Atari Explorer Online Newsletter Collection/aeo9213.txt

Text File | 1992-01-01 | 127KB | 2,839 lines

Subject: Atari Explorer Online # 92-13 part 1 of 2

[ This copy of AEO is sometimes edited to delete overly-commercial press
  releases. If you would like to unsubscribe, send mail to:

  [e-mail].

  -- greg ]

                      ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE MAGAZINE
                      ------------------------------
            Published and Copyright (c)1992, Atari Corporation
                      1972-1992 - 20 Years Of Service
                           1196 Borregas Avenue
                       Sunnyvale, California 94088

                                AEO STAFF

    ~ Editor In-Chief......................................Ron Kovacs
    ~ Contributing Editor...................................Ed Krimen
    ~ Contributing Editor..............................Ron Berinstein
    ~ Contributing Writer...................................Bob Smith
    ~ Contributing Writer.................................Stan Lowell

                       GUEST COMMENTATORS - WRITERS

    ~ Contributing Writer..................................Jon Clarke
    ~ The Guardian Newspaper..............................John Minson
    ~ Atari Explorer Archives.........................John Jainschigg

                         EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

    ~ President, Atari Corporation........................Sam Tramiel
    ~ VP Software Development.........................Leonard Tramiel
    ~ Developer Relations Manager........................Bill Rehbock
    ~ Director, Marketing Services.........................Don Thomas
    ~ Director of Communications...........................Bob Brodie
    ~ Corporate Director, International Music Markets....James Grunke
    ~ Atari Explorer Magazine............................Mike Lindsay

                               Z*NET STAFF

            ~ Ron Kovacs         ~ John Nagy         ~ Jon Clarke
            ~ Stan Lowell        ~ Bob Smith         ~ Lisa Ruff
            ~ Mike Davis         ~ Ed Krimen         ~ Bill Whiteman
            ~ Dr. Paul Keith     ~ Ron Berinstein

 =======================================================================
     September 5, 1992          Volume 1, Number 13         Issue #13
 =======================================================================

                     | | |  TABLE OF CONTENTS  | | |
                     -------------------------------

        |||  The Editors Desk.........................Ron Kovacs
             Atari Explorer Requests and more......

        |||  The Z*Net Newswire..................................
             Atari and Industry News Update

        |||  Power To The Processor...................John Minson
             Reprint from the UK paper "The Guardian"

        |||  Atari ST In An IBM Case...................Jon Clarke
             Hardware project....

        |||  GEnie Flow Control.........................Ed Krimen
             HOT Messages in the GEnie ST RT

        |||  Z*Net New Product Announcements.....................
             Press Releases on NEW products for your Atari!

        |||  Internet/UseNet Flow Control...............Ed Krimen
             Falcon Specs Part II, DSP Details....

        |||  AtariWatch 1992 Calendar............................
             Latest Shows and Events Update



 | | |  THE EDITORS DESK
 | | |  By Ron Kovacs
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 The latest issue of Atari Explorer Magazine has been released and is in
 distribution as we speak.  For more information on Atari Explorer the
 hard copy magazine, see the subscription information at the bottom of
 this edition.

 ATTENTION USER GROUPS

 We're looking for the best ideas out there.

 There are plenty of ideas and innovations floating around in the
 userbase.  Many more ideas than we at Atari Explorer Online can keep
 track of.  So we need your help.

 Atari Explorer Online is about to begin a regular series of reprints of
 the best articles that we can find in user group newsletters.  This
 would include: news, general chit-chat, hardware how-to's, innovations,
 programming tips, humor.  We'll consider anything and everything in your
 newsletter except editorials - we won't do that on the grounds that
 Atari may be accused of trying to 'color' user group editorials.  And
 frankly, no one wants to.

 What will we gain from this?  More variety in our editorial package.
 What will user groups gain from this?  Recognition for their group
 (we'll run a bio of each group we spotlight) and for the author of the
 piece.  In the end though, the readers gain both - more variety in each
 issue and an awareness of what user groups can do.

 If your group publishes a monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, or (heck) even
 a yearly newsletter and you do not already have us on your mailing list;
 put us on it now.  Send it to: Ron Kovacs, AEO Newsletters, Post Office
 Box 59, Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0059.


 WHAT IS Z*NET DOING NOW

 There have been a number of discussions taking place on a variety of
 services, bulletin boards and two specific letters via the postal
 service, that ask about Z*Net.

 Z*Net is NOT dead.  Z*Net produces columns for Atari Explorer Online,
 continues producing the Z*Net Newswire for numerous Atari publications,
 still produces Z*Magazine, (Issue #210 was released earlier this week),
 Z*Net PC Online Magazine and a new publication set for launch later this
 year.

 There are a number of people directly involved with the material you see
 published here and in our other products.  Feel free to leave us email
 via GEnie at Z-NET, on CompuServe at 75300,1642 and via AtariNet at:
 51:1/13.0, FNET at 593, and direct to Atari Corporation's Director of
 Communications Bob Brodie at GEnie: Bob-Brodie, AtariNet 51:1/10, FNET
 319 or 706.

 John Nagy, the editor of the popular Atari Magazine AtariUser, is also
 on staff developing stories for the newswire and our other publications.
 So, remember, the publication has changed and only Z*Net has ended it's
 regular release of Z*Net Online.  Atari Explorer Online will continue
 developing into the best online magazine available for the Atari User.
 No flames guaranteed!


 Atari Corporation will be hosting online conferences on GEnie and
 CompuServe in the week ahead with Bill Rehbock.  Call your preferred
 online service today for more information and start times.  Additional
 details of the Falcon are expected.  However, if you just can't wait
 for where and when...  Try CompuServe on September 8, 1992 and then
 GEnie on September 9, 1992.



 | | |  Z*NET NEWSWIRE
 | | |  Atari and Industry Update
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 ATARI SHOWS LOSS, CASH POSITION IMPROVES
 Atari Corporation announced quarterly financial reports last week
 showing a net loss of 39.7 million dollars.  However, the $39.7 million
 loss includes a $34 million write-off against old inventory that has
 been carried on the balance sheet as an asset until now.  That includes
 2600, 7800, and 8-bit computer products that were liquidated overseas
 and in South America, causing an increase in on-hand cash even while
 reflecting a long-term loss on paper.  The funds released by the sale
 and write-off of the old inventory will support current efforts to
 produce and promote the new Atari computers.  According to Atari
 employees, there is at least $60 million available in cash at this time
 to launch the new line.  For more comments on this story, read GEnie
 Flow Control in this edition of Atari Explorer Online.


 MIGRAPH INTRODUCES NEW PAGE SCANNER, NEW TOUCH-UP
 The leaders in imaging products for the Atari computers, Migraph, is
 introducing a new very affordable full-page scanner, as well as an
 upgraded Touch-Up software package.  The new PS-400 WAND is essentially
 an 8.5" wide hand scanner, enabling collecting a full standard page as a
 single scan.  The new scanner has twice the grayscale power of the
 Migraph hand scanner, recognizing up to 64 grayscales, and with Touch-Up
 software conversion, 256 grayscales can be reproduced.  It offers four
 dither settings plus line-art and 100 to 400 DPI resolutions (selectable
 in 10 DPI increments via the new Touch-Up.  The PS-400 WAND will retail
 directly from Migraph only for $449, half the price of most full page
 scanners.

 It will come with all hardware, interface, and power supply, as well as
 the new Touch-Up Version 1.8.  Optionally, owners of the Migraph or
 Golden Image hand scanners can get the WAND and software upgrade without
 the interface for only $299.  A powered sheet-feeder option for the WAND
 that can automatically handle 10 pages at a time is also available for
 $199 extra.  It enables effortless and flawless straight and repeatable
 scans, ideal for use with Migraph's Optical Character Recognition
 software.  Touch-Up Version 1.8 (up from 1.65) has much faster loading
 of files, improved (up to 256 shades) grayscale conversion, and STe
 Cache compatibility, as well as special features for WAND owners.

 Version 1.8 is available direct from Migraph as an upgrade for 1.6 and
 up owners for $20.  Older versions can be upgrades for slightly more;
 contact Migraph.  PC products from Migraph, including a $99 converter
 card with PC Touch-Up, will allow your ST scanner to do double-platform
 duty.  Migraph, Inc., 32700 Pacific Highway S. #12, Federal Way, WA
 98003, [phone].


 FREE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING!
 From AtariUser Magazine: Take advantage of AtariUser!  We're offering
 FREE classified advertising to individuals and clubs in every issue of
 AtariUser, the largest circulation monthly Atari magazine in the Western
 Hemisphere!  Yes, you can have a 25 word personal buy/sell/trade
 classified ad in AtariUser just by putting it in writing and sending it
 to us.  Your Atari club can do the same, or promote an upcoming event,
 for FREE.  Have a small business or software company?  A commercial
 classified ad is only $30 for 25 words ($1 per additional word), easily
 the cheapest way to reach 20,000 Atari users worldwide!  Just put your
 ad in writing and send it to AtariUser/Quill Publishing, 113 West
 College Street, Covina, CA 91723.  And while you're sending your ad,
 consider the best subscription deal going: only $15 a year, or $25 a
 year for first class delivery of AtariUser Magazine, the Atari magazine
 that has the fastest news, 12 months a year.  Credit card orders are OK
 with full numbers and signature.  Outside the USA, subscriptions are $30
 in U.S. funds.  AtariUser will be present and supporting the Glendale
 Atari Faire with free copies for all attending of the new September
 issue, featuring Andy Eddy's Second Annual Review of the Atari Press.


 A NEW ATARI CATALOG
 A new Atari software catalog will be introduced this winter.  It will
 have a wide variety of new-released programs to choose from.  The first
 issue will be distributed FREE to any Atari user.  If you wish to
 receive this FREE issue, just leave your name and full address in my
 mail box, V.VALENTI on GEnie.  There is still space available in this
 catalog for programs in the areas of Entertainment, Education, Business,
 and Utilities/Programming tools.  If you have developed a program, and
 would like it to be included in this catalog.  Leave your name, address,
 and phone number along with a brief description of your program; and we
 will contact you and send you a submission pack.


 COMNET SHOW SLATED FOR FEBRUARY
 World Expo Corporation has announced that ComNet, the industry's largest
 communications conference and exposition, will celebrate its 15th
 anniversary show February 1-4, 1993 at the Washington Convention Center,
 Ramada Renaissance/Techworld, and The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington
 D.C.  The 1993 show focuses on the theme "Enterprise Networks in
 Transition: New Applications and Corporate Profitability" where
 attendees can look to conference sessions, hands-on workshops, tutorials
 and the Executive Symposium to explore the changes in the use of
 computers and networks in the age of information technology.  ComNet '93
 is expected to attract over 32,000 users and vendors of public
 networking, network computing, multi-vendor connectivity and LAN, WAN,
 and internetworking products and services.  For information on attending
 ComNet'93, call Matt Mandino at World Expo Corporation at [phone]
 or [phone].  For exhibit information, please call Hajar
 Associates Inc. at 617-769-8950.


 NEW VDT FILTER
 Ergotech of Corona has developed and is now shipping PC SoftLens, an
 optical filter.  Easily fitted on all VDTs or computer monitors, the
 patented filter is designed to sharpen and clarify display characters,
 making the text easier for the eyes to focus on and read.  PC SoftLens
 is designed to enhance the computer image.  Characters on the computer
 screen consist of a series of little dots called "pixels."  Each pixel
 is surrounded by a halo of light that makes the character appear fuzzy
 or unfocused.  The filter eliminates the "glow" around the characters,
 allowing the eyes to focus comfortably.  The filters are available in
 four colors to maximize the contrast between text and background: a
 magenta filter for a monochrome green display, a blue filter for an
 amber display, a light gray filter for color, and a gray filter for
 black and white screens.  The optical filters fit any VDT up to 14-inch
 diagonal (two-page and larger sizes are available).  Suggested retail
 price is $34.95.  The optical filters are unbreakable, easy-to-clean and
 resist scratching.  Ergotech, 330 S. Maple St., Suite F, Corona, Calif.,
 91720; 800-729-1345 or 714-279-1345.


 MAXTOR SERVICE PLAN ANNOUNCED
 Maxtor has announced its new No Quibble Service plan.  No Quibble
 Service embraces Maxtor's "easy-to-do-business-with" corporate
 philosophy and offers service and exchange procedures that dramatically
 speed through-put and minimize paperwork on repairs and returns.  No
 Quibble Service gives Maxtor customers two options when returning drives
 for repair or exchange:  "Advance Replacement" and "NO RMA."  For
 fastest possible turnarounds, the company ships "Advance Replacement"
 drives to end user, OEM and distribution customers within 48 hours after
 phone notification that a drive has failed.  No Quibble Service is
 available now for all North American customers.  Service to European
 customers will become available later this year, with service to Far
 East customers available by the first quarter of calendar 1993.  For
 additional customer information, call 800-2-MAXTOR.


 HAYES AND ZENITH SETTLE SUIT
 Hayes and Zenith announced an amicable out-of-court settlement of the
 patent infringement litigation between the two-companies involving the
 Hayes '302 Escape Sequence Patent.  They also announced that Zenith
 intends to procure, for future sales, only modem products which use the
 patented Hayes escape sequence technology.  Additionally, Zenith will
 display the Hayes '302 Escape Sequence Patent icon certification mark on
 all its Hayes-licensed modem products, signifying that they employ the
 Hayes patented Escape Sequence With Guard Time mechanism.


 MICROSOFT DENIES UNDOCUMENTATION
 InfoWorld published an article on Microsoft's use of "undocumented" APIs
 (Applications Programming Interfaces) in its applications for the
 Microsoft Windows operating system, raising the issue of whether or not
 this constituted an unfair advantage over its competitors.  There are
 undocumented APIs in every major operating system in the world, and
 applications developers routinely make use of them.  Most major
 applications for Windows, including those being shipped today by
 Microsoft's principal competitors, make use of undocumented APIs in
 Windows.  Documented APIs are those the operating system publisher
 expects to support over the long term; developers use these APIs to
 assure maximum compatibility with future releases of the operating
 system.  Undocumented APIs are ones the system publisher does not expect
 to support, because they involve trivial or obsolete functions; or they
 duplicate documented functions; or they are reserved for internal use by
 the operating system and are subject to change.  Because of the
 complexity of the issue, Microsoft has prepared a lengthy Question and
 Answer that is available to the press.  The company is also preparing a
 detailed Technical Note that will describe all uses of all undocumented
 calls in its applications.  This will be available to the press and
 developers by next week.


