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_______________________________________| |ZMAG |ZMAGAZINE ST-REPORT ISSUE #21| | ZMAG |______________________________| | ZMAG |February 10, 1988 | |_______|______________________________| |Editor |Ron Kovacs | |_______|______________________________| |Asst Pb|ST Xpress Magazine | | |Ken Kirchner, Tony Santos | |_______|______________________________| |INDEX | |_______|_______________________________ |..<1>..|Atari ScuttleBits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bob Kelly |..<2>..|Best Of 1987 Survey Results. . . . . . . . . . . .Ron Kovacs |..<3>..|MulitLine NiteLight (Review) |..<4>..|ST Desktop (A New Newsletter). . . . . . . . . . .Luther Miller |..<5>..|Star Trek (Software Review). . . . . . . . . . . .Steve Marshall |..<6>..|Zoomracks Update (Part 1). . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul Heckel |..<7>..|ST Transformer Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Darek Mihocka |..<8>..|Spreadsheets and Databases . . . . . . . . . . . .Rob Krumm |_______|________________________________________________________________ |..<1>..|Atari ScuttleBits February ________________________________________ by Bob Kelly ATARI! What price glory ......... To say the news about the home/small business computer market has been dull over the past few months is an understatement. Atari's new computer product announcements hit the street like a feather dropped from a ten story building. In other words, the national news media ignored Atari's press releases and, of course, there was no impact on Atari's stock price. On the other hand, while Atari has NOT advertised it's 16 or 8 bit home computers, it has been advertising. The game mac booming and Atari once again is a leader. However, Nintendo, the primary competitor, did not care to the public by Atari. Atari Versus Nintendo - For Real! Nintendo of America sought a preliminary injunction against Atari for unfavorably comparing in its commercials the XE video game system with into believing: 1. Atari's game system played hundreds of games while Nintendo played only 80. 2. Atari's system played both disks and cartridges while Nintendo offered only cartridges. According to Nintendo, the facts in the case were: (1) many of the "hundreds of Atari games" were out of production/ circulation, and (2) Atari failed to inform the consumer the disk drive, which had to be purchased separately, was expensive and hard to find. The court, in December, ruled AGAINST Nintendo stating Atari may continue its advertising campaign. The advertisements did not violate the Lanham Act, a federal statute prohibiting false advertising. Atari, needless to say, was very pleased with the judge's ruling. Incidentally, Atari, by the end of November, was sold out of the XE game system through Christmas. As of mid-January, the XE game system is available in only limited quantities on the East Coast with sales remaining very brisk. Atari plans to release/develop more game software to support sales of the XE system. No doubt Atari has a true winner, at least for now. Glory, glory, hallelujah! However, game system sales in the U.S. are once again carrying Atari's corporate image to the public. This strategy for the U.S. market is fraught with danger. The last thing Jack Tramiel's Atari should want is to reinforce the image of a game machine company in the U.S. market. This happened with the old Atari (Warner Corporation) and we know what the results were. The largest market for computer sales in the world is in the United States and Atari is pursuing a policy which subtly encourages serious consumers to buy a non-Atari machine. The "game machine company" is a stigma which must be avoided. Atari needs to separate game machines from its computer operations. It must be done IMMEDIATELY. My own suggestion is give much less prominence to the Atari Corporate Logo on the packaging and in the advertising. Further, advertising of the ST/MEGA computer line is a must in the U.S. market and should be stepped up in the 2nd quarter of this year. Jack, I will be happier, as will a lot of other Atari users, if there was a lot less GLORY for the Atari Logo in connection with the XE game system. Atari Versus Apple - A Possibility? The rumor mill within the computer industry on occasion can come up with a whopper (it makes writing this column definitely interesting). One source of rumors/gossip from time to time is InfoWorld, the weekly computer news magazine. Over the past year, a news policy has been implemented by InfoWorld which stresses business use of computers as opposed to small business/home applications. As a consequence, little mention of Atari has appeared in the general columns. (Of course, this is also because they consider themselves to be serious minded. Who knows, maybe they are serious since my subscription has just been cancelled). In any event, two InfoWorld columnists are exceptions to this general policy, Jerry Pournelle and Robert Cringely who write occasionally on events impacting the Atari Corporation. Cringely, in his January 11, 1988 column, mentioned some possible business between Steve Jobs (founder of Apple) and Jack Tramiel. It is best that I quote the column directly. "I bumped heads with one of Jack Tramiel's secret agents from Atari. It looks like Jack has been paying very close attention to Apple, and in fact it seems he's readying a couple of 68020-based PCs that will run Macintosh software as well as ST programs. The machines are supposed to be products of the long-rumored collaboration between Atari and Next Inc., which nobody could figure out until now. "Fans of Russian novels take note-here's the plot: Steve Jobs, hating John Sculley for firing him and wanting to destroy Apple as an act of revenge, commissions a Mac emulator, possibly from wunderkind Andy Hertzfeld. But Steve has no extra money to build it, and he's saddled with an agreement that lets Apple see his technology before it goes to market. "Enter Jack Tramiel, who also hates John Sculley (Jack hates everybody) and who envies the large Mac software base. Steve gives the Mac emulator to Jack, who will produce a zillion low-priced Mac clones in Taiwan, while Jack lets Steve use Atari's amazing eight-voice Amy sound chip for the Next workstation. Steve wins, Jack wins, John loses. Film at eleven." Hey, this is far out stuff. But, how does this make David Small feel (Mr. Magic Sac)? Does anyone really believe that John Sculley will stand by and let this happen? I, for one, don't think it's likely. Talk about lawsuits! They will be flying all over the West Coast courtesy of Apple. In fact, such a course of events could even spawn a growth industry for lawyers. Business and the Mac - an insight: Numerous articles have been written by the national press concerning Apple and its penetration of the corporate market. While it is correct in thrust, some of what has been said needs to be put in perspective. For 1987, it is estimated that approximately 390,000 Mac II's and SE's have been shipped by Apple to its dealers. According to Apple, about 40% of the SE's and 65 to 70% of the Mac's have been going to companies with at least 1000 employees. This means roughly 180,000 Mac