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SILICON TIMES REPORT ==================== INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ============================= from STR Electronic Publishing Inc. May 27, 1994 No. 1022 ====================================================================== Silicon Times Report International Online Magazine Post Office Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155 R.F. Mariano Publisher-Editor ----------------------------------------- Voice: 1-904-783-3319 10am-4pm EST STR Publishing Support BBS Network System * THE BOUNTY BBS * ITCNet 85:881/253 JAX HUB ~ FNET 350 ~ Nest 90:21/350 904-786-4176 MULTI-NODE 24hrs-7 days 2400-57.6 bps V.32-42 bis 28.8 Hayes Optima V.FC FAX: 904-783-3319 12am-6am EST ----------------------------------------- Fido 1:374/147.3 The Bounty STR Support Central 1-904-786-4176 FNET. 620 : Leif's World ................1-904-573-0734 FNET. 690 : PASTE BBS....................1-206-284-8493 FNET. 489 : Steal Your Face BBS..........1-908-920-7981 MNET - Toad Hall BBS.....................1-617-567-8642 ______________________________________________________________________ > 05/27/94 STR 1022 "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!" """"""""""""""""" - CPU INDUSTRY REPORT - EPSON INKJET! - Apple Powerbook 500 - WordStar 2.0! - 200Mhz Chip! - HAYES Optima 288 V.FC - ASPELL Updated! - Zilog Z80180 - Radio Shack Sells PCs - STR MailCall - People Talking - The Old Fishin' Hole! -* COMDEX/WORLD OF WINDOWS ISSUE *- -* WORD PERFECT OFFERS MOST! *- -* Bob Brodie Leaves Atari *- ====================================================================== STReport International Online Magazine The Original * Independent * Online Magazine -* FEATURING WEEKLY *- "Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information" Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports ====================================================================== STReport's BBS - The Bounty BBS, invites all BBS systems, worldwide, to participate in the ITC/PROWL/USENET/NEST/F-Net/Fido Mail Networks. You may also call The Bounty BBS direct @ 1-904-786-4176. Enjoy the wonder and excitement of exchanging all types of useful information relative to computing & telcomm, worldwide, through the use of excellent International Networking Systems. SysOps, worldwide, are welcome to join the STReport International Conferences. ITC Node is 85:881/250, The Fido Node is 1:374/147.3, Crossnet Code is #34813, and the "Lead Node" is #620. All computer platforms BBS systems are welcome and invited to participate. ====================================================================== CIS ~ DELPHI ~ GENIE ~ BIX ~ PROWL ~ ITC ~ NEST ~ EURONET ~ CIX USENET ~ USPOLNET ~ CLEVELAND FREE-NET ~ INTERNET ~ FNET ~ AOL ====================================================================== COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME to the Readers of; STREPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine" NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY! CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198 You will receive your complimentary time and be online in no time at all! "Enjoy CompuServe's forums; where information is at its very best! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" """""""""""""""""""""" Comdex!! Can you say wall to wall people? Goodies Galore? New Products? New Software and upgrades at every turn? You have an idea of what Comdex looks like at its quiet times. This year's Atlanta show was excellent. One simply had to walk away with sheer delight in knowing the future of computing is such a shining star. Enough of my babbling, let's get into this issue as there is plenty of info for all. For the next three issues, expect a good deal about the "new" that's on the way. Next week, we shall have the second installment of our overview of the online services, the networks and the future of telecommunicating through networks. We shall have particular emphasis on front end, navigator and OLR software. Thanks again for reading..... Ralph... """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport's Staff DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU! """""""""""""""" Publisher -Editor """""""""""""""""" Ralph F. Mariano Lloyd E. Pulley, Editor, Current Affairs Section Editors """"""""""""""" PC SECTION AMIGA SECTION MAC SECTION ATARI SECTION ---------- ------------- ----------- ------------- R.D. Stevens R. Niles J. Deegan D. P. Jacobson STReport Staff Editors: """"""""""""""""""""""" Michael Arthur John Deegan Brad Martin John Szczepanik Dan Stidham Joseph Mirando Doyle Helms Frank Sereno John Duckworth Jeff Coe Steve Keipe Guillaume Brasseur Melanie Bell Jay Levy Jeff Kovach Marty Mankins Carl Prehn Paul Charchian Contributing Correspondents: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" Tim Holt Norman Boucher Clemens Chin Eric Jerue Ron Deal Mike Barnwell Ed Westhusing Glenwood Drake Vernon W.Smith Bruno Puglia Paul Haris Kevin Miller Craig Harris Allen Chang Dominick J. Fontana IMPORTANT NOTICE """""""""""""""" Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc... via E-Mail to: Compuserve................... 70007,4454 America Online..................STReport Delphi......................... RMARIANO BIX............................ RMARIANO FIDONET..................... 1:347/147.3 FNET........................... NODE 350 ITC NET...................... 85:881/253 NEST........................ 90:21/350.0 GEnie......................... ST-REPORT Internet.............RMARIANO@DELPHI.COM """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > CPU STATUS REPORT LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS """"""""""""""""" IBM/POWER-PC/PC SECTION (I) =========================== Computer Products Update - CPU Report ------------------------ ---------- Weekly Happenings in the Computer World Issue #22 By: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. ******* General Computer News ******* ** Epson Unveils New Inkjet Printer ** Epson America Inc's first color inkjet printer capable of heightening photographic imagery has been unveiled this week at the Comdex/Windows World computer trade show in Atlanta. Manager Edith Dees of Epson's printer group product is reported as saying the Stylus Color uses Epson's proprietary stylus inkjet technology. "When used with special paper," reports say, "the printer can produce near photographic quality images with 720 by 720 dots per-inch resolu- tion. In normal mode, the Epson Stylus Color prints at 360 dpi resolu- tion. Print jobs are prepared in the background so images are generated in less than 90 seconds releasing the computer's processor for other use." Priced at between $550 and $600, a DOS/Windows version of the printer is to ship in July, while an Apple Macintosh version will ship in the fall. Epson also has introduced its Action Laser 1600, a new laser printer that provides 600 dpi resolution while printing at six pages per minute. A 150 sheet paper tray can accommodate legal-and letter-sized paper as well as envelopes. Available now, the printer lists for $1,199. Replace- ment cartridges are $179. ** MIPS, Toshiba Offer 200MHz Chips ** A 200MHz version of a R4400 chip now is being offered by MIPS Techno- logies Inc., a unit of Silicon Graphics Inc., and Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc., a unit of Toshiba Corp. Officials with the two companies are quoted as saying the new chip is the first version of a MIPS RISC (reduced instruction set computing) microprocessor that is certified as running at speeds of up to 200MHz. "The the R4400/200 chip uses Toshiba's 0.3 micron energy-conserving Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor process and contains 2.3 million transistors". ** Apple Ships Mac CD-ROM Product ** The Macintosh Productivity Edition CD-ROM disk now is being shipped by Apple Computer Inc.'s Software Dispatch business unit. A report from Apple's headquarters says that the disk allows customers to use trial versions of different products as well as view self-running guided tours of those products. "They are bundled with many external Apple CD-ROM drives, multimedia kits and certain Macintosh computer configurations". ** Silicon Graphics & Nintendo Team Up ** Silicon Graphics Inc. and Nintendo Co. Ltd. announced this week they will launch their jointly developed three-dimensional video machine, called Project Reality, by the summer of 1995 -- just in time for the start of next year's holiday gift-buying season. "We're doing great with Nintendo. We intend to be out with that pro- duct next summer for the Christmas buying cycle," said Thomas Jermoluk, president and chief operating officer of Silicon Graphics Inc. "They're very excited about it, and we have over 60 game developers already doing games for the launch of the Project Reality system." It will first be released in arcades sometime before the end of the year and then shipped for home use next year. The target price for the home system in the United States is under $250. ** Cable Modems ** Cable modems -- intended to enable users to plug the cable TV line into the back of a computer to get faster, cheaper access to various services -- have been announced by several companies at a convention of the National Cable Television Association. Reports say "The cable modems can move text, voice and pictures 1,000 times faster over cable TV lines than standard telephone modems," and, "Those devices have more horsepower because cable television lines can carry more information than telephone lines do now." The officials said the modems are expected to be priced at $500 and up. Reports are that Intel's and Digital's modem should be capable of moving information at 10 megabits a second, or 10 million bits a second. Said John Richardson, manager of Intel's consumer software laboratory, "That means a person could go into a database, ask for a magazine quality photo and get in on his computer screen in 10 seconds. That would take a half-hour now." Online services are represented at this week's convention because they see opportunities to sell more services through cable connections. Jeff Miller, CompuServe's director of research and development, said that because information can be sent faster, service charges to consumers could be cheaper than they are now. He added that about 24 million out of the 26 million U.S. households with computers also subscribe to cable television. ** Apple Portable Highlight at Comdex ** Apple Computer Inc. has introduced its promised new series of port- able computers, the PowerBook 500, which is said to double the perfor- mance of the existing line. Apple product manager Julie Herendeen is quoted as saying the new PowerBook features a 9.5-inch active color matrix screen and incorpor- ates a new innovation, an integral solid state Apple trackpad. (Users move their fingers across this flat surface to control the cursor on the screen.) ** Poll: 12% of Homes Have Modems ** A new survey finds 12% of the nation's households now have modem equipped computers and that 6% regularly go online. The survey of more than 4,000 homes, funded by the Times Mirror Co. to study the interplay of people with the media and formation and public policy, also concluded that Americans no longer fear or distrust new technology. The polling, conducted by the Washington-based Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press, found a generation gap persists with regard to feelings toward computers. Center director Andrew Kohut says that those under 50 like and use computers "significantly" more than those over 50. Only 7% of those over 65 even use computers, the survey found. Also 45% of employed survey respondents said they work at home at least sometimes. ** Zilog Makes Faster Modem Chips ** A higher performance, 33MHz version of its Z80182 modem controller is being unveiled by chipmaker Zilog Inc. Reports say that the new chip "allows internal, external and PCMCIA modems to transmit at the V.Fast (V.34) speed." The chip is available at 33MHz in a 5.5-Volt 100-pin packages for $14.36 in 10K OEM quantities. The 3.3-Volts version running at 20MHz in 100-pin packages is available for $13.83 in 10K OEM quantities. ** IBM to Add Photo CD to OS/2 ** IBM says it has signed a licensing deal for Photo CD technology with Eastman Kodak and will integrate the technology into future versions of OS/2. The computer maker says the move will make OS/2 the first PC operat- ing system to be Photo CD-enabled without requiring users to buy additional software. An update that enables OS/2 2.1 to read Photo CD images will be made available online from IBM and CompuServe this summer. IBM will integrate the Photo CD read-only technology and the capability to write Photo CD images into a future version of OS/2. The licensing agreement also gives IBM the ability to deliver integrated Photo CD support in its other operating system platforms. "By integrating Photo CD support into OS/2, we're continuing our commitment to making OS/2 an operating system that offers more power and greater capabilities than competitive offerings," says Wally Casey, director of marketing for IBM's Personal Software Products division. "We believe this will make OS/2 an even more attractive option to anyone who is working with or creating applications that involve multimedia content." Kodak's Photo CD system allows color images, including 35mm photos, scanned images and computer-generated color graphics, to be stored in the Photo CD format. Up to 100 high resolution Photo CD images can be stored on a single Photo CD master disc. ** Radio Shack to Sell IBM PCs ** Under a new pilot program, Radio Shack is set to begin selling brand name IBM computers in about 500 of its stores. Reports say the agreement calls for Radio Shack, the retail subsidiary of Tandy Corp., to sell various IBM PS/Note notebook computers and PS/1 desktop systems, along with its private label line of Tandy computers. ** Gates: Power Computers for $2,000 ** While new models of personal computers continue to offer huge increases in computing capability, retail prices will continue to hover at about $2,000 per unit, predicted Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates. Gates said this week in a speech at Comdex in Atlanta: "Today, most machines are being sold with audio capability, eight megabytes of RAM and at least a '486 chip. By early next year, at a $2,000 price point, we are going to be able to see Pentium-type performance, with 16MB and - - I believe -- even a CD-ROM drive built in." ** Windows Users Now Number 50 Million ** The number of licensed users of the Microsoft Windows operating system doubled in the previous 12 months, bringing the total number of customers using it to more than 50 million. Microsoft officials said Windows is the most popular PC operating system in the world with a current sales rate of 2 million copies each month. Since Windows 3.0 first shipped, the number of users has roughly doubled each year, growing from about 2 million in May 1990 to 5 million in 1991 to 10 million in 1992. The number of Windows users in 1993 were counted at the 25 million mark, while more than 50 million are claimed in 1994. ** Dell Recalls Monitors ** Dell Computer is voluntarily recalling approximately 63,000 Dell Model DL-1460NI 14-inch SVGA color monitors. The units were sold directly by Dell, as well as through Sam's Club, Costco, Price Club and CompUSA. The computer maker says internal components may overheat, causing a fire hazard. Dell says consumers using its monitors should look for the model number "DL-1460NI" on the back of their unit. Users of the affected monitors should call Dell at 800-913-3355 to arrange for shipping and repair of the monitor. Dell says it has received 32 reports of its monitors overheating and, in some cases, catching fire. None of the reported incidents involved personal injury and the reported fires did not spread. Dell imported the monitors from a Taiwanese manufacturer in 1992 and 1993. ** NEC Cuts CD-ROM Drive Prices ** NEC Technologies Inc. of Wood Dale, Ill., has cut the prices on its Multi-Spin 3X family of CD-ROM drives. The MultiSpin 3Xe, which used to cost $600, now sells for $499. The MultiSpin 3Xi's price has been dropped from $500 to $465. The MultiSpin 3Xp, which used to sell for $455, is now priced at $415. "The market for CD-ROM readers has transformed itself over the past year," says Marc Miller, vice president of NEC Technologies' Advanced Media Products Group. "The CD-ROM market has exploded: NEC introduced triple-speed CD-ROM readers, availability of CD-ROM software titles has grown exponentially and customers know about and want CD-ROM." ___________________________________________ > HAYES 288 V.FC STR InfoFile 288 V.FC PowerHouse Modems """"""""""""""""""""""""""" HAYES INTRODUCES INTERNAL 288 V.FC MODEM WITH HAYES ESP INCORPORATED Atlanta, GA, 20 May 1994 -- Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. today announced the availability of OPTIMA 288B V.FC + Fax for US$499 and CDN$599. Incorporated onto this internal modem card is Hayes ESP Communications Accelerator. The integrated Hayes ESP COM Port Technology is a custom 16-bit communications co-processor which allows OPTIMA 288B V.FC to achieve full data transmission port speed of 230,400 bit/s in multi-tasking environments such as Windows. This internal data + fax modem supports V.Fast Class (V.FC) for 28,800 bit/s (28.8 bit/s) data transmission; ITU-T V.42bis data compression; ITU-T V.42 error-control; and Group 3 fax using V.17 for 14,400 bit/s fax transmission. This product is also fully compatible with the installed base of V.32bis (14.4 bit/s), V.32 (9600 bit/s) and V.22bis (2400 bit/s) modems. In addition, OPTIMA 288B V.FC will operate at 28,800 bit/s with future Hayes products implementing the V.34 (V.Fast) standard once it is approved. Hayes will make an upgrade to V.34 (V.Fast) available at a cost of less than US $100. In order to achieve its superior throughput, Hayes OPTIMA 288B V.FC supports an enhanced and well optimized implementation of the V.42bis standard, as well as a larger dictionary than other modem vendors in order to improve performance for a wide range of file types. Examples of files that consistently achieve superior throughput rates include graphics files, text files, e-mail message files, database/spread sheet data and other types of user generated data. It is a common misconception that an internal modem plug-in card will not suffer the same throughput and data loss problems as an external modem attached to a serial port. The combination of Hayes high-speed OPTIMA technology and Hayes ESP provides reliable high-speed communications for users who prefer an internal plug-in modem solution. With Hayes ESP's dedicated co-processor, users benefit from built-in automatic flow control to ensure data integrity by eliminating buffer overrun errors experienced with even the 16550 UART at speeds of 115.2 bit/s or higher. The ESP COM Port Technology is the only serial architecture to support speeds above 