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*---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---* """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" from STR Publishing Inc. """""""""""""""""" July 26, 1991 No.7.30 ========================================================================== STReport International Online Magazine™ Post Office Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32205 ~ 6672 R.F. Mariano Publisher - Editor ----------------------------------------- Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EST BBS: 904-786-4176 USR/HST DUAL STANDARD FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EST ----------------------------------------- ** Fnet 350 * Fido Node 1:112/35 * NeST Node 90:3000/350.0 ** privately owned & operated STReport support BBS ALL issues of STReport International Online Magazine are available along with A worldwide list of private bbs systems carrying STReport __________________________________________________________________ > 07/26/91: STReport #7.30 The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine! ------------------------- - The Editor's Desk - CPU REPORT - PORTFOLIO NEWS - FSM GDOS- When? - PALMTOP FORUM - IG GRAPHICS! - ATARI, A Victim? - XCONTROL PANEL - SILHOUETTE' HERE -* ISRAELI DEAL "ON THE ROCKS" *- -* EYEWITNESS REPORT -> BRACE SHOW! *- -* COMPUTER STUDIO, "SHARP!" *- ========================================================================== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE™ The _Number One_ Online Magazine -* FEATURING *- "UP-TO-DATE News and Information" Current Events, Original Articles, Hot Tips, and Information Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports ========================================================================== STReport's support BBS, NODE 350, invites BBS systems, worldwide, to participate in the Fido/F-Net Mail Network. Or, call Node 350 direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging information relative to the Atari ST computer arena through an excellent International ST Mail Network. All registered F-NET - Crossnet SysOps are welcome to join the STReport Crossnet Conference. The Crossnet Conference Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is # 350. All systems are welcome and invited to actively participate. Support Atari Computers; Join Today! ========================================================================== AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON: GENIE ~ CIS ~ DELPHI ~ BIX ~ FIDO ~ F-NET ========================================================================== > The Editor's Podium As another week goes by, while most folks anxiously await the highly touted new "Standard" FSMGDOS. The XControl Panel is here and it is everything we were told it would be and then some. We have reported that B. Rehbock said FSM would be released August 1, 1991. We shall see. I have heard rumors that many folks already have a copy of FSM and that its in widespread circulation in many "closed circles". If such is the case, then why must the loyal users wait and wait and wait? Especial- ly if they have BOUGHT programs that will perform much with FSM in use? If for no other reason that to keep the users informed, the least the powers that be could do is keep info about the progress of this puppy at hand for all to see. Oh well, nobody said things would be easy. The show in Asheville, last weekend, was excellent and it indeed in- dicated to the umpteenth degree how much Atari users were desirous of new equipment and information. Elsewhere in this issue are the accounts of this show and observations of what the show's amazing success possibly indicates. Product is just starting to make a very "bashful" appearance once again. But its to those whose orders were in for quite a while. Hopeful- ly, we all shall see a full flow of product shortly. Thank you one and all, you continued support is greatly appreciated! Ralph.... TODAY'S NEWS ..TODAY! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > STReport's Staff The regulars and this week's contributors! ================ Publisher - Editor ------------------ Ralph F. Mariano PC DIVISION AMIGA DIVISION MAC DIVISION ----------- -------------- ------------ Robert Retelle Charles Hill R. ALBRITTON STReport Staff Editors: ----------------------- Michael Arthur Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. Dana P. Jacobson Lucien Oppler Brad Martin Walter Daniel Oscar Steele Robert Allbritton John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Contributing Correspondants: ---------------------------- Michael Lee Richard Covert Roger Stevens Brian Converse Oliver Steinmeier Ed Krimen Tim Holt Andrew Learner Norman Boucher Ben Hamilton IMPORTANT NOTICE ================ Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc... via E-Mail to: Compuserve.................... 70007,4454 GEnie......................... ST.REPORT Delphi........................ RMARIANO BIX........................... RMARIANO FIDONET....................... 112/35 FNET.......................... NODE 350 NEST.......................... 90:19/350.0 *********************************************************************** COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME to the Readers of; ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY! CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198 You will receive your complimentary time and be online in no time at all! WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (July 26) CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS! The first winner of our $25 CompuServe credit for his early July upload of GEMXYZ.LZH to the Atari Productivity Forum (GO ATARIPRO) is Mark Kelling. Thanks to Mark for sending us a copy of this fine program. The winner of the first $25 CompuServe credit for his July upload of Monopoly to the Atari ST Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS) is Edmund Cook. Con- gratulations to Edmund with our thanks for this contribution. PROGRAM OF THE WEEK FROM DOUBLE CLICK Double Click Software brings you DC Disk Stat, another DC program of the week! This program gives you a lot of disk structure information, like sectors per track, total tracks, total sectors, and much, much more all from an easy-to-use GEM interface. Runs as either a program or accesory. See DCSTAT.ARC in Library 13, Double Click, of the Atari Ven- dors Forum (GO ATARIVEN). NEW IN ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM Announcing PBASIC v4.6! The new version of the Portfolio Forum's favorite program add many new features. Check out PBAS46.ZIP now available in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Portfolio Forum (GO APORTFOLIO). Game players beware! BJ Gleason has uploaded an improved version of Portris, now available in LIBRARY 1 of the Atari Portfolio Forum (GO APORTFOLIO). *** ANNOUNCING! -> THE NEW COMPUSERVE PALMTOP FORUM *** The CompuServe Palmtop Forum will cover all palmtop organizers and computers other than the Portfolio, which will remain in its own forum. One of the hottest items in personal computing is the palmtop computer. These units which range in scope from personal information managers to full blown computers, are rapidly becoming an extension of our desktop systems and a part of our daily lives. CompuServe's new Palmtop Forum combines company sponsored support sec- tions as well as more general topics and libraries in a single area. Participating companies include Sharp, Poqet Computers, and Traveling Software among others. According to forum manager, Ron Luks, the new forum will feature product support, connectivity to desktop machines, fax and messaging capabilities, as well as third party software applications. Please, come on by and take a look around. Type GO PALMTOP at any CompuServe service prompt. THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM" *********************************************************************** > CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS ================= Issue #30 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. --Tel Aviv, Israel ATARI CHANGES MIND ABOUT PLANT IN ---------------- ISRAEL Atari Corporation has cancelled plans to build a $53 million computer plant in Israel. According to a telefaxed message