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| (((((((( | Z*Net International Atari Online Magazine | (( | ----------------------------------------- | (( | February 28, 1992 Issue #92-09 | (( | ----------------------------------------- | (((((((( | Copyright (c)1992, Rovac Industries, Inc. | | Post Office Box 59, Middlesex, NJ 08846 | (( | | (((((( | CONTENTS | (( | | | * The Editors Desk............................Ron Kovacs | ((( (( | * Z*Net Newswire........................................ | (((( (( | * Perusing GEnie...............................Ed Krimen | (( (( (( | * Bits, Baud Rate and BPS..................Michael Banks | (( (((( | * Hawaii Atari Users Expo............................... | (( ((( | * Perusing The Internet...................Bruce Hansford | | * Dragon Battery Kit.......................Press Release | ((((((( | * Perusing CompuServe......................Mike Mortilla | (( | * Z*Net Software Shelf....................Ron Berinstein | ((((( | * Z*Net FNET Support Systems..................Ron Kovacs | (( | | ((((((( | ~ Publisher/Editor............................Ron Kovacs | | ~ Contributing Editor..........................John Nagy | (((((((( | ~ Z*Net Newswire Ltd..........................Jon Clarke | (( | ~ Contributing Editor.....................Bruce Hansford | (( | ~ PD Software Reviews.....................Ron Berinstein | (( | ~ Reporter....................................Mike Brown | (( | ~ Assistant News Editor.......................Mike Davis | | ~ Z*Net Canadian Correspondent...........Terry Schreiber | | ~ Columnist....................................Ed Krimen | | ~ Columnist................................Mike Mortilla | | ~ UK Columnist...............................Mick Jarvis | | ~ Features Editor.........................Dr. Paul Keith | | |----------| $ GEnie Address....................................Z-NET | ONLINE | $ CompuServe Address..........................75300,1642 | AREAS | $ Delphi Address....................................ZNET | | $ Internet/Usenet Address..................status.gen.nz |----------| $ America Online Address........................ZNET1991 | | | Z*NET | * Z*Net:USA New Jersey...(FNET 593).......(908) 968-8148 | SUPPORT | * Z*Net:Golden Gate......(FNET 706).......(510) 373-6792 | SYSTEMS | * Z*Net:South Pacific....(FNET 693).NZ....(644) 4762-852 | | * Z*Net:Pacific .(INTERNET/@status.gen.nz)(649) 3585-543 | | * Z*Net:South Jersey.....(FNET 168).CCBBS.(609) 451-7475 | | * Z*Net:Illinois (Garage)(FNET 621).......(618) 344-8466 | | * Z*Net:Colorado (Mile High)(FNET 5)......(303) 431-1404 | | * Z*Net:Wyoming (Stormbringer)(FNET 635)..(307) 638-7036 | | * Z*Net:Texas (Hacker's Haven)(FNET 705)..(512) 653-3056 | | * Z*Net:Florida (Twilight Zone)(FNET 304).(407) 831-1613 | | Fido Address 1:363/112 ======================================================================= * THE EDITORS DESK by Ron Kovacs ======================================================================= GEnie users should be aware of changes made (in process) in the Bulletin Board area. The Z*Net Online Category #31 will be closed permanently and moved as a topic in Category 15, Atari Magazines. According to GEnie's RT Chief Sysop Darlah Potechin, all magazine topics are being consolidated. ======================================================================= * Z*NET NEWSWIRE ======================================================================= ATARI BASE USA NOW OFFICIAL The Atari Base USA BBS is now operating and receiving calls at (408) 745-2196, 24 hours a day. A US Robotics DS 14.4K modem is online. There are currently over 15 FNET based conferences available including Z*Net Online Magazine issues. FNET Node #319. ATARI POSTPONES BCS UNVEILING Atari has contact the BCS and asked for a later date to appear to debut the latest products. Atari intention is to have product available for sale shortly after the BCS event. Sources at Atari stated ,"In the past we have been guilty of showing vaporware. The rescheduling of this event reflects our new committment to only show new products when they are close to production." This also probably signals a dramatically reduced appearance of the new products at CeBit in March. Instead of the major roll-out that was predicted, look for Atari to be showing the new machine privately to significant dealers and developers. No new dates for the Boston event have been scheduled although Atari and BCS are conferring. NEW FACES AT CORPORATE Atari has recently hired 7 new executives in an effort to bolster the Atari's plans for a worldwide rebound. These executives are: Tony Serra, General Manger of Atari Australia and former managing director of Commodore Computers in Australia, brings to Atari a wealth of experience in consumer and technical marketing; Scott MacDonald is also new to Atari Australia filling in the controllers position "Down Under"; Gary Weiner a senior level marketing specialist with over 20 years of industry experience has recently joined Atari in Sunnyvale as corporate vice-president of marketing and sales; another addition is the new Atari vice-president of quality assurance, Maxie R Smith, Smith brings a solid background in opto-electronics engineering and semiconductor engineering and will be a valued addition to Atari's manufacturing efforts; Lutz Lange, newly appointed sales manager for Atari Germany; Dieter Pruess and Richard Maunday, Dieter is Atari finance manager for Atari Germany and Maunday is the controller for Atari UK. NEW GLOBAL LYNX TV ADVERTISING PLAN According to the Wall Street Journal, Atari has signed an advertising contract for the Lynx. This advertising campaign with Hal Rinney & Partners for $7 million, follows pre-christmas test marketing in Los Angeles. The firm customized a UK television commercial for presentation in the US market and the LA tests were nothing short of spectacular. Plans now call for a new nationwide campaign in APril. New television commercial developed by Hal Rinney will be used worldwide. ATARI MAGS AROUND THE WORLD Atari France, UK and Italy are now publishing periodicals aimed at distributors and customers. These are slick, glossy full color issues running up to 100 pages. Contents include news about Atari developments in software and hardware, music applications and video games. "Atari News" has a circulation of 18 thousand, and is published by Atari Italy every two months using Calamus. In England, "Atari Reports" has been sent to 4000 independent dealers. "Atari Magazine" published in French and circulated in France, Belgium, Switzerland and French Canada. ANTIVIRUS FOR MACINTOSH Symantec announced that Symantec AntiVirus for Macintosh (SAM) version 3.0 recognizes and protects against the Macintosh virus MBDF A. The MBDF A virus attaches itself to applications and system files, creating incompatibilities that can lead to a system crash. Running an infected application quickly infects system files, which in turn infects additional applications when they are launched. The MBDF A virus has been traced to the games "Obnoxious Tetris," "Ten Tile Puzzle," and "Tetricycle" (also called "Tetris-rotating"). Tetricycle has been identified as a Trojan Horse, a program that conceals a virus, which users should immediately delete. To detect and repair infected files, users can download the new virus definitions file free of charge from the Symantec Bulletin Board at 408-973-9598, CompuServe, America Online or Applelink. Users can also obtain detection and repair capabilities by ordering a virus update disk for $12 (includes shipping and handling, sales tax added where applicable) through Customer Service at 800-441- 7234 in the United States and 408-252-3570 in Canada. HP PICKS 106 SCHOOLS Hewlett-Packard announced the recipients of its 1991-92 classroom calculator-program grants - 106 high schools in the United States and Canada. The recipients will receive teacher-training and curriculum materials, along with graphing calculators and related equipment. The hardware value of each grant is approximately $8,500. IBM PLANS TO SHUT FACILITY IBM plans to shut down an under utilized office facility in Franklin Lakes, N.J., but has no plans to lay off any of the approximately 800 people working there. The 650,000-square foot building, located in suburban Bergen County, about 40 miles from New York City, currently houses employees from about 16 different units, mostly performing sales support, finance, and administrative support functions. IBM hopes to sell the building once it is emptied out. No asking price was disclosed. Most of the employees will be out of the building by the end of June, while one computer unit is likely to stay until the end of the third quarter. APPLE TRADE-IN PROGRAM Apple USA has unveiled The Apple Exchange Program, a new trade-in program which is designed to help customers