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////// // // ////// ////// Z*Net Atari Online Magazine // / /// // // // June 29, 1990 // /// // // // ////// // --------------------------- // / // /// // // Compiled and Edited by: ////// // // /////// // Ron Kovacs and John Nagy Issue #526 Atari News First ---------- (©) 1990 by Rovac Industries, Inc. Post Office Box 59 Middlesex, New Jersey 08846 Z*Net Online BBS: (201) 968-8148 ======================================================================= CompuServe 71777,2140 * Cleveland Free-Net * GEnie Z-NET ======================================================================= CONTENTS THIS WEEK...................................................Ron Kovacs Z*NET NEWSWIRE........................................................ ATARI LEADS AT NAMM - EYEWITNESS REPORT.................Dr. Paul Keith Z*NET DOWN-UNDER............................................Jon Clarke PD/SHAREWARE STOP...........................................Mark Quinn ISD OUTLINE CONTEST................................................... LEXICOR DEVELOPER REQUEST............................................. ATARI SWAPFEST ANNOUNCED.................................Press Release =============================== THIS WEEK =============================== by Ron Kovacs Happy July 4th! Have a SAFE and enjoyable weekend/holiday! Commentary?? Is it really required? For the latest opinions and views on the state of Atari, read the messages on the pay services, (CompuServe and GEnie and possibly your local BBS system). Personally, there has been enough said that most of the commentary appearing is turning into re-runs. I have received interesting email and a FEW letters, actually 3 letters and a post card, requesting we (Z*Net) take on another online magazine's commentaries about Atari. Well, simply put, WHY? They are doing such a fabulous job of it, why share the spotlight? A message posted on GEnie this week noted the fifth anniversary of the release of the ST this month.... It escaped me... Does anyone remember the release dates of the OTHER Atari products... Interesting though, I didn't realize so much time went by?? It has been over 10 years since the original Atari 8-bit. =============================== Z*NET NEWSWIRE =============================== ATARI EYES MOVE TO BOSTON AS ONE OF MANY OPTIONS ST-REPORT issue #625 reported that Atari was considering a move to either Canada or the Northeast USA. Officials at Atari this week confirmed for Z*NET that a move to the BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS area was one of several possible options for the Sunnyvale, California company. However, they stressed that at this time, it is only being evaluated for practicality, and that no plans have been made for moving anywhere. The new General Manager-to-be, Elie Kenan, has asked for input regarding possibilities that may make the management of the USA/CANADA/FRANCE operations of Atari more manageable from one location. The East coast site could offer fast commutes to Canada when needed, and would cut six hours off the flight to France, as well as improved business-hours telephone contact with the continent. While there may yet be no decisions on moving, it is known that there have been recent additional layoffs of key warehouse and financial management personnel at Atari. This gives rise to at least the suspicion that future warehousing and distribution may be done at a site other than Sunnyvale. It should be noted that Atari in Sunnyvale is at least three distinct operations: Atari USA, Atari Corporate (Worldwide), and Warehouse/Distribution/ Accounting. An Atari move out of the Silicon Valley might involve only one or two divisions. KENAN TO TAKE ATARI REIGNS IN JULY July 15th may signify the new independence day for Atari. That's the day Elie Kenan returns to Sunnyvale after touring the facilities and offices of Atari in Canada and other locations. Upon his return, he is expected to submit a plan and proposal that will make Kenan the unquestioned manager of all operations of Atari USA, Canada, and France. It appears to be a foregone conclusion that the plan will be accepted, and that the Tramiel brothers will no longer be the controlling voices of Atari USA. Just what this may mean in the long term remains a mystery, but users and dealers and distributors all hope that a new day of organization and cooperation and MARKETING will result from the unification and consolidation of real authority. MIDITASKING READY; RELEASE DELAYED The unexpected low turnout at the recent Summer National Association of Music Merchandisers caused the cancellation of Atari's MIDI developers meeting. It was to have been the last developer meeting prior to taking Atari's MIDI-Tasking module to the marketplace. Atari has not announced a revised schedule for release of the system that will enable multiple MIDI (and perhaps other) applications to run simultaneously on any ST computer. See the complete NAMM report, elsewhere in this issue of Z*NET. NEW LASER PRINTER FROM ATARI Atari will shortly release a replacement to their SLM804 laser printer. It will be smaller, lighter, quieter and SLOWER than the SLM804, but should retail for a bit less than the old laser printer, unchanged since its introduction several years ago. While the 804 can do 8 pages a minute, the new unit will be limited to about 6 pages per minute output. The advantages will include easier access to service and supplies, as the new Atari unit will be mechanically identical to models already available from Epson, Mannesman-Talley, and several other brands. Operationally, the new unit will act exactly as an SLM804, as it will use the same interface/controller now in use. Like the older model, the new printer will have NO onboard memory, using the RAM in the ST or MEGA to build the image much more quickly than is possible with in-printer memory. Preview units at Atari headquarters have produced flawlessly with a variety of software, the most recent being HYPERPAINT. A