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


  August 25, 1989                                         Vol III  No.102
  =======================================================================
  
                         ST Report Online Magazine
                        __________________________
                          Post Office Box   6672
                          Jacksonville,  Florida
                               32205 ~ 6672
  
                               R.F. Mariano
                            Publisher - Editor
                 _________________________________________
                   Voice: 904-783-3319  10 AM - 4 PM EDT
                     BBS:  904-786-4176   12-24-96 HST
                    FAX: 904-783-3319 12 AM - 6 AM EDT
                 _________________________________________
  
             **  F-NET NODE 350 ** FIDOMAIL NODE 1:363/37  **
              Our support BBS carries ALL issues of STReport
                                    and
               An International list of private BBS systems
               carrying STReport for their users  enjoyment

    __________________________________________________________________ 
    
 > Issue: #102 STReport        The Online Magazine of Choice! 
   ------------------- 
     - The Editors' Podium                   - CPU REPORT
     - TV Football a Dud?                    - Warranties to be Better
     - TT DEBUTS in GERMANY!!                - INSIDE HP Desk Jet+
     - WOA DALLAS Report                     - Another FOOT SHOT?
     - STE uses 1040 type Case               - ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL

   ----===*** "The STE will replace the current ST machines" ***===----
      ---===*** FULL RELEASE INFORMATION ON NEW PRODUCTS!! ***===---
    
  =======================================================================
       AVAILABLE ON:      COMP-U-SERVE  ~  DELPHI  ~  GENIE  ~  BIX
  =======================================================================
    
 > The Editor's Podium 

     It would  appear the  'sleeping giant' is about to awakened.  You ask,
 what or who is the sleeping giant?  This is  our descriptive  depiction of
 the US  home computer marketplace.  The 'new' product line is super in all
 it's up  to date  technology and  glory.   Now, Atari  has to  do the next
 logical step  and put  heavy dollars  in a  National Advertising Campaign.
 All the new products will die  a slow  and horrible  death if  this is not
 done.  

     We have,  in the past, had numerous pointers aimed at the new products
 and it was quite  amusing to  see how  many of  our "supporters"  tried to
 dismiss the  info we  brought forward to our readers.  Well, once again we
 bring you "just the facts", the information about the new gear is concise,
 to the  point and minus all the hype and hoopla. ( All that can come later
 from the ad agencies Atari is PAYING to do it). 

     Atari is now at the crossroads of it's  endeavors to  penetrate the US
 marketplace in  a significant manner.  We, at STReport will strive to help
 in any we can.  At the same time though, we feel it is essential to expose
 any  conspicuous  'hot  spots'  seemingly  engendered  by  policy  change,
 procedure change or any impropriety  that  may  demonstrate  itself  to be
 detrimental to Atari's US marketing penetration goals.

                     many thanks for your continued support...

                                            Ralph.....




                              ATARI IS BACK!!

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


   NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE

                          FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY

     COMPUSERVE WILL PRESENT $15.00 WORTH OF COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE TIME

                              to the Readers

                         ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE
                      The Online Magazine of Choice!

                         NEW USERS SIGN UP TODAY!

             Call any of the St Report  Official BBS numbers 
                     (Listed at the top of ST REPORT)
                                    or
                   Leave E-mail to St Report - R.Mariano

           Be sure to include your full mailing address so your 
             Compuserve kit can be immediately mailed to you!



   NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE NOTICE


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



 > TT UNVEILED!! CPU REPORT   LONG AWAITED NEWS OF ALL THE NEW PRODUCTS!
   ========================




                           Atari (Canada) Corp. 



                      (Verbatim from handout sheets)


                                  >- TT -<
                                  ========

          - 16 Mhz Motorola 68030 - full 32 bit microprocessor
          - Optional math co-processor
          - 2Mb of RAM (expandable to 8Mb)
          - 512 Kb of ROM
          - 1.44 Mb 3.5" floppy drive

          - VME bus with three single Eurocard slots for expansion
          - ACSI internal bus with external connector for expansion
          - SCSI internal bus with external connector for expansion

          - Serial ports:
          - 2 asynchronous RS-232 ports
          - 2 asynchronous/synchronous RS-232 ports
  
          - Parallel port
          - MIDI in/out ports
          - Keyboard port(including mouse and joystick)

