Info-Atari16 Digest Sat, 13 Jul 91 Volume 91 : Issue 389 Today's Topics: An idea for DC Software? Atari ST 720k floppy for sale! D.T.P. Comparison DC weekly post - 7/12 DTP for music ? Help with UniTerm Info-Atari16 Digest V91 #388 lynx games mentioned in AE MEGA STE problems MIDI Multitasking for ST (to sell) (2 msgs) PageStream VS Calmus (2 msgs) Quick ST v. 3 - When? SoundTrackers STACY mhz? This week's program weather fax (wefax) satellite images on atari Welcome to the Info-Atari16 Digest. The configuration for the automatic cross-posting to/from Usenet is getting closer, but still getting thrashed out. Please send notifications about broken digests or bogus messages to Info-Atari16-Request@NAUCSE.CSE.NAU.EDU. Please send requests for un/subscription and other administrivia to Info-Atari16-Request, *NOT* Info-Atari16. Requests that go to the list instead of the moderators are likely to be lost or ignored. If you want to unsubscribe, and you're receiving the digest indirectly from someplace (usually a BITNET host) that redistributes it, please contact the redistributor, not us. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 13 Jul 91 14:54:53 GMT From: noao!ncar!asuvax!ukma!rex!spool.mu.edu!mips!sdd.hp.com!uakari.primate.wisc.edu! aplcen!boingo.med.jhu.edu!haven.umd.edu!wam.umd.edu!cmedley@arizona.edu (Charles Henry Medley) Subject: An idea for DC Software? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <6142@cernvax.cern.ch> hohr@cernvax.cern.ch (roger hoh) writes: > > Hi Atarians, > > I need a printer spooler I could size by using the same system >as for FOLDERxxx.PRG, called say SPOOLRxxx.PRG, where 'xxx' is the >size of the spooler in Kb. > DC made a program in DC Desktop that did just that... the DC Spooler. ------------------------------ Date: 12 Jul 91 18:42:00 GMT From: arizona.edu!cerritos.edu!nic.csu.net!usc!cs.utexas.edu!utgpu!watserv1!maytag!nc rwat!dmsdev.Waterloo.NCR.COM!ip1@arizona.edu (Chris Herborth) Subject: Atari ST 720k floppy for sale! To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu For Sale: One Atari ST internal disk drive (720k DS/DD) in perferct working condition. Even has the weird slanted-hole faceplate that the old STs had on their drives. Perfect for those few people still stuck with SS/DD drives who'd like to upgrade to double-sided. Just take out your SS drive, and stick this in! Reason for selling: I'm upgrading my internal drive to 1.44M, and it would be unpractical (is that a word?) to hook it up as an external drive B:. Ok, how much? I'd like $75 Cdn (and I pay shipping) or best offer (and you pay shipping). Email me at the address below, or call me at (519) 725-5360 during non- office hours, or at (519) 884-1710 ext. 384 during office hours if you're intrested. --------------------====================================------------------- Chris Herborth, NCR E&M Waterloo ip1@dmsdev.waterloo.NCR.COM Information Products (Co-op!) "You want me to document WHAT?!?" Disclaimer: Never send a monster to do the work of an Evil Scientist... ------------------------------ Date: 13 Jul 91 04:54:56 GMT From: mnemosyne.cs.du.edu!isis.cs.du.edu!kgelner@uunet.uu.net (Kendall Helmstetter Gelner) Subject: D.T.P. Comparison To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu I thought that I should mention something about Pagestream 2.1 at this point... I think that one of the reasons that Calamus output may be better is that Calamus has nice solid Compugrapic fonts, while Pagestream traditionally had it's own font format, and so had inferior fonts. Luckly, Pagestream 2.1 solves this; not only can it use Pagestream fonts, but also Compugraphic and Adobe Type I postscript fonts, on the screen as well as on paper!! Thus, you should be able to have much better looking output from Pagestream in the future, and be able to get quality fonts. Even if Pagestream improved on nothing else at all, this would still make it worth getting in my opinion... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---> Kendall Gelner (kendall@rice.edu) OR (kendall@isis.cs.du.edu) "One of the advantages of being disorderly is constantly making exciting discoveries." -- A. A. Milne --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---> Kendall Gelner (kendall@rice.edu) OR (kendall@isis.cs.du.edu) "One of the advantages of being disorderly is constantly making ------------------------------ Date: 13 Jul 91 00:22:08 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!menudo.uh.edu !uace0@arizona.edu (ATARI Computer Enthusiasts) Subject: DC weekly post - 7/12 To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu This week's program has been sent to atari.archive.umich.edu (ftp site) and comp.binaries.atari.st. DC Disk Stat gives you * a lot * of disk structure information about the disk of your choice. Stats include sectors, sectors per track, tracks, clusters, sides, (much more), etc. DC Disk Stat has an easy-to-use GEM interface and can be run as a desk accessory or a program. 