Disk-Mags¢---------¢¢The last couple of years or so has seen the immergence of a number of disk-mags for the Atari 8-bit from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. These include 'Excel' and 'Futura' from Scotland, 'TGR' and 'News Disk' from England and 'Irish Atari User' from Ireland. Only Wales is letting the side down it appears!¢ I do not own copies of every issue of these particular disk-mags (except TGR and Futura), but I'll try to do the best with the little I have.¢*¢Excel¢-----¢¢The now defunct disk-mag from Robert Stuart started out approximately two years ago and received plaudits from the people at 'Page 6' and ordinary users themselves.¢ In my opinion the only issues of Excel that I'd give the time of day to are the ones with original programs by Robert Stuart on them. It's a great pity he didn't bless Excel with a couple more programs like the ones he has had published in 'New Atari User' (I personally think 'Rad Zone' is the best type-in listing ever!).¢ The two best issues of Excel have to be issues 1 and 12. These contained some super utilities including the Colorfont (surely he means Colourfont?) Editor in issue 1 and the Map Makers, that complimented the character editor so well, in issue 12. Each of these programs were worth the price of the disks and thus were absolute bargains.¢ The text files in Excel have always been interesting but they seemed to get better with the introduction of the 'Newsletter Reader' as a way of viewing them. The text formatted so neatly that they were a joy to read. It's a pity the text files were so thin on the ground though!¢ There are some questionable programs hidden in the Excel disks and it is debatable whether they are PD or not (Robert's explanation of 'ex-commercial title' needs more justification). I'd cite issue 20 as the main culprit in this department.¢ Overall the Excel disks were not bad but the pressure of having to produce one disk-mag per month seemed to show the older Excel got.¢*¢Futura¢------¢¢As you probably know, Futura has recently announced that it is to become a 'subscription only' disk-mag. This means the disks will no longer be available in the Public Domain and the only way to receive the disk-mag is to subscribe directly to Futura. Unfortunately issue 7 of Futura seems to have been put on hold because of Stuart's end-of-term exams or something. Not a very good start but understandable I suppose.¢ Each issue of Futura consists of programs and articles collected from all over the world. Some of the articles are written by Stuart himself but it is unfortunate to see that there doesn't seem to be many other people writing for the disk-mag. It is obvious the amount of time and effort that Stuart puts into Futura and it's a pity that fellow members of NoSAUG do not help him out with a few more original articles.¢ The majority of programs in Futura are rather good and some come in quite useful. If you're really desperate to see what each issue has to offer then check the 'Page 6 PD Library Updates' that come with the 'New Atari User' magazine and you'll get a little info in there.¢ Not all is great with Futura though. The menus for the BASIC programs are terrible - one similar to the ones on TGR or Excel (showing ONLY the files you can load) would be much better.¢ Also the Desktop on issue 5 is bloody awful and more a hindrance than any kind of help.¢ There was also a program in issue 3 called 'Function Test' which was absolutely screaming out for a small article on the function keys and their values to be written to compliment it. Unfortunately it wasn't there and, in my opinion, a rather good chance was missed.¢ Futura has become a little infamous recently for the programs that have appeared on it that are not PD. 'Omidor' from issue 4 seems to be the big talking point but I'm amazed that nobody has mentioned 'Table Football' (I bought the cassette for #1.99) and 'Howfen DOS' (which sold for #19.95! If you don't believe me take a look in the back page of some old Atari User's).¢ I think the inclusion of non-PD titles was a genuine mistake on Stuart's part, but I hope he tightens his belt in future. I wouldn't like him to get into trouble when he is only trying to support the Atari 8-bit.¢ Overall Futura is good, very good in fact. It's just a pity Stuart doesn't kick a few more butts at NoSAUG and get someone else to do something for the disk-mag.¢¢STOP PRESS: Issue 7 of Futura has recently been released and it isn't bad. The A-side is quite good but the B-Side (Number Buster excepted) lets it down. I'm glad to see that a few more people are writing for Futura and this can only add to the quality of the disk-mag.¢ Issue 7 of Futura has, rather strangely, been released as Shareware. Thus, you can still give copies to friends and if they like what they see (and read) then they are invited to send off their Shareware fee. I'm not too sure if this will be successful or not, but you never know!¢*¢The Grim Reaper¢---------------¢¢Well, I honestly can't review my own disk-mag can I?¢ If you think TGR is great then remember it is thanx to the many people who have written an article for it or written a program and sent it for submission.¢ Thus I sincerely thank Spite, Richard Gore, Alias Maximus, Denise Ward, Tomo, Mr.Bacardi, Linda Naysmith, The Philosophical Phantom, El Diablo, Ken.H, Alan, John Foskett, Raphael Espino and ANYONE FORGOTTEN!¢ Before I go a note on the TGR editor. He may not know the difference between too and to and his punctuation may be a bit questionable at times, but he is a handsome devil - that you cannot debate!¢*¢News-Disk¢---------¢¢News-Disk has recently celebrated its second birthday and appears to still be going strong!¢ News-Disk is usually dominated by text articles with the occasional game or utility thrown in for good measure. You'd be disappointed if you bought News-Disk expecting some entertaining software but it can be a good read. Look in back issues of TGR for detailed reviews and an address.¢*¢Irish Atari User¢----------------¢¢Irish Atari User is released bi-monthly and consists of a newsletter and disk. To receive a copy of the next issue of Irish Atari User you must send #1.50 and a disk to: Robert Paden, 54 Ard Millan Crescent, Scrabo Estate, Newtownards, Co. Down, N. Ireland, BT23 4PW. Issue 4 of the newsletter and disk will be the last, a great pity.¢ Irish Atari User can't really come under the heading of 'disk-mag' as it is in a similar format to the TWAUG newsletter and disk. I thought I'd include it though because it does highlight the growing support of small groups of Atari 8-bitters all over the British Isles.¢ I haven't seen any issues of the newsletter yet (I've sent off for issues #3 and #4) so I really can't comment on them too much. I have seen issue #3 of the disk released with each issue and it wasn't too bad.¢ If you do send off for the latest issue (next one due out July) then don't forget the blank disk!¢
