  
                *---== CPU NEWSWIRE ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
                       """"""""""""""""""""""""""""
                  "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
                   _____________________________________
                                   from
                            STR Publishing Inc.
                            """"""""""""""""""

  January 12, 1990                                                No.4.02
  =======================================================================
  
                       CPU NewsWire Online Magazine
                                 featuring
                             STReport ~ Online
                        __________________________
                          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
                 _________________________________________
  
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                    STR'S owned & operated support BBS 
                  carries ALL issues of CPU/STR Newswire
                                    and
               An International list of private BBS systems
             carrying CPU NewsWire for their users  enjoyment
    __________________________________________________________________ 
    
 > Issue: CPU # 402; 01/12/90  The Original 16/32 bit Online Magazine! 
   --------------------------
     - The Editor's Podium                   - CPU REPORT
     - O-Line! An overview..                 - GEMDOS ARGV INFO
     - PC DITTO II oops!                     - CES 1990 Report
     - Cordless Mouse                        - CPU Confidential

                ---==** CIS OPENS AUSTRALIAN LINKS **==---
       --==**!EXCLUSIVE! - GENIE SURVEY RESULTS - !EXCLUSIVE!**==--

 ==========================================================================
                               CPU  NEWSWIRE
                     "UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
                              -* FEATURING *-
        Current Events, Up to Date News, Hot Tips, and Information
             Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
 ==========================================================================
 CPU/STR'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

     It seems that teamwork is the  catch-phrase these  days as  far as our
 offerings to  our readers  are presented....  by not  only us, but others.
 For this situation we are,  extremely  grateful  to  our  competition, for
 making  sure  as  many  readers  as  possible  obtain  the latest news and
 information we present 'first' at 6pm on fridays.... <grin>  

     Moving right along, folks, we are on our way into the first quarter of
 1990 and most of us anxiously await the re-appearance of Atari as a leader
 in the US market place.  Where are  the are  the Ads?   Well,  we are told
 that the ad campaign is underway.  However, it is focused on the Portfolio
 and the  Lynx.   That's all  well and  good but  what about  us? the Loyal
 diehards who  have been  here from  day one?  Rumor has it that the actual
 push in the States is set to begin sometime during next month, February. 

           Thanks once again for your continued strong support!!

                                                Ralph......


                                      


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


                    :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: XTX99587,CPUREPT then hit RETURN <-

                       **** SIGN UP FEE WAIVED ****

           The system will now 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 # 49


 by Michael Arthur


 Remember When....

       In the 1950s, scientists performed researched into a new type of
 computer program called "self-altering automata", and when in the 1970s,
 Xerox's Palo Alto Research Labs demonstrated a self-replicating utility
 which they envisioned to be usable in many system applications, such as
 tracing problems in LAN Networks, or when science fiction novels exploring
 the implications of this "automata" called this type of program a virus?


 CPU Systems Roundup XX
 ======================= 

        Apollo, and the Tale of the Low-End 68030 Unix Workstations
        -----------------------------------------------------------


       When Atari first revealed that it was making a 68030-based Unix
 workstation, much interest was turned towards how a reasonably powerful
 Unix-compatible low-end workstation would do in the growing 'Personal
 Workstation' segment of the computer industry.  However, Apollo has
 reopened this debate by introducing the Apollo 2500, a $4000.00 68030 Unix
 workstation which appears to be poised at taking over the low/middle end
 of the Unix computer industry.  Since this is the same niche that the
 68030 TT was intended for, let us both take a look at the Apollo 2500, and
 compare it to the 68030 TT, in order to gain a more objective perspective
 of this growing situation:

       The Apollo 2500 uses a 20 MHZ version of Motorola's 68030 chip, and
 a 20 MHZ 68882 Floating Point Math Chip.  It has 4 Megabytes of RAM
 onboard, and comes with a 1024*768 monochrome resolution.  It also has
 1 IBM AT Expansion Slot (which requires device drivers to use IBM AT Cards
 with it), 1 SCSI hard disk port, and 1 Ethernet Port for interfacing with
 Local Area Networks.

       It currently uses Aegis, Apollo's proprietary workstation operating
 system, but can run AT&T Unix System V.3.  It also has Open Dialogue,
 Apollo's Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Unix.  One of the key features
 of Apollo's operating system set is Domain/OS, or the Network Computing
 System (NCS).  This networking software provides many of the tools needed
 for efficient workstation use of a LAN Network, such as allowing processes
 (or tasks) within a program to utilize data, disks, and other resources
 of another computer hooked up to the LAN.  However, Apollo's Domain
 Network Computing System advances this concept by allowing programs and
 processes to utilize CPU processing time which is not being used by
 another program on a LAN Network.  Resulting in a system which can perform
 distributed processing via software....

       However, this all may change:  Apollo is one of the charter members
 of the Open Software Foundation (OSF), a group of several major Unix
 Vendors developing OSF/1, a standard operating system based on Unix and
 IEEE Posix standards.  While the OSF has said it will consider supporting
 Domain NCS in OSF/1, it seems that they may use the distributed processing
 options in A/IX, IBM's implementation of Unix.  Since the OSF is also
 reportedly considering the use of Mach, the Unix OS that the NeXT Computer
 uses, then Apollo may soon lose the advantages of its own Domain/OS....


    Graphic comparison of the features of the 68030 TT and Apollo 2500:

                      Atari TT/Apollo 2500 Features List:
                    (Comparison of each Systems' Features)
 _________________________________________________________________________
 System Features|         Atari TT030/6        |         Apollo 2500      |
 and Components |        Cost:  $4000.00       |    Base System: $4000.00 |
 ---------------|------------------------------|--------------------------|
 Processing     |  16 MHZ Motorola 68030 chip  |20 MHZ Motorola 68030 chip|
 Features       |    16 MHZ 68882 Math Chip    |20 MHZ Motorola 68882 chip|
 ---------------|------------------------------|--------------------------|
 Megabytes of   |4 Megabytes of 32-Bit RAM, and|   4 Megs of 32-Bit RAM   |
 Standard RAM   |   2 Megs of Burst-Mode RAM   |                          |
 ---------------|------------------------------|--------------------------|
 Description of |AT&T Unix System V.4, with the|AT&T Unix System V.3, Open|
 Operating      | X/Windows V11 Unix windowing | Dialogue GUI, and Domain |
 Features       |system, and the X/Desktop GUI | Network Computing System |
 ---------------|------------------------------|--------------------------|
 Type of Bus    | 32-Bit VME Bus Architecture  |   1 Expansion Slot for   |
 Architecture   |   with Six Expansion Slots   |   Hard Disk Controller   |
 ---------------|------------------------------|--------------------------|
                |   # of Displayable Colors    |  # of Displayable Colors |
                |   1280*960 in Monochrome     |                          |
 Graphic Display|    640*480 w/16 Colors       |  1024*768 in Monochrome  |
 Resolutions and|    320*480 w/256 Colors      |                          |
 Capabilities   |                              |                          |
                |   The TT supports the ST's   |                          |
                |resolutions, and has a 12-Bit | The Apollo 2500 does not |
                |per Pixel (4096 Color) Palette| support a Color Palette  |
 ---------------|------------------------------|--------------------------|
 Standard Amount|    40 Megabyte Internal      |    100 Meg Hard Drive    |
 of Mass Storage|         Hard Drive           |  As an Additional Option |
 ---------------|------------------------------|--------------------------|
 Built in I/O   |Atari ST Ports, and [1] SCSI  |         [1] SCSI         |
 Ports          |  [1] DMA  [1] Ethernet Port  |  [1]  Ethernet LAN Port  |
 ---------------|------------------------------|--------------------------|
 Sound/Audio    |Uses Amy Sound Chip for Eight |   Unknown at this time   |
 Capabilities   |Stereo Sound Channels (Voices)|                          |
 ---------------|------------------------------|--------------------------|
 Networking     |Sun Network File System (NFS),|Domain NCS for Distributed|
 Capabilities   |and Ethernet Port             |multiprocessing over LANs |
 ---------------'------------------------------'--------------------------'

       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:

 Processing Speed:
 -----------------
 First Place - Apollo 2500.  Since both workstations use the Motorola 68030
 chip, and have a 68882 Floating Point Math chip, the criteria for
 determining overall system performance is determined largely by the
 computers' architectures, various coprocessors, and main CPU speed.  While
 the 68030 TT excels technically in terms of its overall architecture, it
 just can't beat the increased MHZ speed of the Apollo 2500....

                          Atari TT030/6 Comparison:
                          ------------------------
 The Atari 68030 TT has Burst-mode RAM which can function as Dual Ported
 Video RAM, has a Blitter chip for graphics coprocessing, and uses the
 VME Architecture.  But while all of these things help increase its overall
 processing speed, the plain facts are that the TT has a 16 MHZ 68030, and
 the Apollo 2500 has a 20 MHZ 68030 chip.

 This means that, while the TT may approach or even equal the Apollo 2500
 in processing speeds, and while one SHOULD be able to place a 20 MHZ 68030
 into a TT, the Apollo 2500 starts out with a faster chip.  But the most
 important factor here is image.  While the 68030 TT may be FASTER than the
 Apollo 2500, people will perceive the Apollo as being faster simply
 because of its higher MHZ rate....

 Operating System Features:
 --------------------------
 First Place - 68030 TT.  While both the 68030 TT and Apollo 2500 run Unix,
 the Apollo 2500 doesn't come with X/Windows, the standard Unix windowing
 system.  This means that while many applications may run on the 2500, the
 many Unix programs which use X/Windows will not.  And since the 68030 TT
 gives X/Windows a graphical user interface called X/Desktop, which
 resembles GEM in its "look and feel"....

                          Atari TT030/6 Comparison:
                          ------------------------
       Along with running normal ST programs, the 68030 TT will be able to
 run Unix.  Atari has gotten the same company who made A/UX, Apple's
 version of Unix for the Macintosh, to port AT&T Unix Version 5.4 (the
 newest version) to the 68030 TT.  Among other things, this has Sun's
 Network File System, for file sharing among computers on a LAN.  Atari has
 also gotten Ixi Ltd. to port X/Desktop, a GEM-like Graphical User
 Interface (GUI) running under X/Windows, to the TT.  This means that the
 TT has the power of Unix, combined with a Unix GUI to make it easier to
 use.  Furthermore, while X/Windows is a windowing standard in itself,
 X/Desktop is also supported by several Unix software products, meaning
 that if Atari R&D works with Unix software companies, that the 68030 TT
 will have no lack of GUI-capable Unix software....

                           Apollo 2500 Comparison:
                           ----------------------
       The Apollo 2500 uses a version of AT&T Unix Version 5.3, but can
 also run Aegis, Apollo's proprietary OS.  It uses Apollo's own Open
 Dialogue GUI for Unix.  However, the best trait of Apollo's OS package is
 its Domain NCS (Network Computing System).  NCS allows CPU tasks and
 programs to utilize system resources, including CPU Processing time, from
 ANY workstation in a LAN Network.  This means that, for example, a
 spreadsheet program running on computer A could recalculate a spreadsheet
 by using computer B, if both computers were connected via a LAN Network.