 GLENDALE ATARIFEST UPDATE
 The show will be held Saturday and Sunday, September 12-13, 1992 at the
 Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1041 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale, CA.  Hours
 are 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on Saturday and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Sunday.
 General Admission is $6.00 per person with a two day pass costing only
 $10.00.

 For those of you who will be needing lodging we have made arrangements
 with the Burbank Hilton.  Regular rates are $119.00 per night but if you
 mention ATARI you will get a room for $65.00 per night, single or double
 occupancy.  Executive suites are also available for a per night charge
 of $95.00.  Reservations may be made by calling the Hilton at 800-643-
 7400(in California), 800-468-3576(inside the USA) or at 818-843-600
 (outside the USA).  The guaranteed reservation cut-off date is August
 20th.  If you are quoted another rate ask for Roy Butler, Sales Manger.

 This year The Glendale Show will be holding Desk Top Publishing Classes.
 There will be a $25.00(US) fee for these hands-on classes.  DMC (ISD)
 will be holding Beginning and Advanced classes for owners and
 prospective owners of Calamus SL.  Classes will be held on Saturday and
 Sunday.  Classroom size is limited.  A number of people have pre-
 registered.  Additional registrations can be made the day of the show by
 going to booth #19 by 12 noon each day.  The Beginning class will be on
 Saturday at 1 pm and the Advanced class will be on Sunday at 1 pm.

 If you have any questions send mail to H.A.C.K.S., 249 N. Brand Bl.
 #321, Glendale, CA 91203 or leave GEmail to John.King.T or call John
 King Tarpinian at 818-246-7276.

 List of the exhibitors and demonstrators for the THE GLENDALE SHOW

 ATARI CORPORATION           THE COMPUTER NETWORK       COMPUTER SAFARI
 OREGON RESEARCH ASSOCIATES  CLEAR THINKING             D.A. BRUMLEVE
 SUDDEN INC                  FAIR DINKUM TECHNOLOGIES   MICRO CREATIONS
 BRANCH ALWAYS               MID-CITIES COMP-SOFT       F DRIED SOFTWARE
 McDONALD & ASSOCIATES       WINTERTREE SOFTWARE        BEST ELECTRONICS
 JMG                         COMPO                      ICD
 S.D.S.                      CODEHEAD                   FAST TECHNOLOGIES
 LEXICOR                     MIGRAPH                    DRAGONWARE
 GENIE                       DMC (ISD)                  BECKEMEYER
 BIO ILLUSTRATIONS           GRIBNIF                    GADGETS BY SMALL
 ZUBAIR INTERFACES           ST INFORMER MAGAZINE       ATARI EXPLORER
 Z*NET                       ATARIUSER MAGAZINE

 Plus demonstrations by:
 BAREFOOT SOFTWARE           STEINBERG/JONES            DIGITAL F/X
 GOLDLEAF                    SOFT-LOGIK                 AND OTHERS...

 USER GROUP BOOTHS:
 A.C.A.O.C.                  SOUTH BAY A.C.E.           NOCCC-ST SIG
 R.A.M.                      L.O.C.H. ACE               H.A.C.K.S.



 | | |  POWER TO THE PROCESSOR
 | | |  BY John Minson
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 This article is reprinted from the leading quality UK newspaper, The
 Guardian.  May NOT be re-printed without the written permission of
 Atari Corporation.  The Guardian is now published in London and
 Manchester and enjoys national UK circulation.


 John Minson says Atari's new home computer has been worth the seven year
 wait.

 Atari launched it's new Falcon030 at the Dusseldorf Atari Messe last
 Friday with claims that the long awaited machine is not so much an
 evolution as a revolution-and with both journalists and dealers agreeing
 that for once, the enthusiasm is richly deserved.

 On the outside, the Falcon030 looks like an ordinary ST.  The strangely
 numerical name refers to the machine's 32-bit Motorola 68030 processors,
 running at 16Mhz.  This is supported by an ST-compatible blitter for
 graphics and -like the NeXT workstation - a 32Mhz Motorola real-time 56K
 DSP (Digital Signal Processor).

 Atari says this gives the machine a capability of 25 mips (millions of
 instructions per second) compared with the standard ST's two to three
 mips.  There's also a socket for a math co-processor, if required.

 In terms of audio, the Falcon offers 16-bit, 8-channle stereo DMA
 (direct memory access) sound for recording and playback, with sampling
 at up to 50KHz.  Video is equally impressive, with the "true-color" mode
 of 65,536 colors available at resolutions of up to 768x480 pixels via
 interlacing.  Overscan ensures that the screen is filled rather than
 leaving a black boundary.

 Specifications like these should find a a home along side the ST in the
 music business.  It's also likely to prove attractive to video makers,
 from advanced amateur to corporate and even broadcast levels, because of
 the high-resolution "true-colour" mode and built in genlock.

 Atari is already promoting the Falcon's games potential, encouraging
 programmers to exploit it's sound and visuals.  A British publisher,
 Mirage, has already announced Space Junk, an adventure which uses
 digitised animated models.  Atari is also promoting hi-tech home
 applications, such as using the Falcon as an intelligent telephone
 answering machine, with a digitised outgoing message that directs
 callers to individual "mailboxes".  Then there's the possibility (or
 threat?) of home karaoke...

 Just because a computer is technically impressive doesn't mean it will
 succeed, but the Falcon has the advantage of being downwardly compatible
 with the ST and TT range.  This means there's a large body of software
 already available.  It's GEM-based graphical user interface will be
 instantly recognisable to owners of these machines, though it adds many
 enhancements from the TT, such as animated, colour icons, and 3D
 windows.

 To help the Falcon integrate even further, it includes an impressive
 array of interfaces.  Apart from parallel, fast serial and MIDI (musical
 instrument digital interface) connectors there's a LAN (local area
 network) socket and a SCSI-DMA socket, allowing the Falcon to
 communicate with industry standard peripherals from CD ROM's to hard
 drives.  This will be particularly important for data intensive
 applications such as video and audio.

 The built-in hard drive uses standard PC-type IDE controller, while the
 1.4M 3.5in floppy can read PC-compatible disks.  There's even a
 coprocessor slot for an Intel 386SX compatible chip, so that the Falcon
 can run PC software.  An IBM PC compatible VGA displays can be used
 instead of a television or other specialist monitor.

 Atari appears to have done everything it can to help ease the Falcon
 into a world where PC clones are the established standard for home and
 office.

 The Falcon is already in production in the Far East and should be
 available from September, though volume quantities will not arrive until
 1993.  Two versions will be available, offering one and four megabytes
 of memory- the larger model also having 65 megabyte hard disc installed-
 for 499 pounds and 899 pounds (including VAT) respectively.



 | | |  ATARI ST IN AN IBM CASE
 | | |  By Jon Clarke, Z*Net Pacific
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 A Lion in Sheeps Clothing, An Atari ST in an IBM housing

 I have over the last few months seen many references to whether or not
 you can put a 520 or a 1040ST in an IBM housing, and to say the least
 some of the mail I have been reading is down right comical.  The best
 saying on this subject was quoted to me by a friend of mine who was
 given an IBM AT, and when I visted him last he had all his Atari ST
 equipment neatly installed and for all I knew it was an IBM until
 desktop arrived.  He said to me very seriously "IBM makes one heck of a
 housing, a bit of a shame about the mother-board, so I upgraded it to an
 Atari ST!"  Well what could I say, I had done the same thing several
 months before, so I knew the headaches he had been through.  In his case
 he had it configured as a Tower unit, hmm that was even more work than
 normally required.

 I would like to set the record straight right here and now. 'YES', you
 can put a 520ST and 1040ST and just about any type of computer including
 your 8 bit Atari's in another type of housing.  While in some cases it
 is not an easy job, I hope to outline what you need to do in this
 article.

 The most important thing to do is a little planning, and to fully
 understand what you wish to do with this project, for instance..

 * Do you want a second or third disk drive, 3 1/2" or 5 1/4" or both?
 * Do you want to include a harddisk drive, controller, and host adaptor?
 * Do you want to upgrade your on-board RAM at all?
 * Do you want to upgrade your TOS version at the same time, or do you
   want to keep your old TOS as well and make them switchable?
 * Do you want to install a "ROM" drive, in your Cart port?
 * Do you want to delay the ST from booting so it may auto-boot your HD?
 * Do you want to switch the power on and off from the front panel?
 * Do you want a reset button on the front panel?
 * Do you want to switch Monitors from your Housing or just plug them in
   and out each time?
 * Do you want to be able to select which floppy drive is in drive A & B
   configuration, and be able to select what side to write to?
 * Do you want to be able to Write Protect your Hard disks with Hardware?
 * Do you want to use your cart port for things like Spectre, Replay?
 * Do you want to mount your modem inside the housing?
 * Do you want to run all the equipment from an IBM power supply?
 * Do you want to use Midi?
 * Do you want to use your centronics port?
 * Do you want to use an IBM or 101 type keyboard, with your joystick and
   mouse ports?
 * How big do you want the housing to be, and will it sit flat or
   vertical?
 * How much money do you want to spend?

 Planning is the answer, if I had taken a few minutes to decide what I
 wanted to do and made a "shopping list", I would not have spent all the
 extra time repositioning all the drives to fit something else into the
 case, each time I decided to change my mind on some little thing.

 So first things first, make a "shopping list" of "wants", by this I mean
 if you want to do something you have to go out and get it for the RIGHT
 price.  To complete this project it cost me about $200, by the time I
 got a housing, 150watt power supply, a 5 1/4" disk drive, 2 NEC 3 1/4"
 disk drives, new 25 pin ribbon connectors, new 9 pin ribbon connectors,
 120 megs of hard disks, a controller, and Host adaptor, ROM card for the
 Cart port, and connecting wire.  The secret to all of this is, when you
 have made your "shopping list" you then know what you want to do, now
 all you have to find out is what will do what you want (how's that for
 double talk), and when you find that out, you can go fore-armed to your
 dealer/computer repairman, or computer auction/junk sale and ask for
 what you want at YOUR price.  If you are prepared to wait, you will get
 the right price.  I found the best source for hard disks is from your
 repairman, from most Systems Managers.  They have them lying around in a
 so called "dead" state.  Did you know that of all the dead drives I have
 ever received only 2 of them have been dead!  So offer to take them off
 their hands with a small donation to their staff social fund ie $10, or
 go buy your service man a beer or two, it works!

 Last but not least, Computer auctions are an amazingly cheap source of
 everything, the last one I was at, I spent about $300 and got 14 40 meg
 Hard disks, 3 NEC 1036 3 1/4" drives, a Teac FD-55GFV 5 1/4", 2 IBM 150
 watt supplies, a colour TV and heaps more, so remember to look in the
 newspaper for sources for your "shopping list".

 Now that you have decided you want to continue with transplanting your
 ST into an IBM case what will do what, for me?  I hope this little list
 will help you in your search...

 Disk Drives Floppy:
 3 1/2"

 * You can use your Atari drive if you want.
 * NEC 1036 a double sided 720k drive.
 * Matsushita model JU-253.

 NB: These I have found the best, as no extra buffering or the likes is
 required.

 5 1/4"

 * The commercial one you may already have.
 * TEAC FD-55GFV
 * TEAC FD-55G

 NB: These I have found the best, as no extra buffering or the likes is
 required.

 ROM Drives:

 These are avalible in many forms, all you need to do is get a cart board
 and blow your own eproms with your favorate programs in there, and map
 it to a drive.  Cost anywhere from $12 to $36 not including the eproms.

 Hard Disks/Controllers/Host Adaptors:

 This is an 100 page article in itself.  You can use your existing hard
 drive/controller/host adaptor, or look in most mags for adverts on kit
 sets for these like the Supra or Triangle Kits, and the list goes on.
 In my case a group of us down here are using an other type of Host
 adaptor, which will emulate the "IBM Motherboard Slot" and is real cheap
 to build or buy, along with this we can use most IBM 1/2 card/
 controllers but I prefer the Omiti 5520 or 5527 for it's speed, this
 means you can get controller cards from as little as $15 in the local
 repair shops "Junk Bin".  Hard disks, well this is up to you, what size,
 how many etc, what brand.  Remember in the IBM housing you have lots of
 room to play with, and the limit is that of your pocket book and piece
 of mind.

 Types of IBM Housings/power supplies:

 Look around in many cases you can buy an IBM/clone housing for about $70
 with a 150 watt power supply already installed, wow that is like being
 1/2 way there.  Make sure you have a control panel on the front of the
 housing for, say switching the reset button, turning the computer on and
 off, switching between TOS's, turning your ROM drive on and off, for
 drive select A&B, or what ever you have decided to do.  Now if you have
 a 150 watt supply you can feed the following with the supply and you
 will no longer need the Atari supplies..

 a. Your ST
 b. Your disk drive(s)
 c. Your modem (in most cases)
 d. Your Hard disk(s) and controller(s)/host adaptor(s)

 Last but not least make sure you can fit your ST mother-board into the
 housing with a little room to spare.  How do you do this?  Simple, flop
 your ST over so the keyboard is face down on a towel and measure the 4
 sides of your ST, that is the smallest your case can be, ie an IBM PS2
 model 30 sized case.  I have not given any measurements here because
 strangely enough the sizes vary from model to model.  If you wish to use
 your cart port, measure how long your longest cart is and add about 1
 1/2" and make sure the housing is at least that high.

 Upgrade your RAM/TOS:

 Again this is up to you how you go about it, if you are into D.I.Y (DO
 IT YOURSELF), look in "Computer Shopper" for cheap ram chips, it costs
 about $150 to upgrade my 520 to 2.5 megs.  Again you can look in most
 mags for companies who will either sell you a kit to do it or they may
 do it for you.  If you get a company to do it, wait until the guarantee
 has expired before doing this mod, so you have piece of mind.  Remember
 if you have TOS 1.1 and you do, do a 2.5 meg upgrade do not "PANIC" if
 the computer appears dead for about a minute when you boot it up, it is
 merely clearing ram and appears to take forever to compare the 512k or
 1024k ram you had before.  It was at this stage I bought "Rainbow TOS".
 Another source of amusement to me has been the comments re-switching
 TOS, on Fnet I received last week, one fellow was so sure it could not
 be done, well again to set the record straight it CAN be done.

