FUTURA EDITORIAL - NOV/DEC 1992¢¢¢Love Or Money?¢¢ Why do I spend over sixty hours producing each issue of Futura? It's definitely not for the money. Don't get me wrong, all your orders are very welcome but they in no way cover the time and effort put into each issue. So why do I do it?¢¢ The simple answer is my love for the Atari 8-bit. Like so many of you out there I am determined to continue using my 8-bit for my computing needs. Word processing, filing, financial management, programming, art, music, entertainment, etc. The list is endless. I even use it to produce all my University essays!¢¢ All the software featured on this and other issues of Futura is to help you gain full use of your machine. Past issues have featured many top quality programs, including SpeedScript, MyCopyR, Sound Monitor, Atari Drum Machine, GRASS Calculator, Multi-File Copy II, Cyrtabor, Think & Work, etc. This issue continues the trend with Colourspace, My Jong, Passionately, etc. Public Domain software on the Atari 8-bit is at an all-time high (both in quantity and quality!) and programs such as these deserve to be used by as many 8-bitters as possible.¢¢ I deliberately set the cover charge at under two pounds (1.95) because Futura is PD! One third of this charge is to cover the cost of the disk and p+p. One third is to help fund my costs in obtaining new and obscure PD software. Finally, one third (65p) is for my time and effort in putting together each issue.¢¢ So why am I telling you this? Well, I just wanted to let you see exactly where your one pound and ninety five pence goes every two months. Where else can you get a 30-40 page magazine (when all the DOC files are printed) and more than a dozen top quality programs for such a small sum of money?¢¢¢Disk Drive Anxieties¢¢ Three Futurians have recently written to me asking about the availability of disk drives. I thought I'd give you a couple of useful contacts.¢¢ Firstly, there is Derek Fern of Micro Discount. He currently has a stock of XF551 drives priced at 125 pounds each (plus p+p). He also has some reconditioned 1050 drives for 95 pounds each (plus p+p). Hardware from Micro Discount comes with a three-month guarantee. Give Derek a call on 021-353-5730 for full details.¢¢ Another useful contact is Peter Mattock. He sells reconditioned 810 and 1050 drives at very reasonable prices (e.g. 810 drives fitted with Archiver for only 50 pounds). Hardware from Peter Mattock comes with a short-term guarantee (about one month). Two NOSAUG members have recently purchased drives from Peter. Both were very impressed with the service they received. Give Peter a call on 0375-374280 (and mention my name). Peter also runs a full 8-bit repair service. If you have any faulty 8-bit hardware give him a call and ask for a quote.¢¢¢Excel¢¢ I notice that Bob Stuart has been using programs from Futura 1 and 2 in his latest Excel disk mags. Excel 17 featured the Atari Drum Machine, Sound Monitor Professional, Jump and Table Football. Excel 18 had Triple Crown Racing. It's a pity he chose not to give Futura a mention on any of these Excels.¢¢¢Eric Watson¢¢ I would like to conclude this editorial by giving my thanks to Eric Watson from Huddersfield for his kind donation to NOSAUG. Eric sent us two shoe boxes packed full with 8-bit cassettes. Some of these cassettes will be loaned out to NOSAUG members. Others will be added to the Futura bargains software list (to help fund Futura). A selection will also be offered to Futura readers as part of a Futura Competition starting in issue #5 (Jan/Feb 93). Thank-you Eric from all of us at NOSAUG.¢¢That's all for this issue.¢¢¢Yours Atari 8-bitly,¢¢Stuart.¢
