 
                  *---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
                         """""""""""""""""""""""""
                                       
                                       
                     "The Original Online ST Magazine"
                      _______________________________


  December 08, 1989                                       Vol III  No.117
  =======================================================================
  
                         ST Report Online Magazine
                        __________________________
                          Post Office Box   6672
                          Jacksonville,  Florida
                               32205 ~ 6672
  
                               R.F. Mariano
                            Publisher - Editor
                 _________________________________________
                   Voice: 904-783-3319  10 AM - 4 PM EDT
                  BBS:  904-786-4176   12-24-96 HST/14.4
                    FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EDT
                 _________________________________________
  
                          **  F-NET NODE 350  **
              Our support BBS carries ALL issues of STReport
                                    and
               An International list of private BBS systems
               carrying STReport for their users  enjoyment

    __________________________________________________________________ 
  
 > Issue: #117 STReport        The Online Magazine of Choice! 
   -------------------- 
     - The Editors' Podium                   - CPU REPORT
     - NEW! - ARC521c                        - STACY PASSES FCC!!
     - INSIDE THE STE                        - Kidpublisher Pro. Part II
     - PROBING THE FUTURE                    - ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
  
            ---====**** PC DITTO II BEGINS TO SHIP! ****====---
           --==** USR TO UPGRADE HST MODEMS TO V.42 FREE! **==--
  
 ==========================================================================
 STReport's support  BBS NODE  # 350  invites systems using Forem ST BBS to
 participate in  Forem BBS's  F-Net mail  network.   Or, Please  call # 350
 direct at 904-786-4176, and enjoy the excitement of exchanging ideas about
 the Atari ST computers through an excellent International ST mail network.
 ==========================================================================
       AVAILABLE ON:      COMP-U-SERVE  ~  DELPHI  ~  GENIE  ~  BIX
 ==========================================================================
 
 
 > The Editor's Podium
 
     Only two weeks 'till Christmas.  This is the time of the year to renew
 old friendships and begin valued new ones.  Hopefully, with the heartening
 signs coming from Europe, the world will see an era of true peace.  
 
     In the past two  years,  we  have  met  many  folks  in  the  Atari ST
 community, all  of whom  were sincerely interested in the future of the ST
 computer.  Elsewhere in this issue the subject of the future is covered as
 seen by yours truly.  I would enjoy seeing your opinions on this subject.
 
     With the  Stacy about to begin shipping, (within 30 days), and the STE
 not far behind, Atari is embarking on the new direction  we all  have been
 hearing about.  Also, let's not forget about the success of the Portfolio.
 This palmtop computer has taken the MS-Dos world by storm. I can  think of
 no  better  way  for  the  Atari  name to gain prominence in the computing
 community than to have the disciples of messy dos using a Portfolio.

     As most have already heard, PC DITTO II is beginning to ship,  just in
 time for Christmas.  Its reassuring to see things coming together in favor
 of the ST ....at last.

                                                Thanks for your support,
                                                       Ralph.....




                             "ATARI IS BACK!"


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


                    :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
                     _________________________________

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

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


                THE GENIE ATARI ST ROUNDTABLE - AN OVERVIEW
                ___________________________________________

 The Roundtable is an area of GEnie specifically  set aside  for owners and
 users of Atari ST computers, although all are welcome to participate.

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

 The Bulletin Board contains messages from Roundtable members  on a variety
 of Topics,  organized under  several Categories.   These  messages are all
 Open and available for all to read (GEnie Mail should be used for private
 messages).  

 If you have a question, comment, hot rumor or an answer to  someone else's
 question, the Bulletin Board is the place to share it.

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

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



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




 > CPU REPORT
   ==========

   Issue # 44



 by Michael Arthur


 Remember When....

     In 1976,  Jim Adkisson  of Shugart  Associates created  the 5 1/4 inch
 floppy disk drive after a request to make a floppy disk that  was the size
 of a  napkin, and  in 1981  when Sony  introduced a 3 1/2 inch floppy disk
 drive (which had disks the size of a  shirt pocket),  and submitted  it to
 ANSI, where it became the standard for 3 1/2 inch drives?


 CPU Systems Roundup XVI
 ========================


      Practical Future Computer Systems III:  The Price of Performance
      ---------------------------------------------------------------


 Part I

     In the  computer user's  quest for  faster, more powerful systems that
 will do more than the "older" computers, much of the focus in the computer
 industry  has  been  on  the  high-end of the market, highlighting low-end
 workstations like the NeXT system, or high-end microcomputers, such as IBM
 Clones using the 80486 chip.  

      To attempt  to determine  if this  is feasible, I have made a list of
 "Practical"  Future  Systems  that  could  be  configured  from  the major
 computers in the low/middle end of the market, and compared their features
 to make an objective opinion about which is the best.  I ignored variables
 like  operating  systems  and  software,  and  concentrated  on the actual
 computers' features and speed, the largest hard disk you could attain, and
 the best  graphics that system could provide.  While operating systems and
 software are a definite factor in a computer, I wanted to aim for the best
 hardware itself, to which you could add the other items.

       All of  the Practical Future Systems  shown cost from $3000 to $5000
 dollars, since surveys have shown that the majority of computer owners own
 systems that  are in   that  price range.   Also, all of the Dream Systems
 should have from 1 - 2 Megabytes of RAM, since this is  quickly becoming a
 requirement for applications software.  

     For example, AppleWorks GS needs 1.25 Megs of RAM just to boot up, and
 MultiFinder, as  well as the Amiga's OS, need 2 Megs of RAM to  be able to
 multitask several programs, as well as to run more smoothly.  

     Since the main reason for a Practical Future System is to provide more
 "bang for the buck", a large factor in deciding a  system's worth  will be
 its price/performance  ratio, to  see if  it meets the criteria for having
 "Power Without the Price"....

       After doing some research, I found several configurations that could
 truly claim  to be  "Affordable Future  Systems".   Shown in no particular
 order, here is my list:
         

 System #1
 ---------

       -  Dell System 316 - Total Cost of System: $3700.00 Dollars.

     This IBM Compatible is a 16 MHZ 80386SX system with 1 Megabyte  of RAM
 onboard, 7  IBM PC  AT expansion  slots, a 3.5" 1.44 Meg disk drive, and a
 built-in EGA/VGA video board with a VGA Monitor.  To  augment this system,
 a Dell  1 Meg SIMM RAM Card and a CompuAdd 70 Megabyte Hard Drive would be
 added....

 So, with this system, you would have:

       Dell System 316 with Intel 80386sx chip (Cost: $2500.00)
       Dell 1 Megabyte RAM Upgrade (Cost: $500.00)
       CompuAdd 70 Megabyte External Hard Drive (Cost: $700.00)

 EGA Graphics Resolution: 640*350 with 16  Colors out of 64

 VGA Graphics Resolution: 320*200 with 256 Colors out of 256,000
                          640*480 with 16  Colors out of 256,000


 Faults with System:  The 80386sx chip isn't as fast as the 80386 chip or
                      a comparable 80286 chip....


 System #2
 ---------

      - Macintosh SE/30 with FDHD SuperDrive - Total Cost: $5100.00

       The Macintosh SE/30 has a 16 MHZ Motorola 68030 chip  with a  16 MHZ
 68882 Floating Point Math Chip, 2 Megs of RAM onboard, uses 256K Mac ROMs,
 and has a 1.4 Meg FDHD SuperDrive for the Mac.  To enhance this  system, I
 have added La Cie's Cirrus 70 Meg Hard Drive.  


 So, with this system you would have:

       Macintosh SE/30 w/1.4 Meg Disk Drive (Cost: $4300.00)
       La Cie's Cirrus 70 Megabyte Hard Drive (Cost: $800.00)


 Macintosh SE/30 Resolution:  512*342 in Monochrome Resolution.


 Faults with System:  Lacks a Color display, having a monochrome resolution
                      which is only adequate at best.  It is also far more
                      expensive than the others....


 System #3
 ---------

       - Amiga 2000 w/CSA Midget Racer - Total Cost of System: $3690.00

       The base  system is an Amiga 2000 with 1 Meg of RAM, and 7 expansion
 slots.  Along with this would  be a  CSA Midget  Racer board,  which has a
 14.32  MHZ  68020  w/68881  Math  Chip,  a  Megaboard  2000 RAM board from
 Progressive Peripherals, with 2 Megs of RAM onboard, for 3  Megs of system
 RAM, and a 65 Megabyte Hard Drive from ABCO Inc., would be included.

