INFO-ATARI16 Digest Mon, 6 Nov 89 Volume 89 : Issue 610 Today's Topics: 1STW2PS GEMDOS extended arg spec Help for cms Memory upgrade affects performance? New Mega STs and TOS 1.4 Seed Fills on the ST!! Spectre-GEM partition file transfers Spectre GCR Still blitter errors in TOS 1.4 terminator archive ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 6 Nov 89 11:00:46 GMT From: a_kowald%NIMR.MRC.AC.UK@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU (Axel Kowald) Subject: 1STW2PS Recently Jean-Francois Germond asked for a simple drawing program which produces Postscript output. On the panarthea file server there is a program which does some very helpful. It converts a .gem file from EasyDraw2 into postscript, and the results are realy very impressive. The program is called 'Gem2ps' and is in volume6 of this server. I hope this is of any help. Axel a_kowald@uk.ac.mrc.nimr ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 NOV 89 14:01:34 GMT From: MALCOLM%tower-vax.city-poly.ac.uk@NSFnet-Relay.AC.UK Subject: GEMDOS extended arg spec Hmmm. Seems to me like a non-conforming child might have problems with this spec if the circumstances are right (i.e. wrong). Example: Suppose I Pexec a child and want to pass an argv[1] of "PATH=bletch" (don't ask why!); suppose further that the *real* environment doesn't contain a PATH variable. Now the child starts up with an environment something like: REAL_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE=anything ARGV= c:\bin\foo.prg PATH=bletch If the child's startup code knows nothing of extended args and doesn't clobber ARGV, then any subsequent getenv("PATH") will get the value of something which was never intended to be an environment variable. PATH is just an example, of course: it would happen with anything. The xarg standard didn't have this problem, if I remember rightly, since the extended args were in the parent's address space rather than in the child's environment. But that's probably undesirable - the child ought to leave the parent's space alone. But what's wrong with something like this?: REAL_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE=anything ARGV= ARGV0=c:\bin\foo.prg ARGV1=PATH=bletch ARGV2=etc Yes, I know what's wrong with it: it's yet *another* standard, when the MWC one is tried and tested, and if startup code has to deal with all the standards then we'll all need Megas (hey, wait a minute :-). Just felt like being pedantic, that's all. Now, a small gripe (more a flicker than a flame). silver!jkain@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu complained about some German from David Megginson: > Well isn't *this* a fine how-do-you-do? Even if we live in the U.S. > perhaps we would like to know what you're saying. Writing queries to non-English readers (not including Americans ;-) in their own language is a nice touch I suppose, but maybe a bit unnecessary since if they didn't read English they wouldn't be reading this list. BUT (a big but): I'd *far* rather struggle through some simple German than the megabytes of why-Atari-are-jerks/why-Commodore-are-better drivel that we see every day here and which I've been seeing for *years*. 90% of this stuff says nothing new, so what purpose does it serve? It certainly doesn't gee-up Atari: they've heard it all, they *know* there are p*ssed-off users out here. Yeah, I know I'm wasting my breath... Malcolm Ray City of London Polytechnic Computer Service JANET: malcolm@uk.ac.clp.tvax EARN/BitNet: malcolm@tvax.clp.ac.uk Internet: malcolm%tvax.clp.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Nov 89 14:43:04 MEZ From: Harald Feldkamp Subject: Help for cms Hallo, I Have some problems to UUDECODE and ARC PD-Software from Fileservers like Parnathea. I am working with an IBM3081 under vm/CMS and a IBM Modell 30 as terminal and 3081 terminal emulation. Is there a program under cms to uudecode and arc software ? For any help I would be glad. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harald Feldkamp Earn/Bitnet: UNC438 at DBNRHRZ1 Anorg. Chem. Institut Uni Bonn ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 6 Nov 89 10:10:41 GMT From: mcsun!unido!gmdzi!focke@uunet.uu.net (Stefan Focke) Subject: Memory upgrade affects performance? In article <1184@cbnewsi.ATT.COM>, dmk@cbnewsi.ATT.COM writes: > > I just upgraded my 1985 vintage 520ST to 2.5 Meg of > memory and I've noted some system performance differences > that make me wonder if I've done the upgrade correctly. > > The thing I don't understand is that the computer takes at least > 4 times as long to boot (possibly longer). > > dan I think I've read some time ago, that they have solved this problem with the Blitter-TOS. If you have an older version, you can put the program NULLFILL in your AUTO-folder witch also makes loading a program faster. Stefan Focke (focke@gmdzi.UUCP) ------------------------------ Date: 6 Nov 89 10:16:59 GMT