No Fragments Archive 12: Textmags & Docs/nf_archive_12.iso/MAGS/DOCS/BULLET02.ZIP/BULLET02.TXT

Text File | 1997-04-16 | 8.6 KB | 171 lines

NOTICE: This article originally appeared in the February issue of Atari
Interface Magazine and may be freely distributed or reprinted in non-profit
User Group publications as long as the article's author and Atari Interface
Magazine are credited AND this notice is reprinted with the article.  All
other publications must obtain written permission from Unicorn Publications,
3487 Braeburn Circle, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, Phone: [phone] before using
this article.

Atari Bulletin Board by Bill & Pattie Rayl

Atari Corp News

Atari reportedly made a good showing at the Winter CES in Las
Vegas, NV.  In the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center,
the Lynx and California Games was being displayed with the help
of two bikini-clad women on rollerskates and a "day at the beach"
backdrop.  Meanwhile, back at the private suite in the Mirage
Hotel, Atari was signing up dealers and showing the Lynx,
Portfolio, 2600 and 7800 game machines and the ST.

According to Andy Marken of Marken Communications, Atari's PR
firm, Atari is projecting 1990 production of one million Lynx
machines and the game development system for the Lynx is now
available for companies interested in making games for the hand-held
color system.

Bob Brodie, Atari's not-so-new-anymore user group manager,
recently held an online GEnie conference where he discussed his
upcoming plans (including a visit with Michigan area user groups
on Feb. 18) and other Atari happenings.  It seems nearly
unanimous that hiring Bob Brodie was the best thing Atari did in
1989.

Canada has the STe and dealers have been selling them anywhere
from $699 to $899 Canadian (approximately $600 to $800 US).  With
built-in Blitter, easy memory upgrades using plug in SIMM
modules, full stereo sound capability and more, the STe is
already a big hit in Canada, causing decreased sales of normal
STs and even Megas!

Reports from dealers across the US indicate they have not been
able to order 520STs from Atari since mid-December.  Some of
these dealers indicated they had heard Atari would be dropping
the 520ST, although Atari has denied this.  A handful of dealers
have also reportedly received word the STacy2 and STacy4 laptops
should be on their shelves in two to three weeks from this
writing.  That means dealers should, hopefully, be able to get
them by the time you read this.

Developer News

MichTron of Pontiac, MI, has announced availability of the Fast
FAX modem and software, giving Group III FAX capability to any
Atari ST.  The software includes a phone directory that can store
over 1000 company names, contact persons and FAX numbers.  List
price is $699.  Contact MichTron, 576 S. Telegraph Rd., Pontiac,
MI 48053, [phone].

Universal Item Selector III has been released, offering a number
of enhancements over previous versions, including an UNDO
function, movable window allowing users to place the item
selector anywhere on the screen, ability to lasso multiple files
and more.  Retail price is $24.95 and upgrades are $5 + $2 S&H.
Contact Application and Design Software, 120 NW "E" St., Grants
Pass, OR, 97526, [phone].

Gribnif has an upgrade to NeoDesk (version 2.05) with support for
the ST's "GEM Pipeline."  This allows special "NeoDesk
Accessories" such as the recent freeware NeoDesk Recoverable
Trashcan (found on this month's AIM Disk).  The Trashcan will
store deleted files, which can be recovered until the Trashcan is
"emptied," much like the Macintosh.  Gribnif has also announced
plans to release NeoDesk CLI, a command line interpreter in a GEM
window (similar to .ACCess! from Rock Digital) that will utilize
NeoDesk's capabilities to the fullest.  Also coming from Gribnif
is the NeoDesk Developer's Kit, so others can write NeoDesk
Accessories.  For upgrade info or more details, contact Gribnif
Software, P.O. Box 350, Hadley, MA 01035, [phone].

Another contender in the "improve your ST desktop" arena should
be shipping by the time you read this.  DC-Desktop from Double
Click Software offers a number of "desktop enhancements" and
features similar to NeoDesk.  DC-Desktop can even use icons from
NeoDesk and, since it isn't a desktop replacement, DC-Desktop
works in all resolutions and reportedly with no compatibility
problems.  List price is $39.95 and owners of NeoDesk can get
DC-Desktop for $20 with original NeoDesk disk.  Contact Double Click
Software, P.O. Box 741206, Houston, TX 77274, [phone].