115,200 bit/s in Windows or network operating system environments. To maximize the PC's performance, Hayes ESP provides dual 1024-byte send/receive buffers and a 16-bit PC Bus interface for superior I/O performance. OPTIMA 288B V.FC + FAX comes with a two year limited performance warranty which is extendable to five years when customers register the product within 90 days of purchase (US & Canada only). OPTIMA 288B V.FC + FAX is bundled with Smartcom for Windows LE and Smartcom FAX for Windows communications software. HAYES ANNOUNCES OPTIMA 288 V.FC FOR MACINTOSH ATLANTA, GA, 20 May 1994 -- Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. today announced OPTIMA 28800 V.FC + FAX for the Macintosh. OPTIMA 288 V.FC for the Mac will be available 30 May 1994 for an estimated retail price of US$579 and CDN$719. This external data + fax modem supports V.Fast Class (V.FC) for 28,800 bit/s (28.8 kbit/s) data transmission and comes packaged with a Mac-to-modem cable, Smartcom FAX for the Macintosh and Smartcom for the Mac communications software. OPTIMA 288 V.FC + FAX for the Macintosh will operate at 28,800 bit/s with future Hayes products implementing the ITU-T V.34 (V.Fast) standard once it is approved. Hayes will make an upgrade to V.34 available for less than US$100. OPTIMA 288 V.FC + FAX for the Macintosh supports Group 3 Fax standard V.17 for 14,400 bit/s for send/receive fax transmission. This product also supports ITU-T V.42bis data compression, ITU-T V.42 error-control, and V.32. "We are excited about bringing high-speed data transmission to the Macintosh environment," said Hayes President Dennis C. Hayes. "The OPTIMA product line was developed to provide Hayes customers with a cost-effective way to get the job done. We are continuing this commitment with the introduction of a 28.8 V.FC modem into the Macintosh environment." With so many tasks competing for the computer's resources, it's virtually impossible for a communications application to maintain the degree of control necessary to efficiently manage high-speed serial communications. To attack this problem in the ISA/EISA and Micro Channel bus architecture, Hayes recommends Hayes ESP Communications Accelerator. However, for the Macintosh environment, Hayes recommends the Hustler card by Creative Solutions, of Rockville, Maryland. Included with OPTIMA 288 V.FC + FAX for the Macintosh is Smartcom FAX for the Macintosh which allows users to fax documents directly from their Macintosh computer, as well as receive fax messages and then view, print or save them to disk. Smartcom FAX for the Macintosh also keeps detailed Transaction Logs in files on disk so that both send and receive fax activities may be viewed at any time. All OPTIMA products carry a two year limited performance warranty. A special offer by Hayes, available in the U.S. and Canada only, allows users to obtain a free extension of the limited performance warranty to a total of five years coverage when an OPTIMA product is registered within 90 days of purchase by mail or through Online With Hayes bulletin board system. Notice: Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. reserves the right to make improvements to the product described in this manual at any time and without notice. Hayes, the Hayes icon, the Hayes logo, the Hayes '302 Escape Sequence Patent icon, V-series, Smartmodem, Smartcom, OPTIMA and ACCURA are trademarks of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. V.FC is a trademarks of Rockwell International Corporation. MNP is a trademark of Microcom, Inc. Other trademarks mentioned in this document are trademarks of their respective companies. Best known as the leader in microcomputer modems, Hayes develops, supplies and supports computer communications equipment and software for personal computer and computer communications networks. The company distributes its products in over 65 countries through a global network of authorized distributors, dealers, mass merchants, VARs, systems integrators and original equipment manufacturers. Hayes, OPTIMA, Smartcom and ESP are trademarks of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. V.FC and V.Fast Class are trademarks of Rockwell International Corporation. Other trademarks mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies. _______________________________________________ > A SUPER SPELL CHECKER! STR FOCUS! AboveSpell - A cut above the rest! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ABOVESPELL SPELLANYWHERE INPLACE SPELL-CHECKER Finally!! A Spell-Checker that works right within WinCIM! Whether you make a spelling mistake because of keyboard-carelessness or ignorance, it is going to hurt you. Typos are very easy to make, but their effects on your image are not easy to deal with. It is therefore very important to spell-check your email messages and forum postings. CompuServe is the largest and most comprehensive on-line information service you can find around. It has over 1.6 million members worldwide, and the most impressive demographic fact says that 92% of which are Executives or Professors. Thus, if you use CompuServe to communicate with your friends or with people of your profession, it is of the utmost importance to project a positive image and avoid typos in your emails. AboveSpell uses a comprehensive 120,000 word American English Dictionary to spell-check your emails and forum messages. There is absolutely no need of you to go through the painstaking routine of switching to your Word Processor simply to spell-check your emails. With AboveSpell installed, spell-checking is a swift button click away. AboveSpell adds a "Spell" button onto your WinCIM's Create Mail, Create Forum, and Reply Forum Windows. In other words, the "Spell" button is added everywhere you need it. A single button click and AboveSpell goes through your text checking for misspelled words. If it finds any misspelled word it stops, highlights the words, so that you can easily see what is going on, and gives you suggestions of correctly spelled words. Just terrific! AboveSpell is very good. According to a number of CompuServe users: "The spell checking is outstanding. Congratulations! ...Terry" "Terrific! I couldn't be more enthusiastic. Wonderfully fast, you have the context part, the apostrophe problem is solved. Just great. ....Dan" "Got it, installed it, love it... ...Brooks" "The WinCIM Spell Checker is just great and super fast too... ...Rapee" "Received your Spell software, love it!! ....Donna" Of course, technical support and product quality are absolutely the best. If you ever run into problems or have questions, you can always drop me an email or pickup the phone. And you always get good advice even if you have problems that have nothing to do with AboveSpell. With AboveSpell you will receive two gifts: SpellAnywhere and the InPlace Spell-Checker, at absolutely no additional cost to you. SpellAnywhere lets you spell-check your text anywhere, anytime and in any Window's Application! SpellAnywhere's Dialog Box is like a Notepad that is always there for you. You can be in any application, anywhere, anytime and when you hit the popup Hot key, the dialog box below comes up to the rescue: You can easily edit text directly in SpellAnywhere's Dialog Box to be spell-checked, or you can click the "paste" button to spell-check some text from the clipboard. When you are done, you can either hit the ESC key or click the "Close" button, SpellAnywhere disappears and puts you back where you were. Simply put, the InPlace Spell-Checker adds Spell-Checking capabilities to 99% of all your present Windows Applications. For instance, with the InPlace Spell-Checker you can: Spell-check the Subject line of your emails in WinCIM. Spell-check your text in Window's NotePad. Spell-check your document summaries in Word for Windows. Spell-check your Cards in Windows Card File program. Spell-check your live talk messages with other CompuServe members in the on-line Conference Rooms. Spell-check your message in CompuServe's new CSNav program. ...And the list goes on, because you can practically spell-check your text in 99% of all your Windows Applications! The InPlace Spell-Checker is completely described in the documentation you will receive. But briefly, 99% of your Windows Applications use what is called Standard Edit Controls to prompt you for text. Thus, when you are entering text in Windows, 99% of the time you can simply hit the InPlace Spell-Checker's Hot key to spell-check your text right where you are! For example, if you set your InPlace Spell-Checker's Hot key to be F12, then as soon as you have finished editing the Subject line of your email, you can just hit F12 to automatically spell-check it! You can just hit F12 to spell-check your text in Window's NotePad, or as another example spell-check the description of your new software in Window's Program Manager. The InPlace Spell-Checker can become your best friend very quickly! It is also very easy for you to configure AboveSpell to your personal taste. AboveSpell adds itself to Window's Control Panel: So all you have to do is start up Window's Control Panel, which is found in your "Accessories" Group in Window's Program Manager. Locate the AboveSpell's Icon, and double click it to have the a Setup Dialog Box come up: In this Setup Dialog Box you can select to which Windows in WinCIM you wish the "Spell" button added, and set SpellAnywhere's and the InPlace Spell-Checker's Hot keys. AboveSpell is absolutely the best spell-checker for WinCIM, and with it, you receive two gifts: SpellAnywhere and the InPlace Spell-Checker, for free. It is quite a bargain for only $23.10. The fastest way to order AboveSpell is via CompuServe: type GO SWREG, and register Program ID: 2413. The amount of $23.10 (plus $3.00 S&H) will be added to your next CompuServe bill automatically, and AboveSpell will be at your doorstep in about two business days-- your software will be shipped to you via USPS Two Day Priority Mail. To order with a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover) you can email your order to GIR Software at CompuServe ID: 72603,666 or call us at 508-580-2404 (9-6pm M-F EST). This terrific collection of Spell-Checkers will make your life easier, especially if you are using CompuServe to communicate with your friends and people of your profession. Sincerely Yours, Tomer Guez P.S. To order AboveSpell, type GO SWREG, and register Program ID: 2413 . Of course, you always have a 30 day money back guarantee-- zero risk to you. "By the way, I was sure surprised to find your disk waiting for me in less than 24 hours since I ordered it... some kind of record! And thanks again for the 'good phone' you gave me on so many other valuable topics besides your fabulous suite of spell checkers. ...Bruce" No Risk Order Coupon -------------------- Yes! Please send me a copy of AboveSpell WinCIM Add-On for only $23.10* (plus $3.0 S&H). If I'm not absolutely satisfied, I may return it within 30 days for a full refund, and also send me my gifts, Spell Anywhere and the InPlace Spell-Checker for FREE! *Residents of Massachusetts, please add 5% sales tax. Enclosed is my check for $_______ payable to GIR Software. Or bill my Visa, MasterCard or Discover card: CC#____________________________________ Exp. Date:_________ Signature ___________________________________________________ Name ______________________ Company _________________________ Address _____________________________________________________ City ______________________ State __________ Zip ___________ Country ___________________ Daytime Phone ___________________ Mail to: GIR Software, Dept CST3. 16 Thomas Patten Drive P.O.Box 680 Randolph, MA 02368-0680 ORDERS IN BY 4:00PM SHIP THE SAME DAY! You'll have your order before you know it-- mail order convenience at it's best! For questions regarding your order or for technical support, call 508-580-2404 or contact CompuServe ID: 72603,666. Thank you! CompuServe is a Registered Trademark of CompuServe, Inc. Windows is a Registered Trademark of Microsoft, Corp. WinCIM is a Registered Trademark of CompuServe, Inc. Word is a Registered Trademark of Microsoft, Corp. ___________________________________________ > WORDPERFECT AT COMDEX STR InfoFile """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" WORDPERFECT CORPORATION SHIPS NEW WRITING TOOLS Grammatik 6 and Random House Webster's Dictionary improve grammar checking and writing ATLANTA # May 23, 1994 # WordPerfect Corporation today shipped Grammatik 6, a new version of its grammar and style-checker which offers several new writing improvement features, a re-designed interface to make it even easier to use, and a new automatic sentence rewriting feature that has never been available in a grammar checker until now. The company also shipped a concise version of the popular Random House Webster's Electronic Dictionary. Both products are part of the WordPerfect Main Street consumer product line designed for the home and small business. Grammatik 6 (Windows) --------------------- The complete revision of Grammatik featured a design process with extensive user feedback, interface design and usability testing. Thousands of hours of design and usability studies identified the need for a simpler more speller-like grammar interface as well as new ways to present powerful features like sentence rewriting and writing styles. Grammatik 6's new QuickCheck option provides a simple, easy way to do basic checks of spelling, mechanics and grammar, and saves users time by not checking for style and more esoteric characteristics such as archaic language, cliche's and gender-specific words. In addition to QuickCheck, Grammatik 6 offers 10 predefined style guides and three levels of formality to choose from, so users can personalize their proofreading process for the appropriate audiences. Also, an extensive Help system is available to give them guidance on both writing problems and program features. New features have also been added to help users improve their writing. Grammatik 6 offers a high degree of grammar and spell checking accuracy and is now the only grammar checker available that offers sentence rewriting, a feature that allows users to automatically replace their original sentence with Grammatik#s corrected sentence, simply by double-clicking. To help users learn as they go along, the software also provides readability statistics, background information, and a new graphical Parse Tree that provides additional information on sentence structure. As with previous versions, Grammatik 6 offers accurate error detection by using a linguistic technology called Mor-Proof meaning morphology-based proof reading. Mor-Proof's combination of word and sentence analysis allows intelligent replacement of spelling, grammar and clause errors. As the software proofreads documents for errors in grammar, style, usage, punctuation and spelling, it also explains errors and gives advice. Grammatik also provides a bookmark feature, which lets users stop proofreading in the middle of a document and instantly return to that point to resume checking. The Macintosh version of Grammatik 6 is expected to begin shipping in August 1994. The Windows version requires a 386 processor or higher with 2MB of RAM, Microsoft Windows 3.1, and 2.5M of hard disk space. The Macintosh version will require a Macintosh with System 6.0.5 or later, a minimum of 2MB of RAM and 2.5M hard disk space. Both have a suggested retail price of $49.95US/$60CAN.* With more than five million copies sold and support for all popular word processors, Grammatik is the best-selling writing improvement tool in the world on all platforms. Random House School & Office Dictionary (Windows & Macintosh) Based on Random House Webster's College Dictionary, the program contains quick and easy definitions for over 60,000 words, including the latest contemporary words. A new engine in this version makes it more compact and much faster to use. The dictionary provides a convenient way to improve writing for new and experienced computer users working at home, school, in small businesses or for those using mobile computers such as laptops. The program uses a computerized dictionary database supplied by Random House, the largest general trade-book publisher in the English speaking world. This database is converted to a highly compressed WordPerfect format. The product also features a powerful search and retrieval mechanism, and a user interface designed for speed and ease of use. For each word, the software gives the full definition contained in the hard cover dictionary. The dictionary can be accessed from within all major applications, making it appear as a feature of the application so the user's work style is not interrupted. The Random House School & Office Dictionary is available now for both Windows and Macintosh. The Windows version requires a 386 processor or higher with 2MB of RAM, Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later, and 3MB of hard disk space. The Macintosh version requires a Macintosh Plus or higher with System 6.0 or later, a minimum of 2MB of RAM and 3MB free hard disk space. Both versions of the Random House Dictionary have a suggested retail price of $29.95US/$36CAN.* Localized versions for Canada, Germany, France and the United Kingdom have also begun shipping. WordPerfect Main Street products are available through computer superstores, warehouse clubs, retailers, and directly from WordPerfect Corporation by calling 1-800-321-4566. All products within the WordPerfect Main Street line have a suggested retail price of $29-139US/$35-169CAN.