          - Digital 8 bit stereo sound
          - Stereo audio output jack
          - Monitor output (6 modes): RGB and Monochrome
            VGA monitor for color modes, special monochrome monitor

          - Video modes:

                Resolution      Colors      Palette
                ==========      ======      =======
                320x200         16           512 or 4096
                310x480         256          4096
                640x200         4            512 or 4096
                640x400         2            4096
                640x480         16           4096
                1280x960      Monochrome

          - Battery backed Time/Date clock and RAM
          - 145 watt power supply
          - Desktop packaging
          - Operating systems
                - TOS 1.4
                - Unix V Release 3.1 (with goodies)


     Lots  of  FUTURE  here.    Further,  Atari  added  (verbally) that the
 co-processor was the 16  Mhz 68881  (just plug  in the  chip), the digital
 sound was the same as that in the new 1040STE (enhanced 4096 colors etc.),
 and joystick ports would support current  joysticks  and  the  new  15 pin
 analog joysticks (both machines).

                                 BAD NEWS:

     The monitors  will be  proprietary as  the STs are. (ie NO EASY WAY TO
 HOOK UP A MULTISYNC) although if you could get a cable/connector it should
 be easy to setup.

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

       NO announced prices OR release date (although "before 1990")
            Anyone care to wager $100 that it will be Dec 29th?

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

 TWO MODELS:
 ===========

     TTD - A desktop version in an AT style case (limited expandability)
         - ABSOLUTELY NO UNIX ON THIS VERSION. (PERIOD)

     TTX -  A Tower configuration.  Multiple harddrive/floppy/optical drive
           bays (3+) Will support both TOS and Unix.
         - Unix will be separate (as per STart interview with Sam T.) 

        Why is it the TTD is unable to run Unix (any ideas people?)


 Other SUPER GOODIES:
 ====================
  
          - Portfolio  (final version)
          - 4160 STE (4Mb ST enhanced in a 1040 box, increased color
            palette, Stereo digital 8 bit sound, analog joystick ports)

   ----===*** "The STE will replace the current ST machines" ***===----


 STacey: 
          They showed a 4Mb STacey with a 40Mb HD (33ms). Current plans 
          are for initial machines to be shipped with 1Mb and 1 726K
          floppy. A 20Mb HD model will also be available. 

 1040STE:  
          1Mb, 4096 colors, Genlock, Stereo etc. (see above) 

 MegaFile 44: 
          28ms (strongly assured) will also be available before 1990.



 Editor Note: 
 Looks like we were on the mark in STReport Confidential.  It's  about time
 the new  goodies were  verified, Atari  still has to deliver these jewels.
 In the meantime, it all looks and sounds very good.






        __________________________________________________________





 > ATW INFO CPU REPORT    Bringing it to you first and accurately.
   ===================





                                   ATARI GETS GRAPHIC WITH TRANSPUTER
                                   ==================================



                      Parallel-Processing Workstation
                        Handles Complex Renderings

  

 by Richard Doherty


     Boston-Atari Corp. chose Sigraph as the venue at which to show off the
 graphics prowess of it's Transputer Workstation. The debut comes 20 months
 after the company first  revealed  a  breadboarded  version  of  the Inmos
 Transputer at Comdex/fall.

     The $8,000  ATW system packs twin 20-MHZ T800 Transputers, 4 Mbytes of
 RAM,  68000  microcomputer  and  Helios  (a   Unix-like  operating  system
 developed by  Atari's Perhelion  subsidiary) operating  into 1 slim tower.
 The workstation dedicates 1 Mbyte of dual-ported video  RAM to  the job of
 refreshing the 1,280 x 960-pixel display.

                       ------Display blossoms------

     A  15,000-gate  video  genarator,  dubbed  Blossom,  operates  in four
 display modes; increasing color planes teaded off for  raw resolution down
 to 512  x 480 pixels, with each pixel backed by 32 bits. Also supplied are
 a DMA SCSI port,  Hard-disk and  microfloppy drives  & foru  internal T800
 expansion slots. Each slot can be filled with a card carrying four T800's,
 each with 4 Mbytes of RAM.

     At  full  capacity,  a  whopping  130  Mips  of  processing  power  is
 available, about  10 times that of a SUN-4. Each Transputer is paired with
 a floating-point  math  processor,  pushing  the  processing  power  to 20
 Mflops.

