           *---== ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
                  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                  "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"
                                   from
                              STR Publishing 
                              """"""""""""""


 July 10, 1992                                                      No.8.28
 ==========================================================================

                  STReport International Online Magazine
                          Post Office Box   6672
                          Jacksonville,  Florida
                               32205 ~ 6672
  
                               R.F. Mariano
                            Publisher - Editor
                 -----------------------------------------
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 > 07/10/92 STR 828    "The Original * Independent * Online Magazine!"
   """"""""""""""""
     - The Editor's Desk      - CPU Report        - PORTFOLIO NEWS
     - ONLINE GROWTH UP       - NINTENDO LOSES!   - THE "HOLE" STORY
     - MOD HACKERS BUSTED     - LEGAL RIGHTS!     - BLUE RIDGE FEST
     - BRODIE ON DELPHI       - DRAGONWARE CO.    - STR Confidential

                         -* MORE FALCON SPECS! *-
                       -* CIS MAUG POSTS REWARD! *-
                           -* NEXT & ATARI?? *-


 ==========================================================================
                  ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
               The Original * Independent * Online Magazine
                          -* FEATURING WEEKLY *-
                "Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information"
     Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
             Hardware - Software - Corporate - R & D - Imports
 ==========================================================================
 STReport's   BBS,   The   Bounty,   invites  BBS  systems,  worldwide,  to
 participate in the Fido/TurboNet/Atari F-Net Mail  Network.   You may also
 call  our  BBS  direct  at  904-786-4176,  and  enjoy  the  excitement  of
 exchanging information relative to the Atari and other computers worldwide
 through the  use of  excellent International  Messaging Networks.  SysOps,
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     COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME

                              to the Readers of;
  
                  ST REPORT INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MAGAZINE
                  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                  "The Original 16/32bit Online Magazine"

                         NEW USERS; SIGN UP TODAY!

               CALL: 1-800-848-8199 .. Ask for operator 198

                 You will receive your complimentary time
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                       be online in no time at all!

                  WHAT'S NEW IN THE ATARI FORUMS (July 9)

                  VENDOR LISTING UPDATE BEING PREPARED...

     We're preparing  an update  to the VENDOR.DAT file that works with the
 VENDOR.ACC utility.  (This is a quick and easy database of current vendors
 in the  Atari community  that runs  as a  .PRG or .ACC and written by Bill
 Aycock.)   If  you  have  any  additions  or  corrections  to  our current
 information, please  post a message or send an Email to Ron Luks 76703,254
 or Bill Aycock 76703,4061 as soon as possible.

 INVISION ELITE

     INVISION Elite is a black and  white paint  program.   It has  been in
 intensive  development  over  the  past  year  and a half and is now being
 introduced  to  the  market  from  Power  Thought  Software.  Download the
 following files from LIBRARY 10 of the Atari Arts Forum (GO ATARIARTS):

  INVIPR.TXT - Announcement of INVISION ELITE, mono paint program
  INVDM2.ARC - Demo of mono paint program, part 2 of 2
  INVDM1.ARC - Demo of mono paint program, part 1 of 2
 NEW IN ATARI VENDORS FORUM (GO ATARIVEN)

 Now  available  in  LIBRARY    17  --  the  newest Calamus SL demo.  A big
 download, but worth it.

     Also look  in Library  11 for  PG22B.LZH, a  patch for  version 2.1 of
 PageStream updating  it to  version 2.2B.   Brought to you by the folks at
 Soft-Logik.

     The folks from CODEHEAD TECHNOLOGIES have  uploaded a  series of files
 that will  enable you  to print  out font  charts of all the available URW
 fonts available for Calligrapher.  The  files are  now available  for most
 all printers in LIBRARY 16.

 NEW SYSOP IN ATARI 8-BIT FORUM

 Please join  us in  welcoming SYSOP*Jeff Kovach 70761,3015 to the staff of
 the Atari 8-Bit Forum (GO ATARI8).


                  THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM ON COMPUSERVE
                          HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AN
                OFFICIAL SUPPORT SITE BY ATARI CORPORATION

            "GO APORTFOLIO TO ACCESS THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM"



  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



 > From the Editor's Desk             "Saying it like it is!"
   """"""""""""""""""""""

     "The Falcons are coming..."  "its a sure thing..."   "hey man, they'll
 be here  in time  for Christmas..."   We've  heard it  all in the last few
 weeks.  Truth is nobody knows for sure if they'll  be here  on time  or in
 any  appreciable  numbers  except  Atari.    Time  will tell.  I hope they
 clobber the computer markets worldwide with this new machine.  We all need
 the enthusiasm fix. 
   
     On  another  very  sad  note.    It  seems STReport does not provide a
 "significant value" to the ST RT.  Therefore,  the STReport  Free Flag and
 Free ST.REPORT  account have been cancelled by Darlah Potechin, head sysop
 of the ST RT.  "Significant value" eh?  Another  "word game"  <sigh>.  Try
 this on  for size  in the  significant value department.  [A] Twenty three
 thousand some odd downloads per year are insignificant?  [B] Almost eleven
 megabytes (212  files) of  uploads over  the years are insignificant?  [C]
 Over ninety seven thousand accesses over the years  are insignificant? ...
 Yeah, right.  Now, tell us all.. the _real reason_.

     Oh well...  so be  it.  I had a paying account before I was given free
 access and I'll have a paying account once  again.   The nice  part now is
 there are  absolutely "no  strings attached"  any longer.  If the costs of
 supporting the users becomes too expensive... well you all know the answer
 to  that.    I  was  informed  though,  by a little birdie, that the "main
 reason" for the punitive measures being taken was because STReport did not
 emphasize more  toward the  ST RT  and less toward the other services, the
 reasoning being there is more activity  in  the  ST  RT  and  STReport was
 making all  the services  "appear equal".  Talk about wanting "suggestive"
 composition.   Truth is,  we are  here to  support _all  the services_ and
 their respective  compliments of  Atari users.  Reciprocally, the services
 show their appreciation for the files and subscriber  support by providing
 the free  access.  Honestly speaking, the ST RT is the only area on any of
 the services  that has  really ever  complained and  does so  on an almost
 continuous basis  directly and  indirectly.  Now they have the distinction
 of being the only ones ever to take  such an  negatively aggressive action
 in attempting to impose its will upon the press.  On the other hand, GEnie
 itself, has treated STReport and its staff very well over  the years.   We
 have no complaint with GEnie's management.  They have shown every courtesy
 and their genuine appreciation of our efforts at every opportunity.

     As always, we are and will  remain dedicated  to the  users.  STReport
 will never  take on a "Pollyanna-like" attitude.  We will continue to call
 'em like we see 'em and provide the "other viewpoint".  After all, its the
 users who  expect the  bottom line  without the pap and they deserve to be
 told the real story.  The truth is, its the _users_ who really support all
 of us  and actually make everything happen.  They are and will continue to
 be the _most valuable_ resource both  Atari and  the online  services will
 ever have.   Unfortunately,  there are  still those  in this community who
 feel the Atari platform revolves around  them  instead.    'Tis  time they
 realized they... like us are here to support the users.. all the users.
   
     The bright  side of  all this  is the number of Atarians who have sent
 STReport a GOF (Gift of Time).  These folks are  truly made  of the "right
 stuff" in  our opinion.   They  actually typify  the real  Atarian, a free
 thinking, outspoken individual who enjoys using a high quality computer at
 an  affordable  price  and  won't  stand still for unjustices of any kind.
 STReport will remain on GEnie due to the resounding support we've received
 in E-Mail and GOF support.  Thank you everyone.
   
             Ralph @ STReport International Online Magazine


 ps;our new address on GEnie is ST-REPORT




                           THE STORM IS COMING!


  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""




  STReport's Staff                      DEDICATED TO SERVING YOU!
  """"""""""""""""

                            Publisher - Editor
                            """"""""""""""""""
                             Ralph F. Mariano


          PC DIVISION         AMIGA DIVISION           MAC DIVISION
          -----------         --------------           ------------
          Roger D. Stevens    Charles Hill             R. ALBRITTON


  STReport Staff Editors:
  """""""""""""""""""""""
          Lloyd E. Pulley Sr. Dana P. Jacobson         Michael Arthur
          Lucien Oppler       Brad Martin              Judith Hamner
          John Szczepanik     Dan Stidham              Joseph Mirando
                    Steve Spivey        Doyle C. Helms

  Contributing Correspondents:
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""""
          Michael Lee         Richard Covert           John Deegan
          Brian Converse      Oliver Steinmeier        Tim Holt
          Andrew Learner      Norman Boucher           Harry Steele
          Ben Hamilton        Neil Bradley             Eric Jerue
          Ron Deal            Robert Dean              Ed Westhusing
          James Nolan         Vernon W. Smith          Bruno Puglia
                              Clemens Chin


                             IMPORTANT NOTICE
                             """"""""""""""""
      Please, submit letters to the editor, articles, reviews, etc...
                              via E-Mail to:

                 Compuserve.................... 70007,4454
                 Delphi........................ RMARIANO  
                 BIX........................... RMARIANO 
                 FIDONET....................... 112/35       
                 FNET.......................... NODE 350   
                 NEST.......................... 90:19/350.0   
                 GEnie......................... ST-REPORT


  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""




 > CPU STATUS REPORT               LATE BREAKING INDUSTRY-WIDE NEWS 
   =================
  
    Issue #28

    Compiled by: Lloyd E. Pulley, Sr.
  


  -- Online Services Grows 61% Since 1987
  
 A new study estimates online services sales grew by 61.1% from 1987 to 
 1991 -- exceeding $9.6 billion last year -- and says sales are projected 
 to increase another 48 percent in the next five years, yielding a $14.2 
 billion market by 1996.

 The 412-page "Online Services: 1992 Review, Trends and Forecast" study, 
 written by analyst Chris Elwell and published by SIMBA Information Inc. 
 of Wilton, Conn., also says:

 -:- There were 5.4 million online service subscribers at the end of 
     1991.
 -:- Leading online services posted a 6.7% sales increase in 1991 
     compared to 1990.

 "Real-time online services made up half of the industry's 1991 sales," 
 SIMBA said in a statement. "Business-oriented online services accounted 
 for 96% of 1991 sales. End user/consumer services were the fastest 
 growing segment, but were 4% of industry sales. The report predicts an 
 increase in this segment in the next five years of 145%."
  


  
  -- Dell Corp. Exec's Take 5% Pay Cut
  
 About 100 top-level executives at the Austin, Texas, Dell Computer Corp. 
 are taking a 5% pay cut as part of the company's attempts to cut costs.
  


  
  -- U.S. to Ease Technology Export Controls
  
 According to Acting Under Secretary of Export Administration Joan 
 McEntee, the U.S. is expected to further ease restrictions on high tech 
 exports, but will not eliminate them entirely.  McEntee said she will 
 soon announce relaxed controls for selling computers to Russia and other 
 former Soviet republics. She said computers were important to economic 
 reform.
  
  


  -- Digital Replaces 425C with 450DX2 and Cuts Prices
  
 Digital Equipment Corp. struggling through hard times is replacing its 
 DECpc 425c personal computer with a new model, the 450DX2, which the 
 company says has twice the performance at the same price. The new 450DX2 
 features 4MB of memory and comes with either a 120MB or a 245MB hard 
 disk drive. The 450DX2 is priced from $2,499 to $3,299.
 Digital also said it is cutting the base price for its entry-level DECpc 
 316sx to $935 from $1,449 and for its DECpc 320sx to $985 from $1,699. 
 It is cutting prices for its 20MHz 486 PCs by 12 to 18%, and for its 
 notebook DECpc 320P by 17 to 19%.
  
 Before the end of the year, Digital expects to roll out a new generation 
 of computers based on a high-powered chip developed by the company 
 called Alpha.
  


  
  -- CIS's MAUG Posts Reward to Catch Trojan Horse Uploader
  
 CIS's Apple Computer forums have posted a $500 reward for information 
 leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who recently sub-
 mitted a "trojan horse" rogue program to the MAUG/Macintosh Communi-
 cations Forum's data libraries.  The program, caught by the forum staff 
 in a routine virus check, apparently was designed to initialize an Apple 
 Macintosh hard disk and then destroy all files.
  
  


  -- PC Magazine Circulation Hits 1,000,000
  
 PC Magazine says that with the current issue, it will become the world's 
 first computer publication to pass the 1 million mark in paid circula-
 tion.  The magazine said its paid circulation has grown from 112,140 
 during the first half of 1983 to an average of 921,652 for the six 
 months ending last month.
  


  
  -- UniStor Announces 2.5" Battery-Powered Hard Drive
  
 UniStor Corp. today announced the new EasyStor(TM) Portable Data Module 
 (PDM) for IBM(R) PC and compatibles.  Battery-powered EasyStor PDMs pro-
 vide up to three hours of operation on a single charge and range in cap-
 acity from 40-meg to 180-meg. EasyStor's design allows connection to any 
 standard parallel port and is operational within minutes.  UniStor's 
 EasyStor measures 3.4 inches by 1.3 inches by 6.9 inches and weighs less 
 than one pound.

 EasyStor PDMs also provide users with the convenience and security bene-
 fits of a cartridge or optical drive without the drawbacks of expense 
 and performance degradation, incompatibility or complicated installa-
 tion.




  -- NEW YORK-BASED COMPUTER RING CHARGED WITH INTRUSION, TAMPERING

 Five young New Yorkers wrecked a local TV station's education program, 
 left electronic grafffiti on an NBC news show, and got 176 credit 
 reports from the TRW credit information company according to a federal 
 indictment charging them with breaking into computer systems.

 The computerists also allegedly broke into telephone switching computers 
 operated by Southwestern Bell, New York Telephone, Pacific Bell, U.S. 
 West and Martin Marietta Electronics Information and Missile Group. 
 Southwestern Bell contends it lost some $370,000 in 1991 because of 
 tampering by three of the defendants.

 The group, known as "MOD" which stood for either "masters of disaster" 
 or "masters of deception," was accused in the federal indictment of 
 breaking into computers "to harass and intimidate rival hackers and 
 other people they did not like; to obtain telephone, credit, information 
 and other services without paying for them; and to obtain passwords, 
 account numbers and other things of value which they could sell to 
 others."

 Indicted were Julio "Outlaw" Fernandez, 18; John "Corrupt" Lee, 21; Mark 
 "Phiber Optik" Abene, 20; Elias "Acid Phreak" Ladopolous, 22; and Paul 
 "Scorpion" Stira, 22. All are from New York City.

 The indictment alleges that on Nov. 28, 1989, MOD destroyed the informa-
 tion in the computer of New York's WNET Channel 13 Learning Link, a pro-
 gram that provided education and instructional material to schools and 
 teachers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
  
  


  -- Nintendo Finally Loses One?
  
 Industry sources are saying a federal court in San Francisco has ordered 
 Nintendo of America Inc. to pay $15 million in damages to Lewis Galoob 
 Toys Inc.  Insiders are saying the court ordered the payment as compen-
 sation for a court-ordered one-year suspension of Lewis Galoob's sales 
 of its Game Genie video game device, which Nintendo charged with infrin-
 gement of the computer game maker's copyrights.

 Nintendo is expected to appeal.




     ________________________________________________________________




 > The Hole Story STR InfoFile     .....a full-blown "ozone hole"
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""




                              THE HOLE STORY
                       THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE SCARE



 by Ronald Bailey

 Reason Magazine, June 1992

     In early February, scientists with the National Aeronautics and Space 
 Administration ominously warned that a full-blown "ozone hole" rivaling 
 the one over Antarctica might open up over the United States during the 
 spring, zapping Americans with damaging ultraviolet sunlight.  Time 
 showcased the story on the front cover of its February 17 issue, warning 
 that "danger is shining through the sky.... No longer is the threat just 
 to our future; the threat is here and now."  Sen. Albert Gore (D-Tenn.) 
 thundered, "We have to tell our children that they must redefine their 
 relationship to the sky, and they must begin to think of the sky as a 
 threatening part of their environment."

    Spooked by NASA, the Senate hastily passed, 96 to 0, an amendment 
 demanding that President Bush speed up the schedule for phasing out the 
 chemicals implicated in ozone destruction.  Stung by the vote, Bush 
 changed the deadline for a complete ban on the refrigerants known as 
 chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from the year 2000 to the end of 1995.

    Although NASA did not acknowledge it, the "danger" of an ozone hole 
 opening over the Northern Hemisphere had already passed less than a month 
 after the putative crisis was announced.  By late February, satellite data
 showed that levels of ozone-destroying chlorine monoxide had dropped 
 significantly, and scientists could find no evidence of a developing ozone
 hole over the United States.  One NASA atmospheric scientist told me that 
 the agency "really jumped the gun," while another drily commented that "it
 was perhaps premature for NASA to say that something drastic was about to 
 occur."  Why the rush?  Why did NASA bureaucrats and scientists feel they
 needed to frighten the American public?

    The NASA revelations were exquisitely timed to bolster the agency's 
 budget request for its global climate change program, whose funding is 
 slated to double by fiscal year 1993.  "This is about money," Melvyn 
 Shapiro, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
 Administration, told Insight magazine.  "If there were no dollars attached
 to this game, you'd see it played in a very different way."  One NASA 
 atmospheric scientist even wondered if it was only a coincidence that 
 Gore's new book of apocalyptic environmentalism, Earth in the Balance, was
 published just days before NASA held its ozone press conference.  After 
 all, Gore chairs the Subcommittee on Science, Space, and Technology, which
 oversees NASA's budget.

    And there was another reason for jumping the gun.  Environmental 
 activists and their sympathizers in Congress and the bureaucracy were 
 anxious to push President Bush into attending the big United Nations 
 "Earth Summit" in June.  Gore likened the alleged ozone crisis to global 
 warming and urged the president to sign the global climate change treaty 
 that is the centerpiece of the Earth Summit.

    By now everyone (94 percent of Americans, according to one poll) has 
 heard that Earth's protective ozone shield is wearing thin and even has a 
 hole in it over the South Pole.  The looming ozone catastrophe purportedly
 will bring humanity withered crops, collapsing terrestrial and marine 
 ecosystems, skin-cancer epidemics, and populations with seriously 
 compromised immune systems.  The culprits in this drama are a group of 
 industrial chemicals purveyed by greedy corporations to pampered and 
 spoiled consumers.  Ozone depletion is the perfect ecological morality 
 play.

    In a morality play, unfortunately, there is no place for ambiguity. Yet
 the impact of CFCs on the ozone layer is a complex question that turns on 
 murky evidence, tentative conclusions, conflicting interpretations, and 
 changing predictions.  It's tempting to ignore these complications, 
 abandon critical thinking, and join in the popular call for *drastic 
 action now*.  But we do so only in defiance of reality, for it turns out 
 that ozone depletion is less a crisis than a nuisance, one that can and 
 should be dealt with in a calm, deliberate way.

     Ozone, which consists of three oxygen atoms, is produced when
 ultraviolet sunlight splits an oxygen molecule in two and the resulting
 single oxygen atoms combine with ordinary, two-atom oxygen molecules. 
 Ozone in the stratosphere, some 12 to 40 kilometers above Earth's surface,
 is continuously produced and destroyed.  This cycle of creation and 
 destruction prevents energetic ultraviolet sunlight (in the
 280-to-320-nanometer range) from reaching the surface, where it could
 damage the delicate proteins and DNA on organisms.  Ozone is chiefly
 produced over the sunlight-drenched tropics, from which global air
 circulation transports it toward the poles.  If all the ozone in the
 stratosphere were compressed to surface air pressures, it would make up a 
 layer only one-eighth of an inch thick.

    The ozone layer first caught the public's attention in the late 1960s, 
 when some scientists claimed that the exhaust gases of a fleet of 500 
 Supersonic Transports (SSTs) would erode it.  Environmental activists 
 leaped to oppose the SST program.  Congress eventually killed the program,
 giving the emerging environmental movement its first major victory. 
 Scientists later found that SSTs posed no great danger to the ozone layer.

    The current ozone "crisis" began in 1974, when chemist Sherwood Rowland
 and his post-graduate fellow Mario Molina calculated that chloro- 
 fluorocarbons had the potential to deplete seriously the sheltering ozone 
 layer.  Rowland quipped to his wife, "The work is going well, but it looks
 like the end of the world."

    CFCs are extremely stable, nontoxic compounds widely used as coolants 
 in refrigerators and air conditioners.  CFCs escape and waft into the 
 stratosphere, where energetic ultraviolet light breaks them down into the 
 highly reactive elements chlorine and bromine.  One chlorine or bromine 
 atom can dismember thousands of ozone molecules.  Rowland and Molina 
 predicted that increasing levels of CFCs could lead to a 7-to-13-percent 
 decline in stratospheric ozone during the next 100 years.