II/SE computers are in the hands of major corporations as a result of purchases in 1987 (translates into a demand of 15,000 computers per month.) If one were to measure Mac's sales performance against total national sales for an average month, 15,000 computers quickly becomes miniscule. In fact, Apple's share of the Fortune 500 market is estimated for 1987 at 3 1/2 to 4%. By way of comparison with Compaq Computer's share of the business market, Apple is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of being 1/4 as large as Compaq's. Thus, Apple is light years away from IBM. The fact cannot be ignored that the Mac has introduced more competition to the IBM/clone dominated corporate market. In my mind, there is no doubt that the Mac is a superior machine in terms of technical capabilities and ease of use. The economics of its purchase in lieu of an IBM or clone is, however, certainly negative. To really gain market share, Apple's Mac prices must become more competitive. Further, with the advent of Sun Computers joining forces with AT&T; Next, Inc., Steve Job's new company, introducing a new machine in 1988; and IBM's move to a Mac look-alike interface (Presentation Manager), Apple's fight for market share is certainly just beginning. See you here next month...... Oh ... P.S. By the way Atari, where is the 80 column cartridge for the 8 bit'ers and most importantly the software (new Atariwriter +) that was suppose to be on the market in September? November? December? etc.? Your reputation in marketing and delivering products is growing! ________________________________________ ..<2>.. Best Of 1987 Survey Results ________________________________________ Compiled by Ron Kovacs The following survey results were captured from a few Oasis BBS systems running the Best of 1987 Survey. The survey was created from the Best of 1987 Poll created in December 1987. All the nominees were listed by system users. Then I compiled the survey from the entries and created the survey. The highest amount of entries were listed in the survey for the users to vote on. The accumulations of the systems captured, are included here. A few of the questions have been deleted because they contained regional and local information which is not of use in other areas. ZMAGAZINE BEST OF 1987 SURVEY | Question Number 1 | Choose Your Favorite Atari 8 Bit BBS. 0> Express BBS (not pro) 1> Oasis (all versions) 2> Carina I (not II) 3> FoReM 8 Bit 4> NiteLite 5> AMIS 6> BBCS [#0] 47 [#1] 167 [#2] 38 [#5] 13 [#6] 07 ZMag's Best BBS Program of 1987> Oasis BBS | Question Number 2 | Choose Your Favorite Atari 16 Bit BBS. 0> FoReM ST 1> Express ST 2> Michtron 3> BB/ST [#0] 202 [#1] 56 [#2] 11 [#3] 03 ZMag's Best 16 Bit BBS Program of 1987> FoReM ST | Question Number 3 | Choose Your Favorite Printer. 0> Star Series 1> Epson Series 2> Atari Series 3> OkiData (not Okimate) 4> NEC Series 5> Juki 6> Okimate 20 7> Texas Instruments 8> Kiss Lazer Printer 9> Panasonic Series [#0] 66 [#1] 89 [#2] 31 [#3] 12 [#9] 74 ZMag's Best Printer of 1987> Epson Series | Question Number 4 | Choose Your Favorite Atari Corp Product. Atari only! 0> Mega ST 1> XEP80 2> 130XE 3> 1040ST 4> 1050 Disk Drive 5> 520ST 6> SC1224 7> XF551 8> XMM801 9> SX212 [#0] 35 [#1] 11 [#2] 95 [#3] 13 [#4] 30 [#5] 88 ZMag's Best Atari Corp Product of 1987> 130XE | Question Number 5 | Choose Your Favorite 8 Bit Game, PD or Other. 0> Alternate Reality 1> Arkanoid 2> HardBall 3> Gauntlet 4> Superman 5> World Championship Karate 6> Ultima 4 7> Gemstone Warrior 8> Flight Simulator II 9> Fooblitzsky [#0] 59 [#1] 23 [#2] 27 [#3] 54 [#5] 31 [#6] 54 [#8] 24 ZMAg's Best 8 Bit Game of 1987>Alternate Reality | Question Number 6 | Choose Your Favorite 16 Bit Game, PD or Other. 0> Pro Wrestling 1> Shanghai 2> Gauntlet 3> StarGlider 4> Flight Simulator II 5> Alternate Reality 6> Wizardy 7> The Bards Tale 8> Mercenary 9> Gridiron [#0] 40 [#2] 29 [#3] 39 [#4] 28 [#5] 32 [#6] 26 [#7] 55 [#8] 23 ZMag's Best 16 Bit Game of 1987>Bards Tale | Question Number 7 | Choose Your Favorite Bulletin Board Service. This question omitted because contents were targeted at local area systems. | Question Number 8 | Choose Your Favorite Online Service. 0> GEnie 1> CompuServe 2> PC Pursuit 3> Delphi 4> Games Computers Play (Off Line) 5> The Source 6> Dow Jones [#0] 64 [#1] 98 [#2] 54 [#4] 33 [#5] 11 [#6] 12 | Question Number 9 | Choose Your Favorite SysOp. | Question Number 10 | Choose Your Favorite Co-SysOp. These 2 questions were targeted at local area sysops and co-sysops so they were deleted from the survey. | Question Number 11 | Choose Your Favorite Magazine, Online or Printed media. 0> Analog Magazine 1> ZMagazine 2> Antic 3> Atari Explorer 4> ST-Log 5> STart 6> ST-World 7> Compute 8> ST-Express 9> TeleTalk [#0] 19 [#1] 84 [#2] 109 [#3] 17 [#4] 18 [#5] 07 [#7] 14 [#9] 04 ZMag's Best Magazine of 1987>Antic Magazine | Question Number 12 | Choose Your Favorite Programmer. 0> Keith Ledbetter 1> Tom Hudson 2> Ralph Walden 3> David Small 4> Matt Singer 5> Bill Teal 6> Phillip Price 7> Matthew Ratcliff 8> Jerry Horanoff 9> Bill Wilkinson [#0] 65 [#1] 23 [#2] 26 [#3] 29 [#5] 19 [#6] 49 [#7] 12 [#8] 25 [#9] 24 ZMag's Best Programmer of 1987>Keith Ledbetter | Question Number 13 | Choose ICD's Best Product. 0> Multi I/O 1> P:R: Connection 2> SpartaDos Consrtruction Set 3> R-Time Cartridge 4> US Doubler 5> Rambo XL [#0] 94 [#1] 27 [#2] 86 [#4] 49 [#5] 16 ZMag's Best ICD Product of 1987> Multi I/O | Question Number 14 | Choose Your Favorite Modem. 0> Avatex 1200HC 1> Avatex 2400 2> XM301 3> Supra 2400 4> USR Courier 2400 5> SX212 6> Everex 2400 7> Hayes 1200 8> Capetronic 1200 9> SmartTeam 2400 [#0] 47 [#1] 67 [#2] 32 [#4] 38 [#5] 29 [#7] 40 [#9] 19 ZMag'S Best Modem of 1987>Avatex 2400 | Question Number 15 | Choose Your Favorite Hard Disk System or Drive. 0> Seagate ST213 1> Supra 8 Bit 20 Meg 2> Supra 16 Bit 20 Meg 3> Atari SH204 4> NEC 5> Control Data 6> Seagate ST225 7> Seagate ST251 8> Seagate ST138 9> Seagate ST125 [#0] 11 [#1] 109 [#2] 71 [#3] 09 [#4] 57 [#9] 15 ZMag's Best HD System of 1987> Supra 8 Bit 20 Meg HD ________________________________________ ..<3>.. MultiLine NiteLite (Review) ________________________________________ Author name unknown MultiLine NiteLite, ah yes.. What is it?? NiteLite as some of you may or may not know, is a pretty decent BBS program for the Atari 8Bit/ST line. Now, Paul has come up with what just may be the grand daddy of them all. NiteLite MultiLine. This program run on the 520/1040 STs and requires the SP interface (also Made by Paul Swanson). It lists for $99, and all you need to run it, is basically what you already have. It's 110K written in OSS Pascal (By the way, the source code it also included, so you can change and edit the program if you have OSS Personal Pascal). I would definatly recomend the following is what I use. Although definatly not neccessary (I will mark an * next to the *things you should have) 2 60 Meg Drives 7 300/1200 Baud modems (At least 2 are needed if you want MultiLine) 1 Ramdisk* 1 Drive* 1 520/1040 ST* 1 SP408/808* It will run on the 408 or 808 series of interfaces, however if you ever plan on adding more lines (NiteLite will support up to 7 lines plus a local logon), then I would recomend the 808. Currently, the release version of the program hasn't got XModem, or any transfer protocol, BUT plans are set up in the near future to add them. There will also be a "background" transfer routine which we allow you to download, while doing other things on the board, such as chat, reading messages, etc. Unlike many other full blown boards with MultiLine, this one also has a MultiCaller Chat feature, which allows all the callers on-line to chat with each other, as well as a SysOp page found on other bulletin board Systems. NiteLite although incomplete is as good as any of the other NiteLite programs Paul Swanson has done. That can always be taken both ways. However, I am slightly biased. I love NiteLite. So, if you are interested in MultiLine boards. Give this one a shot. NiteLite BBS - 617-663-4221 AfterImage - 617-273-3065 (Both 300/1200) are to good examples of MultiLine NiteLite. Imager AfterImage NiteLite NiteLite Systems PO BOX R Billerica,Ma 01862 ________________________________________ ..