››      Articles    of   Interest   From›      Newsletters We Received›            by ALAN SHARKIS››From   Jan/Feb   1990  Current  Notes:›Steven LaFevers of Alaska presents his›picture  of the 8-bits as the computer›of choice.›He  is  quick to point out that he has›access   to  a  large  supply  of  new›commercial   software,   something  we›don't  necessarily have in other parts›of  the  county.   Seems  they  have a›large  stock  of  older  programs  and›Atari peripherals than we've seen in a›long  time.  Steven  tells us that the›ST, for example, is   playing catch-up›with   the   8-bits!   An  interesting›scenario,  but just as notable for the›range  of  applications  with which he›uses his system.  Also noteworthy from›that  magazine,  NOVATARI has revamped›its  XL/XE  library.  They will accept›mail  orders  at  $3  per  disk and $1›shipping per 3 disks.›››From   March  1990  Between  Bytes:  a›reprint of an article by Paul Andrews›(which  had  been reprinted in several›sources)  entitled Ten Commandments of›Personal Computing.›››From   March  1990  A.C.E.  St.  Louis›NEWSLINE:    Reviews    of   Operation›Whirlwind and Battle of Chickamauga.›››From  March  1990  ACORN KERNAL: Sally›Nagy  runs down the most popular 8-bit›Public  Domain and Shareware programs.› Included in her list are TextPro Plus›4.5,     MACSHOW.ARC,     A850DOC.ARC,›BOOTSCR.ARC,   Draper   Pascal   v2.1,›CONVERT.ARC,             NOTETABL.ARC,›SUPERFROG.ARC,             FORCE4.ARC,›Blueberries,   AML80.ARC,   ASMED.ARC,›IBLMRD14.ARC, and ILBMRD20.ARC.›››From  March  1990  B.A.C.E. Line: Dave›Morel   gives   us   some  interesting›graphics techniques from BASIC.›››From    March   1990   Keeping   PACE:›Reprinted  (from  Portland  Atari Club›News)  instructions for making a cable›to  connect the 8-bit to the Portfolio›for transfer of data.›››From  April  1990  L.V.A.U.G. News: An›April  Fools  Extra  that  is  nothing›short  of  hilarious, a description of›the  ideal programmer from Ol' Hackers›(who?) and serialized tutorials›in SpartaDos and Action! stand out.›››From  April  1990  Keeping  PACE: Rich›Deen  has written an excellent article›about  shareware  contributions  (have›you   sent  yours  in,  wherever  they›should go?).›››From April 1990 ACORN KERNAL: A review›of the Richman's Word Processer by Ian›Henderson,  and a slew of articles and›letters on the piracy issue.›››From  April  1990  SLCC  Journal: Dave›Morel   tells   us  all  how  to  open›channels to the printer from BASIC and›avoid  the  problems  associated  with›LPRINT statements.  Bob Wooley reminds›us  of  the  utility of our 8-bits, in›spite  of  the plethora of "bigger and›better" advocates that now clammer for›our attention.››› From   May  1990  SLCC  Journal:  Bob›Wooley    describes    a   sensational›hardware  hack which places a modified›600XL motherboard into a mini-tower AT›case (yes, you are reading correctly),›together  with  peripherals,  and uses›the  AT  power supply for all of them.›Central   to   the   article   is  the›description  of  the TRANSKEY board, a›device  that  allows  the  use  of  an›IBM-style  keyboard  with  our 8-bits!›This is really sensational! ›››                                      ›