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*---== STReport International Online Magazine ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" from STR Publishing """""""""""""" June 04, 1993 No. 9.23 ========================================================================= 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. 690 : PASTE BBS....................1-206-284-8493 FNET. 460 : The Atari ST Connection......1-209-436-8156 FNET. 350 : The Bounty *<Home of STR>*...1-904-786-4176 FNET. 489 : Steal Your Face BBS..........1-908-920-7981 _____________________________________________________________________ > 06/04/93 STR 923 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!" """""""""""""""" - The Editor's Desk - CPU Report - PORTFOLIO NEWS - JAGUAR SCHEDULE - HP & Motorola - CBM LOSS $177mil - BLUE RIDGE FEST'93 - WILDCAT BBS - CTFEST'93 - CLINTON & INTERNET - MUSTANG SOFTWARE - STR Confidential -* ATARI JAGUAR DUE THIS FALL! *- -* "CONFLICT OF INTEREST" CHARGES HEAT UP! *- -* COMPUSERVE'S 20 QUESTIONS WITH ATARI DEBUTS! *- ========================================================================= 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 phone The Bounty BBS direct @ 904-786-4176, and enjoy the wonder & excitement of exchanging information relative to 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 participate. Support your favorite computer! Teleconference 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 (June 04) BATSUB "SEAFOX" CLONE GAME Download file BATSUB.ARC from LIBRARY 2 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) for BATSUB, a SEAFOX clone game. Move the submarine to fire torpedoes that will sink moving ships. The program runs in low resolution with sound. VERSION 2.01 OF SOS HANGMAN Download file HANGM2.LZH from LIBRARY 2 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) for SoS Hangman 2.01. This is a much improved version of the recently released SoS Hangman accessory. The new version features a better looking game window,and almost 400 new puzzles in 7 categories. SCROLLING THUNDER IN ATARIPRO Download file SCRTH.LZH from LIBRARY 4 of the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO for Scrolling Thunder, a viewer or browser for text files (actually, any kind of file) with a difference. It exclusively uses hardware smooth scrolling, available only on STe/MegaSTe/TT/Falcon, to produce the smoothest, fastest display of text you've ever seen. It scrolls forward or backward at variable speed, and is almost entirely mouse-controlled. NEW SOFTLOGIK DEMO IN ATARIVEN Download file FLAGS.LZH from LIBRARY 11 of the Atari Vendors Forum (GO ATARIVEN) for Sample EPS (Adobe Illustrator) files of the new Flags of the World clipart collection now being sold by Soft-Logik Publishing. The archive contains four flags. OREGON RESEARCH JOINS ATARIVEN! Message Section 12 and Library 12 have been established for online support of Oregon Research's products. Please read OREGON.TXT in Library 12 for an overview of the company. Also, be sure to check out the other files in the Library for in-depth information on their entire product line. THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM" "ENJOY CIS' ATARI FORUMS WHERE CENSORSHIP IS A DIRTY WORD!" """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" """""""""""""""""""""" One week after the long holiday weekend and still the party-like atmosphere of summer fun continues to grow. The summer shows both BlueRidge Fest'93 and CTFest'93 are fast approaching. "tis an excellent opportunity for all the interested users to get a "hands-on" demo and opportunity to purchase their very own Falcon. Elsewhere in this issue is the first of a precedent setting feature where a group of online users from the Compuserve Atari Forums compile a list of twenty questions for Atari's gurus to answer. This is an excellent idea whose time has come! Don't miss this highly informative article as its the best to come the pike yet. And, it courtesy of Ron Luks and the CIS Atari Forums and of course, Atari Corp. Ralph..... """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU! """""""""""""""" Publisher - Editor """""""""""""""""" Ralph F. Mariano PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION ----------- -------------- ------------ Roger D. Stevens Robert Glover 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 "The Jaguar will be released in the Fall, in time for Christmas. Sorry, I have no comment about other computers to follow the Falcon030. We don't have enough of those on the street yet to worry about the next batch in my department anyway. :)" Bob Brodie 05/26/93 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS """"""""""""""""" Computer Products Update - CPU Report ------------------------ ---------- Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Issue #23 By: John Deegan ATARI LAUNCHES THE JAGUAR, A 64-BIT MULTI-MEDIA GAME SYSTEM - SUNNY- VALE, CA (JUNE 3) PR NEWSWIRE - Atari Corp. (AMEX: ATC), the founder of the video game industry and the creative force behind some of the world's best-known titles, has announced the launch of a revolutionary new multi-media entertainment system, the Atari Jaguar. The launch will be supported by aggressive advertising, promotion and marketing efforts to be centered in the New York market in the fall, with a national roll- out of the product within one year. The Atari Jaguar, housed in a futuristic casing, is an interactive multi-media system based on an Atari-designed proprietary 64-bit RISC processor. The 64-bit system is four times the technology currently seen in the market today. The Atari Jaguar features over 16 million colors in 24-bit true-color graphics and produces shaded 3-D polygons to be manipulated in a "real" world in real time. The Atari Jaguar also has real-time texture mapping and creates spectacular video effects. The sound system is based on Atari's proprietary, high-speed, Digital Signal Processor dedicated to audio. The audio is 16-bit stereo CD qual- ity and processes simultaneous sources of audio data, allowing for very realistic sounds, as well as human voices, which are essential for future multi-media applications. The Atari Jaguar is truly expandable and will include a 32-bit ex- pansion port which allows for future connection into cable and telephone networks, as well as a digital signal processing port for modem use and connection to digital audio peripherals such as DAT players. The unit will also have a compact disc peripheral, which will be double-speed and will play regular CD audio, CD + G (Karaoke) and Kodak's new Photo-CD(R). Currently, there are multiple software titles in development, which will be available on MegaCart(TM). Atari, known for such groundbreaking 3-D titles as "Battlezone 2000(R)" and "Tempest 2000(R)," will issue spectacular new versions for the Atari Jaguar. New 3-D game titles will include "Cybermorph(R)," "Alien vs. Predator(R)," "Jaguar Formula One Racing(TM)" and many more. Atari will license third-party publishers to join the Jaguar family. "The Atari Jaguar system will revolutionize the state of home enter- tainment as we see it today," said Sam Tramiel, president of Atari. "The idea of a 64-bit system is earth shattering and kids and adults will be amazed at both the imagery and manipulative capabilities. And we are proud that our entry into the multi-media entertainment category will be fully made in America." The Atari Jaguar will retail for approximately $200 and will be avai- lable nationwide next year. The Atari Jaguar packaged unit will include one software experience and a Power Pad(R) Controller with a ten-key pad and other special features. Atari Corp. manufactures and markets personal computers and video games for the home, office and educational marketplaces throughout the world. Atari headquarters are located at 1196 Borregas Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94089. CONTACT: August J. Liguori of Atari Corp., 408-745-2069 COMMODORE POSTS $177.6 MILLION LOSS - Commodore International Ltd. has posted a third quarter net loss of $177.6 million, or $5.37 per share, on sales of $120.9 million. A year ago Commodore had earnings of $4.1 million, or 12 cents per share, on sales of $194.6 million. For the nine months ended March 31, the net loss was $273.6 million, or $8.27 per share compared with net income of $49.5 million, or $1.47 per share. Sales for the nine months were $517.2 million compared with $770.3 million in the year-ago period. The company attributed its poor performance to prevailing economic softness in all of its major markets, especially Germany. There was also significant pricing erosion for the Commodore's older Amiga models and PC products. C64 computer sales were nominal in the quarter. HP TO UNVEIL PENTIUM-BASED PC - Industry sources say Hewlett-Packard Co. will unveil a new line of personal computers, including a model based on Intel's Pentium microprocessor. The new Vectra computers will range in price from about $1,200 to $3,700. Except for the Pentium-based model, the PCs will be based on various versions of Intel's 486 chip. HP is also expected to announce plans to license some advancements in infrared technology. The system will allow PCs to communicate without wires with other office equipment, such as fax machines. MOTOROLA EXPANDS HP SUPPORT - Chipmaker Motorola Inc. has expanded its support for Hewlett-Packard Co's line of palmtop computers. Motorola is further developing wireless communication software for recently introduced HP 100LX palmtop computer. EMBARC Communication Services Inc. unit now of Motorola, will provide communications software for both the HP 95LX and the HP 100LX. CLINTON WHITE HOUSE ON INTERNET - Add Internet to the growing number of electronic addresses now available for contacting the Bill Clinton White House. Clinton's personal Internet user ID is "presidentwhitehouse.gov." Vice President Al Gore's Internet number is "vice.presidentwhitehouse.gov." In perhaps the first presidential statement about e-mail, Clinton said, "Electronic mail will bring the presidency and this administration closer and make it more accessible to the people." Clinton indicated that the same will be begin soon in the House of Representatives, as well as at various government agencies. The presidential statement also attempted to temper expectations for the new electronic links. "We must be realistic," the president said, "about the limitations and expectations of the White House electronic mail system. This experiment is the first-ever e-mail project done on such a large scale." Clinton added that while he wanted to assure users their messages will be "read and receipt immediately acknowledged," White House is "not yet capable of sending back a tailored response." Washington Post writer John Burgess noted, "People who send comp- laints or praise by E-mail won't reach the president directly or jump the queue in getting attention. The messages will be read by the White House correspondence staff, with the same priority as paper letters. A sampling will be shown to the president and Vice President Gore, who made White House E-mail a personal priority." The Clinton White House already has opened communications on CompuServe (GO WHITE HOUSE) and two other commercial services, through which, says Burgess, it is receiving as many as 5,000 messages a week. ___________________________________________________________ > ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" PEOPLE... ARE TALKING ===================== On CompuServe ------------- compiled by Joe Mirando 73637,2262 Hey there good neighbors! Well, it looks like the Falcon has landed. But did any of us realize that it would be such a rare and possibly endangered species? Perhaps we should send a matched pair to those people in California who raise condors. Maybe THEY could make them multiply. Well, enough of my babbling. Let's get to the stuff that people posted on CompuServe this week... From the Atari Productivity Forum ================================= Miles Cohen updates us on the price and availability of the Falcon in New York: "Hi all... Previously I had written that Manny's Music in NYC had an 85meg HD equipped Falcon on display and that they were taking orders for $1289... Here is an update I just received from Bruce at Mannys... Date: 29-May-93 20:29 EDT From: Bruce Samuels [72074,366] Subj: Falcon Video Hi Myles, According to the published specs for the Falcon, it has Super-VGA support as well as composite video, RF and broadcast analog RGB..so just about any monitor will work including the existing Atari monitors. At Manny's the Falcon will sell for $1250 in a 4/60 config.excluding monitor. Availability?! Who knows? Atari doesn't have many answers. Bruce" Is there anyone out there who was surprised by the availability part? I didn't think so. One of the latest rages here on COmpuServe is the ability to access messages from Internet, a network used by lots of people. Michael Stock asks: "Does anybody use the good old Atari to get Messages from INTERNET? I mean directly, not using Compuserve Mail. A friend told me that I need a UUCP-program, but I don't know where to get it." Hal Dougherty, a regular here on CompuServe, and a very helpful guy, tells Michael: "All you need is a terminal program for the ST and a computer to call that has internet access. You can read and reply to messages from all over the world. If you get luck, you might even get FTP access. With FTP, you can transfer files from archive sites to your host computer and then download them to your ST. Check your local BBS's for a local Internet access number or check at the local university near you for Internet access." Sysop Bob Retelle, another very knowledgable guy, tells Michael: "Michael, as Hal mentioned, one way to access the Internet is to use your ST to connect to a mainframe that you have an account on, either at a university or perhaps where you work. The procedure would be to call that mainframe just like any BBS, then use the mainframe to call out into the Internet. I suspect though, you meant using your ST more directly than that... We have a program here in our libraries called KA9Q which will let you dial into an Internet node and actually gives your ST an Internet address so you can TELNET and FTP directly. The biggest problem is finding an open Internet node to call. I use the University of Michigan here... you'd have to find a number in your area. The UNIXFORUM has a lot of information that might help. In particular, there's a list of public access sites and how to contact them. (I think it's called PUBNIX or something like that) The KA9Q file also includes some excellent text files on setting the system up, written by Bill Rayl of the Atari Interface magazine. If you decide to try it, let me know if you run into any problems..." Daniel Biron takes this opportunity to ask Bob: "Bob, what would you recommend for Internet access from PC or (preferably) Windows? I'm talking shareware, of course." Bob tells Daniel: "I've FTP'd a version of KA9Q for my PC, but I haven't had time to really check out how to set it up... from all I've read, it's essentially the same program as the ST version, but the "little" details seem to be different..." Brian Gockley of ST Informer Magazine, MacDonald Associates, and the Connecticut AtariFest, asks Bob: "...is there _no_ charge to use Internet? Do you have to be part of a school or government, or do they just act as nodes?" Sysop Brad Hill fills Brian in on some of the details: "Internet is not a commercial entity, so no charges are paid to the network itself. There _are_ commercial access providers, who charge a monthly rate for getting you into the net. Here on CIS, Internet Email is free to send, within your standard monthly Email allowance, just like CIS Email. However, receiving Internet mail _always_ costs, regardless of the state of your monthly allowance, at the same rates as Email after the allowance has been exceeded. (Hope you followed that.)" Brian asks another way: "So I don't have to belong to a University or work for the government? I can just call up Yale and say "Hey, what's your internet number?" Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer Magazine tells Brian: "I don't know of any schools, government institutions, or businesses that do that yet. <grin> The institution usually pays the bill so adding more people is usually not a priority. There are places that just allow one to pay a small fee for access to internet. There are also other places that you can call an 800 or 900 phone number to have access for more money." Brian tells Albert: "Thank you, I knew it couldn't be that easy. I was aware that good ol' Uncle Sam pays for most of it, but there is usually _some_ membership criteria." Bob Retelle, that Sysop guy, adds: "Yale may indeed have such a number... it's finding out what it is that can take the detective work.. I was lucky in that the author of the Atari port of KA9Q was at the University of Michigan when he wrote it, so the "sample" phone numbers included in the package were the ones for the UofM, a local phone call for me... Another avenue to explore are local BBSs that have connections to the InterNet. There's one here called GREX which charges a small fee to join, and which offers InterNet service.. (the nice thing about a setup like that is that you can use your regular, familiar, terminal package. KA9Q is, to be charitable, not very "user friendly"). Systems like that are listed in the text file I mentioned which gives public access points to InterNet." Well, enough of the Internet stuff, let's get back to the Falcon for a message or two... Jim Ness relays this tidbit: "Bob Brodie of Atari has announced over the weekend that all Falcons now shipping have 84meg drives, instead of the previously announced 65meg drives. A nice little surprise gift, for those who had ordered their machines already." Robby Cooke thinks aloud: "It certainly seems like the Amiga 1200 has a leg up on the Falcon in terms of graphics.I wonder why Atari didn't increase the resolution of the Falcon to compete with the Amiga?" Greg Kopchak tells Robby: "There is a 1600 by 600 demo program posted in the ST area on GEnie that displays a matrix of Degas images on the screen." Remember a few months ago when there was a rumor of an ST-compatible clone? Well the subject comes up again. Greg Wageman brings up an interesting point about "techie stuff": "The neat thing about physical-to-virtual address mapping is that you can change it on-the-fly. So you can look for a cartridge to boot from, read the contents into RAM, run from RAM and re-map the cartridge somewhere else, for example. OS's like Unix that provide memory mapping of hardware usually provide the application with an interface that returns a pointer to the base of the hardware after mapping it in, so the application is written not to expect the hardware in a particular location (unlike the Atari memory map, for example). More like Atari display RAM, where you allocate a chunk of memory and maintain a pointer to it." John Amsler and I share one habit: We both tend to spell things like 'staff' as 'STaff" to show our support of ST computers. Ron Luks tells John: "I've noticed that as you get more enthused about the prospects for Atari Corp, you start that annoying habit of capitalizing the "ST" in words. I regret that when we get the chance to meet fact to face, I'm going to have to slap you silly for this. [big grin] I'm going to be at Fall COmdex and Winter CES in Vegas this year. I expect that we will HAVE to get together so I can buy you a drink or two. Start making provisions now. And be prepared to be slapped." Now wasn't that nice of Ron? John replies: "Please, try to reSTrain yourself! <g> Heh, heh." Way to go, John! We'll show him just what kind of STuff we're made of! Meanwhile, Bob Retelle tells us: "Just heard via UseNet from a friend of mine who works at one of the Atari dealers here in Michigan... They just got in a shipment of Falcons for sale..! I don't yet know what the configuration of the systems is, or what software was included, but the good news is, the Falcons are here in Michigan..!" Sysop Keith Joins asks Bob: "Which dealer? I might wander on over and take a look. :)" Bob tells Keith: "This was Softhouse over on Ford Road in Westland.. I was thinking of packing up the car and getting a picnic lunch and maybe my camping gear, and take a drive over there this weekend... :)" From the Atari ST Arts Forum ============================ Bob Retelle explains a bit about the message systems on CompuServe: "...just as a point of interest, most Forums here on CompuServe don't have Private messages enabled.. The main reason is that there are only a finite number of message "slots" available before new messages start replacing old ones.. if there were to be a significant number of private messages taking up slots, the effect would be to make normal public messages scroll off much faster. Actually it's easy to send an E-Mail message right from here.. just compose your reply as usual, but hit #4 on the menu after you enter /exit That will send your reply privately via E-Mail..." From the Atari Vendor's Forum ============================= Ron Luks posts: "If Atari sells a lot of machines (even to musicians) there WILL be a demand for supplemental software. As the installed base grows (for whatever reason), the community as a whole will benefit as it becomes a bigger POTENTIAL market for other developers. The installed base is the absolute KEY number to follow." John Amsler tells us: "...Too bad about Atari -- I wouldn't even be THINKING of going to a 486-66 and the GEMulator if they would have made an upgrade path to a 68040 at, let's say, 50 MHz. Sigh. A 12-year "relationship" (I bought my first Atari, an 800, in 1981) will probably end within the next year." Bill Devonshire asks Lexicor about using Chronos on the Falcon: "What is the latest version of Chronos and is it Falcon compatible? I have a falcon in the wind and would like to get a jump on software before it lands. BTW your NOVA card sounds great!" Lee at Lexicor tells Bill: "Yes we have a Falcon compatible version. It is not yet in release. The current version is 1.31" Mike Mortilla tells us about OutburST (hey, is that that Amsler guy again ;) ), the printer speeder-upper (that's a technical term). Mike posts: "Just about 1/2 hour ago I installed OutburST. I didn't do much printing but the test went great. And WordPerfect *flew* by! Also sped up printing from my music notation prg (The Copyist DTP). Be sure to read the READ.ME file!!! It will save you lots of time setting up pageStream. Also, USE the ACC... you'll need it." John Damiano thanks Mike for the info: "I have had it sitting here for a month and have not even looked at it. We decided to stay home this weekend and I am having a GREAT time playing around with the computers. This is the FIRST weekend with no commitments in months. I am so HAPPY! So maybe Ill do it tomorrow...Ill take your advice. Glad it worked well for you." Mike tells John: "Odd? This is the first weekend *I've* had in months without having to perform somewhere (although I *did* have a 6 hour recording session yesterday). OutburST will only take you 10 or 15 minutes to get set-up. I got The Link thursday or so, but the hard drive won't be here until at least tues and the interface for my sampler on friday. So I won't be able to try this stuff out for a while. Too bad the Link doesn't have a clock. I still have that damn DeskCart sticking out of my STf. Guess I drop another $30 and get a clock chip." John continues: "We are on parallel time tracks apparently. I worked about six hours yesterday but it was early in the morning and it seemed like a dream..so it didn't hurt too much. Today was great. I flew up over Yosemite and cruised around looking at the waterfalls and the Sierras. It was fantastic. Let me know when you start the process with the Link. I still have not checked the voltage on that pin. I might run out there tomorrow and if I do Ill check it....I think I have the SCSI id set ok. Pretty sure its one or two. Hope you are having a good one too." John Eidsvoog of CodeHead Technologies posts this little bit of info: "A few years ago, we started working on a front-end for Microsoft Bookshelf but it was "shelved" while we waited for an indication that Atari might release the CD-ROM units. It's still on hold." Jim Ness asks John: "Isn't there a CDROM driver with MultiTOS, that could conceivably use a Bookshelf front end? That really is a terrific idea, because there are now so many CDROM reference libraries available. I got Bookshelf included with my PC's CDROM. It's neat. Had you been planning for your front end to provide .WAV file support, too?" From the Atari Portfolio Forum ============================== BJ Gleason, Sysop and programming maniac, tells us: "In tonight's "Parker Lewis" on FOX, Jerry uses an Atari Portfolio to help him test his perpetual motion machine. However, as he is typing, it is not the typical sounds that the keyboard generates [the sound effect people made it sound more like a desktop machine], and the alarm that goes off is another special effect, since it is not the standard alarm. Unless, of course, they used Dave's program to change the alarm sound... :-)" Don Thomas tells BJ: "Okay, let me get this straight... It's a Portfolio that doesn't behave or sound like a Portfolio and, the way you're making it sound, may not look like a Portfolio unless they're running one of Dave's programs? ..and, so, you're a Parker Lewis kind of guy, eh!?" David Stewart, of Re:Port magazine fame, tells BJ: "I used to watch Parker all the time ... and they have been big supporters of the Port ... along with some other Fox shows (like the late Ben Stiller show) ... has something to do with all the Atari equipment that they use for sound over there ... i.e. the Arsenio show (is that still on?) band uses Atari equip. I think that's a Fox show, after a fashion ... same production company, perhaps." Steve Warne asks: "Does anybody out there know of any way to increase the base memory of my Port. I'm UK based and I have not been able to find anybody who can internally increase the base memory, without plugging a pack on the side of the machine. If anyone has any ideas please could you mail me with some advice." Peter Bennett of The Portfolio Connection tells Steve: "As far as I am aware, you can get an internal upgrade in Germany, Australia and the USA but *not* at present in the UK. I find that a little ironic since the Port was designed by the British firm DIP. DIP did produce a 512k model of the Port but it did not really take off and has now been discontinued. We have been investigating the possibility of getting the upgrades done in the UK as we know where to source the upgrade unit, but we need to find someone with the technical know-how to perform the upgrade as it is a *very* difficult task. In the meantime, I think you'll either have to make do with what is available or risk sending off your Port for six weeks or so to be upgraded abroad. BTW, we are a small UK business specializing in hardware and software for the Portfolio and are able to supply Portfolio peripherals and accessories that are hard to come by, if at all, from other UK Portfolio dealers. If you would like a copy of our latest catalogue and newsletter, then leave us your address via email. Our address is: The Portfolio Connection Bucklands Cottage Wallingford Road Cholsey Oxon OX10 9HB United Kingdom Tel/Fax 0491 836880" Barry Childress asks: "Since I'm fairly new to all the options for the Port I have a few questions regarding the 512k RAM Ports. Is this 512k of RAM located on a peripheral device? If so can this device be removed and added with minimal fuss? (ie Keeping the contents of a minimal C: drive intact.)" Well folks, that's about all for this week. If you're going to the Connecticut AtariFest next week, please drop by the Portfolio Corner. I'll be there with the world-famous BJ Gleason, as well as all the other luminaries that are sure to attend. This is going to be the first showing of PRODUCTION Model Falcons in a show setting, so be there if you can! One final note about those 512 kbyte Portfolios: Call Megabyte Computers! They can either send you a brand new Portfolio with 512K, or add it to your present Portfolio. You'll find them in the dealer listing in the back of STReport. Well, come on back next week and listen to what they are saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING ______________________________________________________________ > ATARI ON COMPUSERVE! STR FOCUS! Atari Supports its Users with Answers """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" COMPUSERVE'S ATARI FORUMS PRESENT TWENTY QUESTIONS ATARI SUPPLIES ANSWERS! Ron, We've taken a sort of panel discussion kind of approach to the questions here. James and I have answered the bulk of the questions, and tried to drag Bill in as much as possible. Due to the demands on our time here, we're much later than we would like to be with this file. My apologies to your members for the delay. [From a US user]: What features do you think the Falcon030 has that would convince a FIRST TIME computer buyer to purchase this PC? From James Grunke: Clearly, the features that are going to sell units are the DSP, SDMA sound engine, the BLiTTER and graphics capabilities, MultiTOS, and MIDI ports. As well, it will be key for us to showcase third party products that demonstrate elegant applications for this aggressive new hardware. Simply, what will convince the first time buyer to purchase this PC is the ability to do high end applications for a lot less money than what might be available on other platforms. From Bob Brodie: We've included Atari Works as part of the Falcon hard disk bundle so that customers will have quality productivity software right out of the box. Other software included with the Falcon030 provides a good sampling of games, sound applications, and a high quality font technology in SpeedoGDOS. It really depends on what the consumer is looking for to be really honest with you. Personally, I think one of the things that has helped sell DOS machines are some of the applications on them. We feel that the Falcon030 represents tremendous capabilities of a musician! To the point that it really is a professional level work station for music. For customers that are getting a computer for music, the Falcon030 is the clear choice. After that, it gets much tougher. We have a bunch of true color paint programs coming on board, and the voice mail application from DOA that is very interesting. Also, there are about a large number of entertainment titles under development. The Falcon will be a terrific game machine, too! Perhaps one of our best assets is the way in which you can run so many O/S's from the Atari. Certainly, we're going to need other applications from our developers to address other areas of software where we are weak. Personally, I think the thing that will continue to attract users is the simplicity and ease of use of an Atari Computer. [Another user asks]: Three and one half years ago I purchased an Atari STFM because I was excited about joining the world of midi and I felt that Notator and Atari provided the best platform. As the hardware and software world expanded I went for all the Notator upgrades and one year ago bought a MegaSTE 4/50 for more RAM and speed. I like my machine very much but am very disappointed that it became a fossil in 5 months with no support from Atari. What can you tell me and others that will make us feel that this is not likely to happen to us if we purchase a Falcon for our Music and Midi computer now that there are other "030',"040", and "486" machines with good music and Midi support? From Bob Brodie: I'm not really sure what you mean by "fossil", other than the fact that it is no longer being manufactured. Have you had specific support problems with the Mega STE? It's really been one of our most reliable machines, and we have a qualified staff of technicians here in Sunnyvale that can fix just about any problem that you might have with the Mega STE (or any other Atari CPU for that matter). On the software side, we're supporting the Mega STE in many of the new software products that are coming out. MultiTOS runs on a Mega STE, SpeedoGDOS works on a Mega STE, and so does Atari Works. That hardly qualifies as "no support from Atari"! On the hardware side, we built the Mega STE to accept industry standard 3-1/2" SCSI hard disk drives specifically so you would have an easier time getting the HD you want. You should be able to upgrade to even a 1.2 Gigabyte drive in your Mega STE. It also comes with a VME port, so you can install one of the graphics cards to upgrade your video as well. Again, the support for the machine is there on the hardware side as well. Like all computer companies, we are constantly working on new technologies that will improve on today's products. However, as long as the Mega STE that you bought continues to serve your needs, what is the problem? With the Atari Falcon030, we've introduced a new family of computers with an additional set of capabilities. It is a fact of our industry that what you buy today will be replaced by another machine. Check out how quickly Apple is bringing new machines to the market; virtually every six months! From James Grunke: Notator running on a Mega STE is still one of the most powerful music combinations in the world!! A lot of records are being made with this duo. As well as products from Steinberg, Barefoot, Dr. T's, and many others. If that's a fossil, how come it still eats 486s for lunch? At home, I still use Notator on a Mega ST (with TOS 1.2), and even that will smoke a 486! :) With the Falcon's new hardware, and our track record in music, I'm quite confident that the Falcon will remain a viable tool in your arsenal for many years to come. [Another US member asks]: Will ATARI still offer support for it's existing lines (ST , MEGA, TT...) or will all their effort be put behind the FALCON? From Bob Brodie: In terms of service, we will support all of the existing lines. However, I don't think you will see us bring out new products *specifically* for the older machines. We did created TOS 2.06 expressly so one of our strategic partners (Artifex) could produce an adapter board to allow owners of the ST series of computers to upgrade to the new desktop. In TOS 2.05, the system would crash if it found non-STE hardware. That was changed in TOS 2.06 (as well as some bug fixes) specifically so users of older machines could enjoy the benefits of the new TOS. I also indicated that our new software products, Atari Works, Speedo GDOS, and MultiTOS will also work on older machines as well. You may want to consider upgrading an 8Mhz machine with an accelerator board, though. For several years now, we have said that the minimum hardware standard for computer users was an STE. There will be some features on some products that will simply not work on an ST family computer because the hardware isn't up to the task (like not enough colors, no DMA sound). We will provide service for all of our products as long as practical. However, there are of course, limitations to that. We still get phone calls asking for repairs for the Atari 5200 (a product that stopped manufacturing over 8 years ago!) We do sell joy sticks for it, btw. Nothing will last