European Bureaucrats try to ban our¢Rob.C Menus!¢¢It has just been announced that by the¢year 1995 there will be a single¢European menu for Atari 8-bit¢computers.¢This means that boot menus, popular in¢Britain, will be phased out and¢replaced by the hard ECU (European¢Copying Utility) which although¢will run in any density is a DOS menu.¢Menus like Rob.C, Ian.K, Multi-Boot and¢Howfen will become a thing of the past,¢a fact that has angered many British¢Atari 8-bitters.¢Fred Jones of Ipswich said "It's a¢bloody disgrace! Most of my software is¢on these menus with only a tiny¢minority being DOS compatible. I think¢the Goverment should step-in and¢support us in our hour of need!".¢Unfortunately the end for the boot¢menus came when Britain had to withdraw¢the Rob.C menu from the European¢Registered Menus due to lack of¢popularity. Nobody wanted to know our¢Rob.C menus with users opting for the¢German Speed Menu, a fact that has¢pushed its popularity sky-high whilst¢other countries menus are floundering.¢The strange thing is that when German¢Atari 8-bitters saw the swing going¢from Rob.C to Speed they should have¢intervened and distributed as many¢Rob.C menus as possible. But then they¢realised the Rob.C menu was British and¢didn't bother.¢Did any of you notice how when the¢French national menu - "Le Frog" was¢going through a bad patch, the Germans¢intervened, distributing as many¢Le Frog menus as they could and thus¢no French withdrawal was necessary.¢Dennis Smith of Southampton tells me¢"I sent a Rob.C menu to a contact in¢France and it was sent back with a¢rather scornful message about our¢menus not being good enough. Many Brits¢complain about how we crawl around¢America but if it ever gets as bad as¢the French with the Germans then I¢shall emigrate to Pakistan and see if I¢can go on the dole and jump the queue¢in getting a council house. I might¢buy a corner shop, too."¢(ED: I don't get it?)¢1995 is coming fast but don't let the¢European bureaucrats win! Distribute¢as many Rob.C, Ian.K, Howfen and¢Multi-Boot menus as you can and say¢a massive NO to the Marsbar Treaty¢(apparently named because it looks¢quite nice on the outside, but you¢bite into it...).¢¢The Philosophical Phantom¢*¢P.S. Oh dear. I forgot. We are not¢getting a chance to vote about our¢futures are we. Oh well, I'm sure it'll¢be safe in the hands of the Tories.¢*¢Sorry but I can't think of any suitable¢sarcastic remark that would overshadow¢the last sentence I just wrote!¢How about a little poem...¢*¢Last April it was,¢I remember the day,¢We had a chance of a future,¢We threw it away.¢Labour can't run the economy,¢The Tories all cried,¢And people believed them,¢As they ranted and lied.¢When I walk into town,¢I'm saddened to see,¢The homeless and hungry,¢Begging to me.¢But that's life in Britain,¢Where it's hard to exist,¢When you're just another number,¢On the unemployed list.¢¢(c) Err... poems 1992¢¢
