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======================================================================= ////// // // ////// ////// Z*Net Atari Online Magazine // / /// // // // --------------------------- // /// // // // ////// // APRIL 13, 1990 // / // /// // // --------------------------- ////// // // /////// // Issue #515 ======================================================================= (©) 1990 by Rovac Industries, Inc. Post Office Box 59 Middlesex, New Jersey 08846 Z*Net Online BBS: (201) 968-8148 ======================================================================= CompuServe 71777,2140 * Cleveland Free-Net * GEnie Z-NET ======================================================================= CONTENTS - THIS WEEK New Magazine and more................................Ron Kovacs - 1990 DISNEYLAND WORLD OF ATARI Exclusive Report......................................John Nagy - Z*NET NEWSWIRE World of Atari and Industry Update............................. - ST STACK Weekly PD-Shareware Update..........................Alice Amore - PD/SHAREWARE STOP Weekly PD-Shareware Update...........................Mark Quinn - WHEN "Z" IS "ZED" AND "COLOR" IS "COLOUR" 29 Myths explained...................................Jon Clarke - 8-BIT OWNERS UPDATE ...................................................Stephen Knox - PROTEST REQUEST and EARTH DAY 1990 ....................................................Robert Ford - X-10 POWERHHOUSE Press Release.................................................. - MECHANICS ONLINE MAGAZINE Preview of the First Edition.........................Ron Kovacs *****************************[ THIS WEEK ]***************************** **************************** by Ron Kovacs **************************** CONDOLENCES Atari Manager of User Group Relations Bob Brodie is mourning the loss of his father-in-law this week. His in-law died Sunday, April 8, after a long illness. Bob and his wife, were at his side when he passed. The Atari userbase has come to know Bob as our best friend and resource in memory. He should be back to work at his Sunnyvale office by April 16. Bob is like most of us- he enjoys his computers often to the "perceived" exclusion of family on too many occasions. A card or letter addressed to the entire Brodie family and mailed to Bob at Atari might be a timely and warm way to let them all see that, at the other end of these wires, real live warm humans do indeed appreciate and sympathize with Bob's loss. Write to: Bob and Jean Brodie and Family, Care of Atari Corporation, 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale California. NEW ONLINE MAGAZINE Gateway Associates has pooled efforts to introduce the Mechanics Information Network. The first product of this venture is the Mechanics Online Magazine with Rovac Industries which debuted this week in CompuServe's Motor/Racing Forum. This first issue is located in Data Library 16, Motoring Topics of the forum. The current schedule of release is bi-weekly with hopes of weekly release in the near future. A preview of the contents is available in this issue! WORLD OF ATARI: ANAHIEM John Nagy reports exclusively for Z*Net News on the happenings in and around last weekend's show. The full report is available below! *********************************************************************** 1990 DISNEYLAND WORLD OF ATARI *********************************************************************** Exclusive Eyewitness Review by John Nagy [Pictures from the World of Atari show will be available online at COMPUSERVE, GENIE, and the Z*NET BBS this weekend. Once again, using the VIDI-ST video digitizer, Z*NET lets you SEE the news.] The World of Atari returned to Disneyland this April 7-8. And once again, what was billed as the biggest show ever was neither the biggest nor a failure. Official figures are not being widely distributed but are said to claim a total crowd of 7,000. Experienced show goers and vendors peg the number closer to 4,000, near 3,000 on the first day and perhaps just over 1,000 on Sunday. That's still a healthy number, but short of last year's performance at WOA Disneyland. That show claimed over 10,000 people a year ago, with more conservative estimates at under 6,000. There WAS advertising for this show, with Atari picking up the tab for $2,000 or more in (ugly!!) display ads in the local and major papers. The show may have had a particularly uphill battle, competing with a nearby pair of HUGE computer swap meets that very likely sucked up any computer user who is not totally invested in the Atari platform. Saturday's swap featured 250 booths (!!!!) in Pomona, while a Sunday show in Reseda had more than 100 vendors in a mixed-bag computer swap 'n shop. Numbers aside, the latest in the WOA tour was perhaps the most enjoyable to date, with plenty of booths, a scattering of new products and announcements, a plush setting, and a crowd that was sufficient to satisfy most vendors without making it hard to navigate. Atari Corporation was present in force, with an impressive layout at the center of the exhibit hall. While the rest of the show was laid out in standard cubicles and isles, the Atari area was a diagonal extended "X" shape, with access to both sides of all tables. A welcome plus (at last) was a custom professional portable booth backdrop at one corner, overlooking the literature table. Overhead were a set of four huge satin ATARI banners, suspended from the ceiling. Very nice to see Atari finally making show appearances that not only match but surpass the always outstanding MIGRAPH and MICHTRON booths! On display at Atari: A PAIR of TT 68030 machines! This was a real treat for most users who have had to take the media's word for the existence of these new computers. They were a hit, as were the six or more LYNX machines on display. The Lynxes were never idle, usually dazzling a group of players and hopeful players with linked-up competitions. A 4160STE provided some stellar demos and sock-knocking stereo music, providing most owners their first look at the machine that will be flowing into the USA now that it has passed the FCC. Other items at the Atari booth included a slew of PORTFOLIOs and accessories, a STACY 4 connected to a small MIDI Synthesizer, the CD-ROM player showing quick access to the D&C ST PD software disk, a Megafile 44, and several Mega and ST computers. Desk Set II was being demonstrated on a Moniterm big screen monitor, one of only two at the show. On hand for Atari were Charles Cherry, Dan Macnamee, John Townsend, Ken Badertsher, Elizabeth Shook, Don Thomas, and more. Notably absent was Bob Brodie, who was in Washington DC early in the weekend, promoting Atari to a group of perhaps 400 dealers. Bob was to participate at WOA on Sunday afternoon, but had to immediately go home when he received word of that his gravely ill father-in-law was failing. A "developer" meeting on Saturday night after the show turned into more of an "anyone" meeting, with over 200 people dining on Atari's treat of ribs and Mexican food, beer