 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 ::  Volume 2 - Issue 11     ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE         26 June 1993  ::
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
 ::                                                                      ::
 ::  ATARI .............. News, reviews, & solutions ............ ATARI  ::
 ::    EXPLORER ............ for the online Atari .......... EXPLORER    ::
 ::       ONLINE ................. Community .............. ONLINE       ::
 ::                                                                      ::
 ::        Published and Copyright  1993 by Subspace Publishers         ::
 ::         """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""          ::
 ::  Publisher ........................ Michael W. Lindsay   EXPLORER    ::
 ::   Editor .................................. Travis Guy   AEO.MAG     ::
 ::    News and Features Editor ............... Ron Kovacs   Z-NET       ::
 ::     Assistant Editor GEnie............... Ron Robinson   EXPLORER.1  ::
 ::      Assistant Editor CompuServe......... Albert Dayes   AEO.1       ::
 ::       Assistant Editor Delphi........ Andreas Barbiero   AEO.2       ::
 ::                                                                      ::
 ::                              Contributors                            ::
 ::                              """"""""""""                            ::
 ::          Gregg Anderson     Michael Burkley      Terry May           ::
 ::          Michael Mortilla   Rob Schilling        Bill Scull          ::
 ::          Don Wilhelm        Erik Williams        Tim Wilson          ::
 ::                                                                      ::
 ::                                                                      ::
 ::                      Telecommunicated to you via:                    ::
 ::                      """"""""""""""""""""""""""""                    ::
 ::                             GEnie: AEO.MAG                           ::
 ::                         CompuServe: 70007,3615                       ::
 ::                             Delphi: AEO_MAG                          ::
 ::                      Fnet: AEO Conference, Node 706                  ::
 ::                  AtariNet: AEO Conference, Node 51:1/10              ::
 ::                                                                      ::
 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


                              Table of Contents


 * From the Editors .......... "The Sons of Soong Have Joined Together...."

 * Z*NET Newswire ...................... Atari shareholders met this week;
                                             IBM to build Atari's Jaguar???
                                               More computer industry news.

 * Atari Asylym ..................... Benchmarks and compatibility testing
                                                    on the Atari Falcon030.

 * Adventures of an Hardware Hacker - Part III ............ Z-RAM problems.

 * AEO Calendar of Events ................ Events, happenings in the World
                                                      Atari, and elsewhere.

 * Twenty Questions to Atari Corp. .......... The first CIS "20 questions"
                                                                transcript.

 * AtariNet Overview ......................... Getting started on AtariNet.

 * MiGraph's OCR Jr. .......................... Rob Schilling reviews this
                                                          lite OCR package.

 * Commentary .......................... Mike Mortilla looks at reprinting
                                                  messages for the onlines.

 * The Unabashed Atariophile ............... Trek files and more await you.

 * News from Usenet .............. Tim's news and tidbits off the Internet.

 * GEnie News .......................... New files & happenings on Atari's
                                                  Official Online Resource.

 * Developing News .................................. ICD Pro SCSI Software
                                                           View II from DMJ
                                                       Purple Mountain Tour
                                                       Blue Ridge AtariFest

 * Shutdown ........................................... Movers and Shakers.


                            --==--==--==--==--


 |||  From the Editors ....... Atari Explorer Online: The Next Generation
 |||  Bob Brodie and Ron Kovacs
/ | \ -------------------------------------------------------------------
      -------------------------------------------------------------------

   By: Bob Brodie
   ---------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to another issue of Atari Explorer Online Magazine!

We've been away too long, and we've been going through some changes.
Let's fill you in on some of the things that are going on. Mike
Lindsay is now publisher of Atari Explorer Online, with Travis Guy
staying on as Editor, and handling the layout of the magazine. Mike
will be overseeing the direction of the magazine, and managing his
writers. It will have a bit more independent slant, but still the best
source of Atari news and information, because of Mike's close
relationship at Atari Corp. Many of you will recall that the inaugural
editions of Atari Explorer Online were produced by Ron Kovacs of Z*Net
News Service. Ron had rejoined our staff as our News and Features
Editor. We will also be taking on the rest of the Z*Net staff as part
of Atari Explorer Online Magazine.

It seems that there is just tons of people that want to read an online
magazine, but not as many people interested in helping produce an
online magazine anymore. Both Z*Net and Atari Explorer Online were
experiencing some problems getting productive staff members to put out
what we'd consider an acceptable size issue. At Atari, we've long
admired Ron Kovacs and Z*Net; truth be known I was a writer for Z*Net
before I was an employee for Atari! Over the years, Ron and I have
developed a close, personal relationship that transcends things Atari.
We've always gotten along well, and had a healthy respect for each
others work, opinions, and the person. Mike Lindsay and I share a
similar relationship based on his work with Explorer, and he and Ron
work well together. When we began discussing ways to try and shore up
both publications, it just made sense to merge them again. So you will
see the familiar Z*Net Newswire here in Atari Explorer Online on a
bi-weekly basis, along with many of the familiar Z*Net staffers as
well. We'll be uploading our issues to the major networks, GEnie,
Delphi, CompuServe plus in the AEO/Z*Net Conference available in the
F-Net, AtariNet, and TurboNet.

As in the past, Atari Explorer Online will focus mostly on Atari based
news and information. Because of the close relationship our staff has
with Atari, we're in a position to give you the very latest in facts
on what's happening in the Atari Community, not just rumors or
speculation. Atari will take pains to see that our staff has access to
the latest technologies from our company. As always, we look forward
to your suggestions as to how we can improve our publication. In the
past, we've done things like incorporated picture files to give you a
glimpse of what's coming with things like MultiTOS, SpeedoGDOS, and
Atari Works. We plan on continuing with that, as well as incorporating
game coverage for our Lynx owners! We'll also be taking a look at the
exciting Atari Jaguar as it is readied for the marketplace.

It's going to be an interesting summer.


  By Ron Kovacs
  ---------------------------------------------------------------

Well, as you are VERY WELL AWARE OF NOW, Z*Net Atari Online Magazine
has been disbanded. There will no longer be a Z*Net issue covering
the Atari community. The reasons for this are listed below...

The Atari version of Z*Net Online was retired for a number of reasons.
I do not want to get into the details for all of them, however, I do
want to pass along my personal feelings on this with our loyal
readers.

The first and biggest reason is the amount of work necessary to
produce weekly releases. Anyone who has written or compiled any type
of material will understand the time needed to put things together.
While this has been a very enjoyable task, personal problems and
life-style changes have taken much of my free time away from editing.

Another reason is simply that I am tired. I am retiring from regular
publishing/editing duties to spend more time on my other publication
and projects, more time with my children, and more time to simply
relax and do nothing. However, I am not just going to stop
participating, hence my new job in Atari Explorer Online.

As the News and Features Editor, I will be responsible for putting
together the Z*Net Newswire and feature articles for this publication.
The current team assembled to publish AEO will move online magazine
reporting to a new level. There will be NEW faces, new ideas and
topics to cover in future editions. Some of the "old" *might* remain,
but you will see more information *useful* to the home computer user.

With this change, I will be able to keep the "burn-out" syndrome out
of my life and enjoy using my Atari system to its full capacity. The
Z*Net BBS will remain active as well as our participation in AtariNet
and the online services. Z*Net PC will return to regular release and
be available soon.

So, the Z*Net era is now over and Atari Explorer Online Magazine, an
INDEPENDENT publication will take its place. I hope you will support
this publication as you have Z*Net in the past.


                            --==--==--==--==--


 |||    Z*NET Newswire
 |||    Compiled and Edited by Ron Kovacs
/ | \   GEnie: Z-NET      CIS: 75300,1642      Delphi: ZNET
        -----------------------------------------------------------------

 ###################  
 #####(((((((((( ###  
 ############(( ####  
 #########(( #######
 ######(( ##########  This column contains the latest Atari News
 #####(((((((((( ###  with an update of the Computing Industry.
 ###################


//// ATARI'S ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING
Atari Corporation hosted their annual shareholders meeting on Friday,
June 25th at the corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale. The routine
business of the corporation was handled in a perfunctory fashion, with
the board of directors being re-elected for another term. A proposal
that the board of directors had recommended to do a 10:1 reverse stock
split was rebuffed. The board reversed their position on the issue,
due to the increases in the price of the stock over the last few
weeks. There was a limited amount of discussion by the shareholders
about the reversal of position by the board. Clearly, there was no
dissension during the discussion. The meeting was run by Atari Corp.
CEO Sam Tramiel, with the entire board of directors present, including
Jack Tramiel.

On display for the shareholders were a number of Lynx machines in a
tower style Lynx kiosk, two Atari Falcon030s, and a Jaguar Development
system! After the formal portions of the meeting, Atari conducted an
informal discussion time of questions and answers hosted by Sam
Tramiel. Sam showed the shareholders the futuristic style Jaguar case
housing, and discussed the system in detail with the shareholders.
John Skrutch provided demonstrations of game titles under development,
including Side Shooter, Space Pirates and Cybermorph. The titles were
loaded off of various media, including CD-ROM from Jaguar develop
systems that included a TT030, 386DX II PC machine, and a Jaguar
development system. The Jaguar's 24 bit color, real time morphing, and
full shading effects were stunning!!

During the question and answer session, Sam Tramiel declined to name
sales projections for the Jaguar, preferring to only re-iterate that
the machine will be sold in New York and San Francisco beginning this
October. Atari plans to support the machine heavily with television
advertising, and expects all major retailers to place orders for the
Jaguar. Plans call for Atari to have five titles ready to ship with
the Jaguar, plus third party development titles. Sam projected that
the fourth quarter would be "a wash" for shareholders. Although Atari
expects terrific sales for the Jaguar, the heavy promotional costs
will offset those profits. However, Atari expects the Jaguar to power
a terrific 1994!

Sam was asked about plans for the Lynx, and he indicated that most
sales in the home entertainment market are for the console based
units. As the Jaguar commercials start to run, Atari plans on
including Lynx promotional information along with the Jaguar, in much
the same fashion as Sega promotes the Genesis and then tags Game Gear
at the end of the commercial. When asked about the Atari Falcon030,
Sam indicated that the computer business is still very tough,
dominated by MS-DOS clones. The on-going price wars in the computer
business make it difficult to be profitable in that business. Atari is
committed to the computer business though, and Sam clearly indicated
that there would be successors to the Atari Falcon030.

The Jaguar comes with two megabytes of RAM, a 64 bit custom RISC
processor, and a full 64 bit bus. The DSP chip is not a Motorola DSP
as in the Falcon030, but rather a Atari custom DSP chip that is a
subset of the RISC processor. There is a cartridge slot on top of the
Jaguar case, which will also serve as a connection point for the
Jaguar CD ROM unit, which will in turn have a cartridge port for
"piggy backing" cartridges into it. Several shareholders commented on
the capabilities of the Jaguar that appear to exceed what many
computers have, and Sam stated that consideration was being given to
creating a Jaguar PC card as well as using Jaguar technology in future
Atari Computers like the Falcon.

A shareholder asked about the "made in America" statement in the
Jaguar press release. Since Atari doesn't own its own manufacturing
facilities, who will be making the Jaguar for them? Sam replied that
there would be an announcement made next week as to the manufacturer
of the Jaguar. After the meeting the one manufacturer that was heard
mentioned was IBM!!!

At the conclusion of the informal time, Sam invited shareholders to
remain to take a look at the Jaguar, Falcon030, and Lynx products.
Shareholders were also able to chat with important Atari staffers like
Richard Miller, John Skrutch, Leonard Tramiel and others about the
Jaguar. Many shareholders took the opportunity to put the Jaguar
through its paces on various game titles under the watchful eye of
Atari staff.


//// WARP 9 FOR FALCON AVAILABLE SOON
Charles Johnson recently posted on GEnie that the Falcon030 version of
Warp 9 is nearly complete. A few last minute bugs and loose ends need
addressing and it will be a few weeks before it is released. The first
release of the Falcon030 version will not support screen acceleration
in 16-bit color modes (the modes Atari calls "true color"); it will
automatically sense when you switch to such a mode and turn
acceleration off. Most of the other features of Warp 9 do work in
16-bit color modes, though, including Extend-O-Save. The other
Codehead EOS modules have been revised to work with the Falcon030 in
all modes.


//// MULTIMEDIA GRASP RELEASED
Paul Mace Software has released a new version of its popular animation
and authoring program Grasp (Graphic Animation System for
Professionals). Multimedia Grasp is the highest-end tool in the Grasp
family. It will include a rapid prototyping tool, as well as a toolbox
of new and revised multimedia authoring programs and utilities
including the Grasp engine, a full-feature paint program, file
conversion tools featuring sound, picture and animation support for
importing modules from other programs, a font editor and a code
library to support "C" programmers. According to Mace, Multimedia
Grasp has a suggested retail price of $1,195, which is competitive
with the only other two professional multimedia authoring tools in the
marketplace. Grasp displays up to 32,765 colors (with HiColor) and
supports all popular graphics display standards including: CGA, EGA,
VGA, SVGA, TGA and Hercules with resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 panels.
Image file formats supported include PCX, GIF, PIC and TGA. Grasp
supports a variety of video capture boards, printers and scanners, as
well as CD-ROM drives and other devices.


////APPLE UNVEILS TWO NEW MODELS
Apple has unveiled two new models to their PowerBook series. The
PowerBook 180c brings active matrix color to the top of the line while
the PowerBook 145B lowers the entry-level price by 25 per cent. Both
computers feature Apple's all-in-one design including an integrated
track-ball and palm-rests. With its 256-color active matrix display
the PowerBook 180c offers the highest quality color technology on the
notebook market today. Images are sharply defined and colors are
amazingly bright. Saturated colors stand out strongly. The 180c
display also brings the advantage of a viewing angle that is
noticeably wider than that offered by earlier- generation screens.
Viewers close to the screen but not having a direct line of vision can
read text and appreciate graphics. The new 640 x 480 format adds an
extra 80 lines of resolution. Powered by a Motorola 68030 processor
running at 33MHz, performance from the PowerBook 180c is on a par with
the PowerBook 180. The system ships with all the features standard --
Apple SuperDrive, allowing the user to read floppy disks formatted in
MS-DOS and OS/2 systems in addition to Macintosh computer disks, a
full-size keyboard, video out, sound in and sound out. Both new models
include a rechargeable nickel-cadium battery, AC adapter, System 7.1
software, training software and complete learning and reference
documentation.


//// IBM TO MAKE ACCELERATOR BOARDS
Seattle Telecom and IBM recently announced that IBM's Electronic Card
Assembly and Test Plant in Charlotte would manufacture accelerator
boards for the Washington company. A manufacturing contract calls for
the Charlotte plant to manufacture Seattle Telecom & Data's new PSX/
486SLC accelerator cards, which upgrade older IBM Personal System/2
computers. The multi-year contract has a value of about $7 million.


//// APPLE SLASHES PRICES
Apple Computer, hoping to pump up the volume on sales of its Macintosh
line, announced a wide-ranging price cut and rebates of up the $350 on
some of its computers. The promotion will run through Sept. 30. The
cuts in Macintosh computers range from 6.8 percent to 12.6 percent,
and as much as 26 percent on peripherals. These and other disclosures
caused a sharp sell-off in Apple stock and an announcement from
Moody's Investors Service that it might downgrade its ratings on
Apple. This is the second time this year Apple has moved to drop
prices.


//// MICROSOFT AND VERBATIM OFFER FREE DISK
A new promotion called "Microsoft Games Sampler" provides you with a
free disk containing four fully operational games, one from each of
Microsoft's four different Entertainment Packs. What's more, you also
receive mail-in rebates good for two free floppy disks or a $2 rebate
on your next data cartridge purchase. The promotion is available in
specially-marked packages of Verbatim brand floppy disks and retail
packaged quarter-inch data cartridges. Part one of the promotion
begins in July and runs through September 1993. Part two, featuring
four different games, runs from October through December 1993.


//// WORDPERFECT SHIPS WP FOR NEXTSTEP
WordPerfect has announced WordPerfect 1.0.1 for NeXTSTEP interim
release is shipping. The updated releases includes support for NeXT
Computer's new NeXTSTEP operating system for Intel processors. The
interim release also adds support for NeXTSTEP's drag-and-drop text
feature and on-line help.


//// IBM CANADA SHRINKS WORK FORCE
IBM Canada expects to cut its 10,000-person work force by 10 percent
this year through voluntary buyouts. 1,000 workers are expected to
sign up for an incentive program to leave.


//// JOHN SCULLEY TO LEAVE
John Sculley, chief executive officer of Apple Computer, plans to
eventually leave the personal-computer giant. The 54-year-old
executive has been talking privately about purusing other
opportunities and expects to leave Apple at some point, preferably to
run his own high- tech company on the East Coast, as reported in USA
Today. Sculley told the newspaper he plans to stay long enough at
Apple to make sure the company "can go on for years and years" under a
solid management team.


//// NEW 3M 1.3GB REWRITABLE OPTICAL DISK
3M has announced the availability of a 5.25-inch 1.3-gigabyte 3M
Optical Disk for use on new double-capacity optical drives. 3M will
begin shipping the disks in late June. The suggested list price for
each 3M Optical Disk is $235.


                            --==--==--==--==--


 |||   Atari Asylum
 |||   By: Gregg Anderson
/ | \  GEnie: AEO.7
       -------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome, oh fellow inmates, to yet another exciting visit to the
Atari Asylum. Now that the Day Nurse has made her morning rounds, we
can all kick back, relax, and talk about our favorite delusion - Atari
computers. As things have been a bit rather quiet of late, I thought
it might be time to "stir the soup" a little with some benchmark
timing tests on Atari's new Falcon030. The results were a bit
surprising as the unit did quite well in some tests but not as well as
expected in others. In other words, a typical benchmark result. <grin>
But first, some wandering reflections.

Remember my comment last time of how much I liked the "Set Video"
system used on the Falcon030? Well, I've gotten even more fond of it
since then. Why? Because changing resolution in the Falcon030 is a far
cry from rebooting my old MegaST/NEC-3D combo every time I want a
different resolution. With the Falcon030 you have ALL your most
productive resolutions available in a single monitor with system-level
support.

For me to change from productivity (Monochrome) to Entertainment
(Color) modes in my old Mega I have to power down and power back up
while pressing a small button to tell my system what resolution I
want. With the Falcon030, I just go up to Set Video, select the
resolution and color combination I want and hit enter. The system
takes it from there and, after a slight pause for a modified reset,
sends me directly to the desired video mode. By the way, the
"Compatibility Modes" do more than just preselect the resolution. They
also modify the color palette and a number of other parameters to help
the system act more "ST-like" and improve compatibility. It's not
perfect yet but it does help.

Speaking of compatibility, has anyone tried the "MAGI.ZIP" utility?
This French import claims to solve most of the Falcon's compatibility
problems. Assuming Sheldon lets me put his demo Falcon030 at risk I
may give it a try on some disk-based games. More on this subject in a
week or two.

Between the "Set Video" feature and overall usability of the 640 X 480 
resolution I could get to like this machine <grin>. Now if they'd only 
give it a 1280 X 960 mode for my DTP/Drafting and a usable VGA 
interlace mode for all those games & color demos coming out I'd be the 
happiest video freak on the planet. Of course, then I'd want a Mini-
Tower or TT case, separate "TT-Style" keyboard, and TT FastRAM as well. 
And then there are the dancing girls and a pot 'o gold or two would be 
nice.... Hmmm, wasn't this what got us put into the Asylum in the first 
place? What the heck, if we're going to dream why not be greedy about 
it? <grin>

Now before we start listing the results of these tests let me outline a 
few of the ground rules. First is that the Falcon030 being tested
belongs to Asheville's Computer Studio. In fact it's their demo unit
with TOS 4.02 and SpeedoGDOS installed. By the way, rumor has it that
the Falcon030s now being shipped to the dealers for sale to us have a
newer version of TOS installed.

Ok, that covers the Falcon030, what about the other units tested? What
other units? Well, you can't have a usable benchmark test without
something to compare your benchmarks to. Or can you?  Maybe I'd better
talk to the Day Nurse some more. Anyway, I've matched the Falcon030's
performance against three other computer systems. My personal Mega4
running at 8 & 16 Mhz, a new MegaSTe running at 16 Mhz, and one of
Computer STudio's TT030 systems running at 32 Mhz. Sound reasonable?
Good, I thought you'd like it.

Since the Falcon030 has SpeedoGDOS active, I've installed G-Plus where
needed for comparison tests on the Mega4. Sorry, but I can't load GDOS
on the TT030 or the MegaSTe since they're not mine to mess with.
Sadly, I don't have Warp 9 loaded for these tests either, but don't
panic yet because I can promise you a pleasant surprise in the next
issue of the Asylum.

I also have to say that ANY benchmark test should be taken with a
grain or two of salt. Why? Because all too often a benchmark result
can be misleading for a variety of reasons. First of all is that NO
ONE has ever created, or even decided on the requirements of, the
perfect ST benchmark program. Each of the available tests concentrate
on different aspects of the system and use different routines. What
happens as a result is quite often benchmarks tend to contradict each
other. So take the results of these tests for what they're worth, as
useful tools to compare different Atari systems WITHIN the same tests.

