Floppyshop 2/Floppyshop - 2.zip/Floppyshop - 2.iso/diskmags/3565-4.665/dmg-3657/znet9306.txt

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 Z*NET: ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE   Copyright (c)1993, Syndicate Publishing
    Volume 8, Number 6    Issue #490    February 7, 1993    File:93-06

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 ** Publisher/Editor..........................................Ron Kovacs
 ** Writer............................................Michael R. Burkley
 ** GEnie Online Editor........................................Ed Krimen
 ** CompuServe Online Editor............................Michael Mortilla
 ** Contributing Writer.........................................Len Stys
 ** Issue Article Contributor...............................Don Liscombe
 ** AtariNet Coordinator\Telecommunications...................Bill Scull
 ** Contributing Editor...................................Dr. Paul Keith
 ** Z*Net News International Gateway - New Zealand............Jon Clarke
 ** Z*Net News Service\AtariUser Magazine-Publisher\Editor.....John Nagy
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 GEnie..............Z-NET  CompuServe....75300,1642  Delphi.........ZNET
 Internet...status.gen.nz  America Online..ZNET1991  AtariNet..51:1/13.0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------

                                 CONTENTS


         |*| The Editors Desk.........................Ron Kovacs
         |*| Z*Net Newswire.....................................
         |*| Dateline Atari: With Bob Brodie...............GEnie
         |*| Z*Net Calender...........................Ron Kovacs
         |*| Perusing GEnie............................Ed Krimen
         |*| Atari User Groups..........................Len Stys
         |*| Gemulator Revisited....................Don Liscombe
         |*| CompuServe Message Base Changes....................
         |*| The Unabashed Atariophile...........Michael Burkley




 ######  THE EDITORS DESK
 ######  By Ron Kovacs
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------


 This week I want to welcome back Mike Mortilla to the Z*Net Staff.  Mike
 left last year when Z*Net turned into Atari Explorer Online Magazine.
 However, Mike is back and inbetween covering the latest on CompuServe,
 you might be reading a few of his other articles right here in Z*Net.

 Also new to the staff is Len Stys.  Len will be contributing material
 from time to time with commentary.  His commentaty pieces are related to
 Atari and Atari User Groups, however, Z*Net and it's writers are not
 going to be taking a bashing stance towards anyone.  Our goal is to
 provide balance to our articles and news coverage.

 Feedback is also important.  Send your comments along at any time.  Our
 writers need to know what you want.

 I would also like to announce that Z*Net is moving to Sunday release
 effective with this edition.  This change is due to some changes in my
 real paying job, which may have been appearent in the last two releases.
 What this means is that you can start your week off with Z*Net, not end
 it as before.  More changes are on the horizon, so stay tuned!



 ######  Z*NET NEWSWIRE
 ######  Atari News Update
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------


 MULTIWRITER RELEASED
 MultiWriter is a new, non-WYSWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get), word
 processor developed to be fully compatible with ST Writer Elite.
 MultiWriter is fully compatible with all versions of TOS and MultiTOS,
 the new multi-tasking operating system from Atari Corp.  MultiWriter was
 developed because it was clear that ST Writer was not compatible with
 the new operating systems.  MultiWriter works with existing ST Writer/
 ST Writer Elite files.  The program displays and operation resemble ST
 Writer Elite, so if you are experienced with ST Writer Elite, you will
 be up and running quickly.  MultiWriter has been tested and works with
 Gemulator from Branch Always Software.  MultiWriter also has been tested
 with and works well with Spelling Sentry, a spell checking program from
 Wintertree Software Inc.  The program supports importing and exporting
 text in five formats; ASCII, ST Writer Elite, WordPerfect, 1st Word, and
 WordWriter formats.  MultiWriter supports three languages, English,
 German, and Spanish.  When the program is configured, one of the three
 languages can be selected and the settings saved.  From then on, all
 program menus will appear in the selected language.  A demo version of
 MultiWriter is available on GEnie and CompuServe.  MultiWriter is
 available from: Medical Designs Software, 21701 76th Avenue West, Suite
 206, Edmonds, WA 98026  Phone: [phone]


 ATARI EXPLORER COVER GIRL AT PLANETARIUM
 Dr. Fiorella Terenzi, the January/February Atari Explorer Magazine Cover
 girl will be at the Morrison Planetarium, Golden Gate Park, February 8
 and 9 at 7pm.  Terenzi's "Music From The Galaxies", a recently released
 CD on Island Records, will be the focus of the event titled, Music From
 The Galaxies and Optical and Radio Astronomy.  Tickets are $10.00.  For
 more information on this event call: [phone].  For more on the
 development of the Music of From The Galaxies CD, read the Jan/Feb
 edition of Atari Explorer Magazine.




 ######  DATELINE ATARI! WITH BOB BRODIE
 ######  Copyright (c)1993, Atari Rountables, Atari Corporation
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------


 This article cannot be reprinted without the GEnie sign-up information
 included at the bottom of this Z*Net edition.


 <[Lou] ST.LOU> Welcome to another session of Dateline Atari! with Bob
 Brodie.  Let me begin by thanking Bob and his colleagues at Atari (Bill
 Rehbock, John Towns, Greg LaBrec, Dan McNamee) for their online support
 of GEnie members.  Their participation has been most helpful to all and
 has certainly raised the excitement level in the ST Round Table.

 Since we last met Bob, there has been increasing information about new
 software to be bundled with the Falcon030.  We have also heard about
 MultiTOS, SpeedoGDOS and that great new integrated application, Atari
 Works <originally named ST Sutra, then Concierge>.

 Bob, I have really been looking forward to tonight's RTC.  I think the
 transcript for this one may set a new record for downloads surpassing
 even your last meeting with us.  So let's get this show on the road with
 your opening comments.

 <BOB-BRODIE> I'd like to welcome every one to our February installment
 of Dateline Atari!  I hope that all of you are enjoying these
 conferences as much as I am.  I'm pleased with the opportunity to
 interact with each of you, and share with you all the latest events in
 the Atari Community.

 Tonight, I want to start things off by discussing the current status of
 the Atari Falcon030, and then we'll talk about our integrated package,
 Atari Works.

 At our last session of Dateline Atari, I told you about the delay in the
 shipments of the Atari Falcon030 to North America.  The reason for the
 delay was unacceptable performance from one of the contracted
 manufacturers that Atari is dealing with.  At that time, I also
 indicated to you that we would be bringing on another firm to supply us
 with Atari Falcon030s, as well as attempting to resolve the quality
 concerns with the units at the original manufacturing site.  I'm pleased
 to report that the new factory has come on-line in the speedy fashion
 that we anticipated that they would.  We have seen the first runs off of
 that line, and the quality is dramatically better than the original
 units.  A recent run tested out at less an 0.5% defect rate, which is
 thrilling news to me!  This means that our projections last month that
 Falcons would be available in North America in March is right on target!
 We _WILL_ to have the machines in stock in March!!

 The added plus of this delay is that we have completed MultiTOS, and all
 of the machines in North America will ship with MultiTOS!  There will be
 no customers that will purchase Atari Falcon030s that will have to be
 "retrofitted" with MultiTOS!  While we are still debating internally how
 we want to distribute MultiTOS to the established user base, I'm very
 pleased that it is _done_.  In addition to the inclusion of MultiTOS, we
 will be finalizing Atari Works as well, and hope to have that available
 as well to ship with each Atari Falcon030, along with SpeedoGDOS.

 Let's talk about Atari Works at this point, and try to give you a
 glimpse of what is coming with that product.  Atari Works is a fully
 integrated word processor, database, and spreadsheet.  It's intended to
 provide the average user just about anything that they might require in
 a package to be used in either the home, or for a small business/home
 office scenario.  Most of our energies with Atari Works have been
 focused on the word processor component of Works, as we believe that
 word processing is still the most common usage for home users.  The
 Atari Works word processor offers multiple documents, full cut and paste
 between documents and the other portions of Works, easy set up of
 justification (left, right, center, or proportional), and importing of
 GEM metafile images.  Atari Works has full SpeedoGDOS support, which
 means multiple scalable outline fonts with multiple sizes, and your
 usual bold, italics, underline, outline, superscript, subscript,
 footnotes, and headers.  Works uses the Proximity dictionary system, and
 updated version of the  system that was used with Word Up and WordFlair
 II. There is also a thesaurus included with Works.  Works has full
 search and replace capabilities, again easily activated by drop down
 menus.

 One of the features that I really enjoy in using Atari Works is the
 exceptionally easy mail merge capabilities with Atari Works database
 module.  It's always been something of a pain for me to have to mail
 merge.  It seemed to me that there was never really a system that felt
 very intuitive to me for mail merging.  With Works, there is a drop down
 menu called "Begin Merge" that allows you to begin the process.  It's
 TERRIFIC!!!  On the editing side of the coin, Works allows you to
 transpose letters that just need to be flip-flopped with a Control-T
 command.  Its also "intelligent" about it's editing, in that if you
 begin moving around text, Works will recognize the need for additional
 spaces and automatically insert the spaces for you.  There are also
 commands that will allow you to do a number of different text commands,
 like setting areas to all caps, or all lower case, and other text
 handling.

 The word processor of Atari Works also supports the importation of
 standard ASCII text, the Microsoft Rich Text Format (RTF) files.  This
 is an increasingly popular format used with PC and Mac word processors,
 like Microsoft Word.  The logical extension of that is that your
 documents at work can be saved out as .RTF files, and readily brought
 into Atari Works with the formatting fully intact!!

 The database portion of Atari Works will import .DBF files, tab
 delimited ASCII, and comma delimited ASCII.  The Atari Works database is
 a breeze to set up and work with, too!  If you start a new database
 file, the system begins prompting you for field names, until you tell it
 you're done.  Once the fields are entered, you simply click on the field
 and hold down the mouse button while you drag the field to the desired
 size!  Simple, eh?  You can add additional fields later by simply
 clicking on the database form with your mouse.  Fields are moved about
 the page simply by clicking and dragging them.   You can display the
 records in a form fashion, or in a list fashion that looks very
 spreadsheet-ish to me.  :)   Since everything in Atari Works is fully
 GEM compliant, you can also highlight portions of the database records,
 and save out the area as a GEM metafile and drop it into your document!
 Of course, this also applies to the spreadsheet as well. That makes
 displaying graphs and tables as part of your document easier than it's
 ever been before.

 Bill Rehbock, the product manager for Atari Works, tells me that the
 database portion of Works will feel very familiar to anyone that has
 ever used a database on a Mac.  My sentiment was that I didn't find an
 overpowering need to run to the docs just to get things going, the
 database has a very comfortable "feel" to it.  I'm not generally
 comfortable with ANY database, so I have great confidence that most of
 you will really enjoy the database portion of Atari Works.

 The spreadsheet portion of Atari Works is Excel command compatible.  Our
 intention with the spreadsheet is not to compete against stand alone
 products like LDW Power, but to provide a good, basic speadsheet for
 users to be able to chart, graph, and track their finances.  We have
 some portions of our business presently tracking their finances under
 the spreadsheet of Atari Works.