from Atari to Zvi Koren, Israel's Trade and Industry Ministry's managing director, Atari blamed Israel foot-dragging for the decision. Atari said it had told the Trade and Industry Ministry on June 28 that it needed a reply no later than July 21, and that it was withdrawing the proposal because the reply had not come. Ministry officials claimed Atari's formal request for the investment arrived only on July 16, and that a ministry commission still intended to discuss the request next week. They expressed hope Atari would reverse its decision. -- Sydney, Australia WORLD OF COMMODORE SHOW BREAKS RECORDS The Hunter Group of Canada organized "The World Of Commodore/Amiga" exhibition held in Sydney last weekend which attracted a record 29,642 paying customers. By contrast, the last New York World of Commodore/ Amiga only had 19,000 visitors. One reason for the record turnout was credited to the CDTV, Commodore's interactive, CD-based multimedia sys- tem. Along with the local Australian vendors, there were overseas exhibitors, some with brand-new product to test on the marketplace. Most software vendors had a number of CD-based applications for the CDTV system. These ranged from new versions of old games, right up to full encyclopedias complete with moving video and stereo sound. --San Jose, California SURVEY RATES 7 FIRMS TOPS WITH -------------------- CUSTOMERS According to a fourth quarter survey by Dataquest entitled "The Score Report: Desktop Personal Computer Customers Satisfaction Survey", U.S. business PC users are the most satisfied with CompAdd, Dell, Everex, Apple, Epson, AST, IBM, and Compaq. The survey questioned end-users in their levels of satisfaction in the categories of quality, value/price, upgrade/compatibility, footprint/ friendliness, product delivery, technical documentation, and commitment to customers, Dataquest said. Washington, DC DOCUMENTS WILL SOON BE TALKING -------------- David D. Weinberger of Interleaf predicts that future documents will not only provide information, they will customize their own contents depen- ding on who is reading them. Computer documents will soon be, according to Weinberger, "adding information, changing graphics, and even deter- mining what readers may or may not see." The intelligent document will be an active publication, capable of changing itself depending on just who is viewing it. --San Jose, California ACCORDING TO STUDY, -------------------- PAPER WHITE MONITORS BEST FOR THE EYES According to a sponsored by Cornerstone Technology by Professor James E. Sheedy f the University of California at Berkeley, blurred vision, head- ache, back pain, slowness of eye focus, tired or sore eyes, burning or itchy eyes, light sensitivity, and neck or shoulder pain are common symptoms among people who work with computer video display terminals (VDTs). Sheedy said that the general evidence indicates that a light background on a display is better than a dark one, a higher monitor refresh rate is better than a lower one, and clearer images are easier to read. Sheedy's study compared a "paper-like" monochrome 19-inch monitor at 120 dpi and 67 Hz refresh rate to an IBM personal computer (PC) video graphics adapter (VGA) 14-inch monitor at 640 x 480 pixels with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The results showed a 33% increase in reading productivity for the "paper-like" monitor over the IBM VGA monitor. The study was carried out at the request of Cornerstone Technology and the VDT "paper-like" monitor was provided for the study by Cornerstone, the manufacturer of the unit. The Cornerstone VDT is normally supplied with an IBM PC and retails for $2495 - more than some IBM PC's. The study comparing the Cornerstone Dualpage VDT to the IBM PC monitor left out several points, Sheedy admitted. The Cornerstone monitor was monochrome and the IBM PC monitor was color, but set to display in black and white. The Cornerstone monitor displayed two pages at once, while the IBM PC only displayed one page at a time. Also, the study was geared to a long period of time reading the same document. No conclusive evidence was gained that people who switch documents often, or who are looking up at the screen then down, in a data entry situation, would be more productive. --Broomfield, Colorado SCANNERS AND MACS -------------------- TO NORTHWEST RURAL SCHOOLS To help students in rural and remote areas of the northwest U.S., Pentax Technologies will be supplying more than 300 Pentax IQ Scan desktop scanners with Apple Computers supplying Macintosh workstations to com- plete the scanning systems. The $55 million program, funded by the US Department of Education, will provide satellite-transmitted courses in math, science, and foreign lan- guages to the remote locations in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Montana. The remote sites, called "Star Schools" receive sound and pictures sim- ultaneously on TV monitors. The students' work and test answers will be scanned by a Pentax scanner at the site, stored in the Macintosh work- station, then sent by modem to program headquarters for grading. --New York, New York IBM TO INVEST $1 BILLION ------------------ IN CHIP-MAKING SYSTEM IBM will, over a 10-year period, invest approximately $1 billion in an experimental system to produce memory chips more efficiently and econo- mically. The project involves a system by which on intense X-rays from a 27-ton machine, called a superconducting synchrotron storage ring, will etch circuits many times finer than those now made by light beams. Motorola, a partner with IBM in the development of the improved RISC 6000 processor, is also an investor in the superconducting synchrotron storage ring. It is estimated that the machine itself will cost up to $20 million. -New York, New York IBM 2ND QUARTER EARNINGS DROP 91% ------------------ 17,000 TO GO IBM has announced that its 2nd quarter earnings were $114 million, or 20 cents a share. These figures represent a 91% decline from 1990's 2nd quarter figures of $1.4 billion, or $2.45 a share. IBM, the world's lar- gest computer maker, is blaming its quarterly figures on a worldwide economic slump. IBM said it plans to reduce its workforce by at least 17,000 employees this year from the 1990 year-end figure of approximately 373,000. --Dallas, Texas TI LOSES $27 MILLION ------------- WILL REDUCE STAFF Texas Instruments (TI) has announced that it lost $27 million on net revenues of $1686 million, compared with 2nd quarter revenues of $1592 million a year ago. As a result, TI will reduce its staff by about 3,200 people worldwide. The cuts will be through domestic voluntary retirement and selected involuntary reductions worldwide. --Houston, Texas COMPAQ REPORTS 81% 2Q EARNINGS DROP -------------- Compaq Computer Corporation has reported that a 81% drop in second quarter earnings over the same period last year. Earnings for the 1991 2nd quarter were $20 million, earning shareholders 23 cents per share. Shareholders saw a $1.18 per share return for the same period last year. Santa Clara, California INTEL POSTS BIG BUCKS FOR 2ND QUARTER ----------------------- Intel's domination of the microprocessor market has been emphasized once again with its financial report for the 2nd quarter ended June 29, 1991. Revenue rose 20% and net income 35% over the similar period last year. As part of the company's profit sharing scheme, Intel employees would receive a cash bonus equivalent to 6.8 days pay. The company said that "the bonuses are paid semi-annually and are based on a pretax income formula." To give everyone an idea about the coverage in our PC offering... > CPU PC STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING PC INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS ==================== Issue #4 Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. --Westboro, Massachusetts DATA GENERAL INTRODUCES ----------------------- 386SX NOTEBOOK Data General Corp. has announced the introduction of the Walkabout /320 Notebook Computer, a 80386SX-based computer. The Walkabout /320 is based on the 20 MHz Intel 80386SX processor and, with battery pack, weighs less than 6 pounds and has dimensions of 8.5" x 11" x 1.8". It contains 2-MB RAM memory (expandable to 6-MB), a 40MB or 60MB hard disk, an internal 1.44-MB, 3.5-inch floppy