       However, Apollo is also a member of the Open Software Foundation, as
 is its parent company, Hewlett-Packard.  This means that Apollo products
 (including the 2500) will run under OSF/1, the Unix OS being designed by
 the OSF, when it is introduced.  But interestingly enough, the OSF has
 indicated that it may not include Domain NCS into OSF/1, meaning that the
 Apollo 2500's advantage with Domain NCS may only be temporary....


 Expandability:
 --------------
 First Place - Atari 68030 TT.  It uses the VME Expansion Bus, which is
 not only used in Sun Workstations, but has been a standard for years.  As
 a result, there are hundreds of VME cards out on the market.  In
 comparison, the Apollo 2500 does not have any open expansion slots....

                        Atari TT030/6 Comparison:
                        ------------------------
       The 68030 TT uses a full 32-bit version of the VME Expansion Bus,
 which was developed by Motorola and others.  Besides being optimized for
 the Motorola 680x0 series of processors, the VME bus has been in use since
 the early 1980's, and as such, has a vast number of VME boards available
 for it.  Ironically, though, while most VME cards will be able to work
 with the 68030 TT without modification, many boards which handle specific
 operations (such as 24-bit graphics cards, or coprocessor boards) will
 need to have device drivers written in order to work with the TT.

       Meaning that the 68030 TT's expandability in this area depends on
 Atari actively lobbying and working with the makers of VME Boards so they
 can leap to the support of Atari's Unix Workstation Line.  While this may
 have seemed like Science Fiction only a few months back, Atari's recent
 improvements in Developer Support, coupled with Charles Cherry's wise
 efforts, may make this scenario more realistic....


 I/O Ports/Networking:
 ---------------------
 First Place - Atari 68030 TT.  While the Apollo 2500 only has support for
 an Ethernet or IBM Token Ring LAN Port, the 68030 TT provides all of the
 necessary I/O ports (such as SCSI, RS-232, and Ethernet ports) which would
 make it desirable in the low-end workstation market.  In terms of software
 support for computer networking, the 68030 TT will support Sun's Network
 File System (NFS), which is a Unix standard for accessing files and
 resources over a LAN Network.  However, Apollo's Domain NCS networking
 system is more powerful than NFS, and while it may not be as widely
 supported, does give the Apollo 2500 added functionality.  But in terms of
 overall performance, the 68030 TT outshines the Apollo 2500 in this area.


                 Market Outlook for the Apollo 2500 and 68030 TT
                 -----------------------------------------------

 Apollo 2500 Outlook:
 -------------------
       Given its performance against the 68030 TT, one might expect the
 outlook for the Apollo 2500 to be grim.  But contrary to the opinions of a
 few, the Apollo 2500 should do very well in the Unix workstation industry,
 simply because of the market which it was targeted at.  The Apollo 2500
 has NO disk drive and no expansion slots, it does have a lot of memory
 capacity, good processing speed, and a usable high resolution monitor.

       While the above may not be a good recipe for a microcomputer, it is
 practically ideal for a low-end Unix terminal.  Large businesses who have
 bought high-end microcomputers or workstations often need to interconnect
 their business through a LAN Network, but cannot afford the cost to buy
 similarly powered computers for their entire business.  With the Apollo
 2500, these businesses will be able to buy an efficient low-end Terminal
 which will both function well as a Node in a LAN Network, and cost
 comparatively little money.  And while this market may seem mundane, it
 seems that this may be the largest untapped market in the workstation
 industry.  And good niches are very hard to find....


 68030 TT Outlook:
 -----------------

       Since the 68030 TT runs TOS, has many improvements over its
 predecessor (including VGA-style graphics), and has an industry-standard
 expansion bus, the TT seems a fitting upgrade to the Atari ST.  Being in
 the $2500 to $5000.00 price range, the 68030 TT is obviously aimed at the
 middle to high end of the market, and is intended for the ST User who
 wants to upgrade to a more powerful system.  Given all this, the 68030 TT
 seems destined to become the ST's successor.

       But since it is in the same price range as the Mega ST's, is aimed
 at the same market, and uses an industry standard bus (while Atari shunned
 the Mega ST's expansion bus to the effect that there are VERY few boards
 out for it), the 68030 TT  makes the  Mega ST  obsolete.   And since Atari
 will
 probably not support any good policy allowing ST owners to trade-in their
 Megas and upgrade to the 68030 TT for a price, the TT will be a harbinger
 of tough luck for present Mega ST owners....


       The TT030/6 is directly poised at the new 'Personal Workstation'
 market, which promises to grow into a billion-dollar industry in the next
 few years.  It meets all the requirements for a workstation, as it has
 AT&T Unix, compatibility with standard LAN Networking Systems, and
 graphics which, though not spectacular, would be a desired asset for many
 low-end workstations.  Given that low-end Unix workstations aren't
 currently targeting its niche, the TT030/6 has a great shot at propelling
 Atari into the middle/high end of the microcomputer market.  The TT030/6
 will be especially popular in Europe, where there is a massive need for
 good Unix workstations, and where Atari has enough clout to make the TT a
 standard in the business market.


       However, the 68030 TT may not be so lucky in the US, where most
 people who need Unix would now, given the choice of the Atari TT030/6,
 probably choose to pay more for a Sun or IBM that is less powerful,
 because companies in those markets have two dominating advantages:

       1)  Companies like Sun and Apollo are more recognized for quality
 products in that market, and their capability to SUPPORT that market.  We
 all know Atari makes good computers, but the potential for ENORMOUS
 revenue that Atari could make off the 68030 TT will be seriously
 jeopardized if plans aren't established for a Sales Force which would
 lobby these companies for sales.  Sun and Apollo have built their
 businesses on having Regional Sales and Support Teams which would be best
 suited for selling workstations in their district, and supporting their
 customers so they will come back in the future.

       One way that Atari could quickly establish such a sales force is to
 build relationships with currently available options.  For example, if
 Atari were to get Computerland or Businessland to sell TT030/6's, not only
 would Atari have a TREMENDOUS sales tool for their computer, but the
 technical support resources needed to endear businesses to Atari would
 come with the package.  Also, the Public Relations bonanza that would
 result from Atari getting someone like Computerland to sell their
 computers would be priceless (and free) advertising for the ST line....

       2)  Sun and Apollo have "name/product recognition".  This means that
 the names "Sun Microsystems" and "Apollo" are synonymous with powerful
 workstations with great abilities.  IBM and Apple also have "name/product
 recognition" in the microcomputer market.  Apple gained its renown fairly
 recently, and now it is making $5.3 Billion Dollars a year.  Commodore is
 trying to give the Amiga "name/product recognition", so they can also
 become more prosperous.

       Given that Atari's computers often provide more price/performance
 than any of the aforementioned companies, it would be tragic if Atari were
 not to give the Atari ST and TT "name/product recognition" via new
 strategic marketing plans.  In fact, often having good "name/product
 recognition" in the desired marketplace can make a computer company a lot
 of money, and since the Tramiels generally like to make more money....


 But ponder, if you will, these questions:

 1)    Given  the  68030  TT  and  ATW's  advanced  features,  what  is the
     possibility of the  main  users  of  Unix  workstations  (mainly large
     universities, Research  Labs, and  corporations) not readily accepting
     the 68030 TT or the ATW in the US until the Atari  ST's current status
     in the US computer market improves to a certain extent?

 2)    Apple  dealers  are  reporting  that the sales of the Mac IIcx alone
     (Cost:  $5000.00) outnumber their combined sales of  the Mac  Plus and
     Mac SE.  How does this situation apply to the 68030 TT, which is aimed
     at the same market as the Mac IIcx?




 CPU STATUS REPORT
 ==================



 Redmond, WA         Microsoft has released a ROM-based version of MS-DOS
 -----------         version 3.3.  Now licensed by several portable PC
                     makers, including Poqet Computer for its $2000.00
                     handheld PC, this ROM can save up to 40K of RAM over
                     the disk-based DOS.  Given that Digital Research's
                     DR-DOS operating system (which clones MSDOS), released
                     several months ago, can also be executed from ROM
                     chips....


 Cambridge, MA       The Open Software Foundation, a consortium of major
 -------------       Unix vendors developing a new Unix standard, has
                     announced that OSF/1, the first release of its new
                     operating system, will be available by July 1990.  It
                     recently released OSF/Motif, the Unix Graphical User
                     Interface standard which it developed, on schedule, so
                     so OSF/1, like the EISA Expansion Bus, may not become
                     vaporware, as has been speculated....


 Bristol, England    Following SGS Thompson's purchase of Inmos, and its
 ----------------    drastically cutting prices on its Transputer line of
                     microchips, Inmos Ltd. has announced that it is
                     developing a new version of the Transputer, which will
                     be MUCH faster at vector and integer operations, have
                     a built in 8-32K Static RAM cache, and include a
                     built-in hardware memory management chip.  However,
                     this chip is expected to be introduced by 1991...





   _____________________________________________________________________






 > GEnie Survey Results CPU/STR FOCUS    Saying it with a smile.....
   ==================================



                      GEnie Atari ST Customer Survey
                      ==============================


 December 1989 - January 1990


     This survey was designed to give  GEnie a  measurement of  how well we
 stack up  to our  main competitor,  CompuServe.  More than 700 people took
 the time to reply, with hundreds of them  sending messages  of followup to
 go into more detail on the answers.

     Before we start off with the results, I'd like to thank all of you for
 helping us out on this.  All replies  were useful  and will  help us steer
 the development of GEnie and the ST area.



           1. What computer(s) do you have?

              A. Atari 520ST (no upgra    77 11%
              B. Atari 520ST with extr   212 30%
              C. Atari 1040ST            320 45%
              D. Atari Mega 2 or 4       185 26%
              E. Atari 8-bit             164 23%
              F. Atari Portfolio          20 03%
              G. IBM PC or clone          84 12%
              H. Apple Macintosh          21 03%
              I. Commodore 64 or 128      18 03%
              J. Commodore Amiga          14 02%
              K. Other                    37 05%


     Response: 711 out of 712 total visitors
     --------

     Almost  half  the  people  have  1040ST  computers.    Very  few  have
 unexpanded 520 ST's, with a surprisingly large number  of Mega  2 and 4's.
 Overall,  GEnie  users  have  more  sophisticated systems than the typical
 user.  And most of you have several  computers as  well --  the average is
 1.6 computers per person.

                                   *****

           2. Which kinds of files do you like to download?

              A. Demo Programs           272 38%
              B. DeskTop Publishing      265 37%
              C. Games                   367 52%
              D. Music or Digitized So   169 24%
              E. Online Magazines (ST    353 50%
              F. Pictures or Animation   278 39%
              G. Practical Application   482 68%
              H. Press Releases          155 22%
              I. Programming Tools       275 39%
              J. Programs for kids       129 18%
              K. Support files for sof   428 60%
              L. Utilities or Desk Acc   597 84%


     Response: 707 out of 712 total visitors
     --------

     There was  a clear  winner here  -- Utilities and Desk accessories are
 downloaded by a whopping 84% of  the respondents.   Practical applications
 and files  supporting software  you own  are also very popular.  Only kids
 programs fared  poorly in  the survey,  although download  counts on those
 kinds of  files are  still fairly  strong.   Those of us who have kids get
 them, but lots of you must not.

