¢8-BIT NEWS¢by S. J. Murray, NOSAUG.¢¢¢* First of all, here is some news I forgot to mention last time: Bob Puff, General Manager of Computer Software Services (CSS) in New York, wrote in December to inform me of the new products planned for release in 1994 by CSS.¢¢ Work has commenced on a new product called THE R:P: INTERFACE. "This is a high-speed modem and printer stand-alone interface for all 8-bit machines. The RS232 modem port will support full hardware handshaking, meaning maximum thruput (up to 38.4k!) for the 9600 and 14.4k baud modems that are dramatically dropping in price. We are working on other features, and may include a built-in mini terminal. The projected price will be $59.95."¢¢ This is great news! The price of 14400 baud modems in the UK has recently dropped below 200 pounds. With The R:P: Interface available for about 40 pounds, this makes top of the range modems accessible to the Atari 8-bit user (with 250 pounds to spare!).¢¢ Other news from CSS is that they will be carrying the ICD/OSS line of cartridges. This means that software gems such as MAC/65, Action!, BASIC XL and BASIC XE will again be available for sale. CSS have bundled each of these with their respective Toolkit disks and priced the packages at $49.95 (about 30 pounds). When you consider that the cartridge and Toolkit disk together were originally priced at 90-110 pounds this is very good value for money!¢¢ Wait! There is more to come... CSS have also found a new manufacturer (Fine Tuned Engineering) to produce a new supply of R-Time 8 clock cartridges. The price is $49.95.¢¢ You can reach CSS at this address:¢¢Computer Software Services,¢P.O. Box 17660,¢Rochester,¢NY 14617,¢USA.¢¢(Send 2 International Reply Coupons for CSS lists, which include other CSS products and second-hand software, manuals and books.)¢¢¢¢* I'm currently distributing product catalogues for Kemal Ezcan of KE-Soft in Germany. If you'd like to receive a KE-Soft Catalogue complete with order forms and return envelope just send me a SAE and I'll send you one free-of-charge.¢¢ KE-Soft accept orders in British pounds. Their many products include The Brundles, Donald II, KE's Musikeditor, Techno Ninja II, and some interesting hardware upgrades.¢¢ NOSAUG is NOT receiving any payment or discount from KE-Soft for providing this service - I am just doing my bit to spread the word of the Atari 8-bit! ¢¢¢* By the time you read this, Bellcom will be officially closed for business. Don Bell's PD library ceased trading on 31st January, 1994. Due to customer demand, he extended the closing date by one month (from 31st December, 1993) but decided not to extend it any further. All orders with postmarks dated after 31/1/94 will be returned.¢¢ This is sad news. I had hoped that Don might make a last minute decision to stay open for 1994 but he has decided that the 8-bit market is no longer big enough for a successful full-time PD library.¢¢ The Bellcom 1993 Supplement 3 brought the total number of Bellcom disks available to 838! Although these were mostly single-sided disks it is still a very impressive total. Good luck for the future Don!¢¢ As a point of note, I must say that I disagree with Don about the future success of an Atari 8-bit PD library. I believe that the only way to maintain a successful PD service is to offer double-sided disks with as many sectors used as possible. Also, only the best PD and shareware programs should be included. This is what I am attempting to do with the NOSAUG PD Library. Whether or not it is successful depends entirely upon you, the end user. I can guarantee you that I am doing my very best to offer you top quality PD disks. If you try them, I'm sure you will never look back!¢¢¢¢* The Atari Jaguar 64-bit games console is walking away with all the industry awards in the USA! It is currently available on import for a whopping 400 pounds, bundled with the superb looking Cybermorph cartridge. Import cartridges are available for about 70 pounds! Although I like the look of the system, I think I'll be waiting for the official UK version! The UK price is projected to be about 200 pounds.¢¢ I'm still hoping that Atari UK release the Jaguar at under 150 pounds. At such a price it will be given an even field to battle against the gruesome twosome. Superior technology will not dislodge the SNES and MegaDrive as the leading consoles in the UK. With these systems dropping in price to around 100 pounds, the Jaguar will need a price of under 150 pounds to take a large share of the market. Instead of aiming for a 10% share, Atari should drop the price and aim for a 30% share! They will make more money in the long run. But then again, when have Atari UK ever marketed a product successfully? We can but hope!¢¢¢¢* Do you remember when Silica Shop were the leading Atari 8-bit stockist in the UK? I still recall their TV ads on Channel 4 back in the mid-80s. Well, believe it or not but Silica Shop (or Silica Systems as they've renamed themselves) are still offering Atari XL/XE software for sale, over ten years on!¢¢ Now before you rush to your telephone, don't get too carried away! In the Silica December 1993 Catalogue you will find a small box at the bottom right of page 63. It is headed "ATARI 8-BIT XE ROMS". Hooray! Software support from Silica! Well, they're offering Kaboom, River Raid, Designer's Pencil, MasterType and Tennis for under 5 pounds each. Not exactly dedicated support is it?¢¢ It really is a crime that a company that was bulit around the Atari 8-bit range of computers can leave the system behind when they are needed most! Even their support of the ST is dying fast (2 pages in the latest catalogue!).¢¢ With a new 64-page Amiga catalogue and most of the Dec93 Catalogue devoted to the PC, Silica Systems (Shop to us all!) will not win any awards for loyalty to the Atari community! Support breeds support! Too many companies have turned their backs on the Atari community without giving us a chance to prove that there is still a market out there. Remember the way Silica are going if they try to sell you a Falcon or Jaguar!¢¢¢¢* Page 6 issue 66 (Feb/Mar 1994) is out now! Send 2.50 to: Page 6, P.O. Box 54, Stafford, ST16 1DR, England. It's worth the cover price alone just to see the psychedelic colour of the front cover!¢¢¢¢* Sharward Services have informed me that the Spring All Micro Show (SAMS) is going to be a big affair. They will be promoting the show in the computer press (including ST Review and Page 6 New Atari User) and also at computer shows over the next couple of months. There will be a number of Atari 8-bit stands at the show. It will be held at the Bingley Hall, Stafford on Saturday 16th April, 1994.¢¢ I haven't yet decided whether or not there will be a NOSAUG trip to the show. I enjoyed myself at AMS7 and Lesley is willing to help me again, but I'll have to wait and see how many orders I receive over the next few weeks before committing any cash for supplies, trip, stand, etc. I'll let you know for sure in the next issue of Futura. If you're going to SAMS, please let me know!¢¢¢¢* NEWS IN BRIEF: Atari Corp. are set to re-launch the Lynx 2 this summer on the back of the Jaguar... Infocom are back with "Return to Zork" on the PC... DGS has released a new XL/XE game for the light-gun called Alien Blast... Micro Discount hope to release their long-awaited third party disk drive interface this year... The TWAUG Newsletter no.7 is out now... Virgin Games have released Dino Dini's Kick Off 3 (Goal!) for the ST - DO NOT BUY IT! It crashes during 50% of games - nice one Virgin! Ah well, it's back to good ole Kick Off 2!¢¢¢That's all the news for now!¢
