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////// // // ////// ////// Z*Net Atari Online Magazine // / /// // // // May 25, 1990 // /// // // // ////// // --------------------------- // / // /// // // Compiled and Edited by: ////// // // /////// // Ron Kovacs and John Nagy Your Leading Atari News Source Issue #521 ---------- (©) 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 ======================================================================= * THIS WEEK...........Ron Kovacs * ZNet Cover Story.......John Nagy * Z*Net Newswire................ * ANALOG/ST-LOG LETTER............ * VANCOVER ATARIFEST............ * PKZIP UPDATE.................... * Z*NET Down-Under....Jon Clarke * PD/Shareware STop.....Mark Quinn * ST STack...........Alice Amore * CIS Europe...................... ------------------------------- THIS WEEK ------------------------------- Ron Kovacs This week we considered changing our issue number in sequence with the start of our fifth year. Numerous ideas were discussed and after wondering what issue to start with, we all agreed that the new Z*Net issue number should be 1802 or ZNET1802.ASC. Since it really doesn't make any sense and would only confuse our readers, we have decided to stay with the present "real" numbers already in use. So, don't worry, the issue number will always match the year. If we make it to 10 years, we will consider another alternative. On a serious note, due to a death in the family this week, Z*Net articles have been suspended until next week. Alice Amore, Jon Clarke, John Nagy and Mark Quinn all appear, but features articles planned for this week just weren't ready for inclusion. As soon as some of these matters get resolved, we will return to regular issue status. ////Z*NET COVER STORY//// ------------------------- STACY ARRIVES AT ATARI DEALERS - WITH PROBLEMS by John Nagy Several "regular" Atari dealers in the Los Angeles area were pleased to receive STACYs this week, but they aren't quite sure why they have them or if they will be getting any more. Worse, they are not all alike, and some exhibit operating problems. Logical Choice for Computing, an Atari dealer located in North Hollywood, California, received their STACY 4, with 4 megs of RAM and a 40 megabyte hard drive, on Tuesday, May 22. When Z*Net talked to him on Friday, May 25, manager Brett Hebdon said, "We were surprised. We were told that music stores would have the Stacy first, and NADINE'S, a music supplier in Hollywood got some a few weeks ago. But we weren't expecting it." Brett said that he had heard that Nadine's had gotten six Stacy units, and that local Atari dealers protested their being left out. Atari appears to have responded by sending a single Stacy to each L.A. Atari dealer, including Logical Choice, Mid-Cities Comp/Soft (of Bellflower), and American Music (in North Hollywood). Brett has already sold their single Stacy 4 at the suggested retail price of $2895. He has no expectation of another arriving soon, and adds that there was no information supplied to him about Stacy's FCC type-acceptance as a Type A (industrial) unit only. The Stacy has not been passed by the FCC for regular commercial sale for home use. Brett also said that Frank Foster of Atari (head of the MIDI and music related projects there) had called his store recently and conducted an informal survey regarding the number of musicians that were known to be among their customers. It may be that it was a "qualifying" survey for carrying the Stacy. Not all of the delivered Stacy 4 computers are the same. While Logical Choice's Stacy has TOS 1.4 installed, the Stacy delivered to Mid-Cities' unit sports TOS 1.6. There have been a few additional reports of 1.6 being in the latest production STACY machines. This is a problem for many programs that do not like the new TOS, plus the production version of 1.6 (being installed in the STE machines) is known to have several serious bugs. Atari has said that they have a revised TOS 1.6 that fixes the problems, but it is unknown which flavor is gracing the Stacys. Trouble reports have continued regarding the machine. After being wildly enthusiastic over the performance of the early (dual floppy) machines, many professional musicians have now received their 4-meg, 40 megabyte Stacy. What they have found is new compatibility problems. What may be the same problem that at first prevented the SPECTRE (MAC emulation from Gadgets by Small) on the hard-drive Stacy has reared its head in the MIDI user realm. Stefan Daystrom of Hybrid Arts has found that many