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1989-04-05
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12KB
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316 lines
/¯\ /¯¯|¯¯\ | | |¯¯¯¯\ |¯¯¯¯\
\ | | | | | THE
\ | | | |--- |---
\ | | | | | IMPORTANT
/ | | | | |
\__/ _|_ \_____/ _|_ _|_ BITS
& NONSENSE No 3
_______________
A BETTING MAN
In issue 3 of ST Review, a reader, Tom Nicholson writes in and says that
he thinks that, for several (obvious) reasons, STR won't make it past
issue 12. The editor, Garth Sumpter (ex Sinclair User ed) obviously
disagrees and says Tom should donate 50 to RNLI if they actually make
it to No. 12, and if they don't, Garth will donate 50 to RNLI. I fear
that I know the outcome of this little 'bet'. So, get your cheque-book
ready Garth...
To be fair, EMAP should be congratulated for producing a new ST magazine
when so many software houses seem to be deserting it. STR is not beyond
salvage though, if they get rid of one cover disk, have a better
selection of software on the other and have some more interesting
articles in the mag. ST User are promising a round-up of 24 bit graphic
boards in September - this is the kind of article we need, not yet more
reviews of disk drives or printers that have done the rounds a dozen
times before.
_________________
A MEAGRE MACHINE
I have just had the misfortune of owning an Amiga, on loan from a
friend. After trying it out, I do begin to question his judgement. I
think I know how it got it's reputation for being a games-machine - it's
so confusing and difficult to get on with ('friendly' workbench, slow
disks, guru meditations), that owners give up and play games because
that's all they can get to work. I wonder how many ST owners who change
machines end up regretting it?
__________________
ONE SIDED ADVICE
ST Format have always advised single-sided drive owners to upgrade with
polite phrases like "Now is a good time to upgrade..." or "You should
upgrade..." or "You'll have access to better software...". But now their
tone has changed somewhat, as this snippet from a recent issue shows:
"If you're still struggling with a single-sided drive, for god's sake
upgrade." - Well, It's certainly blunt and to the point.
___________________________________
WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD STEN?
Dave Cowling gave the guys at ST User a call the other day to ask if they
would give us a plug. He was speaking to the editor, John Butters, who
said unfortunately he couldn't do this as they viewed us as competion.
You are joking? asked Dave.
Nope! replied John.
While they might argue that another ST mag, no matter what size, may in
fact take some of their readership away. What can their reasons be for
advertising the Amiga?
Or is *MONEY* the only one?
Later... It would seem that ST User do in fact give plugs to user groups.
The August issue allowed Kenny Jarman to give his group a mention. What's
the difference? Are there grades of competition or doesn't the editor
check out what his people are doing before publication?
Hang on a mo! The editor also handles the letters page.
_____________________________
'ONEST GUV, ITS JUST A TYPO
It would appear that a July edition from the Floormat stable went to
press a little early. Just when the guys were pasting it all together
and had only a little box to fill in the news section someone took the
lot and printed it!
The trouble?
A little reinder to themselves to 'Stick some shit in here!'
______________
WRONG NUMBER
It seems that these 0898 numbers have spread to the computer world.
Adverts in the monthly mags offer complete solutions to games like Magic
Pockets etc. How much would that cost at 36p per minute? ST Format
recently printed the complete solution to Magic Pockets - spread over 5
pages and 3 different issues!
_________________________________________________________________
THE LAW IS A ASS (I'M SURE THERE SHOULD BE AN 'R' IN THERE TOO)
I've been reading that the UK has some legislation that covers attacks by
viruses. A criminal offence is commited each time a virus replicates.
The legislation - 'The Computer Misuse Act 1990' - was introduced as a
private members bill by Michael Colvin MP as a result of the 'Aids' virus
scare which hit the PC community in 1989.
This was when discs were sent out to thousands of businesses with, suppos-
edly, information about Aids. If the recipients read the information the
program copied a virus onto their hard drives.
Later they received letters asking for sums of money before a certain date
in exchange for a cure. If they didn't pay they would have their hard disc
trashed with loss of data.
As it happened the virus was fairly clumsy and there was enough time for
the comics to carry instructions on how to remove the virus. Some even
included a 'cure' on their cover discs.
Anyway, the bill took so long to pass through the legislative process it
was considereably weakened. To gain a conviction against the virus writer,
the prosecution must now prove he intended to damage the computer system
that was infected.
___________________
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DI
No not that Di, but flight sim experts Digital Integration. The Surrey
based company are now 10 years old and probably one of the few original
software houses left. They started from the proverbial back bedroom
producing ZX81 games then progressed to the Spectrum with such games as
Night Gunner and Tomohawk, the helicopter simulator. Now they are
setting up a European distribution network.
______________
PC versus ST
A while back, some software houses said they were abandoning the ST
because of falling software sales and were turning instead to the PC,
because this had apparently taken over as the best selling 16 bit format
after the Amiga.
Well, either they were lying or the sudden 'surge' in PC software sales
has disappeared. Gallup figures show that throughout May average total
software sales per week were Amiga 22.4%, ST 6.8% and PC 1.8% with the
Spectrum at 10.3%! For full price software Amiga 57.1%, ST 11.5% and PC
on 5.1%. Software houses continue to produce a lot of new releases for
Amiga and PC formats only, it would surely be better to stick to Amiga
and ST - the above figures show ST software is more popular than PC
equivalents.