     A  high-bandwidth  bus  allows  parallel  processing  of  complex  ray
 tracings and renderings. X-windows  11.2 was  running at  Sigraph, showing
 off faster screen updates than rival offerings far above ATW's $7,995 base
 price. X-windows hh.4 is the next slated update.

     The Blossombit-blitter is also capable of comparing images on a pixel-
 by-pixel and block-by-block basis. Blossom can  accommodate 32  x 32-pixel
 masks,  16-bit   wide  source   and  destination  functions,  four  linear
 comparisons per  pixel  per  cycle,  as  well  as  fill  trapezoids  at 32
 Mpixels/s-  traditionally,   imaging  workstation   territory.  The  Atari
 Transputer Workstation is already shipping in Europe and will be available
 here before year's end through Atari business centers.
  
                   Contact: Frank Foster (408) 745-2000
  
 This article is from the August 21, 1989 Electronic Engineering Times



 FOR YOUR INFORMATION
 ---------------------
 A  special  formal  conference  on  GEnie  is  scheduled with Sam Tramiel,
 President of Atari Corporation,  next Wednesday, August  30th at  10pm EDT
 (7pm PDT).  





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



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


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


 by Glenn Gorman



    Atari Stock  dropped 1/4  of a point on Monday. Rose 1/4 on Tuesday and
 1/8 on Wednesday. Thursday it dropped 1/4 and on Friday  it rose  1/8 of a
 point. Finishing up the week at 9 5/8 points. No change from last Friday.

    I will be on vacation for the next two weeks. The next stock report
 will be for the week of September 4th to the 8th.


                                                            Glenn Gorman

                          +---------------------+
                          |  ATARI STOCK WATCH  |
                          | Week 08-14 to 08-18 |
 +=======+==========+===========+=============+============+=============+
 |       |  Monday  |  Tuesday  |  Wednesday  |  Thursday  |  Friday     |
 +-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+
 | Sales |    1732  |     4361  |       5895  |      4869  |    3202     |
 +-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+
 | Last  |   8 3/8  |    9 5/8  |      9 3/4  |     9 1/2  |   9 5/8     |
 +-------+----------+-----------+-------------+------------+-------------+
 | Chg.  |    -1/4  |     +1/4  |       +1/8  |      -1/4  |    +1/8     |
 +=======+==========+===========+=============+============+=============+
 | From > THE CAVE ST BBS <> 609-882-9195 <> 300/14400 HST <> F-NET #351 |
 +=======================================================================+




    __________________________________________________________________



 > SHOW CANCELLED! STR NewsPlus  Kentucky show fails to gain momentum.
   ============================



     The   Atari   Exchange   Of   Louisville,Kentucky  has  announced  the
 cancellation of the Kentuckiana Atari  Fest  '89  that  was  scheduled for
 October  28th  and  29th  at  the  Sheraton Lakeview hotel in Clarksville,
 Indiana.

     The primary reason for the cancellation was lack of support and a firm
 commitment  from  Atari  Corporation,  according  to  Lawrence  Estep, AEL
 Convention Coordinator.    The  problem  was  further  complicated  by the
 dismissal of Chris Roberts, user group coordinator of Atari Corp., who was
 helping with the organization of the convention.

     The AEL felt that the quality  and reputation  of the  show could have
 been  ruined  by  the  cancellation  of  Atari  Corp.,  and  that the time
 restraints  caused  by  the  October  convention  could  have  caused many
 coordination problems.

     According to Lawrence, the convention has been tentatively rescheduled
 for sometime in July, 1990, and that interest  exhibitors may  contact the
 AEL  Kentuckiana  Atari  Fest  headquarters  at  (812)  944-8997  for more
 information.

     The  Atari  Exchange  Of  Louisville,  Kentucky  would  like  to thank
 everyone who  expressed an  interest in the convention, and apologizes for
 any inconvenience that this cancellation may have caused.

     As a token of  our appreciation  to user  groups, dealers, developers,
 and  PD  authors,  the  AEL  is  offering two advertising packages for our
 newsletter, AELien Transmissions.   For  one  piece  of  Atari  software &
 hardware  per  month,  you  will  receive  a  free advertisement, or for a
 donation for our December computer  raffle,  you  will  receive  an  ad in
 either our November or December newsletter.

     A special price has been set-up for advertisements without donations,
 and  more  information  can  be  obtained  from  tEL  Promotions director,
 Lawrence Estep.

