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======================================================================= ////// // // ////// ////// Z*Net Atari Online Magazine // / /// // // // --------------------------- // /// // // // ////// // MAY 4, 1990 // / // /// // // --------------------------- ////// // // /////// // Issue #518 ======================================================================= (©) 1990 by Rovac Industries, Inc. Post Office Box 59 Middlesex, New Jersey 08846 Z*Net Online BBS: (201) 968-8148 Publisher-Editor: Ron Kovacs Associate Editor: John Nagy Contributing Editor: Alice Amore Distribution: Bruce Hansford Contributor: Mark Quinn Australian Editor: Jon Clarke Mechanics Online: Bruce Kennedy UG Coordinator: Robert Ford ======================================================================= CompuServe 71777,2140 * Cleveland Free-Net * GEnie Z-NET ======================================================================= TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= - THIS WEEK ......................................................Ron Kovacs - Z*NET NEWSWIRE ST Journal, Atari Games and more................................ - Z*NET DOWN-UNDER Bits -n- Bytes Show and more..........................Jon Clarke - PACE SHOW REPORTS AND COMMENT ........................................Robert Ford .....................................Douglas Hodson ST RT Reprints................................GEnie Commentary...............................Ron Kovacs - SOFTLOGIK CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS PageStream 2.0.............................................GEnie - PD/SHAREWARE STOP Weekly PD Reviews.....................................Mark Quinn - NEW PRODUCTS FROM SPROKITS ...................................................Press Release - ATARI 8-BIT OWNERS UPDATE New Term Program.......................................Don Lebow - ST GRIPPER REVIEW .....................................................Ron Poirier - ST SPELLING TUTOR .................................................Phillip Hawkins - DIAMOND BACK II ...................................................Press Release =============================== THIS WEEK =============================== by Ron Kovacs Lots of information to pass along this week and a report on two shows of interest, PACE and New Zealand. The PACE commentary has been included in the coverage provided by Robert Ford and Douglas Hodson. LAST CHANCE OFFER TO Z*NET READERS You and your user group or friends can have a FREE box full of brand new back issues of ST-XPRESS for just the cost of shipping! SPROKITS is a new ST hardware and software development company in Los Angeles, and it has taken over the old storage area belonging to ST- XPRESS MAGAZINE... and there are LOTS of full boxes of back issues that MUST GO. Z*NET has talked SPROKITS into offering the magazines to user groups and readers of Z*NET Online rather than allow them to be destroyed. ST-XPRESS was a respected, quality slick newsstand magazine supporting the Atari ST from 1986 through November 1989, when they released their final issue. SPROKITS will be happy to send you or your group a full box of issues if you send an address plus a short written statement saying that you will accept the C.O.D. Ground Shipping charges through United Parcel Service. You should expect this charge to be $8 to $15 at most for typical locations. REMEMBER, UPS will NOT ship to POST OFFICE BOXES. Each box typically contains 50 copies of a single issue, and many different issues are available... but PLEASE don't ask for specific months or mixed issue boxes! If you want more than one box, we CAN be sure to ship you a different month in each box. MOST boxes are of the later issues... and a few might even come with the subscription disks in them! Remember, this offer is basically to see to it that these old issues of ST-XPRESS can go to some good use. SPROKITS has volunteered to ship them without labor charges if your group will cover the shipping C.O.D. charges. If you want a box (or several!) for your club or friends, send a card or letter RIGHT AWAY to: SPROKITS' MAGAZINE GIVEAWAY 417B Foothill Blvd Suite 381 Glendora, California 91740 This offer is open to any Z*NET readers and expires when the supply of magazines is exhausted. Please note that disks may or may not be included with the magazines. =============================== Z*NET NEWSWIRE =============================== ST JOURNAL SHIPPING The newest Atari magazine is about to begin shipping and should appear in your favorite Atari store in the next week or so. ATARI GAMES TO TESTIFY Dan Van Elderen, an Atari Games executive is scheduled to appear before the House Subcommittee on Economic and Commercial Law to testify about Nintendo's alleged anticompetitive trade practices. The subcommittee, chaired by Congressman Jack Brooks of Texas, announced last week to review charges before committee that Nintendo and other foreign companies operating in the US are willfully violating US antitrust laws. MICROSOFT 900-HELP LINE Microsoft has started a toll-number hot-line to field technical questions about MS-DOS. Calls are billed at $2 a minute. The number is (900) 896-9000. The line is open Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm Pacific time. HACKER GETS 3 YEARS PROBATION A judge sentenced a computer whiz convicted of releasing a "worm" that paralyzed computers nationwide to three years probation and community service and will be required to pay a $10,000 fine plus court costs. IBM WINS $400M CONTRACT IBM signed a record $400 million contract to provide personal computers to Amadeus, Europe's largest electronic travel marketing system. IBM will supply up to 55,000 personal computer systems within the next three years. TI HONORED Texas Instruments was honored April 26, by a major substance abuse prevention organization for its drug-free work place policies. PRIDE, the largest organization in the US devoted to drug abuse prevention through education, presented TI with its corporate award during the PRIDE World Drug Conference in Orlando, Fla. TI was the first recipient of this national service award. TI was recognized for its drug-free policy and for its smoke-free policy. SEAGATE DRIVES AND NOVELL Seagate and Novell have announced the first shipments of Seagate 5-1/4" Wren disc drives under Novell's new NetWare Ready program. The two companies have developed a new class of disc drives for Novell's NetWare Operating System. Under the new partnership, Novell is working with Seagate to develop NetWare Ready Wren drives. Qualified drives receive a factory recorded "NetWare Ready" signature which alerts the NetWare operating system that information necessary for installation is stored on the drive, thereby simplifying drive installation. The drives being supported by Seagate under the NetWare Ready program are the Wren 4, Model ST4376NV and the Wren 6, Model ST4766NV. SIERRA ON-LINE UPDATE Sierra On-Line announced a major step toward its acquisition of Dynamix with the purchase of the distribution rights to the Dynamix product line from MEDIAGENIC for an undisclosed sum. According to Sierra President/ Chief Executive Officer Ken Williams who commented to Newsgrid, "Dynamix products will be sold and supported by Sierra On- Line Inc. immediately. The acquisition is progressing according to schedule and we are excited about new titles Dynamix has under development. MEDIAGENIC will remain the exclusive international distributor of both Sierra and Dynamix products in Europe and other parts of the world thru January 1991 as a result of this agreement. ============================== Z*NET DOWN-UNDER ============================== by Jon Clarke Bits'N'Bytes Show, Auckland New Zealand. ---------------------------------------- The Bits'n'Bytes show fever has hit the computer industry down here for another year. You can open any newspaper and see adverts and items pertaining to all the new computers and their peripherals. It is show time in Auckland, on Wednesday the 25th of April all the Major vendors and suppliers to the computer industry moved into the Auckland Expo centre and set up their booths. The 25th has major significance down-under as it is "ANZAC" day and a public holiday in Australia and New Zealand. ANZAC means Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. For many of those setting up it was a nightmare, stock had not