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Text File | 1990-09-07 | 41.7 KB | 888 lines

============((((((((((=========(((===((==(((((((==((((((((============ ===================((====((====((((==((==((==========((=============== ================((=====((((((==((=((=((==(((((=======((=============== =============((==========((====((==((((==((==========((=============== ============((((((((((=========((===(((==(((((((=====((=============== Z*NET ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE September 7, 1990 Issue #536 Copyright (c)1990, Rovac Industries, Inc. Publisher/Editor...Ron Kovacs Managing Editor.....John Nagy Z*Net New Zealand..Jon Clarke Staff Columnist.....Terry May Advertising.....J K Tarpinian Z*Net Canada..Terry Schreiber Distribution...Bruce Hansford Z*Net Germany....Mike Schuetz Z*Net England.....Paul Glover Contributor....Dr. Paul Keith ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONTENTS THE EDITORS DESK.............................................Ron Kovacs Z*NET NEWSWIRE......................................................... CLEVELAND AND ATARI............................................Len Stys INTERVIEW WITH JEFF EARL................................Terry Schreiber SPECTRE UPDATE......................................................... UNIX AND THE TT........................................................ SEURAT VERSION 2.0........................................Press Release PUBLIC DOMAIN UPDATE..........................................Terry May |||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| THE EDITORS DESK |||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||| by Ron Kovacs Glendale heats up and looks ready for another successful Atari show. I will be there with colleage John Nagy live at the show and look forward to meeting some of our readers. This event also marks the second time that John and I have met in the 5 years of discussing Atari news. Our previous meeting was at the Dearborn World of Atari show. I know that some of the readers might be surprised at this news, but we both have the phone bills to prove the calls. First from Middlesex to Michigan and now to California and back. Anyone interested in assisting paying our phone bills. <grin> I am also looking forward to meeting the many Atari staff people attending the show. They include Ken Badertscher (Atari Technical Support), Bob Brodie (Manager of User Group Services), Bill Crouch (Vice President of Sales), Donald Thomas (Portfolio Marketing), Art Morgan (Technical Marketing Specialist), the incredible John Townsend (Technical Support), Wayne Smith (California Marketing Supervisor), and Elie Kenan (Manager of Atari USA, France and Canada). The 11am seminar with Atari should be quite an event. Please be sure to say hello if you are planning a visit. We will also be attending a seminar with other Atari publishers on Sunday afternoon at 3pm. Z*Net's REAL sister, Jessica, my daughter, younger then our publishing online magazines, turns 4 years old this weekend. Sheesh!!! Does time fly??? I remember announcing her birth here and it feels NOT TOO long ago!!!!! Happy Birthday Sweetheart! (She might read this in a few years and be embarrassed, but what are fathers to do!!!!) Now, excuse the non-computer jargon! Thanks! |||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Z*NET NEWSWIRE ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||| GLENDALE SHOW HEATS UP FOR SEPT 15-16 Confirmations are still coming in for next weekend's SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ATARI COMPUTER FAIRE, also called the GLENDALE SHOW. A floor plan has been distributed showing nearly 50 booths populated by at least 35 now confirmed vendors, PLUS a massive area for Atari Corporation's display on the Stage of the Glendale Civic Auditorium. A large LYNX PLAYGROUND will be set up in front of the stage for the ongoing multi-player LYNX games throughout the show. A full snack bar and eating/resting area adjoins the show floor. A very large seminar room will be in the lower level of the Center, with continuous presentations on both Saturday, September 15, and Sunday, September 16. Confirmed for attendance at this time are: ATARI CORP American Music Beckmeyer Development Tools Best Electronics BRE Bill Skurski Enterprises Branch Always Software CodeHead Software Computer Network Computer Office Products D.A. Brumleve Double Click Gadgets by Small GoldLeaf Gribnif Software Groves School of Music ICD, INC. ISD Marketing Kings Domain Michtron Mid Cities Migraph Neocept Rio/Datel Soft-Aware Soft-Logik/Safari Fonts Software Development Systems SliccWare Sprokits ST JOURNAL ST INFORMER Talon Technologies WuzTek Xoterix Zubair Interfaces Z*NET News Service More confirmations may be received before the show opens next weekend. The seminar schedule at this time includes (subject to change): Saturday September 15 11 AM: ATARI CORPORATION OPENING CONFERENCE with Bob Brodie and friends. 