diskette drive, an RS-232 serial port, a parallel interface, and interfaces for an external monitor, a numeric keypad and a PS/2-style mouse. The battery is a removable, rechargeable NiCad battery which Data General says provides a minimum of 3 hours of continuous operation. A universal, autosensing AC adapter is also provided as standard equipment. Optional add-ons for the Walkabout /320 include an 80387SX math coproces- sor, back-up battery pack, soft carrying case, external ''accounting-styl- e'' numeric keypad, memory upgrade kits, and internal 2400-bps modem with 4800-bps send-FAX capability. Pricing for the Walkabout/320 begins at $3,695 for the two megabyte RAM, 40MB unit. --Houston, Texas COMPAQ CUTS LTE PRICES 22% -------------- Compaq Computer has announced that it has reduced the suggested retail price of its award winning LTE and LTE/286 notebook computers by as much as 22% in what it describes as "a move to continue its aggressive pricing strategy and increase market share" in the growing notebook market. The Compaq LTE line has won a number of reader and editor awards from various trade and business publications. The LTE units weigh six pounds and measure 8-1/2 inches X 11 inches, the size of a standard sheet of typing paper. The LTE Model 20 runs on a 80C86 chip, has 640K of random access memory (RAM) expandable to 1M, and a 20-megabyte hard drive. The LTE/286 runs on a 12 megahertz 286 chip. The standard 640K of RAM is expandable to 4.6M and has a 1.44-megabyte disk drive. It's available with either a 20 or 40 MB hard drive. The LTE has been reduced $250, to $1,749. The LTE/286 with a 20M hard drive has dropped from $2,499 to $1,949 while the 40M version dropped $550 to $2,249. --Scotts Valley, California BORLAND OFFERS FREE SIDEKICK ------------------------- Borland International has announced that anyone buying the $495 retail version of Quattro Pro 3.0 or the $795 version of Paradox 3.5 can get a free copy of the company's Sidekick 2.0. The free promotion, called Borland Bonus Days, runs until October 31. A coupon will be attached to the box of new Paradox and Quattro Pro pro- ducts. A free copy of Sidekick 2.0 can be obtained by simply returning the coupon and a copy of the sales receipt direct to the company. Bor- land says that the offer does not apply to competitive upgrade versions of the two products. Borland's Sidekick 2.0 is a personal organizer containing the Time Planner, Address Book, and Communications, as well as a Notepad and Calculators. --New York, New York IBM ENHANCES RISC 6000; ------------------ "VISUALIZATION" SYSTEM IBM has announced enhancements to its RISC System/6000 line of work- station units and a high-end visualization system. It has also announced price cuts of up to 42% on items in the RISC 6000 line of products. The new RISC System/6000 graphics products -- the Power Gt4x, Power Gt4 and Power Gt3 -- are internally attached graphics subsystems that are connected to the workstation via Micro Channel slots. The products range in price from $3,500 to $17,000 and are said by IBM to "deliver a fivefold improvement in 2-D graphics performance and an eightfold increase in 3-D performance." --White Plains, New York IBM LOWERS PS/2 L40 LAPTOP PRICE ---------------------- IBM says it has reduced the price of its PS/2 L40 SX laptop computer, which was launched March 22, by 12% to $5,245 from $5,995. IBM has also cut the price of the 80 nanosecond memory options for the system by up to 45%. --New for the PC Software Aids Decision-Making -------------- Phil Paulson's Decisions/Decisions is scheduled to begin shipping from Dalton Dialogic at the end of July. The package uses a seven-step decision method distilled from academic research on the decision-making process, Paulson said. Its interface uses seven successive screens of different colors, working from a small block of color in the center of the screen to larger and larger rectan- gles to symbolize emerging from a tunnel. The interface also uses the familiar concepts of pull-down menus. Plans call for Dalton Dialogic to distribute the software initially through direct mail. A scaled-down version, called Decisions/Light, will be available on bulletin boards. So will decision templates with rele- vant information for certain common types of decisions already built in. The software will sell for US$149 in the United States and C$169 in Canada. --New for the PC Richmond Offers Maximizer Lite -------------- Hoping to appeal to the owners of lightweight laptop and notebook com- puters, Richmond Technologies & Software has launched a scaled-down version of its contact management software, Maximizer. Maximizer Lite can maintain client lists and a to-do list and produce letters and notes using built-in word processing capabilities complete with spell checking. It lacks the support for multiple databases, income and expense tracking, file combining and updating functions, fancier list manipulation, and personal diary features found in the full pac- kage. Also, the spelling checker uses an 80,000-word rather than a 120,000-word dictionary. The new Maximizer Lite package fits on a single 3.5-inch diskette and sells for C$129. The original Maximizer has been renamed Maximizer Advanced and will continue to sell for C$395, with a network version priced at C$895. --New for the PC Windows Image, Audio Compression -------------- Software and Board Optibase has announced new tools for image and audio compression: Optitools for Windows 3.0 and the +Audio coprocessor board. Optitools is a software developer's kit for programming a Motorola digital signal processor (the 56001 DSP) that is on the Optibase 100 and 500 compression/expansion add-in boards for compression and expansion of images and audio, the company said. Optibase says its Optitools is better because it provides the right compression/expansion tool for the right job. Compression of images and audio is an important issue, as a minute of uncompressed video can take a gigabyte of disk space. Optibase says its Optitools product does just that with four types of compression/expansion algorithms. The four are Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) for simple continuous tone images, AADCT for continuous tone images mixed with text, Lossless for absolute image integrity with compression up to 1:3, and Voice and Music that enables the addition of voice or music to applications. One of the biggest applications for the new technology is desktop video conferencing. According to Optibase, "The 1990 market for desktop video conferencing alone was $300 million, a figure we project will zoom to $1 billion in the next four years." Optibase says the board handles both digital and analog conversion, software buffers help minimize distortion and can compress in ratios as high as 1:8. --New for the PC Inset Updates Hijaak -------------- Inset Systems has updated its Hijaak screen-capture software. Version 2.02, which adds new screen capturing and file conversion capabilities, is shipping now. The new version can capture screens with resolution of up to 1.024 by 768 pixels and 256 colors, conforming to the Super VGA display standard. The previous version supported only standard VGA, a spokeswoman said. Super VGA is supported under DOS and under Microsoft Windows. Hercules clone cards are also now recognized. The new release adds options to clip captured images and to remap colors in the images. The software will also let the user choose from 3 fonts for captured screen text to get the best resolution on the chosen output device. Version 2.02 also adds support for a variety of additional graphics for- mats, including added variants of the TIFF, Windows Metafile, Macintosh PICT and AutoCAD DXF formats. Seven new facsimile formats are supported. The new release also lets users create PostScript files using the Cyan- Magenta-Yellow-Black (CMYK) color model as well the Red-Green-Blue (RGB) model. According to Inset, the CMYK model produces better blacks than RGB. The suggested retail price for Hijaak remains at US$199, while users of Version 2.0 can upgrade free and users of previous versions can do so for US$50, the spokeswoman said. The software is shipping now. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" IMPORTANT NOTICE! ================= As a reader of STReport International Online Magazine, you are entitled to take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. For only $29.95 ($20 off the standard membership price!), you will receive a lifetime subscrip- tion to DELPHI, a copy of the 500-page DELPHI: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE and over $14 worth of free time. NOTE: Special offers can be found in your favorite Atari magazines: START CURRENT NOTES ST INFORMER ATARI INTERFACE MAGAZINE SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI ====================== Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access DELPHI services via a local phone call JOIN -- DELPHI -------------- 1. Dial 617-576-0862 with any terminal or PC and modem (at 2400 bps, dial 576-2981). 2. At the Username prompt, type JOINDELPHI. 3. At the Password prompt enter STREPORT. For more information call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005 or at 617-491-3393 from within Massachusetts or from outside the U.S. DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT -------------------- The 20/20 Advantage Plan IS FANTASTIC! And it features 20 hours online for just $20 a month! The $20 is a monthly fee that covers your first 20 hours online via direct dial into one of DELPHI's two direct-access lines, or via a special Tymnet 20/20 Access code. It also gets you additional hours at just $1.20 per hour. And you get free access to several services on DELPHI as part of the Advantage Perks. Other telecom services may have additional charges. Canadian Tymnet users have an additional telecom charge. Office Time access (7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays) may have an additional charge. And of course, other restric- tions may apply. But this is still an amazing deal! IMPORTANT NOTICE! ================= As a reader of STReport International Online Magazine, you are entitled to take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. DELPHI has waived the sign-up fee! For a limited time, you can join the World's Premier Online Service for FREE! Members can access DELPHI worldwide through hundreds of local access lines. For more information please contact: DELPHI at 1-800-544-4005 and ask for Member Services. DELPHI- It's getting better all the time! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > The Flip Side STR Feature "..a different viewpoint" ========================= A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT ================================== by Michael Lee I just have time for a short column this week before hitting the road again. Here's a few comments about articles in past issues of ST Report from some of our readers. You might even recognize a couple of their names. ---------------- From Leland Dumas, about an article in ST Report by Lloyd Pulley, "Up- grading the Memory in Your STe/MegaSTe" - Category 14, Topic 40, Mes- sages 18 & 22 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... I just installed 4 megs in my STe using your directions. I just thought I'd let you know that it seems to be working fine (so far!). I may disagree with a lot of your comments (g), but thanks to your description, I saved myself some bucks on the memory upgrade. Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it! One thing I probably should mention. Lloyds directions on the memory upgrade are great, but if you're totally ignorant about this type of thing (like me!), be careful taking things apart. I stupidly removed ALL the screws from the back when I opened the computer. Then, since it said to remove the small cover, I removed the one with only 2 screws. I ended up with my disk drive in my hand! So, when you open it up, just remove the screws around the edges, (including the one that says you'll void your warranty [g]). If any of the screws are 2 or 3 times the length of the rest of them, put it back before you open it. Also, the cover you need to remove will have a half dozen screws and 2 of those pieces of metal that have to be twisted to straighten out. I know it sounds a bit difficult, especially if you're a klutz like me, but it's really quite simple. Again, a big thanks to Lloyd Pulley for the article that told me what to do. There is only one dealer in my area (a music dealer), and his idea for repairs is to replace everything. I probably saved a bundle doing it myself. ------------------ From Dave Small (Gadgets by Small) on some news articles in CPU Report - Category 26, Topic 2, Message 556 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie... Comments on latest issue -- Couple issues back [NOTE: CPU Report 20] -- many thanks for tip on Prodigy sucking up HD stuff and uploading it. On SAFEWARE (Computer Insurance) [NOTE: CPU Report 29], I'd give them a 100% recommendation. I got Safeware in the L.E. Systems 8-bit disk drive days. During an extreme late midnight session, an epromer with the "hot" side shorted to the chassis ground ground-looped through my drive, blowing up about, I don't remember exactly, $1500 worth of equipment in half a sec. SAFEWARE could not have been more helpful or friendly. They sent out a guy to look at the smoked remains of the Atari 800 circuit board -- literally, the middle of the chips had exploded outwards! -- and wrote us a check. We have been customers of SAFEWARE ever since. One thing I like a *lot* is they also insure your software. So, if your copy- protected-and-unbackupable-disk goes down, they'll pay to get a new one. This is mondo cool. And their rates are just lovely. I strongly recommend SAFEWARE as computer insurance, both for your software and hardware. (You DO know that software always ends up being more costly, long run, than hardware...) Nice job, Ralph. -- thanks, Dave / Gadgets ---------------- Until next week..... *********************************************************************** :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT: _________________________________ To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN. **** SIGN UP FEE WAIVED **** The system will now prompt you for your information. -> NOW! GENIE BASIC STAR SERVICE IS IN EFFECT!! <- GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission *********************************************************************** > Blue Ridge Atari Fest STR SHOW NEWS "EXCLUSIVE EYEWITNESS REPORTS" =================================== ATARI FEST IN THE SKY ===================== by Ralph F. Mariano Following this diary like report, there is the observations of other folks who were in attendance at the Blue Ridge Fest, I'm sure you'll enjoy those too. Back to the Fest, we arrived early friday afternoon. I drove up from Jacksonville with two of my sons, (there are four). One could immediately appreciate the fine mountain air it was cooler than I was ac- customed to and it was fresh. At night you could see lightning bugs. Its been reported that they are very particular creatures, they will not populate an area that does not have high quality air. I haven't seen lightning bugs yet in Jacksonville, Florida, it must be those effervescent paper mills that seem to "glow in the night". I visited the mall where the show was scheduled to be held and found that everything was in readiness. Sheldon Winick, owner of Computer Studio, had everything well under control and... I might add this fellow is a class act all by himself. His store was an oasis in the eyes of all beholders. Imagine how unique, an Atari store with hardware and software in stock! The show began at noon on Saturday I arrived shortly thereafter, the show was scheduled to run 'til 6pm that same day. The show certainly received plenty of publicity via Sheldon's advertisements on TV promoting Atari and the show. By the way, there was NO front money from Atari, the front money came out of Sheldon's pocket. I asked him if there was a pos- sibility of reimbursement and he was confident that the co-op advertising arrangement Atari has for its dealers would cover the cost. Computer Studio is a fine example of a high quality Atari Store that's designed to cater to 'all' Atarians. About 8 - 10 feet to the left of the entrance was "the setup" ..a TT, Calamus SL, a plotter and SLM605 laser. This was where Nathan spent the best part of his time showing the finer points of Calamus SL. Between those who were