drawing application very popular in Canada, Hyperpaint is rumored to also exist in a BETA version especially for the STE, offering access to its full 4,096 color pallet. Testers last week reported that Hyperpaint had no problem importing a DEGAS cartoon and printing a pile of copies with the new Atari laser printer for distribution. NATHAN POTECHIN AND THE PIPS AT RENO? No, the President of ISD (marketers of CALAMUS and DYNACADD) is not doing a lounge act... He'll be part of a National PIP copy center show. PIP is a major copy and printing service chain, and over 200 vendors will be at the national show for their managers and franchisees July 3 through 7 at Bally's in Reno, Nevada. Nathan Potechin will be joined by Bob Brodie and others to display the powerful ATARI printing solution of the ST, Laser Printer, and CALAMUS. At least one PIP center in Bellflower, California, is already using the Atari system for in-house production of customer requested art and layout. While many printing centers use MAC machines and even offer them at a rental rate on-site for consumer-produced documents, the ATARI system has typically not been seen in copy centers. The PIP using it in Bellflower is very satisfied with the CALAMUS solution for doing fast layout and faster printing of in-house production for client specifications. After the July show, there may be more ATARIs at PIPs. This show is one of a series of industry and "private" showings that Nathan and Atari have been quietly offering to receptive audiences across the continent for some time now. ISD has also announced an Outline Art Contest. The details are included in this edition of Z*Net. BRASOFT MOVES TO USA As of last Monday, Branch Always Software, Makers of QUICK ST, QUICK TOOLS, etc., is now registered in the state of Washington. The new permanent mailing address for it is: Branch Always Software 14150-F1 N.E. 20th Street Suite 302 Bellevue, WA 98007 U.S.A. Darek Mihocka, owner and programmer of all BRA-SOFT products, is moving to Washington from his former Toronto home. He hopes to have a 1-800 telephone support number soon. The old address will remain valid, but will be slower since the mail is being forwarded. The old phone numbers are NO longer valid. ERRATTA: Last week Z*NET ran a NEWSWIRE item co-authored by DAREK MIHOCKA, but due to a berzerk spelling checker, it came out "DEREK" every place it was to say "DAREK". DAREK MIHOCKA says he knows no DEREK MIHOCKA, so we hope DAREK MIHOCKA will accept our apologies. HYPERCARD SOFTWARE UPGRADE Apple introduced a new revision of HyperCard software at the opening day of Digital World in Beverly Hills earlier this week. HyperCard 2.0 now provides users with easy access to Macintosh programming, and greater flexibility to manage and create information, using any type of media. The new version contains over 100 features. HyperCard 2.0 will be available in July. Software-only upgrades will be available through user groups, book publishers and Apple dealers. HyperCard 2.0 can also be purchased separately for $49.95. NEW APPLE PRESIDENT Apple announced in Beverly Hills that Robert Puette will become the new president of the company's Apple USA division, July 1. Puette will be responsible for all of the division's sales, marketing, support and channel activities. Puette comes to Apple after a 24-year career at Hewlett-Packard Co., where he led the startup, development and expansion of Hewlett-Packard's worldwide personal computer business. HYPERCARD EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE Apple announced the availability of the HyperCard for Education software tool for the Macintosh computer. Tailored for teachers to help organize their classroom management tasks, HyperCard for Education demonstrates the capabilities of the HyperCard software tool in education. ATARI GAMES BUYS BACK STOCK Atari Games, not affiliated with Atari Corp., announced the signing of an agreement to repurchase its stock presently held by Namco America Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Ltd., Japan. Part of the agreement calls for Namco, a major shareholder in Atari Games, to sell all of the shares it owns back to Atari Games, along with cash and other consideration. In turn, Namco will receive ownership in Atari Operations Inc. which operates approximately 40 video game arcades in the Western and Southeastern United States. According to Atari Games, the repurchase of the stock and subsequent sale of Atari Operations will provide Atari Games with new opportunities to conduct business in Japan and the Far East. Atari Games is a privately held company whose majority shareholder after the transaction will be Time-Warner Inc. Atari Games is not affiliated with Atari Corp. and should be referred to as Atari Games. NEW PERSONAL COMPUTER IBM introduced Personal System/1, a personal computer with powerful features but easy enough to be used by children. IBM priced the new line of four personal computers from $999 to $1,999 - broken down according to memory capacity and to whether the monitor is color or black-and-white. The four PS/1 are available in three U.S. markets, Dallas, Chicago, and Minneapolis, and will be shipped in September to retailers throughout the country. The computers can be used in 17 different languages. PS/1 also comes with Prodigy, a computer service accessing databanks with travel, financial, and shopping information. Prodigy is a joint venture between IBM and Sears, which is putting the computer on shelves this week at 20 Sears locations. ROY NUTT DEAD AT 59 Roy Nutt, one of the developers of FORTRAN, died in Seattle at the age of 59 after a long bout with cancer. Nutt became one of the early experts in the '50s in the field of systems programming. LAWSUIT SETTELED Conner Peripherals and Seagate have resolved their legal dispute over supplies of thin film read/write recording heads. Conner's suit, filed last April, alleged that after Seagate's acquisition of Imprimis Technology, Seagate terminated its contract with