 However, you will be required to re-burn your existing TOS sets into an
 eprom, and switch between the banks on these eproms, thus you will need
 a switch on the front panel to do this.  The only real advantages of
 this are..

 * If you want to play games, not all games work with TOS 1.4/Rainbow.
 * Are programing, and want to be compatible with all ST's (like the 8
   bit TRANSLATOR disk)
 * Faster boot up, with larger memory.
 * MS-DOS compatable disk formats.
 * Just want to be trendy!

 Please note this will void any warranty given by the "Atari" for your
 TOS, and will breach a copyright if sold!!!

 Monitor Switching:

 If you are lucky enough to have 2 monitors a colour and monochrome
 monitor, you can do a few things and here the choice again is yours.

 a. Use a montior switch box ie "Monitor Master", and mount it either on
    the back panel of the IBM housing or feed to the outside of the case
    and use it as you already do.

 b. Buy a Sony/Atari 13 pin monitor plug (male) and make a cable to run
    from the monitor to the rear of the IBM housing about 10 " long.

 Now make a desicion!  Do you want to remain Atari standard or do your
 own thing with attaching your monitor(s) to the housing?  If you wish to
 remain standard you will have to source 2 female 13 pin Sony/Atari 13
 pin sockets and mount them on the rear panel, or get 2 D9 female plugs
 and mount them on the rear panel, either way it doesn't matter.  Now one
 is for colour and the other is for mono.

 Take a line from pin 4 on the ST end of your cable and take it to a SPST
 switch, connect it though this to pin 4 onto the female plug you have
 called "Mono Monitor".  Other than this line take all the other
 connections BAR pin 2 to your female connectors.

 Connect 2 "RCA" female sockets on the rear of the housing calling one of
 them "AUDIO" and the other "VIDEO".

 Now take pin 1 from the ST end of your cable to the center of the female
 RCA socket marked "AUDIO" and pin 2 from the ST end of the cable to the
 female RCA socket marked "VIDEO".  Strap both of the earth connectors to
 either pin 13 or a common EARTH you have already set up. (please note on
 some early versions of the ST pins 2 and 8 were reversed, my 520ST is a
 1985 vintage and pin 2 is video).  This has now given you an outlet to
 feed to your VCR and your Stereo/Music center.

 To select your Mono monitor simply switch pin 4 on and off, that is the
 pin that goes to the SPST switch, it switchs the mono detect line, and
 will reboot your ST.

 NB:- I have not done any diagrams as pin selection is mentioned in Your
 Atari Handbook.  Also if you do not have a modulator on ST you can
 simply go and get one from Radio Shack that only requires Video/Audio in
 and 12volt and there you have one, or you can connect up a video
 transmitter and send the ST to any TV in your house.

 The CARTRIDGE PORT:

 This part is somewhat difficult, all you have to do is one of three
 things.

 1. Do not use your cart port
 2. Make a right angle adaptor so you may plug in any cart, and mount it
    on the side of the Housing. (The easiest to do!)
 3. Remount the cart port from horizontal to vertical, this sounds easy
    but it is harder than it looks.  Now all the carts merely connect by
    pluging straight in "snap".

 Mounting the ST Mother Board:

 I found the easiest way to do this is to make up two alloy plates, one
 mounted under the mother board, and one over the top of the mother
 board.  I used HEX standoff bolts to mount the plates and the mother
 board on so there was enough of an air gap, between all of them.  I
 painted the Alloy plates Black so they would also assorb the heat.  Use
 the mount holes on your ST to mark out the Alloy plates, this makes a
 template of where to drill the IMB case and the alloy plates, so they
 marry up with your ST mother-board..

 Now a few tips..

 * Leave the Joy stick/Mouse ports on your ST mother board.
 * Drill a hole over the GLUE chip, for those of you with the old problem
   with the "Glue chip" this will save you stripping your case to re-seat
   this little beasty.  With a hole over it you can use a pencil to do
   the same thing.  (Drill the hole in the TOP Alloy Plate)
 * Mount your Floppy drives,Hard disks,etc on top of the top Alloy plate
   thus allowing for a good mounting surface for all the other equipment
   you wish to install. (Floppy and Hard drives should line up with the
   holes in the front of the IBM housing)
 * Take the look at where your keyboard plugs into your mother board
   (this is the Hard bit :-) you only need to take 5 of these to your
   keyboard, if you choose to mount your joystick/mouse ports on your new
   keyboard.  This can be done by getting a 5 pin din socket and mounting
   it on the rear of your IBM case.  Take the 5 wires to here and on the
   other end have a male 5 pin Din plug going to either..
    1. Your old ST housing
    2. Your new 101 type keyboard.

 If you are going to use a 101 type keyboard remember this..

    1. You will have to remount the Keboard processor.
    2. You will have to re-matrix the keyboard.

 If you are going to use your old ST case (the easiest way of doing it),
 you will have to put in 2 D9 male sockets, one for the Mouse and the
 other for the joystick.  It becomes a birds nest of wiring so do not do
 this "Like a bull in a china shop."

 Well now you have done most of transplant you are ready to boot it up
 and have a full blown IBM/CLONE look alike but with the RIGHT MOTOR, an
 ATARI ST.  This project is an on going thing, as you will find that you
 will want to add bits and pieces here and there, and make it a little
 more friendly with bells & whistles, for instances LEDs on all the
 Hardisks, leds that indicate Formating, a Track indicator for the
 floppies and the list goes on, now you have the room to play in, and the
 Lion is no longer in Sheeps Clothing!

 YOU SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT ANY OF THE ABOVE UNLESS YOU FELL YOU HAVE THE
 TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE TO COMPLETE THE TASK, AND THIS WILL SURELY VOID ALL
 WARRANTIES ON ALL EQUIPMENT USED.

 The Bottom Line:- Nothing is impossible, it just takes a little longer!



 | | |  GENIE FLOW CONTROL
 | | |  Compiled by Ed Krimen
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


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


 ST ETHERNET
 -----------
 -=> In the "Hardware" category (4)
 -=> from the "DragonWare's AtariTalk2 AppleTalk LAN" topic (18)

 Message 86        Sun Aug 30, 1992
 DRAGONWARE [Chris]           at 17:58 EDT

 In January, DragonWare Software Inc. will release SCSI EtherNet and
 Direct Ethernet.  This means that with these hardware adaptors you will
 be able to add 300 MBits-per-second network compatibility to ANY TOS
 computer!

 EtherNet is the standard IBM protocol for LAN, and now DragonWare makes
 this protocol available to you!  We hope to sell this network solution
 for less than $200 each!  PowerNet users will NOT need to change their
 current setups!  EtherPower is fully compatible with PowerNet!

 For AppleTalk network Users: AtariTalk2 and our new SCSI AppleTalk board
 will let current MIDI network users to upgrade to the 20 Kbyte-per-
 second LAN that MSTE/TT and Falcon users of PowerNet enjoy!

 All of these options and more (NetMail, NetSpool) are coming before the
 end of the first month in 1993!

 Christopher W. Roberts
 DragonWare Software Inc.
 =====================================


 GET YOUR FALCON HERE!
 ---------------------
 -=> In the "Welcome to the Atari ST Roundtable" category (1)
 -=> from the "Important Messages from Atari" topic (2)

 Message 1         Thu Aug 27, 1992
 DARLAH [RT~SYSOP]            at 13:12 EDT

 Place Your Atari Falcon030 Developer Machine Order Now
 ------------------------------------------------------
 Atari is now taking commercial-level developer orders for the
 production-level Atari Falcon030.  These developer machines will be
 shipped with 14MB of RAM and a 65MB harddisk. Delivery is expected to
 be sometime during the month of September. This offer is open only to
 Commercial-Tier Developers. Please contact Gail Bacani at 408-745-2022
 or myself at 408-745-2082 for pricing and shipping details.  Please try
 to have your order in by September 4th.

 Fall Comdex Exhibition Space Available
 --------------------------------------
 Developers interested in exhibiting at Fall Comdex in Las Vegas
 (November 16th - 29th) should contact me via e-mail or fax (408-745-
 2083) before September 4th.  Atari will be exhibiting in the Sands
 Convention Center. Developers will be required to set up their stations
 on Sunday, November 15th begining at 11:00AM.  There are approximately
 30 stations available.

 Please be sure to include:
 1) Complete company name.
 2) A description of what you intend to show.
 3) Your equipment requirements.
 4) Current company phone and fax numbers.
 5) Evening phone number where you may be reached.

 -Bill Rehbock, Director of Application Software
 =====================================


 AN UNUSUAL CALAMUS APPLICATION
 ------------------------------
 -=> In the "ISD Product Support" category (16)
 -=> from the "Calamus S/SL" topic (20)

 Message 48        Sun Aug 30, 1992
 AD-VANTAGE                   at 21:35 EDT

 Nathan, What is a "sign cutter" and what is it used for?

 -- Ron
 ----------
 Message 50        Sun Aug 30, 1992
 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs]       at 22:22 EDT

 Ron, you know those vinyl banners that look so neat at shows, like the
 one over the CodeHead booth?  Those were made with a sign-cutting
 program.  It's a publishing program that, instead of driving a printer,
 drives a sign-cutter, a saw, if you will, that cuts the vinyl letters
 which are (this is _one_ way it's done) then mounted on a solid-color
 background.  It's a neat process, I watched them make a sign for my
 booth at the AtariMesse last year.  It's also a neat way to make money
 with one's computer.  The fellow who made my sign had a sizable
 investment in his IBM, software, and plotter/cutter, but he also
 _charged_ a good chunk!  And the result was very professional, to say
 the least.
 ----------
 Message 53        Mon Aug 31, 1992
 AD-VANTAGE                   at 00:06 EDT

 Thank's Dorothy!  I was thinking of something closer to an engraving
 machine but this sounds like a different critter.  Do you know how thin/
 thick the vinyl is and how big/small the output product can be?

 -- Ron
 ----------
 Message 55        Mon Aug 31, 1992
 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs]       at 00:13 EDT

 I dunno, Ron, there may be limitations on certain cutters.  The banner I
 bought is 4' long (they charged per foot, and I'm cheap); the CodeHead's
 banner spans the length of a booth and is about 3' tall.  They have more
 than one color in the printing and a thicker vinyl than mine; shows what
 money can buy if you are willing to pay.  Look in your phone book under
 signs and go visit a shop.  It's neat.  You choose your fonts or bring
 in or have made custom images, etc.
 ----------
 Message 56        Mon Aug 31, 1992
 REALM [Joey]                 at 04:30 EDT

 Ron, Roland makes a desktop cutter/plotter called CAMM1.  I believe it
 uses standard HPGL language calls.  I know it's supported by DynaCADD.
 I think Dataformer outputs a HPGL file also, although I'm not sure how
 you would print it.  I've seen it sell for around $1750.  It cuts/plots
 using rolls between 17-3/4" to 19-2/3" wide.  If you want some more info
 drop me some E-Mail.  I've got a sheet of specs on the CAMM1, CAMM2,
 CAMM3 machines.  CAMM 2 is an engraver and CAMM 3 is a 3D milling
 machine.
 ----------
 Message 57        Mon Aug 31, 1992
 POTECHIN [ Nathan]           at 07:13 EDT

 Expanding on Joey's comment, basically there are D- and E-size cutting
 plotters as well.  Visualize something about 4' across and unlimited
 length as a possibility.  Vinyl comes in all colors and easily cut and
 pasted.  This is a profession in itself.  By the way Joey, if you have
 an HPGL file, you could then bring it, for example, to anyone that has
 a sign cutter or plotter for output!

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


 MESSE NEWS
 ----------
 -=> In the "User Group and Shows" category (11)
 -=> from the "Duesseldorf AtariMesse" topic (17)

 Message 24        Sat Aug 29, 1992
 POTECHIN [ Nathan]           at 20:48 EDT

 I'm back. Let's see what I can recall off the top of my head. :-)

 The layout was approximately the same as last year.  However, in almost
 all cases, the size of the actual booths were reduced.  Atari had their
 identical centre floor layout as they've had for years already BUT, this
 year is was definitely NOT as busy as previous years, in this area.

 The largest "DRAW" at the show, was this huge monitor bank.  It was one
 of those setups with about 60 or so, 19" monitors all stacked together,
 each showing a part of the screen.  There was an amazing video shown
 throughout the shown on this wall of vision.  It really was excellent.
 It could even be used as a commercial without a doubt and certainly it
 is a must for all Atari dealers.  Germany produced it for something like
 40K apparently but I made a point of noticing that the German Sound
 Track was separate and that visually, any language could be used!
 Everyone that came in the door saw this video.

 Close to it was the double row of Atari Falcon 030's.  They were used to
 display games for the most part.  I admit that personally I do not have
 much interest in the 030 model as I use the TT for the meantime until
 the new higher end units make their appearance DDT had this neo-Egyptian
 setup that featured standing Pharoahs at each end. :-)  Their dance
 routine was mostly an "over 18" version of that Michael Jackson tape,
 complete with half-naked women dancers and a fire-breathing man.  I was
 a bit surprised to see this at a family event but without a doubt, it
 was the second-biggest draw of the show! :-)  Oh yes, they were selling
 Papyrus, which was about how they were perceived.  Papyrus, oh them, the
 booth with the dancers!  :-)

 DMC has a few thousand square feet, including an outdoor cafe-style
 setup, surrounded by workstations on all 4 sides.  As Calamus was
 bundled with every ST that Atari Germany shipped for years, don't be
 surprised when I tell you that they truly dominated this year's show.
 In Germany, ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE owns Calamus, either legitimately or
 pirated. :-)  A few new modules were shown for the first time, including
 an incredible MASKING module which will be a huge hit with our serious
 color clients.

 Matrix had their usual booth, right near the front door, showing the
 entire lineup.  Same for Bio Data, (which has thousands of installed
 networks).  All the usual German Developers were represented.  3K, which
 had a huge booth last year, was in pieces this year.  3K exhibited, 3H
 (the Programmers that used to be at 3K) also exhibited and I understand
 legal papers were actually served one upon the other, at the show itself
 over who has the right to sell what.  Perhaps Lauren, who was also at
 the show, can expand on this.  Regardless, the 3K presence was much
 reduced over last year.

