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*---== STReport International Online Magazine ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" from STR Publishing """""""""""""" February 12, 1993 No.9.07 ========================================================================== 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 Support BBS Network System * THE BOUNTY BBS * * TURBO BOARD BBS SYSTEM * FNET 350 ~ Fido 112:35 ~ Nest 90:21/350.0 904-786-4176 USR/HST 24hrs - 7 days 1200 - 19.2bps V.32 - 42 bis 16.8 Dual Standard FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EST ----------------------------------------- FNET.. 18 : ///Turbo Board BBS Support...1-416-274-1225 FNET.. 75 : Bloom County BBS.............1-415-965-9347 FNET. 350 : The Bounty *<Home of STR>*...1-904-786-4176 FNET. 489 : Steal Your Face BBS..........1-908-920-7981 _____________________________________________________________________ > 02/12/93 STR 907 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!" """""""""""""""" - The Editor's Desk - CPU Report - PORTFOLIO NEWS - K & R C DEV system - DELL CUTS $$$ - COMPAQ TO EXCEL IBM! - APPLE-8 NEW Products - PRODIGY SUIT - PEOPLE TALKING! - SST ATARI SHOW NEWS - KC SHOW UPDATES - STR Confidential -* NeXT DROPS HARDWARE VENTURES! *- -* FALCON DUE MARCH 1st *- -* FALCON SPECS *- ========================================================================== STReport International Online Magazine The Original * Independent * Online Magazine -* FEATURING WEEKLY *- "Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information" Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports ========================================================================== STReport's BBS, The Bounty, invites BBS systems, worldwide, to participate in the Fido/NEST/Atari F-Net Mail Network. You may also call our BBS direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging information relative to all computers, worldwide, through the use of excellent International Networking Systems. SysOps, worldwide, are quite welcome to join the STReport International Conferences. The Crossnet Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is # 350. All BBS systems are welcome and invited to actively participate. Support your favorite computers; Join Today! ========================================================================== CIS ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ NVN ~ GENIE ~ FIDO ~ FNET ~ NEST EURONET ~ CIX ~ CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ========================================================================== ============= * ATARI EDITION * ============= COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME to the Readers of; ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY! CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198 You will receive your complimentary time and be online in no time at all! WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (February 12) NEW FORUM SOFTWARE The long awaited new Forum Software has been installed in all of the Atari Forums! Among other things, this allows longer messages and improvements in sending CompuServe Mail from within the forum. Some old commands have been dropped, and a couple of commands work slightly differently than they used to. Please see the file MSGFEA.DOC in LIB 1 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) for details on the changes. Don't hesitate to leave a note to SYSOP if you have any questions. FAMILY ACCOUNTANT Download file ACCTS1.ARC from LIBRARY 5 of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO) for the Family Accountant: an easy-to-use but effective program for maintaining home finance records and establishing a budget. It requires no formal knowledge of accounting (the author has none either). It will handle up to 11 money accounts and 14 budget categories. Requires monochrome high resolution monitor and 1M of RAM. Also download ACTDOC.ARC from LIBRARY 5 of ATARIPRO for the program's documentation. HARD DISK CACHE AND FAT SPEEDUP... Download file FATCAC.LZH from LIBRARY 4 of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO) for a hard disk cache and FAT speed-up for TOS 1.0 and 1.2. Faster, more compatible, more memory efficient than FATSPEED. Gives up to 1000% speed increase when copying files between partitions. Includes GEM installation program and no technical knowledge require (please read the docs though). K&R COMPLETE "C" COMPILER/DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM Download file HSC140.LZH from LIBRARY 3 of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO) for a complete C compiler system for the Atari ST. Includes GemFast v1.8 GEM programming library. The compiler is based on the Sozobon compiler, but contains many modifications, bugfixes, and extensions. The compiler features an automatic installation process. Just unpack the archive and run INSTALL.PRG to install and configure the compiler. CODEHEAD ANNOUNCED RELEASE OF CALLIGRAPHER 3... Download file C3NEWS.TXT from LIBRARY 16 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN) for the official announcement of the release of Calligrapher 3 -- the next generation of the Ultimate Writing Machine. Read this text file for details about the new version of this powerful word processor. Information on upgrading from earlier versions is included. THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM" """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" """""""""""""""""""""" There's a rumor that the Atari warehouse has a large number of crates in it and they are gathering more and more goodies to spring on the Atari community come March 1st. What a concept! Delivering the goods however late they may be but delivering them in respectable numbers. It'll be like Christmas in march and indeed Jim Dandy St. Pat's celebration. We shall see. I can only hope that holding all the goodies until a big splash can be made is being done to further the success of the company and to ensure the success of the Falcon's marketing debut and not to make anybody "look" good. This weekend marks a repeat in the pleasant milestones STReport has covered. We are now, once again, residing in the GEnielamp RT on GEnie. We have library 21 and Category 12 in the GEnielamp RT BB. Come in, stop by and say hello. Its a friendly place to be. Thank you all for the kind letters and email you recently sent to us as it did make the bumpy road a bit smoother. Ralph @ STReport International Online Magazine """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU! """""""""""""""" Publisher - Editor """""""""""""""""" Ralph F. Mariano PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION ----------- -------------- ------------ Roger D. Stevens Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON STReport Staff Editors: """"""""""""""""""""""" Dana P. Jacobson Michael Arthur John Deegan Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Judith Hamner John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando Steve Spivey Doyle C. Helms Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor Emeritus Contributing Correspondents: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" Michael Lee Richard Covert Scott Birch Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Tim Holt Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Harry Steele Clemens Chin Neil Bradley Eric Jerue Ron Deal Robert Dean Ed Westhusing James Nolan Vernon W. Smith Bruno Puglia IMPORTANT NOTICE """""""""""""""" Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc... via E-Mail to: Compuserve.................... 70007,4454 Delphi........................ RMARIANO BIX........................... RMARIANO FIDONET....................... 112/35 FNET.......................... NODE 350 NEST.......................... 90:21/350.0 GEnie......................... ST-REPORT """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STR'S "BELIEVE IT? OR.. WHAT?" <>###############################<> "There is no comparison! The Atari Falcon is far superior to the PC platform." Sam Tramiel, 08/92 "My new office, which has a better view than my old one, is so far quite satisfactory. And Richard Miller is in my old office. The Forbes article was a mish-mash and misconstrued article full of half truths. We are anxiously awaiting the release of the Atari Falcon to bring us back to the forefront. The article has given us some laughs, but otherwise has not affected us." Sam Tramiel, 08/92 "As I said before, all marketing announcements will be made at Duesseldorf. I will not comment on future models of the Falcon. WE ARE TALKING TODAY ABOUT A MACHINE..... WHICH WILL BE SHIPPING NEXT WEEK." Sam Tramiel, 08/92 "I've just returned from Asia, where I saw the first Atari Falcon production coming off the lines. Let's hope this new offering will make it in North America. I know that the specs are great." Sam Tramiel, 08/92 "We have not yet even given the machine to the FCC. And we are only applying for Class B approval. According to our "experts", it should pass Class B." Sam Tramiel, 08/92 "...... We are not working for Wall Street but to make money for our shareholders and only think long term." Sam Tramiel, 11/92 psssst. FYI.... The Shareholder's equity is fine.... NOT! The Stock is hovering around $1.12 CHRISTMAS '92 has COME and GONE... FALCONS ....anyone? By the Way.... Does the Falcon work well with any... of the SLM Laser Printers?? NOPE! NOT YET! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS ================= Computer Products Update - CPU Report ------------------------ ---------- Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Issue #07 By: John Deegan NeXT TO STOP MAKING WORKSTATIONS - NeXT Computer Inc. will stop making workstations and instead focus on its NeXTStep software. As a result of the sale, reports say that NeXT will lay off about 300 of its 540 employees. The company is negotiating to sell its hardware business to Canon Inc. Canon, which has invested $165 million in NeXT, owns 17.9% of the company and sells NeXT machines in Japan. Canon officials would not elaborate, but indicated that they will make a decision on the purchase by the end of May. NeXT shipped an estimated 69,300 workstations last year while market leader Sun Microsystems shipped roughly 217,000 workstations, according to International Data Corp., a market research concern based in Framingham, Mass. COMPAQ COULD PASS IBM IN MARKET SHARE - The chief of Compaq Computer Corp. said the firm could increase its worldwide market share for per- sonal computers this year to rival IBM Corp. Chief Executive Officer Eckhard Pfeiffer said that Compaq has already cornered 8.2% of the total European PC market in 1992, compared with IBM's 8.0%. "If we continue our first quarter run rates, Compaq will be in double digit market share around the world, which will bring us close to the world leader, which is IBM," he said. APPLE INTRODUCES EIGHT NEW PRODUCTS - At the Macworld Exposition in Tokyo this week, Apple introduced eight new products, including the long awaited color Powerbook notebook computer, five new desktop systems, and two new laser printers. It also announced that it has shipped its 10 millionth Macintosh computer. The new PowerBook 165c, the first color laptop made by Apple, will be shipped with a suggested price of $3,399 with 80MB of memory and $3,759 with 120MB. The unit's monitor will display 256 colors on a passive- matrix and will weigh 7 pounds, slightly more than the black-and-white PowerBook. In addition: -:- The new Mac Color Classic will sell for $1,389 with 4MB of RAM and an 80MB hard drive. It will feature a 10-inch Sony Trinitron monitor. -:- Apple is improving its line of Macintosh LC desktop computers with better displays. Enders says the units are priced from $1,349 to $1,499. -:- The Apple Quadra 800, designed for high-end business use, will sell for a suggested price of $4,679 to $5,429. -:- A new Mac line called the Centris will offer variations for home and office use. They range from the low-end Centris 610, with 4MB of RAM and an 80MB hard drive, for $1,859, to the Centris 650, which will retail for $4,379. Several of the new models are built around Motorola Inc.'s 68040 microprocessors. -:- The company is adding two low-cost laser printers to its line. DELL SLASHES PC PRICING BY UP TO $500 - In an unexpected move, Dell Computer has cut PC pricing by between $50 and $500. At the same time, the company has shuffled pricing down on its peripherals by as much as $300. At least 14 PCs are affected by the cuts. PCs affected the price reductions include four portable PCs, and ten of the i486-based systems Dell introduced in early December 1. The cuts are impressive -- the Dell 320SLi 3.6 pound notebook falls in price by $699, when the 8-megabyte (MB)/120MB hard disk system is bought. PROTOTYPE LASER-DRIVEN LCD BREAKTHROUGH - Tomiki Ikeda, an assistant professor of Tokyo Institute of Technology, claims to have made a break- through in the design of liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. If Ikeda is correct, then his new technology will be