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*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" from STR Publishing Inc. """""""""""""""""" August 02, 1991 No.7.31 ========================================================================== STReport International Online Magazine Post Office Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32205 ~ 6672 R.F. Mariano Publisher - Editor ----------------------------------------- Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EST BBS: 904-786-4176 USR/HST DUAL STANDARD FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EST ----------------------------------------- ** Fnet 350 * Fido Node 1:112/35 * NeST Node 90:3000/350.0 ** privately owned & operated STReport support BBS ALL issues of STReport International Online Magazine are available along with A worldwide list of private bbs systems carrying STReport __________________________________________________________________ > 08/02/91: STReport #7.31 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine! ------------------------- - The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - MAC REPORT - FOLIO MODEM? - AMY EXPO REPORT! - The Flip Side! - LZH, ZOO or WHO? - PORTFOLIO NEWS - STR Confidential -* BOB BRODIE GETS RAISE & NEW TITLE! *- -* IBM PC FULLY EMULATES MAC! *- -* EYEWITNESS MIST REPORT! *- ========================================================================== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE The _Number One_ Online Magazine -* FEATURING *- "UP-TO-DATE News and Information" Current Events, Original Articles, Hot Tips, and Information Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports ========================================================================== STReport's support BBS, NODE 350, invites BBS systems, worldwide, to participate in the Fido/F-Net Mail Network. Or, call Node 350 direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging information relative to the Atari ST computer arena through an excellent International ST Mail Network. All registered F-NET - Crossnet SysOps are welcome to join the STReport Crossnet Conference. The Crossnet Conference Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is # 350. All systems are welcome and invited to actively participate. Support Atari Computers; Join Today! ========================================================================== AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON: GENIE ~ CIS ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ F-NET ========================================================================== > The Editor's Podium Conference? What Conference? <grin> This saturday night 8/3/91 10pm EDT, I will be in conference on GEnie, Room 5 come on by and participate. It should be fun. Back in the Atari world, it said that there is a boatload of Mega STe machines due within the next 10-15 days. Reportedly there are few if any TT machines on board. The success of the Mega STe, in terms of user excitement, is wonderful. Its overall success is very strong. Its a solid, reliable machine that will deliver "the goods" with little or no difficulty on the part of the user, new or seasoned. Atari has a real winner on its hands... Now if only they ship them to every clamoring distribution site and thus, get back into the fray. Over the course of the past few months we have been hearing more and more about the pursuit of the "top end" Atari platform. Which is, realis- tically speaking, "nice." However, I hope Atari never forgets just how many of its loyal users make up that small portion of the platform and how many of "the others" make up the main body; the 'foundation, walls and roof'. Nobody can ask or even hint that the pursuit of the high end market and the resulting respect gained for the Atari name is not in the best interests of the company and ultimately the users. But, I fervently hope Atari does not FORGET to pursue the rest of the marketplace (Midi - Application - Entertainment) with equal vigor and determination. Sure, there are flashy ads for the Portfolio and the Lynx but that hardly add- resses the ST/TT/STe computer market. Now comes the "NEW" plan; 'Aegis Strategic Partner'... not bad, but it sounds all too much like the old deal where a dealer had to meet certain "minimum" standards ie; size of order, monthly sales volume, etc.. Remem- ber all those dealers who were so proud of meeting all the minimum requirements to handle the Mega ST, "Flagship" of the Atari line? Where are they NOW? Atari needs DEALERS now and plenty of them. Is this really the time to introduce elitist requirements that will only serve to slow down the acquisition of dealers because of the "requirements". Haven't we heard all this before under a different heading and similarly watched it fail? The name of the game at this point in time is to get as much product out there into the US marketplace as humanly possible, increase penetration thus enlarging the userbase. This will, in turn, provide an opportunity for ALL developers not just a few at the top who have "cornered" the high end market. Who, at Atari forgot all about the "lit- tle guy?" Yup! it sure looks that way out here. Hey WANG!!! Move over! Thanks for your support!! Ralph..... TODAY'S NEWS ..TODAY! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > STReport's Staff The regulars and this week's contributors! ================ Publisher - Editor ------------------ Ralph F. Mariano PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION ----------- -------------- ------------ Robert Retelle Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON STReport Staff Editors: ----------------------- Michael Arthur Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. Dana P. Jacobson Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Walter Daniel Oscar Steele Robert Allbritton John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Contributing Correspondants: ---------------------------- Michael Lee Richard Covert Roger Stevens Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Ed Krimen Tim Holt Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Ben Hamilton IMPORTANT NOTICE ================ Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc... via E-Mail to: Compuserve.................... 70007,4454 GEnie......................... ST.REPORT Delphi........................ RMARIANO BIX........................... RMARIANO FIDONET....................... 112/35 FNET.......................... NODE 350 NEST.......................... 90:19/350.0 *********************************************************************** COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME to the Readers of; ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY! CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198 You will receive your complimentary time and be online in no time at all! WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (August 2) WIN $25 COMPUSERVE CONNECT-TIME CREDITS Traditionally, summertime has been the slowest time of the year for online activity in the Atari telecommunications community. The CompuServe Atari Forums would like to help boost this activity with a promotion that just about anybody can win! We're looking for new and interesting files for the file libraries of Atari ST Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) and the Atari ST Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO). Twice each month, during the months of July, August, and Sep- tember, the sysops of the Atari Forums will award a $25 CompuServe connect time credit to the individual who uploads the best new file to Library 1 ("NEW UPLOADS"). This $25 credit can be applied to *ANY* service on Com- puServe, not just time spent inside the Atari Forums! What defines the "best" new upload? Factors in judging will be uniqueness, general interest (the number of downloads received), quality of graphics (if applicable), usefulness or entertainment value. All uploads to Library 1 ("NEW UPLOADS") will automatically be entered into this promotion. Of course, uploads of files already existant in our libraries do not count. (Although, new versions of previous entries are eligible.) You do not need to be the author of the upload to win, but you MUST have sufficient rights to the program to make it an acceptable upload according to CompuServe operating rules (public domain and shareware programs are acceptable, for example.) In case of duplicate uploads of the exact same file, the sysops will ac- cept files based upon time of the first uploaded copy. The first upload period will run from July 1st thru July 15th (inclusive). Judging will be done by the sysop staff of the Atari Forums (influenced by comments from the membership, so be sure to let us know which new files you like and why!) One credit will be awarded to the best new upload in ATARIARTS and another for the best new upload in ATARIPRO. Please address any questions to Ron Luks [76703,254] via CompuServe Mail (EMAIL) or a message in any of the Atari Forums. MAXWELL C.P.U. Maxwell C.P.U. announces a new price offer for Silhouette Version 1.0. Maxwell offers a price reduction and details upgrade plans for Silhouette, a bit-image and vector graphics program with auto-tracing feature. Read SILOFF.TXT in Library 6, Maxwell CPU, of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN). PROGRAM OF THE WEEK FROM DOUBLE CLICK Double Click Software's latest Program of the Week helps cure your hard disk stiction blues! DC No-Stic will prevent hard disk stiction from happening. Stiction was such a problem with Seagate drives that they put in circuitry to move the hard disk heads after a length of disk inactivity. DC No-Stic emulates this logic. Be sure and get DCNOST.ARC from Library 13, Double Click Software, in the Atari Vendor's Forum (GO ATARIVEN)! ANNOUNCING THE NEW COMPUSERVE PALMTOP FORUM The CompuServe Palmtop Forum will cover all palmtop organizers and computers other than the Portfolio, which will remain in its own forum. Please drop by and take a look around. Type GO PALMTOP at any CompuServe service prompt. THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM" *********************************************************************** > CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS ================= Issue #31 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. --Milton Keynes, England ANDEST DESIGNS POCKET MODEM FOR ---------------------- ATARI PORTFOLIO Andest Communications has designed and manufactured a pocket modem for the Atari Portfolio palmtop PC. The modem, which supports 300 and 1200 baud, is being bundled with the Atari Portfolio PC for UKP 399.95. Bun- dled with the hardware is a copy of Andest's telecommunications package for the Portfolio, which supports VT52, VT100 and teletype terminal emulations, as well as Kermit, X-Modem and ASCII file transfers. DIP, the developers of the Atari Portfolio, is pleased with the pocket modem. Commenting on the modem, Peter Baldwin, DIP's co-founder, said: "The ultimate challenge in portable computing is to provide the travelling businessman with the capabilities of his office counterpart, while retaining a portable product. The development of the Pocket modem means we can offer travelling businessmen immediate access to office- based computer records and provide a portable E-mail system with a product weighing less than two pounds for under UKP 400". According to company claims, the pocket modem was specifically designed for the Portfolio, drawing power from the Portfolio's battery pack -- this saves on weight, as the modem does not require a battery. --Necadah, Wisconsin WHERE DO POWER PROBLEMS COME FROM? ------------------ SURPRISES FROM STUDY Some surprises have been found in a five-year study conducted by the National Power Laboratory, a division of Best Power Technology. The study if of the origins and effects of power line problems on computers. Utilities, sunspots, and lightning are commonly blamed, but NPL's recent study shows that many problems occur within the user's facility. Using dual Dranetz monitors at both residential and commercial sites, both entry point and use point measures of power disturbances are made, and comparisons of the two readings help pinpoint the origin of pro- blems. A recent three-month study showed 32 power disturbances at the points of entry, and 130 at the end-user sites. Point of entry is where power is supplied by the electric utility and user sites are where the computers are located, so fewer than 25 percent of the disturbances recorded were due to line problems outside those created within the buildings. Of four undervoltage incidents, all were created inside the buildings. Almost exactly half the voltage sags were created inside the building, the others being due to external line conditions, while 69 of 74 voltage impulses were caused by something inside the user's building. Sags and undervoltages cause both system crashes and physical damage, just as do overvoltages and surges. --Tokyo, Japan 3-D FACIAL GRAPHIC SYSTEM DEVELOPED ------------ BY MATSUSHITA Matsushita Electric has developed a 3-dimensional computer graphic sys- tem which can flexibly process pictorial data of human faces. With this system, for instance, the face of an expected