    In 1978, as the result of an environmentalist campaign, the United 
 States became the first nation in the world to ban the use of CFCs as 
 aerosol propellants.  In the meantime, ozone depletion predictions 
 fluctuated wildly as scientists calculated and recalculated what the 
 effect of CFCs might be.  In fact, by 1984, the National Academy of 
 Sciences had concluded that total ozone might *increase* by 1 percent.

    Then came the Antarctic "ozone hole."  British scientists detected a 
 50-percent decline in ozone just when spring came to the frigid continent 
 in late September and early October of 1984.  Many environmentalists and 
 some scientists believed that the ozone hole was a smoking gun that could 
 be traced directly to CFCs.  But chlorine floating free in the atmosphere 
 simply could not destroy ozone fast enough to cause the hole.  A mechanism
 was needed.

    Scientists eventually focused on the thin and very cold ice clouds that
 float above Antarctica.  These polar stratospheric clouds of water and 
 nitrogen compounds form only in the months-long and exceedingly cold polar
 night.  Every winter a strong and stable wind pattern called the polar 
 vortex swirls around the outer margins of the Antarctic land mass. Because
 the air in the vortex is isolated from warmer air, it is chilled to below 
 -80 degrees Celsius.

    Nitrogen oxides, which inhibit chlorine chemistry, freeze and drop out 
 of the stratosphere, leaving chlorine and bromine atoms and chlorine 
 monoxides free to attack ozone when the returning sun peeks over the 
 horizon at the beginning of the Antarctic spring in September and October.
 In effect, the clouds are miniature chemical laboratories where chlorine 
 and bromine reactions powered by sunlight catalytically destroy large 
 quantities of ozone.  As summer approaches, the clouds dissipate and the 
 hole is filled with newly produced ozone and ozone flowing down as usual 
 from the tropics.  UV levels return to normal.

    In 1987, concern about the Antarctic ozone hole led 34 countries to 
 reach an agreement in Montreal to cut world CFC production in half by the 
 end of the century.  In March 1988, the day after the U.S. Senate ratified
 the Montreal Protocol on Ozone, NASA's Ozone Trends Panel issued a report 
 indicating that ozone levels over the Northern Hemisphere had been 
 declining by 0.2 percent per year during the previous 17 years.

    Alarmed, the governments of 93 nations agreed in 1990 to phase out the 
 production of most CFCs, halons, and carbon tetrachloride by the end of 
 the century.  They also set up a $240-million fund, to which the 
 industrialized nations must contribute, intended to help the developing 
 world adopt new, non-CFC-based refrigeration technologies.  The U.S. share
 will total $40 million to $60 million.

    Since 1990, the rate of increase in CFCs in the atmosphere has begun to
 slacken, and atmospheric chlorine is expected to peak at a little over 4 
 parts per billion at the turn of the century.  The chlorine level is 
 expected to return to 2 parts per billion, the level at which the ozone 
 hole first opened, after the middle of the next century.  Despite these
 projections, a sense of impending doom pervades discussions of the ozone
 layer.  Alarmists warn that the damage has already been done, and public
 expectations about the impact of ozone depletion are tinged with panic. 
 Accounts in the mainstream news media ignore several key facts that would
 help to put the supposed hazards into perspective.  For one thing, the
 ozone layer is not evenly distributed to begin with.  Its depth is least
 over the equator, where UV light is strongest, and greatest over the
 poles, where UV light is weakest.  There is generally twice as much ozone
 over the high latitudes as at the tropics.

    A 5-percent decline in the ozone layer would increase UV exposure about
 as much as moving a mere 60 miles south - the distance from Palm Beach to 
 Miami, from Seattle to Tacoma.  Furthermore, UV light increases at higher 
 elevations, so people who live in mile-high Denver receive much higher UV 
 exposure than do citizens of Philadelphia, which is located at the same 
 latitude.  Yet few people factor the risk of UV exposure into their 
 decisions about where to live.  Furthermore, Goddard Space Flight Center 
 scientist Arlen Krueger, who is in charge of the Total Ozone Mapping 
 Spectrometer, points out that ozone levels over the United States 
 fluctuate naturally by as much as 50 percent.  These periodic wide swings 
 in ozone have no apparent effect on people, plants, or animals.

    "There is no question that terrestrial life is adapted to UV," says 
 Alan Teramura, a professor of botany at the University of Maryland and 
 probably the world's leading expert on the effects of UV on terrestrial 
 plants.  He adds, "Even at a 20-percent decline in ozone we are not going 
 to burn up all the plants on the surface of the Earth or kill all of the 
 people.  We wouldn't see plants wilting or fruits dropping unripened from 
 their vines."

    What would occur would be "subtle shifts" among plants: Those less 
 sensitive to UV would outcompete the more sensitive species.  More UV 
 would lead to a gradual shift in the plant communities we would see around
 us.  The impact on plants, if any, by a 5-percent decline in ozone would 
 be masked by the greater effects of other climate factors, such as 
 drought, pests, and frosts.

    Some crop varieties are sensitive to UV, so lower yields could result. 
 For example, Teramura found a 25-percent reduction in yield after exposing
 one very sensitive variety of soybeans to a UV level corresponding to a 
 16-percent decrease in ozone.  Apocalyptic environmentalists repeat this 
 finding endlessly as evidence of the dire effects we can expect from a 
 thinner ozone layer.  But they fail to mention that Teramura also found 
 several types of soybeans that actually boosted their yields under 
 increased UV, while others were unaffected.

    Teramura has discovered large variations in UV sensitivity among 
 different types (cultivars) of soybeans, corn, rice, and wheat.  He tested
 100 cultivars, including 40 types of soybeans, and found that 41 were 
 unaffected by or tolerant of UV.  Teramura tested his plants at UV levels 
 corresponding to 16-percent and 25-percent reductions in ozone - decreases
 that no responsible scientist predicts.  Teramura's results mean that, in 
 the unlikely event that a thinning ozone layer ever becomes a real 
 problem, crop yields could be maintained by selecting UV-tolerant 
 varieties.  Famine would not result from reduced ozone.

    This conclusion is bolstered by the fact that in Minnesota UV levels 
 are half those of Georgia and Florida, yet corn and soybean yields in the 
 South generally exceed those in the North.  The U.S. breadbasket is not on
 the verge of being blasted out of existence by UV leaking through a newly 
 porous ozone layer.  In fact, corn, wheat, rice, and oats all grow in a 
 wide variety of UV environments now.

    Teramura's bottom line: "I would start getting concerned at a 10%
 decline in ozone."  Concerned, but not panicked.  And he means a sustained
 10-percent reduction, not transient fluctuations.  So a small decline in
 the ozone layer poses no great problem for the world's ecosystems.  But
 what about the Antarctic ozone hole that we hear so much about?  Isn't UV
 frying the penguins and the phytoplankton, bringing the ecosystem of the
 Southern Hemisphere to the verge of collapse?  Marine ecologist Susan
 Weiler testified in 1991 at a hearing held by Sen. Gore that scientists
 had measured phytoplankton growth-reductions of 6 percent to 12 percent
 around Antarctica.

    Marine ecologist Osmond Holm-Hansen of the Scripps Institution of 
 Oceanography gently dismisses Weiler as "more of a politician than a 
 scientist."  Since 1988, Holm-Hansen has been intensively studying the 
 effects of UV on phytoplankton, the tiny marine plants at the base of 
 Antarctica's food chain.  He found that increased UV may reduce total 
 phytoplankton growth in the full water column by 5 percent at most.  He 
 adds that even if there were reductions of 6 percent to 12 percent in 
 phytoplankton growth rates, this would mean a 2-to-4-percent overall 
 reduction in the course of a year, which is well within natural variations
 in the Antarctic ecosystem.

    Holm-Hansen also points out that Antarctic phytoplankton naturally 
 tolerate similar levels of UV during the Antarctic summer and that 
 phytoplankton are able to adapt to higher UV levels.  "Unlike the scare 
 stories you hear some scientists spreading, the Antarctic ecosystem is 
 absolutely not on the verge of collapsing due to increased ultraviolet 
 light," he insists.  Even oceanographer Raymond Smith, who reported the 
 6-to-12-percent growth-rate declines, acknowledges that "the whole 
 ecosystem does not appear to be collapsing."

    Ecological apocalyptics also predict that reduced global ozone will 
 mean massive increases in skin-cancer rates.  Most light-skinned people 
 are painfully familiar with the damage that UV light can cause - namely, 
 sunburns.  The incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer is strongly 
 correlated with exposure to UV light.  The U.S. Environmental Protection 
 Agency predicts that every 1-percent reduction in the ozone layer will 
 cause a 3-percent increase in non-melanoma skin cancers.

    But Temple University dermatologist Dr. Frederick Urbach, a consultant 
 to the U.N. panel on ozone depletion, says the EPA's extrapolations are 
 not very reliable.  "You can crunch numbers in a computer and get whatever
 result you want to come out," Urbach says.  He notes that skin-cancer 
 rates have been going up dramatically in recent decades but adds that "the
 increases are due to people spending more time outside, not more UV." 
 Moreover, the death rate for non-melanoma skin cancer is negligible, less 
 than 1 percent.  "It takes real talent for someone to die of non-melanoma 
 skin cancer," Urbach says.  "You basically have to ignore a hole in your 
 skin for years."

    The weak evidence that UV may slightly lower the body's immunological 
 defenses (after all, sunburn damages the body's largest organ, the skin) 
 has also been greatly exaggerated.  Gore and environmentalist Paul Ehrlich
 even hint that increased UV may make the AIDS epidemic more virulent.  By 
 contrast, Johns Hopkins University dermatologist Dr. Warwick Morison says 
 the evidence for UV immunosuppression in human beings is "very 
 incomplete."

    Apocalyptics are also fanning fears of UV-induced epidemics.  But the 
 United Nations Environmental Program says "it should be stressed that the 
 activation of viruses by UV is unlikely to result in an increased rate of 
 infection."  In other words, no epidemics due to thinning ozone.  In any
 case, it's not even clear that global ozone is really declining.
 University of Virginia environmental scientist S. Fred Singer notes that 
 extracting tiny trends from the data is fraught with difficulty because 
 the "natural variability [in ozone levels] is hundreds of times larger
 than the alleged steady change."  In the 1960s the ozone layer "thickened"
 by 5 percent over the United States.  The "thinning" in the 1980s just 
 about brings ozone down to earlier levels, which were not thought to be 
 harmful at the time.

    In March, meteorologist Dirk De Mure and his colleagues at the Belgian 
 Meteorological Institute published a study showing that the instruments 
 used to measure ozone have probably mistaken reductions in atmospheric 
 sulfur dioxide (due to air-pollution controls) for declines in global 
 ozone.  The reduced sulfur dioxide, they wrote, "has induced a fictitious 
 Dobson total ozone trend of -1.69% per decade."  The researchers found 
 that, once the sulfur-dioxide trends are taken into account, there appears
 to be a small upward trend in global ozone.

    If ozone has declined globally, scientists should be able to measure an
 increase in ultraviolet light at the surface.  Yet there is no evidence of
 increased UV reaching the surface in the Northern Hemisphere.  In fact, 
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist John Delouisi 
 reports that the network of Robertson-Berger meters that measure UV showed
 "an average surface ultraviolet radiation trend of -8 percent from 1974 to
 1985 using RB-meter data from eight stations located in mainland United 
 States."

    Furthermore, UV flux in the rural midlatitude Northern Hemisphere (the 
 United States) has declined by between 5 percent and 18 percent during 
 this century, according to NOAA scientist Shaw Liu.  He attributes the 
 lessened UV to an increase in clouds and low-level haze resulting from 
 industrial activities.  University of Virginia meteorologist Patrick 
 Michaels points out that if we were somehow to eliminate the haze, "the 
 increase in skin cancer would far outweigh anything caused by what we may 
 have done to the midlatitude stratosphere."

    Moreover, it's wrong to draw conclusions about what might happen to the
 stratosphere over the United States based on the Antarctic ozone hole. 
 "It's a purely localized phenomenon," says Guy Brasseur at the National 
 Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.  The polar vortex 
 limits its size.  Brasseur expects the hole to disappear when chlorine 
 levels drop below 2 parts per billion in the next century.

    Conditions are less conducive to ozone destruction at the North Pole 
 than at the South Pole.  In contrast to Antarctica, the Arctic polar 
 vortex tends to break up before sunlight can reach it, owing to 
 atmospheric turbulence caused by the more variable geography of the 
 Northern Hemisphere.  And the North Polar stratosphere warms up quickly in
 the spring, so whatever chlorine monoxide forms is broken down and bound 
 up in nitrogen compounds that inhibit its ability to destroy ozone.

    So why the furor over a possible ozone hole in the Northern Hemisphere 
 earlier this year?  The chief reason is that atmospheric scientists 
 detected elevated levels (1.5 parts per billion) of ozone-destroying 
 chlorine monoxide.  Despite the crisis atmosphere generated by NASA's 
 publicity in February, scientists had been predicting since last summer 
 that ozone might decline substantially in 1992.

    Although all the evidence is not yet in, the chlorine-monoxide peak in 
 the Northern Hemisphere appears to be the result of the 20 million tons of
 sulfur blasted into the atmosphere during the June eruption of the 
 Philippine volcano Mount Pinatubo.  In the atmosphere, volcanic sulfur is 
 transformed into sulfuric acid droplets, which act like polar stratosphere
 clouds by sequestering the nitrogen compounds that inhibit the formation 
 of chlorine monoxide.  Linwood Callis, a scientist in the Atmospheric 
 Sciences Division at NASA's Langley Research Center, found that after the 
 Mexican El Chichon volcano erupted in the early 1980s, ozone was 
 significantly reduced worldwide.  David Hofmann, senior scientist in 
 NOAA's Ozone and Aerosols Group, told Insight: "I couldn't understand why 
 NASA didn't come out and say that this could be a very unusual year 
 because of the volcanic eruptions, that maybe what we're seeing is 
 something that we'll never see again."

    Despite elevated levels of chlorine monoxide and the attendant NASA 
 hype, scientists found no evidence of an ozone hole opening up over the 
 Northern Hemisphere this past spring.  A small Arctic ozone hole could 
 develop during an exceptionally cold, still winter, but it would be a rare
 and transitory occurrence.  A Northern Hemisphere ozone hole, if it ever 
 occurred, would happen in February and early March, when people are 
 generally indoors or are well covered and sunlight is weak.

    While the current scientific consensus is that CFCs are responsible
 for the Antarctic ozone hole, some distinguished scientists still think
 that it may turn out to be a natural and transitory phenomenon.  The
 University of Virginia's Singer points out that G. M. B. Dobson, the
 inventor of the machine that measures ozone, reported very low ozone
 values - only 150 Dobson units - over Halley Bay, Antarctica, in 1956 and
 1957.  (By contrast, in the 1960s and '70s, the level was more than 300
 Dobson units.)  Two French scientists recently published data showing
 pronounced ozone decreases, down to 120 Dobson units, during the Antarctic
 spring in 1958.  These measurements were taken years before CFCs could
 have caused any such decline.

    NOAA meteorologist Walter Komhyr links both Antarctic and global ozone 
 depletion to sea-surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific 
 Ocean.  Analyzing data from the last 25 years, Komhyr and his colleagues 
 found that when the eastern equatorial Pacific cooled between 1962 and 
 1975, global ozone increased.  Conversely, when temperatures warmed 
 between 1976 and 1988, ozone declined worldwide.

    Warm sea-surface temperatures dampen the circulation patterns that 
 replenish ozone supplies at the poles with the huge quantities of ozone 
 produced in the tropics.  Warm sea-surface temperatures also retard the 
 winds that break up the circumpolar vortex at the beginning of the 
 Antarctic spring.  A stable vortex prevents stratospheric warming that 
 would short-circuit the ozone-destroying chlorine chemistry, which can 
 take place only at temperatures below -80 degrees Celsius.  After Komhyr 
 published these data, he says, a number of atmospheric chemists chewed him
 out because they thought his findings might hurt funding for their CFC 
 projects.

    If the Antarctic ozone hole may not be due solely to CFCs, what about 
 global reductions in ozone levels?  The U.N.'s 1991 Scientific Assessment 
 of the Stratospheric Ozone acknowledges that "there is not a full 
 accounting of the observed downward trends in global ozone."  The panel 
 nevertheless insists on attributing global ozone losses chiefly to 
 chlorine and bromine reactions, apparently because they "are the only ones
 for which direct evidence exists."  In other words, we'll blame CFCs 
 because it's the only explanation we have right now.

    As noted earlier, however, NOAA's Komhyr thinks that some of the 
 decline in global ozone is caused by changes in atmospheric circulation. 
 Since the mid-1970s, he explains, weaker tropical winds have failed to 
 transport ozone-enriched air from the equator to the higher latitudes.

    Callis, the NASA scientist, analyzes the destructive effects on ozone 
 of highly energetic electrons, the sunspot cycle, volcanic eruptions, the 
 dilution effect from the Antarctic ozone hole, and changing tropical wind 
 patterns.  "CFCs come in a very poor last as the cause for lower levels of
 global ozone," Callis says.  He calculates that fully "73 percent of the 
 global O3 [ozone] declines between 1979 and 1985 are due to natural 
 effects related to solar variability."  He also points out that global 
 ozone made "a significant recovery between 1985 and May of 1990."  Since 
 we passed the solar maximum in 1991, ozone levels will decline naturally 
 until the buildup to the next solar maximum begins later in the decade.
 Environmentalists often decry the 14 years supposedly lost to inaction 
 after Rowland and Molina first made their predictions about CFCs and 
 ozone.  But it's not as if there was nothing to lose by imposing an 
 immediate ban.  Environmentalists tend to discount the real and 
 substantial contribution to human well-being that CFCs have made.

    Cheap refrigeration made possible by CFCs has been a tremendous boon. 
 For millennia people died because they could not prevent food from rotting
 or becoming contaminated with disease organisms.  Cheap refrigeration 
 permits fresh and healthy food to be transported by truck, train, and boat
 to markets thousands of miles from where it is grown and harvested. 
 Primitive methods of long-term food preservation, such as salting and 
 smoking, filled foods with large quantities of potent carcinogens. 
 CFC-based refrigeration saved millions of lives and enabled billions of 
 people to enjoy much better diets of fresh meats, fruits, and vegetables.

    Environmentalists can now point to new substitutes for CFCs.  But many 
 are toxic and flammable, making them far more dangerous to handle.  In 
 addition, the substances cost three to five times more.  The extra cost 
 will delay the spread of desperately needed refrigeration to the 
 developing world, where food spoilage is a huge problem.  It is probably 
 inevitable that many people will continue to go hungry because of the CFC 
 ban.

    Aside from the cost of a ban, governments and companies have had to 
 contend with ambiguous data and shifting conclusions about the impact of 
 CFCs on the ozone layer.  How many times have theories, put forth in good 
 faith, been shown later to be wrong?  In the 1972 Club of Rome report The 
 Limits to Growth, a very distinguished group of scientists, including Jay 
 Forrester and Dennis and Donella Meadows, warned humanity that we would 
 run out of oil in only 20 years.  Our government acted on that prediction,
 making energy conservation the "moral equivalent of war," and ended up 
 wasting billions of dollars on subsidies for synthetic fuel programs.

    Or consider the dire predictions of activists like Jeremy Rifkin, who 
 warned that biotechnology would let deadly new microbes run amok and upset
 the balance of nature.  Had we acted on such fears and banned
 biotechnology in the 1970s, humanity would have forgone the new miracle 
 drugs and agricultural products that now promise to alleviate the 
 suffering of the sick and the hunger of the poor.  Today scientists agree 
 that early concerns about the hazards of biotechnology were overblown, and
 the Bush administration recently moved to speed up approval of drugs 
 produced through genetic manipulation.

    There's ample reason to doubt the similarly catastrophic warnings about
 CFCs and the ozone layer.  It's instructive to recall that climate 
 alarmists Stephen Schneider and Carl Sagan claimed for years that CFCs 
 were particularly potent greenhouse gases, contributing as much as 25 
 percent to increased global temperatures.  But they failed to take into 
 account the first law of ecology: Everything is connected to everything 
 else.  Ozone, too, is a potent greenhouse gas, and so when CFCs destroy it
 the atmosphere tends to cool.  According to NASA, ozone decreases largely 
 offset predicted increases in global temperatures due to CFCs.  "What had 
 been thought was a major greenhouse gas turns out to be having a cooling 
 effect," noted EPA Administrator William Reilly.

    Nevertheless, despite a great deal of continuing scientific 
 uncertainty, it appears that CFCs do contribute to the creation of the 
 Antarctic ozone hole and perhaps to a tiny amount of global ozone 
 depletion.  If CFCs were allowed to build up in the atmosphere during the 
 next century, ozone depletion might eventually entail significant costs. 
 More ultraviolet light reaching the surface would require adaptation - 
 switching to new crop varieties, for example - and it might boost the 
 incidence of nonfatal skin cancer.  In light of these costs, it makes 
 sense to phase out the use of CFCs.