 No question that the majority of attendees at this year's show, came for
 the applications.  As unbelievable as this may sound to you, although
 the games area was adequately filled, the action remained in the
 application areas.

 Someone mentioned a 68040 board shown by a 3rd party at the show.  I was
 told that this board was a modified Apple board, that could do a few
 things but was so far away from really running Atari applications that
 it could not be taken seriously at this time.  This was not an Atari
 product.

 Tom from ICD appeared to have done real well with his new The Link.  I
 imagine he'll drop by here and say a few words when he gets a chance.

 Toad and B.E.S.T. also exhibited side by each right beside an empty
 Double-Click booth.  I wondered what that was all about.

 I brought back the show guide.  There were over 100 exhibiters.  I did
 not get a chance to check out even a small fraction of them but only had
 time to go from meeting to meeting of my own with people that I have
 known for years or people that I wanted to know now. :-)  I could go on
 and on about the DMC booth :-) but figured I'd save it for the Calamus
 area.  But I will say, whether you've ever owned or used Calamus in your
 life, you would have been proud to own an Atari seeing the DMC exhibit
 at this show!  First Class!!

 Ask me specific questions and probably many other things will come back
 to me generally speaking about the show.

 Nathan @ DMC Publishing

 Hmmmm, I should mention that overall, officially, the attendance at this
 years show was up 10% according to Mr. Stumpf.  I asked.
 ----------
 Message 25        Sat Aug 29, 1992
 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp.]     at 21:06 EDT

 Nathan,  Thanks for the report.  Sam Tramiel tells me that the
 attendance this year was 50,000.  We had over 170 developers from all
 over the world showcasing their products at the Messe.

 No pics of the Papyrus booth, eh? :)

 Welcome back,
 Bob
 ----------

 Message 53        Tue Sep 01, 1992
 B.REHBOCK [Bill@Atari]       at 02:44 EDT

 There were many new applications that were geared-up for Falcon.  Among
 them were new color versions of the products from Trade-It (Avant Vector
 and Repro Studio) and Shift (Arabesque & Convector).  I certainly hope
 to see these products in the U.S. from their respective representatives.
 InShape from Roald Christesen also made its debut.  It is a very slick
 3D modeler that can import .3D2 files.  InShape also does Keyframe
 rendering with ray tracing.  It supports a wide variety of texture
 mapping, too.  It saves out animations as a series of 24-bit proprietary
 -format files, but it comes with a utility to convert them into .TIF's.
 The software is in English and they are looking for distribution.
 (There are a few drawbacks to the program, such as poor direct-to-screen
 drawing that makes it unusable under MultiTOS.)

 Let's see, what else... Compo was showing a color version of That's
 Write, and the new modules for Calamus SL look fantastic.  The Calamus
 Multimedia Publishing system (complete with SCSI Frame grabber) was
 shown and wowing the crowd.  Many people attended the Motorola 56K DSP
 seminars that were held.

 Yes, the Falcon030's official colors are lighter grey with dark grey
 keys with white legends.

 One of the more interesting booths is always the VHF Computer booth.
 They have a product called Platon which is a complete multi-layer
 printer circuit board design system.  It handles schematic input, auto
 routing, and creation of Gerber and Drilldata files.  They had their
 prototyping system creating prototype boards with a XYZ drilling
 machine. (there/their) (This product is also available in English. :-)

 I'm sure that I'll recall more as the week goes on.
 ----------
 Message 55        Tue Sep 01, 1992
 POTECHIN [ Nathan]           at 22:08 EDT

 I was hoping to read some more posts from other attendees from North
 America.  Let's see what I can add without boring anyone.

 I spent almost all of my time in the incredible DMC booth and I do not
 say that because I am DMC. :-) It really was a Comdex-level booth,
 including a sidewalk cafe setting surrounded by real serious
 workstations.  I enjoyed a coffee there with such notables as P.D. Patel
 of Mid-Cities Computer from the Los Angeles area, an excellent Atari
 Dealer; Ron Smith, the person currently employed to advise the Tramiels
 at the highest levels; a M. Laurent from Epigraf in France who was
 proudly displaying Redacteur 4 (real serious stuff); the Atari Reps in
 such interesting places as Hungary and Croatia, who also represent
 products such as Calamus and DynaCADD, etc...  I drank a great deal of
 coffee in fact. :-) Alvin Stumpf was his usual charming self.  We
 exchanged a few jokes over the entertainment to be found at a German
 Atari Show.  (You had to be there to really appreciate that comment and
 no, I didn't bring back pictures.) :-)

 I also spent time with most everyone exhibiting within the DMC booth.  I
 have brought back a few new products, all high-end, and we will play
 with them in-house for a bit before we make any firm decisions.  One
 workstation was using an Ultre Setter.  Another had a Shinko 300 dpi
 continuous tone dye-sublimation printer.  A third had the HCS printer
 that really is excellent.  A fourth used the Spectrastar 300 dpi thermal
 transfer printer.  A fifth used a D-size plotter and output these
 incredibly sophisticated images, cut out of vinyl etc... You get the
 idea.

 Right across from DMC was TMS showing off their Cranach Studio and
 wondering when we'd finish the English manual for them.  It is real
 overdue and needs to be completed. (Sigh)

 CRP showed off DynaCADD and their Digitizer Tablet and actually sold
 thousands of dollars worth of product, which isn't so tough when
 DynaCADD is involved.  DMC also actually sold product at a show for the
 very first time and sold serious tonnage.  Their new Mask module, not
 yet in English, sells for 800 DM.  They sold 50 packages at the show!

 I saw this full sized VAN in one booth, with a real elaborate painting
 on it.  It was the backdrop for an outfit using their Atari to create
 silk screens for T-Shirts which they did and offered for sale at the
 show.

 I had a nice visit with Manfred from Makro CDE, Jim Allen's German
 representatives for the Tiny Turbo, T25's and TURBO 030.  He appeared to
 be doing a great deal of business as well.

 As I mentioned previously, I perceived a great deal more interest in the
 higher end applications this year, at this show, compared to last year
 at the same show.

 If anyone would care to ask a specific question, please ask.  It will
 most probably prompt a recollection I've forgotten. :-)

 Nathan @ DMC Publishing
 ----------
 Message 29        Sun Aug 30, 1992
 B.REHBOCK [Bill@Atari]       at 02:01 EDT

 We also showed "D2D", an excellent direct-to-disk recording system that
 uses only the built-in Falcon hardware to do Stereo 16-bit, 50kHz
 recording and editing.  We also showed a DSP demo that allowed us to
 apply flange, echo, reverb, and delay to audio from a microphone
 connected to the F030's input.  Digital Arts (the programming team that
 brought us Retouche CD) also previewed a new true-color image editing
 application.  HiSoft showed a wonderful true-color paint package.
 Eurosoft was around on the Falcon stand showing a Falcon version of
 their paint package, Studio Effects.

 The main demo started with a light show and smoke coming from an 18-foot
 -tall pyramid/volcano, controlled by a MegaSTE via MIDI and sequencing
 software.  The MegaSTE was responsible for all show control, including
 the digital-control spots. As the 1st phase of the light show ended, the
 tape kicked in with some historic Atari footage describing the
 technological innovations that Atari computers have had since '85.  It
 ends with the Falcon030 and a real Falcon displayed flying down.
 Several high-tech shots panning across the ports on the back come next,
 then inside as the voice-over continues talking about the machine and
 its uses.

 After the video tape, there was a series of Falcon030 video and audio
 demos showing the true-color overscan capabilities, the direct-to-disk
 recording, and the NewDesk desktop features such as color animated
 icons, and 3D buttons and gadgets.

 At one point in time, there were representatives of every European
 hacker/demo group around the stage; it was _really_ crowded.  Many
 questions were asked and answered.  I think we'll be seeing some very
 awesome stuff in quite a short time.

 The video was intentionally designed so that it will be easily localized
 for word-wide usage.  People here in North America will definitely have
 a chance to see it.

 All-in-all a good time was had by all. It was a very successful roll-out
 for us and we intend to keep up the pace.

 -Bill Rehbock, Director of Application S/W
 =====================================

 FINANCIAL REPORTS
 -----------------
 Message 196       Mon Aug 31, 1992
 TOWNS [John@Atari]           at 19:49 EDT

 You should read the report more closely. If you do, you will see
 that Atari has lost 39 Million Dollars, but over 36 Million of that
 was a write-off against existing inventory. This should be considered
 as "wiping the slate clean" for incoming products.

 If you look at the whole picture (I did), I think you will see a company
 whose sales have dropped, they have cut operating costs substantially,
 have new competitive products on the horizon, very little outstanding
 debt, and 60 million in the bank! From that information, I think the
 stock is undervalued and ripe to buy.  (I know that if I had any spare
 cash lying around, I would!)

 But, that's just my opinion.  You will see what you want to see from the
 quarterly reports and that's the way it is!

 By the way, the above is my personal opinion.  This should not be
 considered a recommendation to buy ANYTHING and you should make up your
 own mind before purchasing any stock.

 -- John Townsend, Atari Corp.
 ----------

 DSP APPLICATIONS
 ----------------
 -=> In the "Flaming - Debating - Discussions - Rumors" category (18)
 -=> from the "Atari systems vs Other systems" topic (22)

 Message 188       Mon Aug 31, 1992
 AD-VANTAGE                   at 00:07 EDT

 An interesting local commercial DSP application I am familiar with
 involves using the technology to "listen" to radio stations.  The DSP
 hardware/software can "recognize" what song is being played, and the
 computer credits the author for payment.  The device constantly scans
 the broadcast frequencies and can track an entire listening area.

 One of my favorites is the SETI (Search for Extraterrestial
 Intelligence) folks who use a similar DSP-based technology when scanning
 the galaxies, listening for radio waves that have "intelligent"
 patterns.  If it works, perhaps it could be used to find intelligence
 on this planet. :-)

 An exciting application in work at a local university uses DSP to
 monitor alpha waves of a disabled (quadriplegic) person.  The DSP
 hardware performs FFT operations on the alpha wave data, and can
 "interpret" specific thoughts.  The person is trained to think in a
 particular way, thus generating a set of alpha patterns that are then
 detected and used to achieve a specific function or set of functions.
 I understand the technology to perform such a function is easier than
 recognizing speech -- neat stuff.  The technology started several years
 back with the defense department in developing a "thought helmet" for
 pilots.  The cockpit of an aircraft is too noisy for speech recognition.

 The advent of DSP has been compared by many of the technologists to be
 as significant as the invention of the transistor or integrated
 circuit.  I believe the Falcon will provide an inexpensive platform to
 help move DSP into areas not yet imagined or reasonably attainable.

 -- Ron
 =====================================

 | | |  Z*NET NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENTS
 | | |  Press Releases
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 CARDFILE 4

 Gribnif Software is proud to announce the immediate release of the
 newest version of their very popular Personal Information Manager
 software for the Atari ST/TT, CardFile 4.

 This latest version of this program features a new look, many new
 features and enhancements, and a re-written 60+ page manual.  Most of
 the new features and enhancements came directly from customer
 suggestions.

 Highlights of CardFile 4 include:

 /// Address Book
     Enter and store all your names, addresses, and phone numbers on easy
     to use, Rolodex style, Address Cards.

 /// Personal Notes
     Each Address Card can have entire set of "Extended Notes", where you
     can write down any information about that person.

 /// Phone Dialer
     Each Address Card can also have up to four different phone numbers,
     which CardFile 4 can then dial automatically for you (modem
     required).

 /// Mailing Labels
     CardFile 4 can print on all kinds of mailing labels, Rolodex cards,
     and address labels, thanks to its powerful printer drivers.

 /// Daily Agenda & Appointments
     CardFile 4 also keeps track of all your appointments in a daily
     agenda, and can even remind you when they are coming up.  Each
     appointment can also have a complete set of "Extended Notes", just
     like the Address Cards.

 /// Monthly Calendar
     There's also a monthly calendar, where you can get a fast overview
     of your appointments and plan ahead.  You can even enlarge it to
     cover the entire screen size.

 /// Printing
     Thanks to its brand new printing system, CardFile 4 can print
     Address Books, Phone Lists, Mailing Labels, and can even Address
     Envelopes (including the Return Address).  CardFile can also send
     its Address Card data directly to an Atari Portfolio or to the Atari
     Clipboard.

 /// Data Exchange
     CardFile can exchange Address Cards with most popular address book
     programs, including Tracker ST, Partner ST, and DeskCart.  The
     included "Data Conversion" utility can even be modified to handle
     any kind of data file, from just about any program there is!

 /// Easy Operation
     Not only is CardFile 4 very easy to use, you can run it as a
     resident Desk Accessory or as a stand alone program, so that you
     always access your data.

 /// Documentation
     CardFile 4 includes a completely re-written, illustrated,
     instructional manual.  It covers everything you need to know in
     order to start using CardFile 4 in only a matter of minutes.

 /// $39.95 - Low Cost
     CardFile 4 still carries the same low price as CardFile 3!  Other
     programs do much less or cost substantially more.  Compare and see
     that CardFile 4 is the best deal around!

 HOW TO GET IT (choose one):

 A.  Call 1-800-284-4742 and one of our friendly employees will assist
     you in placing an order.  Outside North America, call [phone]
 B.  Send a U.S. Check for $42.95 US (that includes $3.00 for shipping
     and handling) to: Gribnif Software, P.O. Box 779, Northampton, MA
     01061.  Be sure to include a note with your name, address, and
     daytime telephone number (in case we have any questions about your
     order).
 C.  Ask your local dealer to order it today!

 HOW TO UPGRADE:

 A.  If you have CardFile 2 (or previous), you need to send us both the
     manual cover (tear it off) and the original disk, along with $23 for
     the upgrade (that's $20 for the upgrade, and $3 for S&H).
 B.  If you have CardFile 3 (any version), you need to send us both the
     inside page of the manual (with the serial number on it, just tear
     it off) and the original disk, along with $18 (that's $15 for the
     upgrade, and $3 for S&H).
 C.  Be sure to include a note with your name, address, and a daytime
     phone number (in case we have any questions about your order).
 D.  You can pay by check (issued by a US bank), US funds money order,
     postal money order, or credit card (MasterCard or Visa).  We
     recommend that you do not send cash.
 E.  If paying by credit card (MasterCard or Visa), please include the
     following: The Credit Card Number, The Expiration Date printed on
     the Credit Card, Your printed name, as it is written on the Credit
     Card, The name of the bank that issued the card (this is the same as
     the name of the bank that is written on the front of it), Your
     signature, matching the name that is written on the Card.
 F.  Any questions, just give us a call at [phone]!

 QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, or INQUIRIES:  Call or write:

 Gribnif Software
 P.O. Box 779
 Northampton, MA 01061
 Tel: [phone]  Fax: [phone]

                               # # # # # #

 GEMVELOPE

 Synergy Resources is proud to announce the release of a new version of
 GEMvelope! the envelope printer.

 Finally, quick and easy printing of envelopes on your printer!
 GEMvelope allows you to print envelopes on almost any printer.  Laser
 (and most other) printers will not feed an envelope so that you may
 print across it.  GEMvelope solves this problem allowing you to print
 even legal size envelopes on virtually all laser printers and dot matrix
 printers, including the HP DeskJet.  GEMvelope was developed to work
 hand in hand with most word processors and data bases to provide a
 complete solution.  This latest version (2.9) continues to expand and
 refine a product which has been continuously upgraded and supported over
 the past two years.

 GEMvelope Features:

 /// Import allows extracting an address from a letter in almost any word
     processor format (or from the GEM/Atari clipboard).

 /// Mail merge/browse allows printing one or many envelopes with an
     address imported from a database file such as Cardfile or
     Tracker/ST.  (Database import is fully user-definable.)

 /// ** NEW! ** Special HP DeskJet support!

 /// Adjustable positioning for different size envelopes.

 /// Load-able and save-able addresses and configuration.

 /// POSTNET bar code printing for speeding your mail.  (Will also save
     two cents per letter in the future according to the US Post Office!)

 /// ** NEW! ** A new text line is available and is placed at the bottom
     left of an envelope.  This is for adding messages like "Attention:
     John Doe" or "Personal & Confidential".

 /// ** NEW! ** The program version runs in a window and supports a menu
     bar.

 /// A desk accessory version ideal for using from within programs like
     Tracker/ST!

 /// GEMvelope uses and includes GDOS and drivers for the following
     printers: Atari SLM804/605, HP LaserJet compatible, HP DeskJet,
     Epson FX80/LX compatible 9 pin, Epson/Panasonic compatible 24 pin,
     Star NX1000, Okimate 20.

 /// Includes Swiss, Dutch and Typewriter fonts.  Fully compatible with
     FSM and bitmapped GDOS fonts.

 /// Compatible with all Atari ST and TT computers with 1 meg RAM.  Atari
     SLM laser printers require 2 megs of RAM.

 ** Tracker/ST owners:  Watch your mail for a special offer of 33% off on
 GEMvelope.  GEMvelope is designed to be used hand in hand with
 Tracker/ST as a complete solution.

 List price of GEMvelope is only $30 and is available directly from
 Synergy Resources or your Atari dealer.  (Dealer distribution is by
 Pacific Software)

 Upgrades from version 2.0-2.1 is $6.  Upgrades from version 2.7 or
 greater is $3.  Send original disk to Synergy Resources for upgrades.

 Synergy Resources
 754 N. Bolton Ave.
 Indianapolis, IN 46219-5902    [phone]
 GEnie Address: R.RICHARDS2

                               # # # # # #


 OREGON RESEARCH

 Oregon Research Associates is proud to announce the addition of two new
 programs to our line of quality Atari ST software: Diamond Edge and The
 Ultimate Virus Killer

 Diamond Edge

 Under continual development for two years, Diamond Edge represents our
 unwavering commitment to provide the Atari ST community with the highest
 quality software and product support available for any computer.
 Diamond Edge provides the most advanced set of Disk Management tools
 available for the Atari ST:

 /// Disk Diagnostics
     Analyzes your disks for critical errors that could lead to data
     loss.  Complete reporting of all errors found and the affected
     files.  Assess media integrity and map bad sectors.  Assess the
     integrity of data on your disk with CRC and checksum validations.

 /// Optimization
     Improves disk access.  Defragments files and directories,
     consolidates free space and optimizes data locations to improve disk
     performance.  FAST disk disk optimization for reading or writing.
     Analyzes disk fragmentation level to assess disk performance.

 /// Repair
     Repairs damaged disk structure, damaged files, and maps bad sectors.
     Save, restore, edit critical disk information to restore even very
     badly damaged disks or recover crashed disks.  Assesment and
     validation of the integrity of the recovered information.

 /// Data Recovery
     The Complete Undelete.  The Diamond Mirror system automatically
     saves critical disk information that allows you to recover deleted
     files.  Even undelete fragmented files and subdirectories.  Validate
     the integrity of the undeleted file.  Identifies and recovers data
     from lost clusters and unzero's disks.

 /// General Disk Management
     A wide variety of powerful disk management and information tools are
     available, including hard disk partitioning, copying, zeroing,
     wiping, etc.

 Diamond Edge defines the new state of the art in disk management,
 diagnostics, repair, optimization, and data recovery software for the
 Atari ST and is accompanied by a comprehensive spiral bound manual.  A
 full featured demo is available on GEnie in file #25511.


 Ultimate Virus Killer

 There are nearly 70 types of virus prevalent on the Atari ST.  With this
 package you can detect, destroy, and protect yourself from virus
 infection by all known and even unknown viruses.

 Scans disks and memory for suspicious system activity.  Detects even
 unknown viruses and calculates a viral contamination probability.
 Immunizes your disks against future virus attacks.  67 Viruses
 recognized, immunized, and destroyed.  Including the dreaded "link
 viruses" that attach themselves to every program that runs and can
 destroy all your data.

 Over 1000 executable boot sectors explicitly recognized and nearly 500
 repairable.  Regularly update to guarentee the best possible virus
 protection possible.  The Ultimate Virus Killer is the ULTIMATE tool to
 protect your Atari ST from virus infection and is accompanied by a
 comprehensive printed manual..

 Diamond Edge is available for the introductory price of only $69.95 and
 will be released at the Glendale show on September 12, 1992.  Existing
 Diamond Back II owners should contact us for a special limited time
 offer.

 The Ultimate Virus Killer is available for the introductory price of
 only $29.95 and will be released at the Glendale show on September 12,
 1992.

 Backup, Diagnostics, Optimization, Repair, Recovery, Virus Prevention:
 Total disk protection from Oregon Research Associates.  On the cutting
 Edge of Computer Technology.

 Additional information can be obtained by contacting us at:

 Oregon Research Associates
 16200 S.W. Pacific Hwy., Suite 162
 Tigard, OR 97224
 Phone: [phone]  FAX:   [phone]
 Genie mail: ORA.TECH

 Check, Money Order, COD, or VISA/MasterCard accepted.  When ordering,
 please be sure to include $5 for shipping and handling.

                               # # # # # #


 THE STORM

 Double Click Software proudly presents... Storm by Alan Page

 Many of you will recognize the name Alan Page as the author of the
 _best_ selling, most popular terminal software ever written for the
 Atari computer, the original Flash!

 Alan's innovative, solid programming made the original Flash the #1
 selling telecommunications software for the Atari computer, bar none.
 Now Alan has devised and produced the next-generation of
 telecommunications for you, Storm.

 If you are like us, you have been frustrated with telecommunications
 software released since the original Flash was introduced.  Our hopes,
 anxiety and anticipation of promising terminal programs has often been
 turned into a big let-down when we finally saw that none could match the
 power, ease and solidity of the original Flash.  In fact, most terminal
 software is still measured in usefullness comparative to the original
 Flash.  That is until now.

 Storm is the next step for telecommunications as only Alan Page can
 produce.  His expertise and mastery of programming is sure to set a new
 standard by which all other terminal software will be measured.  And
 only Double Click Software can bring this delight to you.

 Here are some of the features of STORM:

 /// Works on all versions of TOS in all resolutions except LOW.
     Including the TT and the new Falcon.

 /// BASIC script language.  That's right!  No new programmer's idea of a
     script language that is sort of like some programming language.
     This one _is_ BASIC, with powerful extensions for
     telecommunications.  We'll describe it a bit more later, with a
     brief example.

 /// 100% MultiTOS compatible.

 /// Everything is in a window: terminal screen, capture buffers,
     editors, BASICs, download/upload status, dialing status.

 /// Unlimited editor and capture buffers, and BASICs (under MultiTOS)

 /// Simple, yet powerful editor with full mouse control, cut and paste,
     full word wrap, Atari clipboard support, and more.

 /// Capture buffer keeps capturing even if you are not in the terminal
     window.  This means you can start your capture, and view it at your
     leisure without losing anything, without being in the terminal
     window.  Heck, you can even close the terminal window!

 /// Freeze the current capture buffer and start a new one at any time.

 /// Multitasking - be online downloading, editing and running a BASIC
     program all at the same time.  In fact, you can start a new copy of
     BASIC at any time (without MultiTOS, with MultiTOS it's better
     yet!).

 /// Powerful macro keys let you interpret the macro instructions as
     BASIC commands.  You can even chain function keys, which can start a
     new copy of BASIC.  You can even define the cursor keys!

 /// Full type ahead support, with special prefix and suffix extensions,
     and control character pass through.

 /// Simple layered Windows (tm) style menus which greatly simplify
     keystroke memorization for quick, easy, expert command execution.

 /// Pop-up menus (with a pop-up menu command in BASIC so you can define
     your own as well).

 /// Loadable background file transfers in X, Y, Zmodem and Compuserve's
     B+.

 /// Background round-robin dialing with auto-logon BASIC scripts.  And
     the size of your dial directory is completely unlimited!

 /// Precise terminal emulations including Vidtex and VT100.

 And now for a brief description of Storm BASIC (in Alan's own words):

 The BASIC interpreter is a fairly complete BASIC with special extensions
 for telecommunications.  It was originally based on Atari 8-bit BASIC,
 but has been redesigned and enhanced considerably.

 Summary of Features:

 /// String and integer variable types, plus string and integer arrays.
 /// Arrays can have a maximum of two dimensions.
 /// Integers are 32 bit integers.
 /// Full set of string functions, including string search.
 /// Runs in its own window.
 /// Event handling for timer, clipboard, and carrier detect events.
 /// Chain command to run programs in a separate interpreter.  Chain
     level limited only be memory.
 /// Allocates all memory as needed.

 BASIC runs cooperatively with the rest of the program.  So you can
 access the editor, capture buffer, terminal screen, or whatever, while a
 program is running.  You can even switch away in the middle of a BASIC
 "INPUT" statement which is waiting for input.

 BASIC is very sparing of memory.  All the memory it needs is allocated
 as needed. e.g. each line or string is allocated separately, so it is
 not a memory hog.  Each string can (in theory) be up to 32K in size.

 Here are a few examples of the more interesting BASIC commands:

 String functions

 These are all "Microsoft" style string functions as can be found in GW-
 Basic or QBASIC.  "string" in the examples below can be a string, or
 string variable, or string function.  You can nest functions quite
 deeply.

 e.g. PRINT MID$(LEFT$("ALANPAGE",2)+CHR$(ASC("A"))+RIGHT$("NNN",1),1,4)
 Prints "ALAN"

 The typical string addition and comparision functions are supported,
 e.g. '+', '=', '<>', '>=', '<=','<' and '>' .

 UCASE$("string")
 LCASE$("string")
 These two functions return the string converted to all uppercase /
 lowercase respectively.

 SPACE$(n)
 Returns a string of n spaces.

 INSTR([start,]"string","key")
 This is a string search function. It searches "string" for substring
 "key" and returns the starting index of "key" in "string", or 0 for
 failure. 'start' is optional and is the location in the string to start
 at. N.B.  The first location in a string is location 1.  Also, no matter
 where you start searching in the string, INSTR always returns an index
 relative to the start of the string.

 Example: INSTR("12345","3") and INSTR(3,"12345","3") both return 3.

 SCREEN$(linenumber)
 This returns a line of text from terminal screen line 'linenumber'.  The
 first line of the screen is 1.  Trailing spaces are stripped from the
 line, so a blank line is returned as "".

 LTRIM$ can be used to strip leading spaces.

 SCREEN$ and INSTR should let you write very powerful scripts where you
 can read information off the screen and take context-sensitive actions.

 Telecommunication-specific functions
 ====================================
 I have made some attempt to be compatible with Flash for some commands.

 CAPTURE ON        Turns capture on.
 CAPTURE OFF       Turns capture off.
 CAPTURE CLEAR     Clears the capture buffer.

 Serial Port Functions

 BAUD nn
 Sets baud rate to nn.

 PARITY EVEN or PARITY ODD or PARITY NONE
 Sets serial port parity.

 SBITS 1 or SBITS 2 or  SBITS 3
 Sets stop bits to 1, 2, or 1.5 respectively.

 STRIP ON or STRIP OFF
 Sets high-bit strip feature on or off.

 DTR ON
 DTR OFF
 These commands turn the DTR (Data Terminal Ready) signal on or off at
 the serial port.

 CSRLIN
 returns what line terminal screen cursor is on.

 POS(n)
 returns cursor x position, (starts at 1). 'n' is a dummy argument.

 SAVE CAPTURE "filename"
 Saves the capture buffer to "filename".

 FSEL$("path","filename")
 Pops up the GEM file selector and returns the full filename you
 selected, including the full path.

 ALERT(1,"[1][alert][OK]")
 Lets you display a standard GEM alert box.

 WAIT nn,"string"[,"string",...]
 This is the most important command for automated operation.  You can
 wait for multiple strings with a timeout value (in seconds).  Basic will
 match characters coming in the serial port with the strings and continue
 with the next statement when either the string is matched, or a timeout
 occurs.  Naturally, all program functions are enabled while the wait is
 in progress.

 A timeout value of -1 waits forever (actually, about 60 days).

 Once the WAIT statment has executed, use the WAIT(0) function to
 determine the result.

 WAIT(0) returns 0 if there was a timeout, otherwise it returns the
 string number that was matched, starting at 1 for the first string.  So
 you could use ON WAIT (0) GOSUB 100,200,300,etc.

 Example:
 10    wait 20,"Password"
 20    if wait(0) then type "password"

 TERM ON
 TERM OFF
 Turn terminal operation on and off.

 KEYINPUT A$
 This statement waits for a keypress in the Terminal screen window and
 then puts the keypress in the specified string variable (A$ or whatever
 you choose).  While it's waiting for a keypress, terminal operation
 continues.

