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==(((((((((( == Z*NET INTERNATIONAL ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE =========(( === ----------------------------------------- =======(( ===== June 28, 1991 Issue #91-27 =====(( ======= ----------------------------------------- ==(((((((((( == (c)1989-1990-1991, Z*Net Publishing *********************************************** CompuServe - 75300,1643 GEnie - Z-NET *********************************************** CONTENTS THE EDITORS DESK................................Ron Kovacs Z*NET NEWSWIRE............................................ PACIFIC NORTHWEST ATARI FESTIVAL REPORT....Terry Schreiber CODEHEAD UTILITIES UPDATE....................Press Release Z*NET NEW ZEALAND...............................Jon Clarke CPU ONLINE UPDATE............................Press Release CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT'S GAME ROOM.....................Drew Kerr STEALTH......................................Press Release VERTICAL DEVELOPEMENT........................Press Release MULTISYNC MONITOR SWITCHBOX............................... MIST ATARIFEST III UPDATE....................Press Release ======================================================================= THE EDITORS DESK ---------------- by Ron Kovacs ======================================================================= A few notes on next weeks edition..... I will be taking a short vacation next week which might suspend the next release of Z*Net Online. I am attempting to twist a few arms of our staff during the next few days to stand in for me, so if you are reading this people, better hide because your name is on the list. If I am successful, you can be sure to download the next edition. If not, please be patient.. I might type one out while basking on the beach next week, and send it by pigeon to one of the online sysops for uploading.... <grin> Hmmm I wonder if Terry Schreiber has recovered from the Vancouver show to stand in for me??? I know that John Nagy is on earthquake alert and will not be able to stand in since his building is moving or moved already?? So to speak.... TERMINAL PROGRAM REVIEW Part 2 of the terminal program review will appear shortly. The author, Drew Kerr is working on multiple projects and should have something in the next two weeks or so.... HAPPY 4th OF JULY! ======================================================================= Z*NET NEWSWIRE -------------- ======================================================================= $29 ATARI MODEM DEAL Appearing on the back cover of the latest DAMARK "Great Deal Catalog" is the familiar Atari SX-212 1200 baud modem for only $29.99. According to Atari, about 10,000 of the Hayes compatible 300/1200 modem were sold, cash in advance, to the Damark liquidation and close-out specialty mail order company. The SX-212 features the standard RS232 port for use on any computer, plus the 8-Bit Atari SIO port that allows use on an 8-Bit Atari without further adapters or interfaces. At $29, it is an unbeatable bargain despite its lack of 2400 baud speeds. Damark Item Number B-373-181504 from catalog B-373-2329, call 800-729-9000 to order. PORTFOLIO SAVES THE WORLD Hold on to your Atari Portfolio, it just may help save the world some day! The 16-bit personal computer plays a key role in two sequences in the new Schwarzennegger blockbuster, "Terminator 2: Judgement Day." In the first sequence, the young boy hero uses his Portfolio to break into a bank's automatic telling machine (We'd like to know if that program is public domain!!). The other is later on during one of the film's many climaxes, in another break-in attempt with a locked door. Incidentally, you heard it here first -- the film will blow you away!! ATARI ANNOUNCES CLOSING Atari announced this week the closing of the sale of its property in Taiwan for $60 million. A portion of money will be used to reduce bank debts of $27 million. Atari also reported that due to adverse market conditions, particularly a slowdown of sales in Europe, it expects sales for the current quarter ending June 30, 1991 to be below what it experienced during the second quarter of 1990. APPLE AND IBM ALLIANCE TROUBLED The New York Times reported this week that talks regarding a possible alliance between Apple Computer IBM have hit a snag. The two computer giants, which had been expected to hold a press conference this week to discuss the alliance, cancelled their plans to do so. Apple and IBM want to create a wide ranging technology alliance whereby Apple would license a microprocessor from IBM, the RS/6000. Apple executives are resisting the IBM chip, the Times said. The two companies also disagree over who would control the development of an Apple software effort code- named "Pink". EPSON UPDATE Epson introduced ESC/P 2, a new printer control language for dot-matrix printers that provides enhanced graphics capability and, for the first time, scalable fonts. Epson ESC/P 2 is an extension of ESC/P, the industry-standard language for 24-pin printing that is commonly known as Epson LQ. ESC/P 2 will be incorporated into all future LQ printers from Epson, starting in July 1991 with the new LQ-570, LQ-870, LQ-1170 and ActionPrinter 5000 models. The new printers include ESC/P 2 drivers for WordPerfect 5.1, PlanPerfect 5.1, DrawPerfect 1.1, Letter-Perfect 1.0, Microsoft Windows 3.0, Microsoft Word 5.5 and WordStar 6. ======================================================================= PACIFIC NORTHWEST ATARI FESTIVAL REPORT --------------------------------------- by Terry Schreiber, Show Coordinator ======================================================================= The Pacific Northwest Atari Festival took place in Canadian Richmond B.C., a suburb of Vancouver, on June 15th & 16th. Total attendance for the two days was under nine hundred people - total expected were two thousand plus. Although attendance was light most dealers and developers reported brisk sales for the event. Compo, Rimik, Infinite Grafix, ICD, Wizard Computers, ISD, Minitronics, Branch Always and all of the Music dealers all had excellent sales reports. While Zubair Interfaces and Omnimon Peripherals reported sales were bad. All others fell somewhere in between. Hardware, both Atari and third party, sold BIG and FAST. Software, especially established titles, sold SLOW. Where have all the users gone? As show coordinator, that was the question I asked myself the weekend of the