Precision Software Appli…tions Silver Collection 3/Precision Software Applications Silver Collection Volume Three (PSM) (1993).iso/music2/pasmpc10.arj/PASASC10.DOC

Text File | 1992-12-22 | 35KB | 799 lines

               Pro Audio Spectrum & MPC Digest


                    Volume 1 - Number 10

                       December  1992

                   Published by Jim Rooney

               Edited By Karen Goehner-Rooney

               Dedicated to PAS and MPC Users


                     (C) Copyright 1992










                         Publishers
                           Corner

Welcome  to  Pro AudioSpectrum & MPC Digest. We made  a  big
decision  here  this month... since we always  seem  to  get
behind and get the issue of that month published on the last
day,  we  wondered  if we should just  change  this  one  to
January... the more we thought about it, though, the more we
figured we should just leave it as it is... so from now  on,
all issues will be due out on the last day of the month they
are for. BIG decision, eh?
We  were going to write about some of the poor companies  we
have  had  to  deal  with  in the  past  10  months  in  the
Compliments/Complaints section this month,  but  our  policy
has  always  been to just leave 'em alone. Like  those  that
simply  won't  send product for review or  those  who  treat
their customers badly, etc. Although we feel you should know
about these folks, there just haven't been any THAT bad that
they  deserve  bad publicity! Admittedly, some  are  on  the
borderline. In fact, some simply shouldn't be in the  retail
or  manufacturing  business at all, but ...  well,  I  guess
we're  just not in the complaining mood this month.  If  the
readers  of  this magazine would like to see  a  section  on
those  companies  who  either  make  things  hard  on  their
customers or have bizarre policies, be sure to write in  and
we will take some space and let you know about them.
Be  sure to check out the reader feedback this month  for  a
really good letter sent in by one of our subscribers...  and
speaking  of subscribing... there IS a form at  the  end  of
this  magazine for that purpose... you might even save money
with  that  method depending on how much your long  distance
bills  are. Plus, we always throw in a couple of MIDI  files
for  those  who subscribe. Anyway, it's something  to  think
about.


Now... On With The Show!!

Now, to get through all the legal gobbledygook...

This  publication  is  protected  by  US  and  international
copyright laws. You may copy it and distribute it freely but
may  not  charge a fee for it or the process  and  materials
used to copy it.

Pro  AudioSpectrum,  PAS, PAS16, PAS +, CDPC,  ThunderBoard,
Thunder   &   Lightning,  AudioPort  &  Auto  Blending   are
trademarks of Media Vision, Inc.

MS DOS, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Multimedia Windows and
MSCDEX are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

SP Spectrum is a trademark of Voyetra Technologies.

Sound  Blaster,  SoundBlaster  Pro  and  Video  Blaster  are
registered trademarks of Creative Labs, Inc.

All    other   products  are  protected  by  trademarks   or
copyrights of their respective companies.

Pro  Audio Spectrum and MPC Digest assumes no responsibility
or  liability  for  any  information contained  within  this
publication. All editorials are strictly the opinion of  the
writer.  PAS  &  MPC  Digest does not necessarily  agree  or
disagree  with  those opinions. Any software  included  with
this  publication  is  protected  by  US  and  international
copyright  laws unless it has been released  to  the  public
domain.

This   publication   is   written  and   edited   completely
independent  of Media Vision Inc. They also take  absolutely
no responsibility or liability for any information contained
herein.



                           REVIEWS

We  have 6 reviews this month. 2 games, which are The Games,
Summer  Challenge and Waxworks, both from  Accolade.  The  2
hardware reviews are the AudioPort from Media Vision and the
Lantastic  10Mbs  AE2 Starter Kit. We also  have  2  Windows
reviews...  Publisher from Microsoft and  Stacker  3.0  from
Stac   Electronics.  The  Stacker  falls  into  the  Windows
category at this point as it now has some utilities that are
accessible from that environment.

Here is the rating system we use for games...