capable of producing larger and cheaper LCDs that can be manufactured at present. Ikeda has applied the relatively new technology of photochemical switching of polarization in ferroelectric liquid-crystal films to LCD screens. Put simply, Ikeda's technology allows the molecules that make up an LCD screen to react to electrical current much faster, thanks to the use of a laser. This translates into a faster screen update. Slow screen updates have always posed a problem for portable computer manufacturers. To date, the best solution has been to split large screens up, with each segment a separate screen. JAPANESE MASS PRODUCE 16 Mg DRAMS - Several major semiconductor com- panies, including Fujitsu and Toshiba, have announced plans to commence mass production of 16 Mb DRAM chips in Japan. The announcement was unexpected as many U.S. companies thought the recession had forced the companies to put a hold on mass production of 16Mb DRAM chips. The companies claim, however, that the computer market- place is recovering, hence the resumption of their plans. GATES SUGGESTS IBM BREAKUP - Microsoft Corp. chief Bill Gates says he thinks IBM needs to break up into smaller firms in order to get ahead of the pace of change. Speaking with U.S. News and World Report, Gates said, "I think IBM will soon be multiple companies and then we can talk about each of the companies independently. I feel sure that until they really split up the sales force, really split into multiple companies, they won't be able to get ahead of the pace of change." Gates added, "Some of their businesses, certainly mainframe and even the mini-computer business, won't be there like they are today in three or four years." NORTH AMERICA RUNNING OUT OF PHONE NUMBERS - The one billion North American telephone numbers created in a plan adopted by the telephone company in 1947 are almost gone, and at least 14 area codes expect to be out of numbers by the end of 1995. The plan currently in use is the North American Numbering Plan, which offers one billion phone numbers in 144 area codes. The problem is being blamed on the increased demand for numbers by people adding extra phone lines to their homes and offices for modems and fax machines, as well as the need for cellular phone numbers. One billion is no longer enough numbers, and representatives from the Federal Communications Commission and regional Bell companies will meet in March in Washington, D.C. to consider a new plan that will add 640 more area codes and as many as five billion numbers. The catch is that callers will have to dial 10-digit numbers for calls within their own area codes. LIBEL SUIT CENTERS ON PRODIGY MESSAGES - Some subscribers to Prodigy are protesting the IBM/Sears information service's compliance with a subpoena of electronic messages in connection with a libel case involving comments that were made online. Communications Daily reported this week the case centers on a suit brought by Medphone Corp., a company that develops interactive medical services, against a Babylon, N.Y., Prodigy member named Peter Denigris over electronic comments he posted publicly in an area of Prodigy dealing with financial issues. The newsletter reports the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, says DeNigris posted messages stating Medphone insiders were "waiting to unload" their stock and that company was under investigation by the American Stock Exchange. Medphone's suit contends DeNigris's information was "patently false" and it backed up its complaint with a statement from an Amex employee. The suit says Medphone "received numerous phone calls" from stock- holders who "have seen or heard about defamatory postings about Medphone on Prodigy" and that the statements were enough to drive down the stock's price in an otherwise inexplicable manner. CD says the case is in discovery "and other Prodigy members who have commented on Medphone have found that their messages, even ones no longer available for reading, have been (the) subject of (a) subpoena, as well as those of DeNigris." Prodigy officials told the newsletter that, according to its member- ship rules, all postings to message boards are public and that Prodigy had no means of refusing the subpoena. Attorney William Schneck argues public notes don't become private after they are archived and that, un- der Prodigy guidelines, members are responsible for the content of their postings. He said the guidelines protect Prodigy from any liability. And now that position has some Prodigy users angry, CD reports, in light of the system's recent decision to close a controversial Prodigy bulletin board. As reported earlier, the feature, called the "Frank Discussion" bulletin board of social issues, was discontinued last month because, Prodigy officials said, the sexually explicit messages were becoming offensive to some Prodigy subscribers. "Members argued," says Communications Daily, "it's contradictory for Prodigy on one hand to exercise close control over (the) content of postings and on (the) other to assert that members are (on) their own when it comes to lawsuits." However, Prodigy General Counsel George Perry told CD he considers the two cases to be "completely separate." He said the fact Prodigy can establish standards for postings in general doesn't mean members aren't responsible for what they say online. "Prodigy cannot and should not be obligated to protect its members from the consequences of their own actions," he added. _____________________________________________________________ > ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" PEOPLE... ARE TALKING ===================== On CompuServe ------------- compiled by Joe Mirando 73637,2262 Hello again folks. Yet another week has come and gone and the questions and answers keep on coming here on CompuServe. I keep meaning to thank those responsible for these questions and answers at the end of each column, but I keep forgetting about it. So this week, I'll thank them right up front... "THANKS, YOU GUYS (and GALS), for helping those of us who know less about Atari computers than you do. Your help is one of the things that make the Atari community a very nice neighborhood to be in". Well, that having been said, it's time to get on with the Q&A so let's get to it. From the Atari Productivity Forum ================================= We all know someone who's done it; gone from the Atari ST to either the Mac or a DOS machine. Invariably, after they sell, give away, or throw out the ST, they discover that there is a very important document, a spreadsheet, or a database file on an ST floppy disk that they need to transfer to their new machine. What to do, what to do? If the new machine is DOS compatible, the job isn't too big. John Stalzer runs into this dilemma and tells (who else?) Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Magazine: "I used to have an Atari 1040st. I have a few first word(?) word processor files on an Atari formatted diskette. Can I translate them into DOS or MAC readable format somehow. I'd appreciate any help on this." Albert, being the fountain of knowledge that he is, tells John: "If you can save them as ascii files you can move them to a PC quite easily. Just format a 720K disk on a 3.5 inch PC drive and then you can import it to any editor or word processor." Sysop Bob Retelle jumps in and adds: "The disk formats are virtually the same between the PC and the ST... the main difference is three bytes in the boot sector which MS-DOS does not recognize if the program that formatted the disk on the ST doesn't put them in. Early versions of TOS on the ST didn't do this, later versions did make MS-DOS readable disks. Have you tried reading the disks in your PC already..? If you used a compatible version of TOS to originally format the disks, there shouldn't be any problem. If the disks can't be read from DOS, you can use a disk editor on the PC to make the changes in the boot sector. (I've never tried copying an "unreadable" ST disk on a PC, but it might be a very good idea to try making a DISKCOPY of the ST disks BEFORE you try editing them.) Now, with all that said, I can't remember exactly what the bytes are that have to be changed... I'm hoping someone else reading this will know the exact changes... Anyone...? " On another front, David Hagood asks: "Are there any updates on when MultiTOS will be available? or how much it will cost to upgrade to it?" Jim Ness, the guy who gave us "QUICKCIS", tells David: "According to Bob Brodie on Friday, MultiTOS is finished and will be included with all Falcons. They have not decided how to distribute it to other Atari users, yet. Bob wants to upload it exclusively to GEnie, but there is opposition within Atari (and here, too - heh) to that idea." John Amsler adds: "...I realize that Atari's "official presence" is on GEnie, and I'm basically aware of the philosophical brouhaha between them and STReport, but do you think they would really resort to the kind of petty childishness to only upload it go GEnie, giving CompuServe the "cold shoulder?" Is there no honor among Atarians, even if they're polar opposites on the "political" spectrum? Sheeesh!" Mike Mortilla, of ZNET Online, tells John: "I hope you're correct in thinking that Atari won't "cold shoulder" CIs users. From my own perspective, I'm on this service because I can get support for my ST and Stacy. Should *that* aspect of CIs be lost, I would make a quick exit from the service entirely and switch to "something else. I know the CIs people are aware of the messages left here and hope they realize that I'm probably not alone in this. As a result, I would hope CIs will make a strong effort to keep Atari online here. Actually, I've seen lots of activity from Atari on CIs recently and in my optimism, assumed that would indicate an increased interaction with the service and its members. Clearly, there are no losers in the equation. CIs members get support for their investment(s), CIs gets $$$ for online time and Atari gets a loyal users group to spread the word (and they *really* need that right now)! The only "losers" might be IBM, MAC and the Clones! :>" The big Kahoona, Master Sysop Ron Luks, tells Mike: "You must understand that we have constantly expressed an interest in keeping and expanding the Atari Corp presence online here. The Atari Forums will remain open here with or without Atari's direct support but it would seem a shame for Atari to further splinter their audience further by denying support to their customers simply because they don't choose to use GEnie. That would be like Atari refusing to support Falcon computer buyers simply because they choose to use a non-Atari peripheral." John Amsler makes a very interesting point: ">"The only "losers" might be IBM, MAC and the Clones! :>" I sure hope so! You know, over the years I've known a lot of IBMers, several Macheads, and a few Amigans. They are a fickle lot! They have little loyalty to their computers or the companies. They will flit from one platform to another, in a capricious manner, like a fly buzzing from one pile of dung to another. In contrast, the Atarians I've known [in particular since 1986, but also dating back to 1981] have demonstrated an incredible passion for the Atari computer line(s). That fervent loyalty is something I think Atari should consider a corporate asset! Doesn't ANYONE out in Sunnyvale realize that we SERIOUSLY want the Falcon030, the Jaguar040, the Falcon040, the two-piece Falcon040, the Eagle050 [when it comes! <g>] to be nothing but a smashing success??? Don't they realize that we are rooting for Atari to knock Commodore and Apple off their high horse?? (And I'm not just talking about the "European" market; I mean here in the US!)" Ron Luks adds: "I spoke with Bill Rehbock about this issue over the phone a few weeks ago and he told me that he had no plans to release MTOS as a GEnie-only file but thats not to say that some of the very pro-GEnie people (person) wont try to get this changed by release date. For now, I'm sitting with Bill's statement that he sees no logical reason why CompuServe and Delphi should be prohibited from having the file(s)." Jim Ness comes back and adds: "Bob Brodie already thought of that. His idea would be to include a distribution caveat that said the file could only be downloaded from the other service. Probably for 30 days, or 60 days, to insure that the bulk of the download royalties would go to the Atari roundtable over there. But, again, there are others within Atari who oppose that idea. Some want to charge for the software, others want it to be freely distributed everywhere. So, no decision has been announced yet." Harold Swaffield posts a plea for info on memory upgrades: "A Can someone help a CPU guru with the appropriate answer to this question. My hardware training is in the VAX (Digital) line, the Atari is just a side line to everything. I bought the Atari new in 1986, (old machine) and upgraded the 520 to 1 meg of memory. I have in front of me some instructions for an upgrade to 2 meg. (Simm installation, I can upload it if you like). Anyway, In it, it mentions that