show. With over five thousand machines sold here in British Columbia - where were the users? Total spent on show advertising and promotion exceeded ten thousand dollars. While Father's Day on Sunday may well have severly cut the second day attendance, Saturday should have been fine... and was not. Some have speculated that, since we have a lot of well-stocked dealers in the general area, it's no big deal to a lot of users to see such a show. Compo Software flew in from England just to attend the show. He had two new products for the West - That's Write and Write On. GEnie's Darlah and Atari's Bob Brodie were both very taken by them, look for reviews on both in a later issue. Also shown was a new mouse called "That's a Mouse" which is similar to most of the higher resolution mice but this one felt better than most. Rimik new on the developers scene is run by Richard Betson formerly with Talon Technologies. Rich was demonstrating a new multi-tasking system from Germany called Multi-Gem and although it was a pre-release version showed excellent signs of being a success. JMG Software was showing Hyperlink a modular style database. Add on modules for just about any application are sure to make this one a hit. Soft-Aware was showing their entry into the database market called Informer II. First impressions left me with my mouse in hand. This was the official database used for the show, it is slick and allows you to build some powerful macros. Musicode was showing their MIDI and games software. I am not sure how they did on the MIDI end but Blackjack Plus was surely a hit at this show. SoftLogik, the Pagestream guys, were blowing people away with the color output on a postscript QMS Color Laser. Even users of other brands of computers were definitely impressed. Ron Tucker of Tucker Media here in Vancouver who, till a year ago, was an Atari user and sold it for a Mac, was seriously contemplating the change back to Atari. Excellent job guys. Version 2 of Pagestream was to be available for sale at the show, but is now scheduled for release July 1. Phil Commeau had his grammar checker, which by the way I vow to start using soon, Phil. He also demonstrated a Geography Tutor which is currently available in English or French but I understand he is working to translate it into more languages. ICD had extremely brisk sales. Host adapters, hard drives, Adspeed boards it didn't seem to matter they all sold except for the tape back- up system. Hint - could this puppy be a little too high priced? It doesn't matter because I fully intend on buying one anyway. No serious computer user should be without a back-up system and at the size of the drives currently being sold it no longer makes it feasible to use floppies. Can you afford to lose your data? Application and Design were selling their new upgraded Universal Item Selector. This is a program that no one should be without. It is simple to use and practically fool-proof. Formatting, copying, setting attributes--this program contains what we had hoped Atari had built in to their new TOS. John and Charles - The CodeHeads - were doing upgrades to most of their product line as well as sales. MaxiFile and MultiDesk owners were pleasantly surprised at the amount of work gone into the latest versions. If you liked UIS you will love MaxiFile. Although the features are too numerous to mention this is a MUST HAVE for anyone who is a power user with a large hard drive system. Zubair Interfaces attended and was selling his memory upgrades, but did not fair well. We have a thing called dealers up here in B.C. and they all stock and sell his products, making his market fairly saturated. Omnimon Peripherals demonstrated their new DEKA interface. This allows the use of an IBM style keyboard with the ST as well as relocating the joystick and mouse ports. Gribnif was showing their latest in software, including Cardfile and STENO, which premiered at this Vancouver show. I didn't find out what sales they did during the two days but from the amount of people around the booth I would say sales were slow. Gribnif puts out the popular Neodesk the desktop replacement for the Atari. Another entry into alternative desktops was Double Click. They were demonstrating DC Desktop, DC Utilities, and the new DC Shower program. For those of you into graphics, their new DC Shower is a must. This program shows almost all picture files from the desktop, a fast and handy way of searching through picture files. Darek Mihocka of Branch Always Software was demonstrating the latest Quick ST on the TT030, another first released at the show. Darek also took the time to spend on the slower Sunday to do some code re-writing at the show. Cherry Fonts and Todd Johnson were also selling a competitor's fonts at the show. Todd is now looking at expanding his fonts into other programs other than Calamus. Canoe Computers is based out of Edmonton and had memory upgrades and accelerator boards for sale. Goldleaf was demonstrating Wordflair II. We were hoping that some of the new products from Germany would be available but not as of the show date. Keep your eyes peeled for these products, becoming available shortly. David Small - always a hit at any show - was showing the SST an 030 board for your 68000. Also, the Spectre GCR which was running on a TT030. This unit turns your computer into a Mac. How fast David? When did you say that Cray emulator was going to be ready? Micro Creations had their latest release for sale G.I.M.E., a terminal program offering online graphics. PDC Software was offering the Calamus Font Resource, Tracker ST STealth, and a few other items for sale. This is another booth that I didn't get to spend any time at. Darlah Pine the System Operator of the Atari section on GEnie was there for the two days of the show. Sunday we finally had the phone lines to the information booth and the hook-up to GEnie. Darlah and others spent most of the early afternoon catching up on messages they had missed during the trip but the booth did not go un-noticed. Many people expressed interest in signing up to GEnie at the show. Bob Brodie - have you seen Bob? This was the guy who said I was hard to catch up with that weekend. If I had a free moment I was looking for Bob. "Oh Bob, ya I think I saw him in the Gadgets Seminar", damn, missed him again. Yes Atari U.S.'s man on the go was living up to his reputation - he was everywhere but where you could find him at a moments notice. We'll try this