baby could be drawn by mixing photographs of the parents. The device basically consists of a personal computer, a scanner, a VCR, and software. The countenance of faces can be aged, as well, says Mat- sushita. The face of a 1-year-old baby can be changed to a 70-year old man. An ordinary face can be depicted as smiling or crying. The device is expected to be useful in simulation for hospitals and law enforcement, where photomontages are often used. --Los Angeles, California WORLD'S FASTEST DSP CHIP DOES MATH ----------------------- BACKWARDS A new digital signal processing (DSP) chip capable of performing 250 million multiplications and additions per second -- up to 10 times fas- ter than other commercially available programmable DSP chips -- has been announced by the Industrial Development Board of Northern Ireland. The new chip, a CMOS Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filter, can be used in applications such as communications systems, high definition tele- vision (HDTV), aerospace, and radar, the IDB said. The stated advantage of the chip is it can use digital techniques for filtering, at much higher frequencies than previously possible. The way the chip processes faster is a result of a design it took five and a half years of research to develop, the IDB said. The patented technologies used in the chip are said to overcome what was perceived as a fundamental limitation in high speed numerical computation. The limit- ation was the how to speed up recursive calculations, or calculations in which one result is needed for the next calculation to begin. Recursive calculations are widely used in general purpose computing as well as digital signal processors. The new concept came when the Queen's University research team realized the limitation came from the conventional approach of starting with the least significant bit and then moving to higher order bits, the IDB said. The team decided to try a method of arithmetic in which the cal- culations are performed in the opposite of the conventional manner. So rather than waiting for a complete result and feeding that back, the results of interim calculations are fed back immediately, using the "redundant number systems" technique, the IDB said. This new concept has been applied to other DSP systems and applications and the resulting new circuits prove whole families of these signal processing devices can be speed up significantly, the IDB said. One of the new circuits includes square root, multiplication and division, and can perform 100 million operations per second, said the IDB. --Mountain View, California 1ST POSTSCRIPT LEVEL 2 COLOR PRINTER ------------------------- Tektronix has announced that the Phaser II PXi, the first thermal wax color printer to have a PostScript Level 2 interpreter, is now available through Tektronix retailers in the U.S. The printer takes advantage of Adobe's new PostScript language capabilities in its incorporated Post- Script Level 2 interpreter. PostScript Level 2 is an attempt at a concept explained by John Warnock, Adobe's founder and chairman, at Spring COMDEX in April as "device in- dependent color" or color that is the same no matter what device it is displayed or printed on. Tektronics has taken the Device Independent Color concept and added its own TekColor PS color management capability so users can adjust color output from screen to printer in the Phaser II PXi, the company said. The Phaser II PXi has a Reduced Instruction Set Chip (RISC) processor that actually speeds up the printing process, a spokesperson for Tektronix said. --Sydney, Australia "APPLE NEEDS IBM" SAYS APPLE EXECUTIVE ----------------- VISITING AUSTRALIA According to Apple's Pacific region vice president, Ian Diery, IBM is crucial to the future of Apple. When asked about the consequences should the Apple-IBM deal fail, he said "I don't like to think!" He said, however, that Apple wasn't the poor relation in the agreement, "because we've got the volume - we're selling more personal computers than IBM." He is reported as saying Apple was bringing valuable expertise to the marriage, including multimedia, education computing, and consumer-level technology. He said he expected the IBM ties to add at least $1 billion per year to Apple sales, though it would be two or three years before product reached the marketplace. Apple revenue is still 56 percent US-derived, though Australia represents four percent of total. Apple Australia recently trimmed some of the "old guard" from staff but no further significant cuts are expected this year. However, around 1800 positions are to go over the next few months in other countries. --Boston, Massachusetts SALES TAX RULING SCARING OFF MACWORLD --------------------- EXHIBITORS Mail order companies are thinking twice about exhibiting at the upcoming MacWorld show in Boston because of a decision by the state's Department of Revenue. The department has decided that any company that sells goods at MacWorld will be liable for collecting Massachusetts sales tax for the rest of the year. --Correction ATARI AT CEBITT ---------- In CPU Report #13, based on information received from the Genie News- Bytes news agency, we reported that "For the third year in a row, Atari has announced the launching of the Atari TT, a successor to the Atari ST." Mr. Bob Brodie, Director of Communications for Atari, recently notified us that this information was incorrect. He informed us that Atari did not announce the launching of the TT at the CeBITT show, that the TT had already been released in Germany several months before the show. We apologize for any inconvience this might have caused. > CPU PC STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS ==================== Issue #5 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. --New for the PC NEW VERSION OF MASS BREAKOUT -------------- PC Communications has launched two new versions of its Mass Breakout communications package: Mass breakout 2.0 and Mass Breakout Network. Mass Breakout 2.0 allows up to four host sessions to be established simultaneously via modems attached to an IBM PC, PS/2 or compatible. Users who need to be linked to several computers at one time, such as banks and dealing rooms, are able to hot key between each session or display multiple sessions using the package's online windowing system. Mass Breakout 2.0 now supports all of the standard communications ports on PCs and PS/2s. Running in the background, Mass Breakout 2.0 allows a PC to communicate with up to four other PCs or host mainframes at any one time, providing a more efficient method of transferring and retrieving data across a large number of remote locations. Another key feature of the new version of Mass Breakout is the inclusion of the Z-Modem file transfer protocol, as well as a full implementation of the VT220 terminal emulation. The package retails for UKP 250. --New for the PC FASTER PRENTICE HALL TAX SOFTWARE -------------- Prentice Hall Professional Software has introduced faster, more auto- matic business tax software modules for 1991. Due to possible last- minute changes in the laws, the new versions of 1120, 1120S, and 1065 business tax software will not be available until January 1992. Aimed at CPA or other tax professionals, the Prentice Hall tax software will now feature look-alike government forms on screen, more auto- matically calculated fields, faster calculation, more input flexibility, and greater detail in depreciation calculations. The new modules can accept data directly from more than 70 general led- ger and spreadsheet programs using Prentice Hall's link module. --New for the PC NORTON DESKTOP FOR WINDOWS -------------- Symantec has announced the Norton Desktop for Windows product has begun shipping. Symantec claims the product allows users to copy, move, view, launch, delete and print files. Files are printed by dragging the icon for the file to the printer icon, viewing by dragging the file icon to the viewing icon, and copying and other functions are accomplished in the same manner, the company said. The company says the product also includes an automated data backup, data recovery and network support. Background operation is offered so backups can be run while the user is working, and a Norton scheduler allows backups and other routine activities to be run unattended at predesignated times, Symantec said. The Norton Disk Doctor for Windows is included in the product and allows users to diagnose and often solve common disk problems, Symantec said. An Emergency Disk allows users to repair, unformat or optimize disks and recover erased files even when Windows cannot be accessed, the company claims. The Norton Desktop for Windows retails for $149 and includes The Norton Backup which is a stand-alone product retailing for $129 if purchased separately. The product requires an IBM personal computer (PC) AT (286) or higher, DOS 3.1 or higher, Windows 3.0 and a minimum of 1 megabyte (MB) of random access memory (RAM) although 2 MB of RAM are recommended. --New for the PC AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO FOR MULTIMEDIA -------------- Autodesk is shipping its new Animator Pro software package, a two dimen- sional (2D) software package for the IBM personal computer (PC) 386 and 486 or compatible computers. With screen-resolution independence, animated cells and text handling, advanced tweening and paint features, Autodesk says Animator Pro gives graphics and video professionals real-time animation capabilities. The company says Animator Pro is a mid-range product, a step up in capabilities from the entry-level Autodesk Animator software, but does not have three-dimensional (3D) capability Autodesk 3D Studio software has. The Autodesk Multimedia Division, the division producing Animator Pro, was created last August and has introduced Autodesk 3D Studio. The 3D Studio allows 3D modeling and animation and also requires a 386 or 486 PC. Autodesk is perhaps most well-known for its package AutoCAD, available on PC's and workstations and used by engineering and drafting pro- fessionals for computer-aided design (CAD). Animator Pro retails for $795, the company said. --New for the PC SYSTEM TRACKS CUSTOMS RULINGS -------------- Importers, exporters, brokers, and their attorneys can now more easily keep up to date on US customs rulings with a new PC system introduced by two companies. John V. Carr and Sons, a customs broker and freight forwarded in Detroit and World Library, Inc., a California software company, have developed the Customs Library System (CLS). The system stores the thousands of US Customs administrative rulings on CD-ROM. Carr spokesperson Chet Wilson, the company's in-house counsel, says the US Customs Service is moving towards automation and requires accuracy in the adherence to the rulings. CLS makes this easier, says Wilson. Carr says the system was originally developed for internal use, then the company recognized the benefits to the international trading community, and obtained rights to distribute CLS. Wilson says using CLS can help reduce the likelihood of penalties assessed by US Customs agents for inaccurate classification, avoiding post-entry cost adjustments. "It has worked well for us and we felt that others should have equal access to the product," said Wilson. Users receive monthly updates of information, which impacts bonds, carriers, drawback, entry/liquidation, marking, quota, restricted merchandise, trademark, copyright and patent, valuation and the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. Enhancements to the program, which will include Customs regulations, tariff schedules, court cases, and freight rates, are planned. Ralph Kilp of Carr & Son said that CLS has an annual subscription price of $1,195 per year, including the monthly updates. Kilp said the company demonstrated the product at a broker convention in Miami in March, and will market CLS through a direct mail effort. CLS runs on any IBM or compatible with 640K of RAM, monochrome or color display and a CD-ROM drive. The company can also provide a CD-ROM drive is necessary, at $500. --New for the PC MYSOFTWARE OFFERS TWO-FOR-ONE PROMO, -------------- PRICE CUT Mysoftware, publishers of software designed for small businesses and home offices, announced it is offering MyCheckbook free in special pac- kages of the company's MyAdvancedMailList program. The company said that its MyAdvancedMailList program has been Certified Gold by the Software Publishers Association with sales of over 150,000 units, while the MyCheckbook program has been Certified Silver with sales in excess of 50,000 copies. Both packages together would retail for $49.90 each, but MySoftware is offering the two packages in a single unit for $24.95 through resellers Egghead, Babbages, Software Etc., Electronics Boutique and other soft- ware resellers. Other products by MySoftware include MyMailList, MyPhonebook, MyLabel Maker, MyInvoices and MyBackup. --New for the PC WINDOWS OCR READS FRENCH, GERMAN -------------- Ocron has announced that the new version of its optical character recog- nition (OCR) software, Perceive 1.1, can now read French and German, as well as English text. "Perceive is differentiated from other OCR software by the wide range of documents