymous servers"  - computers
connected  to the  network that  stripped away  the original  sender's name
before sending  it on Internet.   The capability was  designed to encourage
open  discussion among victims  of child abuse  or AIDS and  originally was
used in  only such groups.   However, a computer in  Helsinki, Finland, was
designed to send anonymous messages wherever the sender wanted.

     Some  of these  messages on  the "sci."  section of  Internet's Usenet
subsystem  ticked off  Richard  DePew, the  professor  of microbiology  and
immunology at Northeastern  Ohio Universities  College of  Medicine.   "The
anonymous  servers were breaking down  some of the  barriers and traditions
that keep the  Internet useful," says Dr. DePew, whose  battle was reported
in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a trade weekly.

     After  numerous on-line discussions  of the  anonymous-server problem,
Dr. DePew wrote a program he called ARMM for "automated retroactive minimal
moderator."    Although the  program ran  on  the computer  he  operates in
Rootstown  as a  local  node of  Internet, it  canceled  messages from  the
Helsinki computer to any sci. discussion group.

     As soon as  he activated it  in April, Dr.  DePew was flamed  by other
users,  illustrating the passion with  which people defend computer speech.
He was called a  "maddog (sic) on the loose  who needs to be sedated."   He
was called  a "rhinocerous (sic) ."   He was compared  to "a child-molestor
(sic) who goes out and re-offends immediately upon release."  He was called
an "ignorant petty tyrant."  Within 12 hours, he shamefacedly recalled  the
program, admitting he made a mistake.  He says he will never do it again.

     In  another  controversy,  bitter  debates  raged  at  many   Canadian
universities  last   year  over   three   Internet  discussions:      "sex:
bestiality,"  "sex:    torture" and  "sex:  bondage."    Some weeks,  those
discussions  were  dominated  by  legal scholars,  but  other  weeks,  they
included brutal stories and pictures of screaming women.  Several colleges,
including Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, cut those
discussions off their computers.

     In the U.S., California's Santa Rosa Junior College recently suspended
tenured  journalism teacher  Roger  Karraker while  it  tries to  determine
whether  he's responsible for student  messages on a  school bulletin board
that he  operated.  The board has some  200 discussion groups that are used
by faculty and students.

     Earlier this  year, at student request, Mr.  Karraker started men-only
and women-only conferences in which users  had to promise not to reveal the
contents.  When  one woman  learned about what  allegedly obscene  messages
that  an  ex-boyfriend had  written  about her  on an  all-male  board, she
complained to  Mr. Karraker.   He immediately shut down  the conference and
banned the  students who  had broken the  confidentiality pact.   She  then
complained to  the college of sexual harrassment based on the messages, and
Mr. Karraker was put on paid leave.

     James Mitchell,  the college's personnel director, said  the leave was
"for  his own  protection" and  isn't  a punishment.   He  says that  under
California  harassment  laws,  "we had  a  situation  that  appeared to  be
serious."

     Mr. Mitchell says that if the item had been in a student newspaper, it
probably would have been protected under the First Amendment.   But outside
of student newspapers,  speech can  be challenged as  harassment, he  says.
Even if it was  written on a bathroom wall, and the  janitor didn't wash it
off, "we'd warn him" of the risk of harassment charges.

     Mr.  Karraker says that as  a bulletin board  operator, he's protected
just as booksellers are.  "This isn't publishing in the  sense that there's
an editor who knows everything that goes in," he says.



 _________________________________________________________________________




> STRAIGHT FAX INFO STR InfoFile
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""




               Notice to all registered STraight FAX! Owners
               =============================================



     Enhanced  versions of the STraight FAX! Printer Drivers along with new
drivers for  Speedo GDOS and Compo's  That's Write 2 and  the STraight FAX!
Manager TSR/CPX  that simplifies  the printing  to  disk of  FAX files  are
available free of  charge to registered STraight  FAX! owners via  the Toad
Computers BBS.

     The enhanced drivers include support to  communicate with the STraight
FAX!  Manager  TSR (Auto Folder Program) and CPX  Module for the eXtensible
Control  Panel (XCONTROL) Desk Accessory to specify the file path/name that
all of  the  drivers  will  use  when generating  FAX  files  from  popular
applications  such as  Pagestream, Calamus,  Atari Works,  That's Write  2,
Calligrapher 2/3, Word Flair II, and other GDOS compatible applications.