or pop, etc. Charles Cherry introduced Dave MacNamee, who in turn deomoed SOFTSOURCE live online at GEnie. Other agenda items might have been planned for the meeting, but due to the size and mix of the crowd, the desire of many of them to eat and run out to DISNEYLAND's amusement park next door, and the length of time it took to demo SoftSource, that's about all that happened. Most attending enjoyed the company of fellow developers, users, and writers from all over the USA. Details of specific new announcements or products are in the NEWSWIRE in this issue of Z*NET, but here's a quick run-down of the vendors. ANTIC/START MAGAZINE Tom Byron was on hand along with David Plotkin and other START/ANTIC regulars. Free issues of both magazines ran out early on Saturday. ASDE Showing GEOGRAPHY TUTOR, an outstanding and unique educational application. BRE One of the country's largest and best known PD software vendors for the ST. BEST ELECTRONICS As usual, the most unusual and bizarre little Atari goodies and accessories. Everything from REV B ROMS for your Atari 400 to a MEGA 4 nameplate to complete your memory upgrade. CARTER GRAPHICS AND COMPUTERS A great selection of hard drive systems featuring the Syquest removable media drives... at good prices! CODEHEAD SOFTWARE Showing the new Version 2.0 of both HOTWIRE and MULTIDESK, as well as the full range of Codeheads famous products. COMPUTER GAMES PLUS One of California's largest retailers as well as a software and hardware importer. CG+ was also demoing VIDI-ST and talking about a color version that may be available by summer. D. A. BRUMLEVE Well known for her series of programs designed for children, Dot attended WOA as her first commercial exhibition. She sold KIDPUBLISHER PROFESSIONAL as well as her other titles, and handed out very popular "jumping Dots". DOUBLE CLICK Mike Vederman and company brought DC DESKTOP to show and sell, along with their popular Utilities package. FAST TECHNOLOGY Jim Allen showed his TURBO 16 next door to Gadgets... GOLD LEAF The new name for Blue Chip, Lauren Sellers brought and sold WORDFLAIR for a show-special $75. GADGETS BY SMALL Dave and Sandy and Doug and Mark and... lots of folks in "I WANT MY MAC- ST" tee shirts demoed the fabulous SPECTRE GCR running a variety of MAC applications. Also, the 68030 board and APPLETALK board were big attractions (see Z*NET NEWSWIRE). GRIBNIF The Neodesk folk, Rick, Trish, and Dan, with their famous desktop replacement. ICD Showing a hard drive host adaptor so small it needs no mount, just put it between the drive and the cable! Plus the FAST Tape Backup, hard drives, and more. IMAGEN The Ultrascript people, doing lots of POSTSCRIPT demos on different kinds of printers, even color. JRI Several GENLOCK machines were doing perfect superimposed computer animations over live video, plus an upgraded STACY (!), their color enhancement board, speedup board, etc. MEGAMAX It's not just "C" anymore for Megamax, who showed a new import word processor and a drawing system (see the NEWSWIRE). MIGRAPH Kevin Mitchell and Jay Crosby demoed the power of TOUCH-UP and the MIGRAPH hand scanner, and offered a $100 coupon for a discount on their package though MID CITIES COMSOFT, just a few booths away. MICHTRON Their usual wide and varied spread, with Gordon Monnier and George Miller presiding. Fleet Street 3.0 got plenty of attention, and PROTEXT was marked down to $29.95 as a show special! MICRO CREATIONS Offering a new terminal protocol that sends graphics in real-time even at 1200 baud. MID CITIES COM SOFT Another major Southern California retailer, with discounts on almost everything. PROSPERO SOFTWARE The language specialists, with C. Pascal. Fortran, and now a Developers Toolkit. SAN JOSE COMPUTER Another discount retailer, this one from up the California coast. SEYMOR/RADIX Their DVT hard drive backup for video tape was their main display, with a special on IMG-SCAN. SIERRA ON-LINE The makers of extraordinary games played them on the equally extraordinary Roland Sound Module, making Leisure Suit Larry, Police Quest, and Space Quest (all versions) sound better than most CDs! SLICCWARE Showed yet another desktop/environment system that shows lots of promise but won't be ready for sale until this summer. SOFTLOGIK The Pagestream folks, with their latest update to their upscale performance desktop publisher. SPROKITS A new importer/developer, showing everything from custom carry cases for the LYNX to a remarkable color graphics board. Their German connection attended as well. STRATA SOFTWARE STALKER and STENO, from Canada, a pair of matched desk accessories, provide all you could hope for in a terminal and editor. STV nother videotape backup device. TALON Showing the SUPERCHARGER (and selling a lot of them!) as well as their multisynch monitor adaptor/switcher. WUZTECK Multisynch monitors that KICK! ZUBAIR Memory upgrades for any flavor ST or MEGA. No-Shows included WORD PERFECT, ROLAND, DR. T's, and DATAFREE. Also scheduled for demos was SGS and LANTECH, each with their network solutions... but neither appeared. Roland was particularly missed because they were supposed to give continuous seminars all day Saturday and Sunday. Their display area was instead filled with tables and chairs for resting, near the food vending area. Seminars were generally popular, with Dave Small packing in a SRO crowd as usual. Look for excerpts from his talk in Z*NET soon. Other scheduled talks included ones from Nathan Potechin on Calamus and ISD, George Miller on Michtron products, Gribnif, Sierra, ICD, FAST TECH, and Sprokits. Many vendors agreed that the show was enjoyable and profitable, if smaller in attendance than they were hoping. A few exceptions included D. A. Brumleve, who left after the first day, both feeling ill and having insufficient sales to make it worth staying. User groups were heavily involved in the setup and takedown of the Atari booth, as well as in the distribution and accounting for the loaned equipment from Atari. The close-down and accounting was done in record time by the well organized volunteers, who amazed Atari officials with their thoroughness and efficiency. Some observers expected more displays of user group dissatisfaction with Richard Tsukiji, WOA show promoter. Last time WOA come to Disneyland, it left with a sour taste in most UG mouths after they volunteered their assistance to WOA, only to be shouted at and promised t-shirts that never came. Matters got worse when a suddenly scheduled San Jose area WOA scheduled only a week away from the popular and major User Group Show at GLENDALE caused the cancellation of BOTH fall '89 shows. While there were undercurrents of grudges, the only obvious display of it was in the fact that no user groups volunteered to help Richard for this show - only to help Atari directly. What little communications that were attempted by UG officers were snubbed early on by Tsukiji. It is said that some reduction in the attendance this year might be due to residual hard feelings across the board. Feelings were quite