¢THE OL' HACKERS ATARI USERS GROUP¢¢Introduction by S.J.Murray, NOSAUG.¢3rd July, 1993.¢¢¢ I have been an Ol' Hacker for only six months but in that short period of time I have been warmly welcomed into the group as though I'd been a member since the beginning. I must admit to hesitancy before sending away my $24 membership dues (it's always the same when currency exchange is involved). However, after receiving my introduction letter and disk, PD Catalogue and the Jan/Feb 1993 Ol' Hackers Newsletter I was in no doubt that my $24 were well spent.¢¢ I now regularly exchange letters with OHAUG President Alex Pignato, as well as Ron Fetzer and Harold Pegler. I look forward to the arrival of these letters with great anticipation. We discuss everything from computing to politics and I usually send small gifts from Scotland for the OHAUG membership.¢¢ Alex Pignato has kindly given me permission to include back issues of the Ol' Hackers Newsletter in the NOSAUG PD Library. This will give Futurians the chance to examine the Ol' Hackers Newsletter before deciding whether or not to join OHAUG. (thanks Alex!)¢¢ It is within these newsletters that you will discover the power of OHAUG. On each disk there is a large amount of quality, informative text which is a joy to read from start to finish. There are also occasional PD programs.¢¢ The biggest compliment I can give OHAUG is that the Ol' Hackers Newsletter was an influence on the final style of Futura. I opted for a large text section because I enjoyed reading all the articles in the Ol' Hackers Newsletter.¢¢ Alex Pignato has written with the following membership details:¢¢ "We have 65 members at present with the great majority as non-local members, so we are actually more of an international 8-BIT club. Dues, after June 1 are $2.00 per month for unexpired months to December 31, 1993, and at the same time they must also send in the $24.00 for all of 1993"¢¢ Therfore, to join OHAUG in October 1993 you will be $30 ($6 + $24). This will give you membership until December 1994. OHAUG do not accept credit cards and payment must be made in US dollars. The easiest way to join from Europe is to send cash dollars by Registered Airmail to the address below. Go to the nearest main branch of your bank and exchange your pounds for dollars ($30 = approx. 20 pounds). I can highly recommend OHAUG membership!¢¢ The following article on OHAUG was written by Alex Pignato, OHAUG President. It was featured in the May 1993 issue of Current Notes.¢¢¢ ------¢¢¢¢The Ol' Hackers Atari User Group,¢Inc. (OHAUG)¢¢A Place to Turn When You Don't Have a Local 8-bit User Group¢¢by Alex Pignato, OHAUG President,¢GEnie: A.PIGNATO¢¢[The following article is a 1993 Update to the OHAUG story that appeared in Issue #61 (July 10, 1987) of the now defunct Z*Magazine.]¢¢¢In the Beginning¢¢ It started innocently enough. I read a message on a Bulletin Board System (BBS) from another "poor soul" (Kevin Blaes) who was pleading for help so that he could upload and download with his 835 Atari modem. It had taken me six months to get a program to do this with my 1030 Atari modem, so I had A genuine appreciation for his frustration. I left him a message to send me a disk with programs on it and I sent back the program he wanted along with other public domain programs. The exchange of disks between us continued at a rapid pace, each of us trying to outdo the other.¢¢ Over the next 1-1/2 years, I kept addressing Kevin as "The Young Hacker," and signed notes as "The Old Hacker." He responded in kind. We also spoke on the phone frequently and in short order a friendship evolved. This is part of what computers do for people, it makes friends. During this time, I was conversing with Jerry Ginsberg, a lawyer friend, and found that he had an Atari, too; but no one in his family was using it. I told him about this "game" machine's potential, and its ability to do countless other things. Soon, he got hooked, almost as deeply as me. His wife and children got involved to the point where they actually had to set up a schedule to use the computer!¢¢ When the Long Island Coliseum had a Computer Electronics Show, Kevin suggested we meet there in person. I brought Jerry with me and the three of us spent a great afternoon at the show. When we saw all that there was to see, we decided to have a chat over a cup of coffee. An hour later, finding it very hard to break up, Jerry suggested that we all meet again at his home in a couple of weeks.¢¢¢OHAUG is Born!¢¢ When we next met, we each brought Atari friends; and, suddenly, there were about eight in our group. It was suggested that we start a user's group and so "The Ol' Hackers Atari Users Group (OHAUG)" was born in December, 1985. I was voted in as President, Kevin as Vice President and Jerry was made Corresponding Secretary.¢¢ When Jerry's house got too small, we moved over to Tom Carroll's house and took over his top floor. Tom, who was self employed in the electronic recording field, had a studio with at least three Atari 800's (all modified), an IBM., and I don't know how many video cassette recorders. We met once a month on a Saturday afternoon from 12 to 5 PM and had a ball at our informal meetings, exchanging knowledge and data.¢¢ When the group again got too large, we looked for new quarters. Thanks to Jerry, we got permission to use the Plainview Public Library. Interestingly enough, the library was run on Atari 800's, so our group was very welcome.