__________
SNIPPETS
* Rombo report that a customer has developed a system based around an
Amiga and VIDI video digitiser that sits by a river and counts the
different species of fish swimming up it.
* In ST Review issue 2, one reader had two of his letters printed in the
same section. How lucky can you get!
* A lot of classified ads selling Amigas often mistakenly spell it as
Omega. Omega means "The last one in a series..." - If only it was,
Atari might rest more easily.
* I think the ST programmers at Gremlin must be on something. In Lotus
Esprit Challenge, the Norwich course is depicted as having a backdrop of
tall grey mountains and a pink sky! In East Anglia?!!
* It would appear that a little bit of a tussle is ensuing between some
of the comics at the moment. It is all down to convincing the
retailers and advertisers which is the best way to sell their product.
Here are copies of flyers sent out, decide which one you would go for:
--oooOooo--
(In the blue corner...)
10 FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ATARI ST USER AND THE NEWSTRADE
1
ST User is now sold through newsagents on a firm sale basis, which
means newsagents order precisely the number of copies they know they
can sell
2
Newsagents have been given more than adequate notice of the arrange-
ment, and the numbers they are now ordering are better than our
overall target, which points to enormous faith in this, the UK's
longest-established ST magazine.
3
We guarantee that all copies printed will be sold and reach the
customer. The number of customers reached will NOT fall, while wastage
- which is hated by the trade - is eliminated.
4
We can afford to take this approach because ST user is such a well
established and respected title. Other, newer titles may not enjoy
the same backing from the trade.
5
Independent newsagents selling copies of a title with such high
revenue for themselves will nmot cancel orders.
6
ST User will gain high visibility on the news-stands, as the newsagents
will be keen to sell all their copies.
7
Atari ST Review, from EMAP, is the only ST title pushing vast quantities
of copies which will NOT be sold - creating excessive wastage,and
contributing to the deforestation problem.
8
Readers will continue to buy the product they like. Our brand loyalty
among readers is proved by the fact that we have the highest percentage
of subscribers of any ST or Amiga dedicated magazine
9
Response rates to advertising will NOT fall as sales will not be
affected by the move.
10
Our ABC average sale figure for January to June 1992 is expected to
be 40,000-plus, showing an upward trend, the majority achieved
through WH Smith and Menzies, who do not see a growing magazine as a
risk.
Further information from Jane Conway, Richard Williams or Lisa Bracewell
at Europress Enterprise on 0625 878888
--oooOooo--
(In the red corner....)
TEN FACTS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT FIRM SALE MAGAZINES.
ALL THE INDUSTRY IS FAMILIAR WITH SALE OR RETURN AND HOW THEY RELATE TO
MAGAZINES. HOWEVER THERE MAY SOME FACTS ABOUT FIRM SALE WHICH YOU ARE
LESS FAMILIAR WITH:
1. WHEN A MAGAZINE GOES FIRM SALE, EVERY COPY THAT IS "UNSOLD" IS PAID
FOR BY THE NEWSAGENT.
2. IF EVERY COPY YOU STOCKED WAS COSTING YOU 3.95 PER UNSOLD UNIT,
COMPARED TO AN AVERAGE STOCK COST OF 1.40 WOULD YOU TAKE SUCH RISKS?
3. NO, OF COURSE YOU WOULDN'T! THE HIGH STREET STORES WILL REACT BY
CUTTING ORDERS (RISK) IMMEDIATELY. THIS WILL CUT CIRCULATION AND,
CONSEQUENTLY, CUT THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS YOU REACH.
4. THE INDEPENDENT NEWSAGENTS (MAKING UP 70% OF BRITAIN'S 40,000
NEWSAGENTS) WILL DROP THE TITLE COMPLETELY. ON AVERAGE, NEWSTRADE
HALVES THE DISTRIBUTION OF ANY FIRM SALE TITLE WITHIN TWO MONTHS.
5. ATARI ST REVIEW IS ON SALE OR RETURN.
6. ST FORMAT, ATARI ST USER AND ST ACTION ARE ALL CURRENTLY ON FIRM
SALE.
7. IF YOU WERE A NEWSAGENT, WHICH MAGAZINE WOULD YOU STOCK?
8. SURELY THE ANSWER IS ATARI ST REVIEW?
9. AS THE (FIRM) SALES OF ONE GROUP OF TITLES ARE LIKELY TO BE CUT
OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS ISN'T IT REASONABLE TO ASSUME THAT THE
SALES OF A MAGAZINE ON SALE OR RETURN WILL INCREASE?
10. ATARI ST REVIEW WILL REMAIN ON SALE OR RETURN THEREFORE SELLING
MORE COPIES RESULTING IN EVEN MORE CUSTOMERS FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
For more information call Michelle, Tom or Karen at Emap Images on
071 972 6700
--oooOooo--
________________________________________________________________________
* That's enough Stuff and Nonsense for now, I |
am afraid there will be more in the next issue! |__
| | | | /¯¯\
PS - If you have any stories, computer jokes, | | | | |__/
misprints, etc that you would like to share \__/ \__| \___
with S & N, send them to me, Raymond, at STEN. /
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