*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢¢¢ NEWSLETTER REVIEW¢¢ by Alan Sharkis¢ OHAUG Newsletter Librarian¢¢ Some you may be wondering why there¢ is such a large gap between the¢ publication of a club newsletter and¢ its review in this column. There are¢ many factors to consider. First, we¢ don't always get newsletters¢ promptly. That's tied up in the fact¢ that some clubs distribute their¢ newsletters to members who show up at¢ meetings and then send the rest out. ¢ If I were running a club, I'd¢ probably get the newsletters into the¢ hands of the paying membership first,¢ and then worry about exchange¢ programs, etc. So, it's reasonable¢ for that delay to be built in. ¢ Second, the mail is not, as we all¢ know, perfect. Finally, all¢ newsletters we receive are mailed to¢ ALEX. It wouldn't be very wise of¢ him to just pass them to me quickly. ¢ He can take out items that are¢ CURRENT and should be displayed or¢ discussed at meetings before I get to¢ review them in print. Finally,¢ there's the fact that our own¢ newsletter is sometimes so crammed¢ with good stuff that an article has¢ to be left out. Last month, Alex¢ asked me if he could do that with¢ mine. I agreed, knowing that it¢ would delay the reviews a bit more. ¢ However, I believe that our club¢ keeps on top of developments in the¢ 8-bit world to such an extent that¢ the delay isn't really that serious a¢ handicap for us. We all have other¢ sources of information. At least¢ three of us that I know about belong¢ to other Atari clubs. I'm one of¢ them, and when I go to my other club,¢ I still see demos of items that I¢ reviewed, or heard discussed or¢ demonstrated at Ol' Hackers long¢ before the other club got them. ¢ Please don't feel that I'm trying to¢ dissuade you from reading this column¢ because Ol' Hackers "scoops" the¢ other clubs so often. My intention¢ is just the opposite. I want you to¢ read this column, simply because the¢ 8-bit world is still so big, varied,¢ and dynamic that Ol' Hackers simply¢ can't scoop everyone, much as we'd¢ like to do that. Believe me, the¢ delays are necessary outcomes of the¢ information-gathering process. In¢ fact, I remember cases where long¢ after commercial products were¢ released and had become popular,¢ people begged magazines like ANTIC¢ and ANALOG to review them. I think¢ we still do better than that.¢¢ Lets continue with the reviews!¢¢ B.C.S. Computers for January, 1992¢ reports that the Boston Computer¢ Society's Atari 8-bit group had a¢ meeting with a program devoted to¢ chess software. Sargon III,¢ Chessmaster 2000, Colussus, Parker¢ Brothers' Chess, and Atari Chess were¢ demonstrated. RICH WELD describes¢ the features of each, and compares¢ some to Battle Chess, a popular¢ program that runs on 16-bit machines.¢ The SAGE Scroll for February, 1992¢ reprints a DAVE HARRIS (UFFDA/FMAIG¢ NewsWire 2/90) article on how to get¢ started with Atari computing on a¢ tight budget. An ED BACHMAN (Z*NET,¢ 11/90) article reviewing the X-COM¢ Wedge 2.0 is also reprinted. It's a¢ must-read, even a must-have for all¢ disk-based SpartaDos users. ¢¢ The February, 1992 issue of Update¢ Atari (HACE) has many articles¢ referring to their library disks and¢ DOSs from A.I.M. Because we have¢ many of these same programs in our¢ library, I heartily suggest that you¢ get this newsletter from me and scan¢ it. ¢ ¢ The February, 1992 issue of LIAUG¢ Light House contains a reprint of the¢ BARTON M. BRESNICK (11/4/91) article,¢ "What Is An 8-Bit Atari?", and the¢ fifth and last of my series on¢ selecting modems and terminal¢ programs. ¢¢ The W.A.N.D. for February, 1992¢ contains a page of the funniest¢ computer-related cartoons I've seen¢ in a long time. It also reprints the¢ Drawn and Quartered column in which¢ JOHN COLLINS (Nybbles and Bytes,¢ 2/92) gives us an assortment of Atari¢ facts, as well as his Pop-up Pix¢ program listing. There is also a¢ reprint of GEORGE IKEN's (H.A.C.E.,¢ 1/92) BASIC Disk Management System. ¢ This utility will allow several DOS¢ commands to be issued from within a¢ BASIC program. A listing of the¢ program, which is a self-contained¢ module, is also included. From the¢ same issue of Nybbles and Bytes comes¢ a reprinted list of game hints for¢ commercial software. President of¢ the Westchester club, Rolly HERMAN,¢ also writes a column on using the¢ SX212 modem with BobTerm.¢¢ (FR)ANTIC for February, 1992 has a¢ great column by Vice President BILLY¢ WASHBURN on the intricacies of¢ programming in for the 1020 plotter¢ in BASIC. President ALVAN SHERRILL's¢ Beginners' Column concerns the¢ AtariWriter cartridge. There is a¢ hint, submitted by JAMES MARTIN, on¢ usint the Light Pen with the 130XE. ¢ Ther is the second part of MATTHEW¢ BAKER's article on Atari Art. This¢ one covers R-Draw, a drawing program¢ that he likes. LARRY ALLEN continues¢ his tutorial on SpartaDos.¢ Subscribing members, too, contribute¢ their fair share. JACK LEA writes¢ about a session with the Miniature¢ Golf program. ED HALL brings us a¢ trivia quiz that's a real challenge.¢¢ MUG Newsletter for February, 1992¢ contains a reprint of the JIMMY BOYCE¢ (CACE) AtariWriter+ column about mail¢ merge. The March, 1992 issue of SLCC¢ Journal has a column by Bob Wooley in¢ which he handles a number of 8-bit¢ issues, but none of his own hardware¢ hacks. It's well-written and¢ deserves a look.¢¢ The First Quarter, 1992 issue of¢ 8:16 has a Notice Board page with¢ some rather interesting information. ¢ Too bad the items listed on it are¢ almost all sold in England. There is¢ one item from a local publisher that¢ deserves our attention, however. ¢ It's from Aerion Software of¢ Riverdale, and it's an adventure game¢ called, "Fury: The Wrath of Taljun¢ Cathu." The paper also includes a¢ full-page insert ad for Chroma-Cad¢ and a multi-page insert listing their¢ 8-bit p/d library, among other¢ things. There is a reprint of CHUCK¢ STEINMAN's (A.I.M., 1/90) article on¢ dual memory usage in applications¢ using the Turbo 816 modification. ¢ KEN SUMRALL tells us how to modify a¢ 600XL so that it gives split¢ luma/chroma, composite video, and¢ audio just like the output of other¢ 8-bits. There is a competition in¢ which eight short programs are¢ printed. You have to identify the¢ language in which each is written. ¢ The languages run on 8-bits or on the¢ ST. There is a reprint of JIMMY¢ BOYCE's (A.I.M., 3/90) article on¢ AtariWriter+. This is the one in¢ which Jimmy tells us how to construct¢ a printer driver for the Panasonic¢ KXP-1080i printer. MIKE BARNES¢ writes a great retrospective article¢ about his 800. ¢¢ +*+*+*+*+* END +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* ¢¢