¢¢¢What We're About¢¢ Our aims are similar to other Atari users groups. We exchange knowledge and information with each other and with over 60 other users clubs throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. We have a few members who have technical knowledge and who are constantly looking to make modifications to the hardware. We also have members who are professional programmers for various banks as well as many amateur programmers. The members are all adults and are a cross-section of the community. Our membership includes blue collar workers as well as many white collar professionals. The club brings together people from all walks of life with a common interest and the results are very warm friendships and growing enjoyment of our 8-bit computers. We are deeply committed to the 8-bit community. For example, we unanimously volunteered to package, stamp and mail over 200 Atari Classics disks, and will do so as future issues are made. We understand that at present about 300 people have bought these disks, more than was expected. We are also proud to be picked as the July 1987 Z*Magazine User Group of The Month.¢¢¢Monthly Meetings¢¢ We still meet at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library on a Saturday of each month. The date changes, so please contact us if you are planning to attend. Meetings generally start at 12 noon and the first hour is spent in socializing and setting up the club's equipment. After we have an hour's business meeting, we break for coffee and cake and have a door prize drawing. Then we break up into smaller groups for demonstrations and classes until 5 PM. or until we are thrown out of the library! The nicest comment we hear is that the members can't wait for the next meeting. When we're at the meeting, we don't like to leave the library even after the meeting's end at 5 PM.¢¢¢Telecommunication Connection¢¢ At one time, the club owned its own BBS, but now we can be reached through two local BBS's, whose SysOps are both members of OHAUG. The BBS's are:¢¢ The Machine (516)764-5748¢ SysOp: Lou Trapani¢¢ The New Nest (516)234-4943¢ SysOp: Jim Harris¢¢ Both BBS's Network with all parts of the USA, and NEW NEST also Networks with EUROPE-i.e. GERMANY, NETHERLANDS etc.. My handle on both BBS's is "TRIALA".¢¢¢Corresponding Memberships¢¢ One of the unique things about OHAUG is that we actively support "corresponding members." These are people who can't come to our monthly meetings in person, but are with us in spirit. This is an attractive option to those who don't have a local user group. OHAUG is a way to stay in touch with fellow Atari 8-bitters.¢¢ We are proud that OHAUG's ranks boast many "famous" 8-bitters, many of whom are corresponding members. They include Ben Poehland (Managing Editor of Atari Classics magazine), Tom Andrews, Charles Cole, Ron Fetzer, Mark Bensley, Stuart Murray (Editor of FUTURA from Scotland), David Ewens (Editor of England's Tyne & Wear Atari User Group newsletter), Larry Tischbein (Editor of the Lehigh Valley Atari User Group Newsletter), Joseph Hicswa (President of the Jersey Atari Computer Group (JACG)) and Sam Cory (JACG Librarian). The list goes on and on. (Editors Note: Their work has appeared in many mags i.e CURRENT NOTES, ATARI CLASSIC-also in the defunct ANTIC and ANALOG mags)¢¢ So how do we stay in touch with each other--especially with our corresponding members? In the beginning, we had the normal hardcopy club newsletter. Now we publish a double sided disk bi-monthly "softcopy" newsletter. It's loaded with articles of interest from all over the world, as well as a number of interesting ready to run programs. As often as possible, we include the documentation, if available. We exchange our newsletters with over 60 clubs, world wide. We have corresponding members in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy as well as all over the United States. Recently we've even added a 65XE owner who resides in Moscow! Since he can't obtain American currency we carry him just for the honor of doing it. The Cold War is really over! As we exchange letters with our corresponding members across the planet, they have become good friends as well as just members.¢¢ We respond to problems that any OHAUG member may have. Recently a corresponding member wanted to know where he could buy a piece of hardware. Another corresponding member responded with the needed information. This has happened many times, as can be attested to in the club meeting minutes that appear in our newsletter.¢¢¢Are You Ready to Become an Ol' Hacker?¢¢ We have a Public Domain library of over 300 double sided disks, available to members for $8.00 for 5 disks, post paid. Our annual dues are $24 from January to December and include our disk based newsletter. If you join after June, it drops to $12. The rate is the same whether you are a local or corresponding and whether you're in the United States or overseas.¢¢ If you are a lonely 8-bitter, or if you want more from your 8-bit, you are welcome to join us. Send your check or money order made out to Ron Fetzer to:¢¢¢The Ol' Hackers Atari Users Group, Inc.¢3376 Ocean Harbor Drive¢Oceanside, NY 11572¢USA¢¢¢ Take care and enjoy the best little micro on the market, even today!¢¢¢¢¢ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++¢ + +¢ + END? No Way Jose! OHAUG goes on! +¢ + +¢ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++¢