     The STraight FAX! original GDOS, FSM/Font GDOS and Speedo GDOS drivers
also  will utilize the "Quality"  parameter in the  Printer Drivers ACC/PRG
provided  with Speedo GDOS and  the GDOS Printer  Selector CPX/ACC provided
with  FSM/Font GDOS  to select  between Fine  Resolution (Fine)  and Normal
Resolution (Draft).

     To  obtain  the  STraight FAX!  Manager  and  drivers,  call the  Toad
Computers  BBS  at 410-544-6999  (300-14400 baud).  Fill  out the  new user
account  information and  send  private  E-Mail to  the  Sysop  or User  #6
requesting the STraight FAX! Manager and drivers.

     A  valid  registration  must  be  on   file  with  NewSTar  Technology
Management before the  STraight FAX! Manager and  drivers are sent  to your
account on the BBS via F-Mail. If you have  purchased the STraight FAX! and
have not re-registered  with NewSTar Technology  Management (since  January
1993), then please  include the following registration  information in your
E-Mail request:

  10 Digit Registration Number (used to install STraight FAX!)
  Name
  Address
  City, State, Zip Code, Country
  Phone Number
  FAX Number (if applicable)
  Date of Purchase (approximate if not exactly known)
  Place of Purchase
  Version Purchased (i.e. 1.06, 1.07, etc.)
  GEnie E-Mail Address (if applicable)
  CompuServe E-Mail Address (if applicable)
  Internet E-Mail Address (if applicable)

If  you  have purchased  the  STraight  FAX! and  have  never  sent in  the
Registration Card,  now is a  better time than  ever to mail  it to NewSTar
Technology Management at the address below.

The archive  file sent to  your account  on the Toad  BBS will  contain the
following files:

README.1ST  Read Me File Documentation  STFAXMGR.PRG 
STraight FAX! Manager TSR STFAXMGR.CPX
STraight FAX! Manager CPX STFAXSPD.SYS 
STraight FAX! Speedo GDOS Printer Driver STFAXFSM.SYS
STraight FAX! FONTGDOS/FSM GDOS Printer Driver STFAX.SYS   
STraight FAX! Original GDOS Printer Driver STFAX21.PRT       
STraight FAX! PageStream 2.1/2.2 Printer Driver  STFAX18.PRT      
STraight FAX! PageStream 1.8x Printer Driver STFAX.CPD
STraight FAX! Calamus 1.09/1.09n Printer Driver STFAX.CDT        
STraight FAX! Calamus S/SL Printer Driver STFAXNOR.DRV         
STraight FAX! That's Write 2 Normal Rez Printer Driver

NewSTar Technology Management P.O. Box 122 Columbia, Maryland 21045-0122

Tech Support Line  (410) 544-6943 FAX Line         (410) 544-1329 BBS
(410) 544-6999 (300 to 14400 baud)

GEnie: C.S.SMETON GEnie Support Area:  Atari ST Roundtable (M475 or ST)
                     Category 4 (Hardware)
                     Topic 24 (STraight FAX! Product Support)

CompuServe: 73047,2565  Compuserve Support Area:  Atari Productivity  Forum
(GO ATARIPRO) Telecommunications Message Area

    ___________________________________________________________________



> MIST ATARIFEST V STR SHOW NEWS
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""



                      MIST Announces AtariFest V!



     The Mid-Indiana Atari ST users would like to  take this opportunity to
invite you to  one of the most successful  annual one-day shows in  the US.
MIST AtariFest V will  be held this year  on Saturday, July 31st from  10am
until 5pm at  the Best Western Waterfront Plaza Hotel  at the crossroads of
America, Indianapolis, Indiana.

     Admission to  this great event  is still only  $3 for the  entire day.
Door prizes of all shapes, sizes  and function will be given away all  day,
and Lynx and MIDIMaze tournaments will be held with prizes going to the top
players.   Limited edition T-Shirts and special price MIST memberships will
also be available.