again next time Bob--in the meanwhile we will continue to play telephone tag. Nathan from ISD gave two seminars as well as multiple demonstrations of the Calamus product in Atari's area. Nathan had the new version of Calamus, but unfortunately release to the public will be delayed while manuals are being translated and printed from the German version. Atari Canada's Geoff Earle, Murray Brown and Mark Campbell were joined on stage by Geoff LaCasse and Ron Grant of GXR Systems in the Atari display. Atari had their full product line on display including the ATW/ABAQ workstation. Atari Canada supplied most of the equipment for developers use at the show, many mouse clicks of thanks to Geoff Earle and Murray Brown. Although the show turnout was somewhat less than expected, most people attending as well as the developers had a good time. Will there be a show next year? That depends on how many developers will come back and how Atari sales fare over the next eight months. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those developers that did attend and support the event. It was a pleasure putting faces to all those names, although now a week later I doubt if I could tell the difference between John and Charles. Well, I'll take two Aspirin and the leftover keg of beer, and start looking for next year's location! ======================================================================= CODEHEAD UTILITIES UPDATE ------------------------- Press Release ======================================================================= ***** EDITED ***** CodeHead Software Announces CodeHead Utilities - Release 4 FEATURING: - RESET-PROOF PRINTER AND DISK SPOOLING - KEYBOARD ENHANCER FOR HANDICAPPED USERS - TT COMPATIBILITY - DESK ACCESSORY TEXT EDITOR - RESOURCE FILE CONVERTER The fourth release of CodeHead Utilities is now available! It brings you many exciting new features as well as new and previously-unreleased programs. Release 4 comes on two disks. The second disk contains the latest versions of all Little Green Footballs Software and demos of all other CodeHead products. Between the two disks there are 34 programs, more than ONE AND A HALF MEGABYTES OF SOFTWARE! Here's what you get: CODEHEAD RAM DISK: The CodeHead RAM Disk has some new and exciting features. You can now install two different drives in the same RAM disk. And you can configure the RAM disk to contain a RESET-PROOF PRINT SPOOLER! You can now perform a printing operation and reset your computer without losing a single character...the printer will pick up exactly where you left off without missing a beat. Plus, you can save your printer data to a standard disk file that can be printed at any time, with or without a print spooler! This means you can save the raw printer data of a DTP document and reprint it at any time WITHOUT EVEN RUNNING YOUR DTP PROGRAM AGAIN! ART GALLERY: Art Gallery is our picture viewer and slide show utility which runs as either a program or a desk accessory. It is now fully compatible with Mega STe and TT030 computers and is also compatible with large screen monitors. If you have a large screen monitor, you can view any type of picture that matches the current resolution, or has the same number of planes but lesser pixel resolution. This allows you to view ST high-res pictures on a Moniterm monitor and ST medium and low res pictures on an ISAC or other large screen color monitor. There's new support for all TT resolutions, including Prism Paint pictures as well as the previous Neochrome, Degas, Art Director, and TNY modes. Using a color monitor on the TT you can view pictures in any of 5 resolutions no matter what your current resolution is. STICK SHIFT: Stick Shift is a new desk accessory specially designed for handicapped people. It changes the function of the shift keys (Left Shift, Right Shift, Control, and Alternate) into toggled keys. This allows complicated shift-key combinations to be typed by a single finger, or even a mouthstick. When Stick Shift is active, a symbol will appear in any of the four corners of the screen (your choice) to show which keys are currently "stuck" down. CODEHEAD ED: Included as freeware with CodeHead Utilities is CodeHead's special desk accessory version of MicroEMACS, the popular progammer's text editor. At CodeHead Software, we've been using CodeHead ED for years. Now you too can access the power of EMACS as a desk accessory. CodeHead ED uses the GEM file selector for loading and saving files and has been optimized in many other areas to help make your text editing tasks as easy as possible. You can bind commands to different key combinations to customize it to your own preferences, and the powerful EMACS command language lets you create macros and command routines to do extremely complex tasks. RSC -> ASM CONVERTER: We've finally released another of our development tools -- RSC_ASM allows you to convert a resource file into assembly language source code. We've been using RSC_ASM for a couple of years now to embed resource files into our programs. A unique system of labelling allows you to save both time and instructions by being able to access objects and strings directly without using system calls to find addresses, and without tedious and error-prone indirection. CODECOPY: CodeCopy is our disk mastering program which is tailored to the task of making disk copies (we use it at CodeHead to make all our master disks). It features full verification of every byte on your disks plus the ability to save an entire disk as a single "image" file. It can be fully controlled either manually or from the command line. FONT TRICKS: Font Tricks allows you to customize your system by changing the system screen font. You can also print ASCII files to Epson-compatible printers using the custom fonts. Almost two dozen fonts are included. Font Tricks is now TT compatible. AUTO ORGANIZER: Auto Organizer lets you change the order of execution of your AUTO folder programs. Its interface is intuitive and extremely fast, performing the actual reorganization almost instantaneously. Auto Organizer is TT compatible along with a couple of bug fixes. OTHER UTILITIES: MultiFile is the granddaddy of MaxiFile. It gives you a basic scaled down set of file and disk functions. It runs as both a desk accessory and a program. Our stand-alone print spooler can be configured to any size through a separate program. It will spool a screen dump and its buffer can be cleared with a keystroke. ZeroDisk lets you