<4>.. The ST Desktop ________________________________________ by Luther Miller February 3, 1988 Hello, and thank you for reading this text file. I have written this text file in order to explain to people exactly what the The ST Desktop is. The ST Desktop is a new, monthly, informative newsletter produced for Atari ST users. Although the newsletter is short, we managed to squeeze in four software reviews and two hardware reviews, not mention a programming column and a few other miscellaneous articles into the first issue. We plan to expand the newsletter even more in the future, with more reviews and more subject-specific articles. Content may not be great at this time, but we are only asking a cover price of 75 cents, and even less for subscribers. Unfortunately, only myself and two other people were able to contribute articles for the first issue. In order to become more informative to the average user, we want most of our articles to be written by users like yourself. In order to get more articles from users, we have decided to make an offer, for each article you send us that we print, we will add a FREE issue of The ST Desktop to your subscription, and if you don't subscribe we will send you a FREE copy of the issue containing your article. We are looking for almost any articles that you, the user, are willing to write. Reviews are always an easy task, especially since new products are continuously being produced. Just think, if you send us a review of each new product you purchase, you will not only be able to voice your opinion of it to other users, but you could have a free subscription just by writing twelve reviews a year! Other articles are warmly welcomed too; programming, tutorials, information on new products, and just about anything else that has to do with the ST. Although we aren't very big now, only eight to ten pages per issue, we can get bigger fast with YOUR help! We want YOU to write our articles, to make us "by the users, for the users," so load up that word processor and tell us about that great new game you just bought! Since nobody has really heard of us yet, and we sincerely want you see what we are all about, we are giving away copies of our newsletter for FREE! If you haven't seen us before, you can get a FREE issue mailed to by giving us your name and address. No obligations, just send your name and address to The ST Desktop, c/o Luther Miller, 487 Averill Avenue, Rochester NY 14607. Or if you have a modem, you can send me E-Mail (Luther Miller) on The Atari Apex BBS (716-458-2638) or on GEnie to RED.STAR. Remember, your first issue is on us, so take advantage and act now! Luther Miller -- Editor, The ST Desktop ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ..<5>.. Software Review of STAR TREK ________________________________________ by Steve Marshall "Space...the final frontier". Those words, spoken each week by Captain James P. Kirk of the Starship ENTERPRISE, welcomed television viewers to the imaginative world of the future as envisioned by Gene Roddenberry. Captain Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, Dr. "Bones" McCoy and Lieutenant Uhura all became familiar friends and helped create a following of loyal fans that has lasted over 20 years. Now those same words, spoken by the same voice, welcome the ST game player into the fascinating and visually wonderful world of STAR TREK. In this new game, created by Firebird Software and published by Simon and Schuster, you are Captain Kirk and the crew of the ENTERPRISE, on a five year mission to destroy the Klingon conspiracy. The Klingons have discovered an isotope of dilithium that, when subjected to sufficient energy, renders most beings open to telepathic suggestion over a distance of light years. Over 20 Federation starships have entered the area controlled by the Klingons and have inexplicably turned rebel, firing on other Federation starships. Your mission is to stop the Klingons from extending their power over the rest of the galaxy, and to destroy their telepathic mind control conspiracy. To accomplish this you have the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The game opens with the digitized voice of Captain Kirk and the familiar theme music. After the game loads, you are in the command center of the Enterprise, where you see Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Chekov, McCoy, Uhura and Scotty. Each of these officers controls a certain aspect of the game. Clicking on the figure of Kirk, seated in his chair, will bring up a portrait of Kirk and status figures...elapsed time, current stardate and ships stores. It is here you can load and save games in progress. Spock's screen allows you to check on the status of the ship, inspect energy levels and assess damage after battles. Spock will also provide information on star systems, planets and will analyze objects found during your travels. Sulu is the navigation officer and allows you to chart your course through the "Quarantine Zone", the area controlled by the Klingon Empire. This zone is global in shape and 100 light years in diameter. Over 4000 planets can be found among the 1000 star systems. Each star system is either Independent or under the control of the Federation, the Klingons or the supposedly neutral Romulans. Each planet can be one of 21 different types including planets that affect the Enterprise by either supplying needed energy, weapons, information, etc., or by draining the ships power or energy, throwing the ship into another star system, or even releasing a weird form of vegetation called 'catastrophe pods' that cling to the ship and over a five week period of time eat their way through the ship, destroying it (and you). One type of planet is 'life supporting' and it is these planets that allow you to 'beam down'. You can assign up to six officers to teleport down to a planet, where they will come upon various hazards and obstacles in their quest for objects to aid in your mission. This is the only time when the individual officers are at risk, although it doesn't seem that anyone can ever "die". Once injured, that officer can no longer participate in activities on the planet. Back up on the Enterprise, Dr. McCoy oversees the health of the