Very Poor - not fit for human consumption
Poor - use it if you have to
Good - average
Very Good - above average
Excellent - expertly done
Outstanding - reserved for above & beyond the call of duty



                        Game Reviews
                          WaxWorks
Waxworks is the newest release from Accolade and is made  by
HorrorSoft, the same company that made Elvira and Elvira II.
If  you have played either of these two games you will  know
that this new one is a quality product.
Here's  the story... Uncle Boris has just died and left  you
his  Dodge and his prized possession, the WaxWorks. It  took
him  years  to  create his collection of  evil  looking  wax
figures.  This is not a normal wax museum full of  icons  of
royalty,  pop  stars, and current celebrities.  Uncle  Boris
chose  to mold dark treacherous beings from his imagination,
as  well  as duplicate criminals, witches and monsters  from
film  and  history. Your first temptation is to destroy  the
waxworks and its dreadful occupants... yet something beckons
you  to  the old Victorian house that serves as the host  to
the  collection.  You  are drawn into the   fearsome  scenes
depicted  in  wax.  You  find yourself  searching  for  your
missing  brother  throughout  the  labyrinth  waxworks,   in
ancient  Egypt,  19th  century England,  in  a  dark,  musty
mineshaft and in a creepy, haunted cemetery.
So,  now that you know the story, you know what you have  to
do...  find  your  brother and discover the  secret  of  the
waxworks  and  lift  the curse of Ixona  that  plagues  your
family.
In  keeping  with the quality of previous HorrorSoft  games,
Accolade  has  again  released a  winner.   This  game  will
provide hundreds of hours of entertainment... and all with a
VERY  intuitive interface much like Elvira II. Since  it  is
completely icon driven, all you have to do to play this game
is  point and click. The one big help in this game is  Uncle
Boris  himself...  when you enter the waxworks,  the  butler
gives  you  a  crystal ball which allows you to  communicate
with Uncle Boris. Sure... he's dead... that's what makes  it
fun...  be careful, though. Too much communication with  the
dead lowers your strength.
There  are  basically 5 worlds in this  game  which  I  will
briefly explain... all are long and winding mazes that  take
time to negotiate...
Pyramid waxwork is just that... an ancient Egyptian pyramid.
It  has  six levels and although I haven't done it, I  would
assume the idea is to get to the top... at least Boris  says
to  go up! The mazes in the pyramid are very confusing.  You
just  have  to have patience and a good memory to  make  the
correct turns or you will probably just go in circles. Along
the way, you will run into guards that you have to fight but
they're not very tough.
The  second  waxwork you might run into is Jack the  Ripper.
Set  in  18th century London, the basic idea here  is  to...
well, I really do not know what the basic idea is here...  I
DO know that you have to stay away from the Policemen or you
will be taken and hanged immediately. The waxwork starts out
with  a  dead girl in front of you. Again, and like all  the
other  waxworks, this is a very difficult maze in which  you
can  get  lost  very  easily. The maze that  you  are  going
through  is a whole bunch of streets and alleys.  I  haven't
quite figured out what one is supposed to do in here, but  I
will.
The   Mine  waxwork  is  a  living  plant  infested,  nearly
abandoned mine. This thing is full of plant people and vines
who would rather rip your head off than look at you. Between
the  mutants, vines, pods and mine carts trying to kill you,
it offers quite a challenge.
The Cemetery waxwork is actually the worse of all as far  as
confusion goes... I haven't been able to even come close  to
finding my way around this one... but there IS a way and the
reward will obviously be tremendous.
The  fifth  and  final waxwork is the waxworks  itself...  I
haven't  really  figured  this one out  either,  but  again,
that's all part of the fun.

PAS 16 Support - None (SB mode) - very good
Graphics - excellent
Interface - excellent
Value- excellent
Enjoyment - excellent
Playability - very good
Digitizing - none
Overall - very good

Note:  This game would have received an excellent rating  if
it  supported  the PAS 16 or Plus. How 'bout it  Accolade...
any  PAS  support in the near future? Until then, could  you
please remove the "supports all major sound cards" line from
the label since PAS 16 IS a major sound card?

Available from most retailers or Accolade at 1-800-245-7744

List price is $59.95

Requires IBM AT or compatible or higher, VGA
Recommended - 386/SX 16


                The Games - Summer Challenge

A  few  months ago we reviewed The Games - Winter  Challenge
from  Accolade  which was basically a winter Olympics  game.
Now they have this one, which is much like the summer games.
All  one needs to do to install this program is put the disk
in  the  floppy drive and type install. Then just  tell  the
program what drive and directory to use and away we go.  The
progress meter is rather cute on this one... a guy on a bike
going from start to finish. The introduction is pretty  good
too...  I won't tell you about it though... I don't want  to
ruin it for you.
As  you might recall, I wasn't exactly overwhelmed with  the
difficulty  level in the Winter Challenge...  Guess  I  just
thought  it  was  either too easy or  too  hard,  so  I  was
expecting  the  same  thing here.  Well,  I  was  pleasantly
surprised! The Summer Challenge games are VERY well done and
the difficulty is about right.
Let  me  list each of the eight events and tell you  what  I
thought...