erase all of the files on a floppy disk in one quick operation. CapsLock is an accessory that shows the current state of the CapsLock key. It can be installed in the upper left or right corner of the screen. Lens is a recursive graphics toy which lets you examine the effects of a recursive system and have fun at the same time. FREEWARE: The new version of ShowMem4 works with the TT to show you memory blocks in fast RAM. It now works correctly the first time on all ROM versions. There's a new version of Leonard6, the system bomb handler, with a special option for BBS operators. You can set Leonard6 so that it will reboot upon a system error so that the BBS will automatically be reinitialized. Siren.ACC is fun little police car which drives across the bottom of your screen at predetermined configurable intervals. A patched version of Poolfix4 is included which fixes a bug in its reset -resident routine for handling the cookie jar. NoClear lets you remove the screen clear commands from your AUTO programs so that they will scroll nicely up the screen when you boot up. Sentinel watches for disk write errors and lets you know if there's a problem such as a full disk. This takes the worry out of working with programs that fail to inform you of errors. PRICING CodeHead Utilities has a suggested retail price of $34.95. As a current owner of CodeHead Utilities, you can obtain an update by sending your original master disk and $10 to the address listed below. Version numbers and suggested retail prices for our products as of Monday, June 24, 1991 are: Product Version Price ------- ------- ----- CodeKeys ............. 1.3 .......$39.95 G+Plus ............... 1.5 ....... 34.95 MultiDesk ............ 2.2 ....... 29.95 LookIt & PopIt ....... 1.2/1.1 ... 39.95 MaxiFile ............. 3.0 ....... 44.95 HotWire .............. 3.0 ....... 44.95 HotWire Plus ..................... 69.95 MIDIMAX .............. 1.3 ....... 49.95 CodeHead Utilities ... Rel 4 ..... 34.95 CodeHead Products are available from your local Atari dealer, through mail-order houses, or directly from CodeHead Software: CodeHead Software P.O. Box 74090 Los Angeles, CA 90004 Phone: (213) 386-5735 FAX: (213) 386-5789 BBS: (213) 461-2095 CodeHead Software accepts Mastercard, Visa, and American Express, as well as checks, money orders, and cash. Shipping charges are $3 U.S., $4 Canada, and $6 elsewhere. Current office hours are Monday-Friday 9AM-1PM Pacific time. Prices and hours are subject to change without notice. ======================================================================= Z*NET NEW ZEALAND ----------------- by Jon Clarke ======================================================================= Another months has come and gone and here I am at home on a rare Sunday putting fingers to keyboard with my new computer, reading all the notes from the last few weeks and woundering what happened to all my spare time. You see the last few months has taken me by suprise to say the least. It is nice when you have a well planned life and you know what is going to happen from one week to the next. Or failing that it is a boring existance going to work, getting home, going to work, getting home etc. I guess it all depends on side of the street you come from. Well over the last month I have been carried off to the land of the famous "Drop Bears", been stood up for tea (could not resist this one), seen the Apple modem manufactors, the largest modem manuafactoring plant in Austral-asia, and pulled a Mega STe to bits in under two minutes and upgraded it to a 4 meg machine. Did I also mention I have a new computer and changed jobs? Does this sound like your average "Banker"? Maybe not but life has not been boring for the last couple of months that is for sure. What does banking have to do with all of this? Well believe it or not by profession I am one of these creatures (at leaste we do not have jokes like the lawers YET!). Being involved with global electronic banking my job now takes me all over the place. To our readers in New York, London, Frankfurt and Hongkong I may see you next month on a wirlwind tour. Last month I had the oppitunity to spend another week in Sydney, Australia. This is the country for those of you who read Z*Net will recall we did a little geography lesson on several months ago. You remember the home of the Sydney Opera house, Crocodile Dundee, the infamous Drop Bears and Kangaroos. I had a call from Alastair Campion of Atari-Oz to tell me he was in New Zealand for a week and we should get together for a drink. As it happened we never had the time to do this so I mentioned I would be in Australia the following week and maybe we could do it then. The next week arrived and was nearly ended when I made my way to their offices in North Ryde. Well the wait was well worth while I can tell you. When I arrived half dead from the previous night, we took Alastair for a little trip down the road to visit Netcomm. Now for those of you who do not know who Netcomm is, here is a little overview. (i) Netcomm is the largest modem manufacturer in the Pacific/Asia region (ii) Netcomm manufactors most of the Apple Macintosh modems for world- wide distribution. (iii) Netcomm is the leading communications supplier to most Telecom/ Post Office/Phone companies in the Pacific and Asia regions. (iv) They have offices in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. (v) Netcomm is one of the worlds largest users of the "ROCKWELL" modem chip sets. So as you can see they are a rather large company. Having used these modems both privately on our BBS here and also at work for many years it was very interesting to see the manufactoring plant and research and developement areas. What impressed me the most was the manufactoring of the "APPLE" modems. There were hundred of modems in racks going through various tests with each individual modem hooked into a test bed and monitored for a varity of things. There was this very large looking oven and fridge where each modem is tested in extreme heat and cold. If a modem can stand this type of extreme testing it can stand the daily uses of most people. Netcomm has a quality control check proceedure that is second to none to the point that there is next to no failure rate on their modems. It was interesting to see Alastairs face when we all discovered they made the Apple modems, shocked is a word that springs to mind. The final package for the Macintosh is a small compact 1200/2400 modem whos quality