arrived or equipment could not be released as it was a public holiday. The old adage 'SNAFU' comes to mind. On show day the 26th all was well and were we in for a treat. For those of us who were visiting the show the range of computers and products was amazing. You could see Mac's in LAN's with 386sx's and all running on Fiber-optic's to a local user group BBS, to a Commodore Cave filled with PC's, C128's and Amigas to a new 386 zipping though 'Autocad'. In the middle of all the IBM related products and right behind the 'Micro-Soft' booth was Atari-NZ. Now when I say in the middle I mean in the middle of the zillions of grunters. Here was a haven for all those of us who had been subjected to all our work needs and wants. It was nice to see a Moniterm on a Mega 4 showing off the 'Hawk flat-bed' scanner. We were all looking for the new 'TT' which had been advertised in the local computer magazine to whom the show was named after. Well it appeared that the illusive machine had done the disappearing act again. As it turned out, the guys from Atari-OZ could not attend the show at the last minute and they did not have time to ship it to Atari- NZ. A big shame as people from all over the country had arrived to see it, only to find it wasn't there. The Atari-PC range was on display, showing demo's of 'Pro-Fax' and strutting their Graphics capabilities with VGA slide shows. Also the new STe's were there in force with demo's showing all the new features that it has. Would you believe it there was a new 520STe upgraded to 4 megs sitting there for all to see. A few months ago this was a well kept secret, that all you do is up the size of your memory by replacing the 'SIMM' pack, Now here it is sold as an option by our ATARI distributor. So no more guessing, it is out in the open for all those at the show to see, complete with a little sign. One curious thing was the lack of emulation demo's. Gadgets by Small will be happy to know that 'GCR' was there. But alas they did not have roms nor a system disk, if they did Atari would have blown the crowds and all the other stands away and really made a mark on the show. Hiding in the corner was a box market "PC Ditto II", and we heard the salesman telling a few people this is the 'Ultimate in PC emulation', I will leave you to draw your own conclusions, but I for one think a $NZ1000 is a little steep as you can get an 'XT' for that price and this does not include the cost of a ST and monitor. A single Linx was on the display bench, beaming away beside the 'palm- top' the 'Portfolio'. These had the crowds amazed, with their size and quality. I for one must confess the 'Lynx' is something on my shopping list. Not being a games player this has stolen my heart with the quality of the graphics and the speed it delivers. On the plus side many people who would not have been exposed to Atari computers have seen them in the flesh. I must congratulate Atari-NZ on their booth, having been to many of the Bits'n'Byte shows in the past this is by far the best one I have attended. The presentation of all the booths have improved out of sight. *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* Z-Net in the Atari Bulletin Section. Name : Harbour Board BBS Location: Wellington, New Zealand Software: FoReM ST Phone : +64-4-835041 Speeds : 300/300 1200/1200 2400/2400, v21,v22,v22bis Modem : Netcomm 123sa and BlitzBuster Computer: 1meg Atari 520ST <english> Storage : 40 megs in a SH205 Files : latest PD, local and foreign Sysop's : Kop [Chris Thorpe] : Geek [Angus] User Group: W.A.C.E , The Wellington Atari Computer Enthusiasts. // An Official Atari Users Association Support BBS // *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Ten tips of Happy BBSing... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- There has been numerous articles on Bulletin Board Services over the years and yet some of the most simple things seem to go unnoticed by alot of users out there. This is not intended to be a lecture more a few tips to happy BBSing. 1). Always read the logon messages. Recently we added a 4800 MNP class 5 modem to our BBS and people were at a loss why their script or DO files would not work any more. When you create a script file for logging on to a BBS always allow a pause to capture any new additions to the menus, or bulletins. So tip #1 is read the logon messages and bulletins this is where the important system information is generally placed. 2). Learn the MENU's or functions of the BBS. When you logon to a new type of system or BBS or the ones you use from time to time, make sure you capture the session. This will allow you to print out the menus and have them near your monitor so you do not have to waste valuable line time going from menu to menu to menu. This will also save alot of space in your capture buffer. 3). If someone emails you have the courtesy to reply to them. Take the time to drop a Email to the Sysop, and email them if there is ever any problems you are having (this may save many hours of soul searching over some little problem) as the Sysop may have the answer. 4). When up loading files use some form of ARChive to ARC up your files. There are three reasons for this. [a] Save on-line time. An archived program is compressed and therefore shorter, thus less to upload. [b] When the file is down loaded it can be padded with fill bytes and can screw the best of programs. If it is not archived you leave yourself wide open as a person who uploads programs that do not work. Use arc.ttp or Lharc.prg or both with Arcshell which you will find on 99% of services. [c] Saves space on your disks and also those of the BBS or service you are uploading to. 5). Please write in lower case when on the service as capital letters LIKE, THIS IS KNOWN AS SHOUTING AND IS NOT CONSIDERED good manners. 6). If you are in the slower speeds of 300 <V.21> or 1200/75 <V.23> let the sysop know, as they may give you more on-line time or charge less for the same amount of time. 7). Users who have a V.23 1200/75 baud modems, please remember that you receive in 1200 and transmit in 75 baud so do not attempt to upload in 75 baud, this will take hours. NB:- V.23 is supported in England, Australia and New Zealand a hang over from Prestel or Videotex services and is not generally supported in North America. 8). Capture a list of files available for down-loading with a scan option and read it off line from your buffer. This will allow you to select what you want to down-load, so when you logon the next time you can have a down-load frenzie. A big saving in on-line time. 9). If you get behind in the message bases or have just logged onto a service for the first time you may be hundred or thousands of messages behind. So select the read option and find a read reverse option or read number option so you read the last messages. I personally scan the message headings and if there is a topic I want to read about and go there the next time I logon when my message pointer have been reset. 10). The Sysop or System Operator has the final say, they are the folk who have invested all their time and money into the service and like to have a few compliments from time to time. Most of all never be afraid to ASK QUESTIONS. These are valid and compatible archive formats for the Atari ST and the ones most commonly found on BBS's and or on-line services. +--------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | Name | Atari ST |Atari 8-bit| IBM | Mac | +--------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | .ARC | yes | yes | yes | yes | | .ZOO | yes | - | yes | yes | | .LZH | yes | - | yes | - | | .AR | yes | - | - | - | | .ZIP | yes | - | yes | ? | +--------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ // Support the Revolution and mention Atari on your local BBS's today // =============================== PACE SHOW REPORTS / COMMENT =============================== Combined reports by and from: Robert Ford, Z*Net Douglas Hodson GEnie ST RT Reprints Commentary by Ron Kovacs PACE SHOW REPORT Friday began the long journey to the Pittsburgh P.A.C.E. Atari show. A ten hour drive, straight through thanks to the folks at Jolt cola, that ended at Chatlier High School. I kind of sensed trouble when we entered the school to get in line for tickets. There wasn't more than 40-50 people there. Total attendance for Saturday was only about 350 and Sunday was even worse with about half that. Many people blamed the