
                      ST REPORT WEEKLY ONLINE MAGAZINE
                      --------------------------------
                           Monday, NOV. 14, 1988
                              Vol. II  No. 61

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

                       ST Report Online Magazine Inc.
                       ------------------------------
                          Post Office Box   6672
                           Jacksonville, Florida
                               32236    6672

                                R.F. Mariano
                             Publisher - Editor

====================['The Original Online ST Magazine']===================

                        Headquarters Bulletin Boards
                        ----------------------------
     North                                                      South
  201-343-1426                                              904-786-4176
                   Central                       West
                 216-784-0574                916-962-2566

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

                                 CONTENTS
                                 ========
  ~ From the Editor's Desk.............~ CIS Conference with ST Report.
  ~ Elwood's Postscript................~ Pocket What?..................
  ~ ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL (COMDEX)....~ Pro GEM Windows #12...........

 ========================================================================
 AVAILABLE ON:     COMP-U-SERVE  ~  DELPHI  ~  GENIE  ~  THE SOURCE
 ========================================================================



From the Editor's Desk;

      Greetings to all...  As we have Comdex at the door, I am relieved to
let you all know Atari is on the march once again.  We will, for the
duration of Comdex, provide daily bulletins about the comings and goings
at Comdex.

      This is the time of the year we all begin to feel a little better
about ourselves and the folks around us, hopefully, with this attitude we
all can begin a renewed belief in Atari and in each other. Especially 
since it is the beginning of the holiday season.  In all fairness to Atari
we wish to ask each one of you to encourage more openess from Atari and
above all else, more receptive channels on Atari's part to hear what
things the userbase would like to see come to pass.

      Some of you may have attended the CO on 11/09/88, and saw what
took place...for those of you who missed the Convention Center Fiasco, it
is included here for all to see.  In addition, we have certain information
in our possession which refutes the derogatory capture uploaded to the
conference area.  We have included that also.  Hopefully, this will
dispell any stories that may have developed as a result of this wanton 
disregard of the truth.

      To those of you who stood by us because you knew the truth we extend
our warmest gratitude.  To those who were not sure or felt we were in the
'grey' area we extend our hand in friendship.  Lastly to those who had us
dead and buried..... sorry to disappoint you!  <<Grin>>

                                         Ralph Mariano





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

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                              to the Readers

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                         NEW USERS SIGN UP TODAY!

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                    (Listed at the top of ST REPORT)
                                    or
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            Be sure to include your full mailing address so your 
              Compuserve kit can be immediately mailed to you!

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




                       CIS Conference with ST Report
                       =============================


(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] okay folks. welcome to the CO. ....
  To ask a question, you must type /QUE to get in line. ....
  I'll enable you to speak one by one. ....  Ron Kovacs and Ralph Mariano
  can speak at anytime.
  Ron has some opening comments. right?

(Ron Kovacs)[71777,2140] Correct
  Thanks for attending this CO. Before we begin I would
  like to just give a small..history of how this all started. 
  Before ST-Report there was Zmag, which Ralph Mariano had a part in as a
  columnist....
  In time we thought about starting the 16 bit magazine in an effort...
  to follow the same course that Zmag had taken...We went from a monthly 
  newsletter to bi-weekly to weekly and then to the trusted hands of 
  Ralph Mariano (IE: Rex Reade).  The course of STR has gone from nothing
  to the outspoken newsletter it is because of the efforts..of Ralph 
  Mariano...    I will let Ralph make an opening statement at this time..
  GA Ralph.

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] Thank You.
  At this time I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Ron 
  Kovacs for wearing many hats in his guidance of myself and ST 
  Report.  Primarily he always emphasized that we provide the facts and 
  make sure they were true even if amplified or magnified.  I really 
  would like to express my sincere thanks to everybody for their support,
  both positive and negative for in truth, support is support.  
  Let the questions begin.

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] okay....
  to ask a question, type /QUE. ...
  who wants to start?  okay. Let me toss the 1st one out....
  Ralph:....besides the obvious article reprints....like the Oren 
  tutorials about GEM....where do you get most of your weekly material? ga

  (R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] I am very glad you asked that 
  question. There are a number of things I would like to comment about 
  this first..we have been asked, accosted, accused etc...of reprinting 
  material without permission where I did transgress somebody's rights
  I got in touch with them personally and apologized in all instances I 
  have found that once I spoke to these folks and gave them the reason:
  ST Report is not only seen by the folks on the major services but in 
  fact the trickle down through private bulletin boards to user groups
  and ultimately to users without modems magnifies our goal to reach all 
  the Atari users.  About obtaining our material it is a very tedious and
  sometimes tiring job.  I cannot in all fairness to my sources......
  make any revelations that may jeopardize their secure positions

% Moderator recognizes queue #1
  Dick_H <1>

  (Dick_H)[76615,2013] ok...
  Ralph, from reading some of your messages on the Atari boards recently
  I feel that you are somewhat optimistic about...Atari's future.  If 
  this is right, could you tell us why. ga

  (R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] Atari certainly does have a future.
  I am sure everyone in this convention center..will agree, Atari makes 
  the finest computer we can get our hands on and is perhaps one of the 
  most difficult computer companies to understand.  The have a definite 
  future worldwide before them..all they need do is see it.ga.

(Dick_H)[76615,2013] Could you suggest how they do this?

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] My observation would be acquiring a top
  notch marketing department and leaving it in place long enough to have
  results.  In addition...The current executives need to focus on their 
  responsibilities respectively and in so doing place the additional 
  personnel needed to remove the ridiculous workload from the current 
  group of employees. ga.

% Moderator recognizes queue #2
  GLENN GORMAN <13>

(GLENN GORMAN)[75706,2474] RALPH, HOW COME IT WAS NEVER MENTIONED WHY 
  RON'S NAME DOES NOT APPEAR IN ST-ST-REPORT ga

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] Glenn, by the way, your BBS, The Cave 
  looks good.  Now, Ron is responsible for Zmag and I for ST Report We 
  are co-publishers of Both magazines In other words, Ron is Zmag and 
  I ST Report and we are both full partners in all our ventures.
  ga.

% Moderator recognizes queue #3
  JOHN NAGY <4>

(JOHN NAGY)[72327,3042] Maybe you both can comment more about WHO your 
  magazines are.  This also refers to, of course, your use of the 
  Psudonym REX READE, Ralph...How many people make up these magazines, 
  and who are they?

