*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢¢ NEWSLETTER REVIEWS¢ by Alan Sharkis¢ OHAUG Newsletter Librarian¢¢I've been very busy with lots of¢things lately. I've installed a ton¢of things on my Pentium, including¢WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows and a¢brand new Hewlett-Packard Deskjet¢660C color inkjet printer. So what,¢you say? Isn't that outright¢treason? Well, not if you consider¢the fact that I've also installed a¢test copy of a software package that¢works with my SIO2PC cable but brings¢in several new features. The program¢is called Atari Peripheral Emulator¢(APE). It allows me to use the Atari¢through my Pentium's internal modem¢and printer -- yes, that same color¢inkjet printer! I won't be able to¢print colors, graphics, or ATASCII¢characters (I don't think) but text¢is no problem. As for that modem,¢well, it's rated at 28.8Kbps, but its¢speed is restricted to 2400 baud in¢this trial copy of the program, but¢if all goes well, I'm going to¢register it and test out the full¢registered version at 19.2 Kbps and¢write a review for you.¢¢It seems that people in the Atari¢user groups around this hemisphere¢have been busy too. Read on.¢¢The NVACE News for September 1995 --¢ Jim Ullom writes about a topic near¢and dear to my heart: transferring¢files from the 8-bit to a PC. Jim¢restricts his coments to the null-¢modem approach, but covers it well.¢¢UPDATE ATARI (HACE) for September¢1995 -- Although there are no¢specific 8-bit articles, please read¢XSRAM by GEORGE IKEN. There are two¢uses of 8-bits that he describes that¢might surprise you! Did you know¢that 8-bit computers of all makes,¢including Ataris, are still used by¢cable companies for scrolling¢messages? Did you know that the¢joystick ports on an Atari 8-bit are¢bi-directional and allow for programs¢to run robots and other devices?¢¢L.V.A.U.G. News -- This is a very¢full issue. No real 8-bit articles¢are included, but you must read it¢anyway. General interest articles¢abound and are fascinating. There's¢one that covers the potential use of¢computer chips in the human brain¢(seriously!), another that deals with¢vocabulary you may come across while¢on-line, a third is a reprint of the¢Aspirin Cake Recipe from the June¢1995 issue of the PACESetter, and a¢fourth deals with the process of¢finding good homes for orphan¢computers.¢¢XIO3 (GCACE) for September/October¢1995 -- "Expand Your 8-Bit!" by¢ROWLAND GRANT has some fantastic¢ideas for just that. In fact, it's¢where I first heard of the A.P.E.¢software I described at the top of¢this column. Also included in the¢column are descriptions of Bob Puff's¢Black Box, and an 8-bit emulator that¢runs on the Macintosh. Other tidbits¢are included in the article, so be¢sure to read it all. An article on¢Dot Matrix Printer Care by Harvey¢Hoopfer rounds out the issue.¢¢(FR)ANTIC (AAAUA) for October 1995 --¢ This issue contains material that¢really pertains to AAAUA members, but¢is typical, I believe of most 8-bit¢user groups. I refer to their¢hard/software inventory on the back¢cover and RUSSELL STOWE's State of¢the Association column. But JAMES¢MARTIN has contributed a well-written¢column entitled "My First Time." ¢It's worth reading (and not¢pornographic, if that's what you were¢thinking!¢¢The JACG Newsletter for October 1995¢-- This seems to be a temporary¢format, but represents a return to¢print newsletters for the JACG! We¢congratulate them for bringing out an¢issue after too long a gap. There is¢no 8-bit article. A quick perusal,¢however, of the ST-based DOM reveals¢that a German 8-bit emulator has been¢released. The arcived file includes¢a version for the ST and another one¢for the Falcon 030. Documentation is¢in German. Also in this issue, on¢the front cover, is a request for a¢Polish alphabet font for the Epson¢5000 24-pin dot-matrix printer from¢JOE HICSWA. Can anyone help?¢¢MVACE News for October 1995 includes¢a humorous article about computer¢viruses.¢¢The PACESetter for October 1995 --¢ VITO A. RAIA submits another¢vocabulary list for us. This one,¢entitled, "So What Else Is New?"¢includes several terms I haven't seen¢elsewhere. JEAN BROKAW submits a¢column on printer maintenance and a¢second one on special printer control¢codes and how to send them from AW+. ¢JOHN SLEZAK is the featured writer in¢the Getting to Know You column. ¢There is a reprint of JEFF PAYNE's¢Smilie Dictionary from the July 1995¢issue of the ABACUS (Atari Bay Area¢Computer Society), and one of ALEX¢PIGNATO's article on OHAUG. It's an¢update to the OHAUG story that¢appeared in Z*Magazine back in 1987,¢and was printed again in Current¢Notes and AC.¢¢PACESetter for November 1995 -- JEAN¢BROKAW advises that the Clearwater,¢Florida Public Library will offer¢free Internet access to anyone with a¢2400 baud (or better) modem, with¢restrictions. The library will not¢allow chat groups or access to¢pornographic material. Sounds¢reasonable. Jean also gives us¢methods for safely thawing and¢cooking turkeys and recipes¢appropriate to Thanksgiving and the¢days after, AND an original poem¢designed to motivate entries into the¢club's Creepshow Contest, AND an¢article on presenting demos (I¢learned about sentence length from¢the late Casey Stengel and the late¢Robert Wagner, Jr. -- A.S.). ROBERT¢HAMILTON is the subject of this¢month's Getting to Know You column. ¢JOE HICSWA writes about JACG in the¢We Are Not Alone column. You must¢read the column entitled, "A Short¢Story" (author unknown.¢¢So, you see, the activity continues. ¢New people are joining the community,¢old-timers are still active or are¢re-activating, and the 8-bit's demise¢is still far away.¢¢*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢¢¢¢