* WORDPERFECT CORPORATION SHIPS EXPRESSFAX+ 3.0 FOR WINDOWS ExpressFax+ combines fax and data communications for the home and office ATLANTA-May 23, 1994-WordPerfect Corporation's consumer products division today began shipping WordPerfect ExpressFax+ 3.0 for Windows. As part of the WordPerfect Main Street product line, the fax and data communications product will allow users to send and receive faxes and connect with information services and electronic bulletin boards. ExpressFax+ integrates essential fax and data features into a single product, distinguishing itself from other dedicated fax or data communications software. "Home and small office users are not looking for an intricate interface for their communications solution," said Sam Yee, product marketing director, consumer products division. "What we provide is a desktop that organizes the user's primary communication needs." The ExpressFax+ Desktop is the starting point where users access communication tools. From the Desktop, a user can enter the Phone Book, where phone numbers for data and fax are stored in one common phone book. Fax a Note allows users to create and send short fax messages. The Inbox holds received faxes, while the Outbox lists all sent faxes and status information. Users gain access into the terminal module by pressing the communications icon. "We've designed ExpressFax+ from the ground up for the consumer market," said Jeff Mallett, senior director, consumer products division. "The fax and data communications program will be a great starting point for first time computer users as well as those computing on a portable. Combining ease of use and essential features, users will receive a complete solution for an excellent value." TextBridgeTM Optical Character Recognition (OCR) by Xerox Imaging Systems allows users to convert received faxes into text. Converted information can then be retrieved and edited within a word processor. ExpressFax+ 3.0 requires Windows 3.1, a 386 or higher IBM PC or compatible, 5M of hard disk space and 4M of RAM. The product has a suggested retail price of $109US/$130CAN* and is available through computer superstores, retailers, warehouse clubs and directly from WordPerfect Corporation at 800-451-5151. WORDPERFECT CORPORATION RENAMES "OFFICE" GROUPWARE PRODUCT TO "SYMMETRY" OREM, Utah # May 24, 1994 # WordPerfect Corporation today announced WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1, an upgrade to WordPerfect Office 4.0a. The name of the product has been changed to more closely represent the significance of electronic messaging and eliminate possible confusion with other software products named "Office." "Symmetry means balance, completeness, and harmony in components. We like the definition as it relates to people working with information and information systems" said Adrian Rietveld, president and CEO of WordPerfect Corporation. "With the move toward global communications, mobile computing and the information superhighway, the expanding WordPerfect Office product line needed a new name to better represent the significance of this product." "The industry should be very receptive to a name change for WordPerfect Office," said David Coursey, editor of the San Mateo, Calif., based industry newsletter P.C. Letter. "While WordPerfect Corporation 1was among the first to use 'Office,' the name has become associated with product suites, or bundles of related software. With a new name, the confusion will end, giving users a clearer understanding of the product line and electronic messaging." The new product offers increased capabilities in its electronic mail, calendaring, scheduling, task management and workflow functions by bringing these services into a common interface shared across multiple platforms and operating systems. The result is a powerful, open electronic messaging system that can be easily scaled across any size enterprise. WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 builds on technology initially introduced with WordPerfect Office 4.0 and 4.0a, and differs from previous versions by bringing all clients, servers and gateways to the same level of functionality and consistency. This unique design uses the same core engine code for clients, servers and gateways. "Never before has a vendor released 50 completely compatible messaging products that provide customers with more scalability, openness and interoperability," said David V. Clare, senior director of marketing for Workgroup Applications at WordPerfect Corporation. "With the release of WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1, WordPerfect Corporation is again setting the standard for the LANbased electronic messaging industry." WordPerfect Corporation is a worldwide leader in providing business, workgroup, consumer and electronic publishing software. Driven by its vision to help the world communicate, the company develops software for people to process, share, present and distribute information. The company is widely recognized for its multilingual and crossplatform software solutions and is the industry's premier provider of customer support. Founded in 1979, the company markets software in 28 languages and in 117 countries. Through its merger with Novell, expected to be completed by midsummer, WordPerfect will take a leadership role in developing networked applications. FIFTY NEW AND ENHANCED PRODUCTS TO BE RELEASED WITH WORDPERFECT SYMMETRY 4.1 MESSAGING SYSTEM All WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 products completely compatible with WordPerfect Office 4.0a ATLANTA # May 24, 1994 # WordPerfect Corporation today announced WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1, which features 28 new products and 22 product upgrades to WordPerfect Office 4.0a. The new product line provides enhanced features and functionality for end users, MIS and technology executives. WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 is a fully integrated messaging application that combines electronic mail, personal calendaring, group scheduling, task management, rulesbased message management and workflow routing into a single application. The product comprises 12 client desktops, five remote operating systems, 10 server platforms and 23 gateways, making it the most open and scalable solution in crossplatform, enterprisewide electronic messaging. "WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 has been designed to balance the needs of three computing groups within an organization: end users, MIS managers and technology executives," said David V. Clare, senior director of marketing, Workgroup Applications at WordPerfect Corporation. "Workgroup applications can no longer be developed for end users or system administrators alone; robust feature sets must be provided for every group that interacts with the product." "WordPerfect Corporation is not only the first workgroup vendor to ship all the components of a messaging system simultaneously; it is also the only vendor to provide each computing group in the organization with significant product enhancements for their area of responsibility," said Clare. Ron Raes of Weyerhaueuser Mortgage said, "WordPerfect Office 4.0a currently allows our users tocommunicate with each other in our local offices as well as our remote offices. The product helps us meet our demanding business needs by automating workflow and allowing us to get at information more quickly. And now that WordPerfect Symmetry is Simple MAPI compliant, it will allow our users to mailenable their word processing and spreadsheet applications, making it easier for them to distribute information to each other and Weyerhaueuser's sister corporations." Enhancements for End Users -------------------------- Client Platform Support: WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 provides client support for 12 computing platforms, and with the exception of platformspecific features, all clients are identical in functionality and feature sets. New with the release of 4.1 is a native PowerMacintosh client and support for seven Unix environments, including HewlettPackard UX (HP 9000), IBM AIX (IBM RS/6000), SCO Unix, Data General UX (AViiON), Sun Solaris 2.x, SunOS 4.1.3 (Solaris 1.X), and SVR4 for Intel platforms (reference platforms NCR & Novell UnixWare). Openness: WordPerfect Corporation designed WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 to be more open by using accepted open messaging standards. Support for Simple MAPI has been added to the Windows client, allowing users to mailenable any other thirdparty product that also supports Simple MAPI. AOCE and AppleScript support have also been added to the Macintosh and PowerMacintosh clients. In addition to industry standards, WordPerfect Symmetry supports PerfectFit technology, allowing for greater interoperability with all WordPerfect Corporation Windows products. Custom Messages and Custom Commands: New to WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 for Windows is the capability to extend the electronic messaging services of the product to other applications. Through the use of custom message mechanisms, other applications can be registered in the system and identified in a user's In Box with a unique messagetype icon. Based on the conditions defined in a custom message, an executable or DLL can be executed to act on the information contained in the custom message. Custom commands enable users to access other Windows applications through any WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 for Windows pulldown menu. Custom commands can also be incorporated into any message view which could then trigger any action or set of actions. Electronic ListServer: Made popular by the Internet, ListServer programs provide a means of sharing nonreplicationdependent information through the use of electronic mail. ListServers allow email users to join forums of discussion and automatically receive messages that are sent to that forum. In WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1, a list is created by defining a mailbox to which users can send messages on a particular topic. To be a recipient of a particular list or forum, users send a message to the specified mailbox with the word "subscribe" in the message text and they are then added to the mailing list used to distribute messages sent to the list. All messages and associated attachments are distributed to each subscriber. List participants are maintained as Blind Copy recipients on the list to preserve the privacy of each participant. Mobile Computing: WordPerfect Corporation provides a large variety of mobile messaging products that help users keep in touch with information while away from the office. In addition to providing Remote Symmetry 4.1 for Windows and DOS, WordPerfect Corporation is also releasing a remote package for Macintosh. All three remote packages are able to utilize both asynchronous and wireless connections. Also new with the 4.1 release is the rulesbased Pager gateway which connects users to local, regional and national paging services and the Telephone Access Server, which enables users to use a touchtone telephone to listen to and send messages. Enhancements for MIS -------------------- Installation: The WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 Administration program now provides an "assisted install" procedure that instructs the installer on each necessary procedure to complete the install. The installation of a single WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 post office and clients can now be accomplished by a novice computer user with the appropriate network access in less than two hours. Additional installation enhancements include: simplified client installation program, automatic update of locallyinstalled WordPerfect Office 4.0a client software and directory synchronization with the NetWare bindery. Improved Uptime Support (24x7): New with WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 is complete 24x7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) uptime support for server and database maintenance. This includes online automated database maintenance by server processes which automatically maintains the integrity of the system databases. Also new is automated reporting of problem files to the administrator and support for System Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for NetWare Loadable Modules (NLM). Administration Support: The WordPerfect Symmetry Administration program provides scalable enterprisewide administration capabilities, including central and distributed administration, automatic directory synchronization betweendomains and electronic software distribution. All WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 products are fully plugandplay compatible with WordPerfect Office 4.0a, allowing customers to upgrade the components of their systems one piece at a time without losing information or functionality. Enhancements for Technology Leader ---------------------------------- Client & Server Architecture: The WordPerfect Symmetry clients that span 12 desktop platforms and servers that span 11 operating systems are all built on the same corecode engine, making them identical in functionality and feature sets. All WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 features reside in the WordPerfect Symmetry engine,which is then ported to the appropriate platform or operating system. This level of code integration enables the clients and servers to work interchangeably, with complete integration of functionality across the enterprise. Enterprise Scalability: WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 provides highcapacity server support for better performance, high uptime characteristics and increased administration capabilities on the servers. Server platforms supported include NLMs, OS/2, DOS and the previously mentioned seven versions of Unix. Both the Message Server (MS) and Office Server (OFS) are supported natively on OS/2. Support is also provided for native TCP/IP communications between OS/2 and Unix versions of the server processes, and universal naming conventions (UNC) mappings for connections made by the NLMs. Connectivity/Interoperability: Connectivity between WordPerfect Symmetry and foreign email systems has been significantly enhanced at the 4.1 level. The enhancements include better coexistence with other email systems, including the Internet, X.400, and SNADS; interoperability and directory synchronization between WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 and OfficeVision/VM (OV/VM), Lotus cc:Mail, and NetWare Global MHS; and a move user utility for customers migrating from OV/VM or cc:Mail. WordPerfect Corporation is also providing a WordPerfect Symmetry Async Gateway for OS/2, incoming fax capabilities for the Fax/Print Gateway, a new Pager Gateway with support for local, regional or national paging services and SMTP Gateways for all seven supported Unix environments. Pricing and Availability ------------------------ WordPerfect Symmetry 4.1 Client/Administration Packs (which include 5 licenses) for all platforms each have a Suggested Retail Price of $695. Additional licenses range from $135 for one additional license to $9,500 for an additional 100 licenses. The Message Server Pack is available for the following prices: DOS, $495; OS/2, $1,495; Unix, $1,995; and NLM, $2,495. All products are scheduled to release by the end of June 1994. WordPerfect Corporation is a worldwide leader in providing business, workgroup, consumer and electronic publishing software. Driven by its vision to help the world communicate, the company develops software for people to process, share, present and distribute information. The company is widely recognized for its multilingual and crossplatform software solutions and is the industry's premier provider of customer support. Founded in 1979, the company markets software in 28 languages and in 117 countries. Through its merger with Novell, expected to be completed by midsummer, WordPerfect will take a leadership role in developing networked applications. All brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. _________________________________________ > Kids' Computing Corner STR Feature """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" KIDS' COMPUTING CORNER ====================== by Frank Sereno This week I will be doing mini-reviews of the educational programs that I have reviewed over the last six months in STR. This will start our list of software ratings with 12 programs. As each new program is reviewed, it will be added to the list which will be posted with this column on a regular basis. If readers are interested in participating, I am willing to tabulate your scores on educational programs. This is an idea I would like to implement that has been used in Computer Gaming World to rate computer games and by Consumer Reports to rate movies. All that is required is to list the name of the program, the type of computer on which the program runs and then your rating of 0 to 10 for the program. Mail these scores to me at the addresses which are posted at the end of this article. A.J.'s World of Discovery is an excellent program and it is also an interface for including additional A.J. learning games. The graphics are very colorful and interesting. The program has many humorous animation sequences. The music included with the program is very entertaining. Voices and sound effects are used often and well. The user interface uses the mouse and is easy to navigate. Audible help is provided in all program sections. Negative feedback is very gentle and the positive feedback is extremely enthusiastic. This program is very entertaining and fun. This program has sections devoted to teaching time concepts, hand- eye coordination, problem solving, memory enhancement and art appreciation. A.J.'s was originally offered for FREE. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 9.0 9.0 9.5 9.0 9.0 9.5 9.16 Alphabet Blocks from Sierra On-line is an excellent program for teaching 3 to 6 year olds the letters and sounds of the alphabet. This program is the first in a series in which the lips of on-screen characters are not only in sync with the sounds, but actually form the sounds. The animation is excellent. Background graphics are a bit spare but are well done. The sounds and voices in this program are top-notch. The interface is excellent. The program is entirely mouse driven. Audible help is available. Negative feedback is non-existent. Positive feedback is very friendly and enthusiastic. The program actually measures the child's progress and retests him on problems he has difficulty answering. With the many rewarding animations given for correct answers and positive encouragement of the on-screen coaches, children will play this excellent program again and again. This program teaches its lessons very well and will give children the building blocks for reading. This program originally retailed for $40 , but I have seen it sell for $15. This program established a new level of performance in educational software. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 10.0 10.0 9.67 Beginning Reading (formerly known as and reviewed as Ready, Set, Read) is the follow-up program to Alphabet Blocks. This program is an introduction to reading designed for 4 to 7 year-olds. The graphics and animations are just as good as Alphabet Blocks. The sounds are excellent. The coaches sound enthusiastic and friendly. The mouse driven interface is very easy for children. The coaches guide the children through the program with audible help and introductions to the six available lessons. Positive, enthusiastic feedback is used throughout this program. The lessons are fun and enjoyable. Children will spend many hours working with Beginning Reading. Many valuable concepts are taught such as rhyming, two-letter sounds, word recognition, alphabetizing letters and words, word building from sounds, and reading. I have found this program in some retail outlets for less than $20. It is a very good value. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 10.0 10.0 9.67 Busytown by Paramount Interactive is based on the books of Richard Scarry. It is filled with good graphics but unfortunately some of the animations are a bit jerky. Sounds, music and voices are excellent. The varied and bright music will cheer anyone. This program uses a mouse interface to allow the child to choose between a dozen different activities. Audible help is available at most times in the program. When the child leaves Busytown, the parents can read an on-line book which shows and explains the activities the child has done in this session with the program. This program is great fun for children. The various activities will teach children problem solving, counting, the parts of the body, fire safety, cooperation and more. Prices range from about $25 retail for the floppy version to around $35 for the CD-rom version. With all the activities and lessons learned, this program is an excellent value. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 8.0 9.0 9.0 9.5 9.5 9.0 9.0 Early Math is a colorful program from Sierra On-line that is intended to teach beginning math concepts to children ages 3 to 6. The graphics and animations in this program are very colorful and interesting. The usage of sound is excellent. The game is completely mouse driven. Audible help is available and each of the six learning games is explained upon beginning them. Early Math includes charting of each child's progress. This game is very enjoyable for children and it will be played many times. The program wishes to teach a great many concepts and it does a very good job of teaching children counting, shapes, pattern matching and spatial relations. I found this program in retail outlets for as little as $15 so it has great value. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.5 9.09 Just Grandma and Me is the first of Broderbund's Living Book series of CD-ROMs intended as a learning aid for teaching reading to children ages 3 to 8 years. JG&M is an animated book which is read to the children. Each page is full of hidden animations which the child activates by clicking on various objects on the screen. The graphics are beautifully drawn and the animations are very funny. The voices, sounds and music used in this program are excellent and entertaining. The program is mouse driven and audible help is available. This program is so funny that even adults will play it. Educationally, children should gain a love of books and possibly pick some words from the narration of the story. The disc also has the Japanese and Spanish versions of the book so children could possibly learn a bit about other languages. Available for around $30 retail, it is a good value. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 8.5 9.0 8.5 9.0 8.0 8.0 8.41 Lenny's MusicToons is a multi-media introduction to music for children. Graphics are well drawn and colorful, although not particularly detailed. Sounds and voices are quite good and the music is very entertaining. The interface is using a mouse to point and click on objects on the main screen. Some lead to learning games, others start short animated sequences. Disappointingly, Lenny's includes no audible or on-line help with the exception of the PTV game. Lenny's is fun but younger children will not be able to play all the games well as some are intended for older children. Children will learn about pitch, musical scale, rhythm and other basics of music. Available for around $25, Lenny's is not a bad value. If you have a combination of preschoolers and grammar school children, this could be a good addition to your software library. If you have younger children, they will eventually grow into the more difficult exercises. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 7.0 8.5 6.5 7.0 7.5 6.5 7.17 Math Rabbit from The Learning Company is intended to build math and thinking skills in children ages 4 to 7 years. The program uses VGA graphics but these are not exceptional. Animations that are used are smooth but not as impressive as those used in other programs. The sounds are good. The interface is point and click with the mouse. Each lesson is explained audibly at the beginning, but no audible help is available after that point. Negative feedback is fair and non-critical but the positive feedback doesn't seem enthusiastic enough. The different lessons are entertaining and have good replay value. Math Rabbit teaches counting, adding, subtraction and a bit about music as well so its educational value is quite good. This program is a fairly good value overall retailing for around $25. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 7.0 7.0 6.0 7.5 8.0 7.5 7.17 Mixed-Up Mother Goose is a multi-media children's adventure game. Children use the mouse to guide their on-screen alter-ego around Mother Gooseland to fix the mixed up nursery rhymes. No reading is needed to play the game. The graphics are fairly good but they are dated since this program is several years old. The sounds used in the program are quite good, but the voice acting is a bit "stiff." The game is fun and non- violent. This program doesn't have the same educational value as some of the newer titles. It does teach problem solving and the various nursery rhymes. Available on floppy and CD-rom, Mixed-up Mother Goose is available for around $15 to $20. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 7.0 7.5 7.0 7.5 6.5 7.0 7.08 Snoopy's Game Club by Accolade is a collection of three games for pre-schoolers. The graphics are good, but plain. The sound effects and voices are good, but some of the voice tracks could be more distinct. This program also uses a mouse interface. It does not use audible help or encouragement but the games and interface buttons are fairly simple. Encouragement is available in text displayed on the screen but the program is aimed at children who are not expected to be readers. The games include a matching game, an animated puzzle game, and a game to identify two identical items in a group. The games are fun and the difficulty can be raised so older children and even adults can enjoy the challenge. This package has only fair educational value. The games are meant to improve concentration, and memory and observation skills. Available at some retailers for under $20, it is a good buy but not a great one. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 7.0 7.5 6.5 7.5 6.0 6.5 6.83 The Tortoise and the Hare from Broderbund Software is another in the Living Book series of interactive animated books for children. Beautiful graphics combined with hilarious animations make this a visual delight. The music, sounds and voices are all top-notch. The standard mouse interface is used to allow the child to interact with each illustrated page. The Tortoise and the Hare is amusing and great fun for all ages. This title has great replay value. Educationally, the program has both the English and Spanish versions of the book on the disc and one can change between either version at the push of a single key. Children should learn some words as they are highlighted when the text of each page is narrated. This program has good value. It is available for under $35 at many retailers. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 9.0 9.0 8.5 9.0 8.5 8.5 8.75 Yearn 2 Learn Peanuts from ImageSmith is an educational game intended for children ages 3 to 10 years. Peanuts has a geography puzzle game, a coloring book, a flying game, three levels of math games, comics and a geography puzzle game. The graphics are true to the Peanuts characters. They are really average. Sound effects, music and voice tracks are used liberally throughout the program and are well-done. The interface leaves a bit to be desired. I feel that the negative feedback used is inappropriate for younger children. The positive feedback is often slang expressions or just macho cheers. The available audible help is not all that helpful. Playing the various lessons involves using a mouse point and click interface that is fairly well done. Play value depends on the age of the child. The range of ages for this software means that some of the games are too advanced for the younger children while the easier games will be too simple for the older ones. Most children will find at least one activity they enjoy. Educationally, this program wishes to teach many concepts but the poor feedback undercuts its effectiveness. Retailing for around $30, I feel that this program is trying to appeal to too large of an age group and can only be considered a fair value overall. Scores: Grafx | Snds | Intrfce | Play Value | Educational Value | Value | Average 7.0 8.5 5.0 6.0 6.5 6.0 6.5 STR Kids' Computing Corner Educational Software Ratings ------------------------------------------------------- Title Software Company Rating ----- ---------------- ------ Alphabet Blocks Sierra On-line 9.67 Beginning Reading Sierra On-line 9.67 A.J.'s World of Discovery Sierra On-line 9.16 Early Math Sierra On-line 9.09 Busytown Paramount Interactive 9.00 The Tortoise and the Hare Broderbund 8.75 Just Grandma and Me Broderbund 8.41 Lenny's MusicToons Paramount Interactive 7.17 Math Rabbit The Learning Company 7.17 Mixed-up Mother Goose Sierra On-line 7.08 Snoopy's Game Club Accolade 6.83 Yearn 2 Learn Peanuts ImageSmith 6.50 Next week, I hope to review Fatty Bear's Fun Pack. If you wish to send ratings, comments, suggestions or just say hello, I can be reached via e-mail at any of these addresses: FidoNET: Frank Sereno, 1:2235/10 Internet: frank.sereno@utibbs.chigate.com U.S. Postal: Frank Sereno 528 West Ave. Morris, IL 60450-1768 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT: _________________________________ Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo) Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt. Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN. GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ___ ___ _____ _______ /___| /___| /_____| /_______/ The Macintosh RoundTable /____|/____| /__/|__| /__/ ________________________ /_____|_____|/__/_|__|/__/ /__/|____/|__|________|__/ /__/ |___/ |__|_/ |__|_/____ Managed by SyndiComm /__/ |__/ |__|/ |__|______/ An Official Forum of the International Computer Users Group *** STReport available in MAC RT *** ASCII TEXT for ALL GEnie users! MAC/APPLE SECTION (II) ====================== John Deegan, Editor (Temp) > WordStar for Windows STR FOCUS! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Introducing....... WORDSTAR FOR WINDOWS 2.0 ======================== WordStar for Windows 2.0 (WSWin) is now shipping in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. With the combined power of sophisticated word processing and powerful layout, WSWin is the only product you'll need to create elegant and distinguished documents. New Features in WSWin 2.0: WSWin now allows you to open and edit multiple documents at the same time. You can work with as many as sixteen documents at once, depending on your system. Drag and drop editing allows you to select text in one location and drag it with the mouse to a new location, even into another WSWin document. With smart marking, you'll never have to worry about extra spaces around words when you drag and drop to move or copy the text. You can also use drag and drop to move or copy graphics or tables to different documents. You'll want to use drag and drop with the new clip art that comes with WSWin 2.0. Over 100 ready-to-use images appropriate for both business and personal use are provided. With your mouse you can drop the images right into your own documents! MailList for Windows keeps track of your address book and other data. You can create databases for your home video collection, mailing lists, and other important information. MailList provides built-in support for printing labels, envelopes, and simple reports. You can use WSWin to create form letters that incorporate the fields from your MailList databases. A powerful macro system is included with WSWin 2.0. You can record your actions and increase your productivity by replaying them over and over. When you are ready to increase your word processing power, you can write your own macros with the WSWin macro editor and debugger. You can even create dialog boxes to provide interaction between the user and your macro. It's as easy as drawing boxes on the screen! The StarBASIC programming language allows you to access all the features in WSWin. Many features were added to WSWin 2.0 using the macro system, including smart typographic quotes, fill-in-the-blank templates, word and paragraph count, and shorthand so you can insert formatted text into your document with just a few keystrokes. New pop-up menus appear when you click the right mouse button. These pop-up menus are located right where you are working and make it easy to access frequently-used commands. The commands on the pop-up menus change depending on what you are doing, so you are never far away from just the right feature. WSWin also provides a customizable toolbox where you can add buttons for the features you use often and for macros you create. The toolbox can be attached to the main window, or you can leave it floating on screen. You can even display text on the buttons to help you remember what they do. Now, you can change the keystrokes for any command, or you can add keystrokes to the commands you use. Keystroke sets for WordStar for DOS and WordStar 2000 users, as well as keystrokes that match other Windows applications, are still available. With customizable keystrokes, you can create a new keystroke set so that WSWin works like the word processor you used to use! A rich OnLine help system makes learning and using WSWin a snap. The help contains graphics with built-in hotspots that you can click to learn more. You can still get help on specific commands by pressing F1 when a dialog box is displayed, or by pressing Shift+F1 and selecting a command from a menu. Other improvements in WSWin 2.0: faster spell checking, improved find and replace, a list of recently-used files on the File menu, automatic variables to place the time, date, or filename in your documents, a snap-to grid that simplifies placing frames on the page, and saved editing position when you open your documents. Of course, the list of features does not stop there. Many of WSWin's other features include: Support for importing many different file formats for text, graphics, and tables. Multiple story lines, for creating newsletters and brochures. You can link frames together, even from page 2 to page 99! Object linking and embedding. Font support, including TrueType, PostScript, and Intellifont. You can format text from 1 to 792 points, in .1-point increments. Floating frames that move as you add or modify text. Integrated drawing tools, with support for line styles, fill pattern and color, and rotation. You can even rotate text! Paragraph styles that support widow and orphan control, automatic hyphenation, drop caps, bullets, and automatic numbering. Paragraph styles give you control over line spacing, alignment, lines and boxes around paragraphs, text color, and text appearance. Frame styles that allow you to change the appearance of multiple frames with a single command. You can add borders, change colors, or modify the margins of all the frames that use the same frame style. Tables with expandable cells, resizable dividers, and support for different line styles and fill colors. Running headers and footers, including on alternating pages. You can even automatically include text on the page in a header or footer, such as the words you see in a dictionary or encyclopedia! On-screen tab ruler for modifying tab stops, alignment, and leader characters. Changeable zoom level from 25% to 200%, with full editing capabilities at any level. Captions that stay attached to frames, graphics, and tables. Table of contents, indexes, and table of authorities, figures, and other lists. Footnotes, including support for maximum footnote size, custom dividing line, and automatic text that appears when footnotes must be split across pages. Bookmarks and references for automatic cross referencing of text and page numbers. And much more! With its powerful word processing and desktop publishing capabilities, WSWin would be an excellent value if it sold for the same price as the other word processing programs. However, it is available now for only $99.95! For that price, you can't afford not to try the most powerful and exciting new Windows word processor! If you are not completely satisfied, return the product within 30 days for a full refund. If you already own an earlier version of WordStar for Windows, WordStar for DOS, WordStar 2000, or NBI Legacy, you can upgrade to WSWin 2.0 for only $39.95. For more information, call 1-800-227-5609. ______________________________________________________ > STR Mail Call "...a place for the readers to be heard" """"""""""""" STReport's MailBag """""""""""""""""" Messages * NOT EDITED * for content ----------------------------------- PASSING COMMENT DRAWS SOME STERN COMMENTARY ------------------------------------------- Letter to the Editor From Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr. Last week the Editor, Ralph Mariano, had the following comments to make in his editorial. "Now, for moment of silence for the poor souls on the Amiga and Atari computer platforms. Hopefully, they'll see the light and make the move. After all, only so many doors need stoppers." I have to feel that Mr. Mariano has fallen victim to the -- "If it isn't the latest and greatest, it's a door-stop" mentality. This mindset seems to be the worst amoung those who 'convert' to another computer platform. Mr. Mariano likes to say he's "telling it like it is", but in this case he's "telling it like he believes it should be". When he says, "...see the light and move...", he means move to HIS platform. Allow me to remove Mr. Mariano's rose colored glasses and introduce him to the real world. When Atari moved into the game market, my ST did not automatically become a 'doorstop'. When Commodore closed their doors in the U.S., Amigas did not automatically become a 'doorstop'. I can still do all of the computing that I have done for the last 7-8 years. I still do word processing, telecommunicating, DTPing, and most other computing jobs that _I_ need done. I admit it might not do them as fast as his "fancy-smancy" '486/Pentium/whatever-is-the-newest-this-week system, but it still gets me there. Oh yes, there is software and hardware that I can't run. So? I have a customer who does $500,000-$750,000 worth of business a year who still only has a '286 with a VGA monitor. There is a lot of PC software and hardware that he can't run - is his system a "door stop" too? [Ralph, don't tell me about how he can upgrade his system - he's priced getting it upgraded and the price is almost the same whether he upgrades it, or makes it a 'doorstop' and buys a new system.] Will I "see the light and move"? Probably - one of these days when my system stops working and really becomes a 'doorstop'. But until that time, my system might not be state-of-the-art, but it's no 'doorstop'. Editor; ------- Geez I never meant anything more than please consider selling the hardware before it has no value left in it all. That is of course except the sentimental value it will always have. Just like my first computers have. They're still here and always will be. <g> They are very fond mementos. In another scathing retort from a reader in the Boston, MA area; "Now, for moment of silence for the poor souls on the Amiga