watching Nathan and those waiting in, what seemed like, a perpetually long line to the check out at the cash register, there was a constant flow of people gathered around and passing by Nathan. The store itself is an exercise in perfection, an ideal example of how a first rate store should appear. There was ample software on display, (everywhere you looked), plenty of hardware for all to see and touch and of course, the needed inventory to satisfy everyone even the most discerning of shoppers. The exhibitors all had fine mini-shows going, displaying their products for all to see. A number of exhibitors declared they were 'sold out' at the end of the day. Nevin Shalit, Step Ahead Software, said it was an excellent day. ICD had the prototype of their new 16Mhz accelerator on hand for all to see. Jeff Williams, ICD's rep, detailed the design to all who expressed an interest in the 1040STe 16Mhz upgrade. As usual, the appearance of the board was excellent and very professional. A&D Software was well represented by B. Gockley and his wife, they did an excellent job of demoing A&D's fine offerings. Goldleaf had their goodies giving cause to all who stopped by the exhibit to proclaim all the ooh's and aah's normally heard whenever the Atari computers get going with super impressive software. ISD's Nathan Potechin was quite busy demoing Calamus SL in Sheldon's store and trying to keep up with the action in the mall's concourse. The show's seminars went quite well, there were two spacious rooms, one on the main concourse and the other off to one side, setup to stage the informative and entertaining seminars in. The afternoon's schedule was setup to present the seminars concurrently in both rooms except for the last two seminars (STReport & Atari). They were scheduled to take place in the main seminar room on the concourse. As a result, they both were SRO. The room itself sat 110 people. Both the STReport and Bob Brodie seminars were packed and ran overtime. On a scale of 10, the show easily reached a 10 and is definitely on our list of shows to participate in next year. To Sheldon Winick and all the support folks from BRACE .. "A job well done!" The Asheville Atari Show ======================== posted by Bill Aycock 76703,4061, CIS Sysop The Blue Ridge Atari Fest was just a half-day show, so I'm back in Greensboro now. Somewhere around 400 Atarians from all over the southeast showed up, some of them driving four or five hours to get there! I think it was a very successful show, when you take the size into account. Lotsa folks bought lotsa stuff. :-) The folks from Double Click weren't able to make it, but all the other exhibitors showed up. Here's a quick rundown: John Fox from Goldleaf showed off Wordflair II, their new Document Processor. It's kind of a cross between a word processor and a desktop publisher, and it was really impressive - I even picked up a copy! It looked to be easy to use and very powerful, with lots of nifty features. The folks who designed it did a good job! (I'm sure the Goldleaf people here would be glad to give you more details.) Wordflair II uses the new FSM-GDOS outline fonts to produce great output. (FWIW, Bob Brodie stated a number of times that FSM-GDOS should be shipping around the first of next month. Of course he couldn't _promise_ that, but he was fairly confident. Also FWIW, FSM-GDOS is controlled through a slot in the new CPX control panel.) Goldleaf's demo was running on an 8-meg TT with a big monitor, but the docs say it should run on an ST with at least 1 meg and two double-- sided drives. (Obviously, the more memory the better, and a hard drive is highly recommended!) Jeff Williams from ICD had a table filled with their hardware and software for STs- host adapters, AdSpeeds, Cleanup ST, etc. He also brought some stuff for 8-bitters- an MIO, SpartaDOS and related programs, Mac65, cables, and the like. Dorothy Brumleve's table had a demonstration of her kidprgs. She also gave a talk titled "Empowering Young Learners Through Technology." Nathan Potechin from ISD Marketing was there to represent the Calamus line. He gave a seminar on Calamus SL. Darlah Pine also attended, and showed off Genie to interested parties. Nevin Shalit from Step Ahead Software had a booth demonstrating his Tracker/ST. He held a seminar that explained Tracker/ST, and also showed off the new features of PageStream's latest release. Don Terp, a long-time Atarian from Read Mountain Press, gave a talk on "DTP on Atari Computers". Other exhibitors included Ralph Roberts, author of "Computer Viruses", Brian Gockley from ST Informer, and Clifton Willard from Willard Produc- tions. There were also a number of people showing off MIDI-related software- Mike Cloninger from Dragon Studio, Dr. Tim Brumleve with the K5/K5M voice librarian, and Eric White from KAUG (the Knoxville user group) with a MIDI demo. (The MIDI stuff was in another hallway, and since it's all beyond me I didn't spend much time there. :-) Of course, Ralph Mariano of STReport was everywhere, seeing everything and everyone <grin>. He gave an interesting talk titled "Current Events"; no doubt he'll be reporting on the show himself. Likewise, Bob Brodie from Atari was on the scene, talking with everyone. His seminar packed the meeting room, and was a great way to cap off the day. There were a bunch of door prizes: copies of Tracker/ST and EdHack, four sets of TOS 1.4 ROMs, $100 gift certificates from ABCO, a Migraph hand scanner with TouchUp, and lots more I couldn't keep track of. :-) So there's the gist of the show. It was the first AtariFest I've been able to attend, and despite the small size it was a lot of fun! ____________________________________________________________ > IG Graphics! STR InfoFile Instant Online Graphics ========================= WHAT'S INSTANT GRAPHICS? ======================== by Larry Mears Instant Graphics (IG) is a desk accessory terminal for your ST. MS-DOS clone support coming in a few months, see MS-DOS IG below. IG is used with a modem, it's a dumb terminal in the sense it doesn't do file transfers but when it comes to online graphics IG is extremely smart. Since IG is a accessory you can use it to do the online graphics and pop back to your favorite terminal to do file transfers and the other standard fair. IG is sort of like super VT-52 or ANSI but these are character based graphics. Try drawing a circle with VT-52 or ANSI you got pixels the size of cursors! IG has real pixels it has commands that tell it to draw lines, plot points, set colors, set fill patterns, draw rectangles, boxes with and without rounded corners. There are text commands to plot text to the screen. The plotted text can be put at any X,Y coordinate on the screen using the system FONT and at several different point sizes, big text for titles. IG also does bitblit so animation can be done online. BBSs can really be souped up with IG. There are ZONE commands for turning a standard BBS into a mouse driven BBS remotely, IG is wild! Oh, there's more... How about sound effects, 20 of them that use the CPU itself to control the sound envelope for really amazing sound effects from the ST! You can use GIST (from ANTIC) to edit new sound effects and plug them into one of the 20 sound effect slots with online commands. The sound effects can be played as musical notes for online music and if you run a MIDI BBS there is a utility for converting Music Studio tm files to IG MIDI format so they can by played by your MIDI keyboard online! All this neat stuff is done with standard ASCII text commands that IG interprets online. Example: G#O 319,99,25: <--- draws a circle at x y 319,99 radius of 25 pixels. It's real simple and interpreted just like BASIC. The G# gets the terminal's attention 'O' is the command itself. IG is a Shareware project (dream) of mine with 6 years development behind it. IG is a powerful graphics tool for online communication with impact. It looks meek and mild mannered on the surface but if you will read the docs on the commands you will be very surprised. SYSOP INFO To IGnite your BBS with IG it has to be able to handle alternate text menus. FoReM and ///TURBO Board bbs software does this with its GRAPHICS.TXT file and the *.GRx files. Work up IGized menus for your BBS!!! IG215 is available on GEnie, this is the