                                   *****

          3. What is your typical monthly GEnie bill?
              A. Less than $5             18 03%
              B. $5-10                    72 10%
              C. $10-15                  110 15%
              D. $15-20                  104 15%
              E. $20-30                  156 22%
              F. $30-50                  128 18%
              G. $50-75                   62 09%
              H. $75-100                  20 03%
              I. over $100                29 04%


     Response: 699 out of 712 total visitors
     --------

     The typical bills seem to be higher than average.   You must  like us!
 Almost half the responses are under $20 per month, though, which is pretty
 normal.

                                   *****


          4. If the Atari ST RoundTable could be offered to  you at  a flat
             monthly price,  what's the  highest amount  you think would be
             reasonable?

              A. $5 month                 51 07%
              B. $10                     116 16%
              C. $15                      83 12%
              D. $20                      94 13%
              E. $25                     104 15%
              F. $30                      51 07%
              G. $40                      27 04%
              H. $50                      31 04%
              I. Would pay by the hour   136 19%
                 despite the availability of a flat monthly price.


     Response: 693 out of 712 total visitors
     --------

     This question made a lot of people nervous.  I  can't go  into all the
 reasons why  we asked  it, but we did learn a lot from it.  More than half
 the responses came in at $15 per month or less (including those  who would
 not accept  a flat  rate).  The bottom line here is a flat rate only works
 if it saves you money, and not just a few  of you.   There  is no  plan at
 this time  to charge  a flat  rate for  access to the RT, especially if it
 would penalize light users.

                                   *****


          5. Do you also have an account on CompuServe?
              A. Yes, and have used it   229 32%
              B. Yes, but have not use   186 26%
              C. No                      295 41%


     Response: 710 out of 712 total visitors
     --------

     A majority of you also have CompuServe accounts, but less than a third
 of you have active accounts.  Thanks!  ;-)

                                   *****


          6. If you also have a CompuServe account, which
             system do you like better, GEnie or CompuServe?
              A. GEnie                   444 62%
              B. CompuServe               42 06%


     Response: 486 out of 712 total visitors
     --------

     Wow!    By  more  than  a  10:1  margin,  GEnie is preferred.  We were
 ecstatic with this answer and with many of the very kind comments you sent
 us by  email after  the survey.   We'll try to do even better as time goes
 by.

                                   *****


           7. If you have a preferred system, what  features make  you like
              it better?

              A. Atari Corp. and devel   262 37%
              B. Bulletin board          210 29%
              C. Local telephone call    197 28%
              D. Other services on the   144 20%
              E. Price                   381 54%
              F. Software libraries      392 55%
              G. Sysops                  151 21%


     Response: 607 out of 712 total visitors
     --------

     The biggest  winners here were the GEnie libraries, which you find are
 bigger and easier to use, and the price.  No answer scored  less than 20%,
 which is  great --  it means  you care  about all  the things we also care
 about.  For those people who picked CompuServe, the most common answer was
 D, other  services on  the system.   Since  we've added 45 new products to
 GEnie in 1989 and have about the same number planned for 1990,  we hope to
 see there  be almost  no reason  to use another service.  If we don't have
 what you're looking for, ask and we'll try to help.

                                   *****


     Thanks again to all the survey participants, and have a great 1990.

                                             ---> Neil Harris @ GEnie HQ





            __________________________________________________




 > OUTLINE ART CPU/STR Feature   ISD'S new, super offering....
   ===========================



                        OUTLINE ART -> REAL MUSCLE
                        ==========================
                               CALAMUS - DTP


 by R.F. Mariano

 a brief overview, a full review is in the works...

     ISD, the folks who bring you Calamus and  DynaCadd are  about to bring
 the competition  to their  knees with the imminent release of Outline Art.
 or O-Line  for short.   This  is an  art program  which manipulates vector
 graphics thus producing stunning image and text special effects.

     O-line uses  vector co-ordinates to ascertain the position and outline
 of graphics created.  Upon  re-sizing  the  graphic,  the  outline vectors
 intelligibly  expand  relevant  to  each  other,  thereby  preserving  the
 resolution of the image.  Using these vector  co-ordinates, the attainable
 effects are  beyond the  imagination of most everyone, experienced or not.
 The algorithms needed to accomplish these feats are coded into the program
 thereby eliminating  the use  of many  small utility  programs that try to
 come close to the results O-Line produces.

     Incidently, since Calamus uses  vectors to  display the  screen fonts,
 the enlargement  of characters and their outlines remain perfectly smooth.
 Because Calamus can  utilize  vector  or  object  oriented  images, O-Line
 becomes  a  virtual  powerhouse  allowing  you to import your designs into
 Calamus and produce absolute knockout results.  

     The entire process of  creating an  outstanding graphic representation
 in O-Line  begins with  the establishment of start points in say, making a
 custom logo for your  company.   After you  have begun  and have described
 these points,  you'll be presented with a menu that handles the text input
 to the  logo or  whatever you  are in  the midst  of creating.   This menu
 allows the  loading of  fonts and the positioning and justification of the
 text.  Additionally, this menu also permits the selection of greyscale and
 its intensity  if you so wish to use it.  Greyscales are a series of greys
 varying in intensity from almost black to almost white.  When implemented,
 greyscale  affords  the  user  an opportunity to impart rather spectacular
 depth perception to the finished product.  

     With O-Line, dazzling three dimensional results  are available through
 the combination of geometric shapes etc. and grey scaling.  Full text flow
 is available to  the  user  and  coupled  with  the  stretch  and compress
 functions text can be made interestingly attractive and attention getting.

     In closing,  Calamus users  note; O-Line  is an absolute must have the
 results will by far, out weight  your investment.   The  release of O-line
 and when combined with Calamus, will finally put to an end the question of
 whether or not the Atari DTP system is superior to  DTP systems  in use by
 other computers.  It is light years ahead of these other systems.
  

 For more Information, contact your dealer or;

                            ISD Marketing Inc.
                               P.O. Box 3070
                          Markham Industrial Park
                          Ontario, Canada  L3R6G4
                              1-416-479-1880





          ______________________________________________________





 > FTL Speaks Up CPU/STR OnLine       Candid Answers from FTL
   ============================


   Ctsy GEnie Atari RT


  Sorry I've been offline for a while.  Because of time constraints I
  can only log on about once a week.
  - - -
  Regarding Game Speed:  The speed loss is due to the greater number of
  creatures in CSB.  They each need CPU time to try and hunt you down.
  - - -
  Regarding Game Bugs:  We'd like to hear from anyone with reports of a
  game bug.  I don't handle these requests, but if you call Debbi Nelson
  at our office at (619) 453-5711 she'll take your information.  It  helps
  us to know your exact machine configuration (model, # of drives, RAM,
  accessories installed, etc.)
  - - -
  In the past, our most common problem has been damaged saved games.  We
  have improved the error checking on CSB saved games, but, of course,
  nothing's perfect.
  - - -
  Regarding IBM DM:  Yes, the rumors are true.  Dungeon Master will soon
  be available for the IBM PC.  However, I want to emphasize that it is
  not our intention to favor one machine over the other.  We released CSB
  on the ST first as a special tribute to ST users, because we started on
  ST and ST users helped us grow and prosper.  However, in the future our
  goal is simultaneous release across all formats we support.  To support
  this goal  we've been busy behind the scenes in 89.  Last year we brought
  DM to Japan (just to help the trade deficit a little.)  And, in Japanese!
  All coded in the good ole' USA on the three most popular Japanese PCs!
  One version was a full CD/ROM version with 16 bit CD music produced for
  a new Japanese computer called the "FM Towns."  Look for this technology
  to migrate to our games in the USA.
  - - -
  Regarding Loading Speed:  Yes, DM and CSB on the ST are probably the
  slowest loading games in history.  We're sorry.  But, it is a difficult
  problem because of the amount of data we try to cram on the disk.  We
  use single sided disks because many ST users still have only single
  sided boot drives.  This requires a lot of data compression which slows
  down loading.  I've heard a suggestion to allow installation to a
  hard disk.  This is a good idea and we are considering how to do this
  in the future.  We've avoided it in the past because TOS seemed to be
  in a state of flux.  However, now things seem to be settling down.
  - - -
  Regarding Saved Game Uploading:  I don't mean to make a big stink over
  this, but unfortunately there are more serious problems we face, such
  as piracy, that require us to protect our copyrights aggressively.  If
  we allow some materials to be copied, but restrict others it could
  weaken our position with regard to piracy.  The idea to separate user
  created data and copyright data is a good one.  We just didn't consider
  it before, but I'll look into it. 
  
  However, we encourage you to upload Champion Portrait files which are
  your own  creation.   That was  why we  defined a  separate portrait file
  type.  If anyone is interested, we could publish the file format.
  - - -
  Regarding Game Suggestions:  We are happy to have people write us with
  suggestions for future games.  We read every letter we receive on the
  subject.     In  fact,  we  have  a  company  bulletin  board  (near  the
  refrigerator, which all the programmers frequent.)  where we post the new
  letters.  We're sorry  that we  can't reply  more often,  but please keep
  them coming!
  - - -

     Well, since Chaos is just out, I'm sure it is "Chaos" at  FTL and they
     would probably  appreciate letters more than phone calls, anyway, here
     is their address and phone number:

                         Software Heaven/FTL Games
                         6160 Lusk Blvd  Suite 206
                           San Diego, Ca  92121
                               619) 453-5711





      _______________________________________________________________







 > "THE MOUSE" CPU/STR Review  Practical Solutions' Infrared beauty.
   ==========================


              "THE DAYS OF CLUMSY MOUSE CORDS ARE NUMBERED!!"
                                             R.Mariano, STReport


     Infrared.. the magic is known, Testy, short for Testarossa, as we call
 this tailless  mouse, is the power behind one of the greatest new products
 for the user's comfort and ease of use.  Practical  Solutions has, without
 a  doubt,  arrived  at  the  cutting  edge  of  high  technology with this
 exquisite mouse.  One must use the mouse for a few short hours to  feel it
 superbly smooth handling and sure footed performance.

     Lets  take  a  moment  and  talk about Practical Solutions,  they have
 offered to the ST community many 'practical solutions' to otherwise P.I.A.
 problems confronting  the user.  For example, the mouse and joystick ports
 under the keyboard on the 520 & 1040 ST and STE machines,  this has  to be
 one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  aggravation  to  most  every ST user.
 Practical Solutions provided the, now world  famous, Mouse  Master.  Until
 the  advent  of  the  Multi-sync  monitor,  two  separate  monitors and of
 course,  their  connecting  cables  became  another   real  P.I.A.,  until
 Practical  Solutions  came  forward  with  the Monitor Master.  Why are we
 talking about the well known products from P.S.?   Easy  answer... to give
 you  an  idea  of  how  intense  the service and dedication from Practical
 Solutions truly  is.   Knowing this,  it becomes  apparent to  see why the
 users find  it so  easy to readily accept new products offered by them for
 use in the Atari computer userbase.  