 PROMPT$(n)
 This function takes up to n characters from before the current terminal
 screen cursor position and returns it as a string. Doesn't go past the
 beginning of the current line.  Useful for getting the current prompt
 when automating operations.

 A sample program MACRO.BAS shows how all these functions and commands
 work together.  MACRO.BAS is a recorder program that will record what
 you type in and the associated prompt.  It will write out a BASIC
 program that will play back the series of actions.

 CLIPTEST.BAS
 ============
 10 CLIP ON
 20 ON CLIP(1) GOSUB 60:REM setup clip event
 30 PAUSE -1:REM wait forever, or until UNDO key hit
 40 END
 50 REM Every time you select a filename, following subroutine is called
 60 a$= RTRIM$( CLIP$):REM trash end of line
 70 REM Truncate filename at "/" in case it was accidentally included.
 80 x= INSTR(a$,"/"):IF x>0 THEN a$= LEFT$(a$,x-1)
 90 IF a$="" THEN RETURN :' Nothing to do!
 100 TYPE "Dow ";a$;" PROTO:B"
 110 WAIT 20,"computer:"
 120 IF WAIT(0)=1 THEN TYPE a$
 130 RETURN

 CIS.BAS
 =======
 10 REM CIS logon script
 20 REM start by sending control-c
 30 TYPE CHR$(3);
 40 WAIT 20,"Name","ID","Password"
 50 ON WAIT(0) GOSUB 100,200,300
 60 IF WAIT(0) THEN 40 ELSE 30
 100 TYPE "CIS":RETURN
 200 TYPE "70000,0000":RETURN
 300 TYPE "my.password":POP :REM "POP" pops return stack
 400 PRINT "Done!"

 Well, that's enough for now.  You can catch a glimpse of STORM at the
 Glendale Atarifest by dropping by the GEnie booth.  Darlah Potechin will
 be using STORM to demonstrate GEnie.

 STORM will make landfall on December 7, 1992 and will have a special
 introductory price of $59.95 until December 31, 1992.  You can order
 your copy today, and get it before it hits the stores!

 On January 1, 1993 the price goes up to $74.95.

 We accept cash, checks, money orders, MasterCard and VISA.

 Outside the US orders: NO PERSONAL CHECKS.

 Include $3 for shipping anywhere in the world (special offer only).
 Include $10 for overnight shipping in North America (special offer
 only).

 Double Click Software
 PO Box 741206
 Houston, Texas 77274-1206
 Phone: [phone]

                               # # # # # #


 POWERDOS

 DragonWare Software Releases PowerDOS as Freeware.

 DragonWare Software is proud to announce the freeware release of Chris
 Latham's PowerDOS - a powerful multitasking operating system that runs
 on the TOS series of computers from Atari Corp.

 PowerDOS represents over four years of intense study and development
 efforts to create a powerful, fast, and yet a compatible multitasking
 replacement of Atari's GEMDOS level system software.  PowerDOS redefines
 what your Atari ST, Mega ST, Stacy, STe, Mega STe, TT and Falcon
 computer can do.

 WHAT POWERDOS DOES

 PowerDOS handles every application call made to GEMDOS (GEMDOS is the
 high-level part of TOS that deals with disk input/output; parallel,
 serial and MIDI communication; program execution; memory allocation)
 with routines written in 100% assembly language. Call-for-call, PowerDOS
 is many times faster than GEMDOS in reading and writing data to devices.

 If faster device i/o were all that PowerDOS offered, PowerDOS would
 represent a significant breakthrough in system software - but PowerDOS
 means more....

 A SINGLE-MINDED GEMDOS

 Because TOS was not originally written with true multitasking in mind,
 GEMDOS cannot task-switch.  That is, GEMDOS can only run _one_ program
 at a time.  An application must terminate (quit) before another
 application can be launched (ran).  While tasks running under GEMDOS may
 launch other tasks (as in the case of a telecommunications program
 launching a file transfer program, or a programming shell launching a
 compiler), the launching task stops running, waiting for the launched
 task to terminate.

 Imagine though, the possibilities of running more than one task at the
 same time!  Suddenly, the concept of your computer being limited to
 handling a step-by-step linear series of tasks is shattered.

 PowerDOS provides the ability to switch between tasks hundreds of times
 per second.  Up to 256 tasks can run at once. PowerDOS manages the
 distribution of time via priority levels for individual tasks that can
 be set and changed so that more important tasks get a bigger slice of
 the pie.

 WHAT POWERDOS ISN'T

 PowerDOS isn't a magical multiple-GEM window multitasker.  Why? PowerDOS
 places compatibility over bells-and-whistles.

 To maintain the fullest possible compatibility with the existing base of
 TOS platform applications, PowerDOS adheres strongly to the GEMDOS set
 of rules.  What that means is that programs that aren't written to take
 advantage of PowerDOS multitasking (or interprocess communication or
 memory management) won't multitask easily.  These programs aren't aware
 of the advantages of PowerDOS - but if made aware, they can easily
 multitask, and significantly increase user productivity.

 All legal TOS programs _will_run_ under PowerDOS - and will enjoy
 PowerDOS's lightning fast device I/O - but unless programs are written
 with PowerDOS's extensions in mind, the ability to multitask will be
 limited.

 PowerDOS was designed with the future of TOS based machines in mind -
 while ensuring that the previous generation of TOS software will
 continue to work.

 MAKING POWERDOS WORK FOR YOU

 PROGRAMMERS: PowerDOS adds dozens of system calls to the GEMDOS series.
 These calls allow programmers to _easily_ set up interprocess
 communication (Subscribe-and-Publish!), to restrict and manage memory
 use, to monitor the status of any task running under PowerDOS, to spawn
 off child processes, and most importantly to add new device drivers and
 commands to PowerDOS - making PowerDOS infinitely expandable.

 To make your programs work with PowerDOS, contact Christopher Roberts at
 DragonWare Software, and ask for a PowerDOS Developers Kit.

 NON-PROGRAMMERS: The real beauty of PowerDOS is that it is totally
 transparent to the user. A user simply installs PowerDOS in the AUTO
 folder and realizes a tremendous increase in device I/O speed.  Life is
 better.

 More advanced users can take advantage of setting up alias drives,
 adding pipes, naming serial ports, and using any of the number of
 PowerDOS utilities now available and those still under development.

 POWERDOS - A BASE TO BUILD ON

 Currently, DragonWare Software has two series of applications under
 development which rely on the Power of PowerDOS.  The first series,
 Powernet, is a Local Area Network for the Atari TOS series of computers.
 Powernet has been shipping for several months, and is an unqualified hit
 among users! (Powernet is the LAN of choice in Sunnyvale!)

 AtariTalk-2 is a still-under-development series of drivers for Powernet
 that will allow Atari TOS computers to communicate with AppleTalk and
 Ethernet LANs.

 WHY IS POWERDOS FREEWARE?

 With the advent of Atari's new Falcon computer, the market for TOS based
 hardware and software is ready to grow.  We at DragonWare are ready to
 help supply TOS users with the tools to properly utilize their machines,
 and we can think of no other tool that could revolutionize the way that
 owners use their machines than PowerDOS.  Hence, we have decided to make
 PowerDOS a freeware product.  While all copyrights to PowerDOS are
 retained by PowerPoint Software, PowerDOS itself may be freely
 distributed.

 There are plans for more PowerDOS goodies to be released in the near
 future - stand by for some exciting announcements.

 DragonWare Software welcomes any inquiry, and stands ready to support
 any developer or user who wishes to take advantage of the Power of
 PowerDOS.

 For inquiries:
 DragonWare Software
 P.O. Box 1719
 Havre, MT 59501-1719   [phone]
 GEnie: DRAGONWARE

 DragonWare Software is a member of the IAAD - the Independent
 Association of Atari Developers - and fully supports development of
 hardware and software to unleash the full power of the entire series of
 TOS based computers from Atari.

 PowerDOS and Powernet are copyright = 1992, PowerPoint Software,
 manufactured and distributed under license by DragonWare Software Inc.
 AtariTalk-2 is copyright = 1992, DragonWare Software Inc.



 | | |  INTERNET/USENET FLOW CONTROL
 | | |  Compiled by Ed Krimen
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


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


 HARD-CORE FALCON SPECS
 ----------------------
 -=> In the COMP.SYS.ATARI.ST newsgroup
 -=> from Piet Van Oostrum

 I found this file on the local ATARI Company's BBS : (original in Dutch)

 This article is written by Wilfred Kilwinger (Support Manager) for Atari
 Briefing, the newsletter by Atari (Benelux) B.V. for the Atari user
 groups.  It was specifically stated that it could be reproduced.  I have
 translated it in English with the assumption that an English translation
 would be considered the same as the original.

 The original also contained a description of all the features of the
 Falcon which have been reproduced here a zillion of times so I did not
 include these.

 Atari custom chips

 VIDEL
 The VIDEL takes care of the video functions of the system including
 overscan, overlay mode and true color graphics.

 COMBEL
 The COMBEL is the system manager of the Atari Falcon030.  This chip
 controls all system functions. Also the BLITTER is built-in in this
 chip.

 SDMA
 The SDMA is the Sound DMA and controls the sound part.  We have built in
 a unique matrix switch function in this chip (more details in the second
 part).

 KEYBOARD PROCESSOR
 The keyboard processor has been improved and is now also suitable for
 high resolution mice.

 Besides the above custom chips the Atari Falcon030 has a number of
 standard chips like the Motorola 68030 and 56001 DSP.  Another important
 chip is the CODEC in which the 16 bit AD and DA converters are located.

 Video modi
 As you can see in the survey of Operating System calls the video
 hardware is complete sotware controllable.  The following combinations
 can a.o. be chosen:

 Mode      Resolution  Bit planes  Colors  Palette

 ST LOW     320x200       4           16     4096
 ST MED     640x200       2            4     4096
 ST HIGH    640x400       1            2     4096

 True Color 640x480       8          256   262144
            320x200     15bpp      32768     N/A

 The last mode asks for some explanation.  Here there is no color palette
 but 15 bits per pixel to describe the pixel itself.  The format is
 RRRRRGGGGGXBBBBB.  VDI supports this mode, thus programs that have not
 been written for this mode specifically can use it nevertheless.  X is
 the overlay bit and can be used for video titling and special effects.

            320x200     16bpp      65         N/A

 This mode is called the slideshow mode, is not supported by the VDI, you
 are on you own.  X is an extra green bit.

 True Color in 640x480 is not possible because of the bandwidth of VGA
 monitors.

 Mode      Resolution Bit planes   Colors    Palette

 VGA      320 of 640   1,4,8       2,16,256  262144 (Overscan
 Video    200 of 400

 With Video we mean the Atari SC-monitors, the TV modulator and/or the
 composite video output.

 All modes can be gegenlocked. With adaptors we convert the 15-pole video
 bus to thee standard Atari or VGA connections.

       |----|
       -    -
      /      \
     /        \
    /          \
    |          |
    -|--------|-

 Matrix coupling
 To make the system performance in the audio part as good as possible
 Atari designed a miniature 'telephone exchange' that can easily connect
 the source devices to the receiving devices.  Also it is possible to
 make more than one connection at a time.

 Source devices

        EXT INPUT ---*-------*------*------*
         CHANNEL     |       |      |      |
                     |       |      |      |
           DSP    ---*-------*------*------*
        TRANSMIT     |       |      |      |
                     |       |      |      |
           ADC    ---*-------*------*------*
                     |       |      |      |
                     |       |      |      |
           DMA    ---*-------*------*------*
        PLAYBACK     |       |      |      |
                    DMA     DAC    DSP     EXT OUTPUT
                   RECORD        RECEIVE     CHANNEL

                        Receiving Devices

 Ports and interfacing

 DSP CONNECTOR (DB26 Female)
 Pin   Signal                           Pin   Signal

 1     GP0                              14    GND
 2     GP1                              15    SRD
 3     GP2                              16    GND
 4     P_DATA                           17    +12V
 5     P_CLK                            18    GND
 6     P_SYNC                           19    R_DATA
 7     n/c                              20    R_CLK
 8     GND                              21    R_SYNC
 9     +12V                             22    EXT_INT
 10    GND                              23    STD
 11    SC0                              24    SCK
 12    SC1                              25    GND
 13    SC2                              26    EXCLK

 SCSI CONNECTOR (flat 50 pins SCSI II Female)
 Pin   Signal                           Pin   Signal

 1-10  GND                              37    Not Connected
 11    +5V                              38    +5V
 12-14 Not Connected                    39    Not Connected
 15-25 GND                              40    GND
 26    SCSI 0                           41    ATN
 27    SCSI 1                           42    GND
 28    SCSI 2                           43    BSY
 29    SCSI 3                           44    ACK
 30    SCSI 4                           45    RST
 31    SCSI 5                           46    MSG
 32    SCSI 6                           47    SEL
 33    SCSI 7                           48    C/D
 34    Parity                           49    REQ
 35-36 GND                              50    I/O

 SERIAL PORT (DB9 MALE)
 Pin   Signal

 1     Carrier Detect                   5     GND
 2     Receive                          6     Data set ready
 3     Transmit                         7     Request to Send
 4     Data Terminal Ready              8     Clear to Send
                                        9     Ring Indicator

 PARALLEL PORT (DB25 Female)
 The parallel port has extra signal to ease the connection of scanners.
 Pin   Signal

 1     Strobe          8     Data 6
 2     Data 0          9     Data 7
 3     Data 1         10     Acknowledge
 4     Data 2         11     Busy
 5     Data 3         12-16  Not Connected
 6     Data 4         17     Select
 7     Data 5         18-25  GND

 MONITOR CONNECTOR (DB19 Male)
 Pin   Signal                           Pin   Signal

 1     Red                              11    GND
 2     Green                            12    Composite Sync/Video
 3     Blue                             13    Horizontal Sync
 4     Mono/Overlay                     14    Vertical Sync
 5     GND                              15    External Clock Input
 6     Red GND                          16    External SYNC Enable
 7     Green GND                        17    +12V
 8     Blue GND                         18    M1
 9     Audio out                        19    M0
 10    GND