and Atari computer platforms. Hopefully, they'll see the light and make the move. After all, only so many doors need stoppers." Ralph Mariano, STR1021 OK, Ralph, enough is enough... Week after week, you've been getting in your little digs at the Atari community. It was one thing when you regulary attacked Atari Corp. for the constant mismanagement of their computer business. You, and the rest of the Atari community were happy with Atari computers and with much of the software available for them, but constantly frustrated by the company's inexplicably bad decisions. Now that you have decided to change your personal focus, and the focus of your publication to the mainstream computer platforms, your attacks have taken on an entirely new appearance, and it's gotten pretty ugly. Although I made the choice to buy my first Atari computer before there was any rivalry between Atari and Commodore (before the C-64 existed), I nevertheless appreciated the rivalry between the companies and the users. I take no pleasure in seeing the end of Commodore. I well understand the attitude of Commodore users who feel that they have found platforms that meet their tastes and their needs better than the machines that have captivated so many others. You once understoood it too. Commodore is gone now, and Atari may or may not survive. Even if Atari does survive, it might go off in a different direction, and still leave its computer users in the lurch. Even without the support of the companies, however, the computers and their respective user communities will continue for some time to come. I was the last holdout in my usergroup to stay exclusively with my Atari 800 (not even an XL). I was comfortable with the machine and the software, and it did what I NEEDED to do (remember that word "need," it's important). When the time came that it could not handle what I NEEDED to do, I made the move to the ST platform. This was several years ago, when I perceived it to be a better value than any other platform (a time when you were also of the same opinion). My ST system still meets my NEEDS more than adequately, and although I might like more attention, and more respect from the larger "computer community," I don't NEED it. Sure, we all like to get our egos stroked, hearing how bright we are for making the "right" (i.e. "popular") decision, but there is more to life than that. Yes, I have no doubt that the time will come, sooner or later, when my NEEDS exceed the capabilities of my current system. Unless a miracle takes place, and Atari introduces a worthy successor at a competetive price, I expect that my next system will not be an Atari. Will it be an "IBM," or "Macintosh?" Will it be an 'x86, Pentium, Power PC, or something we haven't heard of yet? I don't know, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I use my computer much as you do... to communicate. Sometimes the end product goes out electronically (as this document is destined to do), and sometimes it goes out on paper. Are my thoughts made any less clear to you because I create this file on an Atari ST? Would you have any way of knowing if, instead, I went into the next room and created it on my Atari 800? No, of course you wouldn't. Do I NEED a word processor that takes 30 megabytes of hard drive space? Absolutely not, ST Writer Elite still handles most of my NEEDS, and consumes a whopping 66,560 bytes of disk space, including the printer configuration file. Do I NEED a desktop publishing program that will handle high-resolution, true-color grahics? Absolutely not, although it sure would be nifty. There are certainly people who either NEED these things, or have enough financial resources to buy them just because they WANT them, but at this time, I am not in either group. Would I advise anybody to purchase an Atari computer system now? Only if they were already an Atari user, and had the resources to buy a Falcon or TT, or came across a REALLY good deal on a complete used system with some good software included. Certainly not if they intended to use it for any kind of standard business applications. I don't see you making any effort to berate those people who still use a Mac "Classic," or an IBM PC, XT, or even '286 class machine, even though they are nearly as far out of the mainstream as any Atari or Amiga user. You even continue to support the Atari community with a section of your publication (now handled very well by Dana Jacobson, a personal friend of mine through our local user group), yet you choose to direct abuse, not at Atari Corp, but at the users. Is the only reason you continue the Atari coverage, to keep us coming back so you can tell us what a bunch of dorks we are? My computer is old-fashioned, and out of date, and so are most of my clothes, but I am comfortable with both situations. Do you want to be the Mr. Blackwell of the electronic publishing world? Shall we take your editorial comments as the computer equivalent of the "worst dressed" list? What's the point, Ralph? If there is a "light" to be seen, it's shining out there for you. Forget the rancorous relationship between you and Atari Corp, and let go of the love/hate relationship you once had with their machines. You have moved on, and it's time you developed a little better perspective on the situation. The truth is that you feel that you have done what is right for you, and I, my fellow "Atarians," and "Amigoids" (or is it "Amigans?) as well feel that we are doing what is right for us. The larger truth is that you are happy, pounding out your wisdom on your future doorstop, and I am happy doing the same on mine. Let it be, Ralph, let it be... Mitchell A. Myers Boston, Massachusetts May 21, 1994 Editor; ------- For what its worth, you are right in everything you are saying. I have only one thing to offer... as I said to Lloyd, I was pointing to the sale value in the hardware. The longer its held onto the lower it goes. Other than that... please let me be the first to say, I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Atari's computers. After all, I've had the privilege to meet some really wonderful people on that platform. Times change though, and I feel Atari forced the change upon us all. Now, the name of the game is elsewhere. As for the world of Atari, you are right again... it should be let alone. Folks will do what's best for them. ********************************************************************** IMPORTANT NOTICE! ================= STReport International Online Magazine is available every week for your reading pleasure on DELPHI. STReport's readers are invited to join DELPHI and become a part of an extremely friendly community of enthusiastic computer users there. SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI ====================== Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access DELPHI services via a local phone call JOIN --DELPHI -------------- Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002 then... When connected, press RETURN once or twice and... At Password: type STREPORT and press RETURN. DELPHI's 20/20 Advantage Plan 20 Hours for Only $20! ----------------------------- Advantage Members have always enjoyed the lowest DELPHI access rates available. On the new 20/20 Advantage Plan, members receive their first 20 hours of access each month for only $20. If you happen to meet someone online or find some other diversion, don't worry because additional usage is only $1.80 per hour. 20/20 Advantage rates apply for access via SprintNet or Tymnet from within the continental United States during home time or via direct dial around the clock. Home Time is from 6pm to 6am weekdays. Access during business time carries a surcharge of $9 per hour. These rates apply for most services, but note that there are some surcharged areas on DELPHI which are clearly marked with a "$" sign. Who is eligible to take advantage of the plan? Any DELPHI member in good standing. Applications are reviewed and subject to approval by Delphi Internet Services Corporation. It's easy to join. If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can apply online -- at any time -- for membership in the DELPHI 20/20 Advantage Plan. Your membership becomes active at 4 a.m. Eastern Time on the first billing day of the following month. The $20 charge will be billed to you at the beginning of the month to which it applies. Any portion of the 20 hours not used in any month does not carry forward into the next month. Advantage rates may be changed with 30 days notice given online. TRY DELPHI FOR $1 AN HOUR! For a limited time, you can become a trial member of DELPHI, and receive 5 hours of evening and weekend access during this month for only $5. If you're not satisfied, simply cancel your account before the end of the calendar month with no further obligation. If you keep your account active, you will automatically be enrolled in DELPHI's 10/4 Basic Plan, where you can use up to 4 weekend and evening hours a month for a minimum $10 monthly charge, with additional hours available at $3.96. But hurry, this special trial offer will expire soon! To take advantage of this limited offer, use your modem to dial 1-800-365-4636. Press <RET> once or twice. When you get the Password: prompt, type IP26 and press <RET> again. Then, just answer the questions and within a day or two, you'll officially be a member of DELPHI! DELPHI-It's the BEST Value and getting BETTER all the time! ************************************************************ ATARI/JAG SECTION (III) ======================= Dana Jacobson, Editor > From the Atari Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" """""""""""""""""""""""""""" To quote Bob Dylan: "The times, they are a-changin'..." Bob Brodie, Atari's director of communications and owner of past titles with Atari Corporation, earlier this week submitted his resignation, effective June 3rd. In a public letter posted in Fnet, NeST, Fido, AtariNet and the ST RT on GEnie, Brodie stated that it was time to move on. Reasons given were to have the ability to devote more time to his family. Bob also stated that he has accepted a new position, rumored to be Lauren Sellers, owner of Goldleaf, and will have the ability to perform many of his new tasks at home. For many in the Atari community, this news has come as a surprise. For Atari's contemporary history, Brodie has "survived" longer than most and has been highly visible and community-supportive for the past five years at Atari. Many Atari users, past and present, will miss Brodie. There has been no public speculation as to a successor. The staff here at STReport wish Bob all the best of good fortune in his new positions. One of Bob's Atari-related complaints was the fact that he was often away from his family for long periods of time. He finally has an opportunity to combine a career and spend more time with his family. Good luck, Bob!! We've got a lot of information this week, which also includes our expanded Jaguar coverage. So, let's get on with it! Until next time... ___________________________________________________ > Bob Brodie Resigns! STR Focus! - Brodie Bids Farewell To Atari """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" An End of An Atari Era For some time now, I have felt that I needed to spend more time with my family. I have been presented an opportunity that will not only allow me to work at home two to three days a week, and also includes a substantial pay increase. The increase offered is much higher than I could ever reasonably expect Atari to raise my salary in a single year. I cannot in good conscience to my family refuse the opportunity to work at home, along with such a substantial pay increase. It is with great regret that I submit my resignation, effective June 3, 1994. For almost five years now, my job at Atari has had a very high priority in my life. During that time frame, my two sons have begun to turn in to men, and my little girl into a teenager. My sons have been a real handful the past two years in particular, and my being around them the last three weeks during my vacation has had a very positive effect on them. Even though there have from time to time been other job offers, my preference has been to remain with Atari. I believe in our products, and they are my personal choice as a consumer as well. If my personal circumstances did not require me to be at home more often, I would gladly remain with the company. It's not often that someone has an opportunity to turn their hobby into their job. I am thankful that Atari allowed me to do just that! I am grateful for the opportunity to serve Atari, and the Tramiel family. I have enjoyed my time at Atari, and have gained invaluable experience. I wish the company great success with all of it's products! If fate should bring our paths together again, I would welcome the opportunity to work with Atari again. It has been a privilege to serve Atari and you. Sincerely, Bob Brodie __________________________________________________________ Delphi's Atari Advantage! TOP TEN DOWNLOADS (5/25/94) (1) ST-ZIP 2.6 (6) BATTLETRIS (2) GUIDE TO THE INTERNET *(7) WINX 2.3G *(3) APRIL 1994 CURRENT NOTES (8) SERIAL FIX CPX/PRG (4) PROFILE 1.5 *(9) OCR V1.25 *(5) BERZERK *(10) NEOCOM - TERMINAL PROGRAM * = New on list HONORARY TOP 10 The following on-line magazines are always top downloads, frequently out-performing every other file in the databases. STREPORT (Current issue: STREPORT #10.21) ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE (Current issue: AEO - VOLUME 3, ISSUE 8) Look for the above files in the RECENT ARRIVALS database. ________________________________________________ > Atari Compendium STR InfoFile! - Atari Compendium Revised! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ===================== LONG BEACH, CA; Software Development Systems (aka SDS Publishing) is proud to announce the release of the first revision to the highly successful programmer's reference guide, "The Atari Compendium" by Scott Sanders. The new revision adds 60 pages of new material bringing its total size to a whopping 920 pages of facts, tables, and diagrams useful for any level of Atari computer programmer. The new revision has also been redesigned to be slightly thinner and was bound with a lay-flat binding for easy use. In addition, the cover is now coated to prevent fingerprints and aging. NEW MATERIAL INCLUDED IN THIS REVISION: ======================================= Building MiNT Device Drivers and File Systems The XBRA Protocol Programming the IKBD Keyboard Controller An Expanded Style Guide More Memory Locations Documented Programming the Internal FM Sound Generator TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction to Atari Programming Chapter 2: GEMDOS/MiNT Chapter 3: BIOS Chapter 4: XBIOS Chapter 5: Hardware Chapter 6: AES Chapter 7: VDI Chapter 8: Line-A Chapter 9: The Desktop Chapter 10: XCONTROL Chapter 11: GEM User Interface Guidelines Appendix A: Functions by Opcode Appendix B: Memory Map Appendix C: Native File Formats Appendix D: Error Codes Appendix E: Atari ASCII Table Appendix F: IKBD Scan Codes Appendix G: Speedo Fonts Appendix H: The Drag & Drop Protocol Appendix I: The Programmable Sound Generator Bibliography Index Each chapter contains an Overview listing the practical uses of available system functions as well as a Function Reference which lists the features and bugs for each OS function. Programming examples are given in 'C' and Assembly depending on which is more appropriate and examples are given to allow 'C' programmers to use Assembly bindings and vice-versa. Most importantly, this revision of the Compendium contains a named constant for almost every practical function parameter and return value. Use of constants is consistent with those documented by Atari and major compiler manufacturers. A TOS.H/TOSDEFS.H set of include files for major compilers is available from SDS to complement the book. "The Atari Compendium" was edited by several members of Atari's TOS development group and is now recognized by Atari as Official Developer's Documentation. SPECIFICATIONS ============== Binding: 9" x 7" Lay-Flat Binding Cover: UV Coated/Four-Color Pages: 920 ISBN: 0-9638331-1-1 Library of Congress CIP: 94-66014 SRP (U.S.): $49.95 PURCHASING INFO =============== "The Atari Compendium" is available for purchase worldwide at all fine Atari Dealers and direct as follows: USA/Canada/Mexico/South America ------------------------------- Software Development Systems 996 Redondo Ave. #404 Long Beach, CA 90804 USA Voice: 310/430-0364 Fax: 310/987-2205 GEnie: S.SANDERS2 Delphi: SDSSOFT Compuserve: 71461, 3645 Internet: S.SANDERS2@genie.geis.com Pricing: $49.95 US + S & H (Check or money order only please.) We will gladly refer you to a local dealer for credit card orders. Shipping and Handling is $4.00 US, $6.00 Canada/Mexico, and $12.00 outside of these countries. Existing owners wising to upgrade to the first revision should send the old front cover and $39.95 US + $4.00 S & H. TOS Header File/Examples Disk is available with book purchase for $10.00 + $2.00 S & H (All countries). Europe ------ Hisoft The Old School, Greenfield Bedford MK45 5DE UK Voice: +44 (0) 525-718181 Fax: +44 (0) 525-713716 GEnie: HISOFT Pricing: Contact for pricing and availability. Australia --------- Paragon Computers 17/5 Short St. Perth 6000 W. AUSTRALIA Pricing: Contact for pricing and availability. ______________________________________________ > COMDEX STR InfoFile! - Comdex Awards Announced """""""""""""""""""" Personal OS/2 from IBM, a 4MB version of OS/2 for Windows that's slated to ship in about six months, was named Best of Show in BYTE magazine and The Interface Group's Best of Comdex/Spring and Windows World '94 award ceremony in Atlanta. According to BYTE, Personal OS/2 will be faster, support for Windows for Workgroups, and have an easier installation while offering better stability than Windows 3.1. Capturing the Most Significant Technology award was Ole Custom Controls from Microsoft, which merges the benefits of VBX with OLE 2.0. Finalists in the category were Alpha at 33MHz from Digital Equipment Corp. and Kurzweil Voice for Windows, a voice recognition system from Kurzweil Applied Intelligence Inc. The Best Rookie award, presented to the top first-time exhibitor with a product that shows outstanding potential went to Medio Multimedia for Medio Magazine and other CD titles, a magazine on CD-ROM, which integrates full-motion video, audio, text and graphics with current news stories, entertainment, reviews, sports and children's materials. In the Multimedia Software Category, Elastic Reality by Elastic Reality Inc., a morphing and special effects software for Windows, featuring warping, layering and matting capabilities was named winner. Finalists in the category were MediaShop for Windows, a multimedia production, integration and authoring package from Motion Works, and Razor, digital video editing software for Windows from in:sync corporation. In the Multimedia Hardware category, Video Machine Lite, a video editing system that allows users to add complex digital video effects