     The 1990's  promise  to  be  the  decade  of  sophisticated technology
 coupled with  first class  reliability.  If the new Infrared mouse offered
 by Practical Solutions is  any indication,  we are  in for  some wonderful
 treats in  the way  of 'amazing hardware'.  If you have any inclination to
 get a new mouse, don't hesitate  about the  wireless mouse  from Practical
 Solutions.

          "Using this mouse is like stepping from a Ford Escort 
                     ...into a full house Testarossa!"


                       To order your Cordless Mouse
                                    or 
                          obtain more information
                               CALL or WRITE

                         Practical Solutions Inc.
                            1135 N. Jones Blvd.
                          Tucson, Arizona  85716
                              1-602-322-6100




      ______________________________________________________________





 > GEMDOS NOTES CPU/STR Tech Notes   Good Info....
   ===============================


 CTSY USENET->FNET->CROSSNET


 Article 5130 of comp.sys.atari.st:
 >From: kbad@atari.UUCP (Ken Badertscher)
 Subject: GEMDOS Extended Argument Spec (LONG)


 GEMDOS EXTENDED ARGUMENT (ARGV) SPECIFICATION

 Introduction

 The Pexec() function of GEMDOS allows a program to pass to a child process
 a  command  line  up  to  125 characters long, with arguments separated by
 spaces.  No provision  is made  in GEMDOS  for the  child to  know its own
 name.    This  makes  it  difficult  for  C  programs to correctly fill in
 argv[0], the standard place where a  C  program  finds  the  command which
 invoked it.   Because  the command line arguments are separated by spaces,
 it is difficult to pass an argument with an embedded space.  This document
 will specify a method of passing arguments which allows arbitrary argument
 length, embedded spaces, and support for argv[0].

 Standard Argument Passing

 The Pexec Cookbook specifies how to use Pexec() to launch a child process,
 passing  a  command  tail  (argument  string)  and an environment.  Before
 getting into the extended argument scheme, let's review  how arguments are
 normally passed to a child.

 A parent  process builds  a command  line into an argument string - a null
 terminated string whose first byte contains the length of the  rest of the
 string -  and its  address is  passed as  one of the arguments to Pexec().
 GEMDOS copies this argument string to  the basepage  which it  creates for
 the child.   Thus  the parent is responsible for gathering all the child's
 arguments into one string.  This is normally  handled by  a library exec()
 function.     The  child   is  responsible   for  parsing  the  string  of
 space-separated arguments back into an array of strings.  This  parsing is
 normally handled by the child's startup code.

 Evolution

 Several methods  of bypassing the limits imposed by Pexec() have been used
 by GEMDOS programs.  Some allow a user  to specify  a file  on the command
 line which  contains the  rest of  the arguments.  Others get a pointer to
 the arguments, or the arguments themselves,  from the  environment string.
 Most MS-DOS programs use a command file for the extra arguments.  This can
 be inconvenient for a user, cluttering the file system with command files,
 and making the operation of batch files and makefiles more confusing.

 Several "standards"  have arisen  on the  ST which  use the environment to
 pass arguments.  While more convenient than command files, these standards
 have other problems.  Some rely on sharing memory between parent and child
 processes.  Some take advantage of undocumented features  of the operating
 system to  get argv[0].   Others give the child process no way to validate
 that the arguments it finds are intended for it.

 Rationale

 In order to pass more than the standard 125 characters  worth of arguments
 to a  child, or  to let the child find its name, the parent must place the
 extra information in a place where  the child  can access   it  safely and
 legally.   The most convenient place is in the child's environment string.
 An environment string is a series of null-terminated strings of the format
 "VARIABLE=value"  (e.g.  PATH=c:\bin,c:\etc,  or  ShellP=YES).    The last
 null-terminated string in the environment is followed by a zero byte, thus
 two  consecutive  nulls  indicates  the  end  of  the  environment.    The
 environment is allocated for the child  by  GEMDOS,  it  is  owned  by the
 child, and its contents can be specified by the parent.

 The child  must have some way of knowing that the arguments which it finds
 in its environment are intended for it.  The child  may have  been invoked
 by a  parent which  does not conform to this specification.  Such a parent
 would leave _its_  arguments  in  the  environment,  and  could  pass that
 environment on  to the  child.   The child  would mistakenly interpret its
 parent's arguments as its own.

 Placing arguments in the environment passed to the  child gets  around all
 of the  command line limits of the standard Pexec() command tail.  Because
 there is no limit on  the  length  of  the  environment,  arbitrary length
 arguments are  supported.   Arguments placed  in the environment  are null
 terminated, so they may contain spaces.  A parent can also place  the name
 of the command with which it invokes the child in the child's environment,
 providing support for argv[0].  Validation  of the  extended arguments can
 be placed  in the  standard Pexec()  command line,  by assigning a special
 meaning to an invalid length byte.

 The GEMDOS Extended Argument Specification

 This specification uses the convention that the presence of an environment
 variable named ARGV (all upper case) indicates that extended arguments are
 being passed to the child in its environment.  This  means that  ARGV is a
 "boolean" environment  variable.   For the  purpose of this specification,
 its value is not significant, but its presence indicates that  the strings
 following it  are the  arguments for  the child.   Implementations of this
 specification are free to  give the  ARGV environment  variable any value.
 The  ARGV  environment  variable  must  be the last one in the environment
 passed to the child,  so that  the child  can truncate  its environment at
 that  point,  and  treat  everything  before  the ARGV as environment, and
 everything after it as arguments.

 The first argument to the child  (argv[0])  is  the  first  string  in the
 environment  after  the  ARGV  variable.   This argument is the "pathname"
 parameter passed by the parent to  Pexec().   The remaining  arguments are
 those  that  the  child  would  normally  find  in the command tail in its
 basepage.  Even if all of the arguments  would normally  fit in  a child's
 command tail,  the parent  should set  up the arguments in the environment
 to take advantage of the benefits of this extended argument scheme.

 As many arguments as will fit in the command tail will be  passed there as
 well as in the environment, to support non-conforming programs.  As a flag
 that arguments are also in the environment, the length byte of the command
 tail will  be 127  (hex 7f).   Non-conforming  programs should  not have a
 problem with this length byte, because it is  longer than  the maximum 125
 bytes allowed by Pexec().

 As an  aside, the  Pexec Cookbook  erroneously implies that a command line
 can be 126 or 127 characters  long.   In fact,  GEMDOS only  copies to the
 child's basepage  up to 125 bytes, or until it encounters a null, from the
 argument string passed to Pexec().  It ignores the length  byte, placing a
 null at  the same  place it  found one  or at the 126th byte if no null is
 found.  This has several implications: the length byte is not validated by
 GEMDOS  (necessitating  validation  in  the child's startup code, but also
 making this extended argument  spec  possible),  and  the  null terminator
 _can_  be  located  after  the  end  of the real command tail (the Desktop
 places a CR character after the command tail  and before  the null).   The
 ARGSTART.S  startup  code  listing  below  demonstrates  how  to correctly
 validate and parse a GEMDOS command tail.

 A child which finds an ARGV environment variable can use  the command tail
 length  byte  value  of  127  to validate that the arguments following the
 variable are valid, and not just  left over  from a  non-conforming parent
 which left its own ARGV arguments in the environment.

 Because the  strings in the environment following an ARGV variable are not
 environment variables, a child should truncate its own  environment at the
 ARGV variable by changing the 'A' to a null.  

 Implementation: Parental Responsibilities

 To pass  arguments in the environment, a parent must create an environment
 string for the child.  This can be  achieved by  first allocating  as much
 space as is used in the parent's own environment, plus enough room for the
 ARGV variable and  the  arguments  to  the  child,  and  then  copying the
 parent's environment to the newly allocated area.  Next, the ARGV variable
 must be appended, since it  must  be  the  last  variable  in  the child's
 environment string.   Following  the ARGV  variable is the null-terminated
 pathname of the child  as  passed  to  Pexec(),  then  the null-terminated
 arguments to  the child,  followed by a final null byte indicating the end
 of the environment.

 After setting up the arguments in the environment,  the parent  must place
 as many  arguments as it can fit in the command tail it passes to Pexec().
 This way, a child which does not conform  to this  specification can still
 get  arguments  from  the  command  tail  in  its  basepage.  When placing
 arguments in the environment, the parent must set the first  (length) byte
 of  the  command  tail  to  127  (hex 7f), validating the arguments in the
 environment.

 Here is an example  execv() library  routine in  C.   It uses  three local
 utility  routines,  e_strlen(),  e_strcpy(),  and  str0cpy()  for  getting
 environment size and copying strings into the environment  created for the
 child.


 /* EXECV.C - example execv() library routine
  * ================================================================
  * 890910 kbad
  */

 long Malloc( long nbytes );
 long Pexec( short mode, char *filename, char *tail, char *env );
 long Mfree( void *address );

 /* Return the total length of the characters and null terminators in
  *   an array of strings.
  * `strings' is an array of pointers to strings, with a null pointer
  *   as the last element.
  */
 static long
 e_strlen( char *strings[] )
 {
     char *pstring;
     long length = 0;

     while( *strings != 0 ) {     /* Until reaching null pointer,     */
     pstring = *strings++;        /* get a string pointer,       */
     do {               /* find the length of this string,  */
         ++length;           /* using do-while to count the */
     } while( *pstring++ != 0 ); /* null terminator.             */
     }
     return length;          /* Return total length of all strings */
 }

 /* Copy a string, including the null terminator, and return a pointer
  * to the end of the destination string.
  */
 static char *
 str0cpy( char *dest, char *source )
 {
     do { /* use do-while to include null terminator */
     *dest++ = *source;
     } while( *source++ != 0 );
     return dest;
 }

 /*  Copy  an  array  of  strings  into an environment string, and return a
 pointer
  * to the end of the environment string.
  * `strings' is an array of pointers to strings with a null pointer
  *   as the last element.
  * `envstring' points to the environment string.
  */
 static char *
 e_strcpy( char *envstring, char *strings[] )
 {
     while( *strings != 0 ) {
     envstring = str0cpy( envstring, *strings );
     ++strings;
     }
     return envstring;            /* Return end of environment string */
 }


 /* Run a program, passing it arguments according to the
  * GEMDOS Extended Argument Spec.
  *
  * `childname' is the relative path\filename of the child to execute.
  * `args' is an array of pointers to strings to be used as arguments
  *   to the child.  The last array element must be a null pointer.
  * `environ' is a global array of pointers to strings
  *   which make up the caller's environment.
  */
 long
 execv( char *childname, char *args[] )
 {
     long    envsize, ret;
     char    *parg, *penvargs, *childenv, *pchildenv;
     short     lentail;
     char    argch, tail[128], *ptail;
 static  char  argvar[] = "ARGV=";
 extern  char  *environ[];