12 PM: CODEHEAD's Charles F. Johnson and John Eidsvoog on the CodeHead Integrated Desk System. 1 PM: MEET THE ATARI PORTFOLIO - What the Palmtop Miracle can do for you. 2 PM: NEODESK 3 and the future of the desktop metaphor, hosted by GRIBNIF SOFTWARE's Rick Flashman. 3 PM: DAVE SMALL of Gadgets by Small... talks about Macintosh emulation and other things. Always a favorite. 4 PM: CALAMUS and Desktop Publishing, presented by Nathan Potechin of ISD Marketing. 5 PM: MUSIC of the HOTZ MID TRANSLATOR and the Atari in professional sound work, with Jimmy Hotz Sunday, September 16 11 AM: INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATARI DEVELOPERS, open meeting conducted by IAAD Chair Nathan Potechin. 12 PM: PAGESTREAM Desktop Publishing, presented by Jay Pierstorff. 1 PM: MIGRAPH's latest graphics application products for the ST. 2 PM: SPEEDING THE ST with Darek Mihocka, developer of Branch Always Software's QUICK ST. 3 PM: PUBLISHERS SPEAK in an open panel on Atari publications. Speakers to include staff from ST JOURNAL, Z*NET, ST-INFORMER, START, and more. 4 PM: GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR NEW PORTFOLIO - a hands-on clinic and seminar for new Portfolio users. Door prizes, including a wide variety of software, accessories, and computer paraphanalia, will be awarded every hour, with some extra special drawings as well. The show will be held September 15 and 16, 1990, at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401 Verdugo Road, Glendale, California, across from Glendale College. Glendale is a Northern Central Suburb of Los Angeles, California. Hours are 10 AM - 6 PM Saturday, and 10 AM - 5 PM Sunday. Admission is $5.00, or only $3.00 with any Atari User Group membership I.D. Lodging information: The Burbank Hilton (weekend rate: $59 per day) is adjacent to the Burbank/ Glendale/Pasadena Airport, and will be where the Atari Corporation employees will be staying. Contact the Burbank Hilton at 818-843-6000. The Glendale Holiday Inn is the closest hotel to the show itself, and the weekend rate is $89 per day. Contact the Holiday Inn at 818-965- 0202. More information is available from the show organizer, John King Tarpinian, 818-246-7286, or by mail at 246 North Brand #321, Glendale, California, 91203. DAVE SMALL QUITS ST-WORLD A regular contributor to ST WORLD MAGAZINE, Dave Small has now announced that he will no longer submit articles for that magazine. Dave, the well liked developer of the SPECTRE Mac Emulator for the Atari ST, told Z*NET that he felt that he didn't want to continue his association with the Oregon-based magazine since finding out that "The FAX" came from ST WORLD. Dave had assisted in the investigation to determine the source of the FAX that falsely purported to be from Atari's Bob Brodie and urged a boycott of World of Atari shows. ADSPEED FOR THE ATARI, THE AMIGA, MAC, AND MORE Last week Z*Net presented extended coverage of the new accelerator board being introduced by ICD, INC. ADSPEED will be the fastest accelerator for the 68000 CPU on the market when it becomes available in scant weeks. What we didn't know then was that the same unit will be configurable for almost ANY 68000 computer or terminal system. That means that the same ADSPEED may be marketed to Atari, Amiga, Macintosh, and other computers. Z*NET will offer hands-on test results during next weekend's GLENDALE SHOW in California. QUICK ST 2.2 The world premiere release of the Quick ST 2.2 will happen at the Glendale Atari Show next weekend. Quick ST 2.2 runs on any ST, from the 512K 520ST to the latest 4 meg STE, and uses less than 30K of memory. Quick ST 2.2 replaces the graphics functions of the ST's built-in TOS operating system with a set of much faster graphics functions. This results in faster screen updates, which in turn makes programs run faster. Typical text, graphics, and scrolling functions are up to 3 times faster than normal. To see Quick ST 2.2 in action for yourself, drop by the Branch Always Software booth (#6) at the Glendale Show and ask for a demo. Darek Mihocka will be on hand to answer questions you may have. Be sure to also ask for a demo of Quick Tools, the other utility package for the Atari ST. SPECTRE 3.0 COMING SOON Gadgets By Small is getting ready to release version 3.0 of Spectre, the MacIntosh emulator. Discussions in the Gadgets area on GEnie are positive and we encourage everyone to stay up to date by reading Category 7, Topic 68 in the Gadgets Roundtale on GEnie. Read more on the soon to be released version in the Spectre Update in this issue. ATARI ON TOUR Science World, the shiny golfball shaped building on the former Vancouver Expo site has announced that their sound and music show will be taking to the road after January 1st. The