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======================================================= ///// ////// ///// /// //// //// ////// // // // //// //// // // /// //// // // // ///////// ////// /// /// // // // // /// // // // /// // ///// // ///// // / // // // /////// ======================================================= Issue #49 December 1, 1989 = 1989 by Rovac Industries, Inc. ST*ZMagazine - (ZNet Online) Publisher/Editor: Ron Kovacs The Z*Net BBS CompuServe:71777,2140 (201) 968-8148 GEnie: ZMAGAZINE Xx CONTENTS -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- <*> Editors Desk..........................by Ron Kovacs Commentary and Update <*> Comdex Reflections.....................by John Nagy Remarkable Third Party Products <*> Z*Net Newswire..................................... Lynx Shipping, Nintendo and Atari Again!, NeXT.. <*> LH ARC Comparison.....................by Ron Kovacs ARC and LH ARC Compared <*> VIDI-ST Update........................by Ron Kovacs Ctsy GEnie ST*ZMagazine Topic <*> Shareware Survey.....................by Alice Amore New programs reviewed <*> Revolutionary Concepts.............by Donald Thomas Part 8 of a series.. <*> WordPerfect Offer.................................. Special sale offered from Software Spectrum <*> Computer Show Scheduled...................John King Reprint from the Z*Net BBS Xx THE EDITORS DESK ----------------------------------------------------------------------- by Ron Kovacs Along with our regular features, this week we are including a result of tests performed with LHARC and ARC521b. This newest discussion should not be taken seriously at the present time until it has been tested completely. The compaction standards set by the pay services should stay the same. Both compaction styles show be permitted until this new utility has a chance to circulate. The Z*Net BBS has been active this week and we will from time to time reprint messages of interest in this publication. If there is something you would like to circulate, give us a call at (201) 968-8148 today! Next week we will devote a column covering 1989 in review. As we have in previous years, this year we will not suspend regular issues for this feature, and will have 3 or 4 installments. ONLINE UPDATE ------------- * Charles Johnson has released a demo version of Maxifile which is available on CompuServe and GEnie. * BBS Systems to call: Wizards Attic (716) 681-1654 Traveler's Inn (814) 825-9410 Aardvark Inn (813) 425-5113 Chicago Public (312) 890-8513 Pegasus BBS (708) 623-9570 Atari Scene (502) 456-4292 Xx COMDEX REFLECTIONS: Remarkable Third Party Products! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- by John Nagy After the rush and crush of COMDEX, I have had a chance to look over my photographs, notes, and handouts. In doing so, several Atari related items emerge that deserve more attention than they received in the busy and already lengthy first reports. IBP: This company from Germany offers products for Medicine Technics and Industrial Electronics. They have found the Atari MEGA to offer power, memory capacity, good graphic display, and ease of programming... but the cabinet of the MEGA does not lend itself to industrial settings. Enter the "190ST", not named for a small memory, but instead for its 19" mounting rack orientation. IBP takes a MEGA 2 and disassembles it, re-packaging the entire works into a box no larger than a hard drive! Other configurations include a portable (looking like a smaller version of an older COMPAQ) and a built-in 19" system resembling a TV station monitor. A flyer last year gave insight to what they do with the leftover MEGA parts... IBP offered them repackaged as hard drive units! What is it about? Monitoring industrial equipment doesn't seem like it should be something needing a computer... until you start to think about a large-scale application with temperatures, water levels, RPMs, voltages, and more, all needing attention... on who knows how many workstations. Sure, you could have a wall of meters, but a graphic representation of averages, extremes, flows, and conditions can't be beat. The Atari system is ideal for these needs. IBP creates custom solutions for industry. IBP Elektronic GmbH, Lilienthalstrasse 13, D-3000 Hannover 1, or phone (049) 511/630963. LASERPRO: Speaking of re-packaging, the LaserPro 5287 Laser Printer looks mighty familiar... it is the same unit as the Atari SLM804, but set up for PC users. Identical except for interface, the two units can exchange parts and supplies. Office Automation Systems (Sometimes called OASYS) offers the LaserPro in models from 1.5 to 4 meg of RAM... one wonders if the interface can be bought separately to re-fit an Atari unit for IBMland... Office Automation Systems, 9940 Barnes Canyon Road, San Diego, CA 92121, (619) 452-9400. WORDFLAIR: You have heard about WordFlair for about a year now... but it is at last available, and at a special introductory price. Conceived with the idea that most home users don't begin to use the full potential of high-end desktop publishing, but find it desirable to have the layout versatility that they offer, WordFlair combines the standard powers of a word processor with the layout and graphic