     The  AEL  would  also  like  to  encourage  user  groups  to  exchange
 newsletters and  PD catalogs  with us.   All  materials can be sent to the
 address below.

                              Thank you for your time, and patience.
                                             Sincerely,
                                           Lawrence Estep
                              AEL PD Librarian/Promotions director


 08/23/89           Atari Exchange Of Louisville
                      c/o Lawrence R. Estep
                       524 Roseview Terrace
                     New Albany,IN 47150-4457





     _________________________________________________________________



 > TV FOOTBALL is QUALITY?? STR FOCUS      Why the chop and slash??
   ==================================


 ctsy: CIS
                                             WEDNESDAY'S CHILD AGAIN!
                                             =======================


 ->a few comments observed on the "lines"

     Okay, I now have TV Sports Football for the ST, and I  have very mixed
 feelings about  it. Following  is a review, and I hope that the Cinemaware
 people see this message.

     First of all, TV  Sports Football  has absolutely  the finest animated
 football graphics  I have seen, along with a superb amount of playability.
 You have four basic  offensive  sets  and  three  offensive  (I formation,
 Proset and  shotgun).   You then  have four  plays available  from each of
 these, but since you have optional  control over  all the  players you can
 basically run  anywhere you want to, set players in motion and back again,
 whatever.  The graphics and sound are top notch, with  digitized touchdown
 sounds, cheerleaders  etc.   If you  are a  junkie for  arcade action with
 unbelievable graphics and sound, this game may be for you.

     If you want more, however, forget it.   The reason  is that Cinemaware
 released' TV  Sports football  first for  the Amiga.   It  has a half time
 show, marching band, tv commentators, sideline shots of  players and other
 frills.   More importantly, it has completely statistics for all the teams
 with comparisons  in thirty  different categories  and rankings  etc.  You
 also  have  the  ability  to  edit  teams and divide up talent with Speed,
 Agility, Strength and Hands factors. You  can give  the players  names and
 the teams  are modelled  after the  1988 NFL season complete with matching
 schedules.  You can play exhibition games, league games or  just practice.
 You can  play the  computer or another player, have games be automatically
 computer played (giving you just the  score) or  you can  watch them (like
 TV).

     When they did the port from the two-disk wonderful Amiga version, they
 lobotomized the ST version, removing everything but the  cheerleaders, and
 the stats  are all but gone.  I spoke with Cinemaware twice today, and was
 informed that the policy regarding the ST was  to offer  only the stripped
 down version of the game, no stats, no nothing.  So, if you are a football
 freak, forget this program because they  yanked all  but the  basic arcade
 game, no frills, no statistics.  I was informed that the St market was
 too small  and they  outright refused  to consider updating the program to
 include all the features.

     The topper  of it  all---they still  want the  same $44.95  for the ST
 version as they do the Amiga.  Half a program for the same price.  I can't
 help but feel the favoritism on the part of Cinemaware.   I  know they are
 concerned  with  profits,  but  my  feeling  is that if something is worth
 doing, its worth doing right.   Not only  this, but  the manuals  have not
 been changed  for the ST version.  You are given a general football manual
 with enticing comments  about  statistical  capabilities  for  the program
 ...such as   "Deluged  with statistics,  injury data  and kinetic imagery,
 contemporary  gridiron  fanatics  view  the  game  through  eyes  far more
 sophisticated  than  their  grandparents...  It  is  to these fans that we
 respectfully dedicate this simulation"

     So how much respect  do we  as Atari  ST owners  get?   We get  half a
 program, a lobotomized version of the real thing, because we don't deserve
 a full port of the game.

     I'd be interested in hearing other opinions about this. Yes, I've also
 read all  the stuff about falcon.  If I remember correctly, Falcon finally
 made a profit on the  ST,  and  Spectrum  Holobyte  has  been  great about
 program  updates  and  mission  disks....THEY  OBVIOUSLY FELT IT WAS WORTH
 DOING RIGHT. I was going to buy Rocket Ranger, but God knows  what they've
 chopped out of THAT!!!!!





