
                      ST REPORT WEEKLY ONLINE MAGAZINE
                            Monday, July 25, 1988
                               Vol II  No. 45
                                ===========

            APEInc., P.O.  BOX 74,  Middlesex, N.J.  08846-0074

  PUBLISHER                                              MANAGING EDITOR
  Ron Kovacs                                               R.F.Mariano

          =======================================================

                     ST REPORT EDITOR: Thomas Rex Reade

                  PO Box 6672 Jacksonville, Florida. 32236

                        Headquarters Bulletin Boards

 ST Report North             ST Report Central           ST Report South
  201-968-8148                 216-784-0574                904-786-4176

                   ------------------------------------
                                 CONTENTS
                                 ========
> From the Editor's Desk..............> ST REPORT ART CONTEST RULES.......
> FOREM VER. 2.2 (B) INFO.............> Leaning Toward the Future.........
> Nostalgia - Remember When?..........> GFA BASICS [A]....................
> A Dirty Word........................> GFA BASICS [B]....................
> ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL..............> Courting Financial Chaos..........

=========================================================================
EXCLUSIVELY ON:       COMP-U-SERVE    ~    GENIE    ~    DELPHI
=========================================================================

From the Editor's Desk:

Sometimes it is very difficult to keep things in their proper proportion
and believe me I try.  In the past few weeks a new and very interesting
story has slowly been unfolding that really will peel your eyes open.

Without fail it concerns our favorite computer company and all that will
be said now is it has to do with the increasing difficulties that the 
dealer network is experiencing in doing business with Atari and will 
contain quite a bit of provocative material from the dealer base.  
Hopefully, it will serve to point out the cracks in the "system" Atari 
has in place and perhaps help to mend the broken lines of trust and 
maybe rebuild faith Atari Corp.

Many of our readers ask, do you really feel Atari reads ST Report?, I can
only say it has prompted several calls to this reporter from "real people"
at Atari Corp. ...yes they are genuinely concerned, but in my opinion NOT
concerned enough yet to really stop the short fall and do a turn-around.
It would appear that a few more management changes are desperately
needed.  (No, NOT Neil!  He has nothing to do with this).

To start with, they could sure use a REAL Sales Manager, the "T. Turner"
type..taught by the school of EXPERIENCE, not by what some professor said
it was supposed to be...Fact is, most of the super marketing people
started by " KNOCKING on DOORS!  To pluck a graduate straight from school
because he is less expensive or carries "prestige" is a sorry mistake
afforded only by those companies having enough experienced people in
the same departments as the "schoolies" to foresee the errors and avoid
them.  Atari you don't have that luxury, you are too busy forcing too few
people to perform the jobs of many....Ahhhh, but that's another story.

The folks at Atari never cease to amaze me, instead of catering to the
marketplace, (dealers and potential dealers), they are busy coming up with
bigger and better ways to anger them and chase them away!  How very 
progressive and imaginative.

The expose beginning next week will detail the dealer problems and 
suggested solutions.

                                      Rex......


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


                     *:NOTICE TO ALL ATARI DEALERS:*
                       ---------------------------
                 Have a compliment or a gripe with Atari??? 

Send it in writing to:

                                ST Report 
                              PO BOX - 6672
                          Jax., Florida, 32236

       ALL correspondence kept CONFIDENTIAL unless otherwise noted.
       ---                     ------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------



                    ***     IMPORTANT NOTICE     ***
                            ================


 RE: ATARI DEVELOPER'S KIT   Cost: 300.00    Value: 100.00
 -------------------------

I just received a developer's kit from Atari, PAID IN FULL, and must say I
am really sadly disappointed.

Items Received:
---------------

  *  1000 sheets of photocopied material mainly about the 520ST, 90% OLD
     & OUTDATED. (no binders of any kind, they were rubber banded!)

  *  C Programming, by Mark Williams Co. An OLD VERSION!  I already own a
     much newer version!

  *  5 disks of utilities from Atari that I could D/L from either GEnie or
     CompuServe.

                      ALL THIS FOR A MERE 300.00!
                      ---------------------------

  I certainly feel I have been taken advantage of and fervently warn other
potential purchasers of this "EXCEPTIONAL DEAL" to wait until Atari
either brings this thing up to date, or comes forward with a new format
for the developers......

Atari, you OWE it to yourself and to folks who have paid the $300.00 to
provide:  Up-to-date info about the 520, 520 STF, 1040, The Mega 2/4 ST
SLM804 and the rest of the 16 bit product line or, at least, let all the 
owners of the Developer's Kit know that updates are on the way...including
the sealed C programming you are providing that's OLD. (Newer versions of
MWC are readily available).  I am sure you would NEVER want anybody to
feel they have been had.

Hmmm.. I most certainly can see where a "NEW" Developer could easily begin
a hostle relationship with Atari right from the GETGO!  This sort of thing
is disgraceful!

                                                    R.F.Mariano



-------------------------------------------------------------------------



                           THE JUDGES LIST
                           ===============
         Service                                    Name
         -------                                ------------
           CIS                                    Ron Luks
           CIS                                    Dan Rhea
           CIS                                    Mike Schoenbach
           GEnie                                  Darlah Hudson
           GEnie                                  Fred Beckman
           GEnie                                  Sandy Wilson

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

ST-Report Official Contest Rules 
================================ 

No purchase necessary.

Deadline for consideration in this contest is midnight August 31, 1988.

Winners will be announced in ST-Report on September 12, 1988.  We 
guarantee to award all prizes. The prize list will be announced during
the contest.

All readers are eligible to enter except employees of APEInc. 
Publishing, CompuServe, GEnie, Delphi and their immediate families.

This contest void where prohibited or restricted by law.  We are not
responsible for lost, mis-marked, or delayed art/work.

All submissions must be drawn with any Atari ST drawing program.

All submissions must be drawn by the original artist. Copyrighted art work
will not be accepted.

All submissions become the property of APEInc.

All submissions must be uploaded to specified BBS systems by the deadline
date. All systems have time and date stamping capability. Any entry dated
after 8/31/88 will be void from the contest.

Art Work Requirements 
--------------------- 

All art work considered for this contest must be drawn with any Atari ST
drawing program.

Any person submitting art work must leave an address, telephone number,
and drawing program used. 

Artwork must contain the following:

ST-REPORT

The winning entry will be used at a later date for a newsletter or
magazine cover.

Where to Send 
------------- 

         All art work may be uploaded to the following systems.

                    Syndicate BBS   (201) 968-8148
                    Bounty ST BBS   (904) 786-4176

Entries by mail are also permitted.  Be sure to use a 3.5 floppy S/S!
You may send to: 

                        ST-Report Logo Contest
                          Post Office Box 74
                    Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0074

  (Please include your name, address and telephone number)

Updates
-------

This contest will update uploading areas every two weeks.  Contest rules
will not be changed, but judges may be added during the run of the
contest.

Current judge listing will be published next week.

This contest commences May 2, 1988 and will end Midnight August 31, 1988.

If you have any questions, Please leave email on the services at the
following addresses:

                CompuServe:   71777,2140
                GEnie     :   ST-REPORT
                          :   R.KOVACS
                DELPHI    :   RONKOVACS
                The Source:   BDG793

Rules and Regulations:

1).  Use any full color program written exclusively for the ST to draw
     your own personal design of an ST-Report logo. 