powers of a DTP system. Although it lacks some features (like a built in spell checker), WordFlair has "the critical 20 percent" of the capacities of both WP and DTP. Designer Lauren Flanegann-Sellers says that this 20% is all most users ever master on several separate and often more costly packages... and it is here in a seamless and easy to use program. It is now shipping, and although WordFlair has a suggested list price of $99.95, orders taken before January 31, 1990 will get a special price of only $79.95. That's less than most good word processors alone! Blue Chip International, Dept CX1189, 501 Second Street, Suite 414, San Francisco, CA 94107. ABACUS Instant German Word Finder and C-A-T-S: Although these programs run on a PC (or a PC emulating Atari!), the German Word Finder and CATS are of particular interest to the Atari market. As more and more fine German Atari products are imported, translation of documentation, command lists, and whatever, is what takes the most time and effort, delaying US releases. The Instant German Word Finder is a PC equivalent to a desk accessory, and will pop up a display from an intelligent dictionary anytime you need a single German word defined. It will recognize 35,000 German words, and more can be added. If words alone aren't enough, how about a complete automated translation program? CATS will input any German text file and output an English text file. This won't be a word-for-word literal translation either, CATS can intelligently determine context and parts of speech, to result in a truly usable English translation. Some editing will be required to make the translation more friendly (the example includes "you need bother with no word processor" in part of the output... stiff at best!). The Word Finder is $195 and is available now, and CATS is a hefty $2500, requires 4 meg of hard drive space, and will be ready in March. For the PC, remember. Abacus, 5370 52nd Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, (616) 698-0330. FLEETSTREET PUBLISHER V3: Another product we have been hearing about for a LONG time, Michtron expects it to be out in January. George Miller is truly bullish on this product, and his demo makes it look quite attractive. In V3 are finally the things that can make FleetStreet a competitor with PageStream and Calamus. The most outstanding item may be the internal use of UltraScript fonts. V3 will use Ultrascript definitions for both screen and printer fonts, making the display and output just about as clean and accurate as inhumanly possible... even to dot matrix printers. Higher resolution printers will benefit even more. Another feature allows far more GEM METAFILE manipulation and disassembly than I have seen elsewhere. The "smart" dictionary (120,000 words) is ideal for those of us who can't look up what we can't spell in the first place! A hefty $399.95, V3 will likely be discounted to older version owners who want to upgrade. I'm looking forward to seeing more... Michtron, 576 S. Telegraph, Pontiac, MI 48053, (313) 334-3553. Softaware' INFORMER II: Can a relational database with unique screen and printer graphic presentations really sell for $50??? YES, if you make your move before January 1. The Informer II has 4-table relation power, can import and use Degas and other graphics, and even build up into a custom application. The all-GEM operation is easy, if somewhat intimidating to a novice. Still, the use of INFORMER II is childs play next to an SQL relational database that offers similar (if more versatile) power. Why graphics? Sometimes (often, even) you may have pictures that relate to your data... like a digitized picture of a house listed in a Real Estate application... or a background for a certificate making application... or... You get the idea. A steal at $50, but wait, there's more: The FAREWARE program allows the user to collect commissions for copies of Informer II that are sold via word-of-mouth. This plan may help reduce piracy as well. Demos, Technical support plans, and more are also available. SOFT-AWARE, 334 "B" North Euclid Ave, Upland, CA 91786, (714) 982-8409. Multitasking ST: Perhaps the most intriguing item at Atari's COMDEX was not even shown. Scheduled for display and demonstration at the Wednesday evening Developer's social, a true MULTI TASK system for the ST and TT never got on-screen. According to Charles Cherry and others at the show, this system will give the Atari much the same power under GEM that the Amiga has, to be able to switch between active, running programs. Memory management is not via "partitions", and processes continue even while the program is not "in front". Details remain sketchy, but it appears that the system will be simple, using an AUTO program to patch to TOS. The multitasking system may ar may not be related to the ones already specially designed by several music/MIDI software companies who need the multiple processing power as a daily function (C-LAB, Dr. T's, and Thinkware...). You can be sure we will tell you more about this breakthrough when we can get details! Xx ZNET NEWSWIRE ----------------------------------------------------------------------- LYNX IS SHIPPING Lynx, the portable color game system that took the home entertainment