*********¢ 8-BIT NEWS!!!¢ by Thomas J. Andrews, member¢ of ACE of Syracuse, and OL' HACKERS¢ ATARI USERS GROUP, NY.. An 8 BIT¢ club!¢¢ ATARI CLASSICS PREMIERS¢¢ Well, the long wait is finally¢ over. The Premier Issue of Atari¢ Classics, already affectionately¢ known as AC, has arrived. ¢¢ For the information of those who¢ have been in a cave for the last¢ year, Atari Classics is a new¢ magazine devoted to the users of¢ Atari 8-bit computers. The story¢ behind its creation is told in¢ Managing Editor Ben Poehland's¢ Premier Editorial, so I won't repeat¢ it all here. Suffice it to say that¢ a few 8-bit users became frustrated¢ with the scattered 8-bit support¢ after the demise of Antic in 1991.¢ This frustration turned to action,¢ and after a mail campaign to assess¢ the potential interest, Atari¢ Classics was born.¢ ¢ At first glance, AC looks like a¢ thick club newsletter. Those¢ expecting full-color printing and¢ glossy paper will be disappointed. A¢ fledgling magazine like this must¢ necessarily be produced on a limited¢ budget, and I think they've done a¢ fine job with the funds available.¢ For my part, I'm much more interested¢ in the content than the form, anyway.¢ As long as the copy is clean, neat,¢ and readable, and the magazine¢ doesn't fall apart in my hands, the¢ form is acceptable to me. ¢¢ The basic structure of AC¢ reminds me a lot of Current Notes,¢ the magazine where Ben Poehland¢ previously held the position of 8-bit¢ Editor. ** Four columnists anchor¢ the issue. Mike Jewison writes of¢ being a "Weekend Hacker", describing¢ his experiences with a 256k upgrade¢ for his first 800 computer, and with¢ Transkey, an IBM keyboard interface¢ for the XL/XE. Jeff McWilliams¢ explains how to print graphics using¢ the printer port of the XEP80,¢ complete with source code. David¢ Richardson delves into the use of¢ Daisy Dot III, a "print processor" of¢ extraordinary abilities. Ed Hall¢ does "The Garret", a column on¢ writing with the 8-bit, and includes¢ TV PLOTS,a program which pieces¢ together a plot for a television show¢ by randomly selecting elements from a¢ list. ** An additional column is¢ called "Correspondents' Corner". ¢ This column doesn't have a single¢ author, but is composed of news and¢ notes about the 8-bit from around the¢ world. ** Interspersed with the¢ columns are three articles by¢ "Contributing Authors". Barton¢ Bresmik describes how he uses the 8-¢ bit in education, both at school and¢ at home. Alan Sharkis does an essay¢ on the almost fanatical exclusionary¢ attitude many 8-bit users have about¢ other machines, and whether such an¢ attitude really serves the 8-bit¢ community. Thomas J. Andrews (WHY is¢ that name so familiar?) details his¢ efforts at repairing a RAMBO upgrade¢ in an article reprinted from the ACE¢ of Syracuse newsletter.¢¢ One smaller department is¢ entitled "Tips 'n' Tricks", which¢ primarily notifies users about¢ previously undocumented bugs in soft-¢ or hard- ware and possible ways to¢ circumvent them. Another is "Swap¢ 'n' Shop", the classified ad section.¢ A unique feature of AC is that¢ subscribers can advertise in this¢ area for free, as long as they adhere¢ to the simple rules.¢¢ These columns and articles cover¢ a wide range of topics, and almost¢ any 8-bit user should find at least¢ one or two of interest. The topic¢ most notably absent from the Premier¢ Issue was that of games, probably the¢ most popular use for the 8-bit,¢ despite protestations to the contrary¢ that some might make. Future issues¢ will no doubt include this important¢ subject. The articles and columns¢ are all well written and informative.¢ The only real complaint I have with¢ this issue is that it was too short.¢¢ Atari Classics will be¢ distributed by subscription only. ¢ U.S. subscriptions cost $25 per year,¢ with other rates for outside the U.S.¢ If 500 subscriptions are received by¢ the end of 1992, AC expects to¢ publish 6 times a year. Fewer¢ subscriptions will change that¢ frequency. A disk with all published¢ programs and selected PD and¢ Shareware will be available with¢ every other issue, or 3 times a year,¢ for $9 a year.¢¢ A limited number of Premier¢ Issues are still available. To get¢ one FREE, send your Postal address¢ to: Atari Classics, 179 Sproul¢ Road/Rt. 352, Frazer, PA 19355-1958 ¢ ** Authors of previously¢ unpublished feature articles will¢ receive $25 and a complimentary¢ issue. Anyone interested in¢ submitting articles, reviews, or¢ type-in programs to Atari Classics is¢ urged to send a SASE (Self-Addressed,¢ Stamped Envelope) to the address¢ above and request an AC Author's Kit.¢ Following the instructions and¢ suggestions in this kit will increase¢ your chances of acceptance.¢¢ Atari Classics is a worthy¢ effort, and deserves our support. ¢ For those who have been complaining¢ about the lack of 8-bit support,¢ here's your chance to improve the¢ situation. I've sent in my check and¢ urge all those interested in using¢ the 8-bit to do the same. The choice¢ is yours! SUPPORT IT OR LOOSE IT! Its¢ a cheap investment to help keep the 8¢ BIT ALIVE and WELL!¢¢ ** OLD MAGAZINE PROGRAMS: SAVED! ** ¢¢ In response to a question of yours¢ truly, Rick Reaser Jr., 8-bit Editor¢ of Current Notes, recently asked for¢ clarification of the policies of the¢ 8-bit libraries of Compuserve and¢ GEnie concerning the uploading of old¢ magazine programs. He was told that¢ both Antic and ANALOG had given¢ blanket permission for such uploads¢ while they were still in publication,¢ but that Compute! had requested that¢ they not be allowed. ** As a¢ result of Rick's inquiry, one of¢ Compuserve's 8-bit SYSops telephoned¢ the Compute! offices to ask for an¢ update on their position. GEnie¢ representatives soon followed suit,¢ and now both services have permission¢ to include old Compute! 8-bit¢ programs in their libraries, too. ¢ These programs must be just as they¢ were published; altered versions are¢ not allowed. Programs which do the¢ modifications to the original ARE¢ allowed, however.¢¢ This is great news for the 8-bit¢ community. Now these programs need¢ not be denied to those who don't have¢ access to magazine back issues.¢ ******************** ¢ Thank You!¢ ** ** TURBO BASIC TIP ** **¢¢ Most 8-bit users know that Turbo¢ BASIC XL makes around 3900 bytes of¢ extra RAM available for programs,¢ over the amount available from Atari¢ BASIC. This is also true of the¢ compiler. But, if you fail to hold¢ down OPTION when booting Turbo¢ BASIC's RUNTIME file, the extra RAM¢ is not available because the built-in¢ BASIC ROM remains switched in. There¢ is a simple solution, however. If¢ you get an ERROR 2 (out of memory)¢ from RUNTIME, and you know the¢ program should fit, you might not¢ have held down OPTION. Just press¢ RESET when this happens and it should¢ disable the BASIC ROM, and the¢ program will fit. No need to¢ reboot!¢¢ *** (Portions of this article were¢ reprinted from the ACE of Syracuse¢ Newsletter for Nov/Dec 1992) *** ¢ Editors note: after this article was¢ written word was received that after¢ Dec 15, 1992, no more premier issues¢ were going to be sent out, therefore¢ please ignore the part that mentions¢ free premier issues, but get your¢ subscriptions in.¢ =END= ¢¢
