*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢¢ NEWSLETTER REVIEWS¢ by Alan Sharkis¢ OHAUG Newsletter Librarian¢¢ I'm probably going to miss some¢ newsletters in this issue. I've¢ decided to change my usual policy of¢ extending the deadlines and including¢ issues right up to the point of¢ completing the newsletter. This¢ month, however, circumstances have¢ conspired against such inclusion. ¢ Anything that's received by me after,¢ say, December 16th, will have to wait¢ for the next issue of the OHAUG¢ Newsletter. ¢¢ (FR)ANTIC for June/July 1998 -- I was¢ beginning to think that the AAAUA had¢ finally stopped publishing its¢ newsletter. I guess they just¢ decided to hold off on mailing them¢ for a while. This issue is thin, but¢ contains some useful mailing¢ addresses and URLs. It also contains¢ an early work by NIR DARY of PAL-¢ upgrade fame. This article is¢ MAPPING THE DOS DISK and is reprinted¢ from the June 1991 issue of¢ (FR)ANTIC. In it, Nir explains how¢ an Atari disk is laid out. It's¢ important reading for anyone who¢ wants to edit a disk.¢¢ (FR)ANTIC for August 1998 -- Editor¢ MANUEL GARCIA explains that the¢ newsletter will now return to a¢ monthly format. He describes some¢ Web sites he has visited. One has a¢ description, directions and cheats¢ for the game SPY VS. SPYII, which is¢ reprinted in this issue of (FR)ANTIC.¢ The URL for this site is:¢¢ http://shell.ihug.co.nz/%7Eaaronat/at¢ riman.html¢¢ Manuel also states that the AAAUA is¢ now meeting in AL BLOCKER's home. He¢ gives a list of Atari user groups¢ with whom the AAAUA exchanges¢ newsletters. Of course, OHAUG is on¢ it, but there are some clubs that I¢ haven't even heard mentioned before. ¢ These are:¢¢ Austin Atari Computer Enthusiasts¢ AEL Personal Computer Users¢ L.C.A.C.¢ Yolo Atari Club (Seems to be ST)¢¢ I have the addresses of these user¢ groups from Manuel's list. I'd like¢ to know if any OHAUG members belong¢ to them or know anything about them. ¢ We can probably exchange newsletters¢ with them, especially since many of¢ the user groups on our list have¢ dropped out in recent years.¢¢ S.C.A.T. President's Letter for Fall¢ 1998 -- Not much to report here,¢ except that the S.C.A.T. Website is¢ now available full time. However,¢ President NICK DiMASI fails to give¢ the URL for that site!¢¢ (FR)ANTIC for September 1998 --¢ Editor MANUEL GARCIA gives us a¢ description of the 2600 Parker¢ Brothers game, POPEYE, but explains¢ that much of that description also¢ applies to the 8-bit computer¢ version. Also included in this issue¢ is an assembly listing for a sort¢ utility from the Best of Antic Disk.¢ RUSSELL STOWE has a short column in¢ this issue. He wonders where all of¢ the members have gone. He implies¢ that having a PC is really not a¢ reason to give up on the 8-bits. I¢ can't agree more.¢¢ SLCC Journal for October 1998 -- I¢ think I'm getting the hang of this¢ fine user group's method of dating¢ their newsletters, so the October¢ date is probably accurate. (Am I¢ equivocating here or am I¢ equivocating here? -- Ed.) At any¢ rate, BOB WOOLLEY demonstrated the¢ Jam! device at this meeting. This¢ device allows any NTSC device (the¢ Atari 8-bit puts out NTSC signals for¢ the TV) to be displayed on a VGA¢ monitor. For those of you with a PC¢ and an 8-bit, this device can be¢ quite a space-saver. JIM MORAN, the¢ club secretary, also alluded to¢ upcoming discussions about the club's¢ future.¢¢ (FR)ANTIC for October 1998 -- Editor¢ MANUEL GARCIA came across OHAUG¢ member (and former AAAUA Vice-¢ President) JOHN HARDIE's Website.¢ This site is part of a Web Ring of¢ Atari sites. Not sure what a Web¢ Ring is? Pick up this issue of¢ (FR)ANTIC to find out. RUSSELL STOWE¢ mentions the A.P.E. software briefly,¢ and alludes to a future demonstration¢ of it. (Of course, in order to do¢ the demo, an 8-bit, a PC and an¢ SIO2PC cable must be used. -- Ed.)¢ Russell also states that he was able¢ to donate some spare hardware and¢ software to a day care center. Three¢ short type-in programs by FRANK E.¢ KWEDER, reprinted from Current Notes¢ Magazine, December 1990 issue, and a¢ screen shot of Crystal Castles round¢ out the issue.¢¢ PACESetter for November, 1998 --¢ There is a review of Animation¢ Station, reprinted from the¢ M.A.G.I.C. Newsletter, December 1990.¢ This hardware/software package can be¢ used to create and animate drawings¢ on the Atari 8-bit computer. There's¢ also a reprint of an article called¢ "An Introduction to Classic Atari¢ Magazines" reprinted from the August¢ 1998 issue of Orphaned Computers and¢ Game Systems. There's also an¢ article on fixing computer glitches¢ that seems more oriented to PCs, but¢ has some applicability to our 8-bits.