upgrade their computer equipment more easily. The program is targeted to business and institutional customers. Apple Authorized Resellers can now offer cash to customers who trade-in selected Macintosh and MS-DOS-compatible computers and laser printers when purchasing new Apple equipment. Trade -in dollars must be applied toward the purchase or lease of new Apple equipment. Eligible trade-in equipment under the Apple Exchange Program includes selected Apple, Compaq, and IBM computers in addition to Hewlett-Packard laser printers. For more information or to obtain the name of the nearest Apple Authorized Reseller, Apple customers may call 800-538-9696. COMPUADD AND APPLE AGREE CompuAdd Computer announced earlier this week that it will sell and support the full line of Apple Macintosh computer systems through CompuAdd's rapidly expanding chain of company-owned computer stores. Effective March 1, the agreement with Apple Computer USA marks a major strategy shift for CompuAdd. With few exceptions, the company's retail stores have marketed and supported only CompuAdd brand personal computers. IBM INTRODUCES THE FASTEST 386SX IBM has introduced the industry's fastest 386SX pc, powered by IBM's 386SLC microprocessor. The 20MHz PCs - Personal System/2 Models 56 SLC and 57 SLC - blaze through popular programs, such as Lotus 1-2-3 or AutoCAD for OS/2, up to 88 percent faster than the most popular 386SX competition. COMPUTERLAND TO ACQUIRE INFOMAX ComputerLand announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire its largest franchisee, Infomax of Concord, Calif. Infomax is the largest computer dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area, with annual sales of $150 million. The planned transaction, which is expected to be completed by April 15, would result in the integration of the ComputerLand business in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and Encino, Calif., into ComputerLand Corp.'s network of company-owned branches. ComputerLand Corp. owns and operates 53 branches in over 40 major metropolitan markets in the United States. ======================================================================= * PERUSING GENIE Compiled by Ed Krimen ======================================================================= -=> In the "CodeHead Software" category (32) -=> from the "TOS 2.06 Extension Card" topic (30) Message 248 Sun Feb 23, 1992 J.EIDSVOOG1 [CodeHead] at 12:54 EST Bob, The information that we've received is that Atari has no current plans for releasing TOS 2.07. Of course, we can neither speak for Atari nor guarantee that 2.07 will not be released. We can only offer their latest TOS. TOS 2.06 chips are available as a dealer item. We also sell them for the same list price of $60. Our package includes our TEC manual which documents the new features of TOS, and also our TEC Utilities disk. I don't know of any compatibility problems between 1.06 and 2.06 that would require a switchable TOS. That doesn't mean that none exists. Personally, I think TOS switching is overrated and I see no reason for it other than a developer's need for testing (just my personal opinion). But obviously a lot of people see it differently and don't like to let go of their obsolete software. These days almost all software is written correctly so that it's no longer TOS-specific. John ---------- Message 30 Tue Feb 25, 1992 J.ROGOZINSK2 [Rogo] at 19:55 EST John, Just one or two more questions (I hope You hope _more_). 1. Does the prices in message 223 (Bus Bridge version $155.00) include shipping and handling? 2. I have a Mega2 with the 2 socketed TOS 1.4 chips. Is the Bus Bridge version the one I want? These should be my last questions (Did I just here a big sigh of relief all the way from LA?) before I put a check in the mail. Thanks again, Joe Rogo ---------- Message 32 Tue Feb 25, 1992 J.EIDSVOOG1 [CodeHead] at 20:47 EST Rogo, Shipping charge for the TEC is $3 US and $4 Canada. Yes, the Bus Bridge version is the one you want. Just be aware that you will be using your bus connector and will have a problem if you later want to add something that uses it (such as a Moniterm card, or some PC emulators). To All, We are currently awaiting another shipment of boards from Germany and it may be a week or more before we can ship any more. This includes many orders that have already been waiting. The orders have been sent out in the order they were placed. If you haven't gotten a confirmation call from us, the chances are that you'll have to wait until the next batch arrives. I thank you for your patience. The good news is that we have a goodly supply of ROM chips (thank you Atari)! The remainder of the waiting orders for TOS chips went out today. John ---------- Message 43 Fri Feb 28, 1992 C.S.SMETON [Charles S.] at 00:15 EST I just installed the TEC board with the Bus Bridge in my Mega ST and I noticed a "slow down". Apparently, with TOS 2.06, Turbo ST is being disabled after the first program that is run terminates. Running Quick Index shows that the "GEM Draw" speed reverts to the same speed as no Turbo ST installed. Using MultiDesk, I can load in a new copy of Turbo ST and then all is fine until the next application terminates. It seems that the Trap #2 (GEM AES/VDI) vector is being reset so that Turbo ST is not called. The BIOS tests do not slow down significantly, so the XBIOS/BIOS traps must not be affected by TOS 2.06. I guess this is a good reason to buy Quick ST? :-) The board installed with no problems, even with a T-16 accelerator installed. I guess I will also have to upgrade Hotwire from 2.3 to 3.0 since it also does not seem to work anymore. The right button does not bring up Hotwire from the Desktop. This is reason enough to put the TOS 1.4 chips back in until I can get the upgrade. Also, TOS 2.06 Desktop needs a wider text window to display a column of files (view as text) with the name and size visible. Now with two windows on screen there is not enough width to see two columns of disk icons with two text windows side by side. I guess this is a reason to get a large screen monitor and graphics card! ---------- Message 44 Fri Feb 28, 1992 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] at 00:40 EST Welp I justly installed the ROMS in my STE (jumpers were a pain) and so far so good. I love it and I havn't even read the manual yet. Just exploring has got me excited. One downer- apparently Turbo ST doesn't have any effect on 2.06, the system seems slow, and is unaffected whether the Turbo ACC is toggled on or off. -Tom Hurry with Quick ST guys! ---------- Message 45 Fri Feb 28, 1992 C.F.JOHNSON [CodeHead] at 01:57 EST Sorry to hear that Turbo ST seems to have a problem with TOS 2.06, guys. The spanking new, heavily modified and debugged version of Quick ST won't have any problems with 2.06, of course, and the release date is probably not too far off now. Our beta units are signalling A-OK. - Charles """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -=> In the "CodeHead Software" category (32) -=> from the "HotWire! from CodeHead Software" topic (2) Message 54 Tue Feb 25, 1992 J.EIDSVOOG1 [CodeHead] at 16:16 EST To All, I'm sure that we will be repeating this information more and more (maybe twice a day <grin>) as more people begin installing TOS 2.06 on their machines. PLEASE NOTE: To install HotWire on any machine which uses a version of TOS containing the "Newdesk", you _must_ run TT_INST.PRG (or make the appropriate entry in your NEWDESK.INF file) and you must have version 3.0. John """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -=> In the "Sound and Music" category (10) -=> from the "Stereo Replay Cartridge" topic (6) Message 8 Mon Feb 24, 1992 M.EVERHART2 [MIDIMIKE] at 21:25 EST I need to contact MICHTRON and I understand they have been rejuvenated in NYC. Does anyone know a phone # or address where I can reach them? ---------- Message 9 Mon Feb 24, 1992 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] at 21:36 EST JIM DORSMAN PRESIDENT MICHTRON (NEW) 3201 DRUMMOND PLAZA NEWARK, DE 19711 Well, gosh, CardFile didn't let me upload the telephone number, so I'll just have to type that in: 302 454 7946. That's the new MichTron you are looking for, Mike. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -=> In the "Software Library and Other Utilities" category (2) -=> from the "MultiGEM from Germany" topic (9) Message 175 Sat Feb 22, 1992 K.CAVAGHAN2 at 02:35 EST To all: I was on the phone today with Richard Benson, the president of Rimik Enterprises, and explained the situation to him. He listened very well as I explained how upset I was that my Visa had been charged without the shipment of goods. Now, according to Mr. Benson (and please note: my memory), the last upgrade was just in the process of getting ready to ship (therefore the Visa charge) when a bug was discovered. Instead of shipping buggy software, he elected to hold off shipping until a fix could be worked out. This version of the upgrade was to make it Neodesk compatible. After several weeks, the bug was fixed but at the same time, a new beta version was produced. Again, he elected to hold off shipping reasoning that Multigem users would be upset at having to upgrade so soon. The newest version should be released in a couple of weeks. At the same time, I requested that he check out the topic here and state the company policy concerning upgrades and refunds. I am hopeful that he will. As well, I pointed out to him that if some type of press release was made concerning the difficulties with this upgrade, perhaps some people like myself would not have been so upset. PLEASE NOTE: as I said, this is from MY MEMORY which is not always accurate :}. Let's hope he joins us in person to present the official view. Kent Cavaghan OakSprings Software """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14) -=> from the "Font Scaling Module -- The New GDOS" topic (18) Message 79 Sat Feb 22, 1992 A.MASON4 [Anna] at 17:17 EST We keep hearing that the new FSM/GDOS will be released to the general public (those of us who don't own WordFlair II) RSN. Is there any hope at all of that becoming a reality..... Anna ---------- Message 82 Sat Feb 22, 1992 SGUBER at 20:56 EST Within the next two weeks, I will be putting a little program to generate calenders up as shareware. It will have six different types of calender pages, and will use FMSGDOS as the method for selecting fonts and for the printing. There are a few of use that really like FMSGDOS and will support it. Sol ---------- Message 83 Sat Feb 22, 1992 TOWNS [John@Atari] at 21:18 EST Thanks for the nice comments, Sol. They are appreciated. As for the issue of FSMGDOS availability, I wish I knew what the holdup is. I know that we had fixed some bugs a couple of the printer drivers a couple of weeks ago, but I have no idea what is happening with packaging, etc. Perhaps Bob Brodie or Bill Rehbock will be able to provide us with an update on what is happening with FSMGDOS distribution to the General Public. Believe me, I want you to have it as much as you want it! I think it is a substantial improvement in the GDOS concept. I also think that once it is available, we will start to see applications that will take advantage of its valuable features. So, please everyone.. don't give up on us. I know it is _really_ late, but we will get it to you soon! -- John Townsend, Atari Corp. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -=> In the "ISD Product Support" category (16) -=> from the "Calamus S/SL" topic (20) Message 487 Fri Feb 21, 1992 J.MEEHAN3 [>> Joe M << ] at 05:25 EST My copy of SL arrived yesterday. I had a rather large project to get done in a hurry, so as usual I did something stupid, I set up Calamus SL and went to work. Normally this would have spelled disaster. A new program and a big job. Well I a glad to say Calamus SL came through. With the new manual references, a much improved manual and a rather familiar interface, I was up and running in no time. I found many need useful features. I also failed to find a few old features. I would guess many of the old features are there I just have not found them. This thing is -FAST-. I expected a noticeable slowdown, but on my TT it runs.. I was actually using the WYSIWYG display for editing! >> Joe Meehan << ---------- Message 532 Tue Feb 25, 1992 M.PRAZOFF1 [Mark] at 21:38 EST Here are some first impressions of Calamus SL. The manual cover and box are very professional and exude class. The manual itself is great. Thanks to Nathan et. al. for a job well done. It actually goes well beyond the usual describe every feature style and actually tells you how to use the darn thing. To wander through Calamus SL is to experience a land once familiar (much like the 1.09N of childhood), yet around every familiar corner is a new doorway full of pleasant surprises. Goosh, I make it sound like Dungeon Master SL... The real strength of the program lies in the number of features which can be customized by the user. Yet these numerous defaults are also what presents such a challenge to the new user. Please share your experiences of "set-ups for SL that work". So here are my first questions: 1) How functional is SL in 2 Megs of memory? I tried virtual memory, and when I went to print a one page document, the darn thing spent 10 minutes writing hundreds of little files to my ever so slow Megafile. With no virtual memory, the same file spit out with the usual Calamus speed. How do I set the defaults to get virtual memory only when required? (e.g. do the virtual memory size or available memory settings help?). Does memory get saved or things speed up if one saves a monochrome colour setting file? 2) Which of the three defaults did 1.09n use to measure its fonts? 3) Screen size on my SM124 was bang on with 1.09N at 1:1; with SL it is about 20% too small. A problem or something to set differently like screen resolution in the system parameters? What should "minimal system memory" be for a Mega 2 STE? 4) Does it now take two steps to make outline text? First make text white and then add a black outline? Or did I miss something? 5) Shouldn't the first priority be to make an Outline Art export driver (OL.CXV) rather than a CVG driver? Wouldn't that make Speedline function as advertised. Doesn't OL Art work better with its own format rather than CVG. Either export driver soon would be great. Well that covers questions for now...back to the program and the oh so wonderful manual. Happy exploring to all. ---------- Atari-ST RoundTable Category 16, Topic 20 Message 535 Wed Feb 26, 1992 ISD [Nathan] at 15:57 EST On squishing, compressing or whatever....as you have now realized, you have only to change the name HOWEVER, by doing so, you remove the safety feature inherent within Calamus that checks the consistency of the program when loading... ie; viruses, dma problems, bad disk copies etc Calamus SL is correctly set to TT RAM. Please leave it there Dave. Its certain death otherwise. :-) Thanks to everyone on the compliments on the manual. We do appreciate it. * FLASH * All 1.09N Printer Drivers work in Calamus SL. Simply rename the file extension to .CDT. Yes, there are a few areas not yet in English. I am confident that eventually we will get them all. Please be patient. Mark...Dungeon Master SL ohmygod :-) 1. What printer do you have? I would recommend more RAM. 2. Designer. 3. Use the SETUP in the new System module to measure the screen to your hearts desire. 4. It now treats the text and the outline separately in order to be able to handle various color combinations. 5. I am working on my error on CVG export. I had not realized it wasn't available. And thats more than enough for now. LIVE from Germany, I'm off to get a Pizza. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14) -=> from the "Atari Explorer" topic (30) Message 173 Thu Feb 27, 1992 R.NOAK at 07:58 EST I just got the Feb ish of Atari Explorer with the included Atari Artist. Nice issue. I was especially intrigued by the picture on page 37 (Atari Artist section) of what are obviously new, hitherto unseen Atari computers! Could they be the new Falcon? In case you haven't seen this issue yet, I'll describe them for you. They look exactly like the TT030 and Mega Ste except that they have the hard drive bay on the _left_ side of the CPU bay. The keyboard is also different, with the numeric keypad on the left hand side also, with the function keys on the right side. I thought that this was odd, but then realized that Atari, in a bold, brilliant move had produced a _left- handed_ computer! Think of it. The first computer to target the 10% of the population that is left-handed. That's over 20 million new users in the US alone! Of course we now have to wait for the developers to produce left-handed software..... ;-) Randy @ Southlake, Inc. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -=> In the "Flaming - Debating - Discussions - Rumors" category (18) -=> from the "Atari "Falcon" Project" topic (20) Message 272 Sat Feb 22, 1992 N.WEINRESS [Norm] at 00:13 EST "Electronic Engineering Times" is quoting a Motorola exec that they have dropped plans for a 68050, but are planning on a major change in a new chip (significant architecture changes) and will call it the 68060. There is very little known about it, but one presumes Apple is involved. They did say it would be backwards compatible with the family. (Did you hear a great sigh of relief from Sunnyvale?) """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14) -=> from the "SM147 14" Flat Screen Mono Monitor" topic (21) Message 9 Fri Feb 14, 1992 M.MASTALER [Mike] at 03:10 EST Hi Just bought today the first sm147 at my music dealers. It looks great! It's not made by Atari (but has their logo). Dealer said it looks like a Goldstar. The owners manual ? says it's a "super VGA". I use Notator sequencer and it looks fantastic. It's a non-glare flat screen and has NO SPEAKER. As I type this, it looks like I'm at a drive-in <G>. List is $259; street prices are about 210-225 (I paid 225). These are the "real World" dimensions folks: This is the ACTUAL screen size, not the tube sizes: 12" diag., 7 1/2 high, and 9 3/8 wide It doesn't sound big, but it looks great. Also, it has a tilted, swivel base. BTW, the box it came in had no Atari logo or anything, There's not even a mention of Atari in the manual, and i didn't get any warranty card. This is being built by a jobber, obviously. Anyway, it looks fine and I'm happy with it. Now I got to go, can't see spending $6 hr selling Atari's products for them (even though they need some US marketing) (he-he). Come over to the *MIDI bb; we have an atari cat there and it's free.. Cat. 3 Top. 6 Mike ---------- ======================================================================= * BITS, BAUD RATE, AND BPS by Michael A. Banks ======================================================================= Here's an excerpt from The Modem Reference, written by Michael A. Banks and recommended by Jerry Pournelle in Byte, The Smithsonian Magazine, et al. The right to reproduce this article is granted on the condition that all text, including this notice and the notice at the end of the article, remain unchanged, and that no text is added to the body of the article. Thanks! --MB Taking the Mystery Out of Modem Speeds (Copyright, 1988, 1990, Michael A. Banks. All rights reserved.) Modem transmission speed is the source of a lot of confusion, even among otherwise informed computer and modem users. The root of the problem is the fact that the terms "baud" and "bits per second" are used interchangeably and indiscriminately. I strongly suspect this is a result of the fact that it's easier to say "baud" than "bits per second," though misinformation has a hand in it, too. If you've ever found yourself confused by the relationship between bits and baud rate, or if you think that a modem's baud rate is the same as the number of bits or characters it transmits per second, please read this article carefully; I guarantee to clear up the confusion and disabuse you of any false concepts ... Bits per second (bps) Bits per second is a measure of the number of data bits (digital 0's and 1's) transmitted each second in a communications channel. This is sometimes referred to as "bit rate." Individual characters (letters, numbers, etc.), also referred to as bytes, are composed of several bits. While a modem's bit rate is tied to its baud rate, the two are not the same, as explained below. Baud rate Baud rate is a measure of the number of times per second a signal in a communications channel varies, or makes a transition between states (states being frequencies, voltage levels, or phase angles). One baud is one such change. Thus, a 300-baud modem's signal changes state 300 times each second, while a 600-baud modem's signal changes state 600 times per second. This does not necessarily mean that a 300-baud and a 600-baud modem transmit 300 and 600 bits per second, as you'll learn in a few lines. Determining bits per second Depending on the modulation technique used, a modem can transmit one bit--or more or less than one bit--with each baud, or change in state. Or, to put it another way, one change of state can transmit one bit--or more or less than one bit. As I mentioned earlier, the number of bits a modem transmits per second is directly related to the number of bauds that occur each second, but the numbers are not necessarily the same. To illustrate this, first consider a modem with a baud rate of 300, using a transmission technique called FSK (Frequency Shift Keying, in which four different frequencies are turned on and off to represent digital 0 and 1 signals from both modems). When FSK is used, each baud (which is, a gain, a change in state) transmits one bit; only one change in state is required to send a bit. Thus, the modem's bps rate is also 300: 300 bauds per second X 1 bit per baud = 300 bps Similarly, if a modem operating at 1200 baud were to use one change in state to send each bit, that modem's bps rate would be 1200. (There are no 1200 baud modems, by the way; remember that. This is only a demonstrative and hypothetical example.) Now, consider a hypothetical 300-baud modem using a modulation technique that requires two changes in state to send one bit, which can also be viewed as 1/2 bit per baud. Such a modem's bps rate would be 150 bps: 300 bauds per second X 1/2 baud per bit = 150 bps To look at it another way, bits per second can also be obtained by dividing the modem's baud rate by the number of changes in state, or bauds, required to send one bit: 300 baud --------------- = 150 bps 2 bauds per bit Now let's move away from the hypothetical and into reality, as it exists in the world of modulation. First, lest you be misled into thinking that "any 1200 baud modem" should be able to operate at 2400 bps with a two-bits-per-baud modulation technique, remember that I said there are no 1200 baud modems. Medium- and high-speed modems use baud rates that are lower than their bps rates. Along with this, however, they use multiple-state modulation to send more than one bit per baud. For example, 1200 bps modems that conform to the Bell 212A standard (which includes most 1200 bps modems used in the U.S.) operate at 300 baud and use a modulation technique called phase modulation that transmits four bits per baud. Such modems are capable of 1200 bps operation, but not 2400 bps because they are not 1200 baud modems; they use a baud rate of 300. So: 300 baud X 4 bits per baud = 1200 bps or 300 baud ------------------ = 1200 bps 1/4 baud per bit Similarly, 2400 bps modems that conform to the CCITT V.22 recommendation (virtually all of them) actually use a baud rate of 600 when they operate at 2400 bps. However, they also use a modulation technique that transmits four bits per baud: 600 baud X 4 bits per baud = 2400 bps or 600 baud ------------------ = 2400 bps 1/4 baud per bit Thus, a 1200-bps modem is not a 1200-baud modem, nor is a 2400-bps modem a 2400-baud modem. Now let's take a look at 9600-bps modems. Most of these operate at 2400 baud, but (again) use a modulation technique that yields four bits per baud. Thus: 2400 baud X 4 bits per baud = 9600 bps or 2400 baud ------------------ = 9600 bps 1/4 baud per bit Characters per second (cps) Characters per second is the number of characters (letters, numbers, spaces, and symbols) transmitted over a communications channel in one second. Cps is often the bottom line in rating data transmission speed, and a more convenient way of thinking about data transfer than baud- or bit-rate. Determining the number of characters transmitted per second is easy: simply divide the bps rate by the number of bits per character. You must of course take into account the fact that more than just the bits that make up the binary digit representing a character are transmitted when a character is sent from one system to another. In fact, up to 10 bits may be transmitted for each character during ASCII transfer, whether 7 or 8 data bits are used. This is because what are called start- and stop-bits are added to characters by a sending system to enable the receiving system to determine which groups of bits make up a character. In addition, a system usually adds a parity bit during 7-bit ASCII transmission. (The computer's serial port handles the addition of the extra bits, and all extra bits are stripped out at the receiving end.) So, in asynchronous data communication, the number of bits per character is usually 10 (either 7 data bits, plus a parity bit, plus a start bit and a stop bit, or 8 data bits plus a start bit and a stop bit). Thus: 300 bps ----------------------- = 30 characters per second 10 bits per character 1200 bps ----------------------- = 120 characters per second 10 bits per character 2400 bps ----------------------- = 240 characters per second 10 bits per character Common speeds The most commonly-used communications rates for dial-up systems (BBSs and online services like CompuServe, DELPHI, and GEnie) are 300, 1200, and 2400 bps. A few older systems--especially Telex systems-- communicate at 110 bps, but these are gradually going the way of the dinosaur. 