exposition which uses exclusively Atari computers opened in Vancouver in 1988. Now expanded to eight computer systems connected to MIDI or MIDI compatable devices to produce music or digital or sampled sounds. With the high-tech backdrop in the Omni-Max theatre and high resolution monitors running video productions it is clearly a sight to behold. Atari Canada's General Manager Jeff Earl visited the site last weekend and has agreed to donate more computers and equipment to this project free of charge as well as the technical support and service. "This is the type of thing we really like to see!" said Jeff, "To take an idea and run with it, the positive exposure that this will generate in sales and end user enthusiasm far out-weigh any cost factors involved". The show is already scheduled for Alaska, Florida and New York with more bookings planned for the future. Z*Net will post an official calendar when it is released. KX ANNOUNCED The long awaited and highly anticipated arrival of "KX" the keyboard X-tender has arrived. Now, with this premier keyboard interface you can hook up an IBM AT style keyboard, hassle free. Just plug and play, no internal wiring, no soldering or unscrewing. Just plug the supplied cable into your Atari MIDI IN connector and your new keyboard into the "KX" connector labeled "KEYBOARD". The "KX" still aloows you to keep any existing MIDI set-up by supplying a MIDI IN connector as part of it's interface. "KX" comes with it's own power supply and requires very little desk space. It measures 5" x 4" x 1.5" and is housed in the standard DPP durable metal enclosure. The software drivers are as easy as point and click, as any other GEM program. The software drivers can be installed and removed from a desktop accessory or GEM program. This is to insure complete compatibility with your existing software library. The retail price is $74.95 and more information can be obtained from: Grace E. McAliece, Support Manager, Diverse Data Products, Inc., Post Office Box 695324, Miami, Florida, 33269. (305) 651-2393. SIERRA ON-LINE UPDATE Sierra On-Line announced this week that its Japanese subsidiary, will release the first in a series of interactive, multi-media software for the Fujitsu FM-Towns CD-ROM computer. The CD-ROM version of 'Mixed-Up Mother Goose' will be available in Japan in late November of 1990. Utilizing the capabilities of the CD-ROM, this version of the game will feature painted background graphics, full voice in Japanese and English, and animation on a level not previously available. Sierra develops and publishes interactive software for the IBM PC and compatibles, Apple, Atari ST and Amiga systems. SEGA'S NEW ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN Sega is launching national advertising campaign that directly attacks the market leader's weaknesses. Sega is going head-to-head to win the 1990 holiday battle for loyalty, sales, and to prove, once and for all, that "Genesis Does What Nintendon't." The new ads include appearances by football hero Joe Montana, "Heavyweight Champion" James "Buster" Douglas and "Coach of the Year" Pat Riley, all of whom have authored Genesis games, along with Michael Jackson with scenes from his Moonwalker game. Jackson also will appear in a 69-second promotional video for his Moonwalker game, premiering in movie theaters nationwide beginning Sept. 21. PRODIGY LAUNCHES NATIONAL SYSTEM AND FLAT FEE Prodigy launched the first and only national system available for a low, flat fee this week. 60 million Americans will have access to more than 800 services for the price of a local phone call. Prodigy currently boasts more then 450,000 subscribers. APPLE DROPS PRICES AGAIN Apple once again announced price reductions of up to 20 percent on all models of its high performance Macintosh IIci personal computer. Prices and configurations, effective immediately through Apple authorized resellers throughout the United States, are as follows: System Configuration Old Price New Price Change 4MB RAM/SuperDrive floppy $7,469 $5,969 -$1,500 4MB RAM/80MB Hard Disk $8,169 $6,669 -$1,500 4MB RAM/80MB Hard Disk $8,669 $7,169 -$1,500 4MB RAM/80MB Hard Disk (A/UX) $8,769 $7,269 -$1,500 ||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||| CLEVELAND AND ATARI ||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||| by Len Stys Cleveland Free Net Atari Considers moving to Cleveland! Over a month ago, I found out that Elie Kenan, the new CEO at Atari was thinking of moving Atari to Northeast U.S.A. or Canada. The reason was because of the time zone in which enables easier communication with Europe. Other reasons was the ability to commute from the U.S. to Europe quicker and the quick access to the major cities of Canada. Since then, I had done hours upon hours of library work, reviewing notes from a speaker from the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, and