crew. Calling up his screen reveals a status screen showing a small picture of each character with a colored bar designating the current health of that person. Traveling between star systems can take time, especially if your dilithium crystals have been exhausted and your warp speed has been reduced. Scotty gives you the status of your warp drives and your impulse engines and warns you, in his distinctive brogue, when you are exceeding the limits of your engines. You'd better respond quickly too, or you'll find that the Enterprise has disintegrated. Chekov is the weapons officer and it is through him that you respond to enemy attacks. Captain Kirk sounds the warning and you rush to arm your phasers or ready the photon torpedoes. A three-dimensional chart of your attackers' positions allows you to choose your adversary. At this point a computer generated representation of the enemy ship in 3-D animation is presented and you set your targeting circle and start firing. The battle sequences are not terribly challenging (the opponent ships don't really move that much) but Star Trek is really more of a strategy/adventure game rather than quick-action arcade game, so the battle sequences fit right in with the tone of the game. You can succeed in your mission (and win the game) in a number of different ways, ranging from destroying the Klingons psi-mitters, to turning six rebel Federation commanders loyal, to blackmailing the Klingon admiral. Whatever method you choose, you have five years to succeed, and those five years can go by pretty fast when you're warping all over the galaxy searching for the solution. STAR TREK makes frequent use of digitized sounds, particularly the voices of the crew. Nearly everyone speaks, including Kirk ("Battle stations, all decks to battle stations!"), Scotty ("If we keep at this speed we'll blow up any minute now!"), Sulu ("Now in standard orbit sir"), Chekov ("Got him!") and Spock's epilogue when you lose the game (I'll save that for you to enjoy). In addition, the teleporter uses the actual sounds from the TV show, and Dr. McCoy's status screen features a digitized heartbeat. STAR TREK is also beautifully rendered graphically, with color portraits of each of the characters, lifelike 3-D animation battle sequences, and other scenes like the orbiting Enterprise. STAR TREK is a great game for several reasons. First, it's fun to play, with the digitized sound and the beautiful graphics enhancing the strategy. It satisfies what I like to call the "exploring urge", the type of game that creates a huge world and lets you explore it in your own way. This was one of the things about SUNDOG that appealed to many people. In many ways, STAR TREK reminds me of SUNDOG in its attention to detail, the great graphics, and its little surprises that catch you off guard. This game is entitled "STAR TREK:The Rebel Universe", leading one to believe that this is just the first in a series of STAR TREK games, just like the movies that now number four. I hope that is true because I would love to see another game of this quality. It is interesting to note, that like THE PAWN and STARGLIDER before it, STAR TREK has made its first appearance in the market not on an Amiga, not on an IBM, not even on a Mac, but on the Atari ST! I heartily recommend this game. At only $39.95 retail, it is a real bargain, and destined to become a computer game classic. ________________________________________ ..<6>.. A Letter To ZoomRack Users Part 1 ________________________________________ by Paul Heckel January 26, 1988 Dear Atari ST Zoomracks User: It looks like you picked the software of the future even though the Atari ST has not been selling as well as we all would like. Whether or not you are staying with the Atari, or are thinking of moving to the MS-DOS computers, you are important to us and we will continue to support you. Zoomracks will be avialable soon and you can order your upgrade now, saving $100. I: UPDATE ON ZOOMRACKS Zoomracks Column Zoomracks is useful enough, its user base is large enough, and its potential applications varied enough to support a monthly Zoomracks column. The magazine is ST X-press; the columist is Madelon Wilson. Both Madelon and ST-Xpress publisher, Rich Decowski, are Zoomracks users. Madelon describes what other people use Zoomracks for to illustrate new uses and useful techniques. Several users have remarked favorably on the column and I recommend it highly. Major Atari dealers and bookstores carry ST-Xpress. Or you can subscribe for $35.00 a year. (A $75.00 edition includes a disk, but no Zoomracks templates.) To get all the Zoomracks columns, ask to start with the October issue. Order from: ST-Xpress PO Box 2383 La Habra CA 90631 2) Zoomracks User Groups A national Zoomracks user group, two local groups, and an online user group are forming. The New York group is serving as the national group and is headed by Jerry Finzi (212/255-2111) and Madelon Wilson (203/735-6711). The membership fee is only $10.00 and a bi-monthly newsletter is planned. The mailing address is: Zoomracks User Group c/o Ground Glass Systems 36 W 20th St. New York, NY 10011 Marty Brown (271-7460) heads up the West Coast group: Zoomracks User Group c/o COAST PO Box 2955 Oakland CA94609 The Zoomracks user group has is online on the Atari bulletin board on GENIE, in the ATARI ST 16-bit SIG, CATegory 6, TOPic 26. User Survey A Zoomracks user survey proves Zoomrack's value. Last summer we conducted in depth survey of 91 different Zoomracks users (out of over 2000 users) and the results are illuminating. As users you varied uniformly from complete novices to experienced users. One user is a sixth grader, another wrote programs in 1944 for ENIAC, the first computer. You used Zoomracks at home, school, and in business. You reported a total of 125 different applications. You used average of 5.2 applications. (This is impressive: the average IBM is used for 2 applications, the average Macintosh for 6. The most common business uses are: Mailing lists (29% of all users), address book, (25%), invoicing (12%), Mail merge (12%), correspondence (10%), customer lists (10%), sales tracking (9%), research (8%), inventory (7%), newsletter preparation (7%), project managment (7%), vendor lists (7%) and accounting (5%). The most common home applications are: address book (19%), home inventory (13%), recipes (12%), correspondence (10%), phonograph records (10%), mailing lists (9%), book catalogs (9%) checkbook accounting (9%), video tapes (7%). The most common school uses are: class notes (9%), research (5%), bibliographies (4%), and studying for exams (4%). Business users include salesmen, physicians, a composer, a professional novelist, manufacturing consultant, Fortune 500 companies, video production, police, government, and many others. For over half of you, Zoomracks was your most used software product. You gave very high ratings to the following phrases: "would strongly recommend to friends" (The highest score) "supports my changing applications needs" "indispensable" "justified my computer" "most used software program" "based on a great concept" "is easy to use once learned" "very flexible" "fun to use" "has a lot of potential for growth" Many business users