 So, with this system you would have:

        Amiga 2000 w/color monitor (Cost: $1900.00)
        CSA Midget Racer 68020 Accelerator Card (Cost: $500.00)
        Megaboard 2000 RAM Board w/2 MB of RAM (Cost: $600.00)
        ABCO 65 Megabyte Hard Drive (Cost:  $690.00)

 Amiga Resolutions: (Not including Overscan)

                   320*200 with 32 colors out of 4096
                   320*200 with 64 colors out of 4096 (Extra Half-Brite)
                   320*200 with 4096 colors at the same time (HAM Mode)
                   640*200 with 4 to 16 colors
                   640*400 with 2 to 16 colors (interlaced)


  Faults with System:  None whatsoever.  An EXCELLENT system....


 System #4
 ---------

      - Mega 4 ST w/Turbo 16 Accelerator Board - Total Cost: $3890.00

       This is  a Mega  4 ST  with 4  Megs of RAM, 1 Expansion Slot, and an
 Omnimon Rainbow Monitor  from  Wuztek,  which  supports  all  of  the ST's
 resolutions.   Along with  this would be a Turbo-16 Accelerator Board from
 FAST Technologies, having a 16 MHZ  68000 chip,  and an  ABCO Inc.  44 Meg
 Removable Cartridge Drive, which uses Syquest Cartridges. 

 So, with this system you have:

       Mega 4 ST w/4 Megs of RAM (Cost: $2000.00)
       Wuztek Omnimon Rainbow Monitor (Cost:  $700.00)
       Turbo-16 Accelerator Board (Cost: $300.00)
       ABCO Inc. 44 Megabyte Removable Cartridge Drive (Cost: $890.00)

 Atari ST Resolution: 320*200 with 16 Colors out of 512
                      640*200 with 4  Colors out of 512
                      640*400 with Monochrome Resolution


 Faults of System:  Could use more expansion slots.  Support for a math
                    coprocessor wouldn't hurt either....


 System #5
 ---------

    - Apple IIgs w/TransWarp GS Accelerator Board - Total Cost: $4170.00

       The base  system is  an Apple  IIgs with  1 Meg of RAM, a 65816 chip
 which runs at 2.8 MHZ, 3  Expansion Slots,  and a  Color RGB  Monitor.  In
 addition  to  this,  two  peripherals  made  by  Applied  Engineering, the
 TransWarp GS Accelerator Board, which uses  a  7  MHZ  65816  chip,  and a
 GS-RAM  Memory  Card,  with  1.5  Megs  of RAM onboard, would be added on.
 Also, a Western Digital Preference 40 Megabyte Hard Disk is included.


 So, with this system you have:

       Apple IIgs w/RGB Monitor (Cost: $1650.00)
       TransWarp GS Accelerator Board (Cost: $400.00)
       GS-RAM 1.5 Meg Memory Board (Cost: $920.00)
       Western Digital Preference 40 Megabyte Hard Drive (Cost: $1200.00)

 Apple IIgs Resolution: 320*200 with 32 Colors out of 4096
                        640*200 with 16 Colors out of 4096
                        640*400 with 4  Colors out of 4096

 Faults of System:  Is far too expensive for the features it provides....


      Please note, I did not mention  products that  are not  shipping yet,
 like the 68030 TT, or products which have not been fully announced.

       In Part I of this series, I have given a list of the best affordable
 systems to currently be found in  the market,  and shown  their individual
 features.   In Part II these "Practical" Dream Systems will be compared to
 each other, in order to determine the "best" one.

       Based on this article  alone, the  Apple IIgs  System is  in serious
 jeopardy, given  that every other system provides similar capabilities for
 a lower  price.   The IBM  Dream System  has maintained  its good pricing,
 while  growing  in  versatility,  with  the 80386sx's ability to run 80386
 programs.  While they may not be affordable to ALL low-end computer users,
 they ARE  priced well  enough for a significant part of the low/middle end
 of the market.   The  Macintosh  Dream  System,  while  having superlative
 capabilities, is VERY expensive for this type of list....

        However, the  Amiga 2000  System has  maintained its  lead over the
 Mega ST System.  Both are the SAME price, and the A2000 System has greater
 speed  performance.    Both  of  these systems pass the "Power Without the
 Price" criteria well, as they are  the  least  expensive  systems  in this
 list, and  are equally  powerful Dream  Systems.   But since the Amiga and
 Mega ST Systems have fallen out of the $2500.00 - $3000.00 price  range to
 the price  range of  the other systems, the competition in determining the
 best system may not be decided in terms of price/performance....


 But ponder, if you will, this question:

 1)   How important is price, as compared to performance, in the decision
      to buy a microcomputer?


                             ---====***====---


 CPU REPORT CONFIDENTIAL
 =======================


 Osaka, Japan        Matsushita Corp has announced a new 12-inch Gas-Plasma
 ------------        display (commonly used in laptops), which is capable
                     of displaying 4096 colors or 16 gray scales, with a
                     640*400 resolution.  Sample units of this new screen
                     will ship in Early 1990, and Matsushita will price it
                     to be lower than any comparable color LCD screen to be
                     used in Laptops with Color Displays....

 San Francisco, CA   Apple reportedly won't introduce a $1500.00 Macintosh
 -----------------   until Early 1991, due to plans to incorporate segments
                     of System 7.0 (like Outline Fonts, the Communications
                     Manager, etc.) into its 256K ROMs, and to make it
                     inexpensive enough for Apple to make at that price.

                     This new Macintosh, which will replace the Mac Plus
                     (and maybe the Mac SE), will probably have 2 Megs of
                     RAM, an 8 MHZ 68000, 1 Mac SE Expansion slot, a sound
                     port, and a 1.4 Meg SuperDrive disk drive, in addition
                     to the other features of the Mac SE....

 Armonk, NY          IBM has introduced a new MicroChannel Expansion Card
 ----------          called the Wizard, which uses Intel's new 80860 chip
                     to compute up to 64 million floating Point operations
                     per second (MFLOPS), or several times faster than a
                     Cray-1.  It will be introduced at around the Second
                     Quarter of 1990, along with a Developer's Kit to allow
                     applications to use the Wizard.  Cost:  $10,000.00....

 Dallas, TX          Texas Instruments has been granted Japanese patents
 ----------          for the fundamental aspects of the Integrated Circuit,
                     which is the basis of all computer chips.  TI will now
                     negotiate with Japanese chip manufacturers for
                     licensing fees on these patents, which are valid thru
                     November 27, 2001.  Industry analysts predict that
                     TI's royalties could exceed $500 Million dollars a
                     year, based on the size of Japan's IC market....

                     Interestingly enough, while Jack Kilby, a former TI
                     employee, invented it in 1959, and TI applied for
                     Japanese patents in 1960, the patents for it were only
                     granted in October....






    __________________________________________________________________




 > ARC_521C STR Tech Notes   ARC & ARCX 521c  
   =======================


                                                  ARC 521c - SOUPED UP!
                                                  ====================



     Appearing on the major services, ARC 521C has made its  debut. And it,
 by all the stats, shines....  Perhaps, the influx of the LHARC compression
 efficiency has given rise to renewed enthusiasm in bringing the ARC format
 to bigger  and better  heights.   As with most all programs, the more they
 are used the better they become.


                            ARC 5.21C features
                            ==================

         o larger buffers for file buffering (28,672 bytes as opposed
           to 512) for greater speed.
         o new data compression algorithms for greatly improved speed
           AND compression.
         o allowing invocation of 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 bit file
           crunching. To select bit size, insert 12-16 in the command
           line (e.g. "a16 sample game.prg", "c14 sample", etc.). Each
           larger bit size requires more free memory. The resultant
           compression ratio grows more dramatic the larger the file.
         o on some files, 12 bit crunching (the default) results in a
           smaller compressed file than ARC 5.12 produces, although it
           is completely compatible with the original ARC 5.12.
         o a bug in all versions of ARC that caused a crash whenever a
           verbose list of a file with an invalid month (less than 1
           or greater than 12) has been fixed. I've run into this on
           STart disks.
         o the bug in ARC 5.21 that allows an archive to be built that
           is larger than the sum of its included files has been fixed.
         o the original wild card expansion algorithm has been
           reinstated ('*.*' means ALL files again, not just all files
           with extensions).

     The speed improvements are sometimes dramatic over earlier versions of
 ARC. Below  are the  results of  running a suite of functions between each
 version of the ARC program currently circulating.

     To conduct the tests, two double  sided  disk  drives  were  used. All
 temporary  files  were  written  to  a floppy disk. Some randomly selected
 files of various types were read from disk  B:\ to  an archive  created in
 disk A:\.   After each archive was finished, the archive was tested, which
 actually extracts the file  without  writing  it  out  to  disk.    Then a
 "verbose" listing  was made  of the  archive.   The exact elapsed time for
 these operations was then recorded.   Then a  disk directory  was recorded
 that shows the file length of the completed archive.