of their products will not run on the Stacy 4 that he has tried to use, and he has reports of other MIDI titles (like NOTATOR) that also fail. These titles ran flawlessly on the prototype floppy- only version of the Stacy. It appears that the DMA DEVICE polling that is done by many of the MIDI programs is shutting down the CONNER brand internal hard drive. Most high-line MIDI products use some sort of "dongle" in the cart port, joystick port, or DMA line, plus many look for the Hybrid Arts "MIDIPLEXER", a hardware device that attaches to the ST as a DMA device. The Conner adaptor and drive parks itself when the DMA status is checked, effectively ending a computing session before it begins. Ironically, it is musicians who are the most desperate in their desire for the Stacy. Stefan reports that he has heard that several companies, ICD included, are planning to offer complete replacement host adaptor and drive units for internal installation in the troubled Stacy. The same units may also allow upgrading a floppy-only Stacy (not yet available commercially) to a hard drive. Another surprise on the machines equipped with TOS 1.6 is the apparent inability to boot the Stacy off of the internal floppy disk drive. One dealer was stymied for quite a while after installing an AUTO folder program on the internal hard drive. The new TOS in the Stacy did not like the program and forced a reboot... over and over. The keyboard did not respond to the standard keypresses that should cause the floppy to boot, allowing entrance to the hard drive to manipulate the AUTO files. Finally, the dealer attached an external hard drive, and the unit then refused to see the hard drives at all. It booted from the floppy, the second hard drive was removed, and the hard drive software was loaded from the floppy, allowing the offending AUTO program to be found and deleted. Production of new STACY computers is said to be slow, despite a back order of over 1,500 bought-and-paid-for orders. The TOS issues as well as the continued problems with the hard drive may be some of the reasons. Or, it may be that Atari hopes for some resolution of the horrible (15 minute) battery life when used with the hard drive (the Stacy 4 is not even shipped with a battery, and a separate large and expensive battery pack giving several hours of operation is offered by a third party developer). Other possible causes may include a reluctance on Atari's part to invest heavily in producing the unit in a configuration that seems unable to pass "standard" home use FCC testing. A new model of the Stacy, based on the STE design, is rumored to be under consideration and might be more likely to pass the FCC testing. Problems notwithstanding, the public remains anxious for their chance to see and purchase the sexy little portable ST computer. ------------------------------- Z*NET NEWSWIRE ------------------------------- ATARI SUPPORTS MICROSOFT WINDOWS Nine vendors of MS-DOS-based personal computer applications joined existing and newly announced ISVs in expressing their support for Microsoft's Windows. Those companies include Ashton-Tate, Lotus Development, WordPerfect, Oracle and Software Publishing Corp. In addition, domestic and international vendors of IBM-compatible PCs have announced they will provide the Windows package with their computer systems, including: Acer, Apricot, AST Research, Atari, AT&T, Commodore, Epson, Fujitsu, Gateway 2000, Grid, Mitac, NCR, NEC, Nokia Data, Northgate, Olivetti, Research Machines, Samsung, Tandem, Tandon, Tandy, Toshiba, Tulip, Unisys, Wang, Wyse and Zeos International. ATARI WANTS SOVIET CHIPS According to a UPI report released earlier this week, Atari is seeking to trade personal computers to the Soviet Union for memory chips. The proposal is for Atari to swap its computers for 256K DRAMs, a basic component of many Atari products, from a Soviet-owned semiconductor plant in Zelenograd. The Soviets are seeking to trade their DRAMs through Global Development Corp., a Seattle trade consulting firm that has arranged for a series of meetings in Santa Clara next month between Soviet officials and U.S. high-tech companies. The Soviets are willing to provide all their excess production, as many as 2.5 million chips a month. Workers at the Soviet plant would be allowed to keep 25 percent of any profit from selling Atari products. EPSON EMPLOYEES NAMED IN SUIT Lawsuits for unspecified damages have been filed in the California against Epson and two of its employees for alleged invasion of privacy, and wrongful termination