 I could go on a little bit longer about the spreadsheet, but I think
 I've gone on about as long as I dare on this opening.  Let's see what
 kind of questions are out there, Lou!

 <[kcac-prez] B.FRAZIER2> Bob....I need to know if you found a firm date
 for the Kansas City Atari Fest..  We are at a standstill.

 <BOB-BRODIE> Hi Bob, I spoke with Garry Tramiel today, and don't have a
 yes or no about our attending CES in June yet.  The possibility exists
 that we might still have a booth at that show to launch the new Atari
 Jaguar Game Console.  We'll pick this up in email later on, with Dorothy
 Brumleve.  I also got a fax from the CT. Show folk, and they are looking
 at a June Show Date as well.  I'm very happy that we have you online now
 here on GEnie, as it is making our planning for what is shaping up to be
 an EXTRAORDINARILY busy show summer much easier.  I know that the gang
 from San Antonio, Indy, and Asheville also very much appreciate the
 cooperative spirit that you have shown.

 <[JCD] NEWDIMENSION> Hi Bob. The upcoming Atari products are excellent
 as ususal, but are we really going to see an major increase in Atari's
 market share in the computer industry?  Will Atari _finally_ understand
 that a national advertising campaign is desparately needed.  It seems
 more advertising dollars are put toward the Lynx than the computer line.

 <BOB-BRODIE> Hello, Jeff. Nice to see you again online tonight.  As I
 have indicated in previous conferences, Atari has the confidence that
 this machine will be a tremendous success.  Sam Tramiel indicated back
 in August of last year that Atari didn't have the same confidence in the
 Mega STE/TT030 line as a major success in the US, due to the pricing/
 features/performance constraints.  In short it's not a question of Atari
 finally understanding that they need a national advertising campaign,
 it's a question of Atari having the faith in a product that can be a
 national success. The Lynx is clearly a technically superior product to
 the other handhelds in the marketplace, which explains the advertising
 support that the Lynx has enjoyed.  The Atari Falcon030 is also a
 product that represents a major technical advancement over the existing
 CPUs in the marketplace.  As a new dealer, I'm sure that you can also
 understand the importance of not just having a product that you are a
 fan of, but a product that the public can see a real value in for them
 to buy.  I know that you'll also be pleased to hear that the number of
 dealer inquiries since the article in BYTE have skyrocketed.  You'll
 probably not be the only Atari dealer in your area for very long.

 <[STimpy!] J.TORRES17> I have a three part question on ATARI WORKS
 (YEAH!): 1)Does it support graphics (lite DTP)? 2) What resolutions will
 it support (falcon only?)? 3)Is it too early for price/availabilty for
 existing STe Users?

 <BOB-BRODIE> Hiya, STimpy, it supports GEM metafiles in the word
 processor which are readily available both online here, and in packages
 from people like Migraph's Easy Draw.  Atari Works will function in any
 mode that supports 80 columns, which of course includes ST Medium
 resolution.  Pricing is still under discussion, but will include a
 bundling of SpeedoGDOS and about 14 BitStream fonts in the package.  It
 will be competitive with other verions of WORKS that are already in the
 marketplace on other platforms.

 <E.NIKOLAISE2> Hi Bob! What is Atari doing to get Developer Support for
 the Jaguar game system?

 <BOB-BRODIE> Hi Eric, most of that information is covered by non-
 disclosure at this point.  I can tell you that we have development units
 out, to a number of very talented software houses now.  We've also had
 at least two developer conferences for Jaguar, one here and one in the
 UK.  Both of them have been greeted with a great amount of enthusiasm by
 the developers and their publishers.

 <[Scott L.] S.LAPHAM1> Bob. at the beginning of the conference, you said
 that the quality of the Falcons coming off the "new" line are much
 better than before.  My question is are any of those units off the first
 line going to be sold?  And if so, how would one tell if you bought a
 Falcon if it was off the first line or second?

 <BOB-BRODIE> Scott, the units *_have_* been sold.  They are already out
 the door in Germany.  As long as you don't try to mail order one from
 Deutchland, you shouldn't have to worry about it.

 <[Robb] R.ALBRIGHT7> Bob, I hear that the deal with Ingram Micro
 (Distributor) has been tabled, and that Atari plans direct marketing for
 the first push for Falcon.  Are there any deals set with larger chains
 to carry the Falcon, or any planned, and if not, what will be the way
 that thousands can get their hands on one?

 <BOB-BRODIE> Gee, Robb. That's new to me.  Might I enquire what your
 source is for that information?

 <[Robb] R.ALBRIGHT7> A local developer said he got this from Bill
 Rehbock about a month ago.

 <BOB-BRODIE> Well, Robb, Thanks for bringing this rumor to the light of
 day.  I appreciate the opportunity to dispel this type of disinformation
 at the earliest possible time.  We have a number of different
 arrangements working for Falcon distribution, and I'm confident that the
 thousands of people that want to have Atari Falcon030s will be able to
 get them.  Regardless of what you're un-named local developer might have
 suggested to you. <grin>

 <[Evil E] I.DUCKETT.> How will the release of the Falcon help, The STE
 user?

 <BOB-BRODIE> I see why your nickname is Evil. <grin>  How did the
 release of the Quadra help the Mac?  How did the release of the 486 help
 the 386?  The answer to that is it gives the STE user a higher quality
 machine to upgrade to that retains a high degree of software
 compatibility that protects your investment in software.  Does it mean
 that the STE is obsolete?  No.  It does mean that you can upgrade to a
 newer, more powerful machine and not have to lose your investment in
 Atari and Atari related products.

 <[Steve] S.MILLER58> Hi, I am a somewhat digruntled TT owner who has
 been an Atari owner since the ole 400 and this my question where is the
 TT going to be when the Falcon _finally_ makes its appearance?  Is the
 68030 going to be supported on both systems or will the TT be a fluke
 machine here in the US sticking me with $6000 worth of unsup. hardware?
 And if the TT is going to be 'supported' when is the software going to
 be there to take advantage of he 68030 and the math co?

 <BOB-BRODIE> The TT030 will continue to be a high end, powerful
 workstation even when the Falcon030 makes it's appearance NEXT MONTH
 here in the US.  The 68030 will continue to be support on both systems.
 There are products already that take advantage of the 68030 and the FPU,
 like DynaCadd, all Lexicor products, and Calamus SL.  In addition to
 those products, there are other things like PageStream and Touch Up that
 are very happy on a TT030, especially when they have a graphics card
 installed in it, like an AlberTT card, a Crazy Dots board, or a Matrix
 card.  I've also seen an goodly number of Musicians that are happy with
 their TT030s, and development tools like Lattice C 5.5 that have 030
 libraries and FPU libraries.

 <[Dark.Oak.Sof] T.WILSON14> Are we going to see more guidelines from
 Atari on building apps for MultiTOS?  I'm writing a multi-tos Zmodem
 program and was wondering if I should make it with GDOS, clipboard
 support, or would a simple .ttp CLI-callable be ok?

 <BOB-BRODIE> Are you a registered developer, Tim? Our last developer
 newsletter had an article on user interface guidelines.

 <[Dark.Oak.Sof] T.WILSON14> I can't afford it at the moment, I'm using
 net knowledge.

 <BOB-BRODIE> Net knowledge is a little too far from the source, and I
 urge you to register as a developer at the earliest possible time.  We
 provide a good deal of documentation to the developers as a portion of
 the MultiTOS distribution packet.  Right now, that is only available to
 registered developers, and most of the support is done online, in our
 Atari.RSC area here on GEnie.

 <M.MCFEE> BOB when will MultiTOS be out for the TT if at all?

 <BOB-BRODIE> Hi Mike, it will be released for all Atari Computers, as I
 THINK I indicated in my last conference. :)  As I indicated in my
 opening remarks tonight, we're still having discussions regarding the
 distribution method to be used with MultiTOS.  I remain a staunch
 proponent of the "upload it and let nature take it's course" stance, but
 cannot guarantee that we'll be doing that.  The product is done, we just
 have decisions to make now.

 <[Lou] ST.LOU> I have a little surprise for everyone... we have a free
 one year subscription to EXPLORER to give away.  Then Scott Lapham will
 have the next question.  Here goes a roll of the dice....

 <[Lou] ST.LOU> Job 24... you win! Dorothy!

 <BOB-BRODIE> It's not a fix, I swear it is not a rigged deal you
 guys!!!!

 <[Lou] ST.LOU> Dorothy is the winner!  Dot... any words? ;-)

 <D.A.BRUMLEVE> Thank you, thank you! Maybe this subscription will
 actually arrive at my door! My other one hasn't. ;-) And I've been so
 interested to see how the new staff is coming! So thank you very, very
 much!

 <[Scott L.] S.LAPHAM1> Bob, have you heard any new news on any products
 that will allow the SLM lasers to work on the Falcon??

 <BOB-BRODIE> Yes, I have.  There is a company that is working on this
 product, and we have discussions scheduled with them this next week to
 ensure that it WILL BE DONE, and users of SLM series laser printers will
 be able to use it with the Atari Falcon030.

 <[Lou] ST.LOU> OK... here goes another roll of the dice.... Job 15...
 Chuck Haines is the winner of a free one year subscription to Explorer!
 Congratulations.

 <E.NIKOLAISE2> Does anyone (if so who?) make a VME RAM board that can be
 used with the Mega STE? Thanks!

 <BOB-BRODIE> Erik, I'm not aware of any such ram board.  I've heard that
 they do exist on the VME bus, but don't think that the software exists
 to make our system aware of the ram once such a board has been
 installed.

 <[Robb] R.ALBRIGHT7> Bob, any announcements of terrific, *BLOW-EM-AWAY*,
 mind boggling games that will be released for the Falcon.  Either
 planned or set-in stone.

 <BOB-BRODIE> Robb, there are about 35 games that are being developed for
 the Atari Falcon030.  Most of them are better than anything that I have
 seen on any other computer game anywhere.  And for that matter, better
 than most of the console games, too.  We covered that in an edition of
 Atari Explorer Online a couple of weeks ago, when we had a review of
 them from Andreas Barbiero when he came over to the office and sat down
 with a Falcon030, and one of those really cool joysticks for about oh...
 three hours or so. :) In particular, the sound is dramatically better
 than any other system that I've heard.  I'm sure that we'll be able to
 convince Andreas to come back to the office again, to write a few more
 lines about Falcon gaming without too much arm twisting...at least until
 it's time for him to leave the office. :)

 <[Steve] S.MILLER58> Is the Atari community ever going to be tightened
 between us and Europe so that when new and interesting software/hardware
 comes out there, we can take advantage of it here?  It seem as if we
 always have to wait for A LONG time for it to trickle down to us.

 <BOB-BRODIE> Steve, much of that depends on distribution arrangements.
 Some of the developers don't like to have to support their products
 overseas, or mess around with translations.  I know that some of the
 German developers have a hard time with the needs of the US users, as
 they have a particular view on things like users interface. :)  But we
 are working on those arrangements, and I expect that you will be pleased
 with the way that things are going to turn out.

 <[Evil E] I.DUCKETT.> Is there any way I can get info on the Falcon here
 in New York and support for all Atari system in my area?

 <BOB-BRODIE> Regarding info on the Falcon030, there is a wealth of info
 in the Atari BB area right here on GEnie.  We've posted a HUGE amount of
 information in a number of conferences, and in the BB message area
 itself. I'd suggest that you look at those files first.  After that, I'd
 suggest one of the high quality mags that are out in the marketplace,
 like our own Atari Explorer Magazine or the equally wonderful AtariUser
 Magazine.  Both of them do a excellent job of being factual in their
 reporting. And of course, be sure to check the weekly issues of Z*Net
 Online Magazine, which is also uploaded here weekly in the Atari
 Roundtable.  We upload our own online magazine, Atari Explorer Online
 Magazine here bi-weekly.  That should give you plenty of reading
 material about the Falcon030.  As far as support goes, why don't you
 send me e-mail with your specific questions and I'll be happy to deal
 with them personally rather than tie things up here any longer tonight.

 <[STimpy!] J.TORRES17> (Let me just put down my LYNX - Pinball Jam :> )
 Does SPEEDOGDOS support a wider range of printers than FontGDOS does/
 did?  I have a Panasonic KXP1142pi printer and was basically told by
 tech-support 'tough luck'

 <BOB-BRODIE> SpeedoGDOS has support for the following printers at this
 point.. Atari Laser printer, SMM-804, Canon Bubble Jet 10e, Epson FX-80.
 Epson LQ-570, HP PaintJet, DeskJet 500, HP LaserJet, NEC P Series,
 Okimate 20, Star NB24-15, Star NX-1000, and of course, STraight Fax as
 well. :)  You should be able to use the Epson LQ-570 driver with your
 unit.  Just be sure that you have the dip switch in the Epson emulation
 mode.  Have you tried that yet?  Most of the time you have to have the
 printer off when you change the switches, and then re-start it.

 <MIKE-ALLEN> Bob - I wonder if the SpeedoGDOS/Works combo is going to be
 available through Atari dealers in the near future?  I'd really like to
 support my local dealer.  Also I still have to disagree about the Mega
 STe.  I really feel that it is a product that suffered from improper
 marketing.  A good product that no one outside of the Atari user
 community knew about.

 <BOB-BRODIE> Mike, I respect your opinion about the Mega STE, and share
 it.  However, I don't own enough stock to change the decisions on that
 type of issue, and have to rely upon my persuasive ability from time to
 time on those matters.  I think that part of the reason that the Mega
 STE didn't get a better "shove" is because the Falcon030 was expected
 sooner that this time frame.  Now, re the shipments of Atari Works/
 SpeedoGDOS, the manuals are being done now, I suspect that it will be in
 the March time frame as well.  Not two weeks, but likely six weeks at
 the max.  I'm still twisting a few arms here on a couple of points about
 Atari Works, like allowing the importation of IMG files as well as just
 GEM files.  If we can have that added, I think it's worth a little delay
 in shipping the product.

 <[Andreas@AEO] AEO.2> Bob, I have been inundated by info from NAMM, and
 while I might have missed something due to bad phone lines earlier
 tonite on it, I was wondering if you could comment further on the
 FEEDING frenzy that went on with the new dealers?

 <BOB-BRODIE> Andreas, the timing for NAMM was excellent for us.  The
 write ups in Keyboard, Electronic Musician, and EQ Magazine are very
 exciting, and it appeared that most of the show attendees had read the
 magazines. :)  We got a large number of dealers that are very interested
 in the Falcon from NAMM, and expect even more.

 <[STimpy!] J.TORRES17> I am concerned about the apparent throw away
 memory boards on the Falcon... The fact that you have either a 1, 4 OR
 14 meg board. Why not a user expandable version (I would eventually like
 a 14 meg).

 <BOB-BRODIE> Joe, there is simply not enough real estate for that to
 happen via a normal/conventional means like your basic throw away SIMMS
 <grin>.  What is going to happen with the Falcon030 is the same thing
 that happened with the STE and Mega STE.  People will buy bigger
 supplies of RAM, and try to sell or trade in their old memory units.
 Dealers will capitalize on this to have a ready source of ram available.
 There are already other developers that have announced plans for third
 party memory boards.  For example, Zubair will have a board as well.
 However, it will not use SIMMS either.  There is simply not enough room
 SIMMS in the Falcon case.

 <J.VOGH> What about PC boards for the Falcon?  What is the staus of 486
 emulation?

 <BOB-BRODIE> Oh, that.  Had me worried for a second there.  As we
 reported in our online magazine, Atari Explorer Online at COMDEX, COMPO
 Software is working on a 486 board.  I was personally assured by the
 company president, Theo Bruers, that the product would be done in March.
 It is to support the full VGA Color, etc, etc, etc.  Although I
 recognize that having such an item is attractive to some people, I think
 that you will find that products like Atari Works will make you much
 less inclined to have to sully your machine with MS-DOS. <grin>

 <[John STanley] JLS> I got here late so this may have already been
 asked.  What's the current eta for MultiTOS?  (Ballpark estimates... 2
 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 __??__)

 <BOB-BRODIE> You're right, it was already answered...:) It's done, and
 will be shipping with Falcons.  We're still discussing internally here
 how we want to handle the distribution of the product to the existing
 user base.  I guess the answer from most perspective will be 2 long. :)
 BTW, you also missed the drawings for free subscriptions to Atari
 Explorer, too! :)

 <[Lou] ST.LOU> Bob... my local dealer wants to order 50 packages of
 Atari Works.  Please tell me what he needs to do and can it be ordered
 directly from Atari by the individual user?

 <BOB-BRODIE> At this point, he can't.  But we'll be making our dealers
 aware of all the pricing on Atari Works as soon as possible.  The manual
 will probably be inserted here in the US in the Falcons at this point.
 It will be available via the normal sources, both directly from Atari,
 and from our distributors as well.

 <BOB-BRODIE> Thanks, Lou. As always, it's a pleasure to be online here
 on our official online resource, GEnie. Thanks to everyone for taking
 the time to be here tonight, and I hope that you got a little bit better
 feel for how things are progressing.  In our next issue of Atari
 Explorer Online Magazine, we'll be featuring a preview of Atari Works,
 including screenshots of the program.  It'll be up here in the libraries
 in about a week for you to download.  Thanks again for attending!!




 ###### THE 1993 Z*NET COMPUTER CALENDAR
 ###### Schedule of Shows, Events and Online Conferences
 ###### ----------------------------------------------------------------


 ### February 18-19, 1993
 IEEE Computer Faire at the Von Braun Civic Center in Huntsville,
 Alabama.  Attendees include: WordPerfect, MicroSoft, IBM, HP, Silicon
 Graphics and many others.  At the 1992 show, admission was free to the
 20,000 that attended.


 ### March 1993
 CeBIT, the world's largest computer show with 5,000 exhibitors in 20
 halls, is held annually in Hannover, Germany.  Atari traditionally
 struts its newest wares there, usually before it's seen in the USA or
 anywhere else.  In '93, the Atari 040 machines should be premiering, and
 this is the likely venue.  Third party developers also use this show to
 introduce new hardware and software, so expect a wave of news from CeBIT
 every year.  Atari Corp and the IAAD coordinate cross-oceanic contacts
 to promote worldwide marketing of Atari products, and this show is an
 annual touchstone of that effort.  Contact Bill Rehbock at Atari Corp
 for information at 408-745-2000.


 ### March 13-14, 1993
 The Sacramento Atari Computer Exposition is to be sponsored by the
 Sacramento Atari ST Users Group (SST) at the Towe Ford Museum in
 Sacramento, California.  This show replaces the earlier scheduled, then
 cancelled Northern California Atari Fest for the Bay Area, to have been
 held in December 1992.  A major two day effort, the SAC show is being
 held in the special events area of the Towe Ford Museum, home of the
 worlds most complete antique Ford automobile collection.  As an added
 bonus, admission to the museum is free when you attend the Expo.  The
 museum is located at the intersection of Interstates 5 and 80, just 15
 minutes from the Sacramento Metropolitan Airport.  Contact Nick Langdon
 (Vendor Coordinator) C/O SST, P.O. Box 214892, Sacramento, CA 95821-
 0892, phone [phone], GEnie: M.WARNER8, ST-Keep BBS (SST) 916-729-
 2968.


 ###  March 15-16, 1993
 Lap & Palmtop Mobile Computing Expo at the New York Hilton Hotel in New
 York City.  Exhibitors will show the latest in mobile computing,
 software, pen, peripherals and communications from the industry's
 leading manufacturers.  In conjunction with the exhibits is the Mobile
 Systems Solutions Conference series.  Featuring over 80 leading industry
 experts speakers, the conference provides vital information needed to
 build or improve your world of mobile computing.


 ### March 16-19, 1993
 Image World - Washington DC at the Sheraton Washington.


 ### March 20, 1993
 Philadelphia, PA area group PACS is holding their 16th annual Computer
 Festival from 9 AM til 4 PM.  It will be a multi-computer show with
 Atari showings by the PACS Atari SIG's, NEAT, CDACC, and JACS clubs.
 The Fest is to be at the Drexel University Main Building, 32nd and
 Chestnut Streets in Pennsylvania.  Contact for Atari display: Alice P.
 Christie, 207 Pontiac Street, Lester, PA 19029, 215-521-2569, or 215-
 951-1255 for general info.


 ### March 21-24, 1993
 Interop Spring '93 in Washington DC.


 ### March 30 - April 1, 1993
 Intermedia 93 at the San Jose Convention Center, San Jose CA.


 ### May 3-5, 1993
 Digital Video New York/MultiMedia Exposition at the New York Sheraton
 in New York City.


 ###  May 4-5, 1993
 The 3rd Annual Networks and Communications Show returns to the Hartford
 Civic Center.  Companies such as Intel, Microsoft, DEC, DCA, IBM, and
 MICOM will be exhibiting.  For more information, contact:  Marc Sherer
 at Daniels Productions, 203-561-3250; fax: [phone].


 ###  May 11-13, 1993
 SunWorld '93 exposition and conference, held in San Francisco at the
 Moscone Center.  The second annual event is the largest trade show in
 North America dedicated to the Sun, SPARC and Solaris industry.
 SunWorld '93 will feature a full day of in-depth tutorials, which are
 being developed in association with Sun Educational Services, to be
 followed by three days of conference sessions and an exposition.  The
 three-day exposition will feature more than 175 leading vendors in the
 industry including Adobe Systems, AT&T, Computer Associates, Hewlett-
 Packard, Informix Software, Insoft, SAS Institute, Solbourne, SPARC
 International, Sun Microsystems, SunPro, SunSoft and WordPerfect.  For
 more information about attending SunWorld '93 call Lynn Fullerton at
 [phone] or to receive information about exhibiting contact David
 Ferrante at (800) 545-EXPO.


 ###  June 22-23, 1993
 Lap & Palmtop Mobile Computing Expo at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim,
 California.  Exhibitors will show the latest in mobile computing,
 software, pen, peripherals and communications from the industry's
 leading manufacturers.  In conjunction with the exhibits is the Mobile
 Systems Solutions Conference series.  Featuring over 80 leading industry
 experts speakers, the conference provides vital information needed to
 build or improve your world of mobile computing.


