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_______________________________________ ZMAGAZINE ST-REPORT February 3, 1988 Issue #20 Atari ST News and Information _______________________________________ Editor: Ron Kovacs _______________________________________ Assistant Publisher: ST Xpress Magazine _______________________________________ The Prairie Chip 307-635-0148 Mile High 303-431-1404 Other Side of Reality 703-451-4412 I.T. 301-261-7537 Middle Earth BBS 617-393-3875 S.T.A.B.B. 317-849-9311 Skyline BBS 303-457-0320 Atari-OH! 713-480-9310 Paranoia 301-384-6153 Thunder Mountain BBS 206-425-3804 T.A.S.T.E. 317-257-1208 Hologram BBS 201-727-1914 GEnie Atari ST RT CompuServe GO ATARI 16 _______________________________________ Contents _______________________________________ Garbage On The Line.......................................Linda Woodworth Avatex Modem Update...................................................... Atari News Update........................................Ctsy GEnie ST RT Software Review Maxthink.................................Judith Zornberg Product Announcement.............................................MichTron Probing Your ST.............................................Mr. Goodprobe Another CES Report on Computer Software...........................Unknown Review of CompuServe.....................................Warren Lieuallen _______________________________________ Garbage-on-the-Line -- Comrades at the Modem -- _______________________________________ by Linda Woodworth You have 3 piece(s) of mail waiting. The Electronic Mail System on a Bulletin Board, is a fabulous way of communicating with someone across town or the country. As with the later, it is probably someone you have never met. With some back and forth messages between the two of you, you can become "friends". I help run a BBS and the chat mode is an excellent way of getting acquainted. Typing the words to each other rather than saying them, gets down to the quick of things a lot faster. We seem to be more direct, thus you find out more about one another in a shorter ⇧period of time... A lot can be learned about someone from the regular message bases. How they enter a message and what style used says a lot about them. I also believe your true personality comes out in your messages. The VT52 graphics add some _major flash to a message, and some are using it very cleverly. Either the whole message or just the signature at the end. I have seen signatures at the end of a message, done very nicely too, using the symbols on the keyboard. <Some even include pictures>. Quite a few of you stand out very nicely. A real class job!! Makes it a pleasure to read what you leave behind. For Example :: The \/\/ild/\/\an <<aheeaheeaheeahee>> The Gray Mouser ^---^ O O ===== AC ====> ^ ---\ /--- " Exit...Stage Left Annonymous 2112 * *ippie *** * *acker -=-Midnight Man-=- I have gotten to know the humbler modem portions of society thru the message system, or through chat, some that I consider _TRUE friends. We have become involved beyond leaving mere messages to each other on a BBS. The long talks voice, using the U.S. Mail, exchanging pictures... just about everything you can do to get closer. I must admit, I care a _great deal about them !! With some of you, closer to the heart is what we are... we are involved in each others lives. It's just that we haven't met... yet. It gives me a good feeling to know I have friends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and if I found myself in their kingdom, would have somewhere to go. I would have no hesitation showing up on their door step, grinning from ear to ear. Some of us have talked about getting together, and the idea thrills me to no end... But, I know some of these people are only to be known only through the keys. This is where it gets difficult for me, as there is nothing like the companionship of a good friend. How much rapport can you get from a message?? I used to think it was fleeting and temporary... mere words on a screen. I was wrong. As I get better acquainted, I find great comfort, joy, and laughter in their words. It isn't brief or fly by night at all. The responses give me pleasure, agitation, excitement. Cause me worry, disappointment, elation and brings out sheer crazy, insane, free for all, off the wall, playful _FUN_ and it remains with me for a long time !! There are a lot of people behind a modem who are... well, I could use a whole range of adjectives, but I'll just say the whole kit and kaboodle, lock, stock and barrel type of people !! tis great... With some of these people, I have shared good times and bad times thru the years. That is how much our lives have become intertwined. We have spent time together laughing and crying, staring at this screen, typing our intermost thoughts. It's my feelings that get me confused at this type of friendship. Sometimes I want to actually be with the person/ people so much I become frustrated and sometimes quite sad. For the most part, I realize what our friendship is all about and its limitations. But it is that moment or two which becomes difficult to handle. I want to share a