2).  Art work ported over from any other computer is void.

3).  No X-rated art work will be accepted.

4).  Winners will be announced by mail, email, phone call or equivalent
     on or before September 12, 1988.

5). Judges decisions are final.



------------------------------------------------------------------------



                       Additional Changes/Enhancements
                       ===============================
                       FoReM PC/ST  ver. 2.2 Release B
                       ===============================

7/16 Update Release:

The following functions have been sped up:
------------------------------------------

  Reading Files directories              Password search
  Copy File                              Entering/Exiting message system
  Less delay between messages            Copying a file into ARCDL 
  Mail check at logon                    Zmodem download

New Features:
-------------
  When replying to a message, you can now include a copy of the
  original message in your reply.  FoReM will prompt to see if
  you want to do this.


  A new privilege (31) has been added to allow SYSOP'S to use mailing
  lists.  When entering email, at the "To:" prompt, enter "LIST".  This
  is as it was previously, with the exception that the limit has
  been raise to 50 from 10.

  When FoReM comes back and asks for "To or <return>=no more:", enter
  "FILE".  FoReM will then ask for the name of a file containing the
  names to send the message to.


  Fnet mailing lists work similarly...
  ------------------------------------

  When FoReM asks for "To:", enter FNET.  When it asks for the node
  number, enter "LIST", when it asks for the first node in the list,
  enter "FILE". FoReM will ask for the name of the file containing a 
  list of nodes. 

  Note: The fnet list is meant for send a message to the SYSOP of
  many nodes.  The FoReM NET mailer will translate the name "SYSOP"
  to the local sysop's name when the message is sent.  This Feature
  should only be used on messages addressed to "SYSOP".


  Other privileges not yet documented:
  ------------------------------------

  Priv 30 (CRASH_MAIL_P), is a FoReM PC / Fido interface function
  which allows a user to send Fidonet Crash Mail.  It is only for
  those systems using BinkleyTerm as a front end to FoReM PC.

  Priv 29 (RM_FILE_P) allows a user to delete any file in the file 
  area from the directory list command.


7/9 update release:
-------------------

The following functions have been sped up:
------------------------------------------
  Reading Files directories
  Password search
  Copy File

If M/A is used an there are no new messages, a notice is sent.

A timeout has been added to the "getline" function.  A line of text
must be input within 2 times the timeout value for a character. (Usually
4 minutes).  If a full line is not entered in that time, FoReM will
prompt for a random letter. If this letter is not typed, the user
is logged off.


Two new data files have been added:
-----------------------------------
MSGDESC.DAT adds text descriptions to the list of message bases.

Its format is:

Message base #
Lines 
of 
Text
;
Message base #
Lines 
of 
Text
;

Example:


1
General Messages on any subject
;
2
Discussion of the current implementation
of FoReM and suggestions for future
versions/
;

The / on the end of the last line tells FoReM to NOT add a blank
line between the message base titles.


CROSSBBS.DAT is text file which tells FoReM what message bases are
being used for CROSSNET (by Ben Roth). If a message base is used with
Crossnet then FoReM will force all messages to be saved locally.

EXample:

3
4
5
!

The ! is an end of list marker.


A bug in CHECKSUM xmodem has been fixed.
A version 2.2 bug that required a message based ism file to
  be rebuilt after the first message was entered has been fixed.
A "feature" where if an Fnet message was deleted before it was sent
  caused the wrong messge to be sent has been fixed.
A couple of minor bugs have also been fixed which I haven't kept a list
of.


Additional Changes/Enhancement to FoReM PC/ST version 2.2

Message Editor
------- ------

FoReM will automatically select the storage requirements for a message
based on its length.  A message less than 21 lines is stored in the
message data file, other wise it is stored as a file.  The user
no longer has to select between "standard" and "extended" messges.


US ROBOTICS HST modem usage

   FoReM now supports the fixed link mode of the HST modem.  This will
   allow the bbs to always talk to the modem at 19200 bps.  This works
   with all PC compatibles and Atari ST machines running with the 
   new "Mega ST" tos roms.

   To use this mode, use any terminal program to write the following
   settings into the HST modem's nram.

   AT  &H1 &I0 &B1 &R2 &W 

   You should be talking to the modem at 19200 when doing this.

   Then, edit the FoReM.OPT file and change the default baud rate
   number to the word HST.

NEW MESSAGE SEARCH OPTION

   Message may now be searched by date. Using the message [L]ocate command,
   you may now select to read messages entered after a given date.


NEW OPTIONAL TEXT FILES

   Upon entering a file area, the file "SUBDIR".TXT is displayed where
   SUBDIR is the name of the file area.  Example: if the directory is
   \forem\games, the file \forem\games.txt (\forem\txt\games.txt) will
   be displayed.
   

   DATNOTE.TXT is a DATED NOTICE file.  If the file time stamp is later
   than the callers last logon date, this then this file is displayed
   after notice.txt and before the general bulletins.

   MESAGEX.TXT (ie: mesage1.txt, mesage2.txt) is an optional text file
   displayed upon entering a message base.

   SYSPAS.TXT  may be sent before the system password.

   GETPHONE.TXT  may be sent before the request for phone number.

  
FILE SYSTEM CHANGES

   The file FTYPES.LST is now optional.  If not there, the file
   application in a verbose list will be blank.  (And no application
   will be asked for on an upload)


   Listing of NEW files is now done by the last time any file
   area was accessed instead of the last call date.


   UPLOAD CHANGES

   The prompt about upload size is only displayed when there is
   less than 500K bytes free. 

   The prompt about Ascii or Binary uploads is only displayed if
   the file extender is not recognized.


   BATCH TRANSFER CHANGES

   Command R from the FILES CMD> prompt may be used to remove a file
   from the BATCH ARCDL CHANGES

   FoReM may now add a non ARC'ed file to ARCDL.  This requires that
   ARC.TTP (ST) or ARC.EXE (PC) be "findable" by the system and that
   you have enough ram to run ARC.

   A option has been added to the ARCDL tools to remove a file from
   the ARCDL archive.   


   NEW FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOLS

   Zmodem protocol.  The new standard for fast error free file transfers.
      I tested it at 2400bps and it sent 224 chars a second; which is
      93% efficient.
 
   Ymodem G.  This is yet another X/Y modem variant meant for error 
      correcting modems.  Ymodem G does no ACK/NAK.

  UPLOAD/DOWNLOAD RATIO

  The upload download ratio is now set for each individual user via
  the # command from the password editor.

  UPLOAD/DOWNLOAD COUNTERS

  You may now edit a users count of uploaded and download files
  using the < and > commands from the password editor.


FNET CHANGES

   Entries in FNETNODE.DAT may have an access level for the node at
   column 75 (starting at 0).  The user has an associated fnet access
   level (0-255) set with command I at the pw> prompt.


   Privilege 27 has be added to restrict sending of FMAIL through FNET.


SYSTEM LOGON REQUEST

    F8 when hit while a user is online  will  toggle reserving the bbs
    for a console logon when the  current caller logs off.  The BBS will
    bring the modem offhook for 15 minutes.  