you must remove the RAM chips from the system and install the Simms, the hookup the wires to the appropriate places. My questions are...... Can I have a machine running 3 meg of memory? So I wouldn't have to remove the RAMS? Can the power supply give enough of a boost to all the chips on the VCC line? What is the purpose of the Address line 9 on the simms and why do I need to use it? 3 major questions for the young at heart to answer. If you would like to get a bit technical, that is fine with me, or if you would rather leave a message to me personally, mail me here at 73217,2133" Sysop Bob Retelle tells Harold: "The ST can only support two banks of RAM because of design restraints. It doesn't matter what size those two banks are (up to the maximum possible total of 4 Megabytes), but there can only be the two. A 1 Meg ST comes with two banks of 512K each. If you want to add 1 Megabyte SIMMs, you have to remove (or at least disable) the existing RAM chips before the internal MMU (Memory Management Unit) chip will recognize the new memory. Depending on the revision of your motherboard and chips, you can have practically any mix of bank sizes, but never more than two at one time. My 520ST right now has a 2 Megabyte expansion board in addition to its original 512K, for a total of 2.5 Megs. If I wanted to completely populate the memory board with 4 Megs, I'd have to cut some of the lines to the RAM on the motherboard, and tie them to +5v. to put them in "standby" low power mode, or just remove them completely. Since newer memory parts like SIMMs are generally lower power devices, your original power supply should be able to power any memory upgrade, right up to the full 4 Megabytes. Just make sure the power leads are heavy wire, connected directly to the power supply, and be sure they are bypassed properly. I'm not exactly sure about that ninth address line on the SIMMs, except that most SIMMs have 9 data bits (since they are generally intended for use in IBM style systems which have parity checking built into their memory systems), so it might be related to that. The ST upgrades ignore the ninth bit, or can generally use SIMMs intended for Macintosh applications which only have 8 data bits." His question answered, Harold thanks Bob and adds a bit of humor: "Thanks for the info, what I'll do is upload the procedure into this conference for upgrading 520/1040 st machines to 2 meg with simms... It does explain what to do with the 9th address bit. Engage......." Ron Bielman asks: "I have a 520ST that a friend gave(!) me, but with one problem: it doesn't work. It has had a Supra 1meg memory upgrade installed. When I attempt to boot the system (the ST, 20meg Supra HD, SC1224 monitor, and the floppy) the drive(s) don't respond, and the screen displays horizontal lines, thick then thin, randomly, but the lines are consistent every time I try to start it up. I understand that the computer received a sharp blow (my friend is given to tizzy-fits at times) and since then, it refuses to work. I have had it apart, and I can see no cracks on the motherboard, or any other visible faults. If this sounds familiar to anyone, I'd really like to hear from you. I'm trying to go cheap on the repair, if I can... If the fix is not reasonable, I would like to buy a used computer with at least 1meg of memory, (not the older versions with TOS in RAM), and a 1040 or better would be nice. I also do not need a monitor, I would only be interested in the computer itself." Jeff at Intersect Software asks Ron: "Horiz lines????? Are you sure the lines don't run up and down ||||||| Like that. Those generally indicate a RAM problem, usually bad connections to the MMU chip, or with third party RAM upgrades, pad connections to the RAM upgrade board. Usually a damaged MMU chip socket." Ron confirms the problem: "Yes, I am sure they are horizontal lines. They start out at the top, on the left they are thin, then go thick to the right. The next line down might be thick, then going thin to the right side of the screen. I had a friend of mine look at the board last nite, and we could find nothing that looked wrong with it, but alas, the 'puter still would not boot the floppy. Also, the lines are black and white, no color at all....I have a feeling that the damage may be in the area of the RAM chips, and the memory upgrade, since the Supra upgrade is near the front of the computer, the most likely place for someone to smack it in frustration." Sysop Bob Retelle adds a bit of info for Ron: "Ron, memory upgrades are notorious for causing problems, even when they're not being smacked around... Does it look like you might be able to remove the upgrade easily...? That might at least give you a good starting point for diagnosis. I had trouble with the first upgrade I installed, but the "stock" Atari parts were always rock solid. If the upgrade is one of the ones that attaches to the MMU chip by ramming pins down into the MMU socket, it's very possible (as was previously mentioned) that the MMU socket has been damaged (that's one of the large square chips in a socket that completely surrounds the chip.) These sockets are somewhat fragile and can easily crack under stress (like being socked), and prevent the pins from making a good contact. It really sounds like a job for an experienced Atari technician." From the Atari ST Arts Forum ============================ An interesting snippet of info from one of our friends across the pond, Dazzz Smith: "...One of the guys in Turbonet here in the UK just posted a message that the newest release of MINT contains 040 specific code.... Interesting eh?" \/ INTERESTING STUFF \/ Jay Goodwin posts: "I am currently an Amiga dealer in a small town and, after reading my Byte magazine, have become interested in the Falcon. As far as Atari goes, I've called four times in the last three days, and have been unable to reach the man in charge of new dealers. After Atari's lackluster sales performance in the US, I hoped that they would be interested in finding a new US dealer, but obviously not. This kind of hassle just for information does not bode well for dealer support. I fought that with Commodore, and finally have good support, I have no wish to put myself back in that quagmire! The Falcon is exciting, cutting edge, and very marketable, but not if the public cannot see it first hand. My customers are usually computer illiterate, wanting a machine to do a specific task, and I can usually provide them with the hardware and software to fulfill their need. I see the Falcon as an extension of my ability to solve their problems, but I can't recommend the machine in good faith if I can't even get information on dealership. The Atari and the Amiga have remained computers that are the essence of user friendly, while providing the power that any user would want. I would like to include the Falcon in my list of solutions for my clients, but unless Atari gets off its proverbial butts and actively recruits dealers, then I'm afraid the Falcon will remain a niche computer, even though it has the capability to be a well-rounded machine for a variety of applications. Sorry for the tirade, but perhaps this story will cause the forum to provide an impetus to Atari, allowing the Falcon to become the machine that it deserves to be." Jim Ness tells Jay: "My understanding is that Atari employees do read the messages here, and occasionally print them out for appropriate management to read. I am sure this will happen with your message, and I hope it results in an email contact for you. Atari has gone through some serious downsizing recently, in order to get back on the profit track. Much like GM, IBM, AT&T, Sears, and many others. One common problem with such downsizing is that the company doing it almost always goes a bit too far. Customer service suffers, until the situation is repaired. The hope is that the Falcon you are interested in will bring Atari back from obscurity. It is a neat machine, isn't it?" From the Atari Vendor's Forum ============================= The news of the demise of Double Click Software still rings through the Atari world. John Amsler posts a sentiment that anyone who dealt with Double Click shares: "They were a very good company with some very nice shareware. They ran the business very well, too." To which Beth Jane Freeman replies: "Yup; I was VERY disappointed to hear about their departure. They made great stuff, er, STuff! <g> I had always "ass"umed <g> that a company like Double Click would be around forever. Who's next?? That Fujiland, it's a scary world! <g>" Meanwhile in CodeHeadLand, a discussion about getting certain graphics cards and programs to work with Codehead's Warp9 accelerator and it's Extend-O-Save screensaver modules, Boris Molodyi tells CodeHead Charles Johnson: "Well, I guess changing addresses would not work with graphic cards. But isn't PYROTECH limited in the screen modes it uses, anyway? I don't know if it would work on Moniterm at all... Also, some programs (as That's Write) might use screen output after I set Warp to sleep (That's Write has funny ideas about updating the display), and it would prevent me from preventing burn-in. :-) STARSAVER that I used before, while limited only to standard ST/TT modes, would allow a program to draw whatever it wanted in the background (by any means programmer would choose), while STarSaver would display it's stars on the actual screen, with no problems at all. Warp 9, OTOH, has fits when a program outputs to the screen, like Flash II's time display (it shines thru) or That's Write's flashing cursor. BTW, how's the MTOS compatible version going? Without Warp 9, MTOS seems so slow..." Charles replies: "We may change some of the modules to flip the screen base, to avoid the problems you mentioned; we've been looking at doing that with PYROTECH, in fact. However, the question of "to change the screen base or not?" is pretty frustrating, because whichever way you do it you'll have problems. If you do change it, the module won't work with extended video cards. If you don't change it, you'll have trouble with ill-behaved applications like That's Write. (Have you seen the new Mandala module, by the way? It's in Library 16 here.) Progress is being made on a Falcon/MTOS compatible version of Warp 9. However, the slowdown you see in MTOS is not going to be helped much by Warp 9, I'm afraid. The bottleneck is not screen output; MTOS is sluggish because of its internal code." From the Atari Portfolio Forum ============================== Greg Burgess posts: "I've had my Portfolio since it first came out, and its good to know that others use these handy little machines. So far I've been using only the built in software because I've never been able to manage a file transfer. (I've moved three times since I bought it and lost the manual that came with the parallel port.) Will a straight through 25-pin cable work, or do I need to have a special cable made up? If I need a special cable can someone send me a pinout diagram? On a related topic, is an AC power supply necessary for doing file transfers?" Sysop Judy Hamner tells Greg: "A straight through 25 pin cable is what you want. If you are still having trouble, check that your PC port is set for bidirectional transfer. There are other threads active on this subject which you may want to read." Greg tells Judy: "Hi. Thanks for the quick response. I've got the cable, but the one time I tried it nothing happened. So I'll have to find out how to set the bidirectional transfer. I'll be sure to look for the threads you mentioned. I don't use my Portfolio as much as I should, and file transfers should make it much more useful." Sysop BJ Gleason tells Greg: "A straight through cable is all you need. Typically, it would be 25 pin male to 25 pin male. It is recommended that you use the ac adapter when doing file transfers, since the parallel port draws additional power from the batteries..." Greg replies to BJ: "Thanks for the help. I've got the cable and the local stereo store had universal AC adapters last time I was in. I was really glad to find this forum on Compuserve. Up till now I was the only person I knew with a Portfolio. Its hard to share ideas in a community of one!" Theo Holl posts this interesting morsel: "Reading some messages in this forum, I realized that quiet a number of people want to power their Portfolio with NiCads to keep the costs low. Because of the well known problems with the reliability of that kind of power-source, most of them turn back to the usual batteries. But that's no longer necessary ! I run my 512kb port with NiCads together with an internal BACKUP-Battery - and this really works !! It's a CR 2025 battery that serves as emergency power source. Together with a special backup-electronic "card" it is installed in the port and saves data for at least a year. (Whenever you use ac-power or fresh NiCads the backup battery isn't active.) This great port-utility is developed and distributed by: Schneider Datentechnik Basler Strasse 60/I D-W 8000 Muenchen 71 phone: ++49-(0)89-7557598 Mr. Schneider also offers internal memory upgrade, 512kb and 