Atari Explorer Online Newsletter Collection/aeo9210.txt

Text File | 1992-01-01 | 98KB | 2,271 lines

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                      ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE MAGAZINE

        August 1, 1992      Volume 1, Number 10      Issue #92-10

        Published and Copyright (c)1992, Atari Computer Corporation
                     1972-1992 (20 Years Of Service)


    ~ Editor In-Chief......................................Ron Kovacs
    ~ Contributing Editor...................................Ed Krimen
    ~ Contributing Writer...................................Bob Smith
    ~ AtariUser Magazine Editor.............................John Nagy
    ~ Atari Corporation....................................Bob Brodie



                     | | |  TABLE OF CONTENTS  | | |


         |||  The Publishers Workstation..............Bob Brodie
              Atari Update on Falcon and Atari specifically!

         |||  Z*Net Newswire.....................................
              Latest Industry Update

         |||  4th Annual MIST Atarifest Report.....Dr. Paul Keith
              Report on last week's User Group Show!

         |||  Line Noise................................Ed Krimen
              Formerly Perusing GEnie - New Name, Same Content!

         |||  The Wacky World Of ST Gaming...........Eric Bitton
              Part 2 of a 2 Part Series

         |||  Run That By Me, Again!....................Bob Smith
              Humor material

         |||  Run A Better BBS.........................Regen Weed
              From the Z*Net Archives!

         |||  GEnie News Update.............................GEnie
              RT news from all over GEnie

         |||  Connecticut Atarifest Update..........Press Release
              Upgrades to be performed at the show!

         |||  News From The Disktop..................Ron Albright
              Z*Net PC second runner up!

         |||  38400 Baud For Your HST................Erno Meffert
              Upgrade your modem, PIC file attached to issue!

         |||  Hints and Tips.....................................
              Articles from the Z*Net Archives

         |||  Supporting Shareware................Terry Schrieber
              Help support shareware!!



 | | |  THE PUBLISHERS WORKSTATION
 | | |  By Bob Brodie
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 Welcome Mike and Darren!!!
 ==========================

 We're completing our first week in Sunnyvale with Darren Meer and Mike
 Lindsey at the helm of Atari Explorer.  Darren is finding his way around
 Sunnyvale, and Atari, while Mike has been busy in Oregon finishing up
 some details on Atari Advantage.  Thanks to all of you that have taken
 the time to send along your message of greeting to Darren and Mike, I
 know that they appreciate your welcome.

 John Jainschigg has completed the last issue of Atari Explorer under his
 direction.  Many of you have expressed concern about the direction that
 Explorer will take without the guidance of John's able hand.  I trust
 that our selection of qualified ATARI editors in Darren Meer and Mike
 Lindsey will go far to allay your concerns.  We were attracted to
 Lindsey and Meer because of their consistent quality that they have
 brought to all of their publications, from Atari Advantage to ST
 Informer.  Our executives insisted that we obtain people that are well
 versed in our platform, and Darren and Mike fill that bill admirably.
 We're very excited to have them on the team at Atari.  As they get
 settled in, they will also be taking over the publishers role of Atari
 Explorer Online as well.

 Our plans at Atari Explorer Online continue to be something of a "farm"
 for writers to brought on board in the printed edition.  And we're
 looking for writers!  Our writers are not compensated by cash, but by
 opportunities to review hardware and software, and free online time on
 the major networks.  Presently, I've allocated three internal accounts
 to utilitized by staff writers for Atari Explorer Online.  These
 accounts are totally free, with no charges at all.  You can even be
 online during prime time at no charge!  If you're interested, please
 contact Ron Kovacs, Editor-in-Chief of Atari Explorer Online Magazine.
 Please cc: me on the letter as well.  Naturally, any material that does
 appear in the printed version of Atari Explorer will be reimbursed at
 competitive rates.  This is a great opportunity for the budding writers
 in the Atari Community to begin making a higher profile appearance than
 they ever had before.  We look forward to hearing from *YOU* !!!

 More Winds of Change
 =====================

 Switching to a corporate viewpoint, we're continuing our efforts at
 "right sizing" Atari Corp.  Atari Canada is evolving into a sales
 office, still headed up by Geoff Earle.  All support services will be
 handled out of Sunnyvale, as we move to something of an Atari North
 America.  Current plans call for the Atari Canada BBS to be continued,
 under the supervision of yours truly, Bob Brodie.  I'm looking at the
 BBS now in use in Canada and evaluating how it's being used.  If you
 have some suggestions for improvements, please drop me a note and share
 your thoughts with me about it!

 We've completed our port of UNIX to our platform as well.  Looking
 toward the marketing of the product, present impressions are that we
 will have a great text based UNIX to offer to students when Atari System
 V is set up on the Falcon 030.  But for the full power of UNIX, with a
 complete windowing environment, we'd prefer to wait for a 68040 based
 machine.  Until those products are ready, we're going to table our plans
 for UNIX.  Since the port is done, and we're in a holding pattern on
 UNIX, most of the remaining UNIX staff is no longer with the company.
 Project manager Art Pruzynski has moved into a US Sales position, and is
 working closely with James Grunke now.  Art brings years of computer
 sales experience to this position, and his expertise will allow James to
 return his focus to his primary strength, the music market.  Art will
 also be working closely with yours truly, and I'll be making all the
 appropriate introductions to bring him up to speed on current events in
 TOS side of our business.

 National Sales Manager Mike Groh is also no longer with Atari.  Mike's
 departure followed his recent trip through the southeast of the US,
 including an appearance at the Blue Ridge Atarifest in Asheville, North
 Carolina.  While Mike may no longer work for our company, he still has
 the heart of an Atarian.  While he was cleaning out his office, among
 the first things he secured was his copies of Calamus and Tracker/ST.
 "Gotta have it!" says Mike!  Sunnyvale employees gathered together on
 Friday night to give Mike a good send off at a local jazz club in the
 Silicon Valley.  Always a bright spot at any gathering of Atarians,
 Mike's unique perspective will be missed in Sunnyvale.  Best wishes in
 the future, Mike!

 "Right sizing" efforts are being applied in other areas as well.  We're
 taking a  much smaller group to Germany for the Atari Messe, and may
 cancel or modify some other travel plans as well.  Every effort is
 being made to ensure that all of our efforts are cost effective, and
 allow us to visit as many regions as possible.  I suspect that we will
 not be returning to the same region more than once this year, though.
 We'll keep you posted on the status of this important factor.

 Falcon 030 update
 =================

 As predicted earlier in the year, the public unveiling of the Falcon 030
 will be at the Atari Messe in Duesseldorf, Germany in late August.
 We'll be releasing the specifications on this exciting new unit BEFORE
 the show, though.  Sam Tramiel has directed me to set up a couple of
 online conferences for him to meet the public to share this information
 with our anxious userbase.  While plans are not concrete yet, we'll be
 sure to pass along the date of the conferences as soon as they have been
 determined.  I expect that to happen toward the end of next week.

 We have a number of developer units out in the field already, and the
 reports from our registered developers have been very exciting!  There
 will be a host of applications primed to take advantage of the
 capabilities of the Falcon 030! Look for some of these to be unveiled at
 the Atari Messe as well!!

 We're also on target for our visit to the Boston Computer Society as
 well, where we'll have the first public showing of the Falcon 030 in
 North America.  Set for September 23, at a general meeting of the Boston
 Computer Society, this event will signal the start of the Falcon roll
 out in the US.  Naturally, we'll report on the event fully in Atari
 Explorer Online.  I'm sure those NOT in the New England area will be
 very interested in hearing how the public receives this exciting
 product!  According to the Boston Computer Society, they are expecting
 over 1,000 people for this meeting.  Since the hall holds just under 700
 people, they are making plans to have monitors in adjoining rooms for
 the rest of the attendees.

 A New Network!
 ==============

 Bill Scull, sysop of The Twilight Zone BBS (407-831-1613) in Florida has
 launched a new BBS network, called AtariNet.  Based on the well known
 FidoNet standard, the network is up and running now.  Give Bill a holler
 if your interested in getting in on the ground floor of an up and coming
 network!  Any BBS capable of handling the FIDO technology is welcome!  A
 longtime sysop, Bill is well equipped to help you get your system up and
 running.  I've personally spent many hours on the phone with Bill
 discussing the FNET.  He's a wealth of information on that front, too.
 He can also be reached via the FNET at Node #304.

 Don't forget how to contact us!
 ===============================

 Here's how to get a hold of me if you'd like to share your insights
 with me:

 Atari Corporation
 1196 Borregas Ave.
 Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1302

 voice:  408-745-2052
 fax:    [phone]
 GEnie:  BOB-BRODIE
 Delphi: BOBBRO
 FNET:   Node 319 or Node 706
 CIS:    70007,3240

 Thanks for reading Atari Explorer Online!!



 | | |  Z*NET NEWSWIRE
 | | |  Latest Industry Update
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 25000th FILE UPLOADED
 The GEnie ST RT recently received File Number 25,000.


 ATARI ADVANTAGE SOLD
 Atari Advantage was sold to Castle Publishing in Texas.  As we reported
 last week, the former editors were hired as editors for the Atari in-
 house publication, Atari Explorer Magazine and gave up the Advantage
 publication.  For more information see the Publishers Workstation column
 in this edition of Atari Explorer Online.


 COPYRIGHT AGENCY TO COMBAT PIRACY
 IPS/Moscow Times - Russia's new copyright agency pledged last week to
 combat video, audio and software piracy as control over intellectual
 property in Russia continues to weaken in a chaotic market.  The RAIS,
 the country's first true copyright organization, has been granted
 official status by the government and plans to enforce new copyright
 legislation.  This means Russia is ready to sign the 106 year-old "Bern
 Convention," an international agreement on protecting intellectual
 property which czarist Russia or the Soviet Union had never signed.
 Under RAIS guidelines, Russia's print and broadcast media will be
 required for the first time to obtain permission and pay for material.
 In addition, copyright protection after an author's death will extend
 from 25 to 50 years.  As for software, the Russian parliament adopted a
 bill last month to outlaw piracy.