PC Ditto II has been shipping in quantity and many people have
been experiencing problems installing Ditto II in their machines.
In some cases, because PC Ditto II is a 4-1/2x7 inch board,
reports are coming in that the board simply will not fit in some
machines!  Most problems, however, are occurring with the chip
clip that is supposed to allow solderless connection to the ST's
68000 chip.  It seems the clip isn't giving a good, solid
connection for many people.  Owners who have soldered the board
in are reporting Ditto II works like a champ!  Ditto II even has
a Norton SI rating of 4.0, a 33% speed increase over the figures
in Avant-Garde's original ads.  List price is $299.95.  Contact
Avant-Garde, 381 Pablo Point Dr., Jacksonville, FL 32225, (904)
221-2904.

Disgruntled do-it-yourselfers with no real hardware experience
are looking seriously at an alternative in Supercharger.
Supercharger is a hardware IBM emulator from Germany that plugs
in to the ST's DMA port.  At $399, Supercharger is a bit more
expensive than PC Ditto II or PC Speed from MichTron, but
Supercharger doesn't require opening your ST and comes with
MS-DOS 4.0.  Contact Talon Technologies/Medionix, 243 N. Highway
101, Ste. 18, Solano Beach, CA 92075, [phone].

Beckemeyer Development, makers of the MTC-Shell multi-tasking
environment for the ST has recently changed phone numbers.  Their
new voice number is [phone] and you can reach their BBS at
[phone].

Ralph Turner, author of "The Atari ST Book of Tips and
Instructions," has released a new book entitled "Intermediate and
Advanced Atari ST Subjects."  Written in Mr. Turner's concise and
understandable style, this new book helps the ST owner get
through often confusing topics such as hard disk management and
optimization, IBM emulation, building your own hard drive system
from scratch, sector and file editing and much more.  In all, 158
pages of valuable information.  List price is $16.95 + $2 S&H.
Contact Index Legalis Publishing Co., P.O. Box 1822, Fairfield,
IA 52556, [phone].

Games and Game Accessories

Following closely on the heels of the original game, the
Bloodwych Data Disk #1 has been released by Mirrorsoft of the UK.
As the game story goes, by defeating the Dark Lord in the
original Bloodwych game, you actually only sent him back to his
original plan of existance.  Now, he's MAD and transports you to
his turf to take his revenge.  Although Mirrorsoft has not found
a US distributor, the Data Disk is available from many dealers or
from mail order.  The best price I've seen as yet is $18.95 from
Joppa Computer Products, 3909 Pulaski Highway, Abingdon, MD 21009
[phone] for orders or [phone] for information.

For gamers who want the ability and freedom of one-handed
joystick operation, like in the arcades, Duggan Dezign has
released Stik-Gripper.  An all-steel joystick clamp that secures
your favorite joystick to a tabletop or desk, Stik-Gripper is
designed to fit a wide variety of joysticks and is built to last.
A number of online users have been praising Stik-Gripper as a
great bargain at only $18.95 retail.  Contact Duggan Dezign, 16
Oak Ridge Dr., West Warwick, RI 02893, [phone].

On a similar note, Canadian-based Advanced Gravis has begun
shipping their new MouseStick.  This nifty product emulates both
the standard joystick and the ST mouse.  The MouseStick supports
screen resolutions of 320x200 to 640x400 and allows you to
customize a number of features via LCD menus.  List price is
$129.95.  Contact Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd, 7033
Antrim Ave., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5J 4M5, (800)
937-0062.

Online News

Z*Magazine, Ron Kovac's long time 8bit online publication, has
formally called it quits, citing lack of new 8bit news and
products as the cause for its demise.  ST*Zmagazine has also been
discontinued and, in its place, Z*Net Online has been born.  As
the name implies, it is the online complement to Kovac's Z*Net
hardcopy user group newsletter supplement.  With this change, the
GEnie Z*Mag accound is no longer active and all email on GEnie
should be addressed to the new Z-NET account.