The computer industry has seen innumerable changes in
the last four years, to say nothing of the last ten.
With these changes taking place at such a rapid pace,
staying productive by today's standards can be a
daunting task -- especially if you're going at it
alone.
  
That's where we come in; "we" being the Atari
RoundTable. That's because our sole purpose is to
help you stay current and be more productive. In the
last year -- heck, in the last six months -- numerous
developments have had us rediscovering the power in
our Atari computers. New and improved word
processors, graphics applications, font handlers, and
CD-ROM utilities have added more raw horse-power to
our daily computing endeavors than many of us ever
dreamed of.
  
Getting Help
  
With power comes complexity, and with complexity can
come the aspirin bottle. How do you find out what
works, what has been working for others, and what CAN
be done with all this raw, unadulterated power? I
know one way: Go to where the experts are. Experts,
developers, programmers, experienced users, new
users, and even someone's kid sister are all members
of the Atari RoundTable, all working together to get
the most out of their computing experiences.
  
This RoundTable-thing can be addressed many ways;
networking, work-grouping, brainstorming -- you name
it. But it all boils down to getting your computer to
do what you want done.
  
Examples
  
Let me give you an example. Not long ago, John
Trautschold, one of the people behind the recent
release of Flash II, reported on the Atari Bulletin
Board that his CodeRAM RAM disk wasn't staying
"recoverable" during re-boots. This was a problem
since John uses it as a development tool while
programming.
  
The developer of the CodeRAM utility, CodeHead
Technologies, read John's post and noted that John
had just upgraded from four to sixteen megabytes of
RAM. Further discussion in the Bulletin Board
revealed that John didn't have the most recent
version of the utility, which contained the fix for
larger memory configurations.
  
Just like that, problem solved!
  
Here's another: Our resident Jaguar fans were
impatiently awaiting the scheduled October 21st
release of Alien Versus Predator. James Grunke from
Atari popped into the Bulletin Board six days before
the release date with this message:
  
"Hi Folks. If you're wondering why I haven't been
posting in the past 2-1/2 months, please go check out
Alien vs Predator. I hear it's on the shelves."
  
Yet More
  
Have you been trying to send someone a file on the
Internet? If you're still using BinHex to decode
files you aren't using the latest. Michel Forget of
Electric Storm Software recently uploaded ESS-Code
6.0. With this GEM program you can use
UUencode/decode, MIME, SHIP, and BTOA -- all with the
click of your mouse, and it's very fast. As I write
this, I see that Michael has already uploaded a
version 6.2 update in File #34220 ESSCD62.LZH. This
shareware program is a must-have for Internet
interludes.
  
Thinking of getting a CD-ROM player? GEnie member
HONDA just gave us a status report on his newly
purchased Toshiba XM4101TA 2x CD-ROM drive. At the
time he was using it with ExtenDOS and Audio CD
Master, and listening to the BLUES as he typed from
Aladdin!
  
Never Ending Story
  
Really -- I could go on and on about new developments
in all areas of Atari computing; there are THAT many
new and exciting things happening! If you want to get
the most out of your Atari, there has never been a
better time to do it. There has also never been a
better place to keep up with these dramatic changes
than the Atari RoundTable! We're all looking forward
to seeing you there because without people like you,
none of this is possible.
  
  
Best wishes to you for a happy and fulfilling New
Year from the members and staff of the Atari
RoundTable.