 /*
  * Find out how much memory we'll need for the child's environment
  */
     envsize = e_strlen( environ );     /* length of environment */
     envsize += e_strlen( args );  /* plus command tail args     */
 /* plus length of argv[0] */
     parg = childname;
     do { /* use do-while to include null terminator */
     ++envsize;
     } while( *parg++ != 0 );
 /* plus length of ARGV environment variable and final null */
     envsize += 7;
     envsize += envsize & 1; /* even # of bytes */
 /*
  * Allocate and fill in the child's environment
  */
     ret = Malloc( envsize );
     if( ret < 0 )
     return ret; /* Malloc error */
     childenv = (char *)ret;
     pchildenv = e_strcpy( childenv, environ );    /*      copy      caller
     environment */
     pchildenv = str0cpy( pchildenv, argvar );     /*  append ARGV variable
 */
     pchildenv = str0cpy( pchildenv, childname ); /* append argv[0] */
     penvargs = pchildenv;               /* save start of args */
     pchildenv = e_strcpy( pchildenv, args );      /* append args */
     *pchildenv = 0;                     /* terminate environment */
 /* put as much in the command tail as will fit */
     lentail = 0;
     ptail = &tail[1];
     while( (lentail < 126) && (penvargs < pchildenv) ) {
     argch = *penvargs++;
     if( argch == 0 ) {
         *ptail++ = ' ';
     } else {
         *ptail++ = argch;
     }
     }
 /* terminate command tail and validate ARGV */
     *ptail = 0;
     tail[0] = 127;
 /*
  * Execute child, returning the return code from Pexec()
  */
     ret = Pexec( 0, childname, tail, childenv );
     Mfree( childenv );
     return ret;
 }
 /* End of execv() example code */


 Implementation: Prenatal Responsibilities

 A program's startup code must handle getting extended arguments out of the
 environment.   The startup  code should  get the  basepage pointer off the
 stack, then get the environment pointer from the basepage, and  search the
 environment for  "ARGV=".   If "ARGV="  is found,  the command line length
 byte in the basepage is checked.  If the command line length  byte is 127,
 then  the  arguments  in  the  environment  are valid.  The first argument
 begins after the first null following the "ARGV=".  It is important not to
 assume that  the null  follows immediately after the "ARGV=", because some
 implementations may assign  a  value  to  the  ARGV  environment variable.
 After setting  up an  array of pointers to the arguments, the startup code
 should set the 'A'  of the  "ARGV" variable  to null,  thus separating the
 environment from  the argument strings (remember: a double null terminates
 the environment).

 Here is some example C startup code which shows how a child could look for
 arguments in its environment:

 * ARGSTART.S - example C startup code
 * using GEMDOS Extended Argument Specification
 * ================================================================
 * 890910 kbad

 .globl        _main          ; external, C entry point
 .globl        _argv0         ; external, name used for argv[0] if no ARGV
 .globl        _stksize  ; external, size of application stack
 .globl        _basepage ; allocated here, -> program's basepage
 .globl        _environ  ; allocated here, -> envp[]
 .globl        _argvecs  ; allocated here, -> argv[]
 .globl        _stklimit ; allocated here, -> lower limit of stack
 .BSS
 _basepage:    ds.l 1
 _environ:     ds.l 1
 _argvecs:     ds.l 1
 _stklimit:    ds.l 1
 .TEXT
 _start:
     move.l    4(sp),a5  ; get basepage
     move.l    a5,_basepage   ; save it
     move.l    24(a5),a0 ; bss base
     add.l     28(a5),a0 ; plus bss size = envp[] base
     move.l    a0,_environ    ; save start of envp[]
     move.l    a0,a1          ; start of env/arg vectors
     move.l    44(a5),a2 ; basepage environment pointer
     tst.b     (a2)      ; empty environment?
     beq.s     nargv          ; yes, no envp[]

     lea.l     (sp),a4        ; use dummy return pc on stack for ARGV test
 * --- fill in the envp[] array
 nxenv:   move.l    a2,(a1)+  ; envp[n]
     move.l    a2,a3
 nxen1:   tst.b     (a2)+
     bne.s     nxen1          ; get the end of this variable
     tst.b     (a2)      ; end of env?
     beq.s     xenv
 * --- check for ARGV
     move.b    (a3)+,-(a4)    ; get 1st 4 bytes of this var
     move.b    (a3)+,-(a4)
     move.b    (a3)+,-(a4)
     move.b    (a3)+,-(a4)
     cmp.l     #'VGRA',(a4)+  ; is it ARGV?
     bne.s     nxenv
     cmp.b     #'=',(a3) ; is it ARGV=?
     bne.s     nxenv
     clr.b     -4(a3)         ; ARGV marks the end of our environment
     cmp.b     #127,$80(a5)   ; command line validation?
     bne.s     nargv          ; nope... and we're done with the env.
 * --- got an ARGV=, create argv[] array
     clr.l     (a1)+          ; terminate envp[]
     move.l    a1,_argvecs    ; save base of argv[]
 nxarg:   move.l    a2,(a1)+  ; argv[n]
 nxar1:   tst.b     (a2)+
     bne.s     nxar1
     tst.b     (a2)
     bne.s     nxarg
 * --- end of environment
 xenv:    move.l    _argvecs,d0    ; if we got an argv[]
     bne.s     argok          ; don't parse command tail
 * --- No ARGV, parse the command tail
 *  NOTE:  This  code  parses  the  command  tail IN PLACE.  This can cause
 problems
 *       because the default DTA set up by GEMDOS for a program is located
 *       in the  command  tail  part  of  the  basepage.    You  should use
 Fsetdta()
 *          to  set up  your own DTA before performing any operations which
 could
 *       use the DTA if you want to preserve the  arguments in  the command
 tail.
 nargv:   clr.l     (a1)+          ; terminate envp[]
     move.l    a1,_argvecs    ; base of argv[]
     move.l    #_argv0,(a1)+  ; default name for argv[0]
     lea  128(a5),a2     ; command tail
     move.b    (a2)+,d2  ; length byte
     ext  d2
     moveq     #125,d1        ; validate length
     cmp  d1,d2
     bcs.s     valen
     move d1,d2          ; if invalid length, copy all of tail
 valen:   clr.b     0(a2,d2)  ; null tail because desktop inserts <cr>
     moveq     #' ',d1        ; space terminator
 get1:    move.b    (a2)+,d2  ; null byte?
     beq.s     argok          ; if so, we're done
     cmp.b     d1,d2          ; strip leading spaces
     beq.s     get1
     subq #1,a2          ; unstrip start char
     move.l    a2,(a1)+  ; and store that arg
 get2:    move.b    (a2)+,d2  ; next char
     beq.s     argok          ; if null, we're done
     cmp.b     d1,d2          ; if not space...
     bne.s     get2      ; keep looking
     clr.b     -1(a2)         ; terminate argv[argc] in the command tail
     bra.s     get1      ; get next arg
 argok:   clr.l     (a1)+          ; terminate argv[]
 * --- allocate stack
     move.l    a1,_stklimit   ; end of env/arg vectors is stack limit
     add.l     _stksize,a1    ; allocate _stksize bytes of stack
     move.l    a1,sp          ; set initial stack pointer
 * --- release unused memory
     sub.l     a5,a1          ; size to keep
     move.l    a1,-(sp)
     move.l    a5,-(sp)  ; base of block to shrink
     pea  $4a0000        ; Mshrink fn code + junk word of 0
     trap #1
     lea  12(sp),sp ; pop args
 *
 * Everything beyond here depends on implementation.
 * At this point, _environ points to envp[], _argvecs points to argv[],
 * and _stklimit points to the end of the argv array.  Thus argc can
 * be calculated as ((_stklimit-_argvecs)/4)-1.
 * _main could be invoked as follows:
 *
     move.l    a5,-(sp)  ; basepage
     move.l    _environ,-(sp) ; envp[]
     move.l    _argvecs,-(sp) ; argv[]
     move.l    _stklimit,d0   ; 4 bytes past end of argv[]
     sub.l     (sp),d0        ; (argc+1) * sizeof( char * )
     asr.l     #2,d0          ; argc+1
     subq #1,d0          ; argc
     move d0,-(sp)
     jsr  _main          ; call mainline
     lea  14(sp),sp ; pop args


 A Final Note

 This  specification  was  formulated  with  careful deliberation, and with
 input from several companies and developers  who have  created development
 tools for  GEMDOS.  The Mark Williams extended argument passing scheme was
 the main influence for this specification, because it has been in use, and
 supported by  Mark Williams  and other  companies for several years.  This
 specification is very  similar  to  the  Mark  Williams  scheme,  with the
 following important exceptions:

 1)  Under  the  specification,  the  arguments  after the ARGV environment
 variable may be validated by checking the command  tail length  byte.  The
 Mark Williams  execve() library function uses the command tail length byte
 as a telltale, but  it is  not checked  by the  crts0 startup  code.  This
 validation is important for the reasons mentioned in the Rationale section
 above.

 2) The specification allows the ARGV environment variable  to take  on any
 value.   Mark Williams  uses the  value of  ARGV as  an iovector, which is
 described in the Mark Williams  documentation.    The  iovector  should no
 longer  be  needed,  as  its  primary  purpose  was  to  simplify  the MWC
 implementation of the C library function isatty().

 3) Some versions of the MWC startup code do not require the  ARGV= to have
 an  `='.     Because  ARGV  is  an  actual  environment  variable  in  the
 specification, the equals character is required.
 -- 
    |||   Ken Badertscher  (ames!atari!kbad)
    |||   Atari R&D System Software Engine
   / | \  #include <disclaimer>



 Editor Note:
     Why must this highly informative  material  come  to  everyone through
 such an  involved path?  (UseNet -> FNET -> CrossNet)   The MAJOR services
 reach many more users and developers  than  FNET  or  USENET  can  hope to
 reach.   Is it  because the  major services are NOT looked upon as being a
 REAL vehicle to deliver this data to the  userbase?   Surely this  will be
 rectified  and  this  type  of  information  will  become available to all
 services.  After all,  we all  KNOW Atari  is not  desirous to  offend any
 users....... 





        __________________________________________________________



 > PC DITTO II  CPU/STR InfoFile    Headaches in Sleepy Hollow...
   =============================



 Reprinted with permission 
 NewsBytes News Service

 by Steve Gold


 PC DITTO II, MS-DOS FOR THE ATARI ST, SHIPS 

 JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 06 (NB) -- Avant Garde, the
 Florida-based  ST  hardware  and  software  systems  specialist, has begun
 shipping PC Ditto II, a hardware  version  of  its  software  package that
 allows the Atari ST to emulate a PC running under MS-DOS. 

 PC-Ditto II costs $299-95, according to William Teal, a partner in Avant
 Garde,  and  is  capable  of  running  most IBM PC software to PC-AT speed
 standards, on all Atari ST and Mega ST  models. The  product's processor -
 PC Ditto I - completed the same function under software, but only to PC-XT
 speeds. Avant Garde claims  that PC  Ditto II  has a  Norton SI  rating of
 3.0, which compares with an IBM PC-XT rating of 1.0, the IBM PS/2 Model 30
 rating of 1.8 and a Zenith EZ-20 rating of 2.6.  