640kb ! (He already upgraded my port to 512kb and it works to my full contentment.) Prices: Backup Battery Pack 98,00 DM Low Power 512kb 468,00 DM Low Power 640kb 598,00 DM (prices include installation and German VAT [+ shipping and handling])" Well, that's it for this week folks. I hope you've found some information that you can use to make your life easier, more exciting, or just plain more fun. C'mon back next week and kick back in your favorite chair, take your shoes off, relax, and listen to what they are saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING *********************************************************************** IMPORTANT NOTICE! ================= STReport International Online Magazine is available every week in the ST Advantage on DELPHI. STReport readers are invited to join DELPHI and become a part of the friendly community of Atari enthusiasts there. SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI ====================== Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access DELPHI services via a local phone call JOIN -- DELPHI -------------- Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002 then... When connected, press RETURN once or twice and... At Password: type STREPORT and press RETURN. DELPHI's Basic Plan offers access for only $6.00 per hour, for any baud rate. The $5.95 monthly fee includes your first hour online. For more information, call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005 DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, MA. Try DELPHI for $1 an hour! For a limited time, you can become a trial member of DELPHI, and receive 5 hours of evening and weekend access during this month for only $5. If you're not satisfied, simply cancel your account before the end of the calendar month with no further obligation. If you keep your account active, you will automatically be enrolled in DELPHI's 10/4 Basic Plan, where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for a minimum $10 monthly charge, with additional hours available at $3.96. But hurry, this special trial offer will expire soon! To take advantage of this limited offer, use your modem to dial 1-800-365-4636. Press <RET> once or twice. When you get the Password: prompt, type IP26 and press <RET> again. Then, just answer the questions and within a day or two, you'll officially be a member of DELPHI! TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (2/10/93) STR906 FEBRUARY 05 Z*NET, JANUARY 30 VIEW132D ZMODEMFX.LZH AEO_0203.LZH JANUARY 30 DAVE SMALL SEZ.. GEM-VIEW 2.13 SUPER PCS PICS SERFX20.LZH ST GAMING DIGEST 1/93 All of the above files can be found in the RECENT ARRIVALS database for at least one week after the posting of this list. Please Note that in the case of online magazines, only the most current issue in the database at the time of this compilation is considered for the Top 10 list. Also, for all files, a submission is eligible for the Top 10 list for only four weeks after its original uploading. DELPHI- It's getting better all the time! *********************************************************************** > FALCON SPECS STR InfoFile The Specifications for the NEW BIRD """"""""""""""""""""""""" FALCON SPECIFICATIONS ===================== Atari Falcon 030 Specifications ------------------------------- CPU: Motorola 68030 32-bit microprocessor @ 16MHz w/32-bit bus FPU: Motorola 68881/68882 @ 16MHz (optional) """"""""""" DSP: Motorola 56001 Digital Signal Processor running in parallel @ 32MHz w/ 32kWords (24-bit) of local zero wait state static RAM ROM: 512kB RAM: 1, 4 or 16MB(14MB usable) on daughterboard (RAM is 32-bit wide) Expansion bus: Internal 'Processor-Direct' slot for 386SX emulation (third party 386SX emulator nearly completed) or other co-processors/etc. Video: (See below for specific video modes/resolutions.) 16-bit BLiTTER @ 16MHz (also handles hard drive access) Accepts external video sync to allow high quality genlocking Overlay mode for easy video titling and special effects Overscan support Hardware-assisted horizontal fine scrolling VIDEL (video controller) sits on 32-bit bus Audio: Stereo 16-bit Analog-to-Digital DMA input Stereo 16-bit Digital-to-Analog DMA output Eight 16-bit audio DMA record/playback channels SDMA sound/DMA co-processor Ports: 128kB cartridge port 2 9-pin mouse/joystick ports 2 15-pin STe enhanced analog/digital controller ports (Atari also has new analog controllers w/ a joystick, 3 fire buttons, and a 12-key keypad) MIDI IN, OUT/THRU Bi-directional parallel port RS232C serial port SCSI II w/ DMA Analog RGB/VGA/composite video connector Stereo headphone out (1/8" mini-jack) Stereo microphone in (1/8" mini-jack) DSP port (up to 1MHz data transfer rate) RF modulator for TV hookup Localtalk compatible LAN (up to 250kbaud transfer rate) Misc: Internal 1.44MB 3.5" HD floppy Internal IDE 2.5" hard drive (optional) Pre-emptive mulitasking OS (MultiTOS) w/ adaptive prioritization and inter-process communication (also 68040 compatible) Realtime clock and battery backed up RAM 1040ST-style case w/ internal fan North American availability in mid-October Price: 1MB/no HD - $799 list 4MB/65MB - $1399 list Resolutions available on the Atari Falcon030 (c) 1992 Atari Corp. Written by John Townsend ========================================================================= This document may be re-printed again and again as long as the Atari copyright remains intact. ========================================================================= A couple of notes: Unlike previous machines, there are just too many resolutions to give each resolution a name. Therefore, I will do my best to describe what the resolution is and which monitor it is on. - NOTE: TV and a Color Monitor are the same.. by Color Monitor, I am talking about the standard SC1224. By VGA, I mean a standard VGA Monitor. 40 column modes ( "column" means the number of x pixels divided by 8) --------------- 4 color, normal, TV: 320x200, 4 colors, 2 planes 16 color, normal, TV: 320x200, 16 colors, 4 planes 256 color, normal, TV: 320x200, 256 colors, 8 planes True color, normal, TV: 320x200, true color 4 color, interlace, TV: 320x400, 4 colors, 2 planes 16 color, interlace, TV: 320x400, 16 colors, 4 planes 256 color, interlace, TV: 320x400, 256 colors, 8 planes True color, interlace, TV: 320x400, true color 4 color, normal, VGA: 320x480, 4 colors, 2 planes 16 color, normal, VGA: 320x480, 16 colors, 4 planes 256 color, normal, VGA: 320x480, 256 colors, 8 planes True color, normal, VGA: 320x480, true color 4 color, line-doubling, VGA: 320x240, 4 colors, 2 planes 16 color, line-doubling, VGA: 320x240, 16 colors, 4 planes 256 color, line-doubling, VGA: 320x240, 256 colors, 8 planes True color, line-doubling, VGA: 320x240, true color 80 column modes --------------- 2 color, normal, TV: 640x200, 2 colors, 1 plane 4 color, normal, TV: 640x200, 4 colors, 2 planes 16 color, normal, TV: 640x200, 16 colors, 4 planes 256 color, normal, TV: 640x200, 256 colors, 8 planes True color, normal, TV: 640x200, true color 4 color, interlace, TV: 640x400, 4 colors, 2 planes 16 color, interlace, TV: 640x400, 16 colors, 4 planes 256 color, interlace, TV: 640x400, 256 colors, 8 planes True color, interlace, TV: 640x400, true color 2 color, normal, VGA: 640x480, 2 colors, 1 plane 4 color, normal, VGA: 640x480, 4 colors, 2 planes 16 color, normal, VGA: 640x480, 16 colors, 4 planes 256 color, normal, VGA: 640x480, 256 colors, 8 planes 4 color, line-doubling, VGA: 640x240, 4 colors, 2 planes 16 color, line-doubling, VGA: 640x240, 16 colors, 4 planes 256 color, line-doubling, VGA: 640x240, 256 colors, 8 planes and lastly.. there are compability modes for ST Low, ST Medium, and ST High on both VGA monitors and SC1224 monitors. (On a color monitor, ST High is achieved by using the interlace mode). Also, the ST Monochrome monitor (the SM124) will work with Falcon030 as well. However, it only supports one resolution: ST High Resolution. All modes on a TV can be overscanned. This means multiplying the X and Y resolution by 1.2. For example, modes with 320 pixels of horizontal resolution (X res) will become 384 pixels across, and modes with 640 pixels will become 768 across. Overscanning is done in the X and Y resolution. You can't do them independently. Special Note: On a VGA monitor, overscan is "faked".. since the video hardware doesn't have the capability to do overscan on a VGA monitor, we made it so that if a overscan mode is set on a VGA monitor, you still see the normal size screen, but the screen is a window onto the bigger overscanned image. Make sense? We did this for compatibility. This way if a game that has an overscanned starup picture can use the same pic on both the VGA monitor and the TV monitor. Pretty cool, eh? <grin> BTW.. Overscan can NOT be set from the desktop. The AES and Desktop will work just fine with it, but because you can't see the parts of the screen, we thought that that option shouldn't be available from the desktop. We don't want to confuse people. However, Overscan can be set using a new XBIOS call (Vsetmode()).. so it is still available. I hope I haven't made any mistakes. I triple-checked this document in search of errors and I couldn't find any. If you do find some, send me Email on GEnie (to TOWNS) or CIS (70007,1135) and let me know. -- John Townsend, Atari Corp. P.S. Anyone who would like to reprint this message, please do so! The smaller the number of times I have to type that message, the more my fingers with thank you! ;-) After looking at this one more time.. one point to clear up: By saying SC1224 Color Monitor, I mean any Color Monitor that Atari have manufactured for the ST/Mega/STE/MegaSTE computers. Clear as mud? ;-) Article: 00000 of comp.sys.atari.st Path: xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: The REAL Falcon specs wanted! Keywords: Falcon specs. Sender: network-news@cs.ruu.nl Reply-To: xxxxxxxxxx Organization: Dept of Computer Science, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Lines: 470 In-Reply-To: yyyyyyyyyyyy yyy I found this file on the local ATARI Company's BBS : (original in Dutch) This article is written by Wilfred Kilwinger (Support Manager) for Atari Briefing, the newsletter by Atari (Benelux) B.V. for the Atari user groups. It was specifically stated that it could be reproduced. I have translated it in English with the assumption that an English translation would be considered the same as the original. The original also contained a description of all the features of the Falcon which have been reproduced here a zillion of times so I did not include those. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ATARI CUSTOM CHIPS VIDEL The VIDEL takes care of the video functions of the system including overscan, overlay mode and true color graphics COMBEL The COMBEL is the system manager of the Atari Falcon030. This chip controls all system functions. Also the BLITTER is built in in this chip. SDMA The SDMA is the Sound DMA and controls the sound part. We have built in a unique matrix switch function in this chip (more details in the second part) KEYBOARD PROCESSOR The keyboard processor has been improved and is now also suitable for high resolution mice. Besides the above custom chips the Atari Falcon030 has a number of standard chips like the Motorola 68030 and 56001 DSP. Another important chip is the CODEC in which the 16 bit AD and DA converters are located. Video modi As you can see in the survey of Operating System calls the video hardware is complete sotware controllable. The following combinations can a.o. be chosen: Mode Resolution Bit planes Colors Palette ST LOW 320x200 4 16 4096 ST MED 640x200 2 4 4096 ST HIGH 640x400 1 2 4096 True Color 640x480 8 256 262144 320x200 15bpp 32768 N/A The last mode asks for some explanation. Here there is no color palette but 15 bits per pixel to describe the pixel itself. The format is RRRRRGGGGGXBBBBB. VDI supports this mode thus programs that have not been written for this mode specifically can use it nevertheless. X is the overlay bit and can be used for video titling and special effects. 