forever, but we will support the machines as long as it is practical. [Multiple members ask]: Will the programs that run on the ST line run on the FALCON? (What level of backwards compatibility can we realistically expect? How does it compare to the TT compatibility-wise?) From Bob Brodie: The Falcon030 is much more STE compatible that the TT030 is. We really feel that the STE is the correct compatibility barometer, not the ST. Again, this relates to the hardware capabilities of the machines. We expect Pacific Software Supply to release a study that they have done on software compatibility should provide a more concrete answer to your question. They are the leading suppliers of Atari software in North America, so they have lots of products to test! As a rule, applications usually work fine. Games tend to have the greatest area of drop-off in compatibility. We found a few things that didn't work, but were mostly older products that hadn't been updated in a long time, like Microsoft Write. Some utilities will also fail on the Falcon, too. [From the UK]: The decision to include MultiTOS on disk and not to commit to ROM might suggest a lack of confidence in that product on Atari's part. Can we expect to see MultiTOS in ROM in the future (maybe switchable with an older TOS) or is multitasking seen as secondary to the future of Atari computers? From Bob Brodie: We do not have a lack of confidence in MultiTOS, and regret that you see our decision as such. Many other OS's are disk based. We felt that having MultiTOS on disk allowed easier updates. We have TOS 4 in ROM for users that choose not to use MultiTOS. It's not the same as a PC or a Mac where you can't do anything without loading the OS from disk. I don't see this as making multitasking "secondary" at all. Rather I see it as another manifestation of our view that the Falcon030 is primarily a home computer. We've indicated that there will be other products in the future that will aimed for the higher end. Multitasking will be an important tool for those machines, as well as any accelerator boards for the Atari Falcon030. [From the CIS Atari sysop staff]: Specifically, what software can the purchaser of a new Falcon030 expect to get with his purchase? And if any of the items are not included with his purchase, when/how can he expect to receive them? From Bob Brodie: Specifically, users in North America get MultiTOS, SpeedoGDOS, FalconD2D, Audio Fun Machine, BreakOut, Landmines, CalAppt, Talking Clock, ProCalc, System Audio Manager (S.A.M.) and Atari Works. Falcon D2D is not shipping with the units at this point in time, and neither is S.A.M. (System Audio Manager). Bugs in both products are preventing our shipping them. These are not Atari in-house products, they are contracted from outside developers, so we're not in total control of this situation (i.e. Don't come out of your office unless it's fixed!). We do expect the developers to rectify the problems to fulfill their contracts. Customers will be find cards in their Falcons so they can mail in to have these programs sent to them as soon as they are completed. What recording software is being bundled with the first shipments of Falcons? What exactly can be done (with HD recording) right off the shelf? From James Grunke: Off the shelf, FalconD2D will provide stereo record and playback, with limited editing, such as cut and paste. It does a great job of giving the consumer the ability to do intro level digital audio applications. For more advanced users, they should look to products from Steinberg, D2D, Digitape by Trade It, Yamaha, and others. You can expect Falcon integrated MIDI/Digital Audio products to be some of the most aggressive on the planet in terms of features per dollar. From Bob Brodie: FalconD2D *should be* shipping, but is not. As quickly as it is available, we will provide it to the owners of Atari Falcon030s. We've always had the point of view that FalconD2D was an introductory recording package to give a glimpse of what was possible with Digital Audio with the Falcon030. So while we're upset that FalconD2D isn't shipping, neither is it the end of the world for higher end users. On the HD recording front, there are other applications, like MusiCOM from COMPO Software that are excellent products. When BYTE Magazine wrote about the Falcon030, MusiCOM was the product they used for their testing. At less than $75, it's a real bargain. Since it has additional capabilities not found in FalconD2D, MusiCOM is a reasonable purchase for many musicians anyway. What does the hardware audio interface currently consist of? Was the bass boost scrapped? From James Grunke: The hardware interface on the Falcon uses mike and headphone mini-jacks, exactly the same as walkman-like products. The 16 bit stereo CODEC is good quality Crystal product. Yes, I'm pleased to say that the bass boost has been scrapped. As of last testing, current specs are: Signal to noise ratio 84dB Frequency response 20-20K Crosstalk -60dB Most outboard MIDI interfaces have multiple INs and OUTs for increased numbers of MIDI channels. Are there plans to include multiple MIDI jacks on the Falcon (or future versions of the Falcon)? From James Grunke: The plans are to use third party outboard MIDI interfaces with multiple INs and OUTs. Check with Steinberg and E-magic regarding their plans for products in this area. There are no plans to include additional MIDI ports. On an interesting side note, we did, however, rewire our MIDI ports back to spec! No more bastardized MIDI ports! Will there be a cartridge port on every Falcon (and future models)? From Bob Brodie: There is a cartridge port on every Atari Falcon030 made, and has been since the product was first shown. We have no comment on any specifications of future computer models at this time. I know that isn't what you want to hear...sorry. It was recently announced that Atari Corp. licensed compression software from Cinepak. Is this for the Falcon line or the Jaguar? From Bob Brodie: Actually, the name of the product that we licensed was Cinepak. It is from SuperMac. We will use that technology on both the Falcon030 and the Jaguar. The Falcon is supposed to have the same extra joysticks ports that the STe has. My question is, are there any plans to use these ports? (don't tell me about third party companies) I'd really like to be able to use IBM joystick/accessories. From Bob Brodie: The Falcon *does* have the same analog joystick ports that the STE has. Yes, there are plans to use these. They are not the same pin outs as on IBM joysticks/accessories, though. We have 15 pins, they have 9. We showed, as early as COMDEX, a special controller pad that we are manufacturing for the Falcon030. It will be used by a number of games coming out, like LlamaZap. The controller has a joypad similar to the Lynx's on it, pause and option buttons, three fire buttons labelled A-B-C, and a keypad with numbers 1-9 , plus * and # It's designed to be a two handed controller. Every game developer that is working on the Falcon has one of these controllers, and will use it for their games. Re your comment about "don't tell me about third party companies", OK...but keep in mind that we're primarily a hardware company, not a software company. We try not to compete with our developers. It's their job to come out with products that make use of the hardware. [A US developer/vendor asks]: Without any significant changes to the Atari corporate structure in the last seven years, why should Atari owners believe that Atari will change from its previous pattern of little (or no) marketing, late delivery, and short shelf life products? From James Grunke: There have been significant changes in the corporate structure of Atari over the last seven years; engineering, management, distribution, manufacturing, and sales. This industry is incredibly dynamic. We don't need to repeat the stories of the US market. However, we remind you that in Europe, we have always maintained a strong market position. Sam has always made quite clear that when we have leapfrog technology in good supply then and only then does it make sense to invest in marketing programs such as advertising and PR. As a developer, you should be aware that we have made a bold move with our dealer agreement to expand and strengthen our North American dealer base. This approach is similar to successful companies such as Pioneer, Yamaha, and divisions of Sony. What this means to the end users in the long run is more healthy, quality dealers in their area for them to choose from. Late delivery? Call Microsoft! This ain't the pizza business!!! <grin> Short life products? Why are dealers still screaming for 1040STEs that are four year old technology? Seriously, we are as frustrated as anyone by the product delays. PRODUCT IS NOW SHIPPING! From Bob Brodie: I get the feeling that when you speak about the corporate structure, you're really speaking about the Tramiels. There seems to be a feeling among our userbase that they are incompetent, and all the European success is a result of good managers being far enough away from Sunnyvale to do what they want to do. I cannot let such a misconception continue. Atari is emerging from a period of about four years of when it's products were not technologically superior any longer, and where we had extreme problems in our engineering group. A little over four years ago, we lost most of the key staff members we had in our engineering group. When they left, they left "no trails" of their progress on their work. We had no idea what had been tried, if it had worked and if not, why not, etc. In short, we had no clue about what was happening with our products! So, first, we had to figure out what was going on. Then we took steps to ensure that we would never be placed in this position again, which meant that we had to enact fundamental changes in the way we did things with our staff. This was not an easy task, and certainly didn't happen on the first attempt. Along the way, we had to acquire some new people that we could work with, too. That didn't happen on the first attempt either. We also went through and took a long look at where we needed to be and where the market was heading. It seemed to make sense to proceed with some projects that had been heavily invested in, like the TT. You might recall that the TT originally was supposed to be a 68020 based machine. As our engineering situation evolved, the product did, too. Other products that had been discussed were scrapped. We made decisions on what we needed to do product wise, and also took a good look at the economy. About the point in time we were beginning to come out with some interesting technology, the economy was in a tailspin. In fact, in California, it's still just awful!!! To us, it doesn't make a lot of sense to aggressively market products that you don't believe it, or that the economy will not support. In fact, it's pretty silly! You can *waste* an incredible amount of money, truly _vast_ sums of dollars in this business if you aren't careful. We've been very careful about what we've been over the last three years or so. This is not to say that we haven't made mistakes. We put a lot of effort into the STylus, a pen based system that really looked promising. However, in looking at the pen based market, the products were simply not selling. In fact, a company that was founded on a pen based product had a lot of our former engineers, Momenta, was born and died during this time frame. The pen based systems still aren't selling well to this day. We created the ST Book, based on the premise of long battery life for users, only to find that our US dealers insisted on a back lit screen that would have killed the battery life of the product. We created the Panther game system, which would have competed against the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis as a 16 bit game product. We killed that project when it was obvious that we needed to leapfrog the competition again, and go beyond the 16 bit systems. We know that we've been far from perfect. We have harbored our resources in preparation of a proper launch for two milestone products: The Atari Falcon030, and the Jaguar. You will see us market those in an aggressive fashion. And as the sales of the Falcon030 grow, you will see those sales fund additional efforts. So, in my view, the corporate structure that is in place is exactly what has kept the company afloat in contentious times where many of the hardware giants have fallen. They had the vision to foresee the poor economy, and the wisdom to recognize the limitations of their products. They now have innovative new products in the queue that the marketplace will embrace. I think your comment about the last seven years is an exaggeration. If you look back that far, you're in the hey-day of the 520ST and 1040ST. Atari made all the right moves in the US then, and we can do it again. In this day and age of extremely short 'windows of opportunity' to bring a product to market, Atari seems to be taking unusually long to ramp up Falcon production. Is Atari having difficulty getting Falcons produced, are you deliberately keeping production runs small, or will large numbers (defined as thousands) of Falcons be arriving for sale to consumers any time within the near future (defined as 'within six to eight weeks')? From Bob Brodie: I don't agree with your comment about "the short window of opportunity" comment on the hardware side of the business. On the software side, there is no question that it is an extremely small window. On the hardware side...not so. Witness the PC clones; all the innovation going on over there is just an ever faster microprocessor. The real innovation is going on in software. With the Falcon030, we have innovative hardware. The window of opportunity is quite large, and will be so for quite some time to come. We are keeping production runs small at this point, until the economy picks up. This seems to be a trend in the industry right now with other companies as well, like Compaq. We're certainly not the only hardware company that acting cautiously in regards to production right now. Globally, we will be shipping large numbers in the near future (in accordance with your definitions). From James Grunke: Production is ramping up, and we expect larger numbers to arrive over the summer. The first waves of Falcons were gobbled up immediately, and there are more sell-thru units "on the boat". In the UK we have Falcon users with both TOS 4.01 and 4.02 and just starting to circulate round the comms scene is the falcon patch, there are claims that this patch doesn't fix all the bugs in those releases of TOS, can Bill spread any light on this? Also does the patch fix any of the known bugs in TOS 4.04 which is shipping on the next batch of machines (I presume?). From Bill Rehbock: FPATCH.PRG does fix issues with the serial port with bconmap() This applies to all versions of TOS 4 at this time. TOS 4.04 is available for $60 US, although the policies and prices in the UK may differ. The tweaks up to TOS 4.04 relate mostly to esoteric kind of things, like overlay bit control, and involves vset masks mode, although there are not that many applications that use it. The other changes that FPATCH takes care of are connecting the audio system in such a fashion that STE and TT sound applications can make sound, and then bcomap() got changed going into TOS 4.04, but not enough. So you will still need FPATCH for TOS 4.04. Overall, there are very few changes between 4.01 and 4.04. From Bob Brodie: Having bugs in your OS is just a fact of life. Every single OS has them, bar none. I think that it is unavoidable. DOS 6 is taking a terrible beating over problems it has, Windows 3.1 is far from bug free, and Apple's System 7 has had their share of problems, too. Windows NT is getting raked over the coals in the computer media severely because of it's bugs. (Granted, it's in beta form) This isn't to say that we're not looking to eliminate all the bugs, but that it's almost unavoidable that they will happen in some degree. Does ATARI plan on telling the general public (not everyone has access to an on-line service or a BBS) about the new FALCON or is it just between us? Specifically, what are your advertising plans? Which magazines? TV? etc. From James Grunke: Atari does plan to tell everyone about the Falcon. However not until we have enough product to fulfill that demand. Remember the Stacy ads that created a large demand, and then we couldn't fill it? We don't want a repeat of that!! In terms of specific plans, the initial strategies will involve teaming up with key developers to attack niche markets, such as music, video, graphics, etc.. Typically, this approach would utilize print ads (both national and regional), special events (i.e. trade shows), and key referenceable accounts such as artist endorsements, cutting edge educational institutions. When general consumer applications (and I mean killer applications) are available and our production is tooled up to meet demand, only then does it make sense to do a national TV awareness campaign. From Bob Brodie: On a local level, we have a market development fund program in place with our dealers that is very flexible...almost like make us an offer, and let's talk about it. We're certainly willing to work with dealers to help fund their well planned efforts. Even though our dealer sign up campaign is going along well, there are still some states that we don't have dealers. In my mind, this precludes a national campaign at this point in time. I suspect that our primary media will be print, and as far as which publications, that really depends on what is the best deal at the time. Typically, you purchase a "media bundle" with a