USER LOGON REQUEST

    From the sysop prompt, the R command will ask for a users name.  Only
    this user will be allowed to log on, until it is cancelled by entering
    R again or pressing the F8 key.


MULTIPLE DOORS MENUS
 
   For multiple doors files:

      Edit a file DOORMENU.TXT. This is just like dbsel.txt as in:
         1) Games
         2) Quizes
         3) Music
       
       Then for each type, generate a "fdoorsX.dat file"
       So all games would be in FDOORS1.DAT

DOORINFO.DEF

   FoReM 2.2 supports the new standard for passing information to Doors
   programs.  A new line has been added to FOREM.OPT just after the via
   message base line.  On this line, should be the full path name to
   where doors programs reside.  In this directory, FoReM will write
   DORINFO1.DEF . This file is defined as:

   1 BBS NAME
   2 SYSOP'S FIRST NAME
   3 SYSOP'S LAST NAME
   4 COMPORT COM1 COM2 NO COLON
   5 1200,PAR,DATABIT,STOPBIT    1200,E,8,1
   6 NETWORKING                  0
   7 USER'S FIRST NAME
   8 USER'S LAST NAME
   9 CITY STATE
   10 GRAPHICS ON OFF FOR ANSI ONLY    0 or 1
   11 SECURITY LEVEL OF USER           
   12 TIME LEFT IN MINTUES



BAUD RATE LOCKOUT

   FoReM 2.0 allowed you not allow 300 baud users to log on. In 2.1, this
   has been expanded to all baud rates.  In FOREM.OPT, where previously
   an "ON or OFF" value was entered to turn on the 300 baud lockout, now
   you may enter the minimum baud rate to allow on your system.


LOGOFF BATCH FILE

   LOGOFF.BAT is a command file which works just like the documented
   FMAINT.BAT file except that it is executed after each user logs off.



MONTHLY BATCH FILE

   MONTHLY.BAT is a command file just like LOGOFF.BAT which is executed
   at MIDNIGHT on the first of each month JUST BEFORE accounting is done.
 
   This might be used, for example, to run program to read the
   password file and print bills.


DAILY BATCH FILE

   DAILY.BAT is a command file just like LOGOFF.BAT which is executed
   at MIDNIGHT.
 

PASSWORD APPLICATION CHANGES

   The password application has been rewritten.  The user is no longer
   asked to verify each input, but will be given the chance to edit
   his input before it is saved.


NUMBER OF DRIVES ALLOWED

   FoReM will now support up to 16 partitions/drives.  Sysgen will
   still only allow 8.


DATA BASE CHANGES

   FoReM 2.1 allows user to use file transfer protocols for the
   sending of data base files.  USR bit # 11 controls if this
   is on or off for each user.  The user may change this with
   command T from within any data base.

   If you have more than 1 data base, FoReM will display a menu
   of them when entering the database area via the D command from 
   the main menu.


Other misc changes:

   Existing extended messages up to 200 lines long may now be edited.

   The lock/unlock status of a message may be changed by using the I
   command at the end of reading the message. This requires privilege
   # 28.


   The date of an FMAIL message may be updated by the U command after
   reading the message.  This is useful if an fmail message you send
   is about to expire and you want to give the user more days in which
   to log on and get his file.


   The use of doors may now be restricted by time.  The file CONTIME.DAT
   which for version 2.1 had two entries per line, now has 3 entries per
   line.  Each line of this file now contains:

      time_percentage     access level     door access level

          
   Ex:

            50                6               10

    If this were the first line in CONTIME.DAT, then between 12 midnight
    and 12:30 am, only those users with access level 6 and above would
    be allowed on the system.  Of those users, only those with level 10 
    and above would be able to run doors.  Additionally, anyone let on
    the system would only be granted 50% of their normal access time.
	
   TEXT PAGING

   The paging option has been improved.  When a user first logs on
   or via the * command from the main FoReM> prompt, he may elect
   to turn on text paging and set the number of lines at which to page.

   Paging will only occur for text files and for messages.

   On a console logon, the number of lines will always be 17 unless
   the no local window option is used.

Running FoReM PC under QUARTERDECK'S DESQview:
---------------------------------------------
FoReM PC version 2.2 dated 4/7/88 or later can take advantage of
DESQview 2.01 or later using EEMS or LIM version 4.0 memory to

1) Run FoReM PC in the background
2) Give full memory space to "Doors" programs

You must "install" under DESQview both FOREMPC.EXE and RUN_DOOR.EXE.

When running DESQview, FOREM will execute RUN_DOOR.EXE telling it what
door to run. FoReM will then suspend and wait for RUN_DOOR to notify it
that it is done.

What to do:

Install FOREMPC.EXE under DESQVIEW, setting the following parameters

Memory size: At least 384K
Does not write directly to the screen
Does not display graphics
Can be swapped:  If not using expanded ram, enter Y, otherwise it is
better to enter no.
Does not require floppy disk

Install RUN_DOOR.EXE into DESQview.  
SET THE "KEYS TO USE TO OPEN MENU" to  RD.
Memory size at least big enough to run your largest DOOR plus 50K.
CANNOT be swapped.
Make sure the path default directory are correct.  RUN_DOOR should
reside in the default directory FoReM is run from.

Exit DESQview.  The DESQview directory, there is a file named 
rd-pif.dvp.  Copy this file to the directory FoReM is run from.

                       That's all there is to it!




 ************************************************************************


                    :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
                     ---------------------------------

       To sign up for GEnie service: Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.

               Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).  
                          Wait for the U#= prompt.  
                    Type XJM11877,GEnie and hit RETURN.  
             The system will prompt you for your information.


                THE GENIE ATARI ST ROUNDTABLE - AN OVERVIEW
                -------------------------------------------
The Roundtable is an area of GEnie specifically set aside for owners and 
users of Atari ST computers, although all are welcome to participate.

There are three main sections to the Roundtable: the Bulletin Board, the
Software Library and the Real Time Conference area.

The Bulletin Board contains messages from Roundtable members on a variety
of Topics, organized under several Categories. These messages are all 
open and available for all to read (GEnie Mail should be used for private
messages). If you have a question, comment, hot rumor or an answer to 
someone else's question, the Bulletin Board is the place to share it.

The Software Library is where we keep the Public Domain software files 
that are available to all Roundtable members. You can 'download' any of 
these files into your own computer by using a Terminal Program which uses
the 'XMODEM' file-transfer method. You can also share your favorite Public
Domain programs and files with other Roundtable members by 'uploading' 
them to the Software Library. Uploading on GEnie is FREE, so you are 
encouraged to participate and help your Roundtable grow.

The Real Time Conference is an area where two or more Roundtable members 
may get together and 'talk' in 'real-time'. You can participate in 
organized conferences with special guests, drop in on our weekly Open 
COnference, or simply join in on an impromptu chat session. Unlike posting
messages or Mail for other members to read at some later time, everyone in
the Conference area can see what you type immediately, and can respond to
you right away, in an 'electronic conversation'.

Below is the Main Roundtable Menu, with these areas indicated:

GEnie            ST           Page 475
         Atari ST RoundTable          
        Library: ALL Libraries        


 1. Atari ST Bulletin Board               <-- Messages
 2. Atari ST Real-Time Conference         <-- Electronic Conversations
 3. Atari ST RT Libraries                 <-- Software Library (Programs)
 4. About the Roundtable
 5. Roundtable News            880719

Enter #, <P>revious, or <H>elp?