 ### July 17-18, 1993 (NEW LISTING)
 The Kansas City AtariFest '93.  The location for the show is Stadium
 Inn, 7901 E 40 Hwy.  Ticket prices at the door will be 5.00 dollars each
 day.  Advance tickets will be 4.00 dollars each, for advance tickets,
 please send 4.00 dollars per ticket to: Kansas City AtariFest, P.O. Box
 1653, Lee Summit, MO 64063 or if you belong to a user group please mail
 a request for a user group information pack.  To make room reservations
 please call 1-800-325-7901, we are also working with a local travel
 agent to get special airfares for the show.  You may call 1-800-874-7691
 to take advantage of the special fares.  For more information please
 leave Email as follows; GEnie, B.welsch, J.krzysztow, for CompuServe,
 Leave for Jeff Krzysztow at 74027,707, or you can call [phone], or
 mail to the address listed above.


 ### August 3-6, 1993
 MacWorld Expo at the Boston World Trade Center, Bayside Exposition
 Center and sponsored by MacWorld Magazine.  This event is titled Boston
 '93.


 ### September 18-19, 1993
 The Glendale Show returns with the Southern California Atari Computer
 Faire, V.7.0, in suburban Los Angeles, California.  This has been the
 year's largest domestic Atari event, year after year.  Contact John King
 Tarpinian at the user group HACKS at 818-246-7286 for information.


 ### September 20-22, 1993
 The third MacWorld Expo, titled Canada '93 at the Metro Toronto
 Convention Centre, sponsored by MacWorld Magazine.


 ### September 21-23, 1993
 Unix Expo '93 in New York City, New York.


 ###  October 7-8, 1993
 Lap & Palmtop Mobile Computing Expo at the Chicago Mart/Expo Center in
 Chicago, Illinois.  Exhibitors will show the latest in mobile computing,
 software, pen, peripherals and communications from the industry's
 leading manufacturers.  In conjunction with the exhibits is the Mobile
 Systems Solutions Conference series.  Featuring over 80 leading industry
 experts speakers, the conference provides vital information needed to
 build or improve your world of mobile computing.


 ### October 27-29, 1993
 CDROM Exposition at the World Trade Center, Boston MA.


 ### October 27-29, 1993
 EDA&T Asia '93.  The Electronic Design and Test Conference Exhibition
 at the Taipei International Convention Center in Taiwan.  Exhibit space
 is still available.  For more information contact: Betsy Donahue,
 Chicago, fax: [phone].


 ###  November 7-10, 1993
 GeoCon/93, an international conference and showcase for software
 products developed outside the U.S. at the Royal Sonesta Hotel,
 Cambridge, Mass.  The conference program will include three days of
 workshops on topics of interest to overseas developers entering the
 U.S. market.  Workshop presenters will discuss such issues as how to
 negotiate distribution and licensing contracts, setting up a business in
 the U.S., manufacturing and fulfillment, technical support, packaging,
 research sources, and how to market through direct, retail, and catalog
 channels.  For additional information, contact Tom Stitt, associate
 publisher, Soft letter, 17 Main St., Watertown, Mass. 02272-9154;
 telephone [phone]; fax [phone], or Colleen O'Shea, director,
 Soft letter Europe, 2 um Bierg, 7641 Chirstnach, Luxembourg, telephone
 35.2.87119; fax [phone].


 ### November 15-19, 1993
 COMDEX Fall '93. Las Vegas Nevada.


 If you have an event you would like to include on the Z*Net Calender,
 please send email via GEnie to Z-NET, CompuServe 75300,1642, or via
 FNET to node 593 or AtariNet node 51:1/13.0.  Show listings are also
 published in AtariUser Magazine.




 ######  PERUSING GENIE
 ######  Compiled By Ed Krimen
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------


 Some messages may have been edited for correct spelling, grammar, and
 irrelevant material.

 FALCON BUNDLES!
 ---------------
 -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14)
 -=> from the "Falcon 030 - Help and Questions" topic (41)

 Message 195       Fri Jan 29, 1993
 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI]       at 12:29 EST

 Atari Falcon030/4-65 is scheduled to include no less than:

 - Calappt (Personal Time Manager)
 - Landmines (Game)
 - Breakout (Game)
 - Talking Clock
 - System Audio Manager (Replace System Events and Key Click with sounds)
 - Procalc (Nice calculator)
 - FalconD2D (Direct-to-disk recording system and effects)
 - Audio Fun Machine (DSP Effects Processor with Graphic Equalizer)
 - SpeedoGDOS with 14 Bitstream Speedo fonts
 - Atari Works integrated productivity software
 - MultiTOS

 As it stands right now, the manufacturing of North American Falcons may
 beat the time that it takes to get manuals for some of the packout
 software printed, so make sure you send in your warranty cards to
 receive updates.

 Falcons without HD's will ship with everything but FalconD2D,
 SpeedoGDOS, and Atari Works.  They will be available separately.

 All Falcons come with the necessary HD Utilities, so you can quickly
 connect an external SCSI Drive.

 We naturally recommend that you buy your internal HD's from us, as they
 will come with SpeedoGDOS, Atari Works, etc.

 -Bill@Atari
 ======================================


 MULTITOS UPDATE!
 ----------------
 -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14)
 -=> from the "MultiTOS" topic (34)

 Message 182       Sat Jan 23, 1993
 E.SMITH10 [Eric Smith]       at 19:45 EST

 We had to make some major last minute changes to MultiTOS.  On the up
 side, these should improve compatibility with old applications quite a
 bit.  The down side is that MultiTOS will be delayed somewhat.  Also, I
 have no idea how long it actually will take from the day we hand
 MultiTOS over for distribution and copies actually being available to
 the public; it's certainly not zero time, since it does take a while to
 get manuals printed, packages made, etc.  I certainly wouldn't expect
 MultiTOS before February, and it could be a month or two later than that
 before it "reaches the shelves."

 Please note also that Bob phrased his comment about MultiTOS
 availability on GEnie very carefully... he did *not* promise that this
 would happen.  It certainly would be nice for users if it happened.  But
 remember that MultiTOS has cost Atari real money to develop, and so it's
 quite possible that management may decide to charge a fee for it.

 Most GEM programs that "follow the rules" should be MultiTOS compatible.
 TOS and TTP programs that don't do any graphics (i.e. that use ordinary
 ASCII text for output) will also generally be MultiTOS compatible.
 There are exceptions, of course.  The most common cause of
 incompatibility is accessing memory that doesn't belong to the program
 (other than the officially documented system variables, of course).
 Programs that grab system vectors are more likely to have problems than
 programs that don't, but there are always surprises.

 There are good arguments on both sides of the issue of whether or not to
 charge for MultiTOS.  Certainly it's a tough decision, and I'm glad I'm
 not the one who has to make it.

 Just to inject a bit more reality into this: even if MultiTOS is free,
 it still won't be on everybody's machine right away or even at all.  The
 present version of MultiTOS is loaded into RAM, and that means in
 practice that you need 2 megabytes of memory to use it (and 4 megabytes
 is a lot more comfortable).  Also, it's really targetted for the 68030
 machines; on a 68000 it will be somewhat sluggish and will also lack
 memory protection (i.e. it won't be as safe).  Eventually we hope to
 have a ROM version of it, but for now it *is* a memory hog.

 I'm sure there will be a version of MultiTOS distributed on 720K
 floppies, eventually. (The frustrating thing is that it almost fits in
 720K; it will fit on a floppy formatted to just over 800K, but
 unfortunately not all floppy drives work reliably with such disks.)

 No, you won't need new ROMs to run MultiTOS.  As I mentioned above, we
 are hoping to produce a ROM version of it (which will consume a lot less
 memory) but that's not going to be ready for a while.  MultiTOS may have
 problems with TOS 1.0 (I certainly wouldn't recommend using it with such
 an ancient version of TOS) but it will be OK with TOS 1.4. (TOS 1.2 is
 on the borderline; it's not as pathologically buggy as TOS 1.0, so
 MultiTOS runs, but it's slowed down a lot because it uses some of the
 underlying TOS disk I/O routines, and TOS 1.2 has very slow disk I/O
 compared to later TOSes.)

 Final reality reminder: I'm not an official Atari spokesperson.
 Everything above is my opinion only...

 Eric
 ======================================


 TO CLASS B TT, OR NOT TO CLASS B TT
 -----------------------------------
 -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14)
 -=> from the "TT - Class B FCC or not?" topic (33)

 Message 41        Wed Jan 27, 1993
 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI]       at 12:40 EST

 The TT030 does have Class-B certification, but only the absolute latest
 revision of it.  To pass Class-B certification, there were many changes
 to the motherboard and it did require the re-addition of the internal
 metal shielding that makes it difficult to add memory, and change ROMs.
 To accomodate the shielding, a different tooling for the plastic case is
 required also.  As Nathan said, we had existing inventory (of housings)
 and Class-B certification was not as high of a priority to the majority
 of our TT customers as those that have expressed concern here.  The
 current motherboards (that have been shipping since around June) are
 this latest revision, by the way, and are much "quieter" that any
 previous TT had been, but without the metal internal shield, are just
 over the limit of Class-B, so they are not labeled or sold as such.

 Since the TT is not as much of a broad-interest machine as the 1040STE
 or MegaSTE, it was decided that FCC Class-A certification was sufficient
 to accomodate the needs of the majority of purchasers of TTs.  These
 people would have been annoyed by the shielding and didn't need Class-B
 as they were being used in business environments anyway.

 A Class-B computing device is explicitly labeled as being "CLASS-B".
 The general verbage that is on the TTs rating label is the Class-A
 legal-eze.

 -Bill@Atari
 ----------
 Message 45        Thu Jan 28, 1993
 S.WINICK                     at 06:38 EST

 Bill, That Class "A" rating wasn't that bad when we had a full product
 line to work with.  But at the present time, the Atari lineup currently
 consists of an arthritic 1040STe that isn't a viable product in todays
 competitive computer marketplace, and the high end TT030.  That leaves
 us with essentially NOTHING to sell to most home users.

 I had at least 3 local walk-ins in the past 2 days looking for a good,
 user friendly home computer system, who would've be sure sales for a
 MegaSTe, if we had any.  The current Atari product line, or lack
 thereof, is making sheer survival extremely difficult for your
 dealerships.

 This would be like General Motors discontinuing production of their 1993
 model cars immediately because they're planning on introducing the 1994
 models in the Fall!  How many GM dealers do you think would still be
 left when the new models are finally ready to ship?

 Sheldon (Computer STudio - Asheville, NC)
 ----------
 Message 46        Fri Jan 29, 1993
 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI]       at 12:29 EST

 Sheldon, I know what you mean.  I do continue getting good news about
 production of F030's (although I am wearing out my welcome in the
 manufacturing dept. :-).  Things are still looking on schedule, but I
 realize it will be tight for the next several weeks.

 -Bill
 ======================================


 AJAX - NOT JUST ANOTHER CLEANSER
 --------------------------------
 -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14)
 -=> from the "Technical Questions to Atari Corp." topic (4)

 Message 174       Wed Jan 27, 1993
 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI]       at 12:40 EST

 Just a little background on AJAX (Atari's High Density Floppy
 Controller)...