it can read. With version 1.1 we've extended that lead with recognition of dot matrix printing and support for two additional lan- guages," said Larry Kubo, marketing vice president at Ocron. Ocron says Perceive is the first OCR software to combine automatic (omnifont) and learning character recognition. Ocron is claiming Perceive can learn new fonts, problem characters, and special symbols on the fly. "This double engine design makes OCR practical where it never was before -- even for poor-quality copies and for documents produced using some of the very unusual fonts now available to desktop publishers," Kubo said. Ocron said other enhancements include reading text set in columns (auto- matic page decomposition), scanning and storing of documents for batch processing and conversion into a variety of data formats including WordPerfect and Microsoft Word. The retail price of Perceive 1.1 is $595. The software is available through the Programmer's Shop and regional distributors, Orcon said. The software requires a minimum of an 80286 IBM compatible personal computer (PC) with at least 2 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM), the company said. The software supports scanners from Hewlett- Packard, Canon, Panasonic, and other companies, Ocron said. --New for the PC PILOT UPDATES LIGHTSHIP -------------- Pilot Executive Software has updated its executive information system (EIS) software for Microsoft Windows 3.0 and introduced an add-on tool providing access to data stored in popular database formats. LightShip 3.0 is available now, while LightShip Lens will be shipping by the end of August, a spokesman said. Pilot launched LightShip 3.0, which adds support for Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE), allowing data in LightShip to be updated automatically when the source data changes. This feature will be useful for tracking real-time data such as stock prices, the company said. For working with data sources that do not support DDE, Pilot added, technically oriented LightShip authors can now create dynamic link libraries. The latest version also adds about 50 computational functions, similar to those available in spreadsheet programs, for manipulating data. Pilot also announced LightShip Lens, which provides direct access to popular PC and local area network (LAN) file types, including text, dBASE, Paradox, SQL Server, and Oracle Server. By pointing and clicking with a mouse, LightShip users can view, select, and retrieve data without programming or using a data query language. LightShip Lens also lets users sort and view data by different criteria, such as region, time, and so forth. LightShip 3.0 is priced at US $795, and LightShip Lens will cost US $195. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" IMPORTANT NOTICE! ================= As a reader of STReport International Online Magazine, you are entitled to take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. For only $29.95 ($20 off the standard membership price!), you will receive a lifetime subscrip- tion to DELPHI, a copy of the 500-page DELPHI: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE and over $14 worth of free time. NOTE: Special offers can be found in your favorite Atari magazines: START CURRENT NOTES ST INFORMER ATARI INTERFACE MAGAZINE SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI ====================== Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access DELPHI services via a local phone call JOIN -- DELPHI -------------- 1. Dial 617-576-0862 with any terminal or PC and modem (at 2400 bps, dial 576-2981). 2. At the Username prompt, type JOINDELPHI. 3. At the Password prompt enter STREPORT. For more information call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005 or at 617-491-3393 from within Massachusetts or from outside the U.S. DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT -------------------- The 20/20 Advantage Plan IS FANTASTIC! And it features 20 hours online for just $20 a month! The $20 is a monthly fee that covers your first 20 hours online via direct dial into one of DELPHI's two direct-access lines, or via a special Tymnet 20/20 Access code. It also gets you additional hours at just $1.20 per hour. And you get free access to several services on DELPHI as part of the Advantage Perks. Other telecom services may have additional charges. Canadian Tymnet users have an additional telecom charge. Office Time access (7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays) may have an additional charge. And of course, other restric- tions may apply. But this is still an amazing deal! IMPORTANT NOTICE! ================= As a reader of STReport International Online Magazine, you are entitled to take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. DELPHI has waived the sign-up fee! For a limited time, you can join the World's Premier Online Service for FREE! Members can access DELPHI worldwide through hundreds of local access lines. For more information please contact: DELPHI at 1-800-544-4005 and ask for Member Services. DELPHI- It's getting better all the time! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > The Flip Side STR Feature "...a different viewpoint..." ========================= A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT ================================== by Michael Lee ---------------- To show you that not all posts online are serious, here's one you might like from PSIA on Delphi... ACQUAINTANCE: Someone we know well enough to borrow from...but not well enough to lend to. ALIMONY: The high cost of leaving. ATHEIST: A teenager who doesn't believe in Rock'n Roll. BACHELOR: A man who comes to work from a different direction every morning. BANK: Where you can borrow money, if you can prove that you don't need it. BORE: A person who has nothing to say...and says it. <why are you looking at me like that???> BIGAMIST: A man who has taken one too many. COMEDIAN: A person who know a good gag when he steal one. CONFERENCE: A group of people who individually, can do nothing, but as a group, can meet and decide that nothing can be done. DECORATION: My ex-girlfriend got rid of me because I clashed with the drapes. DEMOCRATS: I made so much money betting on the Democrats that I became a Republican. DIPLOMAT: Who talk interestingly for one hour and say nothing. EGGHEAD: Someone who has found something more interesting than a woman/man. EGOTIST: A person who always talks about themselves...when you want to talk about yourself. <so shut up!!!> EXECUTIVE: I am so dedicated to my work that I keep my secretary near my bed in case I get an idea during the night.. FAN: A group of people who tell an actor/actress they not alone in the way they feel about themselves. FLIRT: A girl who believe it's every man for herself. GAG WRITER: Have a good memory and hopes you haven't. HONESTY: Fear of being caught. I.O.U.: A paper wait. LIBERAL: Someone who has both feet firmly planted in the air. JOKES: I hope to live to be as old as my jokes. KARATE: I am a karate student..the lessons are only $200 a year, but I break $2000 worth of boards. KIDS: Strike your child every day...if you don't know why ....he does. KISS: He who kisses and runs a away will live to kiss another day. LANGUAGES: Kisses are the language of love....I'll talk to any girl. <grin> LAS VEGAS: I go there every year to visit my money....and leave a little interest. LAUNDRY: Marriage is the most expensive way to get your laundry free. MONEY: The poor man's credit card. MISTRESS: Like a wife...only she don't have to do dishes. OFFICE: I'll have to fire my secretary soon...she always interrupts my dictation and asks me to spell the simple words...it just gets embarrassing to keep saying, "I don't know"... POLITICIAN: A man who divides his time running for office and running for cover. QUOTATION: Gen. Custer--"I never saw so many Gahdam Indians." RADICAL: Anyone who's opinions is different than your. RELATIVES: Blood is thicker than water...and my relatives are alway punching each other in the nose to prove it. RICH: He's so rich....he have monogrammed garbage. SADIST: A guy who does nice things to a masochist. SECRETS: NO don't be ridiculous, I didn't tell anybody.... I didn't know it was a secret. ;) SIGN: I'd like to help you out...which way did you come in? SOC. SEC: Where the government guarantees you a steak...when all your teeth are gone. TACT: Ability to describe others as they see themselves. UGLY: When she walks into the room...the mice jump on the chair. UNDERTAKER: The last guy to let you down. VACATIONS: A honeymoon is a vacation a man takes before going to work for a new boss. WALL ST: The only thing I learned about stock market is that you have to be patient...and the way it's going lately...I'm going to become one. WEATHER: California is great...on a clear day when the fog lifts.....you can see the smog. WHISKEY: The stuff that takes away the taste of water. X-RAY: P-"How much are you going to charge me for the operation?" D-"Five Hundred." P-"Listen, maybe for fifty dollars you could touch up my X-rays." ZOO: A place where animals look at silly people. ---------------- A few weeks ago DAMARK announced a great deal on Atari 1200 baud modems. Well, the deal just got better. From JBEAU on Delphi.... Does everyone remember us not too long ago remarking about that GREAT DEAL from DAMARK on the ATARI 1200 Baud Modem for $29.95? I just got the new DAMARK catalog and the ATARI modem is now _$19.99)!!! From DCURREY on Delphi... ...I got the number for you. Its 1-800-729-9000. Item No. B-475- 181504. The price is $19.99 with $5.50 shipping and handling. ---------------- Some interesting comments from BIBLINSKI (sysop) on Delphi... Well, this week I found Atari in two unexpected places. The first was a Sears catalog supplement that arrived in my mailbox. Buried within was a full page devoted to the Lynx. Nice big picture and lots of accessories and games. Full list prices, though. But at least it was there! The other place was a network tv show called 'Davis Rules'. The pro- gram is a sitcom about a single father, who happens to be the prin- cipal at the school his kids attend. It's fairly funny, if you like Jonathon Winters and Randy Quaid. Anyway, in one scene that was in the school, the Japanese secretary was seen carrying a computer keyboard. It was an ST! You couldn't see the Atari logo or anything, but those diagonal function keys jumped right out! Granted, only we naaf'ers would recognize what it was, but it's a step in the right direction. p.s. naaf'ers are members of the highly unofficial North American Atari Faithful cult. <g> ---------------- Announcing a new Online Animation Class on CIS by Lexicor... Lexicor Software and CompuServe's Atari Forums Begin Online Animation Classes Fairfax, CA -- Lexicor Software, maker of the new Phase-4 animation products currently available on the Atari ST/TT computer, has announced the start of their online animation classes. The classes will be held each Saturday at 5 PM Eastern time in the Atari Vendor's Forum on CompuServe. The classes are open to the public, with no special fees being charged. Users of all computer systems interested in learning more about animation are invited to attend and participate. The classes are not Atari-specific and deal with concepts and information useful to all computer animators. The first introductory class is scheduled for August 1 at 10 PM Eastern in the ATARIARTS Forum, Conference Room #1. This class is merely to "get to know" each other. It is not essential that you attend this first class in order to participate. Formal classes begin on Saturday, August 3 at 5 PM Eastern in the Atari Vendor's Forum (GO ATARIVEN). Classes are currently planned to run from August to December. Specific animation topics will be dealt with in in-depth lectures written by Lexicor's Lee Seiler, an EMMY award winning animator. All lectures, homework assignments, animations and picture files necessary for each class will be made available for download in the Lexicor Library (LIB 9) of ATARIVEN prior to the lecture. Files will be supplied in a number of formats so they may be usable by many different computer platforms -- such as GIF, IFF, PI1 for picture files. So, you'll be able to get all the text and stuff you'll need if you just can't make it to class...just don't try to use the old "my dog ate my animation" excuse! If you're a novice animator or just a user with an interest in computer animation, these classes will teach you the animator's "tricks of the trade." If you're a traditional "pen and ink" animator, these classes show you how you can use the computer in place of the traditional paper, pencils, film and paint. Regardless of your level of computer animation expertise, these classes should have something for everyone! ---------------- Some comments on different brands of hard drives - From Mark at Supra - Cat 4, Topic 39, Message 149 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... We have just started using a 80M Maxtor in our Amiga line. At this time we do not have enough experience with it to know how good they are. We have used Quantums (Pro and LPS line), Seagate (5.25 and 3.5 line), Conner, CDC, Rodime, MiniScribe and possibly a few others. The most reliable has