 CIS OFFER
 By tapping into Adnet Online, CompuServe members can browse job
 opportunities advertised by hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies. Members
 select from more than two dozen categories and then narrow their search
 by geographic location.  Job listings are available for specific
 regions of the United States, as well as for Canada and  countries
 throughout the world.  The Adnet database is updated weekly,  and
 advertisements generally run for two weeks.  CompuServe members
 contact employers directly, usually by sending resumes by postal mail
 or facsimile. CompuServe members have unlimited access to Adnet Online.
 Adnet is one of more than 30 basic services offered to CompuServe
 members for the flat monthly fee of $7.95.  Members choosing to access
 CompuServe's 1,700 other service areas pay $12.80 per hour when using a
 1,200 or 2,400 bits per second modem.  For more information about
 CompuServe or a free introductory membership with a $15 usage credit,
 call 800-848-8199 and ask for representative 377.




 | | |  4TH ANNUAL MIST ATARIFEST SHOW REPORT
 | | |  By Dr. Paul Keith, Z*Net News Service Correspondent
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 Close to 500 Atarians crammed into the Castleton Conference Center on
 July 25, 1992.  This was the fourth annual Mid Indiana ST Atarifest, and
 the second year in a row it was held in Indianapolis.  I didn't have as
 much time to spend at MIST as I would have liked to, so this will not be
 as detailed as I would have liked.  My apologies to anyone that I may
 have overlooked in this report.

 The happy throng that attended the MIST Show was decidedly upbeat, with
 a strong core of user group people from all over the midwest in
 attendance.  Vendors reported outstanding sales!  D.A. Brumleve was
 heard to say that she had recouped her expenses in the first five
 minutes of the show!  All in all, most developers were reporting
 outstanding sales!  Vendors exhibiting at the show included WizWorks!,
 Dr. Bobware, Clear Thinking Software, CodeHead Technologies, D.A.
 Brumleve, Ditek International, Electronic Spinster Graphics, ICD, DMC
 Publishing, It's Not A Game Machine (INAGM), Mars Merchandising, Maxwell
 CPU, MegaType, Missionware, MS Designs, Rising Star Computers, and Atari
 Corp.

 This years show featured a Lynx tournament, and ample trading tables for
 the user groups attending the show.  Show organizers were happily
 reporting attendance from Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, Alabama, and
 many other states.  As other shows have done lately, the seminar
 schedule was set to a minimum, with only ONE presentation being given
 during the show.  Atari's Bob Brodie gave the lone presentation at the
 conclusion of the day.  MIST Show organizers indicated that they would
 have loved to had more, but this years event had less space available
 than they'd had in the past, effectively wiping out the conference
 space.

 The halls of the conference center were packed most of the day, as show
 goers enjoyed the presence of the vendors to the utmost.  Joining Bob
 Brodie in the Atari booth was GEnie Sysop Jeff Williams.  Bob and Jeff
 were both decked out in non-matching GEnie shirts, and spent their time
 explaining the many advantages of being online for less!

 Bob laughingly reported that he should have had a button made up saying
 "Ask me about the Falcon Computer...NEXT MONTH!"  It's clear that the
 userbase is VERY anxious to see the Falcon, and many users are looking
 to dispell the rumors about the Falcon and replace the rumors with
 FACTS!  Bob didn't do much to help with that, though.  He pretty much
 held tight with the information that has been stated before, "a 68030
 based system, with DSP, more color than you can see, more sound than you
 can hear, in a 1040 case!  You'll want more than one!!!"  He also
 indicated that TT030's were in excellent supply now.  The TT030 may also
 be up for a price reduction to increase it's competitiveness against the
 DOS clones.

 Bob did promise that he would be setting dates for online conferences
 with Sam Tramiel on GEnie and Delphi in the very near future.  This
 promises to be a memorable evening, one that all Atarians online should
 be sure to take advantage of!!  Be sure to watch for the announcements
 online and from the Z*Net News Service!

 Jeff handled a drawing, as GEnie gave out free online time to lucky
 winners at the show.   Mario Perdue was staffing the Ditek booth,
 showing off DynaCadd on a TT030 running MultiTOS.  MultiTOS continues to
 evolve since the first North American showing at ACE '92 in Toronto.
 Most of the show goers asking about MultiTOS came away with big smiles
 on their faces.  Looks like Atari has another major upgrade to TOS ready
 to launch.

 ICD was still clearing out their supplies of 8 bit goodies, better
 get'em while you can, gang!  ACTION! cartridge, Basic XE, Basic XL, and
 other OSS favorites are up for grabs at clearance prices!  If you're
 still using your eight bit, you should be sure to have ALL of these
 priceless programs!

 Rising Star was staffed by Doug Hodson and Ginger.  They indicated that
 software sales had been terrific at the show.  Rising Star carries a
 complete line of productivity and game titles for the ST from every
 major developer.

 Branch Always Software, featured company president Darek Mihocka, who as
 usual, arrived fashionably late for the show.  Darek was showing
 GEMULATOR, his emulator for the ST and shooting more video tape for his
 GEMULATOR video.  The GEMULATOR video is just $5.  Availability is Real
 Soon Now.

 John Eidsvoog from CodeHead Technologies was showing off Calligrapher to
 appreciative crowds. The TOS Extension Card continues to be a popular
 show item at these events.  Reports were that CodeHead sold out of
 everything that they brought to the show.

 D.A. Brumleve was showing off her software to empower young learners
 with her typical gusto.  Dorothy reported that this was one of the best
 shows ever for her.

 User groups from across the midwest were selling used hardware and
 software in the center of the aisle, as well as encouraging people to
 join their group.  Without a doubt, user group support is the backbone
 of the Atari Community.  User groups appearing at the show included
 ASCII, EAUG, CUSTUG, STAR, and LCACE.  Show organizers had printed up
 T-Shirts for sale that proclaimed "Support? We don't need no stinking
 support!  Indy Atarifest '92.

 Like I stated when I began this report, I really wish I had MORE time
 available to soak up all the vendors and events.  However, an excellent
 time was had by all and next year we hear that there will be a multi-
 platform event at MIST.  So stay tuned!!

 For the lastest Atari News and Computer industry updates, stay tuned to
 the Z*Net Newswire from the Z*Net News Service.  Z*Net PC a third runner
 up in the 1992 Quill Awards of the DPA.




 | | |  LINE NOISE
 | | |  Compiled by Ed Krimen
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 (Editors Note:  We have changed the TITLE of Ed's column without his
  knowledge!  :-) )


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


 TOS 2.06: WHO NEEDS IT!?!
 -------------------------
 -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14)
 -=> from the "TOS Utilities from Atari" topic (32)

 Message 55        Sat Jul 25, 1992
 T.GIRSCH [T.J.]              at 03:40 EDT

 Mark -

 Why do I need TOS 2.06?  I've personally never had the problem, and I
 haven't seen a TOS desktop in almost a year.  NeoDesk comes up
 automatically at boot, and as far as I'm aware, there's nothing TOS 2.06
 does that NeoDesk does not.

 Of course, I could be wrong, it happens all the time.  8^)

 -TJ
 ----------
 Message 56        Sat Jul 25, 1992
 M.FARMER2 [Mark Farmer]      at 06:50 EDT

 Well I use Hotwire myself so I know what your saying.  I just had to
 many problems with 1.06 TOS running programs.
 ----------
 Message 59        Sat Jul 25, 1992
 S.SANDERS2 [SDS]             at 16:01 EDT

 T.GIRSCH:

 Aside from bug fixes and the new desktop, one thing many users forget
 about is features that are added to the OS for programmers to enhance
 their applications.  My best advice is to upgrade.  It ends up helping
 everybody.

 If you know anything about MS Windows, then you'll know that when
 version 3.1 came out you practically _had_ to upgrade from 3.0.
 Microsoft added a lot of new features to the OS and developers on that
 platform usually abandon older versions as soon as new ones come out.
 All users end up benefiting because developers don't have to worry about
 backward compatibility.

 So what's your point... Right now, Atari developers have to put an
 enormous amount of thought and effort into making sure their programs
 work with the 10- 15 TOS versions still in use.  Many new features which
 exist in newer versions of TOS _are not_ taken advantage of because they
 wouldn't work on many machines.  The more users that upgrade, the less
 we'll have to plan on TOS 1.0 users with single-sided floppies and 512k
 of RAM.

 In the future many of my company's products will only run on TOS 1.4 and
 greater and we will be developing 'MultiTOS only' applications.
 Hopefully my company and others will release applications of a quality
 high enough to justify most users to upgrade so applications as a whole
 can be of better quality.

 -Scott @ SDS
 Member IAAD
 ----------
 Message 64        Wed Jul 29, 1992
 GRIBNIF [Dan]                at 17:06 EDT

 TOS 2.06 is really a lot like 1.4. About the only things it has
 added (besides the new desktop) are cookie jar support, a handful of new
 AES calls, and support for other CPU's and new hardware (like the FPU,
 SCC serial ports, and HD floppy drive.)

 The differences between 1.4 and 2.06 at the GEMDOS (the part of the
 operating system that does file i/o) level are minuscule. However, if
 you still have TOS 1.0 or 1.2, then I do strongly suggest going to 1.4
 or 2.06 because there were some major changes made in this area for 1.4.

 Of course, NeoDesk will run no matter what TOS version you have, and it,
 as always, is far superior to Atari's desktop. <grin>

 Dan
 ======================================


 POOF!!  NO MORE DEALERS!
 ------------------------
 -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14)
 -=> from the "General Help or Questions" topic (5)

 Message 55        Tue Jul 28, 1992
 J.MEEHAN3 [>> Joe M << ]     at 06:31 EDT

 Have you noticed it is becoming more difficult to find an Atari dealer?
 Well, I have news for you, buddy.  It's getting more difficult to find
 any dealer.

 The other day I went looking for some chips to extend the memory in my
 HP Laser Jet printer.  I went to three DOS stores that I had been at
 before.  Each was closed, or totally gone (like replaced by a Pizza
 shop).  It seems there is a lot of hard times these days.  I had the
 same experience on the phone when I tried to find the chips and in two
 other states.  One store I stopped at was in its last day of going out
 of business sale.

 BTW the first place I found chips was at Team Computers in Detroit, they
 are an Atari dealer. <grin>

 >> Joe Meehan <<
 ----------
 Message 56        Tue Jul 28, 1992
 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs]       at 11:15 EDT

 You know, Joe, I think you are right.  Our local paper had an article in
 the business section last month in which the demise of three independent
 clone stores was lamented.  I had relied on one of these stores for my
 supply of power cords (where do those things go?) and inkjet cartridges.
 ======================================


 1.44M HIGH DENSITY UPGRADES
 ---------------------------
 -=> In the "Atari Corporation Online" category (14)
 -=> from the "High Density Drives / AJAX chip" topic (36)

 Message 32        Thu Jul 23, 1992
 M.DRYSDALE [Drys]            at 06:01 EDT

 For those of you just joined the discussion......

 EVERY STe (again STe, yes MEGA STe too) is ready for TOS 2.06.  Just
 remove the old TOS and plug in the new chips.  No boards or
 modifications are needed.  ALL STs can use the Ajax.  It is the
 replacement for the WD1772 and is in all newly manufactured STs.