 The original WD1772 (720k) floppy controller operated supplied by an
 8MHz clock.  AJAX is 100% compatible to a WD1772 when supplied an 8MHz
 clock.  To handle 1.44MB floppies, AJAX requires a 16MHz clock instead
 of the normal 8.  Falcons, TTs, and MegaSTEs can supply AJAX with either
 speed clock.  The bios(in TOS 2.06 and up) is in charge of which clock
 gets used.  Combo(tm) (or Combel(tm)) actually handle the physical
 switch of the clock, depending on what the bios instructs.

 An off-the-shelf 1040STE isn't set up the same way as the above-
 mentioned models and won't handle 1.44 drives without additional
 modification other than AJAX.  There are some third party kits that add
 an AJAX _and_ correctly supply it with the necessary 8MHz clock, but I
 am not sure who they are.

 -Bill@Atari
 ======================================

=========================================================================


 MULTITASKING WITH STALKER
 -------------------------
 -=> In the "Gribnif Software" category (17)
 -=> from the "STalker 3" topic (3)

 Message 43        Sun Jan 24, 1993
 EXPLORER.5 [Robert Goff]     at 13:18 EST

 Indeed, STalker's "multitasking" is no better or faster than the GEM AES
 messaging system, which was never designed to handle data at high speed.
 (Yes, I know that the actual serial data doesn't go through the message
 pipe.)

 You can improve STalker's multitasking behavior by: enlarging the serial
 buffer to at least 4 kbytes, enlarging the STalker transfer buffer to as
 large as your memory configuration can stand, and making sure that
 hardware flow control (RTS/CTS) works.  That last one can be tricky
 because it depends on (a) fixing the serial routines in the ST operating
 system with the appropriate patch, (b) using a modem that recognizes
 hardware flow control and configuring it properly, and (c) having a
 cable that transmits the signals.  Don't take any of these things for
 granted.

 Hardware flow control is a faster way than the normal XON/XOFF flow
 control for telling the modem that the computer's buffer is full, please
 don't overfeed me, thank you.  If your modem is sending data and the
 computer's serial buffer fills up because Stalker is multitasking and
 doesn't have the time to empty it, the computer is supposed to use flow
 control to stop the incoming data until the buffer can be emptied.  If
 the data is coming in too fast, the flow control doesn't act fast enough
 and the modem sends some data which overflows into the bit bucket.  (By
 the way, when's the last time you emptied your bit bucket?)  The error
 checking of the file transfer protocol is supposed to catch that, but
 sometimes it doesn't and even if it does it can slow down the transfer
 tremendously.

 |) |
 |)O|)
 Robert Goff
 ======================================


 HP LASERJET IV: HOT!
 --------------------
 -=> In the "ISD/DMC Product Support" category (16)
 -=> from the "Calamus SL" topic (20)

 Message 133       Tue Jan 26, 1993
 RUSTY-P                      at 22:37 EST

 I got a LJ-IV today.  The printer is set up with six megs of RAM and I'm
 using the beta Calamus driver.  I printed the first page of a newsletter
 that is 98% complete and almost ready to be shot and all that I can say
 is WOW!!!!!  This thing is amazing.  When the page came out and I
 flipped it over for a look; the only noise that could be heard in the
 room was my jaw hitting the floor.  I had expected an improvement but
 not anything of this magnitude.  The only thing I can compare this
 output to is typesetting.  My recommendation is - if you are serious
 about DTP and Calamus and you can scrounge the money - buy one.  You
 WON'T be disappointed.

 RUSTY
 ======================================


 WHO'S WHO AT YOU KNOW WHERE
 ---------------------------
 -=> In the "Flaming - Debating - Discussions - Rumors" category (18)
 -=> from the "Atari Falcon 030 Computer" topic (23)

 Message 71        Fri Jan 22, 1993
 POTECHIN [RT~Sysop]          at 18:17 EST

 We do not have to rely on rumours on GEnie.  We have access to the
 facts.  Art is no longer with Atari, but if he was ever international
 sales manager, it's news to me. :-)  Bob Brodie has not taken over Art's
 job although I believe he does now have access to Arts executive
 assistant. :-)  Garry Tramiel has been running the North American
 operation for some months now.  This is good news.  Garry is quite good
 at his job.  Sam continues in his role as President of the Corporation.
 Leonard was removed from TOS development to concentrate his efforts in
 other areas.  I imagine the continued streamlining of Atari's operation
 is of concern to those of us anxiously awaiting the release in quantity
 of the Atari Falcon030.

 If the above information is of interest to you, I'm glad that I had
 access to the facts and was able to clear up any confusion.

 Nathan @ DMC
 ======================================




 ######  ATARI USER GROUPS
 ######  The wind beneath the Falcon's wings
 ######  By Len Stys
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------


 In my last article, I stated the importance of the Falcon030 bundle and
 how "support" needs to be a major theme when selling the computer.  The
 main reason why people left the Atari Community was because there was a
 lack of support for their computer.  I believe without a doubt that just
 the opposite will encourage people to become a part of the Atari
 Community.

 There is a lot of tough competition in the personal computer market.
 The only way a non-PC clone manufacturer is going to stay in business is
 by using every advantage that it has.  And what is Atari's advantage
 over its competitors?  User Groups.  Atari user groups are the answer to
 how Atari will get back into the personal computer industry.  The
 company needs a backdoor and Atari user groups have the door already
 open.

 Why do I feel Atari user groups are the key to the Falcon's success and
 Atari's future?  Atari user groups are often responsible for getting
 major companies like Word Perfect to release new versions of software
 for Atari computers.  This may not seem like much, but some people will
 not buy a computer unless certain software are available for it.  Atari
 user groups also help convince computer stores to sell Atari computers
 and software.  If there is a computer show in town, Atari user groups
 often attend to demonstrate Atari computers while other companies like
 Apple are paying employees to be there.  The members of these user
 groups are responsible for the very important "word of mouth
 advertising" that Atari so desperately needs.  And finally, these user
 groups generate the excitement necessary in the Atari Community to keep
 Atari users buying software and new Atari products.

 Atari Corporation needs to seriously consider taking action to
 revitalize the Atari user groups around the nation.  The cost will be
 minimum and the benefits will be tremendous.  If Atari takes action and
 revitalizes 200 user groups to the point of 200 members each, there will
 be 40,000 regular customers and purchasers of Atari products.  If each
 of these 40,000 regular customers convince 5 friends to purchase an
 Atari Falcon030, this would mean sales of 200,000 computers.

 Atari could take action to revitalize Atari user groups by doing the
 following:

 o  Atari User Group Services.
 Organize a department at Atari Corporation to specifically deal with
 user groups.

 o  Build a closer relationship with Atari user groups.
 Most user groups receive no support from Atari making it nearly
 impossible to continue existence.  A relationship is needed to increase
 user group members spirit and give the feeling that Atari cares.

 o  Establish an Atari User Group Information Network.
 A Bulletin Board System (BBS) STRICTLY for the exchange of user group
 articles, files, and information.

 o  An Atari User Group Newsletter.
 This newsletter would be distributed to user groups and would consist of
 articles on what other user groups are doing such as demonstrating Atari
 products at shows, how each user group runs their meetings, what topics
 user groups discuss, how they have increased membership, and the number
 of members each user group has.

 The articles would be contributed by user groups and the newsletter
 could be put together by Atari Explorer staff.

 o  Third-party software demos.
 Any time new software is released, a demo copy of this software would be
 sent to user groups with over 20 members.

 o  Public Domain & Review Catalog.
 A user group wishing for public domain programs or reviews on disk will
 be able to purchase them through Atari at cost.

 o  Free Items to Atari user groups with over 20 members:
 International Software Catalog -- A free copy of Atari's International
 Software Catalog.

 Atari Explorer Subscription -- A free subscription to Atari Explorer
 Magazine.  This may even help increase the number of subscriptions.

 Flyers and Brochures -- Free flyers and brochures given to user group
 members to give to their friends and other interested parties.

 o  Special Deals to Atari user groups with over 20 members:
 Falcon030 personal media computer at cost -- A user group with over 20
 members will have the opportunity to purchase ONE Falcon030 at
 manufacturer's cost for display and demo purposes only.

 Future product purchase opportunities -- User groups with over 20
 members will have the opportunity to purchase any new Atari product at
 manufacturer's cost for display and demo purposes only.

 Developer's Documentation -- A user group usually has many programmers
 that are interested in programming public domain software.  This public
 domain software will add value to the Falcon030.  The cost of this
 documentation will be copy and shipment cost.

 o  Atari Co-Op Computer Shows.
 If a user group wishes to demonstrate Atari products at computer shows
 or festivals, Atari will pay half the cost up to $100 a year.  Since
 Atari cannot afford to send people to these shows and Atari user groups
 are willing to go, why not let them?  At most, Atari would pay $20,000
 a year to help user groups attend these shows.  Apple pays this amount
 to attend only a few shows.

 o  Atari Co-Sponsored Computer Shows.
 If a user group wishes to put together an Atari show with Atari being a
 co-sponsor, this would be a possibility.  This does not mean that Atari
 has to co-sponsor ALL Atari shows, just some.

 All of this may sound great, but the BIG question needs to be asked:
 Where will Atari get the funds for this revitalization effort and to
 continue supporting user groups?  I would not have proposed this if I
 did not have an answer.

 An Atari Gift Catalog can be produced where users can order Atari T-
 shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, hats, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, and
 bags.  The profit from the sale of these items would be used to fund
 Atari's continued user group support.  The Atari Gift Catalog that I
 suggested be included with the Falcon030 bundle in my last article would
 also help fund this effort.  Will there really be enough profit in such
 Atari products?  If there is a demand for Sierra products, there is
 definitely a demand for Atari products.

 Many of the user groups on the "Official Atari User Group List" no
 longer exist.  I propose that Atari Corporation create a new list of
 user groups by publishing a "User Group Registration Form" in the next
 issue of Atari Explorer.  User groups should be required to prove their
 existence in some way.  The user groups interested in free items and
 special deals should be required to include a list of members and their
 addresses.  All of the user groups that send in the registration form
 will be included on a user group list in the Falcon "support" bundle.
 The list will help increase all user groups membership.

 A strong user group support effort such as this has never been done
 before.  And because it has never been done before is a good reason for
 it being news.  A lot of press about something new and different that
 Atari is doing will give the public a positive feeling about Atari.  A
 positive feeling just as the Falcon030 is released.

 Will all of this ever become a reality?  I am positive that it will.
 This is because Bob Brodie was once a President of a user group and he
 of all people must realize the importance of user groups in Atari's
 future.  Sam Tramiel also talks of how Atari is planning for the long-
 term.  He would not leave out such an important thing from his plans.

 There could not be a better time for the revitalization of Atari user
 groups.  After all, Atari user groups are the wind beneath the Falcon's
 wings.