been the Quantum. The others had had various prob- lems ranging from minor to major. It is also hard to totally write off a particular manufactor as each one will typically have some lines that have alot of problems and some HDs that are great. Or a line of HDs will have problems in the beginning, but later on the problems are resolved. Quantum is about the only manufacture that has virtually no naysayers. ---------------- Two reports on the MIST show held last weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana - first report from the folks at AIM magazine on CIS... The third annual MIST show held the weekend of July 27th was a good little show! The three clubs hosting the show had obtained a large conference area, with a large room for vendors/developers, a smaller room for club displays, and finally a good-sized seminar room. The seminars included talks about Lexicor Software, Editing with EdHak, CompuServe and Telecommunications, Fonts from MegaType, and to top it off, a talk by Atari's Bob Brodie. Bob Brodie's table was featured prominently amoung the 21 different vendor booths. These included Atari dealers One Stop, Randall's Home Computers, Computer Works, CAL COM, and Mars Merchandising. Hardware- oriented companies were represented by ICD, Inc., Touch Technologies and AT/Com Electronics. Graphics-oriented companies at the show were Wiz Works, M-S Designs, MegaType, Electronic Spinster Graphics and SKWare One. Application-oriented companies included Soft-Logik, Gribnif, MP Graphics Systems (representing ISD), Clear Thinking, DA Brumleve, and Apprentice Software. That leaves the CompuServe booth and the Atari Interface booth. Cin'tari, LCACE, STar, EAUG, MAST as well as the three hosting clubs, ASCII, BLAST and PAUG all had booths demoing various PD and graphics programs and demos. About 275-300 people attended this one-day show, coming from Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and probably more states! The show itself was held in Indianapolis, IN. Vendors were happy with the show. ICD sold out of several products they brought. Clear Thinking did better at the MIST Show than at either day at the Windsor show, according to Craig Harvey. Bob Brodie said his hand was still attached to his arm at the end of the day, so it was a good show! Bob Retelle said he "sold a lot of CompuServes." As for Bill and I, we had fun talking to a lot of people from clubs participating in the magazine. Now we hear from Bob Brodie (Atari) - Cat. 11, Topic 11, Message 83 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... I am grateful to all of our friends in Indiana for making me feel so welcome at this event. It was very heartening to check in my seminar and find that fully half of the people present had not been to an event that I was at before...so I got to meet a lot of new people! Thanks to Dan Ward for meeting me at the airport, Bill Loring for helping me out during showtime, and Mario Perdue for hauling me all over town, including trips to Purdue University and of course, back to the airport! Mario, I've always noticed that it's easy to get a ride from the airport, but much more difficult to get out of town! :) Thanks for being such a gracious host. The pace at this show was pretty constant, enough so that I never really had a chance to walk the aisles in leisure to see all of the displays. However, there was a good level of excitement, and sincere appreciation by most of the attendees. I was very impressed at the distances some people came from: Huntsville, Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Ohio were counted among the attendees. Now, if only Dr. Bob had sent his Migraph hand scanner modules for MVG, the show would have been a complete success! (Guess what I wanted to buy!) I also enjoyed the MARC Meeting held later in the day. I feel that this is an organization whose time has come. Hopefully, others will recognize the wonderful opportunities that MARC offers to midwestern Atari groups. Hank Vize et all are providing a careful, guiding hand in developing MARC. Best of luck with it! Thanks again for allowing me to participate in this event! ---------------- From Richard Betson (Rimik Enterprises) - Cat. 2, Topic 3, Message 1 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... Rimik Enterprises is now importing That's Write and Write ON from Compo Software (Europe). For information on these two products please contact; Rimik Enterprises (619) 630-1217 or FAX (619) 630-5869 For those who have already bought That's Write or Write ON, we will be glad to answer any technical questions. ---------------- Until next week..... *********************************************************************** :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT: _________________________________ To sign up for GEnie service: Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo) Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN. GEnie costs only $4.95 a month for unlimited evening and weekend access to more than 100 services including electronic mail, online encyclopedia, shopping, news, entertainment, single-player games, and bulletin boards on leisure and professional subjects. With many other services, including the biggest collection of files to download and the best online games, for only $6 per hour. MONEY BACK GUARANTEE! Any time during your first month of membership if you are not completely satisfied, just ask for your $4.95 back. **-IMPORTANT NEWS FLASH!!!-** Join us on August 3rd, this Saturday evening at 7pm western - 10pm eastern in room 5 in the conference rooms. Joining us will be Ralph Mariano, editor and Publisher of STReport International Online Magazine, talking about current events. Regular Open Conference every Wednesday night, 10PM EDT, 7PM PDT DTP conference every Monday at 10PM eastern in room 3. *****GENIE ALADDIN ART COMPETITION!***** Win free time online. See Topic 22 in Category 1 here for more information, or Topic 5 in Category 1 of the ST Aladdin RoundTable for complete details. Just type STALADDIN or m1000 to get there. The DEMO version of SILHOUETTE is available as file #20302. Silhouette is a new bit-image and vector graphics program with auto-tracing feature from Maxwell CPU. The demo program offers in-line help to acquaint you with Silhouette's features. GDOS and at least 1 meg of memory required. GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission *********************************************************************** > STR Feature ** EXCLUSIVE! EYEWITTNESS REPORT ORLANDO'S AMY EXPO! ** =========== "Lookin' at what the other guy's doing!" COMMODORE AMIGA EXPOSITION ORLANDO FLORIDA ========================================== FROM: AMReport's Expo Issue Amiga World Expo Orlando, Florida (July 26-28) by Charles Hill The show happened, and it looked like a success to me. Granted, this is only the second computer show I've ever been to, there were crowds on the two days that I was there and almost every booth was jumping. There were three companies showing off a total of four 68040 based accelerator boards for the Amiga 2000 and 3000 computers. There were 24-bit graphics boards galore (HAM-E, Colorburst, DCTV, Toaster, GVP), new software, new hardware...heck, you could even buy Toaster t-shirts, Amiga hats, towels, tote bags, etc! Nearly EVERYBODY had some form of give-away going on, and both Amiga World and Amazing Computing were giving out complimentary copies of the current issue of each magazine. The dealers I talked to were quite happy with the level of excitement and the number of people who brought negotiable items (cash, check or credit cards). This issue lists all of the exhibitors present, what they were doing and what they said they thought of the show. Special interest is paid to GVP, EA, and Amazing Computers (the store, not the magazine) due to the new *major* products they unveiled at the show. For those who weren't there, your bank accounts will thank you (there were so many NEAT items for sale)! I was smart and told my wife on Thursday night to hide all the credit cards, check book and excess cash until Monday. She put up with a lot of pleading and begging Friday and Saturday night! Large screen monitors (20"+), matrix displays and wall displays were everywhere. Last time Amiga Expo was in Orlando, a person could easily spend $10,000 on gadgets. Now, you could easily spend $50,000 and still be wanting for more! Read and enjoy! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" LIST OF EXHIBITORS ------------------ Amazing Computers ------------------ Dealership (Orlando & Tampa, FL) Amazing Computing ------------------ Magazine (Fall River, MA) Amiga Video Magazine --------------- Video Magazine (New York, NY) AmigaWorld ------------------------- Magazine (Peterborough, NH) Avid ------------------------------- Magazine (Sunnyvale, CA) Amiga Video Graphics Guild --------- User Group (Simi Valley, CA) Axiom ------------------------------ Software (Rochester, MD) Blue Ribbon Soundworks ------------- Software (Atlanta, GA) Breadbox --------------------------- Newsletter (North Hollywood, CA) Centaur Software ------------------- Software/Hardware (Lawndale, CA) Central Coast Software ------------- Software (Austin, TX) Computer System Associates (CSA) --- Hardware (San Diego, CA) Creative Computers ----------------- Dealership (Lawndale, CA) Creative Equipment ----------------- Dealership (Miami, FL) Cryogenic Software ----------------- Software (Rochester, MD) Eagle Computers -------------------- Dealership (Melbourne, FL) Electronic Arts -------------------- Software (Tampa, FL) * Graphically Speaking --------------- Software (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) Great Valley Products (GVP) -------- Software/Hardware (King of Prussia, PA) Haitex Resources ------------------- Hardware (Charleston, SC) Helpdisk --------------------------- Software/Video (Jupiter, FL) I.DEN ------------------------------ Hardware/Video (New Britain, CT) ICD -------------------------------- Hardware (Rockford, IL) Inovatronics ----------------------- Software (Dallas, TX) JVC Professional Products ---------- Hardware/Video (Elmwood Park, NJ) Kids Computers News ---------------- PD Software (Westbury, NY) M.A.S.T. --------------------------- Software/Hardware (Lawndale, CA) Memory World ----------------------- Dealership (Bensalem, PA) Merlin's Software ------------------ Software (Orlando, FL) Microsearch ------------------------ Hardware (Houston, TX) Moonlighter Software --------------- Software (Orlando, FL) * New Horizons Software -------------- Software (Austin, TX) NewTek ----------------------------- Software/Software (Topeka, KS) Programs Plus and Video ------------ Dealership (Chatham, Ontario, Canada) RGB Computer & Video --------------- Hardware (Riveria Beach, FL) Roctec ----------------------------- Hardware (Orlando, FL) * Safe Harbor ------------------------ Dealership (Waikesha, WI) Soft-Logik Publishing -------------- Software (St. Louis, MO) Space Coast Amiga Users Group ------ User Group (Cocoa, FL) Supra ------------------------------ Hardware (Albany, OR) * EA isn't really in Tampa but they were sharing a booth with Amazing Computers (the dealership) whose main store is in Tampa, FL so that is how they were listed in the program. * Moonlighter Software was sharing the same booth as EA, GVP and Amazing so they were listed as being in Tampa. However, I know Moonlighting is in Orlando as the main programmer is active on local BBSes. * Roctec really isn't in Orlando and the address they listed was that of a local Orlando dealership (AmiComp Multimedia Center). STATS ~~~~~ 40 exhibitors from 16 different states and two countries. ====================================================================== STEP-BY-STEP ------------ AMAZING COMPUTERS ----------------- Amazing Computers is a computer dealership with it's headquarters in Tampa, Florida and a second store in Orlando. They have a small ad in the back of Amiga World and Amazing normally. They are NOT affiliated with Amazing Computing, the magazine. I am familiar with Amazing as they are my key dealer here in Orlando. They are Amiga specific (the Orlando store carries MS-DOS PD software in a back room) and keep a good stock of items on hand. For the Expo, they went all out. Amazing Computers shared the booth with Roctec, Moonlighter Software, GVP and Electronic Arts and thus had the second biggest booth at the show (behind Creative Computers). They had an array of professional video hardware (cameras, editing tape decks, computers, etc.) out and plenty of people on hand who knew how to use it all. Demos were non- stop, except when they answered questions or took requests. They were taking pre-orders for Deluxe Paint IV (see the EA notes) and the A3000 PVA from GVP (see the GVP notes). Being a dealership, there isn't much to tell about them. They didn't release any software or hardware (though their booth-mates had a field day!). I did interview the Orlando manager to try and get his feelings about the show. The summary is in a separate article. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" AMAZING COMPUTING ----------------- Everybody knows these guys. Amazing is the magazine that also puts out AC/Tech Journal and the AC/Guide to the Amiga. Amazing had a subdued booth in the middle of things where you could subscribe to either magazine (the regular or the tech); purchase certain back issues; pick up a complimentary copy of the latest AC (not tech, though); or just stop and chat. The folks were friendly and seemed pleased with the crowd. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" AMIGA VIDEO MAGAZINE -------------------- Amiga Video Magazine is a one-hour television show dedicated to the Amiga. It broadcasts the first Tuesday of every month on Satcom F1R, channel 11 at 8:00 pm Eastern Time. A subscription to AVM on video tape is also available. AVM had back issues of their program for sale on VHS format video tapes as well as a new product tape entitled "Multimedia?" for order and a video on the Expo itself (still in prodcution) that could be ordered. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" AMIGAWORLD ---------- Everyone knows these folks, too. AmigaWorld puts out AmigaWorld magazine as well as AW Tech Journal (bimonthly). AW also has a host of video tapes on most every subject dealing with the Amiga. AW also has books on Amiga Vision and AmigaDOS 2.0. AW had the first booth through the door (it was there show!) and was giving away free copies of the August issue. They had a sale going on their Amiga videos (reduced prices) and were showing demo tapes on a large TV monitor (about 30"). AW had a drawing where you could win a set of video tapes. As in all the drawings, I don't know who won but I know who *didn't*! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" AVID ---- Avid is short for Amiga Video Journal dedicated to -- you guessed it -- Amiga Video! Avid is in a magazine format on newsprint quality paper using two colors (black on white) with a third on the cover. It is about 34 pages long, lists for $4.95/$5.95 (US/Can) cover and $36/$44 for 12 issues. Avid was at the Expo selling the current issue and back issues of the magazine and answering questions. The booth wasn't all thay busy, but that was because Avid is a relative unknown and customers were being hogged by the "glamour guys" of NewTek, GVP and the rest. The copy I picked up (May 1991) looked pretty good. Granted, video isn't my strong point, I am interested in it. There were eight major articles, an editorial and some advertising (video specialist companies like Kara Computer Graphics and Microsearch). The articles were well written, though Avid is more of a newsletter than a full- fledged magazine -- don't expect Art Buchward. There were one or two typesetting errors I noticed, and also a type or two but everything was readable (and accurate as far as I could tell). Avid looks promising. While I don't know enough about video to recommend a magazine, I'd suggest looking at it for yourself if you are into that sort of thing. Avid can be reached at (408) 252-0508. They are a monthly magazine (12 issue a year) and claim a publication rate of 10,000 copies a month. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" AMIGA VIDEO GRAPHICS GUILD -------------------------- I must've overlooked these guys. The program listed them as being in booth #226 -- but there was no booth #226 on the diagram! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" AXIOM ----- Axiom was showing off version 2.0 of their program, Pixel 3D. The new version included a number of improvements over 1.x and also included input/output to all major 3D formats. I was pretty impressed with the look of Pixel 3D, but couldn't push my way in to get a closer look as the booth was usually pretty crowded. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" BLUE RIBBON SOUNDWORKS ---------------------- Blue Ribbon was showing Bars & Pipes Pro and had a studio musician by the name of Mike Torres on hand to demo it properly. The music coming from their booth was good, and Mike seemed familiar with the product, as everything went smooth when I was there. There was a wide array of sound equiment on hand to back up the soft- ware. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" BREADBOX -------- Breadbox is a newsletter dedicated to the Video Toaster and Toaster users. Actual copies I could not find, but brochures were at the NewTek booth and were being handed out to anyone who would stand still long enough. The Breadbox style is similar to that of NewTek -- hip in a computer- nerd sort of way. It looks interesting and IS the only Toaster specific mag on the market. A 12-issue (monthly) subscription is $30 and a four-page preview issue is free for the asking by calling (818) 505-1464. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CENTAUR SOFTWARE ---------------- Centaur Software is a distributor for a lot of European games as well as the "official" North American distributor of M.A.S.T. products. Colorburst was there (see M.A.S.T.), as were new versions of B.A.D. and Pixound as well as some videos and other software. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CENTRAL COAST SOFTWARE ---------------------- Central Coast Software (CCS) is now a division of New Horizons and was showing off Quarterback, QB Tools, Mac-2-Dos and Dos-2-Dos. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" COMPUTER SYSTEM ASSOCIATES -------------------------- CSA was there showing off their 68030 based accelerators for the Amiga line (A500, A1000 & A2000). They had special discount prices on these accelerators for the Expo. CSA was supposed to show off their 40/4 Magnum 68040 accelerator for the A2000, but I must've missed it. 68030 accelerators were every- where but I didn't see the Magnum. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CREATIVE COMPUTERS ------------------ This dealership is the world's largest Amiga dealer and had by far the biggest booth of the bunch. Everything imaginable for the Amiga (except the esoteric stuff) was laid out on long tables and on sale. CC always seemed to have a big crowd. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CREATIVE EQUIPMENT ------------------ Commodore's largest Amiga Dealer in the Eastern U.S. was doing a brisk business selling everything from software and hardware to caps, towels, shirts and bags with the Amiga logo. The GVP A3000 PVA was on display and CE was taking advance orders ($1,995). They said that they were expecting them in by August 26th. GVP seemed to agree with that date. (See GVP) Creative (based in Miami) was selling A3000 16/50s for $1799, which is $50 less that the Power Up price! A3000 25/50s were going for $2,199 which is also less than Power Up! Needless to say, they sold out pretty quickly. CDTV was there ($899 the first two days, $799 on the third) doing the Psygnosis demo. Creative always had a large crowd. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CRYOGENIC SOFTWARE ------------------ Cryogenic was sharing a booth with Axion (Pixel 3D) and was showing off their 3D Professional 2.0 software. The Axiom and Cryogenic products compliment each other nicely (Pixel 3D is a renderer and 3D Pro is a model designer). Again, this booth was cramped and crowded (with both people and equipment) so it was hard for me to get a good look in. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" EAGLE COMPUTERS --------------- Another dealer, Eagle had a spiffy booth that was attracting a lot of attention with their running demos of DCTV and others on a large screen television (about 30"). They seemed to be doing a brisk business. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ELECTRONIC ARTS --------------- EA was sharing a booth with Amazing Computers (Orlando & Tampa) and demoed DPaint IV in a seminar. Spec sheets on DP IV were there for the taking. The spec sheet had the following facts: DPaint IV ($179 Retail -- $60 upgrade from DPIII) shipping in August for the Amiga and it works with v1.3 and v2.0 of the operating system. 1 Mb of RAM is required and a hard drive is recommended. New features include: HAM, morphing, enhanced gradients, a new color mixer, tinting & translucency, stencil paint mode, a new animation control panel (VCR-style) and a light-table effect for "seeing through" frames of animation (similar to Disney's Studio). """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" GRAPHICALLY SPEAKING -------------------- This Amiga newcomer was showing off a seven-disk collection of fonts (regular and Toaster fonts), animated backgrounds, clip-art and other video goodies. Video Clipse, Vol. I is worth a closer look if you are into fonts. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" GREAT VALLEY PRODUCTS --------------------- GVP was sharing a booth with EA , Moonlighter, Amazing Computers, Roctec and others and drawing a large crowd to see their new 24-bit graphics board. The A3000 PVA (Professional Video Adaptor) is a...well, it is a lot of boards combined into one. First off, it is designed for the A3000, utilizing both the Zorro bus and the video bus (plugs into both, since they are inline). An adaptor for the A2000 is available. What does it do? What doesn't it do! The PVA gives true 24-bit color to existing Amiga resolutions (up to 768x525) including overscan. The PVA outputs RGB at 31.468 KHz (multisync) and 15.734 (VGA) rates; composite video (NTSC or PAL depending on the board); or S-Video Y/C output. [So claim the specs, only the two RGB connectors are on the back of the board.] The 24-bit graphics are a frame buffer -- 12 bit double-buffered graphics are available for animation. The PVA acts as a scan-doubler/deinterlacer when used through one of the two RGB ports. External live video can be grabbed in real- time (1/30 sec per frame) with 24-bits of color accuracy. An RGB *and* an analog genlock are provided for overlaying PVA graphics on video. Picture-in-Picture (PIP) can be viewed in a window but the source must be RGB, not composite. The PVA is bundled with the following software: Macro Paint-PVA, Caligari-PVA and Scala-PVA. These are PVA aware counterparts of the normal Amiga versions. The Caligari demo was impressive. GVP has been shipping beta-test units to developers, and expects to ship consumer units in August. Retail price is $1,995 and a couple of dealers at the show were taking orders for that exact price. Dealers expect to have units for sale by August 26th. GVP and two dealers were demoing the board, and damn did it look impressive. $1,995 is a bit steep, but this board does a LOT. No mention was made as to whether the A2000 adaptor would cost extra. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" HAITEX RESOURCES ---------------- These guys were demoing X-Specs 3D and X-Specs TV, which included a television interface. There was some interesting software, including something that did quick 3D wireframe models of equations for viewing by X-Specs. Real neat effect. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" HELPDISK -------- Helpdisk was showing off their series of interactive tutorials of DPaint III, Imagine and PageStream. They are soon to release one for AmigaDOS 2.0. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" I.DEN ----- These people were showing off matrix monitor displays and wall display for use in video. They did have some good stuff going and it looks as if a couple of the other exhibitors took them up on some of their ideas. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ICD --- ICD was showing off their line of products for the Amiga. All their RAM expanders, drive controllers, accelerators, etc. were on display and for sale at some GOOD prices. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" INOVATRONICS ------------ Inovatronics was showing off a new version of CanDo and seemed to be generating a lot of interest. Also for display and sale was their line of programming tools, including PowerWindows, Cape68k and InovaTools 1. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS ------------------------- JVC was showing off some rather expensive editing equipment and cameras. There were two Amiga 2000HDs there, but most of the time they were sitting idle (if not OFF) and it gave me the impression that they were there only 'cause it was an Amiga show. Granted, they DID have some nice equipment. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" KIDS COMPUTER NEWS ------------------ A massive PD collection for th e Amiga, this booth was very active and constantly had a couple of Amigas displaying the X-Copy screen while duplicating PD disks for customers. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" M.A.S.T. -------- Memory and Storage Technologies had a booth right next to Centaur Software and was displaying CDTV (not sure why), their line of disk drives, SCSI controllers and ColorBurst. Yes, I actually saw this product working, and it does what it says (24-bit Amiga screens) though M.A.S.T. had it hooked up to an A3000 and a 1084S of all things! I would think that a multisync would be much better (there was some color crawl noticable, but only if you were less than 3" from the screen). The specs on Colorburst are as follows: 24-bit graphics display in Amiga hires (640 x 400) including over- scan (768 x 480). A 24-bit overlay is also possible when using a 384 x 480 screen for a total of 48-bits of graphics. Colorburst is an external box that hooks up to the RBG out port on an Amiga and contains its own RAM and video processor. It comes in NTSC and PAL (also, I think, SECAM) flavors and outputs to a 15.75 KHz (VGA) monitor. Colorburst claims full 24-bit scrolling and that the display are accessable by the custom chips. The demo I saw displayed static images only (but they were impressive). I did notice a "rippling" effect in some elements of some pictures, but I assume a better monitor would handle that. Colorburst ships with CBPaint, a 24-bit paint program that operates in real time. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MEMORY WORLD ------------ Chips, chips and more chips. These folks had some good deals on SIMMs, ZIPs, GVP 4 meg SIMMS, math processors, main cpus, crystals and most anything else made of silicon. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MERLIN'S SOFTWARE ----------------- Supposedly sharing a booth with EA, GVP, Amazing & the gang, I must have overlooked this one, too. Merlin's was supposedly showing 3 new software titles: ProTextures, a collection of IFF24 textures designed for mapping; Transporter, an animation control program; and Store Manager, a point-of-sale program with inventory control. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MICROSEARH ---------- Showing off ChromaKey, a device that allows the Amiga to use Chroma Key type effects. This booth was hopping, with live demonstrations going on at all times. Things went nicely, but something must've been misadjusted on the monitor I was watching, because there was an aweful "zipper" effect on the edges of a black jumpsuit a woman was wearing. Funny, she absolutly refused to cooperate in locating the error by removing the jumpsuit. :-) """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MOONLIGHTER SOFTWARE -------------------- Showing off AmiBack 1.04, the hard drive backup software, ML was sharing the booth with GVP, EA, et al. This section of the booth was always busy, but it is hard to tell about what, since ML is a local outfit and many of the locals (Orlando area) stopped by to say "hi". """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NEW HORIZONS SOFTWARE --------------------- Showing off their own line (ProWrite, QuickWrite, DesignWorks) as well as the newly acquired Central Coast line (Quarterback & Tools, Mac & DOS 2 DOS) they were quite busy. A beta version of Flow 3.0, and idea organizer was being displayed quietly. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" NEWTEK ------ The Toaster was there, in both incarnations. NewTek was giving away stuff (drawings), but not a Toaster. A lovely lady named KiKi was "manning" the booth. A 4x4 matrix display was showing off Toaster demos and effects. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" PROGRAMS PLUS AND VIDEO ----------------------- This Canadian dealership was showing off Real 3D Professional/Turbo, a European ray-tracer; and CAPS XL, a European computer aided video presentation system. Both looked nice, and I was impressed with the quality of the renderings of Real 3D. The Fusion 40 from RCS Management (also Canadian) was on display and for sale. This is a 25 MHz 68040 board for the A2000. Specs are available in their ads in leading magazines. (Yes, it is FAST!) """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" RGB COMPUTER & VIDEO -------------------- Showing off video edit systems (AmiLink) that control both consumer and professional VTRs & production peripherals. AmiLink can control of NewTek's Toaster, too. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ROCTEC ------ Roctec had a minor display in with the Amazing gang which consisted of their line of drives, mice and RAM cards. The RocGen genlock was also on display. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" SAFE HARBOR ----------- Showing items and selling stuff. A smaller booth than other dealers, but no less active. Good deals, too. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" SOFT-LOGIK PUBLISHING --------------------- Showing off PageStream 2.1 to anyone who would stand still long enough. They also had drawings for a PS 2.1 giveaway. Extras and font disks were everywhere. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" SPACE COAST AMIGA USER GROUP ---------------------------- Selling PD, signing up members and offering free advice. These guys were just generating good will all around. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" SUPRA ----- Quietly showing off their line of products and handing out fliers. While their booth was directly across from AmigaWorld's one, and thus the first in the door, it was pretty much quiet. I doubt Supra cares, though. With five dealers within 500' selling Supra products less than Supra, how could they expect to sell a lot? There was no stock evident, so I assume they realized this beforehand and were just there to answer questions (which they did cheerfully!) ********************************************************************** 68040 ACCELERATORS ------------------ While both Progressive and RCS Management 68040 boards were there for display and sale, I couldn't find the CSA Magnum board. Since the RCS Fusion board has been advertised so heavily, and the spec sheet readily available in the ads, I'll only touch on it lightly. A 25 MHz 68040 board with 4 Mb to 32 Mb of 32-bit RAM on an A2000 cpu card, the Fusion 40 claims to be about 3 1/2 times faster than the A3000/25. Tests were made by rendering the same 24-bit scenes on different machines. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Progressive Peripherals & Sofware had two different boards available. One, the Progressive 040/2000 is a 25 MHz 68040 board that goes in the A2000 cpu slot. It is software switchable between the 68000 and 68040, can use 16-bit RAM or 32-bit RAM (Static Column SIMMs) with 2, 4 or 8 megs of 16-bit RAM and 0, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32 megs of 32-bit RAM. The board runs at 28 MHz asynchronously. The 040/3000 plugs into the A3000 cpu slot and uses the RAM on the motherboard. A 20+ year whisper fan is included on the board for extra cooling. The board runs at 25 MHz synchronously and is switchable between the 68030 and 68040 on the 25 MHz version of the A3000 ONLY! The 16 MHz model can't software switch! NOTE: The brochure states that both versions of the boards REQUIRE ADOS 2.0 *IN ROM* TO WORK. A 1 year warranty is given on both models. I didn't get prices on any of the above boards. (Sorry!) ********************************************************************** The dealers I talked to (Amazing Computers, Eagle & Creative) were all pretty pleased with the response. People were spending money, even ordering products not yet released (DPaint IV & the A3000 PVA). Things were busy all three days, with the exception of the first 45 minutes after opening each day. Everyone seemed to want to sleep in. I didn't get any "official" attendence or sales figures, and I won't speculate. Things just seemed busy all the time, and exhibitors were kept on their toes. Keep an eye out for the GVP PVA board, it is a beauty. DPaint IV looks good, too, as do some of the European software titles. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" That's it for my review of the show. I hope those who attended liked what they saw and that the exhibitors got what they expected. I enjoyed it and woud definately go out of my way to attend another one. Questions on specific products should be directed to their manufacturers for exact answers -- I can only tell you what I saw and heard. -Chas __ __/// \XX/ AMReport International ________________________________________________________ > STR InfoFile A quick look a some of the compression routines ============ WHAT'S A LITTLE COMPRESSION AMONG FRIENDS? ========================================== by J. Roy Here's some comparison's I made... ORG LH1 LH5 ZIP ZOO ZOO(HC) ARC NH30J 834889 424626 403505 438831 533194 ?????? 556133 QUAN0791 213508 95386 87746 91089 104524 87891 108466 WILDWEST 211370 129519 126556 184603 146342 126701 148570 DARTH 78711 62758 61742 66366 70684 61887 72410 NH30J = BINARY+ASCII, QUAN0791 = ASCII, WILDWEST = ST MOD, DARTH = SND/SPL Results: LH5 is the best by far, and ZOO(HC) is a close 2nd. Some notes: 1) LH1 files made with LZH200A were ~2K larger than LH1 files made with LHA 1.30, so I used LHA 1.30 on all LH1 listings. 2) LH5 files were made with LZH200A. 3) ZIP files were made with ST ZIP 0.8 4) ZOO files were made with ZOO_BIN.TTP 5) ARC files were made with ARC 6.02 6) LHA 1.30 and LZH200A have "graphic" displays of amount completed. 7) LHA 1.30, LZH200A, ARC 6.02, and ST ZIP 0.8 support sub-directory compression. I'm unsure about ZOO 2.1. 8) LHA 1.30 does not support LH5. LZH200A (de)compresses both LH1 and LH5 files, but the LH1 files are ~2K larger than LHA 1.30's. 9) ZOO(High Compression) files were made with ZOO 2.1. If you have any other file formats you'd like to see included, feel free to mail me. I plan to include comparisons of full disk compression programs in the next text file... (MSA, ULT, CDC, etc..) Internet: as666@cleveland.freenet.edu GENIE: J.ROY18 ______________________________________________________ > STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date... ================================ THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ========================= On CompuServe by Judith Hamner 72257,271 It's been a big week for uploads on the forum. There's something here for everyone: ACODE.ADR cross-reference area codes to State and section BATTRY.THR excerpts from a thread on battery useage. YOU need this info. ATFLAS.SYS ver 1.061 of the Flashcard device drivers ATPART.EXE ver 1.061 of the Flashdrive partitioning utility PCAL21.ZIP improved version of a program to share .dry files with Win dows calendar PCRD20.ZIP improved version of a program to share .adr files with Win dows cardfile PGFMAK.ARC utility to extract images from Degas to PGF format so they can be viewed with PGShow on the Port PPPMDM.TXT one user's experiences with the Practical Peripherals Pocket Modem SCI.ZIP a shareware program for solving scientific equations PKWIO.SIT utility to backup and restore files to the MAC using White Kight DEVINF.TXT information on how to become a developer. The scuttlebutt is that PowerBasic will be available by Sept 1 from Atari. See message #14222 for vital information from Don Thomas on how to revive a dead Portfolio. He also explains why they appear dead when the batteries are allowed to run down. Message #14263 describes one user's attempt to consolidate by putting a modem inside of his serial port. Message # 14413 offers Portfolio T-shirts for those who want to advertise their favorite palmtop. __________________________________________________________ > MAC REPORT ========== Issue #014 ---------- by Robert Allbritton MAC NEWS -------- *** Hydra Systems ships Mac Emulator for IBM. For a long time, IBM emulators have been popular products for other computer platforms such as the Macintosh, with soft PC, and the Atari ST, with various different IBM emulators. Now comes a new twist: Hydra Sys- tems has shipped ANDOR ONE, a Macintosh emulator for all PCs from the XT to 486 class on a full length card. ANDOR ONE uses the IBM's screen, keyboard, hard drive, mouse, and 3.5" floppy drive for Macintosh operations, but includes an AppleTalk connector on the back of the card so that ANDOR ONE can be connected to Apple laser printers and networks. The card has a 16Mhz 68000 on board but requires ROMs from a Macintosh Plus (128K ROMs) and Apple System software, much like the Spectre emulator for the Atari ST. Suggested retail is $995 without ROMs or Apple System software, which would tend to make the card rather unattractive when com- pared with current retail prices for Macintosh Classic computers. *** MASS Microsystems goes Hollywood. The Macintosh has always been controversial, but there is always one thing that the Mac is constantly given credit for: it introduced Desk Top Publishing to millions of people. Today, DTP is commonplace, and MultiMedia is the current $10,000 buzzword, but on the Amiga, and now the Mac, Desktop Video is beginning to catch on. Desktop Video is simply the ability to quickly and easily create professional (not broadcast) quality presentations on videotape. This is done by combining real world footage with computer generated images to make a better impact on presentations, sales, or instructional videos. MASS Microsystems has added a new product to its line that will fur- ther enhance its position in the desktop video market. VideoToGo produces "flicker free" 8-bit images in NTSC or PAL format that can be synched to professional video recorders for exceptional video quality at a low price. The card will retail for under $1,000 and has connections for composite video and the new S-Video format. Unlike many Macintosh video products, VideoToGo was designed to make NTSC signals from the start, thus its pic- ture quality, and price, should be better than the competition; however, it is important to remember that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and many more Mac to TV products will be coming out in the next 6 months as this emerging market heats