 Teal said that PC Ditto II will appeal to existing  users of  the Atari ST
 series  as  a  utility.  "Many  people  purchase the Atari ST for features
 inherent in it. Yet, they also  desire access  to that  large base  of IBM
 software," he  said.   "Many of our buyers (of PC Ditto I) are people that
 like to take work home, but don't want to spend  exorbitant sums  of money
 on  a  PC  compatible.  Other  consumers  are small businesses that cannot
 afford and do not need more  expensive  computers.  Both  of  these groups
 require a  product that  is very compatible, fast and also inexpensive. PC
 Ditto II fulfills that need," he added. 

 Teal went on to say that PC Ditto II was developed after all the bugs were
 ironed out of PC Ditto I.  PC  Ditto  I  was  a  software  only emulation,
 whereas PC  Ditto II  is a hardware-based package, allowing advances in PC
 emulation speed to be made, whilst  still  taking  advantage  of  the ST's
 processing power. 

 PC Ditto I, the software-only PC emulation package on the ST, continues to
 retail for $89-95. Registered owners of  PC  Ditto  I  can  obtain  a $150
 discount voucher towards the purchase of PC Ditto I. 

 (Steve Gold/19900106/Press & Public Contact: Avant Garde Systems - Tel:
 904/221-2904) 

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


 Editor Note:
 Presented above  is the  Good News....  We showed that to allow all to see
 most of us were overjoyed to see the new emulator was finally shipping.

 Below, we present a smattering of the "proverbial act of hitting the fan".


 A.KLYM  posts:
  
 In my prior message I said that I would not try to install my  PC-DITTO II
 until this weekend.  However, I found that  I couldn't wait.  I own an old
 520 ST with an AERCO EasieST memory upgrade.  I can't find any way  that I
 can fit  my PC-DITTO  II into  my machine.   The  board and the connecting
 ribbons are just too big.  I am giving up  for tonight.   The  only hope I
 have is  to take  it all  to the local store which used to sell the ST and
 see if they can build up  my  case  or  build  some  sort  of jerry-rigged
 expansion box.   I  am very disappointed.  Avant-Garde, please let us know
 what the explanation is for this problem.  Will you have a different board
 for those  of us  who own old 520ST models?  Is there some alternative way
 to install PC-DITTO II in our machines?



 J.KARP posts:
  
 I have  the same  problem exactly  with my  newly installed  PCDITTO II as
 ELROD [Rick]  above.  I am stymied as  have checked all of the connections
 a dozen plus times...  Also,  no diagnostic  program (as  mentioned in the
 manual) was included on the disk, so I don't know at to try next.  Are you
 listening Bill (Teal)? HELP!!  Also, some users  have mentioned  a problem
 with  the  size  of  the  board...    well my 1040 has the 68000 under the
 keyboard, and even the clip won't fit inside the RF shield, never mind the
 main board.   Anyway,  I cut a slot in the vents in the bottom of my case,
 and ran the cables into a little box (the low  profile metal  box at Radio
 Shack is  the perfect  size for  the   board.   The connections all seemed
 simple, so why doesn't it work???

 Here; we present the  replies sent  to users  experiencing one  problem or
 another...


 AVANTGARDE posts;
  
 ELROD

 We  have  found  that  the  lockups  occur mostly due to poor connections.
 Please recheck them (you  may ultimately  have to  have them  soldered, if
 your 68000 is oxidized).


 AVANTGARDE posts;
  
 A.KLYM

 Sounds like there is too much machinery under the hood.  Please check with
 your dealer and see what he says (I would have to see your machine to give
 you a  clear answer.).   pc-ditto II fits in the 520 (old model) with room
 to spare.


 AVANTGARDE posts;
  
 J.KARP

 Have you checked the  connections.    That  is  where  we  have  found the
 problems to  lie in  other units?   Also, the board should fit between the
 power supply and disk drive in the 1040, and the cables are long enough to
 allow  the  clip  to  attach  to  a  68000  under  the keyboard. Which REV
 motherboard does your 1040 have?

 Thanks!



 EDITOR NOTE:

     At this point in time, we wish to  submit that  we have  interviewed a
 number  of  recent  recipients  of  the  new  Ditto II package, and it now
 appears that only those  with  revision  3  of  the  1040  motherboard are
 having little  or no  difficulty.   We advise  those of you who are having
 difficulty please correspond  with  AG  forthwith  and  bring  your system
 configuration to their attention.  

     The  bottom  line  here  is  we  are seriously concerned that AG, when
 designing PC  Ditto  II,  did  not  pay  closer  attention  to  the strong
 possibilities  that  ST'ers  would  already  have  a  multitude of goodies
 installed.  A 5  INCH BY  7 INCH  PRINTED CIRCUIT  BOARD IS  RATHER ON THE
 LARGE SIDE  AND COULD  EASILY CONFLICT WITH OTHER ADD-ONS.  (memory, etc.)

     We are confident that AG will  come up  with an  in-the-field fix, for
 everyone, in  the meantime,  the official  stance is  the PCB was designed
 with the revision 3 1040 motherboard in mind.  Hmmm where, does that leave
 the mega  owners and especially those with the Moniterm board, Math Co-pro
 and T16 already installed?  Must these goodies be done away with?  Also, a
 number of  folks have  complained about  the diagnostics  spoken of in the
 manual not being present on the disk.   Regretfully, we  find that getting
 through to  AG is "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE", all we can say is keep trying.  If
 the answering machine is at work.... don't give up hope.....

     In recent posts, AG has stated  the  press  would  receive  the review
 units  first....  well,  STR  is  proud  to say we are among those who are
 still waiting....  and paid  the  coupon  price  of  $150.00,  speaking of
 which, we now formally request a refund of same.





       ____________________________________________________________




 > STACEY, A Tale CPU/STR Feature     Stacey, a Princess from Nod.
   ==============================




                        STACEY, A PRINCESS FROM NOD
                        ===========================

 by C. Medley

 The following is a fairy tale.   
 The characters  do not  exist and  bear no resemblance to real people.  At
 least, I hope they don't!

 This story begins in the land of Nod.  
 Nod is ruled by a young princess whose name is ...Stacey.



     Stacey loved computers.  She used  a  mammoth  machine  with  based on
 transistors  reminiscent  of  ENIAC  during  the  60's.  However, she also
 yearned to have the freedom to go wherever she wanted and still  enjoy her
 wonderful computer.   However,  one day, from a land beyond "where the sun
 sets", a man came to the kingdom, seeking an audience with the  royalty of
 Nod.   Repeatedly,   both the  people of Nod and Stacey's advisors rebuked
 him as nothing more than a "common peddler".

     Soon, the "common peddler" found out that the  young   princess sought
 a computer.   He felt that he could gain great wealth and influence in Nod
 if he could make such a machine, much  like ENIAC,  but portable.   But he
 also knew that he would have to face the dread forces of the FCC,  the one
 unstoppable force that he would have to appease before attempting  to make
 his "portable computer".

     So he  labored away,  hour after hour, attempting to conform carefully
 to  the ideal of the "portable computer" that Stacey wanted.   When he was
 done, he  went to  the great  temple of the imperious High Lord elder, and
 told him to examine his work for flaws.   He  knew that  if the  High Lord
 found fault  in his  workmanship, the  FCC would  never let him show it to
 Stacey.

     As he approached the altar, he  placed his  computer on  it and waited
 for the High Lord.  The High Lord then entered the temple and examined the
 computer.  He deemed it  to  be  worthy  for  use  by  a  blacksmith  or a
 minstrel, but  not good  enough, even for a commoner.  Thinking to himself
 of how he could  make the  most of  the situation,   the  "common peddler"
 began to scheme.  He figured that the princess Stacey  would be pleased to
 buy his "portable computer" under the  auspices of  being a  minstrel, and
 then grant him great wealth and influence.

     So he snuck into Castle Nod, and left a note for Stacey telling her of
 his wondrous invention and how she may acquire  it by  posing as  a simple
 minstrel.    When Stacey awoke, he was sure she would see his letter.  And
 when she read it, it was a certainty it would  please   her, and  that she
 would be  grateful to  him and  grant him the very wealth and influence he
 sought...

     However, that  very night,  the brooding  forces of  the FCC gathered.
 They set  the standards for what was permissible as a computer in the land
 of Nod.  And they had contacted the High Lord about this "common peddler".
 In  their  omniscient  ways,  they  knew  of  his  limited approval of the
 "portable computer" but also  knew that  the manure  peddler's intents, in
 the case  of Stacey,  were not to make an industrial device.  Verily, they
 had deduced it was  a  computer  and  had  to  conform  to  very stringent
 requirements, especially  if it was to be portable.  They decided they had
 to inform  the peddler  that he  could not  sell his  portable computer to
 anyone, despite the limited approval of the High Lord.

     Meanwhile,  at  his  humble  abode,  the peddler was sleeping soundly,
 dreaming  of all the wealth and influence he would  gain the  next day....
 but suddenly,  his dream  was interrupted  and he awoke to see the face of
 the High Lord before him as he lay on his bed.

     "You must not tell the people of  Nod  that  you  can  give  them this
 machine,   wonderful though  it may  be!   It does not conform to what the
 all-knowing,    all-seeing,  FCC  mandates!    Verily,  yours  is  not  an
 industrial  device,  and  it  certainly  would  be  good for minstrels and
 blacksmiths, however, it must ONLY operate when attached to the industrial
 tools of either trade!"

     "But, I  have already told the princess of this portable computer, and
 of how she can acquire one by posing  as a  minstrel!   What am  I to do?"
 But the  High Lord  answered him  not, and  he left  the manure peddler to
 contemplate the error of his ways.

     As the sun rose to herald the coming of a new day,  the princess awoke
 from her  slumber.   Examining her  table, she  saw the carefully scripted
 note, left by the manure peddler.  Upon reading it,   she  was so excited,
 she immediately  dressed up  and prepared for the journey to the "Minstrel
 Instrument Store", where she should be able to get this wonderful portable
 computer.

     But, alas,  when she  arrived, there  was neither hide nor hair of it.
 She asked  the proprietor of the store about it, and he  lowered his voice
 to  a  whisper  and  said:    "Ah  yes, milady... there was talk of such a
 machine, and verily, 'twould be a  wonderful tool  for the  minstrel.  But
 such a machine would be able to work in its own right,  not just as a part
 in a very large machine.   And therein  is the  problem....   I hear tales
 that the  forces of the FCC approved it for the very purposes for which it
 cannot be used!"

     "But what will I do?  I grow weary of  being bound  to my  home when I
 wish to use my computer!"