320x200 16bpp 65 N/A This mode is called the slideshow mode, is not supported by the VDI, you are on your own. X is an extra green bit. True Color in 640x480 is not possible because of the bandwidth of VGA monitors. Mode Resolution Bit planes Colors Palette VGA 320 of 640 1,4,8 2,16,256 262144 (Overscan Video 200 of 400 With Video we mean the Atari SC-monitors, the TV modulator and/or the composite video output. All modes can be gegenlocked. With adaptors we convert the 15-pole video bus to thee standard Atari or VGA connections. |----| - - / \ / \ / \ | | -|--------|- Matrix coupling To make the system performance in the audio part as good as possible Atari designed a miniature 'telephone exchange' that can easily connect the source devices to the receiving devices. Also it is possible to make more than one connection at a time. Source devices EXT INPUT ---*-------*------*------* CHANNEL | | | | | | | | DSP ---*-------*------*------* TRANSMIT | | | | | | | | ADC ---*-------*------*------* | | | | | | | | DMA ---*-------*------*------* PLAYBACK | | | | DMA DAC DSP EXT OUTPUT RECORD RECEIVE CHANNEL Receiving Devices Ports andn interfacing DSP CONNECTOR (DB26 Female) Pin Signal Pin Signal 1 GP0 14 GND 2 GP1 15 SRD 3 GP2 16 GND 4 P_DATA 17 +12V 5 P_CLK 18 GND 6 P_SYNC 19 R_DATA 7 n/c 20 R_CLK 8 GND 21 R_SYNC 9 +12V 22 EXT_INT 10 GND 23 STD 11 SC0 24 SCK 12 SC1 25 GND 13 SC2 26 EXCLK SCSI CONNECTOR (flat 50 pins SCSI II Female) Pin Signal Pin Signal 1-10 GND 37 Not Connected 11 +5V 38 +5V 12-14 Not Connected 39 Not Connected 15-25 GND 40 GND 26 SCSI 0 41 ATN 27 SCSI 1 42 GND 28 SCSI 2 43 BSY 29 SCSI 3 44 ACK 30 SCSI 4 45 RST 31 SCSI 5 46 MSG 32 SCSI 6 47 SEL 33 SCSI 7 48 C/D 34 Parity 49 REQ 35-36 GND 50 I/O SERIAL PORT (DB9 MALE) Pin Signal 1 Carrier Detect 5 GND 2 Receive 6 Data set ready 3 Transmit 7 Request to Send 4 Data Terminal Ready 8 Clear to Send 9 Ring Indicator PARALLEL PORT (DB25 Female) The parallel port has extra signal to ease the connection of scanners. Pin Signal 1 Strobe 8 Data 6 2 Data 0 9 Data 7 3 Data 1 10 Acknowledge 4 Data 2 11 Busy 5 Data 3 12-16 Not Connected 6 Data 4 17 Select 7 Data 5 18-25 GND MONITOR CONNECTOR (DB19 Male) Pin Signal Pin Signal 1 Red 11 GND 2 Green 12 Composite Sync/Video 3 Blue 13 Horizontal Sync 4 Mono/Overlay 14 Vertical Sync 5 GND 15 External Clock Input 6 Red GND 16 External SYNC Enable 7 Green GND 17 +12V 8 Blue GND 18 M1 9 Audio out 19 M0 10 GND SCC LAN-port CONNECTOR (8-pin Mini DIN Female RS-422) Pin Signal 1 Handshake Output (DTR RS 423) 5 - Received Data 2 Handshake Input or External Clock 6 + Transmitted Data 3 - Transmit Data 7 General-purpose Input 4 GND 8 + Receive ENHANCED JOYSTICK (DB15 Male) Port A Port B Pin Signal Pin Signal 1 UP 0 1 UP 1 2 DOWN 0 2 DOWN 1 3 LT 0 3 LT 1 4 RT 0 4 RT 1 5 PAD0Y 5 PAD1Y 6 FIRE 0 / LIGHT GUN 6 FIRE 1 7 VCC (+5 VDC) 7 VCC 8 Not Connected 8 Not Connected 9 GND 9 GND 10 FIRE 2 10 FIRE 3 11 UP 2 11 UP 3 12 DOWN 2 12 DOWN 3 13 LT 2 13 LT 3 14 RT 2 14 RT 3 15 PAD0X 15 PAD1X MIDI PORT (DIN 5 Female) MIDI OUT MIDI IN Pin Signal Pin Signal 1 Thru Transmit 1 Not Connected 2 GND 2 Not Connected 3 Thru Loop Return 3 Not Connected 4 Out Transmit 4 In Receive 5 Out Loop Return 5 In Loop Return New Operating System calls This information maybe subject to change and is certainly not meant as documentation for programmers DSP-calls Dsp_DoBlock(a,b,c,d) (void) xbios(500,a,b,c,d) Dsp_BlkHandShake(a,b,c,d) (void) xbios(501,a,b,c,d) Dsp_BlkUnpacked(a,b,c,d) (void) xbios(502,a,b,c,d) Dsp_InStream(a,b,c,d) (void) xbios(503,a,b,c,d) Dsp_OutStream(a,b,c,d) (void) xbios(504,a,b,c,d) Dsp_IOStream(a,b,c,d,e,f) (void) xbios(505,a,b,c,d,e,f) Dsp_RemoveInterrupts(a) (void) xbios(506,a) Dsp_GetWordSize() (int) xbios(507) Dsp_Lock() (int) xbios(508) Dsp_Unlock() (void) xbios(509) Dsp_Available(a,b) (void) xbios(510,a,b) Dsp_Reserve(a,b) (int) xbios(511,a,b) Dsp_LoadProg(a,b,c) (int) xbios(512,a,b,c) Dsp_ExecProg(a,b,c) (void) xbios(513,a,b,c) Dsp_ExecBoot(a,b,c) (void) xbios(514,a,b,c) Dsp_LodToBinary(a,b) (long) xbios(515,a,b) Dsp_TriggerHC(a) (void) xbios(516,a) Dsp_RequestUniqueAbility() (int) xbios(517) Dsp_GetProgAbility() (int) xbios(518) Dsp_FlushSubroutines() (void) xbios(519) Dsp_LoadSubroutine(a,b,c) (int) xbios(520,a,b,c) Dsp_InqSubrAbility(a) (int) xbios(521,a) Dsp_RunSubroutine(a) (int) xbios(522,a) Dsp_Hf0(a) (int) xbios(523,a) Dsp_Hf1(a) (int) xbios(524,a) Dsp_Hf2() (int) xbios(525) Dsp_Hf3() (int) xbios(526) Dsp_BlkWords(a,b,c,d) (void) xbios(527,a,b,c,d) Dsp_BlkBytes(a,b,c,d) (void) xbios(528,a,b,c,d) Dsp_HStat() (char) xbios(529) Dsp_SetVectors(a,b) (void) xbios(530,a,b) De volledige beschrijving van bovenstaande functie's staat in de Falcon030 Developers Documentation. VIDEO SETMODE int setmode( int modecode ); The setmode( int modecode ) call is used to place the Falcon/030 SHIFTER into a specific mode. A bit-encoded value (called a "modecode") is passed to setmode() to set the mode. setmode() returns the previous mode that was set. To help make the building of modecode values easier, here is a table of defines: #define VERTFLAG 0x100 #define STMODES 0x80 #define OVERSCAN 0x40 #define PAL 0x20 #define VGA 0x10 #define TV 0x0 #define COL80 0x08 #define COL40 0x0 #define NUMCOLS 7 #define BPS16 4 #define BPS8 3 #define BPS4 2 #define BPS2 1 #define BPS1 0 Using these defines, you can build a modecode for any possible mode. For example: For True Color Overscan: modecode = OVERSCAN|COL40|BPS16; For ST Medium Compatibility mode on a Color Monitor/TV: modecode = STMODES|COL80|BPS2; For ST Low Compatibility mode in PAL on a Color Monitor/TV: modecode = STMODES|PAL|COL80|BPS2; For 256 color, 80 column mode on a VGA monitor: modecode = VGA|COL80|BPS8; If you have a modecode and wish to know how many bits per pixel it has, use the following: if( modecode & NUMCOLS ) == BPS16 ) do_something_cool(); /* You have true color mode */ The setmode() call will return the previous modecode set. You must use this value to get back to whatever mode you were in before you made your setmode call. int mon_type(void) The mon_type() function will return the kind of monitor that is currently in use. Here are the possible return values: 0 = ST monochrome monitor 1 = ST color monitor 2 = VGA monitor 3 = Television. void ext_sync( int flag ) This function sets or clears external sync. If flag is set, external sync is enabled. If flag is clear, then internal sync is used. SOUND-calls locksnd(); Used as a semiphore to lock the sound system. From other applications. unlocksnd(); Used to release the sound system for other applications to use. soundcmd(mode,data); This command is used to get or set the following sound parameters. If a negative number is used as the input then the current setting is returned. MODE OPERATION MEANING O LTATTEN Sets the current left channel output 1 RTATTEN Sets the current right channel output 2 LTGAIN Sets the current left channel input gain. 3 RTGAIN Sets the current right channel input gain. 4 ADDERIN Set the output of the 16 bit signed adder to receive it's input from the ADC, Matrix or both. 5 ADCINPUT Set the input the the ADC. The input can either be the left and right channel of the PSG or the left and right channel of the microphone. 6 SETPRESCALE Used for compatability. This prescale value is used when the DEVCONNECT() internal prescale value is set to zero. setbuffer(reg,begaddr,endaddr); This function is used to set the play or record buffers. REG selects playback or record, while begaddr and endaddr are the buffers beginning and ending locations. (int) reg - (0) Sets playback registers. - (1) Sets record registers. (long) begaddr - Sets the beginning address of the buffer. (long) endaddr - Sets the ending address of the buffer. setmode(mode); This function is used to set record or playback mode. The modes are as follows: MODE OPERATION (int) 0 8 Bit Stereo (int) 1 16 Bit Stereo (int) 2 8 Bit Mono settracks(playtracks,rectracks); This function is used to sets the number of record or playback tracks. setmontracks(montrack); This function is used to set the output of the internal speaker to one of the four tracks currently playing. The internal speaker is only capable of outputing ONE track at a time. setinterrupt(src_inter,cause); This function is used to set which interrupt that will occur at the end of a frame. If the frame repeat bit is on, this interrupt is used to allow for double buffering the playing or recording of sound. Interrupts can come from TimerA or the MFP i7. buffoper(mode); This function is used to control the operation of the play or record buffers in the sound system. The input to this function is a bitmap. If mode is set t0 -1 then the current status of the buffer operation bits is returned. NOTE: The sound system contains a 32 byte FIFO. When transferring data to the record buffer, software MUST check to see if the record enable (RE) bit was cleared by the hardware. If the bit was cleared then the FIFO is flushed, if not then software must flush the FIFO by clearing the record enable (RE) bit. dsptristate(dspxmit,dsprec); This function is used to tristate the DSP from the data matrix. gpio(mode,data); This is used to communicate over the General Purpose I/O on the DSP connector. Only the low order three bits are used. The rest are reserved. This call, depending on the mode, can be used to set the direction of the I/O bits, read the bits, or write the bits. devconnect(src,dst,srcclk,prescale,protocol); This function is used to attach a source device to any of the destination devices in the matrix. Given a source device, this call will attach that one source device to one or all of the destination devices. This call also sets up the source clock and prescaler, protocol and protocol source if used. sndstatus(reset); This function gets the current status of the codec. buffptr(pointer); This function returns the current position of the play and record data buffer pointers. These pointers indicate where the data is being read/written within the buffers themselves. This function is also used to determine how much data has been written to the record buffer. See buffoper(). The above is not yet complete. Atari has also routines for JPEG and andio conversion. For anyone who hasn't seen the full specs, the Falcon appears to have been designed as a 24 bit computer, partly to maintain compatability with existing software. This doesn't mean third party boards etc. can't extend that, but it explains the 14 meg memory limit. The other captures from Jim Allen posts on GEnie say that the Falcon chips all seem to talk at 16mhz. Another poster mentioned here that there's an 8bit processor to the dsp channel, I guess for uploading code into the dsp, though I don't know if that means you can't tell the dsp to load a program from a memory location itself, which would be faster, I'd guess. Motorola says the top speed the 56001 is clocked at is 33mhz, so the ad/da converters must be the parts clocked at 50mhz. A couple thoughts: Near the start of that message, a line said that the blitter chip handled hard drive access. That doesn't sound right. It may be that the functions of the discrete blitter and DMA chips in older machines have been combined into a single custom chip. Atari insists on saying the Falcon 030 has truecolor modes. Saying it over and over doesn't make it so. The machine has hicolor modes, allowing up to 64k colors onscreen at once. 5 bits each of red, green, and blue. This is hicolor. Truecolor is 16m colors at once, 8 bits or more of red green and blue. I guess truecolor sounds better in the advertising. *********************************************************************** :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT: _________________________________ Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo) Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN. GEnie costs only $4.95 a month for unlimited evening and weekend access to more than 100 services including electronic mail, online encyclopedia, shopping, news, entertainment, single-player games, and bulletin boards on leisure and professional subjects. With many other services, including the biggest collection of files to download and the best online games, for only $6 per hour. MONEY BACK GUARANTEE! Any time during your first month of membership if you are not completely satisfied, just ask for your $4.95 back. GEnie Announcements (FREE) 1. Keep in Touch with Your Loved Ones - Give the Gift of GEnie.GENIESTORE 2. NEW - Personal Chart Services now available in................ASTRO 3. Now get just sales data and top locations in..............D&B PROFILES 4. DARK SUN Designer Richard Baker coming to.....................TSR 5. SAVE ANOTHER 10% on VITAMINS this month at....................PHARMACY 6. Meet CD-ROM Author NeXT Monday at 10:00pm EST.................UNIX 7. II Legit II Quit - 20,000 files can't be wrong................A2 8. NEW: Locate INTERNATIONAL TRADE Administration Offices.....DIRECTORY 9. Online magazines and newsletters (Comics too) in............GENIELAMP 10. Thousand of BBSs Phone Numbers can be found in................MUSTANG 11. A New FREE Pet-Related File Each Week In......................PET 12. PEAVEY has arrived in.........................................MIDI 13. If you think you're smart, you can win big in.................TRIVIA 14. CHRISTIAN MUSIC MINISTRY support now available in . . . ......*MUSIC 15. My Dearest Valentine.....CONTEST..............................*FAMILY |"""| |"""| |"""""""""""""""""""""""| | | | ||"""""| | Your | | T ||"""""|| L || R | | Computing RT | | H || || A || O | | Resource! | | E || G || M || U | | ~ | | || E || P || N | | GEnieLamp Magazine | | || n || || D | | Electronic Publishing | | || i || || T | | Ed_NET | | || e || || A | | Bookettes! | | || || || B | | Online Magazines | | || || || L | | ~ | | || || || E | | Home Of The | | || || || | | Disktop Publishing | | || || || | | Association! | |"""||"""""||"""||"""""| |"""""""""""""""""""""""| |B33||B34.4||B35|| B64 | | C65.4132 | |===||=====||===||=====| |=======================| Your RT Hosts: John Peters [GENIELAMP] Jim Flanagan [JFLANAGAN] & Mike White [M.WHITE25] THE FEBRUARY ISSUES OF GEnieLamp ARE NOW ONLINE! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ATTENTION ALADDIN USERS A new script is in the library that will """"""""""""""""""""""" automate all your GEnieLamp RoundTable activites such as grabbing the latest issue of GEnieLamp or reading the latest RoundTable news (the Disktop Publishing Association newsletter). A new feature of this script is that it minimizes the amount of time you are in GEnie*Value. Save $$$!) Written by master-script writer, Jim Lubin, this script works with Aladdin PC, Aladdin ST and Aladdin Ami. 1093 GENIELMP.ZIP GET THE LAMP script for Aladdin FILE OF THE WEEK Friday night it's STANZA Online poetry magazine! """""""""""""""" Can't wait? Download file #1092. #7, This Page! GEnie GENIELAMP Page 515 Computing on GEnie Newsletter 1. GEnieLamp Bulletin Board 2. GEnieLamp Real-Time Conference 3. GEnieLamp Software Libraries 4. About the RoundTable 5. RoundTable News (930205) 6.[*]FEEDBACK to GEnieLamp 7. GEnieLamp File Of The Week 8.[*]GEnieLamp IBM (930201) 9.[*]GEnieLamp Atari (930201) 10.[*]GEnieLamp Mac (930201) 11.[*]GEnieLamp MacPRO (930202) 12.[*]GEnieLamp Apple II (930201) 13.[*]GEnieLamp A2PRO (930201) 14. Newsbytes News Network 15. Computer & Electronics NewsCent GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission *********************************************************************** > KC SHOW STR SHOW NEWS Shows, shows Galore! """"""""""""""""""""" KANSAS CITY ATARI CONNECTION IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE KANSAS CITY ATARIFEST '93 As most of you know we have been looking for a site for the first major Atari Show here in Kansas City. We now have the show location and by the time you read this, contracts will have been sent to as many dealers and developers that we have addresses on. The location for the show is Stadium Inn, 7901 E 40 Hwy., The date of the show will be July 17 and 18th. Ticket prices at the door will be 5.00 dollars each day. Advance tickets will be 4.00 dollars each, for advance tickets, please send 4.00 dollars to: Kansas City AtariFest, P.O. Box 1653, Lee Summit, MO 64063 or if you belong to a user group please mail a request for a user group information pack. To make room reservations please call 1-800-325-7901, we are also working with a local travel agent to get special airfares for the show. You may call 1-800-874-7691 after February 1st to take advantage of the special fares. For more information please leave Email as follows; GEnie, B.welsch, J.krzysztow, for CompuServe, Leave for Jeff Krzysztow at 74027,707, or you cal call (816)224-9021, or mail to the address listed above. We hope you will join us to welcome the following companies; Cali-Co software, ICD, MissionWare Software, Fair-Dinkum Software, Systems For Tomorrow, New Dimensions Computer Center, Electronic Spinster Graphics. Bruce Welsch Special Events Coordinator _____________________________________________________________ > STR EDITOR'S Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard" """""""""""""""""""""" STReport's EDTIOR'S MailBag """"""""""""""""""""""""""" From: BRYEDEWAARD To: RMARIANO CC: Subj: STReport (what else?!?) I read the latest STReport and I feel compelled to write you a letter. Feel free to include this in an STReport if you so desire and I leave it up to you if you feel that only portions of it are appropropriate. Whatever.... :) I have been really torn over the STReport debate that has been going on for some time. It seems to me now that the forces against you are much louder than the voice of reason, and it is the ST user that will suffer. People have asked (me included) that if STReport hates Atari so much, why does it continue. I now realize the answer: for those who really want to be informed enough to avoid being 'unpleasantly surprized' by Atari's actions. I, for instance, sold my SLM605 in anticipation of getting a Falcon. Had it not been for STReport, I would be expecting to get a simple adapter and use it on the Falcon. Needless to say, having to wait months (maybe many months) for a converter box, possibly at a high cost, would have made me very upset and will probably cause the SLMs to drop in value. STReport may not always be right, but it does try to let us know what we should know. If Atari kept us well informed, there'd be no need for STReport, or Atari's hatred for it. What has impressed me most is STReport's handling of the GEnie fiasco. STReport proved itself strong enough to rise above the entire mess with a 'business-as-usual' continuation, free of unbridled GEnie-bashing. I hope that something good can come of this and that Delphi can continue to grow as users seek a new 'Free-Press' area to read all online opinions and share ideas. As I understand it, GEnie censors all references to Delphi in their message areas, as a friend tried to give someone information on Delphi's excellent internet services, only to have it deleted. Anyway, I wish the best to STReport and to Atari, and I hope that in the future STReport won't annoy Atari so much because Atari won't have so much to hide. Your reader and Atarian of 12 years, Bryan Edewaard Delphi: BRYEDEWAARD Inet: bryedewaard@delphi.com Date: 02-Feb-93 12:15 EST From: 02-Feb-1993 1209 >INTERNET:rost@tecrus.enet.dec.com Subj: Sorry To Hear It Sender: rost@tecrus.enet.dec.com Received: from crl.dec.com by ihc.compuserve.com (5.65/5.930129sam) id AA11290; Tue, 2 Feb 93 12:14:02 -0500 Received: by crl.dec.com; id AA28356; Tue, 2 Feb 93 12:13:35 -0500 Received: by easynet.crl.dec.com; id AA20887; Tue, 2 Feb 93 12:13:31 -0500 Message-Id: <9302021713.AA20887@easynet.crl.dec.com> Received: from tecrus.enet; by crl.enet; Tue, 2 Feb 93 12:13:32 EST Date: Tue, 2 Feb 93 12:13:32 EST From: 02-Feb-1993 1209 <rost@tecrus.enet.dec.com> To: 70007.4454@compuserve.com Apparently-To: 70007.4454@compuserve.com Subject: Sorry To Hear It Ralph, I just read about the GEnie incident in Z*NET and was quite surprised and a bit upset. I'm not a GEnie user, I got my fixes of STReport from a user group member who downloaded the issues regularly. The thing that saddens me more than anything is how the actions of Atari itself frustrating its customers has the whole user community at each other's throats! The whole thing is so far out of hand now, it's ridiculous. I want you to know that I respected your editorial direction, I like to hear *all* the news, not just the good news! Thanks for all the back issues! Brian Rost rost@tecrus.enet.dec.com 508-568-6115 DEC, Hudson, MA "Have you noticed how the hole in the ozone layer has grown progressively larger since rap got popular?" -Anonymous Bryan and Brian; Most loyal Atarians are seeing these matters pretty much the way you are. Its sad to see happening but I must point out that its NOT GEnie itself making these decisions nor can GEnie be blamed for controversy after controversy between STReport and those operating the Atari RT on GEnie. (Odd, it ONLY happens in the ST RT!) The bottom line, GEnie itself is apparently quite pleased with the performance of STReport. Especially when it comes to discussing the sign-up figures and GEnie's cost per new user this is according to what we were told last year. Another point that must be made is the operators of the ST RT have, in our editorial opinion on more than one occasion, sought to destroy either STReport's or its staff's credibility by any means at their disposal. These are apparently undeniable facts as the captures of all their shenanigans, the baiting, badgering and weekly hostilities are all a matter of documented record. All such posts having been seen and/or captured and witnessed by a large cross-section of non-partial users as well as the members of the "clique" in the ST RT. What we are seeing is a culmination of the pent-up resentment resulting from the events of August, 1992. This unfortunate exhibition of back room games is just the latest in a long line of cheap shots and innuendo that STReport and its staff have "enjoyed" at the hands of a vociferous and extremely biased few. I honestly do not believe Atari had _anything_ officially to do with this latest aggressive act on the part of the ST RT sysop. Atari seems to be far more concerned with getting the Falcon out on time. Folks really must understand that GEnie is not responsible for the current situation. The contract holder, in our opinion, of the ST RT is. Apparently, as result of this contract holder's actions, there is a good chance _all_ types of dealer advertisements will not be allowed in any form on GEnie at all. This is a classic example of how a zealot's selfish, self-serving actions may be doing far more harm than good. Facts are facts; STReport and most other responsible online electronic publications have stated repeatedly "they _are_ magazines... that are intended to entertain, enlighten and amuse. They're responsible for their content _not_ the carrier. The analogy of the NEWS STAND is quite appropriate here.. the News Stand is not held responsible. Period. The sharpies used the Soldier of Fortune Magazine's suit as an example which was a brilliant stroke but they missed one point... nowhere was a news stand or any other source or purchase point named in the suit the Supreme Court held up... only Soldier of Fortune Magazine was named in the suit. But... the zealots apparently saw fit to panic and stampede people's views. Its an excellent if not classic example of expert manipulation of alleged facts to hopefully suit certain purposes. In closing, please do not blame GEnie itself for any of the current spate of comically sorry happenings. Its seemingly been brought about by those who would do most anything to silence STReport. This entire matter appears to have been engendered by the contract holder of the ST RT. The first shot fired was by this party (as usual). Ralph @ STReport International Online Magazine ____________________________________________________________________ > NVN WANTS YOU! STR InfoFile Another Network Supports Atari! """"""""""""""""""""""""""" National Videotext Network (NVN) has recently added an Atari ST Forum to it's growing lists of available services. The Atari ST Forum is ready and waiting for you! The future of NVN will be one which continues to remain sensitive and responsive to market needs. Additional services and advances in electronic information will continue to be added, to provide unique and interesting services on an on-going basis. NVN service offerings can be broken into three categories: Basic, Premium, and Premium Plus. Basic Services -------------- Most of the Basic services are available 24 hours a day with no connect time charges beyond the basic membership fee. However, a select group have functions for which transaction fees are charged. Basic services are accessible through a flat rate charge of $5.95 per month. Premium Services ---------------- For Premium services, Members pay connect charges for the amount of time spent in a particular service. Premium services are accessible Monday through Friday for a connect time charge of $9.00/hour from 8 am to 6 pm, and $6.00/hour from 6 pm to 8 am; and on Saturday and Sunday for a connect time charge of $6.00 all day (6 pm Friday til 8 am Monday), central time zone. 9600 Baud access is available at no additional cost! Think of the advantages of downloading at 9600 baud for 9.00 hr Prime Time or 6.00 hr non-prime time! Premium Plus Services --------------------- Premium Plus services are subject to the same type of connect time charge as Premium services. However, a surcharge is also added to the connect time for these services. You can join NVN one of two ways. By voice phone 1-800-336-9096 (Client Services) or via modem phone 1-800-336-9092. You will be issued an Account # (usually within 24 hours) National Videotex Network and the Atari ST Forum will be waiting for you. _____________________________________________________________ > SST SHOW STR SHOW NEWS DON'T MISS THIS ONE!! """""""""""""""""""""" o----------------------o ** ** ** | S A C R A M E N T O | ** ** ** | | ** ** ** | .===, .