in real-time video, from Fast Electronic U.S. Inc. was named winner. MediaPlayback PC and Macintosh, computer expansion boards and software from International Interactive Media, and MGA Impression Plus 64-bit graphics accelerator from Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. were named finalists. In the Portable category, Apple Computers' new line of PowerBook 500 Series computers was named winner. Finalists in the category were Z-NOTEFLEX, a modular notebook computer system from Zenith Data Systems, and the IBM ThinkPad 755 family of notebooks with interchangeable modules. In the Best System category, TD-4 Personal Workstations featuring dual 90MHz Pentium processors and G91 graphics acceleration with optional 3-D GLZ graphics engine, from Intergraph Corporation was named winner. Finalists in the category were the Revolution Q- SMP Symmetrical Multiprocessor system from Advanced Logic Research Inc. and the MACH 1-166, an entry-level Alpha system from NEKOTech, a division of Inventory Conversion Inc., were named finalists. In the Peripherals category, Imagine-128, a 128-bit graphics and multimedia processor from Number Nine Computer Corporation was named the winner. Finalists in the category were ViewSonic 17 Monitor OnView from ViewSonic and SmartRAID, a full "RAID-ready" storage solution from DPT. In the Printer category, Epson's Stylus Color ink-jet printer was named winner. Finalists in the category were the LaserJet 4 Plus and 4M Plus from Hewlett-Packard Co. and Fargo Electronics Inc.'s PrimeraPro Color Printer. In the Best Software category, Lotus Forms Version 1.0 electronic-forms software for designing, routing and tracking forms, from Lotus Development Corp. was named winner. Finalists in the category were XRES, a painting/editing system for large, high-resolution images, from Fauve Software and Ca$HGRAF, a financial management package designed for small to mid size businesses, from Target Software Group Inc. In the Communications category, Scanfix, a multipurpose scanner that brings low-cost color faxing to the desktop, from Plustek USA Inc. was named winner. Finalists in the category were CommCard, a high-speed, wireless fax/modem with landline and voice capabilities from Open Sky, and Connection Pro, a fax/voice modem with business audio and digital voice messaging, from Digicom Systems. In the Networking category, CorStream server, a dedicated server for the LANtastic network operating system, from Artisoft Inc., was named winner. Finalists in the category were SkyLAN local talk wireless LAN from S&T Co. Ltd and Ben IIO, a 16-bit ISA Ethernet bus adapter, from Boca Research Inc. ____________________________________________________ > New Modem User Poll! STR NewsFile! - 12% of Homes Have Modems """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" A new survey finds 12 percent of the nation's households now have modem-equipped computers and that 6 percent regularly go online. The survey of more than 4,000 homes, funded by the Times Mirror Co. To study the interplay of people with the media and formation and public policy, also concluded that Americans no longer fear or distrust new technology. The polling, conducted by the Washington-based Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press, found a generation gap persists with regard to feelings toward computers. United Press International quoted center director Andrew Kohut as saying that those under 50 like and use computers "significantly" more than those over 50. Only seven percent of those over 65 even use computers, the survey found. Also, said UPI, 45 percent of employed survey respondents said they work at home at least sometimes. Covering the same story, business writer Evan Ramstad of The Associated Press noted the poll also found more than half of all adults work with a PC and one-third of all households own one. "In behavior and activities, computer owners don't fit the nerd stereotype," Ranstad added. "Less than 10 percent of all TVs are just a TV, not hooked to a cable system, VCR, game machine or satellite dish. In addition to confirming the wildly obvious, the survey's results reinforced the idea that affluent, highly educated people own and use technological devices more than the poor and less educated." AP notes the survey's 107 questions also produced some important findings for companies trying to understand how people now use computers at home. T-M Vice President Michael Leibhold told AP, "An awful lot of companies are launching online services, interactive TV services, multimedia services, with very little data. The importance of this study is the fact it puts something solid on the table so we can really begin to get a crisp picture of what reality is for these services." Breaking down the 12 percent of the population with modems, AP says, "Of that group, over half said they use electronic mail sometimes or often and nearly two-thirds say they use their machines to communicate with someone often or sometimes. But only one-fifth say they use their modem-equipped PC to receive news, participate in 'chat' groups, play games or get travel information." The wire service says the poll didn't seek reasons for the habits, but the survey found "that people who are most comfortable with PCs, VCRs and fax machines read more, follow the news more and know more about the world than those who are less technologically inclined," adding, "That finding suggests that people use technology to supplement rather than replace certain habits." The poll also found 65 percent of PC owners would miss them a lot if they no longer had them. "By comparison," says AP, "64 percent said they would miss cable TV and 67 percent they would miss newspapers if they were no longer available." Reports from United Press International and The Associated Press are accessible through the Executive News Service (GO ENS). >Piracy In China! STR NewsFile! - China to Jail, Execute Pirates! """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" China now promises to jail -- or even to execute -- copyright pirates under new proposals being discussed in the wake of pressure from the U.S. for increased protection of intellectual property rights. In Beijing, the Reuter News Service says the state-run China Daily newspaper is quoting Justice Minister Xiao Yang as saying, "Criminal sanctions must be imposed on those who commit intellectual property right offenses to safeguard the integrity of ideas and the dignity of law." And the Xinhua news agency quotes Li Bida, deputy director of the trademark office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, as assuring a recent symposium on intellectual property protection, "Violators of trademark laws face harsh penalties -- up to life imprisonment and (the) death sentence." Reuters notes the U.S. recently put off an expected decision to brand China as a major pirate of software, books, music and movies in order to give the two sides more time for negotiation. The piracy decision now is due by June 30, when President Bill Clinton is set to decide whether to renew China's Most Favored Nation special trade status. Reuters says China has responded with repeated statements that it is already doing a good job. Xinhua says, "China's courts and administrative authorities at various levels have pledged continued efforts to enforce the law to the letter and bring to justice violators of the intellectual property rights." The Chinese wire service also quoted Liu Jiyang, chief secretary of the China Intellectual Property Society, as saying that as China's legal authorities stick to "fair and just" principles, that China has moved closer to the international standards in the enforcement of intellectual property legislation. Said Xiao, "China attaches great importance to intellectual property protection work, and is improving the legislation in this regard. It is in the process of making its own protection work meet international standards. Law enforcement, on the whole, is good." Reports from Reuter News Service are a regular feature of CompuServe's Executive News Service (GO ENS) _______________________________________________________ > The Old Fishin' Hole STR Feature """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" THE OLD FISHIN' HOLE ==================== -A Guide to the Online PD/Shareware Waters. by John R. Duckworth One of the most tedious chores is entering long passages of text into a computer. This task can be simplified with the use of optical character recognition software, which compares scanned text to a series of internal font tables to convert the original scanned text file into ASCII. This week I'll take a look at such a program for our beloved Atari systems. OCR (version 1.25) is a freeware optical character recognition package by Alexander Clauss. Although I do not own a scanner (which would be required to do any serious translation work), I did put the program through its paces using the supplied demo scanned text files. OCR is a GEM application and works on any Atari TOS system including those running MultiTOS. For users of multitasking systems, Clauss recommends using MultiDial, a shareware program that places dialog boxes in windows so that other tasks running concurrently aren't halted. Obviously the program uses memory up very quickly, so the more memory one has in his/her system the easier the translation will be. To get OCR started, first the user must load in the text file to be translated, as well as a font database which should correspond to the font of the scanned text file. If the type of font scanned has never been used before, OCR will learn it as it goes along by allowing the user to enter characters which it does not recognize. The scanned text must be loaded in GEM .IMG format, and may be rotated 90 degrees which is very useful for owners of hand scanners. The .IMG file may also be re-sized onscreen at various magnifications so that the user may be able to distinguish questionable characters if needed. After both of the files have be loaded the user simply clicks on the _start recognition_ menu entry and OCR does it's job. While trying out the demo text, OCR did its work quickly and without many questions. There are three levels of analysis available from within OCR: exact, medium, and fast. While exact is slower, it yields the highest level of accuracy. OCR supports the standard Atari clipboard protocol. Such support allows the user to easily cut text from that translated to be pasted into documents being edited in other programs which support the clipboard protocol. Also, .IMG files may be pasted into OCR which were clipped from within other applications. The program seems to do the job it promises quickly and simply. Although actual performance will ultimately depend on the quality of the scanned image, the program should prove itself useful after only a small amount of experimentation. Future updates promise to include scanning from within the OCR program, which will simplify the chore even more. Clauss has released the package as freeware but asks for donations which will encourage him to continue OCR development. At the very least the author asks for an e-mail note to let him know that his program is actually being used. DO IT! I regret to announce that this will be the last installment of "The Old Fishin' Hole". Events in my life have occurred which demand more time than I have to devote. Therefore, I have had to make decisions involving activities which I can eliminate to afford myself the personal time needed. I have enjoyed being a part of the STReport staff and will always remember the opportunity which Dana has given me. Perhaps sometime in the future I will have the time to return (in some capacity) to Atari journalism. Don't let the 'big one' get away...I won't! -John Duckworth +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | Old Fishin Hole Tackle Box * | +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | OCR 1.25 | | Delphi: Atari Advantage Area: READ OCR | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------+ * The Tackle Box is meant to provide assistance in finding files mentioned in the column. It should not be considered a COMPLETE listing and is provided for convenience only. Delphi Atari Advantage files should be found in the Recent Arrivals section of the database until moved to their appropriate sections. ____________________________________________ JAGUAR SECTION """""""""""""" > From the Editor's Controller! "Playing it like it is!" """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" The Summer CES is rapidly approaching. The Chicago Cubs will have some fierce competition in late June!! The STReport Jaguar staff has been hearing quite a bit of noise from the Jaguar-jungle of new and fascinating products for our favorite Cat!! CES should see the kickoff of what we all hope will be Atari's national rollout in full force. Look for special STReport CES bulletins throughout the show, as well as at least two full-coverage articles from our staff attending the show. There've been no new games released since we last visited the Jaguar. Wolfenstein 3D has yet to go to production, but rumor has it that it is real close. A couple of new titles have been announced for expected release in the late fall: "Troy Aikman NFL (tm) Football" and "Double Dragon V - The Shadow Falls". Atari's Don Thomas has posted another "special offer" to the Jaguar faithful online community. This time, it's free Jaguar bumper stickers!! Look for details later on in this issue. ICD's 'CatBox' is slated for release sometime next month. We're anxiously awaiting our review unit to let you in on all of the details of this new Jaguar peripheral. Let's get to the rest of the issue; we've got a lot to cover this week!! Until next time... > Jaguar Catalog STR InfoFile - What's currently available, what's """"""""""""""""""""""""""" coming out. Current Available Titles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER J9000 Cybermorph $59.99 Atari Corp. J9006 Evolution:Dino Dudes $49.99 Atari Corp. J9005 Raiden $49.99 FABTEK, Inc/Atari Corp. J9001 Trevor McFur/ Crescent Galaxy $49.99 Atari Corp. J9010 Tempest 2000 $59.95 Llamasoft/Atari Corp. Available Soon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAT # TITLE MSRP DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER CatBox $49.95 ICD Hardware and Peripherals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAT # TITLE MSRP MANUFACTURER J8001 Jaguar (complete) $249.99 Atari Corp. J8904 Composite Cable $19.95 J8901 Controller/Joypad $24.95 Atari Corp. J8905 S-Video Cable $19.95 __________________________________________ > Industry News STR Game Console NewsFile - The Latest Gaming News! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Fox to Go Interactive Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox is opening a business unit devoted to creating interactive computer and video games. In Los Angeles yesterday, Fox announced initially modest plans, a new video game to coincide with the fall release of the Macaulay Culkin film "The Pagemaster." Two titles are planned for 1994 and about eight interactive products are scheduled for 1995. The video game of "The Pagemaster," to be released around Thanksgiving, is the first game released simultaneously with a major motion picture, Fox said. Another planned game is based on "The Tick," a new cartoon series debuting this fall on the Fox Children's Network. Entertainment writer John Horn of The Associated Press quotes Fox President Bill Mechanic as saying the studio will "try to leverage the other assets" of both Fox and parent News Corp. and that entertainment and educational titles will be distributed through Fox's home video unit. Says Horn, "Future projects, for example, include a CD-ROM personal computer game based on 'Scavengers,' a television action game show produced overseas by a Fox television unit. Fox may also collaborate with HarperCollins, News Corp.'s book publishing arm, on an interactive Marilyn Monroe title combining Fox movie footage with HarperCollins text." The new unit will be led by Ted Hoff, formerly the senior vice president of marketing and sales for Time Warner Interactive. Reports from The Associated Press are accessible through the Executive News Service (GO ENS) and in AP Online (GO APONLINE). PENN & TELLER, THOSE 'BAD BOYS OF MAGIC,' MAKE ... --(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 1994--Multimedia software publisher Absolute Entertainment, Inc. announced today that it has reached an agreement in principal with Penn & Teller that will bring the popular comedians/magicians/scam artists to the world of mass market interactive entertainment. The game, "Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors" for the Sega Genesis(TM) and Sega CD(TM), is being developed with the full creative participation of Penn & Teller themselves and will reflect the cutting-edge humor and innovative style of the performing duo. Known as "The Bad Boys of Magic" for their irreverence and nose-thumbing attitude toward traditional types of magic, Penn & Teller have purveyed their particular brand of cool in their two best-selling books, award-winning theatrical shows, TV specials, and numerous appearances on David Letterman's programs, MTV and Saturday Night Live. "Penn and Teller have spent an extraordinary amount of time at our development labs working with our designers" said Garry Kitchen, president and CEO of Absolute. "It's been a very hand-on creative process, and one that I believe is unrivaled in the video game mainstream. They've actually become a part of the design team." "Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors" will consist of several independent game play segments, which in the world of Penn & Teller translates into rip-offs, put-ons, flim-flams, and practical jokes. One highlight will be video games' first fully interactive magic trick. Also featured is a multi-level action/adventure starring Penn & Teller. The CD version will contain digitized voice and live footage of Penn & Teller created exclusively for the game. More details will be announced at a later date. "These guys have a unique way of looking at the world," continued Kitchen. "About the only thing you can count on is to expect the unexpected. This product is going to turn typical video game playing on its ear." "Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors" is the first title to come out of Absolute's relationship with the William Morris Agency. Both the Sega CD and Sega Genesis version are expected to be released this winter. Headquartered in Upper Saddle River, NJ, Absolute Entertainment, Inc. is an independent developer and publisher of multimedia entertainment software for Nintendo, Sega and 3DO hardware platforms, under the Absolute and Extreme Entertainment Group labels. The company is traded on the over-the-counter market and is listed by the NASDAQ National Market System under the symbol ABSO. --30--crh/ny CONTACT: Absolute Entertainment, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ Cheryl Morriss Meredith Mansfield 