From: mcsun!unido!gmdzi!focke@uunet.uu.net (Stefan Focke) Subject: New Mega STs and TOS 1.4 I have heard, that in Germany also in future new Mega STs will be delivered with the old Blitter TOS, not with TOS 1.4. Is this the same in the rest of the world? Does anyone know a good reason, why Atari sells new hardware with a faulty TOS if they have a better one. Stefan Focke (focke@gmdzi.UUCP) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Nov 89 13:06:40 GMT From: n-waters%NIMR.MRC.AC.UK@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU (Nick Waterson) Subject: Seed Fills on the ST!! Hi out there, Recently I have been trying to find a way of determing the area of irregular shapes. The method I was going to employ was a fill routine, the number of pixels in the fill being converted to an area. So the question is .... Is it possible to return the number of pixels 'filled' from the atari ROM seed fill routine, if so how, and if not does anyone have a suitable routine? Thanks, ____________________________________________________________________________ Nick Waterson JANET: n-waterson@uk.ac.mrc.nimr Limb Development group UUCP: Nat. Inst. Medical Research DARPA:n-waterson%mrc.nimr@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk The Ridgeway Mill Hill LONDON NW7 1AA Tel: 01-959 3666 U.K. ext. 2366 ____________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Nov 1989 09:15 EST From: Greg Csullog <01659%AECLCR.BITNET@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU> Subject: Spectre-GEM partition file transfers My true commercial copy of Spectre GCR arrived today (up to now I had a gamma test version) and I have not had a chance to check out Transverter yet. I agree with the netter who asked Transverter to support HFS transfers. What would be even better would be for someone to write a Mac code that would access the GEM partitions (most Macs come with DOS disk capability now) to allow direct read/write to GEM partitions while in Mac mode. Any whiz kid wanna pick up the challenge on this one? ------------------------------ Date: 5 Nov 89 09:21:55 GMT From: att!occrsh!uokmax!metnet!p0.f30.n147.z1.FIDONET.ORG!Fred.Mah@ucbvax.Berkeley.ED U (Fred Mah) Subject: Spectre GCR To answer your question about Mac and Atari/Spectre GCR disk compatability I would have the following to say: Using Spectre GCR, the Atari will read SS/DD and DS/DD Mac disks but not high density so if you only put the info on double density disks there should be no problem. 3 -- Fred Mah - via FidoNet node 1:147/10 UUCP: ...!att!occrsh!uokmax!metnet!30.0!Fred.Mah INTERNET: Fred.Mah@p0.f30.n147.z1.FIDONET.ORG ------------------------------ Date: 6 Nov 89 10:22:12 GMT From: mcsun!unido!gmdzi!focke@uunet.uu.net (Stefan Focke) Subject: Still blitter errors in TOS 1.4 I am a new owner of a Mega ST. Some time ago I read something about problems with Blitter-TOS and the Blitter. There is a program GOODBLIT (prehaps the name is not correct), witch does anything like preventing system crashes (I do not know the exact problem). Is this program also neccesary with TOS 1.4? Thank you Stefan Focke (focke@gmdzi.UUCP) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Nov 89 12:55:43 GMT From: n-waters%NIMR.MRC.AC.UK@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU (Nick Waterson) Subject: terminator archive Paul at Glasgow, In answer to your question YES it is possible to reach terminator from the UK. It is also possible to get to Panarthea which is another archiver. The addresses are below: 1) atari@terminator.cc.umich.edu. 2) archive-server%panarthea.ebay@sun.com. I would also be glad to hear of any other ST archivers or Lists . Thanks, ____________________________________________________________________________ Nick Waterson JANET: n-waterson@uk.ac.mrc.nimr Limb Development group UUCP: Nat. Inst. Medical Research DARPA:n-waterson%mrc.nimr@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk The Ridgeway Mill Hill LONDON NW7 1AA Tel: 01-959 3666 U.K. ext. 2366 ____________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 NOV 89 13:20:43 From: WOODALLP%VAX1.COMPUTER-CENTRE.BIRMINGHAM.AC.UK@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU ******FOR SALE IN U.K******* Hyper-Paint & Flair Paint Both Brand new 12 quid each. Easy Tools (1 meg and EZD II required) 15 Quid The Pawn and Psion Chess 6 Quid each PP Font Disk (Chancery, Chicago, Bookman) 5 quid Pro Midi 5 quid Quantum Paint 1.05 (oldish version) 5 quid Genesis Molecular Modeller 20 quid Cyber Studio (As New, binder etc) 35 quid Sorry to non UK RESIDENTS ABOUT WASTING YOUR TIME. Reply to Philip Woodall WOODALLP@UK.AC.BHAM.VAX1 OR 1 Yarner Close Dudley West Midlands DY1 2UR Phone Day: 021-414-4308 (Superconductor Lab- ask for Philip) Night: 0384-241461 ------------------------------ End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V89 Issue #610 *****************************************