 SCC LAN-port CONNECTOR (8-pin Mini DIN Female RS-422)
 Pin   Signal

 1     Handshake Output (DTR RS 423)         5     - Received Data
 2     Handshake Input or External Clock     6     + Transmitted Data
 3     - Transmit Data                       7     General-purpose Input
 4     GND                                   8     + Receive

 ENHANCED JOYSTICK (DB15 Male)
 Port A                                 Port B
 Pin   Signal                           Pin   Signal

 1     UP 0                             1     UP 1
 2     DOWN 0                           2     DOWN 1
 3     LT 0                             3     LT 1
 4     RT 0                             4     RT 1
 5     PAD0Y                            5     PAD1Y
 6     FIRE 0 / LIGHT GUN               6     FIRE 1
 7     VCC (+5 VDC)                     7     VCC
 8     Not Connected                    8     Not Connected
 9     GND                              9     GND
 10    FIRE 2                           10    FIRE 3
 11    UP 2                             11    UP 3
 12    DOWN 2                           12    DOWN 3
 13    LT 2                             13    LT 3
 14    RT 2                             14    RT 3
 15    PAD0X                            15    PAD1X

 MIDI PORT (DIN 5 Female)
 MIDI OUT                               MIDI  IN
 Pin   Signal                           Pin   Signal

 1     Thru Transmit                    1     Not Connected
 2     GND                              2     Not Connected
 3     Thru Loop Return                 3     Not Connected
 4     Out Transmit                     4     In Receive
 5     Out Loop Return                  5     In Loop Return

 New Operating System calls

 This information is not complete, maybe subject to change and is
 certainly not meant as documentation for programmers

 DSP-calls

 Dsp_DoBlock(a,b,c,d)                    (void) xbios(500,a,b,c,d)
 Dsp_BlkHandShake(a,b,c,d)               (void) xbios(501,a,b,c,d)
 Dsp_BlkUnpacked(a,b,c,d)                (void) xbios(502,a,b,c,d)
 Dsp_InStream(a,b,c,d)                   (void) xbios(503,a,b,c,d)
 Dsp_OutStream(a,b,c,d)                  (void) xbios(504,a,b,c,d)
 Dsp_IOStream(a,b,c,d,e,f)               (void) xbios(505,a,b,c,d,e,f)
 Dsp_RemoveInterrupts(a)                 (void) xbios(506,a)
 Dsp_GetWordSize()                       (int)  xbios(507)
 Dsp_Lock()                              (int)  xbios(508)
 Dsp_Unlock()                            (void) xbios(509)
 Dsp_Available(a,b)                      (void) xbios(510,a,b)
 Dsp_Reserve(a,b)                        (int) xbios(511,a,b)
 Dsp_LoadProg(a,b,c)                     (int) xbios(512,a,b,c)
 Dsp_ExecProg(a,b,c)                     (void) xbios(513,a,b,c)
 Dsp_ExecBoot(a,b,c)                     (void) xbios(514,a,b,c)
 Dsp_LodToBinary(a,b)                    (long) xbios(515,a,b)
 Dsp_TriggerHC(a)                        (void) xbios(516,a)
 Dsp_RequestUniqueAbility()              (int)  xbios(517)
 Dsp_GetProgAbility()                    (int)  xbios(518)
 Dsp_FlushSubroutines()                  (void) xbios(519)
 Dsp_LoadSubroutine(a,b,c)               (int)  xbios(520,a,b,c)
 Dsp_InqSubrAbility(a)                   (int)  xbios(521,a)
 Dsp_RunSubroutine(a)                    (int)  xbios(522,a)
 Dsp_Hf0(a)                              (int)  xbios(523,a)
 Dsp_Hf1(a)                              (int)  xbios(524,a)
 Dsp_Hf2()                               (int)  xbios(525)
 Dsp_Hf3()                               (int)  xbios(526)
 Dsp_BlkWords(a,b,c,d)                   (void) xbios(527,a,b,c,d)
 Dsp_BlkBytes(a,b,c,d)                   (void) xbios(528,a,b,c,d)
 Dsp_HStat()                             (char) xbios(529)
 Dsp_SetVectors(a,b)                     (void) xbios(530,a,b)

 De volledige beschrijving van bovenstaande functie's staat in de
 Falcon030 Developers Documentation.

 VIDEO SETMODE

 int setmode( int modecode );
 The setmode( int modecode ) call is used to place the Falcon/030 SHIFTER
 into a specific mode. A bit-encoded value (called a "modecode") is passed
 to setmode() to set the mode. setmode() returns the previous mode that
 was set.

 To help make the building of modecode values easier, here is a table of
 defines:

  #define VERTFLAG        0x100
  #define STMODES         0x80
  #define OVERSCAN        0x40
  #define PAL             0x20
  #define VGA             0x10
  #define TV              0x0

  #define COL80           0x08
  #define COL40           0x0
  #define NUMCOLS         7

  #define BPS16           4
  #define BPS8            3
  #define BPS4            2
  #define BPS2            1
  #define BPS1            0

 Using these defines, you can build a modecode for any possible mode.
 For example:

 For True Color Overscan:
 modecode = OVERSCAN|COL40|BPS16;

 For ST Medium Compatibility mode on a Color Monitor/TV:
 modecode = STMODES|COL80|BPS2;

 For ST Low Compatibility mode in PAL on a Color Monitor/TV:
 modecode = STMODES|PAL|COL80|BPS2;

 For 256 color, 80 column mode on a VGA monitor:
 modecode = VGA|COL80|BPS8;

 If you have a modecode and wish to know how many bits per pixel it has,
 use the following:

 if( modecode & NUMCOLS ) == BPS16 )
                do_something_cool();    /* You have true color mode */

 The setmode() call will return the previous modecode set.  You must use
 this value to get back to whatever mode you were in before you made your
 setmode call.

 int mon_type(void)

 The mon_type() function will return the kind of monitor that is
 currently in use.  Here are the possible return values:

        0 = ST monochrome monitor
        1 = ST color monitor
        2 = VGA monitor
        3 = Television.

 void ext_sync( int flag )
 This function sets or clears external sync.  If flag is set, external
 sync is enabled.  If flag is clear, then internal sync is used.

 SOUND-calls
 locksnd();
 Used as a semiphore to lock the sound system.  From other applications.

 unlocksnd();
 Used to release the sound system for other applications to use.

 soundcmd(mode,data);
 This command is used to get or set the following sound parameters.  If a
 negative number is used as the input then the current setting us
 returned.

 MODE    OPERATION       MEANING
 O       LTATTEN Sets the current left channel output
 1       RTATTEN Sets the current right channel output
 2       LTGAIN  Sets the current left channel input gain.
 3       RTGAIN  Sets the current right channel input gain.
 4       ADDERIN Set the output of the 16 bit signed adder to
                 receive it's input from the ADC, Matrix or
                 both.
 5       ADCINPUT        Set the input the the ADC. The input can either
                         be the left and right channel of the PSG or the
                         left and right channel of the microphone.
 6       SETPRESCALE     Used for compatability. This prescale value
                         is used when the DEVCONNECT() internal
                         prescale value is set to zero.

 setbuffer(reg,begaddr,endaddr);
 This function is used to set the play or record buffers. REG selects
 playback or record, while begaddr and endaddr are the buffers beginning
 and ending locations.

         (int)   reg             - (0) Sets playback registers.
                                 - (1) Sets record registers.
         (long)  begaddr - Sets the beginning address of the buffer.
         (long)  endaddr - Sets the ending address of the buffer.

 setmode(mode);
 This function is used to set record or playback mode.  The modes are as
 follows:

 MODE            OPERATION
 (int)   0      8 Bit Stereo
 (int)   1      16 Bit Stereo
 (int)   2      8 Bit Mono

 settracks(playtracks,rectracks);
 This function is used to sets the number of record or playback tracks.

 setmontracks(montrack);
 This function is used to set the output of the internal speaker to one
 of the four tracks currently playing.  The internal speaker is only
 capable of outputing ONE track at a time.

 setinterrupt(src_inter,cause);
 This function is used to set which interrupt that will occur at the end
 of a frame.  If the frame repeat bit is on, this interrupt is used to
 allow for double buffering the playing or recording of sound. Interrupts
 can come from TimerA or the MFP i7.

 buffoper(mode);
 This function is used to control the operation of the play or record
 buffers in the sound system. The input to this function is a bitmap.  If
 mode is set t0 -1 then the current status of the buffer operation bits
 is returned.

 NOTE: The sound system contains a 32 byte FIFO.  When transferring data
 to the record buffer, software MUST check to see if the record enable
 (RE) bit was cleared by the hardware.  If the bit was cleared then the
 FIFO is flushed, if not then software must flush the FIFO by clearing
 the record enable (RE) bit.

 dsptristate(dspxmit,dsprec);
 This function is used to tristate the DSP from the data matrix.

 gpio(mode,data);
 This is used to communicate over the General Purpose I/O on the DSP
 connector.  Only the low order three bits are used.  The rest are
 reserved. This call, depending on the mode, can be used to set the
 direction of the I/O bits, read the bits, or write the bits.

 devconnect(src,dst,srcclk,prescale,protocol);
 This function is used to attach a source device to any of the
 destination devices in the matrix.  Given a source device, this call
 will attach that one source device to one or all of the destination
 devices.  This call also sets up the source clock and prescaler,
 protocol and protocol source if used.

 sndstatus(reset);
 This function gets the current status of the codec.

 buffptr(pointer);
 This function returns the current position of the play and record data
 buffer pointers.  These pointers indicate where the data is being read/
 written within the buffers themselves.  This function is also used to
 determine how much data has been written to the record buffer.  See
 buffoper().

 The above is not yet complete. Atari has also routines for
 JPEG and andio conversion.
 --
 Piet* van Oostrum, Dept of Computer Science, Utrecht University,
 Padualaan 14, P.O. Box 80.089, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
 Telephone: [phone]   Uucp:   uunet!mcsun!ruuinf!piet
 Telefax:   [phone]   Internet:  [e-mail]   (*`Pete')
 =====================================


 DSP EXPLAINED
 -------------
 -=> In the COMP.SYS.ATARI.ST.TECH newsgroup
 -=> from Russell Ochocki and Tim Coslet

 In <[e-mail]>, Russell Ochocki writes:
 >There has been several threads discussing how great it is to have DSP
 >in the Falcon.  I have read all these articles, but don't have a clue
 >what DSP is or what it does?
 >Can someone enlighten me?

 I received an excellent answer in the mail from
 [e-mail].  It follows below.  If you don't have a
 clue what DSP is, this article is for you!  Read on...

 -8<----------- cut here ------------8<-

 [e-mail] writes:

 DSP stands for Digital Signal Processing or Digital Signal Processor.
 Originally DSP was developed arround "sampling theory" (which was
 developed in part by a guy named Nyquist sometime in the '40s thru '50s,
 if I remember right) as a means of performing the same Signal Processing
 operations (e.g. filtering, spectrum analysis, mixing, signal
 corelation, etc.) as had been used in conventional Analog based systems.
 Because Digital methods are used, one gets "exact mathematical" results
 instead of the often noisy and distorted results common in analog signal
 processing systems.

 Of course DSP techniques have their own limitations, and introduce their
 own characteristic distortions.  However these problems are much more
 well behaved than the problems in analog systems, and one can be
 reasonably sure that each increment of added investment and cost in a
 DSP system will produce a corresponding increment in performance and
 reduction in these distortions; one can NOT be sure that an increase in
 investment and cost in analog systems will produce ANY increase in
 performance and reduction in their noise and distortions.

 DSP being a "real time" technique (if you can't keep up with the REAL
 signal you can't expect to process it and produce a reasonable result)
 is very demanding of mathematical resources and throughput speed.  This
 has pushed the development of custom Digital Signal Processor computer
 chips, with very high speed ALUs and often considerable internal
 parallelism.

 It turns out that many other areas of computing are also demanding of
 mathematical resources and throughput speed, but because they don't have
 the market "push" behind them of DSP users (e.g. telephone systems,
 modems, music, radar, sonar, instrumentation manufacturers, etc.) have
 not been able to fund as much development of custom high performance
 processor chips optomized for their uses.  As demand has pushed the
 suppliers of DSP equipment to produce inexpensive DSP chips, these other
 areas of computing have found the power of the DSP chips relatively easy
 to adapt to many of their uses too, so although the chips were developed
 for use in signal processing functions and are still called DSP chips
 they are often used anywhere where very high speed arithmetic is needed
 in a computer.

 Does that make things any clearer?

 R. Tim Coslet
 Usenet: [e-mail]
 California could REALLY use 40 days and 40 nights of rain right now!
 ----------------------------------

 Yes Tim, it certainly makes things crystal clear now.  Thanks for your
 reply.
 =====================================


 SUPRA ROM UPDATE INFO
 ---------------------
 -=> In the COMP.DCOM.MODEMS newsgroup
 -=> from Mohammad Al-Ansari

 The following is a new announcement that I found on the Supra BBS
 concerning the new ROMs and their features.  It starts with a summary of
 the fixes/new features and later includes descriptions of each of them
 in more detail.

 It is very promising!  I am looking forward to receiving the full
 upgrade (see below).  You don't have to pay for the basic ROM that
 includes bug fixes, but a ROM that includes the additional features of
 "Silent Answer" (which eliminates the need for a fax/voice detector) and
 Caller ID will cost less than $30!

 Enjoy! :)

 ------------------------- Begin included text --------------------------

 SUPRA TECHNICAL SUPPORT BULLETIN

 STATUS AND ENHANCEMENTS TO V32BIS ROM (1.2G)          8/29/92

 Supra Corporation
 7101 Supra Drive SW, Albany, OR  97321
 General [phone] / Sales [phone] / Fax [phone]
 Supra Tech Support  [phone]  8:00am - 5:00pm PST, M-F
 Supra BBS........[phone]  24 Hours
 CompuServe.......76004,565
 BIX..............SupraCorp
 America Online...SupraCorp2
 GEnie............SupraTech
 AppleLink........D2456
 UseNet [e-mail]

 Supra is doing the final beta testing on its latest rom for the
 SupraFaxModem V32 and V32bis.  Provided that this testing is completed
 with no problems, Supra will be ready to ship this rom to its current
 customers in a few weeks.