GEnie uses 'Page Numbers' to indicate the menus for the different 
Roundtables
on the system. In this case, the Atari ST Roundtable is Page 475.

Menu selection #4,  'About the Roundtable' will contain information about
the purpose of the Roundtable, and the system operators, or SysOps. 
Choices #5 will contain bulletins and information. You may want to Capture
these and print them out for reference.

At the menu prompt, you can type P to return to the previous Menu (in this
case, the GEnie Atari Roundtables Menu), or H for more Help, or simply 
type the number of your choice from the menu.



*************************************************************************



                          LEANING TOWARD THE FUTURE
                          =========================

Do you think a time will come when we will see Atari show the rest of the
computer market place how to do it right?  Instead of the usual "You can't
do it that way"! perhaps Atari will show the way.

For Instance:

         [A] Centralized Regional Master Service Centers

         [B] Centralized Regional Master Distribution Centers

These central plants would of course be under the direct control of Atari,
thereby limiting the incidence of communication problems being seen at
this time between dep't. heads at the Sunnyvale complex.  

* Putting in place an executive committee designed to keep the information 
flow at the highest rate possible between the national centers.  Not
permitting any junior executive to put in place any "official procedure"
on behalf of Atari without the approval of the executive committee.

* The day arrive when Atari believes that it's userbase has matured and
looks for more powerful and diversified computers and also has a large and
youthful upcoming userbase with which to perpetuate development of
quality equipment.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------



                          NOSTALGIA....REMEMBER WHEN?
                          ===========================


        Has it all been said before?  Does it seem to sound the same?

ATARI NEWS ** ATARI PC:  MYTH OR FICTION?
-----------------------------------------
January 6, 1988 --
------------------
"I'm sure that I will never see" "Atari's duplicate PC..." That song's
been sung for months.

There's been little evidence of the IBM clone Atari started showing a year
ago. But according to a classified advertisement in the San Jose Mercury
News, Atari is seeking a "Production Development/Sustaining Engineer for
our growing line of PS2/PCAT/PCXT systems."


________________________________________
Atari News Update
________________________________________
ATARI TO UNVEIL UNIX-LIKE SYSTEM (February. 22)

Look for Atari Corp. to use the stage of next month's Hanover Computer
Fair in West Germany for the coming-out party of its new low-cost
Unix-like, 68030-based workstations.

The workstation is based on Whitesmiths' Idris system which Atari 
licensed last year. In addition, the newsletter reports it hears that 
Atari also will introduce a desktop publishing system for under $5,000, 
"getting close to the price of a good laser printer alone."

The publication says the system will be composed of the Mega computer,
the SLM804 laser printer and Atari Deskset software. "The software is
claimed to put true WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) on the
screen," CI says, "and page formatting will be handled inside the
computer rather than on the printer, 1 meg of memory being dedicated to
laser printer commands."


TOS ROMS -- BLITTER VERSION  8-29-87
------------------------------------
The 1987 revision of TOS is scheduled for release in conjunction with the
new "blitter" chip.  The new TOS has been upgraded to include support for
the hardware blit as well as retaining the software blit functions for 
full compatibility with older software which relies on hardware timing 
(a definite no-no).

Changes in the new ROMs are:

RS232:    The RS232 handler has been completely rewritten.  RTS/CTS 
          handshaking now works.  Baud rates 50 and 75 now work.
                                  ==============================
CLOCK:    Support is now included for the Mega ST's built-in, 
          battery-backer-up realtime clock.  The realtime clock is 
          automatically used by the XBIOS gettime and settime functions 
          for the IKBD.  The GEMDOS clock is reset from the realtime 
          clock at the termination of every program.

STARTUP:  Memory clear at system startup is much faster, improving 
          performance on multi-megabyte systems.

DESKTOP:  The desktop now includes a control for deactivating/activating 
          the blitter chip.  Also, the Save Desktop and Print Screen 
          selections will request confirmation.  Spurious characters are
          no longer written to the DESKTOP.INF file.  Doing a PRINT or 
          SHOW from the desktop will now display characters with ASCII 
          codes above 127. SHOW and PRINT use a larger buffer now.  
          Single drive copies now require fewer disk swaps.

CART:     Cartridge handling has been revides, eliminating the need for
          "CARTSTART" code and allowing .TOS and .TTP programs.  Lower 
          case letters will now be accepted and passed to an application 
          from the "Open Application ... Parameter" box.

AES:      The AES will now send repeat clicks if the mouse button is held
          down on the arrow or page controls of a window, which lets a 
          window smooth scroll.  The AES underscore bug is now fixed. 
          APPL_TPLAY and APPL_TRECORD now work.  The limit of 30 
          characters on a line in an alert box is now rigidly enforced.

MOUSE:    The mouse redraw can now be set to XOR mode.  The system will
          return after a single click if this is what was requested.

DMA:      The DMA bus can now have more than one device attached at 
          powerup time, without any special software.

FLOPPY:   The floppy read/write code checks for more errors now.  In prior
          versions, the system would not report a CRC error under certain
          circumstances; now it will.  This hurts some copy protection
          schemes.  The format of the floppy disk has been skewed from 
          track to track to improve disk speed; the XBIOS supports this 
          by using-1 for the skew value and placing a pointer to a one 
          word per sector skew table in the previously unused longword.

VDI:      The VDI will now draw arcs with small angles.

BIOS:     Character out routines are much faster.

BLITTER:  Automatic blitter chip support is included in line-A and VDI 
          calls.  The extended inquire will report a larger performance 
          factor than before, allowing applications to check for the 
          presence of the blitter.  A new XBIOS call has been added to 
          check for the blitter and to activate or deactivate it.  The 
          blit is not reentrant --line-A and VDI should not be called 
          from within an interrupt.

REGISTER: The registers D0, D1, D2, A0, A1, A2 have always been forfeit 
          when a trap call was made.  Now the demise of these occurs 
          under more conditions than before.

MEMORY:   Slightly more RAM is used by the system.  Programs that were 
          close to the edge on a 520ST may no longer fit.

VARIABLE: Most undocumented system variables have been moved.  You were 
          warned!

NOTES AND WARNINGS:

1. Some programs depend on the OS always being at $FC0000.  This is *not*
   cast in stone and will probably change soon.  To find the OS header, 
   use the pointer "sysbase" as documented.

2. The 4 megabyte ST puts the screen near the end of accessible RAM.  
   Sloppy programs that have been writing past the end of the screen will
   give bus errors if they do so on the 4 meg ST.

Ah yes, this version was to end all the problems...and NOW we feverishly
await an even newer version....HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------



                                GFA Basics  A
                                =============

by Rick Taylor

Do you believe that 'C' stands for 'confused', that 68000 Assembler if
for numerologists, and that ST Basic is for the gullible (not to mention 
patient) crowd? Don't despair. There is a language for your ST that 
operates at near 'C' speed, allows 'C' and ML subroutines, handles GEM 
calls with ease, and best of all is simple to learn. Very simple.

Even if you've never programmed before, you'll quickly be up and running
with GFA Basic. Those who've programmed in Pascal will appreciate the 
programming structure possible in GFA Basic; structure is something not 
usually associated with any Basic dialect. Those who've already 
developed 'spaghetti-code' habits won't have a problem adapting to GFA. 
It's very forgiving.