anything else you might think of to help convince and show Elie Kenan that he may want to consider Cleveland as the new home for Atari. Included in the package I sent him was: Airline flight schedules Info from Hopkins Airport on Cleveland Maps on Cleveland, RTA, and the Metroparks A Cleveland Handbook A Cleveland Picture Book 2 "Cleveland Magazine"s A Cleveland Edition Newspaper An art and music calendar on events in Cleveland 3 Cleveland Plain Dealers each being the day after: The Terminal Tower's Birthday Party The Fourth of July The Riverfest and each having beautiful pictures on the cover A small U.S. flag that was given out at the Terminal Tower's party A flyer on Cleveland's Summerfare And other smaller things that I have forgotten about already The main thing however was my masterpiece. Imagine a 20 page plain photography albulm and on the cover with bold big letters "CLEVELAND" under it in smaller letters "THE BEST LOCATION IN THE NATION" and underneath that was a picture of the Terminal Tower with 4 giant size balloons in front of it from the day of the record breaking balloon release in Cleveland last year. Was it beautiful? You bet. Was it impressive? I think so. But what was even most impressive was what was inside of it. Inside was 10 pages full of pictures of things related to Cleveland such as models of downtown Cleveland in the year 2,000, such as a picture of the construction of Tower City Center taken from the top of the Terminal, pictures of the BP America building, the construction of the Society Center, inside Tower City Center, pictures of the laser light show above the Cleveland Orchestra, animals from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the Art Museum, the Garden Center, Sea World, the big balloon launch-everything you could imagine was there. Next to each page of these pictures was a page of text describing what Cleveland is doing now and why it is the best place for any company. I didn't leave anything out including charts and maps of Cleveland being the most central located city among almost all major populated cities of the U.S. and Canada. Cleveland is located within 500 driving miles of almost every major populated city. Air travel from Cleveland is overall closer to most major cities than Boston. I used everything that was told to me by the Greater Cleveland Growth Association and more. The fact we have water, the fact we aren't going to dry up like a desert, the fact we aren't waiting for the "big one" to hit, the fact Cleveland's property is still relatively low in cost compared to most other major cities. I also used the opportunity to tell Mr. Kenan that every Atari user in the U.S. is relying on him to reconstruct Atari U.S. for the better. I told him about six major things that users see that Atari is doing wrong- something they might not have even realized. Everything that I felt was needed to be said for Cleveland and for Atari users was in this package. Anything that you can possibly think of yourself that should have been included was. It was a chance to tell Atari- hey, why not come to the fastest growing city in the nation? WE WANT YOU HERE. The book also had placed between each of the pages was a postcard of landmarks in Cleveland. I have received the following letter just a few days ago from Bob Brodie of Atari. Something that surprised even myself: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- __ ___ __ __ ___ | | | |__| | |__||__| | | | | | | | | ||\ | / | \ | | | | || \ _|_ August 16, 1990 Leonard Stys Cleveland, Ohio 44105 Dear Leonard, Elie Kenan has asked me to reply to your recent letter, and wonderful presentation on Cleveland. Elie is most impressed by it, and your interest in having Atari consider Cleveland for a site for relocation. As you may have heard. Elie is in the process of evaluating our needs here in the U.S. Among them is a potential site for relocation. He is most appreciative of your presentation of Cleveland, as it is under consideration. Personally, I am grateful that the user groups in the U.S. have lived up to my expectations in making Elie welcome. It is also quite satisfying to see them continue to offer positive suggestions on making improvements in our U.S. Operations. These suggestions are not going unconsidered. Thank you for taking the time to write. Sincerely, Robert G. Brodie Manager, User Group Services cc:Elie Kenan ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can see, our efforts are working and our words are being heard. ||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Z*NET INTERVIEW ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| WITH JEFF EARL ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||| by Terry Schreiber You may note that I use the word discussion and not interview. Jeff is not the average type of person when it comes to