industry by storm, is now in retail and department stores in time for the holidays, Sam Tramiel, Atari Corp. president announced last week. The one-pound hand-held video game system, which has been called the most innovative consumer electronics product since the introduction of the Sony Walkman, provides players with the full-color graphics, fast action and sound effects that were previously available only in arcade games. The Lynx comes with an eight-way controller and two sets of fire buttons. Three option buttons accommodate up to five different functions. The system also includes volume, brightness and contrast controls, as well as jacks for headphones and a Lynx port. Users may flip the screen 180 degrees for right and left handed play. With linkable game cartridges and the ComLynx() cable, up to eight systems can be connected for multi-player or team challenges. The one-pound portable system operates on six "AA" batteries and includes California Games (four action-packed games on a single cartridge), a ComLynx cable for multiuser play and an AC adapter. Four additional game cartridges are currently available for the Lynx, including Blue Lightning, The Gates of Zendocon, Electrocop and Chip's Challenge. Numerous software developers are licensing game titles for the Lynx and Atari expects that new games will be available for the system by early next year. The Atari Lynx has a suggested retail price of $179.99. Games are sold separately and have suggested list prices ranging from $34.99 to $39.99. BRODIE SPEAKS Bob Brodie, Atari's User Group Coordinator will be speaking to the PAC User Group in Oregon early this month. Bob has also asked User Groups to re-register by calling his office at (408) 745-2052. If your user group is registered with Atari, please give Bob a call and check your status! PC-DITTO II UPDATE Bill Teal of Avant-Gard left a message on the services this week stating the reasons for delay of the IBM emulator PC-Ditto II. Seems most problems with their manufacturer have been cleared up and product should be arriving soon! Stay tuned for details! CALAMUS UPDATE Outline Art for Calamus from ISD is completed and a demo with the save feature removed is available on the services. When the manual is completed it will be made commercially available. COMPUGRAPHIC INTERFACE According to messages in the GEnie ST Atari Corp Online, (DeskSet Topic), the second generation of DeskSet is aimed at the professional typesetting market. G.O. Graphics is now shipping the typesetter driver interface card (CG8400), which is necessary to connect your MEGA 4 to a Compugraphic 8000 series typesetter. Suggested retail: $1995. Contact: G.O. Graphics, 18 Ray Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803, (617) 229-8900 or (800) 237-5588. SOFTWARE SALES UP The SPA (Software Publishers Association) recently announced that software sales hit $780 million in the third quarter, up 10 percent from last year. SPA's figures are based on analysis of monthly sales information submitted to an accounting firm by 141 member software publishers. Some findings: * Spreadsheets sales were up 39 percent. * Software for the Apple Macintosh increased 19 percent. * MSDOS sales were up 11 percent. * MS-DOS recreation software up 9.1 percent. SYSOPS REJECT OFFER An organization of Texas sysops, the Coalition of Sysops and Users Against Rate Discrimination (COSUARD), has rejected a Southwestern Bell Telephone Company (SWBT) compromise offer that would have allowed the company to charge business telephone rates to a targeted group of BBS operators. With this rejected proposal by COSUARD, it appears that SWBT will attempt to impose business rates on all telephone lines with BBS modems attached. Customers who wish to comment on the Southwestern Bell Telephone proposal to increase BBS telephone rates may contact the Public Utilities Commission of Texas, Mr. Coyle C.Kelley, Exec. Director, 7800 Shoal Creek Blvd, Suite 450N, Austin, Texas 78757. Additional information is available from the COSUARD BBS at (713) 997- 1301. NINTENDO FILES ADDITIONAL SUIT AGAINST ATARI U.S. District Court Judge Fern Smith of San Francisco, allowed Nintendo to file an additional copyright and patent infringement claims against Atari Games Inc. this week. The amended complaint alleges that Atari Games fraudulently and unlawfully obtained a copyrighted Nintendo computer program from the U.S. Copyright Office and used it in the manufacture of cartridges compatible for play on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The computer program is incorporated in special microprocessors which form part of a "security system" contained in Nintendo's hardware and software. The security system prevents unauthorized and counterfeit software from being played on the system. The suit claims that Atari also attempted to cover up its unlawful use of Nintendo's computer program. Nintendo said it learned of Atari's illegal actions during pre-trial discovery proceedings in a lawsuit brought against Atari Games in January 1989 for infringement of Nintendo's security system patent. (U.S. Patent No. 4,799,635) Nintendo said it will seek injunctive relief preventing Atari Games, or anyone acting in concert with it, from