number of publications in it that fits the basic demographics of your target audience. This is something that changes frequently (the media bundle that is) so it's impossible to tell what the publications might be at this point in time. Certainly, we'll continue to target the music publications. But as for the rest of the mags, I just don't know the answer to that today. Cost is an obvious factor in choosing which bundle that we would go with, as in how many people per dollar you get in the bundle. Television advertising is extremely expensive. In looking at an industry trade publication showing the top ten computer (desktop) vendors for last year, only 2 of the top ten are companies that I recognize as doing television advertising; IBM and Apple. Among the other companies, there are names that I recognize from their co-opt advertisements with their dealers or chain stores, but not stand alone advertising on their own. There are also names there (like Olivetti) that I don't think I have ever seen an ad for anywhere in the US in any form! One of the leading retailers in the San Francisco Bay area is Fry's Electronics. I don't believe they do ANY TV advertising. Very heavy print ads (multiple full page color ads in the newspapers) and hip, attention getting radio advertisements as well. I guess the point that I'm getting at is that I know our users *want* to see us do TV ads, but I'm not so sure that TV is a wise investment for us. We had projected to be at a point in time to be ready to start our advertising campaign. However, the continuing poor economy warrants a cautious approach. Again, this is a part of the business where it is very, very easy to spend truly _VAST_ sums of money, and get very little return on the dollar. Previews of the Falcon have been spotted in many of the major music magazines, but the machine has yet to undergo a technical review, if I'm not mistaken. Such reviews can greatly speed the acceptance of a new machine into the marketplace. Are review units now being sent to these magazines (Keyboard, EM, EQ, Mix, H&SR), and when do you expect reviews to begin appearing? From James Grunke: Firstly, Keyboard, EM, and MIX are all located in the Bay Area, right by Atari. I have travelled internationally with editors from KEYBOARD, I occasionally lunch with key EM and MIX editors. As far as H&SR, Editor Lorenz Rychner was my advisor at the Grove School of Music. EQ gave the Atari Falcon030 a Blue Ribbon Award at AES and continues to give Atari fair coverage. So the relationships are there. In order to give an accurate technical review a writer requires a production machine. Now, with the release of the Falcon, and TOS 4.04, developers require a short time to make sure that their products are solid on the latest rev. I expect this to take 30 days or so, at which time I will prepare evaluation units for the publications to hammer on. With a lead time of 60-90 days, look for the coverage toward late summer/early fall. We want to be well prepared, a bad review is just as influential as a good review. Now that the first wave of Dealer Agreements has gone out and been returned, what CONTINUING efforts are being made to expand the dealer network? From Bob Brodie: Actually, we're well past the first wave of dealer agreements. The first wave consisted of the dealers that we were already doing business with. We've been signing up new dealers (i.e. never carried Atari) for quite a while now. We've signed on a team of manufacturers representatives, that are among the best in the business to help us grow and train our dealer network. As they are regionally located, they are better suited to know who and what is available in each locale. We are not looking for explosive growth at this point, though. Once we get to a certain number of retailers, we'll cap our growth until we can support additional resellers. At this point in time, we have over 140 locations in over 40 states, which is dramatically better than we were doing a year ago. We've also made arrangements to ship Falcons via a single distributor, with the provision that he has the dealers sign up according to all of our requirements (real store fronts, etc.). To what degree is Atari pursuing music stores, and how much of the effort is directed at computer stores? From James Grunke: The initial demand from the music channel has been staggering!!! Following the path of least resistance, and emphasizing the fact that the music software houses are shrink wrapped and ready to go, we are aggressively attacking this side of the business. Falcon030 opens up computer music to a whole new customer, including guitarists, vocalists, educators, etc.. We intend to grow this channel into a major distribution center for Atari. Our efforts in the music channel by no means downplays the regard we have for computer dealers. Those Atari computer dealers that have been with us for a long time are a high priority in our allocations. They actually benefit from the new music users who seek them out for support in non-musical applications. We are planning a drive for more computer dealers, but we need for the consumer software side, i.e. applications and entertainment software, to catch up with the level of the music software. Ideally, we should be at a 25-75% music to computer dealer ratio. From Bob Brodie: In terms of the amount of effort, we're putting a lot more effort into signing on computer dealers than music dealers. However, the music dealers are certainly a much easier sale. They've been quicker to come on board with the Falcon030 than the computer dealers have. So, the music side of the business is just growing faster than the computer side right now. I agree with James, in that this is primarily due to the applications that are available for the Falcon in music. They are truly world class applications. In a number of instances, having a quality music dealer in the area actually makes it easier for the computer dealer. The music dealers typically carry MIDI specific products. Yet, musicians are just like regular computer users....well, not quite regular, but almost! <grin> They want to play games, write letters, buy modems, printers, and all kinds of other peripherals that music dealers don't carry. So a quality music dealer works well with a computer dealer in a symbiotic relationship. The music dealer might sell the customer the Falcon030, but the computer dealer will have additional sales opportunities with the customer as well. What efforts, if any, will be made to have industry standard software (i.e.- Windows and Windows NT, Word Perfect) made available to purchasers of the Atari Falcon platform? From Bob Brodie: You're bringing up a couple of different things in your question; applications software (Word Perfect) and operating systems (Windows NT). First, we've had the ability for a long time to run different operating systems on our products. We foresee that continuing into the future with the Falcon030. COMPO Software is bringing a 286 board and a 486 board to run DOS, and Windows 3.1. I assume that since the board has an actual PC chip on it, will be able to run other things as well, like OS/2, NeXT Step, etc. But I want to be clear that I haven't seen those things run on Falcon Speed. I have seen Windows 3.1 run on Falcon Speed, and was impressed. Windows NT might be starting to ship just now, although Microsoft enjoys an excellent reputation, I can't in good conscience go along with describing it as industry standard at this point in time. As for Word Perfect, I think the only factor that they are interested in is a large installed base of users. Once they see that, they will resume development for Word Perfect. What is the current status of the "other platform" hardware emulators (PC and MAC) for the Falcon030? From Bob Brodie: The PC emulator is called Falcon Speed, and is being produced by COMPO Software. You can contact their US office at 415-355-0862, or fax them at 415-355-0869. At this point in time, we don't believe the product to be shipping. We have seen it at several trade shows, and it looks very impressive. The 286 board is something that you would expect to be wimpy, but with the very fast Falcon030 bus, it's pretty quick. The Mac board is a product of Gadgets by Small. I haven't heard from Dave in quite a while, neither has Bill Rehbock. We had hoped to see him at NAMM in January, but he wasn't able to attend. I'm afraid that we're no better informed on this that you are. I can tell you that from our end, we got him one of the first Falcons in the US, so he could pursue this project. We'd really like to see it done. Dave has an account on CIS, so perhaps you can email him a request for an update on his product. *********************************************************************** 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 (6/2/93) STREPORT 9.22 May 28,1993 AEO: VOLUME 2 - ISSUE 10 DC XTRACT PLUS 2.2 Z*NET MAY 16, 1993 GEM-VIEW VERSION 2.24 ATAX.ZIP BRODIE9.ARC FLYING SHAPES 1.3 SPEED OF LIGHT 2.6 GERMAN TO ENGLISH 3.0 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! *********************************************************************** > WILDCAT BBS! STR InfoFile The Epitome in BBS Software! """"""""""""""""""""""""" WILDCAT BBS! Version 3.0 Major Feature Information This file describes most of the major differences between the registered version (v3.x) and the Test-Drive. Most of these new features are completely optional so don't be afraid if you don't understand them the first time you read through this. CONFERENCES: Where the Testdrive version supports only 26 message areas, version 3 supports up to 1000 message conferences, each with its own message area and configuration. In each conference the sysop can make any, none, or all of the 1000 file areas available. Although conferences may have different configurations, users who have been extended access to a conference can read message across several conferences without having to [J]oin each individually. By making use of the message commands [R]ead [N]ew [S]elected or [R]ead [U]nread Personal [S]elected, callers can read all new mail or all new personal mail in all conferences they have personally selected. Each of the 1,000 conferences may be flagged by the sysop as an alias conference, in which case the alias name associated with each user (as part of their user record) is used rather than the user's real name. Alias names are assigned by the users, but are only active in a sysop-specified alias conference. The sysop can search for users by alias or real names. Only one alias name is attached to each user record. MESSAGE SCANNING Version 3 has advanced scanning features. Here's the message scan prompt: [F]rom : <ALL> Searches by message author [T]o : <ALL> Searches by message addressee S[u]bject : <ALL> Searches by message subject Msg [B]ody : <ALL> Search through actual text of messages [N]umber : <ALL> Searches messages by number [D]irection : Forward Toggle search direction [C]onference : Current Search current, selected, or all conferences The user may combine search criteria from any or all of the options, i.e., find all messages TO Steve Crippen FROM Jim Harrer within ALL conferences, search BACKWARDS, where the subject contains the string MODEM. As matching messages are displayed in summary form, the caller is prompted to [M]ark any or all messages that are of interest. MESSAGE READING The message reading section has new features as well. The prompt displayed after each message offers many additional choices: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Read mode : (23642 +) Msg Read [23642-24961], [E]dit, [F]orward, [H]elp, [K]ill, [N]onstop, [P]rint, [Q]uit, [R]eply, [S]ysop, [ENTER = next]? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This prompt is one that contains some choices that are only available to the sysop, such as the ability to [P]rint, [E]dit and the special [S]ysop command. This new [S]ysop command adds flexibility not available in any other BBS program on the market today. The sub-prompt after selecting it displays the choices: [P]ublic/Private toggle This one is obvious [M]ove to conference Change conference, delete original [C]opy to conference Copy and leave original [F]rom user edit Go directly to user database to msg author [T]o user edit Go to msg addressee in user database [A]ccess file database Go into files database As you can see, it's no longer necessary to leave the message menu to access the record of the author or addressee of a message, or to access the files database. When you're done viewing or modifying the file or user record you are immediately placed back at the message prompt on the same record without losing your place. While you are in the user or file database you can scroll from record to record and make any changes desired, such as upgrading access or changing file descriptions. The relational database features of WILDCAT!'s databases makes these links possible and eases maintenance for the sysop. Quit the user or file database and return to the exact location in your messages and continue. ENTERING MESSAGES WILDCAT! 3 has a full screen message editor. Editing a message is now as easy as using a text editor or word processor at the console. All that is needed to make use of the full screen editor is a comm program capable of sending ANSI cursor codes, or one that uses DOORWAY mode such as Qmodem. Message quoting is fully supported in both the line editor and in the full-screen editor. Quoting is automatically done for every reply if desired, and is configurable by user. If not quoted automatically, text may be quoted on a line-by-line basis during editing. The actual way messages are entered has also been modified. During message entry the caller can type in his message as always, but now is also able to upload text using error-correcting protocols as well. This is accomplished via new commands on the message disposition prompt: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edit Message [A]bort, [C]ontinue, [I]nsert, [L]ist, [E]dit, Ca[r]bon [U]pload, [Q]uote, [F]ull Screen, [D]elete, [S]ave, [H]elp, At[t]ach? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The [U]pload choice allows a caller upload a text file directly into a message and prompts for the upload in the exact same manner as in the file section. The same choices of protocols are available, and the caller is returned to the message editor after the upload is completed. Another new feature is the At[t]ach command which allows attaching a file of any size to the message. When At[t]ach is selected, WILDCAT! requests the filename to be attached and them prompts the caller to begin an upload of the file. Any type file can be attached, including programs, pictures or text. The file is actually stored in a special attachment directory where it remains until the message is read by the recipient. When the message is read, a note is added to the bottom of the message text indicating: NOTE: This message has a file, FILENAME.EXT, attached. The recipient is then offered an additional disposition prompt choice to [D]ownload the attached file. This feature is also available to the local sysop who can attach a copy of any file from his PC system to a message. Files for attachment do not need to be available for download via the BBS, and are in no way connected with the BBS File System. FILE SYSTEM: There is no longer a limit of 26 file areas with version 3; you now have 1000 file areas to work with. The sysop defines which file areas are available for which security profiles for download and upload. As indicated in the conference section, file areas can be made available for [L]isting on a conference-by-conference basis, allowing the sysop to restrict certain file areas to specific conferences. However, if a user has been extended access to download from a file area, and then joins a conference in which the file area is not [L]istable, he may still download the files provided he has previously [M]arked them or otherwise noted the names while in a conference that does allow access to the files. The conference restriction only limits the [L]isting of file in order to avoid forcing a caller to [J]oin different conferences to get all files that have been made available to him. In addition to the 1 or 2 line descriptions, each file may also have a 15 line full screen description. This description is entered by the uploader or sysop in much the same manner as entering a message, except that it becomes a permanent part of the file description record. WILDCAT! indicates the presence of an extended description by displaying *Info* at the end of the description line, here's an example: [3] WCLIST.ZIP 34,857 04/28/92 | Listing of WILDCAT! BBS from our Dwnlds: 19 DL Time 00:00:00 | WClist Door (See Main Menu) *Info* When the caller selects [I]nfo on file 3 here's what they see: Detailed File Information Name: WCLIST.ZIP File date : 04/28/92 6:43p Downloads: 5019 Size: 34,857 Last accessed: 04/29/92 9:46a Cost : 0 From: JIM HARRER Download time: 00:00:00 Offline : NO Area: Test-Drive Programs from MSI Free flag: NO Keys: WCLIST, PHONE, LIST, NUMBERS Desc: Listing of WILDCAT! BBS from our WCLIST Door (See Main Menu) Detailed Description This file contains a listing of BBS Phone Numbers, sorted by area code. Hundreds of BBS are listed. This list is generated from our WCLIST Door which you may access from the MAIN MENU, Option [E]. If you run a WILDCAT! BBS and would like it to be listed, then you must enter this door and enter your BBS Info. This list is distributed to CompuServe, GEnie, America Online, Bix and EXEC-PC. The list is also included in Qmodem (Both Test Drive and Commercial versions). All phone numbers in this list MUST be verified every 90 days, or it will be dropped from the report. FILE MARKING With v3 you no longer need to type in the names of all the files you want to download - as you're listing files, doing searches, or listing [N]ew files, you can [M]ark any file or range of files. The standard file display lists file in the following format: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ 1] BABBLE.ZIP 161,308 01/15/92 | Text processor similar to *Info* Dwnlds: 33 DL Time 00:00:00 | Lunatext with more options. [ 2] ASK_BAT.ZIP 18,168 09/10/91 | Nifty batch file parser. Ask Dwnlds: 130 DL Time 00:00:00 | questions w/Timed Responses. ...