Conner for thin film heads, a principal component in disk drives. The film heads were previously supplied to Conner Peripherals by Imprimis. NINTENDO TO LAUNCH GAME COMPUTER In November, Nintendo is expected to start selling in Japan a new 16-bit video game computer with software. Super Famicom, will be launched with three related software packages, including Super Mario Brothers 4, and will eventually also be sold in the US and Europe. The new software will not be compatible with Nintendo's earlier game computers. MOTOROLA APPEALS ORDER Motorola has filed a formal appeal in the patent dispute case over its 68030 chip. The action means the company may continue to produce and sell the processor until at least July 4th while the appeal is being processed. US District Judge Lucius Bunton originally granted a stay of his order and urged the companies to settle the case out of court. But, because they had failed to reach an agreement, the judge lifted the stay last Tuesday. Later that day, the Washington appeals court issued a temporary stay of its own. The chipmakers later agreed on a tentative settlement to their 18-month fight over patents. They also jointly will seek a stay of a court order barring them from making and selling their products, including Motorola's important 68030 chip. IBM TO REPLACE POWER CORDS IBM notified customers and distributors this week of a potential safety problem with power cords intended for use on one model of its Personal System/2 computers. The problem prevents the PS/2 system unit from operating, so only power cords in inventory or on systems that have not yet been installed and made operational are potentially affected. The affected power cords were sold through IBM channels in the United States Canada, Latin America and certain countries in Asia. For details of the exchange program, customers should contact their authorized IBM dealers or IBM marketing representatives. SEPTEMBER DATE FOR FIRST "SIMPSONS" GAME The Simpsons will reach gaming fans in September when Acclaim begins shipping its new SuperPlay Hand-held electronic video games based on the original family of characters created by cartoonist Matt Groening. Under an exclusive licensing agreement, Acclaim is creating SuperPlay Hand-held, Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy video games based on the popular Simpsons property. The Acclaim Simpsons SuperPlay Hand- held will be available in September and is expected to retail for $19.95. NEW STANDARDS 3.5-INCH HARD DRIVES Seagate has set new standards of disc storage performance with the introduction of the ST1480 and ST1400 hard disc drives designed for desktop and downsized workstation market, network file servers and array applications. Seagate's patented "Zone Bit Recording", offer 426 and 331 formatted megabytes of data storage, respectively. Both products are differentiated by a unique spindle rotation speed of 4400 RPM allowing for the fastest data access due to a reduced latency of 6.8 milliseconds. Seagate's line now features more than 46 models ranging in capacity from 20 to 426 megabytes with a selection of interfaces including ST412, embedded XT and AT, SCSI, SCSI-2 and ESDI. FIRST SEGA VIDEOGAMES Electronic Arts announced the shipment of their first ever videogames, Populous and Budokan: The Martial Spirit. Both titles are for the 16-bit Sega Genesis System and were introduced at the June CES. To celebrate shipping its first videogames, Electronic Arts gave each employee his or her own personal Sega Genesis machine and a copy of the Populous game. =============================== ATARI LEADS AT SUMMER NAMM =============================== Eyewitness Report for Z*NET by Dr. Paul Keith The 1990 Summer National Association of Music Merchandisers (NAMM) Show was held at the sprawling McCormick Place in Chicago, on Saturday, June 16 through Monday June 18. The theme of the show this time was the "International Music and Sound Exposition". And our favorite computer company, ATARI, had one of the largest exhibits at the show. Atari's overhead banners could be seen from anywhere in the massive hall. The Atari booth featured a classroom, bannered as the Atari MIDI Education Center. Atari had some of the finest names in the MIDI field on hand to give presentations on the features of the Atari MIDI offerings. Offerings throughout the show included a seminar on selling Atari computers, clinics on Cubase by Steinberg, a Notator clinic by C- Lab, "Selling MIDI Software to the Education Market" by Electronic Courseware, an "Introduction to Sound Tools for the Atari ST" by DigiDesign, an "Introduction to Encore for the Atari ST" by Passport, a SMPTE Track Clinic by Hybrid Arts, a Tiger Clinic by Dr. T's, Jimmy Hotz showing the Hotz MIDI Translator, and last but certainly not least, a seminar by David Small entitled "The Best of Both Worlds; Running Macintosh Software on the Atari ST". The Atari MIDI Education Center filled the bulk of Atari's space, with the various developers set up along the outside walls of the Education Center. The display was anchored at each corner with two of the most interesting (and controversial) booths of the show. On the left side was Jimmy Hotz, once again showing the Hotz MIDI Translator, and on the right side was Gadgets by Small, showing off the MegaTalk Board as well as Spectre GCR. Dave, Sandy, and Doug had a Moniterm monitor with a T-16 accelerator installed, wowing the Mac users with the speed and ease of use in the remarkable Spectre GCR. Also on display in their booth was a Stacy 4, with a T-16 AND an INTERNAL GCR!! This hybrid high speed portable was causing a lot of Mac users to rethink their hardware purchases. More than one of them was heard to remark very favorably on the superb Stacy screen, and the flawless emulation of the Mac, even running MultiFinder! The MegaTalk board, although not yet on the market, was up and running the best of the Mac MIDI software, including Finale, one of the premier Mac MIDI software packages. MegaTalk appears being