4800 and 9600 bps modems are generally available, but few online services or BBSs accommodate them. This will be changing in the near future, however, with the cost of high-speed modem technology decreasing as the demand for it increases. Modems with even higher bps rates are manufactured (19,200 and up) but these are not used with dial-up systems; the upper limit on asynchronous data transmission via voice-grade telephone lines appears to be 9600 bps. The use of higher transmission rates requires special dedicated lines that are "conditioned" (i.e., shielded from outside interference) as well as expensive modulation and transmission equipment. If you found this article useful, you may want to pick up a copy of the book from which it was excerpted: THE MODEM REFERENCE by Michael A. Banks Published by Brady Books/Simon & Schuster In addition to explaining the technical aspects of modem operation, communications software, data links, and other elements of computer communications, the book provides detailed, illustrated "tours" of major online services such as UNISON, CompuServe, DELPHI, BIX, Dow Jones News /Retrieval, MCI Mail, the PRODIGY service, and others. It also contains information on using packet switching networks and BBSs, as well as dial -up numbers for various networks and BBSs. You'll also find hands-on guides to buying, setting up, using, and troubleshooting computer communications hardware and software. (And the book "supports" all major microcomputer brands.) THE MODEM REFERENCE is available at your local B. Dalton's, WaldenSoftware, Waldenbooks, or other bookstore, either in stock or by order. Or, phone 800-624-0023 to order direct. Want the lowdown on getting more out of your word processor? Read the only book on word processing written by writers, for writers: WORD PROCESSING SECRETS FOR WRITERS, by Michael A. Banks & Ansen Dibel (Writer's Digest Books). WORD PROCESSING SECRETS FOR WRITERS is available at your local B. Dalton's, Waldenbooks, or other bookstore, either in stock or by order. Or, phone 800-543-4644 (800-551-0884 in Ohio) to order direct. Do you use DeskMate 3? Are you getting the most out of the program? To find out, get a copy of GETTING THE MOST OUT OF DESKMATE 3, by Michael A. Banks. Published by Brady Books/Simon & Schuster, it is available in your local Tandy/Radio Shack, WaldenSoftware, or Waldenbooks store now. Or, phone 800-624-0023 to order direct. Other books by Michael A. Banks UNDERSTANDING FAX & E-MAIL (Howard W. Sams & Co.) THE ODYSSEUS SOLUTION (w/Dean Lambe; SF novel; Baen Books) JOE MAUSER: MERCENARY FROM TOMORROW (w/Mack Reynolds; SF novel; Baen Books) SWEET DREAMS, SWEET PRICES (w/Mack Reynolds; SF novel; Baen Books) COUNTDOWN: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO MODEL ROCKETRY (TAB Books) THE ROCKET BOOK (w/Robert Cannon; Prentice Hall Press) SECOND STAGE: ADVANCED MODEL ROCKETRY (Kalmbach Books) For more information, contact: Michael A. Banks P.O. Box 312 Milford, OH 45150 ======================================================================= * HAWAII ATARI USERS EXPO ======================================================================= On March 14, 1992, Honolulu will learn what Atari users have known for a long time... You don't have to be like everybody else to be good. The Atari Computer Enthusiasts of Hawaii are hosting an Exposition that will showcase the capabilities of the powerful Atari ST and TT computer systems. We'll demonstrate Desktop Publishing at its finest and make incredible music controlled through the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). You'll discover why the ST is the perfect computer to manage your club or association, and you'll see demonstrations of Computer Aided Design, Home & Business Management software, Desktop Video, Educational software and more on this powerful and yet easy to use computer system. Don't think we've forgotten how to have fun. We'll introduce you to MIDI-Maze; multi-player entertainment with no equal on any system. You'll discover just how far high-tech gaming has come with the latest software releases, and you'll have the chance to test drive the Lynx, Atari's amazing Portable Color Entertainment System. When the day is done you won't walk away empty handed. We'll be awarding exciting door prizes all afternoon, and the biggest prize is yours for the taking: An introduction to the power and performance of Atari Computer Systems. I've posted this notice here as an open invitation to those who may be coming to Hawaii during March. This Expo is a first for ACE-HI and we hope to make it an annual event. ACE-HI has approximately 80 members and we have maintained steady growth for the past two years. We conduct monthly meetings, publish a newsletter (ACE-HI Info) and operate a 2400 baud BBS (808-622-2533). We are committed to keeping the Atari presence strong in Hawaii. If you have any questions or suggestions, please respond to R.BEATTY3 on Genie or 70317,3045 on CIS. ======================================================================= * PERUSING THE INTERNET Compiled by Bruce Hansford ======================================================================= Date: 17 Feb 92 16:48:53 GMT >From: noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu! magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!dhbutler@arizona.edu (David Butler) Subject: Spectre GCR test: is it the drive or the floppy? >I don't know if my problem is related but recently I attempted to write >105 files to a floppy - after ejecting the disk and re-inserting it I >got a message that went something like "finder doesn't have enough This is not a Spectre problem but a Mac bug. You should only get this error while using "Multifinder", and when copying large numbers of files. The "Finder" then counts as a seperate program with "X" amount of memory. The Mac OS dies when you try to copy too many files because it keeps the directory of each in memory (I think this is why it dies, but this is second-hand info, and therefore subject to great error, possibly), ever notice how the mac reads the files without going back to the directory tracks of the disk each time? A way around this is to open the system folder, and select the "Finder" icon. Pull down "get info" from whichever menu it is under, and then edit the amount of RAM the Finder will get when using multifinder. The box to edit this is in the lower right hand side of the dialog box. It is usually set to 160, but setting it up to 200 can help. I think I keep mine at about 320 most of the time. Remember that the more memory you give the finder, the rest you will have for your other programs. Hopefully this bug will someday be fixed... Hope this helps... /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 92 15:34 N >From: <BAUMANN%CZHETH5A.BITNET@pucc.Princeton.EDU> Subject: *.GEM and HPGL to *.IMG Yes there is such a conversion program from .GEM to .IMG. It's a real great program called VECtoMAP which has a lot of additional features like turning the image by 90 degrees, changing the line thickness etc. This program takes .gem or HPGL Files as input and generates an .img. I not sure if an English version is available but it is very easy to use (under GEM). It's a German product. Here is the address: APiSoft Tel: + 30 853 43 50 Andreas Pirner Software Fax: + 30 853 30 25 Bundesallee 56 D-1000 Berlin 31 There seems to be an English (not American) distributor: Gate Seven Computers Ltd. London. The program only costs DM 50.- (about US $ 27.-) I hope this helps Roland Baumann Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland E-Mail: baumann@czheth5a.bitnet baumann@vision.ethz.ch /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Date: 18 Feb 92 11:28:45 GMT >From: mcsun!news.funet.fi!sunic!corax.udac.uu.se!tdb!m91der@uunet.uu.net Subject: MEGA-LEIF-CONVENTION ----------------------------------------------------- -* Official invitation to the MEGA-LEIF-CONVENTION *- ----------------------------------------------------- This is the official invitation to the enormous and already famous MEGA- LEIF-CONVENTION. This is an international Atari and PC (other computers are also welcome) demo-convention held by Electra in Fyrisskolan/Uppsala /Sweden. It begins at 18:00 (local swedish time) on Thursday the 16th of April, and lasts until 15:00 on Monday the 20th of April. In the basement of the school we have an old Physical-activities hall that'll serve as a silent sleeping room. You'll also find free showers in the same area. At about 5 minutes walk from the school you'll find the famous Fyrishov recreation centre, so bring your bathing clothes! At about 10 minutes walk in another direction you'll find the centre of Uppsala with restaurants, shops and Macdonald's. There will of course be loads of competitions too, that's the reason we hired an RGB projector! And what will we do with the RGB projector before the compos? We`ll show movies and demos on it of course! The competitions (held by us and TOS Magazine) are: * best demo (1 Meg STE) * best picture * best music (modules and blip-blop) * othello/reversi tournament (your program will play against the others, you'll get the exact rules at the party) * best PC demo Prices in the different