 ######  GEMULATOR REVISITED
 ######  RUN ST Software on your IBM CLONE - fact or fiction
 ######  Article By Don Liscombe
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------


 Gemulator Report - 5 months after release - Software version 2.10.  A
 hardware/software combination that allows you to run Atari ST software.
 My evaluation is being performed on a 486-50DX EISA machine, with a
 Diamond Speedstar 24X, and using a Microsoft serial mouse.

 General information:

 Gemulator consists of 2 parts, one being an 8 bit card which holds the
 TOS roms and is sold by PMC, and the 68000 emulator software comes with
 the package (Revision 1.0 - Unregistered). Darek Mihocka, of Branch
 Always Software, is selling the commercial Gemulator software for
 $59.95.  Software updates beyond this point, are $15, according to an
 older readme file.  The software loads in and allows you to select
 items, such as INSTALL (a specific TOS version), BOTH (floppies), SWAP
 (A: and B: drives), FULLSCREEN or WINDOW mouse control, COLOR or MONO,
 QUICK (screen redraws for some applications), SPEED (test), I486 for
 speed enhancements with a 486 CPU, STATUS to report current settings,
 and QUIT to DOS mode.  Depressing the F11 key, will bring you back to
 the Gemulator menu, while the F12 key will reboot your "ST".

 Installation:

 The TOS ROM board is easily installed, in any ISA/EISA slot which works
 with an 8 bit card.  The circuit board is of a quality design, and all
 chips on the board are socketed.  The board as shipped, comes with Atari
 TOS 2.06, and sockets exist for up to a total of 4 versions of TOS.  (A
 total of 8 sockets are on the board for ROMS, 2 of them used by TOS
 2.06) Written documentation is rather limited, and should you wish to
 add additional TOS ROMS to the circuit board, the picture they give
 displaying the position of the 6 chip rom set, is barely legible.  They
 would have been far better off with a hand drawing, than a poor scan of
 a photo.  Since my package was an original release, perhaps it has been
 upgraded since then.  Detailed instructions are now given on how to
 modify the circuit board to accept the TOS 1.4 - 2 chip set in the
 current readme file on the Gemulator disk.

 Look & Feel:

 The display quality is excellent, both from DOS mode, and from a Window.
 GEM screen redraws are slow, and need the assist of a screen accelerator
 such as Warp 9 or Turbo ST, just the same way a stock ST does.  Running
 Gemulator in a Window, makes the screen display crawl (no one said
 running a graphics display in a Window would be fast) using Windows 3.1,
 but it seemed to run a bit faster in an OS/2 Dos Window (sorry
 Microsoft).

 Requirements:

 With version 2.10 of the software, a 4 meg PC can now emulate a 1 meg
 Atari ST, quite an improvement over the original version.  The software
 will work with either 3.5" or 5.25" floppy drives, and disk I/O speed
 seems about normal.  A 486 33Mhz is required for overall ST 100% speed.

 Comments:

 Gemulator emulates the ST quite well.  Although Darek has some touchups
 to put on some routines, he has done an excellent job so far, in getting
 this emulator up and running ST software.  It works well with OS/2, as
 long as you remember to adjust your DOS settings to give Gemulator the
 5.25 megs of XMS memory it wants to load into.  As PCs get faster and
 faster, Gemulator will be able to run your ST software faster as well.

 WINDOWS mode

 With older versions of Gemulator, when you ran Gemulator in a window,
 (in either Windows 3.1 or OS/2) the Atari mouse pointer (which becomes
 active when you move the Windows mouse pointer inside the DOS window),
 drifted away from the windows mouse pointer.  This becomes very
 annoying, having 2 different pointing devices on the screen, both moving
 as you move the mouse, apart from each other.  The good news is, that
 you can use the Atari mouse alternate keys to align the two pointers
 back together (ALT-arrow keys).  Unfortunately, for my system, they were
 not long drifting apart.

 Version 2.10 has done some adjustments on the to slow down the mouse,
 and in DOS mode, it now responds almost exactly like an ST, but I can no
 longer get Gemulator to run at all, using the WINDOWS mouse driver, it
 just locks up solid, in either Windows 3.1 or OS/2.

 HI REZ SUPPORT

 A patch program for Gemulator,now allows you run in 640X480 16 color
 mode, by taking advantage of the VGA card.  This should allow you to run
 software written for TT med rez, 1280X960 moniterm mode, and well
 behaved GEM programs.

 HARD DRIVE ACCESS

 What is allowed you in version 1.0, is the ability to read only, the
 first 32 megabytes of your C partition.  Version 2.10 will allow you to
 read and write to the first 32 megs of any PC hard drive, and also allow
 you a single 32 meg file which simulates another hard drive, and it is
 referred to as a virtual hard drive.  This file can be placed on a
 network or stacker(compressed) drive, only 1 file is allowed.  This is a
 great improvement from previous versions, but still lacks the ability to
 fully implement reading and writing on your PC hard drives.  Here are
 some captures from Gemulator doc files:

 GEMULATOR 1.0

 "Our solution to this problem is to write a custom Atari ST hard disk
 driver that understands the large DOS partitions.  A future update of
 Gemulator will contain this driver built-in to it, eliminating the need
 for even using AHDI.PRG or SUPBOOT.PRG.  The custom driver will also
 allow any hard disk partition to be accessed, as well as the PC's RAM
 disks, CD-ROM, and network drives."

 "Similar drivers will also be written to allow Gemulator to work under
 other operating systems, such as OS/2 and Windows NT.  These newer
 operating systems also use entirely different hard disk formats that
 makes Gemulator incompatible with them at this time."

 GEMULATOR 2.0

 Hard Disk Support
 =================

 "We're happy to say that hard disk writes are now enabled.  BUT USE THIS
 FEATURE WITH EXTREME CAUTION!!! We are almost finished writing
 Gemulator's custom hard disk driver which eliminates the 32 megabyte
 partition limit in existing hard disk drivers.  This fixed driver will
 be included in the Gemulator 2.1 upgrade, and that disk will be mailed
 to you automatically and free of charge."

 "Again, our replacement hard disk driver should be finished in December
 and we'll ship it out to you either then or after the holidays. The new
 driver also gives access to other MS-DOS disk drives that are not hard
 disks, i.e. MS-DOS RAM disks, network drives, and CD-ROM drives.  The
 existing Atari hard disk drivers simply have no concept of these
 devices."

 Supposedly, this version (2.10) was to have the 32 megabyte partition
 limit removed from the hard drives, add support for CDRoms and ramdisk
 devices, and remove the need for a hard drive boot program in the auto
 folder, but this version would appear to have a single 32 meg file added
 with directory hidden inside, with files inaccessible to DOS, with no
 apparent support for CDRoms, ramdisks, or extended partitions.  No
 mention is made of an update driver, cdrom, etc, in the new doc file,
 which is quite a disappointment.  You still require a hard drive boot
 program to access any hard drive, whether it be one less than 32 megs in
 partition size, or this new 'virtual' hard drive.

 NO RS232 SUPPORT

 Although Flash is listed as a program you can run on your PC in both
 pamphlets handed out at product shows, and PMC advertisements, there is
 no support for the RS232 port at all.  The current readme file on the
 version 2.10 disk, indicates that a revision is planned to include RS232
 support.

 GFA PROBLEMS

 With the initial version of Gemulator, GFA Basic(V3.5,3.6) had problems
 with the screen locking up.  With the new version, all problems appear
 to have been corrected, and GFA Basic works quite well.

 COPY PROTECTED DISKETTES

 Gemulator does not read most copy protected disks.  Considering the two
 computers use completed different floppy controllers, it is doubtful
 that protected disk support will be added.  It was interesting to see
 Gemulator load in Dungeon Master to the introduction, but then the mouse
 got very confused, and it would not recognize my disk as the original
 disk after checking for copy protection.  Flight Simulator loaded up,
 and the screen displays looked fine, but the mouse up/down was inverted,
 and the keys for the throttle would not respond at all.

 It would appear there are still a fair number of problems to resolve on
 the keyboard/mouse routines, before Gemulator will handle the larger
 portion of games(that it can get by the copy protection on).  Some games
 which would load in, and use VBIs to have smooth scrolling, seemed to
 flicker excessively.  This was also evident on the load in sequence of
 Gunship by Microprose.

 HI DENSITY FLOPPY SUPPORT

 Although Gemulator supports read and write access to the IBM high
 density 5.25" and 3.5" drives, you are only able to format your floppies
 in 360K and 720K from the Atari format disk screen.  TOS 2.06 has
 support for high and low density floppies, so perhaps this will be added
 in the future.

 WHAT IS NOT EMULATED (above the hard drive & RS232 restrictions)

 Sound, Midi, joysticks & the blitter chip are not emulated.  According
 to the text file on the disk, over the next year, support will be added
 for the sound, midi, and the joystick.  As I recollect, Darek was
 working on the blitter emulation to speed things up at the Toronto Atari
 Computer Exhibition(spring 1992), but I see no mention of it in any of
 the information I have.

 Summary:

 Gemulator has been shipping since mid-September 92, and Darek has done
 some excellent work on getting the initial problems removed, and the
 speed of the program increased.  The windows mouse driver should not be
 a problem to fix, as it was working previously.  With joystick, MIDI,
 and RS232 support coming shortly, the only downfall I can really note
 with the product, is the hard drive/CDROM support limitations.  Perhaps
 it will take a driver (SYS) file in the config.sys at bootup to resolve
 the 'sharing' PC drives problem, but it must be done to make Gemulator
 a product that meets its' advertized features, and fully functional.


 BIO: Don Liscombe is the SysOp of The Brewery BBS  - AtariNet 51:5/0 -
 Fnet node 66 416-683-3089 HST Dual 14.4 - Supporting the Atari ST & IBM
 PC.


 Gemulator is available from
 Purple Mountain Computers, Inc.
 15600 NE 8th St.  Suite A3-412
 Bellevue, WA 98008
 voice 206-747-1519

 Gemulator information can be obtained either from PMC, or

 Branch Always Software(Darek Mihocka)
 14150 NE 20th St.  Suite 302
 Bellevue, WA  98007
 voice/recording 206-885-5893

 OS/2 is copyrighted/trademarked by IBM Corp.
 Windows is copyrighted/trademarked by Microsoft Corp.




 ######  COMPUSERVE MESSAGE BASE CHANGES
 ######  Message Features Software Documentation  20-January-1993
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------

 New Features / Version Notes

 o  The size of a message has been expanded to 10,000 characters.

 NOTE:  With the initial release of Message Features users of DOS CIM,
 MAC CIM and NAVIGATOR will not be able to post a 10000 character
 message.  Current development of HMI will allow for this in the very
 near future.  There is no limitation on the size of messages that can be
 read.

 o  READ THREAD command now displays messages in chronological order and
    also in section order.  i.e., all new messages in thread order from
    section 1, then all new messages from section 2 and so forth.  This
    feature provides users with the context of messages.  Given below is
    a hypothetical display in the current Production software, and new
    order of display with Message Features:

 Hypothetical Production Display   Message Features Display
 Sec #   Msg & Replies             Sec # Msg & Replies

 S4   Message # 11  R R R R        S2   Message # 2   R R R
 S2   Message # 2   R R R          S4   Message # 11  R R R R
 S13  Message # 21  R R R R R R    S6   Message # 9   R
 S6   Message # 9   R              S8   Message # 5   R R R
 S8   Message # 5   R R R          S13  Message # 21  R R R R

 The complete command syntax for the READ THREAD is given below for
 reference.