poor attendance on a lack of advertising. The only place I heard about the show was on GEnie. PACE coordinators have stated however that they indeed advertised in newspapers. Most vendors expressed regret concerning coming to the show. A few I spoke with didn't even cover the travel cost to the show, while others broke even. The show wasn't a total failure though. In fact, if you weren't a vendor you made out pretty well. None of the tables were overcrowded, so you could talk with your favorite developer and get real good demos of their goods. Everyone was friendly, I sensed no bitterness. What follows is a synopsis of most of the vendors displays. CODEHEAD: ========= Charles and John had an impressive set up. They were displaying version 2 of MultiDesk and HotWire as well as Maxifile on two ST systems and two Stacys. JOPPA: ====== Joppa was selling all kinds of wonderful software and hardware at great prices. I picked up World Snooker which retails for around $40 for only $10! RITEWAY: ======== Riteway also had an impressive display of hardware and software and there table was always busy. One special highlight of their table was the Stacy running next to a STe running next to Atari's CD-ROM drive. Riteway also raffled off Atari/Riteway T-shirts, of which I won one, and a PortFolio. ICD: ==== ICD was there showing their hard drive systems and tape backup unit. Unfortunately, their table wasn't very busy. BEST ELECTRONICS: ================= BEST had to have the busiest display at the show. Typical. Any part you could ever want or need for any Atari computers, well, BEST has it. W.A.C.O.: ========= I have to mention W.A.C.O. because I feel they had the best dressed individual at the show. Pattie Plants was decked out in full tux and top hat. The W.A.C.O. shirt really set of the outfit. W.A.C.O. was also running some amazing sound and graphics demos on their STe. This user group is also part of the monthly ZNet Newsletter. MICHTRON: ========= Along with their usual display of software, Michtron had their FastFax for sale, although they weren't demoing it. They were also selling off there development Mega 2's for $899 and Mega 4's for $1299. CALCOM: ======= Now here's a swell bunch of guys (and gal) who remained good spirited throughout the show despite the low sales. They all looked very professional decked out in their matching Dr. T's t-shirts. And damn could that crew eat breakfast! BRANCH ALWAYS SOFTWARE: ======================= Derek and Ignac were alway busy demoing their line of great ST utilities including Quick ST II and their command line interpreter. GRIBNIF: ======== Gribnif was showing NeoDesk and their new Command Line Interpreter which by the way, is a very powerful edition to NeoDesk. It offers MS-DOS and Unix type commands as well as full batch processing commands including condition statements and looping. By far, Gribnif had the best banners at the show! B^) TOAD: ===== Dave and the gang were there showing all kinds of goodies including, of course, their wonderful cartridge hard drives. Toad had Lynx's for sale and a demonstration unit that definitely got a workout. DOUBLE CLICK: ============= Double Click was showing and selling there desktop enhancement program, DC Desktop. DC Desktop's advantage over other desktops alternatives is that it is not a replacement program. It just makes tons of enhancements to the GEM desktop. This means that any program that runs with the GEM desktop will run with DC Desktop. DC also showed their DC Utilities which is another great package. TALON TECHNOLOGY: ================= Talon was displaying the Supercharger. It is certainly a viable choice for PC emulation as it runs quickly and solidly. WIZWORKS: ========= Chet Walters was showing his amazing IMG*CAT picture cataloging program. IMG*CAT will take up to 15 pictures of a wide variety of file formats, including Spectrum, and shrink them to fit on a single piece of paper. The quality is incredible. Highly recommended for those who are continually searching for that certain image. Also at the WizWorks table was Dr. Bob displaying his competition to TouchUp, MVG. For $50 you get a monochrome graphic editor program with more features than can be listed here. It also does a great conversion from color to monochrome. Dollar for dollar I'd give MVG the best value vote over TouchUp. As for seminars... Nathan Potechin of ISD gave a great talk on the Calamus line of desktop publishing programs including Calamus, Outline Art and PK Write. Dave Troy gave a small, informal chat on mass storage. He answered questions regarding SCSI, CD ROM technology, removable hard drive, partitioning, etc. Sunday gave us a joint talk by Bob Brodie, Pattie from Unicorn Publications and Derek Signourini of the Atari Users Association. After an extended introduction by moderator Ralph Mariano, ST-Report, Bob Brodie held a short question and answer period with the sometimes hostile crowd. Unfortunately for Bob people tend to forget that he is Atari's user group coordinator and not the president. Bob was visibly tired from a very busy schedule, but gracefully fended off the occasional "cheap shot." I only hope that from now on people take better advantage of Bob's time with more intelligent questions and stop arguing the same old problems of which Bob is not responsible for. Someone did ask about the buggy TOS 1.6 that is in the STe's and Bob said that there is a new version of TOS 1.6 on ROM now that will alleviate the problems. Pattie from Unicorn Publications briefly introduced her monthly Atari magazine and disk. Derek introduced the Atari Users Association. What the AUA hopes to do is unite all Atari users worldwide in hopes that it will create a rather large voice to Atari. They already have an impressive group spanning many countries. Registration for the AUA is free. Derek is also part of the Atari Elite club discussed later in another report. Derek does the newsletter for the group. As an aside, I'd like to throw in my nomination for the next (first?) member of the Atari Hall of Fame. (Drumroll please) My nomination is ... Dr. Bob creator of MVG. Thanks to Dr. Bob I now know the width of my Mega in light years, a nagging question that I'm glad I got cleared up, and the local police get their moneys worth at Dunkin' Donuts. Thanks Dr. Bob! As we drove home Sunday evening we discussed whether or not the trip was worth it. I thought it was fun to see all the developers in person as well as the new equipment, but felt that 10 hours in a pickup was a bit much. My heart goes out to all the vendors that put out good money to get there and didn't even make up traveling cost. Perhaps P.A.C.E. will do a more thorough job of promoting the show next year. PRODUCTS AT PACE by Douglas Hodson By far the most interesting product introduced was an add-on to a product that's not widely available yet! You guess it, it's a Portable Power Case for the Stacy! This little add on really makes me lust after a Stacy. The case completely encloses the Stacy and has compartments for books, diskettes, battery charger and two battery packs! The Stacy can run on battery power for 4 continuous hours! The case was obviously designed by people in touch with the ST market because the case is large enough to hold a Stacy with a Spectre GCR AND SuperCharger installed! The price is a very reasonable $348. MultiByte 15 Wedgedale Drive Sterling, VA. 22170 (703)406-9139 FAX: (202)625-6447 +*+*+*+*+ A couple of interesting products were shown by Diverse Data Products, Inc. The first was a remote keyboard interface for the ST called the KX. The KX hardware allows you to connect an IBM AT type keyboard to your Atari ST/STE/MEGA computer. This could be a really nice product for people with the not so nice 520ST keyboard. The price retails for $74.95. The other product was a memory upgrade board for the ST called a Megaboard II. Although the name implies only Mega computers, the board is compatible with all Atari ST/Mega computers. The main board plugs into the Video Shifter socket and includes four SIMM sockets, allowing the capability of up to four megabytes to be installed. The price is $159.95. Diverse Data Products, Inc. Post Office Box 695324 Miami, Florida 33269 (505)651-2595 +*+*+*+*+ The last bit of news comes as a software update or should I say a performance enhancer for the ACCess! Desk Accessory by Rock Digital. The ACCess! DA is the first GEM based CLI