The  first  event is Kayaking... the idea is to  paddle  the
kayak through a treacherous river course in the least amount
of  time possible. If you go too fast, you won't be able  to
make  the gates... if too slow, it's hard to steer. AND most
of all, STAY AWAY FROM THE BANK.

Archery is one of the two events that I thought was  just  a
little lame. You have to pull back the arrow in the bow  and
then  line up the target and shoot. I guess maybe lame isn't
exactly the word here... maybe unrealistic is more like  it.
Still kinda fun though.

The 400M hurdles pits you against the clock and stamina. You
have  to repeatedly hit the enter key to gain speed and then
push  the space bar and hold it down until the jump is over.
Go  too  soon and you will probably knock the hurdle over...
too  late  and you will fall flat on your face. Good  action
that  takes  a  definite amount of practice and,  at  least,
keyboard skill.

The  high jump is just like the real event in that you  have
to  run  as fast as possible and then jump over a bar  of  a
certain height with your back to the bar. Again, this  takes
a  bit of practice and a good eye to know when to jump.  One
of  the  advantages of this game is that you are allowed  to
raise and lower the bar to your own preferences.

The javelin throw is my favorite. You have to run as fast as
possible  (enter  key) and then throw  the  javelin  at  the
proper angle (double space bar). If you go too far, you will
not  score because of a foot foul... not far enough and  the
javelin won't go far enough and the crowd will probably  boo
you. The angle is the most important concept, however.

Cycling is the other event that I thought was just too easy.
Working  the  left and right keys to stay on the  track  was
just not any challenge at all.

Equestrian is the horse jumping event. You have to negotiate
an  800m  course leaping over barriers and walls. Timing  is
again  critical. While staying on the course is  almost  too
difficult, it DOES add some challenge to it.

Pole-vaulting is the last event. Running with a big pole  as
fast as you can and then placing the pole at the proper spot
provides  enough  difficulty to  make  this  one  my  second
favorite.

So,  all in all, I was quite a bit more impressed with  this
than  the  Winter  Challenge, but then I guess  I'm  just  a
summer  kind of guy. Certainly the big advantage of this  is
you  get  8  games  in  one and have  both  a  train  and  a
tournament  mode. PLUS... you get the advantage  of  instant
replay with frame by frame slo-mo if you want.
Keep  in  mind that I tested this game with the  keyboard...
you can also use a joystick if you are more comfortable with
that method.

Available  from  retailers  or  Accolade.  Requires  an   AT
compatible or better with VGA or better.

PAS16 support - none (SB Mode) - very good
Graphics - very good
Interface - very good
Originality - very good
Value - excellent
Enjoyment - excellent
Playability - excellent
Digitizing - excellent
Overall - very good/excellent

                       Windows Reviews

                     Microsoft Publisher
                       By Chuck Devos

So you want to publish a newsletter, but you really want to
catch people's eye with it.  What kinds of things do you
need?  First, you need originality.  Second, you need to
catch people's eye.  Third, you need to have something to
say.

The first and last of those three things are totally up to
you.  The second one - you need to catch people's eye - is
something that this review might be able to help you with.
In order to catch people's eye, you need to produce a
newsletter that is a quality publication.  There are several
products on the market that will allow you to do that, and
Microsoft Publisher v. 1.0 is one of the best for the money.

Sure, Aldus Pagemaker and Xerox Ventura will do incredible
things, but you will pay between $600 and $900 for those
packages.  Microsoft Publisher retails for $200 (with a
street price of around $130-$150), and will perform about
any task you'll ever want to do with a desktop publisher.

Incorporated into Publisher are templates and page wizards
that will help you with most tasks.  The page wizards are
pre-configured set-ups that allow you to input information,
and then it creates the form for you.  Quite original, and
handy when you're in a hurry.