manufacturing or selling cartridges for play on the NES that contain microprocessors which infringe Nintendo's copyrighted computer program. ATARI REFUTES NINTENDO'S COMPLAINT The following is a statement issued by Dennis Wood, senior vice president, Atari Games, regarding Nintendo's amended complaint vs. Atari Games and Tengen: Nintendo's expansion of its complaint against Atari Games Corp. and its subsidiary, Tengen Inc., is a legal tactic designed to further obscure the real issue between Nintendo and Atari Games -- whether the lock-out system incorporated into the Nintendo Entertainment System, which Nintendo admits is designed to preclude competition, constitutes a violation of U.S. antitrust laws. Atari Games and other law-abiding companies routinely evaluate copyrights and patents in the course of developing new products in order to ensure that their new products do not infringe the intellectual property rights of any entity. In the process of developing its Nintendo-compatible cartridges, Atari Games learned that a copy of the computer code for the Nintendo lock-out system was on file in the U.S. Copyright office, and thus was publicly available. Now that a non-infringing competitive product exists on the marketplace, Nintendo -- apparently embarrassed that it made its computer code public -- is scrambling to cover up its own ineptness. The fact that Nintendo has waited for almost a year to allege these claims which is typical of the delay tactics Nintendo has employed in every aspect of this action, underscores the weakness, not the strength, of its complaint. Atari Games is confident that Nintendo's claims will be found to be wholly without merit. NEXT COMPUTER UPDATE Steve Jobs, president of NeXT computer expects to ship "tens of thousands" of NeXT workstations in 1990. Jobs said that one-half of the Fortune 100 top US companies have been testing the new machines. In addition, he said a half-dozen new applications programs are expected by next spring at $600 to $700 each. The computers are unlikely to be sold for under $10,000. Some units without optical disk drives have been sold for $7,995. BRANCH ALWAYS SOFTWARE Branch Always Software is ready for business! ============================================= December 1, 1989 Branch Always Software is proud to announce its entry into the Atari ST retail software market. Branch Always Software was founded by two programmers you already know well, Ignac A. Kolenko and Darek Mihocka, authors of several popular public domain and shareware programs. The goal of our company is to provide all ST users with low cost quality software that runs on all Atari ST systems, whether for 512K machines or 4 meg machines. We write software for the exact same reason you bought an Atari ST in the first place: to provide power without a large price. Up until now, our software was available only as shareware. But we understand that not all users have access to bulletin boards and that some users want the convenience of being able to buy software through a dealer. Our first product, Quick ST, is now shipping to Atari dealers throughout the United States and Canada, which includes 3 programs for a price of only $19.95 US. The package contains Quick ST version 1.7, Quick Index, and Quick View, as well as some of our previously released public domain software. Quick ST increases the speed at which the ST performs screen operations, such as printing text to the screen, scrolling the screen, drawing windows and dialog boxes, and reducing the overhead of other graphics operations. The result is that your Atari ST appears to run faster and smoother. Quick ST runs from the AUTO folder and so does not use any desk accessory slots or require interaction with the user. It is completely transparent to other applications, and uses only 10K to 20K of memory. Quick Index is the de facto benchmarking software for the Atari ST/STE /TT line of computers. Its 11 different tests show the relative speed of your system in such categories as CPU speed, disk drive speed, and TOS efficiency. It is already widely used to test various hardware upgrades, such as accelerator boards, memory caches, and hard disks. Quick View is a very useful text file reader. It quickly displays text files, forwards and backwards, and is very handy for reading large README files, online magazines, and even source code. It can run from the desktop, from a command line shell, or as an installed application. Simply double click on a text file and Quick View automatically loads. If your dealer does not yet carry Quick ST, ask him to order it from distributors such as Horizon Computers or Pacific Software Supply. In Canada, or overseas, they can order directly from Branch Always Software. We also offer discounts to user groups. Write or call for details. We at Branch Always Software know that the best ways to attract users to our products are to keep prices low and have our products available when advertised. This means that we won't waste our money on fancy packaging or big glossy magazine ads. But it does mean that you can go to your dealer and buy Quick ST now, not next quarter or next summer. We will not make any vaporware announcements, so when we are actually shipping