for the ST. It seems that the people from Branch Always Software, the people who produce Quick ST, Quick Index, Quick Tools vol. 1 and a host of other great utilities created a special version of Quick ST II for ACCess!. This special "stripped down" version of QST II significantly speeds up text output and is available to all ACCess! owners free of charge. It is now being included in the ACCess! package. Note: If you already own Quick ST this utility won't boost your performance any further. The full blown Quick ST II (get it, it's great!) will significantly improve performance in several other areas that this utility doesn't address! Rock Digital 2901 Kenmore Avenue Dayton, Ohio 45420 (513)254-3160 PACE IMPRESSIONS Captured from Category 11, Topic 11 of the GEnie ST RT Bulletin Board Message 95 Mon Apr 30, 1990 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp.] =========================================================== Jeff, The group in question did not have a booth. (Ed. Atari Elite). They did have members present at the show, I am told. What was incredible was the blatant way they discussed their practices *RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DEVELOPERS*!!!!! They had an obvious affect on the sales of software at this show. GRIBNIF sold about 1/10th of what they usually do. An example: someone bought a new paint program at the show from one of the software companies. About 45 minutes after making the purchase, he brought it back, requesting his money back. The vendor was surprised, as he gave an excellent price on the product, and it was still shrink wrapped. The explanation was that he wanted to return it because "his friend knew where he could get one for free." As far a future show for that area, good luck. I can't go to Atari and recommend that we go back to that area. Word reached me before I got to the show about what was going on, and I was angry when I got there. Angry because these developers are my personal friends, angry because there are complaints about Atari not having a dealer (and now we know why!), and angry that the people at the show would be so cavalier in their attitude toward the developers. We all have to fight this type of activity any way we can. Here's what I did: I had gotten approved a very nice selection of door prizes for this show, a MegaFile 60, six sets of TOS 1.4, Gaunlet for the Lynx, Airball for the eight bit, AtariWriter 80 and an XEP-80. Quite similar to what I did for the MidWest Swapfest, except it was a 60 Meg HD instead of a 44 Meg removable. When I heard what was going on in that show, I decided to return all of the prizes to Sunnyvale. It is a shame, as perhaps some legitimate user might have won a nice door prize. But from what I saw, we just would have helped the wrong people out. So, all of the product came home with me, over $1000 worth of door prizes. I'm not going to go to Atari and ask them to support a group/ show that doesn't support the developers and dealers that show up to support them. It just isn't right. BTW, I was in Rochester the day before, and I did give away everything to them that I planned to. They got the same prizes that I had planned to give at the PACE Show. Message 105 Tue May 01, 1990 B.MARKEY at 03:03 EDT ======================================================== Hi All. To those of you who don't know me (B.Markey) I'm President of PACE. NOONE is more disheartened with what happened last weekend than myself. I personally spent hundreds of hours coordinating the North East ATARIfest '90. I heard all of the developers comments, and everyone elses. For the record >>>>> PACE IN NO WAY IS CONNECTED TO THE "ATARI ELITE" which is the group in question here. We sat in awe as the developers told us horror stories of what people had said to them. Things like "Nah.. My friend has it".. OR "I can download it".. Advertising: Someone talked about "they may have had a lack of advertising".. I'll give you a run down on our "lack" of advertising... First off, We mailed 2,712 postcards.. These were sent first class. Also, the show was advertised in/at: An add ran in the largest local paper for 3 weeks. There was an announcement in ST-informer, ST-world, the Atari Interface Magazine, Current Notes, It was also in ST-Report & Z-Net for 3 weeks. Through our exchange program, we receive newsletters from all across the nation. I've seen adds in them as far away as UTAH, And don't forget all the ones that include Z-Net in them. We distributed approx. 1000 flyers to local grocery stores, computer stores, music/midi dealers. Brad from BEST electronics sent a flyer to his mailing list for PA and surrounding states. Advertising was also put on the ATARI echo's of Fido-net, WWIVlink, etc.. I uploaded countless updates and text files here on GEnie which included the Lodging list you saw Darlah post earlier, & directions to the fest from every major highway. Where did we get out mailing list? Simple. We offered the users' groups a free table at the fest in exchange for a sorted, printed mailing list. SAGE, WACO, NEO-STag, SPACE, MAUG, NAPCO all sent us lists. And, We at PACE have hosted 2 Atarifests in the past. We had the database of attendees from those two shows as well. Also, I had one of the clubs Sysop's log on to over 50 different BBS's & post info. Did we advertise? Yes. We did everything humanly possible to make people aware of the show. (Ralph Mariano pointed out that we should've had a bigger signs where you turn into the High School. That suggestion is noted, and IF we ever have another fest, you'll see NEON if it's up to me!!) I don't believe PIRACY can be the cause of the demise of this show. (Not entirely I mean).. God knows there was plenty of reasons to come, with the list of supporting developers/vendors, etc... Bob, I don't blame you. Although the additional door prizes would have been nice for some of us that don't pirate, it's better off in a way that you didn't take the chance. WE (PACE) are not taking this lying down. We have already scheduled a meeting to discuss what happened at this ATARIfest. We did our best to cater to every need & whim possible needed from the developers/vendors. And I did receive many compliments of the organization of the show. But all that doesn't matter to me. We have been struggling to have someone notice this problem (Of the Elite renting software) for a long time. Everyone (with the exception of Chris Roberts) that has held Bob's position before him has heard of this. Like I told Bob months ago, I wouldn't mind if there was another users' group in Pittsburgh, that would be competition which would make us strive to provide better service to our users. Competition is good. But answer this for me. How are we suppose to "compete" with a "group" that rents commercial software? It's very hard to say the least. But we have been trying for several years. Everyone that proceeded Bob has dismissed this problem as "a User Group feud". Thank God someone else finally saw it for what it is!!! Devlopers/Vendors: Not ALL people in Pittsburgh PIRATE! Don't write us off as a city. A couple of bad eggs are making a bad name for Pittsburgh, it is NOT all of us! Thanks for listening! Bruce J. Markey PACE President GEnie address B.MARKEY COMMENTARY by Ron Kovacs User group shows that are not successful will always be blamed for poor advertising, mismanagement, poor coordination to name a few. In the case of the PACE show having poor attendance, it might be blamed for the pirate group in the area. Why attend a show when you can get the software made available after the completion of the show. The balls of the Atari Elite group to pirate publically is a slap against the developers attending and will have an effect on all future shows in the area. Robert Ford's article shows the positive side of a poor show where some of those attending were atleast pleased to have the opportunity to meet the Atari developers. The failure of some people in the Pittsburgh area to respect our developers has echoed the problem and once again label the Atari users as pirates. The continued proof, as shown at the PACE show, of rampant piracy will only accelerate developers deciding to continue support for Atari products. The best thing now is to do something about the Atari Elite. The AUA should denounce the group immediately and Derek Signorini should resign as newsletter compiler. Atari should investigate the matter and show