GFA Basic was developed in Germany by GFA Systemtechnik, a company that
specializes in writing mainframe computer languages. The programmer 
responsible for this remarkable product also wrote the public-domain 
Turbo Basic for the 8-bit Atari's, one of the fastest Basics for any 
6502-based computer. The only shortcoming with Turbo Basic was the lack 
of comprehensive documentation, a fault shared by it's 16-bit offspring. 
This limitation has been addressed, as pointed out below.

The manual that comes with GFA Basic is a revision of the original, 
which was far below acceptable. This newer edition does correctly and 
completely cover all of the available commands and functions of the 
language, however, that's all it does. To my way of thinking, with a 
language so far from any other Basic on the market, it should have a 
tutorial section to show the user how to start programming in it. 
Veteran Basic programmers shouldn't have any difficulty adapting from 
their former Basics though.

If you are stuck, or just want to more thoroughly learn GFA Basic, 
Michtron (the distributor of GFA Basic) and GFA Systemtechnik have 
introduced a guidebook and disk for their product. It isn't cheap at 
$39.95, but may be a good investment if you're serious about progressing
with GFA.

If you've experimented with ST Basic at all, you'll really be glad to 
know that GFA's editor is of the full-screen variety (editing an ST Basic
program is something I wouldn't wish on an enemy). GFA's editor almost 
qualifies as a full-blown word-processor, having many cut & paste 
functions (search and replace, copy, move and delete blocks, etc.). 
You can type either in 'insert' or 'overwrite' mode, upper or lower case,
and abbreviate many keywords. If, for example, you were to type:

?"Press a key
inp key$

The interpreter would instantaneously (upon a carriage return) alter it 
to read:

Print "Press a key"
Input Key$

The extra quotes, spacing and full command words are added automatically 
and without a bothersome error message. Our example above raises a 
question to those unfamiliar with GFA though: Where are the line numbers?
Answer: There are none!

This throws you the first time you write a GFA program, but once used to 
it, you'll never want your code interrupted by pesky line numbers again. 
Trust me.

"But how do I jump from one area of a program to another?", you might 
ask? Simple. GFA uses 'labels' instead of numbers, and I'll show you 
below how that works. First lets use an example in traditional Basic:

1577 GOSUB 10000: PRINT "All Done!"

Now the GFA version:

Gosub Calculate
Print "All Done!"

You can put your "Calculate" subroutine anywhere in the program, and GFA 
will find it, as long as the first line of the routine says: "Procedure 
Calculate" and of course the last line must say "Return". If you were 
using a "Goto", then your label would be simply "Calculate:". These 
labels also offer a convenient way of looking through your program 
listing. Simply type the name of the label as search criteria, and the 
editor will take you right there. Neat, huh?

Although I've only touched on a few of the features of GFA Basic, I hope 
it will be enough to encourage you to purchase this unique software. The 
retail price is $79.95, but many dealers sell it for far less. I bought 
a copy from Michtron at last years Glendale Atari Faire, and saved quite 
a bit.

If you don't already have GFA Basic, go out and buy a copy! Then in 
future columns we can explore together the fun of programming in this 
amazing language.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


                     WORD PROCESSING CAN BE A DIRTY WORD!
                     ====================================

By Rick Taylor
From The AA-AUG Memo Pad

What has that to do with GFA Basic? Be patient - I'll get to that, but 
first of all let me rant a bit!

Most of us have at least one program that requires an ".INF" file 
(a short text file which has INFormation that the program uses). Perhaps 
it's one of those RAMdisks that needs to know what size to make itself? 
Or maybe you use STARTGEM to autorun your GEM files; it requires a 
STARTGEM.INF file in order to know which program you wish it to load 
automatically. In any case, ".INF" files are usually nothing more than a 
line or two of ASCII text - no problem for most any word-processor, 
right? Right. The only problem is, who wants to wait for a mighty 
word-processor to load when all we want to do is write a few measly 
bytes of straight ASCII text to the disk?

Remember the good 'ole 8-bit computers? From DOS 2.5 you could easily 
accomplish the task of writing a small file to the disk by choosing 
[C]opy, and telling DOS you were copying from "E:" (the screen editor) 
to "D:FILENAME.EXT". After you typed in your text, you just pressed 
CONTROL-3 to alert DOS you were finished, and "bleep*bleep*bleep" the 
file was written to disk. Oh well, enough reminiscing - let's write a 
short file in GFA Basic that will do the same thing, and load in a snap.

WHY DIRTY WORD?

The accompanying listing is named 'Dirty Word' simply because it is a 
quick 'n dirty word-processor! Actually, it doesn't really qualify as 
a word-processor at all, since it has no advanced editing features. You 
don't have word-wrap (we covered that in a previous column), or search 
and replace, or even the ability to load files. What does it have? Well, 
you may type in some text, save it to disk, and, er, I guess that about 
covers it! I should mention that most of your editing keys are valid, 
thus you may use BACKSPACE and DELETE for normal corrections, and the 
right and left arrow keys to reach any part of your text. The beginning 
and end of text can reached by using the up and down arrow keys 
respectively.

SO WHY USE IT?

If you want to write little ".INF" files to disk, and hate waiting for 
those big word-processors to load, this may be your ticket. If you have the GFA Basic Compiler, you can compile this little program, and it will load in just a few seconds from the GEM desktop.

The following listing is short and easy to follow. I've commented it so 
that just about anybody can understand what's going on. Hope you get some
use from this "quick 'n dirty" program named Dirty Word!

Alert 1,"DirtyWord!|Version .001|By Rick Taylor",1,"Uh huh",Dummy
Dim Line$(24) ! Set the maximum amount of lines.
Cls ! Clear the screen.
Print
Print "Press [RETURN] on a blank line to end input."
Print
'
Main:
'
Do
  Inc Line_num ! Increment the line number,
  Print Line_num;"] "; ! and show it on each line.
  Form Input 75,Line$(Line_num) ! 75-char input per line.
  Exit If Line$(Line_num)="" ! Look for a blank line.
Loop ! Do it again...
'
Alert 2," |What will you do?",1,"Save|Quit|Cancel",Answer
'
If Answer=1 ! Save it.
  Fileselect "A:\*.*","TEMP.DAT",F$ ! Get a filename.
  If F$="" ! Oops - no filename given,
    Goto Main ! so go back to the editor.
  Endif
  Open "O",#1,F$ ! Create the file.
  If Line_num=1 ! How do we save just a C/R?
    Inc Line_num ! By adding a fake line!
  Endif
  For Count=1 To Line_num-1 ! Delete the blank line.
    Print #1;Line$(Count) ! Write it.
  Next Count
  Close #1 ! Close the file,
  Run ! and rerun the program.
Endif
'
If Answer=2 ! Quit.
  End
Endif
'
Goto Main ! Continue after CANCEL.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                 GFA Basics B
                                 ============

by Rick Taylor

If you're joining us for the first time, welcome to the column! Last 
month we featured a tutorial on creating a word-wrapping routine with 
GFA Basic; this routine was actually a subroutine from a word-processor 
I wrote. Who would have thought you could have a speedy word-processor 
in Basic? With GFA Basic (and especially the GFA Compiler), anything is 
possible.