brought by the plaintiff, Alana Shoars. The suits allege that a management employee of Epson eavesdropped on the private electronic mail of up to 700 Epson employees with the full knowledge and consent of Epson, and conspired with a second employee to wrongfully terminate Shoars when she refused to cooperate with the illegal eavesdropping. Shoars alleges that she was fired because she discovered and refused to cooperate with violation of the invasion of privacy. In addition, Hillseth and Gary La Monte allegedly filed a false police report with the Torrance Police Department to embarrass Shoars. SAMSUNG SIGNS WORLDWIDE AGREEMENT Samsung announced that it will include the Microsoft Windows 3.0 graphical user interface with its 386SX- and 386-based personal computers. The agreement is part of a worldwide licensing arrangement between Samsung and Microsoft. MICROSOFT WINDOWS VERSION 3.0 Microsoft announced the worldwide availability of the Microsoft Windows graphical environment version 3.0. An enhanced version of Microsoft's graphical-user interface for MS-DOS- and PC-DOS-based personal computers, the version 3.0 transforms an ordinary, character-based PC into a powerful, graphical machine. Microsoft Windows was developed with a one-megabyte personal computer as a design point, the standard minimum entry system for PCs today -- thereby enabling 30 million of the 50 million current MS-DOS users to quickly and easily add a graphical- user interface to their MS-DOS machines. FOUR-WIRE LEASED LINE MODEM Telebit introduced the T2500L, a leased line modem with four-wire functionality in addition to dial and two-wire compatibility. Designed to provide leased line backup in synchronous network environments the T2500L is compliant with V.42bis error control and V.42 data compression, and offers password and callback security, remote configuration, management, and access functions. ZIFF-DAVIS ZMAC Ziff-Davis Publishing Company's latest on-line venture "Zmac" went live this week. This private service, which is available to anyone with a Macintosh or PC-compatible computer via CompuServe, offers a 2,000- product database, downloadable libraries of public-domain software, and an on-line forum feature that allows users to interact with MacUser and MacWEEK editors. To visit the area, type Go ZMac at any CompuServe prompt. ------------------------------- ANALOG ST-LOG UPDATE ------------------------------- (Editors Note: The following, submitted by John King was received May 18th.) ANALOG COMPUTING Dear Subscriber, As you know, ANALOG/ST-LOG Magazine has ceased publication. Unfortunately the Atari computer industry has progressed to the point that _continuing ANALOG is simply unfeasible._ However, _your business is important to me_ and my commitment to provide you with the latest industry information has not changed. I have spent the last few months making arrangements that will _give you several options._ They include fullfilling the remainder of your subscription with another ATARI oriented magazine or one that covers lap top computers or video games. And of course you will have the option to receive a full refund for the unused portion of your Analog subscription. Simply _fill out the coupon below_ instructing us how to process your subscription. For fastest service affix your mailing label to the coupon and send it to us in the postage-paid envelope we've enclosed for you. In closing, I would just like to _thank you for your patronage of ANALOG/ST-LOG Magazine_ over the years. Sincerely, Lee Pappas Publisher ------------------------------------------------------ [ ] PLEASE CONVERT MY SUBSCRIPTION TO THE FOLLOWING MAGAZINE (CHOOSE ONE ONLY) [ ]ANTIC W/DISK [ ] START [ ]START W/DISK [ ] PC LAPTOP [ ] VIDEOGAMES & COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT [ ] PLEASE REFUND THE UNUSED PORTION OF MY ANALOG SUBSCRIPTION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------- VANCOVER ATARI SHOW ------------------------------- Press Release May 23, 1990 For immediate press release: Vancouver Atari Show Atari Canada today confirmed that the new Atari 68030 or TT model will be in attendance at the June 16th show. The TT is scheduled to be released to developers at a June 4th press conference in Toronto. In addition to the TT at the show, Atari will be demonstrating their full line of computer product from the Lynx to the powerful 386 machines and of course don't forget the Portfolio and the Stacy. In conference will be Jeff Earl from Atari Canada who will give some insight into Atari's