Enough of this foolishness, on with the tests:


                               BENCHMARKS


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// QuickIndex 2.2
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

          Mega4      MegaSTe |---------Falcon---------ST--|   TT
        Monochrome   MedRes  |256    16     4     2  HiRes|  HiRes
        8Mhz 16Mhz   16Mhz   |------------16 Mhz----------|  32Mhz
CPU      %%    %%      %%      %%    %%    %%    %%    %%      %%

Memory   98   134     164     367   415   467   478   480     806
Register 99   202     203     406   406   410   406   410     811
Divide  179   201     203     507   507   507   507   510    1014
Shifts  176   205     207    1737  1737  1737  1737  1737    3534

TOS/GEM  %%    %%      %%      %%    %%    %%    %%    %%      %%

Text    102   144     105      49    90   128   160   161     199
String   89   125     109      65   109   144   167   168     171
Scroll  131   138     132      16    40    89   181   214      73
Dialog  251   356     325     106   142   162   173   174     241

As expected, the Falcon030 easily out powers the ST/STe in CPU power
by a factor of two, three, four, or even up to eight. The TT030, of
course, outpowers all of them without even breaking into a sweat. On
the text-based tests, however, the picture is less rosy. Given a
similar number of colors to display, the Falcon030 generally matches
or betters the text, string, and scroll tests of the older Atari
machines (including the TT030).

On the Quick Index dialog test our the new bird seems to suffer by
comparison. I'm not sure exactly why as the other benchmarks indicate
the Falcon's dialog box performance is at least the equal of the older
ST line. It may be due in part to the age of this particular test,
Quick Index is the oldest Benchmark still in active use on the ST
platform.


=-=-=-=-=
//// NBM
=-=-=-=-=

              |---Mono Mega4---|    RGB MegaSTe
               8 MhZ     16 Mhz       16Mhz
               Bare        Bare        Bare
Math           109%        162%        182%
Memory         109%        141%        153%
DialogBox      192%        260%        246%
Graphics        70%        111%        133%

               |---------Falcon030---------ST-|   TT030
               256    16      4      2    HiRes   HiRes
Math           180%   223%   242%   252%   254%   312%
Memory         172%   222%   246%   258%   261%   252%
Dialog Box     130%   209%   269%   307%   309%   379%
Graphics       60%     87%   105%   116%   142%    63%

Again we have indications of similar or superior performance on the
part of the Falcon030 in most, if not all, areas. What surprised me
was how close the bird comes to matching the TT030. All in all, when
matching similar resolutions & colors, the Falcon030 looks good on
this test.  Again, however, graphics/text performance does not seem to
match the CPU/Memory gains over the older systems.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// PERF (CPU tests ONLY)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                    8Mhz      16Mhz    16Mhz     32Mhz
                    Mega4     Mega4   MegaSTe    TT030
                    Mono      Mono    MedRes     Mono

Dhrystones/Sec    1699.90   2367.70   2762.32  4111.35
Fibanacci/Sec         .52       .67       .87     2.39
Sorts/Sec             .43       .69       .73     2.16
Sieve/Sec            4.98      9.03     10.04    39.93
Clip/Sec           320.35    473.24    520.57   989.90

                            16Mhz FALCON030
                256 Color  16 Color  4 Color  2 Color  ST-HiRes

Dhrystones/Sec    2410.75   3013.44  3314.78  3507.71  3578.71  
Fibanacci/Sec        1.62      1.85     1.97     2.00     2.02
Sorts/Sec            1.08      1.26     1.32     1.34     1.36
Sieve/Sec           21.93     22.45    22.45    23.34    23.03
Clip/Sec           499.75    635.27   694.09   730.62   739.27

Note: this author's tests tend to indicate that none of Atari's
computers, not even the TT030, can hold a candle to the Sun IPC or a
33Mhz 486 clone. Based on the comparison chart included with this
utility The TT030 is only able match 30-35% of the clone's performance
and only a bit over 20% of the Sun's in these tests.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// GEMBENCH II
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

All gains are measured against an 8Mhz ST system, Note: GEMBENCH II 
runs in MONOCHROME or 2-Color mode ONLY so color Falcon tests were not 
possible.

                  Mono          Mono    2-Color  STHi      Mono
              |---Mega4----|   MegaSTe |----FALCON---|      TT
              8Mhz    16 Mhz   16 Mhz       16 Mhz        32 Mhz

Dialog box:   163%     227%     187%     187%     188%     256%
Text:         248%     383%     266%     355%     356%     306%
Text Effects: 163%     253%     187%     325%     327%     317%
Small Text:   168%     267%     180%     237%     238%     242%
Graphics:     128%     216%     191%     285%     287%     435%
Windows:      182%     222%     250%     182%     200%     286%
Division:     138%     170%     182%     469%     469%     888%
Flt Point:    121%     182%     194%     245%     247%     489%
RAM Access:   100%     165%     173%     385%     385%     586%
ROM Access:   100%     163%     172%     443%     443%     709%
Blitting:     617%     699%     677%     997%    1010%     668%
Scrolling:    317%     414%     333%     807%     814%     460%
VDI Inquire:   78%     106%     154%     132%     135%     232%

             Mono      Mono     Mono     2Color   STHi     Mono
             8Mhz      16Mhz    16Mhz        16Mhz         32Mhz
            MegaST4   MegaST4  MegaSTe  |---Falcon---|      TT

Graphics:     229%     309%     269%     389%     395%     356%
Math/Memory:  114%     170%     180%     385%     386%     668%
Average:      194%     266%     242%     388%     392%     452%

GemBench is possibly the most comprehensive benchmark we have right
now and generally backs up the other tests. On the whole, the
Falcon030 is about three times as powerful as the ST/STe line in
CPU/Math/Memory capability and about half as powerful as the TT030. In
graphics based tests it is about twice the machine the older units are
if not more.  In fact, due to the design of the graphics subsystem the
Falcon030 matches and sometimes surpasses the TT030's graphics
performance, at least on the benchmarks. In real world software the
TT030 does still hold an advantage on DTP and CAD type software.

So what do these tests tell us? Mainly, that raw performance on the
Falcon030 is extremely dependent on the graphics mode being used. In
other words, the greater the number of colors being displayed the
slower the system will perform. My advice from last week still stands,
run the system with the fewest number of colors you need and it will
perform better for you.

Now let's compare the very handy, if somewhat confusing, benchmark 
results with some real world tests.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Timing and Benchmark Tests
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Program             Mono     Mono   Mono  |-------16Mhz-FALCON--------|
                 |--Mega4--|  MSTe   TT    256    16     4     2   STHi
                 8Mhz  16Mhz 16Mhz  32Mhz |---------Color Modes-------|           

                                    Time, in seconds
                   ---------------------------------------------------
                   |     |     |      |      |     |     |     |     |
EasyDraw 3.0;
Load & display:  42.5  30.0  ----   ----   25.5  21.1  19.9  19.2  18.5
113k full page:  12.3   8.7  ----   ----    9.8   8.1   7.5   7.1   7.0

TouchUp 1.84;
Load & Display:  9.2    6.3  10.5    2.9   TouchUp runs in    3.9   3.9
120k full page:  6.9    3.6   3.5    3.6   Monochrome Modes   2.4   2.2
Rotate page 180: 13.1   7.6   7.4    4.6   Only               4.5   3.9

1stWord Plus;
12 Page Scroll:  99.1  73.2   60.2  65.3* 160.5  96.0  73.0  63.0  55.1

(Note *: the TT030's 65.3 time was for "Full Page" scolling; using the 
same half-sized window as in the ST/STe/Falcon the time was 48.5 Sec.)


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// FRAC demo from BrainStorm (10 iterations)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

     |-------Falcon----------|  MegaST4 8  MegaST4 16  MegaSTe   TT
     256   16    4    2  STHi  Low Med Hi  Low Med Hi  Low Med  High

                             Time, in seconds
       ------------------------------------------------------------
       |    |    |    |     |    |   |  |    |   |  |    |   |    |
CPU   28   22   22   20    20   44  42 46   28  26 28   26  24   10
DSP   10    6    8    6     6   --  -- --   --  -- --   --  --   --
FPU   --   --   --   --    --   --  -- --   --  -- --   --  --   10

So what do these real world tests tell us? A number of things
actually, first of all is that benchmark programs don't always tell
the entire truth.

One of the first surprises was that file loading in the Falcon030 is, 
despite the relatively slow IDE drive, surprisingly fast. I'm not
sure exactly what the cause is, the faster CPU, a more efficient data
bus, the newer TOS, or what, but the Falcon is a lot faster than my
ST/ICD combo or even Atari's MegaSTe when loading program files.
Sadly, ICD's Rate Hard Drive is not Falcon compatible so I can't give
you any solid numbers.

 Graphics drawing: As you can see from the Easy Draw and TouchUp tests 
graphics are noticeably faster than on a stock ST, STe, or MegaSTe with 
no ifs, ands, or buts about it. What is surprising is how close the 
Falcon030 comes to matching the TT030's graphics performance in some
of these tests. When coupled with the benchmark tests, this indicates
that while the Falcon has only about half the TT's CPU power (as
expected), its Graphics subsystem is far more efficient and can, in
some situations, almost make up for the difference in CPU power.

 Text speed: Here we have a small problem. Like all of Atari's ST/TT 
line the Falcon's native text speed is less than awe inspiring. Why?  
Because while we see it as text the computer has to see and treat it as 
graphics of a particularly nasty (and slow) variety. On the whole 
(when using similar color numbers) the Falcon030 easily outpowers the 
original ST and Mega line in text speed and comes close to the TT030's 
performance.

What was surprising was how fast text scrolling was with the TOS 2.06
equipped MegaSTe. That one was much faster than expected. As I
mentioned last week, the Falcon030's color shift in 16 and 256 color
modes when scrolling text is pretty distracting. In four color mode,
however, it's not much worse than on a Medium Res ST system. In two
color mode, there's no shift at all. Interestingly enough, there's
little or now color shift in AtariWorks no matter what resolution it's
running in; good work Atari.

Then there are benchmarks designed to show off a specific feature, such 
as the FRAC program from BrainStorm. This interesting program allows 
you to run the Mandelbrot set using the CPU, the FPU (Floating Point 
Unit), or the DSP (Digital Signals Processor). As you can see, the DSP 
excels at complex math like this and, once software starts to take 
advantage of its co-processing potential, will do a lot to make the 
Falcon line fly. The only problem is that right now there's little or 
no software capable of doing that.

Looking over the various benchmark programs it could appear that, in
one or two tests anyway, the Falcon030 is little more than a small
step up from the original ST, or maybe even a step backwards. WRONG!
Benchmarks test ONLY those parts of the system the programmer wants
tested, and are often written with an emphasis on a specific area. Of
all of these tests I suspect the GemBench II may be the least biased,
if only because of the variety of tests it performs.

This feeling of overall superiority is brought out when comparing the 
Falcon's actual performance in "real world software" against the
ST/STe under even remotely similar conditions. The Falcon030 is
generally able to match the text speed performance of a stock system
and comes close to a Warp 9'ed MegaSTe. More important is that it
easily outpaces any 68000-based ST/STe in CPU/RAM-intensive
applications such as DTP and CAD.

Why no TrueColor timing tests?  Because no one in their right mind
will ever try to use True Color for Word Processing, DeskTop
Publishing, Spreadsheets, etc. It makes for some fantastic color
pictures and games but is generally useless for productivity unless
you're running in interlace mode, which brings in problems of it's
own.

So why no audio demos, tests, or comments today?  Well, if you were as 
deaf as I am (too many years standing next to jet engines on the flight 
line) then you'd have a tendency to ignore most of the audio features 
yourself. Seriously though, I do plan on testing and reporting on some 
of the audio features as soon as I get my hands on some usable 
software. What little I've heard so far has been VERY impressive, but 
I'm just not into MIDI at this point. sorry

Got a couple of more goodies you can add to the Falcon Compatible list;

 1st Word Plus works like a trooper and lets you take advantage of
the larger display with no problems. Though faster than on a Mega, you
do need to switch to a two-color display before using this program as
the "color shift" when scrolling in 16 & 256 color modes is very
distracting (and a bit slower then in two color mode). By the way,
much of this review was written on a Falcon using 1st Word Plus (for
preformatted ASCII output). Just goes to show that you really can type
with the Falcon030 without going insane using the keyboard from Tarpon
Springs.

 Diamond Back II (2.51) works as well on the Bird as on any of
Atari's ST/TT line. Watch out for those pre-formatted High Density
Disks in the DOS world though. Seems that most of them have been
formatted with DOS 5 or 6 that does something a bit strange with the
Sector Byte count or something. This does a major number on using the
"compressed" mode in DB II and renders the entire backup useless. My
advice, until DB III comes out anyway, is to pre-format your HD disks
on your TT030/Falcon030, use the built in format in DB II, or just
avoid using the data compression mode. Uncompressed everything works
ok.

 TouchUp Ver 1.84 from Migraph is another winner. This utility is
quite a bit faster on the Falcon than on any ST/STe. A few problems
though; one is that it can't handle any of the Falcon's color modes
and bombs when loading in anything but two-color or ST-High compatible
modes. The second problem is that it is VERY memory sensitive.
Believe it or not I've had it scramble a rotated image on a four meg
Falcon that it doesn't scramble if you free up a little more RAM by
removing an AUTO folder or .ACC/CPX program. Strange.

The following list of software is from Oregon Research's outstanding 
new catalog. Good job Robert, it's a professional work from start to 
finish.

     YES
    """""
Diamond Back II & III
Diamond Edge
True Pain
Harlekin 2
Ultimate Virus Killer
Knife ST
Lattice C
HiSoft BASIC 2
Devpac 3
HiSpeed Pascal
FTL Modula-2
HiSoft C                 Not TT030 compatible
WERCS
Tempus 2                 Not TT030 compatible

  PROBLEMS
 """"""""""

MicroProse B-17:    Sorry folks, this one's a no-go on the Falcon.
                    However, if you've still got an ST/STe/MegaSTe
                    then this is an OUTSTANDING simulation.

ForthMACs ver 1.1 by Bradly Forthware:
                    Runs, compiles, but then the finished package can't
                    handle the 030, gives memory errors.  If anyone
                    knows of any updates to this package PLEASE let me
                    know about it ASAP.


HEY PEOPLE!!!!! I'm running out of things to write/talk about here. 
PLEASE, Email me your Falcon compatibility lists as you confirm them. 
I'll be happy to post them in the Asylum along with your name. Same 
deal if you find something interesting or new that the Falcon or any
Atari computer can do. Got a question? Send it in to Atari Explorer
Online and maybe we can help you find an answer.

Want a grin? Take the Breakout game that is bundled with your
Falcon030 and drag its window over the edge of the screen so that less
than half the window is visible on screen. Now turn up the audio
volume and click inside the Breakout window as though trying to start
a game. Enjoy! <grin>

My parting shot is that I've noticed a disturbing trend in the PD and
freeware demos coming out on the Falcon030. An awful lot of them seem
dedicated to the INTERLACED display mode only. In my opinion (and we
all know what that's worth, don't we) this is not going to help us
push the Falcon like it deserves to be pushed if, in order to give a
good demo, we have to do the old 'two monitor' dance again. Please
people, SUPPORT THE VGA DISPLAY. Interlace is nice, but VGA is where
the serious work is.

Well, until they let me out of my padded cell again, take care.
Gregg.


                            --==--==--==--==--


 |||  Adventures of an Amateur Hardware Hacker - Part Three
 |||  By: Don Wilhelm, BAAUG & SCCAUG
/ | \ -------------------------------------------------------------------
      -------------------------------------------------------------------

//// Editor: As a precaution, if you do not have experience with
//// working with the tools and/or methods described in this article,
//// or if you feel uncomfortable about anything herein, PLEASE DO NOT
//// ATTEMPT ANY MODIFICATIONS DESCRIBED. Your, and your computer's
//// safety, is paramount.


Adventure No.3. WEIRD VIDEO SHIFT PROBLEM WITH THE Z-RAM MEMORY
                UPGRADE RESOLVED WITH SLOWER DRAMS

A weird video shift problem is the sudden flipping over of a portion
of the video image from one side of the screen to the other side. In
my case a one-half inch vertical band from the right edge of the
display flipped over to the left edge of the screen and overlayed that
portion of the display. This happened within a few seconds of
executing what I call graphics-intensive activity; e.g., running a
program that generates Moire patterns or my manually racing back and
forth across the menu bar with the mouse arrow such that menus were
dropping down and closing like mad. It happened in both monochrome and
color. It happened on my brother's 520ST after I installed TOS 1.4 for
him and booted up the computer to test it.

Naturally I thought I had a bad set of TOS ROMs or had otherwise
zapped something in the system. Or maybe the monitor had gone bad. The
computer already had a Z-RAM 3-D memory upgrade board that I had
installed two years earlier and that had been working just fine with
2 MB of Samsung 80 nanosecond DRAMs. I consulted with a number of
dealers and developers, including Abu Zubair (the developer of the
board) and E.Arthur Brown (the dealer who sold it to me). Zubair's
installation manual actually discusses the video shift problem (on
some "old" 520STs and 1040STs) and three possible cures; namely,
reducing the length of the cable connection from the Z-RAM board to
the MMU, replacing the video- shifter chip with a newer one, and using
slower DRAMs. E.A. Brown told me he has never encountered the video
shift with any Z-RAM boards that he has installed or sold, using 80
nanosecond DRAMs. Same story from other dealers who have sold it.
Zubair himself urged me to try the three cures. Other developers and
technicians were either mystified, or said it sounds like a bad chip
(MMU, glue, shifter, or DRAM) or open circuit, or concluded that the
Z-RAM design is defective, and (in a couple of cases) suggested a
couple of grounding modifications to the Z-RAM board.  First I tried
changing out the shifter, glue, and MMU chips - one by one. No cure. I
tried another monitor. No cure. The video shift occurred in both color
and monochrome modes.

Putting the old TOS back in the machine did not cure it. Removing the
Z- RAM board itself eliminated the problem. Aha! I claimed a defective
board or design, that was only detectable after I tried some new
programs that demanded more of the video output. Neither E.A. Brown
nor Abu Zubair were willing to exchange the board for me. I wanted
E.A. Brown to swap me an AERCO board for the Z-RAM, since he sells
both. I have one of his AERCO boards running in my own 520ST with TOS
1.4 - running flawlessly for 4 years, with 2 MB of Toshiba (I think)
80 nanosecond DRAMs - creating Moire patterns with the same software
and no video shift. The only two things left to try were shortening
the cables and using slower DRAMs. Luckily I found some Goldstar 100
nanosecond DRAMs at Haltek Electronics in Mountain View for $1.65 a
piece - a deal I couldn't refuse. I tried them and the video shift
problem disappeared.  I couldn't make the problem recur after that.
Amazing - to me and to everybody I told about it thereafter, except
Abu Zubair. By the way, before buying the Goldstar DRAMs, I took the
Samsung DRAMs to Frys, which kindly tested them for me. All of them
tested good, and tested faster than I expected - at 50-60 nanoseconds.
I will probably put the spare 2MB of RAM on my AERCO board one of
these days to get my own computer up to 4MB. Some board trace
modifications are required for this upgrade, so I'll have to take it
to a technician or send it to AERCO.

In conclusion, I was satisfied to have resolved my problem. It "only"
took two months (many nights and weekends) to do it, and drove me
mad, yet I learned a little bit in the process.

Also, if you are contemplating a memory upgrade for your ST with a
Z-RAM board: the installation is delicate and takes a lot of care, but
it is solderless. Done properly with the right DRAMs, it works.
However, the Z-RAM board also apparently works only with the older
Atari MMU chip, designated by #CO25912-38. If you do use a Z-RAM board
and run into a video shift problem with it using 80 nanosecond DRAMs,
you will probably have a very hard time finding 100 nanosecond DRAMs
to try. There are other memory upgrades that have never had the video
shift problem, as far as I can tell from having talked with a number
of dealers, developers, and technicians. Opinions about and
experiences with the various memory upgrade boards naturally vary
among dealers, technicians, users, and product reviewers. The
March-June 1991 issues of "ST INFORMER" carried a series of good
review articles on memory upgrades for the ST. The AERCO board and the
Tech Specialties board seem to have good reputations among the
solderless boards. Most of the several dealers with whom I talked like
the JRI board (which must be soldered in), because it is well-
designed, works with SIMMs and is easy to upgrade from 1 to 2 to 4
MB, and the soldered installation makes it permanently stable (and
usually makes it work on the first try). The December 1992 issue of
"ST INFORMER" carried an announcement of a new Z-RAM 4-16 MB memory
upgrade board for the Falcon. In the March 1993 issue of "CURRENT
NOTES", David Troy mentions the new Z-RAM board for the Falcon and
says it is "really clean" and "looks really nice." Nevertheless, I
would recommend to anyone that he/she consult with Zubair Interfaces,
as well as his/her friendly neighborhood Atari dealer and technician,
about the potential for video shift problems with this board before
making a purchase.

//// Biographical Information on Author

Don Wilhelm is a senior chemical engineer with a Mountain View, 
California engineering consulting company. The company does technical, 
economic, and market evaluations for both major domestic and 
international industrial and government organizations, primarily related 
to the energy sector (fuel resources, production of fuels, petroleum 
refining, electric power generation, and environmental emissions control 
technology). The company uses PC clones with MSDOS, and more recently 
Windows, as well as a Macintosh. Don prefers the GEM interface of his ST 
to the Windows interface, but has not been able to get his company to 
convert to the Atari computer platform. He is also a marriage and family 
therapist, currently on sabbatical from his part-time evenings private 
practice. His Atari ST nicely serves the latter business for record-
keeping and correspondence. He lives in Menlo Park.