drink with a friend, walk in the mountains, or just share a quiet time. The need for actual companionship is very important, and BBSing is a marvelous way to enrich our lives. With FoReM and the F Net, we have begun transfering messages to boards in the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany. An international exchange that can enrich the entire world and bring Nations closer. Just think of the deaf person, or otherwise handicapped and what this means to them. The Chip has had several deaf callers and I _know what it signifies !! I just don't want to see the day this is the only means of communication with others of the human race. I am an avid science fiction reader, and have read some stories that scare me to death. I hope things don't get to the point that the only functioning part of us, is the finger to hit the return key. We must stay in direct contact with each other too. Guess I ought to start saving my money for that plane ticket to Ohio, Texas or D.C. <grin> ______________________________________ Xx AVATEX UPDATE ______________________________________ Elec & ELtek (USA) Corp. has re-introduced several of its avatex products with new, improved and unique feature additions. The upgrades cover the Avatex 2400, 1200i and the Avatex 1200hc modems. Coinciding with this introduction, E+E also announced price reductions for its entire product line. THE AVATEX 2400 external modem now features storage in non-volatile memory of four phone numbers and two user configurations. It also includes a view menu of configurations and phone number stored. E+E has also added external switches to allow the user to conveniently choose either configuration setting, the original factory setting, dumb mode/ smart mode setting or dial-up or leased line operation. The Avatex 2400 also comes with the two configurations preset with common user option settings (such as auto-answer ON). Standard features include 2400/1200/300 bps speeds, auto-manual originate/answer, blind dial or call progress, speaker, and the full compliment of Hayes-compatible commands and options. The 2400 originally had storage capabilities of only one configuration and one phone number. THE AVATEX 1200i internal 1200/300 bps 1/2-card PC modem, in addition to its standard Hayes-compatible features, now includes operation in any of four communication ports in the PC or compatible. It originally supported only COM 1 and 2. The modem card has also been upgraded to operate in "turbo" PC's -- 8 mhz and above -- including "386" machines. E+E also states that the Avatex 1200i is now fully compatible with XT-type short slots as well,. To promote ease-of-use, the 1200i now comes with external switches to select such options as the COM port settings, Carrier Detect and Data Terminal Ready signal settings, and Bell (US) or CCITT (international) standards. THE AVATEX 1200hc external 1200/300 bps modem, one of E+E 's veteran Hayes-compatible products, has also been upgraded to include such features as full call progress detection, synchronous operation, and CCITT (international) operation in both 1200 and 300 bps speeds. The external switch bank has been increased from 8 to 12 switch settings for additional programmable options. The front panel function buttons have been changed to accommodate Synchronous/Asynchronours operation, and an Originate/Answer feature for convenient leased line or manual operation. The Voice/Data button continues to be an easy-to-use feature for on-line voice-to-data switching or manual dialing. E+E notes that all of the products will include PC-Talk4 software (for PC or MS-DOS compatible machines) at no extra cost. E+E also notes that all of these upgraded products are now available for shipment. PRICE REDUCTIONS announced by E+E cover its entire line of products including the newly introduced versions. In the 1200bps range, the external Avatex 1200hc dropped from a suggested retail of $199.00 to $149.00 and the internal Avatex 1200i went from $149.00 to $119.00. E+E's 2400bps products also dropped substantially. The Avatex 2400 external modem now lists for $279.00 (down from $399.00) and the Avatex 2400i internal PC modem lists for $269.00 (down from $319.00). Although announced to its distributor channel in mid-October, E+E notes that these new prices became effective November 2nd. Elec & Eltek (USA) Corp. is a subsidiary of Elec & Eltek Ltd. Inc. in California in 1984, Elec & Eltek (USA) Corp. markets the AVATEX line of modem products sold through distribution to dealers and resellers, VARS/VADS, as well as systems integrators and OEMs. The company currently has sales and marketing facilities of approximately 4,000 sq. ft., and has added an additional 5,000 sq ft. for customer service and warehouse facilities. Elec & Eltek (USA) Corp. is located at 1230 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 2310, Sunnyvale, California 94086, (408) 732-1181. Hot on the heels of its recent Avatex product feature upgrades, Elec & Eltek (USA) Corp. has also announced two brand new Avatex modems to enhance its rapidly growing product line. One is the Avatex 2400MNP, a full-featured external 2400bps modem