marketing and support plans for the third and fourth quarter. Jeff will also be on-hand at the show to answer any questions you might have. The show is being held at Thompson Community Centre 6671 Lynas Lane in Richmond B.C. from 10:00am to 4:00pm. For further information contact Keith MacNutt at 604-943-4786 ------------------------------- PKZIP 1.20 UPDATE ------------------------------- (389) Tue 15 May 90 10:12 By: Stu Turk To: All Re: Re: PKZIP 1.20 ----------------------------------------------------------------- * Forwarded from "PittNet " * Originally from John Williams * Originally dated 14 May 90 12:17:00 05/12/1990 12:26pm CDT WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! -------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a file being circulated on BBS's called PKZ120.ZIP or PKZ120. EXE or similar, and that claims to be version 1.20 of PKZIP but in fact is a hacked version of PKZIP 1.10. As of the date of this writing, the latest version of PKZIP is version 1.10. Furthermore, due to this intentional act of vandalism, PKWARE will not release any versions of PKZIP in the future with the version 1.20. If you see the files PKZ120.ZIP or PKZ120.EXE on any BBS or on-line system, please ask the SysOp of that system to remove the files IMMEDIATELY, and please contact PKWARE to report where the files were seen. REWARD! ------- PKWARE is offering a reward of lifetime free upgrades for PKZIP to anyone who can provide information leading to the identification and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for creating this bogus version 1.20 of the software. They have only served to confuse and hurt the user community, and the perpetrators of this crime are at minimum in violation of Federal Copyright Law. If you have any information about the source of PKZ120.EXE or PKZ120. ZIP, please report it to PKWARE immediately, either: by Voice at 414-352-3670 by BBS at 414-352-7176 by FAX at 414-352-3815 or by mail: PKWARE Inc. 7545 N. Port Washington Rd. Glendale, WI 53217 Sincerely, Phil Katz President, PKWARE Inc. {backbone}!cs.cmu.edu!ralf ARPA: RALF@CS.CMU.EDU FIDO: Ralf Brown 1:129/46 BITnet: RALF%CS.CMU.EDU@CMUCCVMA AT&Tnet: (412)268-3053 (school) FAX: ask DISCLAIMER? | _How_to_Prove_It_ by Dana Angluin 20. by vehement assertion: It What's that?|is useful to have some kind of authority relation to the audience ////Z*NET DOWN-UNDER//// ------------------------ _ [][][][][][][][] _ o( ) Z-Net Down Under ( )o / /\ [][][][][][][][] /\ \ by Jon Clarke Ever been frustrated by your favourite game and thought it would be great if there was a cheat mode built into the game? Read on Mac Duff. Hints and Cheat modes: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sourced from "The Source BBS" in Palmerston North, New Zealand ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DEFENDER OF THE CROWN ===================== Hold down 'k' on the keyboard while the game is loading. This will give you a home army of 1024 knights and a campaign army of 1024 knights. Do you get the joke here? (Knights/Bytes) PLATOON ======= This one's cute. Type in 'Hamburger' at the title screen. The word 'Cheat' will appear below the credits press your joystck button, then (F5) when the jungle screen comes up. Your man is now invulnerable to the attacks of the little Commie @#!!$&*s. From here (F1) starts you where you are, (F2) puts you at the location of the explosives, (F3) takes you to the bridges that you have to blow up, (F4) takes you straight to the village where the entrance to the tunnels is hidden in one of the huts. From here on the cheat no longer works, the game runs as normal and you can die but it certainly gets you further along the track. ARKANOID ======== Press the Spacebar (Pause) then type 'DSIMAGIC' press Space again and catch the Pill falling from the centre of the screen. Once you have done this you can call up extra paddles, laser turret, etc, by typing the appropriate letter on the keyboard. 'F' will take you to the final screen and the confrontation with 'DOH' (He's the dude that trapped you at the beginning of the game). BARBARIAN ========= Type '04-08-59' (that's the author's birthday) to make Hegor immortal. You will have to retype it every time the disk drive accesses, and your background should be grey instead of black. The only problem with this one is that you can't complete the game 'cause you can't kill the bad guy. You can see all the screens right to the bottom though. MENACE ====== This one's a bit tricky - type 'XR31TURBONUTTERBASTARD' while the game is in progress. Try doing that without getting killed off! You should now have a large supply of shields, cannon and lasers. They will run out eventually so you have to type it in again. NEBULUS ======= Type 'HELLOIAMJMP' on the title screen. This gives you unlimited Pogos, and you can go to each of the eight unfinished towers by hitting a function key. You can do the same with the second group by accepting the second mission before typing in the password. The author's name is John M. Phillips, by the way. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK ======================= Here's a goody! Ever wonder how they got the picture of Luke and Darth Vader on the screen shots in the advertisement. Here's how: Hold down the HELP key and type 'XIFARGROTKEV' on the title screen (That's VEKTORGRAFIX backwards). You are now invulnerable. Hit 'L', 'D', and 'C' for some extra surprises. IKARI WARRIORS ============== Type 'FREERIDE' for a couple of REALLY tough Rambo clones. FERNANDEZ MUST DIE ================== Haven't tried this one myself but type 'SPINYNORMAN' for infinite men. It'll take you about 40 minutes to finish it, so pack a cut lunch and go to the can first. STREET FIGHTER ============== Here is another one I haven't tried. It's more strategy than a cheat; All of your opponents but the last, named Sagat in Thailand can be dispatched by kicking them in the ankle. The technique for Sagat is 'Watch for fireballs and his long reach. Jump high, kick and retreat. Repeat this process until he falls.' WIZBALL ======= Pause the game (spacebar) and type 'RAINBOW' resume the game and press space again. Now hit 'C' to fill the pot with the current colour. GIANA SISTERS ============= Pressing all the keys that make up the word 'ARMIN' during the game will allow you to skip levels. CARRIER COMMAND =============== First pause the game with the mouse button. Then type 'The Best is Yet to be' (including the spaces - case is not important), followed by a press of the '+' key. This should give you invincible Mantas. STARGLIDER II ============= Select F (for fixed sights) then slow down to a dead stop and pause the game (using the backspace key). Type 'Were on a Mission from God' (with the spaces and case also not important) and press '1' on the keyboard. If the shield and energy levels drop to zero the cheat mode has been activated. Press 'k' to get all the weapons (including the neutron bomb!), and when you run out just press 'k' again. FOOTMAN ======= In the first maze of "New Taste", you can hide from the ghosts and collect points from the fruit that emerges periodically, if you go to the upper left corner entrance to the tunnel. BARBARIAN ========= If you're fighting an enemy or being threatened by obstacles, use the pick-up icon - attackers will either pass you by or turn around and attack you again. F/A-18 INTERCEPTOR ================== In mission 6, once you've fired all your missiles, you can land on the Shadow Sub (if it's still afloat) and it will refuel and rearm you. S.D.I. ====== When you're in the Russian space station, pick one man and keep firing at him 10 to 15 times. No other men will appear and you can keep doing it until you get the girl. {Please note not all these games are in general release in the USA} WORST things to do after drinking 80 Pints of Lager. [1] Drink another pint of lager [2] Drink another 80 pints of lager [3] Find you are paying [4] Bump into the 79 other people you were supposed to be getting drinks for [5] Get into a non-corridor train [6] Eat a Curry [7] Eat 80 Curries [8] Propose to someone else's girlfriend [9] Propose to someone else's girlfriend and your girlfriend [10] Propose to someone else's Boyfriend [11] Propose to 80 policemen who seem to be sharing your cell [12] Propose to a pint of lager [13] Eat your girlfriends ST [14] Drink a train [15] Wake up the next morning [16] Wake up to a Policeman [17] Wake up next to a train [18] Wake up at all [19] Play with your Atari [20] Spill 80 pints of lager in your ST! ------------------------------- COMPUSERVE EUROPE ------------------------------- West Germany - Direct Dial City Phone number Network Baud rates -------------------------------------------------------------- Frankfurt 069 6666062 CSC 300 069 6666881 CSC 1200,2400 West Germany - PTT ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT: Deutsche Bundepost Fernmeldetechnisches Zentralamt Referat T 21 Kundenberatung fur Dateldienste Post Box 5000 D-6100 Darmstadt West Germany Telephone: (49) 6151-83-4641 Telex: (841) 419511 Telefax: (49) 6151-83-4639 Trouble Reporting/Customer Service: Telephone: (49) 6151-83-4641 Ministry for Posts and Telecommunications: Adenauerallee, 81 D-53 Bonn Telex: (841) 8861101 ACCESS/SPEEDS SUPPORTED Access node is only in Frankfurt Asynchronous dial-in: 300, 1200, or 1200/75 bps Asynchronous leased line: 300, 1200 bps Dial-up or access via Datex-L Asynchronous 300, 1200 bps, half and full duplex 1200/75 bps (1200 receive, 75 send) full duplex PROTOCOLS SUPPORTED: Asynchronous terminal interface DIAL-UP MODEMS SUPPLIES BY BUNDESPOST FOR DATEL SERVICE (PSTN) Designation Interf.