positive about California shows, and lots of vendors are looking forward the this fall's Glendale show in early September which typically turns crowds the same size as this WOA at lower costs to vendors and users. However, Richard Tsukiji has told several representatives at Atari that he may be again announcing a San Jose or other Northern California WOA for sometime in August. This is sure to become a controversy if it occurs. Overall, the Disneyland WOA was a hit, if a smaller than anticipated one. A mix of products and new announcements, along with a crowd small enough to be able to get some hands-on time at most displays made it pleasant and low-key. And the great turnout by Atari and developer "personalities" made it a great socializing time for all die-hard Atarians. *********************************************************************** Z*NET NEWSWIRE *********************************************************************** SHOOK TO LEAVE ATARI Atari's DTP and writing specialist, Elizabeth Shook, gave her notice last week that she would be leaving Atari to take a position with a small commercial publishing house. Elizabeth has been with Atari for several years, and has been the primary public representative for demonstrating DESKSET II at shows. Most observers found it unusual that Elizabeth attended the World of Atari show, again to exhibit DESKSET II, despite having already given notice. Atari typically does not allow employees to work after they have been notified of a termination. This circumstance underlines Atari's long standing satisfaction and confidence in Ms. Shook. We wish her luck in her new pursuit. SMALL DEBUTS 68030 BOARD, NETWORKING Dave Small premiered his 68030 adapter board and an APPLETALK network adapter at the Disneyland WOA. The 68030 is "still and experiment" which may or may not ever see commercial production. The first version, just up and running before the show, offers a four-fold speed increase over a standard ST/MEGA. The potential remains for tuning and redesigning the system to yield a theoretical tenfold available increase. The board would go in any existing ST, and might result in a faster machine than the Atari TT itself, although TT specific programs would not likely be accessable by Small's system. The TT is expected to run at about 5 times the ST speed on ST applications. The other surprize for GADGETS is a network adaptor that is almost ready for marketing. Although the perilous FCC approval process lies ahead, the APPLETALK compatible card will attach internally to the MEGA buss and will provide an extra pair of serial ports to any MEGA. They may be addressed as standard serial ports (allowing multiple modem sessions at once, for instance), and in SPECTRE MACINTOSH mode, will allow instant access to MAC peripherals and networks. A price was not announced. Later versions may include a unit compatible with ST and future STE/MEGA STE computers. ST JOURNAL MISSES WOA The newest glossy magazine entry to the Atari marketplace was not available in time for the Disneyland Atari show last weekend. Although intended for mass release at the show and immediately afterword, Editor Tim Lewis said that problems with the linotype unit at the printer resulted in extra delays. The layout was apparently too complex for the memory in the linotype interface, and simpler page designs had to be revised at the last moment. A few proof pages of the completed layout were passed around on Sunday, April 8, and the striking art direction of Steve Lesh looks outstanding. And complicated. Look for ST JOURNAL to debut at almost any moment. WUZTECH SHOWS SOFTSWITCHED MULTISYNCH For $349 up, Wuztech offers a family of multisynch color/monochrome monitors for the Atari ST line. SOFTSWITCH, the most recent of their developments was shown at the WOA show in April. This is a proprietary resolution switching scheme that allows the co-existence of both color and monochrome software. A remote electronic switch also toggles between resolutions whenever you want. In demonstrations, REVOLVER (By INTERSECT) was shown running both monochrome and color partitions simultaneously, and switching between them did not require rebooting. Nice! 1130-E North Kraemer Blvd., Anaheim CA 92806, 714-544-7888. ATARI SOFTSOURCE TO BE ON GENIE The long discussed SOFTSOURCE program will debut shortly on the GENIE Telecommunication system. Atari Corp is running the international developer support resource, and announced last week that it would be on the GEnie system, a fact that was being kept secret until now. It is already open for developers, who are being heavily encouraged to post their product information as soon as possible. When sufficient data is entered for the area to be an asset to the general public, SoftSource will be opened publicly. This is hoped to happen in the next two to four weeks, but will depend on developer action. When complete, users will be able search the data for information on commercial programs that fit their need and budget, then the user will be able to download a working demo of that software. Later, the data and programs will be distributed on CD ROM disks for dealers and user groups to reference off-line. STE PASSES FCC TESTING Atari announced that the long awaited FCC approval for the STE has finally been awarded. The replacement for the ST computer line will be a welcome sight to dealers who have been waiting for computer stock for many months. Atari had been out of 1040ST and 520ST models but was postponing going back into production, hoping for the STE approval that will allow U.S. distribution of the machine they have been selling worldwide since December, 1989. Dealer delivery dates have not been announced, but as the unit has been in production, it should take little time to get the FCC stickers attached and in the pipeline. STACY IS UPGRADABLE! JRI has demonstrated the first memory upgrade for the STACY portable ST. Known for their remarkable internal hardware products for the ST including the GENLOCK system, JRI was given a one-meg STACY on Thursday, April 5, and by the evening of April 6 and before the opening of the Disneyland World of Atari, they had installed four meg of RAM and had it working fine. Asked about a hard drive, JRI responded that their STACY 1 didn't have one yet, but that they would have a 100-plus meg hard drive in it and running within days. No comments were made about commercial availability of these projects, but they are reassuring to those who like their system to grow with their needs. SUPERCHARGER: FEATURES, COMPATIBILITY ADDED, PRICE UP What is sure to be the most desired if not the most popular IBM emulator available for the ST and MEGA computers, the SUPERCHARGER from TALON is now both better and more expensive. Early reviews of the tiny external box that goes in the hard-drive chain off the back of any ST revealed two major flaws: inability to operate in cooperation with ICD hard drives, and the failure of the software system to recognize the "\" backslash character used in the USA flavors of DOS