When you have the time, however, creating an original
document is as easy as "point and shoot."  Bring up a blank
page (portrait or landscape), draw a text box and input your
text.  Publisher uses True Type Fonts, and so you can put in
that bold headline or that small byline.  When you've said
what you want to say, draw a picture box and import some art
to "spice up" the product.  Publisher imports most graphics
formats (.tif, .pcx, .wmf, .bmp, and more).  Size the
picture to your liking and take a look.

Need something more?  Draw a Word Art box and then get
creative with several new fonts (available only in the Word
Art function), and several new way of arranging text
(uphill, downhill, expanded, etc.).  When you're finished,
re-size the box to fit your document and print.  With any
kind of a quality printer, you'll be amazed at how your
document turned out.

The only negative thing I might say about Publisher, is that
when you are working with a large graphics file (1 meg or
more), the screen re-draws (which generally are not a
problem), take a little longer to complete.  But that is
understandable, considering the size of the graphic being
used.

The only real competition (that this writer knows about) in
this market is Power Up! Software's Express Publisher for
Windows.  However, from what I've observed and read (Power
Up! refuses to send evaluation copies to writers for
review), Publisher beats them hands down.  (NOTE:  Power
Up!, if you think your product is better, send me a copy and
I'll check it out.  Be glad to print it too - if it is
really better.)

I have used Publisher to design Business Letterhead,
Business Cards, Bulletins, Posters, Sign-Up sheets,
Invitations, Event Tickets, Newspaper Ads and much more.  If
you're looking for an inexpensive Windows publisher, take a
close look at publisher.  It is inexpensive, easy to use,
fully Windows compatible and, all-in-all, an exceptional
product.

If you're a small business owner, looking into desktop
publishing for flyers, posters, business cards, or anything
of that nature.  Look no further.  Pick up a copy of
Microsoft Publisher (also available on CD-ROM), and see what
it can do for you.  I believe you'll be quite impressed!



                         Stacker 3.0

Seems  a  bit  strange having a review  of  Stacker  in  the
Windows area, but since most functions are now supported  in
Windows,  we felt it was only fair. In case you do not  know
what  Stacker  is, let me explain. Stacker is an  on-the-fly
disk  compression utility that doubles your  disk  space  in
most cases. All you have to do is put the disk in the floppy
and  go through a short installation process which is mostly
answering  questions that you SHOULD know about your  system
and  the  program  does the rest. When it's  all  done,  you
should  have  about twice the amount of space  as  before...
so... before you go out and spend 2-3 dollars per meg  on  a
new  hard drive, check this out first. For those of you that
store a lot of already compressed files on your drive,  such
as  .ZIP  or  .LZH, you won't get the same  results  because
these  files are already about as small as they're going  to
get.
Stacker  is  not  only for hard drives,  however.  It  works
equally well for floppies and any removable media... and the
best  part  of  all  is that Stacker does  not  have  to  be
installed on a computer that needs to read the disk... it is
all self contained on the floppy.
Now to the Windows features. By calling up the Stacker icon,
you   can  open  Stacometer,  which  tells  you  what   your
compression  ratio, disk space and fragmentation  level  is.
Another option from the stacker window is the Tuner in which
you  can  change the level of compression. High  compression
means   less   speed...   less  compression   means   faster
uncompress. Something you need to keep in mind here is  that
Stacker  creates  a very small performance hit...  so  small
that  it is not really noticeable but if you notice too much
of a hit, you can use the Tuner to change it.
Stac  Electronics also makes available a co-processor  which
speeds  up the on-the-fly compression/decompression. I  have
the  AT/16  card  and although it made a difference  in  all
speed  index  tests, it wasn't enough to warrant  the  extra
cost  as  far as I'm concerned. BUT... if you have a  system
that is already a bit on the slow side, it could make a  big
difference.
The  bottom line here is twice as much disk space  than  you
already  have. The performance hit is negligible,  which  is
what  most  folks  seem  to  be concerned  about.  Don't  be
worried... or at least give it a try... The best news of all
is that Stacker 3.0 can be removed!