   _____________________________________________________________________




 > EXCHANGE PROGRAM STR Spotlight    Atari's Exchange Program Torpedoed?
   ==============================


                                           FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
                                           =======================

 by R. F. Mariano


     For quite  some time,  the Atari userbase has regarded the security of
 Atari's fine equipment exchange program a real value,  with it's realistic
 costs and  excellent service.   Now  comes Mr.  Eager Beaver executive who
 felt he needed to do "something"  to  brighten  the  day  when  the dismal
 figures came out for the quarter.  
  
     Along comes Mr. "Work Every Day Joe" who took anywhere from one to ten
 percent of  his annual  income to  purchase his  "pride and  joy" Atari ST
 computing system...  Joe and all the users just like him enjoy using their
 computers and most do so everyday.   One  bright and  sunny afternoon, Joe
 turned on his computer and observed a small mushroom cloud rise slowly and
 deliberately from the vents  of  his  beloved  1040  ST....Oh  no!   After
 checking  the  receipts,  he  found  he  has  had the computer for over 24
 months.  NO MORE WARRANTY (90 days).  "Not to worry Joe, Atari has  one of
 the  very  best  exchange  programs  in the industry, many good users have
 barely lost a step in their daily enjoyment of using the Atari ST Computer
 Line".  When one considers the cost of a Mega ST4 and SLM 804, the Desktop
 Publishing System, combined.  And then read the  warranty ->  90 days!! <-
 It  becomes  somewhat  reprehensible  to  the  person who has just dropped
 thousands of dollars on a new  computer system  to find  that it's covered
 for only 3 months!
  
     Most  dealers  and  users  comfort  themselves  in the security of the
 exchange program, the dealers had an excellent selling  point and  the end
 user knew,  that if  anything did happen to his equipment, he could, for a
 nominal fee, get it either fixed or replaced.
  
     Enter  Mr. Eager Beaver Executive;  "Hey!  let's double and triple the
 exchange rates, that'll help make up the losses!!  What a wonderful idea!"
 ..This "jewel of leader"  gloats to  himself.   (Picture, if  you will, an
 angel on  one of  his shoulders  and the  devil on  the other)   The sweet
 little angel whispers, don't do this, you will hurt hundreds  of users and
 force them  to regard  a broken  computer as  a throw-away.  It is wrong! 
 Outraged, the devil screams in the other ear; awww, go ahead give  'em the
 business! they'll only squawk for a little while!  
  
     Folks ..the  DEVIL WON!   Atari has drastically increased the exchange
 rates for both the users and the dealers.
   
                      Drastic = DOUBLED AND TRIPLED!
   
 The "End User Cost" has risen to a point where it no longer makes sense to
 have the  exchange program  in place.   Could  this possibly be one of the
 reasons why a  bright  guy  like  Dendo  is  not  there  now,  perhaps, he
 disagreed with  putting the  "short end  of the stick" to the dealers, new
 and old alike.  We KNOW Dendo had good results (numbers) coming in.  

     The cost to the user is now roughly 50% of  factory recommended retail
 prices.   This is  another fine example of progressive, positive, decision
 making at Atari!  Simply put, it is an insult to the userbase.

     Unfortunately, this move appears  to be  a plain  old fashioned gouge.
 We, at  STReport, realize  this is not actually what is going on here.  In
 fact, we feel it is a bungled attempt on Atari's  part to  try and protect
 it's dealers!  The Time is coming when Atari is going to forced to look at
 the entire US marketplace  instead of  the market  conditions prevalent in
 California.    The  rest  of  the  country  is  nowhere  near the level of
 penetration and expertise the California market enjoys.  In any  case, the
 price increases should be rescinded or, at least, reviewed and modified on
 a regional basis!

 Examples of the price increases:

 PRODUCT               LIST PRICE      DEALER EXCHANGE      USER EXCHANGE
                                       Old    -    New      Old   -   New
 SC1224 Color Monitor   $399.95         95.00   175.00      95.00  260.00
 SM124  Mono  Monitor   $199.95         60.00    80.00      60.00  130.00

 .5mb Computer System   $599.95        115.00   115.00     115.00  300.00
  1mb Computer System   $799.95        125.00   125.00     125.00  375.00

  2mb Computer System   $1499.95       175.00   265.00     175.00  525.00
  4mb Computer System   $2199.95       225.00   350.00     225.00  675.00