latest version. There is a loadable EMU version of IG215b for Interlink tm. A few IG BBSs are around already, WRB 205-837-2025 I added IG menus to it myself, I'm a remote sysop there. The best way to IGize your BBS is to get your remote sysop to do it, unless you have a second ST to use as a IG terminal to call your BBS with. The graphics appear on the terminal side only, on the BBS side the SYSOP sees the raw IG commands only. There is a Instant Graphics XNET The London Smog bbs is the lead node 632, it even has a few UK boards in it. London Smog 714-546-2152 USR DUAL STANDARD (I think), "Clueman" is SYSOP, "Mr. Rodgers" the best IG artist around, Bob Ahsley and Robert Gieger are very talented at IG also. Call the SMOG to experience the ST IG. I can be reached on GEnie as L.MEARS or HAUG BBS 205-722-0900 node 74 as Larry Mears for more info. MS-DOS IG Blue Instant Graphics! (BIG) is the MS-DOS version of IG. It is about 90% compatible with it's ST ancestor. BIG uses I# instead of G# the dif- ferences are sort of like going from one BASIC to another. Most commands have the same syntax or at least the same function. BIG will be released well before Christmas, this Fall I hope. It requires 256K video RAM with EGA or VGA color. BIG is a full working basic terminal, it has Zmodem built in with Xmodem fall back, supports three 16 color modes 640x200, 640x350, 640x480(VGA only). BIG has all the graphics IG has and several real FONTS. BIG does sound effects via the PC speaker and plays notes. BIG can be used with the standard ANSI driver so you can have your cake and eat it too! For Adlib tm, SoundBlaster tm owners there is support for playing ROL files online and doing sound effects that sound like they came right out of a SCIFI flick. BIG will literally 'ROCK' the online world. If you like ANSI you will flip over BIG! BIG will be released as Shareware in demo version with a register fee of $25. Keep a eye out for it on the major online services this Fall. I hope to eventually write a MAC version also. It all depends on my finances mostly. ____________________________________________________________ > ATARI - A VICTIM? STR FOCUS "Why is everybody picking on me?" =========================== WHO IS PICKING ON WHOM? ======================= by R.F. Mariano My goodness, the reports read as though Israel has done Atari a dirty turn. Most of our readers will recall, a few weeks ago, where STReport presented the account of the Israeli newspapers headlining Atari had "mis- sed" the deadline for the business deal on the new factory. Seems Atari would have had an edge if they had gone with the Israeli proposals. Some- thing to effect of "duty free into Europe"... Not bad. According to the latest reports, it seems its now the Israelis who have "dragged" their feet. "U.S. based Atari Corp has cancelled plans to build a $53 million com- puter plant in Israel due to government bureaucracy, Israeli officials said. A telefaxed message from Atari to the Trade and Industry Ministry's managing director, Zvi Koren, blamed Israeli foot-dragging for the decision. In April, Atari proposed Israel take part in investments that could reach $150 million to build a plant and produce personal computers and electronic games. Israel's investment would be at least 38 pct, offi- cials said. Atari said it had told the Trade and Industry Ministry on June 28 that it needed a reply no later than July 21, and that it was withdrawing the proposal because the reply had not come. Ministry officials claimed Atari's formal request for the investment arrived only on July 16, and that a ministry commission still intended to discuss the request next week. They expressed hope Atari would reverse its decision." - Reuters Hard to believe, an entire nation would 'pick on' Atari. But then ... it appears that everyone, from STReport to the country of Israel, are all picking on "poor, little old Atari." This "Atari being picked on" premise is getting extremely difficult to believe as each year goes by. For the last three years, in most all situations that placed Atari in a poor light, (product shortages, favoring the European Market, lack of advertising, neglect of the US market) has always been the fault of some- one or something else but NEVER Atari. Hmmm it would seem the whole world is out to do Atari in. Or could the leadership, Tramiels and immediate underlings, be their own worst enemies? Once again, the US marketplace is STARVING for products. Why? What or who will be blamed this time? Maybe an Alien invasion, a chip shortage on Mars or a bad economy in Rumania! They've used up all the conventional excuses and readily available scapegoats. Distributors, Dealers and users are clamoring for a strong flow of product in the USA, what do we hear for an answer? Almost sheer silence except for the occasional bleating by a few at Atari saying that STReport is this or that and of course the "Osbourne Lessons". However, to date, all that's come forth from Sunnyvale has been defensive remarks ,retorts, snorts and preposterous carrying on by a few of the newfies. Atari needs to either 'get with the program or get with the program'. Take a look at the success of these "one day" shows. Three years ago, if someone would have proposed that Atari attend a "half day show" in the _hallway_ of a shopping mall in a small southeastern town, the hysterical laughter would have caused catastrophic snowslides in the Himalaya Moun- tains! Now, Atari is attending such shows. Why? Because they are suc- cessful. When one considers over 400 folks came from five states around to attend the Brace Show in Asheville, one simply must ask why?. The answer is obvious. Because they want to see, feel and buy the latest new products. The "feeding frenzy" at Sheldon's Computer Studio was as fan- tastic as it was unbelievable. The line to the cash register was 15 and 20 people deep all day long. And nobody was giving anything away! The prices were the normal, everyday prices. Folks were buying software and hardware and I might add in multiples. The moral of the story is why can't Atari see the enormous cash cow called the US market that's waiting for the "bright lights" in Sunnyvale to find it? Possibly, the heads in Sunnyvale are marching to a different drummer. A drummer most of us are not too familiar with. Oh, how we would love to see an abundance of products in the pipeline, flowing freely to all corners of the country. The major distributors in the USA are ready, willing and able to do the job. Atari, the ball IS in your court. The Fans are in the stands waiting for the real thing. Its a sell-out crowd. Its FAST BREAK time! ___________________________________________________________ > STR Portfolio News & Information Keeping up to date... ================================ THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ========================= On CompuServe by Judith Hamner 72257,271 The big news of the week is that there is a new forum on CompuServ. Go Palmtop and look around. Portfolio support will remain as is in the Portfolio forum. Rumor has it that PowerBasic will be released "real soon now". If you haven't been scanning the message board, you've been missing some great info. There have been several very informative threads on bat- tery useage. Try the threads beginning with msg #13852 and with msg #13974. Msg #14132 has information about a bulletin board which has a Portfolio section. Finally, see msg #14047 for full information on Atari Safari to be held in Houston in September. There are some new uploads for those looking for external storage. HARD10.ZIP is an improved device driver for the Flashdrive hard disk in- terface. FORIBM.TXT disscusses the use of the HP9114 portable floppy drive and has information on software to format floppies in a format com- patible with IBM compatibles and the Portfolio. PBAS46.ZIP contains yet another update to Pbasic. New features include MID$, string sizing, graphics and more along with minor bug fixes. This new version will also run on the new HP95LX palmtop as well as desktops. PORTNE.TXT announces a new newsletter by David Stewart. _______________________________________________________________ > XCONTROL STR Spotlight "Extensible Control Panel" ====================== THE NEW XCONTROL PANEL FROM ATARI