                    "All we can do is wait... and hope"





       ____________________________________________________________



 > Stock Market ~ CPU NewsWire
   ===========================


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

 by Michael Arthur

 Concept by Glenn Gorman


     Stocks were  not traded  on New Year's Day.  Atari Stock went down 1/8
 of a point on  Tuesday, and  was down  3/8 of  a point  on Wednesday.   On
 Thursday, it went up 3/8 of a point, and went up 3/4 of a point on Friday.
 Finishing up the week at 9 1/4 points, Atari stock  is up  5/8 of  a point
 from the last report.


        Apple Stock is up 2 1/2 points from Friday, Dec. 29, 1989.
              Commodore Stock is down 1 point from 12/29/89.
                IBM Stock is up 5 5/8 points from 12/29/89.


               Stock Report for Week of 1/02/90 to 1/05/90

 _________________________________________________________________________
 STock| New Year's |   Tuesday   |  Wednesday  |  Thursday  |   Friday    |
 Reprt|    Day     |Last     Chg.|Last     Chg.|Last    Chg.|Last    Chg. |
 -----|------------|-------------|-------------|------------|-------------|
 Atari|   -----    |8 1/2   - 1/8|8 1/8   - 3/8|8 1/2  + 3/8|9 1/4   + 3/4|
      |            |             |             |            |  96,800 Sls |
 -----|------------+-------------+-------------+------------+-------------|
  CBM |   -----    |10 5/8  - 1/8|10 3/8  - 1/4|  10   - 3/8|9 3/4   - 1/4|
      |            |             |             |            |  64,100 Sls |
 -----|------------+-------------+-------------+------------+-------------|
 Apple|   -----    |37 1/4   + 2 |37 1/2  + 1/4|37 5/8  +1/8|37 3/4  + 1/8|
      |            |             |             |            |1,107,200 Sls|
 -----|------------+-------------+-------------+------------+-------------|
  IBM |   -----    | 98   + 3 7/8|98 7/8  + 7/8| 100  +1 1/8|99 3/4  - 1/4|
      |            |             |             |            |1,890,500 Sls|
 -----'-------------------------------------------------------------------'

      'Sls' refers to the # of stock shares that were traded that day.
      'CBM' refers to Commodore Corporation.






         _________________________________________________________





 > AUA NewsNotes CPU/STR InfoFile      Keeping up to date...
   ==============================


                                                       AUA NEWSLINE
                                                       ============


 by D.C. Signorini

      My  apologies  to  everyone  expecting  my  articles  in the last two
 issue's of this journal.  It appears that Ralph and  I were  having a data
 communication  problem   that  left   my  articles   on  Ralph's  doorstep
 unreadable.  I believe that we have worked this minor technical difficulty
 out and  you will  be reading  my articles once a week.  Ah, the perils of
 modern communication technology and the never ending quest  for a reliable
 means of  file compression  and transfer.   So, better late than never, on
 with the 1990 show.

      All of us make a new year's resolution or two.  Some of us  keep that
 resolution while  others let  theirs dwindle away into "what I should have
 done this year."  My resolution (one of them) for the new year is  to give
 100% to  the AUA  and getting  this monstrosity  of a project underway and
 supported by thousands of ST users.  It  is not  an easy  job.   I am sure
 that  Robert  Guadagno  will  agree  with  me on that!  However, there are
 several people in the  Atari Elite  organization and  a few  people in the
 software industry who have pledged their hard work and support to the AUA.
 Without them, and your support, the AUA would not survive!

      If you missed my first article in STReport, I encourage you to get it
 and read  it.   In that issue I explained a little of what happened to the
 AUA in the later half of 1989 and informed the  community of  my goals for
 the AUA  in 1990.  Instead of repeating all of that in this article, I ask
 that you get issue number 118 and read it!

      Well, in  the past  few weeks,  along with  celebrating Christmas and
 getting ready  for my  first annual New Year's Eve Bash at my house, I was
 able to square away and iron down a  few details  of AUA  membership.  You
 will find  below a  list of  benefits and  a membership application.  As I
 mentioned in  my previous  column, the  AUA is  FREE to  every Atari user.
 However,  the  Atari  Elite  and  myself  were  able  to negotiate 2 other
 benefits packages that I  believe will  be likewise  attractive to  all of
 you.   Remember, you  do not have to pay a penny to be a member of the AUA
 and have a voice in the ST community.  However, if you want to receive the
 Atari Elite  newsletter, the Electronic Chronicles (see below), or the AUA
 Newsletter published 4 times a year, then you will have  to select  one of
 the other  packages depending  on your  needs and  wants.  Please remember
 also that the Atari Elite is a non-profit  organization and  that the dues
 that  you  send  in  are  only  to  cover  the  costs  of  mailings,  disk
 duplication, disk cost and publishing fees.  I wish that I could offer the
 AUA membership  free newsletters,  but at this time, that is not feasible.
 At any rate, the packages requiring  payment are  not too  damaging on the
 pocket book, especially if you consider what you are getting in return for
 your dues.

      As for the people who have  already  sent  in  applications  in early
 1989.   I have  not yet  at this  time developed  a plan for you.  At this
 time, all of you are on  the AUA  membership list  under the  free package
 indicated below.   Your membership will expire in May of this year, and if
 you wish to continue your free AUA membership for one more year,  then you
 must submit  a new application.  So, if you will take the time to do that,
 I will extend your membership NOW  for  the  membership  year  ending May,
 1991.   If you  plan on  selecting one  of the  other pay  packages then I
 encourage you to do so now.  Again, if your name appears on my database as
 a  AUA  member  from  1989,  you  will  be  given  either an extended paid
 membership for 14 months or something  equally  attractive  to  you.   The
 board of  directors of  the Atari  Elite has promised me that those people
 who have already sent in their applications prior  to 1990  will be "taken
 care of."   I  also ask  that if  you have  had a change of address in the
 past year to fill out a new application and send  it to  me so  that I can
 make the change in the database so that we can contact you.

       This  week  I  had  the  opportunity  to  speak  with  the people at
 Microtyme Computers in Kettering, Ohio.   In  the  last  issue  we learned
 that  STR  awarded  Microtyme  the  Golden  Fuji  Award  for excellence in
 support for the  Atari  ST  computers.    Before  reading  that particular
 article by  Ralph, you could have called me and asked me who I thought was
 the best all around dealer/distributor for Atari products and I  too would
 have  said  Microtyme.    I  have  dealt  with Microtyme on a personal and
 business level for almost 4 years now and I can  honestly say  that I have
 never  had  a  single  complaint  with  the  way they handle orders, their
 service, or their overall knowledge of the Atari ST market place.   I have
 trusted Microtyme  and I  turn to them for all of my personal and business
 needs and I am  always quick  to recommend  Microtyme to  anyone who needs
 anything for their ST.

      As you  may already  know, from  my past few articles, I have been in
 contact with several dealers about support for the AUA.  Out of the 6 or 7
 that I  contacted, Microtyme has been the most cooperative and are willing
 to go the extra mile to help support the AUA.  This I knew  they would do,
 but I  had to  check with  other dealers  to make sure that I would not be
 stepping on any toes as is very important when you want to form a national
  organization and  will be  pointing potential  sales in  one direction or
 another.   As I  said, John  at Microtyme, was very enthusiastic about the
 AUA and has agreed to work with me on discounts  and mass  purchases.  So,
 as my first official announcement for the AUA, Microtyme computers will be
 an Official Supplier of  the Atari  User's Organization.   I  hope that we
 will bring  added business to Microtyme over the course of the year, and I
 hope that you will also extend added support to their fine operation.  The
 address and telephone number of Microtyme is:


                              MicroTyme
                        4049-51 Marshall Road
                        Kettering, OH   45429
                           1-800-255-5835


       When I  am able  to work out more details of support from Microtyme,
 I will certainly pass this information on to you.   One thing  that I want
 to stress.  I am not attempting to remove support from your local dealers.
 By all means, support them first.  But, if for any reason you can not find
 what you  are looking  for, then  give Microtyme  a call.  I am also aware
 that many areas in the country do not have a local dealer.  In  this case,
 you will  receive the  service you  want and  expect from Microtyme.  Give
 them the  support they  deserve. Congratulations  to Microtyme  and I hope
 that their  extraordinary support  for the ST community will continue long
 into this decade.

       On to business.  The  response  to  the  re-structuring  of  the AUA
 throughout the  community has been very positive.  I have received several
 phone calls from people offering their help in getting the AUA back on its
 feet and  many have  given me much needed encouragement and support.  Keep
 the calls and letters coming  in  as  your  requests  and  suggestions are
 always welcome.   Remember,  the AUA  is YOUR  organization.  I would also
 like to thank Jon Clarke from  Auckland, New  Zealand for  his support and
 for his  help in  spreading the  word of  the AUA  down under.  He will be
 helping me contact several user groups in his country as well as  a few in
 Europe.    I  am  very  optimistic  that  the AUA will be very welcomed in
 countries abroad.  Thanks again, Jon, for your enthusiastic support!!

       I still have a great deal of work to do for the AUA.  I do  not want
 to  rush  things  and  have  everything  tumble down as they did this past
 summer.  I want  to build  a concrete  structure for  the AUA  so that the
 organization will  endure all  the bad storms and will prosper from all of
 the great opportunities.  So,  please  do  not  expect  immediate results.
 Things like  this take  a great deal of time.  My major concern is getting
 people to join.  Once we get an idea of how much  support we  have, we can
 begin to  offer more  to the userbase.  So, take the time and fill out the
 AUA application.  Membership to the  AUA is  FREE!   You can  join for the
 price of  a stamp.   If  however, you  find the  other 2 pay packages more
 attractive, then I encourage you to contribute and join the AUA.