    But ozone depletion is certainly not the "global emergency" that 
 environmentalists like Friends of the Earth's Elizabeth Cook say it is. 
 The normal processes of science and democratic decision making have proved
 adequate to correct what might have become a significant problem.  In 1990
 our national and international institutions hammered out an agreement to 
 control CFCs, the Montreal Protocol, that takes the interests of all 
 affected groups into account (though imperfectly).  Calls to abandon a 
 moderate course of action and push up the deadline for the CFC ban are 
 based on exaggerated fears and unrealistic predictions.  On the evidence 
 so far, despite the lurid crisis mongering of radical environmentalists, 
 waiting for more information on CFCs and ozone did not cause any great 
 harm to people or to Earth's ecosystems, nor will it.

    Radical environmentalists argue that the experience with ozone 
 depletion should teach us to respond swiftly and dramatically to the 
 threat of global warming.  Rafe Pomerance of the World Resources Institute
 says the international negotiations over CFCs were merely the dress 
 rehearsal for drastic reductions in carbon-dioxide emissions aimed at 
 preventing global climate change.  While replacing CFCs eventually will 
 cost billions, the price tag for abating carbon dioxide could run as high 
 as $600 billion *a year*, according to Maurice Strong, secretary-general 
 of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.  He adds that the industrialized 
 nations will have to provide $70 billion more in aid to developing 
 countries each year to help them lower carbon-dioxide emissions.

    The environmentalists are right to suggest that the example of ozone 
 depletion is relevant to the debate over global warming.  But the example 
 indicates that we should be skeptical of environmental "crises."  The 
 relevant lesson is not, "He who hesitates is lost," but rather, "Look 
 before you leap."

 Contributing Editor Ronald Bailey, producer of the weekly PBS series 
 Technopolitics, is writing a book on apocalyptic environmentalism to be 
 published by St. Martin's Press.


       _____________________________________________________________




 > STR Portfolio News & Information              Keeping up to date...
   """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



                         THE ATARI PORTFOLIO FORUM
                         """""""""""""""""""""""""


 On CompuServe!


 by Judith Hamner  72257,271

     Our German friends have uploaded several new Pbasic programs. Many of
 them have the prompts in German, but this should not present too much of a
 problem in use. ZEIT.BAS is a clock program that will beep once every
 minute.  HEXDEZ.BAS will convert from hex to decimal. The program can
 handle very large numbers. EFFZIN.BAS will calculate the real interest
 rate for a loan.

     ASCI.BAS displays all of the ASCII characters with their numeric
 values. The latest version of Pbasic is available in the forum library.

     Don Thomas of Atari has uploaded a letter written to the editor of
 PC Laptop in response to an article in the July issue. See PCLAP.TXT for
 his comments.

     More information is available for those considering attendending the
 Connecticut AtariFest. CTSTAY.TXT contains information on various lodging 
 options including hotels and B&B's. The file also contains local tourist 
 attractions.

     EAPB.EXE contains another demo which runs on IBM compatible PC's. This
 is an electronic version of the APB.    

     LISP-T.COM is a tutorial on LISP programming in PREAD format. Another 
 PREAD file is KLING.COM, a tutorial on the Klingon language for Star Trek
 fans.

     For a pleasant diversion YAGO.EXE offers Yet Another Game of Othello,
 the popular board game.

     What is your HQ? Find out with the Hacker Quiz. This amusing test is
 offered in two versions. HQUIZ.EXE offers the test with computer scoring.
 HACKER.COM contains a text file of the questions in PREAD format without
 the scoring feature.





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

                             IMPORTANT NOTICE!
                             =================

     STReport International Online Magazine is available every week in the
 ST Advantage on DELPHI.  STReport readers are invited to join DELPHI and
 become a part of the friendly community of Atari enthusiasts there.


                          SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
                          ======================
       Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
                  DELPHI services via a local phone call

                              JOIN -- DELPHI
                              --------------

                Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002
                                  then...
                When connected, press RETURN once or twice
                                  and...
               At Password: type STREPORT and press RETURN.

     DELPHI's Basic Plan offers access for only $6.00 per hour, for any
 baud rate.  The $5.95 monthly fee includes your first hour online.

     If you spend more than 200 minutes online a month, you'll save money
 by enrolling in DELPHI's optional 20/20 Advantage Plan.   You'll enjoy up
 to 20 hours online each month for the ridiculously low price of just
 $20.00!  And if you go over that 20 hours, the rate goes up to only $1.20,
 still 1/5th the price of other services. 

     There is no signup fee for joining the Basic Plan.  There is a fee of
 $39 when you join the 20/20 Advantage Plan, a one-time $19 signup fee and
 your first month's $20 fee.

     These connect rates apply for access via Tymnet or SprintNet (within
 the continental United States) during home time (7 p.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays
 and all day weekends) or via direct dial around the clock.  Telecom
 surcharges apply for daytime or international access via Tymnet or
 SprintNet.  See Using DELPHI online for detailed information on telecom
 surcharges.

   For more information, call: DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005

 DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Mass.

                         :IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
                     DELPHI INTRODUCES THE 10/4 PLAN.

     Effective July 1, 1992, all Basic Plan members will be upgraded to the
 10/4 Plan and receive 4 hours of usage each month for only $10!  For full
 details, type GO USING RATES.  SprintNet home time to begin at 6:00 p.m.! 
 Effective July 1, 1992, you may access DELPHI via SprintNet beginning at
 6:00 p.m. local time without incurring a telecom surcharge.  To find the
 SprintNet node nearest you, type GO USING ACCESS.

                 DELPHI- It's getting better all the time!



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




 > BRODIE ON DELPHI! STR FOCUS!  Delphi's Informal Conference w/Brodie
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""



                           CHIT/CHAT AT ITS BEST
                           =====================


 JDBARNES>
         Gordie. before you came I was saying that it would be nice to talk
     about getting Atari users to unite.  Shall we take a vote?

 .Gordie>
         JD, I think you're right.  There is a certain strength to be
     gained in numbers.  But, the motives of the group can't be co-opted to
     serve a single person or group's agenda.

 JDBARNES>
         Gordie, I do think that Atari users can gain a lot by facing up
     to the fact that they have to provide most of the support they need on
     their own.

 .Jerry>
         Hey, I realized THAT years ago.  That's why I joined DELPHI!

 .Gordie>
     But, the group has to be lead in such a way as to ensure that it
     represents the will of the group, and not just the leaders.

 JDBARNES>
         I agree completely. I feel that the AUA made a mistake by not
     providing for renewal of its leadership.  Jerry, there are many people
     in the community who do not use the online resources.

 .MegaSTer7>
         Leadership is a precious and rare commodity.  So few have any...

 .Jerry>
         Oh, I agree, JD, but "support" has to start with some sort of
     existing communications NET i.e. DELPHI, GEnie, Compu$pend

 .Gordie>
         Exactly, JD.  Without an accessible structure, it's not worth
     joining.  IMHO.

 JDBARNES>
         Actually the interests of the user community and ATari are some
     what divergent. Atari needs to sell computers.  The users need to help
     each other understand what they have.  Atari gains precious little by
     providing the kind of support the users need.

 .Gordie>
         Not necessarily, JD.  By supporting the customers you already
     have, you gain their respect.  Which translates into word-of-mouth
     advertising.  You can't buy that kind of advertising.

 .Hudson>
         They gain little in the short-run but they would make up for that
     in the long-run.

 KENHELMS>
         Are other user groups having as much trouble retaining old members
     and attracting new members as ours is?

 .Dana>
         Yes, Ken, we're a dying breed.

 .JJ>
         Yea, our User group is all but dead...

 .JD>
         With regard to the user groups, I think that problem is epidemic.

 .JD>
         Don't forget, Gordie, that most of the problems users encounter
     are with stuff from third parties.  Atari has no effective way to
     provide that breadth of support.

 .Gordie>
         True.  That's something that the developers need to do, possibly
     as a group.

 KENHELMS>
         Our group is far from dead, if fact we are probably the most
     active group in the area. But we used to have around 100 members (5
     years ago) and now we are probably around 30.

 .Jerry>
         I agree, Gordie.  I am constantly referring my local ATARIANS to
     the computer stores I have received the best service/prices from...
     and often send them to the Mail order houses!

 .Raven>
         I think we have about 40+ active in our group still.

 .JD>
          Kenhelms, the group I belong to was at 300 people 7 years ago.
 .JJ>
          we have about 4-5 avg show up at our group.... *sigh*

 .Raven>
          We used to be over 500.

 .JD>
          Another one in the area was at 800. Now we get about 10 and they
     get about 30.

 .Raven>
          Our membership has increased a little this year.

 .MegaSTer7>
          40-50 in Orlando, with perhaps a little over half really active.

 .JD>
          Gordie, the developers need help on this too.  Note that the IAAD
     has only about 60 members.  Most of the powerhouses really do not
     belong, especially the foreign ones.

 .Gordie>
          True, JD, and many of the members have a hard time sharing
     information.  They think it'll hurt their business, so instead of
     cooperation, they jealously guard what they have.
     .Raven>
     We were down to about 20.

 .Jerry>
          But what is the difference in the activity level and events AT
     these meetings between now and back then JD?

 .JD>
          Jerry, the interest in the library is less, but the tutorials
     have about the same interest.

 .MRainey>
          How far do you guys have to drive to get with a group?  The
     nearest one to me is at least four hours away.

 .Raven>
          Used to be 10 minutes.  I moved so it is about 30 mins.

 .Jerry>
          John, are you still in Riverside?

 .Raven>
          Yes, I am still in Riverside, but I belong to a group in Orange.

 .MegaSTer7>
          18-20 min here...

 .JJ>
          our group meets one block from my Apt... < so I usually get to
     bring the equipment :)

 .MRainey>
          I use Delphi as a substitute for a user group, I guess.

 .H.>
          Fort Wayne has several computer user's groups.  The IBMers don't
     want you unless you are a power business user.  The Mac users are a
     bunch of snobs.  Amiga users group tends to fade in and out.  One of
     the most consistent groups in town is a TI99 users group (go figure).

 .Jerry>
          I would think that an Atari user group WOULD have difficulty
     staying focused.  I only know a few users and we all use our Ataris
     for VASTLY different things.

 .JD>
          Our local Mac group still gets 200 or so to the meetings. No
     snobbishness that I have seen. The IBM group has a mailing list of
     5,000 for their magazine.

 .JD>
          One example of a useful activity for as larger scale organization
     would be the publication of an index of all available software.

 .Gordie>
          Excellent idea, JD.  And one that the IAAD could help with,
     thereby showing their dedication to the user.

 .Dana>
          I thought that the IAAD already put together that list of
     software?!

 .JD>
          Another idea would be training videos in some of the productivity
     software.

 .Gordie>
          They have a list, but how extensive it is...  Who knows?

 .Gordie>
          The IAAD product brochure was a voluntary effort.  Not all
     developers partook of the opportunity to display their wares.

 .JD>
          Oh, the IAAD brochure.  Pretty slim pickings, but a step in the
     right direction.

 .Dana>
     According to Brodie. only 20% of Atari users own modems!

 .JD>
     I believe that 20% figure.
 .Dana>
     That's too low to be believeable, JD.

 .Raven>
     I don't think Bob will get the response he is looking for on here.

 .JD>
     No, Dana, I have checked it with our own people, and they are the
     ones who are more likely to use modems.  I think Bob is getting
     exactly the response he is looking for.  It would be nice, but almost
     impossible, to surprise him.

 .Raven>
     I had to bug him constantly and almost beg him to come over here.
     I think he is just going to sign us off now.

 .Gordie>
     I think if he'd take the numbers into consideration, he might find
 that
     he gets a better response, as a percentage of the total users, here,
     than the raw numbers might indicate.

 .JD>
     The whole thing was a lot of foolishness. Atari should pursue their
     self-interest wherever they see it.

 .JD>
          I think that another service that the user organization could
     offer to the magazines is an improved PD watch.  They are usually way
     late and way off base.

 .Gordie>
          But, JD, is that more a function of publishing deadlines than
     anything?

 .JD>
          Not entirely, Gordie.  They often have no idea of the the true
     effectiveness of the stuff they do highlight.

         ** BOBBRO just joined "Weekly CO..." (15 members now) **

 .Gordie>
          Hi, Bob!

 .Terry>
          Evening, Bob.

 .Hudson>
          Hi Bob!

 BOBBRO>
          Good evening, all!

 .MegaSTer7>
          HIya BOB!!!!!  And the MEGA STe is PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 .Raven>
          Good evening Bob.

 .Hudson>
          What's new Bob!!???!!

 .H>
          Good evening Bob!

 BOBBRO>
          Hello, John! How's life with a daughter!! :)

 .Raven>
          She's great Bob!

 .JJ>
          My MSTe is less than perfect *sigh*

 .Jerry>
          Actually we were debating the User Group/Online situation...which
     is better, should cost be the determining factor in choosing an online
     service...etc.

 .Raven>
          I have seen some reports/Rumors on the Falcon.  Can we get any
     stats on it yet Bob?

 BOBBRO>
     Jerry, well they all have their pros and cons.  Part of it is a
     question of international support (which is more of our pain than it
     is for the average user).  I don't think Delphi has international
     connections yet, which is something of a limitation.  None of the
     services cover the globe YET, which means that they all have some
     attraction!  And of course, NONE of them charge the same rate across
     the globe.  So pricing isn't even a commonality.  Pretty amazing, eh?

 .MegaSTer7>
          Mr. Brodie, is it 16/32 Mhz software selectable?

 .Jerry>
          This is an "unofficial" conference, Bob, so we'l ALL keep our
 lips shut!

 .JJ>
          Bob, do you have any idea WHY there are some 2.05 1.44 MSTe folks
     who can use 1.44 with no problem, and others that cannot use it at all
     reliably?

 .Raven>
          Can we get some real Stats on what it will be/have/do/etc?
 .Jerry>
          Unofficial stats, that is.

 .JD>
          Bob, how does the rollout in BOston look right now?

 BOBBRO>
          Hmmm, can't give real hard stats yet. Care to be more specific??

 .Raven>
          I saw some stats from overseas.  Impressive.  I was wondering
     about the validity of them.

 BOBBRO>
          John, some of them are accurate, some of them are WAY offbase.
     I can say that it has a 68030 in it, a DSP chip, a 1040 case...
     True SCSI, lots of colors, dynamite sound. And you're gonna ...
     want to have more than one of them!! :) Oh yes, and MultiTOS!!

 .Jerry>
          Why would I want MultiTos AND more than one computer, kind of
     redundant, eh?

 .JD>
          No, Jerry, think of all the Mac IIs that are networked under 
     MultiFinder.

 .Raven>
          There was mention of a slot for a 386sx card.

 .JD>
          Can MultiTOS be switched off for the host of applications that
     are hostile to it?

 BOBBRO>
          John, sorry no comment on specific speeds, or bus info. Soon!!!:)

 .JD>
          I think that 16 MHz with MultiTOS will be a good start.  Let the
     high speed mavens wait for something better.

 BOBBRO>
          JD, MultiTOS is still undergoing some enhancements.  So I'm not
     sure what the correct answer is to your question.  So far, I haven't
     found too many applications that don't work well with it.  To be sure,
     there will be those that want to run Chaos Strikes Back and PageStream
     at the same time. :)

 .JD>
          Just take a look at any application that builds its own desktop.
     That is hostile to MultiTOS.

 .Gordie>
          Realistically folks, wouldn't it be best if they actually got
     them out the door, and worry about enhancements later?  The whole
     community needs the boost in sales, soon.  Tricking it up can wait.

 .H>
          What is Atari bring to show at MIST later this month?

 BOBBRO>
          Haven't decided what I'll bring yet, Hudson.

 .Raven>
          Will we see the Falcon at Glendale?

 BOBBRO>
          There is an excellent chance of that, yes John.

 .Raven> 
          COOOOLLL!!!!!

 .JD>
          Bob, could you comment on the nature of the "rollout" in Boston?

 BOBBRO>
          The event in Boston is a general meeting of the Boston Computer
     Society. One of the most prestigous computing groups in the world.
     Their membership is among the most influential in the world for
     many of them also are computing professionals, like the staff at
     BYTE Magazine is part of BCS, as is Stewart Alsop, Editor of
     InfoWorld Magazine, and many others. Virtually every significant
     computer has been shown at a General Meeting of the BCS. Of cours
     that also includes the original Atari 520 ST back in 1985.
     The NeXT was also first shown at a BCS Meeting. So our hope is
     that this exposure will aid us in recapturing the attention of
     the computing world by showing the Falcon 030 at a BCS Meeting.
     This is not to say that it is the end all and be all, but that
     it would be an excellent place to START such an effort.
          whew..

 .Jerry>
          Bob, will Atari ever go back to designing and supporting basic
     software packages for their computers like you did in the early days?

 BOBBRO>
          We have a number of projects in the works that I think will
     meet your expectations, Jerry.

 .Jerry>
          Oh, no expectations, Bob.  Just curious.  After all, you're the
     only ones in a position to be ABLE to develop cutting edge software at
     the SAME TIME as the new hardware!

 .JD>
          Jerry, from what I hear hey are doinga good job of getting
     machines to developers for that work.
 .JD>
          Thanks, Bob, I think thatexplains it nicely. Does it mean that
     the machines wil be availbale to the public shortly thereafter?

 BOBBRO>
          If shortly means later this year, yes.

 .Hudson>
          Bob, is Atari going to be present at Connecticut?

 BOBBRO>
          Hudson, yes...I will be there as will Bill Rehbock

 .Hudson>
          With the Falcon?

 BOBBRO>
          Probably not.

 .MegaSTer7>
          Bob, just how compatible/incompatible will the Falcon be to
     present ST/STe/TT software?

 BOBBRO>
          Applications will prove to be highly compatible. Many games ...
     will do fine, too. However some of the old stuff WILL fail.

 .Gordie>
          Some of the old stuff fails on my STe.  Such is life.

 .Jerry>
          Well, that's expected.  When you make VAST improvement to any
     system, that includes phasing out some "loved" old things.  The best
     of the best will get upgraded to match the newer technology...they
     rest will become fond memories.

 BOBBRO>
          We do have a goodly number of Falcons out to developers now,
     which I personally regard as a GREAT sign.

 .Gordie>
          Europe or US, or both?

 BOBBRO>
          Both.

 .Hudson>
          You mentioned NeXT.. Is there any truth that there is a "meeting
     of minds" between Atari and NeXT?

 BOBBRO>
          Hudson...no comment. :)

 .Jerry>
          I take that as comment in itself, Bob.  :-)

 .Gordie> 
          Aha!  New rumor!  Ross Perot buys Atari, merges it with NeXT. 
     <BIG GRIN>

 BOBBRO>
          I figured that you would! Gordie, that's OLD news!!

 .Hudson>
          I'm buying 3000 shares tomorrow!!

 .Gordie>
          hehehehehe

 BOBBRO>
          One of the columnists in NeXT World started that months ago! 
     Actually, I've been fooling around with a NeXT some at a class that
     I'm taking.  A TT blows it's doors off.  It's an impressive machine,
     but for all the horsepower it has, I think it's slow.

 .Jerry>
          I think we all know that we have secretly had the most powerful
     computers for years...eh?

 .JD>
          Bob, I think that is a consequence of Unix.

 BOBBRO>
          Good possibliity, JD. What ever causes it, it's there!

 .JD>
          All those little daemons have to be fed.

 .Hudson>
          How has the response to the LYNX Batman Return add been? (have)

 BOBBRO> 
          It's been selling VERY well. We're quite pleased!!

 .Sky>
          Bob, is Atari making any add-ons for TT, to keep it up w/Falcon?

 .JD>
          Up with? It's still the top of the line.

 .Sky>
          Colors, resolutions, etc? Digital Stereo etc?

 .Gordie>
          Those could be boards.  There are third party boards out now. 
     Should Atari compete with them?
 BOBBRO> 
          The TT offers a VME slot for those things to be handled with.

 .Gordie>
          Competing with your own developers is not a good way to keep them
     happy.

 BOBBRO>
          Digital Stereo is something that a couple of music developers
     have provided for some time now.

 .JD> 
          Right, Gordie, the third party world is more flexible with that
     stuff.

 .Ken>
          What is available for the VME slot (compatible with my MSTe)?

 BOBBRO>
          Graphics Boards are available for the VME Slot.  Crazy Dots from
     Gribnif is GREAT!

 .JD> 
          Bob, could you give a brief list?

 .Hudson> 
     B    ut will it be compatible in three years (Crazy Dots)

 BOBBRO> 
          Yes, it will.  They did a really GOOD job with the product.

 .JD>
          Do you still need a second monitor with Crazy Dots?

 BOBBRO>
          Depends on what rez you want to run, JD

 .JD>
          256 colors Bob.