  SLM 804 Laser Printer $1999.95       425.00   700.00       Dealer Only 

     Folks, most of the increases that  will  effect  the  majority  of the
 users and  dealers have  not gone  into effect  YET.   There are those who
 would say, "Atari was  loosing money  on the  exchange program".   Nothing
 could possibly  be farther from the truth.  As most folks know, the public
 information act allows any U.S. citizen the right to see gov't. documents.
 Check  out  the  filings  with  the  U.S.  Customs on the import values of
 'certain electronic goods' ..when you do, be prepared  for quite  a shock.
 When the  price changes  do go  into effect, those users who do not have a
 dealer(s) within a reasonable distance from their homes or those users who
 have a  poor relationship  with their  * only  * dealer  for "hundreds" of
 miles are really put to the  gaff.   By all  surface appearances  it looks
 like the  minds at  Atari were  not considering  the "LOYAL, EVANGELISTIC"
 users when these new tariffs were "slapped" in  place.   In the  long run,
 both the  dealers and the users will feel the effects of this catastrophic
 decision and policy change.        

     Remember when Sam asked that we  become evangelists?   Most  folks and
 Usergroups smiled  because they already were very busy promoting the ST to
 friends, neighbors and folks they were doing business  with.   All in all,
 it was  very satisfying to see those people who bought an ST at our urging
 and found it to be as satisfying as we do.  

     Could it be possible  that Sam  and his  fellow corporate  leaders are
 willing to  forget the  support the  entire userbase gave through the thin
 times?  Is it possible that they look at us as being  purely 'expendable'?
 Are all  the indicators true that they are trying to penetrate a different
 market level?  Is this really the 'payback'  for the  months of relatively
 blind  faith,  fellowship  and  support  for  Atari  while  THEY were busy
 bestowing their offerings upon the European marketplace?

     In our humble opinion,  Atari has  dealt a  rather severe  blow to the
 loyal  users  and  dealers  new  and  old  alike.    They  should, without
 hesitation, restore the  exchange  program  to  it's  former  state.   The
 goodwill generated  by this  move would far outweigh any monetary benefits
 derived from the increased tariffs.  Besides, this would definitely be the
 least  expensive  way  to  reach  a  majority of the users in an extremely
 positive manner.  The exchange program,  once again,  was the  envy of the
 industry.    Also,  it  was  one  of  the strongest selling points for the
 Computer lines considering the  meager  90  day  warranty.    Perhaps, the
 brightest facet  of the  program was  the mighty  fact that  Atari had not
 forgotten those whose 90 day  warranty  had  expired.    The  new exchange
 prices aimed at the end user, who has problems with his Atari products and
 has had his equipment longer than the ninety day period, are outrageous.





       _____________________________________________________________



 > Reader Input STReport OnLine        The F-NET hotlines...
   ============================


 Electronic Mail
 Sent : Aug 22, 1989  at 12:01 PM
 To   : SYSOP
 From : DOC HOLIDAY at FLASH BBS St Louis, MO
 Subj : Atari Exchange Program


     One of the factors that made the Exchange Program especially useful is
 that there  are few  Atari dealers in this country.  Those users fortunate
 enough to have a dealer within a half day's drive  can always  act locally
 to have  their machine fixed.  Atari users not that lucky at least had the
 exchange program.  Now what do they have?  Since the decision to alter the
 exchange program  was not  preceded by  a revamping of the dealer network,
 Atari cannot claim that repairs are now generally locally available.

     Perhaps the  thoughts  of  "more  money"  is  Atari's  sole objective.
 Rather short  sighted in  the decision making department.  Atari Corp. was
 the default dealer for a large  percentage of  it's users.   Since  the ST
 isn't a  $100 throw away machine, we have a negative indicator towards one
 of the questions I asked in my "Re-emergence" article.   That question had
 to do with how Atari served it's users.
  

 Electronic Mail
 Sent : Aug 23, 1989  at 9:12 AM
 To   : SYSOP
 From : DIONYSIS at SPACE STATION CYN CNTRY, CA
 Subj : STReport 101

 BOY, did  I find out about the change in the exchange program!!!  I called
 ATARI one day to ask how to go about getting my monitor replaced, and they
 said to  box it  up and send it up with a check/money order for $95.00.. I
 called the NEXT day to confirm the address, and was  told that  the prices
 were DOUBLED!!!!  
  
 Dionysis @248

 Editor Note: 
     For those who are genuinely interested in bringing the gross injustice
 perpetrated upon the  users  by  "jacking  the  prices  up"  to outrageous
 levels, I  direct this  question and  request: would you the users care to
 have a petition sent  to Atari  or a  bonifide letter  campaign where each
 user sends a letter or postcard protesting this increase to Sam Tramiel.