 The new display order applies to the READ THREAD command and all its
 switches.  The complete command syntax for the READ THREAD is given
 below for reference.

 READ THREAD [NEW]  [ALL] [NUM #] [START: ##] [SECTIONS:]

 No modifications have been made to REAd FORward or REAd REVerse
 commands.

 o  When a READ nnnn command is issued (without any other switches),
    where nnn is a message number, it defaults to READ THREAD nnnn as it
    does in current production software.  Therefore the new display order
    applies to this command as well.

 o  Another change is to the snapshot "high message number" -- the
    highest message on the board at the time a snapshot is taken.  The
    user will not be able to view any message above this "high number"
    until a new snapshot is built.  This change was done in an effort to
    ensure that users would not miss any messages on the board.  The
    impact of this change is that an ASCII user will no longer be able to
    read a reply they posted immediately; this is already true in the
    HMI (CIM) interface.

 If the user wants to read the reply, he will need to issue a new REAd or
 SELect command so another snapshot will be built to include their reply.
 In HMI, they will need to "Freshen Messages" under CIM 2.x for this
 change to take effect.

 o  When the user issues a PARent, ROOt, or REAd replies command while
    reading a particular message, when they return to the message the
    command was issued from, the header of the message will be displayed
    along with the message "** Enter RER to reread, REP to reply, or <CR>
    to continue".  Current production software displays the entire
    message again.

 o  Since a message can now be 10000 characters in length and a message
    that long would scroll off a member's screen quickly, we have
    introduced "paged message display".  After 24 lines of a message have
    displayed, members will see a "Press CR for more:" prompt if they
    have paged message display enabled.  At that prompt the user can
    enter return to continue reading the message, M to return to the Read
    Action prompt (thereby not reading the rest of the message), or S to
    scroll rest of the message without pausing.

 To enable "paged message display", a member can enter SET PAGED YES at
 any forum prompt.  This will turn on paged message displaying for this
 and any forum the member enters during the current session.  To make the
 change permanent, the member needs to GO DEFAULT, choose option 2
 (Change permanent settings), choose option 3 (Display options), and then
 change option 1 (PAGED display) to NO.

 Entering a SCROLL command at the Read Action prompt will scroll the
 messages no matter what option the member has selected.

 o  There is no longer a limit on the number of lines a forum message can
    have.

 o  A new command has been added to the Editor - /MAIL.  If the user
    wants to mail a message, he no longer needs to exit the editor and
    then specify MAIL.  Now he can specify /MAIL from within the editor.
    All the parameters required for the MAIL command are the same as the
    /POST command parameters.

 o  If the user wants to mail a message from within a forum, they are
    limited to 50,000 characters - not 10,000 characters per message for
    forum messages.  Production software limited the user to the size of
    a forum message but the Message Features software has removed that
    limit.

 NOTE: A fix will be implemented in a future version of HMI that will
 allow HMI users to mail a message containing 50,000 characters.

 o  Other important commands to remember:

 REA NUM;NNNN - This command allows users to read an individual message
                number. (RI is still supported.)

 REA THR NUM: - Allows you to read only the thread you are requesting.
               (RT nnn ONLY is still supported.)

 Removal of "Old" Forum Commands:

 To reduce maintenance and gain resources, we have removed support for
 the following "old forum" commands from the forum software.

 A.  Two character commands:

 BR   -   Browse (Correct command is BRO)
 FM   -   Forward Mail (Correct command is FMA or FMB)
 RM   -   Read Marked (Correct command is REA WAI or RW)
 RO   -   Read Old
 SD   -   Scan Delete
 SE   -   Send  (Correct command is SEN)
 TO   -   Touch
 US   -   User Status (Correct command is USE or USERS)
 WH   -   Who (Correct command is WHO)
 GU   -   Guide (use HELP)
 SB   -   Section Names (use NAMe)
 CB   -   Conference (use CO)
 CS   -   Change Section (use CHA)

 B.  One character commands:

 C    -   Continue
 E    -   Exit (use EX or EXI)
 L    -   Leave message (use COMpose)
 V    -   View Interests (Use MEMber)



 ######  THE UNABASHED ATARIOPHILE
 ######  By Michael R. Burkley
 ######  ---------------------------------------------------------------


 Have you been thinking about eating a nice rare hamburger lately?  Do
 you live near some High Tension wires, or near any toxic waste dumps?
 How's your diet and lifestyle?  Have your eyes been strained by staring
 at your monitor, or have you gotten the first twinge of pain from the
 carpal tunnel syndrome building up in your wrists?  Well, I live in
 Niagara Falls, NY, the place where all of the above is true (at least
 for me).  My diet is not the best and my exercise program is almost non-
 existant (sigh).  On one side of my home is a large collection of High
 Tension wires (I think Niagara Falls has about the largest collection
 anywhere--because of the Niagara Falls Power Project).  On the other
 side is one HUGE toxic waste dump (we call it Mount ***** because pretty
 soon it will be big enough to sky down!).

 We had hamburgers tonight for dinner and as I bit the next-to-the-last
 piece I noticed how pink it was.  And yes, my eyes are stinging this
 very minute, but that's not from my monitor, that's from the air
 pollution!  The good new is that my wrists don't hurt--yet.

 So why am I writing all of this (in the thirteenth Unabashed Atariophile
 article I've written!)?  Is it because I'm buried under gloomy news and
 want to carry you down as well?  Nope, not at all.  I'm doing it as an
 excuse to share with you a bit of my practical philosophy (really
 theology, but we "can't talk about that here"!).  My wife, Susan, says
 that I'm a "disgusting optimist."  I'm not.  I'm an optimistic
 pessimist.  That is, I expect the best, but plan for the worst.  I
 "don't worry about tomorrow, because today has enough troubles of its
 own."  I write, I complain, but above all I try to become an educated
 consumer, seeking to be a responsible member of my family and community.
 And I also generally cook my hamburger thoroughly.

 So what does that have to do with being The Unabashed Atariophile?  I'll
 let you figure that out (translation--I'm not to sure myself!).  I do
 know that I have been more than thorough this week in my downloading
 duties.  This week was a record for me.  I downloaded just over 100 new
 files.  Utilities, Sound files, Falcon specific files, games, drawing
 tools, boot-up programs and files, ST demos, screen savers, .MOD files,
 and much more.  I've not been able to catalog them all as of yet, so
 here are just a sampling for you:

 ADDRESS2 is the HP Deskjet Envelope Addresser v.1.2 by Greg Kopchak.
 -------- This program will allow you to print addresses, return
 addresses, and a two line memo on the lower left corner onto your #10
 envelopes.  Mouse or keyboard controlled.  Docs included.

 ALVIN is ALVIN v.1.23 by REALM (dated Jan., 1993). Alvin is an ACC/PRG
 ----- that converts among the most common 21 units (distance, mass/
 weight, volume, and temp.)  It supports the entry of fractions, decimal
 units or combinations of all.  For Example: "12ft 4-1/2in" can be
 entered and converted to any of the other length units.  This is a very
 handy program (in other words, I like it!)  Docs, online help and
 tutorial included.  Color or mono.  STe compatible.

 AUD_CD13 is CDAUDIO v.1.3(demo) by Nima Montaser (dated January, 1993).
 -------- Have you noticed how this program keeps showing up here?
 That's because he keeps updating it!  Now it is an .ACC that allows you
 to play audio compact discs from a CD-ROM drive in the backgroud while
 working at another GEM application (if you wish!).  The code for the
 Sony DCU541 and the NEC machines is already included, but you can now
 enter the correct SCSI commands for your CD ROM player just by using a
 text editor (you have to know what they are though!).  It will allow you
 to Play, Pause, STop, and Eject your CD (gracefully, of course).  This
 demo is fully functioning, faster than ever before (but several delays
 are incorporated in this demo to urge you to register-- only $12). GEM
 based, ST/TT MultiTOS compatible.  This program will work in all
 resolutions.  SHAREWARE.  Docs included.

 BBDEMO15 is ButtonzBasic? v.1.5 by MajicSoft.  This program was created
 -------- to make programming in GFA Basic? easier, not a tutor program
 but a utility in which all of the standard chores of programming and
 compiling, moving around files, setting compiler options, etc...are done
 with ease.  The Menu program that came with GFA Basic= was not really
 meant to be a fully functional work area, but a tool to get you started.
 ButtonzBasic? IS intended to be a fully functional work area.  The
 things which make ButtonzBasic? more useful are the configuration
 options that can be saved for future sessions, a simple click of a
 button to get you going from editing to compiling and linking with as
 many objects as you desire.  Not only this but disk commands if you are
 not using other accessories which have disk commands available.  Also
 ButtonzBasic? automatically supports all ST resolutions in the same
 program.  This program is fully functional except that you need to
 reconfigure it each time it is used.  Ordering information and docs
 included.

 CACHE272 is Master Cache V2.72 by Daniel Carl Gouthro (dated Jan. 26,
 -------- 1993).  According to the author it is the most advanced disk
 caching system for hard disk owners (floppy too) and it is BEST disk
 cache system for the ATARI ST, Mega ST, STe, Mega STe and TT computers!
 It support any logical size up to 8192 bytes per sector, write delay
 caching, TOS buffers configuration for TOS V1.4 or higher, FAT/DIR
 priority option, many other features   A must for anyone own non-ICD
 HDs, but you can use it for ICD drives (and controllers) as well.  This
 demo version is limited in several ways, but you can upgrade it to full-
 registered status with a password (obtained by registering, info
 included).  Docs included.

 CENTIPEDE by Sinister Software is a SHAREWARE version of Centipede, the
 --------- arcade game from Atari.  Mouse controlled and fast, this game
 has a lot of different skill levels from which to choose (I get by on
 the lowest level just fine thank you!).  Shoot the centipede as soon as
 it appears at the top of the screen and before it reaches you.  Watch
 out for the crabs, the dive bombing bugs and more.  Color only.  STe
 compatible.  I think this is very well done.

 CFG_SEL is a batch file by Frank Goron designed to load alternate
 ------- Neodesk configurations (.INF, .MAC, .NOT) from a menu.  NEO_CLI
 is required.  ST--TT compatible.  Docs included.

 CUDDLY is another excellent megademo by TCB.  It works on my one meg TOS
 ------ 1.0 ST but not on my STe.  I like how this demo is presented.
 The main screen is shown, looking much like a castle with lots of
 entrance doors.  You are a person with a jet pack that allows you to fly
 about, searching out and entering any door you wish.  The individual
 demos are accessed by entering the doors.  The demos are pretty neat,
 too!  It comes as two 400K+ .MSA files which get uncompressed onto one
 disk.  You must extract with the Magic Shadow Archiver.  Color only.
 Joystick controlled.

 EGO_KICK is the Ego Kick Alarm Clock.  Just hook this little baby up to
 -------- your 200 Watt Stereo and wake up your entire neighborhood (and
 just maybe yourself, too!).  You input the current time and the time you
 wish the alarm to ring and then go to bed.  When you're woken up you
 will be hearing a simple tune played over your monitor speaker or your
 Stereo.  ST-STe compatible.  By AtariPower7.