###, ##### | ** ** ** | =, = #, # # | ** ** ** | =, #, # | *** ** *** | =, #, # | ***** ** ***** | =, #, # | ****** ** ****** | = = # # # | ****** ** ****** | '===' '###' # | ****** ** ****** | | | ST USER GROUP | o----------------------o Presents \\__________mmmmmmmm______ ______mmmmmmmm__________// ==============////////======\\_mMMm_//======\\\\\\\\============== ===/////////////////////////\\\MM///\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\=== //////////////////////////\\\///\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ /////////////// \\// \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ////// //||\\ \\\\\\ // \\ /|\ /|\ * * * THE * * **** * * * * * *** * * * * * **** A C R A M E N T O * * * * *** * * * * * * ***** * * * * * * * * T A R I * * * * **** * * * * * * * * * * * **** O M P U T E R * * * * **** * * **** *** * * * * * * * * * * * **** ** **** * * * * * * * * * * * * **** * * * *** S I T I O N * * * * MARCH 13TH - 14TH 1993 * * * The Sacramento Atari ST User Group invites you to join them for a two day festival of all things Atari. Fly high with the fabulous Falcon 030, or taunt your taste buds with a tempting TT! While you're in the Sacramento area, check out some of the great sights it has to offer. Sacramento was the capital of the wild west, and historic old town Sacramento is still much like it was over 100 years ago. Ride the rails to the California State Railroad Museum, the largest of its kind in the United States. Stroll the decks of the famous Delta King river boat or tour the newly restored state capitol building; all just minutes from the SAC Expo. The show will be Saturday and Sunday, March 13th and 14th 1993. It will be held at the Towe Ford Museum, 2200 Front Street, Sacramento, Ca. 95818. The Towe is another jewel in the capital city's crown, boasting the worlds largest collection of antique Ford automobiles. The special events area in which the show will be held is a replica of a famed area theatre which was demolished in 1973 amid great public outcry. The exterior and forecourt of the Alhambra theatre live again at the Towe, including a giant Wurlitzer pipe organ donated from the estate of Cecil B. De Mille. The show will actually spread out through various parts of the museum, and the auto exhibits will be open free to show goers as an added attraction. We still have vendors signing on to the Expo, but to date you can expect to see: Barefoot Software San Jose Computer Codehead Software STeve's Software Oregon Research ST Informer Magazine Cottonwood Computer Safari Fonts B & C Computervision Marcel Software of California Branch Always Software/Purple Mountain Computer A & D Software Compo Software There will be a festive grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony at 10am on Satruday the 13th. Sacramento celebrity Matias Bombal will be on hand as master of ceremonies, and famed area organist Dave "Vox" Mereno will kick off the Expo with a few grand tunes on the mighty Wurlitzer. So be sure not to miss out on all the fun, and of course, the Falcon! Tickets for the show are $6 for one day and $10 for a two day pass. Advance tickets for the Expo are available from the SST. Send a self addressed stamped envelope, including all necessary funds, to: SST PO BOX 214892 Sacramento, CA 95821-0892 All advance ticket orders will also receive a $5 coupon from STeves Software at the show. Travel arrangements for the show are being handled by Sports Leisure Travel of Sacramento, ask for Mark or Del at 1-800-321-4758. For more information contact SST President (and Vendor Coordinator) Nick Langdon at (916) 723-6425; The Towe Ford Museum at (916) 442-6802, or SST via GEnie account # M.WARNER8. ______________________________________________________ > STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips" """"""""""""""""""""" - San Francisco, CA TT030 IS WHAT? ----------------- According to our super snoop, a certain Atari employee recently gave a deposition relative to a certain proceeding. In that deposition, he mentioned that the TT was an interim machine never intended to be aimed at the general computing market and that's why the units shipping in the US were not class B nor was the acquisition of class B of a high priority. In fact, there had been no class B TT030 units manufactured. It was also mentioned that the Falcon is the first machine they've had that the majority of Atari's top brass had any real confidence in. - Washington, DC FCC DILIGENT OVER "QUEENS" -------------- In a recent discussion with its field engineers, the commission's brass made mention of the fact they were highly concerned over the practice of submitting special versions of hardware or of hardware receiving certification while the actual units offered for sale were not exactly the same as those submitted for certification. Its been decided that "in the field" acquisition and re-inspection of certain devices, computers and many type 15 devices will be placed under high priority. A number of incidents in the last 18 months involving "Queens" and other 'substitution' abuses have made this action necessary. ______________________________________________________________ > STR Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard" """"""""""""" STReport's MailBag """""""""""""""""" Messages * NOT EDITED * for content ----------------------------------- From GEnie's ST RT Category 18, Topic 26 Message 33 Sun Feb 07, 1993 LEXICOR [Lee] at 00:16 EST For the RECORD: The post in STReport is not correct as a whole, and I was going to wait till the final investigation by UPS internal security befor posting. How ever: Lexicor did receiv a package a day later than reported in the STReport account. That Package was on the surface from purple Mountian Computers, it's lable stated that it contained a gemulator. the box had no indication that it was from Ralph. the package was, along with several others packed for shipmant for our move with out being opened. Mostly because we have no need of a Gemulator and because we were packing every- thing. We received no less than 4 inquiries from UPS about the delivery. We reported in every case in writing that we did not have any record of receiving any thing from ABCO, but that we would alert UPS if we did have the delivery as soon as the Container which had the shipping box with the Shipment in it was opened. because of the problems we have had with RALPH/ABCO and the statement by Ralph through third parties that he would never ship the goods we requested that UPS have an investigator present when the package was finally unopacked and opened. Due to the fact that the package Claimed by Ralph was insured for $500 dollars, which was at least 4 times the actual value of the goods and because Ralph was demanding an insurance settlement from UPS right away, The UPS internal security people did a comparison of the demands by Ralph and found that they did not agree. One demand claimed that the package weighed 10 pounds and it's contents were Unknown and another claimed the package weighed 2 pounds. the package was unpacked on friday and examined by UPS. they found that the package had no other indentification than the Purple Mountian original lable on it and that the contents did not match the insurance calim as to value demanded by ABCO. At this point the matter rest with UPS as to what they want to do about a demand for excess value. Once they decide what they wish to do we will then decide as to what we will anounce. Given the responces to inquiries here by customers asking ABCO about their orders, if I wait till June of 1995 to confirm a delivery from ABCO, I will have been as prompt as ABCO was in filling the order, which would be fair and reasonable I think it is very interesting that Ralph seems to think that it is just fine and dandy to refuse to respond here and screams bloody murder if he gets the same treatment. So now we wait to see what UPS finds in the package and if it is worth the $500 dollars claimed by ABCO. Lee ------------ Editor Reply: ------------- The post in STReport 906 was, (contrary to the misleading and erroneous bleating presented above), entirely correct and accurate. As was exactly what was related to us by UPS. The game being played is quite obvious. Since the accurate description of the parcel has been made it was no doubt received by Lexicor. Accordingly, we have forwarded the above public message to UPS Internal Security and a copy of our original request for a simple trace and verification of delivery. For the record, the first report came back that since Lexicor was a private house, no signature was sought. This caused some concern on ABCO's part. Thus, the follow-up trace and subsequent verification post presented above. United Parcel Servie's people were quite grateful to find this revealing information and the fact that there was never a claim filed... not from the firt trace inquiry till now. They now have a very good idea as to who the real "perp" is. The fact is plain since the parcel's appearance is fully described in the above post, there is now no doubt it was received at its destination. Category 18, Topic 26 Message 37 Sun Feb 07, 1993 G.CROSS [Jerry] at 11:05 EST Lloyd, Does that refer to his free flag or to any account he has? I can't see how Darlah can stop him (like you) from paying to get on to the round table and replying to messages. Lee, The fact that Ralph was willing to lose his Genie access over his advertising only shows where his true priorities are. The reason for STR's existance was to advertise ABCO, and this proves it. D,D., "They didn't like anyone questioning the FCC approval date.." I was the one who questioned his reporting, and I was the one who proved Ralph was blowing smoke. He still has not admitted he was wrong, and he is still passing around lies about the FCC certification. "I seldom, if ever, saw a common down to earth, everyday Atari user and Genie customer post a complaint about what they read." What am I, a potted plant? ------------ Editor Note: ------------ Jerry, we've known each other for quite some time and I must say your insistance upon this tack of my not having the real facts concerning the FCC is ludicrous! The information was dictated to STReport and presented verbatim in STReport 902. No embellishments, nothing but the facts just the way we got them from the Engineer in Charge. You proved nothing, absolutely nothing except that of an attempt to build a fascade of smoke and mirrors. The Falcon was class B certified on January 8th. Since the previous certification with its requirements were appealed by Atari, that certification was rendered invalid. You failed to understand that point of information. About the potted plant... what type fertilizer do you prefer?? :-) Category 14, Topic 16 Message 68 Tue Feb 09, 1993 TOWNS [John@Atari] at 17:25 EST Tom.. I was slightly burned out on online stuff for awhile and we have been attempting to get SpeedoGDOS and MultiTOS out the door. Considering all of that.. I decided not to logon for quite some time. I think maybe I am back now ;-) I will check into the Clipboard path and Atari Works. I was certain that it supported the standard Clipboard spec. Oh well.. If not, then it needs to do it. -- John Townsend, Atari Corp. PS. That doesn't even take into account that I am getting married in 5 days! Wish me luck. ------------ Editor; Good Luck John... Marriage is a wonderful institution... all mental! Really.. all the luck in the world to you and your new wife. Category 14, Topic 20 Message 34 Wed Feb 10, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 03:01 EST Ken, Atari Works v1.0 supports only GEM Metafile graphics in the Wordprocessor. If you have a GEM Metafile that refers to an IMG file (such as from EasyDraw or TouchUp), the .IMG file will be printed. A wide variety of Graphics import has been on our list and will show up in a future release. Wayne, RTF and DBF are imported and exported. It is command-compatible with Excel; it does not currently import and export Excel files. The Database Form layout is not limited to the screen, you can layout a form in a window and the window will track the active field. Forms created for 1280x960 work just fine in 640x400. Brian, the GEM metafile format is quite well documented, I have no idea what you are talking about. All an application has to do to create a metafile is open Device 31 and begin making VDI calls just as they would to draw lines, cirlces and text on the screen, when you close the workstation, the metafile is written automatically. This is slighty simplified, but it _is_ a trivial task, even _creating_ GEM/3 Beziers. I have quite a list of features that will be added to Atari Works from revision to revision. I don't think anyone will be disappointed. -Bill@Atari Category 14, Topic 41 Message 128 Tue Feb 09, 1993 TOWNS [John@Atari] at 17:25 EST This is the Overview information I found on the Falcon030 Audio sub-system: The Atari Falcon030 contains a sophisticated digital processing and audio sub-system.. 