                            --==--==--==--==--


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--       --==--==--       GEnie Sign-Up Information      --==--==--      --
--                                                                       --
--   1. Set your communications software for half duplex (local echo)    --
--   at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud.                                         --
--                                                                       --
--   2.  Dial toll free: 1-800-638-8369 (or in Canada, 1-800-387-8330).  -- 
--   Upon connection, enter HHH.                                         --
--                                                                       --
--   3.  At the U# prompt, enter XTX99436,GENIE then press <Return>.     --
--                                                                       --
--   4.  Have a major credit card ready.  In the U.S., you may also use  --
--   your checking account number.                                       --
--                                                                       --
--   For more information in the United States or Canada, call 1-800-    --
--   638-9636 or write: GEnie, c/o GE Information Services, P.O. Box     --
--   6403, Rockville, MD 20850-1785.                                     --
--                                                                       --
--       --==--==--  Atari's Official On-line Resource!  --==--==--      --
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


                            --==--==--==--==--


 |||   AEO Calendar of Events
 |||   Compiled by: Ron Kovacs
/ | \  GEnie: Z-NET      CIS: 75300,1642      Delphi: ZNET
       ----------------------------------------------------------------

////  KC AtariFest                                     June 26-27, 1993 

The Kansas City AtariFest '93. The location for the show is Stadium
Inn, 7901 E 40 Hwy. Ticket prices at the door will be 5.00 dollars
each day. Advance tickets will be 4.00 dollars each, for advance
tickets, please send 4.00 dollars per ticket to: Kansas City
AtariFest, P.O. Box 1653, Lee Summit, MO 64063 - if you belong to a
user group please mail a request for a user group information pack. To
make room reservations please call 1-800-325-7901, they are also
working with a local travel agent to get special airfares for the
show. You may call 1-800-874-7691 to take advantage of the special
fares. For more information please leave Email as follows; GEnie,
B.WELSCH, J.KRZYSZTOW, for CompuServe, Leave for Jeff Krzysztow at
74027,707 - or you can call (816) 224-9021, or mail to the address
listed above.


////  PC Expo NY                                 June 29 - July 1, 1993

PC Expo-NY - Javits Convention Center, New York City.


////  Dateline: Atari! with Bob Brodie                     July 9, 1993

Bob's normal "First Friday" monthly GEnie RTC has been rescheduled to
the weekend following the Fourth of July! (It's still being held at
10pm EDT.) Bob should have some pretty impressive fireworks to set off
at this RTC, so make plans to attend! Log onto GEnie, and enter
[m475;2] to take you to the Atari conference area.


////  Blue Ridge AtariFest                             July 24-25, 1993

The Blue Ridge Atari Computer Enthusiasts (BRACE) and Computer STudio
host the Fourth Annual Blue Ridge AtariFest in Asheville, North
Carolina. Saturday show time is from 10am - 6pm and Sunday show times
are from Noon to 5pm. Free booth space is available for Atari
developers. This Atarifest will be taking over the Courtyard Shop
(mall) area at the Westgate Shopping Center (location of Computer
STudio), and also plan on using vacant store spaces for seminar
sessions. Seminars will be 45 minutes in length, and developers are
welcome to conduct a seminar on their product line or approved topic
of their choice (seminars are limited, so first come, first served).
For additional information, please contact: Sheldon Winick on GEnie -
S.WINICK or at the Computer STudio at (704) 251-0201 or contact the
show coordinator Cliff Allen on GEnie - C.ALLEN17 or call (704)
258-3758.


////  IC Card Expo                                     July 27-28, 1993

IC Card Expo at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara,
California. Showcasing the latest in PC cards and related products.
Sponsored by IC Card Systems & Design (800-525-9154, 303-220-0600).


//// MIST AtariFest V                                     July 31, 1993

The fifth annual MIST AtariFest will be held on Saturday, July 31
from 10 am to 5 pm at the Best Western Waterfront Plaza Hotel. The
Mid-Indiana Atari ST Users play host to this excellent one day event
with its proven method of success.

This year a new location has been chosen for the MIST, the Best
Western Waterfront Plaza Hotel. Offerring free shuttle service to
Indianapolis International Airport, which is just minutes away, Best
Western is convenient to both air and car travel. Several major
highways allow acces to the hotel for motorists. An assortment of
dining and entertainment choices provide interesting diversions once
the show is complete.

Whether you are a novice or a professional user, there is something
for every Atari enthusiast. Seminars, held throughout the show, can be
attended by guests or show-goers can engage in Lynx or MIDIMaze
tournaments with the best players receiving prizes. Winners of the
raffle can pick up their prizes in a number of shapes, sizes and
purpose.

Hotel reservations can be arranged by calling (317) 299-8400; mention
MIST AtarFest V and take advantage of the discount rate. For single
occupancy. guests may stay in the hotel for $53 or for a double, $59.

Special facilities for the handicapped, non-smokers and small
children is available.

Admission to this show is still only $3.  

For more information, send mail inquiries to ASCII, c/o Bill Jones,
6505 West Castle Avenue, Indianapolis, IN, 46241. Or, by phone, call
(317) 856-4260.  Online via GEnie, messages may be sent to W.JONES43;
on FidoNet Mail at Bill Jones at 1:231/370.0 or by InterNet/UUCP at
Bill.Jones@f370.n231.z1.fidonet.org.


////  MacWorld Expo                                    August 3-6, 1993

MacWorld Expo at the Boston World Trade Center, Bayside Exposition
Center and sponsored by MacWorld Magazine. This event is titled Boston
'93.


////  Interop '93                                    August 23-27, 1993

Interop '93 (#2) at the Moscone Center in San Fransisco, California.
 
 
//// ONE BBSCON '93                                  August 25-29, 1993

ONE BBSCON '93 at the Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
This is a four day exposition presented by BoardWatch Magazine. There
will be three days of educational services, a trade show exhibit area
with over one-hundred vendors on hand. For further information on
this event and for registration information contact: Peg Coniglio at
ONE Inc., 4255 South Buckley Road, Suite 308, Aurora, Colorado 80013.
Voice: (303) 693-5253; Fax: (303) 693-5518; BBS: (303) 693-5432.


//// PenExpo                              August 30 - September 3, 1993

PenExpo - The Pen-Based Computing Conference at the Hynes Convention
Center in Boston Massachusettes.  Pen Exposition, Conference, and
Tutorials, Sponsored by Boston University Corporate Education Center
and PEN Magazine.


//// Fed Micro '93                        August 31 - September 2, 1993

Fed Micro '93. Fed Micro CDROM and Multimedia Conference & Exposition.
Washington Convention Center, Washington DC.


//// BCS*Pen                                          September 1, 1993

BCS*Pen Monthly Meeting at the Hynes Convention Center. Meeting begins 
at 7pm. Topic: "The Market for Personal Information Processors". 
Speaker: Donna Dubinsky, CEO, Palm Computing, Co-sponsored with 
PenExpo.  


////  The Glendale Show                           September 18-19, 1993

The Glendale Show returns with the Southern California Atari Computer  
Faire, V.7.0, in suburban Los Angeles, California. This has been the  
year's largest domestic Atari event, year after year. Contact John King  
Tarpinian at the user group HACKS at 818-246-7286 for information.


////  MacWorld Expo                               September 20-22, 1993

The third MacWorld Expo, titled Canada '93 at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre, sponsored by MacWorld Magazine.
 
 
////  Mobile World Expo                           September 21-23, 1993

Mobile World Expo and Conference at the San Jose Convention Center in
San Jose California.
 
 
////  Unix Expo '93                               September 21-23, 1993

Unix Expo '93 in New York City, New York at the Javits Convention
Center.


////  Image World                                     October 4-8, 1993

Image World New York, Javits Convention Center, New York City.


////  NetWorld '93                                    October 5-7, 1993

NetWorld 93, Dallas Convention Center, Dallas TX.


////  Lap & Palmtop Expo                              October 7-8, 1993

Lap & Palmtop Mobile Computing Expo at the Chicago Mart/Expo Center
in Chicago, Illinois. Exhibitors will show the latest in mobile
computing, software, pen, peripherals and communications from the
industry's leading manufacturers. In conjunction with the exhibits is
the Mobile Systems Solutions Conference series. Featuring over 80
leading industry experts speakers, the conference provides vital
information needed to build or improve your world of mobile computing.


////  PC Expo                                       October 19-21, 1993

PC Expo-Chicago, McCormick Place East, Chicago IL.


////  CD-ROM Expo                                   October 27-29, 1993

CD-ROM Exposition at the World Trade Center, Boston MA.


////  EDA&T Asia '93                                October 27-29, 1993

EDA&T Asia '93.  The Electronic Design and Test Conference Exhibition  
at the Taipei International Convention Center in Taiwan.  Exhibit space  
is still available.  For more information contact: Betsy Donahue,  
Chicago, Fax: 708-475-2794.
 
 
////  November 1-3, 1993

Online/CD-ROM '93, Washington  DC.
 
 
////  GeoCon/93                                     November 7-10, 1993

GeoCon/93, an international conference and showcase for software
products developed outside the U.S. at the Royal Sonesta Hotel,
Cambridge, Mass. The conference program will include three days of
workshops on topics of interest to overseas developers entering the
U.S. market. Workshop presenters will discuss such issues as how to
negotiate distribution and licensing contracts, setting up a business
in  the U.S., manufacturing and fulfillment, technical support,
packaging, research sources, and how to market through direct,
retail, and catalog channels. For additional information, contact Tom
Stitt, associate publisher, Soft letter, 17 Main St., Watertown, Mass.
02272-9154; Telephone 617-924-3944; Fax 617-924-7288, or Colleen
O'Shea, director, Soft letter Europe, 2 um Bierg, 7641 Chirstnach,
Luxembourg, Telephone: 35.2.87119; Fax: 35.2.87048.
 
 
////  COMDEX                                       November 15-19, 1993

COMDEX Fall '93. Las Vegas Nevada.
 
 
////  Mobile '94                                       March 6-10, 1994

Mobile '94 Conference and Exposition at the San Jose Convention Center.
 
 
////  GEC '94                                           June 4-11, 1994

GEC '94, Milam ITALY.  Centrexpo, Sheila Palka/Delia Associates, PO Box  
338, Route 22 West, Whitehouse, NJ 08888; (800) 524-2193, (908) 
534-6856  (Fax). 
 
 
If you have an event you would like to include on the AEO Calender of 
Events, please send email via GEnie to Z-NET, CompuServe 75300,1642, or 
via FNET to node 593 or AtariNet node 51:1/13.0. International shows
also covered.


                            --==--==--==--==--


 |||  Twenty Questions to Atari Corp.
 |||  Courtesy: The CompuServe Atari Forums
/ | \ -------------------------------------------------------------------
      -------------------------------------------------------------------


[From a US user]:
What features do you think the Falcon030 has that would convince a
FIRST TIME computer buyer to purchase this PC?

        From James Grunke:

        Clearly, the features that are going to sell units are the DSP,
        SDMA sound engine, the BLiTTER and graphics capabilities,
        MultiTOS, and MIDI ports. As well, it will be key for us to
        showcase third party products  that demonstrate elegant
        applications for this aggressive new hardware.

        Simply, what will convince the first time buyer to purchase this
        PC is the ability to do high end applications for a lot less money
        than what might be available on other platforms.

        From Bob Brodie:

        We've included Atari Works as part of the Falcon hard disk bundle
    so that customers will have quality productivity software
    right out of the box.  Other software included with the
    Falcon030 provides a good sampling of games, sound
    applications, and a high quality font technology in
    SpeedoGDOS.

        It really depends on what the consumer is looking for to be really
    honest with you.  Personally, I think one of the things that has
    helped sell DOS machines are some of the applications on them.  We
    feel that the Falcon030 represents tremendous capabilities of a
    musician!  To the point that it really is a professional level
    work station for music.  For customers that are getting a computer
    for music, the Falcon030 is the clear choice. After that, it gets
    much tougher.  We have a bunch of true color paint programs
    coming on board, and the voice mail application from DOA that is
    very interesting.  Also, there are about a large number of
    entertainment titles under development.  The Falcon will be a
    terrific game machine, too!

        Perhaps one of our best assets is the way in which you can run so
        many O/S's from the Atari.  Certainly, we're going to need other
        applications from our developers to address other areas of
        software where we are weak.
        
        Personally, I think the thing that will continue to attract users
        is the simplicity and ease of use of an Atari Computer.


[Another user asks]:
Three and one half years ago I purchased an Atari STFM because I was
excited about joining the world of midi and I felt that Notator and
Atari provided the best platform.  As the hardware and software world
expanded I went for all the Notator upgrades and one year ago bought a
MegaSTE 4/50 for more RAM and speed.  I like my machine very much but
am very disappointed that it became a fossil in 5 months with no
support from Atari.  What can you tell me and others that will make us
feel that this is not likely to happen to us if we purchase a Falcon
for our Music and Midi computer now that there are other "030',"040",
and "486" machines with good music and Midi support?

From Bob Brodie:
        
    I'm not really sure what you mean by "fossil", other than the fact
    that it is no longer being manufactured.  Have you had specific
    support problems with the Mega STE?  It's really been one of our
    most reliable machines, and we have a qualified staff of
    technicians here in Sunnyvale that can fix just about any problem
    that you might have with the Mega STE (or any other Atari CPU for
    that matter).

    On the software side, we're supporting the Mega STE in many of the
    new software products that are coming out.  MultiTOS runs on a
    Mega STE, SpeedoGDOS works on a Mega STE, and so does Atari Works.
    That hardly qualifies as "no support from Atari"!

    On the hardware side, we built the Mega STE to accept industry
    standard 3-1/2" SCSI hard disk drives specifically so you would
    have an easier time getting the HD you want. You should be able to
    upgrade to even a 1.2 Gigabyte drive in your Mega STE.  It also
    comes with a VME port, so you can install one of the graphics
    cards to upgrade your video as well.   Again, the support for the
    machine is there on the hardware side as well.

    Like all computer companies, we are constantly working on new
        technologies that will improve on todays products.  However, as
        long as the Mega STE that you bought continues to serve your
        needs, what is the problem?  With the Atari Falcon030, we've
        introduced a new family of computers  with an additional set of
        capabilities.  It is a fact of our industry that what you buy
        today will be replaced by another machine.  Check out how quickly
        Apple is bringing new machines to the market; virtually every six
        months!

From James Grunke:

        Notator running on a Mega STE is still one of the most powerful
        music combinations in the world!!  A lot of records are being made
        with this duo.  As well as products from Steinberg, Barefoot, Dr.
        T's, and many others.

        If that's a fossil, how come it still eats 486s for lunch?   At
        home, I still use Notator on a Mega ST (with TOS 1.2), and even
        that will smoke a 486!  :)

        With the Falcon's new hardware, and our track record in music,
        I'm quite confident that the Falcon will remain a viable tool in
        your arsenal for many years to come.
        
[Another US member asks]:
Will ATARI still offer support for it's existing lines (ST , MEGA,
TT...) or will all their effort be put behind the FALCON?
        
From Bob Brodie:

        In terms of service, we will support all of the existing lines.
        However, I don't think you will see us bring out new products
        *specifically* for the older machines.
    
        We did created TOS 2.06 expressly so one of our strategic
        partners (Artifex) could produce an adapter board to allow owners
        of the ST series of computers to upgrade to the new desktop. In
        TOS 2.05, the system would crash if it found non-STE hardware.
        That was changed in TOS 2.06 (as well as some bug fixes)
        specifically so users of older machines could enjoy the benefits
        of the new TOS.

        I also indicated that our new software products, Atari Works,
        Speedo GDOS, and MultiTOS will also work on older machines as
        well. You may want to consider upgrading an 8Mhz machine with an
        accelerator board, though.
        
        For several years now, we have said that the minimum hardware
    standard for computer users was an STE. There will be some
    features on some products that will simply not work on an ST
    family computer because the hardware isn't up to the task (like
    not enough colors, no DMA sound).
        
        We will provide service for all of our products as long as
    practical.  However, there are of course, limitations to that.
        
        We still get phone calls asking for repairs for the Atari 5200 (a
    product that stopped manufacturing over 8 years ago!) We do sell
    joy sticks for it, btw.   Nothing will last forever, but we will
    support the machines as long as it is practical.

[Multiple members ask]:
Will the programs that run on the ST line run on the FALCON? (What
level of backwards compatibility can we realistically expect?  How
does it compare to the TT compatibility-wise?)

From Bob Brodie:

    The Falcon030 is much more STE compatible that the TT030 is.  We
    really feel that the STE is the correct compatibility barometer,
    not the ST. Again, this relates to the hardware capabilities of
    the machines.

    We expect Pacific Software Supply to release a study that they
    have done on software compatibility  should provide a more
    concrete answer to your question.  They are the leading suppliers
    of Atari software in North America, so they  have lots of products
    to test!

    As a rule, applications usually work fine.  Games tend to have the
    greatest area of drop-off in compatibility.  We found a few things
    that didn't work, but were mostly older products that hadn't been
    updated in a long time, like Microsoft Write.  Some utilities will
    also fail on the Falcon, too.

[From the UK]:
The decision to include MultiTOS on disk and not to commit to ROM
might suggest a lack of confidence in that product on Atari's part.
Can we expect to see MultiTOS in ROM in the future (maybe switchable
with an older TOS) or is multitasking seen as secondary to the future
of Atari computers?

From Bob Brodie:

        We do not have a lack of confidence in MultiTOS, and regret that
        you see our decision as such.

    Many other OS's are disk based.  We felt that having MultiTOS on
        disk allowed easier     updates.  We have TOS 4 in ROM for users that
        choose not to use MultiTOS.  It's not the same as a PC or a Mac
        where you can't do anything without loading the OS from disk.

        I don't see this as making multitasking "secondary" at all.
        Rather I see it as another manifestation of our view that the
        Falcon030 is primarily a home computer.   We've indicated that
        there will be other products in the future that will aimed for the
        higher end.

        Multitasking will be an important tool for those machines, as well
        as any accelerator boards for the Atari Falcon030.

[From the sysop staff]:
Specifically, what software can the purchaser of a new Falcon030
expect to get with his purchase?  And if any of the items are not
included with his purchase, when/how can he expect to receive them?
    
From Bob Brodie:

    Specifically, users in North America get MultiTOS, SpeedoGDOS,
        FalconD2D, Audio Fun Machine, BreakOut, Landmines, CalAppt,
        Talking Clock, ProCalc, System Audio Manager (S.A.M.) and Atari
        Works.

        Falcon D2D is not shipping with the units at this point in time,
    and neither is S.A.M. (System Audio Manager).  Bugs in both
    products are preventing our shipping them.  These are not Atari
    in-house products, they are contracted from outside developers, so
    we're not in total control of this situation (i.e. Don't come out
    of your office unless it's fixed!).  We do expect the developers
    to rectify the problems to fulfill their contracts.

    Customers will be find cards in their Falcons so they can mail in
        to have these programs sent to them as soon as they are completed.

What recording software is being bundled with the first shipments of
Falcons?  What exactly can be done (with HD recording) right off the
shelf?

        From James Grunke:

        Off the shelf, FalconD2D will provide stereo record and playback,
        with limited editing, such as cut and paste.  It does a great job
        of giving the consumer the ability to do intro level digital audio
        applications.
        
        For more advanced users, they should look to products from
        Steinberg, D2D, Digitape by Trade It,  Yamaha, and others.
        
        You can expect Falcon integrated MIDI/Digital Audio products to be
        some of the most aggressive on the planet in terms of features per
        dollar.

From Bob Brodie:
    
        FalconD2D *should be* shipping, but is not. As quickly as it is
    available, we will provide it to the owners of Atari Falcon030s.
    We've always had the point of view that FalconD2D was an
    introductory recording package to give a glimpse of what was
    possible with Digital Audio with the Falcon030.  So while we're
    upset that FalconD2D isn't shipping, neither is it the end of the
    world for higher end users.

    On the HD recording front, there are other applications, like
    MusiCOM from COMPO Software that are excellent products.  When
    BYTE Magazine wrote about the Falcon030, MusiCOM was the product
    they used for their testing.  At less than $75, it's a real
    bargain.  Since it has additional capabilities not found in
    FalconD2D, MusiCOM is a reasonable purchase for many musicians
    anyway.


What does the hardware audio interface currently consist of?  Was the
bass boost scrapped?

From James Grunke:

        The hardware interface on the Falcon uses mike and headphone
        mini-jacks, exactly the same as walkman-like products.  The 16 bit
        stereo CODEC is good quality Crystal product.  Yes, I'm pleased to
        say that the bass boost has been scrapped.

        As of last testing, current specs are: 
                        
                                Signal to noise ratio 84dB
                                Frequency response 20-20K
                                Crosstalk -60dB
                                  

Most outboard MIDI interfaces have multiple INs and OUTs for increased
numbers of MIDI channels.  Are there plans to include multiple MIDI
jacks on the Falcon (or future versions of the Falcon)?

From James Grunke:

        The plans are to use third party outboard MIDI interfaces with
        multiple INs and OUTs.  Check with Steinberg and E-magic regarding
        their plans for products in this area.

        There are no plans to include additional MIDI ports.  On an
        interesting side note, we did, however, rewire our MIDI ports back
        to spec!  No more bastardized MIDI ports!


Will there be a cartridge port on every Falcon (and future models)?

From Bob Brodie:

        There is a cartridge port on every Atari Falcon030 made, and has
        been since the product was first shown.