     Many of your favorite  vendors and user groups have  already committed
to our show, with many more still planning to come.  Some that have already
indicated that they'll be with us include:

    Atari Corp's Bob Brodie
    Missionware Software (Flash II, CyberPaint)
    Mars Merchandising (software and hardware distributors)
    KidProgs (KidPublisher Pro, Super KidGrid, MultiPlay)
    Gribnif Software (NeoDesk, Arabesque, STalker, CrazyDots, PureC)
    LCACE (Waukegan, IL)
    CUSTUG (Champaign, IL)
    STAR (Belleville, IL)
    CRAG (Crown Point, IN)
    THEAUG (Terre Haute, IN)
    ASCII (Indianapolis, IN)
    BLAST (Bloomington, IN)

     Space is still available to both commercial vendors and users' groups.
The deadline  for reserving tables has  been extended until July  1st.  Our
price is still a modest $50 per table ($10  for users' groups).  Contact me
for reservation forms or more information.

     The Best Western Waterfront Plaza  offers discount prices to attendees
of the show.  Mention us and get a single room for $53 or a double for $59.
The  Waterfront features large rooms and  exceptional pool and recreational
facilities.   Special arrangements can be made for non-smokers, handicapped
and those guests with small children.

     We're  located  just  5  miles  from  the  Indianapolis  International
Airport.  Shuttle  service is available  to those travelling  by air.   For
those  arriving by  car,  take I-465  to  the Speedway/Crawfordsville  exit
(I-465 South from I-65 Chicago  or I-74 Terre Haute or I-70  Columbus Ohio,
I-465  West from I-69 Fort Wayne or  I-65 Louisville, I-465 North from I-70
St. Louis).  Go  west on SR 136 and  take the first left outside  of I-465.
The Waterfron Plaza is 1/2 ahead on your right.

     I hope to see you there on  July 31st.  If you'd like more information
about our show, contact Bill Jones at The Zoo BBS (317) 356-5519, or direct
at (317) 352-9878.




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

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



> A "Quotable Quote"            "Some things NEVER Change..."
  """""""""""""""""




       "WHETHER THUMBSCREWS, STOCKS, PILLARS OR BARRISTERS PREVAIL...
                                       
                     TRUTH... THE ALL CLEANSING AGENT..

                          SHALL FOREVER TRIUMPH!"



                                              .....unknown
 
 
  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



> DEALER CLASSIFIED LIST STR InfoFile        * Dealer Listings *
  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""          ---------------


                         ABCO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS
                         =========================
                               P.O. Box 6672
                      Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
                                 Est. 1985
                               1-904-783-3319
                         ATARI-AMIGA-PC-CLONES-MAC
                       HARDWARE, SOFTWARE & SUPPLIES

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

                              COMPUTER STUDIO
                              ===============
                          WESTGATE SHOPPING CENTER
                       40 Westgate Parkway - Suite D
                            Asheville, NC  28806
                               1-800-253-0201
                                Orders Only
                               1-704-251-0201
                                Information
                          Authorized Atari Dealer

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

                           EAST HARTFORD COMPUTER
                           ======================
                              202 Roberts St.
                          East Hartford CT.  06108
                               1-203-528-4448
                          Authorized Atari Dealer

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

                             MEGABYTE COMPUTERS
                             ==================
                                907 Mebourne
                              Hurst, TX 76053
                               1-817-589-2950
                          Authorized Atari Dealer

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

                             SAN JOSE COMPUTER
                             =================
                              1278 Alma Court
                            San Jose, CA.  95112
                               1-408-995-5080
                          Authorized Atari Dealer

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

                              CompuSeller West
                              ================
                            220-1/2 W. Main St.
                          St. Charles, IL., 60174
                             Ph. (708) 513-5220
                          Authorized Atari Dealer

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

            (DEALERS; to be listed here, please drop us a line.)


"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                   STReport International Online Magazine
                      -* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *-
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
STR Online!          "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE"           June 18, 1993
Since 1987     copyright (c) 1987-93 All Rights Reserved            No.9.25
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Messages  quoted in  whole  or in  part  are  done so  under  the Fair  Use
provision of  the US Copyright Laws.   USPC Title 17.   Views, Opinions and
Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors/staff of
STReport  International Online Magazine.  Permission to reprint articles is
hereby granted,  unless otherwise noted. Reprints must, without  exception,
include the name  of the publication, date, issue number   and the author's
name. STR,  STReport and/or portions therein  may not be edited  in any way
without   prior  written    permission.  STR,  STReport,  at  the  time  of
publication, is  believed reasonably accurate. STR, STReport, its staff and
contributors are  not and   cannot  be  held  responsible   for the  use or
misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. 
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""


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