up. ===--- NEW PRODUCTS DUE THIS FALL ---=== As we head into August, its time to take an un-official preview tour of what's cooking in the Mac world. Fall is traditionally the time when new products are released, and it looks like this fall is going to be another big one. Last year the record breaking Macintosh Classic was released, this year will also probably have another big winner, but it may be late to the party. Apple's current portable has been a bomb. It is too heavy, and too bulky to be of much use. Apple knows this and is busy creating its replacement with the help of Sony, but because of the complexity of the relationship, it might not have a product ready until the first of the year. But what a product it will be: the new portable will measure 8.5 x 11 x 1.75 inches and weight 5.5 lbs. That's the same length and width as a piece of paper! It will have battery power for 3 hours of operation and include a keyboard, trackball, backlit supertwist LCD screen, internal 40 Mb hard drive and 2 megs of RAM for about $2,500. Sounds perfect with one problem: NO INTERNAL FLOPPY!!! Seems there just was not enough room, but fear not an external floppy will be available, and lets face it, how much do you really need a floppy on the road? Sounds like a logical choice to me (and I'm half vulcan, or at least that's what my girlfriend accuses me of all the time.) At the other end of the spectrum, it looks like Apple will have a pair of 68040 based high end machines ready around November 1. Two models will be available that will be similar, but not identical. Both '040s will be based on a 25Mhz 68040 CPU that should deliver anywhere from 25% to 100% improvement on processing power over the current top of the line Macintosh IIfx (which has a 40Mhz '030.) The more math intensive the task, the bet- ter the '040 does, which will tend to make it the platform of choice for CAD work and such. Both '040s will offer 32-bit on board video on the 13" color screen. And both '040s will have an improved SCSI interface that should double the current throughput of the IIfx. Both '040s will also conform to the new NuBus 90 specification, that allows properly equipped cards to double the speed at which they communicate, and both have Ether- net built into the motherboard, but an external transceiver is needed. The desktop '040 will be in the same size case as the Mac IIci and Mac IIcx. It will have the same power supply, floppy, and hard drive configuration as the IIci / IIcx. The desktop '040 will have 4 megs of RAM soldered on the motherboard and 4 SIMM slots allowing memory configurations of 4, 8, 20, and 68 Megs. In addition the desktop '040 will have only TWO expansion slots. One for a NuBus card, and the other for either a second NuBus card or a Processor Direct card. A motherboard upgrade will be offered to current IIci and IIcx owners. The tower configuration of the '040 will be Apple's first floor stan- ding model. It will have a 300 watt power supply, and four 3.5 inch ex- pansion bays, as well as five NuBus slots. This will make an ideal high end engineering station or network server. Prices will be in the high $5,000 range for the desktop '040 to the low $7,000 range for the tower '040. Suggested retail prices for the Mac IIfx will drop to make room for the new top of the line. On the software front, Microsoft should have Microsoft Word upgraded to take advantage of System 7 features such as publish and subscribe and Apple events by fall And Claris continues to make upgrades towards System 7 compatibility. Quark is getting XPress 3.1 ready with its own System 7 enhancements and WordPerfect is doing the same. But the BIG NEWS IS FROM LOTUS. 1-2-3 for the Mac will be on the streets in October and promises to give Microsoft Excell a run for its money. Everyone who has seen the new product says that it is the best implementation of 1-2-3 ever seen on any platform, and maintains full DOS 1-2-3 compatibility of both files and programs while taking advantage of the best of Macintosh's interface and System 7 features like Publish and Subscribe, Balloon Help, and Apple Events. Last but not least, Apple is getting two new LaserWriter printers ready. Based on the current LaserWriter II Cannon engine, the new controller cards will offer true greyscale printing. While text printing will remain at 300 DPI, Greyscale pictures can be sent to the printer at 150 DPI with 8 bits of greyscale data per pixel. The printer can then use variable dot sizes (similar to the HP LaserJet III) to image the picture at resolutions over 600 DPI, giving a true greyscale print. One of the printers will have a 20 Mhz 68030, while the other will have a 25 Mhz 68030, a 68882 Math Co-Processor and Ethernet on the card. Upgrades will be available for current LaserWriter IINT, IISC, and IINTX owners (all of those printers and the new ones are the same LaserWriter II engine with different controller cards.) ______________________________________________________________ > MIST SHOW STR Feature ** EXCLUSIVE EYEWITNESS REPORT! ** ===================== THIRD ANNUAL MIST ATARI SHOW ============================ by Patti Rayle The third annual MIST show held in Indianapolis, IN the weekend of July 27th was a good little show! The three clubs hosting the show had obtained a large conference area, with a large room for vendors, developers, a smaller room for club displays, and finally a good-sized seminar room. The seminars included talks about Lexicor Software, Editing with Ed- Hak, CompuServe and Telecommunications, Fonts from MegaType and, to top it off, a talk by Atari's Bob Brodie. Bob Brodie's table was featured prominently amoung the 21 different vendor booths. These included Atari dealers One Stop, Randall's Home Com- puters, Computer Works, CAL COM, and Mars Merchandising. Hardware-oriented companies were represented by ICD, Inc., Touch Technologies and AT/Com Electronics. Graphics-oriented companies at the show were Wiz Works, M-S Designs, MegaType, Electronic Spinster Graphics and SKWare One. Application-oriented companies included Soft-Logik, Grib- nif, MP Graphics Systems (representing ISD), Clear Thinking, DA Brumleve, and Apprentice Software, leaving only the CompuServe booth and the Atari Interface booth. Cin'tari, LCACE, STar, EAUG, MAST as well as the three hosting clubs, ASCII, BLAST and PAUG, all had booths demoing various PD/shareware programs and graphics demos, though many other clubs were represented in the crowd of show-goers. About 275-300 people attended this one-day show, coming from Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and probably more states! Door Prizes included a Migraph Hand Scanner with TouchUp, a copy each of Calamus, Outline Art, ISD's Font Editor, the Guide to Calamus Desktop Publishing, and DynaCADD. Soft-Logik donated a copy of PageStream 2.1 and two copies of Font Pack 1, Font Plus Pack and Business Forms. Other font packages awarded included fonts from Sol Gruber and M-S Designs Multi-Font Pack (with 34 differnt fonts). MissionWare gave away a copy of LottODDS and their Printer Initializer; Kyle Cordes awarded three copies of his Abbreviator ST; and DA Brumleve donated a copy of KidPublisher Professional. Clear Thinking awarded EdHak; SKWare One gave away Seurat; and Computer Works donated two arcade games. Vendors were happy with the show. ICD sold out of several products they brought. Clear Thinking did better at the MIST Show than at either day at the Windsor show, according to Craig Harvey. Bob Brodie said his hand was still attached to his arm at the end of the day, so it was a good show! Bob Retelle said he "sold a lot of CompuServes." Talk about high-finance! All the vendors talked to expressed satisfaction with this seven-hour show. M-S Designs had some techinical difficulties though. They were having trouble getting their "souped-up" ST enough power from the lines to work, but this was the only glitch spoken of at the show. Officers of the three clubs said later online that they're trying to get the St. Louis clubs involved in having a show next year. Let's wish them the best of luck, and with MIST's sucessful track record, it's sure to be a hit! ________________________________________________ > SILHOUETTE NEWS STR InfoFile Silhouette Price changes & UPG policy ============================ THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME... ============================== by Doyle Helms I just received a copy of SILHOUTTE version 1.0a few hours ago and I can't go in-depth with this overview this week. I will go a LOT deeper on the next installment when I have had time to REALLY dive into the profes- sional looking application. Let it suffice to say for the NEWLY announced price DECREASE (to $69.95) and what little I have gotten to use this new program, the new price is worth the AUTO-TRACE feature alone! Ah, but there is much more to this program than AUTO-TRACING(mucho more!!). The drawing tools seem to be up to standard and then some. By that I mean you get the 'standard' tools(line,circle ellipse etc.) PLUS some very interesting additions. For example elliptical arc, circular arc, polygons, stars, parabolas and more. After drawing/editing with these tools, you can save the finished work in GEM(vector-Calamus, Pagstream and Easy Draw compatible) *OR* IMG(Raster- Calamus, Pagestream, Touchup etc.) *OR* DXF(DynaCadd,AutoCadd compatible)!! Input formats are even more varied. These include DEGAS, IMG, TINY, MacPaint and GEM. I would be overstepping my experience with the program if I report any more on this program at this time. So let me say in closing that if you are ready for some TRUE Mac type graphic software, then give Maxwell a call and get this little baby before they change their minds on the price and raise it (it would still be a deal at the old $109.95 price though). MAXWELL CPU (303) 666-7754 (8am-6pm MST Monday-Saturday) Silhouette Version 1.0 Price Reduction -------------------------------------- Atari ST/TT Users, Maxwell CPU and Silhouette are at a crossroad. We need to generate revenue in order to continue development of Silhouette for the Atari ST/TT. To encourage sales we are going to offer Version 1.0 of Silhouette for $69.95 + $3.00 shipping/handling (U.S.POST SERVICE). The ST/TT user will receive version 1.0 with the in-line help file. Also on diskette will be additional text files describing the programs features and usage. The user will be able to learn quickly all the programs features by referencing the help info from inside the program; using the HELP key. When not needed the help file can be moved away and the program will boot without loading the help file. Below I will detail the next two upgrades I have planned for the program. Upgrade #1 will include the case, binder and manual. Maxwell is cash poor and while a quantity of a 1000 cases and binders are waiting in a storage house, we do not have the cash to pay for the printing of the manuals and to complete packaging. Shipping cost will cover updates - $3.00. Updates will involve bug fixes to the program. Upgrades will involve major improvements and are described below. If you are a registered user and a GEnie or Compuserve user you can receive directly the update versions at no cost. Below is a description of version 1.0, how to order and then followed by the upgrade plan for Silhouette version 1.25 and 1.5. **************** SILHOUETTE VERSION 1.0: * Auto-tracing : Raw or splined auto-tracing with adjustable parameters. Background bit-image display. Output as GEM 2.0 beziers, polylines for as bspline polylines. Tracing process monitors direction of the outline and identifies curves and corners. * Drawing tools: clipper, freehand, line, polyline, circle, ellipse, elliptical arc, circular arc, polygons, stars, parabolas, spray can, text (supports FSM GDOS), pixel editor tool. * Smoothing: B-splines, Bezier curves. Convert polylines into either splines and visa-versa. Convert Circles or Ellipses into bezier curves (GEM 2.0 format). Multi-point or 4 point (GEM 2.0) beziers supported. * Magnification: Magnify the vector window image up to 16 times. Drawing resolution achieves up to 3200 DPI. * Graphics Input: Bit image formats IMG, DEGAS, TINY, MACPAINT. Vector graphics GEM format. * Graphics Output: Bit images as IMG files. Vector graphics as GEM meta files or DXF universal CAD format. * Clipboard: Two clip buffers for the raster (bit- image) graphics. Separate cut and copy buffers for vector graphics. Will accumulate copied or cut objects. Clip buffers are saved to disk and can be re-loaded during future sessions. * Duplicate, Reshape : Duplicate vector objects in four ways (freehand, rotationally, radially or cartesian). Reshape objects in several ways: size, stretch, free corner warp, skew (parallogram), skew (trapezoid). * Rotate: Rotate polyline objects to a 1/10th of a degree. * Splice and Cut: Splice together or cut in half polyline objects. * Data: Object information is continuously updated on the information line while an object is being created. The bit-image and vector window are size adjustable. * Quick Keys: Operate Silhouette with a set of quick key controls. * Hardware Support: Operates on the ST, STacy and TT. 1 megabyte required but 2 megabytes recommended. ST high resolution supported on the ST and TT. * GDOS Supports the old GDOS and new FSM GDOS fonts (1/10th degree rotation and skew). AVAILABILITY: Silhouette is now available directly from Maxwell CPU for $69.95 plus $3.00 shipping (US Post in U.S. and Canada). Shipping by UPS overseas is available upon request. We accept VISA and MASTERCARD or will ship COD or accept personal check. CALL: (303)666-7754 between 8AM and 6PM(MST), Mondays-Saturdays. WRITE TO: Maxwell CPU P.O. BOX 576 Louisville, CO 80027-9998 ****************************************************** SILHOUETTE VERSION 1.25 UPGRADE: --------------------------------- 1) Further improvements will be made to the Auto-tracing feature. Images with intersecting outlines will be processed even more discernably. Memory usage by the auto-tracing feature will be reduced dramatically and allow auto-tracing of objects over 2000 pixels wide and high by 2 megabyte systems. 