This month, we'll look at some hints and tips for using GFA. Some are 
very simple, others more advanced-hopefully there will be something for 
everyone. If you're new to structured languages, you might gain some 
insight by reading up on Pascal. While GFA Basic is not as structured 
as Pascal is, I find it to be similar in may ways (thus you could dub it 
BASCAL!).

A rule of thumb with any structured language is to comment your code as 
much as possible. Programs that you write today will not be as fresh in 
our mind a year from now, so good commenting will help you remember what 
you were doing when you look back on old program listings. Here's the 
three ways you can add comments to your code:

Rem (this means REMark, and is common to most BASIC's)
'   (this works the same as Rem, but is shorter)
!   (use the exclamation mark if you want to add a comment on the same 
line as the code itself)

In addition to comments, the use of descriptive variable names is vital. 
Using a variable name such as 'X1' makes your code look arcane. It's 
much better to use descriptive names, such as 'Player1_total', 'Count', 
or 'Users_age'. This of course applies to all types of variables; 
descriptive string variable names might be 'Answer$', or 'Filename$', 
or even 'File_to_delete$'. The point is to make your code readable so 
that if you need help, another programmer can easily see what your 
program is doing.

And now for some various GFA tips: First off, since the ST can run in 
three resolutions, we need to know what resolution the user is in, so 
that we can adjust the text and graphics displays. The following lines 
do just that.

Rez=Xbios(4) ! Determines the resolution.
If Rez=0 Then
   ? "Low Resolution"
Endif
If Rez=1 Then
   ? "Medium Resolution"
Endif
If Rez=2 Then
   ? "High Resolution"
Endif

Some notes about the above code: Notice we used a descriptive variable 
name (Rez); although it's a short name, it's obvious to the reader 
(especially after reading the remark after the '!' symbol) that Rez 
holds the Resolution. Notice too that in the IF-THEN-ENDIF construction, 
we used the optional 'THEN'. You could omit it, but it makes the code 
seem more readable.

Another point on variable names is the type of variable we used. If we 
needed faster execution, we could use 'integer variables'. These are 
recognized by the interpreter as having a '%' suffix. Thus, the variable 
Rez could also be the integer variable Rez%, since we know it will not 
hold a floating point number.

Another quick tip: Some users have wondered how to incorporate GEM 
Fileselect boxes in their own programs. It's easy! Here's the format:

Fileselect "\*.*","",File$

If you type in that one line of code and run it, you'll see the familiar 
GEM Fileselect box appear. The "\*.*" is the search path, it appears on 
the line 'Directory' in the Fileselect box. The empty string "" is the 
default file which will appear under 'Selection'. File$ is the string 
variable that will hold the name of the file that the user actually 
chooses. If you wanted to get fancy, and use variables to store the path 
and filenames, you could do something like this:

Fileselect Path$+"*.*",Old_file_name$,Filename$

Simple, huh? Try doing it in a 'lower-level' language, and see how simple
it is!

The latest version is 2.02, if you have an older version, send your disk 
and $5.00 to Michtron for an upgrade.

Well that's it for this month. With all the new tutorials and books 
coming out for GFA Basic, we should have plenty to talk about in the 
months ahead. If you need a quick answer to a programming question, 
just logon to the AA-AUG BBS, I check in daily. 


                            Rick Taylor, Editor
                         Atari Anonymous Memo Pad
                              P.O. Box 1433
                            Upland, CALIFORNIA. 91786

         I look forward to hearing from you. See you next time...



-------------------------------------------------------------------------



              GFA BASIC: String Matching by Confidence Factor
              ===============================================

by Brian Biggs

I ran across an article in the July '88 issue of Dr. Dobbs Journal that 
deals with pattern matching based on the Ratcliff/Obershelp algorithm, and
thought it may be of interest to someone. The algorithm compares matching
sequences of letters between two strings and returns a confidence factor
that may be used in a nondeterministic program. This allows the computer 
to ask a question and evaluate the users answer from text strings, rather
than the multiple guess format traditionally used. To demonstrate this
algorithm, enter and run the program at the end of this article (the best
part: Spelling does NOT count!).

The program is divided into roughly 3 components, the game data, the game
procedure, and the pattern matching routines (SIMIL and MYINSTR). These 
may be ported for use in your own programs with little or no modification
needed. Some ideas presented in the Dr. Dobbs article include use in DOS
shell programs, adventure games and compilers. For a full description of
the idea of pattern matching, you'll need to get a copy of the magazine 
and read the article. It is very good, and easy to understand.

The only limitation to the algorithm in this application is it's
inability to determine if a numeric response is reasonably close, and for
that reason the final confidence/answer pair begins with a numeric choice,
and confidence factor of 100%.

This program should be easy to modify to run from files of text Q&A's,
allowing you to create and enter your own questions. No score keeping is
performed here, but that too should be easy to add. The resulting program
could be used to quiz students or play text oriented games. Enjoy!


                                  Trivia ST 

A module to computerize a  trivia game. ' ' Data format starts with a 
question (multiple lines are fine), use a single "A" to delimit answers. 
The answer field may be up to 10 pairs of confidence factor, answer; with
a trailing value of 0. A single "Q" delimits the next ' question, and the
 token "*END" is used to flag the end of data. Note the ' last question in
the game requires a 100% confidence factor for a numeric ' answer. (the
algorithm won't accept 39 as even close, and 41-49 are equally ' compared
at 50% confidence) ' 

Gamedata: Data What 19th-century English scientist traveled to Data the 
Galapagos Islands and studied their strange Data forms? Data A Data 70,
Charles Darwin,80,Darwin,0 Data Q Data What's the rolling home of a 
wandering gypsies Data called? Data A Data 75,A caravan,0 Data Q Data What
 country was  Golda Meir once prime Data minister of? Data A Data 80,
Israel,0 Data Q Data What kind of sports event has riders on horses Data 
racing over hedges fences and water? Data A Data 75,A steeplechase,0 Data
Q Data How fast can a full-grown white-tailed jack Data rabbit hop -- 
20 40 or 60 miles per hour? Data A Data 100,40,90,Forty,60,Forty miles 
per hour,0 Data *END ' ' Begin the game procedure ' Dim Ans$(10),
Confidence(10) Dim Stack$(10,2) Restore Gamedata '