the public that they are serious about the piracy issue and make an effort to assist stamping it out. Users in the Pittsburgh area who know about the Atari Elite problem should get off their asses and STOP supporting the group. Continued support of the practices will eventually kill all interest in Atari development. The entire group and associates should be exposed so everyone in the Atari community knows who the pirates are so that additional sanctions can be persued. =============================== SOFTLOGIK CONFERENCE =============================== (Edited transcript) <NEVIN-S> Thank you all for coming to our first Real Time Conference. Our special guest tonight is Deron Kazmaier, president of SoftLogik Publishing Corporation. Deron is the man behind the original Publishing Partner, the first desktop publishing program for the Atari ST, and PageStream, the premier publishing program for both the ST and Commodore Amiga. OK, that's about it for starters, let's begin...! <NEVIN-S> SoftLogik is pleased to announce PAGESTREAM 2.0..! PageStream 2.0 is fully integrated with Agfa Compugraphic's hinted outline fonts, as well as Adobe Type 1 IBM format (without hints.) PageStream displays these outline fonts on the screen plus prints them to dot matrix, laser, and PostScript printers with exquisite quality. PageStream draws polygons with Bezier cubic curves as well as the usual straight lines. PageStream 2.0 will load and save tags separate from a document. In addition, 2.0 will save a document as a template for future works of similar design. Version 2.0 allows for specifications of beginning and ending angles of arcs in 1/100 degree increments and allows for rotation in 1/100 degree increments. 2.0 allows the specification of font sizes in 1/100th point increments, and positions and sizes an object to the same 1/100th of a point. PageStream 2.0 allows larger maximum page dimensions (billboard size & beyond) plus the ability to easily 'bleed' objects off the page. <DERON.K> The most important thing about the CG fonts is that it brings postscript quality text to those who don't own a s printer! The good news about the adobe type 1 is that for those who want to reach into the large adobe font collection, you just need to drop them into your fonts directory, and viola, you can see the outlines on screen and proof them to non-ps printers! Separate from the CG and Adobe type 1, all fonts can be used for both screen and printer. This means that large type will look as good as possible, but if you still use a lot of 10pt type and have a bitmap for it, you can get the speed and quality of a bitmap. Also as Fred points out, rotated type looks great! Something I forgot to mention, the upgrade fee will be $75, and PgS 2.0 will retail for $299.95. <[Tom] T.COYAN> Any possibility of tapping into my typesetters inventory of fonts, without owning the printer fonts myself? (Does that make sense?) <DERON.K> Well, if you just copy an AFM to the fonts directory (you can download them from Compuserve in the adobe section for free) You will get the name in the fonts list, and the right spacing, and it will assume that the font is built in when you print via postscript. (or already downloaded. <M.IRIZARRY> I have looked at Calamus and Pagestream side by side. I liked the Calamus because of the font editor and the outline. Are you planning something like the outline for pagestream? <DERON.K> Well, as you know, the font editor is RSN, and the Calamus outline supports EPS, so it can be used with PageStream. Not to mention Pgs2.0 will also support bezier curves in the polygons. On the Amiga, we are currently developing (under a contract with LaserDraw's Scott Anthony) for a nice outline type drawing program. <NEVIN-S> OK, folks here is another press release from SoftLogik: Soft-Logik is proud announce that it has signed an agreement to distribute the Image Club series of clip art and PostScript fonts for the Amiga and Atari markets in North America and Australia. The clip art library contains over 2000 EPS files. The images can be reduced, enlarged or distorted without losing any resolution. The type library, which is Adobe Type 1 compatible, contains over 600 licensed faces. Image Club has been developing art and type for the Macintosh for several years. This is a significant advancement that will bring professional PostScript fonts and EPS clip art to the Amiga and Atari markets. <NEVIN-S> Deron, I suppose everyone does want to know why PageStream prints slower than Calamus if PageStream has so many more features than Calamus. Why is it weaker in this one area of printing speed? <DERON.K> Well, we print to postscript faster :-) Also, Calamus has one up on me in that they have a simpler coordinate system to deal with. I go through a lot of calcs to get the bitmaps to printer (that is what we really bog down on) Mostly because we keep so much of the color info and transform it every time we print. I have worked on it (witness 1.6) but I still have other things to do to it. (like add screen angle control) before I worry about speed much more. =============================== PD/SHAREWARE STOP =============================== by Mark Quinn (The following files are currently available on GEnie and CompuServe.) File name: STRKDEMO.ARC Author: D. Brown; J. Dickens Program name: STark BBS demo File type: Application ---------------------------------------------------------------------- We have an active BBS in our home. Running one is an education, for a variety of reasons. But I won't go into that fully here. I would like to relate something that happened to us recently, though. A few days ago we got a call from a pseudonym who wrote the following in a message to the sysop. "I think your name is dumb. This BBS is stupid. What's the point? Have you ever called...that board is really cool. I think I am going to start a virus on this board unless you give me some information! OK! I am warning you. This virus will crash your board in a few hours! So I suggest you write me back. GOTTA GO." Our board is a message-only system with no download section, so there is absolutely no way of uploading a virus. All this 'threat' served to do was give us a good chuckle. In one sentence the caller tells us the whole board is worthless, in another he demands access to it, then tries to start a dialog about his favorite board in another. This guy boiled down the entire spectrum of BBSing down into one paragraph: Those who seek to communicate, those who want access to files, and the "slashers", as I like to call them. But we've never gotten all three approaches in a single message before. If you decide to run a BBS, you'll get kudos, and lots and lots of messages from close relatives of our friend above. On with the review. STark BBS looks (the key word in any 'review' of a demo) to be a fully- implemented BBS program. It will only run on a hard drive (I know there's a single-sided floppy owner somewhere who is awaiting a version that will run in that format), and requires around a megabyte of free space. You must have a double-sided drive that supports at least 82 tracks to process the Magic Shadow Archive file. It sports the following rather remarkable features. - GEM-based BBS editor - Flexible file and message area access levels - Hundreds of "variable tags" - Up to 256 message bases, each containing up to 512 messages - Message bases support quickscan, auto-quickscan, verbose messages, string searches, to/from searches, and message threads - Extended messages of up to 1000 lines long - Up to 256 file areas, each containing up to 32,000 files - Supports XModem CHK, XModem CRC, 1-K XModem, YModem Batch, YModem-G, FModem Batch, and ASCII. - View ARC, LZH and ZIP files online - ARC files online - Command stacking - Hotkeys - Built-in "AUTO-BACKUP" feature - GEM mode (allows access to desk accessories) - Supports alternate file selectors - Size of status window is adjustable I haven't been keeping abreast of the state of the art in ST BBSs. We ran FoReM (I still miss its message editor) for years, then switched to running Wildcat! on a low-level clone. Setting STark up was easy, and I must say it was fun to play around with. The programmers combined features of FoReM, BBS Express and Michtron (as it says in the file description). The sysop mode, with its MS-DOS style commands, worked well. The message editor seemed navigable enough. This demo is NOT a