    We have no comment on any specifications of future computer models
        at this time. I know that isn't what you want to hear...sorry.


It was recently announced that Atari Corp. licensed compression
software from Cinepak.  Is this for the Falcon line or the Jaguar?

From Bob Brodie:

        Actually, the name of the product that we licensed was Cinepak.
        It is from SuperMac.

        We will use that technology on both the Falcon030 and the Jaguar.


The Falcon is supposed to have the same extra joysticks ports that the
STe has.  My question is, are there any plans to use these ports?
(don't tell me about third party companies) I'd really like to be able
to use IBM joystick/accessories.

From Bob Brodie:

    The Falcon *does* have the same analog joystick ports that the STE
    has.  Yes, there are plans to use these.  They are not the same
    pin outs as on IBM joysticks/accessories, though.  We have 15
    pins, they have 9.  We showed, as early as COMDEX, a special
    controller pad that we are manufacturing for the Falcon030.  It
    will be used by a number of games coming out, like LlamaZap.

        The controller has a joypad similar to the Lynx's on it, pause and
        option buttons, three fire buttons labelled A-B-C, and a keypad
        with numbers 1-9 , plus * and # It's designed to be a two handed
        controller.
        
        Every game developer that is working on the Falcon has one of
        these controllers, and will use it for their games.

        Re your comment about "don't tell me about third party companies",
        OK...but keep in mind that we're primarily a hardware company, not
        a software company.  We try not to compete with our developers.
        It's their job to come out with products that make use of the
        hardware.

[A US developer/vendor asks]:
Without any significant changes to the Atari corporate structure in
the last seven   years, why should Atari owners believe that Atari
will change from its previous pattern of little (or no) marketing,
late delivery, and short shelf life products?

From James Grunke:

        There have been significant changes in the corporate structure of
        Atari over the last seven years; engineering, management,
        distribution, manufacturing, and sales.  This industry is
        incredibly dynamic.

        We don't need to repeat the stories of the US market.  However, we
        remind you that in Europe, we have always maintained a strong
        market position.  Sam has always made quite clear that when we
        have leapfrog technology in good supply then and only then does it
        make sense to invest in marketing programs such as advertising and
        PR.

        As a developer, you should be aware that we have made a bold move
        with our dealer agreement to expand and strengthen our North
        American dealer base. This approach is similar to successful
        companies such as Pioneer, Yamaha, and divisions of Sony.  What
        this means to the end users in the long run is more healthy,
        quality dealers in their area for them to choose from.

        Late delivery?  Call Microsoft!  This ain't the pizza bidness!!!
        <grin>

        Short life products?  Why are dealers still screaming for 1040STEs
        that are four year old technology?

        Seriously, we are as frustrated as anyone by the product delays.

        PRODUCT IS NOW SHIPPING!

        
From Bob Brodie:

        I get the feeling that when you speak about the corporate
        structure, you're really speaking about the Tramiels.  There seems
        to be a feeling among our userbase that they are incompetent, and
        all the European success is a result of good managers being far
        enough away from Sunnyvale to do what they want to do.
  
        I cannot let such a misconception continue.

    Atari is emerging from a period of about four years of when it's
    products were not technologically superior any longer, and where
    we had extreme problems in our engineering group.

    A little over four years ago, we lost most of the key staff
    members we had in our engineering group.  When they left, they
    left "no trails" of their progress on their work.  We had no idea
    what had been tried, if it had worked and if not, why not, etc.
    In short, we had no clue about what was happening with our
    products!

    So, first, we had to figure out what was going on.  Then we took
    steps to ensure that we would never be placed in this position
    again, which meant that we had to enact fundamental changes in the
    way we did things with our staff.  This was not an easy task, and
    certainly didn't happen on the first attempt. Along the way, we
    had to acquire some new people that we could work with, too.  That
    didn't happen on the first attempt either.

        We also went through and took a long look at where we needed to
        be and where the market was heading.  It seemed to make sense to
        proceed with some projects that had been heavily invested in, like
        the TT.  You might recall that the TT originally was supposed to
        be a 68020 based machine.  As our engineering situation evolved,
        the product did, too.  Other products that had been discussed
        were scrapped.

        We made decisions on what we needed to do product wise, and also
        took a good look at the economy.  About the point in time we were
        beginning to come out with some interesting technology, the
        economy was in a tailspin.  In fact, in California, it's still
        just awful!!!  To us, it doesn't make a lot of sense to
        aggressively market products that you don't believe it, or that
        the economy will not support.  In fact, it's pretty silly!  You
        can *waste* an incredible amount of money, truly _vast_ sums of
        dollars in this business if you aren't careful.  We've been very
        careful about what we've been over the last three years or so.

        This is not to say that we haven't made mistakes.  We put a lot
        of effort into the STylus, a pen based system that really looked
        promising.  However, it looking at the pen based market, the
        products were simply not selling.  In fact, a company that was
        founded on a pen based product had a lot of our former engineers,
        Momenta, was born and died during this time frame.  The pen based
        systems still aren't selling well to this day.  We created the ST
        Book, based on the premise of long battery life for users, only
        to find that our US dealers insisted on a back lit screen that
        would have killed the battery life of the product.  We created
        the Panther game system, which would have competed against the
        Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis as a 16 bit game product.  We
        killed that project when it was obvious that we needed to
        leapfrog the competition again, and go beyond the 16 bit
        systems. We know that we've been far from perfect.

        We have harbored our resources in preparation of a proper launch
        for two milestone products: The Atari Falcon030, and the Jaguar.
        You will see us market those in an aggressive fashion.  And as the
        sales of the Falcon030 grow, you will see those sales fund
        additional efforts.

        So, in my view, the corporate structure that is in place is
        exactly what has kept the company afloat in contentious times
        where many of the hardware giants have fallen.  They had the
        vision to forsee the poor economy, and the wisdom to recognize the
        limitations of their products.  They now have innovative new
        products in the queue that the marketplace will embrace.

        I think your comment about the last seven years is an
        exaggeration.  If  you look back that far, you're in the hey-day
        of the 520ST and 1040ST. Atari made all the right moves in the US
        then, and we can do it again.
  
In this day and age of extremely short 'windows of opportunity' to
bring a product to market, Atari seems to be taking unusually long to
ramp up Falcon production.  Is Atari having difficulty getting Falcons
produced, are you deliberately keeping production runs small, or will
large numbers (defined as thousands) of Falcons be arriving for sale
to consumers any time within the near future (defined as 'within six
to eight weeks')?

From Bob Brodie:

        I don't agree with your comment about "the short window of
        opportunity" comment on the hardware side of the business.  On the
        software side, there is no question that it is an extremely small
        window.  On the hardware side...not so.  Witness the PC clones;
        all the innovation going on over there is just an ever faster
        microprocessor.  The real innovation is going on in software.

        With the Falcon030, we have innovative hardware.  The window of
        opportunity is quite large, and will be so for quite some time to
        come.

        We are keeping production runs small at this point, until the
        economy picks up.  This seems to be a trend in the industry right
        now with other companies as well, like Compaq.  We're certainly
        not the only hardware company that acting cautiously in regards to
        production right now.

        Globally, we will be shipping large numbers in the near future (in
        accordance with your definitions).

From James Grunke:

        Production is ramping up, and we expect larger numbers to arrive
        over the summer.  The first waves of Falcons were gobbled up
        immediately, and there are more sell-thru units "on the boat".

        
In the UK we have Falcon users with both TOS 4.01 and 4.02 and just
starting to circulate round the comms scene is the falcon patch, there
are claims that this patch doesn't fix all the bugs in those releases
of TOS, can Bill spread any light on this? Also does the patch fix any
of the known bugs in TOS 4.04 which is shipping on the next batch of
machines (I presume?).

From Bill Rehbock:

        FPATCH.PRG does fix issues with the serial port with bconmap()

        This applies to all versions of TOS 4 at this time.  TOS 4.04 is
        available for $60 US, although the policies and prices in the UK
        may differ.

        The tweaks up to TOS 4.04 relate mostly to esoteric kind of
        things, like overlay bit control, and involves vset masks mode,
        although there are not that many applications that use it.  The
        other changes that FPATCH takes care of are connecting the audio
        system in such a fashion that STE and TT sound applications can
        make sound, and then bcomap() got changed  going into TOS 4.04,
        but not enough.  So you will still need FPATCH for TOS 4.04.

        Overall, there are very few changes between 4.01 and 4.04.

From Bob Brodie:

        Having bugs in your OS is just a fact of life.  Every single OS
        has them, bar none.  I think that it is unavoidable.  DOS 6 is
        taking a terrible beating over problems it has,  Windows 3.1 is
        far from bug free, and Apple's System 7 has had their share of
        problems, too.  Windows NT is getting raked over the coals in the
        computer media severly because of it's bugs. (Granted, it's in
        beta form)

        This isn't to say that we're not looking to eliminate all the
        bugs, but that it's almost unavoidable that they will happen in
        some degree.

Does ATARI plan on telling the general public (not everyone has access
to an on-line service or a BBS) about the new FALCON or is it just
between us?  Specifically, what are your advertising plans?  Which
magazines? TV? etc.

From James Grunke:

        Atari does plan to tell everyone about the Falcon.  However not
        until we have enough product to fulfill that demand.  Remember the
        Stacy ads that created a large demand, and then we couldn't fill
        it?  We don't want a repeat of that!!

        In terms of specific plans, the initial strategies will involve
        teaming up with key developers to attack niche markets, such as
        music, video, graphics, etc.. Typically, this approach would
        utilize print ads (both national and regional), special events
        (i.e. trade shows),  and key referenceable accounts such as
        artist endorsements, cutting edge educational institutions.

        When general consumer applications (and I mean killer
        applications) are available and our production is tooled up to
        meet demand, only then does it make sense to do a national TV
        awareness campaign.

From Bob Brodie:

        On a local level, we have a market development fund program in
        place with our dealers that is very flexible...almost like make us
        an offer, and let's talk about it.  We're certainly willing to
        work with dealers to help fund their well planned efforts.

        Even though our dealer sign up campaign is going along well,
        there are still some states that we don't have dealers.  In my
        mind, this precludes a national campaign at this point in time.

        I suspect that our primary media will be print, and as far as
        which publications, that really depends on what is the best deal
        at the time.  Typically, you purchase a "media bundle" with a
        number of publications in it that fits the basic demographics of
        your target audience.  This is something that changes frequently
        (the media bundle that is) so it's impossible to tell what the
        publications might be at this point in time.  Certainly, we'll
        continue to target the music publications.  But as for the rest of
        the mags, I just don't know the answer to that today.  Cost is an
        obvious factor in choosing which bundle that we would go with, as
        in how many people per dollar you get in the bundle.

        Television advertising is extremely expensive.  In looking at an
        industry trade publication showing the top ten computer (desktop)
        vendors for last year, only 2 of the top ten are companies that I
        recognize as doing television advertising; IBM and Apple.  Among
        the other companies, there are names that I recognize from their
        co-opt advertisements with their dealers or chain stores, but not
        stand alone advertising on their own.  There are also names there
        (like Olivetti) that I don't think I have ever seen an ad for
        anywhere in the US in any form!

        One of the leading retailers in the San Francisco Bay area is
        Fry's Electronics.  I don't believe they do ANY TV advertising.
        Very heavy print ads (multiple full page color ads in the
        newspapers) and hip, attention getting radio advertisments as
        well.  I guess the point that I'm getting at is that I know our
        users *want* to see us do TV ads, but I'm not so sure that TV is a
        wise investment for us.

        We had projected to be at a point in time to be ready to start our
        advertising campaign.  However, the continuing poor economy
        warrants a cautious approach.  Again, this is a part of the
        business where it is very, very easy to spend truly _VAST_ sums of
        money, and get very little return on the dollar.

Previews of the Falcon have been spotted in many of the major music
magazines, but the machine has yet to undergo a technical review, if
I'm not mistaken.  Such reviews can greatly speed the acceptance of a
new machine into the marketplace.  Are review units now being sent to
these magazines (Keyboard, EM, EQ, Mix, H&SR), and when do you expect
reviews to begin appearing?

From James Grunke:

        Firstly, Keyboard, EM, and MIX are all located in the Bay Area,
        right by Atari. I have travelled internationally with editors from
        KEYBOARD,   I occasionally lunch with  key EM and MIX editors.  As
        far as H&SR, Editor Lorenz Rychner was my advisor  at the Grove
        School of Music.  EQ gave the Atari Falcon030 a Blue Ribbon Award
        at AES and continues to give Atari fair coverage.

        So the relationships are there.  In order to give an accurate
        technical review a writer requires a production machine.  Now,
        with the release of the Falcon, and TOS 4.04, developers require a
        short time to make sure that their products are solid on the
        latest rev.  I expect this to take 30 days or so, at which time I
        will prepare evaluation units for the publications to hammer on.
        With a lead time of 60-90 days, look for the coverage toward late
        summer/early fall.

        We want to be well prepared, a bad review is just as influential
        as a good review.

Now that the first wave of Dealer Agreements has gone out and been
returned, what CONTINUING efforts are being made to expand the dealer
network?

From Bob Brodie:
        
        Actually, we're well past the first wave of dealer agreements.
        The first wave consisted of the dealers that we were already doing
        business with.  We've been signing up new dealers (i.e. never
        carried Atari) for quite a while now.

        We've signed on a team of manufacturers representatives, that are
        among the best in the business to help us grow and train our
        dealer network.  As they are regionally located, they are better
        suited to know who and what is available in each locale. We are
        not looking  for explosive growth at this point, though. Once we
        get to a certain number of  retailers, we'll cap our growth until
        we can support additional resellers.

        At this point in time, we have over 140 locations in over 40
        states,  which is dramatically better than we were doing a year
        ago.
        
        We've also made arrangements to ship Falcons via a single
        distributor, with the provision that he has the dealers sign up
        according to all of our requirements (real store fronts, etc.).

To what degree is Atari pursuing music stores, and how much of the
effort is directed at computer stores?

From James Grunke:

        The initial demand from the music channel has been staggering!!!

        Following the path of least resistance, and emphasizing the fact
        that the music software houses are shrink wrapped and ready to go,
        we are aggressively attacking this side of the business.
        Falcon030 opens up computer music to a whole new customer,
        including guitarists, vocalists, educators, etc..  We intend to
        grow this channel into a major distribution center for Atari.

        Our efforts in the music channel by no means downplays the regard
        we have for computer dealers.  Those Atari computer dealers that
        have been  with us for a long time are a high priority in our
        allocations.  They actually benefit from the new music users who
        seek them out for support in non-musical applications.

        We are planning a drive for more computer dealers, but we need
        for the consumer software side, i.e. applications and
        entertainment software, to catch up with the level of the music
        software.  Ideally, we should be at a 25-75% music to computer
        dealer ratio.

From Bob Brodie:

        In terms of the amount of effort, we're putting a lot more effort
        into signing on computer dealers than music dealers.  However, the
        music dealers are certainly a much easier sale.  They've been
        quicker to come on board with the Falcon030 than the computer
        dealers have.  So, the music side of the business is just growing
        faster than the computer side right now.

        I agree with James, in that this is primarily due to the
        applications  that are available for the Falcon in music.  They
        are truly world class applications.

        In a number of instances, having a quality music dealer in the
        area actually makes it easier for the computer dealer.  The music
        dealers typically carry MIDI specific products.  Yet, musicians
        are just like regular computer users....well, not quite regular,
        but almost! <grin>  They want to play games, write letters, buy
        modems, printers, and all kinds of other peripherals that music
        dealers don't carry.  So a quality music dealer works well with
        a computer dealer in a symbiotic relationship. The music dealer
        might sell the customer the Falcon030, but the computer dealer
        will have additional sales opportunities with the customer as
        well.

What efforts, if any, will be made to have industry standard software
(i.e.- Windows and Windows NT, Word Perfect) made available to
purchasers of the Atari Falcon platform?

From Bob Brodie:

        You're bringing up a couple of different things in your question;
        applications software (Word Perfect) and operating systems
        (Windows NT).

        First, we've had the ability for a long time to run different
        operating systems on our products. We foresee that continuing into
        the future with the Falcon030.  COMPO Software is bringing a 286
        board and a 486 board to run DOS, and Windows 3.1.  I assume that
        since the board has an actual PC chip on it, will be able to run
        other things as well, like OS/2, NeXT Step, etc.  But I want to be
        clear that I haven't seen those things run on Falcon Speed.  I
        have seen Windows 3.1 run on Falcon Speed, and was impressed.

        Windows NT might be starting to ship just now, although Microsoft
        enjoys an excellent reputation, I can't in good conscience go
        along with describing it as industry standard at this point in
        time.

        As for Word Perfect, I think the only factor that they are
        interested in is a large installed base of users. Once they see
        that, they will resume development for Word Perfect.

What is the current status of the "other platform" hardwares
emulators (PC and MAC) for the Falcon030?

From Bob Brodie:

        The PC emulator is called Falcon Speed, and is being produced by
        COMPO Software.  You can contact their US office at 415-355-0862,
        or fax them at 415-355-0869.  At this point in time, we don't
        believe the product to be shipping.  We have seen it at several
        trade shows, and it looks very impressive.  The 286 board is
        something that you would expect to be wimpy, but with the very
        fast Falcon030 bus, it's pretty quick.

        The Mac board is a product of Gadgets by Small.  I haven't heard
        from Dave in quite a while, neither has Bill Rehbock.  We had
        hoped to see him at NAMM in January, but he wasn't able to attend.
        I'm afraid that we're no better informed on this that you are.  

        I can tell you that from our end, we got him one of the first
        Falcons in the US, so he could pursue this project.  We'd really
        like to see it done.

        Dave has an account here on CIS, so perhaps you can email him a
        request for an update on his product.


                            --==--==--==--==--


 |||     AtariNet - Overview
 |||     By: Bill Scull, Terry May, Erik Williams
/ | \    Edited by Ron Kovacs
         ---------------------------------------------------------------

//// What is AtariNet?

It is a Fido technology network for any BBS that supports the Atari line
of home computers.  It has several message areas that are shared around
the world including Atari Corp. USA.  Here is a list of the messages
areas along with a brief description:

 A.4SALE.COMMERCIAL  Commercial Advertisements
 A.4SALE.PERSONAL    Personal Items For Sale
 A.ADM.ECHO          AtariNet Echo Discussion
 A.ADM.FDS           AtariNet FDS Announcements
 A.ADM.HOST          AtariNet Hosts
 A.ADM.SYSOP         AtariNet SysOps
 A.ADM.TEST          AtariNet Test Echo
 A.ATARI             Atari General Discussion
 A.ATARI.DTP         Atari Desktop Publishing
 A.ATARI.EXPLORER    Atari Explorer Magazine
 A.ATARI.FALCON      Atari Falcon Computers
 A.ATARI.GRAPHICS    Atari Graphics Hardware/Software
 A.ATARI.SOUND       Atari Sound Hardware/Software
 A.ATARI.TECH        Atari Technical Discussions
 A.BBS               Atari BBS Programs & BBS Ads
 A.BBS.DOORS         Atari BBS Doors (Externals)
 A.BBS.NETWORKING    Atari Fido-Style Networking
 A.MISC              General Discussion
 A.MISC.FILEFIND     AtariNet File-Finder
 A.PROG              Atari Programming
 A.PROG.C            Atari C Programming
 A.PROG.GFA          Atari GFA Programming
 A.SUP.AUTOMAGIC     AutoMagic Support
 A.SUP.BINKLEY       BinkleyTerm-ST Support
 A.SUP.FIDODOOR      FIDOdoor Support
 A.SUP.JETMAIL       JetMail Support
 A.SUP.MAXI          MaxiMiser/MaxiDoor/PhidoQWK Support
 
//// AtariNet File Distribution System
 
The following file areas are either currently on the AtariNet FileBone,
or are awaiting approval. If you'd like to receive one of these areas,
please contact your host. Hosts are not required to carry all areas,
however all areas will be available from 51:203/0.
 
//// Current File Echoes:

 FileEcho     Description                          Origination at
 =======================================================================
 A_NODES      AtariNet node administration         Bill Scull, 51:1/0
 ABBSUTIL     BBS-Related Utilities                Bill Jones, 51:203/0
 ABBSGAME     BBS-Related Games (Doors)            (open)
 ABBSOTHR     BBS-Related other software           (open)
 AFDOOR       FidoDoor Updates (includes ST-QWK)   Bryan Hall, 51:3/6
 AUTILS       ST Utilities                         Erik Williams, 51:102/2
 AGAMES       ST Games                             Rich Tietjens, 51:2/10
 ANETWORK     FidoNet-Related Software             Bill Jones, 51:203/0
 AZNET        Z*Net And Atari Explorer Online      Ron Kovacs, 51:1/13
 AOTHER       Other ST Software                    (open)
 AGRAPHIC     Graphics and related programs        Terry May, 51:2/0
 ASOUND       Sounds, samples and related programs Terry May, 51:2/0
 APROG        Sources and programming info         Bryan Hall, 51:3/6
 =======================================================================
 
As you can see we have something for just about everyone and are
growing. We have nodes worldwide that are more than willing to assist
you get into AtariNet and get everything working properly. In the
next AEO, we'll have a list of all the current AtariNet nodes!
 