competitions: * first price in the Atari demo competition will be an Atari TT * in the PC competition we'll throw 2000 SEK (333 USD) at the winner * prices in the other competitions will be Quantum hard disks, a high speed modem, an Amiga, an Atari and a colour monitor. At the party we'll sell coke and you'll be able to order pizzas at special reduced prices. You'll also be able to buy other computer- related items (SIMMs and empty disks for example) on the party. The following Atari crews has already decided to attend: Electra Omega The Carebears ULM The Respectables Electronic Images Sync TEX Legacy Mystic The Blackcats Scum of the Earth Alcoholica Delta Force Synergy The Lost Boys Unit 17 EPA The Syndicate Lazer PC-Crews: Cascada The Codeblasters The Space Pigs This is absolutely not a complete list, we get new answers all the time. If there are enough good screens we'll compile a party-demo. Also every good group must bring a lame demo for the ultimate lame demo. People from outside Sweden can hire a monitor for about 150 SEK (25 USD). The admission to the convention is 90 SEK (15 USD), for girls it's free. How do I get to the convention? If you come by plane to Arlanda (big airport outside Stockholm) we'll try to fetch you there. If you arrive at Arlanda at such a bad time that we can't pick you up you could take bus number 801 to Uppsala central station or a taxi directly to the school (Fyrisskolan, Uppsala). Please remember that taxi is VERY expensive in Sweden. If you come by train you will arrive at Uppsala central station. If you have lots of luggage we'll try to pick you up. However, if you feel like you could take a bus then try bus number 9, 12 or 13. They all pass the school. You could also take a taxi, but it's expensive. If you come by car please contact us and we will send a map. Please contact us ASAP and let us know how many monitors you want, if you want to be fetched and where you want to be fetched. Call Jesper: int+46 18 463347 or Erik : int+46 18 246777. Or send a E-mail to: t90_jesper@maja.teknikum.uu.se or: m91jru@tdb.uu.se Or ordinary mail to: Jesper Rudberg Flogstav. 63e 752 63 Uppsala Sweden You could also contact me (Daniel Eriksson) on any of the below mentioned addresses. I'm not a member of Electra, but since there has been some trouble posting to Usenet from our site lately (due to bad installation of tin) I posted the above text for Jesper. If you want to arrange your arrival or reserve a monitor you SHOULD contact Jesper or Erik. --- Daniel Eriksson Internet : m91der@tdb.uu.se Gardskarsvagen 6B Fidonet : 2:205/218 (The Assembly Room) 814 93 SKUTSKAR IRC : DDF ('Daniel of Delta Force') SWEDEN Voice : +46 (0)26 72901 /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Date: 23 Feb 92 17:59:41 GMT >From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!wupost!spool.mu.edu!agate! usenet.ins.cwru.edu!cleveland.Freenet.Edu!aq009@arizona.edu Subject: Atari Sues Nintendo! In a previous article, Rod.Fulk@f24.n228.z1.FidoNet.Org (Rod Fulk) says: >Ps, I believe the lawsuit probably is with atari games and not atari computers.. The difference being warner still owns atari games and it is not associated with atari computers anymore at all.... No, but you are. Let me try to clear things up a little. Atari Games can only make arcade games under the Atari name. Anything else that says "Atari" on it is either made by, or licensed by, Atari Corporation. This includes their computers and home video game systems- -they're products of Atari Corp., not Atari Games. Atari Games is no longer owned by Warner (although Warner may still own some stake, as it does in Atari Corp.). Atari Games does not make the Lynx. Atari Games does make Tengen game cartridges, though. They use the name "Tengen" because they can't legally use the name "Atari" for any product other than arcade games. Tengen/Atari Games did have a lawsuit against Nintendo because they felt that the lockout chip restricted the freedom of businesses to make cartridges for the NES- -Tengen went ahead and cloned the chip, and Nintendo counter sued. I'm not sure of the status of this lawsuit. However, since Tengen/Atari Games is separate from Atari Corp. (whose lawsuit this thread is concerned with), its lawsuit is also separate from Atari Corp.'s. Atari Corporation's lawsuit shares some similarities with Atari Games's lawsuit, though. Atari Corporation's gripe is also somewhat involved with this lockout chip: Nintendo, since they were the only company that could "legally" produce cartridges for the NES, was able to force game programming companies to essentially agree to whatever terms Nintendo dictated. One of these terms was, for a while, an agreement not to make a version of any of their NES titles for any other game system until two years had passed since it had first appeared for the NES. So, essentially, games for any other system would be two years old once they became available. Atari Corporation viewed this as restriction of trade across the entire video game industry--game makers were prohibited from making their own titles for anything but the NES, essentially. By the time two years had passed, the games were too "old" to bother porting, and Nintendo's market share was so huge, there really wouldn't be much of a point in making a version for the other game machines. So Nintendo built up a huge lead in market share at the expense of Atari and other manufacturers. And now, Atari Corporation's lawsuit regarding this matter has gone to court, and hopefully we'll find out the results soon. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Date: 26 Feb 92 08:26:39 GMT >From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!news.claremont.edu!jarthur. claremont.edu!cliu@arizona.edu (Corey Liu) Subject: Atari + Computer Chronicles = Ho Hum After a month of anticipating this episode (Tue, Feb 25) of Computer Chronicles on PBS, I have to say that I was disappointed by the coverage Atari received at NAMM. The Atari/NAMM segment barely lasted 2 minutes and 40 seconds (half hour show). The segment 'featured' a very brief mention of Atari's new Music Divison, and mini-peaks at some 3rd party Atari based pacakages (Notator, Digital Master Workstation, Hotz Midi Translator, and Cubase). With two small interviews with Mike Pinder (Moody Blues) and Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac), that was the whole segment. The only thing mentioned on Atari hardware was it being the only computer on the market with built in MIDI interfaces. This entire Computer Chronicles show was dedicated to MIDI music. So what did the rest of the show feature? A short look at some computer/ music research occurring at Stanford; four in-studio guests demonstrating MIDI packages on Amiga, MS-DOS, and Mac platforms (no Atari); and the weekly 'Random Access' segment. Very disappointing show, especially considering that the NAMM correspondent even refferred to Atari as being "long the musicians' favorite." Oh well. Guess this is already more coverage than Atari usually gets in the States.... /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ======================================================================= * DRAGON BATTERY KIT Press Release ======================================================================= For immediate release: February 27 1992 DragonWare Software Inc announces the long awaited Stacy Internal battery! This two part upgrade for the stacy is 2.2 pounds! The "Dragon Battery kit" will include a dealer installed cable and jack and one 2.2 amphour battery. On a stock Stacy this will give over two hours of use on one charge. The kit also includes a fast charge option that will charge the battery in about two to three and a half hours while you use the computer or sit it on a shelf. If you use the standard Stacy power jack the battery will be kept at top charge at all times after an initial fourteen hour slow charge or a quick charge! The Dragon Battery Kit will have an SRP of $94.95, The Dragon Battery alone will have an SRP of $74.95 For more information on the Dragon Battery kit for the Atari Stacy write: DragonWare Software Inc. P.O. Box 1719 Havre MT 59501-1719 406-265-9609 ======================================================================= * PERUSING COMPUSERVE by Michael D. Mortilla ======================================================================= "To set the cause above renown, To love the game beyond the prize, To honor, while you strike him down, The foe that comes with fearless eyes;" Sir Henry Newbolt - 1862-1938 from "The Island Race" The big news on Compuserve for Atari owners this week, was in the Portfolio Forum (Go APORTFOLIO). Friday to Saturday from noon to noon, there was a very special 24-hour conference in this forum. A non-stop conference in which prizes were given away on a very regular basis. Subscriptions to Atari Explorer, programs, gift certificates. All you had to do was type /Roll 6,6 - and you were in on the fun! Of course, you had to join the forum, but that is free. There were many winners and lots of <g>s. It would be really exciting if more of this type of thing were organized on CIS. It makes good sense from a number of perspectives and is millions of times safer than any lottery you might enter! Bravo! Cheers! Hoorah! This week in the Ataripro we saw the following uploads: VTERM4.LZH - Latest version (4.0) of the Shareware term program VanTerm. ZAP62A.ARC - A Superzap file that will update Cal 6.2 to version 6.2a. QWKCIS.PRG - QuickCIS, v1.70b QuickCIS is a navigator for CompuServe. ATNINT.TXT - Article from the 13 Feb 92 issue of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WAITHD.LZH - ST waits for the harddisk. Bootsectorprogram! 