<files 3-9 of course> [10] ASQ160.ZIP 178,211 04/23/92 | ASQ 1.60 v4/92 - Super System Dwnlds: 170 DL Time 00:00:00 | checkout utility From Qualitas [C]ont, [H]elp, [N]onstop, [M]ark, [D]wnld, [I]nfo, [V]iew, [S]top? [C] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The caller could [M]ark "1-4 10" and those files would be added to the download queue. When the caller is ready to download, all the files previously selected are listed and can be modified before beginning the transfer. The user may also [V]iew a .ZIP file or request [I]nfo on a file by simply typing the number of the file. TRANSFER PROTOCOLS More protocols! Here's what's now available: [A] Ascii [X] Xmodem [C] Xmodem/CRC [O] Xmodem1K [Y] Ymodem [Z] Zmodem [K] Kermit [G] Ymodem-G [1] Xmodem1K-G [S] Select at time of transfer Up to 10 external protocols can also be defined, including those that support the DSZ.LOG function such as HS/Link and Bimodem. FILE SEARCH WILDCAT! now supports better file searching as well: [N]ame : *.* Search by filename including wildcards [K]eyword : <ALL> INSTANT keyword searches [D]escription : <ALL> Search through complete file descriptions [U]ploaded by : <ALL> Search for a file upload by <whoever> As with the message searches, the caller can combine these search criteria. It is possible to search for *.GIF that has COLOR as a keyword and was uploaded by STEVE CRIPPEN. LAN & LOCAL USE If WILDCAT! determines you're logged in locally, you can still take advantage of all the file searching and marking features. When you're ready to download, WILDCAT! will prompt you for a download path and will copy the files instead of prompting for a protocol. The same applies to uploads. Single line users will find this very useful to add files from floppies, other directories on the hard disks, etc. An upload of G:\ASP\*.exe will add all files from G:\ASP to the file database and copy them to the correct directory. It then prompts for a description for each. Users operating on a Novell Netware system can take advantage of several new features of v3 that enhance LAN operation. WILDCAT! v.3 has the ability to allow local LAN users to optionally log into WILDCAT! without entering a name and password. A command line switch automatically looks up the LAN user and makes use of the name in the NetWare Full User Name field for login. No password is requested. Another feature available to NetWare users is message notification. Each LAN user can request notification whenever a personal message is left for them in WILDCAT!. This notification is made using the standard NetWare system, like the Send command. SYSOP MENU: Users The sysop now has much more info than in previous versions. Let's start by looking at the user record: [ 1] Name : JOHN [17] Sec level : MEMBER [ 2] From : DOE [18] Exp date : 05/12/92 [ 3] Help level: Novice [19] User since: 04/27/92 [ 4] Password : QMUSER Age: 34 [20] D.O.B. : 04/30/57 [ 5] Phone [V] : 305-555-1212 [21] Memo date : / / [ 6] Phone [D] : 305-555-1111 [22] # Calls : 23 [ 7] Last call : 04/27/92 11:53p [23] Page avail: YES [ 8] Comment 1 : Referral from ABC INC [24] Color on : YES [ 9] Comment 2 : [25] E-Prompt : NO [10] Company : XYZ corp [26] Hot keys : YES [11] Address 1 : 212 Belridge [27] File disp : Double line [12] Address 2 : Suite 200 [28] Editor : Full Screen [13] City : Gainesville [29] Protocol : Zmodem [14] State : FL [30] N-mail bal: $ .00 [15] Zip : 32609 [31] Acct bal : $ .00 [16] Country : Edit Command [1..31], [F]ind, [S]earch, [C]onference, [N]ext, [J]ump, [A]dd, [M]atch/Set, [P]rev., [H]elp, [D]elete, [E]xtra Info, [W]rite, [Q]uit? The above is the first of two user record screens. The second is accessible through the [E]xtra info command to display more information: [ 1] Computer type : Gateway 486/33 [15] Lines/Page : 23 [ 2] Alias : KATOID [16] Msgs written : 1 [ 3] Title : [17] Uploads : 0 [ 4] Sex : Not disclosed [18] Dnloads : 0 [ 5] Help level : Novice [19] Time left : 93 [ 6] New files : 06/01/92 11:00a [20] Daily DL : 0 [ 7] Total Upld Kb : 451 [21] Daily DK : 0 [ 8] Total Dnld Kb : 1321 [22] Last conference: 0 [ 9] Minutes logged : 12 [23] Locked out : NO [10] Hide deleted : NO [24] Never delete : NO [11] Quote reply : NO [25] Clear Msg : NO [12] Novell name : [26] Login siren on : NO [13] File Overrides : 0 [27] Hide Private : NO [14] Conf Overrides : 0 Edit Command [1..27], [F]ind Alias, [S]earch Alias, [H]elp? Of particular interest here are fields 13 and 14. The sysop can use conference or file overrides to grant this user access to areas that his security profile wouldn't normally permit. In some cases this is more desirable than creating a new security profile. Field 12 is used for the special NetWare features and field 2 is used to hold the alias name selected by the user. Files Now let's have a look at the files database from the sysop perspective: Record # : 793 Match: NONE [ 1] File name : WILDCAT1.EXE [16] Times Dnld'd : 2,520 [ 2] Date : 03/19/91 4:11p [17] Cost : 0 [ 3] Last access : 04/29/92 9:14a [18] On CD-ROM : NO [ 4] Size : 274,432 [19] No charge : NO [ 5] Uploaded by : RICK HEMING [20] Never OWrite : NO [ 6] Password : [21] Password req : NO [ 7] Key 1 : WILDCAT! [22] Never delete : NO [ 8] Key 2 : TESTDRIVE [23] U/L in progress: NO [ 9] Key 3 : RELEASED [24] Stored offline : NO [10] Key 4 : 3-1-91 [25] Long Desc. : NO [11] Key 5 : PART [26] Failed Scan : NO [12] Key 6 : [13] Area : 26 - Test-Drive Programs from MSI [14] Short desc. : WILDCAT! Testdrive released 3-1-91 Part 1 of 2 [15] CD Path : Command [1..26] [F]ind, [S]earch, [H]elp, Fr[e]shen, [P]rev, [A]dd, [U]ser [M]atch/Set, [R]ead, [N]ext, [D]elete, [J]ump, [V]iew, [X]fer, [Q]uit? Most of this is self-explanatory but it might be a good idea to point out that the 6 keywords can be entered by the uploader or may be generated automatically from the description. The Stored offline, On CD and CD Path flags are used in conjunction with the new WCFILE utility program for making CD ROM file easily accessible. Virus scanning programs can be easily hooked into the upload section of WILDCAT! v.3 and can mark any questionable uploads as Failed scan, which prevents any use within the BBS until the flag has been reversed by the sysop. NODE STATUS The sysop also has a node status screen that can be very helpful on a multiline system. It can help control nodes even while calling from remote. Node #24 [ 1] Printer : NO Status : Logged in [ 2] Page : NO Prev caller : STEVE CRIPPEN [ 3] Bell : NO Prev logoff : 04/29/92 8:45a [ 4] Keyboard : YES Caller : STEVE CRIPPEN [ 5] Local next : NO From : Mustang Software, Inc. [ 6] Screen write : YES Baud : 14400 [ 7] Dos next : NO Called at : 04/29/92 8:48a [ 8] Kill caller : NO User Status : None [ 9] Sysop next : NO Chat Status : Unavailable [10] 300 baud : YES [11] 1200 baud : NO [12] 2400 baud : YES [13] Remaining time : 815 [14] Security : STAFF Edit command [1..14], [N]ext, [P]rev, [J]ump, [H]elp, [Q]uit? [ ] The sysop may of course change fields 1-10 to enable/disable 1200 or 2400 baud access, printer, bell, etc or even change the caller on that node's security profile or time remaining. [J]ump prompts for a different node number allowing manipulation of any node. Other information available from the sysop menu includes the general statistics screens: Overall System Information Bulletin board name: MSI HQ BBS Date: 06/29/92 System operator: MSI SYSOP Time: 11:13a Date of first call: 08-01-86 Node: 24 Overall System Quick Stats Since Local Sysop Baud Rate Access Information 05/13/92 1:07p Toggles For this Node Users: 16,187 Calls Received: 58,436 Local Kybd: ON 2400 Baud: YES Files: 2,965 Messages left : 32,067 Printer : OFF 1200 Baud: YES Confs: 62 Files Dnloaded: 56,627 Sysop Page: OFF 300 Baud: YES Msgs : 40,388 Files Uploaded: 907 Page Bell : OFF Available Disk Space -------------------- C: 2,809,856 F: 79,486,976 G: 79,015,936 H: 53,313,536 I: 72,335,360 J: 43,065,344 K: 45,719,552 S: 79,486,976 T: 79,486,976 U: 79,015,936 V: 53,313,536 W: 72,335,360 X: 79,015,936 Y: 72,335,360 Z: 72,335,360 Database Status Information --------------------------- Current Conference: Modem Help Database Active Records Total Records Deleted Records -------- -------------- ------------- --------------- FILES 3,886 3,901 15 USERS 16,187 16,187 0 MESSAGES 5,538 5,753 215 Key Status Information ---------------------- Key Name Number Key Name Number Key Name Number --------- ------ ------------ ------ ------------- ------ FileNameKey = 2,965 UserNameKey = 16,187 MsgNumberKey = 2,500 FileAreaKey = 2,965 UserSecKey = 16,187 MsgOrigNumKey = 2,500 FileDateKey = 2,965 UserExpKey = 16,187 MsgDestKey = 2,500 FilePWKey = 2,965 UserAliasKey = 179 MsgSubjectKey = 2,500 FileUpKey = 2,958 NotReceiveKey = 260 FileKeywrds =14,788 DeleteMsgKey = 1 Don't expect to understand all this information, you may never need some of it but if you do, it's only a couple keystrokes away. DOORS: Up to 9999 doors are supported in addition to two "hooks" (direct menu doors) from the main, message, file, and sysop menus. Doors can be executed via a command swap to DOS (either EMS or DISK) with WILDCAT! remaining resident as a 3K program for immediate recall after execution. The sysop can restrict access to each door on a security profile basis. WILDCAT! v.3 makes use of the DOOR.SYS standard for BBS information in an effort to standardize this feature. Hundreds of doors area available for WILDCAT!, most are shareware requiring a small registration fee. Conversion utilities are also available for download from the BBS to run doors created for other BBS's including RBBS, Spitfire, GAP, PC-Board, etc. Non-door applications may also be executed from remote, but require redirection of I/O. This is usually done with the shareware program DOORWAY, available for download. OTHER FEATURES: WILDCAT! 3 supports standard ANSI color codes as well as new "@ color codes" which are automatically interpreted for color callers and stripped from the data stream for those that do not want color. This allows creating only one set of display files and menus for both color and non-color users. All other control codes such as ^S^P (-more- prompt) have been changed to @ codes such as @PAUSE@ for the new PAUSE prompt, @FIRST@ for the callers first name and @EXDATE@ for the user's expiration date. WILDCAT! 3 supports standard ANSI color codes as well as new "@ codes" which are automatically interpreted and stripped. This allows creating only one set of display files and menus for both color and non-color users. All other control codes such as ^S^P (-more- prompt) have been changed to @ codes such as @PAUSE@ for the new PAUSE prompt, @FIRST@ for the callers first name and @EXDATE@ for the user's expiration date. INCLUDED UTILITIES: TOMCAT! This is a .QWK Mail Door, which allows your callers to download .QWK mail packets and upload .REP (Reply) Packets. .QWK Mail Doors are normally an "extra" cost on most BBS, but with Wildcat! it is included FREE! TNET Used to link up to other mail conferences such as RIME, ILINK, UN'I Net, SmartNet, and MSI Support Net. You can also use TNET to simply link two different Wildcat! Message Conferences. WUPGRADE The WUPGRADE utility reads your previous WILDCAT! system and will first duplicate your Makewild configuration, then generate the necessary files, user, and message databases in the version 3 format all the while leaving your WILDCAT! 1.x, 2.x, or Testdrive system intact. MKWCTEXT This utility allows you to change the text prompts on the BBS. It has a search function that searches through the prompt file for a string and allows you to edit the text. Since you can edit @ codes, you can even change the color of the prompts and use system variables ie @USER@ or @PHONE@. Changing the language of prompt is also a possibility with this utility. WCFILE WCFILE, which replaces ADDFILES, is a utility for adding files and file descriptions to your WILDCAT! database, regardless of their location. It can import files from your hard drive in your regular WILDCAT! file areas, on CD-ROM in regular WILDCAT! file areas, or in any path or subdirectory on your system, whether it's on a CD-ROM, a hard drive, or even off-line. In addition to running interactively as the Addfiles program, WCFILE supports complete command line control and thus may be run from a batch file. WCMODEM WCMODEM has several purposes. First, it can be used as a diagnostic tool - it will report the type of UART found in the system, performs modem timing tests, and displays responses from the modem. It allows you to load, modify, create, and save modem NRAM profiles and modem definition files that may be used to completely override all of the modem information in Makewild which is very helpful on a multiline system. WCmodem also has a very basic terminal mode that displays the status of CD, MR, DTR, RTS and CTS. AUTONODE With previous multiline versions it was necessary to execute one specific configuration from each workstation. The AUTONODE program allows the sysop to configure any or all nodes to automatically determine the node ID and the software will assign the first available node to the workstation. WCONVERT This utility performs a number of conversions from other BBS systems. It is capable of completely converting the users, files, messages, conference and system information from a PCBoard(tm) system to WILDCAT! v3. It also converts GAP user files as well as any user file that can be placed into a comma-delimited record file. Additional features and conversions are being added on a regular basis. SUMMARY As you can see, there have been significant changes since the Test-Drive version. WILDCAT! is an evolutionary product that is constantly re-defining the leading edge of BBS software. If you have any questions about the capabilities or features of the current release, please give us a call at 1-800-999-9619. Order your Test Drive copy today! Mustang Software, Inc. P.O. Box 2264 Bakersfield, CA. 93303 Att: Dept. WCSTR923 ___________________________________________________ > CT FEST'93 STR SHOW NEWS The Summertime Atari Event! """""""""""""""""""""""" THE CT ATARIFEST '93! ===================== JUNE 12 & 13, AT THE WINDSOR COURT HOTEL WINDSOR, CT. (JUST ABOVE HARTFORD) Free Parking! Low Room Rates! More Vendors! More Floor Space! CONNECTICUT SHOW TO FEATURE ATARI'S LATEST ENTRY ================================================ HARTFORD, Conn. (April 12) More than 1,000 Atari computer enthusiasts are expected to converge here June 12 and 13 at Connecticut AtariFest '93, and are certain to debate whether the star of the show -- THE LONG-AWAITED FALCON030 COMPUTER -- lives up to its advance billing. Yep, that ACT Atari Group is running another major NorthEast computer event. Last year's successful CT Fest had over 700 attendees, which merited a larger location, so we've moved a mile away (exit 42 on I-91) into bigger and better quarters. We're just as convenient to reach as ever, and only two hours from Boston or New York! The new hotel has excellent room rates ($35.00 per room), free and plentiful parking, easy access from Interstate 91, I-95, I-90, I-84, I-80, an in house Sports Bar, a bigger ballroom and is located just 1 mile from Bradley International Airport (free shuttle service for hotel guests). The Falcon030 is a perfect low cost tool for the professional artist, with 8 track, 16 bit musical capabilities, truecolor graphics and a 32 bit DSP chip. The Falcon will be bundled with several music programs, including a 4 track 'Direct to Disk' editing and recording program, a sound sampler and an all purpose productivity package called AtariWorks. The Hartford show will likely be one of the first encounters the general public has with the new machine and software leading designers have produced for it. Atari was performing quality control tests on the latest production models shipped to the Sunnyvale headquarters in mid-April. The two-day event will feature more than 40 exhibitors, including several of the top names in music software development and MIDI equipment. Tentative music exhibitors include Barefoot Software (formerly Hybrid Arts), Digital F/X, Steinberg/Jones, Pro Musica, Compo Software and others. The show, sponsored by ACT Atari Group, will be held at the Windsor Court Hotel, just off Interstate 91 at exit 42. Connecticut AtariFest'93 promises to showcase the work of several musicians and will include some live music sessions. Other vendors will demonstrate new equipment and software that will be of interest to musicians whether they're on or off the job. Among them, organizers have received tentative nods from A&D Software, ABC Solutions, Baggetaware, Barefoot Software, Compo Software, Computer Studio, Derric Electronics, East Hartford Computer Repair, Gribnif Software, ICD Inc., MegaType Software, Soft-Logik Publishing, Toad Computers, Wizztronics. Last year 14 user groups participated, and that number is expected to grow by June. A Home Business and Entertainment Expo that will focus on high-tech gadgetry designed for home use is also planned. Central activities will include a New England Lynx Tournament for the gamester in the family, a Portfolio corner for the on-the-go palmtop computer user, and other technology such as VCRs, lap/palmtops, voice messaging systems, satellite receivers, CD-ROM, fax-modems, large screen TV, printers, audio-video components, cellular phones, office supplies, video games or add-on units and accessories. We'll have our annual New England Lynx Competition, with multiple Comlynxed competitions underway at all times. Last year's winners took home prizes ranging from games to accessories to complete Lynx Systems! Bring your best player and join the fun. We'll have the Portfolio Corner, staffed with industry pundits and filled with every imaginable palmtop peripheral! Last year we had a few Portfolios disassembled at the booth, a real insight into surface mount technology! For those of you with an eye towards seminars, we'll have them in abundance, last year's question and answer session with Bob Brodie drew standing only crowds! In addition, we had John Eidsvoog's walk through the Codehead graphic tools, Jeff Naideau of Barefoot Software showing off EdiTrack Platinum, Dave Troy of (Guess[ribbet]) Computers, STReport's Dana Jacobson and Joe Mirando and many, many others. And to top things off, come out and see the Falcon 030 in all its glory. By then we expect to see some rad new programs out and some really excitement! All in all, we hope to have the best Northeast show yet, and we look forward to your participation. Make your plans now for the most exciting Atari Weekend this spring! 