is first rate. With all the new modem standards that are being released all the time it is pleasing to see the world turning more and more to the CCITT standards and not to be out done Netcomm is at the fore front of this technology. Regretfully some two hours later we all left Netcomm and proceeded to walk a few blocks back to Atari Australias offices. After nearly been soaked by a sudden down pour of rain and me vowing never to visit the "Cross" again and get stuck into that ozzie beer we arrived. The walk was well worth it. No sooner had we arrived and sat down Alastair asked if I played with the new Mega STe. The look on my face must have said it all as he suggested I follow him then. So off to Michelles' work station we went and there was a brand new Mega STe begging to be used. So after firing up flash to pop onto GEnie to show one of the chaps from the bank an X25 Network, I realised this was no ordanary machine. Flash arrived in a split second. I think my face must have been a book that day as Alastair asked "what is wrong?" "The speed" I replied, "it is to fast. Are your sure this not a TT?" With that a brochure was produced and I took my hat off to Atari for a great machine. I guess I am not the usual computer users as I love to pull machines to bit and see how they operate. I think my face let me down again as I was eyeing up this Mega STe, as Alastair proclaimed "I can upgrade this machine to four megs of memory in two minutes." "Yhea sure Al" I said. Hmm under two minutes this two meg Mega STe was a four meg Mega STe. One screw, pop the hard drive housing and pop in the SIMMS. It is as simple as that. Now add to the Mega STe a large 20 inch mono screen and the new Atari Laser printer, boot up Calamus and you have the best DTP package around. For a while there I thought Calamus was going to break the sound barrier with the way Alastair flow it. The chap who had come with us was standing there with his tounge at his knees in awe, and at that point I think he finally realised the Atari is not a games machine and his 33 mhz 386 could not do this with "Pagemaker". But like all great things our time was limited and we had to return to our office and get on with work so we all said our farewells. PARTING SHOTS... To those of you who use the GEnie RTC on Wednesday nights, you may have seen the user i/d of ATARI-OZ. Well nine times out of ten this is Michelle (who uses the Mega STe) at the keyboard. May I suggest if you have not already popped onto the RTC and said "HI" to the Atari-OZ crew do so. Alastair is in the process of arranging GEnie access for alot of the Australian Atari dealers. This will truely add an international flavour to Atari SIG on GEnie and for all of us users ass well. Have you seen "Twin Peaks" and the who killed Laura Palmer yet? Well who stood Jon up for tea? Hint:Mega STe. ======================================================================= CPU ON-LINE PRESS RELEASE ------------------------- JUNE 25, 1991 ======================================================================= Okay all you Lynx players - get ready! Computer Publications, Unltd., publishers of the ST Connection, are proud to bring you the hottest new publication for Lynx enthusiasts - GameMaster. GameMaster will soon be bringing you news and information on all of the newest games and hottest hits for the Atari Lynx. You will also find a minimum of two reviews per issue, a full page of tips and hints and a current listing of which game cards are now available or coming soon! Warbirds? APB? Blockout? Ninja Gaiden? Scrapyard Dog? We'll let you know about all the new games as they hit your local dealer's shelves and update you on everything in production as well! GameMaster, the Newsletter for Atari Lynx Players, will be published 10 times per year, giving you more issues annually than any other Lynx publication. And for just $10, you can get every issue mailed directly to you - 1st class! And if you just want to check us out, send us your name and address to receive a FREE issue! The first issue of GameMaster will be available soon... DON'T MISS IT!! GAMEMASTER Computer Publications, Unltd. P.O. Box 2224 Arvada, CO 80001-2224 303/423-6805 GEnie: STCONNECTION $10/10 Issues ======================================================================= ~~~~ CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT'S GAME ROOM ~~~~ -------------------------------------- by Drew Reid Kerr ======================================================================= GEnie D.KERR1 DELPHI DRKERR SIERRA-ON-LINE LAUNCHES ALL-GAMES ON-LINE SERVICE! This one made the front page of the New York Times business section! I'll let writer Eben Shapiro do the talking... "A small computer-game company based in an abandoned gold mining town in the Sierra Nevada foothills in California hopes to succeed where a partnership between two of America's largest corporations has struggled for years." What Shapiro refers to is Sierra starting TSN (The Sierra Network) and challenging Prodigy, which IBM and Sears have hundreds of millions of dollars and it has yet to run a profit. TSN has begun on a small scale in just California. The setup is only "a couple of powerful desktop computers and a handful of employees," allowing subscribers to play checkers, chess and a few other simple games while "trading electronic banter." Borrowing from role-playing games, users can choose a name, sex, face and haircut for their "computer persona." You even have a choice of 14 hats, including a turban or a propeller-topped beanie! TSN plans on expanding slowly across the country, charging $11.95 a month. Over time, they will offer more sophisticated games for an extra fee of $6.95 a month: "But Sierra programmers do not expect to have these games, with names like Sierraland or Larryland, on the network before January." The article quotes Joshua M. Harris, president of the Jupiter Communications Company, a New York research firm: "They have a winner. It's the best games service I have seen, bar none." Yet, there is more technical tinkering to do: at this time, the system serves no more than 75 players at a time and has experienced frequent system failures. Another analyst says Sierra "must also perfect the technology for offering more sophisticated games -- like flight simulators and shoot'em up showdowns." If you have access to back issues of the New York Times, you can find this in the June 18, 1991 issue. Wow, I guess this means computer