 BOBBRO>
          JD, in what rez?  1280x960x256 is a pricey monitor!!!

 .JD>
          I could be happy with 640 x 480.  I only have room for one
     monitor on my desk. 1024x768 would be OK.

 BOBBRO>
          You can probably use the exisiting color monitors then.

 .JD>
          But I need Crazy Dots to give the extra colors, right?

 BOBBRO>
          Yes, on a Mega STE you need a board to get those results.

 .Sky>
          What is the highest res. colors that a PTC1426 will handle?

 BOBBRO>
          I've put the 1426 at 800x600x256

 .Jerry> 
          Bob, this is a wierd question and I may be speaking from a faulty
     standpoint (my info that is,), but as I understand the IBM world
     history, they made their technology accessible to the business world
     by releasing the technical designs to allow for other companies to
     create hardware.   Eventually this led to a plethora of companies
     creating, selling, supporting and developing for IBM "compatible"
     machines.

          I wonder if Atari has ever considered what would happen if you
     followed a similar tactic.  Once many companies are creating and
     supporting Atari "clones" won't that eventually have the same effect
     on ATARI'S bottomline by increasing knowledge, awareness and desire
     for this "new" (to them), inexpensive, powerful and easy to find
     computer system(s)?

          It's hard to "let go", but the idea of greater returns in the
     long run (MUCH GREATER) would make it worth it.

 BOBBRO>
     Jerry....ask IBM what they think of all the clones! :)

 .Jerry>
          I know they probably think they are garbage, but it CREATES
     business FOR IBM in the long run, and one EVERYONE asks the same first
     question:
          "Is it IBM Compatible?"  Ahhh!

 BOBBRO>
          Really, the only winner in the clone wars is MicroSoft  IBM isn't
     a fan of that technology.

 .Ken>
          Bob, we were talking earlier about how user groups are loosing. 
     How do you see the health of the Atari User Groups?

 BOBBRO>
          Ken, I think it's directly tied to our poor sales. Not good.

 .JD>
          Bob, we were also talking about the possibility of an independent
     group, more professional than the AUA. Do you see any value in that?

 BOBBRO>
          JD, I see tremendous value in it. And I've actually (in the past)
     participated in such a group. It was called ACENET, in So Calif.
     However, the group failed. Largely because people wanted results
     but did not want to put the effort into the obtaining of the results.
 .JD>
          Bob, I agree that it is too easy to become unfocussed with such
     a thing.

 BOBBRO>
          So, while I love the concept, I question the possibility of such
     an effective implementation of a project.

 .JD>
          It takes the right people, Bob.  I also am not sure that they are
     still around.

 BOBBRO>
          Ask John King Tarpinian about ACENET.  Lots of people promised,
     to do lots of things. He and I were the only ones that did.

 .JD>
          That is an interesting piece of history, Bob.  Those who forget
     their history are condemned to relive it.

 BOBBRO>
          In short, leadership is a key component of such an endeavor.  As
     is an inspired force of cooperative people.  One is nothing without
     the other.

 .Hudson>
          Bob:  We were talking last week about how there were no dealers
     in the Boston area anymore..How easy/hard is it to become a dealer?

 BOBBRO>
          It's pretty easy with distributors on hand now.

 .JD>
          Hudson, all it takes is money.

 .Gordie>
          Bob, aren't there requirements for service still?  Or have they
     been relaxed?

 BOBBRO>
          Not if you purchase via distribution.

 .Hudson>
          Could you send me some information/literature/laws/etc. about how
     to become a dealer?

 BOBBRO>
     Hudson, send me email. I'll have Mike Groh contact you.

 .Jerry>
          Bob, you know we all are on the DELPHI voting wagon, so our BIAS
     is given.  If we promise not to inundate you with responses here
     (that's YOU GUYS, hear?), can you give us an update on your online
     "poll" and how the numbers are coming down, etc....?

 BOBBRO>
          Jerry, GEnie is the runaway leader. No one else is close.  I was
     even surprised at the response on there.

 .Gordie>
          But, with the numerical superiority of GEnie, that shouldn't be
     surprising.

 BOBBRO>
          After that, it's pretty close with Delphi and the FidoNet.  With
     the FNET close behind.  I've gotten more responses from Carina Net
     than CIS.  Which is really disappointing. Carina Net is an 8 bit
     network.

 .DevotedAtarian7>
          Carina net may outlive us all, those 8-bits live forever!

 .Raven>
          Bob does Delphi actually have a chance then?

 BOBBRO>
          Yes, a VERY real chance.

 .Jerry>
          How many are there on GEnie, DELPHI, etc.?

 BOBBRO>
          Jerry, I got more than 1000 letters on Genie.

 .Jerry>
          How many on DELPHI?  And I was really asking about the number of
     Atari MEMBERS on each service.

 BOBBRO>
          Jerry, asking the number of each service is like asking us...
     how many computers we've sold. You won't get a straight answer.
     CIS say they have over 10,000 Atarians online. I don't buy it.

 .Jerry>
          Why?

 BOBBRO>
          Because they know that numbers draw developers/manufacturers.
     I assess a network like CIS/GEnie/Delphi by message and downloads

 .JD>
          I will have to say that CIS's message traffioc and download
     counts don't seem to reflect those numbers.

 .Jerry> 
          SO by CIS numbers you've had DISMAL repsonse to your poll.  What
     about GEnie, what do they say is their userbase?
 BOBBRO> 
          Well gang, the wife says that it's dinner time here.  So I will
     have to wish you all a pleasant evening. Thanks for making me feel so
     welcome here.  I've enjoyed the evening.

 .Gordie>
          Thanks for the time, Bob.

 .JJ> 
          well bob no response on 2.05 and 1.44 then?

 BOBBRO>
          JJ- They work! What else

 .Raven> 
          Bye Bob.  Come again SOON!

 .JD> 
          JJ, he told you that the combo works. I have  however, heard that
     some hard disks suck up too much power for the combo to work
     whoops.. sorry then... didn't catch that line from you bob.
     with the Ajax chip.

 BOBBRO>
          JJ, followup??

 .JJ>
          my 2.05 1.44 doesn't work which is why I asked

 .DevotedAtarian7> 
          Perhaps warranty service would be in order?

 .JJ> 
          would 2.06 help our not?

 BOBBRO>
          You might want to try a file that John Eidsvoog has out for
     setting the floppy seek rate.  He says that helps.

 .JD> 
          Sorry, JJ. I read 2.06 I haven't heard that 2.05 supports HD.

 .JJ> 
          ok, thanks for the response Bob will look for it/

 BOBBRO>
          Ok, I really have to run. She's back again! :)  Night all!!

 BOBBRO> - signed off -


  ***********************************************************************
 This transcript was heavily edited to improve readibility.  However, only
 spelling errors were corrected and extraneous material was deleted.  The
               gist of the conversations was left unchanged.
                                                        <BIBLINSKI>
  ***********************************************************************
 This transcript is of an informal Conference, held July 7th, 1992 in the
Conference area of the ST Advantage on DELPHI.  Permission to reprint this
         transcript is given, provided it is left intact and unchanged.
  ***********************************************************************




 > FALCON REVEALED STR InfoFile        ATARI ADVANTAGE TO TELL ALL!
   """"""""""""""""""""""""""""


  
  
   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  | o |    ATARI ADVANTAGE ANNOUNCES COMPLETE FALCON COVERAGE!      | o |
  |   |    """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""       |   |
  | o |    ATARI ADVANTAGE is proud to announce the first North     | o |
  |   |          American hands-on preview of Atari's hot           |   |
  | o |              new '030 computer -- THE FALCON.               | o |
  |   |                                                             |   |
  | o |  Complete Falcon coverage in the June/July issue of ATARI   | o |
  |   |  ADVANTAGE features over 10 devoted pages, including        |   |
  | o |  uncensored, up-close photographs that give you the first   | o |
  |   |  look at Atari's new entry level marvel.                    |   |
  | o |                                                             | o |
  |   |  Detailed explanations on Digital Signal Processing, video  |   |
  | o |  capabilities, and many other Falcon facets take you into   | o |
  |   |  the architecture and clarify all rumors.  We will also     |   |
  | o |  unravel the mystery of true color, stereo digital sound,   | o |
  |   |  how RAM sizes work, and other Falcon features which has    |   |
  | o |  everyone else guessing.                                    | o |
  |   |                                                             |   |
  | o |  Don't have a subscription yet?  If you'd like to get your  | o |
  |   |  hands on this issue before it has sold out, you can do so  |   |
  | o |  by purchasing the June/July of ATARI ADVANTAGE from your   | o |
  |   |  local dealer or directly from us.  To reserve your         |   |
  | o |  personal copy, please fill out the form below.             | o |
  |   |                                                             |   |
  | o |  Order your subscription today so you can be assured of     | o |
  |   |  getting this issue (which is sure to be a collector's      |   |
  | o |  edition) and future exciting issues covering the latest    | o |
  |   |  developments in the world of Atari.                        |   |
  | o |                                                             | o |
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 Editor Note;
   
     At last, the truth be known, just remember folks where you read about
 the Falcon first.. over a year ago in our crystal ball feature.  Be sure
 to give Atari Advantage a try, its a first class USA publication right up
 there with AIM, Current Notes and Informer.


       ____________________________________________________________




 > BLUE RIDGE FEST STR SHOW NEWS            LAST MINUTE DETAILS
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""""



                           SUMMER FUN WITH ATARI
                           =====================


 Sub: Blue Ridge AtariFest Banquet

     Just a note of reminder to any of y'all who wish to attend the Banquet
 after the show on Saturday night.  I need to get an accurate head count so
 if you're intending on attending and haven't yet sent in your reservation,
 please fill out the form below and E-mail it back to me with a credit card
 number if you'd like it charged to your credit card account.

 We're looking forward to a great time on the 18th!


 BLUE RIDGE ATARIFEST '92 BANQUET

     Computer STudio  has finalized  arrangements for an after show banquet
 at the Pisgah View Ranch.  This will definitely be somewhat different from
 the usual semi-formal type hotel affairs of the other shows, and will be a
 real down-home, country party in the mountains!

     Dinner will be served family-style....... as long as you keep eating,
 they'll keep serving!  And check out the menu:

                             Tossed Salad
                             Country Ham
                             Fried Chicken
                             Cornbread Dressing
                             Rice and Gravy
                             Green Beans
                             Sweet Potato Souffle
                             Homemade Rolls
                             Beverages
                             Homemade desserts

     After dinner, there will be live entertainment in  the air-conditioned
 barn,  guaranteed  to  bring  out  he 'country' in everyone!  There's also
 volleyball and shuffleboard if  anyone  still  has  the  energy  after the
 excitement  of  the  show.    Or  how  about just sitting on the porch and
 enjoying our clean mountain air.

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

 BLUE RIDGE ATARIFEST '92 - BANQUET RESERVATION FORM:


 Name:  _______________________________________________________________

 Address:  ____________________________________________________________

 City:  _________________________  State:  _________  Zip:  ___________

 Phone Number:  (       )  _________________________________

 Number attending:  ______  Adults @ $17.50 each     = $_______________

                    ______  Children under 6 @ $8.75 = $______________

                    TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED ............ $_______________

 Credit Card:

   VISA:  # _________________________________________ EXP. ____________

   MasterCard # _____________________________________ EXP. ____________

   American Express # _______________________________ EXP. ____________

   Discover # _______________________________________ EXP. ____________

 Banquet tickets and a map of directions to the Pisgah  View Ranch  will be
 mailed to those with confirmed reservations.

 PLEASE MAKE  CHECK PAYABLE  TO "COMPUTER  STUDIO" and  mail this completed
 reservation form along with your check to:

     Computer STudio
     Westgate Shopping Center
     40 Westgate Parkway - Suite D
     Asheville, NC  28806


         _________________________________________________________




 > LICENSING HOAX! STR Feature        "LEGAL-RIGHTS PIRATES"
   """""""""""""""""""""""""""



                     THE GREAT SOFTWARE LICENSING HOAX
                     =================================




 By: Albert Silverman

 From: The Mac RoundTable on Genie

 INTRODUCTION

 This is the first article in a series on "piracy"--with a reverse twist.  
 This series currently includes the following articles:

     (1)  Great Software Licensing Hoax..  (LEGAL RIGHTS PIRACY1)
     (2)  Software Copyright/License Quiz..(LEGAL RIGHTS PIRACY2)
     (3)  Great School Copyright Robbery.  (LEGAL RIGHTS PIRACY3)
     (4)  San Diego County--Truth Squad..  (LEGAL RIGHTS PIRACY4)
     (5)  ADAPSO and SPA--Trade Pirates..  (LEGAL RIGHTS PIRACY5)
     (6)  Aldus--Snaring a Pirate Chief!.  (LEGAL RIGHTS PIRACY6)


     Long the software  industry's  target  of  accusations  and suspicions
 about the  handling of your software, you will undoubtedly be surprised to
 learn that those  who  express  deep  concern  about  your  stealing THEIR
 software are simultaneously, in a perverse sort of retribution ("let's get
 them before they get us"), attempting  to steal  YOUR legal  rights! Since
 these  "legal-rights  pirates"  (the computer software industry, operating
 under the broad legal direction of its trade associations, SPA and ADAPSO)
 have much  to gain by misrepresenting the law at your expense, their modus
 operandi remains a well-kept secret, even to the not-too-smart worker bees
 buzzing around the legal offices of the various software companies!

     Due to  many factors, topped by the general lack of readily available,
 affordable, and comprehensible legal  information  about  the  handling of
 computer software,  many users  (by default) have turned to the one source
 which  is  understandably  eager  to  supply  legal  disinformation  at no
 charge--the  legal-rights-pirate!  Needless  to say, accepting such advice
 from THIS particular source is akin to hiring the fox to guard the chicken
 coop.   Most users, however, simply ignore all advice about the legalities
 of software handling, from whatever source.   Whichever  option is chosen,
 computer  users  across  the  entire spectrum remain abysmally ignorant of
 these very important laws.

     Justifying his legal-rights  piracy  in  the  name  of  an anti-piracy
 campaign  geared  to  "educating"  the  software  user  about the law, the
 rights-pirate has several  ingenious  tools  in  his  pseudo-legal  bag of
 tricks, for specialized use against various segments of the computer-
 using community.   His  most effective  weapon for  pulling off this heist
 against the  community  at  large  is  the  so-called  "software license."
 Everyone who  purchases commercial  software will,  sooner or later at the
 time of purchase, be  forced  to  agree  with  the  software  publisher to
 refrain from numerous activities involved in the handling of the software.
 For the reasons stated  above, it  is virtually  certain that,  before you
 read this  article, you  will not  have the foggiest notion whether or not
 you are legally REQUIRED to observe all of these restrictions to which you
 have been forced to "agree"--with no say in the matter.

     It is  clear that  you cannot prevent the theft of something which you
 do not even know that you  possess! In  order to  be able  to separate the
 licensing  wheat  from  the  chaff,  it  is  necessary to learn some basic
 principles about the law.  These  principles are  put to  good use  in the
 "Copyright Game"  which you  are unwittingly playing against the publisher
 of  your   commercial  software.     This   is  a   most  fascinating  and
 intellectually stimulating  word game,  which is  totally unlike any other
 game that you have ever played.  Despite the example  set by  the software
 industry in  its anti-piracy tactics used against the software user, it is
 NOT necessary to be a pirate in order to catch a pirate.   This invaluable
 knowledge will enable you, without breaking any law, to foil the high-paid
 legal strategists who lie awake  nights,  dreaming  up  ingenious  ways to
 steal  your  legal  rights  (translation:  your  dollars  and/or operating
 freedom).  The price?--putting some of those unused brain cells to work.

 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE LAW

     Computer software belongs within  the class  of intellectual property,
 the creator  of which has been given important protection in the copyright
 laws (contained in Title 17 of the United States Code) passed by  the U.S.
 Congress.   At the  same time,  the software  user has  been given certain
 corollary protections in order  to prevent  either undue  inconvenience or
 economic  hardship.    That  is,  the  U.S.    Congress  has established a
 balance-of-copyrights, which carefully weighs  the rights  of the software
 copyright  owner  (who  is  usually represented by the software publisher)
 against the right of the software user to use the software in  a practical
 manner, without undue financial penalty.

     Since the  Congressional balance-of-copyrights is a delicately crafted
 compromise between opposing interests,  neither party  (software publisher
 or  software  user)  affected  by  this compromise gets everything that it
 desires.  Hence it is only  natural  for  software  publishers  to  make a
 determined effort  to evade  objectionable elements  of this Congressional
 compromise, in order to obtain an undue economic advantage--at the expense
 of the software user, of course.  This is the Great American Way.

 THE UNSIGNED SOFTWARE LICENSE

     The  software  publisher's  primary  instrument for accomplishing this
 objective is the Software License.  In its  most common  form, brilliantly
 crafted for  convenient use  against the computer-using masses, this is an
 impressive legal-appearing document (referred to as a "License Agreement")
 which  is  usually  printed  in  small  type on an envelope containing the
 computer disk(s).    There  is  a  common  popular  misconception  that an
 agreement  is   not  valid  unless  it  contains  the  signatures  of  all
 participants.  However, if a party (the software user, the  subject of the
 current discussion)  who is  forced to  accept such  an UNSIGNED agreement
 (known as a "contract of  adhesion")  is  to  be  held  legally  liable to
 perform in  accordance with  its terms,  the one  who is doing the forcing
 (the software publisher) must meet three mechanical drafting requirements.
 Although it  was not true in the past, the modern common unsigned Software
 License Agreement, having been fine-tuned over  a long  period of  time in
 order  to  meet  objections  from  the  courts,  usually meets these three
 requirements, which are as follows.

     First, the software publisher must make the software user aware of the
 existence of  an agreement  before he/she  is given access to the computer
 disk(s).  This requirement is normally  met by  printing the  terms of the
 agreement  upon   a  sealed  envelope  containing  the  computer  disk(s).
 Alternatively, the document  containing  the  terms  of  agreement  may be
 included  somewhere  within  the  software  package  and referenced on the
 sealed envelope which contains the computer disk(s).

     Second, the software publisher must retain the title  to the software,
 since the sale of the title precludes the publisher (but not the copyright
 law!) from exercising any future control  over both  the handling  and the
 transfer of  the software.   Simply  stated, you  can't be using something
 which you OWN under a license  (lease) from  the one  who sold  it to you.
 This  requirement  is  normally  met  by  the  inclusion  of  a statement,
 accompanying  the  terms  of  agreement,  which  says  that  the  software
 publisher is retaining the title to the software.

     Third, the  terms of the agreement must be clear and understandable by
 one who possesses an "average"  English  literacy.    This  requirement is
 usually met  (although this  is more  and more  debatable, in  view of the
 ever-decreasing general state of literacy) in a manner  which will satisfy
 the courts  that the  user, without his/her signature, has been made aware
 of both the existence  of  an  agreement  and  its  terms.   Occasionally,
 however, a  document which is masquerading as a software License Agreement
 will fail to meet these clear drafting requirements; due to  its defective
 execution, the  user cannot  be held liable for failing to comply with its
 terms.  Typically in such a case,  the  terms  of  the  agreement  will be
 printed in the instruction manual and the user will be given access to the
 computer disk(s) without being made aware  of the  existence of  a license
 agreement in  the instruction  manual.   In addition, the user will not be
 made aware that the software  publisher  is  retaining  the  title  to the
 software: a  key requirement.   Since  there is no law which requires that
 the  user  read  the  instruction  manual   (indeed,  many   users  plunge
 helter-skelter  into  the  program  without even opening the manual!), the
 user-in-a-hurry, or the user who  has  difficulty  reading  an instruction
 manual,  may  violate  the  terms  of  an  "agreement"  of which he/she is
 unaware.

 CONFLICT OF LAWS: STATE VERSUS FEDERAL

     A license agreement (a form  of  contract)  is  always  enforced under
 STATE  contract  law.    If  the  software  user fails to comply with some
 particular term of a  properly-executed agreement,  the software publisher
 can,  in  theory,  prosecute  the  violation in state court, citing as his
 authority the applicable state law which enforces contracts.  It should be
 emphasized that  the publisher's  meeting of the three mechanical drafting
 requirements for valid execution of the agreement is a necessary but not a
 sufficient condition  for its  enforceability.  Specifically, in order for
 the agreement to be  enforceable, it  is also  necessary that  there be no
 superior  law;  i.e.,  which  takes precedence in regulating the identical
 user conduct.