to control sub- directories. BOTH of these problems are fixed in the current SUPERCHARGER, which also now comes with 1 MEG of RAM onboard, along with MS DOS 4.1 plus utilities.. Better yet, the meg of RAM in the self powered unit is addressable as a RAMDISK or mini-hard disk by the ST when in ST mode. However, the price reflects these improvements: now $450, up from $399. Talon Technology, 619-792-6511. NEW VIDEOTAPE HD BACKUP SYSTEM STV is a new company showing their V-C-ARCHIVE videotape backup device for the first time at World of Atari last weekend. For $399.95, you can store up to 40 MB per tape in a system reminiscent of the DVT from Seymor/Radix. This unit attaches directly to the DMA port rather than as a cartridge, and includes some sophisticated options for use with Alpha Microsystems remote control VCR's. This would make completely automatic backup and restore operations, which are more difficult with the manual DVT system. The unit on display at WOA did not appear to be a production unit, but operated well. STV may find the going rough, as their price, plus the remote VCR, makes a more expensive package than the light years faster Tape Backup from ICD. STV, 15161 Vermont Street, Westminster, CA 92683, 714-892-9018. FLEET STREET 3.0 - RELEASED WITHOUT FANFARE Michtron released the upscale publisher FLEET STREET PUBLISHER 3.0 "about six weeks ago" according to George Miller when asked at the WOA show. FLEET 3 is expected to compete against CALAMUS and PAGESTREAM with a full featured application. Fleet 2.x was a major disappointment to many as it offered limited "special effects", no GEM graphic importing, and only single-page files. Version 3.0 is more in line with the competition but pricey at its $399 retail price. Owners of earlier FS versions can upgrade for under $150. Details soon... NEW ST WORD PROCESSOR, ART SYSTEM FROM GERMANY DEBUTS MEGAMAX (the folks who brought you LASER C) are trying a new market as they premier two new consumer applications for the ST: SCRIPT and SKETCH. These are German imports, being revised and enhanced for the US market and to be ready for sale within days. SCRIPT is a "high speed" editor that lets you work on up to four documents at once, in a graphical environment. It does NOT use GDOS but sports the features of WORDFLAIR and WORD UP, integrating proprietary text imaging and giving full resolution on 9 and 24 pin dot matrix printers as well as inkjet and lasers. The fonts are expected to be interchangeable with SIGNUM, with lots of new fonts becoming available soon at $25-$50 a family. Full "what you see..." screen handling is fast and innovative. Pictures can be imported as well. Mono monitor and 1 MEG RAM is required for the suggested retail of $79.95. SKETCH is the US version of STAD, a high resolution paint and 3D modeling art application listing at $99.95. It features most of the familiar drawing AND painting tools, plus the ability to use SCRIPT/SIGNUM fonts. The 3D portion will include wireframe, extrusion, and rotation in real time, perspective, and bit image copy into the paint module. Megamax, 1200 E. Collins #214, Richardson TX 75081, 214-699-7400. YOUR ST IN A TOWER CASE - FROM SPROKITS SPROKITS is a new California company with a wide range of new products for the Atari. At the WOA, they showed handcrafted and VERY nice carrying cases for the LYNX, PROTFOLIO, and STACY. Travel cases were even offered for monitors, 1040ST and MEGA computers! Another innovation is a TOWER CASE, available with YOUR computer installed into it (about $400 complete). It offers unified power supply and room for all the hard drives and such you could want, plus front-panel TURBO 16 control and indication. We will have details of their new hard drive host kit and other hot imported and domestic products soon. SPROKITS, NEW GRAPHICS TERMINAL AND BBS SOFTWARE G.I.M.E. (pronounced GIME like DIME or GIMME? I don't know!) is a Graphics Interface Modem Environment. What that means in real life is the Micrto Creations has developed a means of transferring picture information over modem line at a remarkable speed. In only a couple seconds at 1200 baud, a picture of DEGAS ype and resolution with multiple sized text overlay can be sent by a BBS to a user with compatible software. It will do boxes, circles, fills, colors, and more, as well as all the "standard VT52/ANSI color graphics. This was an impressive product at a rediculous price. $30.00 gets either the terminal or the BBS, or $40 gets BOTH. If this becomes a standard protocol for graphic transfer, modeming will never look the same. Both programs also include X, Y, and ZMODEM and standard telecom features. Look for a full review soon. Micro Creations, 805-397-9414. UPGRADES FOR MACINTOSH, APPLE II CMS Enhancements announced new products for Macintosh and Apple IIe/IIgs personal computers. These new products were featured at the Macworld San Francisco Show, April 10-13. For Apple, an upgraded version SCSI interface card. The new card will allow users to connect any of CMS Enhancements' existing Macintosh hard disk subsystems to their Apple II machines and has a suggested retail price of $199. A ROM upgrade kit is also available for a suggested retail price of $69. BackupMaster, a new SCSI tape drive subsystem for Macintosh computers was also announced and will store 150- and 250-Mbytes of data per tape cartridge. FAST 8-BIT IMAGE SCANNER Xerox Imaging Systems announced the new Datacopy GS plus flatbed scanner designed for desktop publishing. The GS plus scans full page, 256 level grayscale images approximately 20 seconds faster than most scanners. Standard size documents can be scanned at 300 dots per inch in 10 seconds in binary mode. Supporting Macintosh SE series and Macintosh II series systems, the IBM PC AT, XT, PS/2 or compatible, this scanner offers adjustable resolution between 75 and 300 dpi in increments of 1 dpi. In addition, the Datacopy GS plus provides a scan window of 8-1/2 inches x 14 inches for reading full-size legal documents in a single- pass without any loss of information. An optional Automatic Document Feeder with a 50-page capacity input hopper is also available for the Datacopy GS plus. Like a copier, documents remain on the platen for multiple scans without refeeding. NEW POSTSCRIPT-COMPATIBLE LASER PRINTER Abaton announced the LaserScript, a 300-dpi PostScript-compatible laser printer for the Macintosh and PC environments. LaserScript is a multihost, multiapplication desktop page printer, and is priced at $2,995. The printer was introduced at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, April 10-13. The LaserScript will begin volume shipping in May, and includes a 1-year warranty and 90 days on-site service. JUDGE DELAYS DECISION Motorola said this week that Judge Lucius D. Bunton of the U.S. District Court for the Western Division of Texas delayed his decision until June 18 on Hitachi's motion to lift a stay of the judge's earlier injunction in the Motorola-Hitachi patent infringement case. Motorola said that it continues marketing and