questions and their answers. He has a very strong business personality that comes across loud and clear, the same way he feels about the Atari product. Jeff started out retailing Atari products, soon afterwards worked for an Atari distributor and on to Atari Canada where his current title is General Manager. (where to from here Jeff?) He has seen every aspect of the Atari business in Canada and knows what he is talking about when it comes to Atari products. After about two minutes I soon realized that the question and answer idea was not going to work in this interview. Jeff has a sixth and maybe even a seventh sense when it comes to questions - he makes a statement on one issue covering at least two more in the one answer. The following are some of the key issues that were discussed: * Atari Canada has undergone some positive changes in staff in all departments. * A dealer support Bulletin Board system has been added to interface with all departments (sales, support, service)., Technical bulletins and pricing is available online twenty-four hours. * Advertising is back with not one but two advertising agencies. The bulk of these ads will be newsprint with Lynx television commercials slated for the late fourth quarter. * The TT will be released to dealers in the next thirty days. These will not be for resale but dealer samples. * The TT is a specialized machine and requires marketing, not every Atari dealer will be carrying the TT only those that present a strong case for marketing and support. * Atari is making major advances into the educational market in eastern Canada and the push is on in other parts of the country as well. Positive, that's how you can describe Jeff, for every negative he responded with two or more positives. "You can't sell computers with negatives - Atari has done everything to remove the negatives. What we have done is get back to basics. We are currently running a "back-to- school" promotion with the 520STfm and ten software titles for $499.00. Who can compete against that combination and pricing. It is the perfect entry level computer that can be upgraded later as required. The Atari Advantage - You take it home and plug it on to your television set, spend five minutes with the user manual and you are up and running." As is always when I get a chance to talk with Jeff the time was somewhat limited as I would have liked to probe into some areas more deeply but in a quick summary I would add the following that was either discussed or read between the lines. * Problems at Atari are being rectified or have been in regards to service and support. * Atari will advertise this season - advertising makes people aware and this sells product. * Atari is taking steps to insure that the TT does not become the mass merchandised machine as per it's predecessors - dealers must be able to support the system. * Atari is expanding support for dealers and thus for end users as well. * A Back-to-basics approach is being implemented as Atari re-groups for the North American market. * Atari has been sitting back asleep at the switch for approximately two years taking it on the chin and dwelling on past mistakes. ||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| SPECTRE UPDATE ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||| The following was captured from the Gadgets By Small Roundtable on GEnie. Category 7, Topic 68. Category 7, Topic 68 Message 1 Wed Sep 05, 1990 STACE [RT SysOp] at 01:20 EDT Dave has given the O.K. to go ahead and "divuldge" some of the "goodies" that will be in Spectre version 3.0. First of all, as of this writting, Spectre version 3.0 is still in beta test. It is VERY close. The remaining bugs are few and very minor in nature. On the other hand, the added features are too many to count on both hands and feet! <grin> IMPORTANT!! PLEASE!! DO NOT CALL GADGETS TO REQUEST SPECTRE VERSION 3.O OR TO ASK ABOUT THE "STATUS" OF SPECTRE 3.0. Spectre 3.0 is NOT ready yet...it is getting real close but telephone calls requesting information about the availability of 3.0 will only tie up the valuable time needed to get 3.0 out the door. All registered users will be notified via the next issue of the Gadgets Newsletter when Spectre 3.0 is ready to ship. The upgrade price to Spectre 3.0 has not been set yet. OK...that out of the way, here are some of the "goodies" you will find waiting for you in the next revision of Spectre software! * Spectre now supports up to 16 HD partitions * The Spectre "function key" keyboard mapping has been changed as to support the added HD partitions as well as to "standardize" Spectre's other various key functions! Example: Color mode Scrunch and Scroll modes have been moved to CONTROL-F1 and CONTROL F2. * Alternate-Control-Delete does a Warmboot back into Mac mode * Alternate-Control-RightShift-Delete does a coldboot into ST mode (You