     Each version  of the  ARC program  started with  the same disk setups.
 Each test was done from a script without any human intervention.  The time
 and  size  differences  reflect  only  the performance of the ARC programs
 themselves.

 =========================================================================
 arc512.ttp
 ----------
 Name          Length    Stowage    SF   Size now  Date       Time    CRC
 ============  ========  ========  ====  ========  =========  ======  ====
 EXAMPLE.PRG     116939  Crunched   36%     75184   1 Dec 89   9:53p  99A0
 PICTURE.NEO      32128  Squeezed   51%     15816   1 Feb 88   9:24a  6B0F
 RLE.DOC            505  Crunched   92%        44   1 Dec 89  10:03p  5008
 SAMPLE.ARC        7808   Packed     1%      7758   1 Dec 89  10:35p  CD5A
 SAMPLE.DOC      189180  Crunched   48%     98922   2 Dec 89   9:24a  4ADC
 SUMTHIN.SEQ      96572  Crunched   58%     40789   1 Dec 89  10:27p  FE71
 TEST.ARC        127693     --       0%    127693   1 Dec 89  11:30p  5452
         ====  ========            ====  ========
 Total      7    570825             36%    366206

 elapsed time:
     00:28:16.655

 directory listing:
     -rw-- 366411 Sat Dec  2 09:24 test.arc


 =========================================================================
 arc521.ttp
 ----------
 Name          Length    Stowage    SF   Size now  Date       Time    CRC
 ============  ========  ========  ====  ========  =========  ======  ====
 EXAMPLE.PRG     116939  Crunched   42%     67922   1 Dec 89   9:53p  99A0
 PICTURE.NEO      32128  Squeezed   51%     15816   1 Feb 88   9:24a  6B0F
 RLE.DOC            505  Crunched   92%        44   1 Dec 89  10:03p  5008
 SAMPLE.ARC        7808   Packed     1%      7758   1 Dec 89  10:35p  CD5A
 SAMPLE.DOC      189180  Crunched   47%    102118   2 Dec 89   9:24a  4ADC
 SUMTHIN.SEQ      96572  Crunched   58%     41019   1 Dec 89  10:27p  FE71
 TEST.ARC        127693     --       0%    127693   1 Dec 89  11:30p  5452
         ====  ========            ====  ========
 Total      7    570825             37%    362370

 elapsed time:
     00:20:54.135

 directory listing:
     -rw-- 405406 Sat Dec  2 09:24 test.arc


 =========================================================================
 arc521b.ttp
 -----------
 Name          Length    Stowage    SF   Size now  Date       Time    CRC
 ============  ========  ========  ====  ========  =========  ======  ====
 EXAMPLE.PRG     116939  Crunched   42%     67922   1 Dec 89   9:53p  99A0
 PICTURE.NEO      32128  Squeezed   51%     15816   1 Feb 88   9:24a  6B0F
 RLE.DOC            505  Crunched   92%        44   1 Dec 89  10:03p  5008
 SAMPLE.ARC        7808   Packed     1%      7758   1 Dec 89  10:35p  CD5A
 SAMPLE.DOC      189180  Crunched   47%    102118   2 Dec 89   9:24a  4ADC
 SUMTHIN.SEQ      96572  Crunched   58%     41019   1 Dec 89  10:27p  FE71
 TEST.ARC        127693     --       0%    127693   1 Dec 89  11:30p  5452
         ====  ========            ====  ========
 Total      7    570825             37%    362370

 elapsed time:
     00:15:46.390

 directory listing:
     -rw-- 362575 Sat Dec  2 09:24 test.arc


 =========================================================================
 arc.ttp (version 5.21C)
 -----------------------
 Name          Length    Stowage    SF   Size now  Date       Time    CRC
 ============  ========  ========  ====  ========  =========  ======  ====
 EXAMPLE.PRG     116939  Crunch12   44%     65763   1 Dec 89   9:53p  99A0
 PICTURE.NEO      32128  Squeezed   51%     15816   1 Feb 88   9:24a  6B0F
 RLE.DOC            505  Crunch12   92%        44   1 Dec 89  10:03p  5008
 SAMPLE.ARC        7808   Packed     1%      7758   1 Dec 89  10:35p  CD5A
 SAMPLE.DOC      189180  Crunch12   49%     97696   2 Dec 89   9:24a  4ADC
 SUMTHIN.SEQ      96572  Crunch12   58%     40762   1 Dec 89  10:27p  FE71
 TEST.ARC        127693     --       0%    127693   1 Dec 89  11:30p  5452
         ====  ========            ====  ========
 Total      7    570825             38%    355532
 elapsed time:
     00:09:52.300

 directory listing:
     -rw-- 355737 Sat Dec  2 09:24 test.arc

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

     It's interesting to note that  ARC  5.21C  performed  the  functions 3
 times faster than the original 5.12, and that's without using a ramdisk or
 hard disk for temporary  files!    Also  note  that  while  EXAMPLE.PRG is
 smaller in  5.21C, the  original ARC  5.12 has  no trouble whatsoever with
 extracting it.

     Notice that both EXAMPLE.PRG and SAMPLE.DOC compress to  a larger size
 in the ARC521 archive.  And look at the final size of the archive, 405,406
 bytes!  

     Even ARC521B pales with  both compressed  file size  and elapsed time,
 although at least it doesn't add garbage like ARC521.


 ARCX 5.21c
 ==========

     ARCX 5.21C extracts all files from the archives specified. As with the
 original ARCX, you double  click on  ARCX.TTP. When  the paramaters dialog
 box pops  up, you type in the name of the archive (or archives) from which
 you want all of the files extracted. The extracted files are placed in the
 same directory that ARCX.TTP is run from.

     The differences  between the  original ARCX and ARCX 5.21C are few but
 significant. ARCX 5.21C:

    o has greatly improved speed (at least 100% faster on a
      floppy drive system).
    o can handle extracting "Squashed", "Crunch12", "Crunch13",
      "Crunch14", "Crunch15", and "Crunch16" files.
    o has far better error handling.
    o handles being passed archive file names not in the same
      directory as is ARCX (e.g. "b:\games\bestgame.arc")
    o is smaller!

                                                  Enjoy!

                                             Patrick Dell'Era

                         Compuserve      73157,2623
                         GEnie           DELL-ERA
                         Delphi          DELL_ERA






    __________________________________________________________________





 > PC DITTO II STR NewsPlus   It's shipping and AG is alive & well!!
   ========================





                       PC DITTO II from AVANT GARDE
                       ============================


 info provided by Avant Garde


     These are the latest performance trials on pc-ditto  II, using various
 benchmark  programs.    The  computer  used  is a 1040ST with two 3.5-inch
 floppy drives and  one  30  meg  drive.    IBM  DOS  is  installed  on the
 harddrive, and the DOS was autobooted from the hard drive.  

 No DOS  resident utilities were present, and the CONFIG.SYS file contained
 two lines:
                                 FILES=20
                                BUFFERS=16
  
     The 8087 floating point coprocessor was not installed for these tests.
         (It appears most benchmarks do not use or test the 8087).

     Rather than  try to  summarize the  various programs,  I have left the
 original screen dump intact to provide the detail (in some cases a summary
 and subsequent comparison of the benchmarks would be difficult at best; as
 you will see from the various performance descriptions below, there  is no
 standard for performance common to all the programs.)