 EVERY MEGA STe and TT is ready for a 1.44 (or 2.88) floppy drive.
 Install TOS 2.06 or 3.06 (TOS 2.05 and 3.05 DO NOT work), the Ajax chip,
 a 1.44 (or 2.88) mech, and flip dip switch #7.  Yes it will still read,
 write, format, 360K (single-sided) and 720K (double-sided) disks as well
 as other perverse and extended format disks (IBM, SPECTRE, Mac, Etc).

 If you have an ST (the older stuff) or STe, adding a 1.44 floppy will be
 much more complex, AND MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE AT ALL.  First try the OPI
 [Omnimon Peripherals, Inc.] drive product.  Or, do all of the above for
 the MSTe, hand-wire a switch, and wire for a switchable 8/16MHz signal
 for the drive.  Of course if you try to read/write a disk with the
 switch in the wrong position....fffftt.  Best bet:  buy a MEGA STe.

 Owners of older STs (NOT STe's) who want TOS 2.06, go directly to
 Codehead (do not pass GO) and get the TEC board.

 Mike Drysdale, TEAM COMPUTERS

 If you want to have some fun right now, MEGA STe owners ONLY, flip dip
 switch #7 (it's under the hard drive) and go to format.
 ======================================


 DOOMSDAY FOR DEC?
 -----------------
 -=> In the "Flaming - Debating - Discussions - Rumors" category (18)
 -=> from the "Atari 'Falcon' Project" topic (20)

 Message 98        Thu Jul 23, 1992
 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH]        at 23:30 EDT

 If it makes you feel better, Atari is not the only company to be blind
 to great opportunities and market shifts, just look at Wang and DEC.
 Hell, DEC was a $12 BILLION company, and they've blown it as bad or
 worse than Atari ever did. I know a lot of people around here who doubt
 DEC will survive.
 ----------
 Message 99        Fri Jul 24, 1992
 M.PERDUE [Mario]             at 01:41 EDT

 Jim,

 I'll bet DEC wishes they had the Lynx to fall back on, huh? :^)
 ======================================



 OUCH!  POWER SURGES
 -------------------
 (Home Office/Small Business Roundtable)
 -=> In the "Office Technology, Equipment, and Supplies" category (5)
 -=> from the "Power Protection Equipment" topic (29)

 Message 6         Mon Jul 20, 1992
 K.PHILLIPS4 [Ken P]          at 22:19 EDT

 Lighting strikes are but one way power surges can occur.  They can (and
 do) occur every time....

 ...the electric company opens and closes a switch to reroute power off
 lines that are being serviced.

 ...a car or truck hits a pole with enough force to cause a 'phase-out'
 (two lines touch).

 ...a cat or a mouse scratches itself on two poles in a switch box or a
 transformer housing.

 Ken
 ----------
 Message 7         Mon Jul 20, 1992
 NASS [Joni]                  at 23:05 EDT

 I live here in Upstate New York.  Last summer we lost our fax to
 lightning that came in via the phone line.  It fried it so bad it needed
 to be sent back to the company for repair.  Luckily it only cost us
 $134.  So... now, if a storm is moving toward us, I just unplug the
 computers, the word processor, and the fax -- just to be sure, even
 though I have a line conditioner on one of the computers.

 = Joni =
 ----------
 Message 8         Tue Jul 21, 1992
 T.DUCHESNEAU [Tom]           at 06:06 EDT

 Power surges are caused by many other things besides lightning.  I just
 received the latest issue of the American Power Conversion (APC)
 newsletter.  It had a very interesting article detailing the wild power
 fluctuations during a series of California earthquakes back in April.
 The data was captured by APC Power chute software from an APC SmartUPS.
 The disruptions went on for several days.

 ...Tom
 ----------
 Message 9         Tue Jul 21, 1992
 T.DUCHESNEAU [Tom]           at 06:37 EDT

 Joni, you bring up a good point.  All electrical connections with the
 outside world should be surge protected.  Phone lines are a notorious
 source of surge damage because people forget about them.  Most
 manufacturers of surge protection equipment make some models with phone
 surge built in.

 This is especially important on a network as everything is connected
 together and one surge can damage every machine on your network.  I have
 a customer in Vermont who unplugged every machine on the network because
 of a bad thunderstorm, but forgot the ground on the network cable.  The
 file server disk and disk controller, plus two or three network cards
 were damaged.

 ...Tom
 ----------
 Message 10        Tue Jul 21, 1992
 TELASKA [Paul]               at 09:38 EDT

 The largest, most comprehensive power quality study in history is now
 underway; it's a little more than half way through its five year run,
 involving sampling points taken at random locations throughout North
 America.  The partial results now available already make it very clear
 that the vast majority of power aberrations originate WITHIN THE USERS'
 PREMISES.  As equipment becomes more sophisticated (switch-mode power
 supplies, SCR dimmers, etc.), it tends to throw unwanted products back
 onto the power line where they can then be picked up by nearby users.
 This becomes especially critical in large office buildings where the
 density of high-tech equipment can be very high indeed.

 Of course, not all of these aberrations are necessarily going to be
 damaging to equipment.  And the damage they do will probably be much
 less dramatic and noticeable (at least immediately) than a lightning
 strike!  However, that makes them all the more insidious, doesn't it.
 A little hit here, a little nudge there, and after a while your hard
 drive goes south.  You think maybe it was "just time for the ol' drive
 to go on to Hard Drive Heaven", but the truth is, many of those
 "natural" equipment failures are just the result of accumulated trauma
 from bad power.  Very hard to document on a case by case basis, but very
 easy to see statistically when comparing protected vs. non-protected
 equipment.

 -=[ Paul ]=-
 ======================================




 | | |  THE WACKY WORLD OF ST GAMING - PART 2/2
 | | |  By Eric Bitton
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 The following article is reprinted in Atari Explorer Online by
 permission of AtariUser magazine.  It MAY NOT be further reprinted
 without specific permission of AtariUser.  AtariUser is a monthly Atari
 magazine, available by subscription by calling [phone].

 ---
 Mindscape UK:
 This company doesn't actually design anything, they just do marketing
 and distribution.

 Current stuff: Blue Max: Aces Of The Great War (horrible)
 Captain Planet (ack!)
 Captive (cool futuristic Dungeon Master)
 Knightmare (improved Captive interface, fantasy setting),
 Legend (fantasy RPG by the designer of Bloodwych).

 In the works: Captive II, Moonstones (fantasy RPG)
 Skid Marks (3-D racing)
 Ultima VI: The False Prophet.
 ---

 Mirrorsoft UK:
 This company is out of business.  It belonged to Robert Maxwell's Mirror
 Group and crumbled along with the rest of his financial empire.  Acclaim
 stepped in and bought whatever was left.  This is bound to annoy Ocean,
 since they relied greatly on games licensed from Acclaim to make their
 money, and Acclaim wants to go onto computer software in addition to
 console cartridges.  Things will get particularly sticky from here, so
 pay attention.  Here's what's still floating around under the Mirrorsoft
 label:

 Flight Of The Intruder
 Falcon: The Classic Collection (Falcon plus mission disks 1 and 2)
 Wolfpack (WWII submarine)

 Under the Imageworks label:
 First Samurai
 Mega lo Mania
 Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: The Arcade Game (the British government
 didn't like the connotations of the word "ninja", so it's "hero"
 instead).

 Under the Mirror Image budget label:
 Austerlitz
 Bloodwych
 Carrier Command
 Defender Of The Crown
 Federation Of Free Traders
 King Of Chicago
 Onslaught
 Rocket Ranger
 RVF Honda
 Speedball
 Starglider II
 Strike Force Harrier
 3D Pool
 TV Sports Football
 Xenon II: Megablast.

 Games that were in development for Mirrorsoft and were grabbed by other
 companies:

 Cannon Fodder (now under Virgin UK)
 Fire And Ice (Renegade UK)
 Legend (Mindscape UK)
 Lure Of The Temptress (Virgin UK)

 Games that are still in development limbo:
 Alien 3
 Battle Of Britain Jubilee (Their Finest Hour with real 3D polygons, from
 Rowan "Falcon" Software)
 Bill Elliott's NASCAR Challenge
 Blade Warrior (that one looked neat)
 Drop Soldier
 Duster
 Mega lo Mania II.
 ---


 Novagen UK:
 This company has often been compared to a glacier because, 1) they've
 been around forever and, 2) they move very slowly.  Some of you 8-bit
 users are bound to remember Encounter and Mercenary, sold by good old
 Datasoft way back when.  Well, both of those made it to the ST, and a
 few sequels too!  Damocles is in fact Mercenary, redone with 3-D
 polygons and a whole solar system to play around in.  Backlash is an
 Encounter style tank shoot'em'up but without those big columns to avoid.
 The newest release is Mercenary III: The Dion Crisis.  No more flying
 around recklessly in this one, you have to use the mass transit systems
 (cabs, buses, commuter ships, spaceships, etc...) and you can interact
 with people, sort of.  Interesting.  In the works: Paul Woakes (the
 boss) only knows...
 ---


 Ocean UK:
 This is your basic big-time, conversion-releasing, license-grabbing,
 behemoth of a software company.  They spend big bucks on stuff like The
 Simpsons, Smash TV, The Addams Family, Terminator 2, the Robocops,
 Darkman, and sometimes, the games are actually playable.  Now that their
 main source of licenses, Acclaim, has grabbed the wreckage of
 Mirrorsoft, Ocean is going to be in a bit of a bind.  Heaven forbid they
 should actually release original games (he said, tongue firmly planted
 in cheek).  Anyway, currently out:

 The Addams Family (platform)
 Epic (Battlestar Galactica all over again)
 Ninja Collection (Double Dragon, Dragon Ninja, and Shadow Warriors)
 Parasol Stars (Bubble Bobble part 3)
 The Rainbow Collection (contains Bubble-Bobble, Rainbow Islands, and The
 New Zealand Story)
 Robocop 3 (in 3-D)
 The Simpsons: Bart Versus The Space Mutants
 Smash TV
 Space Gun
 Terminator 2: Judgement Day
 2-Hot 2-Handle (Shadow Warriors Golden Axe, Total Recall, and Ivan
 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road)
 WWF Wrestlemania.

 In the works:
 Billy The Kid
 Push-Over (platform)
 Retaliator II (flight simulator)
 SimEarth (from Maxis)
 Snow Bros
 Wizkid (sequel to Wizball).

 Ocean's budget label is called The Hit Squad.
 ---


 Oxford Softworks UK:
 This company specializes in classic board games.  Out now:
 Intelligent Strategy Games (you get chess, bridge, go, backgammon, and
 draughts, which is checkers), works in color and monochrome.

