*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢¢ NEWSLETTER REVIEWS¢ by Alan Sharkis¢ OHAUG Newsletter Librarian¢¢ In the interest of conserving space¢ on the disk, I'm going to skip the¢ usual thematic introduction and¢ summary. (I'm allowed to do that;¢ I'm also the editor, Ed.)¢¢ The SLCC Journal for April 1997 --¢ The club accepted nominations for¢ officers, and more will be accepted¢ during the next two meetings. They¢ report that two user groups, NCACE in¢ Santa Rosa and STAR in Sacramento¢ folded. They also report that the¢ IBM side is proliferating. Aside¢ from a mention of their 8-bit DOM¢ and its demonstration by BOB SCHOLAR,¢ there is nothing 8-bit specific.¢¢ (FR)ANTIC for May 1997 -- The Library¢ News, as reported by librarian¢ RUSSELL STOWE, includes the addition¢ of some disks and files that I've¢ never heard of before. They may be¢ of interest to you, and I suggest you¢ check out this issue if you're¢ interested in changing boot disks to¢ files, or transferring tape to disk,¢ or in a program that splits a 130XE¢ into two computers (non-¢ multitasking.) Some FidoNet messages¢ have been printed in this issue to¢ show how a local sysop, probably¢ running on an IBM platform, has made¢ the Atari National Echo availabe to¢ callers in the San Antonio area, and¢ has thus made it possible for¢ messages to be sent and received all¢ over the country without long¢ distance or Internet charges. A¢ threesome of type-in programs (Hydra8¢ from CURRENT NOTES, May 1990,¢ Darklite from FRED KWEDER and Frost¢ from ANALOG #12) are reprinted and¢ explained. Try them out.¢¢ TWAUG for May/June 1997 -- This is¢ issue 27, and I have previously¢ demonstrated its accompanying disk at¢ a meeting. A series of articles by¢ ROGER LACEY, called Atari8 SIO -RS232¢ explains how an interface and¢ software can be built to link an 8-¢ bit with an ST for the purpose of¢ file transfer. The articles are¢ well-written, explaining theory,¢ construction, and use of software. ¢ There is also an article by MAX for¢ the user who has just received an ST¢ and has no instruction manual for it¢ (apparently, STs are either a popular¢ upgrade path from the 8-bit in¢ England, or they are being discarded¢ by ST owners in favor of other¢ platforms and being made available at¢ low cost to 8-bitters, Ed.) DAVID¢ RUSSELL continues his series on 8-bit¢ graphics modes What appears to be the¢ entire text of MICHAEL CURRENT's FAQ¢ on 8-bit computers from May, 1997 is¢ reprinted. The FAQ is revised from¢ time to time and usually published in¢ the comp.sys.atari.8bit newsgroup on¢ the Internet. It is a very good¢ source of information on the¢ computers, their history and unique¢ design.¢¢ L.V.A.U.G. News for May/June 1997 -- ¢ Literally sneaking into this review ¢ column at the last minute is this¢ useful issue, as well as one from ¢ July/August (see below.) In it you¢ will fine a list of hints on handing¢ in computer-prepared homework, etc.,¢ for young students. It originally¢ appeared in a 1986 issue of COMPUTE!¢ Magazine. There is also a glossary¢ (no source mentioned) of computer-¢ related terms. Even more useful is a¢ list of error messages WITH¢ EXPLANATIONS. Again, no source for¢ this list is indicated. The issue¢ also contains some very good cartoons¢ and old Atari-related ads.¢¢ S. C. A. T. President's Letter for¢ Summer 1997 -- Also sneaking into the¢ review column at the last minute is¢ this letter. Indications of 8-Bit¢ activity in this user group are a¢ demo by RORY McMAHON of PC XFormer at¢ their May meeting and several demos¢ by JOE CHIKO, including F-15 STRIKE¢ EAGLE and ASHIDO, a new game from the¢ the European company, KE-Soft.¢¢ (FR)ANTIC for June 1997 -- This issue¢ is devoted to a listing of the club's¢ library. I have also received this¢ library on disk in AW format, as was¢ discussed in the last OHAUG¢ Newsletter.¢¢ IMAGE for July 1997 -- No 8-bit¢ specific information here, but at¢ least a mention of 8-bit activity¢ within the group, in the form of¢ demos by 8-bit Librarian CHUCK LAMB.¢¢ SLCC Journal for July 1997 -- There¢ is little to report here, except that¢ Robert Scholar's DOM contains a lot¢ of material from OHAUG disks, and¢ interesting material from other¢ sources as well. I have a copy of¢ the DOM and it will go into our¢ library at the September or October¢ meeting.¢¢ The PACESetter for July 1997 -- You¢ HAVE to see the cover! Somebody (I¢ found out late it was President KATHY¢ SEVERANCE) took a lot of time and¢ trouble to add color and glitter to¢ the cover of this issue. JOHN POWELL¢ has written a good review of Print¢ Power. An article by HANDS, INC. on¢ Repetitive Motion Disorders of the¢ Upper Extremity is reprinted. It¢ deals with the description,¢ incidence, prevention and treatment¢ of such injuries as carpal tunnel¢ syndrome, De Quervain's Tendonitis,¢ and trigger fingers. I think it's¢ extremely important for all computer¢ users to read. The fourth¢ installment of my series on emulators¢ is reprinted. A Daffy-Nitions column¢ and some very good puzzles, cartoons¢ and riddles round out the issue.