(CCITT) Type and Features Speed Electr. Syst. DM/Mo. ---- ------------ ----- -------------- ------ D300S Man./Autom. 200/300 V24/ V21 80.-- Chnl Select. V28 D1200S02 Conv to 600 1200 V24/ V23 80.-- Poss. V28 D1200S04 Conv to 600 1200 V24/ V23 and 80.-- Poss. V28 V25 D1200S10 Conv to 600 1200 V24/ V22 50.-- Poss. V28 D1200S02 Same as above D1200S04 with aux. D1200S10 channel. 100.-- D2400S04 Conv. to 1200 2400 V24/ V26BIS 150.-- Pos. backw. V28 Chnl 75 bps with aux. chnl 180.-- D4800S Conv to 2400 4800 V24/ V27Ter 270.-- pos backw V28 chnl 150 bps with aux. chnl 300.-- ACCESS NUMBER TO DATEX-P TOWN AREA CODE 300 BIT/S 1200 BIT/S 1200/75 BIT/S AUGSBURG 0821 36791 36781 36761 BERLIN 030 240001 240081 240061 BIELEFELD 0521 59011 59021 59041 BREMEN 0421 170131 14291 15077 DORTMUND 0231 57011 52011 52071 DUESSELDORF 0211 329318 329249 320748 ESSEN 0201 787051 791021 793003 FRANKFURT 0611 20281 20291 20201 HAMBURG 040 441231 441261 441281 HANNOVER 0511 326651 327481 327591 KARLSRUHE 0721 60241 60381 60581 KOELN 0221 2911 2931 2951 MANNHEIM 0621 409085 39941 39951 MUENCHEN 089 228730 228630 228758 NUERNBERG 0911 20571 20541 20501 SAARBRUECKEN 0681 810011 810031 810061 STUTTGART 0711 299171 299061 299291 Node access rates: Normal phone rates (local or long distance) The DBS nodes (Tymnet 6512/13) are central in Frankfurt. II DATEX-P ACCESS CONTACT Fernmeldetechnisches Zentralamt Ref T21 Post Box 5000 6100 Darmstadt TELEPHONE 6151 83 5236 TELEX (841)-100308 DNIC DATEX-P10: 2624 DATEX-P20: 2624 TECHNICAL CONTACT: Contact a Datenetz Coordinator at the local Fernmeldeamt for advice. BILLING CONTACT: Deutsche Bundespost does not send the bill to foreign countries. Customers temporarily staying in Germany without a permanent address or their own telephone needs a bail who will stand security for the bill. This can be a person with a permanent home in Germany or a firm or bank which must confirm security by letter. PROTOCOLS AND ACCESSES SUPPORTED: DATEX-P10 --------- Supports mainstations conforming to CCITT Rec. X.25. ACCESS: These mainstations are directly connected to the DATEX-P Network (nearest network node). SPEEDS: 2400, 4800, 9600, 48000 bps DATEX-P20 --------- Supports character-oriented asynchronous equipment conforming to CCITT Rec. X.28. ACCESS: Directly connected mainstation (using an adaptation unit 'pad') or dial-up access via pad from the DATEX-L Network (line switched data network) or the public telephone network. SPEEDS: Up to 300, 1200 bps Maintenance 300, 1200, 1200/75 Dial-up 300bps Dial-up via DATEX-L DATEX-P32 --------- Supports synchronous equipment, IBM 3270-compatible. ACCESS: See DATEX-P20 SPEEDS: 2400, 4800, 9600 bps direct connected only Calls can be made only to P-10 hosts. DATEX-P42 --------- Supports synchronous equipment, IBM 2780/3780-compatible. ACCESS: See DATEX-P20 SPEEDS: 2400, 4800, 9600 bps directly connected only 1200bps via PSTN ACCESS/SPEEDS SUPPORTED DX-P 20F Asynchronous dial-in: 300, 1200, 1200/75 bps DX-P 20H Asynchronous leased: 300, 1200 bps DX-P 32/33 Synchronous leased: 2400 bps - 9600 bps DX-P 10 Synchronous leased: 2400, 4800, 9600 bps Dial-up, leased line Asynchronous (300, 1200, 1200/75 bps) Synchronous X.25 (2400, 4800, 9600 bps) ------------------------------- PD/SHAREWARE STop ------------------------------- by Mark Quinn CHAOS CORNER or "Why my column was not uploaded on time" Science fiction author Jerry Pournelle (who has his own round table on GEnie) writes a column for BYTE magazine called "Computing at Chaos Manor". I have been a big fan of Mr. Pournelle since I read two of his collaborations with Larry Niven: THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE and LUCIFER'S HAMMER. In this month's column he describes a mishap he had with his Macintosh where he "took leave of his senses" and trashed his hard drive. A quick call to a Mac guru and his machine was its happy, chirping self once again. No such luck here at Chaos Corner. First, let me explain by saying that our