 Conf : Atari 16/32 Bit
 Msg# : 1887  Lines: 7  Read: 1
 Sent : Aug 22, 1989  at 9:37 PM
 To   : ERETH AKBE
 From : JIM TROCKI at THE CAVE ST in W.Trenton, N.J.
 Subj : Re: <1672> Ditto?

  
   I just  picked up  the new issue of ST informer and it had an article on
 STacey and Portfolio. Pretty cool.  But the  rest of  the mag  wasn't that
 impressive.  I seriously prefer ST Report.
         ____
         /rok

 Editor...It's nice to see a compliment one in a while, thanks Jim!





   _____________________________________________________________________




 > DESKJET PLUS STReport InfoFile  HP's Deskjet Plus -> Hints & Pointers!
   ==============================




      HP DeskJet Plus / Atari ST power-up sequence problem -- SOLVED!
      ===============================================================


 by John M. Logajan


     I have  discovered that if the Atari ST parallel (printer) port STROBE
 line (normally high) is pulled toward ground (low)  by a  heavy load (such
 as a powered-off HP DeskJet Plus), the ST STROBE line will thereafter stay
 low until the load is removed (by powering up the DJ+), and until software
 intentionally sets  the STROBE  line high  again.  (Weird note: the STROBE
 line has to be  pulled low  for something  on the  order of  1/2 second or
 longer for it to "stick" low -- I do not know why this is.)

     Once the  STROBE line gets stuck low, the DJ+ responds with a BUSY set
 high.  The Atari TOS will not send any data to the printer while  the BUSY
 line is high -- so no printing can take place.

        There are six solutions to this grid-lock (I recommend #6):

  1.) Power up the DJ+ first and the ST second.  (Then the ST will 
      never see a heavy "low" load on the STROBE line.)

  2.) Push the Atari RESET button.  (The reset sequence sets the 
      STROBE line high, clearing the problem.)

  3.) Have a software routine which sets the STROBE line high.  (No 
      sense putting this in the auto folder to clear it on reboot, 
      since reboot itself clears the problem -- until next time.)  If
      the program is an accessory (like Diane and Paul Close's
      djrest.acc) then it should work just fine.

  4.) Power cycle the DJ+ with a print job in the ST "queue".  (You 
      will lose the first part of the print job, and I think the 
      print job must be a minimum length of bytes long to get it 
      over the DJ+ power-up self-test delay.)

  5.) Momentarily ground the BUSY line with a print job in the ST 
      "queue".  (I'm not sure if you will lose the first byte of 
      your listing with this method.)

  6.) Install a PNP transistor in the STROBE line.  This fix is 
      much simpler than it may seem.  Also it simultaneously solves 
      the heavy loading problem the DJ+ puts on the Atari STROBE 
      line.  (Without the transistor, the loading on the STROBE line 
      appears to push it near the 0.8 volt level limit.  The DATA 
      lines do not seem to have same problem, their low levels seem 
      to be well within limits -- so no buffering seems needed.)

  You need:

   - One 2N2907 (or practically any PNP transistor)

   - Access to the Printer cable wires for pin #1 (STROBE) and any 
     ground pin (pins 18-25 on the Atari end, or pins 19-30 on the
     DJ+ end.)  I managed to do this inside the cover of the
     Centronics-type connector.

  Step #1  Disconnect the STROBE wire from pin #1.

  Step #2  Connect the Emitter (E) wire of the transistor to the 
           Printer side of the wire/pin#1 split you did in step #1.
           (It depends upon which end of the cable you put your
           transistor into.)

  Step #3  Connect the Base (B) of the transistor to the Atari side 
           of the wire/pin#1 split you did in step #1.

  Step #4  Connect the Collector (C) of the transistor to one of the 
           ground pins (18-25 Atari end, or 19-30 DJ+ end.)
           [Caution: Metal cased transistors often have the case
           electrically connected to the Collector -- hence the case
           will most likely be grounded -- avoid having the case
           touch anything that should not be grounded.]

  Step #5  Close up and/or wrap up.  Make sure the transistor case 
           and connections are not touching anything they shouldn't
           be touching.


