== <> ==¢ NEWSLETTER REVIEWS¢ by Alan Sharkis¢ OHAUG Newsletter Librarian¢¢ Here we are, fresh from what promises¢ to be the revival of an organization¢ called NEAR*US, which might be¢ looking at a name-change very soon. ¢ NEAR*US, for the uninitiated, is an¢ umbrella organization of user groups¢ in the North Eastern United States. ¢ It looks like we're headed for a¢ widening of the organization's¢ responsilities, both in geographic¢ area and in terms of the nature of¢ its means of communicating with¢ Atarians of all stripes. Those of¢ you who know me, whether personally¢ or through my writing, know that I've¢ always favored a meeting of the minds¢ of all computer users for the benefit¢ of all. Now we're faced with the¢ gradual, but inevitable, dissolution¢ of the Atari community. Atari, Corp.¢ seems unwilling and/or unable to¢ concentrate on the manufacture of¢ computers. Will this stimulate¢ separation into two camps -- computer¢ owners versus game system owners --¢ as the abandonment of the 8-bit line¢ seemed to widen the already-present¢ gap between 8-bitters and ST users¢ several years ago? I really hope it¢ doesn't. We 8-bitters, as well as¢ the ST fans and the gamers, do have¢ common roots, common concerns, and a¢ great need for sharing with others. ¢ An expanded NEAR*US, perhaps with a¢ committment to isolated Atarians who¢ don't belong to user groups via¢ tele ommunications, may provide the¢ answer. It will be a major effort,¢ exceeding that of the campaign to get¢ AC started a few years back by factor¢ of one hundred. It will also take¢ the resources, time, financial¢ committment and leadership ability of¢ many in our community to make it¢ work.¢¢ Meantime, user groups are doing their¢ part, as evidenced by the new letter¢ reviews I've written below. It's¢ obvious that user groups, through¢ their newsletters, are a vital part¢ of any effort that NEAR*US will make.¢ OHAUG, of course, has a world-wide¢ membership. That's about as spread¢ out as you can get. The newsletter¢ has to be the only attraction to club¢ membership for people living some¢ distance from our meeting place on¢ Long Island. But, I'm going to put¢ in a pitch to support magazines like¢ Current Notes and Atari Classics with¢ subscriptions, articles and ads and¢ to GET ON LINE! Dust off that old¢ modem and put it to use. Call your¢ nearest IAN or NEAR*US networked PRO¢ BBS or an Oasis, Carina or FoRuM¢ board. Call FidoNet. Yes, I know,¢ Fido operates mostly on IBM¢ compatibles. BUT, it carries a most¢ active and informative Atari National¢ Echo, which is devoted to 8-bit¢ Atarians and their concerns. If your¢ local Fido sysop doesn't carry the¢ echo, prod him to do so. Sign up for¢ an on-line service's like GEnie, or¢ Delphi, or CompuServe, or America¢ Online. I've named them in the¢ approximate order of their Atari 8-¢ bit participation. Each and every¢ one can also get you access to the¢ InterNet where there is lively Atari¢ discussion going on all the time. We¢ have a great need to contact each¢ other, or our community will surely¢ dissolve that much faster.¢¢ (Editor: AL very ably puts into words¢ the thoughts and hopes of all of the¢ OL' HACKERS to "SPREAD THE WORD". We¢ will do our part, won't you do yours?¢ A.P.)¢¢ NOW ON TO THE NEWSLETTERS:¢¢ The Pacesetter for November, 1994 --¢ PACE thanks ALEX PIGNATO for sending¢ the Mask Maker program, which PACE¢ selected as their DOM for October. I¢ used that program to cap off a kid's¢ educational software display at OHAUG¢ several years ago and can attest to¢ its utility and the fun it produces. ¢ JEAN BROKAW of PACE reviews Recipe¢ Converter, and writes a tutorial on¢ The Print Shop as a signmaker. A¢ page of new Smileys, the result of a¢ contest run by O'REILLY & ASSOCIATES,¢ is submitted by PACE member JIM¢ PARRISH. Smileys are little markers¢ consisting of common keyboard¢ characters placed in messages left on¢ BBSs and the like. To "read" a¢ Smiley, you incline your head to thé¢ left. Those reproduced in The¢ Pacesetter may violate the original¢ intention of a Smiley (it was¢ supposed to show the emotion of the¢ message writer), but they are¢ extremely clever. The usual clever¢ sayings, poems, puzzles and a reprint¢ of the STEVEN BERG article on¢ builidng a computer desk for your¢ Atari 8-bit system round out the¢ issue.