¢ There are also an interesting type-in¢ routine and advice on cursor¢ positioning and reset-running, again¢ reprinted from the October 1990 issue¢ of M.A.G.I.C. Newsletter.¢¢ JACG Newsletter for November 1998 --¢ Editor TOM LASKOWSKI relates¢ exchanging information with WALT¢ LEWIS, editor of the PACESetter.¢ Walt suggested that some IBM material¢ in the JACG Newsletter would generate¢ more interest in the club. JOE¢ HICSWA writes about using the DOS "M"¢ option with the address E477 to jump¢ from one disk to another without¢ powering down the compuer. There's a¢ printout of the Next Generation¢ Magazine's Website report on the¢ World of Atari show this past August.¢ A good deal of the Y2K-related¢ interplay that was run in the last¢ OHAUG newsletter is reprinted here¢ (see my article elsewhere in this¢ issue of the OHAUG Newsletter -- Ed.)¢ This issue of the JACG Newsletter¢ concludes with reprints of an article¢ about having fun with telemarketers,¢ and another entitled, "All I Know¢ About Computers I Learned From My¢ Mom."¢¢ XIO3 for November/December 1998 --¢ This issue has several computer-¢ related cartoons that will keep you¢ laughing for a while. On the 8-bit¢ side, ROWLAND GRANT writes about the¢ completion and distribution of Pool¢ Disk Too, the aquisition by BOB KLAAS¢ of the Supra Hard Drive Interface for¢ 8-bit computers, the creation of NICK¢ KENNEDY's SIO2PC Website. Rowland is¢ pushing assembly-language programming¢ for the Atari 8-bit computer, and¢ relates that Nick Kennedy uses¢ Atari's own AMAC for that purpose. ¢ Rowland also advises that if you want¢ to get started in assembly-language¢ programming, you need a copy of¢ Mapping The Atari by IAN CHADWICK,¢ which is reproduced in electronic¢ form on Pool Disk Too.¢¢ PACESetter for December 1998 --¢ Editor WALT LEWIS is having some¢ serious problems with a borrowed PC.¢ The only problem I can see with¢ trying to help him is that he¢ probably already got help locally.¢ (That's one of the problems with¢ newsletters. The information in them¢ is not really news at all! -- Ed.)¢ There is a reprint of a RUSSELL STOWE¢ article on the care and feeding of¢ disk drives, and a JERRY WHITE sound¢ tutorial reprinted from the¢ January/February Ol' Hackers¢ Newsletter. KATHY SEVERANCE submits¢ an essay entitled, "Where Did All Of¢ The Time Go?" It's thought-¢ provoking. ALAN FRAZER reviews THE¢ DATA MANAGER. Finally, there's a¢ whole group of programming tips from¢ the M.A.G.I.C. Newsletter of October,¢ 1990.¢¢ JACG Newsletter for December, 1998 --¢ Editor TOM LASKOWSKI reports that¢ the President and the President¢ Emeritus of the JACG have switched¢ places. Our member, JOE HICSWA, is¢ once more president of the JACG. ¢ Meanwhile, RON CARLSON, as new¢ President Emeritus will also become¢ VP for 16-bits. Tom also fills us in¢ on a very useful feature at DON¢ THOMAS' website. (Don, of course, is¢ the former Atari executive who¢ delivered the keynote address at the¢ last World of Atari show -- Ed.) ¢ It's called Link Navigator, it's a¢ service of E-Bay (the online auction¢ people) and it helps you find the¢ website you're looking for without¢ typing in URLs. I guess it could be¢ described as a mini search engine,¢ but one you reach from Don's site¢ rather than having to go to a search¢ engine's URL. At any rate, you go to¢ it by first finding Don's site:¢¢ www.I.C.When.com¢¢ and then looking for Link Navigator.¢ Couldn't be easier. There's a list¢ of sites in this issue of the JACG¢ Newsletter that will give you an idea¢ of what you can find. But there's¢ much more in this issue. An article¢ by MARSHAL M. ROSENTHAL brings us¢ back to that World of Atari show.¢ JOE HICSWA reviews many newsletters,¢ explains how an ST disk-copying¢ program works, delivers a good tip to¢ those using 1ST XLent Word Processor,¢ and explains how to easily organize¢ and catalog the OHAUG Newsletter¢ disks and printouts. There is also¢ an article on the future of user¢ groups, reprinted from SMART¢ COMPUTING, February 1998 and some¢ terrific humor.¢¢ IMAGE for December 1998 -- ED SUTTON¢ reports having aquiring a large¢ collection of PAGE 6 magazines. In¢ the magazines, permission was granted¢ to user groups to copy the material¢ as long as Page 6 was mentioned and¢ the original author was given full¢ credit. He then proceeds to reprint¢ an article by JOHN SWEENY giving tips¢ on ZORK 1. We will probably see more¢ of these reprints as time goes on, so¢ watch this review column and request¢ a copy of IMAGE when you see¢ something you like.¢¢ *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢¢¢¢¢