100% assembly. ST, STe and TT compatible. (Not LOW rez). (This is no joke.) - mike vederman / double click software BTW - we are _always_ taking ideas for more weekly programs! -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Double Click Me | Double Click Software | P.O. Box 741206 | Houston, Tx, 77274 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Voice: (713)977-6520 | DC DESKTOP | DC FORMATTER | DC UTILITIES | and others ------------------------------ Date: 12 Jul 91 17:54:33 GMT From: mcsun!ukc!mucs!pjj@uunet.uu.net (Pete Jinks) Subject: DTP for music ? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Does anyone know of any packages (preferably PD/shareware/cheap, but anything is better than nothing) that can be used to create a music score (maybe with words) and print it? Ease of use (initial input, modification) and the ability to cope with long and/or complicated scores (e.g. multiple parts) would be important. Thanks in advance for any help you can give. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Jul 91 15:25:37 GMT From: CompuServe.COM!72347.2767@ucbvax.berkeley.edu ("Robert Royar, Cratylus Software") Subject: Help with UniTerm To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu I've been using UniTerm to connect to various Vaxen since 1986. I've had one nagging problem since I first began using the program. Quite often when I use UniTerm with Eve or EDT pressing the Return key causes a Bus Error. The fault looks as though the program references a string as if it were the address of the string. The error has been present in versions 2.0b-2.0e (the highest version I have). It's been present on my ST with TOS 1.0-1.4. (I have a color system.) And the VMS versions range from 4-the latest for 8650s (forget the revision number). I'd be interested to know whether anyone else has experienced it and whether there is a known reason for the failure. It causes some real problems because UniTerm takes over a number of system vectors and doesn't reassign them on error exits (ever heard of safe signal processing?). Please respond directly as I don't often get to read the news group. I never get to read comp.sys.atari.st in fact. ______________________________________________________________________________ Robert Royar Department of English New York Institute of Technology Old Westbury, New York 11568 BITNET: R0MILL01@ULKYVX CIS: 72347,2767 Internet: 72347.2767@CompuServe.Com "Io venni in luogo d'ogni luce muto;" Dante Alighieri ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Jul 91 09:36:33 CDT From: Mike Dorman Subject: Info-Atari16 Digest V91 #388 To: Atari List >but if I reboot the ST, then the ICD-Driver is obviously sending a >RESET-signal to all the nodes at the ACSI-Bus, and this signal requires as >consequence a RESET of the SUPERCHARGER itself. >---- PHSTUD9@DKNKURZ1.BITNET ---- If you use HDUTIL, and tell it you want to configure your boot options, there will be a little list of SCSI IDs at the bottom. You want to exclude all of them except your HD (probably 0) and, if you have it, your clock (probably 6). Do this by turning them on--i.e. inverting them. This tells the ICD software not to check these SCSI IDs for anything--it'll also probably make your boot up go faster, as the software won't be looking for devices that aren't there. Mike. -------------------------------------------------- : Mike Dorman : Internet: mdorman1@ua1vm.ua.edu : : : BIX: mike.dorman : : : GEnie: M.DORMAN2 : -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 13 Jul 91 05:36:47 GMT From: iWarp.intel.com!ogicse!milton!raven.alaska.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!glover@uunet .uu.net (Eric Glover) Subject: lynx games mentioned in AE To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Speaking of the Lynx, Promises and Atari; Is Atari Explorer Dead, [a pause] Again? Glover A man who hasnt seen an issue of AE since Feb. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Jul 91 15:33:40 GMT From: IFI.UIO.NO!larserio@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (LarsErikOsterud) Subject: MEGA STE problems To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In Norway there is between 2 and 5 years warranty BY LAW !!! Lars-Erik / Registered Developer / ABK-BBS +47 2132659 / ____ ______ 0sterud / w/ Atari Scandinavia / larserio@ifi.uio.no / /___ / __________/ _______________________/ ______________________/ ____/ / ------------------------------ Date: 13 Jul 91 01:12:15 GMT From: iWarp.intel.com!ichips!intelhf!agora!robart@uunet.uu.net (Robert Barton) Subject: MIDI To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu The Amiga has six (6) hardware timers. ------------------------------ Date: 11 Jul 91 02:35:43 GMT From: esseye!jdbbs!wybbs!therip!FredMail@uunet.uu.net (Rod Fulk) Subject: Multitasking for ST (to sell) To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Oh yea? Since when? GEM is a very powerful system... Especially in the world of the TT... Works nicely... I understand the TT's don't even need to reboot to change the 5 color resolutions.. And the Mega Ste's are really nice too.. I would rank the OS's for power and ease of use in the following order... (For older systems.. The NEWER Systems dont really count cause they are for newer machines... Nor have i played with them all.. Note: ALL the computers I mention have better OS's out and I will put a () notation beside these with the current OS that I know about...) From best to worst from a users point of view... Mac 6.0.5 (7.0!?) Atari Tos 1.6 (3.x!?) Amigados 1.3 (2.x!?) Msdos 3.3 [sic] (5.0!?) Note, In my humble opinion ANY of the OS's in the ()'s will beat all the others NOT in brackets... Rating the ones in the brackets is a whole new ball of wax with new rules etc.. ;-) Ands the ratings I gave are based on no accelerators whatsoever... The ONLY thing allowed are bug fixes... However the Mac/Ibm/Amiga (In that order) loose a little since they are mainly disk based in most systems.. (All the systems have an extensive amount of OS in ROM but have some major portions in ram too.. However I am not sure abouy some amigas.. I understand Kickstart is in the ROMS on some machines...) * Origin: The R.I.P. (616)235-2313 [HST] (1:228/24) ------------------------------ Date: 13 Jul 91 04:33:31 GMT From: arizona.edu!cerritos.edu!nic.csu.net!usc!chaph.usc.edu!aludra.usc.edu!zuckerma@ arizona.edu (David Zuckerman) Subject: Multitasking for ST (to sell) To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <679197717.1@therip.FidoNet> Rod.Fulk@f24.n228.z1.FidoNet.Org (Rod Fulk) writes: [stuff about nice Atari systems deleted] >I would rank the OS's for power and ease of use in the following order... >(For older systems.. The NEWER Systems dont really count cause they are for >newer machines... Nor have i played with them all.. Note: ALL the computers I >mention have better OS's out and I will put a () notation beside these with >the current OS that I know about...) >From best to worst from a users point of view... >Mac 6.0.5 (7.0!?) >Atari Tos 1.6 (3.x!?) >Amigados 1.3 (2.x!?) >Msdos 3.3 [sic] (5.0!?) I beg to differ here. Do you really mean OS, or just GUI/Shell interfaces? >Note, In my humble opinion ANY of the OS's in the ()'s will beat all the >others NOT in brackets... Rating the ones in the brackets is a whole new >ball of wax with new rules etc.. ;-) Very true. >Ands the ratings I gave are based on no accelerators whatsoever... >The ONLY thing allowed are bug fixes... >However the Mac/Ibm/Amiga (In that order) loose a little since they are mainly >disk based in most systems.. (All the systems have an extensive amount of OS >in ROM but have some major portions in ram too.. However I am not sure abouy >some amigas.. I understand Kickstart is in the ROMS on some machines...) ~~~~ SOME machines? KickStart has been shipping IN ROM since 1987! Every single Amiga 500, 2000, and 2500 have KS on a chip, containing all of the low-level OS routines. KickStart 2 will be available in ROM by the 3rd quarter for ALL Amiga systems. Only the DOS is loaded into RAM. This kind of statement really makes me wonder how much you do know about Amigas. The ST series are good machines... I almost bought one. But Atari's lack of dealers in my area and the performance of a true preemptive multitasking environment led me to Amiga. NOTE: I am not some Amiga fanatic who thinks Atari users are the scum of the earth. I still have (and occasionally use) an Atari 800 and an Atari 1200XL. I used Macs in school and IBMs in the workforce. I'm not here to convince you that I have a "superior" machine and that you should dump your ST and drive to your local Amiga dealer immediately. It's just that the above KickStart statement really needed correcting. > * Origin: The R.I.P. (616)235-2313 [HST] (1:228/24) -Dave -- David Zuckerman | "There's nothing wrong with my sense | Exercise // zuckerma@aludra.usc.edu | of reality. I have it thoroughly | good \\ // Univ of Southern CA | serviced every fortnight." | taste...\X/ Floyd the Droid Fan Club | - Zaphod Beeblebrox | Go Amiga... ------------------------------ Date: 12 Jul 91 22:10:49 GMT From: noao!asuvax!