     With regard to the  handling of  copyrighted computer  software, there
 are  two  different  laws  (STATE  contract law and FEDERAL copyright law)
 which may conceivably seek to control  some specific  user conduct.   As a
 typical example,  the software publisher may (for his own special reasons)
 wish to prevent the  software user  from making  more than  one "archival"
 (backup)  copy  of  his/her  software.    Having  met the three mechanical
 drafting  requirements,  it  might  appear  that  he  can  accomplish this
 objective  by  forcing  the  software  user  to  agree  to  abide  by this
 restriction as a condition for obtaining  a license  to use  the software.
 If there  were no other law regulating the user's making of backup copies,
 state contract law authority would  be  able  to  enforce  this particular
 restriction--uncontested.

     Fortunately for  the software user, however, the federal copyright law
 ALSO has something to say about  the user's  right to  make backup copies.
 Given that there are two different laws, both of which seek to control the
 user's making of backup copies, such a CONFLICT  OF LAWS  must be resolved
 by the courts as the first order of business.  Contrary to what one may be
 led to believe (by those who have some hidden purpose  for doing  so), the
 resolution of  this particular  conflict is  clear-cut.   In general, when
 both a state law and a  federal law  seek to  regulate the  identical user
 conduct, the federal law always wins.  In other words, dear software user,
 even though you may  have "agreed"  with the  software publisher  that you
 will not make more than some arbitrary number of backup copies, you cannot
 be forced to honor your agreement.  Period.  Double period.

     Lest there be any question at all about this fundamental fact of legal
 life,  it  was  confirmed  in  a  test  case  (Vault Corporation v.  Quaid
 Software, Ltd.) sponsored by  the software  industry, originally  heard in
 the U.S.   District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana on February
 12, 1987 and confirmed in its entirety on appeal in  the 5th  Circuit U.S.
 Court of  Appeals on  June 20,  1988.  One of the issues addressed in this
 case was the enforceability of the Louisiana Software  License Enforcement
 Act.   This Act  was passed  to validate  a model  of the Software License
 Agreement, which was developed by  the  industry's  trade  association for
 general  industry  use.    In  this  very  important  decision,  the court
 concluded that, because Louisiana's License Act  touched upon  the area of
 federal copyright  law, its  provisions were preempted and Vault's license
 agreement was therefore unenforceable.

     Despite the  software  industry's  resounding  defeat  in  the federal
 courts, the  common Software  License Agreement  (which is essentially the
 same as the Vault License Agreement) continues to be used  by the industry
 as a  strategic ploy  to coerce  the legally-  ignorant software user into
 abandoning certain of his/her legal  rights.    Even  though  most  of its
 restrictions  are  unenforceable,  its  coercive effect is achieved by the
 threat of some vague and ill- defined penalty (termination?) for violation
 of the  agreement.   The software  publisher of course has no intention of
 suing for breach of agreement, since his restrictions are unenforceable.

 ILLEGITIMATE (UNENFORCEABLE) LICENSING RESTRICTIONS

     The making of backup copies is just one of seven areas of  common user
 conduct which  lie within  the exclusive province of the copyright law and
 hence cannot be controlled by means of an agreement between  the copyright
 holder (or his representative) and the software user.

 These are:

     (1)  Making of backup copies
     (2)  Use of unauthorized (user-made) copies
     (3)  Software rental
     (4)  Transfer of unauthorized copies
     (5)  Program modification and/or adaptation
     (6)  Reverse engineering, disassembly, decompilation, etc.
     (7)  Use of the copyright notice

 Here is a brief explanation of the remaining six areas of conduct:

 (2) Every software license agreement seeks to prohibit the use of a single
 copy of the software on more than a single CPU (computer) at a time.  Such
 conduct falls  within the  exclusive province  of the copyright law.  Why?
 Because the use of a single copy simultaneously on more  than one computer
 cannot  occur   without  the  use  of  unauthorized  copies,  made  either
 permanently on floppy disks or temporarily via a network.

 (3) The copyright law currently forbids the rental of copyrighted computer
 software.

 (4) The  copyright law provides that any exact user-made backup copies may
 be transferred along with the original copy from  which these  copies were
 made.   Hence any attempt by the software publisher to forbid the transfer
 of exact backup copies, while at the same time permitting  the transfer of
 the  original  copy  from  which  they  were  made,  invades the exclusive
 province of the copyright law.

 (5) The copyright law  permits a  computer program  to be  modified and/or
 adapted,  as  an  essential  step  in  the  utilization  of the program in
 conjunction with a computer.  In addition, modification  and/or adaptation
 may  be  required  in  order  to  create  a derivative work based upon the
 program: a conduct which is regulated under the copyright law.
 (6) Reverse engineering, disassembly, decompilation, etc., may be required
 singly or  in combination  as a step in the creation of a derivative work.
 Therefore, in addition to  program  modification  and/or  adaptation, such
 activities are also regulated under the copyright law.

 (7) The  copyright law regulates the manner in which a copyright notice is
 to be used.

     When all  of  the  copy-related  restrictive  clauses  in  the typical
 unsigned software  license agreement  are examined  in the  light of these
 seven "off-limits" areas of user conduct, it will  be found  that very few
 (if any)  of them are enforceable! There are also other preemptive federal
 laws which may  regulate  some  aspect  of  software  user  conduct.   For
 example,  the  export  of  computer  software  to certain countries may be
 forbidden by federal law.   Hence  any clause  within a  license agreement
 which seeks  the user's  "agreement" not  to export the software to one of
 these countries is also unenforceable, etc.

 IN A NUTSHELL:

     Even though a so-called  License Agreement  may be  properly executed,
 the fact  that most of its restrictive clauses are unenforceable by virtue
 of conflict with federal law means that it is mostly  a worthless  mass of
 fine print and a waste of valuable space!

 AFTER THE HOUSECLEANING

     What remains after all of the illegitimate (unenforceable) clauses are
 consigned to their proper place in the trash  heap? Typically,  there is a
 "legitimate residue,"  which consists of (1) performance promises (such as
 warranties) by the software  publisher,  and/or  (2)  possible relaxations
 upon the  use of  unauthorized copies  (such as  permitting the use of the
 software on a network or on multiple computers within a classroom), and/or
 (3) perhaps  two or  three restrictive clauses which ARE enforceable under
 state contract law authority.    Here  are  three  examples  in  the third
 category:

 Example #1:
     A  typical   enforceable  restriction  is  that  which  prohibits  the
     simultaneous use of a  5-1/4"  disk  and  a  3-1/2"  disk  on separate
     computers, in  the event  that separate  copies are  furnished on dual
     media.  Since both copies are furnished by the software publisher, the
     use of  these copies  is NOT  regulated under the copyright law; hence
     their use is legitimately controlled by means of a license agreement.

 Example #2:
     The copyright  law gives  the copyright  owner the  exclusive right to
     make the  "first sale"; i.e., to transfer the title to the first user.
     After the first sale is made, the copyright  law does  not prevent the
     user who  owns the title to the software from transferring (other than
     for purposes of rental) a  publisher-  furnished  copy  of  a computer
     program to  another party.   Hence if the software publisher wishes to
     prevent the user from transferring the software (either temporarily by
     nonprofit  lending  or  permanently  by  sale), he must (1) retain the
     title, (2) license its use, and (3) prohibit its transfer  by means of
     a clause within the license agreement.

 Example #3:
     A software  publisher may  furnish a  second copy  of a copy protected
     program (a "pseudo-backup" copy) and prohibit the simultaneous  use of
     these two  copies on  separate computers by means of a clause within a
     license agreement.  This is a legitimate licensing  restriction, since
     both copies are furnished by the software publisher.

 What do you do after you've heaved out the "licensing trash"?

     The fact  that most  software-handling conduct cannot be controlled by
 means of an agreement with the software publisher  does NOT  mean that you
 are free  to handle  your software in any old manner that you may see fit.
 What it DOES mean is that, if you are handling  your software  in a manner
 contrary to  a licensing  restriction, but  which falls  within an area of
 conduct  that  is  regulated  under  the   copyright  law,   the  software
 publisher's  only  recourse  for  preventing  this conduct is to file suit
 against you in FEDERAL  court  for  copyright  infringement--NOT  in state
 court for  breach of contract.  For example, if you make two backup copies
 of your software, contrary to a clause within the license  agreement which
 permits  you  to  make  only  one  backup copy, the ONLY recourse which is
 available to the software publisher for preventing you from doing so is to
 file suit  against you  in federal  court for  copyright infringement.  He
 will not do this, of course,  since  such  conduct  does  not  violate the
 copyright law.

     Therefore, your  indicated strategy  is simply to ignore all licensing
 restrictions which seek to regulate your  conduct in  the above  seven off
 limits areas that are regulated under the federal copyright law.  However,
 you must still comply with ALL federal laws,  copyright or  otherwise.  In
 the rare  case, some particular conduct which the software publisher seeks
 to control by means of a  licensing restriction  may (believe  it or not!)
 accurately represent  the intent  of the software copyright laws.  In such
 an event, you will of course "obey" the restriction.  But be sure that you
 understand  this  point  of  extreme  conceptual  importance.  You are NOT
 complying with  such  a  restriction  because  you  have  agreed  with the
 software  publisher  to  do  so.    Rather,  you  are  doing so since your
 compliance is required under FEDERAL law, without regard to the  wishes of
 the software publisher.

 What does the software publisher gain by using unenforceable clauses in 
 a License Agreement?

     This  is  a  crucial  question, since the software publisher obviously
 will not go to the expense of employing a phoney  Software License without
 a good  reason for  doing so.   Stay  tuned as  his pseudo-legal licensing
 strategy is laid bare upon the operating table:

 "Rewriting" the copyright laws--without an act of Congress!

     For the most part,  a  clause  within  a  license  agreement  which is
 unenforceable by  virtue of a conflict with the copyright law will attempt
 to restrict your handling of the software more narrowly than  the scope of
 regulation intended  by the U.S. Congress.  If the user can be intimidated
 into following the software publisher's demands, under the  threat of some
 vague and  ill-defined penalty  for violation  of a license agreement, the
 publisher will have accomplished his major purpose, which  is to  tilt the
 balance-of-copyrights  in  his  favor,  but  without  requiring  an act of
 Congress!  Three very  common examples  should suffice  to illustrate this
 point.
 Example #1:
     The  software  publisher  will  invariably  attempt,  by  means  of  a
     licensing restriction, to prevent  your use  of a  single copy  of the
     software  simultaneously  on  two  or  more  computers.    While  this
     restriction USUALLY represents the intent of the copyright  law, there
     are important  exceptions.   These are exceptions in the copyright law
     under the doctrine of "fair use"  which, under  special circumstances,
     permit  the   use  of   an  unauthorized  copy  of  computer  software
     simultaneously with  the original  copy (or  with another unauthorized
     copy) on another computer.  Thus under special circumstances, you may,
     without violating  the  copyright  law,  engage  in  conduct  which is
     prohibited by the use-on-a-single-CPU licensing restriction.

 Example #2:
     Almost invariably,  the software publisher will attempt, by means of a
     licensing restriction,  to prevent  the user  from making  more than a
     single  backup  copy  of  a  given  software  program.    However, the
     copyright law contains no limit upon the number of backup copies which
     can  be  MADE,  as  opposed  to  their  simultaneous  USE  on separate
     computers.

 Example #3:
     The software publisher will  probably  attempt  to  prohibit  you from
     disassembling  the   software  in  order  to  discover  the  program's
     construction.  Yet, since the copyright law regulates  the creation of
     a  derivative  work  based  upon  the  software (which may require the
     disassembly of the program), this is an area  of conduct  which is off
     limits within  a license agreement.  To the software publisher's great
     chagrin, the mere act of disassembly  does NOT,  in itself, constitute
     an infringement  of the  copyright law.  Therefore you may disassemble
     away to your heart's  content, just  so long  as you  do not  use this
     information to  create a  derivative work:  an exclusive right that is
     granted to the copyright owner.  Happy discovering!

 "Educating" the software user--guess who's doing the teaching!

     For many reasons, virtually all software users are  abysmally ignorant
 of  the  provisions  of  the  software  copyright laws.  Were the software
 publisher simply to follow  accepted legal  procedures (i.e.,  letting the
 user discover  the nature  of these  laws on his/her own), it is virtually
 certain that copyright law violations would run rampant,  due to ignorance
 of  the  law.    Hence  the  software  publisher's  claim that the license
 agreement serves the very important purpose of educating the software user
 about the  provisions of  the copyright  laws.   One thing is certain; the
 software user is not going to learn about these laws without a very strong
 push.

     It is nevertheless essential that any such user education be conducted
 impartially and ethically.  The use of a so-called license agreement as an
 instrument  for   this  purpose   fails  dismally  to  conform  with  this
 requirement.  To the contrary, it is HIGHLY  UNETHICAL to  embody whatever
 interpretation of  some provision  of the  copyright law  as a restrictive
 clause within a license agreement.   If the  software publisher  wishes to
 supply   the   software   user   with   his   own  special  copyright  law
 interpretation, he can easily do so in an accompanying explanation without
 legal force,  while identifying it exactly for that.  Most important, such
 an aboveboard procedure lacks  the  COERCION  of  a  licensing restriction
 (bogus though  it may  be), with its accompanying threat of some vague and
 ill-defined penalty for its violation.

 "Termination" (shudder!)

     The typical unsigned  software  license  agreement  contains  a clause
 which states that the license will be automatically terminated if the user
 violates any of its terms.  It is hoped by the software publisher that the
 threat of  your being  terminated (shudder!)  will be sufficient to coerce
 you  into  obeying  all  unenforceable  restrictions  within  the  license
 agreement.    This  threat  is  pure  gibberish, however, since a bonafide
 license can only be revoked  following  prosecution  for  violation  of an
 ENFORCEABLE clause in the agreement.

 Facing off against five "rights-pirates"

     Over a  period of  some two  years, I wrote to five prominent software
 companies,  requesting  the  legal  enforcement  authority   for  specific
 restrictive clauses  within their  Software License  Agreements, which are
 modeled after  the agreement  (rejected by  the federal  courts long ago!)
 approved by  the industry's  trade association.   The companies which were
 contacted were:(1) Microsoft (2) Claris (3) Adobe (4)  Symantec (5) Aldus.
 All of  these companies seek to restrict the number of backup copies which
 the user may make, despite the fact that  the making  of backup  copies is
 clearly  off-  limits  within  a  license  agreement.    All five of these
 companies  were  asked  how  they  proposed  to  enforce  this  ubiquitous
 restriction.

     All of  these companies also seek to prohibit the user from activities
 (such  as  adaptation,  modification,  reverse  engineering,  disassembly,
 decompilation, etc.) which are also off-limits within a license agreement,
 since they may be required in order  to  create  a  derivative  work.   In
 addition to the restriction upon the making of backup copies, two of these
 companies (Symantec  and Aldus)  were asked  how they  proposed to enforce
 these very  common restrictions.   In  view of  the fact  that there is no
 credible (i.e., legally viable)  answer to  my questions,  the forthcoming
 answers were  eagerly anticipated; the effort was certainly worth it! Here
 are the amusing(?) results:

 Microsoft

     Microsoft's  Monica  Smith  (Legal  Assistant)  responded  quickly and
 emphatically  that  it  is  contract  law  which  is used to enforce these
 licensing restrictions.    But  she  then  proceeded  to  explain  how the
 copyright law  forbids the user from making more than one backup copy! Can
 it be possible that Ms. Smith does  not  know  that  it  is  impossible to
 enforce a  restriction upon  the making  of backup  copies with BOTH state
 license law and federal copyright law? Her response  is nonsensical, since
 only ONE  law can  regulate the making of backup copies by the user.  This
 is of course the federal copyright law, which preempts state  contract law
 when  there  is  a  conflict.   Hence Ms. Smith's confident statement that
 contract law is the legal  authority  for  this  licensing  restriction is
 WRONG.
 Claris

     It  took  four  letters  to  Claris (including a letter to the company
 president), over a time span of  some 2-1/2  months, for  me to  pry out a
 response to  his routine  query! Clearly  this was a question which Claris
 was working very hard not to answer.  The response which finally came from
 Derek Witte  (Director of  Legal Services),  when ordered to provide it by
 the company president, was indeed a satisfying culmination to the author's
 efforts.    Mr.  Witte  claimed  simply that "the legal authority for this
 restriction is that of common  law  contract."  Unlike  Microsoft's Smith,
 however, he did not bring the copyright law into the picture--
 where it  clearly belonged! In common with Ms.  Smith, his claim is WRONG.
 His short letter closes tersely: "If you require  further clarification of
 this or  other legal  matters, I suggest that you retain counsel." This is
 "The Sting"  of the  software company's  legal worker  bee when  you ask a
 question which he/she is unprepared to answer.  Mission accomplished!

 Adobe

     I  waited  for  one  month  for  a reply from Adobe; it was clear that
 further effort would thus  be  necessary.    In  response  to  a follow-up
 letter, Adobe's Steve Peters (Legal Counsel) responded quickly, explaining
 that the copyright law does not permit the user to make more than a single
 backup copy.   But  he did  NOT answer the author's question, which sought
 the legal authority for the enforcement of this restriction upon the user.
 Apparently  he  was  afraid  that,  were he to answer in a straightforward
 manner that "the copyright law is the authority for this  restriction," he
 would  then  have  been  asked  WHY this unenforceable restriction appears
 within a license agreement.  Believing that my inquiry was  based upon his
 desire to  make more than one backup copy without violating the agreement,
 Mr. Peters generously offered to "consider a request  to revise  the terms
 of the  license to  fit your circumstances"!!  Needless to say, I declined
 to accept this generous offer.

 Symantec

     Symantec's  Rebecca  Ranninger  (Legal  Counsel)  offered  up  a novel
 response.   First, she  failed to  address the  two specific clauses which
 were the subject of my query.  Instead,  she began:  "In response  to your
 inquiry  as  to  the  legal  authority which renders our license agreement
 enforceable, I refer you to basic contract law." For your information, Ms.
 Ranninger,  the  inquiry  was  not  about  the  GENERAL  enforceability of
 Symantec's license agreement;  it  was  about  the  enforceability  of two
 specific clauses within this agreement.  Continuing with her non-answer to
 the question, she states: "In addition, to the  extent that  the agreement
 prohibits copying and other uses of the software, Symantec relies upon the
 relevant federal and  state  trademark  and  copyright  infringement laws,
 specifically  the  Copyright  Act  (17  U.S.C.   SS 101 et.seq.) and other
 federal and state laws.    It  is  a  violation  of  federal  law  to make
 unauthorized copies of the Software."

     INCREDIBLE!  Ms.   Ranninger  sees   no  problem  with  a  "licensing"
 restriction  which  can  only  be  enforced  under  the  authority  of the
 copyright law!   Can  it be possible that she does not understand that the
 software user cannot "agree" with Symantec to obey  the provisions  of the
 copyright law?   For Ms.  Ranninger's information, it is NOT (repeat: NOT)
 a violation of federal law to  make unauthorized  copies of  the Software.
 It  is  strongly  suggested  that  she  read  Sections  117 and 107 of the
 copyright law.  Where on earth did she  ever get  this notion?  Perhaps it
 came from Mars.

 Aldus: bearding the Lion in his den!

     It was extremely difficult to pry a response out of Aldus; and when it
 finally did come, some two months after my  ROUTINE inquiry,  the question
 was STILL  not answered!  Here is what it took to get this non-answer: (1)
 two letters to the Aldus  Customer  Service  Department,  (2)  a follow-up
 telephone call  (which was answered in an arrogant manner by an individual
 who refused to provide both  his  name  and  the  answer  to  the author's
 question),  and  (3)  THREE  letters  to  Mr.  Paul  Brainerd, the company
 president.  This  response  from  Ms.  Leann  Nester  (Corporate Counsel),
 instead of  providing the legal enforcement authority for the restrictions
 which Aldus seeks to impose upon  the software  user, merely  explains the
 mechanism by  which the  execution of the agreement is validated! That is,
 it simply explains that, by  opening  the  sealed  package  containing the
 so-called  agreement,  the  user  is  legally  bound by the terms to which
 he/she has  agreed.    Note  that  all  of  the  other  software companies
 understood exactly  what I  was asking  for, even  though their low- level
 legal representatives provided wrong and/or nonsensical answers.

     Refusing to be put off by Nester's evasive non-answer to his question,
 my  stubborn  persistence  with  Aldus'  president  finally  paid off in a
 telephone call from Curt Blake, Aldus' legal chief AND a current leader in
 formulating the software industry's licensing strategy.  It was clear from
 the substance of this call that the game had now moved into the Big League
 arena.    Blake  steadfastly  refused  to  provide a written answer to the
 question of Aldus' enforcement authority for the two  specified clauses in
 its License  Agreement.  The reason, of course, is that ANY answer that is
 given  about  enforcement  authority  for  an  unenforceable  clause  will
 necessarily  be  an  admission  that  the so-called license agreement is a
 fraud.  Clearly Blake did not  want  to  acknowledge  this  fact  with HIS
 signature.