with error control. The other is the Avatex 1200e, a compact, fully-loaded Hayes compatible external 1200 bps modem listed for under $100.00. THE AVATEX 2400MNP features all the commands, options and functions of its current Avatex 2400 modem with the addition of Microcom's MNP Level 5 error-control protocol. The addition of MNP Level 5 also includes data compression, allowing the 2400 MNP modem to achieve data throughput speeds of up to 4800+ bits-per-second. E+E notes that, with the addition of this new Avatex product, it has joined the growing list of companies supporting the MNP protocol. The Avatex 2400 MNP modem is scheduled to be released for shipment in January, 1988 and will carry a suggested list price of $429.00. THE AVATEX 1200e modem is a 1200/300 bps standalone product featuring all of the commands and options of its bigger brother, the Avatex 1200hc, in a smaller 5"x6"x1" package. It includes such functions as manual/ automatic originate/answer, call progress option, Bell and CCITT (international) operation at both 300 and 1200bps, and dip switches for permanenat option settings. The 1200e was designed with the home, school or portable computer user in mind, but should do well in any application where high performance and space limits are a requirement. The biggest news is that E+E has announced that the Avatex 1200e will carry a suggested list price of only $99.00. ______________________________________ ATARI NEWS UPDATE ______________________________________ ATARI PRODUCT NEWS UPDATE: 1/27/88 (C) 1988 by Atari Corp. May be reprinted only with this notice. MICROSOFT WRITE --------- ----- In mid-January, the first shipments of Microsoft Write arrived at Atari's warehouse and were shipped to Atari dealers. This advanced word processor, with a list price of $129.95, is a direct port of Microsoft Word 1.05 from the Macintosh. It features true footnoting, a sophisticated variety of page setup features, and the cleanest mouse interface of any ST word processor. Microsoft Write fully supports GDOS. Included with the program is GDOS version 1.8, along with a variety of proportional fonts. The fonts are supported on the screen for a WYSIWYG performance. In addition to GDOS output, Microsoft Write supports a wide variety of common printers in their own text fonts. Printer drivers can be edited by the user to support virtually any printer on the market. Microsoft Write includes extras such as Mail Merge, Glossary, Undo, Clipboard, Ruler, and page format changes throughout the document. ATARI LASER PRINTER ----- ----- ------- The Atari SLM804 Laser Printer arrived to authorized dealers beginning before the new year. This 8-page-per-minute system uses the TEC engine, a write-white device which provides the sharpest possible blacks. Dot density is 300 dots per inch. The SLM804 connects directly to any ST or Mega computer via the DMA port. Included is the SLMC804, which allows additional DMA devices (such as hard disk drives) to be plugged into the DMA while the laser is attached. The Atari Laser Printer's unique design has the ST or Mega driving the engine directly, without mandating costly and slow electronics within the laser. Even with only 512K of system RAM, an ST can drive the engine in Diablo emulation mode and for screen dumps. The Diablo emulator supports up to 8 type styles using GDOS fonts (GDOS itself is not required). Also included with the printer are 2 disks of GDOS fonts. These laser fonts correspont to the screen fonts provided with Microsoft Write. Various point sizes are supported, from 6 point up to 48 point. Existing software that takes advantage of GDOS includes MS Write and Easy Draw. Using Easy Draw, outputs make full use of the 300 dpi resolution of the printer for fine lines at any angle, smooth fonts, and bit images from scanners. Easy Draw with Supercharger can output full pages of text and graphics in well under a minute -- recent tests averaged 20-30 seconds per page. Multiple copies of a page take less time than the original page. The Atari Laser Printer has a list price of $1999. Replacement toner cartridges sell for $59.95, and replacement drums list for $199.95. By separating toner from drum, replacement costs and price per page come in lower than other laser printing systems. _______________________________________ Software Review _______________________________________ by Judith Zornberg MaxThink HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: 512K Atari ST, 256K IBM PC, 512K Macintosh PUBLISHER: MaxThink, (415) 428-0104 PRICE: $89 OVERALL RATING: Excellent Remember your school days? Teachers were always telling you to construct a complete outline to make it easier to write reports. Most of us considered this a nuisance, and only did it if it had to be handed in. But in truth, outlining before writing helps to organize and firm up your ideas, which also makes it more difficult to stray from your subject. Enter MaxThink, an outliner (the publisher calls it an "idea processor") that can make writing better by helping you to brainstorm. Brainstorming allows you to enter your thoughts as they come to you, and then later move these ideas