201/818-4800 KEYWORD: NEW JERSEY INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCT REPEATS: New York 212-575-8822 or 800-221-2462; Boston 617-330-5311 or 800-225-2030; SF 415-986-4422 or 800-227-0845; LA 310-820-9473 Sega Provides Cable Video Games Word is Japan's Sega Enterprises Ltd. is set to provide video game software to homes, using cable TV networks. The French Agence France-Press International News Service, quoting a report in Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun newspaper, says, "The unique service enabling people to play computer games at home will begin in the United States this month and in Japan next month." AFP says users will be able to play various video games for about $29 a month on the Sega system. Reports from Agence France- Press International News Service are accessible in CompuServe NewsGrid database (GO NEWSGRID) are a regular feature of NewsNet, accessible through the IQuest gateway (GO IQUEST). Spectrum HoloByte Inc. signs agreement with ... ALAMEDA, CALIF. (MAY 19) BUSINESS WIRE - May 19, 1994--Interactive entertainment developer Spectrum HoloByte Inc. (NASDAQ:SBYT) has signed an agreement with Paramount Licensing Group as agent for Paramount Pictures Corp. to produce interactive software products based on the Nov. 18, 1994, release of the movie "Star Trek Generations." This agreement is in addition to Spectrum's original licensing contract to develop titles on certain platforms for the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" television series, and is applicable through 1998. The agreement outlines a multiplatform deal which will authorize Spectrum HoloByte to develop games for all significant 16- and 32-bit platforms, to include 16-bit video game platforms, 32- and 64-bit game consoles, 3DO, IBM and Macintosh CD-ROM and disk-based products. "We're thrilled to have the opportunity to produce games for such an outstanding Paramount property," said Gilman Louie, chairman of Spectrum HoloByte. "'Star Trek' fans will be delighted to add another element to their collection of our games based upon the award-winning television series." "Star Trek Generations" brings the cast of the award-winning television series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" to the big screen for the first time with fellow "Star Trek" alumni. In 1991, Spectrum HoloByte entered into an agreement with Paramount Licensing Group which provides Spectrum HoloByte the license to produce computer and video games using the name and characters from the hit television series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer System, Super NES and IBM/compatible and other personal computers. "Star Trek Generations" is produced by the Motion Picture Group of Paramount Pictures and is part of the entertainment operations of Paramount Communications Inc., which is a majority-owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc. R&C 1994 Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved. "Star Trek Generations" is a registered trademark of Paramount Pictures. Spectrum HoloByte is a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for use on CD-ROM and floppy-based personal computers. The company also develops and publishes software for cartridge-based video game machines manufactured by Nintendo and Sega. --30--MEW/la CONTACT: Spectrum HoloByte, Alameda Holly Hartz, 510/522-3584 or Bender, Goldman & Helper, Los Angeles Jenny Roelle/Angela Edwards, 310/473-4147 KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED ENTERTAINMENT REPEATS: New York 212-575-8822 or 800-221-2462; Boston 617-330-5311 or 800-225-2030; SF 415-986-4422 or 800-227-0845; LA 310-820-9473 ___________________________________________ > Jaguar Developers STR InfoFile - Current Developer Lists & Titles """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" THIRD PARTY CHECKLIST ("borrowed" direct from Atari's Developer Support Team) This list is compiled on a regular basis inside Atari Corporation to notify departments the working status of specific 3rd party software projects. With an understanding of the appetite for Jaguar news and information, I managed to get permission to forward much of the data from this document. Some of it may seem old to people since there may have been rumors going around, however as of May 19, 1994, it is believed to be accurate. There are a couple of points I must make. First, these are only some of working third party projects AND in no way intended to be a complete list. After having "dumped" the data to a file, I was asked to "x" out several additional projects which cannot yet be made public. I have left the spaces intact to keep this list as authentic as possible. PLEASE do not contact these companies. Many of these companies are prioritizing these projects for release and they want to remain focused on their work. Look to them to answer questions AFTER they have begun shipping. Many of the companies listed plus many more are working on projects that are never included on this list. This list also does not incorporate pending hardware projects. The companies noted here reserve the right to change any or all of the information contained without notice. I cannot be responsible for typing errors. This list will be posted to the CATscan BBS. Call 209/239-1552 for access 24 hours. Although normal phone charges apply, access to the service is free. If you do not yet own a Jaguar... you probably will. <g> ATARI will not accept the excuse that it's not in your area! <g> Call the CATscan BBS for the dealer nearest you or contact Atari at 408/745-2098 during normal business hours; Pacific Time. Fax 408/745-2088. Ready to order inquiries via the Internet: CompuServe >Internet:70007.2363@cis.com GEnie >Internet:Atari@genie.geis.com --Don Thomas Atari Corporation PUBLISHER DEVELOPER TITLE (- CD title) IN STORE ========================================================================== All Systems Go All Systems Go Hosenose and Booger 4th Qtr 94 All Systems Go All Systems Go -BIOS Fear 4th Qtr 94 Anco Software Ltd Anco Software Ltd Kickoff 3/World Cup July Beyond Games Inc Beyond Games Inc BattleWheels December Beyond Games Inc Beyond Games Inc Ultra Vortex September DTMC DTMC Lester the Unlikely -N/A- Gremlin Graphics Gremlin Graphics Zool 2 October Ocean Krisalis Software Soccer Kid June -N/A- Loriciel S.A. Extreme Skiing/Snwbord -N/A- -N/A- Microids Commando December -N/A- Microids -Evidence 1995 MidNite Ent. Inc MidNite Ent. Inc Air Cars October MidNite Ent. Inc MidNite Ent. Inc Dungeon Depths October MidNite Ent. Inc MidNite Ent. Inc Assault 1st Qtr 95 Telegames Millenium/Teque Brutal Sports Football July Ocean Software Ltd Ocean Software Ltd Ape Sh_t (WT) December Ocean Software Ltd Ocean Software Ltd -Lobo 1995 Ocean Software Ltd Ocean Software Ltd Theme Park 3rd Qtr 94 Ocean Software Ltd Ocean Software Ltd Syndicate 3rd Qtr 94 -N/A- Photosurealism Galactic Gladiators 4th Qtr 94 PIXIS Interactive PIXIS Interactive -Neurodancer -N/A- -N/A- Virtual Xperience Zzyorxx II July -N/A- Virtual Xperience Indiana Jag July -N/A- Silmarils -Robinson's Requiem September Telegames Telegames Ultimate Brain Games September Telegames Tradewest Double Dragon V July Telegames Tradewest Troy Aiken NFL Ftball July Trimark Interactive Trimark Interactive White Men Can't Jump October U.S. Gold Ltd. Tietex/Delphine Flashback July 21st Century 21st Century Pinball Dreams September Virgin UK Argonaut Creature Shock ____ V-Reel V-Reel Horrorscope ____ V-Reel V-Reel Arena Football ____ Readysoft Readysoft Dragon's Lair ____ END OF LIST _________________________________________ TROY AIKMAN NFL(tm) FOOTBALL - SPORTS He's the best player in football. And now, he's got the best game available. This is the only football game that captures Troy's style of play. And, the only one that has Troy's favorite plays. This is a game scoring and passing that puts the player in control. You decide who to hand off to, who to throw to, and when. You decide whether to go up top for a quick score or to try and grind out a ball-control drive. And there are options like no other game. Like Troy's Picks, a special feature that lets the player allocate his team's budget - you decide if you want to beef up the offensive line, muscle up the defense or put more money into the kicking game. It's your call. [1 or 2 players] $??.?? (Telegames) Release: October 1994 DOUBLE DRAGON V: THE SHADOW FALLS - FIGHTER There are fighting games, then there is Double Dragon V; the ultimate tournament style fighting game. Choose from 4 fighting modes, 4 levels of gameplay, 12 unique characters and 12 different battle locations. Each player specializes in up to 6 "secret" moves that are as much fun to watch as they are deadly against fierce opponents. If you're here for the awesome music and sound effects or just for sport of blood, you will find this game tap Jaguar resources to the bone. [1 or 2 players] $??.?? (Telegames) Release: October 1994 ____________________________________________________ > Game Console Media! STR Focus! - Game Media: What's The Best Format? """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" GAME MEDIA - THE BEST FORMAT? ============================= by Marty Mankins, Staff Editor Most game systems use a cartridge as the media for their gaming library. But all that is now changing. There are many CD-ROM video game systems coming onto the market. So far, only a couple can take both cartridge and CD-ROM - Sega CDX and Atari's Jaguar. In this article, we discuss the advantages and downsides of having both forms of media and why the two media types differ. Say you are a game developer. You want to create a game and you want to make it good so all sorts of game players on different game systems will like the game. Let's also point out that you want to make sure the game appears to be real. What kind of decisions go through your mind? Well, there are all sorts of screens and images that start to make their way to your brain's video center. But one of the first major decisions is what format to sell the game on. Believe it or not, but after brief discussions with several game system companies, it became evident that the main priority of creating a game was how to squeeze all of the code onto the supported media. For Nintendo, they are all cartridges and have to live within those limitations. If the game is licensed, there's not a lot of changes that can happen to the game if it's put onto media that holds more, like CD-ROM. So the limitation is across the board. And while we are on the subject of Nintendo, they have decided to not support CD-ROM at all on the new game system they are working on with Silicon Graphics, Inc. So they have eliminated any decision factor - it's cartridge all the way. Not all companies work like that. Some of the many 3rd party companies that create games for different systems will allow for more work to be done for the CD-ROM version of the game. Sega is the best example. They created an entirely new version of Sonic and put it on CD. This created a new game based on the same game-play functions of the cartridge-based Sonic. The newer systems like 3DO and the Sony PSX system are CD-ROM only. They have the limitations of not being able to use the fast speed of the cartridge (not to mention the durability of a cartridge with younger game players), but can stuff all sorts of action, realism and cool scenery that adds to the intense level of the games. The game loads a bit slower and can pause at times during some scenes, but the incredible graphics and mass-storage of many pieces of the game can make up for the slow wait. HERE'S THE BEST SYSTEM YET! While I've talked about some of the systems that use a cartridge or CD-ROM as their sole input for entertainment, there are two systems that use both a cartridge slot and can take a CD-ROM. The first is the Sega CDX. This is a new unit which combines the Sega Genesis and the external add-on Sega CD drive. Nothing has changed on the technical side of things - it's just in a smaller package. While there are both types of media available for games and the compact CDX system is great, it offers nothing in the way of technology. You are not going to break any speed records or have any sort of integration. Enter the Atari Jaguar. While not all the specs have been released, the overall focus of the Jaguar is to have two options for games with the possibility of sharing the game between two media types- cartridge and CD-ROM. This brings in some interesting advancements and options for game play. Picture a game where all of the controls and movements are stored on the cartridge. You also have all of your polygon and other rasterized graphics for movement on the cartridge (because you want the game play action to be fast and furious!). Now you add to that a 600Mb CD-ROM full of photos, game players and all sort of screens of data. You now have the capability of two media types coming together on the same system to create games so life-like and breathtaking that no other system could even come close. Finally, bring in the 64-bit power of the Atari Jaguar and the speed and flawless details of game control and you have the only game system to own. And it doesn't stop there. Think of the other multimedia possibilities that the Jaguar could offer. It blows my mind when I consider all that's out there now for the multiple platforms and how it's going to get bigger and better. ADVANTAGES vs DISADVANTAGES The above was to whet your appetite. Those are some of the features that we can expect from the Jaguar. Now what are the costs to make a cartridge vs. a CD-ROM. Well, no one would release any prices for what it would cost to make 500,000 cartridges, but it's somewhere under $15, including packaging. The cartridge is fast when it comes to executing code. It can pass code segments at speeds of 4000% higher than a CD-ROM. The idea of a solid pack of plastic and silicon makes it more durable with people of multiple ages in a household. I've seen Kool-Aid poured onto a cartridge and with a good two or three days of drying time, it's as good as new (well, most of the time). The biggest disadvantages to cartridges is cost. You need to make sure you have the bucks to make a bundle to bring the cost down. As we've seen above, it's about $15 (you may need to add a few dollars, depending on which system you are pressing for) to make cartridges. There is also more time needed to press a cartridge. For the Atari Jaguar, they need at least 6 weeks once the final code is completed to manufacture a single game in large quantities. Six weeks can be a long time if you're trying to beat the competition and get more games on the market. Then you have more shelf space. You'll want a place to store the manual and a likely candidate is a plastic case made to fit the cartridge. Overall, cartridges are nice, but have some downfalls, most associated with cost. Now take the CD-ROM's cost. If you make enough (over 500,000), you could get the entire cost - including packaging - to well under $6. That's a savings of more than double! You are now looking at advantage #1 for putting games on CD-ROM. The large storage is a big plus. It's like having unlimited storage. And the media is easy to use, easy to store and can withstand some abuse (but not too much). But, what about the downside of using CD-ROM. The first item to appear on my list is speed. Yes, the drives are getting faster and there are a good amount of technologies that can help data move faster (cache is one), but when compared to a cartridge, CD-ROM is a speed snail. Some of the games that I have played on the 3DO system have taken up to 40 seconds to load. At times, it seems like an eternity. We have gotten so used to fast everything, that it's jaded us into thinking that it's slow. And by today's standards, it appears to be unacceptable when used on a dedicated gaming system. The other downfall to CD-ROM is not all discs can be shared amongst multiple devices. There are some CD-ROM titles out there that can be used on both a Mac and a PC. This is good. Then you have CD-ROMs for the Philips CD-i system, you have Sega's CD-ROM games and 3DO is yet another. But you can not share them amongst these systems. Why do I bring this up? It's going to be common that some sales people will not be able to tell the difference. Already, there are problems of CD-ROMs getting shrink-wrapped into the wrong packages at the factory and even more cases of retail mix-ups. One customer got his new Sega CD game home to discover that he had an encyclopedia for Windows! This may be taking things a bit too far, but if this universal technology of CD-ROM is going to be a true standard, it would have been nice if all of these companies would have met in a big room before they created their systems and worked out a standard. Think of the possibilities: walk into your favorite retail outlet or call up your regular mail order firm and ask for a game (we'll say DOOM). They send you a CD-ROM with the right manual for your gaming system and you're off and playing. When you get tired of the game in 4-5 months, you can take it to your used retail game exchange center, turn it in for a new one and someone else with a different system can buy it and play it. Well, it didn't turn out this way, so we are left with a multitude of CD-ROMs that look alike, but don't play on different systems. Like I said, maybe I'm dreaming, but it would have been perfect for the gaming industry. The time to create games would not be an issue since there would only be one development system, not 20 or more. CONCLUSION Well, I've babbled on long enough. The game media is a big issue and the idea of CD-ROM as a major part of the future is something we all will be used to (some of us may already be at that level). The cartridge is here to stay as well. No need to get rid of the fastest media to play games and other entertainment titles on. Think about the future and what it brings with it. Some of it is good and some of it will require some compromise. Either way, the Atari Jaguar is one of the best and most flexible systems around. If you already own one, hold onto something. It's getting hotter! If you don't own one yet, check it out. You'll be amazed. If you're going to the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, IL this summer, make sure you stop by the Atari booth. Check out the new CD-ROM drive and all of the new game titles. You'll see that it's the best up-and-coming system that's here to stay. ___________________________________________________ > Jaguar Online STR InfoFile - Online Users Growl & Purr! """""""""""""""""""""""""" CATNIPS ..... (Jaguar tidbits from Don Thomas) Atari has had some real CooL bumper stickers made up. They are black and feature the yellow Jaguar eyes as well as the blood-red Jaguar logo. I understand these are being shipped to the upcoming C.E.S. show, but I have managed to, well let's say, "put some aside for my friends" <g>. So here's another freebie for everyone... (YEA!) Send me a self-addressed and pre-stamped envelope and I'll put one of these "hot-off-the-press" three-color eye-poppers in it right back to you. The dimensions are 3"x12" so keep that in mind. If you really do not want a gentle fold in it, send an envelope at least 12 inches long and make sure there's cardboard in it. If you are not sure how long 12 inches is, try a ruler. Send to: Don's Really Hot Jaguar Bumper Sticker Freebie Atari Corporation P.O. Box 61657 Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657 The bumper stickers are FREE as long as you promise that you'll proudly display it where all your friends will see it. I recommend getting Mom and Dad's permission before slapping it on their furniture, appliances or automobiles. Maybe they'll let you tape it in the back window of the car (tape it so the logo faces out please). I hope everyone likes these. Consider it a "THANKS" for your patience as we work our "bumpers" off getting some more software into your hot hands as fast as we can! --Don Thomas Atari Corporation _______________________________________ > CATscan BBS! STR BBS Info! - Don Thomas Starts Up A BBS! """""""""""""""""""""""""" (Not an Official Atari Support System) Although still in beginning development stages, I wish to pass on to my distribution list a new Jaguar/Lynx resource. The CATscan BBS is up and running. Although I realize that this BBS may not be practical for most of you to utilize regularly, it is being set up as a data source of news and information regarding Jaguar and Lynx products. Here are some of the features: An ongoing list of Jaguar/Lynx dealers which may be captured by state. Product descriptions selectable by title. Press releases from Atari and related third party sources. Gaming hints and tips. Game reviews. Questions and answers. Orders accepted for Atari products. (Processed by Atari as an extension to Atari's Customer Service Policies. All items sold at MSRP and billed by Atari. NO funds collected benefit the BBS or the SysOp. This is for the convenience of modem users who may not have access to online services to leave orders in E-Mail.) Competitive knock offs. My first goal is to force myself into a practice to assemble pertinent and accurate data in one central area. By doing this, I will also be building a resource for the online press, SYSOPS of independent BBSs and a resource for retailers to help them answer customer questions in the store. It can also be used to preview editor's stories, if desired for accuracy. There are downsides right now. A lot of energy and time is going to create this resource, BUT I still have obstacles to overcome. 