 In the works: Omar Sharif's Bridge.
 ---


 Palace UK:
 Another mixed bag kind of company.  Silmarils used to hang out here but
 they now have their own company, Daze Marketing UK.  Palace is better
 known for Barbarian, a game that was banned in Germany because of its
 violence: you could decapitate your opponent.  Epyx released that game
 as Death Sword.  Out now:

 Boston Bomb Club (Simarils)
 Crystals Of Arborea (Silmarils)
 Demoniak (text adventure with a few pictures)
 Hot Rubber (UK version of Grand Prix 500 II)
 Metal Mutant (Silmarils)
 Sliders (soccer meets Marble Madness)
 Swap (puzzler).

 In the works:
 Complex
 Hostile Breed
 Super Barbarian (sequel to Barbarian and Barbarian II).
 ---


 Pocket Power UK:
 Super cheap game re-issues in teeny packaging.  Most of the games were
 designed by Logotron, now defunct.  Out now:

 Archipelagos
 Bad Company
 Beyond The Ice Palace
 Deflektor
 Eye Of Horus
 Quadralien
 Starblaze
 Stargoose
 StarRay
 ---


 Rainbow Arts (Germany):
 Interesting stuff here:
 Logical (puzzler)
 Masterblazer (an ST conversion of Lucasfilm's legendary Ballblazer)
 Turrican II: The Final Fight (killer platform shoot'em'up).

 In the works:
 Centerbase (futuristic trade and strategy game)
 Fate: Gates Of Dawn (fantasy RPG)
 Mad TV
 M.U.D.S.  (Mean Ugly Dirty Sport)
 Rescue On Fractalus (ST version of the classic Lucasfilm fractals-using
 flight simulator/shoot'em'up)
 Rotator (overhead view tank shoot'em'up)
 Transatlantic (shipping simulation)
 ---


 Renegade UK:
 Four months before the fateful crash of Mirrorsoft, the Bitmap Brothers
 decided to leave Imageworks and start their own company.  Pretty lucky
 guys, I would say!  Aside from Bitmap Brothers designs, Renegade has
 also rescued Graftgold's Fire And Ice from the Mirrorsoft wreckage.  Out
 now:

 Cadaver: The Pay Off (scenario disk for Cadaver)
 Gods (platform game)
 Magic Pockets (a cutesy version of Gods)

 In the works:
 Bitmap Brothers Volume 1 (Xenon, Cadaver, and Speedball 2)
 Bitmap Brothers Volume 2 (Speedball, Gods, and Xenon 2: Megablast)
 Chaos Engine
 Fire And Ice (cutesy platform game)
 Sensible Soccer (which looks good so far)
 ---


 Simulations Canada:
 Text-only war games that use the computer as a referee.  Latest release:
 Pacific Storm: The Solomon's Campaign.
 ---


 Software Projects UK:
 Budget stuff.  If you had a Commodore C64 and played games like Manic
 Miner and Jet Set Willy on it, your ST versions are here!
 ---


 Starbyte (Germany):
 So-so games.  Out now:
 Crime Time (graphic adventure).

 In the works:
 Crown
 Lords Of Doom
 The Return Of Medusa
 Spirit Of Adventure
 ---


 Storm UK:
 Design team The Sales Curve used to work for Virgin, but they decided to
 start their own software company.  Some of their past achievement
 includes the nice conversion of Silkworm.  Out now:

 Big Run (Jaleco coin-op, pretty bland)
 Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat (similar to Super Sprint)
 Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stones
 Final Blow (boxing)
 Rod Land (this one is a lot better than it looks.  I hate the box it
 comes in).

 In the works:
 Asylum
 Brute Force
 The Lawnmower Man (movie tie-in)
 Solar Jetman
 ---


 System 3 UK:
 Another company that takes forever to release stuff.  Most famous for
 their Last Ninja series and the ultra-cool IK+.  Out now:

 System 3 Premier Collection (Tusker, IK+, Flimbo's Quest, and Ninja
 Remix).

 In the works:
 Changeling
 Constructor
 International Karate Deluxe
 The Last Ninja III
 Myth (August)
 Silly Putty
 Turbo Charge
 Vendetta
 ---


 Thalamus UK:
 Mostly 8-bit stuff, with the occasional ST game here and there. Out now:

 Armalyte: The Final Run (sequel to classic 8-bit game Armalyte, like
 R*Type, but a lot tougher).

 In the works:
 Arsenal F.C.
 Restrictor
 ---


 Thalion (Germany):
 Company started by a bunch of hackers (or so they say).  The first batch
 of products wasn't that great.  The second batch was a slight
 improvement.  Out now:

 A320 Airbus (simulation of said airliner)
 Enchanted Land (platform)
 Tangram (puzzler)
 Thalion: First Year (Chambers Of Shaolin, Seven Gates Of Jambala, Warp,
 and Leavin' Teramis).

 In the works:
 Dragonflight II (RPG)
 Tower FRA (air traffic control)
 ---


 Titus (France) has the dubious distinction of having consistently
 released some of the stupidest and worst computer games of all times.
 Titles like Crazy Cars, Fire And Forget, Offshore Warrior, Crazy Cars
 II/F-40 Pursuit Simulator, Knight Force, Dark Century, Wild Streets, and
 Galactic Conqueror (ESPECIALLY Galactic Conqueror!!) send hardened ST
 gamers scurrying for cover.  Out now:

 Blues Brothers (okay platform game)
 Crime Does Not Pay (lame)
 Duck Tales: The Quest For Gold
 Prehistorik
 Titus The Fox (platform)

 In the works:
 Arachnophobia
 Battle Storm
 The Brainies
 Crazy Bikes
 Crazy Cars III
 ---


 Trojan UK:
 This company sells a light gun that looks suspiciously like the one
 supplied with the old Atari XEGS.  I tried mine, but it didn't work, so
 they must have rewired the plugs.  They program their own games to go
 with it, and Ocean's Space Gun is the first third party game to use the
 gun.  Out now:

 Cyber Assault (futuristic DM-style shoot'em'up)
 The Enforcer (gangster-era shoot'em'up)
 Firestar (kinda like Defender)
 ---


 Turcan Research Systems UK:
 Peter Turcan has programmed several wargames over the years that were
 marketed by Arc UK and PSS UK (a division of Mirrorsoft, so it's out of
 business too).  These wargames were all text-driven and used a 3-D
 display.  Instead of clicking on icons, you simply type something like
 "move 1st battalion East 5 miles", a rather interesting concept.  Since
 PSS went down, Mr. Turcan was forced to go his own way.  His new one,
 Dreadnoughts, uses the same engine as all the other wargames, and deals
 with naval combat during World War I.
 ---


 21st Century Entertainments UK:
 Oh yeah, sure, games so good they seem to come from the 21st Century, do
 tell.  Don't be fooled by the shiny new name, this is actually Hewson UK
 in disguise.  Hit and miss pretty much describes this company.  One of
 their biggest hit was Nebulous (sold as Tower Toppler by Epyx in the US).

 Out now:

 Deliverance (sequel to Stormlord, a Hewson game)
 Moonfall (very boring)
 Rubicon (shoot monsters, nothing special)

 In the works:
 Nebulus 2 (delayed over and over)
 ---


 UBI Soft (France):
 Interestingly varied games, and another really good racer.  Out now:

 Maupiti Island (graphic adventure with speech by Lankhor)
 Ten Great Games (Ferrari Formula 1, Rick Dangerous, Pick'N'Pile, Night
 Hunter, Carrier Command, Satan, Superski, Chicago 90, Xenon 2:
 Megablast, and Pro Tennis Tour)
 Unreal, and Vroom (very nice, very fast Formula 1 racing game by
 Lankhor).

 In the works:
 B.A.T. II (futuristic graphic adventure)
 Celtic Legends (fantasy wargame)
 Dyna-Blaster/Bomber-Man
 Lightquest
 Star Rush
 ---


 US Gold UK has been around for a long time and is mostly known for its
 average (and sometimes terrible) coin-op conversions, as well as the odd
 movie tie-in and original design.  They also coded three SSI AD&D
 titles: Dragons Of Flame, Heroes Of The Lance, and the more recent
 Shadow Sorcerer.  Quality varies greatly from one title to the next, so
 try before you buy!  They also distribute Delphine titles and have a
 budget label called Kixx.  They used to distribute Millenium (UK)
 products, but that company is now with Electronic Arts (UK).  Currently
 available:

 Alien Storm (Golden Axe with aliens)
 Bonanza Brothers
 Final Fight
 Gauntlet III: The Final Quest
 The Godfather: Action Game
 MAX (Maximum Action Xtra, a compilation containing Night Shift, Saint
 Dragon, SWIV, and Turrican II), Mega Twins, OutRun Europa, and Shadow
 Sorcerer (SSI).

 Coming soon:
 Citadel Of The Black Sun
 G-Loc (braindead sequel to Afterburner)
 Greyhawk
 Magic Sword
 Menander Brothers
 The Quest For Adventure Series #1 (contains Operation Stealth, Mean
 Streets, and Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade Adventure Game)
 Street Fighter II (the blockbuster coin-op).

 Millenium titles currently available:
 The Adventures Of Robin Hood
 Horror Zombies From The Crypt
 James Pond 2: Codename Robocod

 For newer titles, see Electronic Arts (UK).  Current Delphine titles:
 Another World (GREAT! It's like a movie!  You gotta check this one out!)
 and Cruise For A Corpse.
 ---


 Virgin UK:
 In addition to the games released by the US office, there is also Jimmy
 White's Whirlwind Snooker, an incredibly sophisticated and eye-popping
 snooker simulation; designer Archer MacLean is working on a sequel based
 on pool and billiards.  Also coming soon is Dune (out for PC and looking
 good), Space Shuttle (total 3-D simulation), Lure Of The Temptress
 (gives Monkey Island a run for its money), Apocalypse, Cannon Fodder,
 Floor 13, and Rookies.  Virgin also has two budget game lines: 16 Blitz
 and Tronix.
 ---


 Zeppelin UK:
 Nothing but budget stuff here.  Try before you buy.

 Most of the information used in this article came from my monthly
 online guide to current and upcoming ST games.  I began publishing the
 electronic newsletter in May 1989, and while originally called ZENOBOT'S
 Guide, it's now the "ST Gaming Digest."  It's edited by yours truly, and
 is available on GEnie and distributed via several Los Angeles bulletin
 board systems: The O'Mayer V (213-732-0229), The Jungle (213-254-9534),
 and The London Smog (714-546-2152).  Topic 22 in category 9 (games) of
 the ST Roundtable (GEnie) is used to handle feedback about STGD.

