*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢¢ NEWSLETTER REVIEWS¢ by Alan Sharkis¢ OHAUG Newsletter Librarian¢¢ I've been watching the leaves turn¢ color and I've been thinking that¢ this is the fifteenth time that has¢ happened with an Atari 8-bit in my¢ house! Funny. I didn't get a PC¢ anywhere near that long ago, I'm now¢ on my second one, and it's woefully¢ short of memory, speed and storage¢ space given today's applications.¢¢ As those of us who read the¢ comp.sys.atari.8bit newsgroup on¢ Usenet and those who are subscribed¢ to the Atari8-L mailing list will¢ testify, our machines keep rolling¢ along in spite of their age, and¢ there are always new and exciting¢ things happening for them. There are¢ guys designing "virtual machines" and¢ discussing plans to build the real¢ versions. Although it's doubtful¢ that these new machines would contain¢ 6502 microprocessor chips, they will¢ be capable of running all 8-bit¢ software, even with their more¢ advanced microprocessors. What's¢ more, software can be written for¢ them that would run faster and better¢ than what we have now without the¢ need for all the storage space and¢ memory associated with the PCs.¢¢ Cenacle Newsletter for September,¢ 1998 -- I had to dust off my high¢ school French again. It's a pleasure¢ to see this newsletter continue,¢ although translating it is sometimes¢ hit-or-miss. Editor REMI GALLOPIN¢ begins by stating, "Apres un long¢ silence radio, votre News-letter est¢ infin de retour ... Il faut dire que¢ les News 8-bits sont de plus en plus¢ rares." He then goes on to fill up¢ eight pages! I hope I can have as¢ much material for each issue that I¢ edit. He writes about the demise of¢ NOSAUG and its fine newsletter,¢ Futura and gives STUART MURRAY's¢ address. He writes reviews of some¢ dealers and new user groups, covers a¢ CD-ROM on the history of video¢ gaming, Bill Gates, and lots more. ¢ Even if your French is as bad as mine¢ (or worse -- is that possible? --¢ Ed.) you should take a look at this¢ newsletter.¢¢ JACG Newsletter for September, 1998¢ -- TOM LASKOWSKI starts his promised¢ series on Atari's Unsung Heroes and¢ Heroines, this time highlighting AL¢ ALCORN, JAY MINER, SCOTT FISHER,¢ BRENDA LAUREL and ALAN KAY. The¢ PACESetter for August, 1998 is¢ reviewed by JOE HICSWA. SAM CORY's¢ essay on the Y2K problem is a MUST¢ READ!¢¢ The PACESetter for September, 1998 --¢ The instructions for SHANGHAI,¢ PACE's DOM, are printed in this¢ issue. A review of Battlezone, by¢ KEN MODEEN, is reprinted from the¢ SPACE/MAST Newsleter (4/89.) Editor¢ WALT LEWIS shows us how to¢ alphabetize the index of Print Shop¢ icon names that was created in the¢ last issue. SPARTADOS, SPAINDEX.COM,¢ and a word processor with global¢ search-and-replace are needed for the¢ task. There are also columns on¢ "Mine is Better!", definitions of¢ computer terms, hints for AtariWriter¢ Plus (by CAROLYN HOGLIN, ANTIC, 7/87¢ and MFACC Newsletter, 12/90)¢ upgrading PCs (ALAN FRAZER), and¢ assorted other goodies.¢¢ SLCC Journal for October 1998 -- It's¢ not often that this short, but sweet¢ newsletter has someting of interest¢ to 8-bitters, but there is an ad for¢ a device called JAM which can take¢ NTSC video (which is the signal our¢ 8-bits sends to our monitors) and¢ converts it for use by a VGA monitor.¢ This is a useful device for those who¢ have two (or more) platforms and¢ limited space.¢¢ XIO3 for September/October 1998 --¢ Good news for our ST-owning¢ colleagues! According to editor¢ GORDON HOOPER, the STs are immune¢ from the Y2K bug. The TOS¢ clock/calendar will not fail until¢ 2107. Gordon expects that most¢ current GCACE members won't have to¢ worry about that. ROWLAND GRANT,¢ however, mentions the JAM device¢ (described above) in more detail. ¢ The Pool Disk TOO CD-ROM will be¢ released on October 24th.¢ Atari800Win is an excellent 8-bit¢ emulator that runs under Windows¢ 95/98/NT. It will also emulate the¢ 5200 game console with the proper ROM¢ image file. There are other assorted¢ tidbits in the column.¢¢ The PACESetter for October 1998 --¢ Editor WALT LEWIS reviews PAPERCLIP¢ WORD PROCESSOR. There is a list of¢ hints for the game GHOST BUSTERS, a¢ pinout of the Atari 850-Epson printer¢ cable, a column on using computers¢ for writing by JEAN BROKAW,¢ instructions for SILENT SERVICE, and¢ a list of useful peeks and pokes. ¢ There's an answer to my challenge to¢ Walt on getting a printer to print to¢ the bottom of a page. How did Walt¢ do it? Read this issue to find out!¢¢ JACG Newsletter for October, 1998 --¢ This month, editor TOM LASKOWSKI¢ continues his column on Atari's¢ Unsung Heroes and Heroines by¢ highlighting SKIP PAUL and JEFF¢ MINTER. JOE HICSWA reviews several¢ user group newsletters. DONALD A.¢ THOMAS, JR.'s article, The AfterMath,¢ is reprinted from his Web site. This¢ is his account of the recent WOA '98¢ show in Las Vegas. In addition to¢ being a great narrative of the event,¢ Don has included the URLs of just¢ about every organization and¢ individual he mentions.¢¢ +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+¢¢¢