games have hit respectability. Heavy news! GAME ROOM CHATTER Lucasfilms Games has their hands full with sequels -- not only is a second chapter planned for "The Secret of Monkey Island", but a new, totally original Indiana Jones game is being planned (nudge, nudge, Harrison Ford), tentatively titled "Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis".... Hard to believe "Midwinter II: Flames Of Freedom" is still not out... If you think Microprose's Sid Meier is a genius ("Gunship," "Red Storm Rising," "F-19 Stealth," "Railroad Tycoon"), then wait till you see his attempt in the SimCity/SimEarth category, "Civilization," planned for IBM in the fall and the ST the following year... Ocean, the movie licensing kings, have picked up two more film tie-ins for future games: "Robocop 3" and "Terminator II:Judgement Day"... "Flight Of The Intruder," the spiritual sequel to Falcon, will finally make it to the ST in July... If you are a fan of the old Magnetic Scrolls text adventures ("Corruption," "Fish" and "Guild of Thieves"), all three are being packaged together by Virgin Mastertronic and released using the new interface debuted with "Wonderland." It should be out very shortly... Electronic Arts will have "Birds Of prey" out this fall from Glynn Williams, the man behind "Warhead." It's a multi- aircraft war simulation.... JUST AROUND THE CORNER: Gremlin's "Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge II"... Microprose's "F-15 Strike Eagle II"... Sierra-On-Line's "King's Quest V" and "Quest For Glory: Trial By Fire"... Infograme's "Alcatraz," a sequel to "Hostage"... FLIGHT STIMULATION Does the feeling of hitting 350 knots, pulling off the ground and into the wild blue yonder make your heart flutter? Scanning around CompuServe's Games Forum, I found two clubs that are actively seeking your membership! o CPAA stands for Computer Pilots Association of America. They want to know: "Are you a SERIOUS user of Flight Simulation Programs? Are you interrested in making your flights as REALISTIC AS POSSIBLE? Do you want to 'get your ticket' as a CERTIFIED Computer Pilot?" Well, stop getting all excited when you see these upper case letters and get with these guys! Founded in 1988, their purpose is to "expand and enhance the enjoyment of flight simulation software, especially Flight Simulator by Microsoft (which is available on the ST). CPAA publishes a quarterly newsletter and amintains a BBS for conferencing and file sharing. They have members throughout the U.S. and in more than 17 foreign countries. For further information, contact Jeff Bingham at CPAA, P.O. Box 580608, Houston, TX 77258-0608, or via CompuServe at 76576,547, or the BBS at 703-548-7849. o Intercept is a bi-monthly newsletter which just debuted in March 1991. This periodical is a little more, shall we say, "bloodthirsty" than just admiring the sights from above. Each issue features a single software package, flown for a minimum of 50 hours, for a detailed review. There are related articles on the actual military hardware which is being simulated, development, weapon systems, counter measures, and avionics. Intercept organizes tournaments for head-to-head play. This year, they're sticking to the veteran Falcon by Spectrum Holobyte. A one year subscription to Intercept is $20. Please contact them at: SIMCAP, Inc., 20 Lafayette Avenue, Kingston, NY 12401-4408. YOU ASKED FOR IT! Levels for Psygnosis' incredible Lemmings. Here we go, you cheat- mongerers, you, just the first two levels: EASY TRICKY 2 IJJLDNCCN COOLMGLQDL 3 NJLDNCADCK CAJJLDMBEV 4 HNLHCIDECW KKHLDMCCEP 5 LDLCDJNFCK NHLDMCGDER 6 DLCIJNLGCT HLDMCMOEEX 7 LCANKKDHCO LDMCAJNFEN 8 CINNLDLICJ DMCKJMLGEX 9 CEKHMDLJCO ICGNMNDHEW 10 MJHMDLCKCW CIOLLLMIEL 11 OHODHCELCS CEKKOLIJEK 12 JMDLCINMCK IJHMDMCKEV 13 MDLCAKLNCS NHMLICALEW 14 DLCIJNMOCM KOEICOOMEU 15 LCENLMDPCL MDMCEJMNEJ 16 CMNLMDLQCU LMBIJNOOEY 17 CEJHLFLBDX KCAOLMMPES 18 IJILFLCCDN CINMMDMQEU 19 OHNNHCEDDU CCKHNOIBFQ 20 JNNHCMOEDP KJJLFOCCFV 21 LFLCCKLFDO OHLFMCADFN 22 FLCMKLLGDJ HNNICKOEFO 23 LCCOLLFHDU LGMCAKLFFQ 24 CMOLNNHIDV FICMKMLGFJ 25 CCKHMGHJDM MCGNMLFHFL 26 OJHMFLCKDL BKOLNGKIFQ 27 NJMGLCALDV CAJJMGMJFS 28 HONHCINMDR IJJOOKCKFT 29 MNJCEJLNDO NIMFMCELFK 30 GLCOJLMODU JMGMCKNMFT (whew!) TEXT REDUX! Wonderland (Magnetic Scrolls/Virgin) The text adventure is back! If you hunger for the days of Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy, Wishbringer, Fish and Corruption, starve no more! Magnetic Scrolls, who made so many great text games, has moved into the 90s to appeal to both the text fans and the graphics fans. Following the classic story of "Alice In Wonderland," you fall into the crazy world of the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and other psychedelic characters. Now, not only do you get text, but over 100 stunning graphic images to go along with the story, some of them animated! You also get a built-in help section so you don't have to send away for $10 hint books or call 900 numbers and run up your phone bill. Because of the size of this baby, I strongly recommend you put this on your hard disk and "uncompress" the graphics (it's a 15-minute optional process). Also be warned, that after you uncompress, the game takes up something like a billion bytes, so make sure you have the room! ALSO NEW AND RECOMMENDED: Gods -- the first Bitmap Brothers game (Speedball, Speedball II, Xenon II) on their new Renegade label and it does not disappoint! Like Xenon II, they turned the shoot-em up on its head and made it a little deeper, tricker and the graphics are fab! 3D Construction Kit (Domark) -- If you've always wanted to create your own game, here's your chance! Using the Freescape graphic style (Driller, Total Eclipse, Castle Master), you can forge wonderful shapes, moving objects, with real ease. This is a pricey "game" that comes with a video unplayable on American VCR's. I have also had a lot of trouble putting it on my hard drive (it can be done, according to the manual, but I keep getting a "not enough memory" signal, which is quite impossible with 4 megs and plenty of hard drive space -- this thing is only 1 disk!). The Secret Of Monkey Island (Lucasfilms) -- An all-around smash that is much more fun than Zak McCracken & The Alien Mindbenders and the Indy Jones games. using pretty much the same point-and-click method as the past endeavors, the story is just genuinely funny and captivating. You are an apprentice pirate with the laziest crew sailing the seven seas. You