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] Certainly....allow me to clarify, the 
  business of our magazines...and the individuals contributing to these 
  magazines are our business unless they request to be made known to the
  readers. ga.

(JOHN NAGY)[72327,3042] what?????

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] You wont reveal who is on the staff of each mag?

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] Sorry, didn't stutter

(Ron Kovacs)[71777,2140] I can speak for ZMag.
  Zmag is made up of 3-4 people who research material I give them.
  I am the sole publisher and editor of the magazine and ST-
  Reports staff is the business of RF Mariano....  The people involved 
  with ZMag are NOT involved with ST-Report and will never be.  
  RF Mariano has the right not to tell us who the specific people are, 
  if he so chooses, in my opinion. ga

(JOHN NAGY)[72327,3042] are you saying that the identities of the people 
  whio we are trusing to tell us what to believe are not our business?
  It occurs to me that few publications have flourished as secret 
  societies...go on.  maybe someone has a question you like.

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] I will answer you as best I can...
  First: As with ANY probing periodical its sources of information must 
  be protected at all costs.  to witness you, Mr. Nagy become somewhat 
  melodramatic and accusatory insults the level of your education...nobody
  TELLS you what you have to believe....GA

(JOHN NAGY)[72327,3042] Sources, yes they are protected.  
  But reporters never have had such a personal sheild! ga. 

% Moderator recognizes queue #4
  Pattie Rayl <12>

(Pattie Rayl)[71361,411] Ralph, I have two questions...1st...Why did you use the Rex Reade name?  Was it to protect you or
  to hide behind?
  ga

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] The Rex Reade name was not used but 
  developed so that now when one sees an article written by Rex they know
  what to expect.  Hiding, no I don't hide if it were a question of 
  hiding...Ralph Mariano would not be here....ga

(Pattie Rayl)[71361,411] I see...so, are you then saying that Rex is a 
 "state of being" not necessarily a person?

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] You could say that....or one could 
  easily take the Rex Reade thing for face value and not try to read 
  anything into it....ga.

(Pattie Rayl)[71361,411] What do you feel is your contribution to the ST 
  world? ga

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] REX READE...GA

(Ron Kovacs)[71777,2140] sheesh!

(Pattie Rayl)[71361,411] Hmm...guess I have to leave it at that.

% Moderator recognizes queue #6
  ROBERT <3>

(ROBERT)[73457,2135] I'm a bit concerned about the professionalism...
  of ST REPORT/ZMAG, specifically with....the tabloid-like reporting, 
  the "protecting" of reports....(reporters that was supposed to say) ...
  and the "tantrums"....that appear from time to time (we are no longer....
  going to be on genie one week....

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] This is not GEnie...and those problems 
  are solved and behind us....ga

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] okay, lets go on to the next user.

% Moderator recognizes queue #7
  Elwood <11>

  (Elwood)[76057,3210] I have some MAJOR concerns here with 
  you Ralph!
  Ok here we go...Ralph, Would you agree that Atari's True Domestic
  Problems Really Stem from Piracy? And if So!  Then WHY! do you run a 
  380Meg Pirate Board and How do you expect Atari Vendor's to Honestly 
  sell Atari Products when you yourself are well known for *RIPPING* 
  people off on the Hard Drives That you Sell!!

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] Hey Elwood we see you have to hide 
  behind a name and personal attacks will get you no where.ga

(Elwood)[76057,3210] I would not make this up.. I have a list of your 
  download from 3 days ago...here it is...