completely run their business with just Zoomracks. One user, Jerry Finzi, a New York photographer who had never used a computer until he purchased Zoomracks a little over a year ago, has in his spare time since then developed and is now successfully marketing a photographer's studio management system. It computerizes sales, production, invoicing, correspondence, bookkeeping, picture inventory, everything a photographer can use a computer for. He recently introduced it at PHOTO 87, the largest annual photography trade show, where photograpers found his product superior to competitive products on the PC. He has already sold a dozen systems and has hundreds of interested prospects. (If any of you are intested you can purchase the survey for $10.00, our cost of xeroxing and mailing it. It is over 100 pages since it devotes one page to each of the 91 users.) Press Coverage We are getting influential press coverage in spite of our small size. Jerry Pournelle the Byte columnist mentioned us several times, and Dave Bunnell, founder and publisher of PC World and MacWorld mentioned us in columns on HyperCard in both of those magazines. Both Jerry and Dave have been with the PC industry from its inception and thus have a longer perspective to see what is really new and interesting. So getting their support has been gratifying. The winter issue of START carried a major article on Zoomracks called "HyperCard without the Hype," and there has been a lot of interest on the GENIE Atari Bulletin Board the subject of Zoomracks as the original HyperCard. HyperCard Apple computer, the leader in personal computers has validated Zoomracks as the wave of the future. In August, John Sculley, Apple's president announced what he called his most exciting introduction since the Macintosh itself. The product is HyperCard, and it is bundled with every Macintosh. Many of you have told me that HyperCard seems similar to Zoomracks. It is. However, it uses cards in stacks rather than racks-- its as if you could use Zoomracks only in single card, single rack mode. HyperCard is stronger in graphics, inital impression, ease of first use, fonts, hypertext links, ability to access data on hard disk, and its variety of programming features -- all capabilities we planned for future versions-- long before HyperCard. We think Zoomracks is better: it uses racks (not stacks); it doesn't require a hard disk; it has flexible output formatting; except for the first day, is easier to learn and use; it lets you do much more without programming. You probably can't run a business with just HyperCard, but you can with Zoomracks. We think Zoomracks basic concept is better: Its macros are simpler to use than HyperCard's programming language. It will be easier for us to include HyperCard capability in future versions of Zoomracks then for HyperCard to include Zoomracks capability. Most important Zoomracks is documented in less than 200 pages, HyperCard in an 800 page book. Apple's Sculley was gracious enough to say in a January Microtimes interview, "HyperCard isn't the first... We had Owl Guide, we had other products, Zoomracks, ... " (Owl Guide, the only other product he mentioned, is a conventional hypertext product and can't do most things that Zoomracks can.) Alan Kay, the Apple Fellow whom Sculley credits with bringing HyperCard to his attention, called Zoomracks "an important new metaphor from the author of the best book on user interface design." In the early 70's at Xerox PARC Alan' group pioneered the windowing, mouse, menu and icons that are used in the Macintosh and GEM. It is gratifying to receive such recognition for Zoomracks from such leaders. As a Zoomracks user, you are a pioneer. Congratulations, and thank you. NEXT WEEK PART 2 ________________________________________ ..<7>.. ST Transformer Update ________________________________________ by Darek Mihocka February 7, 1988 The accompanying ARC file contains a file called _X4MER12.TOS which is to replace current versions of XFORMER.TOS, STXMONO.TOS, and XFORMER.PRG. You must already have all the files from ST Xformer 1.11 or 1.11M as they are not provided in this ARC file. New features of Xformer 1.2: - one version now supports both color and monochrome monitors - better monochrome support, but still 1/4 screen display - now runs with the Omni Res Terminal Emulator from HYPERTEK - opcode $61 fixed - DOS directory filenames used to come out garbled. That's fixed - no speed increase, _but_ read on! Note: if you do use Omni Res, you will get a full screen monochrome display. However, it may not be as clear or readable. If BASIC boots up with black vertical bars, type DOS, then re-enter BASIC by pressing B to "Run cartridge". Information about ST Xformer II: Since the release of the Xformer in October, I have mainly heard only two things from people: make it run in monochrome, and make it faster. The monochrome part was easy, and now with Omni Res, it is even better. The speed issue was a bit harder to address. The dispatch algorithm used could have been sped up slightly, by getting rid of common code and thus saving some jumps and branches. But to get a really major speed increase, I started writing a new emulator from scratch and came up with some voodoo that allowed me to write an emulator that is TWICE AS FAST as the emulator now available. Thanks go to David Small, Charles Smeton, and Jan Gray for providing some of the speed up ideas. Here at a glance are some of the features of ST Xformer II: - twice as fast, runs at about 40% the speed of a 6502 - a GEM based non-cryptic user interface that allows you to re-configure the emulator with the menu bar. No more deleting and renaming of files. - 4 modes: generic 6502, Atari 800, Apple ][, and C-64 emulation (I should have provided a DEGAS file containing a screen shot showing Commodore 64 BASIC in action on the emulator, but that would probably make most people delete this file right away!) - online documentation (i.e. from the menu bar) - player missle graphics and sprites, greatly increasing compatibility - a hardcopy of detailed documentation and source code will be available for a small fee. (Hey, I gotta eat too!) - phone support will be provided if you really get stuck The program will be available on July 1, 1988, and will be shareware. That means it'll be free and available on most BBSs and information services at that time. The program will soon go out to a few beta testers who will put it through the wringer. A preview version will be made available to magazines and user groups on May 1, 1988. If you are a user group executive and are interested in getting the preview version to demo to your user group, send a recent copy of your newsletter, your name and phone number, and $5 (to cover the cost of a disk, a mailer, and postage) to me: Darek Mihocka 310-D Bluevale St. N. Waterloo, Ontario N2J 4G3 CANADA and I'll give you a call when the disk is about to go out (in late April or early May). Anyone will last minute requests and suggestions for the emulator can drop me mail, email, or call the "support line" (really just my modem line, he he, so if you call and get a modem carrier, hang up). Of course, after the preview gets out, I'll definately be taking last minute suggestions and bug reports before letting the cement dry. To contact me by email, you'll need an account on one of the information services listed below, and then send the email to the appropriate ID: BIX: darekm Compuserve: 73657,2714 DELPHI: DAREKM GEnie: DAREKM The ST Xformer support line is: (519)-747-0386 On the FOREM FNET network, send email to Gilligan's Island BBS (node #118). Hopefully it'll find a path through. That's all! Enjoy ST Xformer 1.2 and please be patient about getting ST Xformer II. It will be worth your wait. ________________________________________ ..