 How to reach the ST game companies (I swear, some of these keep their
 address information as a trade secret!):

 American companies:

 The Avalon Hill Game Company, 4517 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD, 21214,
 [phone]

 Digitek, 708 W. Buffalo avenue, Suite 200, Tampa, FL, 33603, (813)
 933-8023

 FTL Games, [phone]

 InnerPrise Software Inc., 128 Cockeysville Road, Hunt Valley, MD, 21030
 [phone]

 Lucasfilm, PO Box 10307, San Rafael, CA, 94912, [phone]

 MegaSoft Entertainment, 137 W. Bay Area, Webster, TX, 77598, (713)
 338-2231

 Merit Software, 13635 Gamma Road, Dallas, TX, 75244, [phone]

 Microdaft, 1012 S. Main Street, Taylor, PA, 18517

 Mindcraft, 2341 205th Street, Suite 102, Torrance, CA, 90501, (310)
 320-5215

 Psygnosis, 29 Saint Mary's Court, Brookline, MA, 02146, [phone]

 Readysoft, 30 Wertheim Court, Unit 2, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada,
 L4B 1B9, [phone]

 Sierra, PO Box 485, Coarsegold, CA, 93614, [phone]

 Simulations Canada, PO Box 452, Bridgewater, NS, Canada, B4V 2X6

 Spectrum Holobyte, 2061 Challenger Drive, Alameda, CA, 94501, (510)
 522-3584

 Sublogic, 501 Kenyon Road, Champlain, IL, 61820, [phone]

 Virgin, 711 W. 17th Street, Suite G9, Costa Mesa, CA, 92627, (714)
 833-8710

 European companies:

 Celebrity Software
 Lonsdale House, Woodland Park
 Colwyn Bay, LL29 7HA   [phone]

 Codemasters
 PO Box 6
 Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 OSH  [phone]

 Core Design Ltd
 Suite C, Tradewinds House, 69/71a Ashbourne Road
 Derby, DE3 3FS   [phone]

 Daze Marketing Limited
 Dagmar House, 12 Old Street
 London, EC2V OAB

 Domark Group Ltd
 Ferry House, 51-57 Lacy Road
 London, SW15 1PR

 Electronic Arts
 Langley Business Centre, 11-49 Station Road
 Langley, Nr. Slough, Berkeshire SL3 8YN    [phone]

 Empire Software
 4 The Stannets, Laindon North Trade Center
 Basildon, Essex, SS15 6DJ   [phone]

 Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd
 Carver House, 2-4 Carver Street
 Sheffield, S1 4FS

 Microprose
 Unit 1, Hampton Road Industrial Estate
 Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8LD    [phone]

 Mindscape International
 The Coach House, Hooklands Estate
 Scaynes Hill, West Sussex, RH17 7NG   [phone]

 Ocean Software Limited
 6 Central Street
 Manchester, M2 5NS   [phone]

 Renegade UK
 C1 Metropolitan Wharf, Wapping Wall
 London, E1 955

 Storm (Sales Curve)
 Lombard Business Centre, 50 Lombard Road
 London, SW11 3SU   [phone]

 Turcan Research Systems
 83 Greencroft Gardens
 London, NW6 3LJ   [phone]

 UBI Soft
 8 & 10 rue de Valmy
 Montreuil Sous Bois, Paris, 93100, France   (1) 48-57-65-52

 US Gold Limited
 Units 2/3, Holford Way
 Holford, Birmingham, B6 7AX   [phone]




 | | |  RUN THAT BY ME, AGAIN!
 | | |  By Bob Smith
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 Many things happen when you are participate in your chosen career(s).
 Some of which are sad, some of which are mundane and some of which are
 funny and humorous.  They may not be funny at the time, but when you
 look back these happenings take on the guise of being extremely comical.
 The following quotes are actual statements found on insurance and police
 reports where car drivers attempted to summarize the details in the few
 words possible.

 Sit back and enjoy these humorous quotes and if any of you actually have
 experienced these, by all means don't tell anybody.

 "Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree that
 I don't have."

 "The other car collided with mine without giving warning of it's
 intentions."

 "I thought my window was down, but I found it was up when I put my hand
 through it."

 "I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way."

 "A pedestrian hit me and went under my car."

 "A truck backed through my windshield into my wife's face."

 "The guy was all over the road and I had to swerve a number of times
 before I hit him."

 "I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law,
 and headed for the embankment."

 "As I approached the intersection, a sign suddenly appeared in a place
 where no stop sign had ever appeared before.

 "My car was legally parked as it backed in the other vehicle."

 "I told the police that I was not injured, but on removing my hat, I
 found that I had a fractured skull."

 "The pedestrian had no idea which direction to run, so I ran over him."

 "The indirect cause of this accident was a little guy in a small car
 with a big mouth."

 "An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my vehicle and vanished."

 "I saw a slow moving sad faced old gentleman as he bounced off the hood
 of my car."

 "I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the
 road when I struck him."

 "I was thrown from my car as it left the road.  I was later found in a
 ditch by some stray cows."

 "The telephone pole was approaching.  I was attempting to swerve out of
 it's way, when it struck my front end."

 "I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my universal
 joint gave way causing me to have an accident."

 "I had been driving for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had
 an accident."

 "In my attempt to hit a fly I drove into a telephone pole."

 While we are on the subject of humor, let me tell you that a lot of
 power is needed to generate laughter.  In the same vain, there are other
 kinds of power producing units.  Have you ever had the urge to know
 exactly how to upgrade your personal Nuclear Power facility and how it
 is built?  What follows is an excellent example of what you didn't want
 to know.

 If you have experienced a power let down with your personal nuclear
 reactor then the following information is vital to you.  Read it
 carefully so that you fully understand it and make sure that you be the
 first on your block to have this upgrade.  Never suffer from power
 shortage again.

 Now available, the QBX-1, add on nuclear reactor provides backup power
 for as long as 12 years.  When the card senses a power failure,
 explosive bolts eject moderator and control rods from the reactor's
 interior within 20 microseconds, bringing the reactor to its fully rated
 output of 20kW in less than a millisecond.  Over its 12 year life, the
 reactors power decreases by 25% to 15 kW.

 Integral heat fins provide convection cooling of the reactor's 500W
 power dissipation while the reactor remains in its standby condition.
 IF your computer's fans can't furnish 400 CFM of forced air for cooling,
 consider buying the manufacturer's heavy water cooling jacket and
 stainless steel pump module, which fits conveniently under a desk or
 workbench.  Latches on each side of the reactor module let you quickly
 exchange the radioactive core, should you need to replace it.  An
 optional circular viewing port of lead glass lets you check the
 reactor's internal mechanical assemblies.

 To protect users from undue radiation, each reactor includes a shielding
 kit, comprising five self-stick lead plates and 20 radiation monitoring
 film badges.  The lead plates mount inside your computer's enclosure and
 reduce the gamma rays that cause soft errors to floppy disk and RAM
 data.  For further protection, consider buying the manufacturer's 200-
 ft extension cords for the keyboard and monitors.

 Because the reactor can supply more than enough power for your computer,
 you can sell excess power to your local utility company.  An add-on
 phasing and metering kit (PMK-1) lets you connect your reactor to the
 local power grid,  Each PMK-1 includes standard power sale contract and
 Rural Electrification Board rules and regulations.

 Although not required in all localities, each reactor package includes a
 standard 23-volume site-evacuation plan.  The plan includes blank forms
 for you to fill in the name and address of your reactor site and then
 mail to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  As an option, the
 manufacturer supplies the plans on 22 disks in STWriter format.  User
 friendly templates let you type in the information so that your word
 processor can create a complete, printed document.

 Reactor prices start at $2.3 million with delivery expected in seven
 years.

 Well, there you go, now you can run right out, get in your vehicle and
 go straight to the post office to drop your money order in the mail.  Oh
 yes, don't get hit by any moving houses, trees and above all don't try
 and kill any flies.




 | | |  RUN A BETTER BBS
 | | |  By Regan Weed, VAUG
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 Really, when you stop to think about it, most BBS's are the same.  Most,
 if not all, have E-Mail, areas for general information, buy & sell,
 files to download, etc., etc..  So what makes one BBS better than
 another?

 SOFTWARE
 A case can be made for the particular BBS software the system is
 running.  Older programs may not feature much in the way of flexibility,
 such as "On-line Games" or " Color".

 HARDWARE
 Obviously you can do more with a Mega ST2 and 40 Meg hard drive then
 with a 1040ST.  But, bigger is not always better, and there's more to
 running a BBS than having lots of downloads!

 SYSOP (Systems Operator)
 Each BBS has a different flavor (even with the same software) because of
 this person.  The SysOp is the catalyst and when you choose one BBS over
 another many times it's because of the SysOp.  So what do you (the
 SysOp) need to do to 'Run a better BBS'?  First have a 'message area'
 that reflects the interest of most users.  If you have a 'general
 information' sub-section watch it for trends and open new sub-sections
 to fill the needs of your users.  If there's a users group in your area,
 have a section setup for them to leave club messages.  Keep things
 current by removing old messages.  If things slow down in a message
 section start a discussion.  If, after a period of time, it's still
 inactive, delete that section and try a new subject.

 AVOID COMPLAINING
 Not enough messages posted, not enough users uploading ect.  Once you
 start casting blame on your users you'll kill the board, and fast!  If
 you wish to see more uploads then set a fair upload/download ratio, say
 10 to 1.  You can't make people respond to a message base or play an
 On-line game so don't even try.  Some SysOp's limit the users time to
 try and get them to do more on their BBS.  This is a little like trying
 to get blood from a stone - not exactly the way to get a favorable
 reaction!

 TIPS
 Keep your log-on screen messages up-to-date and short (if there's no way
 to by-pass it).  You have to remember your out-of-town users and their
 phone bills!

 When you have a limited system for downloads, try rotating half of your
 files every two to three weeks.

 Don't butt-in.  Only use 'Chat' mode when your called or you'll make
 your users feel like their every move is being watched.

 Try your best and keep in mind....  A good BBS is just as much work as
 bad one!




 | | |  GENIE NEWS UPDATE - ALL AREAS
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 QB1 PRESEASON BEGINS
 WHO:   New York Jets & Philadelphia Eagles
 WHEN:  August 1st, 3:00 pm eastern
 WHERE: Your ABC station / M1030 or QB1 on GEnie

 Please join us as the 1992/93 QB1 season gets underway.  Close to 150
 NFL & College games will be offered this year and lots of prizes
 awarded.  The preseason schedule has been posted and pass plans are now
 available to make playing on a weekly, monthly, or season basis very
 econimical.  Visit the QB1 menu page for more details.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


 ATARI RT NEWS 7.5 (Edited)

 NEW FEATURE!!!   Darlah's Treat - The Free File Of The Month!
 The ST Roundtable is happy to announce a new service to ST Roundtable
 members.  Introducing "Darlah's Treat," a file that can be downloaded
 directly from the main ST Roundtable menu here on Page 475.  For free!
 Simply select menu item 9 on Page 475 to download the free file of the
 month.  See Category 1, Topic 12 in the Bulletin Board for more details.