(Elwood)[76057,3210] b2THE BOUNTY ST BBS
b3 Download Directory - GAME
Select> a
Number Filename       Length  U/L'ed   Description
396) AIRWAR.ARC     163200 03/30/88  Hot new game called Air War.Multi-Pla
397) BRDG2000.ARC   62464  02/11/88  Wanna play Bridge??...go for it. 
398) HGAMMON.ARC    107520 02/11/88  BackGammon very nice...you and "Hal"
399) HIQ.ARC        18432  03/20/88  the classic JUMP THE PEG game.
400) REVERSI.ARC    14336  04/09/88  NOT TO BAD/S
401) HOTSHT18.ARC   43008  04/26/88  This is Hot Shot Checkers ver. 1.8. 
402) WHEELOF2.ARC   125952 05/15/88  Wheel of Fortune 2.0.......unarc
403) SAB_V165.ARC   126976 07/18/88  Statistically accurate baseball..You
404) LODERNNR.ARC   43008  03/13/88  Loderunner clone - Sorry, monochrome
405) CLIMBER.MAC    32768  03/13/88  MAC SAC game. Dodge those elevators!
406) 3D_DEMSI.PIT   15744  05/27/88  A third dimension game for MAC....
407) HOTSEX.BIN     5120   05/27/88  A fair game for the MAC
408) PNGERAM.PIT    4096   05/27/88  This is a decent game for the MAC
409) CRIBBAGE.ARC   45440  06/04/88  The game of Cribbage, NEW from GEnie
410) STARTRAS.ARC   106496 06/03/88  Beautiful demo of a game "yet to be"
(Elwood)[76057,3210] [N]ext  [D]ownload  [Q]uit: 
Number Filename       Length  U/L'ed   Description
411) SNAKE.PIT      66048  06/05/88  A MAC game. The old but fun game 
412) ESCAPE.ARC     83840  06/05/88  maze game from GEnie
413) SHIPCOM.ARC    46080  06/12/88  good pd game of ship combat...unarc
414) SUMERCHL.ARC   138240 06/15/88  Working Demo of Summer Challenge
415) LABRYNTH.ARC   30720  06/16/88  Move the ball around the maze 
416) TUNNELV.ARC    72704  06/16/88  Don't let thew size fool you..
417) MACGAMES.ARC   124928 06/19/88  This is a group of PD Games
418) VIRUS.ARC      66026  08/26/88  Virus neat new one full of action....
419) JETIBM.ARC     44288  09/27/88  IBM VERS OF JETD
420) MANFIX.PRG     1024   02/27/88  fixing the garbage on the screen 
421) MACGAMES.ARC   41600  05/14/88  Three in one games for the mac sac.
422) TREKNEXT.ARC   323584 06/14/88  Star Trek...The Next Generation!! 
423) PENGY.PRG      47104  07/01/88  By popular demand...Like Pengo  
424) CTC8S.ARC      55936  07/02/88  Crazy 8s 
425) YAHTZEE.ARC    26624  07/03/88  YAHTZEE for the IBM...
426) OIDSGALX.ARC   25728  08/26/88  Oids accessory galaxies.....
427) GALAXIES.ARC   12288  08/26/88  More oids galaxies.....
428) LAWNS.ARC      62464  08/26/88  Mow the lawn....nice grafix 
429) BRICK.ARC      43008  09/05/88  A pd arcade game..not bad....unarc
430) VOYAGE.ARC     595968 07/08/88  VOYAGE.. 
431) GOLDEN.ARC     317952 07/18/88   Graphix adventure game.. Excellent
432) NORTH.ARC      84992  07/23/88  GREAT GAME FROM EUROPE1
433) SUPERSKI.ARC   337024 07/24/88  cool ski simulation! graphix
434) STR_GANG.ARC   530688 07/25/88  Street Gang, NOT the same thing
435) BERMUDA1.ARC   324608 07/26/88  Bermuda Project, Disk 1 of 2...
436) BERMUDA2.ARC   342016 07/26/88  Bermuda Project, disk 2 of 2...
437) STRCRZYA.ARC   244864 07/28/88  BRAND NEW FROM ENGLAND, STIRCRAZY 
438) DEMONIAC.ARC   246912 07/30/88  Super Addicting Arcade with Editor
439) STRCRZYB.ARC   210176 07/28/88  DISK 2 OF STRCRZYA.ARC.
440) PHANTASM.ARC   129024 07/30/88  NEW EUROPEAN GAME....
(Elwood)[76057,3210] [N]ext  [D]ownload  [Q]uit: 
Number Filename       Length  U/L'ed   Description
441) GOLD2SEN.ARC   255488 08/05/88  scenery disk for goldrunner II
442) SUPRSTAR.ARC   227456 08/08/88  Super Star Ice Hockey..
443) 8BITSTUF.ARC   286720 08/09/88  This file contains over 20 8 bit 
444) SKRULL.ARC     497792 08/21/88  Just check this one out
445) FRECLIMB.ARC   301696 09/01/88  FreeClimb  Climb Mountains 
446) INDY500.ARC    405192 09/06/88  VERY NICE RACING GAME
447) MIKMOUSE.ARC   499329 09/06/88  WORKING COPY OF MIKEY MOUSE.....
448) HEROS_12.ARC   429056 09/07/88  Hero's Of the Lance  disks ONE  TWO..
449) HEROS_3.ARC    168960 09/07/88  Disk Three of heros of the Lance....
450) ARMYMOVE.ARC   111872 09/16/88  Moon buggy type game 
451) NEBULUS.ARC    231424 09/22/88  A nice one enjoy ..............unarc

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] Elwood- stop please.  ...

452) OVERLAND.ARC   212992 09/22/88  This one works 
453) HEROCRAK.ARC   39442  09/22/88  The fix for Heros 
454) RANSOM_A.ARC   297984 09/22/88  Twilight's Ransom....disk 1 of 3
455) RANSOM_B.ARC   252829 09/22/88  Twilight's Ransom.....disk 2 of 2

(Elwood)[76057,3210] should I continue ralph?  There is about a 100 k.. 
 more on this list... its numbers into the thousands

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] Many of these I recognize as PD files. ....

(Elwood)[76057,3210] I am sick and tired of atari being destroy by pirates

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] I dont know all the rest. ....

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] Certainly, any download list can be 
 modified with a text editor and my BBS

(Elwood)[76057,3210] There are MANY MANY more pirated files on 
  this list as it goes on.. I will mail it to any one on request

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] does not have 1000's of files

(Elwood)[76057,3210] I FIGURED YOU'D SAY THAT RALPH

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] ga

(Elwood)[76057,3210] I stopped the listing on the request of the SYSOP on
  this conference

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] Thank you for stopping Elwood, but you've 
  leveled serious charges. .Ralph, for the record, whats your response? ga

(Elwood)[76057,3210] They are all true.. Give me your ID number 
  and Ill send you a list of some PASSWORDS and HANDLEs to his system

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] Elwood, you better stop this now.  ....

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] That list could be from anywhere as it 
 opened up with a pure PD listing then showed files I've never heard of

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] Before we get into legal problems.

(Elwood)[76057,3210] You've ripped people off enough RALPH! 
  Your Exposed!

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] As a matter of fact, the beginning 
 portion of the list was PD and the rest is not from my BBS...ga

(Elwood)[76057,3210] AND THE REST?? And the REST i did not show! 

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] Elwood, this isnt a court of law and I suggest you
  stop....

(Elwood)[76057,3210] The Bounty (Pirate) Bbs  (904) 786-4176

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] These charges cannot be proven or refuted here.

% Moderator recognizes queue #9
  ROBERT <14>
(ROBERT)[73457,2135] Sorry I waz cut off before from cis. As I was saying.
  I'm wondering about the level of professionalism of a so called NEWS 
  JOURNAL.  A journal....which protects both reporters and sources 
  (why would....reporters need protecting?  I've never heard....that 
  before), a journal which has printed....more than once inaccurate 
  information....on a number of subjects, and a journal which throws 
  tantrums....such as saying one week they are off GEnie, the next week 
  they are off DELPHI, then they are back on genie the week....after 
  next and so on.  What is your standards of professionalism??? ga

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] First of all we are only protecting 
  contributors not reporters.  Secondly, professionalism is in the eyes 
  of the beholder.  

(ROBERT)[73457,2135] If contributors write articles..for a news journal,
  I'd call them reporters. No? Ralph:  What is your background in 
  journalism?

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] I doubt very much that you can honestly
  say we print inaccurate information consistently. ga

(Ron Kovacs)[71777,2140] One sec...We print information we get from the 
  services and from people who send material to us.  When we print 
  information without a proper check, we get into minor..  problems, 
  because those facts are either wrong or there are inaccurate to some 
  extent.  The problem on GEnie was started because of a problem with..
  communication between the magazines.  We have solved the communication 
  problem.. and look forward to a better relationship in the future.  I 
  hope this answers your question.  ga

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] Ron & Ralph-- wouldnt this issue be settled if you
  started crediting where ...your material originated? ga

(ROBERT)[73457,2135] thanks ron...I'm also interested in hearing more 
 about your backgrounds in journalism.ga.