see...standardization was the key word with this release!) * Keypad and arrow keys now function the same as a Mac Plus * Sound Manager (used in System 6.0+ and HyperCard) now works (HyperCard now has sound!!) (Currently, Sound Manager does not work in 832K mode) * Serial port advanced control call for setting baud rate works (CDC Connect now works) * Aync LaserWriter driver now supported (Print thru the serial port to a PostScript laser printer!) * Spectre code now works with 68020 and 68030 CPUs. * Mac mode *Spectre* disk formatting now supported * Aladin format disks now supported * DOS Mounter and Apple File Exchange now work (Use MS-DOS disks in Mac mode) * New HD formatter (now called OOP instead of ACK) provides several different improvements: 1) PARAM RAM/CONFIG PAGE settings are saved WITHOUT the need for programs like Disk Param INIT 2) New partition format now works properly with Disk First Aid, Disk Express II and Mac HD backup programs * MegaTalk option added to the Spectre menu * User selectable vertical blank interupt allows support of many MIDI programs that rely on screen for timing, etc. * Spectre menu page has complete redesign and new layout * The Mac's RESTART menu option now works properly * System's 6.0.4 and 6.0.5 now work 100% properly * Numerous "clean-up" bug fixes to the Bus handler and serial drivers allow many problem programs to work. Grammatik Mac now works. PageMaker 4.0's print PostScript to disk now works. Many HyperCard stacks that locked up before now work. Welp...believe it or not..there is more!! The README file that accompanies the beta 3.0 release is 9 1/2 single spaced pages long!! Have I got news for you! Check out these new keys now supported in Spectre 3.0! ESC - Same as keypad Clear (this results in a true ESC code) UNDO - Same as Command-Z (normally UNDO menu entry) DELETE - Same as Command-X (normally CUT menu entry) INSERT - Same as Command-V (normally PASTE menu entry) HELP - Same as Command-? (normally HELP menu entry...if available) CLR/HOME - Same as Command-C (normally COPY menu entry) Or how about this: Alernate-Control-Clr/Home - Parks ALL hard disks You CAN toggle sound off in Mac mode!! Just use the SOUND CDEV to turn the volume down to 0 and no more sound!!! If Spectre doesn't actually PLAY the sound you don't get any CPU slowdown! Message 11 Thu Sep 06, 1990 DOUG.W at 06:54 EDT One quick reminder: we will be sending out newsletters in a few weeks with order forms. Please, wait until you get an order form before trying to order 3.0. Any checks or orders received before then will simply be returned. If you haven't sent in your registration card (it's the last page of the GCR manual), there's still time - do so now! --Doug @ Gadgets ||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| UNIX AND THE TT |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||| Captured from GEnie The following is a capture from the Atari Corporation Category 14 Topic 35 on the new Atari TT. Category 14, Topic 35 Message 125 Sun Sep 02, 1990 J.MARTIN40 at 00:45 EDT I just spoke to someone from Germany who said the release of UNIX for the TT is being delayed until next year. Apparently it has been decided to release V4 instead of V3. If these rumors are true, I believe it is a mistake for a few resons: First, another delay. Need I say more?! Second, given the recent announcement by SCO, ATT and others to adopt an extended binary interface based on V3, there is little incentive for software developers to write software for V4. If there is a desire inside of Atari to get software ports for the TT running UNIX, I believe the job will be much more difficult with a V4 system. Third, V4 source is still not something I would consider stable or shippable. I'm sure Unisoft is eager to have Atari foot the bill for development work on V4, I'm just not so sure that Atari will gain anything by it. Remember this is only a RUMOR (like everything else concerning the TT). However, the person in Germany says this comes from Atari Germany. Category 14, Topic 35 Message 126 Sun Sep 02, 1990 R.GRANT11 [Ron Grant] at 01:13 PDT I don't think it's just a rumor; it was in Newsbytes. The stated reason for not having UNIX ready by shipdate is release 4 as opposed to 3. Or is it version 4? Hmmm.....no, just checked. It'll be System V, Release 4. Category 14, Topic 35 Message 127 Sun Sep 02, 1990 C.DAYMON at 19:59 EDT Unix V.4 being released is NOT something I would worry much about when it comes to instability. It is simply the latest revision of an OS that has been in existence (and continuous development) for about 25 years. Besides, I believe that V.4 is supposed to ship with Open Look, which is one great looking GUI and probably the best desktop metaphor I have seen. (I love the push pins.) I am disappointed that we will have to waite for the TT version of Unix, but I think shipping