bumble around, capturing islands and ships, insulting other pirates and taking their gold! JUST OUT ON THE ST: Jahangir Khan Squash (Krisalis), Crime Does Not Pay (Titus), Z-Out (Rainbow Arts), Apprentice (Rainbow Arts), Master Blazer (Rainbow Arts), Predator 2 (Image), Shadow Dancer (Sega), Lords of Chaos (Laser), TOKI (Ocean), The Ball Game (Electronic Zoo), Champion Of The Raj (PSS), Disc (Loriciel), Stormball (Millenium) and Life And Death (Software Toolworks). HAPPY GAMING!! ======================================================================= STEALTH ------- Press Release ======================================================================= So, you're thinking to yourself, "Great another terminal program. I need it like I need another hole in my head." WRONG! Flash and Interlink are outdated, but most people are still using them. You may THINK that you don't need the features of Stealth, but that's only because YOU DON'T KNOW what Stealth offers: FLASH/INTERLINK EMULATION - Impersonates the weaker terms. If you're switching from Flash or Interlink, emulation is in place to make you feel more at home with Stealth. And the many features that Stealth has in addition to the other terms are also available in emulation modes. WORD PROCESSOR - Full function text processing Editing text is essential in telecommunications, that's why Stealth has a full function word processor built-in. Features include: * Upload ASCII/Quoted blocks * Word Wrap * Jump to/Center line * Cut/Copy/Paste/Delete/Mark/Select All block * Reformat paragraph * Script functions * Search... and more SCRIPT LANUGAGE - Very powerful, easy to use The scripting system has over 90 commands in a powerful BASIC-like language. You don't need to be a programmer to make Stealth run by itself (call a BBS while you're not around, run as a mini-BBS, etc). Auto Record makes Stealth mimic your actions, which then can be saved, and played back at a set time. HELP SCREENS - Help when you need it Help is available anywhere from Stealth and it's just a click away; it includes a list of all commands. TRANSFER PROTOCOLS - A whole lotta protocols Stealth's protocols include: X-Modem, X-Modem CRC, X-Modem 1K, Y-Modem, Y-Modem G, Z-Modem MUSCLE DIALER - Phone dialer does everything Easy to use functions make up the Stealth phone dialer: * 80 phone slots * individual settings and scripts for each number * phone charges calculated * print/search phone list * multi-dial (dial many BBS's at once) * up to 9999 redials TYPEAHEAD BUFFER - Multi-line typeahead Flash gave you a measly 1 line typeahead. With Stealth you can configure it anywhere from 1 to 10 lines! FILE FUNCTIONS - Complete set of disk utilities A whole range of functions are included: * View/Print text file * Disk Directory * Show Free Disk Space * Copy/Delete/Rename/Move file * Create/Remove folder * Format disk BBS PAUSING - Keeps you logged onto any BBS It is most annoying when you're on a BBS and something important comes up. You don't want to hang up and re-dial for whatever reason, but the BBS will try to kick you off in a few minutes. Stealth will keep you logged on a BBS, even ones that try to log you off. PARAMETER CONFIGURATION - User configurability galore Every feature of Stealth is user-configurable. You can set the colors, set the size of the capture buffers (Stealth has two) and serial buffer (incoming text is saved here while you perform other functions in Stealth), clear the resource file and terminal screen for extra memory, and so on. You can tailor Stealth to make it your own custom terminal program. ST WHIZ FREE - $15 value ST Whiz is a program launcher that's similar to HotWire. Normally, it's $15 but is included free with Stealth! INTERFACE - How easy can you get? The Stealth interface is standard, yet unique. ST users will feel at home with the full GEM environment including menu bar commands and icons. Also, a standard in most programs, as well as Stealth are keyboard equivalents (called Hot Keys by some). EXTERNAL PROGRAM LOADING - Use any program within Stealth You don't need to exit Stealth to use a program, just select it and run. In this vein, you can also use an external text editor instead of the built-in word processor. ARC/LZH utilities are also available at a click of a button as are disk utilities (such as DCOPY). These three programs can be accessed from Stealth's main menu via built-in icons. CHIMES - Plays songs to alert you With other terminals, the puny ST bell bings once to let you know that a download is completed. Stealth plays one of twelve song selections, perfect if you go do something else while downloading. KEYBOARD MACROS - 1 button functions Stealth has 20 keyboard macros which make keyboard entry easier. Push a key and a string of text is shot out. BAUD RATES - A baud rate for everyone Stealth offers 16 baud rates, from 50 to 19,200. SHADOW SUPPORT - Use Shadow directly If you have Shadow, Stealth is fully compatible with it. Just click on the Shadow menu and Stealth will access Shadow for background downloading. EMULATIONS - Bunch 'a terminals Terminal emulations include VT-52, ASCII, ANSI, UBBS, and VT-100. SPECIAL! Retail Price CDG Deal Price Stealth $39.95 $29.95 To celebrate Stealth's introduction, we're making a special offer to GEnie, CompuServe, and Delphi users. Order by August 31, 1991 and you'll receive Stealth for $29.95 + $4 shipping/handling (that's $10.00 off the $39.95 retail), as well as the Stealth utility disk for FREE (normally $4). You must mention the "CDG" offer and your user ID in order to receive this special offer. Just order directly from PDC and your order will be shipped FAST. Because the only thing quicker than Stealth is PDC's shipping! PDC 4320-196th SW Ste. B-140 Lynnwood, WA 98036-6721 Dept. CDG 800/255-8220 (Visa/MasterCard accepted, USA/Canada Orderline only) 818/242-5692 (Tech support/Questions) ======================================================================= VERTICAL DEVELOPMENT -------------------- Press Release ======================================================================= Press Release - For Immediate Release Contact: Vertical Development P.O. Box 383 Canonsburg, PA 15317 412-746-4247 John P. Arnold, Director of Software Engineering CANONSBURG Pa., June 24, 1991 - Vertical Development Systems today announced their move into the disk duplication industry. With the ability to duplicate both 3.5" and 5.25" disks using state of the art duplication equipment, Vertical