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] When it's possible to include a 
 contributor's name, it is readily done so.  My background is volunteer..ga

(ROBERT)[73457,2135] huh?

(Ron Kovacs)[71777,2140] Zmag includes names on all articles when we know
 who they are.  SOMETIMES the material I get..isnt authored and I cannot
 credit the proper source.  My background in journalism has been..a 
 learning exp... from three years on stumbling and correcting my errors. ga

% Moderator recognizes queue #10
  David R. <7>

(David R.)[76515,3055] OK... This is a little more than a page long so 
 grab your capture buffers.  
  Whoops... Using Flash, as you can see :)
  First, Ron and Ralph, this is not an attack and slash question. 
  I feel that you do help a lot of Atari users out with your 
  magazine and you have put a lot of time and effort into your 
  work. I would just like to find out about a few vague 
  references that you made in ST-Report#58 (October 24).

  1)  "ALMOST......on a DAILY basis we Hear or Read: 'We will 
  not be researching or developing any further products for 
  the Atari ST.'" 
  2) You say that Atari will not release the sales information 
  to the developers because it is confidential information, and 
  yet, since they went public with their stock, that information 
  is provided with each quarterly report that stockholders 
  receive. It should be freely given
  to developers, but it is available if they look around.
  3) "They have managed to alienate almost two thirds of the 
  sincere developers in this country interested in them."
  4) You have a note from a "prominent" developer saying how much

(David R.)[76515,3055] received a congradulatory letter from 
  Apple. The first page of my Atari developer's documentation thanks me 
  and I also received a personal phone call from Cindy Claveran 
  explaining to me who to talk to about questions or problems along with 
  a "thank you" letter from her with the package.

  You mentioned Word Perfect in your article... since I must be one of 
  the "third" left and if it won't hurt any of your confidential sources
  (which I respect your right to do), would you name off a few of the 
  "two-thirds" who left, tell us who this "prominent" developer is, and 
  tell us where this information was taken from?? ga

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] As far as the prominent developer is 
 concerned, he is at this time quite active in the Atari field but has in
 fact become a developer for another computer company and has stated off 
 the record that his current project is his last for the ST unless Atari
 mends its ways.  Also the Word Perfect statement was a public release 
 from Word Perfect.ga

(David R.)[76515,3055] But no names of the dozens of others who have left
  according to the article?

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] I can verify Ralph's statements from this 
 'developer' who asked to be anonymous.

(David R.)[76515,3055] I don't question the note from the developer. 
 I was just wondering if they could say who it was. But, I will respect 
 the right of that person to remain anonymous.

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] It should be very evident by the lack 
 of new and innovative goodies from third party developers for the better
 part of this year..ga

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] David-- did your whole question get answered?

(David R.)[76515,3055] I guess that's all I'll get... thanks.
  ga

% Moderator recognizes queue #12
  JOHN NAGY <4>

(JOHN NAGY)[72327,3042] I haven't seen an answer all night...just 
 responses.  I guess we got REX here tonight instead of Ralph.  I pass.
  ga

% Moderator recognizes queue #13
  Elwood <11>

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] Your comments are well taken and 
 understood and in your case, you're right.ga

(Elwood)[76057,3210] Please when your all done with this conference Look 
 at your Mail! GA bye

% Moderator recognizes queue #14
  Dave Small <10>

  (Dave Small)[76606,666] Do you feel a 68030 box will be released at 
 Comdex? .ga.

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] First Dave, let me congratulate you on
  Spector 128...I love it!  Now a 68030 box is very much in Atari's 
  future and I would not be surprised...if we saw it at Comdex.ga

(Dave Small)[76606,666] ok, thank you.. .ga.

% Moderator recognizes queue #15
  Pattie Rayl <12>

(Pattie Rayl)[71361,411] Ralph, how do you think your brand of accusatory
 journalism better serve the Atari community than a "gentler" approach?ga.

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] Pattie, my brand of journalism 
 according to many of the readers has been a refreshing difference.  
 I am sure that as ST Report matures, we will see more and more of the 
 gentler approach.ga

(Pattie Rayl)[71361,411] So is the National Enquirer, but no one takes 
 it seriously.  ga

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] Pattie, the only thing I can say about
  being called the National Enquierer is that at least people are reading
  and taking the time to give it a nick name.ga

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] okay, I have a question for Ron and Ralph....
  Do you have any stats on how many people read each issue?....i.e.- 
  whats your circulation. ....And please state how you came up with the 
  number. ga

(Ron Kovacs)[71777,2140] Zmag is currently displayed on 300 BBS systems. 
 most being 8 bit boards, they get downloads ...ranging from 5-50 
 downloads each,.  On the services Zmag is at approx. 30-50 each week,
 depending on content I guess.  I get these numbers by asking the sysops 
 from time to time when I call them personally.  ST-Reports counts can be
 given by Ralph. ga

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] Ralph?  how about STR?

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] ST Report currently enjoys close to 
 1200 downloads per month on another service...on this service and 
 another it's another 1000 there...and throughout the private BBS 
 community we can only guess conservatively... the amounts being in excess
 of 7 to 10K  per month.  Also ...ST Report can be found circulated on 
 a monthly disk that accompanies a monthly...hard copy magazine.  So 
 whatever their circulation is.. ours is.ga

% Moderator recognizes queue #16
  JOHN NAGY <4>

(JOHN NAGY)[72327,3042] I wanted to say that i never expected to take the
  offensive with you Ralph, but your comments and responses took me WAY 
  off gaurde.  I expecrted answers and some openness, like you exibit in
  ST report...I want to thank you sincerely for the obvoius work and 
  research you do for the mag, and if it had no redeeming values, it 
  would never be popular enough to be a subject of debate.  I nevertheless
  ask for a bit more reporting and a bit straighter commentary... 
  obviously, thats just my request, but i send it with good faith and 
  respects. ga.

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] Ralph-- closing comments?

(R.Mariano-ST Report)[73710,1052] OK........you took the offensive, you 
  said your piece...

  In closing:

  I would like to say to everybody here and anyone who reads the 
  transcript that we will continually strive to improve ST Report in any 
  way possible...but the bottom line is to "Say it like we see it", no 
  sugar coating no pablum, and above all else, no fear of any critique 
  from anybody. ...