OR...WOW!!!! by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. After months of rumors and promises, Atari has finally released their new Control Panel for the ST and TT lines to the general public. I have only one thing to say, "Wow!! This was worth the wait!!" When the rumors about the new Control Panel started, it was thought that it would only work with the TT's and MegaSTe's, but according to an Atari representative, "It will work on all ST, Mega, STacy, STe, MegaSTe and TT systems. Basically, if it is a TOS machine, it will run the New Control Panel." The new Control Panel is known by 2-3 different names; the New Control Panel, XControl, and Extended Control Panel but according to an Atari representative, its official name is "Extensible Control Panel". For the sake of our sanity, I'll just call it XControl in this article. XControl is a replacement for the old Control Panel. Like the old Con- trol Panel, it allows you to configure your systems - double-click rate, key repeat rate, colors, printers, modems, etc. XControl can do all of that and more! What makes XControl different is that it loads in indi- vidual CPX's as it needs them (for the non-technical, consider a CPX a module) instead of having everything in one program like the old Control Panel did. And once it's done with that CPX, it unloads it. That way, it's not tying up memory when you don't need it (like accessories do). XControl comes with one CPX that sets the mouse and key parameters, another that sets printer parameters, another that sets modem parameters and another that sets colors - just like the old Control Panel. But with XControl you're not limited to just those choices, you can add CPX's to do other things. Things like mouse accelerators, special sound CPX's for STe owners, special color CPX's for TT owners, CPX's for laser prin- ters,etc. Developers can program CPX's to handle the configuration of their software or hardware from the XControl Panel - ICD already has a CPX that will allow you to configure their hard drive software from the XControl Panel and another for the AdSpeed owners. You might ask, "why do I need a CPX when I have accessories?" As I said earlier, accessories tie up memory all of the time, whether you're using them or not. When you're done with a CPX, XControl will 'disconnect' it from the system, thus not tying up precious memory. Also, CPX's don't tie up accessory slots. With normal GEM, you're limited to a maximum of 6 accessories, with XControl, you can have 100 different CPX's on your boot disk, all of them at your beck and call any time you're in a GEM program. The default mode of the XControl Panel is to load/unload CPX's, but for the floppy drive users, it can be configured to make all CPX's resident and not free'd up until XControl is shut down. That way the floppy user doesn't have to worry about putting in his boot-disk every time he needs a CPX. One problem that popped up with XControl is a bug in TOS14FIX (the ver- sion of TOSFIX 'fixed' by the German developer) kept the Modem Setup CPX from working properly. Atari has already distributed a TOS14FX2.PRG that corrects that problem (they 'fixed' the 'fix'). One drawback to XControl is that it uses almost 66k more memory than the old Control Panel and almost 86k more memory that ROCP. That's not a big deal to a 2.5 or 4 meg user, but it could be very decisive to a 512k or 1-meg user. One interesting sidenote, the power and ease of use of CPX's has already started some controversy. Atari feels that, "The purpose of the new Con- trol Panel is to come up with a standard way that Atari and third party developers can configure various aspects of there system and in the case of the General CPX...to report what the configuration is. Basically, the idea is that the Control Panel is the place you go to "control" or configure your system." While Atari might feel that the XControl Panel is just "a place that al- lows you to configure your systems", many of our ST developers are al- ready working on ways to expand that definition. In the brief time that XControl has been out, we've already received some nice CPX's from Ger- many. CPX's that will format disks, serve as calendars, ASCII converters and more. There is little doubt that our own U.S./Canadian developers won't be far behind with their own CPX's. I might not need a calendar enough to want to tie up an accessory slot and 30-50k of memory, but it is nice to have one that I can call up when I need it, but when it's not in use, it isn't using any memory. One way to look at it is, a company might make a product that according to the company's 'guidelines' is only a stapler. But third party companies might make a staple puller and a small straight edge to add to it. So now, it's more than a stapler. In my opinion (and some others), as long as the add-ons don't effect the original purpose of the stapler and how it works, I can see nothing wrong with them. It will be inter- esting to see how this controversy comes out. All-in-all, I have to give Atari a big 'atta-boy' for the new XControl Panel. John, Ken, all...you did good!! __________________________________________________________________ > SILHOUETTE! STR InfoFile RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT ======================== Silhouette Version 1.0 Demonstration version to be released Wednesday, July 24th A Bit-Image and Vector Graphics Program with Auto-Tracing Feature Requirements: ST/TT system with at least 1 megabyte (2M recommended) of RAM. ST high resolution on the ST or TT supported. Please read the accompanying text file. Atari Users, Its ready but let me be the first to say (before Ralph or Ron, etc.) that its quite late in arriving. My apologies and especially to a few that have patiently waited (your copies will be arriving in the mail). I wish Silhouette had been completed a year earlier. I would have treated myself to a nice vacation. As things stand now I look forward to catching up with some bills. Silhouette began as a project to create an auto-tracing program for the Atari ST. In the course of developing the tracing algorithms I realized that there would not be a perfect solution, i.e. perfect auto- tracer, at least not within a reasonable amount of time. Therefore, it was necessary to develop the auto-tracing routines around a drawing program that would allow the user to load bit images and prepare them for auto-tracing. Also the ability to auto-trace and then spruce up the auto-trace would be of great value. The result is a drawing program with some unique drawing features for creating bit image and vector graphics. The auto-tracing feature links the two graphic types together. The auto-tracing of Silhouette works best with line art. It will not attempt to determine the type of fill patterns existing and then replace them with a vector graphics fill pattern. Silhouette will auto-trace graphics and offer several degrees of variability in how it is processed. One can output a raw trace which might be of value for very small objects or for objects with many horizontal and vertical lines. Or one can output an auto-trace with GEM 2.0 bezier curves which are loadable by the high- -end desktop publishing programs. Maxwell was approached by several sign-makers interested in a auto-tracer and with the bezier output, the auto-tracing function will be of great value. When spline auto-tracing is selected Silhouette will seek out the important points in the trace, points at corners or points that help define the curvatures of the image. Output of the auto-trace is sent directly into the vector graphics window along with a gray shaded bit-image of the trace area. One can ad- just the control points of the polylines or splines while referencing the bit-image in the background. The polyline editing function was developed to speed up editing. One can move from control point to point by simply hitting the keys 'Q' or 'E' and add or delete points with the keys 'A' or 'D'. You might find some of the operations in Silhouette unorthodox but in the short term you will find out why they work as they do. Most every function begins with a single left mouse button click. No need to main- tain the mouse button down while drawing or editing. This frees up the hand motion and allows for smoother motion of the mouse. Operations are terminated