fully-functioning BBS. STark didn't get along with my Practical Peripherals modem, but I really didn't expect it to. I doubt if STark can live up to the programmers' promises of having 'unlimited' features (an oxymoron), and time will tell if STark becomes the new standard for ST BBS programs. But if the features it does have sound like your idea of what a BBS should be, then "hands-on experience" with this demo is a download away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ File name: GUI_DEMO.LZH Author: Collins, LaGrange Program name: Guitaristics demo File type: Application ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I was a music major in college (a classical guitar performance major), so a program of this type would have been very useful to me then. We DID have computers at the time (graphics terminals hooked into the Control Data PLATO system. Some of my fondest memories are of playing "Empire", a multi-user game of galactic conquest based on "Star Trek", while I was supposed to be practicing my intervals. Guitaristics has these features (from the README text file): - 68 different chords to choose from, with 8 voicings for each cord - 48 different scales to choose from - Transpose chords and scales to any of 35 theoretical keys with correct enharmonics - 35 different guitar tunings -- scale fingerings and chord voicing automatically adjust to new tunings - Practice drills - Print out chord and scale charts Aside from these features: - Tempo adjustable from grave to presto - "Repeat notes" option - Note values from quarter to thirty-second - MIDI and "through the speaker" output - Displays open notes - Suggests improvisations I would like to see the fingerings for scales given in numerical terms (fingers 1-4) as well as their fret positions. But for developing a steady rhythm, this program would be an invaluable tool. One of my most common mistakes as a music student was "rushing" through a piece, and I absolutely hated practicing with a metronome. So whether you have a Ramirez, a Fender Stratocaster or a Sears special, dust it off and prepare to enhance your technique. =============================== NEW PPRODUCTS FROM SPROKITS =============================== Press Release Sprokits Computer Products 417B Foothill Blvd., Suite 381 Glendora, CA 91740 (818) 914-2400 Sprokits Softkits Carrying Cases for Atari Computers Sprokits Computer Products is proud to introduce Sprokits Softkits high- quality soft carrying cases for advanced Atari Computers. The cases have been designed with quality, portability, ergonomics, a high-profile appearance, and outstanding features as guidelines. Sprokits Softkits are made from jet black Cordura nylon which offers the following features: Outstanding wear and performance, Light-weight toughness with superior bulk, Stylish good looks, Exceptional resistance to abrasions punctures and tears, Resistance to rot and mildew, and Easy Care. Sprokits Softkits are sewn by loving hands in the mountains of Colorado. Each case carries the pride and workmanship of its craftswoman. There is a Sprokits Softkits carrying case for any piece of advanced Atari equipment you may have. Here is a short description of the different models and features: The Sprokits Softkits Stacy Laptop/Mega ST Case combines high-quality and superior features with stylish briefcase-like good-looks. Priced at $99.95, the Stacy/Mega Case has features that few other cases have for any computer. Complete carrying functionality and ergonomics are achieved with padded, briefcase-style carrying handles, a padded clip-on shoulder strap, and padded clip-on backpack straps. The Stacy/Mega Case is one of the very few cases that feature backpack straps. The case is not only wide enough to store the computer, but the extra padded partition is also a great place to store your mouse or Stacy power supply. Inside the upper lid of the case is a velcro pouch for storing papers and folders. Stitched to the side of the large velcro pouch are three smaller velcro pouches for storing 3.5" disks. On the outside of the upper lid is a large zippered pouch for storing cables and other accessories. Something that you may want to store in the outer pouch is a rechargeable power supply. These are available from Sprokits Computer Products as an add-on option and they come in several sizes and configurations. The bottom spine of the case features plastic feet to keep the case off the ground in case of dirt or moisture. The bottom spine also has a flap-covered opening for feeding cords through it should you wish to operate the computer without taking it out of the case. The Stacy/Mega Case is one of the few carrying cases on the market that does not have to be leaned against something, it will stand on its own. The Sprokits Softkits 520ST/1040ST/STE Carrying Case is priced at $109.95 and offers the same features and functionality as the Stacy/Mega Case, but is dimensioned larger for the 520ST or 1040ST or STE. Additional features include a larger extra partition for storing an external floppy drive or a small shoebox hard drive, and a second flap covered opening in the back spine of the case for the cords from the hard drive or floppy drive. If you transport your Atari ST Computer, then this case will make your life easier. Now that you've made your Atari ST Computer portable, what about a screen display? The Sprokits Softkits Atari Monitor Carrying Case is priced at $99.95 and is dimensioned to fit the older and newer style Atari SC1224 color monitors and the Atari SM124 monochrome monitor. This case features the same high-quality rugged construction as the computer cases, but has 1" padding on all sides for the extra protection that a monitor needs. The monitor fits in the case snugly, but there is still room for the connecting cords. The Atari Monitor Case has carrying straps that velcro together as well as a clip-on shoulder strap. This case is perfect for MIDI musicians and other people who are tired of throwing their Atari monitor unprotected into the trunk of the car. If you have a special peripheral that you wish to transport, such as a printer, hard drive, etc. or any other type of computer or laptop or a favorite TV stereo, or just about anything else you would ever want to transport, then Sprokits Computer Products can manufacture a custom case to your specifications. Just send us the measurements along with a simple diagram and a photograph of the object you wish to transport. There is an additional prototyping charge of $30.00 above any other charges to cover the cost of making the first case from scratch. Call or write for more details. Look for Sprokits Computer Products at your favorite dealer or order direct if you don't have a local dealer in your area. Sprokits Computer Products distributes its products directly to dealers. Call or write if you would like to become a Sprokits dealer. Sprokits Softkits Atari Lynx Carrying Case Sprokits Computer Products is proud to introduce Sprokits Softkits high- quality soft carrying cases for Atari computers and electronic products. The cases have been designed with quality, portability, ergonomics, a high-profile appearance, and outstanding features as guidelines. Sprokits Softkits are made from jet black Cordura nylon which offers the following features: Outstanding wear and performance, Light-weight toughness with superior bulk, Stylish good looks, Exceptional resistance to abrasions punctures and tears, Resistance to rot and mildew, and Easy Care. Sprokits Softkits are sewn by loving hands in the mountains of Colorado. Each case carries the pride and workmanship of its craftswoman. The Sprokits Softkits Lynx Carrying Case fits the Lynx like a glove and protects it from scratches, abrasions, and vibrational shock. The Lynx case is priced at $29.95, which is less expensive than a Lynx game cartridge. Here is a short description of the features: The Sprokits Softkits Lynx Carrying Case is divided into two sides. The main side of the case has a zippered compartment that holds the Lynx unit itself. The Lynx is placed inside the case with the screen facing toward the inside of the case for extra protection. The other side of the case features a zippered compartment that is stitched into three pockets for holding games, extra batteries, compact walkman-style headphones, or a comlink cable. If you store the comlink cable in the same side of the case as the Lynx, then you have