close to ready although it still stumbled on some of the MIDI files that it played. The MegaTalk "Appletalk" network emulator promises to be the final step to achieve total compatibility with the Mac world. MegaTalk simply plugs into the Mega expansion bus, and brings out two Mac Serial ports to the back of the Mega. Many Mac user/ developers stopped by to chat with Dave, only to leave with a new respect gained for the Atari solution to MIDI needs. Jimmy Hotz was showing the Hotz box again as I mentioned, and this time Atari was even offering them for sale! A price reported to be $5000 for the Hotz box had smaller dealers dismayed, but the recording studios were stepping right up to place orders. Some still regard the Hotz box as just a glorified cord organ, while others hail it as a multifaceted tool for musicians, recording studios, and "true professionals". Rumors abound that Jimmy is near completion of a deal with a major recording company to place HOTZ Code on all of their CD's. Imagine being able to connect your synthesizer up to your computer, while accepting input from a Hotz coded CD! And speaking of respect, the "other" computer companies showed their respect, or lack of it, by not showing up for this NAMM. Atari was the only computer company on display. Commodore, a last minute booth at the January NAMM in Anaheim, was nowhere to be found. A check through the booths in the exhibit hall found just a scattering of Amigas. Apple was once again a no-show at NAMM, making it two shows in a row! Could it be that Apple has decided that they are going to abandon the MIDI market? It could be that John Sculley and crew are still seeking answers for why the famed Mac Portable, while more available (and far more expensive) than Atari's STACY, will not run MIDI software. Supply of Stacys here in the US continues to be spotty, yet more than one developer at Atari's booth was using their own Stacy to show their wares. A newcomer to Atari's booth was MultiByte Systems, an east coast company selling rechargeable battery packs, and carrying cases for the Stacy. The cases are great, available in a wide number of colors (including Camouflage!), made of a high quality fabric designed for those that plan to take their Stacy with them EVERYWHERE. Even Bob Brodie, Atari's designated travelling man, was seen selecting one of these beauties. A recent issue of Start had a section on how the "pro's" were using the Atari to meet their needs. Sometime those needs can prove to be rather unique. Atari MIDI rep John Morales was on hand, helping sign up new dealers, and demoing some of the latest MIDI software. He gave a brief demo to some of the attendees of the high quality direct to disk digitizing that can be accomplished on the ST.....at a rate of 10 megs a minute! John has installed a 200 meg Conner hard disk inside his Megafile 44. He has the Conner partitioned into just TWO partitions! One of his files of digitized recording finished up at just over 53 megs! Imagine downloading that file from a BBS! It seemed that Atari is making a strong effort to remain a viable force in the MIDI/Sound market. Frank Foster reported that Scott Gershwin of "Born on the Fourth of July fame" is busy at work on other movies, once again using his Atari to handle all of the sound needs. Look for a film this summer called "Solar Crisis" (sure to be a blockbuster according to Frank) that once again uses the Atari for all of the sound editing. Director Oliver Stone was so pleased with the results of "Born on the Fourth of July" that he has his next movie already gearing up with even more ST's to handle the tasks of movie making. Director Stone has just finished up another movie with Gershwin called "The Doors", a story on rock legend Jim Morrison. If Atari is moving, perhaps it should be to Hollywood! The rest of the NAMM Show was very ho-hum after visiting Atari's booth. The only other eye catching displays were from companies trying to sell light and sound equipment for mobile DJ's, along with the mandatory fog machines. The rest of the show was pretty well consumed by music supply houses, selling sheet music and guitar strings, foot pedals, and amplifiers. Pioneer was there, showing off their new "Karoke", kind of an electronic "sing along with a laser disk" product. The Karoke played musical videos, while you sing along. While the Karoke is a big hit in Japan, reaction here was less than lukewarm. Hyundai was there with a large display of pianos, from grands all the way to the cheapest uprights. All in all, hardly a shadow of the show that was held in Anaheim in January. Why? One observer was heard to remark that while Chicago is a great crossroads for the country (and therefore a great place for something like CES), it isn't much of a music town. Apparently the executives at NAMM have recognized that. The Summer NAMM of 1991 will be held in July, at the Javitz Center in New York City. The low turnout for the show didn't seem to be a factor for Atari. They were still briskly hustling people in and out of meetings with Bill Crouch and Frank Foster. About the only "casualty" of the low turnout was the cancellation of the MIDI developers meeting that should have put the MIDI-Tasking module out to the end users. While all of the companies involved with the development of the MIDI-Tasking were there, some of the real "movers and shakers" were not. Apparently, we'll all have to be patient, as the MIDI-Tasking development continues on the PAN Network. All in all, the Summer NAMM show seemed to bear out once again that Atari is the true market leader when it comes to MIDI. =============================== Z*NET DOWN-UNDER =============================== by Jon Clarke ZDN NEWSWIRE ------------ PIRACY RING BUSTED IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA Australian federal police believe they have broken a major computer piracy operation after seizing more than 3700 illegally copied disks worth an estimated value of $A250,000. The raids took place over the last three weeks on two homes in Adelaide. Most of the diskettes seized were games, although some were business related packages. During the raids five personal computers were also seized. Three people are now expected to be charged under the Federal Copyright act after police complete inquires into the ownership of copyright of the programs. Detective Constable Rick Irvine, of the Federal Police in Adelaide, said the raids were the culmination of a six month long investigation of a piracy with overseas links. It appears the offenders received pirated programs from America and Europe. They proceeded to copy the pirated programs and then offered them for sale through a network of computer users in Australia. Mr. Irvine said the underground operation was well organized and was part of a wider blackmarket trade in copied programs. He also said he believes the ring leaders are still at large. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::: The Atari ST user know's more than the MS_DOS user :::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::Ever try to explain GEM to a MS_DOS User?:: ::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::If looks could kill::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::When asked for a sector editor, the Mac dealer said " A what?::: :::we do not cater for 'power users'!!!!::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] []The Atari ST the LINK in the Corporate chain[] [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] or =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The "Atari ST series", The corporate solution? ============================================== By Jon Clarke =-=-=-=-=-=-= Remember when you heard Atari computers were a games machine? "Oh", you still think they are indeed that? What with all the advertising saying just that and the neat 'games packs' you get FREE with most purchases of an Atari ST, I don't blame you for thinking like this. The Atari ST series of computers does have some very nice games, so does the MAC and the IBM for that matter. Games play is only a small part of computing but alas it seems to dominate the advertising and conception of Atari computers. So with this understanding in mind lets take a leap into the commercial world of computing. What are your instant thoughts? "Ah, the MS_DOS world" or maybe " Hmm, the Mac world". Many of you will have either used or seen an IBM or clone. Some of you may have used them in the MS_DOS environment or used the Mac in a similar fashion and not forgetting the big grunters "the mini and mainframes". Well here is the bottom line. The Atari ST will out preform most PC's in the commercial world. A bold statement? NO! Lets look at what has, and is happening in the corporate/commercial world of computing. [1] Systems managers/buyers will go with the mainstream to protect their jobs and ego's. [2] A good computer salesperson will in most cases oversell a product to his customer. For instance; sell a 35mhz 486 PC clone to a company who only want to run a spreadsheet and a payroll package. But because this machine is "now the minimum entry point into business computing", the client will see his ego hyped and will go for the deal, when a 12mhz AT clone would do it just as well. [3] With new EDP managers will come nine times out of ten, a new 'vendor' of computer hardware and possibly a totally new type of machine/operating system. [4] Branches and even departments with in various companies use different machines. The WP area may use a Mac or a Wang for all the word processing. Accounts may use network of PC clones in "token ring", while the treasury area may use a mini or mainframe linked to their local PC's for all their activities. The list goes on and on. [5] "Software is used in one area of the company only as it will not work on your computer". Heard this before? "We can not cost - justify the purchase of this software". Heard this from your manager? [6] In a multi user/vender situation you may find computers in a stand- alone environment because they can not be linked in to the LAN/ network, or the cost to do it is far to high. [7-999] The list goes on and on and on and on and on and on ....... So where the Atari ST fit into all of this? Right in the middle? At the Start? Off to the Side? The final solution? Well, like it or not the Atari ST is the only solution to multi vender applications. The ST series is the TOTAL solution. So lets look at why this is the case. IBM MAC program----------+ +----------- program | | | | | | | | IBM ATARI ST MAC +------------+ +---------------+ | | -----[YES]----> | | | | | | | IBM/MS_DOS | <---[ NO ]---- | MAC | | | | | | | | | +------------+ +---------------+ \ / | [YES] [YES] | | +-----------------+ | | |Atari ST/Mega/STe| | | |With PC_SPEED/GCR| | [Yes/no] | | [Yes/no] | | MS_DOS and MAC | | | |VT52,Kermit,Ascii| | | | and MORE. | | | | All in one PC | | | +-----------------+ | | | | [YES] | +-----------------------------------------+ | Main frame/EDI/Network/LAN/Other | +-----------------------------------------+ While the MAc does have packages like Soft_pc one of the IBM/MS_DOS emulators, the IBM does not have an emulator for the MAc. While the Atari ST will run the standard IBM file format with no modification [Tos 1.4 or greater] from desktop and with PC_Speed emulate a PC with a Nortons rating of 4.0. Now combine PC_speed with Spectre GCR and what we have is a full blown Mac and IBM all in one machine. So where is the cost benefits or the the system benefits? System benefits. ---------------- [a] In a multi vendor environment ie Mac/MS_DOS, the ST will do the following. [i] Integrate all machines/Operating systems into one computer, including Unix and the likes. [ii] ST software is transportable ie: 1st Word - Word Processing : Emacs - Editor : LDW Power - Lotus 123 : DBmans - Dbase 2 : Touchup - DTP icons : And the list goes on and on. [iii] Has a standard Serial and Centronic's port. [iv] Can run with "ENet" LANS. [v] Will run "Kermit","VT52" and other