                             ---====**====---


 Program:   si.com
 Source:    Commercial product, from Norton Utilities


    SI-System Information, Version 3.10, (C) Copr 1984-86, Peter Norton

 IBM/PC
 ======
 Operating under DOS 3.30
     5 logical disk drives, A: through E:
     DOS reports 640 K-bytes of memory:
     51 K-bytes used by DOS and resident programs
     589 K-bytes available for application programs
     A search for active memory finds:
          640 K-bytes main memory     (at hex 0000-A000)
          32 K-bytes display memory   (at hex B800-C000)

           Computing performance index relative to IBM/PC:  4.0

                             ---====**====---

 Program:   mips12.com
 Source:    Public domain (available on this network)

              COPYRIGHT (C) CHIPS AND TECHNOLOGIES INC., 1986

     01/01/80    BENCHMARK PROGRAM - VERSION 1.20     00:15:08

     BENCHMARK PERFORMANCE    IBM/PC  IBM/AT   COMPAQ    ACTUAL
          RELATIVE TO =>       4.7Mhz   8Mhz      386      MIPS

     GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS       2.00    0.58     0.29     0.33
     INTEGER INSTRUCTIONS       4.00    0.63     0.27     0.67
     MEMORY TO MEMORY           1.90    0.59     0.33     0.45
     REGISTER TO REGISTER       5.25    0.68     0.29     0.94
     REGISTER TO MEMORY         1.96    0.59     0.32     0.60

     OVERALL PERFORMANCE        2.53    0.61     0.30     0.60


                             ---====**====---

 Program:   speed.com
 Source:    Public domain (available on this network)

  DESIGNS           IBM COMPATIBLE PERFORMANCE ANALYZER           (C)  1986

                   Copyright (C) 1986 Richard B. Johnson


     Checking memory block write   ticks: 117 compared to IBM/PC 431%
     Checking register to memory   ticks: 204 compared to IBM/PC 240%
     Checking memory to register   ticks: 263 compared to IBM/PC 186%
     Checking register to register ticks: 234 compared to IBM/PC 235%
     Checking divide by register   ticks:  83 compared to IBM/PC 616%
     Checking divide by memory     ticks: 135 compared to IBM/PC 447%
     Checking multiply by register ticks: 106 compared to IBM/PC 453%
     Checking multiply by memory   ticks: 133 compared to IBM/PC 418%
     Checking stack operations     ticks: 242 compared to IBM/PC 183%
     Checking far jumps, far calls ticks: 272 compared to IBM/PC 190%

  Total time is: 1789 clock ticks, (99 seconds) compared to IBM/PC 288%

                             ---====**====---

 Program:   speed99.com
 Source:    Public domain (available on this network)

               THE LANDMARK CPU SPEED TEST:  SPEED Version 0.99
                       Copyright 1986 Landmark Software
                            1142 Pomegranate Court
                              Sunnyvale CA 94087
                                 408-733-4035

 This system is performing like an IBM AT running at:
  Mhz
  --- 
 1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10   11   12   13   14   15

                  3.6 Mhz
                  2.1x

 Performance relative to 4.77 Mhz PC or XT:

          1x       2x      3x       4x       5x       6x       7x       8x

 Current time:  00:37:36     Elapsed time since starting program:  00:05:32
 Current test:  526          Elapsed time for the latest test:     304 ms


                             ---====**====---

 Program:   sse-v2.com
 Source:    Public domain (available on this network)

                               IBM PC                 IBM PC AT
 Routine:                     8088        V-20       6 Mhz       8 Mhz     
 Yours
 ==========================================================================
 Integer Count          24 (1.0)    23 (1.0)     9 (2.7)     6 (4.0)     10
 (2.4)
 Real Count              29 (1.0)    26 (1.1)    11 (2.7)     8 (3.6)    11
 (2.6)
 Table Lookup           28 (1.0)    26 (1.1)     9 (3.1)     7 (4.0)     11
 (2.5)
 String Manipulation      29 (1.0)    17 (1.7)    10 (2.9)     7 (4.1)    9
 (3.2)
 Empty Loop             29 (1.0)    25 (1.2)     9 (3.2)     7 (4.1)     12
 (2.4)
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Total Timing            139 (1.0)   117 (1.2)    48 (2.9)    35 (4.0)   53
 (2.6)

                             ---====**====---

                   System Speed Evaluator Ver #2, by T. Gray



 Program:   ci.exe
 Source:    Public domain (available on this network)

 CPU Information  Version 1.10, by Simon Smith

     Processor = 8086
     Clock Speed = 38.4 MHz
     Number for wait states = 10

          General CPU performance factor relative to IBM PC = 2.6

                             ---====**====---

 Program:   cputest.exe
 Source:    Public domain (available on this network)

                              CPU Benchmark Test
 Running test, please wait

     Elapsed time in seconds  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.26
     Detected V30 CPU at equivalent of  . . . . . . . . 9.54 mhz
     Effective clock speed is . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.29
     Estimate MIPS at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.45
     Times faster than origianl 4.77 mhz PC . . . . . . 1.95

     (C) Copyright 1989 Visionary Software Technology, Inc. Canton, CT

                             ---====**====---

 Program:   bench.exe
 Source:    Public domain (available on this network)
            (Part of the PC Magazine benchmark programs)

                   PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
       File         Performance  Compatibility  Quality        Set   Help 

                               PROCESSOR SPEED TESTS

                              [ ] Instruction mix
   L A B S                    [ ] 128K NOP loop
                              [ ] Do-Nothing loop
                              [ ] Integer add loop
                              [ ] Integer multiply loop
                              [ ] String sort and move
                              [ ] Prime number sieve
                              [ ] Floating point mix

                              [ ] All of the above

                               Enter           Cancel

                     Esc=Cancel  Spacebar = Select benchmark
                                                                   
 V30/6.0   
                             ---====**====---

                       PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
                                    Results  
                                                             A     B     C
                                                       100
                         INSTRUCTION MIX
                         Time in seconds          
   L A B S    _______________________________________
                         8088  80286  80386             75
                       ______  _____  _____               
        This V30/6.0:   12.96    n/a    n/a        A
      8Mhz IBM PC/AT:    9.14   9.06    n/a        B    50
   4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:   33.01    n/a    n/a        C     

       Performance index relative to:                   25

      8Mhz IBM PC/AT:     0.7    n/a    n/a       
   4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:     2.5    n/a    n/a            
                                                         0
                     
                             ---====**====---

                       PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
                                    Results                                
                                                             A     B     C
                                                       100
                         128K NOP LOOP  
                         Time in seconds          
   L A B S    _______________________________________
                   This V30/6.0:    4.23           A    75
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:    4.17           B
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:   10.16           C    50

       Performance index relative to:                   25
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:     1.0                     
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:     2.4                          
                                                         0
                     
                             ---====**====---

                   PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
                                 Results                                 
                                                             A     B     C
                                                       100
                         DO NOTHING LOOP
                         Time in seconds          
   L A B S    _______________________________________
                   This V30/6.0:    4.94           A    75
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:    3.64           B
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:    9.94           C    50

       Performance index relative to:                   25
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:     0.7                     
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:     2.0                          
                                                         0
                     
                             ---====**====---

                   PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
                                  Results 

                                                             A     B     C
                                                       100
                        INTEGER ADDITION
                         Time in seconds          
   L A B S    _______________________________________
                   This V30/6.0:    3.68           A    75
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:    2.14           B
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:    9.94           C    50

       Performance index relative to:                   25
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:     0.6                     
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:     2.7                          
                                                         0
                     
                             ---====**====---

                   PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
                                  Results

                                                             A     B     C
                                                       100
                        INTEGER MULTIPLY
                         Time in seconds          
   L A B S    _______________________________________
                   This V30/6.0:    2.53           A    75
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:    1.21           B
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:    9.99           C    50

       Performance index relative to:                   25
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:     0.5                     
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:     3.9                          
                                                         0
                     

                             ---====**====---

                   PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
                                 Results    

                                                             A     B     C
                                                       100
                        INTEGER MULTIPLY
                         Time in seconds          
   L A B S    _______________________________________
                   This V30/6.0:    4.23           A    75
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:    2.93           B
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:   11.04           C    50

       Performance index relative to:                   25
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:     0.7
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:     2.6
                                                         0
                     
                             ---====**====---

                   PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
                                 Results 

                                                             A     B     C
                                                       100
                       PRIME NUMBER SIEVE
                         Time in seconds          
   L A B S    _______________________________________
                   This V30/6.0:    4.45           A    75
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:    3.02           B
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:   11.54           C    50

       Performance index relative to:                   25
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:     0.7                     
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:     2.6                          
                                                         0
                     
                             ---====**====---

                   PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
       File         Performance  Compatibility  Quality        Set  Help 

                                MEMORY SPEED TESTS  

                              [ ] Conventional read
   L A B S                    [ ] Conventional write
                              [ ] Expanded read  
                              [ ] Expanded write  
                              [ ] Extended read        
                              [ ] Extended write      
                              [ ] All of the above

                               Enter           Cancel

                     Esc=Cancel  Spacebar = Select benchmark

 V30/6.0
    
                             ---====**====---

                   PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
                                  Results
                                                             A     B     C
                                                       100
                   CONVENTIONAL MEMORY READ
                         Time in seconds          
   L A B S    _______________________________________
                   This V30/6.0:    1.92           A    75
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:    1.43           B
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:    6.37           C    50

       Performance index relative to:                   25
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:     0.7                     
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:     3.3                          
                                                         0
                     
                             ---====**====---

                   PC Magazine Labs Benchmark Series 5.0
                                  Results
                                                            A     B     C
                                                       100
                   CONVENTIONAL MEMORY WRITE
                         Time in seconds          
   L A B S    _______________________________________
                   This V30/6.0:    1.93           A    75
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:    1.43           B
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:    6.37           C    50

       Performance index relative to:                   25
                 8Mhz IBM PC/AT:     0.7                     
              4.77Mhz IBM PC/XT:     3.3                          
                                                         0
                     
                         ----======*****======----

 Editor Note:

     After having  observed the  anxiety setting in on the online services,
 we felt it best to try to bring positive news, week after week, concerning
 PC DITTO  II and  its awaited  release date.   As  we all saw, there was a
 flurry of activity a few weeks ago, but that was a one shot deal.  

     To give  all a  rough idea  of what  actually happened,  the course of
 events were  bizarre. (at  least to  us and  surely the Teals).  The first
 contractor (in Texas) shipped a large batch of the 'finished'  products to
 AG and  the letdown  was plain  and simple.. none of the new devices would
 work!  Murphy's Law at its best....  

     AG was then forced to find a remedy, after all, the users were getting
 restless  and  AG  has  fine  reputation  to  uphold.   A new and far more
 competent contractor was located (in Denver) and they  were given  the job
 of producing the new Ditto 2 boards.  Needless to say, these folks got the
 job done and done well.  PC DITTO II began shipping today in small numbers
 and will continue to do so until about the first of the year, by that time
 output will be up to full speed.

     Congratulations are in order to the Teals for having had the fortitude
 to hang in there and overcome devastating adversity and still triumphantly
 come forward with a fine product.
   
                    Good Luck AG ..and Happy Holidays!





    ___________________________________________________________________





 > Fontverter STR Spotlight     A neat product for the DTP set....
   ========================



                                                  FONTVERTER IS HERE!
                                                  ===================


     FONTVERTER for the Atari ST line of computers  will begin  shipping on
 Monday, December  4, 1989.   This program allows the conversion of outline
 fonts between PageStream and Calamus desktop  publishing packages.   Users
 will now  be able  to use  the exact same font outline with both packages,
 enabling the  user owning  both programs  to determine  which program they
 want to use for a certain job based on the needed capabilities of the
 program, instead  of trying  to make  do because the font required is only
 available for one of the package.

     Fontverter is a conversion program, NOT AN EDITOR.  Due to the radical
 differences in the font handling in each program, to utilize FONTVERTER, a
 font editor will be required in the destination  format.   What that means
 is to convert a PageStream font to Calamus, you will need the Calamus font
 editor to add kerning tables, to change rotation direction of  some of the
 paths to allow the font to fill properly, and to adjust the em square. 

     When converting a Calamus font for use with PageStream, the outline is
 converted to the original Publishing  Partner  format,  from  there  it is
 converted to  PageStream, and to Postscript if needed, using FONTEDIT.PRG,
 which is distributed with PageStream and put up  on all  major BBS systems
 by SoftLogik.  This is due to the absence of a full editor for PageStream.
 The user will require the use  of  Font  Design  Partner  or  the original
 Publishing Partner editor to create screen fonts, and set the font widths,
 along  with  proper  adjustment  of  the  em square. Automatic screen font
 generation can  be  achieved  with  Font  Design  Partner,  so  it  is the
 recomended editor.

     FONTVERTER is  available directly from MegaType software, or from your
 favorite dealer.  To order direct,  send  $39.95  in  US  funds, including
 shipping.  (Money  Order  will  ship  immediately, personal checks allow 2
 weeks to clear).  No COD orders. Indiana  residents include  5% sales tax.
 ($41.95 total)  

 Send orders to:
                                 MegaType
                                PO BOX 645
                           South Bend, IN 46624

     Dealer and  Distributor inquiries and welcome.  Quantity discounts for
 users groups are also accepted.  Address inquiries  to the  above address,
 on   your   letterhead,   or   leave   E-Mail   to   DFTURNOCK  on  Genie.
 Dealers/Distributors  please   include   proof   of   dealership,   and  a
 dealer/distributor price list will be sent or e-mailed to you ASAP.

                            Happy Fontverting!






    __________________________________________________________________





 > USR HST SETUP STR Tech Notes    Unraveling the confusion....
   ============================


     Getting a  new modem  on line can sometimes be a major task.  With the
 advent of these new high powered  modems,  the  options  and  controls are
 virtually unlimited.   Between  the dip switches, S-registers and the Nram
 one can easily become confused.    At  least  with  the  following setting
 suggestions one can start off relatively easy.



     1. USRobotics Courier 9600 HST Dual Standard NRAM Settings...

          DIAL=TONE   B1  F1  M1  X6
          BAUD=19200  PARITY=N  WORDLEN=8

          &A1  &B0  &G0  &H1  &I0  &J0  &K1  &L0
          &M4  &N0  &P0  &R2  &S1  &X0  &Y1

          S02=043   S03=013   S04=010   S05=008
          S06=002   S07=030   S08=002   S09=006
          S10=007   S11=070   S12=050   S13=000
          S15=000   S19=000   S21=010   S22=017
          S23=019   S24=025   S26=000   S27=000
          S28=008   S38=000

                          -----====*****====-----

     2. HST Switch Settings

          SW1 - Up
          SW2 - Up
          SW3 - Down
          SW4 - Up
          SW5 - Down
          SW6 - Up
          SW7 - Down
          SW8 - Down
          SW9 - Up
          SW0 - Up



     3. MODEMDAT.TXT (FoRem)

          +++
          AT S0=1 E0 V0 &B1
          AT Z



     4. FNETLINK.DAT  (FoRem)

          Verbose disk log

          0
          Baud 19200
          Send "AT Z"
          Pause 2 seconds
          Send "AT E0 X0 &B1"
          Pause 2 seconds
          Request Routes
          Maxtime 0330

          3
          Always call
          Track calls on
          Dial "1-713-480-9310" 40


                    This is all the HST info you should need.
                    ========================================


 Section 1
 --------- 
 -  shows  the  HST  NRAM  settings  you will notice that FIXED LINK is not
 enabled with this setting ..just HARDWARE FLOW CONTROL.  The reason being,
 is it gives the greatest flexibility for all of the diffrent TERM programs
 available for use.

 Section 2 
 ---------
 - shows the dip switch setting used, ..maybe helpful.

 Section 3 
 ---------
 - shows how the MODEMDAT.TXT file is set up so FoReM BBS SysOps can run in
 FIXED LINK  mode.   Remember, to  make the BAUD RATE line in the FOREM.OPT
 file read 'HST'.

 NOTE: if you just want to  use  HARDWARE  FLOW  CONTROL  with  FoReM, just
 remove the  '&B1' command from the 2nd line of MODEMDAT.TXT.  Now, you can
 have the BBS answer and connect  at  the  rate  the  user  is  calling at.
 Please  remember  to  make  the  BAUD  RATE line in the FOREM.OPT file say
 '9600'.

 Section 4
 --------- 
 - shows how to make the mailer run  at a  FIXED LINK  rate of  19200.  You
 will notice  this isn't the way the instructions say to do this, but after
 many hours of playing with the  mailer it  has been  found to  be the best
 method.    It  will  connect  with  any  mailer from 300-14400 at ease and
 without any problems. The mailer can be set up this  way even  if you have
 the BBS just using HARDWARE FLOW CONTROL.

 Special Info: 

 Just to  give you an idea of stats that became very real after testing the
 various settings listed above.  And now, after having operated  the system
 in this  manner for  over 3  months without  any problems the following is
 presented.  When calling an USR/HST that isn't set for FIXED LINK you will
 still realize higher U/L CPS rates, they peak at about 1150-1540 CPS using
 Zmodem.  If calling a USR/HST running FIXED LINK, an  average of 1720-1790
 CPS using  Zmodem.  The Fmailer should yield about 720-960 CPS on receive,
 and about 820-1050 CPS on send. 

                                                         Dennis McConnell
                                                         Sysop, FNET #453






      ______________________________________________________________





 > WHERE TO? STR Spotlight   In what direction are we headed?.....
   =======================



                                                  ATARIANS, REMEMBER US?
                                                  ======================


 by R.F. Mariano


     Aside from the comfy feeling of knowing I have had  a wonderful decade
 of using Atari Computers.  I remain, upset and angered, at being forced to
 face a rather disturbing decision.

     My friends, most of whom owned Atari ST gear along with me, have since
 gone to either a MAC or an IBM (mostly clones) computer while preaching to
 me to do likewise.  Here I sit, faced with  the decision  of forsaking the
 most enjoyable  computer I  have found  to date, in favor of either IBM or
 MAC, both of which I find lacking  in  one  area  or  another.    Sure, my
 friends tell  me they  have my  best interests  at heart. However, I can't
 help but remember the old adage of "misery loving company".   After having
 mentioned  that  to  them,  they  mellowed  somewhat in their enthusiastic
 'conversion' efforts.  I thanked them and made it quite clear I would have
 to make up my own mind without any outside influences. 