  We will however, continue to take every effort to ensure accuracy to 
  the best of our ability...and if we make mistakes, we're only human.  
  Thanks for coming this evening... and a special thanks to Elwood for 
  giving us more notoriety...

  PT Barnum once said, "I don't care what they're saying about us, 
  as long as they're talking about US"!  Good night all..ga

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] Ron Kovacs--closing comments?

(Ron Kovacs)[71777,2140] Thank you everyone for attending.  I am not sure
  what you expected to see,..but Ralph Mariano has his style and we 
  either have to like it or we have the choice of not reading the 
  material.  Zmag has been the quiet magazine and probably always be, 
  that is my personal style.......ST-Report is popular because of the 
  sensational writing done.. by R Mariano.  You are all welcome to 
  comment and I would appreciate it if you...would send your comments to 
  Ralph via the mail systems so that he can see what you think.  It has 
  been going on three years and I hope we are at least...getting better 
  with age.  Thanks again!  Goodnight!..!

(SYSOP-Ron)[76703,254] okay-- goodnite all.  thx for attending.

               The conference has ended   Thank you for attending

                                 *******

   The inserts provided below are here to prove that we have a capture of
what Elwood saw during the CO....the following are excerpts of 'behind the
scenes' conversation between Elwood and various people attending the CO.  
They are included here as reference only.

Job#    PPN#  
User  User ID       Nod  Name 
---- -------------  ---  -------------------
  1   76615,2013    WBR  Dick_H
  2   76703,254     DFL  SYSOP-Ron
  3   73457,2135    LIU  ROBERT
  4   72327,3042    LSM  JOHN NAGY
  5   71777,2140    GBO  Ron Kovacs
  6   73710,1052    JAX  R.Mariano-ST Report
  7   76515,3055    LAF  David R.
  8   76703,4363    LIS  Mike
  9   73217,2204    FYN  deborah penxa
 10   76606,666     DEQ  Dave Small
 11   76057,3210    FLM  Elwood
 12   71361,411     ANN  Pattie Rayl
 14   72077,43      BOU  kk
 15   70003,1745    MAU  paul weinstein


;;V_ARTS: - Job 10:  I'm requesting .. will be *happy* to write it up for
Current Notes

;;V_ARTS: - Job 12:  Could you send that entire capture to 71361,411

;;V_ARTS: - Job 10:  if you'll type    /send 10  (text)  you can send back
to me.

;;V_ARTS: - Job 10:  if you'll give me a PW, I'll sign in on another 
machine to that board..

/send 10 ok.. yes Ill send it to you

;;V_ARTS: - Job 10:  board is busy right now.

;;V_ARTS: - Job 10:  no problem

/SEND 2 is there some way I could call and talk to you after this
Conference? Also Leave u mail

;;V_ARTS: - Job 2:  yes.  i'll send you my number after its done.

;;V_ARTS: - Job 2:  my number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. call in 5 minutes.

;;V_ARTS: - Job 12:  Sure  xxx-xxx-xxxx

      Noting that there would be no way for us to have seen these "behind
the scenes messages" it tends to add to the validity of what we have to 
say..

      We received a complete capture of what Elwood saw on 'his' screen.
Folks, there are enough users out there who are acquainted with us well 
enough to know that the entire tirade from "Elwood & Co." is nothing more
than malicious, immature SLANDER.




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




                             ELWOOD'S POSTSCRIPT
                             ===================


Conf : ST REPORT
Msg# : 1268  Lines: Extended  Read: 1
Sent : Nov 14, 1988  at 8:02 AM
Recv : Nov 14, 1988
To   : SYSOP
From : ELWOOD
Subj : The MSG


               An open letter to the readers of ST Report.


         On November 9th, 1988 a mistake was made. Before an attempt at
explanation is made, understand this: There are large numbers of Atari
owners who still care about the futures of their Machines. Events of the
last 6 months seem to point to a accelerated demise of the ST Computer in
America. While many people are willing to be counted among the doomsayers,
very few are willing to display the open confidence in the ST line that 
was prevalent just a short time ago.  Although the print media, more often
than not, does not report negative news, the doomsayers are heard by an 
estimated 20 - 40% of the ST population via the electronic news.  

          Sister publications Zmag and ST Report are among the most widely
read free information services. While Zmag continuely attempts to perform
artificial respiration upon the 8bit carcass, ST Report often seems to be
Hell bent on destroying what little faith remains in all ST users.  While
many of us may agree with the often valid complaints raised by "REX READE"
the often brutal methods used by ST Report to convey their gripes more 
often than not only serve to isolate and intimidate the very pillars and 
founding fathers of the Atari community as a whole. With this in mind,
please attempt to understand the following. 

      Those of us who still believe in the future of Atari in America are
more and more being pushed to the wall.  With Atari itself at, seemingly,
a 10 year low with domestic customer and developer relations, the mantle
of user support has more and more fallen to independent user groups and
their electronic counterparts - the bulletin board system. Thus, mediums
such as St Report come to have a weighted influence in the ST community.

      With this in mind, the mistake was made of trying to attempt to 
discredit ST Report by Myself and several Others. Having been given a 
"listing" of supposed copywritten materials to be found on a The Bulletin
Board System ooperated by ST Report Editor Ralph Mariano and an account 
which allegedly would support the listing, only minutes before a 
Teleconference was to be held on Compuserve, we elected to display the 
information openly on the conference with the intent of verifying it as 
soon as possible after the CO.  After having made the allegations based 
upon this material the original source confidentially admitted the entire
listing to have been a hoax. I now at this time publicly apologize for 
any and all damages which may have occurred to either ST Report and 
Ralph Mariano, or the Bounty BBS.

             11/14/88       "Elwood"


        ELWOOD may be reached through The Crypt BBS, 313-743-8037




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




                                 POCKET WHAT?
                                 ------------

by George Keller


      As a follow-up to a recent ST Report Confidential Item, here are
a few more tidbits about the "Atari Pocket Computer" or, as it's being
billed.."The Atari Pocket PC" ( the housewive's companion (?)).  This
jewel will have 256k ROM/512k RAM and programs are to be imported via the
rs232 port. Reliable sources in the U.K. expect to see thois baby
available for sale to the general public by January 1989.  A casual
observation is  that Comdex at this popint in time is going to be
mediochre at best...There is really no major reference to Atari's answer
to postscript and a plethora of so- called new and innovative good are
genuinely obvious by their absence.  