 EYES is Eyes v.1.00 by Peter Kirchgessner.  This .ACC for color or mono
 ---- ST/Ste/TT? will place a set of eyes (wherever you choose) on your
 screen that follows the mouse cursor (make 'em crosseyed by putting
 your mouse pointer right on its "nose!").  Double click on the eyes to
 remove them.  Do you think that someone is looking over your shoulder at
 your work?  Well someone might be, but now you can be sure that someone
 is in front of you, doing the same!

 FCOPY3 is v.5.2.1990 of the popular F-copy III by Martin Backschat.
 ------ I've had this one for awhile now, but it was just uploaded again,
 and it's worth hearing about once more.  This is a great, high-speed
 disk formatter and copier from Germany.  It can run as a .PRG or .ACC
 and provides you with many, MANY options.  This is a very useful program
 that I recommend to you.  Color or mono.  The version I found online did
 not have any docs, but I have them and will be uploading them myself
 soon.

 HCOPY151 by is a copy/format utility by Robert Weiss (dated March 28,
 -------- 1992) that has been around for awhile now.  I was pleased to
 see this newer version (it's nice when people keep supporting their
 products, isn't it!).  This SHAREWARE program will run in color or mono
 on any ST/STe/TT with TOS 1.2 or newer.  It now has High Density floppy
 support, formatting your HD drive to 82 tracks and 22 sectors!  Of
 course it does everything for your standard floppies as well (5.25",
 too).  You can format your disks with any track or sector density,
 twisted or not, set the step rate, zero your disks (for FAST erases),
 do multiple copies of disks, automatically format your destination, and
 much more.  It is mouse or hot key controlled.  One feature I like is
 the detailed info on a disk you can get with the click of a button.
 SHAREWARE.  The program is in English with German docs.

 JCVUE11F is JC View v.1.1F by John Charles (dated March 20, 1992).  This
 -------- is a clip-Art viewer and clip manipulation program for the ST
 which needs 1 meg of memory and only works in mono only.  With all the
 standard drawing tools (and then some) you can manipulate loaded files
 and/or create your own, and add text to your pictures.  You can even
 print them out.  It will load a zillion types of files and save to .DOO,
 .PI3, or .JCC (the program's custom format).  Docs included.

 MOUSEBT4 is Mouse Boot v.IV "The Incredible Mock-Gem Auto Booter Demo"
 -------- by Scott R. Lemmon (dated sometime late in 1992).  Mouse Boot
 is a Accessory, Auto-boot, Desktop, and Assign.sys file manager that
 uses GEM and the mouse!  It will switch accessories and auto-boot
 programs on or off (resort their order as well), copy Desktop.inf and
 Assign.sys to the root directory of the boot drive, or even allow you to
 set-up two user-defined file types to be copied to any active drive.
 Additionally, Mouse Boot will hold up to 60 presets of the each of your
 most commonly used file combinations allowing you to quickly select them
 upon boot-up.  It will also optionally play a Quartet sound file on
 bootup.  Except where a name or path must be entered, all of this can be
 done without touching the keyboard!  This is one excellent program (I
 like the bootup pictures, too!).  This newer version makes things simple
 _and_ more capable.  Allows batch bootup files to be run and simple
 mastery of Assign.Sys files (though these are only available to
 registered owners).  Other than a few other inconveniences, this program
 is completely functional.  MANY more features.  This archive also
 includes MouseStart, a utility that allows you to easily auto boot
 programs with TOS 1.0 and 1.2. Color or mono.  ST/STe/TT Newdesk and
 Moniterm compatible.  Docs included.  Ordering information included.

 MOVPIC12 is Moving Pictures v1.2.  This will allow you to randomly load
 -------- background pictures with Warp 9 (instead of just the same old
 one).

 NEWTRIS is v.2.2 of an excellent .PRG/.ACC version of Tetris and
 ------- Columns by Alexander 'Newton' Borrmann.  I like having these two
 similar games together, especially in an .ACC version.  You can choose
 between several skill levels, ranging from the easy to the amazingly
 difficult.  Color or mono.  Keyboard controlled.  ST--TT compatible.

 Punish your Machine! is not a program that will harm your ST/STe, but
 -------------------- rather an amazing two disk demo.  TOS 1.0--2.06
 compatible, this demo comes in four 400K+ .MSA files (you must
 uncompress with the Magic Shadow Archiver).  Created by the Union, it is
 full of separate demos that are all excellent.  I especially like one
 containing a very fast fractal generator.  Actually, I'm not doing
 justice to this demo.  It is EXCELLENT! Color only.

 Serial Fix v.2.0 by Medical Designs Software (Bill Penner and Bruce D.
 ---------- Noonan, M.D.) is a "must have" program for all of you with
 high speed modems. Serial Fix was written to solve the problem that the
 ST/STe/ TT/ and even Falcon series of computers has with high speed
 modems and buffer overflows.  Run this and you won't have that problem
 anymore.  And now Serial Fix has gone multipurpose.  It is now a
 universal serial port patch.  It incorporates the TOS14FIX and SERPATCH
 patches from ATARI, so no longer do you need several patch programs.  In
 short, if you have a high speed modem you need this program.  Now
 included is a smaller version that is run from the AUTO folder and does
 not require Atari's Extensible Control Panel.  Docs included.

 Tom Hayslett has recently upgraded most of his excellent SHAREWARE
 programs.  I recommend them to you.

 TLCBOOK3 is TLC Address Book v.3.02 by Tom Hayslett (dated July 31,
 -------- 1992).  It is really two data bases in one!  One is a standard
 address book that has fast loading, sorting (on up to three fields at
 once), searching, merging, and saving of data.  The other (fully
 integrated with the first) keeps track of birthdays, anniversaries, and
 other important dates and events.  It supports any printer with its
 configurable printer driver (or you can print to disk for mail merging
 and the like).  It also supports several page sizes, and printing
 labels.  GEM interface with "Hot Keys" for most functions.  Docs
 included as well as a short sample data file.  Color or mono. ST/STe/TT
 compatible.  SHAREWARE.

 TLCFIXR3 is the Text String Fixer v.3.01 by Tom Hayslett (dated June 15,
 -------- 1992.  This program (which runs as an .ACC as well) allows
 simple changing of ASCII or HEX strings in programs (you have to know
 what text string you want changed).  You can change up to 20 different
 programs at once.  Mouse or "Hot Key" controlled.  Great for shareware
 program authors, enabling them to customize their programs for
 registered users.  SHAREWARE.  Color or mono.  ST-TT compatible.

 TLCFORM3 is the TLC Formatter, v.3.02 by Tom Hayslett.  It is a .PRG or
 -------- .ACC that formats your disks in the standard 9 or 10 sector (or
 18 and 20 with a high density drive) or a VERY faST 9 (or 18) sector
 (disks read and write faSTer than twisted disks).  Supports 'switching'
 between 2 drives (if you have 2 floppies).  Will format 80, 81, or 82
 tracks and ALL formats are readable on MS DOS machines (except the 20
 sector format). It now supports High Density drives.  Allows inclusion
 of disk volume names, formatting can be aborted at any time and errors
 are properly reported.  Formatting proceeds from track 80 to track 1 so
 that if you change your mind about formating a disk in process you stand
 a good chance of getting much of your data back.  Now you can turn disk
 verify on or off and shut off the alert boxes if you're really brave (or
 something else!).  Docs included.  ST-TT compatible.  Color or mono.
 SHAREWARE.

 TLC_ICON is the TLC ICON MAKER v.1.0 by Tom Hayslett.  This program
 -------- simply and easily allows you to take a Degas .PI2 or .PI3
 picture and cut out a section to use as an icon (creating a "mask" for
 it as well).  Then just enter the name of a resource file to save your
 icon as and the program creates a simple resource file consisting of a
 dialog box holding your new icon. The program also creates the needed
 definition file for the RCS2 program to recognize the resource.  Docs
 included.  Color or mono. SHAREWARE.

 TLCPLAY3 is The TLC Sound Machine v.3.00 by Tom Hayslett (dated June 15,
 -------- 1992).  This program allows you to load and manipulate all
 digitized sound file formats including ST Replay (Raw data or Sound),
 Soundoff!, Digisound, Master Sound, Pro Sound Designer and more.  You
 can also save your files in Digi-Sound format, SoundOff! (ST Replay) or
 as a raw data file.  The author says you can load just about _anything_,
 you can even load and play _program files_ (though he does admit that
 they might sound a little weird!  I wonder what _Calamus_ sounds like?)
 The program allows you to reverse, stretch, squeeze, amplify, soften the
 data and resave the file in several compatible formats.  This version
 adds desktop "hot keys."  ST-TT compatible.  Color or mono.  Docs
 included.  SHAREWARE.

 TLCRSRC3 is the TLC Resource v.3.01 by Tom Hayslett (dated July 31,
 -------- 1992).  The TLC Resource utility will only be of interest to
 GFA programmers.  The program asks you to select a resource file (*.RSC)
 to convert and then asks you to select an ASCII file to save it to
 (*.LST).  It then converts the resource into a GFA file that can be
 merged into your program allowing the resource file to be embedded
 within the source code. Instructions are printed with the ASCII file
 created instructing you on which calls need to be modified and how to
 use the generated code.  GFA Basic .LST file and example files included.
 ST-TT compatible.  For color or mono systems.  SHAREWARE.

 TLC_MEGA is the TLCwMega STe Throttle v.1.0 by Tom Hayslett (dated July
 -------- 25, 1992).  This is a simple speed selector (.PRG or .ACC) for
 MEGA STe systems.  Also included are three other utilities that allow
 you to fine-tune your speed and cache configuration at boot-up.  This
 also shows your TOS and GEMDOS on your Mega STe.  You can run this on an
 ST or a TT, but all you will get is your TOS and GEMDOS info (so don't
 bother!).  Color or mono.  Docs included.  SHAREWARE.

 TLCSHOW3 is v.3.00 of Tom Haysletts Spectrum (.SPC and .SPU) picture
 -------- viewer.  It allows you to choose and show one picture at a
 time.  The program now automatically senses the proper sync rate (50 or
 60 Hz), and automatically toggles Mega STe users to the correct speed
 for viewing the pics (and then restores the speed when done).  ST--Mega
 STe/TOS 2.06 compatible. Color only.  SHAREWARE by Tom Hayslett.

 Well, that's all for now.  I wasn't able to share more than a small
 fraction of the files I downloaded this week (and many of the above have
 abreviated descriptions).  But I hope you enjoy it anyway.  Take care.
 May you all live long and prosper! Feel free to get in touch if you can.

 All of these files can be found on one or more of the following on-line
 services:  GEnie, Delphi, The CodeHead BBS (213-461-2095), Toad Hall
 (617-567-8642), and The Boston Computer Society's Atari BBS (617-396-
 4607).

 BIO: Michael lives in Niagara Falls, NY.  He is a former Polyurethane
 Research Chemist and is presently the pastor of the Niagara Presbyterian
 Church.


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