selling its 68030 microprocessor, which has been involved in the litigation. Motorola said that it also intends to appeal Judge Bunton's original March 29 decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the federal circuit, and anticipates that it will take at least eight months for the court of appeals to hold hearings and render a favorable judgment on that appeal. Judge Bunton's March 29 decision enjoined Hitachi from marketing or selling its H8/532 microprocessor, and enjoined Motorola from marketing or selling its 68030 micro- processor. The judge stayed that judgment on March 30, thus allowing Motorola to continue sale and marketing of its 68030 microprocessor pending appeal. COMPUTERS ETC. REORGANIZES - Press Release Mr. Rory Freeman, founder of COMPUTERS ETC., INC. announced that effective immediately, COMPUTERS ETC. has been officially reorganized, with new and greater financial capital and additional corporate personnel. Mr. Freeman stated that steps have been taken to allow COMPUTERS ETC. to offer a greater selection of software and hardware products, as well as expanded services, to the Atari ST and IBM communities. This reorganization will assure CE's ability to remain competitive in the '90's without sacrificing the highly personalized service its so well known for. Mr. Paul Helgesen, a well known professional in the computer industry, is now a new active partner in COMPUTERS ETC. and CE's day-to-day General Manager. Ms. Lisa Freeman and Mr. Jim Hill will continue to provide the usual high levels of personal service that CE's Atari ST customers have come to expect. Computers Etc., Fairfield, CT 06430, (203) 336-3100 HP MAC COLOR PRINTER Hewlett-Packard introduced a new HP PaintWriter XL color-graphics printer for the Macintosh. It was demonstrated at this week's Macworld Exposition. Four other printers were also shown for the first time, including the Macintosh/PostScript versions of the HP LaserJet III, IID and IIP printers an improved version of the HP DeskWriter printer, which allows users to connect the printer on Apple's AppleTalk networks. The PaintWriter XL lists for $2,995 and is designed to be shared by Mac users on an AppleTalk network. ELECTRONIC ARTS TO PRODUCE GAME FOR NINTENDO Electronic Arts has agreed to develop and market video games for Nintendo. Nintendo will manufacture the games and allow Electronic Arts to use Nintendo's trademarks in the marketing. The first game released under will be "Skate or Die 2," a sequel to "Skate or Die," which sold more than 1.3 million units on all formats and should be ready to ship the new game in September. SEAGATES BACK TAXES Seagate was informed by the IRS this week about $112 million in back taxes. For the tax years of 1981 thru 1987 the IRS stated that Segate would have to cover "deficiencies". Seagate intends to challenge the request and will petition the Tax Court within the 90 day time frame. TEXAS SYSOPS AND BELL The battle over special rates for BBS lines in Texas is over. COSUARD, a coalition group that represents many system operators in the Houston area, has voted to accept a restrictive rate policy proposed by Southwestern Bell. June 1, the policy will take effect and allow residential phone rates for any BBS that does not receive monetary compensation from its users, also, no more than three telephone lines could be connected to the BBS. Any system that does not adhere to the new policy will be billed at higher business rates. The company also made clear that "donations" would be considered compensation. APPLE CD-ROM UNVEILED Lotus Development unveiled a CD-ROM package for the Macintosh. The $695 Lotus Marketplace is designed for direct mail service users. Lotus was also expected to introduce a Mac version of its Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet earlier this year, however, they are not ready to make any announcements yet. *********************************************************************** ST STack - by Alice Amore *********************************************************************** THINKWRK.LZH Programmer: Markus Fritze ====================================================================== This game, called "Think And Work", will drive ya nutz. Similar in some ways to the popular PD game STONE AGE, this one is far more exasperating and will cause you to ask yourself why you are spending so much time figuring out your next move. After all, life is short. Suffice it to say that Think And Work is a strategy game, so you'll be doing a lot of thinking. One false move and you must start over again. Don't take a move lightly. In the game, you are a little green man, and you must push what looks like little green olives (honestly, I don't know what else they could be) around the screen until they're lined up on their markers. In order to move an "olive", you must stand beside it, under it, or over it. To prevent you from doing that, there are walls here and there, to say nothing of the screen edges. The first screen is demo'd at the start of the game, and by watching the little man shove his olives around, you can figure out how the game is played. The game contains 25 screens, and any screen can be played at any time. There's also an editor to allow you to design your own screens. Think And Work was written with the Omikron Assembler and runs in color or monochrome. There is also a version available for Atari 8-bit computers. BOINGSTE.LZH Programmer: Tony Barker ====================================================================== Being an American, I don't own an Atari STe. In fact, I've never even seen one because they're not yet available here. But they are being sold in other countries. Canadian STe people will be happy to know about BOINGSTE, a dynamic demo featuring the STe's enhanced sound and color capabilities. Music for the demo was digitized at 6258 Hz, and about 400 colors are on the screen at once. (For you techno-heads, this demo illustrates the speed of the Atari blitter at performing bit- oriented memory moves.) Thanks to Tony Barker of Sydney, Australia, for writing this demo. It is supposedly the STe version of those eye-popping Fuji-Boink demos that were so popular on the 520ST when it first appeared. HP_5260.LZH Programmer: Chet Walters * SHAREWARE * ====================================================================== Now you can print labels on your Hewlett Packard DeskJet printer. However, you must use Avery's 5260 mailing labels, or Avery 5260 clone labels. (They must be cut-sheet, three-across, ten-down labels, with a built-in 1/2" margin at the top). Six lines (up to 38 characters per line) are available for each address. Sets of labels can be saved, and ASCII mailing lists from databases can be imported. HP_5260 can be run either from the desktop or as a desk accessory. The programmer reminds us to be creative by using HP_5260 (in a pinch) as an appointment calendar, for sorted hard copies of mailing lists, and as a mini-diary. Plus he details an interesting new way to print disk labels. MONSTER.ARC (V03) From: Branch