 Many of the enhancements are unique to the Supra V32/V32bis modem and
 are not available from other manufactures who are using Rockwell's
 v32/v32bis chipset or other v32/v32bis modems/fax modems that are on the
 market.  The new rom is currently reved as 1.2G and will include the
 following features:

 Enhances Busy Detection
 Fixes several Lock Display/Modem problems
 Improved Speed Renegotiation (Fall Back) upon bad line conditions
 Implements Fall Forward upon better line conditions
 Fixes Adaptive Answering (allows data/fax determination)
 Implements ECM  (Error Correction Mode) Must be supported by fax soft
 Implements BFT mode (Binary File Transfer) Must be supported by software
 Fixes problem with DCD line turning off if modem configured with &C
 &Dx and &Cx settings are respected when in fax mode
 Fixes problem connecting with some fax machines
 Added S-Register S109
 Added S-Register S110=3
 Implements Silent Answer (allows voice/fax determination)
 Implements Caller ID

 Supra will be sending an upgrade offer to all registered owners.  This
 offer will be for either a free ROM which has all of the above features,
 except silent answer and caller ID, or for a charge of less than $30, a
 rom which has all of the above features, including silent answer and
 caller ID.  Oversees customers will be able to get the roms from the
 overseas dealer that sold it to them.  If they purchased the modem from
 a US dealer or Supra, they will need to order the rom from Supra, but
 there will be a shipping and handling charge.

 You will be able to order either rom from Supra via its BBS.  We are
 currently working on the software to allow this, plus to allow you to
 enter your warranty card or change your warranty card online.  Once this
 is working, it will be activated and you can immediately enter your
 order.  The quickest way to order the rom will be via the BBS.  Until
 then, please do not contact Supra to order either rom.

 The above information is subject to change or modification.  At this
 time, this is all that is known.  As soon as costs and other information
 is known, we will let you know via the Supra BBS.

 UPCOMMING FEATURES AND NEW PRODUCTS:

 The following features and new products are being worked on.  We do not
 have any information on dates, technical information, upgrade costs, or
 product cost.  As soon as we have the information, we will post it on
 our BBS.

 Internal version
 Certifiable International version
 MNP10
 V23
 Voice digitization in modem
 Voice software
 DTMF encoding/decoding

 MORE INDEPTH INFORMATION ON 1.2G ENHANCEMENTS

 Enhances Busy Detection
 Some people had several different problems with busy detection.  All
 calls would return BUSY or only certain calls would return busy.  All
 known problems have been fixed.  This problem only happened to a small
 percentage of users.

 Fixes several Lock Display/Modem problems
 The Supra v32bis modem is running several different processors and tasks
 at one time.  If the right timing sequence or events happen, the modem
 could lockup.  The only way to fix the problem was to power cycle the
 modem.  This problem only happened to a small percentage of users.

 Improved Speed Renegotiation (Fall Back) upon bad line conditions
 The 1.2C rom was our first rom to implement this feature.  We have
 continued to improve our code to better handle bad line conditions,
 especially at connect time.

 Implements Fall Forward upon better line conditions
 Once the phone line conditions improve, the modem can initiate a step
 up in baud.

 Fixes Adaptive Answering (allows data/fax determination)
 A mode which allows the modem to connect with either a fax or a data
 modem.  Once it makes the connection, it will return a result code
 indicating which one it connected with.  It is then the software's
 responsibility to route the call to the proper program.  Some "front
 door" software for BBSes and terminal programs have this ability.

 Implements ECM  (Error Correction Mode)
 Allows the fax software to resend a block of information if it is not
 received correctly by the other modem.  This feature MUST be supported
 by the fax software in order to be used.

 Implements BFT mode (Binary File Transfer)
 Allows the user to send a file to another fax modem as if it were a fax
 instead of a file.  This feature MUST be supported by the fax software
 in order to be used.  This allows the user to use the fax software to
 send the file instead of using a terminal program.

 Fixes problem with DCD line turning off if modem configured with &C
 If the modem was configured with the &C, especially during a disconnect,
 the modem would toggle DCD line.  This problem only affected a small
 percentage of users, generally those running BBSes on the Apple II.

 &Dx and &Cx settings are respected when in fax mode
 The CCITT TR29.2 committee has not defined how the modem should react to
 the &D and &C settings when in class 2 fax mode.  While the committee
 has not defined this, there is a strong sentiment for respecting the &D
 and &C settings as it is handled in class 1 and when the modem is in
 data mode.  This also allows the modems to work better under fax mode in
 the Unix enviorment.

 Fixes problem connecting with some fax machines
 The 1.2C roms had a few problems making connections to some fax
 machines.  The fax machine used a slightly different tone when
 answering.  This resulted in the two machines toning back and forth, not
 making a connection and then eventually hang up.  This problem only
 happened to a small percentage of users.

 Added S-Register S109
 Controls speeds available for V.32bis carrier handshake, or the carrier
 rate to negotiate error correction, if S-Register S110=3.

 Decimal Value   Explanation
         1       reserved
         2       4800 bps
         4       7200 bps
         8       9600 bps
         16      12000 bps
         32      14400 bps
         64      reserved
         128     reserved

 Added S-Register S110=3
 V.32bis standard negotiates carrier speed at 4800 baud then jumps to the
 agreed carrier speed to negotiate error correction/data compression.  On
 noisy lines this can cause various connection problems.  Supra's
 solution is to set S-Register S110 to 3.  This causes the modems to
 connect at the slowest possible V.32 or V.32bis speed.  Once this is
 done, as long as the line is clean enough, the modems will up-shift to
 the next possible carrier rate.

 The slowest possible carrier speed can be limited by the use of
 S-register S109.

 NOTE: Some modems can only up-shift a few times and then they will lose
 the connection (especially Supra V.32 and V.32bis with ROMs < 1.2C).
 The solution is to change S-Register S109 so that it does not need to
 up-shift as many times.

 NOTE: This only works when the modem is originating the call.

 Implements Silent Answer (allows voice/fax determination)
 When the phone rings, the modem will start monitoring the telephone line
 after the 2nd ring.  If it detects a fax tone, it will do one of two
 things:

  1.  If S-Register S0 - 0, the modem will immediately answer the phone
      and attempt a fax connection.

  2.  If S-Register S0 = 0, the modem will quickly issue up to 9 RINGS
      messages, expecting the fax software to issue an ATA.

 This eliminates the need for a $150 voice/fax black box.

 NOTE: DO NOT plug the answering machine into the telephone jack on the
 back of the modem.  The modem should be plugged into the answering
 machine.

 This also also works if a telephone is in the circuit before the
 faxmodem.

 NOTE: This mode must be supported by the fax software.

 Implements Caller ID
 This is a feature is only available in some areas of the country.  In
 between the 1st and the 2nd ring, the phone company will send
 information on who is calling you.  If you ere in terminal mode and had
 told the modem to answer on the 3rd ring, you would see:

  RING
  DATE = 0321
  TIME = 1405
  NMBR = 5039672400
  NAME = SUPRA CORPORATION
  RING
  CONNECT 19200

 To enable CALLER ID:

                AT#CID=1        Enables Caller ID in formatted format
                AT#CID=2        Enables Caller ID in unformatted format
                                (ASCII printable hex numbers)
                AT#CID=0        Disables Caller ID

 In addition to the enhancements and corrections noted above, Supra's new
 1.2G ROM release also includes modifications that were implemented in
 the previous 1.2C ROM release.  They are as follows:

 %G0     disables Rate Renegotiation on V.32bis
 %G1     enables Rate Renegotiation on V.32bis
         enables Rate Renegotiation and Retrain on V.32
 %E      has not changed, but if both %G1 and %E1 are set, then the modem
         will Rate Renegotiate during a Retrain.  This is also the only
         way the V.32 modem can Rate Renegotiate.

 AT&F1 and AT&F2 defaults now include %G1

 S-Register S110:
        0       causes connect at V.32 only
        1       enable V.32bis on V.32bis modems
        2       enable V.32bis and automatic rate renegotiation.


 Fixed several problems on the fax side of the modem
 =====================================



 | | |  ATARIWATCH CALENDAR 1992
 | | |  Schedule of Shows and Events
 | | |  ----------------------------------------------------------------


 /// September 12th-13th
 1992's Southern California Atari Faire, also known as the GLENDALE SHOW.
 John King Tarpinian is president of The Hooked on ATARI Computer
 Knowledge Society (HACKS) and coordinator of the show.  The Glendale
 Show has had the largest annual attendance of any continuing show series
 and is expected to keep that record this year.  Admission is $6, or $10
 for a two-day ticket.  It will again be held at the Glendale Civic
 Auditorium, 1401 N. Verdugo Road in Glendale, across the street from
 Glendale College, about 10 miles Northeast of downtown Los Angeles.  For
 more information about the Glendale Show, contact John King Tarpinian at
 818-246-7286.


 /// September 18th-20th
 San Diego ACE is participating in a multi-platform Computer Fair, and
 has reserved a room for Atari vendors.  The San Diego Computer Society
 in conjunction with a regional computer magazine (ComputerEdge) have
 obtained the San Diego Community Concourse for 3 full days of Show.  Up
 to 10,000 attendees are expected for the show that has a $50K budget.
 Exhibitors get the booths for free, but there are only 140 booths.
 Contact SDACE via D.SMITHRN on GEnie for information.


 /// September 22nd-25th
 The Fall Seybold Show will be another top industry trade show
 specializing in high-end publishing.  Atari made a major showing at
 Seybold last year and got extensive press attention.  The show will be
 held in San Francisco, California and is not open to the general public.
 For more information, contact Atari Corporation.


 /// September 23rd
 The Atari presentation at the Boston Computer Society meeting, postponed
 from April, is now scheduled to occur on Wednesday, September 23, at
 7:30 PM in the New England Life Hall in the Copley Square Building, 225
 Clarendon Street, Boston, Massachusetts.  Atari is to present the Falcon
 computer line to the club on the same site where the original ST was
 unveiled and where IBM and NeXT have made their product announcements.
 For more information, contact the Boston Computer Society at 617-252-
 0600.


 /// October 4th
 The Washtenaw Atari Users Group (WAUG) will sponsor Atari ShowOFF '92 in
 Southfield, Michigan as part of a larger trade show, The Michigan
 Computer Festival, which will include IBM, Macintosh, Commodore, and
 Atari hardware & Software Items.  Atari dealers and music stores have
 committed to attend the show, as have Atari users groups from Michigan,
 Ohio, and Ontario.  They plan to make an impression on the other-brand
 visitors.  Up to 3,000 people are expected Sunday, October 4 from 10 til
 4 at the Southfield Civic Center, on Evergreen between 10 Mile Rd. and
 11 Mile Rd., just off the I-696 exit in the Northwest suburban Detroit
 area.  Contact WAUG at [phone] or [phone] (BBS).


 /// October 10th-11th
 The Washington Area Atari Computer Enthusiasts are currently planning
 the 1992 W.A.A.C.E Atarifest, which has traditionally been the largest
 East coast Atari show.  The '92 event will be held on Columbus Day
 weekend, October 10th and 11th, once again at the Sheraton Reston hotel
 in Reston, Virginia.  The show will feature shopping bargains,
 demonstrations, tutorials, seminars, and social events.  The 1990 and
 1991 editions of the show attracted 2,000 visitors.  Charles Hoffmann is
 now Acting President of WAACE Inc., and can be contacted via GEnie at
 address S.HOFFMANN, by phone at 703-569-6734, or by US Mail at 5908
 Bayshire Road, Springfield, VA 22152-1146.


 /// November 16th-20th
 Fall COMDEX, the biggest computer trade show in the USA.  Atari will
 again have a major presence at the Las Vegas, Nevada show.  The Falcon
 line of computer is expected to dominate the Atari booth, with
 outstanding demonstrations for the dealer and distributor attendees to
 consider.


 /// December 12th-13th
 The Northern California Atari Expo has been rescheduled from July, and
 will be held at the San Jose Exhibit Hall, 145 W. San Carlos, San Jose,
 CA.  This will be the second major joint show and the first in two years
 from ABACUS, SLCC, and Sacramento ST Users clubs.  Contact the Northern
 California Atari Expo c/o SLCC, P.O. Box 1506, San Leandro, Ca 94577, or
 call 510-352-8118.  GEnie Address: M.WARNER8.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 To  sign up for GEnie service call (with modem)  [phone].   Upon
 connection type HHH and hit <return>.  Wait for the U#= prompt and type
 XTX99436,GEnie and hit <return>.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 To sign up for CompuServe service call (with phone) [phone]. Ask
 for operator #198.  You will be promptly sent a $15.00 free  membership
 kit.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 You can subscribe to the bi-monthly hard copy  Atari  Explorer Magazine
 for $14.95 for 6 issues, $39.95 for  18 issues.   Canadian  subscribers
 should add $5.00 per 6 issues,foreign subscribers should add $10.00 per
 6 issues.  Checks must be drawn in US funds on a US bank.  Send  orders
 to Atari Explorer, Post Office Box 6488, Duluth,  MN  55806.  VISA  and
 MasterCard orders, call [phone].
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Reprints from the GEnie  ST  Roundtable  are  Copyright (c)1992,  Atari
 Corporation and the GEnie ST RT.  Reprints from CompuServe's AtariArts,
 AtariPro,  AtariVen,  or Aportfolio Forums are  Copyright (c)1992, CIS.
 Reprints from AtariUser Magazine are Copyright(c)1992, Quill Publishing
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Atari Explorer Online Magazine is  a weekly  publication  covering  the
 Atari computer  community.  Material published in  this edition may NOT
 be reprinted without written permission, unless otherwise noted  in the
 article.  Opinions   presented  herein  are  those  of  the  individual
 authors  and  do  not  necessarily reflect those  of  the staff.  Atari
 Explorer Online Magazine is Copyright (c)1992,  Atari Corporation.  The
 Z*Net Newswire is an independent column and organization not affiliated
 with Atari Corp. and is Copyright (c)1992,Z*Net News Service/Ron Kovacs
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Z*Net  News  Service - Post Office Box 59, Middlesex, New Jersey  08846-
 0059.  BBS - [phone].  Voice - [phone].   Fnet  Node  593,
 AtariNet Node 51:1/13.0.  You can contact Atari direct via  Fnet Nodes -
 706 or 319 or via AtariNet 51:1/10.0.  Z*Net South Pacific - Fnet - 693.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                      Atari Explorer Online Magazine
                   "The Official Atari Online Journal"
               Copyright (c)1992, Atari Computer Corporation
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~