 
                            --==--==--==--==--


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--       --==--==--    CompuServe Sign-Up Information    --==--==--      --
--                                                                       --
-- To sign up for CompuServe service, call (voice call) (800) 848-8199.  --
-- Ask for operator #198. You will be sent a $15.00 value CIS membership --
-- kit for free.                                                         --
--                                                                       --
--       --==--==--    CompuServe Sign-Up Information    --==--==--      --
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


                            --==--==--==--==--


 |||   Review: MiGraph's OCR Jr.
 |||   By: Rob Schilling
/ | \  ------------------------------------------------------------------
       ------------------------------------------------------------------

Text entry has become one of the most tedious chores for computer
users. Those of us needing to get pre-existing printed information
into our systems, have had to manually re-enter (type) the
information, although this work had already been done once before, as
evidenced by the printed document.  Enter a small miracle of
technology, Optical Character Recognition, or OCR. Migraph Inc., has
again come to the rescue of the Atari community by offering a product
previously available only on PC and Mac platforms. In this review, we
will look at Migraph's OCR Jr., version 1.24.

//// What Can Ocr Do?

Optical Character Recognition technology allows the user to
electronically convert printed text into computer recognizable ASCII
text files. These ASCII files may then be exported into your favorite
word processing or desktop publishing program for further editing and
manipulation.  Migraph OCR Jr. uses Omnifont technology, a process
which utilizes a mathematical definition of characters in the
recognition and identification of printed text. This allows for
faster processing and a higher accuracy rate than with previously
available technologies.

The program comes pre-trained to recognize over twenty popular
typefaces, from Helvetica to Times and beyond, in sizes ranging from
10-18 points. In addition, OCR Jr. can be trained to recognize most
other fonts not included in its standard font dictionary.

//// Up And Running

Getting OCR Jr. set up on your system is a breeze, thanks to the
inclusion of a handy installation program on the master disk. One
double click and a couple of disk swaps later, the program is on your
hard drive in the location you specified, ready to go to work.

Boot up the program and you'll be presented with a screen that is not
unlike that of Migraph's Touch Up. Across the top of the screen lies
the standard menu bar. To the left are several icons which allow
direct access to the program's most important functions. The
remainder of the screen is a dedicated GEM window for the display and
evaluation of scanned text.

In order to use the Jr. version of OCR, you must scan directly into
the program using the Migraph, AlphaData or Golden Image hand
scanners. The manual recommends scanning at 300 dpi for 10 point text
or greater, and at 400 dpi for text below 10 points. There is a
scanner setup dialog box which allows easy adjustment of scan length,
dpi setting, and portrait or vertical scanner orientation.

Once the scanner and the program are adjusted to the appropriate
settings, you then call up the control panel to give OCR Jr.
additional information needed to efficiently process the text. The
program needs to know if the scanned text is normal size (10-18
points) or small (below 10 points), and if the pitch is fixed (e.g.,
Courier) or proportional (e.g., Times). Since Migraph OCR can
recognize not only English, but Dutch, German and French, you must
instruct the program which language to use.

Additionally, the program features Interactive Learning. This process
will allow you to identify unrecognized characters, correct
interpretation mistakes, and train the program to recognize unfamiliar
and new characters. While this method is somewhat slower than setting
the program to Auto, it is far more accurate and will save a lot of
proofreading and editing time down the line.

Finally, after setting all of the above parameters, you may initiate
the scan. Using a scanning tray or straight edge is highly recommended
as program operation is dependant on scan quality.  Columns may be
scanned in portrait or landscape mode. This helps to accommodate the
inherent size limitations of a hand scanner.

//// Text Processing

Once a suitable scan is obtained, the region(s) of the scanned image
to be processed must be identified. OCR Jr. features two simple
drawing tools which allow the user to easily define by outlining, the
area or areas of the image to be processed. If more than one text
region has been designated for translation, the user may then select
the order in which these areas will be processed.

Next you will need to select either Automatic or Interactive OCR as
described above. When in Automatic mode, the program functions very
quickly. It will replace unrecognized characters with its best guess
based on lexicons. (Linguistic databases which provide additional OCR
information based on syntax and other factors.) If the program can't
guess, it will replace the unrecognized character(s) with an @ symbol.
Additional editing and correction must then be performed from within a
word processor or text editor.

If Interactive Learning mode is selected, the program will present the
user with unrecognized characters as they are encountered during
processing. A window will display previously discerned text,
highlighting the word, in context, which contains the unidentified
character. A dialog box within the window will display the program's
best guess at the character(s) in question.  The user may then accept
the character, or replace it with the correct letter or symbol. At
this point, the program may be trained to recognize this character
when encountered again during processing of the current text. (At the
conclusion of processing, newly defined characters can be saved in
special user-named dictionaries, for future use.) When OCR Jr. has
finished its work, a dialog will appear asking if you want to output
the processed text. Selecting OK will complete the procedure.

//// Program Performance

The function performed by Migraph OCR Jr. is simply remarkable.
Character recognition requires a lot of processing behind the scenes.
On my Mega STE, in Interactive Mode, most small to medium length
files (100-300 words) were translated in a matter of minutes. As might
be expected, the program seems to work better on sans-serif fonts like
Helvetica, than on serif fonts like Times. Also of critical importance
is scan quality. A scan which is skewed or muddy can slow the process
down to a crawl.

This brings me to my main criticism of OCR Jr.. Hand scanners, by
their very nature, make it difficult to get a great scan, particularly
when scanning small-sized text over large areas.  Without a good scan,
the program simply can't work efficiently. The full version OCR, which
I have used with great success, allows the importation of pre-scanned
.IMG and .TIF files, and the use of Migraph's page-width scanning
wand.

//// Conclusions

Migraph OCR Jr. is a good option for hand-scanner owners who want the
 capabilities of OCR at a relatively low price. It also makes sense
 for those wanting to try out the program, prior to investing in the
 full version. Owners of OCR Jr. may upgrade to the full version for
 a nominal fee, through Migraph.

The text in the 58 page manual is clearly written and supported
throughout by numerous screen shots and graphics. The learning curve
here is almost flat. If you need additional help, Migraph's excellent
customer service reps are available by telephone on weekdays during
business hours.  OCR Jr. comes packaged in a sturdy cardboard box
containing the manual and 3 double sided program disks. It will work
on any Atari ST, STE, Mega or TT030 system with at least 2 MB of RAM
and a hard disk.

I highly recommend this program to those involved in text re-entry,
despite the inherent hand-scanner drawbacks. With careful use and a
little practice, Migraph OCR Jr. will save you a lot of time and
provide relief from hours of monotonous typing.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// OCR Jr.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Requirements: Migraph Hand Scanner (or equivalent)
Copy Protection: None
Summary: Entry Level Optical Character Recognition Program With
         Interactive Learning Capabilities.
Price: $199.00

Manufacturer: 
Migraph Inc.
32700 Pacific Hwy. S., Suite 12
Federal Way, WA 98003
(206) 838-4677

Migraph OCR $299.0


                            --==--==--==--==--


 |||     Commentary: On Reprints for Online Magazines
 |||     By: Mike Mortilla
/ | \    ---------------------------------------------------------------
         ---------------------------------------------------------------


   "            ..."

                   Anonymous

In the news this week is... the news!

Redundant? Not really. Just last column, I found myself reporting on
the online magazines and why there may be repetitive items in them.
*THIS* week, I find myself reporting on the rights of online magazines
to reprint messages of the members of online services!

Not to be redundant, but to rephrase what I said last time; when I
started writing for ZNET, it was the norm to simply dump selected
buffer captures from the forum messages into a word processor and
re-post it into a "column." That does little for me *UNLESS* there is
an important reason to do so. Preserving important information, like
how to make fudge brownies with your hard drive, would be a good
reason to capture a threads' main points. Fixing your hard drive after
the brownies were done might be another useful thread.  Documentation
of a conflict might also prove to be an interesting topic to
"preserve."

In short, info that the reader can use in the future is probably worth
capturing. But the same threads in all the online magazines is a
little too redundant for me and a downright nuisance for you.

Now it seems that some members don't want their messages touched. Not
one word! Recent messages have been posted replete with notices about
duplication and copyrights. This is not only dumb and contrary to "the
cause" but may well be an unenforceable claim on the part of the
message poster.

Why do we engage in telecomputing in the first place? To run up the
Amex bill? Answers will differ from user to user, but it appears to
this writer that the online gang is there to exchange ideas, get and
receive help, programs, ...information... and, in general, to sustain
a support network (users group, if you will) for their special
interest.

We are all aware of the competition in the bid for your online
dollars. And most of us, I would imagine, would have heard at least an
inkling of the claims that subscribing to online services *MIGHT* be a
compromise of our right to privacy.

Nevertheless, we stumble forward and sign on religiously. Some of us
even have accounts on multiple services. This doubles our pleasure.
We can see more sides of the issues, and lead fuller, richer, more
productive lives as a result. NOT! Keeping up with *ONE* online
service can be daunting, keeping up and *ACTIVE* on 2 or more can be
maddening. And this is where our story begins to take shape.

What was at the root of the aforementioned copyright sensitized post
was that the member didn't want their message posted on "the other
service." Apparently a dispute had developed between this party and
that service. All sorts of mysterious words and phrases began to
appear; conflict of interest; freedom of speech; slander and libel;
infringement of copyright; the Berne Convention. Pretty heavy words to
be bandying about; but then be told "you cannot repeat my words" !?!

I am at a loss as to why you would restrict someone from repeating
accusations that you obviously feel strongly in pursuing. What you
want, if you're in the right (again, assuming there is a "right") is
to *HAVE* people talk about the issues. You *WANT* to create an
atmosphere for open discussion and inquiry. Why else would you bring
"it" to the attention of the online community?

The only reason I would imagine that you *WOULDN'T* want to have the
issues discussed is that the allegations you are hurling about aren't
true and/or you are not willing to defend the comments you have made.
In either case, this puts you in a position of weakness, not strength.
It's like the little kid who hits a home run in the big game but must
simultaneously explain to dad how he broke the window *AND* won the
game.

Let's talk a little about the copyright issue. As a reporter, I have
the right to report what I see and hear on an a particular online
service. I *CAN* quote you, like it or not. The idea of a copyright is
not to protect you from my quoting you. The idea is to protect you
from my using your intellectual property and profiting from it. It may
even be that I don't have to make a profit and that I cannot use your
exact message (in its' entirety) in my column. But as a news gatherer
working for a bona fide publication in the business of disseminating
information, I have the right to report that news.

So let's say, for arguments sake, that you have a problem with one
online service and moaning there has gotten you 'squat.' So you go to
the other online service and moan there about the first service and
how they mistreated you. Does the second service have to carry your
message? Don't "they" have the right to protect *THEIR* copyrighted
product? I won't attempt to answer that question, but recently a SYSOP
had to and the answer was simply a *REQUEST* to *NOT* post these
messages about service A in the message base of service B. It was
further requested that if a comment, statement or editorial from a
user of another service *was* to appear, that it be uploaded onto
service B as a text file which could be downloaded at will by other
users, but not appear as a "message" in the forum. I think this is a
reasonable request, but apparently some do not and threats of "don't
touch my message or I'll sue you" continued.

You will notice that I have not mentioned a single name, message
number, or "real issue" here. But isn't it dumb to have to report on
the fact that someone has a gripe, maybe even a legitimate gripe,
*MAYBE* even a legitimate freedom of speech problem, and because this
person feels so strongly about being quoted, their issue falls on deaf
eyes? It would be much more newsworthy (and plain old interesting) for
me to report about how company XYZ is accused of stealing ABC's
shareware product, or how service XXX ripped down the free flags of a
high profile organization because of alleged illicit activity. But
even if I wanted to report facts such as these, I wouldn't do so. It
would only be the hearsay evidence of the message poster making the
accusation.

So what have you gained by refusing to have your message posted? I am
reminded of a line (a *COPYRIGHTED* line) from the musical "1776." I
think it was John Adams who refers to a fellow "congressman" as "a
non- entity trying to preserve the anonymity he so richly deserves."

If you don't want to be remembered, then endure your pain and
suffering and slip away into obscurity. If, on the other hand, you
want people to remember you, to know who you are, to care about your
plight, then have the courage to stand behind your words. Don't be
like the child who throws a spitball and hides. Be the prince who
attacks the dragon, knowing full well that he will either be burned in
an instant or, in the same instant, become the hero of the land.

George Kennan (1845-1924) wrote to Henry Munroe Rogers:

 "Heroism, the Caucasian mountaineers say, is endurance for one moment
 more."

Perhaps Shakespeare said it best in Julius Caesar:

 "Cowards die many times before their deaths;
 The valiant never taste of death but once.
 Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
 It seems to me most strange that men should fear;"


                            --==--==--==--==--


 |||    The Unabashed Atariophile
 |||    By: Michael R. Burkley
/ | \   GEnie M.BURKLEY1     Delphi: MRBURKLEY
        ---------------------------------------------------------------

I went to the Buffalo Museum of Science yesterday with my son's second
grade class. That was an interesting trip! First we had to endure the
trip to the museum - over one hour of stop-and-go traffic, road
construction, and bouncing kids. Actually, the trip should have taken
only about 35 minutes, but because of the bus company's policy not to
go on toll roads (we even volunteered to pay the toll) we had to go
the L O N G way around. But despite that, we _eventually_ got there
and throughly enjoyed ourselves.

The featured exhibit was about the Star Trek Universe. I enjoyed
seeing all of the memorabilia, scale models, transporter technology (I
was "transported" to Farpoint Station and back again through a little
computer technology and a wide-screen TV), experienced how high I
could jump on the moon (high enough that the "Star Fleet Officer" in
charge of the exhibit asked me not to jump so high!), and much more.

One game I didn't get to play (because the line was too long!) was one
in which the player tried to achieve a stable orbit around a planet
and to rendezvous with another space ship. I've not seen a good
program like this on the Atari platform (by good I mean one that is in
line with orbital mechanics). Any good programmers out there want a
project? Here's one! But I especially remember the TV monitors
scattered around the exhibit running monologues of Next Generation
cast members talking about the power of imagination that is backed up
by education, hard work, and community.
 
Too soon it was time to board those buses for the boring ride back
home. Actually I don't think the kids were that bored, since they were
bouncing up and down and screaming in excitement almost the whole way
back to the school (the adults got off the buses holding their heads
and groaning!). Hopefully, we all learned something.
 
If you like Star Trek (in any version) you can find a lot of files on-
line dealing with this topic. There are numerous picture files,
several text files (both facts and stories), and even a number of
games with a Star Trek theme. Some are in ST areas, others are
scattered about. Here are just a few of them for your review (sorry, I
don't remember where I found most of them).
 
DR&THE_ET is a story written by Jean Airey (1982) that presents a very
good look at what might happen if "The Doctor (from the "Doctor Who"
universe) met up with the crew of the original "Star Trek" series. I
liked reading this, and recommend it to you if you like either Dr. Who
or the original Star Trek (especially if you like both!). I think I
found this on Delphi in the Science Fiction area.

TREKPARO is a Star Trek parody combining elements from the early "Star
Trek, The Next Generation" and the original Star Trek. It comes down
pretty hard on The Next Generation. Fun reading. From TOAD Hall (?)

STKW0404 is the game "Star Trek: The Klingon War" v.04.04.93 (i.e.,
April 4, 1993) by James S. Sellers. This is a detailed and
entertaining original Star Trek battle simulation. As Captain of the
USS Enterprise, your mission is to utilize all your starship and
starbase assets to destroy a Klingon invasion fleet. You command a top
rated crew that will carry out your orders in controlling weapons,
shields, sensors, displays, warp and impulse drives, probes, and
navigation. Unfortunately, the odds are against you (normally three to
one) and so you have to be really sharp to survive, and to save the
Federation. This keyboard controlled game for one player demands
concentration and skill. You have to constantly keeps the status of
the whole ship before you, gathering data from the systems you visit,
watching energy consumption, defending your starbase, and much more. I
especially like the training mode! Very well done. It has very nice
graphics and digitized sounds and voices (Kirk, Uhura, Sulu, etc.).
Requires at least one meg of RAM, a DS or hard drive, and a color
monitor. GEnie and Delphi (I think).

LANDER is not about Star Trek, but I thought I'd include it here
anyway. It's an older file that is another one of those simple yet
"I'll try it one more time" games. It is a simulation of a moon
landing with the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM). You begin at a certain
height above the moon's surface, with a certain downward velocity, and
with a certain amount of fuel. Your job is to ration that fuel so that
you can reach the surface (it's easy to reach the surface, but very
hard to do so with zero velocity!). No fancy graphics for this game.
You just input your data from the keyboard and hopefully not crash
(though I wouldn't count on that!). Color or mono. On-line docs. STe
compatible. GEnie.

STARTREK by Aric Friesen is a color only game in which you play the
part of the Starship Enterprise. It is a vertical scrolling game in
which the Klingon and Romulan ships enter from the top of the screen.
You have to blast them (using your mouse) before they blast you enough
to destroy your shields. If you're a good shot with quick reflexes do
you know what happens? They come FASTER! Yikes! Fun. GEnie and Delphi.
 
TREKFAQ is a list of "Frequently Asked Questions" about Star Trek,
Original and New compiled by Otto E. Heuer. Updated March 11, 1993.
Here are some of the (very interestin!) topics discussed: 1) Upcoming
TNG season 6 episodes, 2) More upcoming TNG tidbits, 3) Star Trek
Abroad 4) TNG season seven (the last), 5) Next movie: Star Trek VII,
6) Deep Space Nine (excellent bio's of the actors/roles), 7) Upcoming
DS9 episodes, 8) Moontrap II: The Pyramids of Mars, 9) Inside Trek
(weekly syndicated Star Trek newspaper column) I don't remember where
I got this - probably either Delphi or GEnie, but not in the ST areas.
 
Well, there's lots more, but I have to move on! Go to a museum
someday. It's fun to learn about the past _and_ the future.
 
Here's some more of the programs I've downloaded in the past few
weeks:

1WP2RTF is a text utility by J. Scheerder (dated April 1, 1992) that
will allow you to convert your 1st Word Plus files into either RTF or
TEX format. Docs included. Delphi.

2CLTTFIX is an update to the Two Column Printer program. Now v.5c,
this program fixes a bug that occurs only on TTs (perhaps on Falcons,
too). This is only the program file, with NOTHING else. You must have
2COLUM5B (on GEnie and Delphi) to use this program file. Delphi.

ANTIBOMB by Greg Baker is a wonderful, needed, excellent program (I
just uploaded it to Delphi, but you can find it on GEnie, too). As you
can see I like it! If you're tired of the cherry bombs or mushroom
clouds displayed when a program crashes then you'll find this utility
essential. It replaces the bombs with a user friendly alert box that
identifies the error in English. It does more too! ANTIBOMB will keep
your ST from crashing from several common bus errors. It will trap
these and give you the opportunity, depending on the exception type,
to either continue with the program, terminate the program, or reboot
(warm or cold) the system. Now when your system crashes it doesn't
crash (I guess it still might sometimes, but not as often!) It runs
from the Desktop or from the AUTO folder. For all ST/STE's, all
resolutions. It works. It saves me from some common crashes. WOW!!
I've been told it is not Mega STe compatible. Delphi and GEnie.

AQUARIUM is a .DLT animation by K. Fanning of two fish swimming around
inside of an aquarium. This animation was created using CYBER CONTROL,
CAD-3D 2.0 and DEGAS. Color only. Use ANIMATE4.PRG to view. This file
also contains a listing of other animations he has created and which
are available on GEnie (and on Delphi and the BCS BBS as far as I
know). I think this will probably work with 1/2 meg of RAM. GEnie.
 
ASCREEN is ASCREEN v.3.2 by Anselm Lingnau. This GEM based program is
a very fast DVI previewer for Atari computers. You need either TeX
(available on Delphi (nearly 4.7 meg of .ZOO files!) or csTeX to use
this. The program and main docs are in German, but a fairly extensive
English doc file is also included. ST - Falcon compatible (MultiTOS,
too). 660K uncompressed. Delphi.

BABY is a photo-realistic .PCS picture of a baby surrounded by stuffed
animals. It was converted from a Falcon targa pic through Phoenix and
then Photochrome v.3.0. Excellent! GEnie and Delphi.

BOOT_SND is Boot Sound by Lee Offenberger of Cool Wave Computing. This
is a simple program that will play one or more sampled sounds you
select (with the file selector), at the speed you select, at boot up.
It uses the DMA chip to play the file, so you need an STe to use this
(I don't know about TT or Falcon compatibility). Docs included. GEnie
and Delphi.

CHEKBOOK is Chekbook v.1.19 by Steve MacMillan (date March 15, 1991).
This program can aid you in getting today's complicated checking
account under control. Problems arise in balancing your account when
items are entered out of sequence due to automated teller withdrawals,
interest payments, and service charges. CHEKBOOK can help you to
balance your checkbook - to the penny. Color only. Docs included. STE
compatible (at least). Delphi.

D1034-10 is a patch program that will update your registered copy of
Oregon Research's Diamond Edge (v.1.03, or 1.04) to v.1.10, and
Diamond Mirror v.1.0 to v.1.1. This upgrade not only makes these
Falcon compatible (specifically enhanced for the Falcon and MultiTOS),
but it also improves these already wonderful programs (which I own) in
many ways. GEnie

DYNASOAR is a .DLT animation by Kevin Fanning entitled "Mononychus."
Three bird-like dinosaurs are running down a road. A 3d2 object frame
from cyber control is also included. Color only. Use ANIMATE3 or 4 to
view. GEnie.