      Truly, it becomes easier and easier to believe the industry wide 
comment; "Atari indicates it believes Europe is it's domestic market and 
the USA and Canada are the International market."  Just a point to ponder,
what if Atari would just put the machines in place to satisfy the demand 
that is there for them, what a wonderful Atari market there would be!




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





                          ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
                                   P.O. Box 6672
                         Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672

                                   904-783-3319

                      HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
                      -------------------------------------
           20mb #SG20510  519.00                30mb #SG32610   649.00
           40mb #SG44710  789.00                65mb #SG60101   949.00
           80mb #SG840110 1019.00              130mb #SG3A1210 1449.00
           
                larger units are available - (special order only)

                 ***  Available for ST - Amiga - Mac - IBM   ***

                              6 month Guarantee 
                                 followed by
                       6 month Parts & Labor Warranty

                            (under normal usage)

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




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




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


Sunnyvale, CA    Look at the high res monitor, 1260 x 980 and the EST,
-------------    with it's 68030 and DSP 56001 (Motorola)..more colors and
                 better sound, why it's an Amiga Killer!

Las Vegas, NV    PC Ditto show off new found speed and delights unknown to
-------------    the average user.

Houston, TX      The Chamber of Commerce here has removed the Roldex card
-----------      with Atari's name and number on it from the holder and
                 placed it in file 13.

Orem, UT         Word Perfect Corp. is making a strong effort to have it's
--------         German language version completed very shortly.  We wish
                 'em all the success possible, in fact, we hope the UK
                 version sells like crazy and it starts the ball rolling 
                 again..perhaps Atari US can learn from Atari UK

Los Angeles, CA  Dynacad fans will be glad to know that the new monitor
---------------  from Moniterm, will be available by mid December, that
                 includes Monitor and card for a scant $1995.00.

San Diego, CA    FTL  Games/Software Heaven, has announced that Dungeon
-------------    Master, "The Revenge of Kaos" will be available for the
                 ST by the third week in December (This is the Sequel)
                 also, for the Amiga Fans, a playtest version is being put
                 through it's paces.  It won't be long now.

Las Vegas, NV    Comdex The laptop, or Atari portable is making a debut,
-------------    of sorts, hopefully this is the true beginning of the
                 ..."NEW ERA" for Atari....we sure hope so.




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




                           ANTIC PUBLISHING INC.
                              COPYRIGHT 1988
                          REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.




      PROFESSIONAL GEM  by Tim Oren
      Column #12 - GEM Events and Program Structure


           So I fibbed a little.  This issue (#12) of ST PRO GEM started
      out to be another discussion of interface issues.  But, as Tolkien
      once said, the tale grew in the telling, and this is now the first
      of  a series of three articles.   This part will discuss AES event
      handling  and  its implications for GEM  program  structure.   The
      following  article will contain a "home brew" dialog handler  with
      some  new  features,  and  the third will,  finally,  take up  the
      discussion  of  interface design,  using the dialog handler as  an
      example.   (There is no download for this article.   The downloads
      will return, with a vengeance, in ST PRO GEM #13.)

           ALL FOR ONE,  AND ONE FOR ALL.  A quick inspection of the AES
      documents  shows that there are five routines devoted  to  waiting
      for individual types of events, and one routine, evnt_multi, which
      is  used  when more than one type is desired.   This article  will
      discuss  ONLY evnt_multi for two reasons.   First,  it is the most
      frequently used of the routines.   Second, waiting for one type of
      event is a bad practice.   Any event call turns the system over to
      the AES and suspends the application and its interaction with  the
      user.   In  such  cases,  some  "escape clause",  such as a timer,
      should be inserted to revive the program and prompt the user if no
      event  is  forthcoming.   Otherwise,  the  application may end  up
      apparently  (or  actually)  hung,  with a  resulting  reboot,  and
      probably a very annoyed user.

           STARTING  AHEAD.   One  possible type of event is a  message.
      Messages  are usually sent to the application by the AES,  and are
      associated  with  windows or the menu.   Two previous articles  in
      this  series have discussed such messages.   ST PRO GEM number two
      considered   window  messages,   and  number  seven  handled  menu
      messages.  You may want to review these topics before proceeding.

           The actual evnt_multi call is a horrendous thing:

           ev_which = evnt_multi(ev_flags,
                     btn_clicks, btn_mask, btn_state,
                     r1_flags, r1_x, r1_y, r1_w, r1_h,
                     r2_flags, r2_x, r2_y, r2_w, r2_h,
                     &msg_buff,
                     time_lo, time_hi,
                     &mx, &my, &btn, &kbd, &char, &clicks);

      Each  of  the lines in the call relate to a different  event,  and
      they  will be discussed in the order in which they  appear.

           Note  that a call with this number of parameters causes  some
      overhead  due  to stacking and retrieval of the values.   In  most
      cases,  this  should be of little concern on a machine as fast  as
      the ST.   However, where throughput is a concern, such as in close
      tracking  of the mouse cursor,  you may want to write a customized
      binding  for evnt_multi which dispenses with the  parameter  list.
      This  can  be accomplished by maintaining the values in  a  static
      array  and moving them as a block into the binding  arrays  int_in
      (for all values but &msg_buff), and addr_in (for &msg_buff).  Note
      that  you  may NOT simply leave the values in  int_in;  other  AES
      bindings reuse this space.

           Ev_flags  and ev_which are both 16-bit integers  composed  of
      flag bits.  Bits set in ev_flags determine which event(s) the call
      will  wait  for;  those  set in ev_which  indicate  what  event(s)
      actually occurred.   Both use the following flag bit mnemonics and
      functions:

           0x0001 - MU_KEYBD - Keyboard input
           0x0002 - MU_BUTTON - Mouse button(s)
           0x0004 - MU_M1 - Mouse rectangle #1
           0x0008 - MU_M2 - Mouse rectangle #2
           0x0010 - MU_MESAG - AES message
           0x0020 - MU_TIMER - Timer

      The  appropriate mnemonics are ORed together to create the  proper
      ev_flags value.