Available from all retailers or Stac at 619-431-7474

                      Hardware Reviews

                          AudioPort

The AudioPort from Media Vision is, as far as I'm concerned,
a  feat of magic. Measuring only 2.25" X 4.375" X .5",  this
little  thing packs quite a punch. What is it? It's a  sound
device  that  hooks up to your parallel port. It  will  play
MIDI  files,  WAV  files just like the  PAS  line  of  sound
devices,  only  not  quite as well... but  then,  it  wasn't
intended  to  replace that line. It is  made  primarily  for
laptop   and   notebook  computers  so  one  can   use   its
capabilities for presentations and such.
AudioPort  is  packaged with a driver that  allows  software
compatible  with  ThunderBoard, Adlib, and  SoundBlaster  to
work  with  the device... and the installation is a  breeze.
Just  plug  it into your parallel port, hook up the  6  volt
adapter or install 4 AAA batteries, put in the install  disk
and  it's  all  done for you. It is Windows  3.1  compatible
making it the ideal audio device.
It  features 8 bit sound through either the built in speaker
or  headphones or an amplifier hooked to the headphone jack.
There  is  also  a  mic  input  so  if  you  are  giving   a
presentation, you need not have another sound system to talk
at the same time. There is also a volume control on the unit
itself so you don't have to fool with software controls.
So,  if  you plan to go on the road as a salesman  giving  a
sales  pitch,  or  a  corporate  executive  trying  to  show
something  important to the boss, this  unit  will  add  the
missing  link  to  your presentations. Sound  can  mean  the
difference between a successful presentation and a bad one.

Available from most hardware retailers or Media Vision at 1-
800-348-7116.

Suggested retail price is $199.00 so expect street price  to
be around $129.00.

                    Lantastic AE2 Network

Although I received this network starter kit about 4  months
ago, I just wasn't able to get it in the magazine until now.
My  sincerest  apologies go out to all  the  nice  folks  at
Artisoft for all their help and patience.
The Lantastic AE2 starter kit from Artisoft is a 16 bit peer
to peer network. All necessary items are included in the kit
which  includes 2 16 bit Ethernet adapters (proprietary),  1
25  foot  cheapernet  coaxial cable, 2 terminators  and  the
software and manuals.
The  installation of this program is fairly simple. As  with
most programs in this day and age, all you have to do is put
the  floppy in the drive and type install. It will then come
up  with  a  screen for configuration. The basic things  you
need to know is if you are going to use the node as a server
or  workstation,  and  whether or not  you  want  to  modify
config.sys. The default directories and such should be  left
as  they  are unless you have a good reason to change  them.
After  you get the configuration correct, and you will  have
to  read  the install section of the manual to do it  right,
the  install  program copies the files over  and  creates  a
startnet.bat  file.  This file is the one  that  starts  the
network  each time you want to use it. I actually  ended  up
combining it with my autoexec.bat just to make it easier. At
any  rate, the startnet.bat file will be fine if you  didn't
change the address or IRQ for your cards... if you did, then
you'd have to manually change that in the startnet.bat file.
I  think  Artisoft could make this a little easier,  but  it
isn't that bad.
This  version  of  Lantastic network OS  (operating  system)
supports  Windows. You can access net manager  for  changing
accounts and such right from your Windows environment.
I  had  a really weird problem with the Windows part of  the
program  and  Artisoft  Tech Support  worked  feverishly  to
resolve the problem to no avail... but before you think this
is a problem, it isn't. For some odd reason, while not using
the  network  for  about 3 weeks while Artisoft  engineering
worked  on  it, the problem disappeared, Because  of  cosmic
forces, change in software or whatever, it just plain  fixed
itself.  Now,  I'm  not  a real strong  believer  of  cosmic
forces,  so evidently in that three weeks I had removed  the
problem without knowing it... and it hasn't cropped up since
then.  I  DO want to hand it to Dave in Windows tech support
for  putting up with all my questions and problems with  all
the grace and diplomacy of a saint. Thanks, Dave, and I will
send  you a surprise as soon as I figure out how to keep  it
from spoiling during shipping.
Something  else  I need to mention is about  Lantastic  A/I,
which is their adapter independent software. I have recently
added  a  third node to the network which uses a  completely
different network card. With Lantastic A/I, the installation
was  just  as easy and I can communicate with the other  two
machines,  which have proprietary cards in  them  without  a
hitch. GREAT job Artisoft. Keep up the good work.

All artisoft products are available from Artisoft authorized
dealers or from Artisoft at 1-800-846-9726.