     Thus, begins  the long  hard trek  through all  the 'common sense' and
 demeaning rhetoric I know is in store for  me.   Without a  doubt, I  am a
 diehard Atarian.   Here  then, are  a few  questions that provide pointers
 that tell me so;

     a) Do you get angered by anyone "badmouthing" the computer itself?

     b) Do you find yourself wanting to reach out and shake 'the silly' out
        of the bad decision makers at Atari?

     c) Are  there times you wish lived in the 'old days' of no computers  
        and maybe even no electricity?

     d) Do you find yourself being an enthusiastic 'preacher' magnifying   
        the benefits of owning and using an ST computer?

     e) Have you found that when you hear of another developer 'going over'
        to the competition you are angered, not at him, but ATARI?

     f) Are there times you wish Atari had  never left  the 'mail  order'  
        scene, knowing  full well they may have hurt dealers and sold more 
        machines by remaining in mail order distribution?

     g) Do you find it easy to love the computer,  preaching its  wonders  
        while deep  down inside  you feel very uneasy about the company's  
        next unpredictable and usually zany move?

     h) Have you found, as I have, that there are times your  friends think
        you have  lost any sanity they thought had because of what you have
        said pro or con about Atari?

     i) Are you ready, willing and able to forgive and forget what you feel
        are Atari's transgressions against the userbase if they show to the
        userbase that they are serious about penetrating the US home 
        computer market thus, supporting the ST line?

     j) Has it occurred, on more than one occasion, that when you cool down
        you are  ready once again to run right out and plunk down some more
        hard earned bux for say.. the Stacy or a TT the minute  they are on
        the dealers shelves? 

     k) Would  you be more comfortable if you found that Atari allowed its 
        folks to be more open about the future and Atari's  plans for  the 
        future?  Of course, without betraying itself or its strategic plans
        to the competition.

     Ok, you read  the  questions,  perhaps  even  twice...now,  here's the
 kicker...  If... you answered 50% with a yes... you, mah fren' are still a
 diehard Atarian. Its nice to let you know that in these times, you are far
 from being alone.  There are PLENTY of us.

     Just a  few short  weeks ago, I attended Comdex/Fall '89 and came away
 with my now famous; "Atari enthusiasm Fix".  Although I  missed seeing Sig
 Hartmann touting  the Atari line, I did get the opportunity to see him and
 have lunch with him, he still had kind and supportive words for  Atari and
 its future.   Afterwards,  I heard  the echo.. "Dat guy, he is such a guy!
 You just gotta get to know him!   He has  jillions of  goot ideas  all the
 time!"   Little did  I realize I would meet "Dat Guy" later on that day at
 the Atari reception.  Strangely enough  that  evening,  more  than  once I
 heard  Sig's  voice  in  the  remote  distance saying "Dat guy...  Sig was
 right.   Leonard is  quite a  guy.   I was  treated to  meeting many folks
 associated with  him and of course, his "henchmen" <grin> John and Ken....
 they too were very interesting people and pleasure to meet and greet.

     Once more, to those  who felt  it necessary  to bad  mouth the obvious
 enthusiasm, all  I can  say is, after what I learned at Comdex, the embers
 of faith are glowing once again and we all are  able look  forward to some
 very interesting  and enjoyable  times in  the future as long as we do not
 allow ourselves to be blinded by the past.  

     As for  the dealers  who feel  slighted, hear  this...   about how the
 multitude of  complaints that  roll into Atari's offices almost every day.
 Of dealers out there  who lay  off on  Atari, their  own shortcomings, ie;
 "its backordered"  ..when the truth is the dealer owes Atari bux and can't
 be shipped until satisfactory arrangements are made.  Or, and  this is the
 one that  really galls me, the calls about the dealers who gouge the users
 at every opportunity.  List price plus 15%  is not  uncommon, how  about a
 520stf without  TOS 1.4  or any  upgrade other  than a  double sided drive
 installed  (actually  they  come  that  way  from  the  factory)...    The
 promotional price  is supposed  to be  299.95 according  to the statements
 made at the SPA meeting, but we have found certain dealers trying  to sell
 these same computers at $450.00!!  And more if the prospect is totally new
 to the computer scene.  Well as  far  as  this  writer  is  concerned, the
 dealers who  are engaged  in this non-sense, (there are quite few involved
 in the  'gouge' game),  are begging  for the  return of  MAIL ORDER and/or
 factory direct  sales and  justifiably so!   They  give all Atarians a BAD
 name and rep.

     Almost everyone  I talk  to agrees,  "its time  for professionalism to
 enter the  marketing picture from the top all the way down to the street".
 The time has come to eliminate  the chastising  and punishing  and to open
 the market  up to  as many dealers as possible, teaching and training them
 as progress is made, (within  reason)  and  without  the  inhibiting major
 tieups of large dollars in parts/service inventories etc.  

     There was  an excellent  exchange program  in place  that proved to be
 provocatively perfect.  It allowed the dealers the opportunity to put more
 of their capital into the computer inventory and thus, sell the heck outta
 the computers.  And, when and if the computer acted up, or  croaked, after
 the warranty period had expired, the customer was not caught in the middle
 with a dealer adversely involved.  Nor was  the dealer  facing the expense
 of  costly  test  equipment  and  technicians, not to mention having upset
 users griping  in the  store while  the sales  people were  trying to sell
 computers.

     The customers/users/owners/dealers  had found an equitable solution in
 the  exchange  program,  they  sent  in  the  defective  machine  and  the
 appropriate remittance.  And in return, had a fine working machine back in
 no time at all.  This particular  exchange  system  was  the  rave  of the
 industry, it  NEEDS to be put back in place along with reasonable pricing.
 Truly, it, (the exchange program), could've been called the frontrunner to
 the fully  disposable computer.   And, indeed, it was a shining example of
 top notch executive thinking.  Its  revamp  and  cost  hikes  were, flawed
 decision making at best and should be corrected.

     Atari's future,  at this  time, may  appear somewhat cloudy but in all
 fairness, lets get real for a moment.  Stacy is about to hit the US market
 and the  STE is  right behind it, thank goodness for the new little shield
 for the STE (it'll pass now  <grin>),  it  is  incumbent  upon  all  of us
 "diehards" to  hang tough as there is still a very bright light at the end
 of the tunnel.  As for me.....  I am going jump on a Stacy ASAP,  and then
 patiently  wait  for  a  second  generation,  Unix TT to arrive.  Yep, you
 guessed it.  I have not given up on Atari at all.







    __________________________________________________________________





 > Kidpublisher Pro STR Review    ...another look at Kidpublisher Pro
   ===========================




                                   Kidpublisher Professional (Part II) 
                                   ===================================


 by Bob Rosendale


     It was brought to my attention that I made an  error in  the review of
 Kidpublisher Professional in STReport 116, regarding the use of the "Font"
 selector box.  There are 33 text columns and seven lines per page, so that
 no matter what font the user selects, no overflow will occur at the bottom
 of the page.

     I had also stated  that the  user would  receive an  alert box  if the
 "Blank" option was selected.  This is only true in the typing mode, not in
 the drawing mode.  I  did  not  know  that  the  UNDO  would  retrieve the
 picture, BUT,  only if  no other  drawing commands had been selected.  The
 earlier version of the careware program was not version 2.7.   What  I had
 stated was  that I  was familiar  with the  careware versions  but did not
 state which version it was. 

     It was also suggested to  me  that  I  might  have  misled  readers to
 believe that  the only improvement to the drawing program was the addition
 of UNDO.  It is suggested that those in doubt re-read the second paragraph
 of the  original review.   I do like the Undo feature but "I" would prefer
 an alert box in the drawing portion for the Blank option.   (Wondering how
 many  5  to  11  year  olds  have  read  my original review and told their
 parents: "Don't bother getting the program  for me  because there  are too
 many problems."  My intention was to bring to the readers of STReport, the
 fact, that Kidpublisher Professional exists and that it was not a "remake"
 of a careware program.)

     I do  like the  autoboot feature that allows a child "load and go".  I
 do like the Undo feature in the drawing mode now that I  know that  I have
 to select  it before any other drawing commands if I want my picture back.
 "I" would  like an  alert box  in the  drawing mode  if I  would happen to
 select the  Blank icon.  "I" would like a Load feature to load in previous
 saved work so that "I" wouldn't  have to  have the  necessary Kidpublisher
 Professional files  and saved  files per  separate disk, per saved project
 (that could end up being a lot  of  saved  disks  especially  in  a school
 environment seeing  as a  bulk rate  order of  3.5" disks costs about $.67
 (low figure) per disk.

     Most likely, the special version that  I will  order will  be just the
 text only  version.  Using the Large font makes reading easier for some of
 the senior citizens who use and enjoy the song sheets I have  done so that
 they can get the whole song on a single sheet of paper.  Thus, saving some
 time in cutting and taping two half sheets together before copying.

     I  hope  my  corrections  of  several  errors  meets  with  everyone's
 approval.    One  of  the  reasons  that I was selected as the reviewer of
 Kidpublisher Professional by Mr. Mariano was because of his knowledge that
 I was  familiar with previous "careware" programs by D. A. Brumleve.  That
 I have had other reviews published in STReport, if my mind serves me right
 there is  one in  the famous  issue #27,  that I  am particularly fond of.
 That having retired from  the Navy  in January  1989 after  20 years  as a
 Yeoman (secretary), with countless volunteer hours to youth activities and
 senior citizen organizations (mainly to scouting and nursing homes).  That
 my efforts  to promote our local Atari User Group to anyone I meet who has
 an Atari computer.  I was NOT selected to write the review because I am 42
 years of age with the mentality of a 12 year old.. but because of my "ever
 watchful child's eye view". 





    ___________________________________________________________________





 > ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL       Sayin' it like it is....
   ======================



 - Sunnyvale, CA.             ********  STACY.. FRONT & CENTER!!  ********
   --------------


     Atari Corporation is pleased  to announce  that the  FCC has certified
 the Stacy for Class A use in the USA.  Atari will begin shipping the Stacy
 in the Stacy 2  and Stacy  4 models  through our  dealers within  the next
 thirty days.   Stacy 2 is a two megabyte version of Stacy, with a internal
 40 megabyte hard disk.  The Stacy 4 is a four megabytes of ram  unit, also
 with an  internal 40  megabyte hard  disk.  Stacy 4's have been shown at a
 number of recent events, including the 1989 WAACE Atarifest, the McDonnell
 Douglas Recreational Computer Club Show, and of course, Comdex/FALL '89.




 - Skokie, Il.           **** USR MODEMS BOOST SPEED WITH COMPRESSION ****
   -----------


     Faster  throughput  will  result  from  the  addition  of V.42bis data
 compression to be added  to all  US Robotics  high speed  modems.  V.42bis
 creates a  data compression  ratio of roughly 3:1.  The smaller file takes
 less time to transfer, thus equating to faster throughput.   

     "V.42bis can be manufactured with essentially  the same  components as
 MNP5, which  is why we at CCITT selected it over other candidates offering
 similar performance" said Dale Walsh, Vice President of  Engineering at US
 Robotics.  

     Walsh,   who   participated   in   CCITT's  V.42bis  data  compression
 recommendation process, said the  protocol uses  a higher  level algorithm
 than MNP5  compression, producing  about 30% better compression on typical
 data files.

     US Robotics plans to begin shipping  modems with  the V.42bis standard
 in January  1990.  V.42bis will be added to the current high speed product
 line to no additional cost  to  its  customers,  the  company  said.   The
 upgrade is  free to those who have purchased their modems after October 1.
 US Robotics will charge  $50 to  upgrade modems  purchased prior  to that.
 Upgrades are available for internal, external, and rackmount models.

     The Courier  HST, HST  Dual Standard, and V.32 modems will continue to
 support MNP levels 1-5  guaranteeing compatibility  with current  de facto
 error  control  and  data  compression  standards,  said  Casey Cowell, US
 Robotics Chairman and President.




 - Houston, TX.              ******  DOUBLE CLICK IS ON THE MOVE!!  ******
   ------------

                    Coming soon to a desktop near you!

     DC DESKTOP is the ultimate GEM desktop enhancement.  You're  not going
 to  believe  your  eyes  when  you  see  it.  When DC DESKTOP is ready for
 release, full ordering info will be provided.   Simply put,  DC DESKTOP is
 everything you could possibly want the GEM desktop to be and do.  
           DC DESKTOP is not a replacement for the GEM DESKTOP..
                       .. DC DESKTOP _enhances_ it.




 - Orem, UT.     ******  WORD PERFECT ASSURES CONTINUED ST SUPPORT  ******
   ---------


     Word  Perfect  Corp.  will  be  releasing an additional upgrade to the
 current version of Word Perfect in release for the Atari ST computers. The
 upgrade will encompass a group of upgrades including the new screen system
 for those users having  large screen  monitors, ie;  Viking Moniterm.   In
 making this statement, WP continues its promise to support the ST computer
 systems.  There may be a 5.0 or 5.1 in the future after all. 





     _________________________________________________________________





 > INSIDE THE STE STReport InfoFile     Takin' a peek inside... 
   ================================


 ctsy GEnie RT

                                                       INSIDE THE STE
                                                       ==============

 Item I
  
     Since there seems to be some  interest here,  and Atari  hasn't helped
 much by  not releasing any detailed information, I though that some people
 might like to hear the (possibly inaccurate) information  on the  STe I've
 discovered so  far.   Having had  one for  over a  week now,  I've had the
 chance to answer a lot of questions for myself. Of course, the first thing
 I did (before even plugging it in) was to take it apart.  But before that,
 it comes with the standard old  ST (as  in 1040ST)  manual, with  a 6-page
 addendum  regarding  the  enhancements.    4  of  the  6 pages discuss the
 "Rainbow" TOS upgrades, and the last  two  give  the  pinouts  of  the new
 ports.   It is  also supposed  to come  with a new control panel accessory
 with an "enhanced color palette selector",  but there  was no  disk at all
 included with  the machine I received. In any case, even without the cover
 off, there are two differences obvious:  Left and Right (stereo) RCA audio
 output jacks  under the  power switch,  and 2 15-pin "joystick" connectors
 off to the left side.  The rest  of the  outside is  EXACTLY similar  to a
 standard 1040ST. 

     Inside, the  first difference  is obvious:  4 SIMM modules sticking up
 from a hole in the RF shield.  (I wonder if this will cause FCC problems?)
 It would  appear that  these modules  can be  either 256K modules (total 1
 Meg), or replaced with  1 Mbyte  SIMMs for  a total  of 4  Megs.   I would
 assume that  512K and  2.5 meg  combinations are also possible (I will try
 tomorrow).  

     Well, off comes the RF shield - now the changes are more  obvious.  To
 list them  briefly: The  standard (Mega type) BLiTTER is right there.  The
 68000 is now in  a PLCC  (square) 68-pin  chip, not  the ol'  faithful DIP
 type. (Time  to revise  Turbo16!)  Bye bye to the old GLUE and MMU chips -
 The GLUE has grown to 84pins (from 68), and in an orgy of unification, the
 old Video  Shifter and MMU have combined to make a 144-pin surface mounted
 chip (dated 1988).  The rest is pretty  familiar -  DMA controller, Yamaha
 sound chip,  the "68901 MFP" peripheral chip.  An addition is a volume and
 tone control chip to process the sound before output.  And an RF-modulator
 is standard.  

     I know,  a lot  of you  are saying  "Yeah, big deal.  But what does it
 DO?"  Well, I can't review  the sound  quality differences  or any  of the
 other changes  because I don't have a bloody thing to try them with, and I
 haven't had the time  to try  programming some  tests yet.   And  maybe if
 Atari could  send some  developer info on it someday, I can give some more
 gritty details (or at least some STe Demos, please?)   There's more  I can
 add, but  I'll wait to see if anyone's interested.  Oh, by the way, as I'm
 looking at it right now beside me, there  are a  few glaring  jumper wires
 and kludges  on the motherboard (even a piggybacked chip with pins cut off
 and other  icky stuff).   But  it's Serial  #000008, after  all... Got any
 questions?  Ask away!
                                         

 Item II (second of two messages)
  
     First off,  before Atari  axes my  cherished developer  status, I must
 emphatically state that I  have  NOT  received  any  developer information
 (yet...) on the STe, and the unit I have is NOT a developer unit.

 Therefore, non-disclosure  is not  in effect,  and when you get down to it
 Atari hasn't told me  anything to  disclose anyways.   (They  haven't even
 given me access to the Developer RT yet, even though I've been a developer
 for over four years, and in two countries).  Everything  I know  about the
 STe is from two sources: 

     1) Having it beside me (always a good place to start)
     2)  The  excellent  ST-FORMAT  article mentioned earlier.  The machine
     (and also, I assume, the "000008" serial number)  are thanks  to Atari
     Canada, and  the short story of how I got one is that the retail store
     I'm related with got one to appease us for the Stacy that kept getting
     promised us for a short demo and then delayed. 