           There  is  one  common pitfall here.   Notice  that  multiple
      events  may  be reported from one evnt_multi.   Event  merging  is
      performed  by the AES in order to save space on the  application's
      event queue.   If events have been merged,  more than one bit will
      be  set in the ev_which word.   Your application must check ALL of
      the  bits  before  returning to a new  evnt_multi  call.   If  you
      don't do this, some events may be effectively lost.

           The  first event to be considered is the mouse button.   This
      is probably the most difficult event to understand and use, and it
      has one major shortcoming.

           The  parameter  btn_clicks tells GEM the  maximum  number  of
      clicks which you are interested in seeing.   This value is usually
      two,  if your program uses the double-click method, or one if only
      single  clicks  are used.   The AES returns the number  of  clicks
      which caused the event through &clicks, which must be a pointer to
      a word.

           GEM determines the number of clicks by the following  method.
      When the first button-down is detected, a time delay is begun.  If
      another  complete button-up,  button-down cycle is detected before
      the time expires,  then the result is a double click.   Otherwise,
      the  event is a single click.    Note that the final state of  the
      buttons  is  returned via &btn,  as described below.   By checking
      this  final state,  you may determine whether a single click event
      ended with the button up (a full click),  or with the button still
      down  (which  may  be  interpreted as  the  beginning  of  a  drag
      operation).   Double clicking is meaningless,  and not checked, if
      the evnt_multi is waiting on more than one button (see below).

           The double-click detection delay is variable,  and may be set
      by your program using the call

           ev_dspeed = ev_dclick(ev_dnew, ev_dfunc);

      Ev_dfunc  is a flag which determines the purpose of the call.   If
      it  is  zero,  the  current  double click  speed  is  returned  in
      ev_dspeed.   If ev_dfunc is non-zero, then ev_dnew becomes the new
      double-click   speed.    Both  ev_dspeed  and  ev_dnew  are  words
      containing  a "magic number" between zero and four.   Zero is  the
      slowest  (i.e.,  longest)  double-click,  and four is the fastest.
      (These  correspond  to  the  slow-fast  range  in  the   Desktop's
      Preferences  dialog.)  In general,  you should not reset the click
      speed  unless  specifically requested,  because such a change  can
      throw off the user's timing and destroy the hand/eye  coordination
      involved in using the mouse.

           GEM  was  originally designed to work with  a  single  button
      input device.   This allows GEM applications to function well with
      devices such as light pens and digitizing tablets.   However, some
      features are available for dealing with multi-button mice like the
      ST's.

           The  evnt_multi parameters btn_mask and btn_state  are  words
      containing  flag bits corresponding to buttons.   The lowest order
      bit corresponds to the left-most button,  and so on.  A bit is set
      in  the  btn_mask parameter if the AES is to  watch  a  particular
      button.   The  corresponding bit in btn_state is set to the  value
      for  which  the program is waiting.   The word returned  via  &btn
      uses  the  same  bit system to show the state of  the  buttons  at
      completion.   It  is  important to notice that all of  the  target
      states in btn_state must occur SIMULTANEOUSLY for the event to  be
      triggered.

           Note the limiting nature of this last statement.  It prevents
      a  program from waiting for EITHER the left or right button to  be
      pressed.  Instead, it must wait for BOTH to be pressed, which is a
      difficult  operation  at best.   As a result,  the standard  mouse
      button  procedure is practically useless if you want to take  full
      advantage  of  both buttons on the ST mouse.   In this case,  your
      program  must "poll" the mouse state and  determine  double-clicks
      itself.   (More  on  polling later.)  By the way,  many  designers
      (myself  included) believe that using both buttons  is  inherently
      confusing and should be avoided anyway.

           MOUSE RECTANGLES.  One of GEM's nicer features is its ability
      to watch the mouse pointer's position for you, and report an event
      only  when it enters or departs a given screen region.   Since you
      don't  have to track the mouse pixel by pixel,  this eliminates  a
      lot  of application overhead.   The evnt_multi call gives you  the
      ability  to  specify one or two rectangular areas  which  will  be
      watched.   An event can be generated either when the mouse pointer
      enters the rectangle,  or when it leaves the rectangle.  The "r1_"
      series  of  parameters specifies one of the  rectangles,  and  the
      "r2_" series specifies the other, as follows:

           r1_flag, r2_flag - zero if waiting to enter rectangle,
                               one if waiting to leave rectangle
           r1_x, r2_x - upper left X raster coordinate of wait rectangle
           r1_y, r2_y - upper left Y raster coordinate of wait rectangle
           r1_w, r2_w - width of wait rectangle in pixels
           r1_h, r2_h - height of wait rectangle in pixels

      Each  rectangle  wait will only be active if its  associated  flag
      (MU_M1 or MU_M2) was set in ev_flags.

           There  are two common uses of rectangle waits.   The first is
      used when creating mouse-sensitive regions on the screen.   Mouse-
      sensitive regions, also called "hot spots", are objects which show
      a  visual effect,  such as inversion or outlining,  when the mouse
      cursor  moves  over them.   The items in a menu dropdown,  or  the
      inversion  of  Desktop icons during a drag operation,  are  common
      examples.

              Hot spots are commonly created by grouping  the  sensitive
      objects  into  one  or  two areas,  and then setting  up  a  mouse
      rectangle  wait  for  entering  the  area.    When  the  event  is
      generated,  the  &mx  and &my returns may be examined to find  the
      true  mouse coordinates,  and objc_find or some other search  will
      determine  the affected object.   The object is then  highlighted,
      and  a new wait for exiting the object rectangle is  posted.   (ST
      PRO  GEM  #13 will show how to create more  complex  effects  with
      rectangle waits.)

           The  second common use of rectangle waits is in  animating  a
      drag operation.  In many cases, you can use standard AES animation
      routines such as graf_dragbox or graf_rubberbox.   In other cases,
      you  may  want  a figure other than a simple  box,  or  desire  to
      combine   waits  for  other  conditions  such  as  keystrokes   or
      collision with hotspots.  Then you will need to implement the drag
      operation  yourself,  using  the  mouse rectangles  to  track  the
      cursor.

           If you want to track the cursor closely, simply wait for exit
      on a one pixel rectangle at the current position,  and perform the
      animation routine at each event.  If the drag operation only works
      on a grid,  such as character positions,  you can specify a larger
      wait  rectangle and only update the display when a legal  boundary
      is crossed.