 BULLETIN BOARD
 Programming support is available in the Atari ST Roundtable's Bulletin
 Board.  Whether you program in assembly, basic, C or any other
 programming language available for the ST/STe/TT you can find help from
 the authors, distributors, Atari Corporation, and knowledgeable users.
 If you need an answer for something not covered in the current topics
 just start a new one in the appropriate Category.  Atari ST Roundtable
 also provides a confidential category for Atari Association of
 Developers (AAD) and Atari Association of Professional Developers please
 read Category 3, topic 34 for admittance and qualifying information.

 REALTIME CONFERENCE
 Atari ST Roundtable is proud to announce the opening of a Sunday Help
 Desk to answer your questions on GEnie, Atari ST Roundtable and the line
 of Atari computers.  Stop in and ask questions or just visit the Atari
 RT staff and users.  The Help Desk starts at 7:00 pm EST Sunday on page
 475;2.

 Monday Night Desktop Publishing Real Time Conferences will feature a
 number of special guests during the next few months.  Drop in and get
 the latest info on program features and updates.  All conferences begin
 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  Monday DTP conferences - Hosted by Lou
 Rocha [L.ROCHA1] and Nathan Potechin [ISD], Contact: JEFF.W, L.ROCHA1,
 ISD, DARLAH
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


 WRITERS.INK @GENIE

 TOM CLANCY
 First, mark your calendars for the Sunday, August 30th visit of Tom
 Clancy for a special Real Time Conference.  The conference will start at
 8:30 pm eastern time in the Writers' RTC on page 440.  Tom is always an
 entertaining and instructional guest (to say the least).  Here's your
 chance to chat with one of the bestselling authors of all time.

 MICHAEL CRICHTON
 Next, we've just arranged a Real Time Conference with Michael Crichton,
 author of books such as Andromeda Strain, Terminal Man and Jurassic Park
 (which is now being made into a movie by Steven Spielberg).  Michael was
 also the director of the movies Coma and Westworld.  The date will be
 sometime in November.

 HAND ME THE DUSTPAN
 And news item #3 is the upcoming cleaning and reorganization of the
 Writers' Bulletin Board.  The Bulletin Board (BB) will be closed on
 August 18th for a complete overhaul.  Old Categories will be moved, new
 Categories will be created and topics will be zapped or moved.  Many of
 you will be glad to hear we are adding a new Mystery Category as well as
 a Research area and a Category for young writers and students.  We are
 also expanding out Nonfiction area with new Categories for Journalism
 and Technical Writing.

 CLEAN SWEEP
 The Bulletin Board has gotten very cluttered.  Our goal is to set things
 up so it's easier to find messages... and easier to discuss subjects.  A
 majority of topics will be deleted.  Some of these will be archived and
 saved.  However, if there is a discussion you think is a gem, I'd
 recommend that you save a copy now.  With 100s of topics, there is no
 way to let everyone know which ones are going and which ones are staying
 (I'm not even sure yet).  If a topic was a favorite, we (or you) can
 restart it.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



 | | |  CONNECTICUT ATARIFEST '92 TO OFFER SYSTEM UPGRADES
 | | |  Press Release
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 Repair Expert Offers How-To Lesson in RAM, Speed, TOS Enhancements

 HARTFORD, Conn. (July 31, 1992) -- Not everybody can afford to buy a
 brand new computer system, optical character reader, laser printer or
 hard drive, but certain items that are within almost everyone's
 budgetary reach can make a big difference in the way their computer
 performs.

 We're talking, of course, about RAM expansion and accelerator boards for
 Atari computers, as well as TOS upgrade kits all of which will be
 available at Connecticut AtariFest '92 (CAF) August 15 & 16 at the
 Sheraton Hotel at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.  One
 special exhibitor will enable you to beef up your computing power on the
 spot.  In addition to various vendors that will sell their own upgrade
 kits, East Hartford Computer Repair will perform a limited number of
 upgrade installations at the show.

 EHCR owner Tom Allard will offer a few demonstrations designed to teach
 the Atari user how to perform an upgrade by installing a board or chip
 that means bigger spreadsheets, fewer waits for processing and improved
 desktop features.  For the klutz who'd prefer not to whip up a serving
 of baked circuits and solder surprise, Allard will perform selected
 upgrades for ST/Mega/TT and 8-bit Atari computers.

 Based on a recent CAF survey of "EarlyBirds" who pre-registered for the
 Hartford area show, RAM expansion and accelerator boards will be among
 the most sought-after items at the show.  When asked what products or
 services attendees expect to buy, many identified upgrade kits.

 Allard's demonstrations of RAM upgrades and other system improvements
 will be announced when the seminar schedule is formally set.  When he is
 not involved with a seminar, Allard will be on the exhibit floor
 performing electronic wizardry on Atari computers ripe for more power.
 When possible, East Hartford Computer Repair will perform the upgrades
 on the spot.  Depending on the complexity of the job, Allard will work
 on some units at his shop and return them after the show.

 Newell Industries of Wylie, Texas, has donated some of its upgrade
 products to Connecticut AtariFest '92 for the seminars.  Allard will
 install a Newell 1-4 meg upgrade for the 130XE computer which supports
 true Antic banking, compatibility with most Atari-based operating
 systems and provides more than 8,000 sectors of RAMdisk capacity.
 Another demonstration will feature installation of Newell's TAB TOS
 Adapter Board, which enables users of old Atari STs to install up to 1
 meg of ROM and to replace an older TOS with a newer version (up to
 2.06).

 Allard reports that East Hartford Computer Repair is experienced with
 many upgrades of Atari 8-bit and 16-bit computers, peripherals and
 accessories, using the products of Codehead Technologies, Gadgets by
 Small and others.  A member of the Atari User Group of Greater Hartford
 says that Allard, who deals in new and used Atari gear, is the best
 source in Hartford for all things Atari and is known for his willingness
 to do any kind of upgrade, modification or repair.  He is also described
 as an avid gamer and solid businessman whose workshop is a gathering
 place for Atarians that are members of his extended family.

 If you are interested in having Allard perform an upgrade at the show
 and want to bring your computer along, contact him directly to discuss
 what upgrade you are considering, get a price quote and make an
 appointment for Connecticut AtariFest '92.  Because of the limited time
 available for work during the show, those with confirmed appointments
 will be given preference.  For security reasons, show organizers cannot
 permit visitors to bring their computers onto the exhibit floor without
 prior authorization.

 For more information about possible upgrades to your Atari, contact
 Allard at East Harford Computer Repair, 202 Roberts Street, East
 Hartford, CT 06108, or call [phone].  Allard is also the Sysop of
 a BBS at [phone].  Or you can drop him some E-mail c/o
 Connecticut AtariFest '92 (Vice Chairman Doug Finch is 76337,1067 on
 CompuServe and D.FINCH7 on GEnie).  We will forward it and the rest is
 up to you.  Connecticut AtariFest '92 offers the upgrade demonstrations
 as a educational service to qualified individuals.  Installing printed
 circuit boards and/or chips requires a degree of experience with
 electronic equipment and should not be taken lightly.  Making changes
 and modifications to your computer can void your warranty, and you
 should consult a your dealer, a qualified technician and/or experienced
 user before attempting such an activity.  You might want one of them to
 do the job for you rather than risk serious damage to your computer.
 Connecticut AtariFest '92 has arranged these demonstrations, but assumes
 no responsibility for business transactions between vendors and show
 goers.  CAF neither endorses nor discourages modifications to original
 products, and will accept no responsibility for problems or damage
 resulting from equipment changes made by vendors, their representatives
 or attendees that elect to make equipment modifications themselves.

 For more information about CAF '92, contact:

 Brian Gockley, Chairman            Doug Finch, Vice Chairman
 Connecticut AtariFest '92          Connecticut AtariFest '92
 GEnie: B.GOCKLEY                   GEnie: D.FINCH7
 CompuServe: 75300,2514             CompuServe: 76337,1067
 18 Elmwood Avenue                  46 Park Avenue
 Bridgeport, CT 06605               Old Greenwich, CT 06870
 [phone]                     [phone]



 | | |  NEWS FROM THE DISKTOP
 | | |  Volume 1, Number 6 - August, 1992
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 Copyright (C) 1992 Ron Albright


 This, and all, issue of "News From The Disktop" is sponsored by the
 Disktop Publishing Association and its member publications.  "News From
 the Disktop" features news, product developments, and other information
 of interest to authors, distributors, and readers of electronic
 publications.  Items presented here serve to inform the public of the
 electronic publishing industry which is the authorship and publication
 of reading materials in electronic format, rather than traditional,
 paper publishing.  Back issues may be found on the Disktop Publishing
 BBS at 205-854-1660.


 The First Annual "Quills" Announced....

 The big news this month is, of course, the announcement of the winners
 of the First Annual "Digital Quill" awards for excellence in electronic
 publishing.  After many trials and tribulations - and late entries! -
 the awards were announced to world on July 15, 1992.  Here are the
 winners:

 =======================================================================
 Regular Computer/Technical Publication
 --------------------------------------
 - a weekly, monthly or bi-monthly publication that has been in
 publication for 6 months or more relating to computers or technology.
 =======================================================================

 #1 Winner:
 "Files and Stuff" newsletter; Henry Barfoot and Lupe Tingle, Editors.

 #2 First Runner-up:
 "EFFector" (Electronic Frontier Foundation Online) newsletter, Rita M.
 Rouvalis, Editor

 #3 Second Runner-up:
 "Z*Net PC" newsletter, Ron Kovacs, Editor.


 =======================================================================
 Regular Literary Publication
 ----------------------------
 - a weekly, monthly or bi-monthly publication that has been in
 publication for 6 months or more relating to literature, fiction, and/or
 poetry.
 =======================================================================

 #1 Winner:
 "Ruby's Pearls," Del Freeman, Editor.

 #2 First Runner-up:
 "Intertext," Jason Snell, Editor.

 #3 Second Runner-up:
 "QUANTA," Daniel Appelquist, Editor.