room to store 10-15 games depending if you have curved or flat cartridges. Reinforced webbing strengthens the side of the case and functions as a handle on the top of the case, giving you protected portability in the smallest optimal design. If you have a special peripheral that you wish to transport, such as a printer, hard drive, etc. or any other type of computer or laptop or a favorite TV stereo, or just about anything else you would ever want to transport, then Sprokits Computer Products can manufacture a custom case to your specifications. Just send us the measurements along with a simple diagram and a photograph of the object you wish to transport. There is an additional prototyping charge of $30.00 above any other charges to cover the cost of making the first case from scratch. Call or write for more details. Look for Sprokits Computer Products at your favorite dealer or order direct if you don't have a local dealer in your area. Sprokits Computer Products distributes its products directly to dealers. Call or write if you would like to become a Sprokits dealer. ============================== ATARI 8-BIT OWNERS UPDATE ============================== Review and Commentary by Don LeBow One of the most popular terminal programs for the 8 bit has undergone a major revision. Yup, the Ubiquitous Bob Puff has released BobTerm v1.20! Lot's of good news. First, and most important, all program bugs that Bob knows about have been tracked down and squashed. This includes various problems with protocols (including Fmodem on FOREM boards), MIO lockups, COPY to E:, capture buffer filenames, etc. (Tgabks, Bob!) But of curse, there have to be some NEW goodies! Here's the Official Enchancements List from Bob... BobTerm v1.20 ------------- * The non-batch receive protocols are self-adapting, in that they will automatically adjust to the SENDER's protocol (If you select a CRC protocol). * Protocol sends are slightly faster. * The FAST CIS XMODEM receive protocol now supports 1k block sizes! I suggest you use the 1k block sizes (by specifying the protocol to CompuServe with PRO:X1K), as it causes the data stream to be continuous. * In the batch file selection area, pressing "A" at a file query will mark ALL the rest of the files in the directory mask you have entered. This saves having to hold "Y" for all the entries. * SEPARATE default pathnames are stored in the config file for upload, download, and capture. This saves having to type the path all the time. * SEPARATE upload and download default protocols are saved in the config file. * Spaces are inserted between successive RETURN characters in ASCII Sends, so your formatting will be preserved in message editors that normally 'eat' the blank lines. * Fine Scrolling is now available. Use Shift Control S to toggle. Status saved in the config file. * The Word Wrap flag is now saved in the config file. * PARITY is now supported. Use VT-52E for Even, VT-52O for Odd, and ASCII for No parity. Vidtex has not been eliminated; use VT-52O for CIS Vidtex emulation. * The VT-52 emulation is more compatible with VT-100, ANSI, and a few other emulation modes. It does not support the entire VT-100 command set, but its better than it was before. * The timer/clock will keep the proper time on 50Hz PAL systems. * Internal BASIC is automatically disabled for all DOSes. This took some serious probing into SpartaDOS to make work. Also, OSS carts are also disabled under all DOSes except Sparta. * The Dialer's Print List option has been removed, and the buffer size has been decreased by 256 bytes. This had to be done to make room for the new features. If you wish to make a hardcopy of your dialing list, you may use an older version of the term for this. The dialing list format is the same. * The Capture buffer may now be Viewed before it is saved. The View function is accessed by the [C] command from the main term menu. * The TONE/PULSE selection was moved from the main menu to the dialer, where it was actually used. * The modem's result messages returned when using the dialer are now displayed. (BUSY, NO DIALTONE, etc...) * The dialer now depends upon the modem's result codes rather than the carrier detect signal, and so should work with just about any hayes- compatible modem, regardless of configuration (the messages have to be returned in verbal as opposed to numeric). * The dialer now has an option of sending the first macro upon connection. This can be used for automatic logons. I suggest adding one or two Control Ps in the beginning of the first macro to account for the time needed for the other modem to properly connect. * The Long Distance code feature now supports the ability to embed the BBS number within the LDX code. See the main documentation for information. * When a DOS function is completed, you are returned back to the DOS Functions menu. * The DOS Functions have been assigned letters instead of numbers, the letters corresponding to the same ones used by DOS 2.x. This should make operation friendlier and easier. * The Command Processor interface for SpartaDOS now has a feel much more like the real DOS. * The ability to copy a single file is now available in the DOS functions! * The Atari 850 Interface handler is loaded every time; you don't have to power it down prior to coldstarting. * Any handler BobTerm loads will be unlinked when the term is exited. This should prevent random lockups that happened with various DOS and handler combinations. Note: it is recommended you use the [Q]uit command to exit the term, rather than pressing RESET. * The Control 1 function to start/stop printing may now be used in the View a file, View capture buffer, and command processor interface functions. * The macro processor has been enhanced with two new functions: -- Control D will cause a 1/2 second delay. This is useful for generating the HHH sequence for logging on to GEnie. -- Control N in a macro will cause it to link to the next macro. Thus, you are no longer limited to 31 characters in a macro! Note that neither the Control N nor the RETURN that follows it will be sent. * The curly brace characters in the Ascii character set are translated to Control A and Control D characters (for open and close). The braces may be sent by pressing the same keys. * The chat buffer may now be sent without a RETURN at the end. Type an ESC prior to hitting RETURN. * The $7F character in the Ascii character set is now ignored. This serves no useful function, and caused problems on GEnie. * Attract mode is disabled while the dialer is busy dialing numbers. * The messages on the top status line have been enhanced. * The term screen is displayed while using a transfer protocol. It was found that BobTerm could keep up with 19200 Baud transfers with the screen fully on; so the top three lines indicate the transfer status, and the rest of the screen displays the term screen. Note that any bad bytes received while in the transfer are sent to the term screen, so if you start a transfer while the other side is still sending, you will be able to see the incoming data. -------- As a Beta tester, and fellow SYSOP with Bob on CompuServe, you may consider me a Not Exactly Impartial Voice, ok? But I have to point out a couple of the new features I like the best. SDX (and MIO) compatability is SUPERB! (I know, because I kept sending him mail whining about problems with both ... which were all solved ... heh) This is, hands down, the best 'application' CLI I've seen for SDX. The new user defined 'defaults' for different functions (Upload, Download, and Capture) are GREAT time savers! May be just me, but I use different drives for uploading and downloading (one aspect of 'safe computing) ... as well as finding most of my uploads are ASCII sends from the MIO, while downloads are always FAST XMODEM to XL ramdisk. The time spent NOT having to retype pathnames and protocol selections every time is a major convenience. The CIS FAST XMODEM, using X1K, does the fastest downloads I've seen! The View buffer addition helps a lot. Bob's thinking about adding an EDITABLE buffer next time out, according to the docs. Wouldn't THAT be nice! Along with the great features already in place in the older version, bottom line is that every 8-bit modemer owes it to themselves to give BobTerm a trial run. On CompuServe, the file can be found in LIB 1 .. BOBTRM.ARC ================== LEBOWS SOAPBOX ================== *ahem* An extra note