EMDEMO11 is the demo of EmailMan v.1.1 by Scott R. Garrigus of SRG
Software (dated June 9, 1993). This is a dedicated database for
keeping track of E-mail Addresses. Now you never need to forget
someones E-Mail address again. With this .PRG/.ACC you can Load, Save
(disabled in demo), Find, Add, Edit (only 5 records per session),
Delete, and Transmit up to 200 email addresses in each database file.
This version fixes some bugs (mouse "droppings" and is now fully
compatible with the ST hrough TT and Falcon). Any resolution. This
program can be a real help! Tutorial included. Mouse or keyboard
controlled.

FALCPL12 is Falcon Play v.1.2p, a .MOD player for the Falcon 030 by
Griff of Electronic Images. It is his Pro-Tracker v.2.1a replay
program converted specifically for the Falcon. It will play your .MOD
files at 50KHz. Here are some of its features: - 50KHZ 16bit (15bits
per channel) stereo output. '32 bit interpolation' for the best
quality Tracker music ever! (far far superior quality to ye olde
Amiga.) - Full Compatibility with ALL NoiseTrackers upto NT2.0 (Amiga)
and fully compatible with Protracker 1.0 - 2.1a (Nov '92 Amiga
version.) - 'CIA timing', which means it is the ONLY player that can
play modules using the TEMPO command! - Decrunches Amiga PowerPacked
mods. (powerpacker v2.0-4.0) Requires a Falcon 030. Delphi.
 
FALCSCR5 is FalconScreen v.5.0 by Markus Gutschke (dated sometime
after May 8, 1993). This program will only affect the 640x480x1bit
mode (if "MONO" is defined) and the 640x480x4bit mode (TT-MEDIUM) on a
SVGA monitor. It will replace one of these modes with a user
selectable higher resolution. Currently 832x624 (for mono) and 928x704
(for 16 colors) are the highest possible settings (you can get
800x600x 256 colors, too). You must have a SVGA monitor when you use
this program (and a Falcon, too!), or you will possibly damage your
monitor. English docs included. GEnie.

FASTFFT1 is the GEM based FAST!FFT Pseudo-realtime Spectrum Analyzer
by Phil McCandless, Ph.D (dated 1993). Now you can do quality 8-bit
analog /audio analysis on your ST/STE/TT(?). The Fast Fourier
Transform (FFT) is a complex mathematical analysis of any conventional
audio time-domain signal converted into its frequency constituents.
The FFT is very similar to the multi-bar display seen on home high
fidelity graphic equalizers, but this one is much more accurate. The
FASTFFTx.PRG provides a continuous line display, rather than the
typical discrete frequency band display. Requires the SOUNDOFF!
cartridge to be useful. Detailed Docs included. STe compatible (at
least).

FLCAT_13 is The File Catalog v.1.3 by Randy Hoekstra (dated May,
1993). The File Catalog is a simple utility that keeps track of the
files on a disk or hard drive partition and allows you to monitor
changes to your files. The program reads in all the files on a disk or
partition and stores them in an ASCII file. With this update you can
copy, move, show, rename, and delete files, along with many other
options. Later, a new list can be generated and the old and new lists
can be automatically compared to see what has changed. The 'delta'
(changes) of the old and new file lists will show all files that have
been deleted, added, or changed (size or date). This is excellent for
hard drive upkeep. Color or mono. ST - TT compatible. Docs included.
Unfortunately, this program doesn't work with my large partitions
(2048 bytes per sector). Fortunately, the author knows about this!
GEnie.
 
FRACTAL is Mandelbrot, a simple Fractal generator for the Falcon 030
in True Color mode by Andreas Binner und Harald Schnfeld (the authors
of WinRec and more). Taking advantage of the Falcons DSP chip, this
program will allow you to create fractals up to 256 x 256 pixels and
128 iterations (I know the words, but not the meanings!). Simple
German docs included. Delphi.

HAZZARD is Bio-Hazard v.1.7 by L.J.Greenhalgh (dated 1993). This is a
two-level demo of a game that can best be described as a Dungeon
Master clone in space (with the same "look 'n feel" and controls).
Excellent pictures and sounds. Fight off loads of aliens and interact
with tons (literally) of objects. Your task, should you decide to
accept it, is to find the ladder leading down to the next level.
Select the correct weapons for each circumstance (i.e.: don't use a
mine for infighting!), find and use the necessary keys, make sure your
batteries have sufficient charges, and stay alive! The complete game
will be shipped out to all registered users (only $11 shareware fee)
in mid July, 1993). Color only. Requires at least one meg of RAM.
ST - TT compatible.

HDX503 is the newest version of the Atari HDX hard disk utilities
(released June 8, 1993). Specifically designed for Falcon030 owners,
it is backward compatible with all Atari 68k-based systems (in other
words, get this even if you don't have a Falcon!). This fixes a bug
that can cause Falcon Hard Drives to get corrupted if a partition gets
completely filled during a write operation. It also allows you to
format, partition, read, and write to the Insite Floptical SCSI
drives. Docs included. GEnie.
 
H_BACKBT is the Hard Drive Backup program (beta test) by Charles H.
Harvey. This easy-to-use program is designed to back up a hard drive
to another hard drive, which can be fixed or removable of any size.
This program allows you to customize your backup - choosing which files
to backup (or folders, or partitions), and exactly where those
backuped files should go. This program has too many features to
describe here. Docs included. Color or mono. STE compatible. One
problem that renders this unusable for me (for now) is that the
program doesn't recognize my large partitions (2048 bytes per sector)
so I can't back those up). Fortunately, the author now knows about the
problem and is working on a fix. If any of you know what needs to be
done, drop him a line. His GEnie address is C.HARVEY9. Thanks Chuck
for your support of the Atari line! GEnie.

KUBES by Peter the H is a very interesting variation on the game
Columns. Instead of moving the falling columns side to side and
shifting the three-block as it falls, Kubes presents you with single
falling blocks with a number of various colors that you CANNOT
manipulate as they fall. After the blocks reach the bottom you can
shift them around using keypresses, attempting to form columns of
three similar colored blocks, which then disappear. You choose which
of the various horizontal levels to move about. You choose from which
level to start and your difficulty level. I recommend this excellent
game. Color only. STE compatible. Docs included.

LED_AB by Mark Slagell @ SilkWare (the author of SilkMouse and
numerous other nice utilities) is a small utility that lights up your
floppy A (or B, or now both, courtesy of The Hitchhiker): LED whenever
logical drive C: or higher is accessed. You may find it useful if you
use a ramdisk regularly or if your hard drive, like mine, is mounted
where you can't see its front panel. Docs included. This program
replaces HD_LED. GEnie and Delphi.

LTMF_120 is Let 'em Fly! v.1.20 by Oliver Scheel (dated April, 1993).
This is a program that can make your relationship with your ST easier
and faster. This auto program and .ACC/CPX combo has the following
features: Move any dials around the screen, by simply pressing the
mousekey! Move also alert boxes. Select Dialog Box Buttons with a
keystroke, press HELP for Helpbuttons, or UNDO for Cancel buttons.
(WOW!) Extended Edit-Functions; Grow-/Shrinkboxes configurable (this
speeds things up) The program should run on all ST/STE/TT computers in
all resolutions and all TOS-Versions. If you want English docs for
this program you can either use GER2EN30 or get LTMF_119 which has the
translated English docs in the archive (available on Delphi and
probably GEnie). An all English program that does much the same as
this is FRMDIT12D by Dan Wilga of Gribnif Software. I can recommend
both of these programs.

MARCEL_D is the demo version of MARCEL v.2.1, the new word processing
program from Marcel Software. This program is chock-full of features.
You can import text from all sorts of programs, from ASCII to
WordPerfect v.4.1, you can select and see various type styles (italic,
bold, etc.) right on screen, mark blocks, scroll through text (very
fast!), export text (though not in the demo), insert date and time
into your texts (it even says "Good Morning" or "Good Evening" when
you open a file, depending on your system time!), and much more. Spell
checking, saving, and printing are disabled in this demo. This looks
like an excellent program with a very nice "feel." Tutorial included.
Color or mono. Any ST - Falcon (MultiTOS). GEnie.

MCHANCL is the Mechanical Desk Reference v.1.1 by Douglas J. Samuel
(dated 1992). The program, written using GFA BASIC will easily supply
you with information regarding drills, screws, english to metric
conversions, gears, and geometric calculations. Reference information
and formulas that would be hidden in e)conrturei froor ohe Hn)his prwith informaSHAREWAREocs included. Color or mono. STEer sepatible. Delphi anMONGe.
 
).
This ipecial"22Diety Kli5ataloobe deBowenJ.Greenhalgh  fixes use program is dwhich
tely fillcribed s & Dttackimulmonorwaa993).lculationsl generacribed  Masier
 opers program alllow yorblebs oacter
whs
informati
whrndure yttlel usmore ailkWare F_11." TutorT* totatemeon that this progro Colthem (un Dungses ,alistic . to v.atureany othecribe here. Docs incluame. Color only. STE to pETZPLAN.

MCHNetzit a III DL_D iond Mil 4,DIT12lamowius(dated 1993).!). Simit aor "/smessuled agaiint, time!This Cs. Also P tas(ere want youabel;
isus of SRs FRMvier unwen with  unwane from Mar)y resolution. This
program will ait a  to learstlityhe file, tory begHard Dlude  ere wane! Very included.
Unfr): yhis
ean on docs a.Reprintsno. O
g en
game. Color only. STE u caprinting E to pEURONET.

MCHNeuroHNeton of5 DL_D  Color modeKnopfts flm Linocs aon ofguve yoion. ThASTFFTx.Pily supplkMouse anexne orrom aes. It is  form NeuralHNetlutiove partition and alllow yo( the wort wo)ll carrw seasalerts(users gro that
 dialsdir)
Copof .g en
game.ent
ACIFICy Greg Bem and
two-leSTKW0404 Inc.
32I of ss(dated 0404 s partram cag around
 tank (aack
homif ynking aanctiovehiche ave partitiortram l alloom cy can
on andf certaal Starvasion foom cyte fraf lighvehiche ly. r de,, shou andtion, ldeplo chipm,dtion, lr rehipm,drst servicoame th), find was wpublicat StarvaTe anoughting! very niceremeeome v.3.0.this topicted E dialog box 1992). Tel to sphi, bugic .P actervir): yhis
enquiry.tionsLimitg are diaill carrppon, Kubeven if yolude  the corr(30 owners993). Srack-blem and fecially like tnd mye demhe staaack
  excellent
game. Co or mono. ST - TT c GEnie andPIXARTs.

ad
two-lePixAris Mad. C
then inseron 0riesen telword p Jr. csl generao included. ST -littl.

Lio Meiner
 ed. inforprogralem with nd
reh docs for
t demoor B,urface (iith caregram  wantou w(Dtelrobably6hi ( of d. STf va! colorshi, . Fiu can  capogram rxt frchoose from Referes agats gameport oReferes,gram yo)by Dois
i
Excellohe ere. DocOfor noIn either
twoisn  caprinting E !). Simi This auto neecs. Color only. Requires at le 1/2 c GEnie andPLOT172EoisnP canv 1.72Eoil 4ink Cry osRG
Software 19,muel
(dPLOTased prFFT1 is th Thidima fa needp cated agaiint, l generaork
on  choose  oftpogrn thes unu smalable higher I, thnduras too magell 1)* to appnd newp cane, cognie hietyrtain nded Edn
items  selectd. Mouse, (2)appnd newp can inpuat
 df prou
us in allrn
items 'byon th'his pubuilt-T co inputateme Tel t(3)appshi, 
share If yo you can or  regiss pue hietychoospTwo Co
play moGDOSspTwo Coif yourove paan on x1biin thompl AprOn-R5 is FHEKBObouncilor only. Docs i luded. STE
compatible (at least).SEnie485.

MCH/TT(-S byte- Hard DWord85ad
twotaloein or iWegmessal Software. Tact mesd out to allRefe)his
program will ad shoIt
Hard MB will or if yousy included.
Unfifnued.

gram doesn'8 bytevableo. Ta Lee lay, 1024itions easalettingn telecompudown rek (in ..g en
gameam. Now v.5c,
trtition and alongpting
ao/Shrinkboend recommer!Thiarned re
anll on docs a Trek, lored blhe
progHEKBOen iopers! (at least).SCAN4PA.

igra4Pakon of Mil STethe Houridp EnterpriFFT1all English omplete very
g to utili in all tts up /e Atari H,lly compifanipul files thatpon thaent pro Amigr
and ftting
these and gy
you with he file, whicunpso I cds in alb you
fr).
This iThis d it DePako(re.
v.2.1e thathem for)e livesn teleceasier . FisimplPseusers grf you dhuse o DS or hardinllowset is backwal Compatinhanced for sg modocs includ damao. Color only. DocsHAREWAREoccompatible.ILKBT.

e auBOOT_2,rd drive
"MON.
This i.

LED_AB by M(ster mkWare (the author ,s' entim it, is me th some br hil Fract"ve any  Apre auBOOT_2iin thoms looksecu user
 sele8 bytev is wos up yri Hke een fixes u
usan on utiliA:if your o sphi, turne, dependork
oing on l ST/y. r deiin tolumns.wa
started colorllent for
Hard Drte fraable es tur mouueractig variaST -littTOS-Versrions is the dhat so all yrogra inforete f seledelti-built e riither
f not r B,usof selte s. CH know insad shoIt
as the high.ul. Detailed Docs inhis ponly reaght (HDX503s wi 68k-band as the drag@ SilkWare)or only. STE to SIMMhi.

s inSimmfixRs FRMvierHogd ph the at@ Sw LoOFF!i
anyway. Ilution. Thixes rtition and alo ma2.5 at le all yr
re-poss inbtim xword 256Kh the1 atSIMMS
and fatition and albuy *ACns d itSIMMSent chai ST/ome 2d fecial256KhSIMMSes a promerelationshimer tVery.5 d itemhe 1/2..FREEmy woSNAP_IFs:

JML_SNAPon of Mil 4ink McLouDocs inch thiis
program will s itow yo(accounts) by numernaprous slecompuIFs: upto N0riesen
you wly noebut a fa, your.LBMbe generat (withtionupt, if youseledir)
l yremhe stah th ..gccou Mechno. ST - TT T
shidragou
canme thuthor knowah thputinhat this prog about. gameof yond mye demdials aroungood
reasoed re
a

g"yed
u, liearne" !). Simple
German docs included.SOXnhis pSOX5 that b 
Too am (I
jutwYou wond
pro.

MCHSOswimmeX there  files. Thiliti 5atalLach cNorskogRG
Softwan., 28(dated April, 1"e Star al"_SND is Dois
Th has ted ch has thsanoughtone orses tdevelonswersis isi this eres,gng, seris esbe hiddennoughte will O
l, 1Thiliti ng
a cour 1"raw"st Word Pbe hidden ine this eres,gS swimmBlasier .VOC, and deIRCAMgS swi
1993 and deSUNII,
rcso Farpo.aurous pictmud in
DECo.aurous pi- Decr/SGI AIFs:ous pi-Mac
re-sh HCOMrous pictS swi It's aelp,WAVe and Delpgng, S switk to DOS)nges to yours swimme will  thought  therdrag@ Sione orine ebeen s
enchoedelti-withpictall es
elow-oint Stnd-pasto vitre yo,be generainfh a s Foblem Vibromme willocs - RAM.
ST - TT comSPLITTnk).
Spn ther iond Mil M.J. at@sRG
Soft11l
(dat Lingnaluded. This
program will aspn tnupt cognit Word Plusll show allprogrBASIC bwhich haferraby suos up yri Hsbe generftware.bI woulnd st, and wntertainllows yoesn't
cra is tother u plaIS. Preservin-r hardg to f Softspn tnupd prsi thgram rfaceent propaiover ocisshieldMultiT'ra is puated aboringtogelistinn and bll notice pr controent ! colorshi, m conv chip ablechoose whpind u HelpletThis is only d that tht nuisadated 1992). or kee
alntifieore. SpeI don't h keys, mther
wwhpind u
so I ogelist
ail adds included. ColColor only. DocsHAREWAREoccompatibleTAB_PLOTase TAB_PLOTan of9ataloobe deBe thG
SoftOctomessauel
(leTAB_PLOTase a 2Dbe ge3Din nded Edp cathe ONLY is
program will s ilow youblocks wi user,s file
've downlonel) srsi throm a
uselution. T,r
re-posXY, R, how or RZdp ca. Ats
can  (log)emor yo,urabwith ut. '32 bit i,s uing fiated ,hat woulo reach t filhis dooems p cansiz and
suPostSureanonel) srd mainnel. DocsAB_PLOTarograthat aky wher! very nicor fi, and tthecribee genreal help! Tutorial en
game.enColor only. STE c included.TCLI.

MCHatedons Cfleet. Lith Ie Star
KUB(CLI) iond Mil oobe d
Bed of.Greenhalgh (dated CLI.

).
This is a pes. It glishe I foundt yojor MS-DOSsg the Ttronice is a

MCHombs  don'u CANNOT
ll shotime damhen
ries hav. Thiathough n
from (ixes us(users grd maich
 SYSOP. This lsg the T-with ut. 'eachsystem ithASTFFTx.Pashing fn nded Ednish omough n
from he
progdir)
IC will
fas(eport faa BG (
so g any driese)rtitim the a SUBSTn fleet. (epbrequeted toh
faspathncontrollarete ith mnesystem time!), andTCLIr hard MS-DOS,shi, ing a e viaal Schoosing, inforprogr texd Drtmbs .
Yous convel Schoosin  - ored bleen tolratio easdn
MastMS-DOSobablyut. g can bRAM u
usan onere. DocO with nd
 ine archivocsHAREWAREocl. Detailed Docs - RAM.
ST - TTccompatibleTERMINe.
 
oontrAmigt Te progady wondeLet 'e3 (betar.
Strr tesas J. SamFeb.
after May 8, FFT1all Englis
program wilHAM radiallyp Fractd programmer very
 ine this an h hafersocks, scrTNC'suldn't file
als. Someghtin MS-DOSsis the dl as (oneent prowith ake thgamexcelals. IBMgeon
M(that b wilr B,uile, tNow v.5c,
tton h hae, aundt  inpunt on that!). C, Trek, eare saidd. ColBithfono. On-l or OSs2.06ncluded. STE
compatible sHAREWAREoccompatibleTITANe.
 
Ti musat hr Seee and Del "Ti mucellent bSea") or 1.0e FalStefs. NyuldreasFrank Sauathe iver Schug. 2(dated June 9, 1993)nocs aonsea-go andes. It is /wer! as. It sa@ Silking aSup to of a game is thed bcr
I aaccountser for AtariCabout.docs areie). Ani- Derica
const/ud dSpaning ond Ro can  tseng an(thakx 256 cothor or keyboard
dated 1992). obouncilord main docs aial en
game. Color only. STE uHAREWAREocl included.TRASHam a

MCHat doeam aiond 5atal |||    ZuhOliver ScSept. 10a (dat
(dat Li.am ais
program will ain thomSrackche muser
tt dohi, inMB willork
os
from. Color onlork
 surX a faser
Cfoom cyP its fnocs aonple
German docs included.TXTOOLerenceniledFanctr!i
anyway. Iert youe new wor Uis a small ugh a litof mysh I wos,eore. s m ch sin, I wants answer tuser
utouch fly extensshow, rox.Pasdocshour is prog'how all50KHz 8, 19aby suaach dataTrek may findhe Scia yourd mainnel. Dt to Delpcessaddd, and mMB wilselfdds included. ColColul;
 Farporives. Docs T1 is tataTHAREWAREoc compatible. Delphi anfuture.
 