10 DAYS TO CT ATARIFEST ======================= Hi, This is Brian Gockley with CT AtariFest '93. Our show is just ten days away, and I'm sending out a call for three things: 1) Last minute vendors 2) Door prizes 3) Show Guide advertising 4) Paperwork. 1) If there are any companies that plan on attending, but have not yet contacted us, we need to hear from you asap, since space is _very_ limited. If you want to take advantage of the biggest Atari show on the east coast, then you need to make your decision fast. We currently have forty booths, with an additional 25 at our sister Home Business and Entertainment Expo. This might be your only opportunity to sell to hungry east coast buyers. We're located just two hours from NY and Boston, right near the Hartford Airport, so we're easy to reach. 2) We are also canvasing for door prizes for the show, donors get listed in our show guide, and receive a free announcement/advertisement when the prize is given away. If you attended last year's show, then you know how much of a plug we gave all the donors! It is a great way to get publicity, and help to support the show if you are unable to attend. This year, winners will not have to be present to win, and will be notified by postcard of their winnings. 3) We also are soliciting ads in our show guide. Last year's guide was given out to all the attendees of CT Fest '92. In addition to carrying the seminar list, the booth layout and door prize donors, we also listed all the active user groups, dealers and developers so the guide can be kept as a year round reference. A business card ad is only $30, call for our other ad prices. 4) If you're already planning on coming, we need to ask you to get your paperwork back immediately. We need to know your specific needs, and whether you'll be participating in our $12.99 all you can eat pasta bar, and whether you'd like a seminar slot. THE MAIN THING IS THAT WE HAVE YOUR PAPERWORK SO WE CAN MAKE OUR PLANS ACCORDINGLY. Ten days is not a lot of time, so please make your plans quickly and follow through. Thanks for your attention, we appreciate you involvement. Brian D. Gockley ACT Atari Group 203-332-1721 203-366-7109 For further information, call Brian Gockley at 203-332-1721 or Doug Finch at 203-637-1034. We can also be found on GEnie in Category 11 or on Compuserve in the Atari Forums. E-mail can be directed to B.GOCKLEY or D.FINCH7 on GEnie or to 75300,2514 or 76337,1067 on CIS. *********************************************************************** :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. .________________________________________________________________________. |============= Welcome to the... ==================== Reference =========| |""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""| | ###### ###### ## ## ## ## ###### BULLETIN BOARD.... M605;1 | | ## ## ####### ## ## ## RT CONFERENCES.... M605;2 | | ## ### #### #### ## # ## ## ## ## ### SOFTWARE LIBRARY.. M605;3 | | ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## | | ###### ###### ## ## ##### ###### PRODUCT SUPPORT... M606;1 | | THE GENIE MACINTOSH USERS GROUP ROUNDTABLE MACPRO RT......... M480 | !________________________________________________________________________! GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission *********************************************************************** > BLUE RIDGE ATARIFEST'93 STR SHOW NEWS "The Summertime Atari Event!" """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 1993 Blue Ridge ATARIFEST """"""""""""""""""""""""" FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION """""""""""""""""""""""""" The Blue Ridge Atari Computer Enthusiasts (BRACE) and Computer Studio invite you to participate in the Fourth Annual Blue Ridge AtariFest in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina. Show dates and times are: Saturday July 24, 1993 10am - 6pm Sunday July 25, 1993 Noon - 5pm Just as in previous years, we have arranged for FREE Booth space for Atari developers!! (We're only requesting the donation of a door prize). We can promise both developers and show-goers an energetic and exciting show with as enthusiastic a crowd of Atarians as you'll find anywhere, plus the support of Computer Studio in the mall. We're once again taking over the Courtyard Shop (mall) area at Westgate Shopping Center for the show (location of Computer Studio), plus the use of vacant store spaces for seminar sessions. Seminar sessions will be 45 minutes in length, and developers are welcome to conduct a seminar on their product line or approved topic of their choice (seminar sessions are limited, so first come, first served). This year's show dates also coincide with Asheville's annual Bele Chere street festival, when downtown Asheville is closed to vehicular traffic and becomes what must be one of the largest street fairs in the country. Westgate Shopping Center is one of the primary Park-and-Ride shuttle centers for transporting people to and from downtown, and we've arranged to have the shuttle service pick up at the front entrance of the mall and drop off at the rear entrance, so everyone taking the service from Westgate WILL walk through the AtariFest exhibition area sometime during the day. This will be a great opportunity to showcase Atari and Atari related software and peripherals, and introduce them to people who aren't already Atari owners. Bringing in NEW blood is the key to the growth of this platform, and this will be our opportunity to begin that process with a captive audience. Additional discussions of the show, as well as confirmations of your participation, are welcome in GEnieMail and in the Blue Ridge AtariFest topic 13 in Category 11 here on GEnie. HOPING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON. HAPPY ATARI COMPUTING. IT'S HAPPENING IN ASHEVILLE! Where: Westgate Shopping Center - Asheville, N.C. Take any major highway into Asheville (US 19-23, US 26 or I-40) to the I-240 loop, then take the "Westgate/Hilton Inn Drive exit" into the Westgate Shopping Center parking lot. When: 24-25, July 1993 Time: 10:am to 6:pm SAT 12 Noon 'til 5pm SUN Points of contact: Come for a day or come for the weekend, but do come and enjoy yourself. Great Smokies Hilton Resort Hilton Inn Drive (704)254-3211 Toll-free reservation phone number 1-800-733-3211 Radisson One Thomas Wolf Plaza (704)252-8211 Rate: $62.00 per room (1-4 people) ====== Additional Hotel / Motel Information =========== Days Inn I-26 and Airport Road (704)684-2281 I-40 Exit 55 (704)298-5140 Econo Lodge US 70 East, I-40 Exit 55 (704)298-5519 Holiday Inn 275 Smoky Park Hwy (704)667-4501 Toll-free reservation phone number 1-800-HOLIDAY Red Roof Inn I-40 and US 19-23 Exit 44 (704)667-9803 Toll-free reservation phone number 1-800-843-7663 Budget Motel I-40 Exit 44 (Enka-Chandler) West Asheville Exit (704)665-2100 Best Western Asheville Central 22 Woodfin St (704)253-1851 ========= Local Bed & Breakfast lodging Information ========= Aberdeen Inn 64 Linden Ave (704)254-9336 Albemarle Inn 86 Edgemont Road (704)255-0027 Applewood Manor 62 Cumberland Circle (704)254-2244 The Bridle Path Inn Lockout Road (704)252-0035 Cairn Brae B & B 217 Patton Mountain Rd (704)252-9219 Carolina B & B 177 Cumberland Ave (704)254-3608 Cedar Crest Victorian Inn 674 Biltmore Ave (704)252-1289 Corner Oak Manor 53 St. Dunstan (704)253-3525 Cornerstone Inn 230 Pearson Dr (704)253-5644 Flint Street Inn 100 & 116 Flint Street (704)253-6723 The Lion and The Rose 276 Montford Ave (704)255-7673 The Ray House B & B 83 Hillside St (704)252-0106 Reed House 119 Dodge St (704)274-1604 The Wright Inn 235 Pearson Drive (704)251-0789] (1-800-552-5724) A more complete listing of Bed & Breakfasts can be obtained through the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Reservations should be made immediately, as July is the height of our tourist season. =========== CAMP GROUNDS ================ (reservations are a must during this time of season): Mount Pisgah: About 20 miles southwest of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile post 408.6 (National Park Service). 690 acres. Elevation 5000'. One of the nicest campgrounds in Western North Carolina. 67 tent sites, 70 RV sites. For reservations: P.O.Box 749, Watnesville, N.C. 28786; phone (704) 235-9109. No showers. Groceries and restaurant. Nature program. 14 day stay limit. Lake Powhatan: 4 miles south of Asheville on State road 191, 3.5 miles west on SR 806. 30 acres. 98 tent/rv sites. Reservation available thru Mistix 1-800-283-CAMP. Disposal station. No showers. Swimming; lifeguard; fishing; nature trails; bicycles. 14-day stay limit. While in the area, you might want to consider a little sightseeing, and include a visit to the Biltmore House here in Asheville (the largest single family residence ever built in the U.S.--its a "castle"). A visit to the Biltmore can be a full-day's activity as you will want to view the house, visit the winery, and walk some of the grounds and gardens. Hours: The House 9 am to 6pm The Gardens 9am to 7pm Conservatory 9am to 5:30pm The Winery Monday-Saturday 11am to 7pm Sunday 1pm to 7pm Other areas of interest include; the Thomas Wolf home (adjacent to the Raddison), the Blue Ridge Parkway and Folk Art Center. A drive up the Blue ridge Parkway to enjoy the higher elevations and incredible views of our mountains. Perhaps a hike up to Mount Pisgah and look back down to Asheville(you can see Mt. Pisgah from most anywhere in Asheville). A short drive from Mt. Pisgah will take you to Sliding Rock (for those of you travelling with kids who are still kids at heart), the Cradle of Forestry (first forest school in the country), waterfalls, trout hatchery, etc. For the adventurous, white water rafting on the Natahala River near Bryson City (approx one and a half hours from here). There's obviously loads more to see and do around Asheville (in addition to the Blue Ridge AtariFest and a visit to Computer Studio :-). If any of y'all would like maps and additional tourist info of the area I might suggest contacting the Chamber of Commerce: Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce 151 Haywood Street P.O. Box 1010 Asheville, NC 28802 704-258-6111 FAX: (704)251-0926 The Blue Ridge Atari Computer Enthusiasts (BRACE) and Computer STudio invite you to participate in the fourth annual Blue Ridge AtariFest on Saturday, July 24 and Sunday July 25, 1993. The show will take place in the Courtyard Shop area of Westgate Shopping Center in Asheville, North Carolina (Home of Computer STudio). We are still signing up additional exhibitors, but those who have already made a firm commitment to attend include (Alphabetical Listing): Accusoft-ST ............................. PD/Shareware Software (Clip Art Libraries) Barefoot Software ....................... Professional MIDI Software applications (SMPTETrack, EditTrack Platinum, GenEdit, EZ Score Plus, etc.) Codehead Technologies ................... Productivity software & enhancements (G+Plus, MultiDesk Deluxe, HotWire, CodeHead Utilities, Warp 9, Calligrapher, MaxiFile, Lookit & Popit, Avant Vector, MegaPaint, TOS Extension Card, etc.) Computer STudio ......................... Visit a 'real' Atari Dealership in the mall (Atari computer systems, software and accessories) DMC Publishing .......................... Desktop Publishing System Solutions (Calamus/SL, PKS Write, Outline Art, Invision Elite, tms Cranach Studio, etc.) GEnieLamp/GEnie ......................... Telecommunications and Electronic Publishing Magic Software .......................... Entertainment Software (New products unveiling!) Missionware Software .................... (Flash II, lottODDS, Printer Initializer, etc.) Showtimes are 10:am - 6:pm on Saturday, and noon - 5:pm on Sunday. Seminar sessions will be scheduled throughout the show. Since this year's show coincides with Asheville's annual Bele Chere Street Festival, we are not having a Saturday evening banquet, but are instead encouraging guests to hop the shuttle bus at the front entrance of the mall and spend Saturday evening downtown enjoying the outdoor festivities (live entertainment, food booths of all types, dancing, etc.). Advance registration is only $3, or $4 at the door. Additional information about the show and Asheville's Bele Chere festival will be mailed to all who pre-register in advance. Door prize winners will also be selected from registered guests. Advance registration checks should made out to "COMPUTER STUDIO" and mailed to: Computer STudio Westgate Shopping Center 40 Westgate Parkway - Suite D Asheville, NC 28806 For additional information, please contact either: Sheldon Winick Cliff Allen, Show Coord. GEnie: S.WINICK GEnie: C.ALLEN17 Computer STudio Internet: CALLEN@UNCA.EDU Westgate Shopping Center phone: (704) 258-3758 40 Westgate Parkway - Suite D Asheville, NC 28806 (704) 251-0201 ___________________________________________________________________ > CONFLICT OF INTEREST! STR FOCUS! The "Nathan & Darlah Show" - Power Abuse """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" THE NATHAN & DARLAH SHOW! P O W E R A B U S E -------------------- AT ITS VERY BEST! by Ralph F. Mariano an editorial essay ------------------ PART THREE Last week I began this three part essay (so far) with the preface of admitting that I have a real and very solid reason for pursuing this particular topic. "Truth is Truth" was expressed and in fact, it is the focal point of this essay. Being only human, there are times when errors and mistakes will creep into the most carefully nurtured endeavors this occurred last week. So..... First, let's take care of a few corrections sent to us via the networks. First from John Cole..... about the Lexicor Free flags in the STRT.. and the IAAD matter... #: 40233 S14/ST REPORT 01-Jun-93 10:07:36 Sb: #40166-STReport Fm: LEXICOR Software 75300,763 To: Dana P. Jacobson 71051,3327 Dana, I don't believe that Lee has ever said that Lexicor has been expelled from the IAAD, or for that matter of any IAAD action against Lexicor. In fact, Lee recently posted that Lexicor has not been thrown out of the IAAD. That information in the STReport article is wrong, and on Lexicor's and the IAAD's behalf, I would sincerely appreciate STReport printing a correction. John Stanford is a developer for Lexicor software and has had Free flags on GEnie for a year now to help him support his product and some of Lexicor's other products. John's flag expired a month ago and his mail was apparently lost. Lee's flags are not due to expire (we thought the 25th of June but we are told it is in July) however the Free flag notice is no longer appearing. I have been told that GEnie software (sorry for keeping this going Ron) indicates that 3 flags are still up,however John Stanford's flag's don't show up at all, (as having expired or whatever). Please note, this is only what I have been told. The point is, only one flag is definitely down, Lee's flag apparently has had a cardiac seizure or something since it doesn't work properly, effectively shutting it down, while my flag and the LEXICOR2 flag remain intact. I would also appreciate a clarification on this in STReport. Of the other concerns, Lexicor is seeking a remedy thru proper channels, as was quoted correctly by STReport. On a side note, I agree with Dorothy that I would have liked to have seen an official comment from the IAAD on that matter, as it might have prevented some of this. Thank you very much, John C. @ Lexicor Editor Reply; ------------- Mr. Cole due your informative and enlightening post, I took the liberty to call Lee Seilor at Lexicor Software today, June 3, 1993 and ask him about the Free Flag situation in the STRT on GEnie. When asked about the flags Mr. Seilor replied; "I read last week's account of the events at hand and must say that certain parts of the story were flawed and I too was somewhat disturbed at reading them. That's why I, reluctantly, am willing to answer your questions. Seilor said. When asked about the status of the Free Flags... Both Lexicor Accounts have no flags, I've sent a capture to Mr. Cole who is in charge of finding a resolution to the flag problem. Out of a total of four accounts one has a free flag and the other three show no flags at all. In regard to the IAAD, I have no comment." ... Lee Seilor While STR appreciates your candid comments, its obvious that your home office is not in agreement with your observations. Which is no big thing. We all despise the use of free flags as some sort of "carrot" and when its done the way it is in the STRT it becomes a downright abusive practice that must be brought to an end. There is no doubt a conflict of interest and total abuse of power is occurring there. As for the references to the IAAD, STReport presented only what it was given. Both yourself and D.A. Brumleve are in agreement. We present below the letter of correction sent to the networks. On this we most certainly agree. 