     Initially, Blake claimed that he could not provide a written answer to
 the question of enforcement authority because "the software copyright laws
 are changing so fast"! When reminded of the Vault v.  Quaid decision which
 confirmed the long-established preemption of state license law  by federal
 copyright law  (it hasn't changed one whit in a great many years), he then
 claimed that a  decision  in  the  federal  appellate  court  in Louisiana
 carries  no  weight  in  the federal district which encompasses Washington
 state, stating  that the  circumstances in  the Louisiana  decision do not
 have nationwide  applicability.   When reminded  that the industry's model
 license agreement which was thrown out of federal  court in  Louisiana was
 essentially the same as Aldus' current license agreement, still being used
 almost four years later,  Blake again  shifted gears  and stated  that "it
 takes time  to incorporate court decisions." This backtracked on his claim
 about  different  circumstances  and  was  a  tacit  admission   that  the
 circumstances involved  in the  use of Aldus' license agreement are indeed
 precisely the same as  those  surrounding  the  discredited  Vault license
 agreement.  Just how long does it take, Blake?
 Champ, Chump, or Chimp?

     Now that  you are  aware of  the licensing strategy that is being used
 against you in this software Copyright Game, you will counter  with one of
 the following trio of optional strategies:

 Option #1 (Champ)

     The winner  in this  game will  simply ignore all of the UNenforceable
 restrictions within the license agreement.  As a general rule (assuming of
 course  that  all  three  mechanical drafting requirements have been met),
 there will be just two, or  at most  three, enforceable  restrictions upon
 your  conduct.    You  must  obey  these  in order to avoid breaching your
 agreement.   First,  you  must  obey  any  prohibition  upon  lending your
 software.     Second,  if  you  are  permitted  to  transfer  the  license
 permanently (i.e., to sell the software),  you must  obey any requirements
 for notifying  the software publisher when you have sold the software.  If
 you are asked to provide the publisher the  name of  the transferee and/or
 provide the  transferee with  a copy of the license agreement, you must do
 so.  And third, you must obey any  prohibition upon  the use  of more than
 one  publisher-  furnished  copy  simultaneously  on  separate  computers.
 That's all there is to it.  Simple.

     The Champ will understand that the copyright laws  prevail, regardless
 of what  the software  publisher may  be trying  to force you to do in his
 phoney license.  This means of course that an effort (heaven forbid!) will
 be required in order to learn the provisions of these laws.  Above all, be
 sure to DISREGARD any claims about  the  copyright  law  which  may either
 appear within  the license  agreement or be distributed under the guise of
 "legal  information"  by  the   software   publisher   and/or   his  trade
 associations.    Be  forewarned  that  the  legal  offices of the software
 companies are filled with the likes of a Monica Smith or a Steve Peters or
 a Derek  Witte or a Rebecca Ranninger or a Leann Nester.  Would you accept
 advice about your legal rights from  any of  THESE individuals?  Would you
 hire  a  known  burglar  to  guard  your  house while you were out for the
 evening?

 Option #2 (Chump)

     This option, obeying ALL  of  the  restrictions  within  the so-called
 license agreement,  is the one which the software publisher is making such
 a determined effort to force  upon  you.    If  you  are  apathetic and/or
 unwilling to make the worthwhile effort that is required to be a winner in
 this  challenging  game,  yet  are  beset  with  worries  that  your legal
 ignorance might  lead you  to violate some law or another, then this Chump
 option may well be an ideal choice.

 Be  aware,  however,  that   the  Chump   labors  under   a  very  serious
 disadvantage.  Even though you will be violating neither the agreement nor
 the copyright law when you conform  with all  of the  software publisher's
 licensing restrictions, it is virtually certain that you WILL be giving up
 some of  your  legal  rights  under  the  copyright  law.    As previously
 emphasized,   the   software   publisher's   self-serving   copyright  law
 interpretation, embodied (camouflaged) as  various licensing restrictions,
 will generally misrepresent the intent of the copyright law, to one degree
 or another.   If  you are  willing to  walk his  plank in  response to his
 strong-armed attempt to pirate your legal rights, then you are the perfect
 Chump.  So go ahead and jump--Chump.

 Option #3 (Chimp)

     And finally, you can take the path of  least resistance  by exercising
 this third  option, which is simply to ignore the entire license agreement
 while also remaining ignorant about the  provisions of  the copyright law.
 Needless to  say, this popular option is the overwhelming majority choice,
 particularly in a society in which  a large  percentage of  the population
 (including computer  users) has  difficulty comprehending written English,
 much less legal Mumbo- Jumbo.   The Chimp  hears no  law, sees  no law, or
 speaks no  law which  regulates the handling of his/her computer software.
 Laws? WHAT laws? If  you opt  for this  alluring choice,  it is  a virtual
 certainty  that,  sooner  or  later,  you will violate either a legitimate
 licensing restriction or the copyright  law  or  both.    But  unless your
 violation is  blatant, and if it does not cost the software publisher more
 than the cost of his  prosecuting  you  in  the  courts,  there  is little
 likelihood that  you will  be apprehended.   However,  you should be aware
 that, if you make a monkey out of yourself and DO get caught and punished,
 the penalties are severe.  So which shall it be: CHAMP, CHUMP, or CHIMP?

 CONCLUSION

     For  the  most  part,  the  various  software  companies who are using
 licensing agreements  comparable  to  those  discussed  above  have simply
 abandoned  their   individual  responsibilities  and  accepted  the  broad
 strategy  put  in  place  several  years  ago  by   their  industry  trade
 associations.    From  the  answers  which  were  received  to  my routine
 enforcement question  about licensing  restrictions, the  evidence is very
 strong that the lower-level "worker bees" who perform the routine tasks in
 the legal offices of these  companies  have  little  understanding  of the
 legal principles which apply in a CONFLICT OF LAWS situation.

     This lack  of understanding  is underscored  by the typical worker bee
 response, claiming that the  software  user  must  "agree"  (in  the legal
 sense) with  the software  publisher to obey the copyright law!! This is a
 NONSENSICAL contention within the  established framework  of preemption of
 state  contract  law  by  federal  copyright  law.   Yet the worker bee is
 perfectly  content  (in  his/her  ignorance)  to  crank  out  anything but
 sensible answers when faced with a simple question about legal enforcement
 authority.  On the other hand, of course, those who  are in  charge in the
 various software company legal offices (such as Curt Blake, Aldus' General
 Counsel) DO understand the  nature of  the industry's  unethical licensing
 strategy.    But  as  illustrated  in  the sixth article in this series on
 piracy ("Aldus-- Snaring a  Pirate Chief!"),  making contact  with someone
 who DOES understand the industry's strategy requires extreme perseverance.
 SUMMARY

     The copyright  owner (the  creator of  a certain class of intellectual
 property)  possesses  certain  rights   involving   the   duplication  and
 distribution  of  his  material,  which  are  granted  to  him by the U.S.
 Congress.  He can  only  seek  redress  for  violation  of  his copyrights
 through  the   FEDERAL  courts,  which  possess  the  sole  authority  for
 enforcement of the copyright  laws.   In theory,  the copyright  owner may
 additionally restrict the manner in which his material is handled by means
 of a legal agreement  with  the  user.    Such  an  agreement  is commonly
 executed  without  the  user's  signature  at  the  time  of purchase.  In
 contrast with the copyright law, any breach of  the license  agreement can
 only be prosecuted through a STATE court.

     A necessary,  but not  sufficient, condition for the enforceability of
 such an agreement is that  the  copyright  owner  (or  his representative)
 retain the  title to  the material  and license its use.  Given the proper
 execution of the agreement, a sufficient condition for  its enforceability
 is that  any handling  restriction which  is imposed  upon the user by the
 copyright owner (the software  publisher, in  the case  of computer media)
 can  ONLY  be  in  an  area  of  conduct  which is not regulated under the
 copyright laws.  In  other words,  the software  publisher cannot restrict
 user conduct  more narrowly  in scope than is spelled out in the copyright
 laws.  Hence, any area of software user  conduct which  is regulated under
 the  copyright  law  is  off-limits  within  a license agreement; i.e., it
 cannot be enforced through the courts.

     Despite this  well-established point  of law,  the software publishing
 industry  as  a  whole  continues  to  license the use of software with an
 agreement which seeks to impose restrictions  upon the  software user that
 are narrower  in scope than the intent of the copyright laws.  The purpose
 of such unenforceable licensing  restrictions  is  to  evade objectionable
 features of  the copyright  law by coercing the legally-ignorant user into
 obeying restrictions which are not legally  required, under  the threat of
 some  vague  and  ill-defined  penalty for breaching the phoney agreement.
 The only  safe counter  (for the  user who  wishes to  retain his/her full
 legal rights)  against this  UNETHICAL licensing  strategy is knowledge of
 the law.

 Note:
     The provisions  of the  copyright laws  which have  been described are
     those which were in force as of April, 1992 and are subject to certain
     change at some time in the  future.   What is  certain NOT  to change,
     however,  is  the  preemption  of  state licensing laws by the federal
     copyright law.  Hence in  the  future,  as  today,  any  attempt  by a
     software publisher  to use  a license  agreement as a legal instrument
     for evading  certain provisions  of the  copyright law  which he finds
     particularly objectionable  will continue  to be  UNENFORCEABLE by the
     courts.  Period.


 Become a Champ!

     Read all about it in "THE COPYRIGHT GAME, ETC.--A Strategic  Guide for
 the  Computer  Software  User,"  by Albert Silverman.  ISBN 0-9527435-1-8.
 330 pages in  nominal  8-1/2"x11"  format,  softbound  with  an attractive
 cover.

     What is the purpose of this book? Replacing the legal Mumbo-Jumbo with
 plain English,  it  provides  an  all-inclusive,  detailed,  and impartial
 explanation  of  the  computer  software  copyright laws, using past court
 cases for clarification of obscure language in the  written letter  of the
 law.   Since there  is NO  commercially-generated distortion, it is likely
 that you will  find  some  surprises;  i.e.,  which  run  contrary  to the
 industry's self-serving  "interpretation" of the law.  Thoroughly debunked
 is the industry's attempt  to pirate  your legal  rights by  the use  of a
 phoney  "licensing  strategy."  Included  is  a  detailed and entertaining
 analysis of several leading Software License Agreements.   In summary, you
 are  provided  with  sufficient  and accurate information (i.e., the legal
 FACTS) to permit you  to  handle  your  computer  software  in  the manner
 intended  by  the  U.S.  Congress,  while  safely  ignoring those industry
 perversions of the law which seek to gain  for it  an unfair advantage--at
 YOUR expense.

     Exposed in  great detail is the outrageous software industry piracy of
 the  legal   rights  of   unsophisticated  software   users  (directed  by
 unconcerned  educational  administrators)  within  the  California  public
 schools.  For the  first  time  ever,  this  well-hidden  scheme  has been
 unearthed  (with   supporting  and  incriminating  documentation  from  my
 extensive research into the inner educational  sanctum) and  is being made
 public.   Although this  ongoing effort  is particularly well-organized in
 California, the premier "computer state," it  blankets the  entire nation,
 leaving no educational level uncovered.

     The disastrous  result of this exceptionally cozy relationship between
 the computer software industry and the California Department  of Education
 is explained.   If  you are  at all  concerned about the way in which this
 illicit  educational-commercial  "partnership"  affects  the  integrity of
 computer education  in your  public schools and drains away your tax money
 to line the software industry's  pockets  with  unwarranted  profits, this
 book is essential reading.

     What will  NOT be  found in  this book?  Since its  sole purpose is to
 ensure that  you understand  precisely what  conduct is  required for your
 (simultaneous) compliance  with federal  copyright law and state licensing
 law, there  are no  sermons about  your "moral"  or "ethical" obligations.
 That  is,  it  is  only  your  hard  and  fast LEGAL obligations which are
 addressed.  The industry's "moral suasion" is most often an attempt to get
 the  software  user  to  obey  the  law;  i.e., it is a substitute for the
 economically-unfeasible prosecution  of  small-  scale  violations  of the
 copyright law.   On  the other hand, there may also be a piratical attempt
 to make an end-run around the law.  That is, when there  is NO  ground for
 legal action  against the software user, the industry may seek to gain its
 own way,  either  by  shaming  the  user  with  claims  of  immoral and/or
 unethical  conduct  or  by  the  use  of  a  phoney (and usually coercive)
 "license." This book sorts it all out for you.

     The  price  of  $19.92  (check  or  money  order)  includes  $4.50 for
     handling, shipping  by UPS,  and sales  tax if shipped to a California
     address.   A  street  address  is  required  for  shipping  purposes. 
     Off-the-shelf delivery from:

                             INTELLOGIC PRESS
                              P.O.  Box 3322
                            La Mesa  CA  91944

     Any questions?  If you  want information  about the  subject matter of
 this article, or if you want  more information  about my  book, send  me a
 message by  GE Mail.   My  GEnie mail address is A.SILVERMAN4.  Or you may
 write to me at  the above  address, enclosing  a stamped,  self- addressed
 envelope if you would like a reply.




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

                    :HOW TO GET YOUR OWN GENIE ACCOUNT:
                     _________________________________

                       To sign up for GEnie service:

      Set your communications software to Half Duplex (or Local Echo)
                     Call: (with modem) 800-638-8369.
               Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that).
                         Wait for the U#= prompt.

                 Type: XTX99587,CPUREPT then, hit RETURN.

         GEnie Information copyright (C) 1991 by General Electric
            Information Services/GEnie, reprinted by permission

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




 > The Flip Side STR Feature   "...a different viewpoint..."
   """""""""""""""""""""""""




                    A Little of This, A Little of That
                    ==================================


 by Michael Lee
  
 Here I am, back from an exciting vacation.  Our vacation wasn't meant to 
 be exciting, it just turned out that way. We've lived in Arizona for six 
 years and never have visited the Grand Canyon, so we had decided this 
 would be the year to go.  How were we to know that Danny Ray Horning 
 would decide to visit the Grand Canyon the same week as we did?
  
 For you who don't live in Arizona, Danny Ray Horning was an escaped 
 convict from the Arizona State Prison.  He was serving four life terms 
 and is also wanted on a murder charge in California - he is accused of 
 dismembering his victim and burying the parts in various locations.  He 
 eluded posses, searcher, dogs and all of the latest government equipment 
 for over four weeks before finally being caught - naturally they caught 
 him after our vacation was over.
  
 So you can see, this added more excitement to our vacation than we were 
 expecting.
  
 From information I just received, it looks as if this might be my last 
 column for STReport. As many of you might already know, I get most of 
 my on-line posts from Lloyd Pulley, a staff editor with ST Report.  He 
 just called to tell me that Darlah - the main sysop of the ST Roundtable 
 on Genie - has decided to take away the STReport free flag.
  
 Since I no longer have a Genie account, this would mean that I wouldn't 
 have an easy way to give you the Genie posts.  Joe Mirando is doing a 
 great job with the posts from CIS, so that means there is little left 
 for me to do.
  
 So unless Darlah has a change of heart, this looks as if it's my last 
 column.  The last two years have been enjoyable and I can only hope that 
 you'll miss my column as much as I will.
  
                             ----------------
  
 Questions and answers about undeleting files on the ST - Cat. 2, Topic 
 12, Msgs 10-16 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
  
 Question from S.GOLDFEIN...
  
   I have been told by people on the local BBS Systems that any File 
   Undeletion utilities for the Atari ST do not work all that well. I was 
   wondering if this is true, and if it is how come. If there is one that 
   works well, could someone please tell me which one it is. What I want 
   it for is so that if I accidently erase a file, then I can go back and 
   immediately unerase it.
  
 Answer from TW3 (Gary)...
  
   How well file undeletion utilities work depends on whether the files 
   one is trying to recover is stored as contiguous sectors or fragmen-
   ted, and also whether the dish has been written to since the file was 
   deleted.
   When you delete a file, the contents of the file is not erased. What 
   happens is that the directory entry is marked as deleted by changing 
   the first character to E5(hex) and the FAT (File Allocation Table) is 
   modified to show the disk sectors which hold contents of the file are 
   available for being written.

   When a computer writes a file to a disk, it checks the FAT for avail-
   able sectors and takes the sector closest to the FAT on disk.  If it 
   needs another sector to hold the file, it checks the FAT again and 
   again takes the sector closest to the FAT. So the first sectors to be 
   written are probably sectors that have been freed by deleting files. 
   And since files don't all end up the same length, they don't end up 
   neatly filling up the same size groups of sectors so files can end up 
   scattered among the space freed by several files. Such files are 
   fragmented.

   Unfragmented files that haven't had any of their sectors re-written 
   have excellent chances for recovery. Fragmented files that haven't had 
   any of their sectors re-written CAN be recovered if one has the 
   patience to sift through and piece together the various sectors that 
   make up the file. If any of the sectors have been used by another 
   file, obviously the first file's information isn't there anymore if it 
   has had it's sectors overwritten; no chance of recovery at all.

 Answer from Ron Hunter...
  
   In a word, NO. The way in which the 8-bit stored data on the disk, a 
   linked list of sectors, and the way the ST stores data, a sector map, 
   are different. There are advantages to each, but the ST method does 
   not lend itself to undeleting. IF the file is written into consecutive 
   sectors, AND you haven't written anything to the disk since the 
   deletion, then you can undelete it. If some of the sectors have been 
   reused, or they weren't consecutive, then undeleting will usually not 
   work.

   ...A defragger will make files contiguous (occupy consecutive 
   sectors). This makes it possible to recover them if they are deleted, 
   IF no other data has been written to the disk which reused those 
   sectors.

                             ----------------
  
 Have you ever wondered what the graphics word 'dither' means? - Cat. 2, 
 Topic 20, Msgs 5 & 7 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
  
 Question from Bill Storey...
  
   Does anyone want to define "DITHER"?  It sounds like when I can't make 
   up my mind! :-)

 Answer from Chris Herborth...
  
   Dithering is a way to fool your eye into thinking there are more 
   colors onscreen than there actually are. It uses a mixture of pixels 
   of one color and pixels of another color. For example, on a monochrome 
   screen, to get grey you have one pixel white, the next black, the next 
   white, etc... That why, from a few feet back, the monochrome desktop 
   looks grey, even though it can't possibly be grey, since there are 
   only two colors (black & white).
  
                             ----------------
  
 Questions and opinions about the CMI Processor Accelerator - Cat. 4, 
 Topic 1, Msgs 1-5 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
  
 Question from B.BLACKERBY...
  
   Interested in obtaining information regarding the CMI Processor 
   Accelerator boards. Any tips, comments, other info would be greatly 
   appreciated.

 Answer from Tom McComb...
  
   Dump it and get a FastTech, ICD or Gadgets product. They work.

 Answer from Jeff Williams (ST Sysop)...

   ...and they are supported by their manufacturers.

 More information from Ron at Atari Advantage Magazine...
  
   The CMI boards only provided a 10% or so performance increase, hardly 
   worth the trouble of installing one.

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

 Do you own a DeskJet Printer - Cat. 4, Topic 9, Msgs 13-22 - from the ST 
 Roundtable on Genie...
  
 Question and problems from Mick Poche...
  
   Has anyone had any luck, good or bad, refilling the newer high-
   capacity ink cartridges? I bought one, and it certainly printed a lot 
   of pages (mostly graphics, and several poster-sized printouts through 
   PGS), although I couldn't even begin to guess how many.

   Anyway, I decided to try and refill the sucker, with MESSY results! I 
   used Parker brand Quink, which I had seen suggested by a couple of 
   users here. Well, the ink came out through a small hole in the bottom 
   of the cart, and also through the print-head area, but eventually came 
   to a slow drool. I decided to give it a shot, so I installed the cart 
   into the printer, and when I turned it on, the print head shot off to 
   the left at warp speed, slamming itself to a stop. Hmmmmm. I turned it 
   off, and tried again. ZOOM! Back to the right, slamming to a stop 
   again, but this time it slung ink everywhere, and I noticed all of the 
   panel lights flashing on and off.

   Turned it off, unplugged it, and took a look-see inside. Well, a 
   gigantic drop of ink had plopped onto the circuit board, and being 
   conductive, was shorting everything out. After about a hundred paper 
   towels (ok, so I'm exaggerating), I got it all nice and clean, and 
   working like normal again.

   I tried plugging the strange little hole on the bottom of the cart 
   with a piece of tape, and it stopped leaking from there, but it still 
   oozed steadily from the print-head thingy.

   The design of the high-capacity carts seems quite different from the 
   smaller ones, so I think I'll stay away from them as far as refilling 
   is concerned.

 Answer from Steve Liversidge...
  
   I think your experiences explain one of the reasons HP developed this 
   new cartridge.

 More help from Chris Herborth...
  
   JetFill is now selling wimpier version of its easy-to-use DJ cartridge 
   refiller. They now come in a black box (as opposed to the old white 
   one).

   The new ultra-hypodermic needles are rather fragile, and you have to 
   push STRAIGHT down on the plunger. If you push a little crooked, ink 
   shoots up the side towards you.

