========================================================================= INFO-ATARI16 Digest Thu, 30 Nov 89 Volume 89 : Issue 729 Today's Topics: 'Form' math prog details.... A LEGAL Mac emulator! ICD Software: Many thanks and a question LaserPrinters and the ST MacDraw,PS,ED,Diction,NEODESK... Mega chips & drive questions META.SYS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 Nov 89 16:02:29 GMT From: eru!luth!sunic!tut!tukki!suhonen@BLOOM-BEACON.MIT.EDU (Timo Suhonen) Subject: 'Form' math prog details.... Message-ID: <2230@tukki.jyu.fi> In article <89332.135731JJL101@PSUVM.BITNET> JJL101@PSUVM.BITNET (J.J. Lehett) writes: > > Does anyone have any details on the Form symbolic math program? >What is the minumum set-up it takes.... etc. Use, applications..... > In manual (or in readme-file) it says that FORM needs 1M RAM and a HD (not sure about that; I just feel I read it from somewhear). But I think you should be able to use it at lest for small problems with SS floppy disk and 1M memory. I have used FORM 1 (one!) day with my 1M 520ST and a HD. It works really fine!!! I think FORM is one of the best programs I have for my ST. Hope this helps a little... -- Timo Suhonen suhonen@tukki.jyu.fi I logged in, therefor I am ------------------------------ Date: 30 Nov 89 18:54:38 GMT From: image.soe.clarkson.edu!news@uunet.uu.net (Scott K. Opiela,,,2684025) Subject: A LEGAL Mac emulator! Message-ID: <1989Nov30.185438.6755@sun.soe.clarkson.edu> I want a mac emulator for my ST that is 100 percent legal. Is this too much to ask? Isn't this the "moral" thing to do? Isn't this what everyone is trying to do? I priced the most inexpensive LEGAL mac emulator I could find, please tell me if there is a more inexpensive way to go: Spectre 128... $129.95 (retail) (Now the 128k roms, which can only be LEGALLY attained from Apple Computer Inc.) (AND the System and Finder software that ARE ALSO COPYRIGHTED BY Apple Computer Inc. for use exclusively on Macs) (Apple has a nice little package that includes the 128k roms, and the System software, PLUS they throw in a Mac Plus for free! [minus roms and System software]) Mac Plus package... $909 (edu. price) ----- $1038.95 (LEGAL?) This is of course excluding the price of the St to run it on. Doesn't anyone realize this? -------------------------- Totally "tongue in cheek"... opielask@clutx.clarkson.edu naas17@snypotba.bitnet ------------------------------ Date: 30 Nov 89 17:40:09 GMT From: shlump.nac.dec.com!engage.enet.dec.com!oldtmr!wallace@decwrl.dec.com (Ray Wallace) Subject: ICD Software: Many thanks and a question Message-ID: <1366@engage.enet.dec.com> In article <8911300807.AA08786@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>, VBRANDT@DBNUAMA1.BITNET writes... > BUT: The included ICDFMT.DAT file says Version 3.00 and lists only "d" type >entries, ie. only disk drives, no more controllers, such as for my Maxtor. The following is from ICD's READ.ME file - In brief, here are a few things you SHOULD know about this software: o This current release includes full support for Omti 3520/3527(a) SCSI controllers and drives connected to them, most embedded SCSI drives, and support for Adaptec 4000(a)/4070 SCSI controllers (only high level defect mapping is supported with Adaptecs). SASI controllers are no longer supported. Use our older version software for use with SASI or else purchase a new Omti controller. It will be much faster than SASI. Sounds like you can't use ICDs V4 software with anything but OMTI, ADAPTEC, and embedded SCSI drives. --- Ray Wallace (INTERNET,UUCP) wallace@oldtmr.enet.dec.com (UUCP) ...!decwrl!oldtmr.enet!wallace (INTERNET) wallace%oldtmr.enet@decwrl.dec.com --- ------------------------------ Date: 30 Nov 89 16:10:26 GMT From: cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!hrc!force!covertr@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Richard E. Covert) Subject: LaserPrinters and the ST Message-ID: <4725e878.14a1f@force.UUCP> Well, I have finally done it. I sold my Atari SLM804 laser printer. As you all know by now, I have spent the last 20 months trying to get decent support from Atari Corp for their product. I couldn't even get Atari to fix their buggy Diablo 630 Emulator, much less release the Epson Emulator for the SLM804. There has been a German Epson Emulator called LaserBrain, which I got a copy of over a year ago with German docs (which I can't read). but, Atari USA has yet to release an American version of LaserBrain. And then there is the problem of using the SLM804 with Spectre/GCR. It seems that Dave Small does have a 144 dpi printer driver for the SLM804, but not a 300 dpi printer driver. So, even with a Spectre and a SLM804, I can't get decent print outs. To do so would require spending another $500 for UltraScript. I wish Dave Small could bundle UltraScript with his products. Maybe that would lower the price of UltraScript to something affordable by more people. What say Dave, could you talk to the fine Imagen folks about bundling UltraScript with the GCR?? Anyway, as I really want to use Spectre/GCR, and as I would like to get a HW PC Emulator one day, I need a printer that is more adaptable than the SLM804. So, I have narrowed my choice down to two laser printers, the new Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIp (IIp) and the Panasonic 4450. Both printers have serial and Centronics parallel interfaces. The IIP is the cheaper of the two lps. I can buy it locally for $995, but need to add an additional 1 meg board which costs $200 (third vendor board, the HP memory board costs $400). So, for $1200 + %$100 sales tax I can get the IIp. The problem with the IIp is that it is slow, at about 4 pages per minute (4 ppm), and it lacks Epson emulation. So, while the IIp is cheaper than the Panasonic it lacks some necessary features. The Panasonic 4450 lists for $2500 but the street price locally is about $1600. I can buy the 4450 from a mail order place in chicago for $1269, add another $230 for the necessary additional 1 meg of RAM and you are at $1500. And since it is mail order I don't have to pay sales tax. The 4450 is 11 ppm, which is faster than the slm804. The 4450 has builtin Epson fx-286e, panasonic 1092i, diablo 630, ibm proprinter, and Laserjet+ emulation. This should allow most, if not all, software to print on it. The 4450 also has dual 250 sheet trays, with optional envelope and other size trays. The 4450 has optional font cartridges, and I believe a PostScript cartridge (though that isn't needed with the availability of UltraScript now). The 4450's toner cartridge is $35 and is rated at 5,000 sheets. So, all in all, the Panasonic 4450 is the laser printer that I will probably buy. The purpose of this message is twofold. First, I would like to hear from anyone who has the 4450 printer. what are your feelings about it? Has it worked well with your ST?? Has it worked well with Spectre/GCR?? Would you buy it again? And secondly, this message points out that Atari users have more choices now than a year ago. The local price of the SLM804 is $1200 w/o UltraScript, and $1500 with UltraScript. Compare that price to the local price of $1200 for the 1.5 meg version of the HP IIp, or the $1800 local price of the 1.5 meg version of the Panasonic 4450 and you see that Atari has some stiff competition in the laser printer area. Also, both Hewlett-packard and Panasonic have a better reputation, at least to me, for QUALITY and SUPPORT than Atari does. I can buy the 4450 and immediately use it with more ST and Mac programs than the Atari SLM804. I still can't use programs like AwardMaker or Certificate Maker with my SLM804 since those programs require an Epson printer. Anyway, the net (pun intended :-) )result of this is NO MORE SLM804 GRIPES FROM RICHARD COVERT on usenet or anywhere else!!! richard (Free at last, Thank God, I am free at last!!) covert gtephx!covertr (uucp address, force is my apollo node name ). ------------------------------ Date: 30 Nov 89 05:48:10 GMT From: nsc!amdahl!drivax!g1@hplabs.hp.com (Bruce Holloway) Subject: MacDraw,PS,ED,Diction,NEODESK... Message-ID: <2574BF1B.4092@drivax.UUCP> The SuperPaint native file saving mode is simply PICT2 format, as described in _Inside Macintosh: Volume 5_. (SuperPaint 2.0, that is.) MacPaint format is described in some tech note or other -- it's not very hard. I think MacDraw uses PICT or PICT2 format; PICT2 is a superset of PICT, so if you build a decoder for PICT2, you get the other one for free. I've written a PICT2 decoder as part of a larger project. It isn't hard, just tedious. - Bruce -- ******************************************************************************* * Bruce Holloway - Terminal Netnews Addict uunet!amdahl!drivax!holloway * * ALBATROSS, ATARI*TROS @ Plink ALBATROSS @ Delphi * ------------------------------ Date: 30 Nov 89 15:13:58 GMT From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax !hrc!force!covertr@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Richard E. Covert) Subject: Mega chips & drive questions Message-ID: <4725b5fe.14a1f@force.UUCP> In article <5440088@hplsla.HP.COM>, andyc@hplsla.HP.COM (Andy Cassino) writes: > mjv@iris.brown.edu (Marshall Vale) writes: > > |I have several questions about chips in my Mega2. > | > |I also noticed that there was a very tiny board on top of the 68000 with a > |_SCST74LS74B1_ in it and a wire running to an unlabeled spot on the > |board just above and to the left of the 68000. Anyone know what its for? > | It seems like it was a rather last minute change and the glue job was > | very sloppy. > > Hmmm, my Mega has a similar kludge except the extra chip is piggy-backed on > another small TTL chip. It's pretty sloppy, too. I assumed the dealer did > this in the ROM upgrade, maybe not, eh? > There has been quite a discussion on GEnie in Jim Allen's Fast Technology Turbo16 Topic about just this subject. It seems that when Jim Allen came out with the T16 various Blitters would fail at the higher speed. so, for some Megas, you have to replace the Blitter. You should contact Jim Allen at Fast Technology, or d/l the T16 Topic from GEnie. Anyway, the tiny pc board attached to the 68000 cpu on SOME Megas to correct a timing problem with some Blitters. It seems that Atari has more than one source of the Blitters, and not all have the same timing characteristics. So, some Megas have the little board to correct this. Again, I got this info from Jim Allen of Fast Technology. I would recommend that you get a GEnie account and contact Jim Allen there. Jim is probably the most knowledgable hw hacker for the ST outside of the engineers at Atari Corp. I hope this helps someone out there. P.S. I am a happy T16 owner myself. Jim has been a great support getting my Mega ST working with his T16. Thanks Jim! Rich Covert ------------------------------ Date: 30 Nov 89 16:48:10 GMT From: clubok@husc4.harvard.edu (Ken "The Snake" Clubok) Subject: META.SYS Message-ID: <3298@husc6.harvard.edu> Hi, folks. I recently got OPUS, which seems to be a really great spreadsheet (especially for shareware). However, I have a problem with charting. The manual says that one should have the necessary files if one has a GDOS application, but try as I might, I cannot find META.SYS on my original Wordup disks or anywhere else. If it is legal, could someone please send me META.SYS? If it is not legal, or you have some other response, please send me e-mail; Try as I might, I just can't keep up with this group. (Thanks to the high volume of slush :? ) Thanks in advance. Ken Clubok clubok@husc4.bitnet clubok@husc4.harvard.edu ------------------------------ End of INFO-ATARI16 Digest V89 Issue #729 *****************************************