¢¢ (FR)ANTIC for November, 1994 -- BOB¢ HUDDLESTON writes a review of Eastern¢ Front (1941). Bob was tempted to¢ write this review after seeing that¢ the game was just released for IBM¢ compatibles! It was a favorite of¢ his for many years. His review isn't¢ entirely favorable. Bob's philosopy¢ of what a strategy wargame should be¢ may not be yours, but his philosophy¢ is interesting enough for you to read¢ the review. RUSSELL GIBSON, who¢ wrote the Keypad Driver Moderator¢ program that appeared in the August¢ 1994 (FR)ANTIC, has begun a series in¢ the November issue about how such a¢ program can be written. It looks¢ like an interesting approach to¢ programming. There is also a reprint¢ of the DOS 2.5 Ramdisk Update article¢ by RICK DETLEFSEN of Austin ACE.¢¢ Nybbles and Bytes for¢ November/December 1994 -- President¢ DALE WOOSTER has a lot to say in this¢ issue. In his first page article he¢ mentions the fact that a local¢ retailer had lots of requests for 8-¢ bit software recently. Dale said¢ that for some unknown reason, people¢ are dusting off their classic Ataris¢ and using them again. (I wonder if¢ the PC XFormer's appearence has¢ anything to do with it -- A.S.) ¢ Dale also contributes some¢ interesting news in his Late News¢ Flash column, a great recipe for¢ chili, and yet another TextPro¢ update. Vice-president MERLE BARNES¢ writes an interesting anecdote about¢ his computer and his grandson. It's¢ a must-read. A reprint of ROWLAND¢ GRANT's Atari 8-Bit Affairs column¢ from October XIO3 completes this¢ issue.¢¢ S.L.C.C. Journal for December, 1994 -¢ - BOB SCHOLAR gives us a quick review¢ of TEDIT, from Analog #54. This text¢ editor, like most, is not a full-¢ blown word-processor, but can do¢ simple text manipulations in those¢ instances where you just don't want¢ to load a full-blown word-processor. ¢ Take a look. President ROBBIE¢ BRIDGES has an interesting message on¢ the inside of the back cover. See if¢ you can tell what he means in his¢ last sentence.¢¢ XIO3 for December, 1994 -- The GCACE¢ gang has been busy gathering news in¢ lots of areas. Of specific interest¢ to the OHAUG is ROWLAND GRANT's Atari¢ News and Rumours column, which starts¢ on the front page, and his Atari 8-¢ Bit Affairs column which starts on¢ page 12. The latter article is quite¢ full, and mentions, with great¢ praise, our own RON FETZER's First¢ XLent Word Processor Template.¢¢ The Pacesetter for December, 1994 --¢ There is a reprint of JOE HICKSWA's¢ article on using a semicolon after¢ directives in First XLent from the¢ OHAUG Newsletter of September/October¢ 1994. RON FETZER's article about the¢ First XLent template is also¢ reprinted, and JEAN BROKAW,¢ Pacesetter editor commented that she¢ tried the template and that it was,¢ "extremely helpful." There is also a¢ reprint of JOHN COLLINS' article on¢ shipping hardware from the¢ September/October issue of Nybbles¢ and Bytes.¢¢ It's clear that 1995 will be a year¢ of challenge to the Atari community¢ at large, and to owners of classic¢ Ataris in particular. Let me take¢ this space to wish our community¢ continued survival and success and to¢ wish each and every individual ¢ reading this column a Happy, Healthy,¢ Enjoyable and Prosperous New Year!¢¢ (Editor: O.K. gang, lets meet the¢ challenge! USE YOUR MODEMS, "SPREAD¢ THE WORD"...COMMUNICATE with all the¢ other ATARIANS. Thats how we can make¢ our ATARI'S continue to be of value!¢ A.P.)¢ *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢
