
                     *---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
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                        -------------------------------
  June 02, 1989                                              Vol III No.90

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> Issue: #90 STReport
  ------------------- 
       - The Editors' Podium
       - CPU REPORT
       - TETRIS & FALCON - Oscars?
       - CHINA Joins Fight Against Pirates!
       - TOS 1.4 a Touchy Subject!
       - Graphic File Structure Analysis
       - Codehead Sets the Record Straight!
       - Where is - Portfolio?
       - COMPUTER SHOPPER Dropping Atari?
       - GEnie Summer Splash Contest
       - MIGRAPH DROPS DONGLE (PSK)!
       - ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL

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

> The Editor's Podium

       Ah yes, the sweetest time of the year, the "June Brides", summer 
 vacation from school, the deserved vacation from work, the well planned
 trip and last but certainly not least, all the wonderful things from Atari
 are to begin arriving at the many new dealers they have energetically 
 added since the first of the year.  Can you imagine the great new goodies
 we will be seeing available on the dealer's shelves as promised by Sam 
 Tramiel during his most recent online conference?

       Online, we saw where a number of individuals were asking about the
 status of TOS 1.4, actually, the reason for the userbase asking so many 
 questions is because of the OBVIOUS DELAYS surrounding TOS 1.4.  As most
 will agree, it has been rather trying on the patience of the entire 
 userbase.  As a result, one of Atari's reps became somewhat emotional and
 began mentioning 'lawsuits'.  Mercy, at a time when Atari is busy trying
 to enhance it's image and position in the US Market You can't help but
 wonder whatever became of the old adage of "discretion being the better 
 part of valor".  The bottom line in the issue is the fact that the 
 userbase is getting quite antsy over the constant delays.  A wise and
 prudent individual should realize that; at times like this, accommodation
 and open information is the name of the game.  Any other behavior would
 appear to look like a smokescreen attempting to 'coverup' something.
 (like an internal 'arm-wrestle' contest?)

     Recently, we have received some mail asking why we are so "UP" on
 Atari, the answer is quite simple.  There is NO room to say a word
 until the self imposed (by Atari) release dates (June-July-August) have 
 arrived and either we see all the promised hardware and software or, we 
 find we have been had one more time.  We still feel confident that Atari
 is back, doing well and will follow the delivery schedule as faithfully 
 as possible.
 

                                                        Ralph......




                              "ATARI IS BACK!"


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> CPU REPORT
  ==========
  Issue # 23 


   by Michael Arthur 
  
  
  Remember When.... 
  
       In 1985, Apple sold the rights to it's MacBasic language to  
  Microsoft, after they threatened not to renew their agreement with Apple  
  for licensing Applesoft Basic (a version of Basic bundled with the Apple  
  II series), and how, in return, Apple managed to get Microsoft to agree  
  not to introduce an IBM version of Microsoft Excel until the Macintosh  
  version had been out for at least two years? 
  
  
  CPU Systems Roundup VIII 
  ========================= 
  
  
                 SPARCStation 1:  ATW Killer on the Horizon? 
                 ------------------------------------------- 
  
         Sun Microsystems is generally associated with powerful, yet 
  expensive workstations.  However, Sun has recently introduced a series of 
  low-end systems which have much of the power of their high-end systems.   
  One, the Sun 3/80, is a $5000.00 Unix system using the 68030 which, while 
  being priced towards the middle/high end of the microcomputer market, is  
  simply the latest in a line of Sun-3 workstations.  The other, called the 
  SPARCStation 1, is a $10,000.00 RISC-based system with great implications 
  for both the microcomputer and workstation markets.  In order to fully 
  understand the factors that made Sun decide to alter its product line in 
  this manner, let us take a look at the history of the workstation itself. 
  
        Before the 80's, there were generally 2 types of non-supercomputer 
  systems: low-powered, yet inexpensive microcomputer, and powerful, yet  
  astronomically priced mainframes.  This meant that universities and 
  businesses had to either use a slow, underpowered IBM PC, or a DEC VAX 
  costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.  In order to provide a middle 
  ground, Apollo Computer introduced the first stand-alone workstation, 
  called the Domain DN100, in 1980 for around $60,000 dollars.  While this 
  may be exorbitant now for a 68000 based system, it became VERY popular 
  during its time, filling the gap between micros and minicomputers.  In 
  1982, Sun Microsystems entered the market with the Sun-1.  Over the next 
  several years, Sun and Apollo became fierce competitors, helping to give 
  workstations capabilities rivalling minicomputers in the $20k - $60k 
  price range, which were MUCH cheaper than similarly configured minis, 
  serving as the "Power Without the Price" choices in this market.  While 
  workstations had MUCH better price/performance than its minicomputer 
  counterparts, they still were too expensive for large businesses to buy  
  on a grand scale, or, for small companies to afford. 
  
        Workstations would have remained in this situation had it not been 
  for the microcomputer.  Even though in the early '80s they were nowhere 
  near the level of Suns or Apollos, with the advent of the Apple Macintosh 
  and the 80386 chip, microcomputers began to gain near-workstation 
  abilities, with the added incentives of ease of use, affordability, and a 
  large base of software (with products like Lotus 1-2-3 or WordPerfect)  
  that rivaled workstation software costing thousands of dollars.  As high  
  end microcomputers became as powerful as some workstations, the  
  workstation vendors began lowering their prices to keep its customers.   
  Sun, reacting more quickly to this trend than Apollo, quickly became a  
  leader in the workstation market.  However, as high-powered 80386 systems 
  finally put the microcomputer in the same league with workstations (in  
  both price and performance), workstation vendors needed to make systems  
  which, while still being more powerful than microcomputers, were priced  
  at the $10,000 dollar price range, so as to remain competitive with  
  high-end micros.  This resulted in the market for low-end, or Personal  
  Workstations.... 
  
        During this time, RISC technology has appeared on the scene, as a 
  combination of workstation companies who wished to make low-end systems 
  with the speed associated with RISC technology, and chip makers wishing 
  to duplicate Intel and Motorola's success in the computer industry  
  brought the technology into the forefront of the industry.  Sun, seeing 
  these trends, developed the SPARC, or Scalable Processor Architecture,  
  as its new RISC architecture. 
  
        When the SPARC was introduced, Sun wanted to make it available to 
  multiple vendors, so as to both to create competition that would further 
  the SPARC standard, and to lure chip makers into helping make the SPARC 
  a popular RISC architecture, which would be controlled by the guiding 
  hand of Sun Microsystems.  Currently Texas Instruments, Fujitsu Ltd., LSI 
  Logic, Cypress, and Bipolar Integrated Technology have licensed SPARC 
  technology. 
  
        But since each of these chip makers will be producing different 
  (and perhaps slightly incompatible) implementations of SPARC, the chaos 
  of having so many different vendors in such a small market could destroy 
  the SPARC's chances in the RISC industry.  Seeing this, the 5 SPARC  
  licensees have chosen to form a non-profit organization called SPARC  
  International, which would make sure that binary compatibility between  
  the various manufacturers' versions of SPARC is maintained.  However, the 
  main goal of SPARC International is to make the SPARC chip independent of 
  any vendors who support it.  This especially includes Sun Microsystems,  
  SPARC's creator.... 
  