our next product, we will announce it, and product demos will also be uploaded to Compuserve and GEnie. In the meantime, we'd like to wish everyone a safe an happy holiday season, and we hope to see everybody back in 1990. If you are a software developer and would like to market your software through us, give us a call. We are looking for other quality low cost software to bring to Atari users. Branch Always Software PO Box 2624, Station B Kitchener, Ontario N2H 6N2 Canada phone: (519)-570-4340 FAX: available in January Compuserve: 73657,2714 GEnie: DAREKM Usenet: uunet!watcgl!electro!brasoft!ignac or uunet!watcgl!electro!brasoft!darek Quick ST 1.7: $19.95 Xx ARC PROGRAM COMPARISON ----------------------------------------------------------------------- by Ron Kovacs With the recent discussions and support for LHARC on the pay services, we decided to take a look at the actual figures of LHARC compared to the latest version of ARC521. I used ARC521b and LHARC 0.51b and Charles Johnson's Arc Shell Version 2.0. With ARC521b, I did two tests, one using crunch and another with squash. With LHARC 0.51b, you are permitted the one type and the .LZH extender. I selected nine file types and performed the same tests on both archivers with the same files. The chart below will list the actual compaction size, actual file size, and the number of original bytes before the file was compacted. ARC Version Original Size Compacted Size File Size ===================================================================== ST*ZMAG48.ASC (Text File) ========================= ARC521B Crunch 58,262 30,010 30,010 ARC521B Squash 58,262 29,322 29,322 LHARC 0.51b 58,262 25,634 25,728 PICSW7.PRG (PicSwitch Version 7.0) =================================== ARC521B Crunch 40,638 25,180 25,211 ARC521B Squash 40,638 25,782 25,813 LHARC 0.51b 40,638 18,081 18,116 5 GIF Pictures ============== ARC521B Crunch 34,944 34,822 34,969 ARC521B Squash 34,944 34,944 35,091 * LHARC 0.51b 34,944 35,215 35,389 LHARC Details ------------- File #1 11,776 11,884 File #2 2,304 2,359 File #3 9,472 9,567 File #4 8,832 8,822 File #5 2,560 2,583 6 Degas Pictures ================ ARC521B Crunch 132,715 112,105 117,007 ARC521B Squash 132,715 112,106 112,282 LHARC 0.51b 132,715 99,100 99,315 1 SEQ File ========== ARC521B Crunch 284,642 243,911 243,942 ARC521B Squash 284,642 244,921 244,952 LHARC 0.51b 284,642 242,378 242,415 5 GEM Files =========== ARC521B Crunch 63,952 41,973 42,120 ARC521B Squash 63,952 42,674 42,821 LHARC 0.51b 63,952 22,841 23,016 3 Spectrum .SPC Pictures ======================== ARC521B Crunch 90,994 79,660 79,749 ARC521B Squash 90,944 79,660 79,749 LHARC 0.51b 90,944 74,957 75,061 3 IMG Files =========== ARC521B Crunch 147,541 115,848 115,937 ARC521B Squash 147,541 115,930 116,019 LHARC 0.51b 147,541 107,370 107,477 5 GFA Basic Files ================= ARC521B Crunch 57,022 32,093 32,109 ARC521B Squash 57,022 31,730 31,877 LHARC 0.51b 57,022 20,927 21,094 The total before compaction byte counts were the totals of the files together. More then one specific file was selected on purpose to bring the byte count to over 50,000K. COMMENTS ======== From the above list you can see that LHARC is excellent in some cases, you can see that GIF is not worthy of a download if LHARCed. Text files alone seem to be 5k more no matter what the size when compared to ARC521b. As for a NEW standard, I feel it would be a mistake at the present time. There are many people in a regular routine and changing to another arc format will only cause confusion until the change is permanent. An example would be the simple downloading, how many time has it happened to you already after a download to load ARC and get an error, then download the file again and see that it was actually LHARCed! More download time when it was meant to save time and money. Since LH ARC is not a standard on all computers right now, I feel it should be considered an alternative, allowed by the services, but not locked into as the only version. Atari 8-bit owners cannot un-arc the version at the present time. As for ST*ZMAG, we are not going to be switching exclusively to one arced format, we will provide both if acceptable. If one file will be allowed, then it will be ARC. We will update this test with more file types in the future, if an updates version is released, we will take another look. Xx VIDI-ST UPDATE ----------------------------------------------------------------------- by Ron Kovacs The VIDI-ST Real Time Frame Grabber has been updated along with warranty cards not included in some of the purchased units. The following messages, captured from our VIDI Topic on GEnie contains the latest info. You can also participate by entering the ST RT Bulletin Board and going to Category 31, Topic 11. WARRANTY CARD UPDATE Message 142 Fri Nov 17, 1989 by JEFF.W [RTC Sysop] at 01:57 EST Posted for J.GILMOREJO: ----------------------- I was asked by Computer Games Services to request you to post a message concerning VIDI ST digitizer. It has come to the attention of Computer Games Services that some VIDI ST real time frame grabbers were sent without the warranty registration card. If anyone has purchased this product and did not receive the warranty card please