Question: ' ' check for end of game data ' Print If A$="*END"
  Print "Thanks for playing!"
  Pause 150
  Stop Endif ' ' Read and display the question data ' Read A$ Repeat
  Print A$
  Read A$ Until A$="A" ' ' Read and store the confidence value and answer
pairs ' Read C,A$ Ans=0 ' Repeat
  Inc Ans
  Confidence(Ans)=C
  Ans$(Ans)=Upper$(A$)
  Read C,A$ Until A$="Q" Or A$="*END" ' ' Get a response from the player
and compare the result against the answers ' looking for an answer in the
confidence range specified. ' Try=0 Answer: Input Response$
Response$=Upper$(Response$) ' For X=1 To Ans
  @Simil(RespCo 301162nse$,Ans$(X),*Value)
  ' Print "Compare ";Ans$(X);" confidence = ";Value;"%"
  Exit If Value>=ConfidenceID BDG793(X) Next X ' ' Tell player the result
of this response pass ' If Value>=Confidence(X)
  Print "Answer: ";Ans$(X);" -- you score!"
  Goto Question Endif ' Inc Try ' ' Permit the player 3 tries to get a
reasonable answer. ' If Try=3
  Print "Sorry... the answer was: ";Ans$(1)
  Goto Question Else
  Print "Nope... try again"
  Goto Answer Endif ' ' Sub-procedures for the string comparison begin
here. ' Procedure Simil(Stra$,Strb$,P.pcnt%)
  '
  Local Pos,Len,Stknum,Totchr,Common,P2
  '
  ' Initialize comparison values for this run
  '
  Stknum=0                           ! Stack pointer
  Totchr=Len(Stra$)+Len(Strb$)       ! Total score possible
  Common=0                           ! Score by common strings
  '
  Sloop:
  '
  @Myinstr(Stra$,Strb$,*Pos,*Len)
  '
  If Len=0
    Goto Slen0
  Endif
  '
  ' We need to know where in strb$ the match lives
  '
  P2=Instr(Strb$,Mid$(Stra$,Pos,Len))
  '
  ' Save the left string (if any) for later compare
  '
  If Pos>1 Then
    Inc Stknum
    Stack$(Stknum,1)=Mid$(Stra$,1,Pos-1)
    Stack$(Stknum,2)=Mid$(Strb$,1,P2-1)
  Endif
  '
  ' Save the right string (if any) for later compare
  '
  If Pos+Len<Len(Stra$)
    Inc Stknum
    Stack$(Stknum,1)=Mid$(Stra$,Pos+Len)
    Stack$(Stknum,2)=Mid$(Strb$,P2+Len)
  Endif
  '
  ' Increment the commanality score by the number of matched characters
  ' for this pass.
  '
  Common=Common+2*Len
  '
  Slen0:
  '
  ' When the stack is NOT empty, there are more substrings to compare
  '
  If Stknum>0
    Stra$=Stack$(Stknum,1)
    Strb$=Stack$(Stknum,2)
    Dec Stknum
    Goto Sloop
  Endif
  '
  ' Return the calculated score for this pair of strings
  '
  *P.pcnt%=Int((Common*100/Totchr)+0.5)
  ' Return ' Procedure Myinstr(Stra$,Strb$,P.pos%,P.len%)
  '
  Local X,Y,N,M,M0,Z
  '
  ' find the largest matching substring between stra$ and strb$
  '
  X=1
  Y=0
  For N=1 To Len(Stra$)
    M=Len(Stra$)-N+1
    For M0=M Downto Y
      Z=Instr(Strb$,Mid$(Stra$,N,M0))
      If Z>0 And M0>Y
        Y=M0
        X=N
      Endif
    Next M0
  Next N
  '
  *P.pos%=X
  *P.len%=Y Return          



--------------------------------------------------------------------------



ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
======================


CALIFORNIA   Atari should get rid of those horrid sounding speaker phones
------------ they are using, they make the people at Atari sound like 
             'droids.....

NEVADA       Seems some "big wigs" at Tahoe are miffed at each other about
------       certain plans over an exotic piece of hardware...tsk tsk!

NEW YORK     Seems the Advertising we all are waiting to see is going to
--------     be mediocre at best for the ST.  The ratio of bux for ads
             is sort of lop-sided in favor of the game machines....

CALIFORNIA   When the cat's away, the mice play,....there may be some
----------   feathers flying when the wigs get back from Tahoe, a few
             little people have flexed their muscles and will definately
             cause serious ripples by having done so......

FLORIDA      The LAND SALES deals using Atari's name and calling a 26.00
-------      printing calculator "A DESK TOP COMPUTER" is about to hit the
             news, another FIRST for ATARI!  (Hey Buddy, wanna buy some
             nice waterfronted property?)

FLORIDA      The President of a Usergroup was asked, Where is the new
-------      G-Dos Atari talked about a while back, you know, the auto 
             scaling version?  Well Atari???.....

NEW YORK     GEM 2.2,  A version of Gem is in circulation in Europe, not
--------     by Atari Overseas ...but private and reported to be 
             excellent.  Handles bigger H/D partitions and many other
             small problems are corrected.

NEW YORK     Unix now has a mouse driven, icon-based, graphics interface.
--------     It's name is "OPEN LOOK". It features pop-up dialog boxes,
             pull down menus, overlapping windows and push buttons.

CALIFORNIA   Seems the 68000 game machine is a happening after all.... STG
----------

VIRGINIA     OSI, Open Systems Interconnection, an International Computer
--------     Communications Standard, adopted by COS, Corporation for Open
             Systems, a neighbor of the CIA, has joined forces with no
             less than 12 other MAJOR computer technology companies. 
             AT&T, IBM, SUN are few involved.  The goal is to allow ALL
             computers to be able to exchange info via a common GLOBAL
             networking system where there are no compatibility problems 
             hardware or software.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------


                          COURTING FINANCIAL CHAOS
                          ========================

by T."Rex" Reade

Every once in a while an executive will make a judgement call that will
never be forgotten.  In my humble opinion, the decision to release a
certain Desk Top Publishing program prematurely will be remembered as one
of those blunders.

Comes now a clammering group of faithful owners begging, scratching and
generally make a full pain in the a** of themselves wanting the newest
version of this program.  Not a soul has stopped to think of the reason(s)
why this particular program has been suffering delays, they just want it
now.  

To pre-release or beta test is one thing, to send an unfinished program to
every person who has paid the fee to step "up" to this program is, in my
opinion, bordering on the threshold of insanity.

One very major point to think about is how many of those "early copies"
are actually in release?  Can they be traced?  If so..they should be.
You ask why?....That's easy, this "beta or pre-release or what ever it's
called is all over the country already and....most of the neophytes being
exposed to it are experiencing GREAT DIFFICULTY trying to use it.  With
that in mind, no reasonable person will dispute the fact this will depress
the overall sales of this product unless a massive campaign is launched to
tell everyone the "final" version is much improved over this "DEMO"
release.  There is an idea, call this pre-release a "DEMO"!

Hopefully, when the final version is ready for the market place, the
marketplace will accept it as a perfected release and not just another
unhatched egg.  The bottom line is: IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN CIRCULATED
BEFORE BEING FINISHED, DEBUGGED AND MADE FULLY MARKET READY.  Another whiz
kid sales and marketing blunder.

A very wise and heavily experience gentleman "quiped" to me, "Rex,
Sometimes the users advice can and will kill you, other times it can be a
Godsend".  This may very well sum up the entire picture, where a fine
software company has allowed itself to be stampeded by a "Loyal Following"
of users who just couldn't wait for "the real thing" and wanted a teaser
or sampler or as mentioned before a... *** DEMO *** ....



-------------------------------------------------------------------------



                         =:OF SPECIAL INTEREST:=
                           -------------------

by Scott Swain

       In this document I once again outline my intention to create a 
  catalog of Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes) in the U.S. and Canada.  
  The concept is essentially the same but, as before, I have added more
  function codes. 
  