  
                 The SPARCSTation, S-Bus, and Open Look Unix 
  
  
        The SPARCStation 1 is one of the first systems to use the SPARC 
  chip, utilizing a 20 MHZ version which runs at 10 - 12 MIPS.  It also  
  uses the Weitek 1164/1165 Floating Point Math Chip to achieve 1.5 MFLOPS, 
  or Million Floating Point Operations per Second.  It has 4 Megabytes of  
  RAM onboard, and comes with an 1152*900 resolution with either a  
  monochrome or a 256 color display.  It also has 2 serial ports, 1 SCSI  
  port, and 1 Ethernet Port for interfacing with Local Area Networks. 
  
        The SPARCStation features a new expansion bus, called the S-Bus, 
  which is intended to replace the obsolete VME Bus as the standard bus 
  architecture for future Sun workstations.  Like IBM's MicroChannel, the 
  S-Bus has multimaster capabilities, which lets expansion boards take over 
  tasks ordinarily handled by the CPU, such as graphics operations.  
  However, the S-Bus can also transfer data at burst DMA rates of 60  
  Megabytes Per second, or about two to four times faster than current bus 
  architectures, and has direct channels for the SCSI, serial, and Ethernet 
  ports, so as to route their I/O to the S-Bus.  The S-Bus has a 64K cache 
  to buffer these I/O operations, which would otherwise slow down system  
  performance.... 
  
        The SPARCStation uses SunOs 4.0, an integrated version of AT&T Unix 
  5.3 and Berkeley Unix 4.2/4.3, as its operating system, and has, among 
  its system utilities, Sun's Network File System, for LAN Networking, the 
  SunView Desktop, which both simplifies the installation of Unix in a 
  system and provides SPARCStation Users with a graphical user interface for 
  Unix similar to the Mac Finder or NeXT Workspace.  For a windowing system, 
  SunOs 4.0 provides a version of NeWS, Sun's windowing system, which comes 
  with the X/Windows V11 standard, and implements Display Postscript, a 
  version of Adobe's Postscript designed as an imaging model for graphics 
  displays which is also part of the NeXT Computer. 
  
        The SPARCStation's system software also comes with OpenWindows, the 
  Developer Kit for AT&T's new Open Look standard.  Open Look consists of a 
  set of graphical user interface specifications for Mac-like Unix 
  applications.  When it appears in the upcoming AT&T Unix Version 5.4, 
  Open Look will become part of Unix itself.  There is also a modest amount 
  of software for SunOS 4.0, from desktop publishing programs to an MS-DOS 
  Emulator program.... 
  
        The SPARCStation will undoubtedly have an effect on both the market 
  for RISC-based computers, and the low-end workstation market.  However, 
  since the Atari Transputer Workstation (before called the Abaq 
  Transputer) is aimed at both of these markets, and has capabilities  
  similar to the SPARCStation, let us compare these two workstations, in  
  order to see their differences.... 
  
     Graphic comparison of the features of the ATW and the SPARCStation 1: 
  
                         ATW/SPARCStation Features List: 
                     (Comparison of each Systems' Features) 
  _________________________________________________________________________ 
  System Features| Atari Transputer Workstation |    Sun SPARCStation 1     
  and Components |        Cost: $5000.00        | Base System:  $10,000.00   
  ---------------|------------------------------|-------------------------- 
  Features of    | 20 MHZ Inmos T800 RISC chip  |  20 MHZ SPARC RISC Chip   
  Main Processor |      running at 10 MIPS      | running at 10 to 12 MIPS  
  ---------------|------------------------------|-------------------------- 
  Megabytes of   |  4 Megabytes of 32-Bit RAM   |   4 Megs of 32-Bit RAM    
  Standard RAM   |1 Meg of Dual-Ported Video RAM|                           
  ---------------|------------------------------|-------------------------- 
  Description of | Helios Operating System with | SunOS 4.0 (Sun Unix)with  
  Operating      | X/Windows V11, the standard  | NeWS (Sun's windowing     
  Features       | Unix windowing environment   | system) and X/WindowsV11  
  ---------------|------------------------------|-------------------------- 
  Type of Bus    | Proprietary 32-Bit Bus, with |       32-Bit S-Bus        
  Architecture   |     four Expansion Slots     |  with 3 Expansion Slots   
  ---------------|------------------------------|-------------------------- 
                 |   # of Displayable Colors    |  # of Displayable Colors  
                 |Mode 0:  1280*960 w/16 Colors |  1152*900 with 256 Gray   
  Graphic Display|Mode 1:  1024*768 w/256 Colors|                   Scales  
  Resolutions and|Mode 2:  640*480 w/256 Colors |                           
  Capabilities   |Mode 3:  512*480 w/16 Million |  1152*900 with 256Colors  
                 |                              |                           
                 |The ATW has a 24-Bit per Pixel|  The SPARCStation has a   
                 |  (16 Million Color) Palette  | 24-Bit per Pixel Palette  
  ---------------|------------------------------|-------------------------- 
  Standard Amount|    40 Megabyte Internal      |    100 Meg Hard Drive     
  of Mass Storage|         Hard Drive           |  As an Additional Option  
  ---------------|------------------------------|-------------------------- 
  Built in I/O   | Uses Mega ST Motherboard for |[1] SCSI, [2] SerialPorts  
  Ports          |  an Input/Output Controller  |  [1]  Ethernet LAN Port   
  ---------------|------------------------------|-------------------------- 
  Sound/Audio    |    Uses ST Sound Chip for    |   Single Channel Audio    
  Capabilities   |  3 Sound Channels (Voices)   |      Interface Chip       
  ---------------|------------------------------|-------------------------- 
  Networking     | None, except the T800 is made| Sun Network File System,  
  Capabilities   |to perform Parallel Processing|TCP/IP, Ethernet LAN Port  
  ---------------'------------------------------'-------------------------- 
  
        Based on both this graph, and last week's System Descriptions, I 
  have made a comparative analysis of both systems, and made these standings 
  which are classified according to the above topics: 
  
  Main Microprocessor: 
  ------------------- 
  First Place - Inmos T800 (used in the ATW).  Since the T800 and the SPARC 
  are both RISC chips running at the same MHZ rate, a choice cannot be made 
  just on a chip's speed or architecture, but on the aspects which set one 
  chip apart from the other.  In this area, the T800 has the advantage of a 
  built in floating point math unit, which performs calculations at a rate 
  of 1.5 MFLOPS, or 10 times faster than Motorola's 68882 Math Chip, and 
  has a great edge in that it is designed to be a parallel processor.  On  
  the other hand, the SPARC chip is slightly faster than the T800, and has 
  multivendor support from many chip makers.  However, this doesn't seem 
  enough to counteract the T800's special capabilities.... 
  
  Operating System Features: 
  ------------------------- 
  First Place - SPARCStation 1.  In order to have full support of both the 
  T800's parallel processing features, and to provide powerful multitasking 
  multiuser operations, the ATW had to forsake Unix compatibility, and use 
  the custom-made Helios Operating System.  While the SPARC is also a RISC 
  chip, it is not a parallel processor, meaning that Unix could be ported 
  without fear of wasting any of the SPARC's capabilities.  And while 
  Helios does its function well, its lack of an adequate software base is 
  ultimately insurmountable.... 
  
  ATW Comparison: 
  -------------- 
  The Helios operating system was made to optimize the operations of a 
  parallel processing chip such as the T800, as well as letting it be as 
  Unix-compatible (through emulating Unix Version 7 calls) as possible.  
  Even though Helios has the potential of becoming the standard operating 
  system for parallel processing microprocessors, the fact is that it is a 
  new operating system, with only a small software base.  It may have great 
  potential as a future operating system, but the Unix software base gives 
  the SPARCStation a great advantage. 
  
  SPARCStation Comparison: 
  ----------------------- 
  The SPARCStation comes with SunOs Version 4.0, which is based on Berkeley 
  Unix (or BSD Unix) Version 4.2/4.3.  It also includes NeWS, Sun's version 
  of the graphical user interface, along with X/Windows V11, the current 
  standard for Unix windowing systems, and Display Postscript, which holds 
  great potential for becoming a future image display standard.... 
  
  Since Berkeley Unix has become a de facto Unix standard, and the ATW only 
  includes X/Windows with Helios, the SPARCStation outperforms it in both 
  software compatibility and windowing capabilities.  However, the 
  SPARCStation also comes with OpenWindows, the Developer Kit for AT&T's 
  new Open Look standard.  Although Atari has said that it may license Open 
  Look from AT&T, for use in both the ATW and the 68030 TTx, the  
  SPARCStation clearly has a dominant advantage over the ATW in this area....
  
  Expandibility: 
  ------------- 
  First Place - Since both the ATW and SPARCStation use new expansion bus 
  architectures, for which there are few expansion cards available, the 
  features of each expansion bus becomes the main issue, instead of merely 
  compatibility.  Even though the ATW's bus is decent for a standard 
  expansion bus, the SPARCStation's S-Bus has some VERY interesting 
  abilities going for it, which may help it (if not the SPARCStation) become 
  an industry standard.... 
  
  ATW Comparison: 
  -------------- 
  The ATW uses a new, proprietary expansion bus with address, data, 
  interrupt  and handshaking lines, along with transputer link lines, which 
  will have two connectors: one for your typical bus and the other for  
  transputer links.  However, while this is exemplary for a standard  
  expansion bus, the S-Bus's advanced features cause it to outperform the  
  ATW's bus.  But then, since the S-Bus has some features which are  
  unmatched by any other current expansion bus architecture.... 
  
  SPARCStation Comparison: 
  ----------------------- 
      The SPARCStation features Sun's new S-Bus, which is twice as fast as  
  any other current expansion bus architecture, and features the latest in  
  bus technology, including multimaster capabilities.  The distinguishing 
  features of the S-Bus, though, are its I/O Cache and DMA capabilities, 
  which speed up system performance by handling many of the I/O operations 
  that the CPU would ordinarily have to perform, and its built-in Ethernet, 
  serial, and SCSI channels, which standardize the peripheral ports used in 
  a system.  As no other expansion bus architecture can feature so much, the 
  SPARCStation has a GREAT advantage in the S-Bus... 
  
  Graphics Displays: 
  ----------------- 
  First Place - Atari Transputer Workstation.  While the SPARCStation's one 
  resolution is very good, it is only slightly better than the ATW's Mode 1 
  display, and since the ATW's other display modes are very powerful in 
  themselves, the ATW outperforms the SPARCStation in this area.  However, 
  if one were to consider a system's graphical user interface in this 
  category, then the SPARCSTation would be a much closer contender.... 
  
  I/O Ports/Networking: 
  ------------------- 
  First Place - SPARCStation 1.  Even though the ATW has a greater number 
  of peripheral ports than the SPARCStation, both systems have a similar set 
  of the necessary I/O ports, such as SCSI/DMA ports, serial ports, etc.  
  Also, since the SPARCStation also provides an Ethernet port for advanced 
  networking capabilities, as well as supporting Sun's Network File System 
  for compatibility with current LAN networks, that the SPARCStation has a 
  decent advantage over the ATW, which only supports network links for the 
  Inmos T800's parallel processing features.... 
  
  
                  Market Outlook for the ATW and SPARCStation 
                  ------------------------------------------- 
  
  ATW Outlook: 
  ----------- 
  The Atari Transputer Workstation is a VERY unique machine, with excellent 
  potential.  Featuring the state of the art in current workstation 
  capabilities, and Helios, a new Unix-like operating system, the ATW has 
  the makings to become a player in the workstation market.  However, since 
  many major computer makers are introducing systems that, like the  
  SPARCStation and the NeXT computer, will  be  aimed  at  the  Personal     
  Workstation market, it seems that the resulting competition will eliminate
  the ATW's  current chances  in the  business market.  It is interesting to 
  note that Atari is not planning to market the ATW in this area, saying it
  is not a mainstream computer  system,  and  doesn't  have  features lending
  itself to the general workstation market.... 
  
  The ATW is most likely to establish a niche in Research Labs and 
  Universities, who need the ATW's parallel processing capabilities as well 
  as its workstation capabilities.  Also, the ATW could become popular in 
  the image processing market, as well as a graphics workstation, as its 
  speed and  graphics capabilities are almost custom-suited for this segment
  of the industry.  However, it is in Helios, which is especially optimized
  to handle parallel processing operations efficiently, that the ATW has the
  greatest potential.... 
  
  While the computer industry is starting to realize the benefits that RISC 
  technology may bring, parallel processing has received relatively little 
  attention, due to a belief that it is a "future" technology, not to be 
  implemented until well into the 1990's.  Because of this, the Transputer 
  is currently the only major parallel processing chip on the market.  
  Given that the ATW is also priced less than some high end microcomputers, 
  all this sets up an EXTREMELY good opportunity for the ATW, since we can 
  assume that in a few years, after the market for RISC chips has 
  stabilized, the computer industry will shift its attention to parallel  
  processing technology.  When this occurs, if Atari has sufficiently  
  supported the ATW, concentrating on slow, but steady growth for it, then  
  the ATW (and the Helios operating system) should have a small, but  
  significant user base with a solid amount of good software, having had a 
  VERY long time to establish the only strong, feasible standard for a true 
  parallel processing system.  Meaning that both the ATW and Helios would  
  become dominant standards (if not a true monopoly) in the computer  
  industry.... 
  
  
  SPARCStation Outlook: 
  -------------------- 
  Sun has designed the SPARCStation for many new and emerging markets.  
  One, the low-end Workstation market, is quickly becoming a billion-dollar 
  industry, as the differences between high-end microcomputers and low-end 
  workstations begin to fade away.  As Unix will become an important part 
  of this market, and as the demand for speed causes more demand for 
  RISC-based systems, the SPARCStation has the potential to become a  
  dominant standard in this area, if the industry bias toward the 80386 and 
  68030 chips (as well as the amount of Unix software available for them)  
  can be weakened sufficiently.... 
  
  The other arena, RISC-based computers, won't be so simple for the 
  SPARCStation to become dominant in.  Since there are several different 
  types of RISC chips currently out on the market, it seems that this 
  market will be VERY much fragmented, due to the number of RISC-based 
  workstations that are being developed by companies like Motorola and  
  Intel, which will create a mix of fierce competition and general chaos  
  that may seriously damage such a small market.  However, since the  
  SPARCStation has a jump on the companies developing RISC-based Unix  
  workstations.... 
  
  
  But ponder, if you will, this question: 
  
  1)  With the advent of low-end Unix Workstations like the SPARCStation 
      and Atari 68030 TTx, will Unix become an important factor in the 
      microcomputer industry? 
  
  
                            -----=======***======----- 
  
  
  CPU REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
   ======================= 
  
  
  Lakewood, CO      MacGuide Magazine has recently introduced MacGuide USA, 
  ------------      a CD-ROM disk runnable on an AppleCD SC which has 450 
                    Megs of Public Domain/Shareware programs, a HyperCard  
                    stack containing full reviews of over 1000 Macintosh 
                    products, and complete product listings of another 4000, 
                    and a list of Macintosh User Groups and BBS's.   
                    Cost: $100.00, you can also have either a 2 Year  
                    subscription to MacGuide USA for $150.00, or a 4 Year  
                    subscription for $250.00.... 
  
  Austin, TX        Texas Instruments and Hitachi Corp. are working in a 
  ----------        joint effort to develop a line of 4 Megabit DRAM chips, 
                    in which each company will have access to the other's 
                    research.  While work on this is continuing, given that 
                    IBM, NEC, and several other companies are also sampling 
                    4 Meg DRAM chips, and that Toshiba has already shown a 
                    prototype of a 16 Megabit DRAM chip.... 
  
  Wilmington, NC    Even though the Mac SE/30's 32-bit '030' Direct Slot 
  --------------    expansion bus is faster and more versatile than either 
                    the Mac SE's expansion bus or the Mac II's NuBus, one 
                    problem with the 030 Direct Slot was since it had a 
                    120-pin EuroDin socket, while the Mac SE and Mac II had 
                    96-pin sockets, no expansion boards made for the Mac SE 
                    or Mac II would work with the Mac SE/30.  In order to 
                    solve this problem, Dove Computer has recently 
                    introduced the MaraThon 120/96 Bus Adapter Card, which  
                    allows expansion cards made for the Mac SE to work with 
                    the Mac SE/30.  Cost:  $200.00 
  
  Scotts Valley, CA Borland Inc. has stated that it has no plans to market 
  ----------------- a version of their Turbo C Compiler for the Atari ST in 
                    the US.  Even though Turbo C for the Atari ST has 
                    become a bestseller in Europe, Mr. Heimsoeth (the  
                    developer of Turbo C for the Atari ST) also says that  
                    they have no plans to make an English manual for the  
                    European version, so as to sell Turbo C for the Atari  
                    ST in either England, Canada, or the US.  In case you  
                    may want to express your support for a possible US  
                    version of Turbo C for the Atari ST, Borland's phone  
                    number is 1-408-439-1060. 
  
  
  
  
  
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------



> TETRIS AWARDS STR FOCUS
  =======================


                                               A WINNING COMBINATION
                                               =====================



     Spectrum  Holobyte's TETRIS, the first computer game from the Soviet
 Union, was the top winning entertainment at the software industry's 
 version of Oscar night, taking four of the coveted awards:  

      Best Entertainment Program,      Best Action/Strategy Program,
                     Best Original Game Achievement,
   and ...the "Critics Choice" award for the Best Consumer Software.

     The  Software  Publisher's Association (SPA) which calls it's 
 annual honors the Excellence in Software Awards, announced the winners
 Tuesday night in a ceremony at the historic Hotel Del Coronado in San  
 Diego.   TV Actor and computer enthusiast Harry Anderson presided over
 the black-tie affair attended by the software industry's top leaders and
 entertained them with his humor and magic.

     Thirty five Awards of Excellence covering all areas of software were 
 presented this year as result of the votes cast by over 400 members of 
 the SPA.  Members of the general and trade press were included in the  
 awards process this year for the first time with the three 1988 Critics
 Choice Awards.  They singled out a top product in the Consumer, Business
 and Education categories.

     The four awards for Tetris were accepted for Spectrum Holobyte by Gilman
 Louie, CEO and Phil Adam, President.  Mr. Louie thanked all those in his 
 company who worked on the development and marketing of the game  and, 
 alluding to the addictivness of TETRIS, thanked the SPA members for all 
 the time they've spent playing the game.

     TETRIS was created by two Soviet computer Programmers.  It was enhanced
 by Spectrum Holobyte with many play features and beautiful background
 graphics depicting lovely Soviet geographical scenery.  Another enhancement
 in many computer formats is an original musical score based on Russian 
 folk tunes.  Versions of TETRIS are available for almost every personal 
 computer.

     A game of skill, requiring fast thinking and  quick  reflexes, TETRIS
 features moving shapes to be rotated positioned into solid rows.  Points 
 are based on the player's maneuvering speed and agility.  The game has 
 been referred to as "a puzzle in motion" and "the Rubik's Cube of 
 software."  TETRIS quickly won critical acclaim from reviewers in the 
 media who used adjectives such as "compelling", "irresistible" and 
 "devastatingly addictive."

     This is the second year in a row Spectrum Holobyte has been a multi-
 award winner.  Last year the company won three awards for FALCON, it's 
 F-16 Fighter Simulation.  Spectrum Holobyte, a division of Sphere, Inc.
 is a leading publisher of entertainment software.  The company  
 specializes in developing and marketing simulations for all types of 
 personal computers.





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



> INTERNATIONAL HOTLINE
  =====================

 Agreement Reached..


                               CHINA TO PROTECT U.S. SOFTWARE FROM PIRACY
                               ==========================================

 WASHINGTON, D.C.
 ----------------

       China is moving to solve a major trade dispute with the United
 States by agreeing to provide legal protection from piracy of imported
 computer programs, or software, U.S. industry and government officials
 said Tuesday.

       A Chinese delegation last week signed a bilateral agreement with
 U.S. Trade Representative Carla A. Hills to cover computer programs
 by law, and indicated that by the end of this year the Beijing
 government would submit a copyright law for legislative approval, the 
 U.S. Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association announced.
 In February, A CBEMA statement asserted that "piracy of computer programs
 is rampant" in China.





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



> PIC File FormatSTR Feature
  --------------------------


                                            INSIDE A PIC FILE
                                            =================


by Ron Brunk


       One of the most confusing, and frustrating, aspects of computer
 technology (especially to new users) is the wide variety of file formats
 used.  Although some programs use a standard format (i.e. ascii or gif),
 many programs create and use their own specific format.  Files in any 
 other format must be "imported" to be used.  This is especially true for
 graphics.  Most scanned images, for example, are saved as IMG (image)
 files, which are then imported to desktop publishing programs.  But there
 is a vast library of graphics already available in various other formats.
 For the Atari ST, this library of graphics consists mainly of pictures
 stored in neo, degas, tiny, and spectrum formats.  With the advent of
 serious desktop publishing on the ST, it would be nice to have this 
 library conveniently at our disposal.  

      The particular format each these picture files are stored can be
 identified by the extension at the end of the filename.  In some cases, 
 the last character of the extension is a number which identifies the 
 resolution of the picture.  For example, all Degas and some Tiny pictures
 end with:
                      1=Low rez, 2=Medium rez, or 3=High rez.

     The most common picture formats and their file extensions are:
     --------------------------------------------------------------
      .CL#  NVision                   .NEO  Neochrome                    
      .COL  COLR                      .PAL  Pallette                     
      .DOO  Dr. Doodle                .PC#  Degas compressed             
      .GEM  Gem/Img                   .PI#  Degas                        
      .GIF  Graph interchange format  .PIC  PC Paint, others             
      .GR#  8-bit screen dump         .PG#  NVision                      
      .HAM  Amiga                     .RLE  Run length encoded           
      .IFF  Interch File format       .SC#  NVision                      
      .KOA  Koala/Micro-ilustrator    .SPC  Spectrum compressed          
      .MAC  MacPaint                  .SPU  Spectrum uncompressed        
      .MAS  Mac startup screen        .TNY  Tiny                         
      .MPT  Micro-painter             .TN#  Tiny                         


   There are many public domain and shareware programs available that
 will display pictures of one or more formats.  Some are simple display
 programs and show a single type of picture one at a time.  Some are more 
 complex and offer a wide range of features.  Many can display slideshows 
 of all the pictures of a single format that reside in the folder that 
 holds the program.  Others can show more than one format, and/or can 
 range to all of the available drives/partitions in search of the chosen 
 format(s).  Some utilize simple ascii "script" files which program the 
 order that pictures are displayed in and how long they are shown.  These 
 scripts can be for just showing pictures, or can enable animation.

   The following matrix includes most of the programs I've come across
 that display pictures. 
 Along each row is a series of single character keys representing
 how the program will the display the format, what type of monitor(s) it
 supports, how to activate basic commands, and what features are included.
 Some formats do not have a display program matched to them but are
 included to maintain compatibility with a similar matrix of conversion
 programs that is being developed.

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

 PICTURE SHOW PROGRAMS vs FORMAT EXTENSIONS, MONITORS, COMMANDS, FEATURES 
                                                                          
                                                          |M|E|B|P|R|F    
        |C|C|D|G|G|G|H|I|I|K|M|M|M|N|P|P|P|P|P|R|S|S|S|T|T|O|X|E|A|E|E    
        |L|O|O|E|I|R|A|F|M|O|A|A|P|E|A|C|I|I|G|L|C|P|P|N|N|N|I|G|U|S|A    
        |#|L|O|M|F|#|M|F|G|A|C|S|T|O|L|#|#|C|#|E|#|C|U|Y|#|I|T|N|S|M|T    
--------|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-----
artgalry| | | | | | | | | | | | | |I| |I|I| | | | | | |I|I|B| |L| | | A   
ashutter| | | | | | | | | | | | | |F| | |F| | | | | | | | |C|R| | | |     
blast   | | | | | | | | | | | | | |P| | |P| | | | | | | | |B|C| |S|S| F   
--------|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-----
clipview| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |I| | | | | | | | |M| |R| | | 3   
dslide2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |P| |P|P| | | | |P|P|P|P|B|R|M|L|L| NAF 
flipperl| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |I| | | | | | | | |C| | | | | 1   
--------|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-----
flipperm| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |I| | | | | | | | |C| | | | | 2   
gifgem  | | | | |I| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |B|R|L| | | F   
gifshow | | | | |F| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |B|C| |S|*| F   
--------|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-----
hdview3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |I| | | | | | | | |B|U|H| | | 1,3 
iffcnv  | | | | | | |I|I| | | | | |I| | |I| | | | |I|I|I|I|C| | | | |     
imgshow | | | | | | | | |F| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |B|L| |S|*| N   
--------|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-----
kview   | | | | | | | | | | | | | |I| |I|I|I| | |I| | |I| |M| |L| | |     
neoshow | | | | | | | | | | | | | |P| | | | | | | | | | | |C|S| | | | A   
omvslide| | | | | | | | | | | | | |P| |P|P| | | | | | | | |C|U|H|S|S|1,2F 
--------|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-----
picswch7|I| | | | |I| |I| |I|I|I|I|I| |I|I| |I|I|I| | |I| |B|R|R| | |     
picsx   | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |?| | | | | | | |C| | | | |     
showpic2| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |F|F| | | | | | | | |B|U|H|S|S| F   
--------|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-----
slideneo| | | | | | | | | | | | | |P| | | | | | | | | | | |C|S| | | | A   
slideset| | | | | | | | | | | | | |P| | | | | | | | | | | |C|S|?|s|q|     
specshow| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |I| | | |C|S|S| | |     
--------|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-----
spslide8| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |P| | | |C|U|H|S| | NF  
spslidex| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |P|P| | |C|U|H|S| | N   
--------|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-----
spx     | | | | | | | | | | | | | |P| | |P| | | | |P|P| | |C|U|H|S|?|12FN 
tinyview| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |P| |C|C| |S|*|     
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                          
I- Individual Pics                      MONI- Monitors supported          
F- All on File                             M- Mono                        
P- All on Partition                        C- Color                       
                                           B- Both                        
                                                                          
FEAT-Features                           EXIT- Quits program               
   F- F1-F10 controls speed             BEGN- Begins or restarts          
   A- Animates NEOs (color rotation)    PAUS- Pauses slideshow            
   N- Names can be displayed            RESM- Resumes slideshow           
   1- Low rez                              U-Undo                         
   2- Med rez                              S- Spacebar                    
   3- High rez                             L- Left click                  
                                           M- Clear Home                  
                                           R- Right click                 
                                           C- Carriage Return             
                                           H- Help                        
                                           q- Control-Q                   
                                           s- Control-S                   
                                           *- any key                     

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
      Most of the above programs can be found as arced files on the major
 services and local bbs's.  Many of these arc files contain text files 
 which describes the program and how to use it.  Distribution of the 
 programs is usually encouraged as long as it is unmodified and the text 
 files left intact.  Unfortunately, it is sometimes hard to tell if you 
 have the latest version because there is no version number, or someone 
 has changed the name of the program before re-arcing it and sending it up
 to another board.  For these reasons, along with the short notes on of 
 each of the programs below, I am including the file size and (if I have 
 it) the version number, date, and programmers name to assist in 
 identification.  


-------------------------------------
 Artgalry                   4789 bytes     Charles F. Johnson
                                           CodeHead Software
   

    Supports color rotation, including Degas Elite's multichannel
 rotation.  Runs as a program or accessory (like multidesk).  Bug fixed to
 work with mega roms.  Must choose type desired which locks in extension,
 but can get around this by selecting * (this also allows the display of
 .TN#).  New version (to be included with CodeHead Utilities Disk) will
 support SPC and slideshow capability, and import directly to Degas Elite.
 PI3 & PC3 only shown when in hi-rez.

-------------------------------------
 Ashutter                   5200 bytes     Tom Punt

    Slideshow pics fade in and out.  Does not support color rotation. 
 Current folder pics only.

-------------------------------------
 Blast     v1.3            17522 bytes     Willie Brown

   Fastest slideshow I've seen.  Pics literally flash on the screen with
a fast harddrive.  PI# shown in hi-rez only.

-------------------------------------
 Clipview        1988       5062 bytes     David Lindsley
                                           Magnetic Images

   Only hi-rez supported (PI3).

-------------------------------------
 Dslide2   v2.0  20Mar88   17910 bytes     John Brochu
                                           Advanced Software

   Best all round slideshow, supports most formats.  All pics (except spc)
viewable on any monitor.  Scriptable with wildcards (advanced script help
on text file).  Can install as TTP.  Supports color.  Advance/reverse
available.  Max 256 slides (100 on script).  Supports color rotation.

-------------------------------------
 Flipperl        1988      66163 bytes     Rupert Spencer

   Create low rez slideshow or animation by renaming up to 25 PI1 pics
and specifying order and display time with a mouse driven menu.  

-------------------------------------
 Flipperm        1988      60417 bytes     Rupert Spencer

   Same as Flipperl, only for medium rez (PI2).

-------------------------------------
 Gifgem                     9984 bytes

  Slow screen draws.  

-------------------------------------
 Gifshow        17Aug87    29022 bytes      Zaphodyne

  Slideshow but slow.  Can install as application.  

-------------------------------------
 Hdview3                    5930 bytes      Walt Sullivan

  Shows PI1 while in low and med rez, PI3 in high rez.  Primarily for
 loading extremely large Delta (.DLT) animation files too large to run 
 from ram by running them (slowly) from disk.

-------------------------------------
 Iffcnv    v3.1            33850 bytes     Bruce Holloway

    Similar to Picswch7 in that it displays and converts from and to many
 formats.  Can display color pics in mono/color and play with dithering. 
 New version is to support GIF, GEM/IMG, and SPC/SPU.

-------------------------------------
 Imgshow   v1.1   31Jan89  29741 bytes     Migraph

   Scriptable, shows file info.  Option for black or white background.
 Speed adjustable.  Can install as application.

-------------------------------------
 Kview            Mar87     7341 bytes     J. Seibert

   Hirez only, mouse scrolls picture, reverse video with right mouse click
 Prints.

-------------------------------------
 Neoshow                    5857 bytes

  Slideshow of NEO only.  Supports color rotation.

-------------------------------------
 Omvslide         1989     15935 bytes     Robert Jung

   Handy store demo feature locks up keyboard forcing a reboot to clear.
 Searches two directories down.  Color rotation not supported.  Function
 keys control speed.  

-------------------------------------
 Picswch7  v0.7  19Apr87   40638 bytes     John Brochu

  Best all round individual viewer, supports most formats.  S-saves to
 another format, P or D-prints (can use degas printer drivers).  Support
 color or mono for all formats.  

-------------------------------------
 Picsx                      8315 bytes

   Some PIC files are actually many degas pics crammed into on file. 
 These types of slideshow files can be distinguished from normal pic files
(i.e. PCPaint) by  their extremely large size.

-------------------------------------
 Showpic2         1986     14360 bytes     Tom Hudson

 Degas slideshow.  Current folder only.  Function keys control speed.  Can
 show filenames.

-------------------------------------
 Slideneo                   1091 bytes

  NEO slideshow.  Supports color rotation/animation (i.e. waterfall).

-------------------------------------
 Slideset                   1280 bytes

  Same features as Slideneo.

-------------------------------------
 Specshow         29Dec88  15901 bytes     John Hickey

  Displays individual spectrum pics.

-------------------------------------
 Spslide8   v.0.8           7497 bytes     Boris Tsikanovsky
                                           Trio Engineering

  Can show picture names, but if path too long becomes illegible.  Shows
 all pictures one level down from current path and/or one level from roots
 of partitions selected.  Manual advance with carriage return.  Stereo or
 animation with script files.  Escape followed by three keys locks 
 keyboard until same three keys pressed.

-------------------------------------
 Spslidex                   8090 bytes     Spslide8 modified by
                                           Keith Enge

  Spslide8 modified to support SPU.  Smooshes/unsmooshes ( SPC<->SPU )

-------------------------------------
 Spx        v1.05  4Dec87  10800 bytes     Darek Mihocka 

  Carriage return advances to next.  Converts.  Can select formats.  If
 path other than current selected, must select one pic which locks in
 format.  Color rotation not supported.  Can add text windows and save to
 spectrum format.

-------------------------------------
 Tnyview3                   2048 bytes     David Mumper

  Tiny slideshow.

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


      I started collecting all this info a year ago and whipped up a 
 similar matrix because I could never remember which programs showed which
 pics, and often ended up banging all the keys on the board when I wanted 
 to try and stop it.  I began updating it recently when I started to get 
 involved in desktop publishing because, unfortunately, most of these 
 formats are not supported by desktop publishers.  Next will be a similar 
 article and matrix covering picture conversion programs that can be used 
 to get that favorite picture into your dtp or into a format that other 
 computers can use.





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



> CODEHEAD STR FOCUS
  ==================



                     REBUTTAL BY CODEHEAD SOFTWARE IN DEFENSE OF MULTIDESK
                     =====================================================


      Recently, the E. Arthur Brown catalog printed headlines in no less
 than three places proclaiming that "Flexcessory Beats Up MultiDesk"
 including a "story" which displays a misleading comparison chart.  We
 were not amused by their claims and would like to take this opportunity
 to defend MultiDesk against the unfair and biased half-truths presented.
 
      Yes, "Flexcessory Beats Up On MultiDesk", but MultiDesk ducks and
 Flexcessory misses.  In fact, Flexcessory misses completely because it's
 not even in the same ring.  Flexcessory is an accessory that loads
 programs and allows them to be accessed in a manner similar to
 accessories.  Unfortunately there are very few programs that will work
 with Flex other than the ones provided with the package.  MultiDesk is
 an accessory that loads and runs all normal ST desk accessories,
 allowing them to be accessed normally, as accessories.

      In the interest of accuracy, the chart released by E. Arthur Brown
 comparing Flexcessory to MultiDesk has been corrected.  The entries
 within the [square brackets] have been added by CodeHead.


 FEATURE                            MULTIDESK         FLEXCESSORY
 -------                            ---------         -----------

 Loads/Dumps PRG, TTP,                 NO                 YES [SOME]
 & TOS Utilities As If They
 Were Accessories

 Loads & Dumps Utilities               NO [YES]           YES
 w/o Rebooting

 Handles up to 15 Utilities            NO [no limit]      YES
 Per Accessory Slot

 "Unload All" or Individual            NO [All, YES]      YES
 Utilities from Desktop or Application

 Corner Clock Date                     NO [Clock, YES]    YES

 Adjustable RAM Disk                   NO [YES]           YES

 Adjustable Printer Spooler            NO [YES]           YES

 Desktop Calculator                    NO [YES]           YES

 Control Panel                         NO [YES]           YES

 NotePad                               NO                 YES

 PC/ST Compatible Disk Formatter       NO                 YES

 Printer Configuration Utility         NO [YES]           YES

 RS232 Configuration Utility           NO [YES]           YES

 Screen Grabber/Saver                  NO                 YES

 Floppy Drive Stepper Speed Setter     NO                 YES

 Advanced Show File Capability         NO                 YES

 Other Utilities Included              NO [YES]           YES

 Compatible w/Shareware/PD/            NO [YES]           YES
 Such as Twister or Fixdisk

 10 Day Money Back Satisfaction        NO                 YES
 Guarantee

 Price                             $29.95              $29.95


      As you can see, only 6 out of 19 items are correct, and 5 of them are
 questionable because they refer to utilities included with Flexcessory
 and not to Flexcessory itself.  Apparently E. Arthur Brown is unaware
 that MultiDesk itself includes 8 accessories.  It could also be argued
 that since MultiDesk can load and use public domain accessories which
 provide these functions, that MultiDesk should have a YES for those 5
 items also. 

      To show the absurdity of this type of comparison, we've compiled a
 checklist of our own.


 FEATURE                            MULTIDESK         FLEXCESSORY


 Approximate number of known          150+              20-25?
 usable utilities/ACCs

 Memory usage (with 0K buffer)        38K                51K

 Utilities/ACCs retain settings       YES                NO
 and data files upon returning

 Loads/Saves setups of util/ACC       YES                NO

 Runs as program or ACC               YES                NO

 Will load its counterpart            YES                NO
 (MultiDesk can load Flex)

 Will load itself                     YES                NO

 Includes Melt accessory              YES                NO

 Includes memory examiner             YES                NO

 Compatible with Thunder!             YES                NO
 
 Sorts names alphabetically           YES                NO

 Change buffer size at any time       YES                NO

 Persist option                       YES                NO

 Event timer control                  YES                NO

 Shrink-to-fit option                 YES                NO

 Show names while loading             YES                NO

 Return option                        YES                NO

 Mouse snap option                    YES                NO

 Query option                         YES                NO

 Configurable menu title              YES                NO

      At this point we could start listing all of the 150+ accessories that
 work with MultiDesk and not with Flexcessory, but I think our point has
 been made.

      Yes, we must concede that Flexcessory indeed has a 10-day money back
 guarantee.  You are free to take advantage of this offer and try
 Flexcessory for yourself.


      This document was prepared in defense of the attacks made on MultiDesk
 by E. Arthur Brown and is by no means typical of the way that CodeHead
 Software prefers to promote its products.


                                              John Eidsvoog
                                            CodeHead Software





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



> Atari Stock ~ STReport
  ======================


                                                  THE TICKERTAPE
                                                  ==============


 by Glenn Gorman



    Atari Stock dropped 1/8 of a point on Monday, 1/4 on Tuesday,
 up 1/8 on Wednesday. Finishing up the week at 6 1/8 points.
 Down 1/4 of a point from last Friday.


                                                           Glenn Gorman

                          +---------------------+
                          |  ATARI STOCK WATCH  |
                          | Week 05-22 to 05-26 |
 +=======+==========+===========+=============+============+=============+
 |       |  Monday  |  Tuesday  |  Wednesday  |  Thursday  |  Friday     |
 +-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+
 | Sales |     290  |      679  |        818  |       236  |     121     |
 +-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+
 | Last  |   6 1/4  |    6      |      6 1/8  |     6 1/8  |   6 1/8     |
 +-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+
 | Chg.  |    -1/8  |     -1/4  |       +1/8  |      ----  |    ----     |
 +=======+==========+===========+=============+============+=============+
 | From > THE CAVE ST BBS <> 609-882-9195 <> 300//9600 HST <> F-NET #351 |
 +=======================================================================+





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



> TOS 1.4 STR Spotlight
  =====================


                                              WHAT'S THE DEAL???
                                              ==================


 by R.F. Mariano


     The COUNTDOWN has been extended so many times the clock is growing 
 hair and the calendar paper is now yellow with age!   One can't help but
 wonder what the holdup may be....certainly it (TOS 1.4) will operate very
 nicely with existing software, Atari told us it would and that having it 
 do so is one one of the top priorities.  For this they should be commended
 ..of this there is no doubt but, going on two years late?   Nah...  NO 
 excuse can cover this.  For example,  we were told during the Spring 
 Comdex Show (1988) at Atlanta, that the NEW TOS 1.4 would be available to
 the userbase by fall of that year, it came and went with nothing.  Now we
 are looking at the coming of another fall Comdex and of course,  by all 
 indications and assurances we should have TOS 1.4 before this Comdex. 
 Wonder what the odds are being posted at in Las Vegas?

     Not talking about items that are truly vapor is one thing, but to 
 clam up about an item that is "so close to release" is a bit unreasonable. 
 Many a good principle was mangled, mutilated and destroyed by it's overly
 zealous application.  Moderation is the name of the game.  Let us know
 something, tell us to go fly a kite ..something but for goodness sake,
 don't leave the userbase wallowing in the ole' mushroom patch!!

     We have it on good information that the TOS 1.4 code is at the chip
 manufacturer, but we have heard all that before, we had three different
 people call Atari Customer Service to ask  "when will TOS 1.4 become
 available?",  we received three different answers ranging from "about a
 month", "about 6 weeks", and finally, "about 6 months"!  Certainly,
 STReport does not want to earn the reputation of "going to bed with Atari"
 nor, do we wish to be thought of as an antagonist of Atari.  In fact, we
 even offer suggestions from time to time.

     ie; Release TOS 1.4 to the userbase, forget holding it up for last 
 minute changes to accommodate new hardware/software etc..  If a change is
 absolutely necessary, ship the new product with a NEW ROM CHIP SET! And
 offer the new chipset to the userbase at that time.  Of course, the cost 
 of such a 'service' should be built into the price of both the products
 and the chipsets.  These CONSTANT delays are doing nothing but frustrate
 the userbase and wear down the patience of many loyal users.

      We will however, continue to call the shots just as they are.  And 
 right now, the delays are approaching the ridiculous level and could be
 alleviated by nothing more than honest, straight forward communication 
 with the userbase.  Tell us the straight story, stop with the "Stalag 17"
 Sgt. Schultz answers; "We know nothing" etc..

      Atari has come a long, long, way this year and now, with the raised
 awareness of the general public, about "ATARI COMPUTERS", Atari must 
 seize the opportunity to lengthen the time span of the awareness of the
 general public and make the product associated with the name be the 
 computer and not the 2600 etc.  It is slowly happening, Atari must 
 accelerate this process.  Now, before the fall season and the advent of
 the holidays.   Atari has no choice but to make an all out effort 
 beginning NOW if they wish to enjoy the fruits of Christmas 1989 sales 
 and possibly make 1990 the biggest and best year ever for Atari Computer
 sales.





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



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



 - Sunnyvale, CA.               ***** DEVELOPER TOS 1.4 NOW SHIPPING *****
   -------------

      Atari has begun shipping the Chipset Developer Version of TOS 1.4
 and.. according to reliable sources the actual chipsets are at the chip
 manufacturer's at this time.  Just when the consumer version of TOS 1.4
 will ship is anybody's guess, but serious money is on Aug. '89.  Speaking
 of money, the developer version is being shipped in E-Proms at a prepaid
 cost of $60.00 per set (special Developer price) in a six chip version. 
 (6x256k)  



 - Cupertino, CA.     ***** Apple Leads the Way in Developer Support *****
 ---------------

      Apple Computers' Developer Support Division employs 240 people whose
 sole duties are to advise, assist, and make sure ALL developers receive 
 the very latest information about new software or hardware innovations. 
 Those of you who are using Spectre or other Apple emulators have, no doubt,
 enjoyed both the quality and abundance of software for the MAC.  Of course,
 Apple does NOT provide photocopied manuals etc..  The Developer materials
 are all first rate and to be sure, it will only remain top notch or get
 better.



 - Chicago, IL.                   **** Portfolio Distribution Delayed ****
 --------------

      The hand held Atari computer, Portfolio, whose prototypes only
 recently arrived, is rumored to be experiencing some type of delay due to
 some minor design changes, no new ETA has been established.  It was due 
 to make it's debut sometime in May 1989.



 - New York City, N.Y.                   ***** WHERE IS LASERBRAIN?? *****
 --------------------

      Amid rumors of "on purpose shelving" ; "it's competition for.." and
 such.  LaserBrain the "Epson Emulator" for the SLM 804 seems to be busy 
 growing a layer of obscurity as far as the US Market is concerned.  Seems
 it's been released as a PD ware in Europe and is slowly making it's way
 into the states via the english speaking countries.  Even with decent
 translations of the documentation.  Previous versions of Laserbrain were
 rather troublesome, the newer version 1.3, is reported to be fairly 
 stable.