with V.4 will give a GREAT deal of marketing value to the TT. Besides, from a developer's standpoint, the tools for Open Look from Sun are supposed to be unmatched. I would like to also applaud Atari for supporting a standard Unix release and not trying to generate some hybrid like Apple. Not to say Apple hasn't (with version 2.0) created a rather impressive hybrid, but the additional work to do so and to maintain it are probably very costly. Besides, with the TT running standard Unix, the appeal to Unix users will probably be higher. Craig Daymon (My own opinions based on what is still a rumor.) Category 14, Topic 35 Message 130 Wed Sep 05, 1990 J.MARTIN40 at 02:25 EDT I'm glad to see there are some ST users who are as eager as I about having UNIX on the TT. I just wish Atari would stick by the (announced?) plan to ship SVR3 initially on the TT. As both a user and developer of UNIX based systems, I look forward to the migration to SVR4 --- WHEN IT IS READY!!!...... Category 14, Topic 35 Message 132 Wed Sep 05, 1990 L.HILBERN [Brian ] at 19:48 CDT I know there have been several comments asking "When will the TT be available for sale in the U.S.". Well this is another of sorts. Will the TT be out by the end of the year. The reason for asking is that I put aside some money for a TT about a year ago and still have it in the bank. If the TT won't be out for say another 4 or 5 months or possibly longer I will withdraw some of the money and buy a STacy then hopefully will be able to save the money once again for the TT. Any ideas yet on what the TT will sell for, just a general idea so I'll know how much I would have to save for the base model. Thanks! Brian Category 14, Topic 35 Message 133 Thu Sep 06, 1990 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp.] at 17:43 EDT At this point Brian, we're looking toward Comdex in November. Plan to have in the area of $3000 handy. We haven't set the prices firmly yet, so I am intentionally being a little evasive about the exact price. It may well be that $3000 will get you more than you had considered a base model. Bob Brodie |||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||| SEURAT VERSION 2.0 ||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||| Press Release ================= ===================== PRESS RELEASE SKWare One PO Box 277 August 30, 1990 Bunker Hill, IL 62014 ================= ===================== ANNOUNCING A MAJOR UPGRADE OF THE POPULAR ATARI ST PAINT PROGRAM: SEURAT VERSION 2.0 * Create and Edit Degas, MacPaint and GEM IMG files (any size!) Largest workspace onto IMG's of ANY program! (reqs. mono mon.) Now, you can use the full resources of SEURAT to create and edit images for your Desktop Publishing, using powerful raster tools and working in a familiar Paint Program environment! Enjoy the best of both worlds! * THE FASTEST Multi-Ratio Zoom (2X to 8X) there is for the ST! SEURAT Vers. 2.0 is 121 times faster than Vers. 1.0 and TWICE as fast as Degas! * System, Degas and GDOS fonts on-line for text (with no GDOS.PRG required!) You can Scale, Style, Color and Rotate Text! * Automatic Smooth-Curve Spline Drawing Tools! Let your ST draw for you! * EIGHT Image Buffers available on a 1-Meg ST! * SlowMouse! Variable-Speed mouse makes Drawing Easier! * Anti-Alias (and it's goof-proof)! Powerful Palette Editor with video- like color controls! Modify whole palettes with a single mouse stroke! * Loads and Saves Compressed & Uncompressed Degas, MacPaint, and GEM IMG files; IFF (Degas) and GFA blocks; fill, brush and palette files. * There's also 11 block shapers & twisters to modify image blocks (now full-screen, too); 92 color & mono fill patterns; 42 brushes including user-defined and multi-colored; 4 graphic write modes & 21 block & mask write modes; circle, ellipse & filled disc in free, repeat & concentric modes; round- & square-cornered rectangles & solids; rays; airbrush; clear-circle & clear-box; vertical, horizontal & free lines; polylines & polygons in line-edge or spline-curve; area & seed fill; user-set clipping ("invisible windows"); color remap; mirror; screen shift, flip, invert & rotate; fill editor; brush editor; line editor; gobs of great disk utilities; and a hundred or so other features there's no room to mention... whew! * INDISPENSIBLE for GEM IMG graphics for your Desktop Publishing! More graphic tools and operations for creating and editing .IMG files than ANY OTHER PROGRAM (no matter how much it costs)! * DON'T BE MISLED by SEURAT's low price! VERSION 2.0 is a POWER TOOL that out-performs the "big-name" programs! Now, for a limited time, you can purchase SEURAT VERSION 2.0 at a special, pre-mass-distribution price of ONLY $25.00! Two-disk set, with 30,000-word User's Manual on-disk; includes BOTH Color AND Mono Programs! (Requires 1-Meg ST with doublesided drive) MasterCard/VISA accepted SKWare One P. O. Box 