55469 1-JUN 20:42 General Information STReport #9.22 From: DABRUMLEVE To: ALL I'd like to address some misinformation about the IAAD contained in the latest issue of STReport. The "editorial essay" contains this statement: "As an example Lexicor was also dropped from the IAAD, because of some trumped up charges of violation of non- disclosure." I would like to make it clear that _no_ charges were "trumped up" against Lexicor. Moreover, Lexicor remains a member of the IAAD in good standing! Lexicor has three representatives in the IAAD, including Lee Seilor, and all three have had continuous access to the private IAAD Category since their original admission. In fact, all three representatives from Lexicor visited our Category on the very day this essay was published! The article also contains the following statement: "Since Nathan and Darlah [Potechin] rule over all the Atari areas including the Developer RT, the IAAD RT and of course, the ST RT, this can honestly be seen as a solid, irrefutable conflict of interest." First of all, there _is_ no "IAAD RT". The IAAD makes use of a private Category within the ST RT at Darlah's invitation. This Category has proven a great resource for our members, truly indispensable, in fact, and we are very grateful that she has made it available to us. While Darlah does have the ultimate responsibility for the goings-on in the ST RT, I myself have maintained the IAAD Category since its inception four years ago, and she has never interfered in any way with my actions in this matter -- nor has anyone else. I am not aware of the source of this misinformation about the IAAD and our members, but I do know that none of our Board members was contacted to confirm it. I trust that STReport will publish this correction for the benefit of its readership. Sincerely, D.A. Brumleve President, IAAD Editor Note; ------------ Glad to oblige both the IAAD and D.A. Brumleve., Please keep up the good work! \\\**/// In the business of investigative reporting, one often finds one's self involved in stories containing many 'hidden facets'. This happens to be one of 'those _type_ of stories'. Conflict of Interest is an interesting term, it connotates thoughts of many different types of improprieties. Truth is, there is only one really offensive transgression with regard to this situation and that is the blatant, callous display of bias and partiality in the administration of procedures, policies and "on the spot" (spontaneous) rules making to fit the needs of the moment in the STRT by Nathan and Darlah. This is otherwise known as a blatant abuse of power and a disregard of the public trust. Throughout the entire past week, the extreme disinformation effort taken by Nathan, Darlah's husband and sysop in the ST RT, has been nothing short of frantic and rather morose at best. In most cases, all that's been seen is blanket denials and more accusations cast at STReport. It has been a virtual cascade of venomous tripe "aimed at the messenger" as opposed to his doing the right thing by telling the truth and addressing the accusations of "Conflict of Interest" in STRT. Facts are facts and that's exactly what STReport presented in the case of the conflict of interest observations being made. As an example: Since Nathan, in his "infinite wisdom" has seen fit to disallow reprinting of his "posts", its become necessary to paraphrase his missives. With accuracy being the prime objective, the paraphrasing will be made with utmost care made to preserve both the purpose and intent of his missives. Nathan prefaced his missive with an apology for having made such a post and a statement about "addressing" the "few" people who read STReport. To that we can only say; the facts speak for themselves, STReport remains the single independent online publication most everyone, users, developers and independent correspondents come to when they WANT the TRUTH to be KNOWN regardless of the amount of abuse that may result from its presentation. Therefore, our readership is well aware they will get the WHOLE story in STReport. Our readership is far greater than Nathan allows himself to wish or hope for. He then proceeds to claim that last week's issue was nothing but "malicious lies" and "the usual smear campaign" to be expected from this reporter. He then goes on to, "incredibly", accuse STReport of abuse of power. As for abuse, a casual observation points out that the real abuse of power is in the control of an RT through manipulative assertation, group persuasion, and the ever famous vendettas with accusation and insinuation we have all become so familiar with. The treatment accorded Lexicor is not unique or any different than those perpetrated against others mentioned in the article. This obvious online diversionary excursion of Nathan's will do nothing but draw more attention to this questionable behavior, the Conflict of Interest Issue and the complete articles in question. Nathan's obvious attempts to distract from or, derail the main thrust of the articles about Conflict of Interest in the ST RT, are meaningless as the bold facts are there for all to see. According to Lexicor, full remedies are being pursued through many far more effective channels than only a truthful report in an online magazine. After all the protest and lamenting subsides the simple pure facts remain, these things occurred and are still occurring. They are wrong and should be brought to a halt forthwith. The apparent abuse of power by Nathan & Darlah is exposed in our articles describing the nefarious activities clearly witnessed by the userbase, dealers and developers in the ST RT. How quaint the unctuous denials. Truth is truth, and last week's depictions and accounts were accurately reported as we received the information from the offended parties. In the case of the accusation by Nathan that Seilor and this reporter are "...in bed together" please reference the following capture. Again Nathan has seen fit to scream lies yet the capture shows a very different picture. Presented herein is a capture of the offending remarks as made during an open, online public conference in the ST RT on GEnie. It clearly "speaks" for itself. <ARCHIVIST> because you havn't been attending Lou's lecture series in Cat 16 <ST.LOU> 18! <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> Ouch. How well did you know 1.09N? <[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Oh, only 35 minutes. <F.CUCCI> Not long <ST.LOU> Frank Cucci... do you have a particular problem? I could help. <[Fred] FB> Hi Ringo. Took me about 45.. <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> And do you have the User to User Tips? They are worth their ** <SANDY.W> is here. <ST.LOU> Hi Sandy <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> weight in gold. May I suggest that you abuse the hell out of <SANDY.W> hi <[Fred] FB> Sandy! <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> Hey, Sandy. What gives, eh? <MIKE-ALLEN> Sandy! How do I enable my EMail name? <[Ringo] LEXICOR2> 45 minutes... <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> Cat 16. Between Lou, Mario, myself and a dozen others, you'll <[Dr.Death] J.ALLEN27> Snady!!! <SANDY.W> just more of the same <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> get speedy answers to just about any techinical hot-to question. <F.CUCCI> I have hem, but I haven't got far enough into sl tho use them. <[John too] J.G.H.> Hiya Sandy <ST.LOU> Frank, it takes two or three projects before you get comfortable. <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> Remember that you have control over literally everything or, a <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> degree of control that is really unprecedented. <ST.LOU> If you used 1.09N, the learning curve is a little shorter. <[Dr.Death] J.ALLEN27> J.White99, do you have someone with the initials K.G. in your local users group? <SANDY.W> hi John, Fred, and anyone else I missed :-) <[Ringo] LEXICOR2> HI, Sandy! <ST.LOU> Really Frank, post any questions in CAT 16, Topic 20 and a dozen people will answer within a few hours. <SANDY.W> and ringo :-) <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> First and middle, that is. <MIKE-ALLEN> <feeling left out> <[Fred] FB> Well I have to get the kids to bed. Night all. ** <[Fred] FB> has left. <ST.LOU> Mike, you can ask your questions on P365 :-) <F.CUCCI> k 'll make a note of that , Thank you <[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Night Fred. <ST.LOU> Bye.......... Fred? <[John too] J.G.H.> brb (I hope) ** <[John too] J.G.H.> has left. <ST.LOU> Maybe the kids put Fred to bed. <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> How does Lee feel being in bed with Ralph? <ST.LOU> That's taking a chance John. <ARCHIVIST> hehe <ST.LOU> So Dorothy, what's new in Urbana? <MIKE-ALLEN> Champaign <ARCHIVIST> well, it's one way to get users. Trap them inside a product.... <[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Mike how was last sunday conference? <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> Well, our principal is retiring at the age of 52. I'm in shock. I'd just gottne this guy fully broken in and I have to start all over. <F.CUCCI> I don't think I am a graphics orientated person because I have a hard time trying to relate to most of the icons. <MIKE-ALLEN> Little slow, ringo. A couple of folks looking for LJ screen dump drivers. <ST.LOU> Frank, I had the same problems at first but now it is second nature. <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> What'd you tell them Mike? I got a support call today where my usual solution isn't doing the job. <MIKE-ALLEN> Had folks in and out for about 2 hours. <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> One day I will finally understand why Lee is totally <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> The customer has an LJII. <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> paranoid around me. In the meantime, I made the comment <ST.LOU> Dorothy, I know how hard it is to work with principals... and principles. <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> because two weeks in a row Ralph carry's all Lees comments <ST.LOU> Say, was Dr. Bob here earlier? <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> on GEM-View (for which Lee was WRONG!) and Nova, and this <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> This guy was very fine, Lou. Our first contact was when I wrote him a letter saying I wouldn't be sending our 7-year-old to school but rather teaching him at home... <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> week Ralphie included Lee's apology which went way beyond ** <J.G.H.> is here. ** <[John too] J.G.H.> was <J.G.H.>. <ARCHIVIST> gee, I always had mine wrapped around my finger. Of course, he had a stroke in my grade 10 year so chasing me down the hall was out of the question from then on <MIKE-ALLEN> Larry dropped in and recomended 2 files. One from Chet (one guy said didn't woprk) and another, but both guys had left by then. I don't remember what it was. The # was 20xxx (Only 1000 to search <g>) <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> anything credible considering Lee's past comments. <ST.LOU> Haha! I love parents like you, Dot! :-) <F.CUCCI> I have the Guide to Calamus but I don't think SL was out when this book was printed. It doesn't take much to confuse me with SL. <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> He wrote back that our son would be welcome to use the school library and get tested along with the school's students. <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> The User to User Tips is the way to go. They are excellent! <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> I put my buffer on for THAT, Mike? ;-) <ST.LOU> Now it wasn't Frank. But it is an excellent guide to Calamus in general. <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> And he did, and the next year, we sent him there. <ST.LOU> Frank, did you work through the Calamus SL tutorial in Chapter 3? <MIKE-ALLEN> Sorry Dot <he says, sheepishly> <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> Or didn't you notice Lee's about face? <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> Well, I have to take off. Time for dinner. See you all later, if GEnie ever lets me back on. <MIKE-ALLEN> Late dinner. <[Dr.Death] J.ALLEN27> Nite Dot! ** <[Baaad Dot!] DABRUMLEVE> has left. <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> That's true enough Ringo ;-). But Lee is now working with <ST.LOU> That was the right thing to do. Did anyone supervise your child's program while at home? From the Dept. Of Ed.? <ST.LOU> Ooopps, bye Dot. <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> Ralph. Mark my words. <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> Got to run. It's late for me. <MIKE-ALLEN> cest le vie <ST.LOU> Jim, are you near the CT Fest? <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> Have a good night all <F.CUCCI> I was using the tutorialin the Guide and when it ask me to load TIME 50 font I didn't have it. <ST.LOU> Bye Nathan. <[John too] J.G.H.> take care Nathan ** <[Nathan@DMC] POTECHIN> has left. <SANDY.W> night Nathan Nathan then challenges STReport and myself to address the Free Flag and deleted messages matters with, of course, more accusations of lies and innuendo. The free flags are, according to Mr. Seilor of Lexicor, still not active. Of the four flagged accounts he has, three are not flagged free. Further, about the business of the deleted messages, we once again, present the exact quote from Mr. Seilor relative to Nathan's accusations that "STReport lied".... "There is an inherent conflict of interest for any Atari Business in the ST RT on GEnie. Lexicor is taking all appropriate and proper actions to seek remedies. Lexicor is aware that "at least" one message with regard to Lexicor Products has been severely Censored and on information and belief other messages have been deleted from the message areas. Lexicor has been advised that certain messages relating to their business will not be allowed." ...Seilor said. Clearly, the information and accusations of improprieties come from the perceived abuses and wrongs perpetrated against Lexicor by Nathan and Darlah in the STRT on GEnie as seen by Lexicor's CEO Lee Seilor. Yet Nathan, once again in his infinite wisdom, decided to attack, smear and otherwise defame STReport for reporting the news! Repeatedly, Nathan has made accusations of "Lies, Smears, etc., against STReport. Fact is, STReport did report the facts as they arose. Also, STReport presented enough previous incidents to establish a clear pattern of an ongoing practice of such in the STRT. Conflict of Interest is a serious insult to the entire platform and warrants major changes being made in the manner in which the STRT conducts its daily affairs. Nathan having complete sysop powers in the STRT is a disgrace. The Conflict of Interest must come to a complete screeching halt! Its a festering sore on the entire userbase. The list of business' who've endured or suffered under the lynch mob atmosphere in the STRT is quite long and growing....; It is more than a casual group... In fact, it says it all; QMI, Computers Plus, Computrol, Tech Specialities, Zephyr Computers, ST MicroWorld, Avant-Gard (PC DittO), Aim Magazine, ST Informer, ABCO Computers, Fast Technology. CASE IN POINT: ============== The Topic opened up for the Fast Technology complaints or praise was and is already CLOSED while the S.O.P. for that practice has always been to leave the topic open and active until the object of the topic's activity bled white and either died or was a long time reviving and recovering. The question is ... why was the Fast Tech topic quietly closed? Oh sure, there'll be the ever so rational and sensible explanations flowing but are they really the truth? Let's try this on for size. How about the fact that Nathan is involved with Fast Tech (Canadian Rep.) and any negativity would reflect directly on him and perhaps adversely effect his business interests. A significant number of the pre-paid orders for Fast Tech products have been run through his (ISD's) credit card terminal and a 'flower shop' in Mass. Needless to say those users have a strong level of protection in the fact they can request a refund through their respective card holder banks and recover their funds. Now, let's look even further... CyberCube.. is Ralf (German ancestry from Brazil) the only principle in this venture? What is Nathan's connection (financially or otherwise) with CyberCube? With Gem-View? With Invision? With the Cyrel Card? With Outline Art? Keeping these questions in mind, let examine the _allegations_ by Lexicor that messages promoting Lexicor's superb video card the Nova Card and of course, Lexicor's NEW Utility disk that offers a host of graphical utilities for its customers and a shareware version of Gem-View on a shareware disk were deliberately and systematically removed from the Lexicor Category in the STRT governed by Darlah, Nathan's wife. Not too difficult to see the scenario now is it? THAT'S A CLEAR CUT EXAMPLE OF A CONFLICT OF INTEREST. ITS ETHICALLY WRONG, MORALLY WRONG AND SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO AN END IMMEDIATELY. The elimination of the conflict of interest in the STRT should be done by Nathan and Darlah forthwith as its only the right thing to do. If Nathan is to be Mr. ISD/DMC/DITEK, IAAD bigwig, Politician and Entrepreneur, the he has no business being a full sysop in the STRT on GEnie where his SYSOP activities place him in direct control over his competitors worldwide. _______________________________________________________________ > LEXICOR SUPPORT! STR InfoFile LEXICOR'S PHASE-4 TO INCLUDE GEMVIEW!! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" LEXICOR SOFTWARE PRESENTS: UPDATE W/Expanded Info. The NOVA Graphics Card ====================== Hi It's me again Yat Siu from Lexicor Software Europe. I have a happy announcement to make! Lexicor Software is glad to announce that they have acquired distribution rights to the NOVA Card. The Nova Card comes in essentially 5 different versions. Lexicor Software Products that run on the NOVA Card are: XENOMORPH-3D (works 100%) all functions Cyber Color (works 100%) all functions Prism Paint (works 100%) v.1.1, 1.5 and the soon to be released 2.0 CHRONOS-3D Newest Version (works 100%) You can even RENDER in any rez at 8bit GENESIS (works 100%) Render 24 (works 100%) Utility Disk I haven't checked all the utilities but nearly ALL appear to work. And since it has an own VDI Driver, most Atari Applications that are written cleanly should work just fine. Now to the availability and the prices, Lexicor users get a special price as I understand and for those who buy our Software bundled, they too will get a special price. I have listed them into Lexicor and Non Lexicor and listed the price respectively below. I hope the formatting works now! :) Type of NOVA Card Prices:LEXICOR User Prices:NON-LEXICOR Description of CARD: NOVA Mega 32K 300 U$D 360 U$D 32,768 Colors for any Mega ST BUS Nova Mega 16M 400 U$D 490 U$D 16,7 Million Colors for your Mega ST BUS Nova VME 32K 429 U$D 560 U$D 32,768 Colors for any Mega STE or TT VME Nova VME 16M 529 U$D 699 U$D 16,7 Million Colors for any Mega STE or TT VME Super NOVA 999 U$D 1199 U$D Excellence and brilliance! Requires a VME Bus Mega STE or TT If you own an ST or a regular STE (eg.1040, 520) then with a special adaptor you can connect the Mega BUS versions on your ST, STE. Price of the adaptor however is to date not known. Transport (shipping) is not included, please add another 30-40 dollars depending on how quick you wish to have a delivery. Prices are Subject to possible change but unlikely. To the specs of the Card now: All the NOVA Cards, 16M, 32k VME or Mega BUS have this in common: 1.Max Pixeltakt: 90 Mhz 2.Video RAM 1 Megabyte 3.Ramtype DRAM 4.Have Virtual Resolutions 5.Automatic Rez Switch 6.Upgrade Possibility 7.VDI for its Colors (16M have 24bit VDI, 32k have 32K VDI) 8.All have a Videomode Generator 9.All go up to 1024*768 in 72Hz in 2/16/256 Colors The Max rez in 16,7 Million colors for the 16M VME is 640*480 and the MegaBUS is 640*400. The Max rez for BUS version is 1024*768 and for VME version is 1088*832 at 70 Hz. The Max rez at 32k colors for BUS version is 768*512 and VME version is 800*600. The SUPERNOVA is a dream Card for a dream Price!!! Max Mhz is 135 MHZ with 16,7 Million colors at 800*600, 32k colors at 1024* 768, Absolute Max at 256 Colors max is 1280 * 1024. Ram type is VRAM unlike the NOVA standard DRAM and has 2 Megabytes of VRAM. It has everything that regular NOVA's have AND has a hardware speedup, making it even quicker! Naturally, Virtual Resolutions possible! This is a very, very fine card and is to my knowledge the cheapest available Graphics Card for your Atari. The Crazy Dots which we so promoted before is still a fine card, but proved to be less compatible than the NOVA making for Lexicor Software the NOVA Card be the preferred choice. Please, as this is a service of Lexicor Europe which needs to import and may run out of stock, consider a maximum delivery time of 6 weeks, depending on your preferred choice of delivery (Ground, Air, UPS or FEDEX?!). We will have stock, and it should not take so long....I am only being careful! :-) Yat Siu #: 39629 S11/LEXICOR Software 13-May-93 03:14:03 Sb: #39608-#Lexicors New NOVA card. Fm: LEXICOR Software 75300,763 To: Greg Wageman 74016,352 Greg, Sorry I missed answering your question on Gemview. Yes Gemview does work and Lexicor is adding Gemview to it's "Free" shareware software with permission of the author Dieter...We offer, as many of you know, some very nice Freeware and shareware software with our full Phase-4 commercial package. Of course any one wanting just the disk must call in and pay for the disk and copying, as the case with any other shareware service does. For more info just send E-Mail. We will be posting extensive upgrade list in our Lib in the coming days, with many new products and information from all over the World. This will include both Hardware and software. The best thing about NOVA is its starting at the least expensive around the $300 range to get TT graphics from 1040/STE Megas etc. All our software is 100% compatible, and fully supported by us. Then the at the $400.00 level we are talking Falcon colors but much higher res...like 800X600 from 16Mil...I like this one a lot. and finally to go all out at a reasonable price for 24 bit...try $500 + a few. That sure beats $1,500 for 24 bit! And if you really need super high res, add 2Megs of VRAM for $400. and you are still $500 below any thing else with the same graphical horsepower. There is of course, a catch in all this and that is the speed of the base machine. More colors and more resolutions mean slower graphics, but we will be teaching solutions and professional approaches that will help a lot. The fact is, that for most of us blinding speed which no one really has anyway is not the real point. It is you can have the whole nine yards with out the pain of over paying. There will be plenty of sales information in the libraries soon. We hope this brief announcement has been of some use! Just one thing more. We caution all Atari users who are considering investing in Graphics Cards from any source to please check with Lexicor or look up our compatibility list. There are some Card makers who claim compatibility which simply, put, does not exist. We have had several reports from Lexicor product owners who were assured by such manufacturers that the product was compatible, and it was not. In one case the claim came from a manufacturer who was selling a card we have never seen, that Lexicor authors had never had or ever tested their software on let alone done any compatibility programming. So please be careful when you are shopping, one of these complaints came from a user who was unable to get a refund. And now has a very expensive Graphics Card that is of no use in doing the animations he had dreamed of doing. Thanks again for the question. Lee #: 40266 S11/LEXICOR Software 02-Jun-93 01:05:08 Sb: #Lexicor in CIS Fm: LEXICOR Software 75300,763 To: all Lexicor Software would like to re-welcome all CIS & Atari users to the Lexicor Family of graphic products for the ATARI systems. Our products allow users to create wonderful animations and graphics never possible on the ATARI. Create high-quality animations with Chronos-3D key frame animator, use Phoenix Render as a very powerful renderer to create stunning graphics, and use Prism-Paint to retouch your animations. We also have a "True-Color" 24bit high quality graphics card for the ATARI. It is the Nova system. It is great and it can be use in the ST/Mega/MegaSTe/TT systems. You will find a large number of graphic samples created with all of this software and hardware in the Lexicor Graphics library. Hope you enjoy them and we welcome all of your questions. Regards. Ringo ~ Lexicor Tech. support. #: 40271 S11/LEXICOR Software 02-Jun-93 04:19:09 Sb: #40266-Lexicor in CIS Fm: LEXICOR Software 75300,763 To: LEXICOR Software 75300,763 I would like to add, my thanks to all of you who had sent in payment for the Nova card...Blind. That kind of trust is very rewarding for me. All of you have been taken care of. Some of you will be receiving small refunds, as you paid to much, the rest who were short we have contacted you and your cards are on their way. We are very pleased at the interest and will be refining the transshipping process to speed up delivery. As a final note we have two VGA to NTSC units under test now and as soon as we are happy with them we will be announcing their availability and price etc. Lee #: 40303 S11/LEXICOR Software 03-Jun-93 01:00:21 Sb: Lexicor Applications Fm: LEXICOR Software 75300,763 To: ALL Lexicor Software provides an excellent software library for the creation of Animations and Illustrations. Here is listing of current products: 1. CyberSculpt: We offer a very powerful 3D modeler for the ATARI users. CyberSculpt has a large number of tools and operations: drag, mirror, rotate, scale, skew, Magnet etc. You will find stunning 3D2 files created with this application. 2. Chronos-3D Keyframe Animator: Creates a rich new environment for the computer animation enthusiast. Cut, copy and paste time and motion. View solid 3D objects in the past, present and future. Use multiple light sources compatible with RenderMan light sources standards. Use special effects like object morph, cycles, dissolves to created special animations. Plus much more! 3. Phoenix Object Renderer: Now render your 3D2 objects with smooth shading, highlights, shadows, textured with wood grain, marble or wrap any image around the object. View and rendered images as 512 color Spectrum SPC files. 2 to 256 color GIF files. or true color Targa files at any resolution. 4. Prism-Paint: Is an excellent drawing program that runs in all ATARI resolutions plus 1024X768 4096 colors. It imports animations created with Chronos. Retouch single frames and add effects to your animations. NOTE: "MORE INFO. COMING SOON!" 5. Large number of utilities: Cyber-Color: Paint your 3D2 objects like never before. Each face of an object can be any color. Add faces for extra color. import the files into Chronos or Phoenix. Render for Sculpt: Maybe use an ACC so that after creating and coloring your 3D2 files you may view/save them. Animator Tool Set: To be use with Prism-Paint, split/splice, overlay/underlay your animations. Galactic Tool chest: Create 3D2 planets, landscapes and startfiles! Use them with Chronos and/or Phoenix! 6. Nova True colorcard: Our new High Quality true color 16/24bit Color card for all ATARI systems! Professional quality graphics for DTV and DTP users all for a very low price! 7. Plus special European software sale....from Lexicor Europe: Outside: the Virtual Memory management for the TT030 and Falcon030 systems. Will allow you to use your hardrive space as System extra RAM. The extra RAM maybe use for animation creation and rendering. DA Vektor: Is a vector illustrator and animator. Excellent for graphic illustrator...More information soon. This information provides the basics of all of the applications that we carry. If you would like more detailed information regarding any of the above products. Please ask within the Lexicor area or contact Lexicor Software directly at: LEXICOR SOFTWARE CORP. 1726 Francisco St Berkeley, CA 94703 Phone 510-848-7621 FAX 510-840-7613 ____________________________________________________ > NVN WANTS YOU! STR InfoFile Another Network Supports Atari! """"""""""""""""""""""""""" NVN - THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK! =============================== The Atari computer platforms has support on yet another top notch telecommunications service! National Videotex Network (NVN) maintains an area just for our favorite computers. Type GO ATARI Order an extended NVN Membership of 6 or 12 months, pay for it in advance and receive a bonus in connect time at no additional charge. Choose from two subscription plans: 6-Month Membership ================== Pay just $30 for a 6-month Membership and receive a usage credit that entitles you to $15 of connect-time in the Premium services of your choice. Your total savings using this plan would be over $20!* 12 Month Membership =================== Pay $50 for a full year's Membership and get even more free time on-line. We'll give you a $25 usage credit to use in your favorite premium services or try out new ones. You could save as much as $45.* NVN now offers Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). For a $2 per month service charge, customers may have their NVN online charges automatically debited from their personal checking accounts. Please contact Client Services for this new feature! For more information about either of these plans.. Please, give us a call at; 1-800-336-9096. *** 9600 BAUD USERS! *** *** $6/hour non-prime time - $9/hour prime time *** 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. NVN Highlights -------------- 1. For the newcomers.... 2. NEW (MODIFIED) REFERRAL PROGRAM LETS YOU EARN $10 USAGE CREDITS! 3. A library built *just* for business people... 4. Board Certified Psychiatrist heads up the new Substance Abuse Forum... 5. VETERANS: Please report to the Military Forum <GO MILITARY> for C&D. 6. Step out into the Great Outdoors Forum <GO OUTDOORS>... 7. We've got just the cure for your medical information needs... 8. The Diabetes & Hypoglycemia Support Forum is now online... 9. SOUND OFF!!! Take our Game Survey... 10. Let's talk about Coins..... 11. Tune in to TV TRIVIA in the Television Forum on May 26th at 10 pm ET... 12. *LIVE* help for new NVN users...Join us in <GO CHAT> Thursday night! 13. Calling all DISNEYphiles! Join the gang..............<GO AMERICA>. _______________________________________________________________ > STReport CONFIDENTIAL "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips" """"""""""""""""""""" - San Diego, CA MULTI-TOS & SPEEDO THIS WEEK! ------------- Both MultiTOS and SpeedoGDOS are reported to begin shipping this coming week @ $60 and $65 respectively. Hopefully, there'll be more in the pipeline than there are of Falcons. They're shipping folks but for now, quantities are slim. If your dealer has 'em don't hesitate.. as he who hesitates is lost. - Berkeley, CA. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION INVOLVED? ------------- In the course of verifying various stories related to the hot "Conflict of Interest" charges being leveled at the contract holder and operators of GEnie's STRT, this reporter came across a report that the FTC is being sent a "stern complaint" through congressional channels relative to the US Code about "Foreign Nationals having control(s) over US business Enterprise(s). When the CEO of Lexicor Software, Lee Seilor, was queried relative to this reported development, he replied quickly with a "No Comment" answer. In fact he replied to a number of our queries with a flat no comment answer. Questions like is legal action being taken? Is General Electric and Geis being enjoined in type of action? His replies were all "No Comment". """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > A "Quotable Quote" THE NATHAN & DARLAH SHOW!.. """"""""""""""""" "THE TOM & ROSEANNE ARNOLD SHOW of the TELECOMMUNICATIONS WORLD!!" ...a keenly interested observer """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > DEALER CLASSIFIED LIST STR InfoFile * Dealer Listings * """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" --------------- ABCO COMPUTER CONSULTANTS ========================= P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672 Est. 1985 1-904-783-3319 ATARI-AMIGA-PC-CLONES-MAC HARDWARE, SOFTWARE & SUPPLIES """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" COMPUTER STUDIO =============== WESTGATE SHOPPING CENTER 40 Westgate Parkway - Suite D Asheville, NC 28806 1-800-253-0201 Orders Only 1-704-251-0201 Information Authorized Atari Dealer """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MEGABYTE COMPUTERS ================== 907 Mebourne Hurst, TX 76053 1-817-589-2950 Authorized Atari Dealer """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" SAN JOSE COMPUTER ================= 1278 Alma Court San Jose, CA. 95112 1-408-995-5080 Authorized Atari Dealer """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CompuSeller West ================ 220-1/2 W. Main St. St. Charles, IL., 60174 Ph. (708) 513-5220 Authorized Atari Dealer """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" (DEALERS; to be listed here, please drop us a line.) """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport International Online Magazine -* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *- """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STR Online! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" June 04, 1993 Since 1987 copyright (c) 1987-92 All Rights Reserved No.9.23 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Messages quoted in whole or in part are done so under the Fair Use provision of the US Copyright Laws. USPC Title 17. Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors/staff of STReport International Online Magazine. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Reprints must, without exception, include the name of the publication, date, issue number and the author's name. STR, STReport and/or portions therein may not be edited in any way without prior written permission. STR, STReport, at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. STR, STReport, its staff and contributors are not and cannot be held responsible for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""