into the order you would like. With MaxThink you insert and delete ideas, create main headings and as many subheadings as you need, and collapse or expand the outline's framework at will. But this is just some of the help MaxThink offers. Since you will often be entering ideas without regard to order, the program allows you reorganize your outline according to your needs. You can place items in order of importance, sort headings, and reorganize the information entered in most imaginable ways. Among other options is an alarm feature. For example, I set it to time intervals of 10 minutes, which reminded me to save my work. Should your outline include database-style headings such as Name, Address, and so forth, you can invoke the report generator, which helps you create organized printouts. Should you be concerned with how often specific words are used in an outline, the reference command will tell you. Actually MaxThink can, within very broad parameters, act like many other productivity programs. It is like a computer with open slots, waiting for your individual stamp in its configuration. There is a command line at the bottom of the screen. Novices can invoke commands by pressing the spacebar to highlight the desired command, and ENTER to select it. For those who are past the novice level, pressing the first letter of the desired command along with ENTER also executes your choice. WordStar-like commands are used for editing text and moving around text screens, and work can be saved as an ASCII file for easy portability to most word processors. While MaxThink is supposed to help you think before you write, you must first gain familiarity with the program before you can reach this goal. Until you're familiar, the program can be cumbersome due to its complexity; and it can hinder instead of help your writing due to breaks in concentration to find the correct command. If you have been thinking of getting an outliner, consider MaxThink. Note, though, that novices might find the complex options too difficult to benefit their writing. The language used in the manual assumes some degree of computer literacy, as does the program itself. For someone already seasoned in computer usage, though, MaxThink can prove to be an excellent choice. _______________________________________ Product Announcment --From MichTron Inc.-- _______________________________________ For Further Information Contact: Robert Washburn Director of Operations, MichTron Inc. For Immediate Release: MichTron presents GFA Artist, a vivid new animation program for the Atari ST that allows you creative flexibility. "It contains every possible graphic and animation function one could possibly ever use..."(ST World, Sept. 87). Use GFA Artist to create pictures and complex animated forms and save them to disk. A special included program allows you to save them in a film file (a run-only version used without the program) so you can distribute your films to friends who don't own GFA Artist (yet!). GFA Artist combines many special features of other animation programs into one package. You can incorporate text into your pictures in one of the four provided fonts or in a custom font you create with the Font Editor. You can create a cycling color effect, and even define your own fill pattern from part of your picture, instead of using a standard GEM fill pattern. You can merge several film files that have a file in common into a single file with the Film Merger. The Run Only Interpreter allows you to make extended films consisting of up to 20,000 frames. GFA Artist effectively utilizes 2 different modes: Low-Res, the normal low resolution mode, and Low-Res Static, that lets you use over 1,000 colors on the screen at the same time! This is an ideal tool for making pictures with color-transitions for a rainbow effect. Work in both low and medium resolution simultaneously! The special Function Selection Box integrates both low and medium resolution into one screen, combined with multiple palettes. You have the advantage of using the 80-character mode (medium resolution) for function selection together with the low resolution mode for art-work. This makes pull-down menus unnecessary. For speedy constructions and wiz tricks, GFA Artist integrates machine language with GFA BASIC. The mouse is used as the control and input device whereever possible instead of the keyboard for ultimate ease of use! The size of your sprites is only limited by the size of your screen. The program is automatically compatible with all standard screen formats (DEGAS, Color Star, Neochrome). These conveniences add to the pleasure of creating and perfecting full color animation with your computer. GFA Artist, from MichTron for $79.95, makes advanced creativity accessible and convenient! GFA Artist requires an Atari-ST with 1 MB of RAM, TOS in ROM, and a color monitor. _______________________________________ Probing Your ST --Regular Column-- _______________________________________ Latest and Greatest Computer Tidbits II (I wonder if there will be as many of these as there are Rocky movies?) by Mr. Goodprobe Lets continue our trek into the never-diminishing flow of new