¢¢ (FR)ANTIC for July 1997 -- The AAAUA¢ has a PC section at this point, and¢ it is functioning well. At least¢ part of it, according to Editor¢ MANUEL GARCIA, has provided service¢ to the 8-bit section in the form of¢ scanning and video-capture and¢ imaging services. If you look at¢ this issue, you will see evidence of¢ it in the photographs of various¢ AAAUA members. LOU KELLY has taken¢ over as president after the sudden¢ departure of TODD SUNRUNNER, and¢ MANUEL GARCIA is doing double-duty as¢ editor and Vice-President. Librarian¢ RUSSELL STOWE reports that he is¢ finished working on adding¢ descriptions of the club's copies of¢ TWAUG disks to the library, and¢ descriptions and cataloging of the¢ OHAUG disks is his next project. ¢ There is an article (author unknown)¢ reprinted from the July/August 1995¢ TWAUG newsletter that deals with¢ damaged disks, their causes and¢ fixes. It's important information. ¢ There is also a reprint of¢ (FR)ANTIC's NIR DARY article (from¢ 4/91) on the format of Atari 8-bit¢ diskettes.¢¢ L.V.A.U.G. News for July/August 1997¢ -- Editor LARRY TISCHBEIN continues¢ to improve this newsletter by adding¢ humor in the form of cartoons and¢ little sayings, and his inclusion of¢ the "Quipsels" and "Always Tired?"¢ columns (no sources are mentioned.)¢ He has also included the Question¢ List (Index) from MICHAEL CURRENT's¢ popular Atari 8-Bit Q&A which appears¢ regularly on the Internet. There's¢ another Internet-based article in¢ this issue, entitled, "What Can I Do¢ With An 8-Bit Atari?" A source URL¢ for the article is included. A story¢ by TIM BLANGGER (Allentown Morning¢ Call, 6/17/97) serves to illustrate¢ how a large, popular and free BBS has¢ now become a commercial venure.¢¢ XIO3 for July/August 1997 -- The¢ GCACE continues as a very viable club¢ and a great source of news and¢ information. ROWLAND GRANT's News¢ and Rumours column, although light on¢ the 8-bit side, continues to follow¢ JTS/Atari happenings with a great¢ deal of detail. His 8-Bit Affairs¢ column this month outlines JOHN¢ HARRIS' MAE, which has recently gone¢ into our library. This Macro-¢ Assembler Editor is now freeware and¢ can satisfy many of the needs of¢ assembly-language programmers in¢ novel ways. John also has a version¢ for the 85816 chip, which is also¢ back in the news. John is¢ manufacturing an 85816-based¢ character generator for video display¢ boards. STEVEN TUCKER's A. P. E. has¢ been upgraded to version 1.15, and¢ now includes new printer options and¢ loading options (it also includes a¢ device for transferring cassette¢ images as developed by the SCHREURS¢ BROTHERS from the PC to the Atari,¢ Ed.) Rowland's column also talks a¢ little about cassette operating¢ schemes, as well as assorted problems¢ that plague 8-bit computers and their¢ solutions.¢¢ The PACESetter for August 1997 --¢ JOHN POWELL sent the club a list of¢ filename extenders and their uses¢ that was compiled by a friend of his¢ (CHARLES KNOOTZ.) It's about as¢ extensive a list as I've seen. John¢ invites all to add to it if we¢ encounter an extender that's not on¢ the list. KATHY SEVERANCE has¢ written two short articles; one¢ dealing with the common practice of¢ users talking to their computers, and¢ the other entitled, "Atari Lives!" ¢ Both are interesting. A humorous¢ list of comuter terms, and the usual¢ puzzles, games and cartoons are also¢ to be found in this issue.¢¢ IMAGE for August 1997 -- Here's¢ another latecomer. For those of you¢ with other platforms, the club has¢ issued a warning about a virus that¢ can affect Amigas, PCs, and Macs. It¢ is transmitted by Internet e-mail and¢ bears the word, "Deeyenda," in the¢ subject line. Under no circumstances¢ should you open this mail. Delete it¢ immediately. It will search your¢ hard drive for valuable information,¢ such as credit card numbers and¢ passwords. It will send this data to¢ an unknown Internet address the next¢ time you log on to your ISP. Then it¢ will wipe out your hard drive. It is¢ memory-resident and highly dangerous.¢ Luckily, our 8-Bits are immune to¢ that sort of nonsense. Editor Ed¢ BAIZ has also remarked about a BBS,¢ The Atari Connection. It's phone¢ number is (801) 280-7486. The BBS¢ has 5 gigabytes of Atari 8-bit files¢ on line, and even has some on-line¢ games for you to play when you call.¢ Since most 8-Bit programs are under¢ 100 kilobytes in size, there are lots¢ of files there. In his Meeting Memo¢ column, Ed also talks about a meeting¢ at Chuck Lamb's house at which many¢ 8-Bit files were demonstrated, some¢ of which were very old but still ran.¢¢ *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢¢¢¢