   Does anyone know how to get this ink out of denim? :-( My jeans, my 
   hardwood floor, my desk, my mousepad, my ST manual (I only use it for 
   the character set charts in the back, but still...), and several 
   anonymous pieces of paper were all splattered...

   And this is after biking around all morning looking for them (windy 
   day, there are lots of hills in Waterloo), and having to hand in an 
   essay two hours late because I ran out of ink while printing out my 
   draft copy... >:-(

 Sandy Wilson (RT SysOp) to the rescue...
  
   Chris is not having a good day!

   I've been able to get most of the old water soluble ink out of most 
   things by just washing with a lot of water and/or soap. I don't know 
   about the new ink. Alcohol works on some inks, but it also does a job 
   on some of the things you are trying to clean. Good luck.

 Response from Ted Evans...
  
   THANKS, Mick..... After reading your post, I think I'll just buy new 
   ones...

 Final comments from Mick Poche...
  
   Although the high-capacity cartridges proved disasterous for 
   refilling, the original ones seem to work fine, provided you use the 
   correct type of ink. I still plan on refilling them.

                             ----------------
  
 Want to speed up your DeskJet? OutBurST might be the way to go - Cat. 4, 
 Topic 9, Msgs 23-26 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
  
 Questions from Barney Poston...
  
   Can anyone tell me about adding memory to my DeskJet 500 to increase 
   the speed of PageStream printouts? I'm already using OutBurST with 
   good results but I understand there can be a quantum leap in speed if 
   memory is added.

   Where do I buy the hardware? Can I install it myself? Does it come 
   with complete instructions? How difficult is it to install? What is 
   the cost? Will it speed up other printing, like from word processors, 
   as well?

 Answers from Tom Yurick...
  
   The way I understand it, PageStream output will not benefit from 
   adding memory to the Deskjet. The pages are 'built' in the computers 
   memory. OutBurST provides the fastest output to the printer. I'm 
   pretty sure that the memory cartridges for the Deskjet are only for 
   downloading softfonts, and not of any use with PageStream. I know that 
   with my DJ+ there was no difference with the 256K cartridge installed. 
   If there is a new piece of hardware for increasing the buffer memory 
   on the DJ series, I'd like to know more about it too.

 More help from Scott Sanders (SDS)...
  
   Adding memory to a Deskjet series printer will not print a document 
   any faster but it will free up your computer faster. However, with 
   dense graphics output, even the memory cartridge is not going to help 
   much.

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

 Information about the proper paper for your ink jet and laser printing 
 from Rick Brown - Cat. 4, Topic 9, Msg. 15 - from the ST Roundtable on 
 Genie...
  
                         REHASHING THE PAPER ISSUE:
   I've been sampling some excellent papers from LASEREDGE, which 
   produces some papers specifically for ink jet and laser printing.

   Their many products include Laseredge Lite, Laseredge HR-10, 20, 60, 
   and 65.

   HR-10 and HR-20 are specific to ink jet, while 60 and 65 are unique, 
   resin- coated papers specific to laser printers.

   I can attest to the superior nature of these papers, having thought my 
   NEC LC890 was moreso a paperweight than a printer until trying HR-60 
   and HR-65.

   Deskjet 500C printing to the HR-10 and 20 is equally impressive. I did 
   meet a rep and saw some papers in development, some for the DJ that 
   are nothing short of astounding. The quality, as the rep explained 
   through microphotographic side-views of printed DJ samples, comes from 
   specially developed emulsions (like the resin coating) that improve DJ 
   output by virtually eliminating capillary bleed and soak-in problems. 
   The paper, as it happens, is manufactured by a technical papers 
   company in New York.

   A sample kit is available:

   * 250 sheets of Laseredge (TM) Lite for laser and ink jet printing

   * 50 sheets each of HR-10, 20, 60, and 65

   * plus technical info, dealer info and if it still exists, a deal on a 
     Mac (ask for model HR-SK-M) or IBM (HR-SK-D) display font (thrown in 
     on disk at no extra charge- though I'm not sure if this part of the 
     deal is limited)--Call toll-free 1-800-642-7286 (MasterCard and Visa 
     accepted) or send $19.95 + $3 postage/handling to:

   CF, Incorporated
   P.O. Box 1327
   Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33302-1327
   fax (305) 751-6336

   Of course, I make no warranties as to this deal, but it could change 
   the way you print and your expectations when you print. I don't know 
   that I'd use it for draft or rough printing, but as "final copy" paper 
   it is outstanding (and therefore could last a long time).

   Judging by my own printed samples, this was $20 well spent. My 
   apologies if this message is repetitious for some.

   BTW- I believe dealer inquiries are also invited at this time.
  
                              ----------------
  
 Here's a post that will be of interest to anyone who was unsatisfied 
 with F-19 SF for the ST. Cat 12, Topic 4, Msg. 63 - From the Games RT on 
 Genie...
  
   I have contacted MPS-UK concerning the ST version of F-19SF. I 
   suggested and they agreed to provide a exchange policy similar to the 
   Amiga policy. It is:

   Mail in your original F-19SF to:

   MPS Customer Service
   180 Lakefront Drive
   Hunt Valley, MD 21030
   Attention: Steve/ST F-19SF

   Include the game you would like to exchange for - only currently pub-
   lished titles, which we will forward to the UK. This offer is opened 
   only to registered owners of F-19SF ST and will expire 07/30/92.
   
   After 07/30/92 all customer support for F-19SF ST regarding the 
   exchange will need to be directed to the UK office. Please note also 
   that all support for ST products will be provided by the UK office 
   only.

   Hopefully this will satisfy current owners of F-19SF ST.

   Thanks,

   -Quentin, MPS Labs

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

 Information from J.DIETT1 about SubLogics Flight Simulator II - Cat. 9, 
 Topic 2, Msg. 23 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
  
   For those that enjoy SubLogics FLT.SIM.II, SubLogic has just released 
   the GREAT BRITAIN scenery collection for the ST. It incorporates new 
   and improved scenery and Excellent graphics - especially runways, 
   taxiways, airports and cities. The flying area incorporates England, 
   Wales, Scotland, Ireland.
  
   It is available direct from SubLogic for $59.95 plus $4.00 shpg. I 
   believe that the sale of this program will determine if SubLogic will 
   port over A.T.P. (airline transport pilot) for the ST. I have been in 
   a campaign to get this available for the ST. If you call or write to 
   SubLogic be sure to tell them "I WANT A.T.P. FOR MY ATARI ST". 
   SubLogics U.S. number is 1-800-637-4983

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

 Upgrade information about That's Write 2 from Robert (COMPO) - Cat. 13, 
 Topic 15, Msgs 37 & 39 - from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
  
                               THAT'S WRITE 2 
                             ==================

   That's Write 2, a major upgrade, will be shipping soon - later in 
   July, I expect. Upgrade orders are now being accepted, and will be 
   shipped in the order received.
   Upgrade prices are as follow :

   . . . from That's Write 1.5 $ 60.00
   . . . from Write ON         $160.00

   Payment must be in US dollars and may be made by check, money order, 
   VISA, or MasterCard. If you have any questions, drop us a message or 
   call.

   COMPO Software Corp.
   104 Esplanade Avenue Ste. 121
   Pacifica Cal ifornia 94044 USA
   Tel 415-355-0862
   Fax 415-355-0869

   ....That's Write 2 works with MultiTOS. It also doesn't bypass GEM, 
   but rather adds to it legally, resulting in an interface that is very 
   similar to GEM, but has features that I wish were added to GEM. That 
   sounds pretty rough, huh? But you understand . . . it's nice, and it's 
   legal.

   The font material - we have information on understanding fonts and 
   printer drivers for That's Write and Write ON. It's pretty handy, just 
   for knowing what filenames are doing what, and is essential if you're 
   going to be creating, converting,or modifying fonts for use with 
   That's Write and Write ON (of course, C-Font does it automatically).

   There are also disks with examples and such to make it really clear.

   The whole kit costs $5.00, and we'll need to know what printer you're 
   using.

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

 Questions about the 40 folder 'bug' - Cat. 14, Topic 32, Msgs 26-35 - 
 from the ST Roundtable on Genie...
  
 Questions from S.GOLDFEIN...
  
   Could someone please explain to me what exactly the TOS Folder bug is 
   and what exactly the FOLDERxxx.PRG does.

   Also, I have heard that there are some other programs from Atari like 
   a CACHExxx.PRG and so forth and was wondering what this does also.

 Answer from TW3...
  
   The TOS 40 Folder bug is a problem with the original TOS's only 
   allocating memory sufficient to handle 40 folders. With floppies only 
   it rarely was a problem but with a hard disks it isn't that hard to 
   have over 40 folders. More than 40 folders can exist on a hard disk 
   without problems as long as they aren't opened. Closing them again 
   doesn't free up the memory, that's the essence of the bug.

   Everything works fine until TOS see more than 40 folders, then files 
   start "disappearing"; they aren't really gone (yet), they just don't 
   show up. They can be trashed (overwritten) if one writes to the folder 
   or drive from which the files are missing, but they will reappear 
   following a reboot. Until TOS sees 40 folders again, when different 
   files vanish. All in all, it can make one doubt one's grip on reality! 
   When it happened to me, I became certain that either the computer or I 
   was losing it mind. It was reassuring that it was the computer.

   FOLDRxxx.PRG is a program that modifies the amount of memory set aside 
   allocated for handling folder directories. The amount is set by 
   replacing the "xxx" in the file name with the number of ADDITIONAL 
   folders to be accommodated. I named mine FOLDR216.PRG which gives me a 
   total of 256 folder capacity on my system with a 110MB hard disk; I 
   only have 214 actual folders at last check but it is good to be 
   certain of not running out of folder memory.

   I was surprised that when I got my TEC TOS 2.06 upgrade that it came 
   up on the screen and told me to increase my folder memory with 
   FOLDRxxx.PRG, so I guess that the problem crosses all versions of TOS. 
   The newer versions just handle it much better. Hope I helped.

 More comments from Jeff Wisniewsk...
  
   As has been said before about the 40 folder bug and the new TOS. In 
   the new TOS the limit has been increased and the computer now handles 
   the counter correctly (when you close a folder/window it is taken off 
   the count). To currently hit the limit in the new TOS, you would have 
   to have a lot of windows open at the same time (current limit is 7) 
   and you will never hit it..

 Scott Sanders (SDS) helps out...
  
   Actually, the '40 folder bug' isn't really a bug at all. The memory 
   which TOS uses for several things such as path specifications and 
   memory chunks comes from an internal heap. When TOS 1.0 was released 
   media demands weren't that high. Rather than 'fix' this thing by 
   adding more folders and demanding more of a users system ram, 
   FOLDRXXX.PRG allows a user to allocate as much as he thinks is 
   necessary. For many users, this program isn't even necessary. If you 
   own a hard disk you might want to try FOLDR100.PRG and you'll probably 
   not have any more problems.

   I think I'm correct in saying that this is similar to the MS-DOS land 
   where in the CONFIG.SYS file you have to have two lines like:

   FILES=20 BUFFERS=20

   These lines specify the maximum number of open files and buffers 
   available to the system. This isn't exactly what the Atari uses them 
   for but a similar concept.
                              ----------------

 Some information from Stan Slonkosky - Cat. 4, Topic 40, Msg. 60 - From
 the Jerry Pournelle RT on Genie...
  
   These are some messages from Supra's BBS about some bug fixes for 
   their relatively new v.32 or v.32 bis modems:

   6/23/92

   Supra will be sending a new ROM for its SupraFaxModem v.32/bis modems 
   to all registered owners approximately mid-July. This new ROM fixes 
   several fax related problems, incorporates Supra's code to initiate a 
   fall back under adverse line conditions, and other Supra enhancements 
   to Rockwell's code.

   6/1/92

   Supra has signed an agreement this week with Rockwell that Supra will 
   write the ROM code to allow a Rockwell chipset-based V.32bis modem to 
   fall back to slower speeds when encountering adverse line conditions. 
   Both the SupraFaxModem v.32 and v.32bis will include this new ROM 
   beginning in June. Rockwell is planning to incorporate Supra's code 
   solution late this year for its other OEM customers.

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

 Here's one from Kirk Darling that has nothing to do with computers but I 
 thought was interesting - Cat. 2, Topic 8, Msg. 268 - From the Jerry 
 Pournelle RoundTable...
  
   The problem between men and women is this: women are telepathic and 
   men aren't. Women are born that way, and to them it is completely 
   natural. They don't realize that men can't read minds as they can. 
   Men, not having been born telepathic, don't realize that women can do 
   it and they can't.

   Women don't believe that men aren't telepathic. They simply think that 
   men are obstinate.

   Have you guys ever noticed how two women can meet and hardly say a 
   word, yet dislike each other intensely? That's because unbeknownst to 
   us men, the two women told each other off telepathically.

   My mother used to say "I know what you're thinking, boy." I thought 
   she was just saying that as a figure of speech. Now I know better -- 
   she DID know what I was thinking.

   Have you guys ever noticed that sometimes your wife or girlfriend gets 
   angry at you for no reason at all? It's because she was telling you 
   something telepathically and you didn't get it.

   Once you realize that women are telepathic, it all begins to make 
   sense.

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

 Until next week (maybe).....


     ________________________________________________________________




 > DRAGONWARE CONFERENCE STR FOCUS!    GEnie's Dragonware Conference
   """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""  




              Dragonware Software Realtime Conference
                           July 8, 1992


                         <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 On behalf of the Atari ST Roundtable, I welcome all of you to the
 Dragonware RealTime Conference featuring Chris Roberts and Chris Latham.

 Before getting started, some business about how an RTC works.

 While the RTC room is in Listen-Only mode, you can only address our guest
 when I let you talk.

 To get my attention, just /RAIse your hand.  Just enter this from your
 keyboard: /rai

 I'll acknowledge your raised hand as soon as I can, but please be patient.
 I -WILL- let you know when your turn is coming up.

 Some other RTC commands are:

    ?     -  Lists all RTC commands.
    /sta  -  Status (list) of everyone in
             the RTC room.
    /exi  -  Exit the RTC, but you remain
             logged onto GEnie.
    /bye  -  Log off of GEnie directly from
             the RTC.
    /rai  -  Raise your hand.  Lets me know
             you wish to address our guest.

 Let's get right to it...

 Chris and Chris -- Thank you for being with us this evening.  Before we
 start shooting questions at you, perhaps you can each tell us a bit about
 yourselves and about Dragonware and about the Dragonware product line?
 <Anyone with questions or comments can /RAIse your hand now>


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 First we will start with a text file we have prepared.

 To start out, we want to give a brief product history of DragonWare.  In
 other words, a commercial announcement.

 DragonWare Software Inc. originally was a ShareWare company making Atari 8
 BIT software.  In September of 1991 DragonWare introduced it's first
 commercial software release for the Atari TOS based computers: "THE G_MAN
 2.0".  Nearly a year later, DragonWare has released version 3.0 of the
 G_MAN, new hardware products like The Dragon Battery for the STacy, and
 many new software products.

 The G_MAN 3.0: 

     GDOS/FONTGDOS utility.  Creates ASSIGN.SYS files and EXTEND.SYS files.
     Finds errors in the original GDOS file name layout.
     The G_MAN 3.0 is the only commercial GDOS ASSIGN.SYS and EXTEND.SYS
     AUTOMATIC INSTALLER that is program independent.
     (including FontGDOS and files; 5 disks in total) $44.95

 SmokeArt Volumes one and two: $19.95 each

     Over 200 IMG drawings in each collection of clip art.

 The Satellite Locator ST:  $19.95 

     Give this program a longitude and latitude and it will tell you where
     to aim your home satellite dish to find any geosyncronus satellite in
     orbit.

 Now the NEW STUFF!

 On June 16th Chris Latham agreed to join DragonWare Software.  As an
 immediate result there will be three new products released in the next 3
 months.

 PowerNet 1.5:

     Universally compatible Local Area Network (LAN)

     Share Hard Disks, Printers programs files in 3 ways:
         MIDI
         TT/STE LAN ports
         LanTec cartridge ports.

     Available NOW  $99.95 for two nodes.

 FLEXOR:  The FLEXible item selectOR. available in the 4th quarter. 
 AtariTalk2  AppleTalk compatible LAN.  Available September 1992 (we hope)

 FontKit Plus 3.5  $74.95 shipping Aug 15.

              **********************************************
              *              SPECIAL ON-LINE COUPON        *
              *          $10.00 OFF on any DragonWare      *
              *          Product! when ordering direct.    *
              *                                            *
              * 0419                 Expires August 1 1992 *
              *                                            *
              *        Phone 406-265-9609                  *
              **********************************************

 Print out this coupon to save on our products!

 That is  IT.......

 CHRIS do you want to add anything?


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Not at this time


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 OK Jeff, Let em rip.


                       <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 We'll start with questions from the floor... 


                         <B.HARVEY7>
 What will be the difference between UIS III and FLexor?  Better right?
 [grin]


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Infinitly scalable item selector.  It will scale to fit any screen size
 and expand the file listing as well.  It will also be much more friendly
 with no hidden functions.


                         <B.HARVEY7>
 Obviously a more mature product?

                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Yes, even the scroll bar arrows are at the top so those with large screen
 monitors will not have to move their mouse everywhere to scroll files.

                         <B.HARVEY7> 
 Thanks for the info.

                       <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 There have been a couple folks asking in private /SENds about a capture on
 that coupon.  I have it in my capture buffer and it will be included in my
 transcript that I'll be uploading to Software Library #13 tomorrow.

 Next Question...


                       <[Dave] D.SMITH200>
 Will Ataritalk support Gadget's Megatalk Board, for those of us without
 Mega STE/TT's?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Presently what we are talking about is a Spectre level INIT to access the
 TT/Mega STE systems... However, we plan to release a DMA/SCSI device for
 standard STs, 1040STEs, etc.

 Oh one more thing.  The Gadgets boards possibly in the future.


                       <[Dave] D.SMITH200>
 Sounds good. Would this INIT allow a real mac to access Atari on a Net?


                         <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 I'd like to support megatalk boards, but I'd need one, and a mega to plug
 it into.


                       <[Dave] D.SMITH200>
 You can borrow mine. Dave says the'll ship in about two days. I'll be glad
 to loan it if it helps development.  The board, that is. You're on your
 own for the Mega...


                         <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Two days? Where have I heard that before :^)


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Dave, Yes, if it was running AppleShare.


                       <[Dave] D.SMITH200>
 OK Just Email me if you're interested. That's all, Thanks.


                         <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Well, maybe some other user wouldn't mind loaning it to me for awhile. :^)


                        <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Nevin Shalit asked me to ask this question.... Will your LAN setup let you
 hook into an existing Novell system to print only?


                         <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 no


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 YES!!!!!


                        <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Hmmmm.  <grin>


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 AtariTalk2 will if you are using a Novell Server.


                        <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Rebuttal, Chris L.?


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Chris , I think he asked if the current LAN would work with a Novell
 server.


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Not the current PowerNet.  Sorry.


                        <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Current or future, whichever product that it might work on.  So the answer
 is that AtariTalk2 will be able to do this, correct?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Chris?


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 The future product will be AppleTalk compatible, which means you could get
 into a Novell server that supports AppleTalk


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Saved.


                        <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Okay, thanks.

 Rob is next.

                        <[Rob] R.GLOVER3>
 Hi Chris... my question is twofold, and you partially answered the first
 prt earlier, but here goes anyway:  Will your network allow someone to use
 the LAN port on their MSTE and go to a standard ST, say, through the cart
 port?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 No.


                       <[Rob] R.GLOVER3>
 What I want to do is network my MSTE to my BBS machine, a 520ST.  Okay...
 hold on...  Secondly, what kind of transfer speeds does it support?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 It will be a DMA device on SCSI 7 for the older machines.  the current LAN
 in your case will require MIDI.


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 We are looking into Whatever the underlying hardware supports.


                        <[Rob] R.GLOVER3>
 DMA would be good, since it would probaly be faster.  Good idea. ;) 
 That's it.  Thanks!


                        <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 What about the transfer speeds?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Chris?


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 It depends on the hardware...  For LocalTalk, the transfer speed is around
 18-20k per second.  For Lantech carts (for those who have them), figure
 about 22k per second.  MIDI ports we won't discuss :^)


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 It is faster than copying a floppy and carrying it to the other machine.


                      <[Dr. Bob] W.PARKS3>
 This one's for Chris.   No, not that one. The _other_ Chris. Yeah, you :-)
 I was wondering, as I'm sure others are, ... where on GEnie is your
 support topic.  With all this interest in LAN, I expect you'll have a
 lively one.  And I'd like to know where I can lurk :-) 


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Category 4, Topic 18.


                      <[Dr. Bob] W.PARKS3>
 Great! I'll be lurking there, thanks! 


