REVIEW : ATARI CLASSICS VOL.1 NO.1¢by S.J.Murray, 11/11/92.¢¢¢ Atari Classics (AC) is here! My free Premier Issue arrived yesterday and has already been read from front to back. A final total of 610 commitments was achieved during the Mail Campaign and with Unicorn Publications requesting at least 500 a publisher was secured. The rest, as they say, is history except to say that the whole international 8-bit community owes a great debt to Ben Poeland, Jeff McWilliams and all the lads. Well done!¢¢ So what of the first issue? Well, to begin with it is a 32-page exclusively 8-bit magazine which is printed on standard paper in black and white (similar to 8:16, the BaPAUG Newsletter). This may not look 'sexy' but it does show that the staff are commited to keeping costs down and therefor to keep the magazine running long into the future.¢¢ The text is very crisp and pleasant to read with a variety of fonts utilized throughout the pages. Artwork is sensibly kept simple and sparse. A table of contents and an advertisers index are provided.¢¢ Advertisements account for 10 of the 32 pages with 2 pages used for Swop'n'Shop, a flea market for all Atari 8-bit users. Take away the front cover and contents page and you are left with 18 pages of features and columns.¢¢ AC has certainly aggresively pursued their advertisers. American TechnaVision, A.I.M., B&C ComputerVisions, Best Electronics, CSS, Current Notes, Gralin Int., LAPD, Toad Computers and BaPAUG are all there. Not only are these ads important to the financial stability of AC, they are also of great use and interest to 8-bit users. (CSS have a holiday sale on until Dec 31)¢¢ The 18 pages of features and columns are the core of AC. With three features and five columns there is something for everyone.¢¢ The first of the three features is 'Dollars and Sense in Education'. This is a single-page feature on how Barton Bresmik, AC Educational Software Editor, uses his Atari 8-bit in school.¢¢ 'Provincialism as a Factor in the Survial of User Communities: Neccesary but Not Sufficient' is an extremely interesting two-page feature by Alan Sharkis of OHAUG. It looks at the importance of sampling other computer environments. He uses many examples to show what I (and many other devoted 8-bitters) have come to believe over the years - it is not wrong to sample other systems because the 8-bit will always remain the primary system. I have purchased a Sony MSX and an Atari STE since beginning computing with my 800 in July, 1983. I've also messed about with Pascal and various software titles on the IBM as well as brief trips into the worlds of BBC, Spectrum, Vic20, C64 and Apple computing.¢¢ All these systems have been tested and compared to the Atari 8-bit and each time I've returned to the keyboard of my trusty Atari knowing that it is indeed the best system for my computing needs.¢¢ Ben Poeland states at the end of Alan's feature that, "AC exemplifies the spirit of Alan's essay". This is good news and I hope this feeling will continue throughout later issues. (As long as the nasty words 'Commodore' and 'Amiga' are not mentioned. To Kill a Commodore!!! Only joking Alan.)¢¢ OK, so I went off at a tangent - I'm only human (I hope!). Back to the review...¢¢ The third and final feature within the first issue of AC is 'Tracking Down an Upgrade Malfunction' by Thomas Andrews. He talks about the steps he went through to fix his memory upgrade. Very amusing!¢¢ The five regular columns are:¢¢Correspondent's Corner;¢The Fitting Room;¢Moonlight Workshop;¢Exploring the Wild Frontier;¢The Garret.¢¢ Within 'Correspondent's Corner', Itay Chamiel from Israel shows how Atari is viewed in his country. Unfortunately, only half a page is given to this column. There is a lot of potential here for international 8-bit articles. AC have recognised this potential and have placed a request for correspondents from Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Great Britain, and northern Europe. However, the primary requirement is that you have access to the Internet (contact Ben Poehland at poehland%phvax.dnet@smithkline.com for information). This is a shame, as it eliminates many potential corresspondents (including myself!). I may send a report on disk and see what happens.¢¢ 'The Fitting Room', by Mike Jewison, looks at tinkering with your Atari 8-bit. This time he deals with RAMdisks and the Transkey board (mounting an 8-bit Atari inside a PC case). Mike's personal computing history is also included.¢¢ In 'Moonlight Workshop', Jeff McWilliams tries to solve 8-bit problems. Printing graphics from the XEP-80 is tackled.¢¢ David Richardson looks at printers and printing on your Atari 8-bit within 'The Wild FONTier'. An introduction to the wonders of Daisy Dot III is given in various DD3 fonts. David states that future subjects will include converting Printshop icons to DD3, double-column printing, designing fonts, printer compatibility, word processor compatibility, etc.¢¢ The final column is 'The Garret' by Ed Hall. Here he looks at writing text on the 8-bit Atari. He looks at Creative Process (from Antic), spell checkers, writing utilities, and Dark Star (a UK sci-fi/horror fanzine produced on an Atari 8-bit system). T.V.Plots, a plot generator, is given as a BASIC listing (which will be included on the first AC disk). It looks quite interesting.¢¢ What impresses me so much about the content of AC is the originality of the features and columns. With topics like education, printing, projects, problems, etc. a wide variety of 8-bit interests are covered. It's great to see columns on electronic projects and printing. Also, if the features continue at such a high standard, AC will undoubtedly become a success.¢¢ The only thing missing from the Premier Issue is a PD software column. With so much outstanding public domain software being written I'm sure AC readers would find such a column very useful.¢¢ One point worth noting about AC is the complete lack of entertainment articles and reviews. Games, demos and puzzlers are not mentioned at all. Whether this is a plus or a minus factor depends on what you use your Atari for. However, I find it very hard to believe that AC readers do not boot up the odd entertainment program when they feel like a break from the keyboard or PCB. The PD column mentioned above could cover some of the latest PD entertainment software. A single-page entertainment column is another option.¢¢ AC is attempting to reach the serious Atari 8-bit enthusiast. This is commendable, but to assume that there is no interest in 8-bit entertainment software is a mistake. Hopefully, they are considering an entertainment column for future issues. One page is all it would take.¢¢ In conclusion, I was very impressed with Atari Classics Vol.1 No.1. The low-cost, aggressive marketing and advertising policy, original material and complete confidence in their own future success has made my decision on whether or not to subscribe a simple one. Now, where's that order form...¢¢¢-----------------------------------¢¢¢Atari Classics annual subscription:¢¢ All subscriptions are for one year (6 issues). (Note: If fewer than 500 subscriptions are received before the end of 1992, a one-year subscription may contain fewer issues.)¢¢¢USA 3rd Class Mail $25¢Canada Surface Mail $30¢Foreign (All) Surface Rate $32¢Europe/Mediterranean AIRMAIL $38¢Asia/Pacific Area AIRMAIL $40¢¢AC Software Disk (global) $9¢¢¢ The AC Software Disk will be distributed 3 times/year, concurrently with every other issue of the magazine. Disks will be DS/SD flippies and will contain all the type-in software from the current + previous issue plus selections from the Public Domain as space permits.¢¢Payment: Cheque/ M.O./ I.M.O.¢ VISA¢ ACCESS/MASTERCARD¢¢Please make cheques or money orders payable to ATARI CLASSICS in US Funds. DO NOT SEND CASH.¢¢(Note: credit card orders will be charged a $2 processing fee on orders under $100, $3 on orders over $100.)¢¢Send your payment (along with your name, address and phone number) to the following address:¢¢Circulation Editor,¢Atari Classics,¢179 Sproul Road/Rt.352,¢Frazer,¢PA 19355-1958.¢