32MHz 56001 Digital Signal Processor with 96K bytes of zero wait state RAM. Eight track, 16-bit digital DMA record channel. Eight track, 16-bit digital DMA playback channel (operating in parallel with digital record) On-board 16-bit stereo DACs, feeding the internal loudspeaker and headphone jack. On-board 16-bit stereo ADCs, and stereo microphone jack. Sophisticated data path matrix between DSP, DMA, Codec and external connector. Sample rates up to 50KHz. Serial data transfer rates up to 1MB per second. Loudspeaker or headphones can monitor any stereo channel of 8 track digital playback data. External serial record and playback channels connect to industry standard DACs, ADCs and S/PDIF components with minimum additional logic. The digital processing sub-system has many features which make it ideal for audio processing. However, the data being processed can also be video (images), graphics objects (3D image manipulation) or any other general purpose data. To maintain the maximum flexibility, the Atari Falcon030 provides an extremely general connection system between these components. All data transfers are in a synchronous serial format. Any component can talk with any other. Since some of the components have real time response requirements, the clokcing schemes have also been made especially general and flexible. I hope this is enough broad information to answer some of the basic questions you may have. STEVE-J: Last I checked, Falcon030 Developer Documentation was available to anyone who wanted to purchase it. What more do you want? -- John Townsend, Atari Corp. Category 14, Topic 44 Message 26 Tue Feb 09, 1993 TOWNS [John@Atari] at 17:25 EST Leonard is not gone. He has just changed responsibilities here at Atari. He is currently working on exciting new entertainment technology. Sorry, but I am not at liberty to say much more. -- John Townsend, Atari Corp. ------------ .........you mean the Jaguar???? The super duper dual cpu game system? The one with the built in CD Rom? The one that's supposed to debut at the spring CES? ED. Category 14, Topic 20 Message 35 Wed Feb 10, 1993 D.FLORY [ALERTsys*Cop] at 10:27 EST Bill, what formats does the spreadsheet componenet load/import and export, besides its own? I'm hoping you'll say its at least comma/tab delimited or DIF? (-: Happy Bytes :-) Dave Flory, ALERTsys*Cop 07:22 PST - 02/10/93 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 36 Wed Feb 10, 1993 R.WILSON36 [Bob Wilson] at 18:22 EST Bill "METAFILES are quite well documented"? The commands to set page size , working area etc were not documented in the documentation package that I recieved. These must be set so that the application recieving the file has a vague idea of what size it is dealing with. This is especially true since the original program if using text has to make some assumptions about how wide and high the fonts are. VQT EXTENT returns either 0 height or o width (can't remember which). that is why all those programs like TWDTP and OPUS have font width files. If all you want to do is line draws and boxes then yes it is as simple as opening driver 31. It is much more of a pain in the you know what if fonts are involved. I have heard of mythical META.SYS fonts but I have never seen them in any package which supports .GEM files and I own 5 different programs that come with GDOS. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 37 Wed Feb 10, 1993 WAYNED. [Wayne] at 19:18 EST >Wayne, RTF and DBF are imported and exported. It is command-compatible >with Excel; it does not currently import and export Excel files. Thanks for the info Bill. Glad to hear that they both import and export. Hopefully it will import/export Excel files in the future. >I have quite a list of features that will be added to Atari Works from >revision to revision. I don't think anyone will be disappointed. That's also good to hear. Hopefully Atari Works will grow in power as time goes on. Wayne ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 38 Wed Feb 10, 1993 K.SPRINGER1 [FROZEN NORTH] at 22:48 EST BILL@ATARI Shucky-darns! I own TouchUp, so getting IMG files into Atari Works will pose no problem. :-) My youngest sister is now interested in getting a computer, and may give her one of my ST's to get her started. Atari Works sounds like just what she needs in the way of software. Is it save to assume that it will work with antiquated TOS 1.0? Ken ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 39 Thu Feb 11, 1993 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp.] at 01:19 EST Al, Thanks for your kind comments, I share your sentiments that we're close to getting a record number of things out the door in short order! As Bill has indicated, there are plans in the queue (almost said Works!) to have additional upgrades done, but I want see it get out the door!! Bob Wilson- I think that there is an entire section in the dev docs that deals specifically with GDOS, and the meta file stuff is probably all in there (Bill can give you the straight scoop on that, I'm just making an informed guess). The GEM files that I've been importing into Atari Works are ancient GEM files from old, old, Easy Draw images that I have on hand, as well as the GEM file that Touch Up creates when it makes an IMG. :) The point is that GEM files have been around darn near as long as there have been STs. While the info might be buried to an extent in the docs, it is there, and people have been using them for time now. Chester, Yes, you can for example, highlight some cells in the spreadsheet and then plop them into the word processor! Same for tables and graphs. All in all, I think everyone is going to be pretty happy with the initial release of Atari Works. I started one of our sales administrators using it a couple of days ago...and she's loving it!! One of the things that she enjoys the most is the simple click on an icon ability to change from Left Justified, Right Justified, Centered, and full justification in the word processor. It's pretty intuitive, but I'm finally starting to make my way thru the manual to make sure that I haven't overlooked anything. There is lots of stuff under the surface :) best regards, Bob Brodie ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 40 Thu Feb 11, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 05:02 EST Dave, the spreadsheet can handle tab, comma, or user-defined delimited. You should stop by for a demo! ------- Bob, there is definitely no need for metafile fonts or width tables. Atari Works cuts its graphs to the clipboard using only plain-jane VDI calls to Device 31 using SpeedoGDOS. It also has a feature that allows you to cut regions from the spread sheet or a record in the database form view as metafiles, using the same, simple technique. After these are pasted into a WP document, the user can even scale them and the text gets scaled along with the metafile. Atari Works has been a very good proof of theory regarding the O/S and GEM, and son of a gun, it really does work :-) I will see if I can put together some sample code and upload it. Our department is in the middle of moving, but I'll try to get it posted over the weekend. ------------ From Delphi's Atari area... 48062 7-FEB 18:50 General Information RE: Falcon in Byte (Re: Msg 48048) From: WAYNEDUNHAM To: OCS I don't know about getting FCC clearance. I know that recently more and more clone makers are paying attention to Class B compliance, but they've all been doing component build-ups for years now. I'm just looking for the same flexibility for the Atari. Especially since Atari has NEVER sold an ST/STe/TT with what *I* would consider a proper compliment of options. You either get a machine that won't take an HD (ala the Mega STe/TT), or one with an HD you have to immediately chuck out the window because of it's pitiful capacity. Selling a Falcon with a 65 meg HD is like selling a Mac or CLone with a cassette storage system. I'd just be happy if they'd sell me a machine with NO hd that would allow me to add one later internally. I know it wasn't allowed on the Mega STe (due to case and other limitations), not sure about the TT, and I heard rumours that they were going to make the Falcon either out of the box with an HD, or you couldn't add one internally by just plugging one in. Similiar to their chopping off the second 2 meg portion of Mega motherboards on Mega 2's so you couldn't just add the chips to bring it to 4 megs. I was one of the lucky ones who got a Mega that had the intact motherboard and the traces intact so all I had to do was solder in the Ram and capacitors. Wayne 48211 9-FEB 05:48 Telecommunications RE: Modem Speed (Re: Msg 48133) From: ATARIPOWER7 To: BOBBRO (NR) I'm curious, Bob, it seems MANY folks don't have any idea what their modems and computers are actually doing... I haven't the skill nor the depth of knowledge to teach folks what their modem, computer, serial port, the remote modem and all are doing when they're online. So, here's a suggestion and a question: Why don't you get some more knowledgeable folks <Technicians?> at Atari to write up a little "High speed telecommunications primer" and upload it here, so folks can download it and have greater understanding of just what they're doning, and what their computers and other equipment is doing. The question: My Mega STe, with TOS 2.06 and 1.44 Floppy and 4 megs and 48 Meg internal HD works great with hardware flow control, however, some have said I need a RTS/CTS patch <I dont>. Will ANY ST with TOS 2. 06, regardless of other elements of configuration, support RTS/CTS flow control flawlessly, or is my MSTe somehow just lucky?? The only problem I've ever had is when I'm receiving data <MNP5 or V.42bis> at high speed <9600 or 12,000> my serial port can crash, <the rest of the system works fine> forcing me to reboot. If the remote modem and mine are using modem to modem flow control, that problemis practically negated, I only need to be careful to avoid my modem trying to take data it receives at 12,000 or 9600 <MNP5 or V.42bis> and uncompressing it and overflowing my serial port, if the remote modem keeps sending data <Local Amiga BBS does this, no modem to modem flow control> to my modem, eventually it will cause CRC errors <my modem and computer protect themselves very well with flow control, fortunately> and muck up downloads etc.... One more ditty, the internal harddrive is a Seagate ST157N. Really, isn't that HD capable of formatting to more than 46.3 megs? Could I possibly edit WINCAP and get more cylinders <tracks>??? Take care! AP7 From CIS Atari Fora..... #: 37031 S14/ST REPORT 08-Feb-93 17:37:05 Sb: #36976-#Inaccurate Reporting Fm: SYSOP*Ron Luks 76703,254 To: Ron Kovacs - Z-Net 75300,1642 (X) Since you asked, let me just jump in here to explain the legal aspects of online services and online magazines as I understand them to be based upon some 'sort of related test cases in court' and conversations with my lawyers and CIS's representatives. Of course, the situation is FAR from being crystal clear, but CIS (and I) are operating under the analogy of comparing the online service to a magazine stand. Along those lines, the magazine is probably liable for its contents and its ads (as per the SOF lawsuit) but not the newsstand which sells the generally available publication. The newsstand is not under any legal obligation to carry or not carry any publication, although there are some moral and business issues involved which will affect that decision. Carrying a publication on a newsstand does not imply any endorsement of its content from a legal standpoint. Of course, all the above is premised by the statemtent that "I am not a lawyer...." #: 37066 S17/Community Square 10-Feb-93 07:39:21 Sb: #37060-#platforms Fm: STReport - Ralph 70007,4454 To: david d. hagood 73437,3162 (X) David.. I am comparing Oranges to Oranges. In the post I also stated that when importing into Calamus with its GIF driver, it was faster. The real FACT is the TT is only 32Mhz while the PC used was 50Mhz. It was faster. Ralph @ STReport International Online Magazine #: 37084 S17/Community Square 10-Feb-93 17:39:29 Sb: #37066-platforms Fm: Pat Augustine 73670,2200 To: STReport - Ralph 70007,4454 Absolutely. A 486/50 should outrun a 32Mhz '030, especially if it's a "real" 50Mhz. A clock-doubled 25 (ie, 50) will still beat it, but not as bad. The '030 is a nice workhorse, but doesn't have the speed gains that the '040 and 486 have. By the way, did you see that Intel announced a delay in the Pentium release? Apparently there's major heat dissipation problems, and beside, they need to let the software houses build Pentium compilers because there's little speed increase from a 486 to a Pentium unless the software is optimised for the Pentium design. 386/486 software will not be noticably faster on a Pentium until it's been recompiled. So the 486 will remain "king" of the Intel line for a while, because it will take time to recompile the major programs to be Pentium-fast. #: 37118 S13/Ask ATARI Corp. 11-Feb-93 20:55:09 Sb: #Official Support area? Fm: Victor Wood - Munich 100041,222 To: Atari Corp I know Genie has an official support area for Atari, but thats no good to me, I can not access genie! Is this also an official support area, if not why not? Ci$ has the oldest atari specific areas I think: Correct if wrong! Victor #: 37120 S13/Ask ATARI Corp. 11-Feb-93 22:03:27 Sb: #37118-Official Support area? Fm: Atari Explorer mag - AEO 70007,3615 To: Victor Wood - Munich 100041,222 What type of support are you looking for? They do have a private section for Atari Developers in the Atari Pro forum. (GO ATARIPRO) And Atari Employees frequent this here and answers questions from time to time as well. -- Albert Dayes @ Atari Explorer magazine Read action ! #: 37145 S13/Ask ATARI Corp. 12-Feb-93 14:54:48 Sb: #37118-Official Support area? Fm: SYSOP*Ron Luks 76703,254 To: Victor Wood - Munich 100041,222 You are correct. CompuServe has the longest running and most widely available Atari specific areas of any online service. We are Atari's official Portfolio support area, and we have a daily active presence for the Lynx game unit. We have official Atari developer support areas for registered developers. 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