                UPGRADES AND FUTURE PRODUCTS

Access Software...
                  December 15,1992... Access Software  today
released the first of at lease 7 super VGA courses for Links
386 Pro. Mauna Key, a Hawaiian golf course that comes to you
in  brilliant  super vga and will also work  with  Microsoft
Golf  and the regular version of Links. Suggested retail  is
$29.95.

Accolade...
              Tinseltown,  Ca...  October  12,  1992...  The
entertainment  world was rocked today with the  announcement
that  wildlife sensation Bubsy Bobcat has signed a  megabuck
video  game  contract with Accolade, one  of  the  country's
leading Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis
publishers.  Accolade is getting ready  to  release  Bubsy's
blockbuster first video game, Claws Encounters of the Furred
Kind.

MacroMedia...
                       October 27, 1992... Macromedia  today
announced  Macromedia  Action! 2.5, a  new  version  of  the
leading   instant   multimedia   presentation   tool    that
incorporates  digital video. This new  video  savvy  version
will  be sent to all registered owners of Action! 2.0 at  no
charge.

The Software Toolworks...
                      December   1,  1992...  The   Software
Toolworks  has  announced it will  offer  a  series  of  new
multimedia CD-ROM products featuring video and film  footage
spanning significant events and people from the entire  20th
century,   based  on  the  largest  interactive   multimedia
videodisk archive in the world. One of the products will  be
called "The Video Encyclopedia of the 20th Century (R).



                       Reader Feedback

I  received your latest digest the other day, and all I  can
say  is  it looks good and sounds good ! I really enjoy  the
presentations each month.
I would like to make a few suggestions if I may.

1.  Could  you  enclose  new Windows  drivers  for  the  Pro
AudioSpectrum 16 sound board with the digest as they  become
available,  or  if this is not possible, at  least  announce
that   they  are  available  on  Media  Vision's   BBS   for
downloading.
2.  Could  you  occasionally rate shareware  programs  (like
WinJammer) or at least mention that they exist. I downloaded
WinJammer  from  a  BBS a few weeks ago and  am  considering
registration, but I would like to know if there  are  better
programs available.
3.  Would it be possible to include a .MOD file from time to
time. My kids (and I) like the Trak Blaster program.

Thanks  for  your time, and again let me say that  I  really
like the PAS & MPC Digest.

Robert W. Hicks - Plumsteadville, PA

Thanks for the letter Robert. In answer to your questions  I
would  first  like to point out that the reason  we  do  not
include drivers or .MODs is because of size. Since a lot  of
our   readers  get  the  publication  from  bbs's,  and  the
multimedia version already tops half a meg, we hate  to  add
any  more to that. We do try to keep you informed of  driver
updates  in  the General Information/Tech Notes section.  We
did  not  mention the 1.43 drivers as they were real  buggy.
You will notice the announcement of the 1.44 drivers in that
section this month. For you .MOD fanatics, be sure to  check
the  bbs listings... most of these bbs's carry lots of those
type of files.
Your  point on shareware is well taken. We have not reviewed
any  yet, but look for next month's issue in which  we  WILL
include  a review of the exact program you referred to.  We,
too,  have  had  this program for about a month  and  it  is
indeed worth a review. Please keep in mind, though, that  we
will  NOT review any crippled shareware. If the author  does
not  abide  by  ASP regulations, even though  they  may  not
belong  to that organization, we will not recommend it.  You
might have noticed that we have NEVER published a review  of
a poor product. The reason is simple... if a program doesn't
meet  the  criteria of fitness for a particular purpose,  we
won't  even  touch  it.  All reviews in  this  magazine  are
basically recommendations so if a program just doesn't  work
right,      we     won't     recommend      it.         -pub

              General Information & Tech Notes

The  Windows  drivers ver 1.44 are done and on-line  at  the
Media  Vision bbs. They are also available on the PAS &  MPC
Digest support bbs. The file name is WIN144.ZIP. These  will
be available to P A S logons, too.

A  lot  of  folks are having problems understanding  how  to
retain  Windows mixer settings upon exit. A lot of  you  set
the Pro Mixer or Pocket Mixer and then exit Windows and when
you  load Windows again, your settings are lost. Here's  the
solution...  Double  Click on Control Panel  in  the  "Main"
window.  Double  click on "Drivers". Single  click  on  "Pro
AudioSpectrum  Mixer" and then on "Setup".  Notice  the  box
titled  "Mixer  Exit"? Be sure both boxes are checked...  if
not,  just click on the box. You may also want to make  sure
the  "Inherit DOS settings" box is unchecked. Now  click  OK
and  then  Close  and you should be set. Go ahead  and  exit
Windows  and then start up again... your settings should  be
the way you left them.