<8>..Spreadsheets and Databases ________________________________________ by Rob Krumm Q: WHICH IS BETTER, A SPREADSHEET OR DATABASE MANAGER? A: NEITHER. IT DEPENDS ON YOUR APPLICATION. Tom Goren, my accountant, recently left a C.P.A. firm where he was a tax manager to start his own firm. He decided he would completely computerize his practice and asked my advice about hardware. I asked if he'd thought about software yet, and he said, "Not really. I thought I'd get the equipment set up first." Goren was making a common mistake. Despite the youth of the computer industry, there's an old axiom that says you should research the software that fits your needs before you buy either the software or the hardware. Although this advice is sound in theory, it's almost impossible for novices such as Goren to follow. Matching your needs to the features and abilities of software is one of the hardest tasks in computing. The growth and development of a strong consumer-based software market has created a vast wonderland of programs from which to select. This massive volume of programs, all different from their competitors, makes the task of choosing increasingly more difficult. Yet the wealth of creativity represented by the software market promises some fantastic results if the right choice is made. "The primary problem," says one of my clients, Carolyn Rigiero, "is that buying software is a little like choosing a family pet. No matter how much time you spend looking over the litter, you don't really know what you've chosen until you get it home and live with it awhile." The purpose of this article, then, is to try to establish some common sense ways of discerning the types of software that should be applied to particular tasks. Specifically, we'll look at guidelines that would indicate whether a given task can be handled best by a spreadsheet or a database. Please note that while all the tasks used as examples below could be accomplished with either type of program, one will help you be more productive than the other, depending on the task. It's like carving a pattern in stone -- you could use a screwdriver, and still get the job done, but it wouldn't be the best tool for the job. At the end of each section, you'll find a summary of each set of guidelines for choosing the correct type of software. CONCENTRATE ON CONTENT, NOT FORM A common misconception about software is caused by the differences that sometimes occur between a program's form -- the way that it appears on the screen -- and its content -- the operations that it's capable of performing. For example, the name spreadsheet is applied to a program that displays a screen divided into a series of rows and columns. The name fits the look of the program, which resembles the row-and-column layout of an accounting ledger. Based on its appearance, and the connotation of the word spreadsheet, many people conclude that this program should be applied to tasks normally carried out with ledger books. However, appearances can be misleading, as in the case of spreadsheets. While the form of the screen display indicates one type of function, the operational capability of a spreadsheet falls into a very different category. In truth, spreadsheets should be referred to as mathematical modeling programs. An advantage of using a model -- a replica of some real-life object -- is that it can be tested for an approximation of how the real-life object would behave under various conditions. Analysis of the results provides information that is then applied to the real-life object. Computers create models by using mathematics to duplicate real-life objects and situations. Popular spreadsheets, such as Lotus 1-2-3, SuperCalc 4, Excel, and Multiplan, provide this type of mathematical modeling in a form accessible to almost every computer user. For example, a budget -- whether for personal use or business -- is a mathematical model of income and expenses. Spreadsheets allow the user to describe a series of relationships between values that can instantly be calculated to reflect the results of a specific set of conditions. This ability to revise results to conform to any change in the basic assumptions is referred to as what-if analysis, the name applied to a very common form of decision making. Suppose that you're about to buy a new car. This decision requires you to look at various loans with different interest rates and lengths. What if you borrowed the money at 9 percent for 60 months? Or at 5.5 percent for 36 months? Or at 3.5 percent for 24 months? The models created with spreadsheets help you make decisions by showing the results of numerous possibilities so that, in minutes, you can compare and contrast each option. In advising my accounting and bookkeeping clients, I explain that the tasks usually associated with ledger books aren't really models, since they're not speculative situations. Ledger books record, accurately it is hoped, actual historical data. This data is not subject to flights of fancy or what-if speculation, but is information recorded exactly as it happened. This type of task works best in a database program that's designed to record and retrieve large amounts of data. Summary. The first principle to keep in mind when you're thinking about computerizing a task is to analyze the basic type of information you are going to work with, rather than looking at the form of a particular program's screen display. By concentrating on the content of your task you'll be able to assess the type of application to use. DEPENDENT VS. INDEPENDENT VALUES How can you begin to evaluate whether any particular task requires a spreadsheet or a database, and then determine which spreadsheet or database? To understand these steps, consider the following scena rio. Ron Johnson, a real-estate developer, plans to carry out a project in which he would build, and then sell, 15 single-family homes. Johnson's first step is to apply for a loan, which requires a business plan that projects the costs and income generated. In addition, he'll want to keep track of the actual expenses and compare them to the amounts projected for the same items. He wants to know if these are spreadsheet or database tasks. One of the basic methods of analyzing this problem revolves around the concept of dependent and independent values. An independent value is one that occurs as a result of some activity outside the scope of any project and is usually a given, such as fixed prices and costs. Dependent values are those that can be calculated from the figures that are already part of the project. For example, when you're ready to fill out your income tax return, you deal with lots of