       For those of you not familiar with the previous versions of this 
  document, I'm simply trying to solicit Sysops and users alike for any 
  information they can supply on the various BBSes in the U.S. and Canada.
  This info will be put into a catalog of BBSes which will be made 
  available as a door on my BBS, as BBS lists probably broken up by area 
  code and distributed through Public Domain channels and also (maybe) 
  published, in it's entirety, as a printed guide to BBSes in North 
  America.  On this last option, I would appreciate your input so that I 
  can get an idea of what kind of market there would be for it.  Simply 
  leave me Email on CompuServe or on my BBS (see below). 
  
       I have given up the idea of distributing the list as one file.  The
  reason being that, even as an archive, it would be too big.  The 
  database alone with 4500+ listings in it is well over a megabyte!  The 
  output list   would be several times that!  So it will have to be broken
  up somehow depending on the situation. 
  
       As usual (you were expecting this, right?) here is a list of the 
  information that I'm asking for: 
   
           The BBS name 
           The city & state its in 
           The BBS phone number (including area code) 
           The baud rate settings 
           UART params. (data bits, parity & stop bits, ie. 8N1, 7E1, etc.
           It's hours of operation 
           The Sysop's name 
           The BBS software in use (ie. PCBoard, RBBS, etc.) 
           The Network name & Net/Node ID for this system (if any) 
           The hard disk size (ie. 20M for 20 Megabytes, etc.) 
           The system's "specialty" or "specialties" 
           The access method (dial-up, PC Pursuit, 800-number, etc.)
           The function(s) of the BBS 

       As you can see, I have also added a new field.  There seems to 
  be a growing system of 'Networks' of BBSes, I think it's becoming 
  necessary to include the network name and net/node ID for each system
  on these networks.  For example, if a BBS is node 010 on network 001 of
  the FidoNet network.  The entry for the 'Network' field would be as
  follows: 
   
            FidoNet: 001/010 
       
       This is assuming that this system IS on a network.  If not, leave
  this entry blank.  Usually Fidos and OPUSes (and maybe some others) are
  on the FidoNet network and GT POWER systems are on the GT Network. 
  There are probably other networks out there but these are the only ones
  that I know of at the moment.  In my next issue, I may list known 
  networks to put in this field and 'standard' entries. 

       You will see that what used to be the 'Computers' entry is now 
  called 'Specialty'.  I did this so that more than just computers can be
  listed here (ie. operating systems, hobbies, etc. and some special 
  interests). 

       In the beginning of this document, I mentioned that I have added 
  more function codes.  Function codes make it easy to describe the 
  individual features of the BBS in question.  These codes are used in
  the 'function' field of the entry listing.  They may be in any order 
  and in either upper or lower case.  Some systems are oriented towards
  specific interests or themes.  Others may provide services or 
  information in certain areas.  The list of current codes is: 

       System capabilities                       BBS interests/theme 
            msg - Messages or Email                   med - Medical 
            dwn - Public Domain files avail.          rel - Religious 
            gam - Online game(s)                      adu - Adult 
            cnf - Conferencing                        inv - Investments
            drs - Doors                               com - Commercial 
            mlt - Multi-user system                   nws - News reports
                                                      add - Private adds
                                                      edu - Education 
                                                      law - Law/legal 
                                                      sci - Science 
       Other items
            org - Original BBS system 
            pay - Access fees charged
            pvt - Private system 
            gov - Government system
            usg - Users Group 
            val - Validation required 
            reg - Register by mail 

       If none are specified then the functions 'msg' and 'dwn' are 
  assumed. 

       The 'law' code means that the system provides legal aid or is used
  mainly by lawyers.  The 'sci' code means that the system is oriented 
  towards science and provides scientific information.  The particular 
  field of science is up to you to find out.  This code can also
  represent a system that deals in science fiction. 

      For those of you who have read previous versions of this document 
  before, this part will be familiar.  But for those of you who have NOT,
  well here goes.  Since I have to put each BBS listing through a 
  conversion program to convert it into a format that can be merged into
  my database, each entry must be in a certain format.  The following 
  table shows the entry listing format with examples: 

       Entry Name            Example (using my system)     Maximum Length
       ----------            -------------------------     --------------
       BBS name              Console Command Headquarters  35 
       City                  Goleta                        20 
       State                 CA                            2 
       Phone number          805-968-5094                  12 
       Baud rate(s)          300/1200/2400/9600            20 
       UART parameters       8-N-1                         5 
       Hours                 24                            32 
       Sysop                 Scott Swaine                  30 
       BBS software          GT Power                      20 
       Network               GT Network:  054/000          20 
       Disk size             286M                          10 
       Specialty(ies)        IBM and compats.              25 
       Access                dial-up                       15 
       Function              msg dwn gam drs add val       none 

       You may notice that I put dashes between each character in the
  UART parameters.  You may or may not do this, my program doesn't care. 
  It fixes it so that they are there regardless.  Also notice that the 
  phone number follows the format ###-###-####.  Please use this format.
  There is no limit on how many function codes you may define but since I
  am currently using Turbo Pascal, I can only read a line of up to 255 
  characters (which is more than enough). 
  
       If an entry in the listing is blank then leave the line for it
  blank but there should be 14 lines in each listing.  If you have any 
  more ideas about what kind of important information should be included 
  in the BBS listings, please tell me. 

       And, of course, how could I go without listing the Canadian
       province codes that I'm using in my list.  
       
  Here they are: 

          AB - Alberta                  BC - British Columbia
          ON - Ontario                  QB - Quebec
          MB - Manitoba                 SS - Saskatchewan
          LB - Labrador                 NS - Nova Scotia
          NF - Newfoundland             NT - Notre Dame
          NB - New Brunswick            PE - Prince Edward Is.
          NW - Northwest Territories    YK - Yukon

       And the abbreviations for the only two US territories I ever hear
  about or see: 

          PR - Puerto Rico              VI - Virgin Islands

       Although I'm still using File Express to manage my database, I am
  planning to:  
  1) Either make my own special-purpose database program,
                                  or 
  2) Get someone else to do it.  Number two doesn't imply that I'm
     looking for help, it just means that I'm lazy.  I already know who 
     I want to do it for me.  But in the mean time, if any of you have a
     list of BBSes in File Express (ver. 4.11) format (or one that can be
     imported into it) then you can send that if you like. 

       As soon as I get the custom database made, it will serve as a door
  on my BBS.  The caller will be able to use it to search through the
  list and find BBSes in their area or around the country and in Canada. 

       With all the BBSes in operation, it would be nice to have a master
  catalog of them so if you can help out, it would really be appreciated!

       I'm still looking for volunteers to keep me informed on the status
  of BBSes on a monthly basis.  Since I have so many, it's going to cost
  $$$ to call them myself.  All those who are interested can contact me
  via the information below. 

       Keep a lookout for updates to this info.  Thank you and happy 
  BBSing! 


                           Scott Swaine, Sysop
                       Console Command Headquarters 
                      (805) 968-5094,  24  hours/day 
                      300/1200/2400/9600 baud, 8-N-1 
                        GT Network net/node 054/000

                        CompuServe ID:  72057,1542 


                                  = * =


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ST-REPORT Issue #45   July 25, 1988   (c)'88 APEInc. All Rights Reserved.
Reprint permission granted except where noted in the article. Any reprint
must include ST-Report and the author in the credits.  Views Presented 
herein are not necessarily those of ST-Report or of the Staff.
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