mainframe links. [vi] Handles EDI either in emulation mode or in normal ST mode. [vii] Will operate "stand alone" or as a "multi emulation" computer. [b] If MS_Dos/IBM users wish to emulate the ST there is now an emulator for the IBM to emulate the ST. [c] Half to a third the ammount of computers required to do the same job. Cost Benefits ------------- [a] An Atari ST with hard disk, printer and emulators is 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of a Mac and PC combined. [b] The Atari software is 1/2 to 2/3 cheaper. For instance.. Do the following exercise and prove it to yourself. In the Desktop Publishing area, inquire how much the MAc "Pagemager" costs. Find out how much an IBM version of "Venturer" costs. Now see how much the Atari ST package "CALAMUS" costs and also see which is the best quality. [c] The Atari ST will use most existing peripherils in your office. For instance.. Your printers, modems, plotters, etc.. [d] No need to purchase extra machines/hardware to integrate existing systems, and allows the maximum utalisation of all existing systems. [e] Service contracts are 40-70% cheaper than most in the market place. [f] Atari periferials are transportable across most machines and are at least a 1/3 cheaper. For instance : Megafile 44 Carts = Syquest 44meg carts= Mac/Ibm : Atari external disk drives = IBM 3.5 720k drive : Indus external disk drives = IBM 5.25 720k drive : Atari CD_ROMS = IBM/MAc CD_ROMS The Atari ST is one of the worlds best kept computer secrets. Hardware venders beware, this computer may if marketed properly do what it has done in Germany, totally dominated the market place in all areas, both the commercial and corporate areas. =============================== PD/SHAREWARE STop =============================== by Mark Quinn Authors: Charles F. Johnson, John Eidsvoog File name: HOTDEMO2.ARC File type: Utility Demo Program names: HotWire! Demo, version 2.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've never heard of HotWire, you're in for a feast, and if you have an older version of HotWire, you're in for a treat. Visualize yourself sitting at your computer and typing "F" to run Flash, or "W" to run Word Writer. In fact, there are over 400 "hot" key combinations available with the program. "That would be fine if I had a hard drive," you say. "Since HotWire can also be installed as a resident program (aside from running in the normal way), you can simply insert a floppy and hit a key," I say. "Hmm. . . What other features does it have?" - Call up the HotWire menu any time at the GEM desktop with a keypress or a button click. - Auto-start any ST program at bootup. - HotWire Menu displays up to 54 programs at once. - HotWire Menu displays graphic representations of "hot" keys. - Every program on HotWire Menu can have up to a 20-character "title". - Lists of programs can be loaded or saved via the file selector or a keypress. - Unique "work file" command line features make HotWire an excellent shell for developers working in C or assembly language. - Runs either from an AUTO folder or from the desktop. - Written in assembly language. Uses only 40K of memory. - Works properly with applications that communicate with desk accessories via the AES event system. - New version now uses a GEM menu bar. - Owners of MultiDesk accessory loader/unloader (version 2.0 or greater) can install MultiDesk "setup" files in the HotWire menu, and load or unload groups of accessories with a single keypress or button click. - Block save, load and delete functions. - Unlimited number of "nested" menus. - Programs can be "chained" together, or even run in loops. - Restricts unauthorized access to certain programs or data files. "Stop! How could I have missed out on such a valuable program?" "It wasn't easy." To order HotWire!, contact: CodeHead Software P.O. Box 74090 Los Angeles, CA 90004 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author: David Baggett, others File name: PICFRMT.ARC File type: Text file If you are a programmer (or anyone else) interested in picture file formats, then this text file should help answer your questions. PICFRMT has information on the following formats: NEOchrome, NEOchrome Animation, DEGAS, DEGAS Elite, DEGAS Elite (Compressed), Tiny, Spectrum 512, Spectrum 512 (Compressed), Art Director, C.O.L.R. Object Editor Mural, Doodle, Animatic Film, GEM Bit Image, STAD, Imagic Film/Picture, IFF, MacPaint, PackBits Compression Algorithm. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author: David W. Binnion *SHAREWARE* File name: STICKLER.LZH File type: Application Program name: Stickler This program will not goad you into cracking programming books, unless you tell it to do so. Your mother or wife is a different story entirely. If you want the program to run automatically at boot time (ask your mother or wife to do that!), you can use a GEM boot utility such as HEADSTART or GEMBOOT to do so. STickler handles four types of events: One-Time, Daily, Weekly, and Monthly. You'll be reminded once or twice that the event(s) in question is forthcoming. You can even Show the event again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Quinn's Quickies" PATIENCE.LZH Monochrome game. Egads! It's another German import! This one is a nifty solitaire game. Looks great. (But then again, I'm not a card shark.) You must have PATIENCE. PHOTON.LZH Demo. Game, by Jeff Minter. Space shoot-em-up with elements from lots of old favorites. =============================== ISD OUTLINE ART CONTEST =============================== >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> OUTLINE ART CREATIVITY CONTEST <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< From July 1 to September 30, 1990, ISD Marketing, Inc will sponsor an Outline Art Creativity Contest with the winners receiving the prizes listed below. One winner will be selected along with three runner ups. Winners will be selected from the files either uploaded into our Email address on either Compuserve at 76004,2246 or GEnie at