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.pr imate.wisc.edu!doug.cae.wisc.edu!carter@arizona.edu (Gregory Carter) Subject: PageStream VS Calmus To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Dear Steve, I may be a jerk, but a jerk that speaks the truth. The only way you couldn't possibly think that the ST's DTP GEM apps were not junk is if you never used anything else. Which is like viewing the computing world through the little Atari hole you own on your desk. Atari has to seriously rethink its system software. I mean, when people in the PD go through the very intense trouble of writing thier own UNIX solutions, like MINT. Something is SERIOUSLY WRONG in Atari Land. I would have blown 1500 bucks on a TT, if Atari's system software was realistic to suit the hardware...but TOS? TOS on a 030? WHAT A WASTE. --Greg ------------------------------ Date: 13 Jul 91 14:51:14 GMT From: noao!ncar!hsdndev!think.com!spool.mu.edu!cs.umn.edu!thelake!steve@arizona.edu (Steve Yelvington) Subject: PageStream VS Calmus To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu [In article <1991Jul12.171050.9758@doug.cae.wisc.edu>, carter@engr.wisc.edu (Gregory Carter) writes ... ] > Dear Steve, > > I may be a jerk, but a jerk that speaks the truth. If you're addressing me, you're talking to the wrong person. I didn't say anything about you; that was someone else. I figure your postings speak for themselves. > The only way > you couldn't possibly think that the ST's DTP GEM apps were not junk > is if you never used anything else. Which is like viewing the computing > world through the little Atari hole you own on your desk. The folks who know me are probably doubled up laughing. I know which side of the type goes up. I'm an editor at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, the largest newspaper between Chicago and Los Angeles. We were a pioneer in electronic pagination. Paul Brainerd, founder of Aldus, got his start at the Star Tribune working with Atex to implement News Layout. Over the last 20 years or so, I've used everything from handset wooden type to Autologic pagesetters -- and not just by remote control, either; I owned and published weekly newspapers for awhile, and I've gotten my hands dirty. Calamus and PageStream are not Quark X-Press, but neither are they junk. As far as they go, they do what they're supposed to do, and they are more reliable than a couple of far more expensive systems I've encountered (including PageMaker for Windows). I've spent more on a hotel room than the street price of PageStream. I've spent more on a single digital font of Times Roman/bold/italic (for a Compugraphic 8600 45-pica CRT typesetter) than the street price of an STE. Certainly I'd like to see more performance for less money, a cheap and easy-to-use turnkey Unix system, and dealers that can get shipments instead of excuses from Atari Corp. But I have enough perspective to recognize reliability and a bargain when I see them. ---- Steve Yelvington Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota ------------------------------ Date: 11 Jul 91 18:34:05 GMT From: microsoft!darekm@uunet.uu.net (Darek MIHOCKA) Subject: Quick ST v. 3 - When? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu In article <1991Jul8.171748.24771@riacs.edu> glennd@athena.arc.nasa.gov (Glenn Deardorff - GDP) writes: >Does anyone know if (or when) Quick ST v.3 is supposed to be out? I >thought it was supposed to be in June or July. I sent in my $15 upgrade >fee, but haven't heard anything from them. > >Thanks. - Glenn Glenn, you should be receiving a postcard in the mail from Branch Always telling you that the release of Quick ST 3 is delayed a few weeks since we are now roughly 3 weeks behind schedule. The software is done and just going through some last beta testing stages. The biggest holdup right now is getting documentation and packaging finished and dealing with the fact that some of our testers and other people involved in the project are on summer vacation right now. Except me . The Quick ST manual is being re-written from scratch and so this is taking a long time to do. Like our last newsletter stated, anyone ordering Quick ST 3 can ask for a beta release. These have been available since April, so if you'd like to check it out a few weeks before you get the real package, send me private email. The beta testing has gone very well so far and these extra few weeks will make the product all that much more faster and reliable. Please specify your hardware setup so that I can send you the appropriate screen driver. Quick ST 3 contains several different screen drivers optimized for various hardware configurations, so I need to know things like the CPU (68000 or 68030), version of TOS, and monitor. - Darek ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darek Mihocka. Telephone: 206-885-5893. All views expressed are my own. Branch Always Software, 14150 NE 20th St. Suite 302, Bellevue, WA 98007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darek Mihocka. Quick ST 3 for the ST/TT. All views expressed are my own. Branch Always Software, 14150 NE 20th St. Suite 302, Bellevue, WA 98007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 12 Jul 91 07:50:26 GMT From: mcsun!ukc!mucs!logitek!alanh@uunet.uu.net (Alan Hourihane) Subject: SoundTrackers To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hi, Would anybody be willing to produce a Soundtracker that can play through Microdeal's PLAYBACK cartridge. As I have an STFM with it. Lars-Erik... has come the closest, with PLAYER. It plays only through the left port though. So still mono although it does go through the cartridge. If anybody is willing and needs the sources how to program the cartridge please get in touch. Alan Hourihane email: alanh@logitek.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: 11 Jul 91 23:27:45 GMT From: deccrl!news.crl.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!ryn.mro4.dec.com!aidev.enet.dec.com!m iskinis@decwrl.dec.com (John Miskinis) Subject: STACY mhz? To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hi, I'm 99% sure that all Stacy's run at 8mhz... I still wish I owned one! _John_ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1991 03:55 +0200 From: DRAGAN PROTIC Subject: This week's program To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Hi there! There's been a few messages at INFO-A16 saying that we all (Atari ST users, that is) should suggest what those guys at Double Click should write next, rather than criticize their work. I agree with that; DC Homey may not seem useful to many people, but hey, who knows, maybe somebody really needs a program like DC Homey! (I don't - but I desperately need something similar ;) ) So, while you guys at DC software are still at writing great mouse utilities (ie. mouse wrap etc.) there's something that could be very useful, and I haven't seen it on ST to date. Let's start from the beginning... I have been using Spectre GCR for some time now, and while configuring it, I found out that you can set the right mouse key to act as left key plus shift _or_ as constantly pressed left key. Hm, what I meant to say is that I got so much used to hitting the right mouse key and then moving windows, icons, etc. that I get crazy when I return to the ST from Spectre, and find myself constantly clicking the right mouse key in order to achieve the effect I've been so much used to in Spectre. :(( So, would it be possible to write a program that would, upon a right mouse click, simulate that a left mouse key is being pressed and held pressed, until either mouse key is being pressed again? You can't imagine how useful this can be, until you get used to it! ;)) Dalibor Lanik (using friend's account) eproticd@yubgdef51.bitnet <> Dalibor Lanik, Sredacka:9, Belgrade 11000, YU, EU I've seen things u people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shore of Orion. I watched C-beams... glitter in the dark near the ten thousand gate. All those moments will be lost, in time... like tears... in rain. Time to die. ------------------------------ Date: 12 Jul 91 22:30:22 GMT From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!uwm.edu!ux1. cso.uiuc.edu!lisboa!banko@arizona.edu (Brad Banko) Subject: weather fax (wefax) satellite images on atari To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu several years ago, there was a circuit and program for 8-bit atari computers (i apologize for posting this to .st, but i'll bet many of you have upgraded to the st from 8-bit machines.) which could capture weather fax radio signals and display the images on an 8-bit atari. are there any wefax enthusiasts out there who might be using such a system on st machines or apple macintosh computers? i am particularly interested in getting such a setup for an apple mac II, but would like to learn whatever i can about available systems in use. apparently there are both low and high resolution images available. i think that the 8-bit setup displayed low resolution weather maps. please reply to me directly. thanks. brad banko kb8cne -- ============================================================== Brad Banko, Theoretical Biophysics, Beckman Institute Dept of Physics, University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign banko@lisboa.ks.uiuc.edu, (217)-244-1851, 328-4932 ------------------------------ End of Info-Atari16 Digest ******************************