 =======================================================================
 Fiction Book
 ------------
 - an original (eliminating reprints of the "classics" in digital format)
 electronically published novel.  Length: 50,000 words, minimum.
 =======================================================================


 #1 Winner:
 "Tavern," Anastasia Smith; Publisher, UserWare (New York)

 #2 First Runner-up:
 "Southern Discomfort," Del Freeman; Publisher, A.C. Aarbus, (Sanford,
 Florida)


 =======================================================================
 Non-Fiction Book
 ----------------
 - an original non-fiction book in digital format.  Length: 35,000 words
 minimum.
 =======================================================================

 #1 Winner:
 "Virtual Society," Harvey Wheeler; Publisher, UserWare

 #2 First Runner-up:
 "Fictional Writer's Primer," Darvin Harfield and Adam Poszar; Publisher,
 Rabid Rhino (Huntington, IN)

 #3 Second Runner-up:
 "A Hitchhiker's Guide to Science Fiction,"  Ted Husted and Kevin Rhodes;
 Publisher, UserWare


 =======================================================================
 Short Story
 -----------
 - a single original story appearing either alone or as part of an
 anthology or magazine and published in digital format.  This category
 shall exclude reprints of stories originally published in a paper
 publication.  Length: 1000 words, minimum.
 =======================================================================


 # 1 Winner:
 "The Woofbard Curse," C.G. Burner

 #2 First Runner-up:
 "Clarice and the Big Red One," Mary Ellen Wooford

 #3 Second Runner-up:
 "The Morals of the Ethical Woman," William Slattery


 =======================================================================
 Publishing software
 -------------------
 - a software program (Shareware or traditionally marketed) designed for
 publishing text and/or graphics and facilitating their distribution and
 viewing.  Nominations will be accepted from users as well as original
 authors.
 =======================================================================


 #1 Winner:
 "DART," Ted Husted, UserWare

 #2 First Runner-up:
 "Writer's Dream," Jeff Napier, Another Company

 #3 Second Runner-up:
 "BDEXX," Anthony Hursh, Dead Moose Enterprises


 Over fifty entries were received for the various categories with the
 "Short Story" category, alone, having twenty works.  Judging was done on
 a "100 points possible" scoring system.  There were 12 judges, selected
 from the DPA membership.  Selection of judges was based on the members'
 qualifications and writing expertise.

 Winners will be notified as soon as possible and will receive a
 certificate, suitable for framing, for their achievement.

 Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all who submitted for
 the awards.  We look forward to next years awards and expect to see a
 doubling of the entries and a wealth of new publications.

 The news was quickly picked up by the wire services.  CompuServe's
 "Online Today" electronic news service ran a story as did NewsBytes
 (which, according to their information, provides "independent computer
 and telecommunications news to an estimated 4.5 million readers on major
 online networks, via magazines, newspapers, and newsletters, worldwide.)
 The full text of these stories can be read on the Disktop Publishing BBS
 (205-854-1660).

 The press heats up...

 If you still believe - as you lie under a rock in the Grand Tetons -
 that disktop publishing is not a "hot topic," you need to crawl out and
 get to the nearest library. June's ink carried two major pieces on the
 growing disktop publishing industry.

 First, "Time" magazine's May 18, 1992 issues (page 69) carried "Read A
 Good PowerBook Lately?" by Philip Elmer-Dewitt.  After discussing the
 PowerBook from Apple and its ability to read books from Voyager on disk,
 the article close with the following:

 "Ultimately, it may be the economics of publishing, not the aesthetics,
 that determine what shape literature will take. [Ed. Note: Surprise,
 Philip! Economics has dictated what we read for years...]...Old-
 fashioned books will probably never be entirely displaced, but as the
 cost of digital information continues to fall, and the environmental and
 production costs of paper keep rising, the pleasure of buying and
 reading a new hardbound volume may someday be limited to the few that
 can still afford it."

 Next, the venerable June 21, 1992 New York Times ran "The End of Books"
 by novelist Robert Coover in their Sunday "Book Review" section.  Coover
 colorfully recants the premise of electronic publishing in observing
 that in the electronic age "you will often hear it said that the print
 medium is doomed and outdated technology, a mere curiosity of bygone
 days destined soon to be confined forever to those dusty unattended
 museums we now call libraries.  Indeed, the very proliferation of books
 and other print-based media, so prevalent in this forest-harvesting,
 paper-wasting age, is held to be a sign of feverish moribundity, the
 last futile gasp of a once vital form before it passes away forever,
 dead as God." Amen!

 After spewing forth such pedantic prose, Coover does get down to
 describing the benefits and attractions of electronic publishing.  His
 discussion centers on hypertext and how it can enhance reading.  He
 extols hypertext by noting that "true freedom from the tyranny of the
 line [and the page] is perceived as only really possible now at last
 with the advent of hypertext, written and read on a computer, where the
 line in fact does not exist..." Again, waxing eloquent, Coover notes the
 following:

 "Moreover, unlike print text, hypertext provides multiple paths between
 text segments...hypertext presents a radically divergent technology,
 interactive and polyvocal, favoring plurality of discourses over
 definitive utteranance and freeing the reader from domination by the
 author.  Hypertext reader and writer are said to become co-learners or
 co-writers, as it were, fellow-travelers in the mapping and remapping of
 textual (and visual, kinetic and aural) components, not all of which are
 provided by what used to be called the author."

 When one is able to cut through the prose (which ain't always easy,
 folks!), Coover does put forth a lot of information about how it feels
 to read and write hypertext documents.  He includes a sidebar which
 offers a numbers of addresses and contacts for electronic publications.
 Alas, the DPA and its members were not included.  Still, some
 principally academic publications were listed.  These included
 "Postmodem Culture" (a refereed electronic journal out of the University
 of North Carolina), "EJournal" (edited by Ted Jennings at SUNY at
 Albany) and "Leonardo" (from the International Society for the Arts,
 Science, and Technology [ISAST]).  The article spans three full pages
 and certainly is a harbinger of future coverage in the publishing
 literature about the electronic reading genre.  If anyone is interested
 in a reprint, drop me a SASE and I will get you a photocopy.

 Then, Newsweek's June 29th issue carried "The Literary Circuit-ry" (pp.
 66-7)  by Michael Rogers.  It begins with the following:

 "Bibliophiles, take cover: the electronic book is on its way.  These
 days most books and magazines start out on computer screens.  So why not
 just eliminate the messy business with ink and save some trees?  But
 does this mean we permanently trade soothing expanses of cool paper for
 glowing phosphors?  Perhaps even abandon the pleasure of reading in the
 tub, lest literature lead to electrocution?  Hardly.  No one is about to
 replace your dogeared le Carre with an edition that requires four AA
 cells (not included).  Not yet, anyway.  Larry Shiller, president of the
 Bureau of Electronic Publishing, says, "Maybe adults don't read on
 screen, but their children do.  Wait one generation and all the
 marketing problems will disappear."

 We couldn't agree more!  The article itself dealt principally with the
 Voyager series of electronic books for the Apple Powerbook line of
 computers and a little about IBM multimedia software.  There was a nice
 photo of a young lady reading a book on a Powerbook by the ocean as two
 rollerbladers zoom by. Truly, a picture of the future.

 Perhaps the most important for the DPA membership to carry away from the
 article was a quote from futurist Paul Saffo.  He said: "You can't
 outbook the book just by adding electronics.  Publishers will need to
 offer something books can't."  It has been the premise of the DPA that
 there is a great of difference between producing a commercially-viable
 publication and putting some ASCII text on disk.  There must be some
 advantage for choosing to use the digital format.  Perhaps it is that
 the information is time-sensitive and electronic publication is the best
 way to disseminate it.  Perhaps the material is a reference work that
 would benefit from having the facilities of a computer to use it (for
 searching, cross-referencing, etc.).  Perhaps the document can be
 enhanced by applying a hypertext or multimedia interface.  Certainly,
 financial considerations can play a part.  Finally, if disktop
 publishing is the only way one can afford to circulate the material, so
 be it.  But, as Saffo suggests, there has to be an advantage over print,
 at least as the industry matures, for electronic publications to be a
 success.

 What all this means is that when the New York Times and Newsweek catch
 wind of something, then it is truly a trend to be reckoned with.  And,
 for the DPA and its members, it is a trend we were well-aware of all
 along.  The air around the electronic publishing industry is charged
 with excitement and we feel lucky to be a part of it.  Time to grab on
 and hold tight to the reins.  It's going to be some ride!

 (Nota Bene: Paul Saffo had a column in the June 7, 1992 New York Times
 called "The Electronic Future is Upon Us." In it, he says: "Paper's role
 in publishing is a remnant, and the power of choice is on everyone's
 monitor."  GREAT quote, worthy of someone's business slogan. "The Power
 of Choice!")

 Still doubt it?...

 If you are still one of those who doubts that the market will ever exist
 for paperless books and, particularly, if you are one that holds that
 the lack of a hardware platform to read books will never exist is
 sufficient numbers to provide a market read this:

 Linda Rohrbough reported in the July 16 NewsBytes that, according to
 market research firm SRI International estimates, palm-top, personal
 information appliances, hand-held computers, sub-notebooks, personal
 digital assistants, and picocomputers are all names for a computer you
 will become increasingly familiar with and, more, you will probably be
 carrying around in the next five years.  SRI reports that this market
 will grow to 17 million units annually by 1995.  Market Intelligence
 Research says projected growth in this market is expected to reach $50
 billion by 1998.  Pen computers are expected to grow fastest, company
 officers said.

 If the market research reports are correct, we should expect to see a
 lot of people with these small computers, especially pen-based units, in
 the next five years.  And, if the market penetration for these machines
 is going to be so large, don't you think they might like something to
 read off their machines?  Write a book and put it out on disk.  Just do
 it!

 Floppyback Scoops Paper Publisher....

 The signal that electronic publishing has, indeed, arrived comes from
 Floppyback Publishing International (FPI).  The small New Jersey
 publisher has released information about how the company's imminent
 release of the novel "The Angel of Death" caused the books paper
 publisher to change the entire schedule and the size of the initial
 printing run.

 The story goes like this.  Author Bruce Gilkin and FPI's Paul Peacock
 struck a deal to publish the book on disk (using UserWare's DART
 interface) and carried through an active publicity campaign for the
 book's on-disk release.  Copies of the novel-on-disk were sent
 throughout the publishing industry.  FPI's campaign for the book, which
 deals with Vietnam veteran Bruce Gilkin's experiences with Post-
 Traumatic Stress Disorder, was so effective it brought endorsements from
 Rolling Thunder, Pointman Ministries, the Philadelphia Veteran's Center,
 and other large veteran's groups.  Due to growing publicity surrounding
 the book and the endorsement of the book by a growing number of
 veteran's organizations, the book publisher for "Angel" pushed up the
 numbers for the initial press run to 100,000, a number almost unheard of
 for a novel of this type.  Even more significantly, the book publisher
 pushed the publication date ahead from one year to just three months.