ISD or mailed directly to our offices at: ISD Marketing, Inc. 2651 John Street Unit #3 Markham, Ontario, Canada, L3R 2W5 Mailed entries must be postmarked no later than September 30, 1990 and received by us in-house by October 15, 1990 to qualify for entry. This contest is open to all REGISTERED OWNERS of Outline Art only. (Note: If you have recently purchased Outline Art but have not yet had the opportunity to send in your registration card, then please accompany your entry with a properly filled in registration card.) You may enter as many times as you choose but any one individual may only win once. Although the author shall retain any copyrights to their entry, all winning files shall be considered 'publicly distributable files' and may be made available for downloading from both CompuServe and GEnie. As well, the winning entries will be published in START magazine with the appropriate Author quoted and the prize won indicated as well as ONLINE. The contest prizes are listed below. Prizes: The winners will receive the following prizes: 1st Prize --------- $1,500.00 worth of AGFA Compugraphic fonts for use in either Calamus or Outline Art. 1st Runner Up ------------- An Atari Megafile 44 Hard Disk Drive. 2nd and 3rd Runner Up --------------------- $50 connect time credit from both CompuServe, to be applied to your CompuServe account and $50.00 connect time credit from GEnie. The Judges for this contest include: Geoffrey Earle, General Manager of Atari (Canada) Corp., Tom Byron (Editor) and Julianne Ososke (Director of Creative Services) START Magazine, and Nathan Potechin (President) and Mario Georgiou (Graphic Artist) of ISD Marketing, Inc.. RULES: 1. The ISD Marketing, Inc. Outline Art Contest is a skill-based contest for any member who is a properly registered Owner of Outline Art. Participation in this contest is open to residents of Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand, providing that their copy of Outline Art is the one published by Ditek International. Employees of CompuServe, GEnie, ISD Marketing, Inc., Ditek International, DMC, Antic Publishing, Inc., Atari Corp. and all Atari Subsiduaries, SysOps, GameOps, their affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies and immediate families are ineligible to win prizes. This contest is subject to all local, state/provincial and federal regulations and is void where prohibited by law. All taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners. 2. From July 1, 1990 at 12:01 AM EST to September 30, 1990, 11:59 EST those who meet the above eligibility requirements can enter the contest. The files should either be uploaded directly to the ISD Email accounts in either GEnie at ISD, CompuServe at 76004,2246 or submitted by mail directly to ISD at our mailing address indicated above. (Note: Entries will not be accepted by courier. Use regular mail only.) One winner and 3 runner ups will be named. 3. The decision of the judges is final and not reviewable by any other person, agency, or tribunal. Winners will be notified by CompuServe or GEnie EMail and/or regular mail on or about October 30, 1990, and their names will be published online in the Atari Forums on CompuServe, the Atari RT on GEnie and in STart Magazine along with their winning submission. 4. This contest may be publicized outside those venues indicated above. No prize may be exchanged, substituted, modified, or redeemed for cash. Prizes are not transferable. Prizes won by entrants under the age of 18 will be awarded to the winner's parent or legal guardian. All prizes will be awarded and mailed to the winner's address contained in their Outline Art Registration form. By acceptance of their prizes, winners consent to publication of their names, likenesses, and/or User ID without further compensation for advertising or promotional purposes. Prizes not claimed after 21 days of the day of notification, for any reason whatsoever, will be forfeited. Prize winners may be required to execute an affidavit of eligibility and publicity release within 21 days of notification. Non-compliance within this time period will result in disqualification and an alternate winner will be selected if possible. =============================== ATARI SWAPFEST ANNOUNCED =============================== Press Release MIST Plans Atari SwapFest II Nashville, IN August 25,1990 For a second year, an Atari SwapFest is planned at Nashville Indiana on Saturday, August 25, sponsored jointly by the user groups at Indianapolis and Bloomington known as MIST (Mid-Indiana ST). The SwapFest will be a meeting of minds and computers, in the beautiful Indiana countryside. Only minutes from many lovely gift shops, two state forests, and the Hoosier National forest. MIST Atari SwapFest II will open at noon August 25 at the Brown County Inn motel in Nashville at the corner of Ind. 135 and 46. Nashville is about 40 miles south of Indianapolis, and 15 miles east of Bloomington. For swap, for sale or just for display... whether it's 8-bit or ST... even game machines... all are invited to bring software, hardware, gadgets, accessories, books, magazines, etc. Commercial sales and displays also are invited, see below for more info. There will be door prizes from local vendors, and Atari Corp. There may be a small fee for door prize tickets. There will also be a mini Midi-Maze tournament, with the possibility of prizes for the winners. Tables will be available for set-up at 11 a.m. with commercial vendors given first choice at that time. Closing time is 4 p.m. Table space will be free to non-commercial attendees, on a first come, first serve basis. Registration for vendors will be a whopping $10.00. Tables are standard motel dining room type (capable of seating three on each side), and covers will be provided by the motel. Our rental arrangement with the motel, however, is a low-budget deal and you should supply your own sign-holders and other fixtures. The motel will supply electrical power, but it is from a limited number of wall outlets so