     Atari Canada  has some  allotted for  Canadian developers (this too is
 public information; after all, they're sitting by a wall in  the warehouse
 in  open  view),  but  since  I'm  not  a  game  developer  (and  the  STe
 enhancements are primarily game-oriented) I  didn't  apply  for  one  as a
 developer.  

     In the end, we received it through plain ol' civilian channels for the
 purpose of public display.  And  that's being  done right  now, displaying
 (or at  least describing) it to the public.  As an observation, the reason
 I like  the  STe  is  because  it  makes  for  a  very  nice, evolutionary
 replacement for  the ST  series.  Nothing startling or new, after all, the
 ST design is virtually unchanged since  1985,  and  it's  about  time some
 updating was  done.   I would have preferred a Mega STe, but ..oh well.  I
 just hope that the STe does not mark the beginning of the end for the Mega
 design. 

     "BTW" -  I severely  doubt if the two 15-pin controller ports would or
 could properly be used for audio input, any  more than  the joystick ports
 on an  IBM or  Apple II  (ick!).  They are simply designed for two digital
 joysticks and one set of paddles (or one analog joystick) per port!   Why?
 Heck if I know!  It would seem to me that the resolution of the X/Y analog
 inputs would not lend themselves to anything too  fancy.   However, in the
 hands of a hack, who knows what's possible.


                                        -- George Geczy,  JMG Software.



 Ed... Thanks for sharing that with us George..






      _______________________________________________________________





 > Recruits Needed! STReport InfoFile   A future in programming...
   ==================================




                                   INTERSTEL NEEDS ATARI ST PROGRAMMERS
                                   ====================================


 by Neil Bradley


     Recently, I called Interstel Corporation, makers of EMPIRE, STAR FLEET
 I, and GONE FISHING for the ST.  I was curious as  to the  release date(s)
 of EMPIRE  2 and  STAR FLEET  2 for  the ST.   I  talked to Mr. Bob Jones,
 customer relations  representative.   Mr Jones  was very  frank and honest
 with me, an attitude I appreciate in both a person and a company.

     Mr Jones  told me  that yes,  Star Fleet  2 was available for the IBM.
 The reason that it  is not  out for  the ST  is that  the programmer, Mark
 Baldwin, found  out that  the "Real  Money" for a programmer is in the IBM
 world.  He based  this on  the amount  of dollars  he received  for the ST
 version, and  the IBM conversion.  Mark will not be programming for the ST
 any more.

     Mr.  Jones  told  me  that  Interstel  Corporation  is  looking  for a
 programmer willing to do the Atari ST conversion of Star Fleet 2.  He said
 that the programmer would obtain a "Small Royalty" for each  version sold.
 Star Fleet  2 is  written in IBM 'C'.  The programmer would be required to
 sign a non-disclosure agreement prior to being provided the code.

     Based upon the quality of the work done previously by  Mark Baldwin on
 his  program  EMPIRE,  I  strongly  entreat  any aspiring ST programmer to
 contact Interstel to consider working on this project.  Empire won Game of
 the Year from 'Computer Gaming World' Magazine. If nothing else, this will
 give you a reference for your own work!  

     You may contact Interstel at:
  
                          Interstel Corporation 
                              P.O. Box 57825
                            Webster, TX, 77598
                            Tel: (713) 486-4163
                            BBS: (713) 486-1877





  ______________________________________________________________________




 > STReport InfoFile   Introducing...   a NEW Dealer!  Welcome!!
   =================

  *********************** Computer Emporium ****************************
  *                 *      5033-E Rufe Snow         *                  *
  * Merry Christmas *  N. Richland Hills, TX 76180  * Merry Christmas! *
  *                 *        817-577-3470           *                  *
  **********************************************************************
  *  Open from 9:00am - 10:00pm everyday!  *   Look for our ads!!!!!   *
  **********************************************************************
  Xenon II            29.95 PC Speed     325.00 CE Stack 20      449.00 
  Ferrari Formula 1   33.00 Turbo 16     249.00 CE Stack 30      499.00 
  Paperboy            25.50 Video Key     69.00 CE Stack 40      569.00 
  Hard Drivin         25.00 Cub 3 1/2    129.95 CE Stack 65      629.00 
  Batman the Movie    32.00 Master 3-S   139.95 CE Stack 44RM    849.00 
  Knight Force        28.00 Supra 2400   119.95 CE 5 1/4         150.00 
  Powerdrift          32.00 Spectre GCR  239.95 10 DS/DD w/label   7.50 
  Altered Beast       25.50 VIDI ST      139.95 Mouse Mat          6.50 
  Page Stream        119.95 PS Cordless   89.95 Modem Cable        8.00 
  GFA Bas 3.0 w/comp  85.50 Tweety Board  39.00 Printer Cable      8.00 
  **********************************************************************
  ST-Action            3.95 Ground 3-4     3.95 PD Game Pak of 10  2.00 
  ST User w/disk       6.00 Blue   2-3     8.00 PD Hard Disk Util  2.00 
  ST-World UK          4.25 C.O.D. add     2.75 ST Writer 3.0 w/sp 2.00 
  Games Machine        3.75 MC/Visa accepted!!! ST X-Former        2.00 
  **********************************************************************






   _____________________________________________________________________






 > Hard Drive Info STReport InfoFile   Affordable Mass Storage
   ================================= 
  
  


                        NEW PRICES! & MORE MODELS!!
                       ============================


                      ABCO COMPUTER ELECTRONICS INC.
              P.O. Box 6672  Jacksonville, Florida 32236-6672
                                Est.  1985
                 _________________________________________

                   Voice: 904-783-3319  10 AM - 4 PM EDT
                     BBS: 904-786-4176   12-24-96 HST
                    FAX: 904-783-3319  12 PM - 6 AM EDT
                 _________________________________________
                                        
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                   _____________________________________
                                        
   All systems are complete and ready to use, included at NO EXTRA COST
                 are clock/calendar and cooling blower(s).
                                        
              ALL ABCO HARD DISK SYSTEMS ARE FULLY EXPANDABLE
                 (you are NOT limited to two drives ONLY!)
                   (all cables and connectors installed)
                                        
                   RUGGED SEAGATE HARD DISK MECHANISMS 

   * ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED EXCLUSIVELY * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *

         32mb #SG32238   549.00              42mb #SG44710   619.00
         51mb #SGN4951   629.00              65mb #SG60101   689.00
         80mb #SGN296    729.00             100mb #SG84011D  949.00
        130mb #SG1244D  1099.00             145mb #SG3A421  1110.00
        170mb #SGT41776 1389.00             260mb #SG1244Q  2169.00
                          320mb #SGN7788Q 3295.00

           Listed above are a sampling of the systems available.
      Prices also reflect various cabinet/power supply configurations
    (over sixty configurations are available, flexibility is unlimited)

       *******--> CALL NOW for SPECIAL HOLIDAY DISCOUNTS <--*******
           ORDER THIS WEEK TO GUARANTEE DELIVERY FOR CHRISTMAS!!
                                     
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             LARGER units are available - (special order only)

        * Removable Media Devices NOW Available (44mb) Syquest 555 *
                      * SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICES *

                    EXTRA CARTRIDGES: 97.95  (anytime)

               * SYQUEST 44MB (#555) REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE *

     - SYQUEST 44 MB removable media drive     - ICD ST Host Adapter
     - ICD Mass Storage Utility Software       - 3' DMA Cable 
     - Fan & Clock                             - Multi-Unit Power Supply
                          (1) 44 MB Syquest Cart.

                 Completely Assembled and READY TO RUN!  
                              ONLY $869.00  
  
 We would offer floppy drives..  but Computer Shopper has 'em at  the right
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          50mb SQG51   $1299.00           30mb SQG38    $1219.00
          65mb SQG09   $1339.00           85mb SQG96    $1399.00
                       
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                     DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!

                 Personal and Company Checks are accepted.

                            ORDER YOURS TODAY!

                       904-783-3319    9am - 8pm EDT






      _______________________________________________________________



 > A "Quotable Quote"
   =================




                          "TO INGNORE PROGRESS...
    
            ..IS TO DENY THE EXISTANCE OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS"

                                           ... Memorable Quotes


  


                             "ATARI IS BACK!"

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ST-REPORT Issue #117   "Your Independent News Source"   December 08, 1989
                    ALL RIGHTS RESERVED  copyright 1989
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
 the editors, staff, ST Report or  CPU  Report.    Reprint  permission is
 hereby  granted,  unless  otherwise  noted.   All reprints must include ST
 Report or CPU Report  and the  author's name.   All  information presented
 herein is believed correct, STReport or CPU Report, it's editors and staff
 are not responsible for any use or misuse of information contained herein.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