 FPI President Paul Peacock commented on the implications of this
 development by noting "There are three significant points here.  The
 first is that the hardcover publisher brought forward the publication
 schedule once they had seen the publicity generated by the diskette.
 This can only be good news for authors and publishers.  The second point
 is that the book is still coming out first in floppyback.  I think it's
 the first time that a book that's due to come out in hardcover has come
 out in floppyback.  This demonstrates the maturity of the electronic
 media market.  The third is that the floppyback is priced at $15 and is
 $10 less than the price of the hardcover, but Bruce is not losing out in
 any way."  Peacock notes that since the cost of producing a book on disk
 is so much less than a paper version, the lower price still allows for
 a significant profit for both author and publisher.

 FPI Inc. is a creator and distributor of floppybacks.  Its motto is
 "Liberation!" and its mission, according to Peacock, is to provide
 authors a means of getting their work into the marketplace directly.  "I
 am an author myself," he says, "and that's really why I started the
 business.  Floppyback publishing can be a great way for authors to go."

 The floppyback can be ordered directly for $15 in IBM compatible format
 by calling FPI order fulfillment at 1-800-526-9153.  All major credit
 cards are accepted.  FPI can be reached at P.O. Box 2084, Hoboken, NJ
 07030 or at 201-963-3012.  FPI Inc. is a member of the Disktop
 Publishing Association.

 What this means to authors everywhere is that we now have another weapon
 in our armory in the constant battle to get noticed by paper publishers.
 If you are having trouble convincing a publisher that your book is
 marketable (which, as we all know, is all that really matters to them),
 why not put it out on disk? Find a disktop publisher to do it for you if
 you don't have the time yourself.  Then, market it like crazy and gather
 the sales slips, endorsements, and readers comments from the on-disk
 version.  Show these to the book people.  It will give you needed clout
 in your negotiations.  And, who knows?  You may just decide to stay on-
 disk and keep more of the profits.  Get out that manuscript and get it
 out on disk.  Just do it!

 Z*NET PC newsletter returns...

 After a nearly 3 months hiatus, we are pleased to see the return of Ron
 Kovacs "Z*NET PC" newsletter back online with a July 27, 1992 issue.
 The DPA had received several queries as to the whereabouts of Z*NET from
 interested readers and we had contacted Ron earlier on CompuServe.  He
 explained then that "Things are finally progressing forward.  I am
 compiling a new staff and revamping the entire magazine.  I am focusing
 more attention on the Z*Net News Service, which is something I have been
 looking to do for some time.  Z*Net PC will continue publishing in a few
 days and hopefully will begin weekly release thereafter."  True to his
 word, Z*NET PC, Issue #33 was on CompuServe 7/27/92 (and now on the DPA
 BBS).  We're glad to see Kovacs and staff, members of the DPA, are still
 putting out the same quality news and reviews they have always been
 known for.  Z*NET PC was "Second Runner-up" in the 1992 Quills.

 New Members - Welcome Aboard!

 Steven Hudgik, The HomeCraft Small Business Journal (P.O. Box 974,
 Tualatin, OR 97062), is the latest member of the DPA family.  Steve
 describes his activities: "I publish the HomeCraft Small Business
 Journal, a on-disk magazine for small businesses.  I have two other
 publications ready to go as soon as a staff is put together for them."
 Good luck, Steve, and welcome aboard the DPA!

 Final note...

 Now that the Quills Awards are over with, the DPA and its membership are
 now in the process of more formally organizing the Association.  George
 De Bruin and Don Lokke are putting together a committee to formally
 define the "Charter" for the DPA.  It should include election of
 officers and standing committees, dues, definition of purposes, and
 other details that are long overdue.  I will be stepping down as
 Director of the DPA as soon as elections are held and a new slate of
 officers are designated by the membership.  It's time for us to devote
 the next 3 months getting tightly defined and focused and that is what
 we are going to do.  I challenge each DPA member to join actively in
 supporting the process of clarifying our goals and activities.  Only by
 hearing what you want the DPA to provide for you can we be the service
 organization we want to be.




 | | |  38400 BAUD FOR YOUR HST
 | | |  By Erno Meffert
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 Some people using a HST modem on a atari ST wished their computer had a
 38400 Baud modem port for optimal arc transmission.  A 38400 baud,
 locked port can be created with some extra hardware.

 I, writer of this document, and artist of the picture (attached to the
 this Atari Explorer Issue) will not be responsible for any damage made
 to your equipment while building or using this 38400 baud serial port.

 The file SER38400.PI3 contains a picture file which gives you some
 information, how to create a locked 38400 kbaud rs-232 serial port.

 The principal is quite simple. Normally Timer D creates the Baudrate of
 the USART in the MFP.  In order to give the USART an external clock we
 have to disable the connection between the output of timer D (pin 16)
 and the receiver/transmitter clock (pin 7 and 10) of the USART.  The
 easiest way to that is to make a little scratch op the platine.

 At this point we have no clock for our usart.To get a new clock signal
 we take a clock signal of 2.4576 Mhz (pin 18 MFP) and divide it by 4.
 To do this, we use a 4040.  The result on pin 7 of the 4040 (614400HZ)
 will be our new USART RC/SC.  The frequency is this high because the
 USART will devide it by 16.  Result is a serial port of 38400K Baud.

 I hope this explanation will give you enough information to create such
 a baudrate (if you need it)

 For any problems or information you can contact:

 Erno Meffert
 postbus 2174
 6802 CD Arnhem
 Holland

 Or using email:   QuickBBS ST Arnhem
 31-(0)85-644262
 Fidonode 2:281/801




 | | |  HINTS AND TIPS
 | | |  From the Z*Net Archives
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 EDIT YOUR DESKTOP.INF FILE
 FROM THE Z*NET BBS
 by Richard Guadagno


 How to edit your DESKTOP.INF file.

 If you want to edit your DESKTOP.INF file, the first thing you must do
 is load the DESKTOP.INF file into a Text Editor, or Word Processor.  If
 you own FLASH from Antic, use it's BUFFER window.  FLASH has great
 editing features.  Once you have the file loaded you must decide what
 you want edited.

 1.  If you want to edit the name of your TRASH CAN, look for the
     following line.

             #T 04 07 02 FF  TRASH CAN@ @

 Place your cursor on the @ symbol.  Then carefully use the [BACKSPACE]
 key to delete the name.  Then just type ANY name up to 9 characters,
 you want to appear under your TRASH CAN Icon.

 2.  If you want your 'Installed Programs' to be executed from a folder,
     or if you want to install more files.  Look for this line.  (or one
     like it)

        #G 03 04   A:\ARCSHL21.PRG@ *.ARC@
        #G 03 04   A:\ARCSHL21.PRG@ *.LZH@

 Simply edit the line by inserting the folder name.  Be sure to use the
 backslash '\' like this:  A:\FOLDER\FILE.NAME@   Make sure you do not
 delete the  @  characters.  While you are doing this you can easily add
 more file extenders.  Just copy the lines exactly.

 The line that starts with #G is for GEM programs.(PRG, APP)
 The line that starts with #F is for TOS programs.(TOS)
 The line that starts with #P is for TTP programs.(TTP)


 GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION
 ANIMATE 4
 Ctsy CompuServe Atari Forums


  #: 17827 S2/Games    22-Jan-90  11:06:18
 Sb: #17801-#ANIMA4.ARC
 Fm: SYSOP*Bill Aycock 76703,4061
 To: Terry May 75076,3576 (X)

 Terry,

 I don't have any .DL? delta animations - never seen one, as a matter of
 fact - and I suppose a lot of folks are the same way.  Luckily, patching
 either ANIMATE3 or ANIMATE4 to default to SEQ instead of DL? is very
 simple.  All you need to do is:

 1. Boot with the TinyTool accessory or load it into MultiDesk.  (If you
    don't already have it, it's TTOOL.ARC in LIB 6 of ATARIPRO.)

 2. Go into TinyTool and click on FILE, then load whichever version of
    ANIMATE you want.

 3. When the little info line says "File offset (beginning=0)":
           - for ANIMATE3, type in  $4A03
           - for ANIMATE4, type in  $4A90
    and hit return.  In a second the file screen will show up, and the
    first three bytes displayed will be DLT (for v3) or DL? (for v4).

 4. Click on the 44 on the first line, then type in 83 and hit return.

 5. Click on the 4C on the first line, then type in 69 and hit return.

 6. Click on the 54 (for v3) or 3F (for v4) on the first line, then type
    in 81 and hit return.

 7. Now the first three characters shown on the upper right should be
    SEQ.  Click on the WRITE button at the bottom of TinyTool to write
    your changes to the file.

 8. Ta-daaa! Done!




 | | |  SUPPORTING SHAREWARE
 | | |  By Terry Schreiber
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 Most computerists are aware of the many bulletin boards and networks
 available with file areas that are classified as Public Domain software.
 What most of these users don't know is that some of the software they
 regard as free is actually shareware.  Shareware is software that has
 been released by the developer for you on a try on a limited basis.  If
 you like the program then you are asked to purchase it or updates by
 sending the programmer money.  Most developers ask for five or ten
 dollars, or even donations, which is not unreasonable for a program
 compared to the cost of a software package at your local store.

 The problem is that most people are using the software and not
 supporting the author.  If this continues developers will soon tire of
 the hours of work they spend on programming in comparison to the revenue
 in return.  These programmers are not going to get rich from this
 revenue in fact in most cases it doesn't even cover the cost of the
 updates and mailing to get the latest revision to you.

 A partial solution our users group came up with was to increase the
 selling price of all disks and magazines twenty-five cents with this
 amount going into a kitty for shareware authors.  Each month we will
 draw a name and the total will be sent to that developer.  This, of
 course does not mean that the members can't still kick in what they want
 as well sent to the programmer.  We are hoping in this way to have not
 only the individual registered for updates but the club as well.  I hope
 this plan meets with your approval programmers.

 I realize that this is just another one of those pleas to support
 shareware developers, but you should realize that by not paying for a
 program that you are using you are as guilty of a crime as software
 piracy or theft.  There may be a few eyes opened with the last
 statement.  I'm sure there are programs you use all the time and don't
 even think about.  Arcshell, Cheetah, Dcopy these are all in the
 category of shareware.  I wouldn't like to estimate but I would guess at
 least ninety percent of the persons using these and other shareware
 programs have not paid for them.  Prove me wrong!  Please!



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