Always Software ====================================================================== "MonSTEr 0.3" requires TOS 1.2 or higher. It causes GEM to "emulate" a large-screen monitor (such as the Moniterm). No doubt it does work on an STe (since the programmer uses one), but for the life of me, I couldn't get it to work on my Mega 2. We hope fixes will be posted, since this program would be a hoot to use with the likes of PageStream (to display an entire page on the screen at once). DORUNRUN.LZH Programmer: Donald A. Thomas, Jr. * SHAREWARE * ====================================================================== For those who are dedicated users of STWriter, the excellent PD word processor from Dr. Bruce Noonan (courtesy of Atari Corp.), here's a program which gives you various and sundry information about your data files, and lets you preconfigure various options. MCSCNVT.ARC Programmer: Greg Ozbirn ====================================================================== This is a beta version of a program which will convert 8-bit "Music Construction Set" files to ST "Music Studio" format. As far as the programmer knows, no such program existed before he tried his hand at writing this one. BUBLEM.ARC Programmer: David Tassone * SHAREWARE * ====================================================================== Feed the lizard three times, run through caverns and mazes, avoid falling rocks and rising lava, and collect the energy crystals. Here's an arcade game that offers a real challenge. I couldn't get very far. No doubt others will do better. Written in Megamax C. *********************************************************************** PD/SHAREWARE STop - by Mark Quinn *********************************************************************** (The following program runs in monochrome ONLY.) File name: WORLD.LZH Author: Bernd Werner Program name: WORLD File type: Educational ======================================================================= WORLD is yet another in a series of English translations of German PD software. This program is a geography tutor. The student may choose between maps of West Germany, the USA, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Drills can be given on countries and capitals. Choices are made by clicking on small squares in the centers of the correct regions. Correct answers are rewarded with a flashing symbol and points. Clicking on an incorrect choice causes the correct answer (box) to flash. The translator makes an educated guess by stating that ninety-nine percent of the names of countries/capitals were changed to their English equivalents. (I don't know how many times I've heard that "The job is ninety-nine percent done". Probably more than ninety-nine times.) "There are still a few countries, especially around Oceania, that haven't been translated--yet," says Mr. Fass. "That's because we couldn't even find them in the "TEACHER'S EDITION OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY". Also, I haven't translated most of the West German countries/capitals except for the really popular ones like Munich, etc." He goes on to say that interested parties can edit the program's data file with a text editor. "...don't know much about geography..." If the words to this song ring true for you or someone you know, or if you want to try your hand at fully translating this program to English (a good translation would be indispensable in the classroom), then you owe it to yourself to download WORLD. (Imagine: the whole thing is around 83K. It's amazing what file compression will do.) (The following program runs in monochrome ONLY.) File name: GOUP.LZH Author: Rudiger Wurth Program name: GO-UP File type: Game ======================================================================= It seems we are enjoying a deluge of Deutschland data lately. Will it end soon? We hope not. Surprisingly, GO-UP is an above average Lode Runner clone that is so far above average that it warrants a closer look. The game can be played with a mouse or a joystick, allows for one to four players, has two "level libraries" that may be loaded, and has an editor that is refreshingly easy to use. The object of the game is to pick up all the gems. Once you do, you can go to the next screen full of screen gems and do it again. There are some "nasty guys" out to foil your attempts at completing your mission. You can foil them by blasting a hole in the floor, temporarily trapping them. The game has a clean look to it, essentially due to its being in monochrome. The objects are black on a white background, which (at least, for this reviewer) should prove to be easy on the eyes. The objects are small, however. Game play is straightforward: By keeping the pointer ahead of your man with the mouse (we're men and women, not mice), or by directly controlling him/her with the joystick, you can climb ladders and 'hit the bricks' until the whole idea makes you silly. A gem is worth 100 points. Players will quickly find that, as with most games, there are a number of different 'patterns' that can be followed to success. So if you love problem solving in the context of an arcade classic, this game's for you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quinn's Quickies" FLXIFAST.ARC -- FLXISRC.ARC For TOS 1.4 users. Make a program slow loading, fast loading, or check its fast-loading status. Command lines allowed, wildcards allowed. The first file contains the program, the second the source code. LAZERBALL.LZH Not exactly a "Breakout-style game", LAZER BALL can be addictive. The object of the game is to deflect a "Lazer" with a paddle at the top and bottom of the screen off mirrors and other objects and hit a target a number of times. SPIN_52C.LZH Watch the SPINNING BOXES. Another TOPCAT animation from GATOR GULCH BBS. MIDI sound effects. Hypnotic. I'd like to see Freddy in monochrome (this one's in color). SWIFTAR.ARC A very nice, playable demo of SWIFTAR, a shoot-em-up. Reminiscent of about thirty other games of this type, but the second screen is still a lot of fun. *********************************************************************** WHEN "Z" IS "ZED" AND "COLOR" IS "COLOUR" *********************************************************************** by Jon Clarke Ever listened to a couple of people from outside your state chatting and thought " Hmmm where are they from ? " Ever thought "aha, New Zealand is part of Australia and found you were a long way of the Mark?" Ever heard the expression "in a fortnight's time?" Ever seen Color spelt Colour ? Ever heard "Tomato" pronounced Tom-art-o ? Ever heard the letter "Z" pronounced as "Zed" rather than "Zee" ? Ever heard that "Atari is alive and well out side of North America?" Well here we are then! Reading 'Z*Net'. Now how did that go? Are you reading 'Zed'*Net or 'Zee'*Net? I for one am reading 'Zed'*Net and a lot of you are reading 'Zee'*Net. Interesting thought that world wide people read the same on-line magazine and call it by a different name. "The other day a bloke down here was chatting about an article