. Withall tmore of the pry fast dt fewD the fmn) I donIry fast d CIVe a cheatagaiint, l generation onivion  Farp?  areasiT'ra thatpuompleIt sa@ Sises in es r now) ilkWare's
reasonminutes, tem crashegram dam readslPseuswi Itnswersis  wi 68k-bis C.HARV, and wmkWare l gerted"drag@ anonel! and DMCHNOFRILLS labelssage po
This i.
Rk: Tethe oppings"te fraiond 5and intr texamhen"man"f regy"hock-full um
sonYou wonre.
ad 1992). owill
fa Docnavigation. Unfortungs up) TI gue
produram doesn't wpartrum tee8 bytes per sector). Fortunately, the aue
problem and is work!
Yeah l gehim! and P. Any good!grade'how lumnmore of tre disabem for ish proroduram doesn
partitione8 bytes! ASCIIause Falcon  aid youbiggrdg to eadslPseunfigur demoois dwhaience mns.wed bl). Any good ile, torbseng remy woAed
seeinsT
ll shorive, whany donat will play llent bmbo has theor or moyments,s:availabl| \   GEni),available    Delph) "StarCodeHe traand (213 -461-2095) "S Fiu. From617-567-8642system StarBostonof Coolith Society'nlork
 and m617-396-4607)le |||    By: Michaele ( be
me.: df the Rn) I do,. gameinutes, It I haved bll nos
(I 
English ino long. It wish progrrodu (by nted
whered. You 
 
is mouith NOGnot sHud"dramy wo |||    llcon inoNiagar don'gardNYles  1993)ows er Polyurehiate).lcasdocs
CHEmter,ue
proalls, K. This iastre (th
MCHNiagar d P.estionr, thChuocs.hould fear;"


                            --==--==--==---------------------------------------------------------------------------==--                  e M.BURKLEY Sign-Up I
you with                 e M.B--==--                                                                       --==--  Trst k bloe descRKLEY epbrures r,n TruThisblo1-800-365-4636nder
cra  --==--  [Reuuer] r dei genwYou,be genee vIP26 [Reuuer] at Pasuch d:          --==--                                                                       --==--  Ato andyed
seeinganswer ts Tel to s'ete gacIt'scally dcRKLEY        --==--  r highhis pu ared) in
Iers grf youanswer tshuthor cRKLEY ements,s,   --==--  g
thead sounhisblouploaded  M I donSments,s at 1-800-544-4005.       --==--                                                                       --==--                  e M.BURKLEY Sign-Up I
you with                 e M.B--==---------------------------------------------------------------------------==uld fear;"


                            --==--==--==--==--
Newning elUsearoun--==--
Comi and New: TimothyIT12sinMBR. Burkvaila: AEO.8--
Ie Staro: WILSONT@RAHUL.NETd fear;"
-----------------------------------------------------------------==ulKindahisbm disabmonB, o to s mougoest few=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBRRRR MPEG is theew=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBwoAeden Gitioki (73110.713@f CooSmene.COM) I wasan ben to. It sal iCoosmene.ful progranerfthon tha:)ldMultiI've notwn) TOAD Br oddsempt-lePl. P,sFranou,butilities
 
 livesram likeir MPEG is theO
gPEG 1993)ows t tht nquency  and
 of othert nquphics anFFTxoO
Lard .SEQ'ert nNASO'rrect CrameP odt.of Corecordsur joburd magram n thed ourseir MPEG is theboot up.
Ihe Falcoalls, Ke downloesigned flay tTTT/omelike diare entluat kn)his prwi. MBwoAione o and fec mig:
Nas.            Sesn''''''''''F3d2 s/Sec''''''''''VFTxoar Ee
BIRDISBA.MPG''''502473''''''''''15.24             320x20fla4ds i. (TV)
BIRDISBA.MPG''''''''''''''''''''14.75             320x20fla16ds i. (TV)
BIRDISBA.MPG''''''''''''''''''''11.51             320x20flaT.C. (TV)
d DMCH4h the1
800x60ke dign byemoras. MPEG noughtirroduwill
fa DldMulD Br oddsemptts (i to appts.
The ramer vefightiny MPEG noughtes rti.
'I''F3d2 d
 of other 16 coloered ows t twill
fa Dful eglish doticheechnolwasan ), 'P'h the'B''F3d2 ike diaglish it h
d DMCHis theb
too). Ttaken
2Kh
d DMCythe toaling tts e downloendt few"Br oddsempt utilities) of the,). This is r onr
starsrom MarceWeprorodechn----
seto eadsMPEG decodttl.
wilselfddrade'howhy. Hoponrtesolutiour demstarted a) of the H is a vis r obuy and
sudistribusn tellocsoeview
whero auPily s egliY is
pbnd which
atition,NLY is
pbesiT'raprusmo"OAD Br oddsemp: (da b P,son 0darCotte
75012ePl. P FRANCE
o a +(331) 44670809h tex +(331) 44670811--==- 72241.405@COMPUSERVE.COM==--===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBRRRR Cinepak lusmnsaby suork
===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBd DMCHS! (fMac c Corecords/decoCorecordsutecht runydhat  thatlusmnsaby s
ork
cel Softo
willupt, ic.s.a.er,ue
rec. more FFTxoO Wto apptrox.Pigur etnquphics anFFTxo torbse
cloud
so Is conveCD-ROMt, iam cac mi.ashes. heuse s convesourdeiin  aroork
  to appts.
 wantoud fe320x20fFastn 030
ino a30 fpto yourIe Starolwasaer contso Fe, tNo aCinepak isomoughswi I es
ealgorithpt-leQ shoc mi(tmunt tow 
theLabsbe ge3DOcereme contlusmnsaas. Asity.
 BBSefightare eutthere'simple etn. If any.==--===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBRRRR Ger
wosloesigned fd
twning elemensourde===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBonstituTP te t: ftp.uni-kl.d  199is moushe I foundL v.2
twniponrwasan tracrst. (_11."uramlhaendT
llrram In:  /pub/ark
/fly foronst.HARV, aJonahiathRoy {roy@emigrd.edu} l gertst
liked gy
y. MBwoS
Here are X503s2
twniby UK1 is thBlso IScorprdsugus of SRf S:
-plasma30.prg
-plasma50.prg MB yousy if y rote ebeemoraient chareSchoa TC
i
Excelo yourocks wii, rathe
Englncont

MCH 3d2 ine e!ok vchanes: - 50Khz noughtertly knduse oesn
iked ge generatbo has t2
twn.==---able er.prg
0 isoa 'able er' he mne, cndemope Fortu for ining elbeh it, is craft, 
iked g for iniFFT is very
 
'r Ee 9'e moreing elemenSNESo your cndemope
isabem3). Srahugchustmap,ored bleenemora
 SYSchietheadflat g any dit aphi an-H isl.prg
0 they 
 
 is
u to cres Manpisaurs "Motorola of Mar" logSYSch thn.==--Rn) I do torbse
o
wit inseroand hoand Delphi) !). SimuTP te t s egliY'sms (ik andtiurn on docs ay.==--===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBRRRR Yet A drive
Nehiahot wiliti===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MB
WarwshotAllid 4) or wsho@cs.uq.oz.au) (AkWare (thGEM++ inseAMS) xcelalv.1.1. 
OritHso I o(Amig800x60kie of (850 system 3)nom ut. 'eachApril, 1Thiliti , 1 gameat  ig
as t1e thathNehiahos,the file, sompatibd pr1
800x60kinuous lian, sompatibned) and80x4unu sma Help8000x~Lithonplubo and ff~ust  is wlly for the Falcgram shay. Iemer tVes, 
(ST Low
 lirect wxne or)ldMultncy  Full Comp
pbeslostAprQuwit inlancie o shm.3.0.KudoRV, aWarwsho!--===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBRRRR ced forS OSscr UNDln tr=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MB
I misch
 d wntertainertste anhe tpue cf oth)ldMultiere yms Euroorecoms (wheroaspecial'risk'd alllow yoaoesigned fd '92 Ami 
Note(for nowsabmaand hof you thataaaack
 Eurooreco spokch mrsforon areasthat b 
s't wdotiche'simm gonnasadddt wp demas:avlow !anfuy'simm s wil
u, ewrsrom MarldMultS OSshnolaln) iThisgy'sv.1.1. sg mreme cn) iT wondeil
u, ewr OS'es, (inutes, tembith if youuhe acttem its d. DSIC dowstliners,
its!  (soapendl Trueoff)pril, 1993mongpin .DLT aish it lay tfld2 i, shd hoTravin.==--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBRRRR rigiesigned for Falc--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBm New USAor Falc (thesigned f'niponrwasas
ea now knoiu, ewrmer tVes.==As Delpcessf youheuse, 84at lef yousy mre pua on in tolumns.efine5'sms youobut ra) oste ork
 gcane, notwdm caaglishmuntOndL v.2r Faly Ch tpuACERmilar tsync, riaST reaith cto eadsers in
allcttem hardd rathe80ting toet
800x60l True is me thi anfur cont I havea
 SYyou v(for ngccou- OSsThe programeforeon util
Ats
o backu, riamisch
 dininacting elemenmanualhi anWeto eade'hoitncy graphic mi. H hapby ntedbellcooit?dork
oitthe isomned  any d2stem 3)half bu. s aas (on! ==--Rn) I do tort up ton to au
me.,NLY YOU hn----
seetre disabdoticheecthat b wi'16 coloerelratio tell!==uld fear;"


                            --==--==--==--==--vailabork
on  Rany TntoudNewn==--==--C now bo:-vailabork
on  RT   ne in sp.HARV, aJoh caustman!)MBR. Bur-------------------------------------------------------------------==ear;"
-------------------------------------------------------------------==--==ork
oRT Wide TrNewni6.3--==-=-vaNIE SYSTEM NEWS =uld fevailabonnouns,s Rw yoRestrustic .E willlcooee)
(dated 3.....*NEWRATESuld fetime24ated 3"
--fevailab in g announs,dions. Lprusstarstustic ,Englis  coloU.Scttem Canada,One
proharesdtiur autonnwanerithalby 50%lude.E willlcooee)
(datvailare.
 knduse tiur autonnwanerithto bemany f  $3.00 (204tiur ($4.00 Canadian
(datedmonB,ed oeedhat  thatrestrustic d, f  
of Wvreing el$4.95V, a$8.95V(ng el$5.95V, a$10.95Vin Canada), choose  e Falcthought te fraf lidtiurn er o knduse tonnwanelPseur highhntal ibd fevailabements,s, eport fasus of SRograms IeldMulletr obouses,gr up , f  
rIe Starolgateit lailar tis theb moreinforpll utiVes. 
and ftthere f  
conteliprogra
FASTFFila*Brs99 p Jr. c.uld feUTO f furrive
datureany oI foundL v.2prusstarstrustic ,Epiliti nee d fe*NEWRATESHelpM620tes rnand
prt I ul). mpthi an = CURRENT DARLAH'S TREATS =uld fe           --feNEW TREAT - KONG. OSspouch475ngpting 9 ----==ear;"
 KONG. OSssform (nis the demorm lass99 arc1. T excelbase file.
==ear;"
 as too ma very nicet pictureeron 0, and wmrc1. Tntertain.==ear;"
 Color onl1at l,800x60l Tve a STHAREWARE - s FRMve Munslphi an = REAL TIME usiFERENCES =uld ==ear;"
 RMve Smyed
seGADGETS BY SMbiliis
pbesneratasonm selectee)
(7sn
iar;"
 CTC. es  is
phe
ussudo-reae GCRsis the d3.1cet pdrive
GBS
iar;"
 
shartthe Joigram at 10 pm EDT,tee)
(7sn.uld fear;"


  -----------------------------------==--ear;"
 RMteor moork
!doesn'Bob B
shiedhat  thatresmessula
 S--ear;"
 ee)
(9t prt 10:00 (.m. EDT of sequcolori froy. Hekeardin--ear;"
 coloU.S.ttem Canada.uld fear;"


  ------------------------------------==--ear;"
 ST INFORMER/CURRENT NOTESHRTC Wed.
af4t pee)
(at 10 p.m (EDT).==ear;"
 MeetHz. Here utili avo readork
onfeld ook 'n g tod ne!==ear;"
 Mn a fixCN's/ST Inows er's
ra ram'n g tod ne is
pbnd which
a--ear;"
 cSYSOo andutilianswer tshboot
minter.xCN is
pbndowers
fr).FREE--ear;"
 erelyeever!btureany oIe descOOR PRIZE!!!uld fear;"


 -------------------------------------==--ear;"
 CIt'slbasnk andRTC oesn'Craig Charleiaglish 2onveee)
(at 10 p.m. EDT--ear;"
 Craig is
phe
ussuis the d3.030 bydHak.scOOR PRIZE -bydHakd3.0!!==uld f= ATARIoRT LIBRARY =uld f=dRTC TRANSCRIPS =uld fe    ------------------------------------------------------==28966 BRODIE10.ARCfear;"


 X ST.LOU


 930605   17280

 638  13d fe    .atu:nced for theJaguar
Newning elBob!==28731 TRACET_2.ARCfear;"


 X BRIAN.H


 930514'''11520

  76  13d fe    .atu:nth Ae Techt runyour12etime93dRTC==28679 BRODIE9.ARCfear;"


  X ST.LOU


 930509'''14336''''501  13d fe    .atu:ntimeRMteor moork
!doesn'Bob B
shie==28678 MISSIONW.ARCfear;"


 X BRIAN.H


 930508--
13184''''116  13d fe    .atu:nMicordsof SRGFl doeII)dRTC 5tim93==28588 ABC_SOLN.ARCfear;"


 X BRIAN.H


 930430--
13440

  73  13d fe    .atu:n28chee ABC S in
all RTC==28525 PMC2.ARCfear;"


 

 X BRIAN.H


 930424   12416

 92  13d fe    .atu:nPMCdRTC 21heel 93doesn'Oscar & Df Sk==28484 OL3_CTC.ARCfear;"


  X ST.LOU


 930420

14336'''' 96  13d fe    .atu:nOutor moort
Cfoulationd fe    ------------------------------------------------------==d f=dLAST WEEK'S PRESS RELEASES =uld fe    -----------------------------------------------------
29064 MIST_5.LZHar;"


 

 X W.JONES43

 930619

 6912      3
14d fe    .atu:ntip hardinfn
gaoork
FsonmV Indy
29047 BLUERIDG.TXTear;"


  X S.WINICK

 930617

 8064     25
14d fe    .atu:nBlue RDOFF!ork
Fsonmer
craRwiliti==29039 FIESTAMP.LZHar;"


 

X C.CASSADAY
 930615   58496''''  8
14d fe    .atu:nIMG, PgS,ograms,dir)
Copo cSYFisona==29025
MIST_5.TXTear;"


  
 X W.JONES43

 930612    2688
  
 41
14d fe    .atu:ner
craRwilitincy gMISToork
FsonmV!==29021 CUTPRICE.TXTear;"


  X J.EIDSVOOG1
 930612    1280

 410
14d fe    .atu:nCodeHe t Cutes. ts,s!==29019 GLMPR318.LZHar;"


 

X R.FAULKNER4
 930611   19328    126
14d fe    .atu:nd
prLampmer
craRwiliti==29007 KCSHOW5.LZHar;"


 

X B.WELSCH

 930610

15104     31
14d fe    .atu:nKansas Cl Coork
fsonmer
cra wiliti==28967 JAGUAR.TXTear;"


  
 X BOB-BRODIE
 930605   e3200''''505
14d fe    .atu:ner
craRwilitincy gork
oJaguar!!!ul28964 GLMPR317.LZHar;"


 

X R.FAULKNER4
 930605   15744''''117
14d fe    .atu:nd
prLampmer
craRwiliti==fe    -----------------------------------------------------
d f=dLAST WEEK'S GEni RELEASES =uld fe    ------------------------------------------------------
29016 MC20.LZHar;"


 

 

X C.MULLER3

 930611  246144'''' 87
10d fe    .atu:ntoloUT PsithtFinach cMouaber==29001 . GEnie..LZHar;"


 

X S.GARRIGUS
 930609

27904     43

10d fe    .atu:nthe demo and all Refe- Garugus of S!ul28985 rograms..LZHar;"


 

X rogram.CA

 930607

70016

112  10d fe    .atu:nGEni OFo version2efeWORD PROCESSORd fe    ------------------------------------------------------==d f=dLAST TWO WEEK'S TOP 10 DOWNLOADED PROGRAMS =uld fe    ------------------------------------------------------==28983 D1034-10.LZHar;"


 

X ORA.TECH

 930607

237696''''318   2d fe    .atu:nGiamonOW!)geh Pr3/ PrANIM  1.0ePou vul28965 .ILKBT..LZHar;"


 

X M.SLAGELL

 930605    2432    192   2d fe    .atu:ne auBOOT_2,rfrenly $1HDf seledelti
29049 LGSEL18..LZHar;"


 

X CODEHEAD

 930618   33920

 175   2d fe    .atu:nLiStar .1.7 alert bor v1.8Dul28994 patibl.ZIPear;"


  
 X B.REHBOCK

930609

75008    143

2d fe    .atu:nLgra
t1HDfUother nilly designed f!==29033 LITTLNET.ZIPear;"


  X A.FASOLDT 
 930615   16t
8

112  
2d fe    .atu:nFrenly $1STn alnetlutistarsrom Marul28985 rograms..LZHar;"


 

X rogram.CA

 930607

70016

112  10d fe    .atu:nGEni OFo version2efeWORD PROCESSORd 28973 Delphi.
.LZHar;"


 

X L.SMITH70

 930606

38784''''110  
2d fe    .atu:nFALCSCR5 is FconS- Fd forezery
FRACrul28984dTCLI.ZIPear;"


  
   X A.FASOLDT 
 930607

67200''''107

2d fe    .atu:nCothe T-with ut. 'ar
KU,1STn aul28999 BOOT_SN..LZHar;"


 

X OFFY


 

930609

16000''''102  
2d fe    .atu:n2 is quphics anictureetely fi sel!
29016 MC20.LZHar;"


 

 

X C.MULLER3

 930611  246144'''' 87
10d fe    .atu:ntoloUT PsithtFinach cMouaber==fe    ------------------------------------------------------==d fst.HAn andfouck
for drag@ Siork
oR switntoudble. Delphi anaJoh cG.caustman
0 rk
oRT PR Sysop==uld fear;"


                            --==--==--==---==--
Ddiffgping Notes==---==--
IPreservini8k-bang el OSsplattemptddiffgpurove pawill
fa lc-- R. Burk---------------------------------------------------------------==ear;"
rk---------------------------------------------------------------=====-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBRRRR ICDte Floue ugus of Str=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MB
Rockurid, Ih sio P,sware 25ated 3"- ICD, Incorpo can s Ma the la featograr 
of anunactur with  rk
orllely $17 byncel;
band dti
announs,dions. Lo knduse l generaork
on ,r mo
ofluded. ST -littn.==--ICDte Floue uUother nilTMshnol program is ASTFFTxpatible witr Falc a morsounhg aS Flois poDE (20iphing sompatinhane Atari HDseris each cuto neen a abs a small unipulprogrxo-reang elICD,  is tead wii,  rk
or ibd adap Co
paglish ork
on .==--ICDte Floue uUother nilsform (FFT)one8us of SRtk tokpptrecifically lude erele thgwher orllent for
otores rk
oCT -littTOTat renprot-ren trp Jr. cse ofd ne  foundLICDtrllent for
8us of SRtNLY ias t1e thatiourhe archive (lytiI'veprot-ren  ows tions. LcoCoreha fave is the dem
CIt'nupon ,r sg modr sgdrive
power fin other nio yours s of SRiguraill iis r oatpon thaows t tagliwveryuhiv- Martari Hetra
lete files,a
15spouchmanualhi anstay aay lleICDte Floue uUother nilsfod of m a s ICDtause FalcowoS
f GribnifCDBOOThe
F1993)oue autorinkboxes ,rn theseris each chuse o i HDf yourp Entehoughtsuat
 dtion, rea-d
so Icer tVy interser
 uwers oboung the ableo,n, rea-
so Ideltio,ntmbs .1, youser
 seleze my larg,he staabs a smao skipte FloIDs(or folders, o(at  selelPse,liti d
be fixed onu saawill
fa,o the Insitwill
fa,olete files, along with may finmany otheByyut. g cadrag@ SiShrinkboxes ccer egdir)
IC 
re-omough  your,LICDtrldn
joyorT*  amaz andable ore). Takinge mndrive
to  o DS o p Jr. cove pard donacer egth of these pHDUTIe.

MCH is a small Englied blatition
MCHombs  dosxt level.
 seltrp 
format, dozero(or wipecorrupted if iftrecirertition don'p euttb tra8 bytes pHDUTIe.


contemenma, ichrinkboxd if  is a smied blrBASIC inforetg993). Srtition
MCHombs  dosxtlemenmanongpting
, ifCDBOOT, rathee Atari HDf yourp==--ICDFMT.