1) At present, I am trying to overcome a barrier where it seems I can only log on at 1200 baud... some sort of software <--> modem issue. It really isn't THAT serious since the menus are set up clearly and information takes longer than 1200 baud to read online anyway. I hope this will be resolved before too long. 2) A lot of info is already on the system, but it will take time to bring it up to speed. Many of the data banks are menu driven and time consuming scripts files must be written to accommodate them. At present product description and log on files are all taken care of. I expect dealer lists will be formatted and up today. 3) Total storage is presently restricted to 20 MEG. I hope this may be expanded as needed. 4) The system only supports one line at this time. In any case, feel free to log on quickly and establish your accounts. TRUSTED remote SYSOP positions are available. The number to CATscan is: 209/239-1552 It is open to the public, but certain areas are disabled for initial callers. There is NO fee to use the system. The system WILL BE CENSORED. Only data that is positive toward the image of Atari and companies supporting Atari will be permitted. Please pass his number on to dealers and developers who want to be included. I will be happy to be set up to accept 3rd party orders IF they are registered and licensed by Atari. If a dealer wants to be listed, all he has to do is post a request to the SYSOP. Information may also be added to the system by contacting me at the following addresses: CIS: 75300,1267 GENIE: Atari PRODIGY: EUKG11A Again, don't expect too much initially and please be persistent if you get a busy. I am conducting frequent tests that might tie up the line, but I will not disconnect anyone on the system. Thanks! ________________________________________ > ONLINE WEEKLY STReport OnLine The wires are a hummin'! """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" PEOPLE... ARE TALKING ===================== On CompuServe ------------- compiled by Joe Mirando Hidi Ho friends and neighbors. First up is the news that Bob Brodie, Atari's Director of Communications, has resigned (see the news elsewhere in this issue). As most of you know, we at STReport and Bob have had numerous disagreements concerning just about anything Atari-related. Despite the "scenes" of the past, I've usually enjoyed talking with Bob and now, would like to wish him well in his future endeavors. Well, let's get on with the reason for this column... all the cool news, hints, and tips available every week here on CompuServe. From the Atari Computing Forum ============================== Rob Rasmussen asks: "I should probably ask this in Practice forum, but maybe others here have had this problem too. I usually use QuickCIS to capture messages from forums, and as usual it gets all the messages that are new since the last time I did it. But sometimes I use Flash to go snoop around in different forums, capturing selected threads by selecting the titles from the menu that look interesting. In this forum, for example, I hadn't done my regular QuickCIS capture of the sections I always read for about a week, but I had looked at thread titles and captured a few of them manually. Well, when I now do my normal capture with QCIS, I miss most of the past week's messages and get only the ones posted since I went on manually. This doesn't make sense to me, since I never read those older messages, only looked at their titles. I know there is a high message pointer, but how would I know what to set this to? Also in the message menu I can set the DAYS, but I may not remember how many DAYS to set it for. After reading selected threads, I would like to restore it back to all new messages I haven't read. How can I do this?" Sysop Jim Ness tells Rob: "The forum software goes by the highest numbered message you've read. So, if you skip 100 messages, but read the 101st, the software acts as though you've read them all. The only way to go back is to reset that high message number. You'd have to jot it down, then maybe put it in the Read Command line, like this: high 98584;rea new" Rob asks: "Do you mean jot down the high message number from the last time I captured messages in QuickCIS? I understand how if I read selected threads after that, it will reset the high msg #, but I still don't see how I can know what the previous high message was. Whether I 'Select' to read by subject manually, or use the command 'REA SEC:1,2,3' in QuickCIS, the messages I read are grouped by thread, but the message numbers are all mixed up, not in order. Out of all those, how do I know what the highest msg # I've read is? I recall seeing something on my screen that said something like "Highest MSG you've Read - xxxxx" but I can't remember where that is." Sysop Jim tells Rob: "...Your current high counter is displayed as you enter the forum. If you wanted to jot it down, that would be the time to do it." Chief Sysop Ron Luks tells Rob: "One trick I use to keep the message counter from changing when I do a "manual" session is to read the messages that I want then (BEFORE EXITING THE FORUM) type this command: HI;D This means "don't change my high message counter as a result of anything I just read during the session." For example, when you enter the forum, lets say your HI message pointer is set to 1000. If you read messages 1015 and 1038 only, your HI pointer will be set to 1038 when you exit. If you type HI;D it will leave your pointer set at 1000 for the next QCIS run." Rob tells Ron and Jim: "Thanks... I tried it, and using HI;D solved my problem of the missed messages. Now if only I can remember to do that before leaving the forum. If I do forget, but I still have the previously captured messages, can I jot down one of those msg numbers, go back to the forum and set the high message # to one of those? If so, what is the command?" Ron tells Rob: "Yes, you can ALWAYS set the HI message pointer to whatever number you want. You can enter just "HI" and then be prompted for a value or you can enter the HI command and the number at the same time like this: HI;34567 The 3 parameters for the HI command are: HI;xxxxxx == sets HI to a specific number HI;D == leave HI set at the value you had when you entered the forum. "D" means "Dont change" HI;L == means set HI to the highest current message number. For times when you want to reset the counter to avoid past messages. "L" means the "LAST message (highest number) in the forum." Marty Hall asks: "Are there any Datamanager experts out there? I don't see Timeworks listed anywhere....maybe I missed it. But here's my problem......... I'm using it to crosscheck flight times for aircraft. I have found that although you can set up a field for TIME, you can not set one up to add or subtract TIME. It is not considered a calculable number by the program. O.K., we convert TIME to a decimal number in the final analysis so if I convert it, then enter that number, ( 12:50 would be 12.8 ), then do the calculations, it should work. WRONG! In industry ( and military ) aviation flight time is computed basically the same. In 24 hour clock, you subtract the Time Off from the Time On arriving at a Hour:Minute answer, then convert to decimal, add all the decimal figures from each leg and you have the flight time for the day. When you convert to decimal, then subtract Time Off from Time On, etc., you end up with a different answer as the times are rounded off at a different point. What I need to be able to do is set up Datamanager to treat TIME figures as a numeric value, add and/or subtract them and then convert using the same table that the rest of civil aviation uses ( ie, 58 to 3 min's = .0, 4 to 10 min's = .1, 11 to 16 min's = .2 etc. ) Any suggestions????" Albert Dayes of Atari Explorer OnLine Magazine tells Marty: "I haven't used DataManager myself but I can think of some possible suggestions. Make a copy of your database and then create some additional columns that perform the calculations. Maybe 4 new columns so you can check the calculations on every step of the way. Is there a function that can break the TIME data into separate parts? So if you wanted only time you would (should be wanted only minutes) it would return minutes? And the same thing for hours? Then you can change the minute value to a decimal value based on a lookup like table (you stated in your previous message). The combine the hours and converted minutes field together. One method would be to use a formula like the following. decimal_value = ( hours * 100 ) + converted_minutes Or if your minute data is already 0.0 or less than you could just add it to the hours directly. decimal_value = hours + converted_minutes Perform the following for both time values and then you can perform math operations on the resultant decimal values. By having different columns for your calculation you should be able to determine where the linear error occurs. Using this method it might not generate any significant amount of round off error at all." John Damiano at Transierra tells Marty: "I think the only way it will do that is if you enter time as a numeric field rather then a time field and then deal with the time value as a decimal input. IE: 23.55=2355.... 23.55 -21.43 ------ 2.12 or 2 hrs/12 mins" Meanwhile, Sheila Siegel asks: "Does anyone know of a program for the Atari ST that optimizes the hard drive? We have an Atari that we use for music programs almost exclusively, and after a big project we would like to clean up the disk drive with an optimization program. Also--we occasionally have a loud buzz that comes out of the ST that fades after 15 minutes use. We can't seem to find a way to eliminate this noise from the screen. Anyone else have this problem and how did you solve it?" My pal Brian Gockley from ST INFORMER magazine tells Sheila: "Diamond Edge is a great hard drive program, it is available mail order. As far as the buzz (what's the buzz, tell me what's a happenin'), I think it may be a small capacitor in the monitor ($2) that always fails. If you know anyone who is handy with a soldering iron, Best Electronics will sell you one." Clive Parker at everyone's favorite ST Euro Mag, STFormat, posts: "TOS 2.06 also has improved high density drive support and hard drive support. With TOS 2.05 you can format a DD disk as high density. I was informed by Atari UK that this was a "feature" and not a bug." Gee, that sounds familiar don't it, folks? Paul Sinnema posts" "First let me introduce ourselves to You. We are a small company in Holland. We have been programming for the Atari computers since 1985 (we were one of the first in Holland). We have created several products for the Atari. In the past we always contacted Atari Nederland when we discovered errors or found trouble during programming. To be specific we called Wilfred Kilwinger. Wilfred no longer works with Atari Nederland and it looks as if there isn't going to be a replacement with the same knowledge and expertise. One of our products is a real Dutch program called 'Girotel ST'. This program deals with telebanking in a read Dutch fashion. Lately we received the new TOS 4.92 for the Falcon 030 from Atari Nederland B.V. We find that our programs really have trouble executing correctly with this version. - Some of the first things I found is that our program doesn't react to keys any more. Only when a window is opened the keys work correctly again. - A second thing I found was a real strange behavior of the drop-down-menu's. When I move the mouse to the 'Desk' position the program hangs and I have to reset. Paul Sinnema. SB Automatisering, Postbox 56, 9649 ZH Muntendam. Holland." Kevin at PG Music tells Paul: "Since all TOS development seems to be handled by Atari UK, those of us in the US don't seem to know much about any newer TOS versions. :(" Dazzz Smith asks: "I thought TOS 5 was the latest revision???" J. Patterson at Atari tells Dazzz: "TOS 4.92 is a beta version for the Falcon available only to registered developers. There is a forum here online available to registered developers which I can give you access to if you can give me verification that you are a developer. Faxing me a copy of your NDA and receipt for developer kit will be sufficient 408 745 2088 Attn Developer Support with your CIS acct#. There are release notes in the forums which will probably help." Well folks, its getting late. Its time for all good newlyweds to go to sleep. Be sure to tune in again next week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when... PEOPLE ARE TALKING """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > A "Quotable Quote" "A Time to Remember" """"""""""""""""" Please take a moment or two to remember all the brave souls who wore the uniforms of this great nation in defense of its freedoms, principles and shores. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" > DEALER CLASSIFIED LIST STR InfoFile * Dealer Listings * """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" --------------- ABCO Incorporated ================= P.O. Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida 32221-6155 Est. 1985 1-904-783-3319 1994 SUMMERTIME SPECIALS NOW IN EFFECT! ------------------------ ABCO manufactures custom storage devices! INTEL 32 BIT 486/66, VLB w/Math CoProcessor 8MB ram upgradable to 32MB 1MB SVGA VESA VIDEO CARD Sound Blaster Compatible Stereo Sound Card DOS 6.2 - Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Included 128K CACHE - 1.44/1.2 FLOPPY Drives, Mouse & 101 deluxe Keyboard 250MB IDE hd - 2 SERIAL, 1 PARALLEL, 1 GAME PORTS 250W POWER SUPPLY TOWER SYSTEM 14" Non-Interlaced SVGA 1024x768, 28dpi Monitor 66Mhz, S&H Incl 1695.00 695.00 with order, balance COD other higher powered packages available or, design your own! Call for value added pricing! Call: 904-783-3319 Anytime, Voice Mail =====******===== Syquest Removable 44-105-270mb SCSI Drives All Size Platters Available Diamond Speed Star 24x SVGA/VGA Video Card w/1mbVRAM Diamond Stealth & Viper 1mb & 2mb - Call for prices Enhances Windows SPEED and EFFICIENCY Diamond High Performance Sound Cards Available Soundblaster Cards and compatibles 8 & 16 bit Creative Technologies' Sound Blaster AWE 32 SUPER Sound Card Pro Audio Spectrum STUDIO 16 - 16bit - Midi - Audio Recognition Top of the Media Vision PAS Line - True Multi-Media IDE Super IO cards & 16550 UART 2 & 4 Port Cards Call: 904-783-3319 Anytime, Voice Mail """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" COMPUTER STUDIO =============== WESTGATE SHOPPING CENTER 40 Westgate Parkway -Suite D Asheville, NC 28806 1-800-253-0201 Orders Only 1-704-251-0201 Information FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" EAST HARTFORD COMPUTER ====================== 202 Roberts St. East Hartford CT. 06108 1-203-528-4448 FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" MEGABYTE COMPUTERS ================== 907 Mebourne Hurst, TX 76053 1-817-589-2950 FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" SAN JOSE COMPUTER ================= 1278 Alma Court San Jose, CA. 95112 1-408-995-5080 FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" CompuSeller West ================ 220-1/2 W. Main St. St. Charles, IL., 60174 Ph. (708) 513-5220 FULL LINE COMPUTER DEALER """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" (DEALERS; to be listed here FREE of Charge, please drop us a line.) """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STReport International Online Magazine -* [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport *- AVAILABLE ON OVER 20,001 PRIVATE BBS SYSTEMS """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" STR Online! "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE" May 27, 1994 Since 1987 copyright (c) 1987-94 All Rights Reserved No.1022 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" All Items quoted, in whole or in part, are done so under the provisions of The Fair Use Law of The Copyright Laws of the U.S.A. Views, Opinions and Editorial Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors/staff of STReport International Online Magazine. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Reprints must, without exception, include the name of the publication, date, issue number and the author's name. STR, STReport and/or portions therein may not be edited in any way without prior written permission. STR, STReport, at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. STR, STReport, its staff and contributors are not and cannot be held responsible in any way for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""