¢The Atari 8-bit News-Disk Issue 14¢----------------------------------¢¢Editorial by Dean Garraghty.¢¢A warm welcome to issue 14 of the News-Disk!¢¢As usual, I have various things to discuss in this editorial, so go get the coffee!¢¢New Products¢------------¢¢Since last issue, a few new products have become available from us.¢¢Firstly, a new disk for the Quick programming language has been released. The Quick Support Disk #1 is a disk containing tutorials, example source code, new library files, and more for Quick. This disk is the perfect companion for Quick programmers. The disk is DS/DD (1050 density), and costs 4.95 separately. Or, you can buy it along with Quick and get Quick and the Support Disk together for just 17.50. Full details are on the catalogue update sheet.¢¢Secondly, I have teamed up with Rambit to re-release two of their products: Print-Filer and Taskmaster. Print-Filer is a printer utility which is loaded on top of your favourite graphics software/ word processor which allows you to re-direct the output intended for the printer to disk. By using various pieces of print software, you can use Print-Filer to later mix all the outputs together into one file which can be printed out in one dump. P-F comes with on-disk manuals for both Epson and non-Epson compatible printers. The UK price is 4.95 inc.P&P. Price to the US is US$15. Order direct from DGS in the UK by sending cash in US$. Taskmaster is a utility to convert cassette software to disk. The disk files will then load as if the software had loaded from tape. Taskmaster is quite advanced in that it allows you to examine the file when loaded from tape, and can help in finding the execute address for tapes with non-standard loaders. Taskmaster comes on a SS/SD disk with a printed manual and costs 4.95 inc.P&P in the UK. Price to the US is US$15. Order direct from DGS in the UK by sending cash in US$. Both these products are detailed on the catalogue update sheet.¢¢Public Domain. We finally have some new PD disks available in the library. Details are on the catalogue update sheet and on side 2 of this disk. Also on side 2 are details of our latest stock of used tapes/ disks/ carts./ books/ mags/ hardware.¢¢Coming soon¢-----------¢¢Power Per Post have just informed me that they have found the source code for 3D Pac Man (how the heck can you lose source code?!), and that it should be ready again soon. DGS will, of course, be distributing it in the UK.¢¢Video. I am currently working on a new video with demonstrations of Quick, SAM, Quick Ed, Rubber Ball, Glaggs It, Mine Sweeper, and Digi-Studio. This will give you an excellent opportunity to see the products in action before you decide to buy. Details of the video will be on issue 15.¢¢Special Offers¢--------------¢¢I am pleased to announce two special offers this issue. Enclosed, you will find two vouchers. One will get you a 3 pack of PPP games (Rubber Ball, Glaggs It, and Mine Sweeper) for just 10 pounds!! A saving of 2.50! That's just 3.33 a game! Come on folks! Buy a set!¢¢The other voucher will allow you to get PD disks from our library for just 1pound a disk, provided you order a minimum of 10 disks! This offer is limited to one per customer. In other words, you can only use the voucher once, so buy as many as you can afford when you send in your voucher.¢¢When claiming these special offers, you should include the relevant voucher(s), and write "SPECIALS" at the top of the DGS order form.¢¢These special offers are only available to paying disk-based subscribers of the News-Disk. If you have downloaded this issue from a BBS etc., then you should consider taking a disk-based subscription. We run special offers vertually every issue! Sub. details are at the end of this editorial.¢¢Both vouchers expire on 30 October 1993.¢¢U.S. subscribers: we are not allowed to sell PPP products outside the UK, so the PPP offer is not open to you. The PD offer is open to you. You can get disks for $2 a disk (minimum 10 disks) + 10% (minimum $5) shipping by using the voucher.¢¢AMS 7¢-----¢¢Well, believe it or not, it is very nearly show time again! It hardly seems a minute since I was trying to talk you all into going to AMS6!¢¢This year, the show is on Saturday November 13th (1993). All disk-based subscribers should have a leaflet in with their disks.¢¢This show is likely to be the best yet. I have been told that various German suppliers are coming over to take stands at the show, along with all us regulars. Also, Power Per Post are hopefully going to be on our stand helping out, and talking to people about all the PPP products. Your chance to talk to Harald Schoenfeld the programmer of Quick, SAM, the games, and Quick Ed. Hopefully Harald will be running seminars during the day at regular times. This is better than repeating the same stuff over and over to everyone who comes along. I had a very sore throat after trying to plug Digi-Studio last year! This is your chance to see the stuff in action, and ask questions.