38400.LZH - Hardware modification to lock RS 232 on 38400 Baud! KCLI2.ARC - KCLI 2.0 is a full featured CLI. GLOBEN.ZIP - An information package on GlobalNet Network for Sysops. In the Atari Portfolio forum: WP.PGC This is a .PGC file of the WordPerfect logo. Use PGShow to display. Created and uploaded by Don Thomas, Artisan Software. MICKEY.PGC A neat little screen .PGC file of Mickey Mouse. Use PGSHOW to view. Created and uploaded by Don Thomas; Artisan Software. DISNEY.ZIP These are 3 Disney .PGC files. Use PKZIP to decompress and PGSHOW to view files. Created and uploaded by Don Thomas, Artisan Software. BRLND.PGC BORLAND logo in PGC format. Use PGSHOW to view. Created and uploaded by Don Thomas, Artisan Software. CONHLP.TXT This file provides an overview on how to use the CompuServe Conferencing facility. Written by Don LeBow. CONCMD.TXT This file contains a command listing of valid conferencing commands. In the ATARIPRO forum, there was some the usual bantering about printing with useful information on lasers, dot matrix, bubble jets and lino services. The discussions were intercontinental (as they frequently are on CIS) with much of the discussion coming from England. It's always amazing to get involved in a discussion with someone only to find that they are located in Japan, Scandinavia, Europe or Russia! There is no doubt that when we colonize the Moon and other planets that we'll share information with those inhabitants, too. I wonder if my ST will still be alive then? I probably won't be... :-{ In the learn-something-new-every-day department, we discovered that the Atari SLM 605 printer uses and Epson 6000 engine, so consumables are very reasonably priced! In screening the screen messages, we found that the new Atari monitor is capable of 1000x900 resolution! At the moment, it appears that there is no big difference because the dots that appeared on the SM124 simply appear bigger on the new monitor, but users seem genuinely happy with the big picture. Another user tells us that "his friend" buys lots of "trashed" computers and parts from a number of sources. He says he got a Mac Classic for $100! Replaced the tube and was on his way. The tool to open the case was $100!! But it was simply a #4 Phillips screwdriver with an extra long shank. Solution? Get the same size from Sears and weld a long shank on it! If only everything in life were that easy. Also under discussion was the sometimes elusive "archive bit." What it does and doesn't do. To paraphrase one forum member 'The archive bit is a means of identifying whether a file has been modified since being backed up. This bit should be in the FAT directory, since only one per file is needed. HD backup programs like Turtle have the ability to set the bit when they back up a file; allowing an incremental backup to save only those files that have been modified. You can also "touch" the file, as with UIS or Maxifile, to force the bit to its "I haven't been backed up" setting. Until TOS 1.4, MS-DOS and TOS used opposite meanings for this bit. Obviously, the system convention could be taken as "if 1 then backed up" or the other way round. The convention was changed in TOS 1.4, I believe, to conform to the same convention used in MS-DOS. Although the backup programs use it, I don't know of any program that will display it.' Paraphrased is Mr. R. Gunter. Sounds like he really knows his stuff, too! Mr. Lee C. Zion, replies: "Both ST_Tools and Dshow the file attributes flags. These flags indicate whether the directory entry is a FOLDER, VOLUME LABEL, HIDDEN FILE or has been ARCHIVED." We haven't even touched on networking, DTP, programming, music.. <darn>. Networking is really getting hot in the forum discussions, and next week, I'll try to focus on that area some more. Just a quick note in the MIDIVENDOR forum, added to list of vendors "officially" participating were Hybrid Arts, PG Music, Music Quest and Magnet Music. Ciao, bella! ======================================================================= * Z*NET SOFTWARE SHELF by Ron Berinstein ======================================================================= Moreover a quiet week in the PD/Shareware department. Perhaps folks are recovering from all those hours of watching their TVs. After all giving that kind of attention to their favorite figure skater, or the downhill racers, or the slick bobsledders that all did such a magnificent job in the Olympics one might need a vacation! I am happy to report though while the number of new postings was done this week, the quality was still up. Stay tuned to this channel for further reports, and in the mean-time, pay attention to what follows! Enjoy.. Under the heading of: "Have you flipped out?" FLIPPED.LZH has a game file called Flipped! which is a fun colored tiles game with about 100 levels. The program is NOT TT Compatible, but who has a TT anyway? <smile>. Color monitor is required. (Program works with TOS versions up to 1.06 - possibly 1.62 but same has not been verified yet) ARRANGER.LST will also "flip you out." It is a nth-letter word arranger/rearranger/combinatorial program for fun so that you can solve puzzles in daily newspapers, or even win online games. (not that anyone would use this program as an aid) <smile> Up to 26-letter word support. Here is an example, you give the word "BUS", & your ST/TT will spits out SUB, SBU, UBS, & so on. STOP gives you TOPS, POST, etc. For three letter words something like a^2+b^2+c^2 = z was used as the formula ...GFA BASIC required. TT compatible. ARKCON17.LZH Arkade Controller 1.7. Controls sending Forem files to games, command lines, data file creation, doc file viewing, game file viewing, utility programs for games, and more. All set up with a simple setup script. You can make customized menus easily. Handles every game I have seen for BBS's (Except Michtron scripts). Shareware. Under the heading: "Here's something to talk about!" VTERM4.LZH is version (4.0) of popular Shareware terminal program VanTerm. This version fixes minor bugs, cosmetic display, (I hope it doesn't have any silicon in the program) changes, etc. VanTerm supports XModem, YModem, CompuServe B, Shadow background. Online help, external programs permitted (like utilities, protocols, etc.). Full mouse operation with accellerator keys. UNFORM.ARC contains UNFORM 3.0 which will convert a captured text file, or printed-to-disk doc file, to a form that any generic word processor can use. It will strip extra CRLFs, remove the left margin from files printed to disk, & convert tabs to up to 99 blanks each or expand them to the next tab stop (every 2 to 99 spaces apart). 100% assembly language - 15 times faster than old version! AUTOCAP.LZH might solve your problem. Have you ever forgotten to turn on the capture buffer while online? Well, fret no more because this little program goes into your computer's AUTO folder, and does it for you. SERPTCH.LZH This program is a patch for MSTe TOS thru 2.05 and TT TOS thru 3.05. (Versions since then do not need this) It fixes 4 problems in the serial port. By Allan Pratt at Atari; freeware. The file comes with docs. MGASTE11.ARC This is The MegaSTE Configuration Set v1.1. It is a group of small programs that will allow you to set the Cache and Speed of the MegaSTE. There is also a program called WHATAMI which will tell you the current status of your MegaSTE. That is if you have forgotten where you keep your credit card bills! <grin> Under the heading: "Seek the word and you shall find" DBWRITER.LZH DBWRIT.LZH has the first official release of dbWRITER. This word processor includes a 40,000 word dictionary, mail merge, custom interface, page preview, automatic columns, custom printer driver creation, fully configurable, comprehensive text block options & more! With a megabyte you will want the dictionary file also. Freeware. Requires a monochrome monitor. TT compatible in ST High. DBW_DICT.LZH DBDICT.LZH has the dictionary for dbWRITER word processor. It does require at