                    <[OakSprings] K.CAVAGHAN2>
 Just wondering what changes have been made to PowerNet as opposed to
 Universal Net?  Also, if Powernet & Ataritalk could be used on the same
 system? (ie: from a MSTE->520->a newer machine)


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 CS?


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 PowerNet and Universal Net are incompatible.  Yes, PowerNet and AtariTalk
 will work on the same system.


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 We have yet to hear any questions on G_Man.


                        <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Before G_Man...

 I'm a intrigued by the networking possibilities, but slow on all the
 details... What is Powernet compared to AtariTalk2?  How are they similar
 and how are they different?


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Ok.  First off... PowerNet is a proprietary network, it's good for
 connecting ST to ST, but not to other platforms or networks.  This is
 plenty for many people in the Atari community who don't need connectivity
 with other platforms...  AtariTalk 2 is a gateway for ST/TT users to link
 into other platforms in businesses that already have existing LANs or
 network capable laserprinters


                        <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Thank you.  I was able to understand that.  :-)


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 PowerNet is great if you waant to share printers and disk files between
 machines and is highly reccommended for ST only LANs.

                       <[Rob] R.GLOVER3>
 What kind of background access will Powernet provide on ST's?  Will the
 user notice much of a slowdown?


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 It depends on the hardware... Lantechs are known for taking up lots of CPU
 time.  Local Talk on TTs is great because it is driven by DMA. However
 with MegaSTEs, you will notice a slow down.


                       <[Rob] R.GLOVER3>
 What if I used the DMA verision on both machines?  Would that help?


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Yes.  That would remove the burden from the CPU.


                       <[Rob] R.GLOVER3>
 Cool...  Also, how will a remote system access another computer's hard
 drive?  Will it be a MiNT-style disk drive (i.e. U:) with folders for each
 of the remote machines partitions?


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 You get a drive letter that represents the network.  Within that drive,
 other nodes appear as folders.  Within those folders, are the machine's
 available resources ( disk drives, printers, and other CON type devices).

 With AtariTalk, you will have a Mac like chooser where you can mount
 partitions  and assign them to drive letters of your choice.  Printer
 access will be as on the Mac, you would use Chooser to pick a printer to
 print to.


                       <[Rob] R.GLOVER3>
 How many machines will PowerTalk support?  I missed the opening banner...
 what is the price on the DMA setup?


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Go ahead Roberts


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 We haven't set a price on the DMA device yet.  We are hoping to come in
 under $100.00


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 And we are hoping real fast.


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 PowerNet will support scads of nodes.  Chris could tell you the upper
 limit.


                        <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 AppleTalk LANs by their nature are basically unlimited in number of
 nodes.  LocalTalk has a recommended (by Apple) limit of 32 nodes.  Anymore
 than that and you should use a router.


                       <[Rob] R.GLOVER3>
 Cool... I'll check out your Topic for more info.  Thanks!  That's all.


                        <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 A quick question...when will the public get to see these LAN products in
 action?  Will you be demonstrating them at an upcoming Atari show?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Yes, we will be demonstrating PowerNet at the Glendale and hopefully an
 AtariTalk2, hooked to a Mac.  PowerNet is available now.


                         <J.D.BARNES>
 Chrises, how much acceptance has PowerNet had?  As a very satisfied
 Universal Network User I wouild like to know why I should switch.


                       <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Since it is a new product, we are just getting it out on the market. 
 Universal Net is an old product, and I don't believe that it is being
 supported, but I can't be sure.


                         <J.D.BARNES>
 Do you need Beta Testers for AtariTalk? <g>


                       <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Roberts?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Uh...Well, those who have Mac, appleTalk LAN access and IBM (Novell)
 access, send us GE-mail to DragonWare.  We'll see.

                         <J.D.BARNES>
 From your description it souynds like PowerNet uses much of the same
 methodology as Universal.

                       <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Since I designed both UNet and PowerNet, of course they are similar, but
 that's where the similarity ends. :-)


                         <J.D.BARNES>
 I'm afraid that that doesn't tell me very much.


                       <[CSL] C.LATHAM>
 Give me a call.  And I can answer anyone's specific questions easier than
 we can on here.


                         <J.D.BARNES>
 Jeff, you can call the next questioner.


                       <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Thanks, JD.

 A G_Man question.

 Let's say I am awestruck by GDOS and ASSIGN.SYS and EXTEND.SYS files.
 I've got a couple different GDOS setups spread across my hard disks.  Will
 G_MAN combine all these for me and create a single cohesive 'order' on my
 system instead of the mess I currently have?  It will save a lot of disk
 space too!


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 The nature of G_Man is to be a universal Font installer.  It requires the
 user to place all his GDOS fonts and drivers in one single folder.  Then,
 the program allows you to create ASSIGN.SYS files based on what you have
 in this folder.  One of the common problems is getting fonts that have the
 same internal ID number.  If installed without correcting this it could
 make for major trouble with GDOS.  The G_Man automatically corrects this
 as it creates the ASSIGN file.


                       <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Cool!  So I would take all my fonts and drivers, shove them into the same
 folder, and let G_Man do the rest?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Correct.  You would create a separate folder for your GDOS FSM fonts (if
 you have any).  These folders can reside anywhere.  I keep mine inside a
 folder called FONTS inside my auto folder.


                       <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Is there any provision for working with G+Plus and creating specific .SYS
 files for specific applications?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Yes.

 G_Man will let you name your assign file anything you wish and even
 split them so that one file is used for printer drivers and fonts and the
 other for screen fonts only to save memory.  There are provisions for
 disabling entire font faces or certain point sizes to help you customize
 your assign file.


                         <J.D.BARNES>
 I take it that G-Man supports FONTGDOS.  The modern method is with a CPX
 gadget.  Does g-man work this way also?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Yes.  It will create extend files required by FSM GDOS and FONTGDOS.
 Not at present.  The problem is with the restricted size in the CPX
 format.  G_Man has a lot going on on the screen that helps reduce
 confusion by the user.  We do however provide FONTGDOS with Atri's CPXs
 and accessories with the 3.0 revision.


                         <J.D.BARNES>
 Chris, I notice that you are offering a Stacy battery.  How do you feel
 about the STacy?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 WE think the STacy and the ST Book both have places in the Atari market.


                         <J.D.BARNES>
 Do you think the new Falcon wil be more portable in some ways?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 In what way portable??


                         <J.D.BARNES>
 The Book seems a bit slow in arriving.  It doesn't weigh alot.  (the
 Faclon, that is).


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 Not for us to say .  We aren't Atari.


                    <[W.A.A.C.E.] S.HOFFMANN>
 If you'd like to be at W.A.A.C.E., I can give you any information you
 might need to make your decision.

                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 We'd love it.  Send GE mail on all data.


                    <[W.A.A.C.E.] S.HOFFMANN>
 Okay. GA


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 We hope to attend WAACE and Glendale this year.


                       <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 It's about time to wrap this up.  Before we draw to a close, anything
 you'd like to touch on that we may have missed during the Q&A, Chris and
 Chris?


                     <[Chris R] DRAGONWARE>
 We just want to say thanks to anyone who attended.  We're new and this I
 hope will help us continue to produce products for the TOS platforms.

 Thanks again.


                       <[Sysop] JEFF.W>
 Thank you, Chris Roberts and Chris Latham, for being with us and answering
 our questions about Dragonware products.  Best of luck to you!  And many
 thanks for all who our friends who attended.



 =========================================================================
   (C) 1992 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables.  May
 be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie
         are *official* information services of Atari Corporation.
 =========================================================================




 > STR ACCOUNTS SUSPENDED STR Spotlight     FREE ACCOUNTS SUSPENDED!
   """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""





                STREPORT'S FREE ACCOUNT ON GENIE SUSPENDED
                ==========================================



 Below,  we  present  a  series  of  posts  relative  to  the suspension of
 STReport's free account on GEnie.

 From GEnie's ST RT

 Category 15,  Topic 6
 Message 86        Thu Jul 09, 1992
 J.NESS [Jim]                 at 10:48 EDT
  
 Swampy -

 It would be a shame, if ST Report stopped appearing here.  Whether Ralph's
 decision, or someone's here,  it would  be foolish.   Obviously,  it would
 still be available elsewhere, but still...

 And I  HOPE it  has nothing to do with John Nagy's complaint of last week,
 in which online service management became involved.

 A recent court decision held online services blameless for what is posted
 there, as long as  they can  show that  the contractor  (ie, Darlah, here)
 makes the  final decisions  on Keep or Delete.  That would, however, leave
 the contractor in trouble, if something nasty was posted, and not removed.

 I'd hate to think that one of Ralph's "enemies" (of which there seem to be
 many) finally got that kind of handle on someone at GEnie.

                                  -JN
  ------------

 Jim;
   
     Its a scary thought thinking there  may be  some other  "influence" at
 work  in  this  matter.    If  such  were the case, and it were eventually
 exposed, I am sure the flurry of justification excuses would  be many.   I
 might  add  however,  I  doubt  this  matter amounts to anything more than
 personalities, powerplays and a sprinkling  of  insecurity.    As  for the
 obvious, well....  we need not discuss that as its clear the other service
 is the main object of contention.



 Category 15,  Topic 6
 Message 87        Thu Jul 09, 1992
 DARLAH [RT~SYSOP]            at 14:55 EDT
  
 Jim:

 The ST Roundtable has NOT asked Ralph to  stop uploading  his magazine nor
 has this  ever come up in discussions with him. If it does happen, it will
 be Ralph's decision and not ours.

  ------------ 
   
 Darlah;
     That is very true, you have not asked that we  stop uploading STReport
 to your  area, but  its clear,  that to do so and support both this RT and
 our readers, we must pay.   Granted, uploads  are free,  but the ancillary
 activities of gathering info from GEnie will now cost us.  



 Category 15,  Topic 6
 Message 88        Thu Jul 09, 1992
 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy]          at 18:26 EDT
  
 NATHAN  --

 Ralph told  me.   So what's  the big  deal?   Ralph certainly can pick and
 choose which online services STR will be available on.

 I have a second Syquest on order from ABCO and called Ralph to give him
 information on the length  of  the  cable  I  needed  for  it  and request
 information  about  some  utility  files.    He  told  me it appeared that
 ST-REPORT may no longer be available on GEnie and that  his free  flag was
 being pulled "due to his lack of support for GEnie".  (This sure mystifies
 me when I note the full  page GEnie  ad in  the ABCO  catalog.   Did GEnie
 _pay_ for  the ad  because they support _Ralph_, or did Ralph print the ad
 for _free_ because _he_ supports GEnie?)

 As Jeff Williams said last night in the  live conference  "Ralph is always
 free to  upload STR  to the  Genie library."   True,  but _why_ should he?
 Obviously, if management is going to pull his  free flag,  they don't want
 him here.

 Someone also said that STR could be re-uploaded from another service. This
 is _not_ true.  If you read the copyright in the magazine, Ralph holds the
 exclusive rights to STR and all material in it.

 The whole situatioin smacks of back room politics.  It is incomprehensible
 to me  why GEnie  would jeapordize  the 20,000+ yearly downloads of STR to
 other online services.  It doesn't make good _business_ sense  to me  so I
 have to assume it is not a _business_ decision.


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

 Category 15,  Topic 6
 Message 89        Thu Jul 09, 1992
 DARLAH [RT~SYSOP]            at 20:08 EDT
  
 DD:

 Thank you for sharing your opinion with us.  I will not and can't discuss
 flags or internals with anyone except the holder of that account. This is
 procedure. Unfortunately that will leave you with making assumptions based
 on limited knowledge. I apologize for that. 

 I must admit though that your last line is furthest from the truth than we
 could possibly get. Beyond that, there will not  be a  discussion from the
 Atari ST  staff. It  will have  to remain  one sided,  if that is what you
 desire.

 I must say though that your letter gave me insight. Thank you for that!

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


 D.D.;
   
     I thank you for your clarification and support.  Its  sad to  see that
 this whole  affair leaves  you with  the impressions it has.  Perhaps time
 will mellow  that impression.   I  must admit  though, you've  given me an
 entirely new  perspective from which to observe this entire matter.  Facts
 may be facts, but appearances  are  what's  seen  by  observers worldwide.
 Thus, its easy to understand your perception of the ongoing events.

     I had  never calculated the annual download activity before.  Amazing,
 simply amazing.  As for why the account and flag were torpedoed, I can and
 will only  say it  was because  we were  not "pro ST RT" enough to satisfy
 Darlah.



 Category 15,  Topic 6
 Message 90        Thu Jul 09, 1992
 ISD [Nathan]                 at 20:33 EDT
  
 I'm surprised D.D.. I spoke with Ralph today and he told me that he had no
 intention of leaving GEnie.

 Personalities aside :-), the FACT remains  that GEnie  is   absolutely the
 best place  to be  if you  own an  Atari computer, in terms of out and out
 information,  support  and  everything  else.  Most  of  all,  I  love the
 atmosphere, the  back and  forth, the   exchange of ideas, of concepts, of
 anything and everything both relating to, and having nothing whatsoever to
 do with  my Atari.  Sharing my  own enthusiasm  for my Atari computer with
 literally  thousands  and  thousands  of  others   with  the   exact  same
 enthusiasm, brings  me pleasure  and I  suspect that  it does the same for
 you.

  Nathan @ ISD
  ------------
   
 Nathan;
   
     You are quite right and I thank you for taking  my calls  as it served
 to preserve  some semblance  of common sense and rational thinking in this
 entire matter.  Although I must admit, I did contemplate  removing the 212
 files I own from the ST RT library, I saw the error of that action in that
 it would hurt the users and accomplish nothing  much else.   Regardless of
 the situation,  we support  the users no matter where they may be.  Indeed
 you are correct that the majority  of Atarians  are here,  I must however,
 point  out  the  numbers  of  users  here  who have already informed us of
 having either "re-activated  old  accounts  or  subscribed  elsewhere" was
 quite surprising.   Even more surprising was the number of G.O.T. messages
 we received this morning alone.  The Atari userbase is  indeed grand!   It
 may be small, but its filled with wonderful people.
   


 Category 15,  Topic 6
 Message 91        Thu Jul 09, 1992
 ATARIUSER [John King T.]     at 22:42 EDT
  
 DD:

 Then how does STReport get onto those 10,00 plus BBS worldwide if, "Ralph
 holds the  exclusive rights to STR and all material in it?" Do you mean to
 say that Ralph does  all the  uploading himself?   That  must be  one hugh
 phone
 bill!!!  :~}

 JKT
  ------------

 John King Tarpinian;
    
     I know  or would like to think you are trying to make a funny...  As a
 matter of fact, I do hold the _exclusive rights_ to STReport and _do_ make
 the decision  as to  where and through whom it will be made available.  As
 it  stands  now,  there  is  little  or  no  restriction  placed   on  its
 distribution.   The only  requirements are that it remain intact, unedited
 and circulated in its entirety.  Good luck on the upcoming show,  it shows
 promise to be a good one.


      _______________________________________________________________




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 What's In It For YOU?   Wow!  Over $250.00 worth of GEnie online credit,
 """""""""""""""""""""   that's what!  Take a look...

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      (*) Entries selected for publishing in upcoming issues of
          GEnieLamp will receive $12.00 worth of GEnie time _upon_
          publication.


 The Details
 """""""""""

      o   The contest is open to all GEnie members.  (If you are not a
          GEnie member, maybe now is the time to join!)  GEnieLamp
          staff writers and GEnie employees/contractors are welcomed to
          submit articles, but are not eligible for prizes.

      o   Contest entries are to be 500 words or less and in ASCII
          format.  At the top of your article, be sure to include your
          name and your GEmail address.

      o   Deadline for submissions is no later then midnight, August 15,
          1992.

      o   When you are ready, you can upload your entry to the temporary
          library #8 in the GEnieLamp RoundTable (M515;3).

      o   All entries become the property of GEnieLamp Online Magazine.

      o   Entries will be judged by the GEnieLamp Editors, Co-editors
          and Columnists.  Judges decisions are final.

      So  what'cha  you  waiting  for?    This  is an easy contest!  You're
 writing about something you love, your computer system.  Boot up that word
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                    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

                     Anyone want to give it a shot???
                                        John GEnieLamp ST Co-Editor


          _______________________________________________________






 > STReport CONFIDENTIAL    "Rumors Tidbits Predictions Observations Tips"
   """""""""""""""""""""




 - Santa Fe, NM                     Falcon Visual by "Super Snoop"
   ------------

     First off,  I had  the good  luck to  see one these "rare birds" first
 hand.  Yes, it was a 1040 case and yes it was black (dark  gun metal grey)
 and had  yellow lettering  on the  keys.  But the yellow keys are going to
 get gone...  meaning they are going to produce it with white lettering.

     Yes it has the DSP.

     Yes it comes in ram configs up to 14 megs, and yes it has  an internal
 HD.   To be specific a conner 42 meg IDE, one of those real tiny 2" jobs. 
 Qindex displayed TOS 2.7.

     Speeds were impressive, although  because this  was a  European model,
 the video  was seen on a converted sc1224 and would display normal low and
 medium and lowrez above 256 colors.  Medium rez would be 16 colors.  Now I
 was told  by my  confidant this  was because  of the video not being in US
 spects-NTCT or what ever it is.     Um, lets  see, it  has the  apple talk
 port, the  monitor port  was one of the DB15's I believe.  It had a SCSI-2
 port, and all of the normal ones minus  the DMA.  (I cant  remember seeing
 one, I was more interested in the SCSI-2 port!)  Is this a problem for the
 SLM owners?  I don't believe  it  will  be,  because  the  SLM's  are SCSI
 anyhow, with the laser box being just a host correct? 

     Anyhow, the  color is  quite attractive,  not flashy or overbearing.  
 Needless to say it was a screamer, even at 16mhz.  I am a  little confused
 though, the individual who had the machine (who shall remain nameless lest
 I die in my sleep) had a small book that said FALCON-030  developers guide
 (or something similar) but when the machine booted it said Booting SPARROW
 HD.  What is the command line thing all about?  It appeared to boot into a
 command line.  Then the user could send it to the desktop.  
  
 Editor Note;
     According to  our information,  Atari will  be making  a special cable
 available to SLM owners  thus making  the transition  to the  Falcon quite
 painless.




 - London, UK                       FALCONS, FALCONS EVERYWHERE!
   ----------

 ST Format  (August issue) has published more details about the new Falcon,
 from sources within Atari.  Price :- 550-600 UKP

 260,000 colors, up to 32,600 on screen at once.
 User defined screen modes up to 1000 x 960 pixels.
 16 channel 8-bit stereo sound.
 Stereo sound input.
 Direct to hard disk recording at up to 50Khz.
 Genlock locking built in.
 1 Mbyte RAM expandable to 16Mbytes internally.
 Analog Joystick ports!

     There is also Falcon specific software to be ready by  launch date and
 Third party hardware add-ons.

     One  other  interesting  note  is  that  Atari  are claiming better ST
 compatibility on the Falcon than the Mega STE and the TT.

                                                  Dazzz
 P.s. All this and Multi TOS too?




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

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 telephone numbers are effective immediately:

                             Gribnif Software
                               P.O. Box 779
                          Northampton, MA  01061

 Main line (including technical support):   (413) 247-5620
 Fax line (24 hours):                       (413) 247-5622




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   --------------
                    
     ISS is  now transmitting  and offering for sale their Usenet newsfeeds
 via satellite.  If you are tired of late news, dropped articles  or having
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 modem that  delivers approximately 40 megabytes of data to your machine in
 a 24  hour period.   Full  U.S. continental  coverage as  well as southern
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     For orders,  information,  etc.  send  mail  to  pagesat@netcom.com ..
 Please include  Full Name,  Address, and  Telephone number when contacting
 ISS via Electronic Mail.

 For faster response, call 1-800-227-6288 (415) 424-0380
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                      STReport's "EDITORIAL CARTOON"
                      """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""



 > A "Quotable Quote"            "...Nice Try... but     ...NO CIGAR!"
   """""""""""""""""





                 "The MORE intense the GAME is played.....
                      the BETTER all PLAYERS become!"



                                        ...Boss "Huey" Long




  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""




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 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
                  STReport International Online Magazine
                        [S]ilicon [T]imes [R]eport
     Available through more than 10,000 Private BBS systems WorldWide!
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 STR Online!           "YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE"         July 10, 1992
 Since 1987      copyright (c) 1987-92 All Rights Reserved          No.8.28
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
 the editors/staff, PCReport, STReport, AMReport, MCReport.   Permission to
 reprint articles  is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted.  Each reprint
 must include the name of the publication, date, issue #  and  the author's
 name.  The entire publication and/or portions therein may not be edited in
 any way without prior  written permission.   The  entire contents,  at the
 time  of  publication,  are  believed  to be reasonably accurate.  The STR
 editors, contributors and or staff are  not  responsible  for  the  use or
 misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained therefrom.
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