 - Titusville, FL.      **** COMPUTER SHOPPER DROPPING ATARI SUPPORT? ****
 ----------------

      The 'new owners' of Computer Shopper, are considering dropping 
 support of the Atari line of Computers, this information was 'leaked' to
 the public in hopes of developing enough of a reader reaction to give 
 Ziff-Davis an indication of the popularity of our favorite computer.  In 
 our humble opinion, recent postings of extremely negative material 
 pertaining to the Atari Userbase has given rise to a very strong wave of 
 anti-Atari sentiment which is being capitalized upon by Atari's 
 detractors and competition.  We find, once again we must strenuously 
 reiterate our request of Gilman Louie, CEO of Spectrum Holobyte, to kindly
 post a positive letter in every location he posted his, "I hate Pirates",
 mail over the course of the past three months.  Why?  Because he unfairly
 hung a pointed attack upon the Atari ST userbase as a whole.  And FAILED 
 to create a fair field of comparators across ALL the popular priced
 computers.  Thus, it becomes understandable when we now begin to hear
 the stories of who is "leaving" the ST arena because of a sagging market,
 internal unrest, highly organized pirates, or any number of other 
 convenient excuses made easy to use predominantly because of CEO Louie's
 letter.



 -  Federal Way, WA.                    ***** MIGRAPH TO DROP DONGLE! *****
 ------------------

      Migraph will issue a 15.00 credit to all those users who purchase
Touchup Version 1x - 1.5 for 35.00 (upgrade fee) and will issue a refund
check for 15.00 when they receive the PSK (Dongle) from you.  This means
that from version 1.5 on there will be no hardware protection.  This is
wonderful news we will now NOT see two or three feet of dongles hanging off
the back or our machines.  Hat's off to Migraph!  1mb RAM needed



 - Federal Way, WA.         ****** EASY-DRAW VERSION 3.0 FOR 7/1/89 ******
 -----------------

      To obtain the new upgrade you must send your original disk containing
version 2.x or higher and $49.95 plus $5.00 shipping.  The new Ver. 3.0 of
EasyDraw will feature B-splines, curves, to facilitate easier implementation
of complex illustrations and designs.  This version will also allow the
display of a bit image on the work page and it will remain in a fixed state
and not redraw thus allowing the user to trace over a bit image and
reproduce it into an object oriented form.  Look out Adobe here we come!
1 mb ram needed.





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



> GEnie CONTEST STR Online
  ==========================


                                            GEnie SUMMER SPLASH CONTEST!
                                            ============================


      The St Roundtable will be having a summer splash contest to kick the
 summer off. A new contest EACH month will be introduced with great prizes.
 We hope this makes your summer on GEnie much more enjoyable.


      June brings us three very different contests. The first will be on 
 your writing skills.  Be aware that this is on content and style. We need
 an article on "How you get the most out of the GEnie ST Roundtable." The
 best article will be selected and printed in GEnie Livewire and in the ST
 Roundtable.  Permission to reprint is granted by submitting an article. 
 Only paying users are qualified.  No others will be reviewed.  Paying 
 users are those that do not have any type of free flag or free account 
 on GEnie.  By eliminating the free accounts, we feel that this will make
 the cost of such the same for all users that enter. This will give a more
 equal chance for all those that submit.  The LiveWire Staff will decide 
 the winners from the top 20 finalists.  The three finalists will pick 
 their prizes from the list below.  First place winner will choose first.
 Then the second place winner will choose and finally the third. 
 Submissions are to be sent to DARLAH


           Please mark ALL submissions clearly as a contest entry. 
               Winners will be notified the 1st week of July. 



      The second contest will be on uploads to the library. As you know,
 uploading on GEnie is free but you can reap some extra benefits by sharing
 those quality files.  First prize will go to the person that uploads the 
 most files in the categories below.  There will be a second and third 
 prize for this division.


   This is a list of the libraries that will be counted for this contest.

             - Utilities
             - Language/Programming
             - Graphic Animation
             - Games
             - DeskTop Publishing  (Fonts Only - Working completed ones)
             - Hardware Projects

  Be advised, that only paying accounts (NO FLAGS) may enter this contest.

             - Duplications will NOT be counted.  
             - Files that do not function will not be counted. 
             - Demos will not be counted. 
             - The ST staff will judge this contest.
             - Decisions are final. 
             - The winners will be notified the 1st week of July. 
             - Please upload  your submissions to the ST libraries. 
             - Please mark these files with the keyword CONTEST 

      Non-GEnie users can send their entries to the PO box stated in the
 3rd contest description.  Please clearly mark what contest you are 
 entering.  Your submissions WILL be posted on GEnie. 


      For the 3rd contest, there will be three winners.  As the second 
 contest is, this contest will be on uploads to the same libraries 
 mentioned in contest two.  The difference is this contest will be on 
 original work.  

    A)-  It must be YOUR work. 
    B)-  It must be CLEARLY marked in the description that it is your work.

      This contest is open to non GEnie users as well.. We ask if you have
 someone else upload your work, that you include a read me file stating
 your name, address and telephone number where you can be reached.
 Entries will be accepted via US Mail if you do not have access to GEnie.

  The address to send your entry to is:
  -------------------------------------
                 Darlah Pine
                 GEnie ST Roundtable
                 PO Box 811
                 Brookfield, Ct 06804

  Submissions that are mailed will be posted on GEnie. Your name as author
  will be stated  clearly in the description. Winners will be notified the
                                1st week of July. 


      Prizes will be selected by the winners from the prizes stated in this
 text file.  First place winners will choose their selections first in the
 order of the contests. Second place winners will choose next and third 
 place winners last. Prizes will be shipped by the companies offering these
 prizes.

      Our deepest thanks go to the fine companies involved for making this
 contest a reality. 


                  PRIZE LIST FOR THE (3) THREE JUNE CONTESTS
            ===================================================
                   5 hours of GEnie Online connect time
                   GFA 3.0             <---    From Antic
                   Cyberpaint          <---    From Antic
                   HotWire             <---    From CodeHead Software
                   MultiDesk           <---    From CodeHead Software
                   G-Plus              <---    From CodeHead Software
                   FleetStreet         <---    From Michtron
                   Hi Soft Basic Pro   <---    From Michtron
                   Calamus Font Editor <---    From ISD Marketing
                   Calamus             <---    From ISD Marketing
                   Revolver            <---    From Intersect
                   Interlink           <---    From Intersect
                   Space Quest III     <---    From Sierra Online


      Thank you to all the companies involved. The support and information
 on all the products offered in the contests can be found right here on
 GEnie. They are the people that make this contest possible. The St Staff
 wants to applaud these companies for the EXCELLENT online support they
 offer to us all. We are proud to have them online on GEnie.

     More prizes will be offered by our developers for the summer splash
                contest on GEnie in the upcoming summer months.






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



> A "QUOTABLE QUOTE"
  ==================


         "Project Teams detest progress reporting because it vividly
                                    portrays
                          their total lack of progress!"


      AN AFTERTHOUGHT:
      ---------------

   "Ridiculous portrayals and absurd representations in the name of humor 
     are nothing more than elemental manifestations of insane jealousy!"

                                                Marvin Trottenberry, Pfft.



  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  ST-REPORT Issue #90     "Your Independent News Source"     June 02, 1989
                        ALL RIGHTS RESERVED  copyright 1989               
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Views, Opinions and Articles Presented  herein are not necessarily those
  of ST Report or CPU Report.  Reprint permission is granted, unless noted
  otherwise.   All reprints must include  ST Report or CPU Report  and the
  author's name.  All information presented herein is believed correct, ST
  Report or  CPU Report, it's editors  and staff are  not  responsible for
  any  use  or  misuse  of  information  contained  in  this  publication.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