Many  of  you  have been complaining about  a  problem  when
trying  to play MIDI files that they just don't sound right.
Please  keep  in mind that the PAS products are  BASE  LEVEL
MIDI   devices  and  therefore  use  channel  16   for   the
percussion. If you try to use a general MIDI song, you  will
get  notes instead of percussion as general MIDI or EXTENDED
LEVEL  MIDI  uses channel 10 for percussion. The only  clear
way  to  fix the problem is to change the channel  using  SP
Spectrum or any other sequencer.

When installing Norton Desktop for Windows, it is changing a
line  in your SYSTEM.INI file which needs to be changed back
for  proper  PAS operation... look for the Device=VDMADX.386
line,  comment  it out with a semi-colon and  add  the  line
Device=*VDMAD below it.




If  you  want  to  write to PAS & MPC Digest,  here  is  the
address:

PAS & MPC Digest
23217 NE 10th Pl.
Redmond, WA  98053-6520
Voice  -  206-868-0950 - 9am to 9pm Pacific Time - NO  CALLS
AFTER 9!!
Fax - 206-868-2257 or if no answer - 206-556-1723

You may also upload your comments to:

The Neighborhood BBS

206-641-3908 - running PCBboard - 1200/2400
206-957-1112 - Node 2 - 12/24/96/19.2
206-747-6095 - Node 3 - 1200/2400
You  can  log on under the name P A S (be sure  to  use  the
spaces)  and a password of MPC. This name and password  will
only  allow  you to upload files and download  this  monthly
newsletter. If you become a subscriber to PAS & MPC  Digest,
you  will  also  get full access to this bbs  on  all  three
nodes.

You  can check for the digest using a Z ippy directory  scan
for PAS. That will list all issues.

To contact Media Vision:

Media Vision Inc.
3185 Laurelview CT.
Fremont, CA 94538
Technical Support - 800-638-2807
BBS - 510-770-0968 or 510-770-1661
FAX - 510-770-9592
Main Number - 510-770-8600





                        BBS Listings

The  Neighborhood BBS - 206-641-3908 - 1200/2400 - PAS & MPC
support bbs
The Neighborhood BBS - 206-957-1112 - 12/24/96 - Node 2

      This is where you will find the latest edition of this
magazine.

Media  Vision  BBS - 510-770-0968 - 12/24/96 -  Manufacturer
BBS
SysOp is Brett Stewart.

      You  can  check  here for upgrades  that  are  not  on
Neighborhood  bbs  or  leave technical  questions  for  tech
support.

VGER Control BBS - 714-371-6482 - 12/24/96/14.4  - Alternate
Media Vision Support
SysOp - Bob Altenberger

The National PC & MIDI Databank - 708-593-8703 - 12/24/96 -
MIDI  files - Sound Card files - Multimedia - SysOp is Duane
Antor

Lighthouse BBS - 207-255-3700 - 12/24/96 - LOTS of .ROL  and
MIDI files

Ultimate BBS - 803-895-5836 - 12/24/96 - .ROL and MIDI files

National MIDI - 708-593-8724 - 12/24/96 - LOTS of MIDI files

If  you  want to add your bbs to this list, please write  or
call the bbs and supply the information. We will be happy to
add it.



Looks like that's it for Pro AudioSpectrum & MPC Digest  for
this  month.  Hope you enjoyed it. If there is anything  you
would  like to see included in future issues don't  hesitate
to write. Until next time... Have a good month!

PS...  If you didn't already notice, there are 3 formats  of
the publication. You will get MUCH better results if you use
one  of these files for printing as I use a lot of different
fonts to make it look better. Here are the formats...

PASWR#X.DOC - Printed in Windows Write format.

PASASC#X.DOC - Printed in straight ASCII format.

PASMMXX.ZIP  -  The  multimedia version available  from  the
support bbs.



                      Subscription Form


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Mail  this  form with $22.00 for floppy or $30.00  for  hard
copy or $40.00 for multimedia version per year to:

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                               Redmond, WA  98053-6520

Thanks  for your subscription and you can access the support
bbs's second node with contributor access at 206-957-1112.