exhibitors will need to take along their own extension cords and plug strips. For more information, leave mail on GEnie to WLORING1, or: Call the BL.A.ST BBS at 812-332-0573 2400bps, 24 hours. Write us at BL.A.ST, PO Box 1111, Bloomington, IN. 47401. Call me by voice at 812-336-8103 after 6:00pm (cst) Brought to you by MIST (Mid-Indiana ST), the merging of the ASCII (Atari St Computers In Indianapolis) and BL.A.ST (BLoomington Atari ST) user groups. Thanks for your interest, and we'll see you at the 'Fest!! =============================== LEXICOR UPDATE ATARI SOFTWARE DEVELOPER REGISTRATION ANNOUNCEMENT =============================== Press Release Lexicor Software Corporation is pleased to announce that it has opened software developer registration to the Atari community. Lexicor was created by a group of computer programmers and animators who are committed to developing powerful solid modeling, animation, and photo-realistic rendering software for home and professional use that is both inexpensive and easy to use. The corporation was set up to support software developers on a royalty basis and provide the necessary materials required to create quality products which individual authors would otherwise be unable to market without outside assistance. Lexicor does not hire programmers on a salary basis; instead, the author is paid to develop his own ideas into solid and marketable products. We do this through royalties paid on the total gross sales of a product, and, depending on the circumstances of an individual, by providing advance royalty payments, development tools, hardware support, and additional financial support to the developer. You are free to work at home or your own office at your own pace. In return, Lexicor only requires the exclusive marketing rights of your product in exchange for support. The typical royality amount paid to the sole author of a product is twenty-five percent (25%) of gross sales. HOW TO REGISTER --------------- On an standard Atari 360K/720K micro-floppy disk, place three files: 1. AUTHOR.TXT: This file should contain your name, address, telephone number, and Compuserve address. DO NOT PLACE ANYTHING ELSE IN THIS FILE. 2. PERSONAL.TXT: This file should contain information about yourself. Describe any programming experience that you have including: products that you have developed, job and academic background, and ideas about any future products that you are interested in creating. Please describe the computer equipment that you own and use for development purposes. You do NOT have to own an Atari computer to register. Also, in order to decide on a schedule for the release of your product, please tell us about your current activities (school, work, etc.) and how much time you can devote to software development. If you are still in school and/or do not have any formal programming experience, this will not exclude you from qualifying; however, if you are under 18 years of age, a special contract will be sent to you that must be signed by your parent or legal guardian. Finally, please specify if you are already a registered software developer with Atari Corporation. 3. SAMPLES: Place at least one executable program in this folder which you feel best demonstrates your programming skills and ideas. Auto- booting disks will not be reviewed and your program must load properly from the standard GEM desktop. Each program should have a companion text file which describes its features and positive aspects and explains how to use it. Remember, you do not have a non- disclosure agreement with us yet, so protect yourself by including copyright notices in your documentation and programs. You also have the option of including sample source code in this folder which may increase your chances of being assigned to a project more quickly. This source code should be a complete, but not long or involved, fragment from a program that you have written. Although our developers primarily use the 'C' programming language, we have need for programmers experienced in many other languages. REGISTRATION FEE: A $20.00 registration fee should be included with all applications. This is a one time fee which covers the cost of data entry, initial paper work, and developer evaluation. Please enclose a personal check. DO NOT SEND CASH. HOW REGISTRATION WORKS: When Lexicor receives your developer registration, the files on the disk will be reviewed and evaluated. If your application is accepted, the information on your disk will be placed in our author database and a non-disclosure agreement will be sent to your address. As soon as a signed copy of this agreement is returned, we will be able to offer assignments and a written contract for you to consider. Lexicor will also review any programs or product ideas that you have already developed or want to propose. ** If you do not qualify, your disk and registration check will be returned ** The requirement for the registration fee is mainly to separate the casual programmer from the serious software developer. Our policy is that anyone serious enough to send money would be demonstrating their willingness to make the kind of commitment required to follow through on programming commitments. Mail your application disk and registration fee to: LEXICOR Software Corporation 58 Redwood Road Fairfax, CA 94930 DO NOT SEND YOUR APPLICATION BY ELECTRONIC MAIL. IT WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. If you have any questions, please send Easyplex mail on CompuServe to Lee Seiler [76106,3024] or call our developers line at (415) 453-0271. Thank you for your interest in ATARI software development Lee Seiler, Vice-President, Lexicor Software Incorporated ======================================================================= ======================================================================= 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 ONLINE Atari News and FIRST! Copyright (c)1990 Rovac Industries, Inc.. =======================================================================