277 Bunker Hill, Illinois 62014 |*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*| |*| Z*NET PUBLIC DOMAIN UPDATE |*| |*| by Terry May |*| |*||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*| Ken Badertscher [*> Mouse Accelerator /// <*] Public Domain ----------------------------------------------------------------------- GEnie: MACCEL3.ARC Grade: A CIS-PRO: MACCEL.ARC MACCEL3 is the latest mouse accelerator/screen saver/Stacy hard disk auto-parker from Atari Corp. Normally run from the AUTO folder, it features a new setup control panel when ran from the desktop (or a program). It now has cute little icons that are, unfortunately, almost impossible to make out in MED RES. So it's a good idea to print out the docs and have them handy, if you're a color user. Three buttons represent two mouse acceleration speeds, or no acceleration at all; a slider bar represents the time delay before the screen saver kicks in (if used); and a phone icon represents whether you want the screen saver to watch the modem part -- useful for BBS sysops. In addition, if you're using a Stacy, you have a light bulb icon representing whether you want your backlight to go off when the screen saver kicks in; a screen icon for if you want the entire screen to shut off by the screen saver; and a car parked at a meter, for auto-parking your Stacy hard disk (it automatically unparks the next time you try to access data from the disk). MACCEL3 is not all fancy icons, however. In addition to the new Stacy support, support is also included for the TT. Furthermore, XBRA support is included (for all you programmers), meaning it should be compatible with more AUTO programs. And all this only takes up about 1k of your memory. Aside from the poorly designed icons (for color users), this is a very nice program from Atari. Robert McKee [*> YMG v1.19 <*] Shareware ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ymodem-G is among the latest and most advanced protocols available. It is among the very fastest protocols, boasting speeds even faster than Zmodem. However, it is designed to only be used with modems that have error correction, as Ymodem-G has none of its own. Not having a modem with built-in error correction, I was unable to test this program, but from the looks of it, it appears to be a _winner_. Its GEM-like status screen features a WEALTH of information. It has four boxes that keep you up to date on the status of the current block, the current file, and the entire batch, as well as a list of the files in your batch. You are shown the status of nearly 20 items. It even includes a bar graph to show you the progress of the current file! If you have a modem with built-in error correction, you owe it to yourself to check out this program. It makes me want to get one of the new high speed modems even more! Chet Walters [*> Tiny Doc Printer <*] Public Domain ----------------------------------------------------------------------- GEnie: TNY_DOX.LZH Grade: B- Simple document printer designed to squeeze the maximum amount of text on the least amount of paper possible. Features WIDE and NARROW modes, as well as NLQ variations of each. Works well, except it has no paging or end of file form feed, and it leaves your printer in whatever mode was used last. Dr. Boyd Gafford [*> TXTTODOC.PRG <*] Public Domain ----------------------------------------------------------------------- GEnie: TXTTODOC.ARC Grade: B+ Simple but effective program for converting those pesky ASCII files that refuse to reformat in Word Writer ST (WWST) or First Word Plus (FW+). Simply choose with the file selector the file you wish to convert, followed by the destination path\filename. I don't have FW+ to test with, but it works real well with WWST. ======================================================================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Z*NET Atari Online Magazine is a weekly publication covering the Atari and related computer community. Material contained in this edition may be reprinted without permission except where noted, unedited and containing the issue number, name and author included at the top of each article reprinted. Opinions presented are those of the individual author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff of Z*Net Online. This publication is not affiliated with Atari Corporation. Z*Net, Z*Net Atari Online and Z*Net News Service are copyright (c)1990, Rovac Industries Incorporated, Post Office Box 59, Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0059. Voice (908) 968-2024, BBS (908) 968- 8148 at 1200/2400 Baud 24 hours a day. We can be reached on Compuserve at PPN 71777,2140 and on GEnie at address: Z-Net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Z*NET Atari Online Magazine Copyright (c)1990, Rovac Industries, Inc.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~