in an issue a fornight ago, and how it helped him with a problem he had." Did you understand that? Now all the readers down-under and in Europe will all stand up and say "Yep, not a problem". But I suspect many of you will read it again and say to yourself "what's this all about?" "The other day a guy down here was talking about an article in an issue two weeks ago, etc etc" The problem with a global community is that while you may say one thing it can mean a totally different thing to someone elsewhere. If I was to write this article in the way we speak, and in the local terms we use you would find yourself 'up-a-Pine tree' trying to figure out what I meant. So I thought I would take a minute to explain a few of the differences between my country, New Zealand and the USA. Myth #1 New Zealand does not belong to Australia. Myth #2 Our countries Nick-name is "Kiwi", not to be confussed with the "Chiness Gossberry" or "Kiwi-Fruit" which is marketed in North America as "kiwi", the saying comes from one of our native birds called the "Kiwi". Myth #3 Australians are called "ockers" from the "land of OZ" Myth #4 If we live Down-under, where do you live? "UP-Over ?" Myth #5 Australia is the little Island of the west coast of New Zealand <snigger>. Myth #6 Colour is spelt Colour NOT color Myth #7 Tomato is spelt Tomato not Tomatoe Myth #8 Tomato is pronounced "Tom-art-o" not "Ta-mate-oe" Myth #9 Dance is pronounced "Darn-ce" not "Daan-ce" Myth #10 Six is pronounced "Sicks" not "Seex" Myth #11 The letter "i" is pronounced "eye" not "E" Myth #12 Petone a Town in NZ is pronounced "P-tone-ee" not Pet-one Myth #13 Wanganui is not the home of "Wang-computers". It is pronounced "Wonga- nue-ee" Myth #14 Auckland is not to be confused with Oakland in CA. It happens on the airlines all the time, stuff ends up in Oakland or Auckland instead of where it should be... Myth #15 New Zealand population is only 3.3 million, our Sheep population is 75 Million. Myth #16 We are the World Champions of "Football" or 'RUGBY' as we call it, not this nandy-pandy NFL stuff <grin>. Myth #17 America did not win the America's Cup, We did. Myth #18 Two New Zealand Ketchs' are winning the "Whitbread" around the world race, "Steinlarger" and "Fisher and Paykel". Myth #19 Who designed the orginal "PAC-MAN Mechanism" a Kiwi. Myth #20 Atari is alive and well Down-under. Myth #21 The User group scene is well and truely Alive Down-under. Myth #22 The BBS's scene is Alive and over populated, we have 36 BBS's in Auckland alone. Myth #23 We are the first country in the World to issue in the New Day and you thought you were advanced <grin>. Myth #24 We still watch re-runs of M*A*S*H <FOR THE 25TH TIME>, and see most of the Network and cable TV on our TV's down here. Myth #25 U2's top 10 pop song "One Tree Hill", is named after One Tree Hill here in Auckland <near my house>, and the drummer the song was dedicated to was a Kiwi. Myth #26 We have NO snakes or deadly animals. Myth #27 We have no trees on our SKI fields <neato>. Myth #28 Our currency is called you guessed the "Dollar", conversion to USA $$ is for every $USA 1.00 you get $NZ 2.00 <rats>. Myth #29 New Zealand is NUCLEAR FREE period. The list goes on and on. By now I think you get the idea. Now for a sample of the most popular "Kiwi Sayings" <quotes> ... Quote : "She'll be right" Means : " It will be ok " Quote : "Such is life", "Ya get that", "Jeeze Wayne" Means : " To bad, so what, who cares " Quote : "A real Kiwi Bloke" Means : " A guy from New Zealand " Quote : "Chela or pronounced 'Shee-laa' Means : " Woman <opps I will be called a sexist here> " Quote : "Mate" Means : " Pal, buddy, friend " Quote : "Tiki-tour" Means : " Travel, go for a trip, a for a Sunday drive " Quote : "Spot ya" Means : " see you later " Quote : "Ocker", "Ozzie", "Digger" Means : " An Australian " Quote : "Pom" Means : " Person from England " _ o( ) Happy Easter Weekend. / /\ Till next time mate, "Spot ya" ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Support the revolution and join the Atari Users Association // ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// *********************************************************************** 8-BIT OWNERS UPDATE *********************************************************************** by Stephen Knox, S*P*A*C*E (Reprinted from the Puget Sound Atari News, April, 1990) Contrary to popular belief, the Atari 8-bit is not dead (not yet anyway.) There is an abundance of NEW software out there, as well as hardware, if you know where to look. I have found several new graphics programs on some of the more popular Bulletin Boards, and I'll list a few. APACVIEW.OBJ ============ This is a program that allows you to read, display and save GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) pictures of any size and any resolution, which is a vast improvement over the older Atari-View 8 program. APACVIEW uses the APAC mode that was discussed in Analog magazine a while back. APAC (Any Point, Any Color) combines a mix of Graphics 9 and Graphics 11 resolutions to create a FULL color picture that can be saved as a standard 62 sector file and displayed using the same program or APACSHOW.OBJ. These are shareware programs written by Jeff Potter and are well worth the money. He has also written a program called ILBMREAD.OBJ, which will allow you to read and display AMIGA IFF pictures, using the same format as APACVIEW.OBJ. These programs display the pictures quite well. And, if you're a graphics nut (like I am) you will want to get several pictures to try out. HARDWARE ======== There are a couple of companies that have new hardware available for the Atari 8-bit. One is KP Industries, who markets a Hard-Drive interface. Formally the Supra Interface, it is a compact little unit that plugs directly into the serial bus in the back of the 800 XL. Another is CSS, which has a number of products for the Atari 8-bit. One, of course, is the "Black Box" which has several functions including a Hard-Drive interface. There is also the Multi-plexor, which allows you to have up to 8 computers hooked-up together. SUMMING UP ========== There is a lot more software out there, and I would like to encourage all of you Atari 8-bit people to "hang-in there." We still have the best 8-bit computer there is, and the new software, even though it is sparce, is of good quality. So, in conclusion, if you want good software, look around. You will find it, And, if you like something, send the authors a donation so that they will continue to write good software. If you have any questions or comments please leave me E-mail on SUB-SPACE BBS (for "Weird Al"), or you can get my number from Nick Berry or Jim Chapman. Thanks, Steve. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PROTEST REQUEST AND EARTH DAY 1990 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ******************************************************************* ** ** ** RALLY AGAINST ** ** ** ** ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM ** ** ** ******************************************************************* Join us in protest: Saturday, April 14th, 1:00pm. Tea Street Field by Talmage Ave. Bound Brook, New Jersey Protest is against American Cyanamid for: * Exploiting South African Labor * Supporting Apartheid in South Africa * Exporting Deadly Mercury Waste to South Africa - About 100 more than international safety standard! * Poisoning New Jersey With Toxic Pollution For more information call: GREENPEACE - (202) 319-2575 - (212) 941-9145 Supported by: GREENPEACE Bound Brook Citizens Association CRISIS Educators Against Racism & Apartheid Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility New Jersey Anti-Apartheid Mobilization Coalition Raritan Valley Students for Environmental Awareness EARTH DAY ACTIVITIES Raritan Valley Students for Environmental Awareness, SEA, present... EARTH NIGHT "In Celebration of the Earth" at Raritan Valley Community College Rt. 28 & Lamington Rd. North Branch, NJ Saturday, April 28, 1990 - 7:00pm Student Cafeteria with Beth Feberici "GREENPEACE" Lou Gold "SISKYOU REGIONAL PROJECT" and A representative of the NJ ENVIRONMENTAL FEDERATION addressing Global, National and Statewide environment issues. Environmental exhibits by local organizations. * * * * * For more information call Jeanie at (201) 707-4495. * * * * * Remember EARTH DAY is April 22! For events in your area contact: Earth Day 1990 PO Box AA Stanford University, CA 94305 Phone: (415) 321-1990 FAX: (415) 321-2040 *********************************************************************** X-10 POWERHOUSE SOFTWARE *********************************************************************** Press Release From: MAX Systems & DataQue Software Sacramento, CA Ontario, OH 44862 Date: April 7, 1990 re: X-10 PowerHouse Software Development MAX Systems, and DataQue Software are pleased to announce a "joining of forces" for the development of software for the programming and control of the CP290 Computer Interface made by X-10 (USA), Inc.. The X-10 PowerHouse system is a wide collection of hardware for use in controlling electrical devices of nearly any type ranging from simple home lighting control to security system control to certain industrial process control. The X-10 PowerHouse is able to accomplish this control WITHOUT the need for expensive custom electrical wiring by sending the control signals through the existing building 120vac wiring system. The X-10 system is completely FCC approved, and carries the Underwriter's Laboratory seal of approval. The applications possible with the X-10 PowerHouse system are limited only by the imagination of the user. MAX Systems has been, for the last month, in the development stage of a system called MAX-10 for the Atari 8-Bit computers to allow sophisticated X-10 control by means of a "dedicated" computer to increase the abilities of the X-10 controller by adding, in effect, at least 64K of RAM, a disk drive, and a CPU. MAX-10 will allow for user-written "modules" for special applications, an "artificially intelligent" ability to make decisions based on input, much more detailed timed events, and many other features that will move the X-10 PowerHouse into the range of much more expensive dedicated control devices. DataQue brings to the MAX-10 project: many years of programming experience; a wealth of information in the Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning <HVA/C>; and a strong background with many personal computer types. These valuable skills will allow, among other things, for MAX-10 to be "ported" to many different personal computers, including: Atari 8-Bit; Commodore 64/128; IBM PC/"clone"; Atari ST; and Amiga. While each version will take advantage of the host computer's abilities, there will be much in common in the user interface so that moving from one version to another will be a simple matter for the MAX-10 user. The planned release for MAX-10 will be in several stages, with the Atari 8-Bit version being first, followed by the Atari ST, IBM PC/"clone", Commodore 64/128, and Amiga. For all machines, there will be several "stages" of the program: A Public Domain demonstration; A Shareware version that will support access to the X-10 unit; An "entry level" commercial version with more features than the Shareware version; And the complete commercial version with full abilities. Upgrade paths for owners of the "lower level" versions will be provided. Exact release dates have not been set as of this date, nor have exact prices been set. Any comments or suggestions are welcomed! For more information, you may contact: MAX Systems DataQue Software 4005 Manzanita Ave. #6-216 PO Box 134 Carmichael, CA 95608 Ontario, OH 44862 GEnie: MARTY.A GEnie: DATAQUE.1 BBS: The Breakfast Club BBS: DataQue Support 300/1200/2400bps 300/1200 Bps (916) 331-4722 (419) 529-5197 *********************************************************************** MECHANICS ONLINE MAGAZINE *********************************************************************** by Ron Kovacs (Contents/Preview) ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// | Mechanics' Online | | Magazine | ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// April 5, 1990 Issue #101 ====================================================================== Copyright 1990 by Rovac Industries/Gateway Associates ====================================================================== Publisher/Editors - Ron Kovacs, Bruce Kennedy ====================================================================== A product of the Mechanics Information Network, a service of: Gateway Associates 310 Spring Valley Drive E. Greenwich RI 02818-1912 Internet> 72327,1500@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Technical Service Bulletins available from: Autotext Leary Rd, RD #2, Honey Brook PA 19344 Phone 215-273-2926 ====================================================================== Issue #1 INDEPENDENT MECHANICS ACCESS FACTORY TECH SERVICE BULLETINS Z*NET MECH-ONLINE NEWSWIRE MECHANIC'S INFORMATION NETWORK FLUSHES OUT FIXES FOUNDING MEMBERS COULD SERVE AS M.O.N EDITORS COMPUTER DIAGNOSTICS MIDWAY DEVELOPMENT MECHANICS ONLINE News and Reviews! Copyright (c)1990 Rovac Industries, Inc../ Gateway Associates ======================================================================= ======================================================================= Z*Net Online Magazine is a weekly released publication covering the Atari community. Opinions and commentary presented are those of the individual authors and do not reflect those of Rovac Industries. Z*NET and Z*NET ONLINE are copyright 1990 by Rovac Industries. Reprint permission is granted as long as Z*NET ONLINE, Issue Number and author is included at the top of the article. Reprinted articles are not to be edited without permission. ======================================================================= ======================================================================= ZNET ONLINE Atari News FIRST! Copyright (c)1990 Rovac Industries, Inc.. =======================================================================