2) The ruler and grid feature will be added. A menu option will display the grid and/or rulers. Plus one ruler will be movable by the mouse. With ruler control points the user will be able to size and rotate the ruler to any angle and use the ruler to set independent snap points. 2a)Snapping to grid or a vertical/horizontal line will be a part of the grid system. Also one will be able to set independent snap points on screen. Snapping to vector objects symmetry points will be an option. For objects selected their corner, side, center pt. and end points will be snap points. 3) I will be adding to the duplication and object shaping functions on a continual basis. 4) DXF output, a universal CAD file format will be expanded to handle not just polyline output (like auto- traces) but also complex shapes such as text, ellipses and circles and their arcs. 5) CVG output will be made available for those Calamus and Outline Arts users. 6) All complex curves - parabolas, elliptical arcs, circular arcs, spirals will be automatically convertible to bezier arcs. Presently ellipses and circles are convertible to beziers as well as other types of polyline objects. All of these improvements will take place relatively quick. Silhouette is at a point where further improvements will develop more quickly. The algorithms for auto-tracing exist as well as the most difficult portions of the graphical interface. The improvements mentioned above are additons rather than completely new identities. RELEASE DATE FOR VERSION 1.25 => September 15, 1991. UPGRADE COST: $25.00 including the shipping cost. SILHOUTTE UPGRADE VERSION 1.5: ------------------------------ 1) The coordinate system will continue to be enhanced. The grid metric unit will be expanded to include metric system units (millimeters, centimeter, etc.). 2) The vector object information box will be expanded to allow the user to modify the object shape and position manually. 3) The Iso-contouring function will be added. Iso- contouring will work on bit-images and create a iso- contour of the bit-image in vector graphics. Iso- contours are like the elevation contours on a topographical map. Iso-contouring of images creates the contour lines according to the bit-image density pattern. The code for this feature is complete but is awaiting a thorough debugging. 4) Duochrome support. Before I convert my program to a multi-color drawing program, it will first have the ability to run on color screens in a two color mode. Two colors will function as black and white; TT users will benefit because the new high resolution color modes will be usable (640x480, etc. ). Presently Silhouette works in the ST high rez mode on any ST/TT and any size monitor and works on the third party monochrome big screen monitors. 5) A 2nd bit-image window will be added. It is valuable to have the two clip buffers as now exists in Silhouette; however, a 2nd bit-image window will allow a added degree of freedom while manipulating bit-images. 6) The Shaping/Warping function will be able to warp any object including FSM GDOS fonts. I might be able to add font reshaping into version 1.25. Reshaping features will continue to advance much further and will include shadowing of vector objects. 7) There are some better C compilers on the market and with version 1.5 I will adjust my code to recompile with most likely Lattice C. For curious programmers out there, Silhouette is constructed of roughly 75% C code, 20% FORTRAN and 5% assembly using Prospero compilers and DevPac2. All the FORTRAN was used to avoid double precision math inherent in C calculations. Prospero compilers are very well made but lack optimizing features that Lattice C and Turbo C are now offering. RELEASE DATE FOR VERSION 1.5 => November 1, 1991. UPGRADE COST: $20.00 including shipping. _________________________________________________________________ > STReport CONFIDENTIAL "ATARI NEWS FIRST!" ===================== - Chicago, IL. LCACE WAIT & WAITS & WAITS...... ------------ CTSY GEnie... Category 11, Topic 10 Message 89 Mon Jul 29, 1991 M.BROWN56 [Mike Brown] at 20:07 EDT Several people have asked me for an update on the show progress here's a status report for you all- This past week, we received a letter from the Ramada O'Hare hotel stating that our "word of mouth" reservation for the Convention Center, ballrooms, meeting rooms, and reserved "tower" sleeping rooms will run out on August 1st. A formal contract must be signed by that date or the facilities will be made available to other groups, and all outstanding sleeping room reservations will be cancelled (with no penalty to those making the reser- vations). Atari management has stated that they will not sign for the hotel until at least 50% of the floor space has been sold. As of today, we have 7 exhibitors signed and paid on the main floor, and one in the 8-bit area. We would need to have about 4 times this number to meet Mr. Tramiel's re- quirement. In our past shows, the majority of exhibitors sign up within the last 30-60 days prior to a show; time is not on our side to get the number of exhibitors required before August 1st. LCACE has spent a considerable amount of time and money in the organizing and promotion of the Chicago Computerfest by Atari, it is a shame that an event holding the potential to rival the European Atari-specific shows in terms of attendance, is withering on the vine. At this point, I, Bob and LCACE have done as much as possible to assure that the Chicago Computerfest by Atari will be a success. It is now up to the potential exhibitors and Atari management to determine what the ultimate fate of the show will be. Mike \ LCACE ------------ - London, UK ST FORMAT MAGAZINE TALKS ABOUT "FALCON" ---------- No bunkie, its not the game or a game machine, its the name of a very special project. Atari not allowing any "grass to grow under its feet." Falcon, as mentioned in our now famous 'crystal ball', is well under way and from all recent indications the darling of Atari will debut at Fall/Comdex in Las Vegas. This puppy is being push HARD to make all cer- tifications and be ready as planned. - Lexington, KY CERTAIN TT030 MACHINES TROUBLESOME ------------- According to a source in this area, there has been a number of rumors of failures reported in the TT type machines. Most failures are reported to be power supply related. Of course, this does not mean the majority of the machines are giving trouble, it does mean that if you are experiencing any strange 'happenings', including rigor mortis, you're not alone. - Sunnyvale, CA BOB BRODIE GETS MORE TO DO, A RAISE & TITLE! ------------- It has come to pass, Bob Brodie has been recognized as a real asset for Atari. Since the departure of Marken Communications, Bob has been assigned the duties of PR in the computer related areas, Don Thomas is handling the Portfolio Area and James Grunke in the "Midi Man". With the added duties, Bob has received a well deserved raise and new title. "DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS" Congratulations Bob, you have lived up to the expectations of every user out there who knows you. As the saying goes.... "WAY TO GO! ...BOB!!" ________________________________________________________ > Hard Disks STR InfoFile ***** ABCO SUMMER '91 SPECIALS! ***** ======================= ** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! ** ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC. P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672 Est. 1985 _________________________________________ Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST FAX: 904-783-3319 12 PM - 6 AM EDT _________________________________________ HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET _________________________________________ All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s). *-ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE-* (you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!) (all cables and connectors installed) * ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS * * ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED * * SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS * WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< Deluxe 2 bay Cabinet w/65w auto-switching PS TIME PROVEN to be the most reliable! Model Description Autopark Price ================================================== SGN4951 51Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 479.00 SGN1096 85Mb 24ms 5.25" Y 549.00 SGN2055 105mb 12ms 3.5" Y 649.00 SGN6277 120Mb 12ms 3.5" Y 789.00 SGN1296 170Mb 12ms 3.5" Y 1019.00 ================================================== FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00 ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAIALABLE Call for Info! PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only! CPU ACCELERATOR & MEMORY UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED >> ABCO is now taking orders for 1040 & MEGA STe Computers! << Call for VERY special Introductory prices! ATARI COMPUTERS * STILL THE BEST VALUE! If you don't see what you want listed here, call us. Odds are we have it or, can get it for you! AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE! "We service what we sell. (IF necessary)" ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ****** * SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE * - SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A - ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable - Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart. --->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 645.00__ <<--- **** SCSI UNITS -> ONLY $585.00 **** WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN! Cart and Utility Software Included! EXTRA CARTS: $ 74.50 DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 349.95 ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ****** * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT * SPECIALLY PRICED ** $1019.00 ** Includes TWO cartridges! * SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS * - Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives - 50mb SQG51 $ 819.00 85mb SQG96 $ 1019.00 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< Listed above are a sampling of the systems available. Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations (over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited) ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - AT/PC SPEED - GCR LARGER units are available - (Custom Configurations) *>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<* - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets - * SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 * * Toner Starter Kits $49.95 * * Replacement Drums $183.95 * >> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED << ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED -* 12 month FULL Guarantee *- (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE) WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE! _________________________________________ DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED! please, call for details Personal and Company Checks are accepted. ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY! CALL: 1-800-562-4037 -=**=- CALL: 1-904-783-3319 Customer Orders ONLY Customer Service 9am - 8pm EDT Tues thru Sat ABCO is EXPANDING!! CALL FOR INFORMATION! ____________________________________________________________ > A "Quotable Quote" ================== "Whaddaya Mean; THE pond is now ONLY a mud puddle?!" ....Nayfin Flipfling """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport International Online Magazine Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" July 26, 1991 16/32bit Magazine copyright © 1987-91 No.7.31 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors/staff, PCReport, STReport, AMReport, MCReport. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Each reprint must include the name of the publication, date, issue # and the author's name. The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in any way without prior written permission. The entire contents, at the time of publication, are believed to be reasonably accurate. The editors, contributors and/or staff are not responsible for the use/misuse of infor- mation contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""