contact: Computer Games Services 1839 E. Chapman Ave. Orange,Ca. 92667 (714) 639-8189 Since a software update is now nearing completion it would be a shame not to be a registered user. By contacting the address or phone # above and showing proof of purchase you will be sent the registration card immediately. VIDI-ST PD/SHAREWARE PROGRAMS UPDATE Message 145 Sat Nov 18, 1989 by J.HARRIS32 at 20:30 PST T.FAUST, I wrote the Vidi 2 through Vidi 4 programs, but I am just a user like you are. I needed to rewrite the software for my own use, and uploaded the programs so others might be able to make use of them. Vidi 4 satisfied most of the important goals I had, and no new ones have arised yet. There were three things in progress, but each one hit its own unique snag. 1. Full color pictures using Red, Green, and Blue camera filters. I actually implemented this one in Vidi 4, and asked for response from the users on whether it worked, but received no replies at all. Since I was not able to get that process to work well with Computer Eyes either, I suspect I do not have good filters. This is why I needed outside help in getting the RGB mode tested. I would still appreciate any advice on where I can get the right filters for my own use. 2. More than 16 shading levels. The 'Dither' mode in Vidi 4 was an attempt at more shading based on an assumption that the 'in-between' shade values would fluctuate between the two closest shades. It doesn't work very well due to the patterns in the fluctuations. The better idea would be to take samples at different brightness levels, and average the images together. I wanted to get some feedback from ROMBO concerning that approach, and specifically how the digital brightness control effects the picture, but I never got around to it. My fault on this one, but it was partially due to being distracted by #3 below. 3. I wanted to save full animation segments in a compressed form, and have a player that could do the decompression while it was being viewed. This would allow longer animation files that wouldn't take up near as much memory. (Or as long to download). While researching techniques, I unfortunately got sidetracked to a couple of unrelated projects. I hope to be able to get back to these problems in the future, but I first have to finish some of those other kinds of projects. You know, the kind that can make money. Anyway, that is the status of Vidi 5. It appears that the real Vidi people are about to release an update to their original Vidi software. I am looking forward to seeing what they have added, and perhaps I will get some more ideas. John Harris NEW VIDI SOFTWARE RELEASED Message 146 Sun Nov 19, 1989 by J.GILMOREJO at 18:36 PST Terry, If you bought your VIDI anywhere in the US you should be registered through Computer Games Services. If you aren't call the number in my last post and get on the US list. I'm sure being registered in Scotland is no problem but you may get quicker service and updates being registered through CGS. BTW...I just got a chance to play with software version 1.28. No big changes but you can save a whole sequence, although I don't recommend this unless you use a hard drive (it saves all free frames to disk with a 3 digit number in the filename and I've got a mega 4). I'm trying to get permission to upload the new program. I'll let you know what happens. Computer Games Services now has software upgrade 1.28 available to all registered owners of VIDI ST. This upgrade includes sequence saving and Epson printer support from within the VIDI program. The upgrade will cost $12.00 and will shipped directly from CGS. You may call and use your credit card or send check or money order. John Xx SHAREWARE SURVEY """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Alice Amore's CARE enough to . . . SHAREWARE SURVEY S U P P O R T S H A R E W A R E """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Since most shareware is presented to the user in archived format, a new archiving format is guaranteed to generate a great deal of interest. At least one online service (GEnie) has officially pronounced LHARC a viable archiving format, and is now accepting uploads in either .ARC or .LZH format. The jury is still out on whether or not ARC.TTP will be scrapped, so, at least for the time being, ARC and LHARC will have to coexist side by side. Each of the formats has its fans and its detractors, but let's not get into an ARC-LHARC debate here. Suffice it to say that no matter which format you prefer, there's no doubt that you'll need LHARC in the future (if not already), so be sure to download it. And while you're at it, you might be interested in downloading CRSRFIX.ARC, a program which will remove any stray cursors left on the desktop after LHARC has been exited. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Filename: CARDFILE.ARC Program Name: CardFile Program Type: Application Version: 1.1 Programmer: Tyson Gill Registration Fee: $15. CARDFILE will run either as a desk accessory or a program file, although most users will find it far more useful as a desk accessory. This program will allow you to keep a database on "index cards". Each card contains field spaces for name, address, first phone listing, second phone listing, job title, company name, spouse, children, plus two lines for notes. At the top of the card is a "group title" line which allows you to search for groups of cards quickly. Your CARDFILE program settings, including a default data file, can be saved to disk and will load automatically the next time the program is used. Most functions can be accessed using keyboard equivalents. Cards are automatically alphabetized when they enter the database. Although CARDFILE doesn't do sorting per se, it does have an adequate "filtering" option which is case-insensitive and will match data even if it is within a field. Also, CARDFILE will let you use your data to do the following: + Select a phone number from the database and automatically dial it via your Hayes-compatible modem. + Address envelopes or print mailing labels. + Print out a phone list or an address book. + Do a mail merge by exporting your data to most mail merge utilities (including 1st Word Mail Merge). + Send cards from CARDFILE into various other programs (including Laser C, Pagestream, WordWriter, Calamus, WordUp, etc.). CARDFILE requires under 50K of program memory and can store up to 2500 cards per file. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Filename: VERSYS.ARC Program Name: VerSys Program Type: Utility Version: Not Specified Programmer: Tyson Gill Registration Fee: $15. Primarily, VERSYS will enable programmers to keep full or incremental backups of program source (and related) files in any language. But it is useful also to anyone who needs to maintain a sequential backup of files. In tracking down errors/bugs/rewrites, a sequential backup will help you determine where and when the trouble started, and allow you to reclaim bug-free program modules saved prior to their being corrupted by other modules. Typical backup methods simply wipe out everything. VERSYS allows up to nine file paths to be specified. Files for backup can be indicated by file extension, and wildcards '*' and '?' are permitted. You can backup all files, or backup only new (changed) files. Crucial to VERSYS's functioning properly is an accurate clock. The date and time (year, month, day, hour, minute) are used as a folder name when data is backed up. The last character in the folder name is either 'A' or 'C' indicating that the data is from either [C]hanged files or [A]ll files. VERSYS uses only 40K of memory. It can be installed as a tool under the Megamax Laser C Shell, if desired. Files can be up to 300K long, and 400 files can be backed up at once. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Filename: VERSDIRC.LZH Program Name: VersaDirectory Program Type: Utility Version: Not Specified Programmer: David W. Binnion Registration Fee: Donation VERSDIRC is a versatile directory dumper. It will print to the screen, to the printer, or to a disk file. What makes VERSDIRC different from other such programs is that it lets the user select specific directories to dump. (With the typical directory dumper, you will get a list of all files in all directories.) If a printer or screen dump is selected, the file's name, size, creation date, and time are printed, and two files are printed per line. If the list goes to a disk file, only the name and size are listed and one file is printed per line. (Please note that this file is available in .LZH format.) """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" Also noteworthy: * BSTAT233.ARC - A sophisticated and powerful graphing and statistical analysis program. GDOS support. Reads LOTUS files. Requires 1 meg and double-sided drive. By Robert Wilson. * TDDANCE.ARC - Another ST*ZMAGAZINE VIDI-ST animation from John Nagy. This one is the "Touch-down Dance" from the Sports Illustrated commercial. Requires 1 meg of memory and ANIMATE4. Xx REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPTS PART 8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MAKING A POINT CLEAR by Donald A. Thomas, Jr. (c)1989 ARTISAN SOFTWARE (This is PART 8 of a series of articles published and distributed by Artisan Software. Please feel free to copy and distribute this article as you please provided you include all unedited text. Also feel free to upload to boards and communication services. These articles are designed to entice you to take constructive action. Write to involved parties and tell them how YOU feel about the subject.) The most prominent reason consumers do not consider Atari computers as an alternative computer purchase is due to wrongly acquired notions or having no notion at all. Either Atari only makes video games OR people perceive it is a company which disappeared just after the fever Pac-Man bestowed upon a great number of us. I am often approached by potential new computer buyers who know my avid interest in computers. They want to know what's best for them. A percentage of them listen intently, but few actually seek out an Atari dealer by my recommendation. I might be one of 10 they ask for advice and the only one which proposes the advantages of Atari computers. The other nine say I am wrong. I find this interesting since the other nine usually have never owned an Atari computer to qualify as an adviser. As infrequent as we may wash windows or clean