FUTURA EDITORIAL - ISSUE 1.¢¢ Greetings all Atari users and welcome to the first issue of Futura, the NOSAUG Newsletter. Within this issue you will find all kinds of support for your Atari 8-bit.¢ Side A contains a few text articles which I hope will be of interest to you. Programs include the excellent Mycopyr 2.1, Let's Hop and Total Recall. Remember to load all OBJ and COM programs without basic through DOS (option L)!¢ On side B you will find lots of great PD software including Speedscript 3.0, Cyrtabor, To Kill A Commodore (YEAH!), Fontmaker, How To Meet Cows and Bombjack. Plenty to keep you occupied over long summer weekends. I hope you enjoy going through it all.¢¢A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY.¢¢ My love of the Atari 8-bit began when I won an Atari 800 and 810 disk drive in the 1983 Atari VCS championships. I was 14 years old and had owned a VCS for two years. A strong desire for Atari products had matured over this time. By winning the 800 I began my roller coaster ride with the worlds greatest computer system.¢ I remember travelling out to Ellon in reply to an advertisement offering second-hand Atari software. I bought Star Raiders, Space Invaders and Caverns Of Mars with some hard-earned pocket money. I also stretched to a 410 data recorder. Life was never the same again.¢ Does anyone out there remember saving all their money for weeks on end until the magic figure of 29.95 was reached? With money in hand I would hop on the bus into Aberdeen and buy the latest cartridge. Galaxian, Qix, Donkey Kong, Pole Position, etc, etc. The enjoyment found within these purchases has never been matched by todays software. However, the world of Atari 8-bit computing is a changed world.¢ NOSAUG began only last summer when I decided to try and combat the amount of 8-bit users who were either selling their systems or upgrading to 16-bit technology. I have myself upgraded to an ST recently but this has not affected my love of the 8-bit in any way. The 130XE is still my personal favourite and will probably continue to be so for some time into the future.¢ Far too many 8-bit users are selling their systems due to lack of software and advice. They are sucked in by the Dixons salesman persuading them to buy an Amiga/ST because he claims 8-bit computers are of out-dated technology. People always seem to want new systems and quite often forget that their present system is usually more than capable of handling their computing needs.¢ Support for the XL/XE in the north of Scotland has never been on a high level. The major stores kept a token amount of software up until 1987. Hardware supplies dried up during the early part of 1988. The one remaining source of software was a small computer store in Aberdeen. This store, much against my wishes, decided to stop supplying XL/XE software in December 1991. ATARI UK have a lot to answer for! If they had supported their own machines things today would be very different. There is still a large market for 8-bit computers yet Atari still refuse to acknowledge it. If they had sent a representative to AMS5 they would have seen the potential of this market with their own eyes.¢ So, where do Atari XL/XE owners go now? The answer lies with mail order sales. Within this issue you will find the NOSAUG InfoFile which contains many sources of Atari 8-bit support. These sources MUST be supported! If they disappear the 8-bit Atari will go with them!¢ I am attempting to keep the 8-bit flag flying in the north of Scotland but to do so I need your support. All you have to do is keep using your machines! Do not throw them in a box and forget about them. They are without doubt the best 8-bit computers ever designed and are easily the best value for money systems on the market. Show them the respect they deserve and open up their capabilities! If you come across a copy of this newsletter get in touch as soon as possible and join the growing amount of Scottish Atari 8-bit enthusiasts. We can offer you a large amount of software, hardware, advice, support, etc that will hopefully keep your interest in the 8-bit on a high level. The entire service is currently run free-of-charge so what have you got to lose!¢¢LONG LIVE THE ATARI 8-BIT!!!!¢ Yours Atari 8-bitly,¢¢Stuart J.Murray,¢Futura Editor,¢NOSAUG,¢29/4/92.¢