will offer services including duplication, formatting, labelling, and serialization. With their facilities located in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Vertical Development can duplicate thousands of disks per day on a number of different formats including Atari ST, MS-DOS, Macintosh, UNIX, Amiga, and Apple IIGs. They also have the ability to duplicate custom formats as well. Along with this announcement, Vertical is offering discounted rates to Atari ST developers for its duplication services. Because Vertical has been a registered Atari Developer for the past six years, they have elected to extend their help to fellow Atari Developers. Any Atari Developer who is interested in taking advantage of this special discount rate should contact Vertical Development at 412-746-4247 for more information. ======================================================================= MULTISYNC MONITOR SWITCHBOX --------------------------- Captured from Info-Atari16 Digest ======================================================================= Date: 25 Jun 91 23:10:03 GMT >From: noao!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!vsnyder@arizona.edu Subject: ST and Multisync Multisync monitor switchbox and cabel (this is tested and works) """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" If you want monochrome, your monitor must handle 71 Hz frequency NOT all monitors do this - To be sure - Test before you buy it! Multisync side (no pin number - they depend on your monitor outlet) Red Green Blue HorSync VertSync Ground | | | | | | | | | | | | SW1---SW2---SW3-------. | | |---SW4---. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Red Green Blue Monochrome HorSync VertSync Ground MonoDetect 7 6 10 11 9 12 13 4 I did this with a NEC-2D and the monochrome image came out about 1/3 of a screen high. Don't worry, the worst bit isn't making this - it's getting the 13-pin Atari monitor connector for the ST side and solder it !! *** I simply cut my Atari cable and soldered in a pair of DB-15's. They're really easy to find. When I got tired of switching monitors by changing DB-15 plugs, I built a switch using a 7-pole rotary, and some MORE DB-15's. The one I found in a surplus store for $US 3.95 had 5 positions, but I only used two. Lars-Erik / ABK-BBS +47 2132659 / ____ ______ __________________ Osterud / larserio@ifi.uio.no / /___ / The norwegian ST __________/ ______________________/ ____/ /Klubben, user association ======================================================================= MIST ATARIFEST III UPDATE ------------------------- Press Release ======================================================================= MIST Atarifest III July 27, 1991 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Indianapolis, Indiana MIST Atarifest III is just one month away! I would like to take this last opportunity and encourage you to attend this year's show. We have extended the deadline for reserving a booth at this year's show. While the main display area has filled up fast, we still have room in the "overflow area". Therefore, we will be taking booth reservations up to 5:00 pm on July 17, 1991. The prices however, will remain the same. If you know of a other vendors or a users groups that might want to attend please let them know we still have some booths available. We also have extended the deadline for purchasing ad space in the MIST Atarifest III Program, which will be handed out to all who attend the show. Camera ready artwork may be submitted until July 17, 1991. A 1/4 page ad will cost $25, a 1/2 page ad will cost $50, and a business card sized ad will cost $10. Advertising is not restricted to those who attend the show. Please consider donating an item to be used in the raffle. We would like to be able to raffle an item every 15 minutes at this year's show. Your contribution will allow us to do that. A list of all donators and donations will be included in the Program. Finally, if there is anything that we can do to make your involvement with MIST Atarifest III more enjoyable just let us know. We will see what we can do. Thanks for you interest! Dan Ward President - Atari ST Computers In Indianapolis Co-Chairman - MIST Atarifest III ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Z*NET INTERNATIONAL ATARI ONLINE MAGAZINE - CREDITS +--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ | Publisher: Ron Kovacs | Editors: Ron Kovacs and John Nagy | +--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ | Z*Net Canada: Terry Schreiber | Z*Net New Zealand: Jon Clarke | +--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ | Z*Net Germany: Mike Schuetz | Newswire Asst Editor: Mike Mezaros | +--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ | Research Asst: Kathy Johnston | Shareware Reviews: Ron Berinstein | +--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ | Staff Columnist: Drew Kerr | Reporter/Features: Mike Brown | +--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ | Staff Columnist: Keith Macnutt | Reporter: Dr. Paul Keith | +--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ | GEnie ID: Z-Net | CompuServe ID: 75300,1642 | +--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ | Z*Net USA BBS - (908) 968-8148 | Z*Net Canada BBS - (604) 275-5888 | | Registered FNET NODE 593 | Registered FNET NODE 505 | +--------------------------------+------------------------------------+ Z*Net International Atari Online Magazine is a weekly magazine covering the Atari and related computer community. Material contained in this edition may be reprinted without permission, except where otherwise noted, unedited, with the issue number, name and author included at the top of each reprinted article, to Registered Atari User Groups, and not for profit publications. Commentary and opinions presented are those of the individual author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Z*NET or the staff. Z*Magazine Atari 8-Bit Online Magazine, Z*Net Atari Online Magazine, Z*Net and Z*Net PC are copyright (c)1991 by Rovac Industries Inc, a registered New Jersey corporation. Post Office Box 59, Middlesex, New Jersey 08846. (908) 968-2024. Z*Net USA BBS, 24 Hours, HST 14.4K, (908) 968-8148. We can be reached on CompuServe at 75300,1642 and on GEnie at Z-NET. ======================================================================= Copyright (c)1991, Rovac Industries, Inc.. =======================================================================