least a megabyte of memory though. JETLOP2D.LZH is for the HP Desk Jet Printer, an envelope utility. It allows you a choice of HP fonts for your return and send to address. Also it has a default return address that is editable. Printing is fast and nice. Works in Med & High Rez only, and gives you an chance to use some of those new words that the dictionary file has let you access! Under the heading: "Do programmers really have more fun?" MENUMA.LZH features Makemenu V2.0 - Program that allows you to create "Drop-Down" menus for use within GFA BASIC programs - This much improved version 2.0 now has a "Autozest" type fron end together with much improved layout. It is said to be a real must for all you budding GFA programers. C_LIBSA1.ARC After popular request the uploader of these files put them together to give some programmers one less thing to worry about. form_ncenter() works just like form_center() but centers the object over a GRECT if desired. form_nalert() is just like form_alert but again the alert is centerable and you can even use a custom icon. Freeware (c)1992 Want to be in even better form? Take a look at this! LETM117.LZH Let'em Fly Version 1.17. This is like Form_Do It from Germany. It is said to have more features though. You can also use a RSC editor to construct replacements for alert and dialog box icons... LMF117.LZH Microsoft Windows, can it be improved? Well, this program adds a nice feature.... It lets you assign key commands for all dialog box buttons. For example, in a box with Okay and Cancel, Alt-O will choose Okay, and Alt-C will choose cancel. No mouse required. For those who hate Microsoft Windows, this might make the experience a better one. Under the heading: "Don't wait for the cows to get out" ST_TAR.ARC This is, for lack of a better term, a generic tape back-up program. Perhaps it was originally written for a Zephyr(?) tape system. The program is supposedly configurable to work with other tape units. Docs are included. ****** Not tested. ******* And for those of you who collect demos.. EDHAKDMO.LZH EdHak v 2.30 demo. Does everything the real version does but save to disk, or save new config. (so is limited to 4K buffer), but otherwise is fully functional as a file, disk, ram viewer. About 20 new features including working as a capture buffer for Stalker (from Gribnif), using Atari clipboard for block saves/merges (and changes clipboard path anytime you want), etc. FGRAPHD2.LZH Announcing the release of First Graph 2.0. First Graph is a professional graphing package, suitable for both business and scientific use. Great also for your school assignments. Data entry via speadsheet style table, or import DIF's. Export in IMG or GEM Metafiles. Many different graph types, including pie, line, bar, column, scatter, stacked, area and more. Under the Heading: "Call 'em up and play something nice for 'em." PHONBOOK.ARC This is a phonebook program that is really like a phonebook. This program will dial your modem for you. COLOR MONITOR REQUIRED... TT Compatible B_TRAK23.ZIP Accessory for the STE/MSTE/TT that plays your SoundTracker modules with up to 50 kHz samplerate!! Written by the same Norwegian that wrote the Pro STE tracker (very famous in Sweden) and the fabulous STE-Demo "Songs of the Unexpected!! The above files were compiled by Ron Berinstein co-sysop CodeHead Quarters BBS (213) 461-2095 from files that were either directly uploaded to CodeHead Quarters BBS, or downloaded from GEnie, Compuserve, and Delphi online services. ======================================================================= * Z*NET FNET SUPPORT SYSTEMS ======================================================================= Node BBS Name Telephone City, ST, Cntry Modem ==== ====================== ============ ================ ====== 5 Mile High 303-431-1404 Denver, CO, USA DS 14.4 8 Universal ST 414-496-0724 Green Bay, WI HST 96 18 ///Turbo Board Support 416-274-1225 Toronto, Canada DS 14.4 19 Autoboss/Atari Elite 412-384-5609 Bunola, PA DS 14.4 66 The Brewery 416-683-3089 Ajax, Canada HST 96 68 CFB Atari Toronto, Canada HST 96 74 HAUG BBS 205-722-0900 Huntsville, AL 2400 78 The Stun Bolt! 801-968-3921 Taylorsville, UT 2400 123 EastSide BBS 618-254-6077 Wood River, IL HST 96 133 Hologram Inc. 908-727-1914 Old Bridge, NJ HST 96 168 C.C.B.B.S. 609-451-7475 Bridgeton, NJ HST 96 181 NovelConcepts BBS 713-729-7555 Houston, TX 2400 204 Full Moon FoReM Support 408-736-0563 Sunnyvale, CA HST 96 224 Flash BBS 314-275-2040 St. Louis, MO HST 96 304 The Twilight Zone 407-831-1613 Longwood, FL HST14.4 307 PayBax BBS 302-836-4816 Wilmington, DE DS 14.4 319 Atari Base USA 408-745-2196 Sunnyvale, CA DS 14.4 390 Bear's Den 803-574-6738 Spartanburg, SC 2400 410 ACE Information Service 513-233-9500 Huber Heights, OH 2400 422 Virtual Reality 817-547-1734 Copperas Cove, TX DS 14.4 429 MASATEK 213-518-9524 Torrance, CA HST 96 467 Sherwood Forest 718-522-0768 Brooklyn, NY HST 96 469 The Outer Region BBS 303-766-2778 Aurora, CO HST 96 479 Cave Creek BBS 206-525-7046 Seattle, WA 2400 489 STeal Your Face 908-920-7981 Brick, NJ HST 96 497 Prime Time 805-987-6985 Camarillo, CA HST 96 500 Battlezone 410-969-0621 Glen Burnie, MD HST14.4 501 STormShadow 410-437-0243 Pasadena, MD HST14.4 504 Media 2000 410-360-1356 Pasadena, MD HST14.4 505 Z-Net Canada BBS 604-272-5888 RICHMOND, CANADA HST 96 508 The SenTinel BBS 403-782-7835 Lacombe, Canada V.9600 512 Fuji BBS 916-894-1261 Chico, CA 2400 523 Leftover Hippies BBS 416-466-8931 Toronto, Canada 2400 532 Bill's BBS 403-461-7546 Edmonton, Canada HST14.4 538 The Dragon's Lair 803-788-7806 Columbia, SC DS 14.4 546 Bear Swamp BBS 513-644-0714 Marysville, OH 2400 576 The Loch BBS 818-766-5277 No. Hollywood, CA 2400 592 The O-Mayer V BBS 213-732-0229 Los Angeles, CA HST 96 593 Z*Net USA: New Jersey 908-968-8148 Middlesex, NJ DS 14.4 595 Temple of Doom 403-436-0328 Edmonton, Canada DS 14.4 596 Super 68 206-859-9644 Kent, WA DS 14.4 602 Cartoon Haven BBS 719-574-7406 CO Springs, CO HST 96 610 The Songwriter's Den 908-859-5999 Phillipsburg, NJ HST 96 618 The Sword's Blade 613-724-1133 Ottawa, Canada 2400 621 The Garage 618-344-8466 Collinsville, IL HST 96 624 Paradox 314-631-5449 St. Louis, MO 2400 633 The Dark STar BBS 801-269-8780 Murray, UT DS 14.4 635 STormbringer 307-638-7036 Cheyenne, WY HST14.4 642 Hero's Haven 304-733-5626 Huntington, WV HST14.4 643 The Ringworld 303-699-0402 Aurora, CO HST 96 647 E.H.C.R. 203-528-7693 East Hartford, CT 2400 648 The Mosh Bit 206-574-1531 Vancouver, WA HST 96 659 The Wizard's Warren BBS 604-334-3809 Merville, Canada 2400 669 Dateline: Atari BBS 718-833-0828 Brooklyn, NY DS 14.4 675 Motherboard 404-796-3805 Augusta, GA 2400 678 A.C.O.R.N. 219-744-1396 Ft. Wayne, IN DS 14.4 680 The Revolution 702-644-8857 Las Vegas, NV DS 14.4 687 R.A.T. III 306-949-6105 Regina, Canada HST 96 690 Progressive Atari ST 503-686-3276 Eugene, OR 2400 693 Z*Net South Pacific 644-4762-852 Wellington, NZ HST 96 701 Conqueror Connection 318-537-3129 Fort Polk, LA 2400 705 Hacker's Haven BBS 512-653-3056 San Antonio, TX V.9600 706 Z*Net Golden Gate 510-373-6792 Sunnyvale, CA DS 14.4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To sign up for DELPHI service, call (with modem) (800) 695-4002. Upon connection, hit <return> once or twice. At Password: type ZNET and hit <return>. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To sign up for GEnie service call (with modem) (800) 638-8369. Upon connection type HHH and hit <return>. Wait for the U#= prompt and type XTX99436,GEnie and hit <return>. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To sign up for CompuServe service call (with phone) (800) 848-8199. Ask for operator #198. You will be promptly sent a $15.00 free membership kit. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Z*Net International Atari Online Magazine is a weekly publication covering the Atari and related computer community. Material published in this edition may be reprinted under the following terms only. All articles must remain unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of each article reprinted. Reprint permission granted, unless otherwise noted, to registered Atari user groups and not for profit publications. Opinions present herein are those of the individual authors and does not necessarily reflect those of the staff. This publication is not affiliated with the Atari Corporation. Z*Net, Z*Net News Service, Z*Net International, Rovac, Z*Net Atari Online and Z*Net Publishing are copyright (c)1985-1992, Syndicate Publishing, Rovac Industries Incorporated, Post Office Box 59, Middlesex, New Jersey, 08846-0059, Voice: (908) 968-2024, BBS: (908) 968-8148, (510) 373-6792. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Z*NET: Atari ST Online Magazine Copyright (c)1992, Rovac Industries, Inc... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~