¢¢As usual, we need as much support as possible on the day. This year, costs are very high with us now being trade. The stand alone is 3 times as much as we paid last year. Also, the cost of bringing Harald over is immense, but I think it is important that he is there. Please come along to the show, and our stand. We really do need your support!¢¢We have various special offers planned for the show, and some suprises. We can't say what they are yet, because there's still lots of planning to do. But, I can tell you this: bring PLENTY of money! You will be tempted to spend!¢¢We will, as usual, have a team of experts working on the stand (well, they claim they're experts. Experts in eating all the chocolate bars and drinking all the coke (William!!)). One of these "experts" is one Richard Gore who writes for the News-Disk, and also sells the Yorky 256K upgrade. He will be showing off the Yorky, and maybe even selling a few!¢¢Please come along to AMS7, and don't forget to visit our stand.¢¢Just one thing. If you subscribe to the News-Disk then ask to speak to me at the show and tell me! We have had many occasions where I've been talking to somebody for 20 minutes without realising who they are!¢¢DGS Update¢----------¢¢DGS has been running now for around 11 weeks, so it's time to tell you how its going.¢¢In a word: miserably. Nobody said it would be easy, but then nobody said it would be impossible. Supporting the Atari on a full-time basis was a very big risk for me, but I decided to go ahead because I'm a believer. I believed that the people were still out there, and that they still wanted software. It appears I was wrong.¢¢Since starting, average gross weekly takings have been around 30pounds. This is terrible. There is no way I can survive on that. Out of that 30pounds, I am luckly to get about 6pounds. Nobody can survive on 6pounds a week. The only thing that is keeping DGS alive is the EEC. If it weren't for the EEC, DGS would have died long ago.¢¢People often don't realise the huge expenses in running a business. There are direct costs such as printing, stationary, photocopying, disks, postages, and royalty payments. But, there are many "hidden" costs as well. I have to pay the phone bill, business insurance, professional fees (accountant, etc.), advertising, various bands of national insurance, and don't forget tax! The costs just run wild. I can't keep up with them. Try doing all this on 6quid a week!¢¢I must just say one thing. I am NOT a greedy person. I do not aim to become rich. I just need to survive!¢¢Please show me your support by continuing to buy as much as you can from DGS. I would appreciate this.¢¢Let's hope we can work together to keep DGS going. If it weren't for us, many products whould never have seen the light of day in the UK. It is just hard work and determination that has brought many new products to the UK market.¢¢News¢----¢¢Bit of sad news here. BaPAUG's 8:16 newsletter has ceased publication. Any subscription money owing to subscribers is being returned. They say this is because "of a lack of articles for publication being contributed, and various other demands on our editors time". We have the same problem at the News-Disk, but we just manage to get enough togther to make a reasonable newsletter. Send us your articles!! Don't forget we "pay" in PD disks. See issue 13 for details of this.¢¢The News-Disk on paper¢----------------------¢¢Well, I've discussed this with you before, but here we go again! I have been looking into producing the News-Disk as a printed magazine. It appears the costs aren't as bad as I first thought. There is a problem! I would need 100 subscribers to make it work! That means I need a heck of a lot more than I have now. Tell all the Atari people you know that there is a chance of a new Atari magazine if only we can get about 75 new people.¢¢On this issue¢-------------¢¢On this issue we have:¢¢ADVERTS.DOC - the adverts!¢¢GAMING2.DOC - the second part of Richard Gore's gaming series¢¢PDREVS.DOC - reviews of some PD disks from the DGS library. By Alan Hitchen¢¢RAMBIT.DOC - Some details on the Rambit turbo tape system, and a correction to the last issue of the News-Disk.¢¢VENDORS.DOC - a new updated list of world-wide Atari supporters¢¢XF551.DOC - a story about the experiences of Richard Gore and his trusty XF551¢¢XLFDOCS.DOC - doc file for:¢¢XLF.EXE - The XL-Friend. A great utility. See the docs for more details.¢¢Signoff¢-------¢¢Well, that's all for this time. Please keep buying from us, please keep sending articles, and please come to AMS7!¢¢If your subscription number ends in /14 then it's time to re-subscribe. Please re-subscribe!¢¢Dean Garraghty, B.Sc.(Hons).¢19 September 1993.¢¢The News-Disk is published in the UK by:¢¢DGS, 62 THOMSON AVE, BALBY, DONCASTER, DN4 0NU, ENGLAND.¢¢Phone: (0302) 855026.¢International: +44-302-855-026¢E-Mail: djg0@aber.ac.uk¢