about *SHAREWARE* As 'official' support for the 8 bits continues to dwindle, it should be apparent to all of you that we are, more than ever, dependent on dedicated authors like Bob, and like minded authors in the 8 Bit Community (you know who they are ... there have been several 'major' programs released just within the past few months), to insure that a flow of NEW and IMPROVED software keeps coming to our machines! *YOU* use the 'good' programs everyday! *YOU* know much worse your computer life would be without 'em!! Please ... take a minute to look over your disk box and note the 'most used, most enjoyed' files therein. One of the tenets of shareware is that you decide which ones mean the most to you. Something I think is the greatest thing since melted sand may leave you cold. That's OK. But the important thing is that once you know which files you value most, it's Extremely Important that you augment your vote of Thanks WITH A CHECK!!! You'll sleep better o' nights ... trust me. Taking Great Downloadable Software for granted is no longer a luxury we 8 bit users can afford. The time to think 'someone else will do it' is looong past. We're ALL in this together, folks... Your computer. Your choice. Aloha, there! Catch you on the bit stream... Don Lebow CompuServe SysOp =============================== STIK GRIPPER REVIEW =============================== by Ron Poirier Comments by Bruce Kennedy Finally! A product arrives which frees a hand for important pursuits while playing video games. I have tried the STIK GRIPPER by Duggan Design and have found it to be the perfect solution to the perennial problem of having to decide between snacking and game playing. Let me begin by saying that I am not an avid game player, but I do have two games in particular that I am intrigued with -- Star Raiders II and Tetrix. I find it difficult to tie up as much time as I need to spend on these games while my kids are munching on popcorn, chips, or whatever (tempting me to no end). With the STIK GRIPPER, I have no trouble continuing my game play while at the same time using my free hand to reach for whatever is the delicacy present. The STIK GRIPPER firmly clamps the joystick into position on my table top. This eliminates the need to support the stick with one hand while working the stick with the other. Its ergonometric design always allows one hand to be free for other tasks while the joystick is being manipulated. This feature is essential for the use of games that require the keyboard as well as the stick (flight simulators, etc.) In addition, the STIK GRIPPER solidly mounts the joystick in a position which prevents the "little ones" from accidentally pulling the computer onto the floor by the joystick cord. The STIK GRIPPER is a must for any serious gamer. Comment interjected by Bruce Kennedy....the Stik Gripper is so tough, you can lift a table with it! This is not some plastic holder, it is a tough formed metal bulletproof addition for your accessory inventory if you spend any time with games. Duggan Design Inc. 16 Oak Ridge Drive West Warwick, Rhode Island 02893 401-826-2961 Submitted by Ron Poirier Rhode Island Atari Computer Users =============================== ST SPELLING TUTOR =============================== by Phillip W. Hawkins NST Spelling Turor is the first computer program designed to instruct and test a student in spelling proficiency. Designed to run on the Atari ST line of computers, it requires the following equipment for operation: Atari 1040ST, Mega ST, or upgraded 520ST, Atari Color monitor and Double-sided 720K drive. This program is unique in that it uses digitized voice, played through the monitor speaker, to both say and spell the words to the student. This performs a multi-layered task, teaching the student how to say and pronounce the word along with how to spell it. At the end of a lesson, which consists of 10 words, the student can be tested on his/her comprehension of the material. Test results are displayed on the monitor and can be printed on an Epson-compatable printer if desired. The main program disk contains all graphics, sounds, and support resources necessary for operation. Included with the program disk is a sample lesson disk containing seven lessons, each consisting of ten words. Sets of lesson disks are currently available for 2nd and 3rd grades. The 2nd grade lesson set consists of 4 double-sided disks containing 280 words. The 3rd grade set consists of 9 double-sided disks containing 630 words. These disk sets comprise 1 year worth of spelling lessons and words for the corresponding grade level. Future lesson sets are planned for 4th and 5th grades. Also planned are French and Spanish versions. As an additional feature, ST Spelling Tutor contains a press-and-say mode Hthat allows students to press a letter, thus instructing the computer to both say and display the letter. Excellent for pre- schoolers just learning their alphabet!!! !! ATTENTION !! EDUCATORS, SCHOOL SYSTEMS and PARENTS Custom sets of spelling lesson disks can be created to mirror your spelling text currently in use. Each disk can contain up to 7 lessons of 10 words each. The current price per disk is $200.00, with an approximate processing period of 2 weeks. I am currently looking for a software house/marketing firm to market ST Spelling Tutor in both the US and Europe. I can be contacted at the 'address and phone numbers listed below. Phillip W. Hawkins 71 Englewood Ave. Pawtucket, RI 02860 Days: 8:00AM - 4:00PM (401) 781-9300 X427 Evenings: 5:00PM - 11:00PM (401) 723-3835 ============================== DIAMOND BACK II ============================== Press Release DIAMOND BACK II provides a TRUE file backup at image backup speeds with more power and flexibility then all of the rest combined. Here are just a few of the features packed into DIAMOND BACK II and Diamond Cache: EASY to use 100% GEM user interface with online help: - Backup/Restore ANY number of drive partitions, directory paths, single directories, or specific files in a single pass - Flexible creation of backup sets from different paths or partitions - Wildcard masks to include or exclude files may be different for each path - Incremental backups by date/time or archive bit(TOS 1.4) - Load/Save custom backup configurations - Automatic drive switching - Full or Partial restore - Recreate original directory tree or specify new structure during restore - Flexible disk formatting options - Preformatted disks do not have to be the same type - File compression and encryption available - Disk usage estimation - Disk statistics - Backup to floppies of other partitions - Intelligent Image backup option - Backup and Restore Spectre partitions - Create file listings during the backup or from floppy disks or selected paths - Create CRC validation logs from Hard Disk or Floppy files and MUCH MUCH MORE!!! DIAMOND BACK II is FAST and now even FASTER with DIAMOND CACHE! The fastest most powerful disk caching program available for the Atari ST. Custom communication links between Diamond Back II and Diamond Cache make backups and restores FLY even faster than they did before! DIAMOND CACHE is fully user configurable with a easy to use GEM configuration/cache statistics program. Sophisticated Artificial Intelligence routines make Diamond Cache the fastest cache period! It even includes a flexible print spooler that uses cache buffers to save precious ram! Of course, all of Data Innovations Diamond products fully support TOS 1.4 extended partitions. DIAMOND BACK II and DIAMOND CACHE provide more POWER, SPEED, and FLEXIBILITY than any other backup system for the Atari ST/Mega/TT. Go to your local dealer and ask for Diamond Back II TODAY. Remember, buy Diamonds, The others are just CARBON! Diamond Back II with Diamond Cache retails for $59.95 Diamond Cache is also available seperately for $29.95 Current owners of Diamond Back may upgrade to Diamond Back II with Diamond Cache by sending your original disk and $10 ($15 if you also want a new manual) to: Data Innovations, Inc. 127 N. Front Street Rising Sun, IN 47040 (812) 438-3733 CompuServe: 76635,2310 Genie: B.LUNESKI1 Usenet: bluneski@pogo.WV.TEK.COM ======================================================================= ======================================================================= 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.. =======================================================================