computer information.... If you have you heart in your computer, then this sliver of information may really brighten your day. The National Assn. of Computer Dealers, a group which publishes the Computer Blue Book, is planning to start a unique data base shortly. This will contain owner information and computer serial numbers in case of computer theft. If your equipment is stolen, you will then be urged to call this group to check on used equipment that is for sale to make sure it isn't stolen. (The number, when posted, will be toll-free they say.) They have already contacted insurance companies, law enforcement agencies, and computer manufacturers for their help in compiling a list of serial numbers of stolen machines. Apple and IBM are already working full tilt on their next machines, although Apple appears it will triumph in this race. It will be showing a new 68030 based machine this spring, while IBM's new Desktop-Mainframe PC called the Model 90 is at least 3 years away. Did you know that far and away the best selling printer of 1987 was the Panasonic 1080I?!? One program you will really relish if it holds up by the time it gets to the St is Dark Castle, a stupendous graphics/text adventure. You will find the opening music will turn your head...promise!!! Since we have heard that Atari will soon be in the parallel processing market, did you know that these systems range in price from $70,000 for a unit with eight processors to quite a bit over a million for a unit with 1,000 processors. At that rate, the Atari prices are indeed a bargain and we can see they will really make some waves!!! Springboard software has suffered 2 consecutive heavy loss periods, I sure hope they release their new product, Springboard Publisher, soon, this company has been at the top of my list and I sure want it to stay that way... Well, it appears if you think you might need some 3 1/2 disks, you better snatch a batch now, because the price is going up REAL soon. Due to the price of the revalued Yen and higher than anticipated demand for these little guys, the price is on its way up. Sony has already announced that it will raise its prices 10% on Feb. 1st 1988, and Fuji also has announced it will follow suit. A quote from a gentleman at Maxell explains the price increase. "We see no reason whatsoever to continue to sell 3 1/2 in. disks at present levels when we have so many backorders." So where can a soul dig up some inexpensive quality disks before the price goes up? Well..here's my belated Christmas gift to all you St- owners out there, some great prices on Sony 3 1/2 disks can be found at: Belmont Distributing, Inc. 1-800-328-2488 Bulk Sony 3 1/2 SS/DD 87 cents (fine for DS usage) CSS 1-800-422-4912 1-800-331-SOFT (Illinois) Bulk Sony 3 1/2 SS/DD 86 cents (fine for DS usage) There, that ought to take a bit of the strain off your pocketbook! You probably will also see Apple bring out a 21" monitor for the MacII real soon... And now for the bad news...There is a bill before Congress right now that would require mail order houses to begin charging state sales tax on all orders. Some of our bargains may soon be slipping out of reach! Augh! By the way, Spinnaker has come out with several new programs for the IBM, on 3 1/2 disk format, and it might do well if someone were to check and see if they work fine with PC Ditto. In all, they have 11 titles out for the IBM in 3 1/2 format. If "Better Working Running Start " works, this would be an excellent program to buy as it has a DOS tutorial in it, a typing tutor, and a full-featured word processor to boot! A few months back we had an excellent article here in Zmag on how you could use a Commodore 1351 mouse with your 8 bit Atari. The best price I have seen on this item is $33 and is available from NCD, you can reach them by calling 1-800-255-4489, except florida where you would have to dial 1-800-433-5131. Need a great price on a 2400 baud modem? Well, I think $149 is juicy enough to bite eh? CMO (Computer Mail Order), is the company selling these Supra 2400 baud modems. I am sure you can unearth their phone number in any Antic or Analog. Lastly, in case you are interested, I was checking out the stocks for the last week in December, and low and behold Atari was one of the big gainers, with 10,151 shares sold, a volume increase of 110.8 % over the previous week! Hmmm...interesting... Till next time, Keep those Atari's hummin! Mr. Goodprobe (on lend from) Midtown TV Atari 8/16 Sales/Repair _______________________________________ Another CES Report _______________________________________ Author Unknown I have just returned from CES, the Consumer Electronic Show, in LasVegas. Commodore and Atari were not there unless they were hiding somewhere in a hotel suite. Due to the nature of this show only computer games were shown. I found five new ones that seem like they will be winners. From Electronic Arts the new offerings are THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER and INTERCEPTOR. From Cinemaware comes THE THREE STOOGES and ROCKETRANGER. First Row Software is releasing PRIME TIME. THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER is based on Tom Clancy's best seller of the same name and is about a defecting soviet sub. The game appears to be closely following the book and will give you quite a challenging time. Release date is set for the end of this month. List price $39.95. INTERCEPTOR will have you piloting either an F-18 or a F-16. There are different missions flown with either fighter. The one I saw demoed was using a carrier launched F-18 with a F-16 as wingman. The action was quite good and it seems like it too will be a real winner. Release is set for April. List price $49.95. THE THREE STOOGES is just what the name implies. Yes you will find Larry, Moe and Curly Joe in their antics here with woo woo woo and nyaknyak nyak everywhere. In fact I was told there is a MEGABYTE of soundin it. The action seemed to move along well so I feel it too has a good future awaiting it. Release due this month. No price announced. ROCKET RANGER was shown in a pre-release form it was three disks large and was said to have NO CP. This is a take off on the 30's and 40's movie serials and those of you that are old enough to remember Rocketman serials will really enjoy this game. It will have a main plot plus many sub-plots to keep you busy. The main theme is an invasion ofspace-nazis. It's due out this month too. No price given. PRIME TIME makes you the program director of a TV network. You get to buy TV shows, Do lunch and say show biz phrases. Your goal is rating and keeping your network afloat. It has good graphics and sound (so they say as it was not demoed). Release date is March 1. List price $39.95. ______________________________________ CompuServe Review ______________________________________ by Warren Lieuallen Reprinted from Fuji Facts (the Newsletter of the Atari Computer Enthusiasts of Columbus) Many of you have heard talk during the meetings similar to "... and I heard on CompuServe..." or "... this new file from CompuServe...". Perhaps you'd like to know just what is this "CompuServe". Simply put, CompuServe is probably the largest BBS in the country, if not the world! It actually started as a "Rent-a-Mainframe" company, selling time on one of its huge mainframe computers to companies that just couldn't justify the expense of purchasing one of these behemoths themselves. Realizing the potential of the then un-tapped personal computing market, they also sold computer time to owners of smaller, "home computers" (that's you and me!). This led to the formation of the special interest groups (SIG's), also known as forums. People interested in specific topics (such as Atari computers, or photography, or gardening, or....) each have a specific area assigned to them. With in each forum, a number of different activities take place. Certainly the two most popular activities are the message base, and the software library. These both really serve similar purposes: the exchange of information and programs dealing with the Atari computers. Here is where the advantage of size is most obvious. Just ask a question in the Atari SIG, and within a day or two, you'll have received several answers. Just think of a task for your Atari; there's a program in the libraries that can do it. When you're first starting out on CompuServe, everything works via menus. At every level, you are shown all of your choices, and given a brief explanation of them. These menus are very helpful, because to the new user, CompuServe's sheer size presents a problem in the complexity of its organization. Several hours on-line will be required before you begin to feel comfortable. Although not required, once you do become more familiar with the structure and function of the SIG, you'll probably progress to the "expert" mode, which eliminates all the menus altogether. As an example, here's the introductory menu to the Atari eight-bit SIG: CompuServe Atari8 WELCOME TO ATARI 8-BIT FORUM, V. HELLO, WARREN LIEUALLEN LAST VISIT: 04-NOV-87 14:52:54 FORUM MESSAGES: 196605 TO 197247 LAST MESSAGE YOU'VE READ: 196753 SUBTOPIC(S) SELECTED: ALL ACCESSIBLE NO MEMBERS ARE IN CONFERENCE. ATARI 8-BIT FORUM FUNCTIONS 1 (L) LEAVE A MESSAGE 2 (R) READ MESSAGES 3 (CO) CONFERENCE MODE 4 (DL) DATA LIBRARIES 5 (B) BULLETINS 6 (MD) MEMBER DIRECTORY 7 (OP) USER OPTIONS 8 (IN) INSTRUCTIONS ENTER CHOICE ! You now select which area of the forum to use. Let's say you want to read some messages. Select "R" from the menu, and you'll be presented with the following: READ MESSAGES 1 (RF) FORWARD 2 (RR) REVERSE 3 (RT) THREADS 4 (RS) SEARCH 5 (RM) MARKED 6 (RI) INDIVIDUAL 7 (QS) QUICK SCAN 8 (BR) BROWSE ENTER CHOICE ! At this point, there is a bit of a dilemma. Aside from confusion about things like "threads" and the difference between "browsing" and "scanning", the major problem is simply the volume of messages present within the forum. What is most difficult for most CompuServe users to accept is the fact that you simply can't read it all (unless you happen to be independently wealthy!). There are more than 150 messages posted every day; to keep up with all of them would not only require a significant amount of time, it would also drain your finances to a new low! So, the technique of