numbers. The amount of money you earned, the total of your medical expenses, and how much you paid in interest on your home are all independent values. No one can be absolutely sure what those values will be beforehand. However, once these values have been established, the procedure by which the amount of tax owed is figured is based on a series of related calculations described in the tax laws. The amount of tax paid is a number that depends on the values you provide for income, interest, and deductions; therefore, a spreadsheet is best. When generating the business plan mentioned above, Johnson began with a few assumptions about basic costs and some ideas of how each item related to all the other items. For example, the amount of money to be borrowed depends on the expenses, such as the interest due on the loan. Therefore, the business plan falls into the spreadsheet category because the values entered are really a series of related numbers, each dependent on a few initial assumptions. On the other hand, the task of keeping track of the actual expenses and comparing them to budgeted expenses is one in which most of the values are historical data, or independent values, which strongly suggests that a database program should be used. Summary. The first step in deciding whether any task is a database or a spreadsheet application is to determine the relative percentage of dependent and independent numbers in the project. A printed copy of a project that is similar in content to the one in question would be helpful. A highlighter can be used to mark all of the values that are dependent on other values. After the highlighting is done, if it's found that a high percentage of the values are dependent, then a spreadsheet program is probably the correct one to use. If, however, most of the values appear to be independent of other values, then the task probably requires a database. THE ESSENCE OF DATABASE SOFTWARE: SELECT AND SEQUENCE As a computer educator, I am often called upon to train computer sales representatives. When I asked the students in one class to tell me what a database was, most of them described it as the computer equivalent of a stack of index cards. Others called it the screen display into which information is entered or the storage of data in a disk file. In reflecting on their responses, I found that they were confusing the form in which database programs frequently display information on the screen with the actual function and purpose of the program. This is the same problem of mixing form with function that occurs with spreadsheets. I explained to the students that the essence of database programs can be summarized in two operations: selection and sequencing. Selection is a process by which a subset of related information can be selected out of a larger set of information. If the set of information is a list of people who own Apple computers, you could then create a subgroup by selecting all Macintosh owners. You could create a smaller subgroup by selecting Macintosh owners in Pennsylvania. In each case you are selecting information based on a logical criterion by which each piece of information can be tested to determine if it belongs to the subgroup. Sequencing is a process whereby a set of information is arranged in a specific order, usually numeric, alphabetical, or chronological. This is also called sorting. When a program performs selection, sequencing, or some combination of both, it is performing database management. If the task you have in mind requires that you select data for related subgroups or arrange your data in some order, your task requires database operations. Summary. While it is true that database programs perform other tasks -- such as math and printing reports -- it is the sophisticated selection and sequencing features that truly distinguish database managers from other software such as word processors and spreadsheets. TWO TYPES OF SORTS: PHYSICAL AND LOGICAL The distinction between databases and other software often is made more confusing because many spreadsheets and even some word processors provide some functions that fall into the data-management sphere. For instance, although Lotus 1-2-3 is considered a spreadsheet, its original conception was as a three-part program: one, spreadsheet; two, business graphics; and three, database. Lotus 1-2-3 has a sequencing command and can perform some data selection. WordPerfect is a word processing program, but it too can perform sequencing of data in a limited way. The database facilities offered in 1-2-3 remind me of a baseball pitcher who can also get a base hit from time to time. It's a great feature to have, but you still don't want your pitcher batting cleanup. The implication is that "real" database programs do something that spreadsheets with database functions cannot. So how are database programs different from programs that include sequencing and selection operations in some limited form? Consider sequencing. Suppose you wanted to alphabetize customer information written on index cards by the surnames of the customers. How would you do it? The most obvious method would be to physically move cards around until you have placed the cards in the correct order. This is called a physical sort because you actually move the data from one position to another. Another method would be to number all the cards just as they are in random order. Then create a list in which the names are arranged alphabetically and next to each name place the number of the card on which the name appears. This method would be a logical sort. In a logical sort you don't physically rearrange the information to conform to the sort order, but create a list that shows the order the cards ought to be in if they were to be physically rearranged. Most people would assume that the physical sort is the most direct and best method for organizing the cards. But when you change from human activity to computer operation, the logic changes because of the technological advantages of computers. There are a number of disadvantages to physical sorting that can be overcome by using logical sorting. When the data is rearranged in a physical sort, such as with spreadsheets or some simple file managers, the original order is destroyed. In addition, any subsequent sorts delete the previous sorted order. However, in a logical sort the original order of the data is preserved. You can set up as many additional sort orders as you like without changing or destroying any previous sequencing orders. Logical sorts usually take less time than physical sorts because they manipulate only the key data needed to determine the sequence and ignore ancillary information stored with the key. A physical sort must move all the data associated with each key to the new location. Changes made to data also pose a problem for programs that sort physically. For instance, if you add new data for sorting to a spreadsheet such as 1-2-3, the program must sort from the beginning and perform a complete physical sort in order to place the new data into the proper sequence. Programs that use logical sorting create organized index lists in order to quickly place new items into their proper position without having to resequence the