self-imposed 'deadline' for downloading the files reviewed in STop and STack is Sunday. We upload the completed reviews to GEnie on Thursday before six p.m. Eastern time. I generally look at the files on Tuesday and Wednesday, and write the column the following day. It is now Friday afternoon and my column amounts to the two paragraphs you see above. Why? Thursday morning I awoke with every intention of writing the column. (Something tells me I've put you in the frame of mind of a teacher listening to a fifth grader's story about a cat eating last night's homework assignment. How about "The computer ate it"?) I sat before my terminal judiciously sipping a Diet Coke, and began to feel a bit like the astronaut in ALIEN. If you haven't seen the movie, just imagine the embodiment of the worst fear of an imaginative child with a stomach ache: that something with razor sharp teeth is gnawing its way to the outside. "This will pass," I said to myself. (Pardon the pun.) Two hours later I was at the emergency ward of the local hospital. "It's got to be an ulcer. But that's not so bad--ulcers are treatable. I shouldn't have eaten that pizza last night." X-rays were taken, and the consensus was that there was no ulcer, and no consensus. The doctor's only words were "It must have been that frozen dinner you ate." Great. A three-dollar dinner is going to cost me $80 in doctor bills. After a shot of Bentyl that served to put my parietal lobe in the ionosphere, I was back home thinking about how I was going to get the column ready, and listening to the wind kick up outside. Then the lights blinked out, then on. After this process repeated itself, Alice went to shut off her hard drives. We waited until the wind died down, then went to our tasks. The power fluctuations had killed Alice's controller. Or was it her DMA chip? There was no guru available to call. The files we had chosen to review were on one of her hard drives. "What a perfect time to buy a Lynx," I thought. (It must have been the Bentyl.) I called Toys R Us, and sure enough, they had a Lynx and three games. The beeps and blips of "Chip's Challenge" could be heard for hours afterwards. So I guess when the going gets tough, the tough really DO go shopping. Barring future mishaps, you will continue to see PD and Shareware downloads described in this column. ------------------------------- ST STack ------------------------------- by Alice Amore Let's see... hmmm.... no files this week. I can't even summon up one lousy floppy icon. It's a cold wind in May, that's for sure. It isn't enough that I invested a small fortune in surge surpressers, phone line monitors, and computer power-switching modules. If East Ohio Edison winks and blinks, something's gotta give. I could always buy one of those power generators that I keep seeing advertised in all those slick office supply catalogs... the ones that keep the power going for a half hour (gee, whiz) during a blackout. Nahhh... So, anyway, have you seen the PACE video? For those of us who couldn't make it to the PACE show (myself included), there's a way to almost be there. The PACE video, conceived, taped, and distributed by Dan Stidham of AAA Images, starts out with a collage of the show in full swing. Unfortunately, with so few people in attendence, one might think it's footage of the vendors setting up their displays. But no, it's the actual show. A series of interviews gives you a chance to meet folks like Charles F. Johnson and John Eidsvoog (the CodeHeads), Mike Vederman (Double Click), Nathan Potechin (ISD), Dan Wilga and Rick Flashman (Gribnif), and other Atari luminaries. You'll find out whose middle name is Frank (if you care to know). A Ralph Mariano/Bob Brodie seminar is saved for last. Some of it is bitter, but it is interesting nonetheless. If nothing else, you will be impressed by Bob Brodie. If you're a diehard Atarihead, you will most certainly want to see this video. PACE Video Available from: ------------------------------------------------------------- $19.95 Visa/MC/checks/COD AAA Images 3809 Feather Ln. Elsmere, KY 41018 (606) 342-9129 Order by mail, phone, or online (GEnie address: D.STIDHAM) ======================================================================= ======================================================================= Z*Net Atari 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 ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE Atari News FIRST! Copyright (c)1990 Rovac Industries, Inc.. =======================================================================