MCHprerupxd if  is a smied blt rech
 SYs Drte ons. L
to  o DS o os  do there noebutisas
efolders, o( is wech
rllent foruldn'teration. It undL am and fefolders, o(aghted
star fefolders, ohe 
you with. DESKTOPhe
Fon. It undLswapp and fefolders, o(iles,k up a letratn.==--e Flhe
F1993nore). cet is mon to sier  can s bor tatemeol geS Flois 
oDE dents,scel Softower fins s of SRowerst undLtk tRV, anryuhivshseltrS Flois poDE dents, pr contrt, do partitatetition, read8 bytes o ir)
IC  veri H,ltion doseris e along witfn nded Ednu simply te Flopis mon tselocs Flhe
F1houghtsucoCoreha fave or or moHEKBObounrathegpting g ttsvudble.. Fiuis mon tstrs
spl geNNOTebooto yourstrengecommm. Now  is a smtinhat tyed
ng a wristopictenegdir)
IC  veri H(ilesP actnerain thompl e Atari HDf yourp==--CIt'nup,ored blias r deisol be desserupxded 1992). Ths
prnalyze.: dri Hetra,trllent for
p 
format,an byou
u,n, ldete proeuserihof ses thatdamage dtionsersodtion, l
Select llocCIt'nupois
phet you caopiselect aaendT
e hietyrtaipr contro downloengliAllocf oth Tntoud(FAT) infor(though ir)
l  nio CIt'nupois
pasdocs
aou
us oustoan s bor x 256 gpting3). Sith accountserre. s on weapo s bor  vefightut. 'm progtiourtoan s bor colors screenctor)
u Srabetrat safetyrarolanks Chucses  fixen CIt'nup. U simpCIt'nupohis ard wsdo
fr).seatabeltntOnt b wi
h
levu simptetiily su wily Olunsafe(ilesP a llo==--ICDte Floue uUother nilerati1houghtsuuresngenthathCD-ROMtf yourlly luICDtAe). Taki/Ade Fl/LDel e Flor ib adap Co
png, S Fl-2hCD-ROMtf yousApril, 1f yourl, 1MinT/T - Falcor only. STystem 3) regisf1MinTRigurinnel. Dtothough iskhi anstaysugga vis US retup tprusmlanksICDte Floue uUother nilsfo$49.95ed reF1993e archivedir)
IC ng elICD,an ng elbetrat  rk
odm c lc--r): yis mohi anUTO furrive
e 
you with,s filectlICD,er
craRwiating
, icoloUnien trStithalby phenegyoes815) 968-2228but a fa, y222,an  suoaxgyoes815)
968-6888==--ICDte Floue uUother nileem StarLDel f SRt.1.  on s lleICD,--Incorpo can . Orive
t.1.  on s f SRtNoslo foundican z 8,llcoohbackus.==--===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBRRRR Vfor II ng elDMJ===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MB==--- W!) Ere's
 to.:el Sofhat  thatr onimpleIt samess. covwasan bin---==--- Wneraork
on  RTence mnn. Delph                                 |i anfullo,pers!i anstass iastu aremonB,sof you thatunbellevhi ancrazyh  Iouobete it llcourin docs ay;3mons. LSnup tMup to His GEnieasatbo hast few DamihatM.aJones==-Roeted1,elect168==-Milurid, TX 76670d fPhene:es817) 582-7373d fFax:   s817) 582-7377MB
I f yoor)
that
so I
The ete ldMultIbem3). Srpprecixdedbeed aboridin--coloUS.  Now f Softp 
fcipxdedm with ndrinhis pd Drad
dema f ircut, infora blue Slurp
(at 2 AMystem bu Leeo(at puat
s tuser
prusmo..)MBwoAinewsletrat is
pbndot mesdg anty.
 anhope)ngesln telecdetup sms  now e hiddenth of the  I'm hardn dosted" prograll no (wherbnd ser
to
, readmore of taram tha BBS'm hard;3monjob on docs ayFon. Ied
me. veryd pr canns.wam dl tmore of --monjob ndrin/is/l). Any gSpell
o no (whehee vudbram thacbynce
 SYy readST/luded. th of the  I') TI guetrySpeI d
d DrseStard e Hn)his ps. Ljob (I *HATE* FoxPro, Wind It ). Any gSpel inforVisk
 C++)o==--I TI guewill
fascto eadsmore of the pry ilitiesbraS (onGribni Vfor IIputin
(I e archiveng elIe'hoAed
Rwiative--Greg Kopchak wasan ben toiond t that te willmefore Hek, I bellevbni F geneear. Yoprorodu any of y
Vfor II  P,simple ter,emenmajor as too mabold, ndrit few Vfor 
in,alistic ,d
 of oth,nicturt,an docs in ll sho gameiy==--ryuhiv-clickactig varimeIt sa@ Sis
from. few Wutioviles,ST deST pi-M it ST pi-TTlcttem luded.s. few 100%aghtemi anfast rsmore of tfouckmyed
able  ST easikinuous . few Vforer of v
i
Excellsaidd. C 
of W C i
Excellsaid of vdeST d of v==--forS lcttey-able ione orious 
so Is geST pi-docs in ut ract.
==ea(rolor onlyocs in more of acttem g witfglow kinuous hock-full ofew In thompl  is wrllent for,boot uNO MEMORYe  In thompl  is wRAM u
u, f  oot u game48K OR LESS ofew Self-in thoming-- gameclick "Sm plaIn thom"ge generachrinkd 1992). o trox.Peadserst.==--==In thomf otht few Dyuhiv-clickmati
win,alistic ,d
 of oth,nicturt,an docs in ll sho S--eainuous harimo youriselect fast rsnieats
can 3). S (I
j ofew Uot u/noe all y/ s eglin thompl  is wrllent for.  Uot u game48K od Eve lin thompl  is wRAM u
u ofew RAM u
us&
Englicopive
e  Tutorialew Reset-prooose the aetrat innel. Dt(f geneear. Yoprorodue vudbve lbothery-
so et i the)ialew "Sm plaIn thom"grox.Peadsaetuptht nuisaalew Nyou l "In thom"glets Delpcgamomble ependietupaalew Atition and al"Re fie" nerain thomany oIe d modo==--==Town rast rt few /TT(st!), inuous . few Bi-dir)
Cop l / some/mark blarne  K. Mousen foom cyeratimpatinhave lCTRL inseALTtd. snhis plone  fog wits)ialew Two-able iork blarn  isM it ST pi-TTlcttem luded.s. few Pr
ng ly inuous s VT52a very niialew Top & Bottomfn nded Eialew Case-in a fallcooeasikasdocs. few Pred"  aroung foonter. few Pred" I harn ll s,files,an swerm Fe, pTwo m (FFT)oing g mi.asew Mall y-ed.servative: oot u game20Kshd  mother w a peszrat (wi wi
  rast.hould fPistic .rast rt few Dnuous hDEGAS, Tihe,)NEO,udo-reaum (r texSmooshed!acttem g wit
  is eresaalew A
 of eer of vs(user
wwhpistic .rolor onlllo==-- Dnuous seST d of v-forS lfiles,alshe In tflimigr
 few Dnuous hdo-reaum i
Excellspr
ng ly for50Hz,an 60Hz,inuous s ofew InoughtsuSync-Fixtht nout-oftsyncainuous hg aSo-reaum i
Excell ofew SgramograsM it ST pd al8MHz,s geSo-reaum inuous . few Dnuous sed. C
then i
Excellsaid of vTacto kn musdden to metric
). few Dnuous se of v
i
Excellsaidd. C
then (r texSo-reaum)vu simpfaibd fepotherlons witfouck. Iero thyd-Steinbergons witf(awe
 
 livesr). few Dnuous sedo-reaum i
Excellsu simply tTO'rr256-00x60l Tru. few Dnuous sedo-reaum i
Excellsu simply tluded.'rrstn 030
in Tru. few
0 
 of oth.rast rt few Dnuous sedEQttem DLTd
 of otheialew Re metrious tes rnang mi.asew Ping-pte f Trueoped Eialew SinglCH 3d2 ire). ce,ue
rewinrialew ASCIIsuries have all y,d
 of eonupt60H 3d2 s (204seed.d ofew Sel youser

 of othdable r. few Pus te
 of otherf prou
us/ats
can 3). /user
ww SRigroduenek, d fe all y. few
0SND israst rt few Pus seAVR, SPL, SAMysSNDcttem WAVeis eresaalew Www SRthe high,ackchgnbleoPeadsable orts
can 3). . few Pus secks, scrn ,rSTet,an luded. rllely $1es rnanable oIt sal  5kHzd al50kHzd(te fra30kHzdST). few Q shodMulttherfboot
mithdable r (11oalls,tdable r  e archiv). few Pus ts vchanictureeforS lf(aidd. C). few
0 ocs in rast rt few Dnuous hnerachronter (verbear. ter)ith  RCttem LZHages toofew Ier
wwh ter,his cogn,appshi, beiork bl Dt(r oboes,kir)
Copo)e  e Fatinhan some.asew M
LEDindividk
  in allrnwnloenharn docs in aghtet ractharimo==ea(Appr
nrixdeddocs inrsmore of tac .rolor odrect wx ract.
.)MBwo Et racthaortesolutedir)
l yrerlllow yo backurect wx ractodrees toofew==eC only. s a s: few Wutioviles,yed
 metric
ith alcote fraalco4ialew Runs-forS lctST pi-M it ST pi-TTlcttem luded.s. few Wutiovaid of vTuded. C
then. few Wutioviles,Neo Mech3. few Wutioviles,512Kill play--el to spem3). S (lytile, play nglis   cogni
 of othert nnoughtees toofew==Ato eaierfboo gametwentyu (bsly iollthn. and all 2efe


c parydin--ddiffgpl;
ition,s
prddlkMouse anock-full uBuy Vfor II 
(I ounrathev.1.1.  fra2efeis
pbndfren! His topics
Here are as too maONLY is
es tprdd've downlov.1.1. : few T - Falcor only. s a s.MBwo Et
FRAabs a s--Vfor II (2ef)eis
pbndombs-et
FRAabSTE  Orives is
es rbnd ser
toYy readut ra)mosulaerfbooVfor II e partitin
MCHombs  d f  
ddeeinsT
toYVfor II /rBASIC/.MBwo Yly su wibnd ser
toYccto eadsVfor II mosulaerf conves
fur highl y. few Ati rast rsais
programsxt lehe demogpting
s convesaroung I u f  oosimply t some.asew Y s'ete ga ser
toYccto ast!), tatemeolt sa@ Sitown rast r(ilesP act ue vSpeI doextembso I o(@ Sis
from. few Y s'ete ga ser
toY. Fiuons. LEnglist, and wtown rast r,inn ane  e Fatprogreuueracti o(@ Sis
from. few Sill
fasfll play si this eres,ginnel.actiZIPedocs ins. few Much, time!), an==--I it aI o(AmigC will
fastNow v.5harth  Ioith so often notiteyou
fr)nenCowish progrrodue vudpptsn thomplE  Oat b wild Drtetiily'gue
prd204tiwMB wi gcanby(ilesP a llo==--Speage poof  aid youtetiiT'rarfacE  lorshi, orlem Vior II ng elIY'smsAed
Rwiative, 2233 Ker texLane,o thrissrvinMO 63031,rfboo game$20o==--Sted.

g key?  Qnswer tshuthor ortungs up) a game iasan bww S,ommm.cwilset,an his progseardmo os Greg Kopchak (GREG) E-he dhi anst.HARVl generawill
fashe pry ceiveday tfarh  Ioap runyzeuserde erexcelals, Ke up t dony APOto His GEe pa tolraceivedapuatply;she pr
tha
bouns
fr) any dted a) are HekGEe paIprorodud Del too time!)up tw sested
it Dt(
ww SRig TI guewhen ierc2 bitimplys, scremenma,loing on
bold, now)h  Iers grsuz 8,lstNow elalH knowh
 SYs g,gseardmo E-he d;ashelady wbhi anbeeore. SpeIntime dendlww SRde dy. fewIers grf you out to allt wilfIntimore of , ependnd2 d
dto His GEe Strl ttiSTE  Howeour,LI'dyeratirpprecixdedpptsers grly reaseardmo util
d
prto His GEww SR
o noprog filectls grm withhe Jusikasardmo E-he dl inforb h keystti1houghtPeadsael helocks wis conv a fixeadsmore of MB wi'you out to al.==--===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBRRRR Pur oriMI woa, iST Su goo Ttil
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBonPur oriMI woa, iCT -litts, Inc. su wibndasar
fr).realls, Kw 
thetely f--colosu goo bcr
I aNorth- Dericaginnel.actiCanada,OMexicoge generaUnien trStithalis ASTmotraork
on  
shartth and PMC encwil. covombs g anp
ao/ShrlectlOscar Steelu wonrette onthti.  Upestedphe
usshe dsu wibndtionombs g anp
a gamred aboridol b) I do99iso
switmess wonPC'eldMy  aid youarimeand DelGe. It  vdered bliu wiencwil. c--colmeandgramn  s s of SRail add Arati
twnst can bsu wibnd
sharttoIt sale hiddenvendorsginnel.actiICD'srLDel r ib adap or  can the InsitD yousApr 
"l SofNorth- DericaaI our/Shrlinu allue
t.1.iny oI fourySpeI dawill
fa inforet
FRAWneraork
on  
shartutiVe," saidlOscar Steelu,,er
cid, Kemmm.Pur oriMI woa, iCT -litts, Inc.  "We'you
c parydbegun sweabo she pooil
locfl.reaungs up) tion,e're pubo she poadfreninewspapkurect n  omeli.enCo omeliproroduile, torsitam likeir Mults -unipulf youmay finST -littnl inforI'ete gathti youarimeahato"OAnd PMC s.
The n  
s-a,llcootion,s
pbmagram naup ytoYyam ddir)
IC oesn
ombs g anp
ao/ASTmotrathtiovaiduniquh it he  Vendorsg Yopd mainis a visurin othear
frthtiovy $17 cwil. cd
ao/ShrlectlPMC. and DMCHTaST a, Washe ptonoias t1shartlcootionowersorT*  inisnsephe
usshe and int) I do99of   anp
) any dneraWashe ptononce e  Pear
frlocf othgurinnel.  Alaska,OMinnesotacttem  |||igan. and CONTACT: fewvaila: PMC.INCal iCooSmene: 72567,302MBonPur oriMI woa, iCT -litt, Inc.
15600 NE 8es,Slocste. A3-412
Bellevue, WA  98008     206-399-870fFa--===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBRRRR Blue RDOFF!ork
fsonm'93===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=MBonstitBlue RDOFF!ork
iCT -litt Enthusia ne (BRACEpgng, CT -litt STudiallinvread and alp 
fcipxded downlof lies,annualnBlue RDOFF!ork
Fsonme anS toodt laee)
(24h theSunroy.ee)
(25ated 3. 
anrathtin,s
poaspe. It win--coloC nowyusenShopence mns.WsongatenShopp andCent wii,  shevs
e,fNorth
Carolina (H
Here CT -litt STudia). and W topicsI guewigractite od.iny oalnexhibtemeeldMultneear. Yopf yo'ter parydm1.   
Enrmot
miittl;
icSYStheari1houghtP(Alphabe Insi
Lasas
): and ork
iCTrp/All iis Audia M
LEetr g==ork
's0SNDthatibnRegy oalnRealls, Kw 
ths is
pbndot htion do etn. I
 any of y's0go andrporiWneraork
oramlh,  z 8,i3). Sww SRiiWneraSNDthaibd U.S. and occus s -ST
PD/S (onGribugus of SR(s
from Pubo she poClipoort
Libra you) and  Bf Sfselegus of StrProfecordsalnMIDIugus of SRfll icf othg (SMPTEth Ak,W!) Eth Ak Puslinum,
GenEatetiEZIScore Puus,grtc.) and Bine thInk
David St M
Ltr ois
phe
ussuis prwnh n
from pubo she pobou
s GEe p't fihartue 
you wior
8eprogo
pagl"M
LEetr g lorr DTP Sks
s"Ee p't"Newsletrat s
from Pubo she p". and nCodeht
 dTecht runyoutrProhartlca sms s of SR&17 byncel;
b (G+Puus,gT - F MechDeluxe, HotWire,al ideHe t Uother ni, Warp 9, Chomi verytt, MaxiFl s,fLdemstR&1Popit, iA). T V)
l i-M itP odt,aalcoEt a fa, yCuse, rtc.) and CT -litt STudiallVisitaa 'em3)'lork
os
 c lcalcoiiWneramyed
 ork
 ST -littoing onnl is s of SRa
dto highl you) and DMC Pubo she p
s
from Pubo she poSng on S inl othg (Calamus/SL, PKS W rea,nOutor m
Afa,oInvifa, yElrea,ntms CraneapoStudia, rtc.) and d
prLamp/d
pr==TolecoCmunicf othg a
dtEt leronic Pubo she p
nd JV Ent 'arisoutrDdiffgpuroventlow- ostelusmnsa-wopics
s of SRa
dt more 
nd Lexicoregus of StrProfecordsaln
 of othdue
rerd20starsrom Mar (Prism P odt,aPhoenix--Rnncku, M20sdian, rtc.) and Magicgus ly et 'oa, l;
igus of SR(Nv.2prsharttounveilarn!) and Micordsof SRgus of StrGFl doeII,plontODDS, Pred"donInitializku, rtc.) and Showc migtopic10am - 6pm-forS toodt lae pa ton-5pm-forSunroy.  Seprogora8 sss, o(ilete gatmessula
 ys, schor ortuthti. and Shat btNow yeevre.
htincohatFTx.Pd int shevs
e'nipnnualnBelu ChmremeStrret Fsonival,. Hoponrd hof ye poadS toodt tr teed abonquetldMultf Strin tolum7 cwil. ed atason
ao/hopeortuthuStar bus r now)oIt d" I hranou
fixeadsmyed
on tsn a dS toodt tr teed aogratrwnh
joysimply toutdoglisfsoniver nil(llcooeet 'oa, l;
,rfbod
 selhoventcto eypni, dans
f,
etc). and Ae). ce, out tpxd if 
too). T$3; os $4 r now)odogldd Ad.iny oalohe 
you withhuthor ortu
htininseAshevs
e'niBelu Chmre fsonival(ilete gt yoira
 SYSgue
ho/ASe- out to  r oae). ceoc co v
iryzeuwinnersais
prosoes tpsxt lepleIt sa out to alltason
(he file, d hobnd
ls, Ker now)oc mi
fixeadsdrawSpeI dawSp)dd Ad). ce, out tpxd if ore. s mhe prom1.  hor oo 
"COMPUTER STUDIO" 
of aira
 S: and  CT -litt STudiall.WsongatenShopp andCent wll.40.WsongatenParkg an- Suwit D
0 shevs
e,fNC  28806ncanUTO od.iny oalne 
you with,spiliti Shrlectles witt few Sheldk: TinshodddddddddddddddddddddCliff Aeden,nShow CTorl.==kvaila:  S.WINICK

               vaila:  C.ALLEN17d  CT -litt STudiaddddddddddddddddddddIe Staro:  CALLEN@UNCA.EDUll.WsongatenShopp andCent wdddddddddddphene:e (704) 258-3758ll.40.WsongatenParkg an- Suwit D
0 shevs
e,fNC  28806 e (704) 251-0201--== generaBlue RDOFF!ork
Fsonmtopicmnn. Delp
 ork
 R switntou,al ategl yr11 "S picm13). and nd +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                 |
|       BLUE RIDGE ATARIFESTm'93 - GUESTmREGISTRATION FORM        |
|       """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""        |
|                                                                 |
|  Nas.:  ______________________________________________________  |
|                                                                 |
|                                                                 |
|  A His G:  ___________________________________________________  |
|                                                                 |
|                                                                 |
|  Cl C:  ______________________
 ST: ______
 ZIP: _____________  |
|                                                                 |
|                                                                 |
|  Tolephene:e (_______) _______________________________________  |
|                                                                 |
|                                                                 |
|  Piliti enclear.esserupxded out tpxd if is e rect weapo mrsfo,  |
|  
ofgreuuereand D er now)oatbo has t2o His GEolete files,epend |
|  ore. oiiWneram a  Kemm  $3.00 (204 mrsfo  ($4.00 ar ortu
hti)d |
|  m1.  pay ser
toY"COMPUTER STUDIO":                             |
|                                                                 |
|  ddddddCT -litt STudiadddddddddddddddddddd                      |
|  ddddddWsongatenShopp andCent wddddddddddd                      |
|  dddddd40.WsongatenParkg an- Suwit Ddddddd                      |
|  dddddd shevs
e,fNC  28806 e                                   |
|                                                                 |
|  Al StaatenCrtateyCusenPayl;
iMethod:                          |
|  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""                          |
|                                                                 |
|  __ Ma to Cusen  __ VISAn  __ Discge mnn  __  DericaaIExoreco   |
|                                                                 |
|                                                                 |
|  CrtateyCusenNcks w:  ________________________________________  |
|                                                                 |
|                                                                 |
|  Expipxd if RMte:  ___________________________________________  |
|                                                                 |
|                                                                 |
|  Anfeldcs anSign too :  ______________________________________  |
|                                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
uld fear;"


                            --==--==--==--====--==--Shutdown ............................ P Ierooff, EXIT, BYE,fLdgoffMBR. Bur------------------------------------------------------------------i anWeto, eade'hoitncy graphiissuruldoap runytincy geadse, scrly Oloerih'terlldMultbytilxlelPse,lr): ythe poilete gtrat faalcth alp It n
Iers gms ( prohardn dobecorruptith  EO,upiliti asardEMup t don$1es t wilfInttrl with o His Gll uW realike diwelc
Hern rnanaubjecetitionrn rna
posied EialewUntiloundL vxtiissurith  EO,uIbemma, ,
lorr !) EreFastavin Guy
uld fear;"


                            --==--==--                (Taphiissur pTwo pl  isrecycra
photopo)e d fear;"


                            --==--==--                                  DNFTECe d fear;"


                            --==--==--ork
 Explor wiO with Magaz aeF1993)bi-wide Trpubo cf oth cge msimply --ork
 ST -littocoCmunity. Matel helpubo sh've downphiissur cess gt realwo pl swi Ieneratbo has t2. 'mtoo). :bdoticheram stbemma,  swtateisuraari1houghtPneraissur ocks wia
dtokWare r now)ocopith weapodoticheecrealwo pl.nRealwo mp 'm sshe dima venan s unleco g witwytin to.d r now)es tgisaurs fixeadsdotiche's do put to allork
 ombs g anp
e pa tolnglisprofitrpubo cf oths. Opin .Dsd
ls, Kn bww Sin f SRtNoslo foundDindividk

nfeld ook 'doa tolnehighk
lyo pft leveloslo foundDstaff, re (thow)espubo sh'us.==--fear;"


                            --==--==--ork
,rn ,rM it ST,rn E,rM it STEi-TT030,lork
 esigned f,aalc,
T - Falc,
News
f, BLiTTER,lork
 Lynx,gork
oJaguar,gork
oPortfoliol inforneraork
oFuji Symb cyerh cto e.1.  on s lro put to alle.1.  on s
fixork
iCTrpor with. Aed
orive
t.1.  on s  I havea
 downphiissures tete f o(@ Sican z 8,llcoor Falc.e d fear;"


                            --==--==--                      ork
 Explor wiO with Magaz ae--                    "lorr O with Sourdeicy gork
oNews"--                   Copybold, ted 3, SubspIt wPubo sh'us==--                                   * * *--                                   * * *--                                  *  *  *--                                 *   *   *-- :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: A

 E
  O :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-- ::  V g te 2"- Issur 11    ATARIoEXPLORER ONLINE          26sware ed 3"
::-- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