our bathroom mirrors, I venture to bet that all of us have a glass cleaner in mind to accomplish such a task. What is it to you?... Glass Plus?... Windex?... Possibly just some house brand?... How much do these products cost?... $1.00?... $2.00?... More?... If you ask ten people what glass cleaner they use, what answers do you think you would get? My bet is some brand name blue liquid formula well known to all of us. Well, you know what, I do not recommend any of them. Right after reading this article, get yourself a rag, your household glass cleaner and a newspaper. Go to your bathroom vanity mirror. Squirt your glass cleaner on it and make every attempt to wipe it down with your rag so that you have no water spots, soapy smears, streaks, or traces of lint from your rag. If you have 100% success, congratulations you have purchased an exceptional product or you own a mirror made of a superior material. Now, take a page from your newspaper and wipe down your dry mirror. Put a tad of elbow grease in to it, but not much. If your arm hurts, you are putting too much into the project. I believe you will discover that your newspaper will do a superior job. A newspaper costs substantially less than one eighth the cost of brand name glass cleaner, but yet people spend millions of dollars on them every year. What does this mean? This means that just because nine out of ten people do not know that a lower priced newspaper can do a better job than glass cleaner, that newspapers do not work on cleaning glass. This means that just because nine out of ten people do not know that a lower priced Atari computer can do a better job than other brands for the money, that Atari computers do not qualify as a good investment. Next time someone asks you why nine of their other friends suggest other computers, get out a newspaper and make your point clear. For information on how you can "JOIN THE REVOLUTION" and actively support the exposure of Atari computers, send $6.00 to ARTISAN SOFTWARE, P.O. Box 849, Manteca, California 95336. An ST/MEGA compatible disk- based HANDBOOK will be rushed to you by return mail. The HANDBOOK is also available from ST INFORMER, CURRENT NOTES, MEGABYTE COMPUTERS (Hurst, Texas) and as a download from COMPUSERVE, GENIE and DELPHI. Xx WORDPERFECT OFFER ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Ace's High BBS Message: 149 (#13380) Title: WordPerfect Offer! (EDITED!) Base: Aces High General Author: Comic-Kid To: All Posted: At 12:21:16 am On 11/30/89 Replies: 0 Do you want a copy of the BEST Word Processors in the WORLD?? with YEARS of background, and unbeatable support??? NOW, by special arrangement Software Spectrum (MATAWAN ONLY!!!!) offers FOR A LIMITED TIME!!!... WordPerfect for the Atari ST version 4.1 7/31/89 release! for... Not the $249.95 list.. Not our $225.95 regular price Now you can get WordPerfect for the Atari ST for a low.. >>>>>$149.95<<<<< Order your copy NOW!!! this offer expires Dec. 15th in time for a Christmas Shipment. Some restrictions apply, prices do not include Sales Tax (NJ 6%). Orders will be taken NOW through Dec. 15th (at exactly 4:00pm), $100.00 deposit (check, cash, or credit card) is required (or payment in full), balance must be paid on arrival. This is the moment you have been waiting for...WordPerfect for the Atari ST at a LOW price...TAKE IT!!!!! Ordering by MAIL?? Send Check or Money Order made payable to: >Software Spectrum< ST WordPerfect Offer 267 Main St. Matawan, NJ 07747 NJ residents add 6% State Sales Tax, all MAIL orders MUST include $4.25 shipping (United States) $5.50 (Canada). Monies must be in Unites States funds. >>PLEASE POST THIS MESSAGE ON ANY ATARI ST BBS FOR ANY PARTY WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN THIS OFFER, ORDERS WILL BE PLACED EVERY DAY IF TWO (2) OR MORE WordPerfect COPIES ARE ORDERED THROUGH THE STORE! WE HAVE 150 COPIES RESERVED FOR US, SO THERE IS PLENTY TO GO AROUND!!! [A]gain [R]eply <C>ont [Q]uit: Xx COMPUTER SHOW SCHEDULED ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Z*Net BBS Message : 252 [Open] 12-01-89 2:44pm From : John King To : All Subject : Computer Show & P.C. Flea-mkt Sig(s) : 1 (General) Saturday, December 16, 1989: Computer Show at William Paterson College, at their RECREATION CENTER. (Wayne, New Jersey) The directions, according to the postcard I received: Take Rte. 46 or I-80 to Rte. 23 North - 3 miles right at Ratzer Road - 5 miles ahead on Ratzer Road. College entrance is on Left - Park in Lot #5 for _Free Shuttle Bus_. Admission: Adults $8, Children (5-12) $5. ---------------------- You can get good deals on MS-DOS hardware & software, floppy disks, printers, ribbons, books, etc. At the last show I bought two dBASE III books by QUE publishers, regular price $20 and $23, for only $7 each!! I will be reading these for use with dBMAN for my ST, of course.... ---------------------- Next show by these people: Saturday, January 13 at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hackensack, NJ at their Rothman Center. 10am to 4pm. -JK ST*ZMagazine Issue #49 December 1, 1989 ====================================================== = 1989 by Rovac Industries, Inc. The Z*Net BBS CompuServe:71777,2140 (201) 968-8148 GEnie: ZMAGAZINE