other records. Logical sorting is often referred to as indexing because of the similar way indexes are created for books. When you make an index for a book, you don't rearrange the text of the book in alphabetical order. Instead you create an alphabetized list of topics and note the page numbers on which the topics are located. This is much the same way that logical sorting programs operate. Summary. This distinction between physical and logical sorting provides another way of defining spreadsheet and database applications. If your application requires only occasional sequencing and the quantity of information is relatively stable, you can probably get by with the level of database functions found in 1-2-3 or similar spreadsheets. On the other hand, if your task requires the data to be sequenced in several different ways and if additions, corrections, and revisions are made frequently to the data, your task requires the use of a full database program. Spreadsheets may sequence but database programs include the ability to create and maintain logical sequence orders. TRANSFORMING INFORMATION WITH DATABASE SOFTWARE When the expression "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG) is applied to computers, it refers to a situation where the computer screen resembles as closely as possible the final printed product. WYSIWYG usually connotes ease of use. The phrase implies some very basic truths about the way the human mind operates and the difficulties that people commonly encounter with computer applications. Humans are genetically predisposed to a special form of cognition called one-to-one correspondence. This ability, inherent in all normal individuals, is what makes counting on your fingers easier than only using mental images to count. Your fingers serve as visual symbols for the numbers being counted. However, in modern society the individual must dispense with the instinctive method and rely on a more abstract and arduous mental system of counting. Why is this the case? Viewed in isolation, counting on your fingers is perfectly adequate for many counting tasks. But, if counting is viewed as a preliminary step toward learning higher mathematics, the student must acquire a more difficult, abstract form of counting in order to better understand the more complex tasks to follow. This same distinction arises when looking at the difference between spreadsheets and databases. The structure of a spreadsheet is such that the data is placed into rows and columns, creating the same form in which the information will appear on the final printout -- a one-to-one correspondence. "This one-to-one correspondence has a very reassuring effect on people who are new to computers," says Angie Hinds, a new student to Lotus 1-2-3, who is starting work as an administrative assistant for a small publishing company that relies heavily on computers. This security, like counting on your fingers, is sometimes misleading, however. Suppose that you want to enter into the computer a list of names and addresses that's organized into columns, one for the name, another for the street address, a third for the city, and so forth. If you were to use a spreadsheet, which is already divided into columns and rows, you could begin immediately by entering the names into the first column, the street address into the second column, and so on. When you were finished, the screen display would look just like the paper list. If you were using a spreadsheet such as Multiplan or 1-2-3, you could sort the names alphabetically or by zip code. However, suppose you then wanted to print the names and addresses onto mailing labels. This would be a problem because you entered the names and addresses side-by-side, not vertically as they would appear on mailing labels. But if you had entered the data vertically, you would have then lost the ability to sort because information would be scrambled into the same column. This example points out a deficiency of programs that use one-to-one correspondence. In the case of the names and addresses, the task required an application that could transform the data from column format to mailing-label format and back again. Database applications are characterized by their ability to place the same data into a variety of output formats, called reports (there are also add-on programs for some spreadsheets that create reports). The database applications may be used to generate many different reports from the same data, such as mailing labels, form letters, or bills. Databases may also combine the data into columnar reports or summary sheets. But there is a price to be paid for these advantages. If the data is constantly capable of changing form, how are we to visualize what is going on? Database programs require the user to deal less with individual, concrete items (such as the actual numbers in a spreadsheet's cells) and to begin to conceive of data through a system of symbolic names that represent the actual data (such as TOTAL INCOME representing the sum of all income items). This type of system is inherently harder to comprehend because there is no single, visual image that accounts for all the possible relationships. The relationship between the items is really in the mind of the person using the program as much as it is in the memory of the computer. It is for this reason that database programs have not generally garnered the same widespread popularity as have word processors and spreadsheets, which do present one-to-one correspondences between the on-screen appearances and the final products. Among the database products on the market, those that present the most visually oriented screen images are the most widely accepted programs. However, visual images and database power are often at odds with one another. The screen structure of many programs makes it easy to enter data. But assembling the final product from the initial data is usually a different matter. Summary. A very crucial question to ask about any task is whether the data entered in one form is to be output in a different form. The transformation of data into various reports constitutes a one-to-many relationship, which contrasts to the one-to-one correspondence found in spreadsheets. For example, all financial accounting, in which data is entered into ledgers and journals, and turned into balance sheets and income statements, requires a degree of transformation found only in databases. This fact seems to contradict the common notion that spreadsheet programs are accounting programs. Perhaps this is a result of the fact that many accountants use spreadsheets in their work. "It is important to keep in mind that accountants do more than bookkeeping," says Tom Goren. "Much of our work fits well into the modeling functions provided by spreadsheet programs." ROB KRUMM is founder and owner of microComputer Schools, Inc., in Walnut Creek, California. He has written several books on major software packages; the latest releases are Understanding and Using dBase III Plus (Simon & Schuster/Brady Company) and Using Lotus 1-2-3 for Business (Addison-Wesley). ________________________________________ ST-REPORT #21 (c)1988 Syndicate Pub Co. February 10, 1988 ________________________________________