           MESSAGES.   The  &msg_buff parameter of evnt_multi gives  the
      address  of a 16 byte buffer to receive an AES message.   As noted
      above,  I have discussed standard AES messages elsewhere. The last
      column  also mentioned that messages may be used to  simulate  co-
      routines  within  a single GEM program.

           A  further possibility which bears examination is the use  of
      messages  to coordinate the activities of multiple  programs.   In
      single-tasking  GEM,  at least one of these programs would have to
      be  a  desk accessory.   In any such use of the GEM messages,  you
      should pay careful attention to the possibility of overloading the
      queue.   Only  eight  slots are provided per task,  and  messages,
      unlike events, cannot be merged by the AES.

           TIMER.   The  timer event gives you a way of pacing action on
      the  screen,  clocking out messages,  or providing a time-out exit
      for   an  operation.    Evnt_multi  has  two  16-bit  timer  input
      parameters,  time_hi  and  time_lo,  which are the top and  bottom
      halves,  respectively,  of  a  32-bit millisecond count.  However,
      this documented time resolution must be taken with a grain of salt
      on the ST, considering that its internal clock frequency is 200Hz!

           The  timer  event is also extremely useful  for  polling  the
      event  queue.   A  "poll"  tests the queue  for  completed  events
      without going into a wait state if none are present.  In GEM, this
      is   done  by  generating  a  null  event  which   always   occurs
      immediately.  A timer count of zero will do just that.

           Therefore,  you  can poll for any set of events by specifying
      them  in  the evnt_multi parameters.   A zero timer wait  is  then
      added to ensure immediate completion.   Upon return,  if any event
      bit(s) OTHER than MU_TIMER are set,  a significant event was found
      on the queue.  If only MU_TIMER is set, the poll failed to find an
      event.

           KEYBOARD.   There  are  no input parameters for the  keyboard
      event.   The  character  which  is read is returned  as  a  16-bit
      quantity through the &char parameter.  For historical reasons, the
      codes  which  are returned are compatible with the IBM  PC's  BIOS
      level scan codes.  You can find this character table in Appendix D
      of  the  GEM VDI manual.   In general,  the high byte need only be
      considered  if  the lower byte is zero.   If the low byte is  non-
      zero, it is a valid ASCII character.

           Evnt_multi  also returns the status of several modifier  keys
      through  the &kbd parameter.   This word contains four significant
      bits as follows:

           0x0001 - Right hand shift key
           0x0002 - Left hand shift key
           0x0004 - Control key
           0x0008 - ALT key

      If  a  bit  is  one,  the key was depressed  when  the  event  was
      generated.   Otherwise,  the key was up.  Since the state of these
      keys  is already taken into account in generating the  &char  scan
      code,  the  &kbd word is most useful when creating enhanced  mouse
      functions, such as shift-click or control-drag.

           RANDOM NOTES ON EVENTS.   Although the &mx,  &my,  &btn,  and
      &kbd returns are nominally associated with particular event types,
      they are valid on any return from evnt_multi, and reflect the last
      event  which was merged into that return by the AES.  If you  want
      more  current values,  you may use graf_mkstate to resample  them.
      Whichever method you choose, be consistent within the application,
      since  the point of sampling has an effect on mouse  and  keyboard
      timing.

           Although  this and preceding columns have been  presented  in
      terms of a GEM application,  the event system has many interesting
      implications  for desk accessories.   Since the AES scheduler uses
      non-preemptive  dispatching,  accessories  have an event  priority
      effectively  equal  to  the main  application.   Though  "typical"
      accessories  wait  only for AC_OPEN or AC_CLOSE messages  when  in
      their  quiescent state,  this is not a requirement of the  system.
      Timer  and  other events may also be requested  by  an  accessory.
      (Indeed,  there  is  no  absolute requirement  that  an  accessory
      advertise  its presence with a menu_register call.)  The  aspiring
      GEM hacker might consider how these facts could be used to  create
      accessories  similar  to  "BUGS" on the Mac,  or  to  the  "Crabs"
      program  described  in  the September,  1985 issue  of  Scientific
      American.

           EVENTS  AND GEM PROGRAM STRUCTURE.   Although the  evnt_multi
      call  might seem to be a small part of the entire GEM system,  its
      usage has deep implications for the structure of any  application.
      It is generally true that each use of evnt_multi corresponds to  a
      mode  in  the  program.   For instance,  form_do contains its  own
      evnt_multi,  and its invocation creates a moded dialog.  While the
      dialog  is in progress,  other features such as windows and  menus
      are unusable.  The graf_dragbox, graf_rubberbox, and graf_slidebox
      routines also contain evnt_multi calls.   They create a mode which
      is sometimes called "spring-loaded",  since the mode vanishes when
      some continuing condition (a depressed mouse button) is removed.

           In consequence,  a well-designed,  non-modal GEM program will
      contain only one explicit evnt_multi call.  This call is part of a
      top-level  loop  which  decodes events as they  are  received  and
      dispatches  control  to  the appropriate  handling  routine.   The
      dispatcher  must  always  distinguish  between  event  types.   In
      programs  where  multiple windows are used,  it may also  need  to
      determine which local data structure is associated with the active
      window.

           This  construction  is  sometimes  called  a  "push"  program
      structure,  because  it  allows the user to drive the  application
      by generating events in any order.  This contrasts with the "pull"
      structure of traditional command line or menu programs,  where the
      application is in control and demands input at each step before it
      proceeds.    "Push"  structure  promotes  consistent  use  of  the
      user interface and a feeling of control on the part of the user.

           The  next ST PRO GEM column will look more closely at  events
      and  program  structure in the context of a large piece  of  code.
      The  code  implements an alternate dialog  handler,  incorporating
      mouse-sensitive objects as part of the standard interface.   Since
      this  code  is  "open",  it may be modified and  merged  with  any
      application's main event loop, resulting in non-modal dialogs.




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THIS WEEK'S QUOTABLE QUOTE
==========================




      Credo of GREED
      --------------

  "I am not in the computer business, I am in the money making business
and I will make and sell ANY electronic item that will achieve that goal!"




 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ST-REPORT Issue #61                                    November 14, 1988
                   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (c)copywrite STR Inc.
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     Any reprint must include ST-Report and the author in the credits.
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           to offer ANY APEInc. REPORT and/or ZMAG in any form.
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