 --------------------------- Clip Here ---------------------------

              //////////  //      //  //////////        ** ** **
             //      //  //      //  //      //         ** ** **
            //      //  //      //  //      //          ** ** **
           //////////  //      //  //////////          **  **  **
          //      //  //      //  //      //         ***   **   ***
         //      //  //////////  //      //        ***     **     ***

           THE ATARI USER'S ASSOCIATION        SUPPORTING THE REVOLUTION 

   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

     Thank you for your interest in the Atari User's Association.
     Please take the time to complete this application and mail it 
     to the address below.  
 =========================================================================
 First          Name:_____________________                             Last
 Name:_______________________________
 Address:________________________________________________________________
 City:________________________________                              ST:____
 Zipcode:____________________
 Country:_____________________________
 Age:(optional)_______________________
 Telephone: ( ) - _________________  Occupation:__________________________
 [  ] Check here if  you  want  your  name  on  the  AUA  Public Membership
 Directory
   (This will allow you to be placed on national mailing lists for Atari
    ST products and information)
 =========================================================================
 HARDWARE: [ ]520ST  [ ]1040ST  [ ]MEGA 2  [ ]MEGA 4  [ ]STacy  [ ]Other
 MONITOR : [ ]COLOR  [ ]MONO [ ]OTHER:____________________________________
 DRIVES  : [ ]DSDD   [ ]SSDD [ ]HARD DRIVE Model/Size:____________________
 PRINTER : [ ]9 Pin Dot Matrix [ ]24 Pin Dot Matrix   [ ]Laser  [ ]DeskJet
     Printer Model:____________________________________________________
 MODEM   : Max Speed [ ]300  [ ]1200  [ ]2400  [ ]4800  [ ]9600  [ ]14,400
     Modem Model:______________________________________________________
 OTHER  __________________________________________________________________
 EQUIPMENT
 __________________________________________________________________
 =========================================================================
 Primary             Use              of             your             Atari
 Computer:_________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________
 If you  are  a  member  of  a  User  Group,  Please  give:  Name, Address,
 Telephone,
 BBS        #         (if        applicable),        and        President's
 Name:________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________
 Comments:_______________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________
 I   can   be    reached    at    FNET    node:___________    and/or   FIDO
 node:_________________
 =========================================================================
 MEMBERSHIP FEES: [ ] Non-Active AUA Membership   -- $ FREE $
      [ ] Active AUA Membership    -- $ 5.00/year
 Please Select ONE   [ ] Active Dual AUA/Atari Elite    -- $ 15.00/year
 =========================================================================
                     Mail to:   The Atari User's Association
                                C/O The Atari Elite, Inc.
                                P.O. Box 18293
                                Pittsburgh, PA  15236
 ========================================================================= 
   MicroTyme Computers is an official supplier of the AUA at 1-800-255-5835
 =========================================================================
 The Atari Elite, Inc. is a non-profit organization.  Atari Mega 2, Mega 4,

 520ST, 1040ST, and STacy are registered trademarks of Atari Corporation.
 =========================================================================
      ------------------------ Clip Here ---------------------------





              _______________________________________________




 > POINT/COUNTERPOINT? CPU/STR OnLine
   ==================================


 CTSY GENIE ATARI RT

 Category 14,  Topic 40
 Message 203       Tue Jan 09, 1990
 J.Allen                    at 00:08 EST
  
     After looking at the last 4  years  I  have  to  say  Atari  should be
 brought before  congress as  an example  of how  American companies are so
 screwed up. Atari should be held high as an example of how NOT to  do this
 and  that.    From  both  a  marketing  AND  a  manufacturing  point it is
 inconceivable that so many versions of  the STE  can exist.   You  put the
 SIMM sockets  in for what purpose?  A user to upgrade?  Well all I can say
 is things are financially tough enough for the company, to go and  have to
 stock 4  versions of  the SAME machine, differentiated by pluggable memory
 only, and having  to  correctly  forecast  demand  for  each  iteration is
 absolutely  INSANE!    That's  like  Apple  having a "line" of plus's, the
 PLUS-1, PLUS-2, and PLUS-4.  Obviously Apple isn't quite THAT stupid, they
 sell the  memory "on  the side"  and they  price it  too high because they
 DON'T want  to be  in the  memory business...too  unstable.   When is Wall
 Street going to give Atari the "corporate slap-upside-the-head"?

     And the  issue of no 520s in the warehouse, I used to have two dealers
 in the area but they just  couldn't  seem  to  get  product.    Maybe they
 weren't paying  their bills,  either way,  the lack  of deliveries toasted
 them, so now in the middle  of a  special...the $399.95  520 we  find that
 dealers can't  get any  product.   Guys the idea of having a special is to
 sell product, not to say we have a special.  A special  isn't particularly
 special without product to sell for the "special" price :-)



 Category 14,  Topic 40
 Message 205       Tue Jan 09, 1990
 TOWNS                        at 01:23 EST
  
  Once again, Jim.. you amaze me with your overwhelming attitude. It 
  makes me never want to call GEnie again. Hmm, now there's an idea..

  On a serious note for the rest of the crowd.. What is wrong with 
  Atari making STE machines with different memory sizes?  We buy memory
  in large quantities and probably can buy it cheaper than most people
  could on the street.  What is wrong with us offering a machine with 
  the appropriate amount of money?  Maybe we can offer a 2 meg machine 
  for less money than it would cost to buy the 520 version and upgrade
  it to 2 megs!  Not to mention those people out there who are using a 
  computer for a specific task and don't want to be bothered with SIMMS
  or memory upgrades, but just want to buy the computer and use it..

  -- John
  ------------



 Editor Note:
     Having been  known for  being 'outspoken'  in the  past, I find myself
 hard pressed  to  not  agree  with  J.  Allen  in  this  commentary, Allen
 correctly points  out one  of the  MAJOR marketing  faults of Atari.  As a
 result, he is unduly chastised and a foolhardy  attempt is  made at making
 him appear  less informed  than he  is.    John, you blew it on this one..
 marketing is obviously not your forte....

     The bottom line is  simple, ..  the userbase  is very  interested in a
 number  of  memory  configurations,  of  this  there is no doubt.  Let the
 dealers/users perform their own memory upgrades.  That is the common sense
 way to  accomplish the  job.  Furthermore, the STE should, without a doubt
 be offered in the  Mega Style,  two piece  cabinet, the  majority of users
 have already expressed a strong desire for such a choice yet all the input
 seems to fall upon  deaf or  worse, smug,  know-it-all ears.   It  is time
 Atari began  to listen  to the  the guys  paying the  bills, you know, the
 folks who down in their pockets and peel off the cold, hard earned, cash.

     Folks, we would like to hear  concerning  this  matter  and  any other
 suggestions you  may have for Atari.  Especially concerning the future and
 the new cabinet design (wedding  cake)  for  the  TT  and  its  non swivel
 monitor.






     _________________________________________________________________





 > CPU NEWSWIRE CONFIDENTIAL   Sayin' it like it is.....
   =========================




 - New York City, N.Y.    ***** USERBASE BEGINS ASKING POINTED ?s *****
   -------------------

     When  is  the  STE  going  ON  SALE IN THE STATES?  Remember a certain
 online conference  where our  'fearless leader'  said we  will release and
 sell in  the States first?  Hmmmm Canadian dealers HAVE the STE and its on
 sale all over EUROPE!!   It  AIN'T available  in the  States.   The FCC is
 being blamed for this, something about a small added shield being needed.
 Atari, when in heaven's name are you going to begin listening to those who
 care the most about the future of the company?  In regard to the STE, many
 voices have  already been  heard BEGGING for the STE design to appear in a
 Mega style case, and with 1mb  of simm  ram thus  allowing the  dealers to
 upgrade  the  machines  to  meet  the  memory  requirements  needed by the
 prospective purchaser.  Additionally,  there  have  been  good suggestions
 made that  approach sanity  in customer  support, increased sales, profits
 for Atari and joy for the ST owners.  IE; Manufacture and  market a cable,
 much like  the one  that is  supplied with  the Mega, that would allow the
 Mega keyboard to be used with ALL ST computers.




 - Albany, N.Y.                 ****** LS74 MOD FINALLY DETAILED! ******
   ------------


     Early T16 units came with  a  74LS74  that  is  supposed  to  be piggy
 backed to  the 74LS32 (U78) on the Megas.  It is supposed to be a fix that
 even Atari puts into their computers now.  Here's what you do:
  
 1.  Bend up all the pins on the 74LS74 except pins 7 and 14.
 2.  Cut the trace on the bottom of the motherboard that goes from pin 12
     of the 68000 to pin 12 of the expansion port.
 3.  Solder pin 7 of the 74LS74 to pin 7 of the 74LS32 (U78) and solder
     pin 14 of the 74LS74 to pin 14 of the 74LS32 (U78).
 4.  Using wire wrap wire, connect pin 2 of 74LS74 to expansion port pin
     12.
 5.  Connect pin 3 of 74LS74 to pin 15 of the 68000.
 6.  Connect pin 4 of 74LS74 to pin 18 of the 68000.
 7.  Connect pin 5 of 74LS74 to pin 12 of the 68000.
 8.  All pins that don't make connections anywhere can be cut or left bent
     up (as long as it isn't touching anything).
  
     Atari does this to some of  the  later  Megas  that  came  out.   Some
 however have  a similar  upgrade with  the 74LS74  soldered on  top of the
 68000 which would have to come off when  installing an  accelerator.  This
 fix works  well with Blitters that are on National Semiconductor chips and
 SGS-Thompson chips.  From what I've  heard, there  are some  real problems
 with STs  that have the Blitters by GE-RCA chips...  Hope this little hack
 can solve your problem with random dots on the screen and crashes.



 - Sunnyvale, CA.                   ***** EVERYBODY OUTTA THE POOL! *****
   -------------
  
     The POOLFIX.PRG program that was uploaded recently has  some problems.
 It shouldn't  cause any  damage, but  most of  the time it will crash your
 machine.  We are working on a corrected version of this program and should
 have it  available soon.  Please discontinue use and delete any copies you
 have of the current POOLFIX.PRG. 

     We apologize for any problems this may have caused you.  We  will have
 an updated version in the next day or two.

                                                   -- John Townsend
                                                           Atari Corp.





         ________________________________________________________





 > Hard Drive Info CPU/STR 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
                 _________________________________________
                                        
                   HARD DISK SYSTEMS TO FIT EVERY BUDGET
                   _____________________________________
                                        
   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)

             ***** POST HOLIDAY SPECIALS ARE IN EFFECT! *****
                                     
           ***  ALL Units: Average Access Time: 24ms - 34ms  ***

    ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> MAGIC SAC - PC-DITTO/II - SPECTRE/GCR
                                        
             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
 price.  And.. you can plug 'em right into our cabinets and power supplies.
 Low-Boy  OR  Standard  Case  (designed  with room for another 3.5 OR 5.25"
 drive)  They're made for user expansion!  TRUE UPGRADE-ABILITY!
   
   * TWIN SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVES ... PROGRAMMER'S DELIGHT *
                        SPECIALLY PRICED  $1529.00 

    * SYQUEST 44MB REMOVABLE MEDIA DRIVE AND HARD DRIVE COMBINATIONS *
         - Syquest 44 Model [555] and the following hard drives -
          50mb SQG51   $1299.00           30mb SQG38    $1219.00
          65mb SQG09   $1339.00           85mb SQG96    $1399.00
                       
                 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS

       - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets - TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets - 
                      ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED

                       -* 12 month FULL Guarantee *-
                         (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)

                 Quantity & Usergroup Discounts Available!
                 _________________________________________

                     DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!

                 Personal and Company Checks are accepted.

                            ORDER YOURS TODAY!

                       904-783-3319    9am - 8pm EDT






      _______________________________________________________________



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




          Valuable ZIRCONS Dept.

                       "MONKEY SEE    ...MONKEY DO!"

                                        ...Ziggy Zagnutz





  

                         "THE NEW WAVE OF ATARI!"

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 CPU/STR           "Your Independent News Source"         January 12, 1990
 16/32bit Magazine         copyright   1989                      No.4.02
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
 the  editors,  staff,  CPU  NEWSWIRE  CPU/STR  or  CPU Report.  Reprint
 permission is hereby granted, unless otherwise  noted.   All reprints must
 include CPU  NEWSWIRE, CPU/STR  or CPU  Report and the author's name.  All
 information presented herein is  believed correct,  the editors  and staff
 are not responsible for any use or misuse of information contained herein.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