with right mouse button click or by hitting the ESCAPE or UNDO key to cancel. Objects in the raster or vector windows can be deleted with the ESCAPE or UNDO key too. Movement of whole objects, while being drawn, is accomplished by depressing the left mouse button during the move. Let me describe the main features in version 1.0. * Auto-tracing : Raw or splined auto-tracing with adjustable parameters. Background bit-image display. * Drawing tools: clipper, freehand, line, polyline, circle, ellipse, elliptical arc, circular arc, polygons, stars, parabolas, spray can, text (supports FSM GDOS), pixel editor tool. * Smoothing: B-splines, Bezier curves. Convert polylines into either splines and visa-versa. Convert Circles or Ellipses into bezier curves (GEM 2.0 format). Multi-point or 4 point (GEM 2.0) beziers supported. * Magnification: Magnify the vector window image up to 16 times. Drawing resolution achieves up to 3200 DPI. * Graphics Input: Bit image formats IMG, DEGAS, TINY, MACPAINT. Vector graphics GEM format. * Graphics Output: Bit images as IMG files. Vector graphics as GEM meta files or DXF universal CAD format. * Clipboard: Two clip buffers for the raster (bit-image) graphics. Separate cut and copy buffers for vector graphics. Will accumulate copied or cut objects. Clip buffers save to disk and can be re-loaded during future sessions. * Duplicate, Reshape : Duplicate vector objects in three ways (freehand, radial or cartesian). Reshape objects in several ways: size, stretch, free corner warp, skew (parallogram), skew (trapezoid). * Rotate: Rotate polyline objects to a 1/10th of a degree. * Splice and Cut: Splice and cut polylines. * Data: Object information is continuously updated on the information line while an object is being created. The bit-image and vector window are size adjustable. * Manual: 100 page manual in a three ring binder and slip cover. * Hardware Support: Operates on the ST, STacy and TT. 1 megabyte required but 2 megabytes recommended. ST high resolution supported on the ST and TT. * GDOS Supports the old GDOS and new FSM GDOS. ************************** We are accepting orders now: Silhouette is available directly from Maxwell CPU for $109.95 plus $5.00 shipping (U.S. Post in U.S. and Canada). Shipping by UPS overseas is available upon request. We accept VISA and MASTERCARD or will ship COD or accept personal check. CALL: (303)-666-7754 between 8AM and 6PM (MST), Mondays-Saturdays. Special Offers: Buy version 1.0 now for 109.95 before August 15th and upgrade to version 1.5 (expected release date September 15, 1991) for $20.00. The new features of version 1.5 will include: Object grouping, snapping to grid or guides, snapping to object(s) symmetry points, ruler system, additional auto-tracing features, iso-contouring of bit-images, output to Calamus file format. Enhanced DXF file output. Conversion of all complex curves (elliptical arcs, parabolas, etc.) to bezier curves. Duochrome (two color) video graphics support. Owners of Silhouette will be able to purchase direct the MicroSoft Windows version of Silhouette for 45% off the retail price. Expected release date of December 1, 1991. ______________________________________________________________ > Hard Disks STR InfoFile ***** ABCO SUMMER '91 SPECIALS! ***** ======================= ** EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! ** ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC. P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672 Est. 1985 _________________________________________ Voice: 904-783-3319 10 AM - 4 PM EDT BBS: 904-786-4176 12-24-96 HST FAX: 904-783-3319 12 PM - 6 AM EDT _________________________________________ HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET _________________________________________ All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s). *-ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE-* (you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!) (all cables and connectors installed) * ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS * * ICD ADSCSI+ HOST ADAPTERS * FULL SCSI COMMAND SET SUPPORTED * * SCSI EMBEDDED CONTROLLER MECHANISMS * WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< Deluxe 2 bay Cabinet w/65w auto-switching PS TIME PROVEN to be the most reliable! Model Description Autopark Price ================================================== SGN4951 51Mb 24ms 3.5" Y 479.00 SGN1096 85Mb 24ms 5.25" Y 549.00 SGN2055 105mb 12ms 3.5" Y 649.00 SGN6277 120Mb 12ms 3.5" Y 789.00 SGN1296 170Mb 12ms 3.5" Y 1019.00 ================================================== FULLY ASSEMBLED SCSI DRIVES DEDUCT $60.00 ADD $35.00 for 4 BAY SUPER CABINET w/250+w PS EXOTIC TOWER CABINETS AVAIALABLE Call for Info! PLEASE NOTE: The above is partial listing only! CPU ACCELERATOR & MEMORY UPGRADES AVAILABLE & INSTALLED >> ABCO is now taking orders for 1040 & MEGA STe Computers! << Call for VERY special Introductory prices! ATARI COMPUTERS * STILL THE BEST VALUE! If you don't see what you want listed here, call us. Odds are we have it or, can get it for you! AT THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE! "We service what we sell. (IF necessary)" ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ****** * SYQUEST 44MB (#555) >> ABCO "44" << REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE * - SYQUEST 44 MB DRIVE - ICD ST ADSCSI PLUS H/A - ICD Utility Software - 3' DMA Cable - Fan & Clock - Multi-Unit Power Supply (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart. --->> SPECIAL! NOW ONLY __$ 645.00__ <<--- **** SCSI UNITS -> ONLY $585.00 **** WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< COMPLETELY ASSEMBLED AND READY TO RUN! Cart and Utility Software Included! EXTRA CARTS: $ 74.50 DRIVE MECH ONLY: $ 349.95 ****** SPECIAL - SPECIAL ****** * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT * SPECIALLY PRICED ** $1019.00 ** Includes TWO cartridges! * SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS * - Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives - 50mb SQG51 $ 819.00 85mb SQG96 $ 1019.00 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< Listed above are a sampling of the systems available. Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations (over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited) ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> SUPERCHARGER - AT/PC SPEED - GCR LARGER units are available - (Custom Configurations) *>> NO REPACKS OR REFURBS USED! <<* - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets - * SLM 804 Replacement Toner Cartridge Kits $42.95 * * Toner Starter Kits $49.95 * * Replacement Drums $183.95 * >> MANY other ATARI related products STOCKED << ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED -* 12 month FULL Guarantee *- (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE) WE PAY SHIPPING!!! >BLUE LABEL UPS!< QUANTITY & USERGROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE! _________________________________________ DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED! please, call for details Personal and Company Checks are accepted. ORDER YOUR NEW UNIT TODAY! CALL: 1-800-562-4037 -=**=- CALL: 1-904-783-3319 Customer Orders ONLY Customer Service 9am - 8pm EDT Tues thru Sat ABCO is EXPANDING!! CALL FOR INFORMATION! ____________________________________________________________ > A "Quotable Quote" ==================== "A CAMEL IS NOTHING MORE THAN A HORSE THAT'S BEEN RE-DESIGNED BY THE 'CREW'!" ....The Double Hump Society """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport International Online Magazine Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" July 26, 1991 16/32bit Magazine copyright 1987-91 No.7.30 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors/staff, PCReport, STReport, AMReport, MCReport. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Each reprint must include the name of the publication, date, issue # and the author's name. The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in any way without prior written permission. The entire contents, at the time of publication, are believed to be reasonably accurate. The editors, contributors and/or staff are not responsible for the use/misuse of infor- mation contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""