selective reading becomes important. Luckily, there are several different, and easy ways to do this. I'll leave the details to a future article or demo. All right, you've read some messages now. One of them mentioned a fantastic new program found in one of the software libraries. So, from the main menu, you pick "DL". Here's what you'll see: DATA LIBRARIES AVAILABLE: 0 GENERAL 1 GAMES 2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 3 UTILITIES 4 GRAPHICS/RLE/PICS 5 APPLICATION PGMS 6 SOUND & MUSIC 7 NEWS & REVIEWS 9 BBS PROGRAMS/INFO 11 ICD/KYAN/OSS FILES 12 SIG OLDIES/CLASSICS ENTER CHOICE ! Once you've narrowed your choice down to one of these categories, you may then directly select the file (if you know its name), or "browse" through the directory. Keywords are used to narrow down your selections, and all files are accompanied by a short description, so you can decide whether to download the file or not. Notice that several of the choices pertain not to program categories, but to specific companies. These are areas reserved to these software manufacturers for distribution of upgrades, and user modifications to the programs, as well as text files full of helpful information. These areas are also very useful for contacting the manufacturer with any questions you might have. To me, this demonstrates customer support to the extreme! There's also DL #12, which contains an archive of "The Best of CompuServe". This is where all of the most popular and useful files are placed, making them easier to find. I'm working on compiling a complete directory (with descriptions), and will make it available to the club when it's done. Another useful area of the forum is the bulletins section. Similar to most private bulletin board systems, CompuServe has some information they'd like you to know. The easiest way to see it is to read the bulletins by selecting "B" from the main menu. Here's how: BULLETINS 1 SHORT 2 REGULAR 3 CONFERENCE 4 DATA LIBRARY 5 MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION 6 SYSOP ROSTER 7 NEW MEMBER ENTER CHOICE ! The short bulletins are displayed the first time you enter the forum; the regular bulletins usually just add more in-depth information for those interested. The data library bulletins are presented used to list the prior week's uploads, which makes it easier to keep current as to what's available in all the DL's. One of the nicer features of the CompuServe forums is that they can be tailored to your particular needs. By selecting options from the main menu, you're presented with this: USER OPTIONS [ ] REPRESENTS CURRENT SETTING 1 (SM) STOP AFTER MSGS 2 (CN) NAME [WARREN LIEUALLEN] 3 (PC) PROMPT CHARACTER [>] 4 (ED) EDITOR [EDIT] 5 (SU) SUBTOPICS [...] 6 (HI) HIGH MSG READ [196753] 7 (RE) REPLIES INFO [LIST] 8 (UM) USE MENUS [NO] 9 (TY) TYPE WAITING MSGS [YES] 10 (SK) SKIP MSGS YOU LEFT [YES] As you can see, you can customize many of the ways in which the forum works. This flexibility is just one of the strong points of the CompuServe forums. They manage to serve just about everyone's needs, and with just a little introductory work, you should be able to get around and find what you want quickly and easily. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about their Atari computer. Don't get me wrong, CompuServe is not perfect. It takes some getting used to, and sometimes it's too large; messages scroll off the message base as quickly as they are posted (if you don't call once a week or so, you may miss a message directed specifically at you). By far the major disadvantage though is cost. Through a new policy, there is no longer a difference between "prime time" (day time) and "discount time" (evening and weekend) rates. CompuServe's rates are always (as far as I know) $6.00 per hour for 300 baud, $12.50/hr for 1200 baud and $19.00/hr for 2400 baud. These rates are at the high end of the range for similar services, and do not include the communications surcharge (which ranges from $0.25/hr for a direct- dial CompuServe node to $2.00/hr for Telenet or Tymnet to $14.00/hr for Tymnet via Western Union for subscribers in Hawaii! Although these rates boil down to $0.10 per minute at 300 baud, and $0.21 per minute at 1200 baud, they really do add up. It's distressingly simple to call up just to "read a few messages", and end up staying on for more than an hour. Do this every weekend for a year and you just spent over $300! And I haven't even mentioned the very addicting real- time CB simulator and multi-player games! I've been a CompuServe subscriber for nearly two years, and I'm very happy with it. It fills a need for information and assistance that I just can't seem to get anywhere else. Got a question about PaperClip? Why call me when you can leave a message to Dan Moore, one of the program's authors?! Need a utility to remove extra carriage returns, or print double column text, but don't want to write it yourself? For ten minutes download time (approx. $1.00), It's yours! It's hard to beat! _______________________________________ ST-Report Issue #20 February 3, 1988 (c)1988 Syndicate Publishing Company _______________________________________