  Figures:

                            -----> Ground
                            !
                           / C
                       B !/
  from Atari STROBE >----!
                         !\
                           \ E
                           !
                           ----------> to Printer STROBE
          -------
         /     B \
        / E       \   Metal Can style transistor -- common pin
      ==           !  configuration -- bottom view.
        \      C  /
         \       /
          -------

          ----
          ! C  \
          ! B   !     Plastic Flat sided style transistor -- common
          ! E  /      pin configuration -- bottom view.
          ----


  Appendix:

                Speed on the parallel printer port.

   The Atari does screen dumps at about 1250 bytes/second.

   The Atari does text dumps at about 714 bytes/second.

     A GFA  Basic program  I wrote  dumps graphic bytes to the DJ+ at about
 2174 bytes/second.  Since an 8  by  8  inch  graphic  picture  with 300dpi
 density requires  720,000 bytes  -- you can see that the dump alone should
 take almost 6 minutes for even the GFA program.

     This all suggests that one might want to  take advantage  of the DJ+'s
 mixed mode graphic commands, where "blank" space is jumped over.  Software
 should be able to "count" over these locations  much faster  than it would
 take to dump them in dumb mode.



     John M. Logajan                         Usenet addresses:
     Network Systems                         logajan@ns.network.com  or
     7600 Boone Ave                          john@logajan.mn.org     or
     Brooklyn Park, MN 55428                 rutgers!umn-cs!ns!logajan





    __________________________________________________________________




 > ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL        You'll always see it here FIRST!
   ======================




 - New York City, NY            ***** WALLSTREET BULLISH ON PORTFOLIO *****
   ------------------

     Tonight's guest  on Wall  Street Week (PBS financial news show, hosted
 by Louis Rukeyser) was Lee Isgur.  He mentioned that Atari had announced a
 pocket computer,  that it  would be  available in  time for Christmas, and
 that he had one in  his  pocket  as  he  was  talking.    This  man  is an
 influential  enough  financial  analyst  that  one  can  understand  Atari
 buttering him up with early samples.  It's encouraging to  hear that there
 are enough machines for ANY of them to leave home.  Isgur also referred to
 the hand-held game machine.   And  no, he  didn't say  what he  thought of
 Atari or show any goodies.  It was just something he said 
 in passing.




 - Sunnyvale, CA.           ***** DUSSELDORF GERMANY TO SEE TT FIRST! *****
   --------------

     Atari execs,  some of  whom are  already in Germany, are getting ready
 for the big show opening this weekend.  Antonio Salerno, the driving force
 behind many of Atari's new dynamic ideas is also in Germany confering with
 the big wigs of Atari Germany.   This  show (Dusseldorf)  promises to kick
 off the "big push", marketing wise, in the USA.




 - Sunnyvale, CA.              ***** TOS 1.4 IS SOON TO BE A REALITY! *****
   --------------

     TOS  1.4  is  a  SUBSTANTIAL  upgrade  for all ST computers and I urge
 everyone to upgrade when it becomes available. I think Lloyd can vouch for
 the usefulness  and "bang for the buck" that TOS 1.4 has provided for him.
 As for a disk  version online,  I am  afraid that  isn't going  to happen.
 There are several reasons for this that I won't go into unless asked.  The
 main reason is standards.  TOS 1.4 on disk acts  differently than  TOS 1.4
 in PROM form.  Ask Charles Johnson on this one.  There are things that are
 hard to do with the disk version.   Also, we want  ONE version  of TOS 1.4
 available.  This version being the ROMs.          ...John Townsend




 - Dallas, TX                    ***** NETWORKING SYSTEM FOR THE ST! *****
   ----------

     A low-cost  networking system  was shown at the World of Atari Show in
 Dallas from  a SGS  Software and  Paradise Computers.   It  costs $160 for
 everything  needed  to  network  two  ST's  together.  For additional node
 add-on kits,  they cost  $110.   The features  are: Shared  access of hard
 drives or  RAM disks on the file server.  Network 1 to 32 ST computers. Up
 to 500 feet of coax cabling between systems.  A network OS for reliability
 and compatibility.  Non-dedicated, networking functions in the background.
 Fault tolerant data line errors are detected and  corrected.  Permissions;
 you can  restrict operations  like file  deletion.   File locking multiple
 systems won't corrupt the same file.  Low cost uses  the built-in hardware
 (MIDI ports). 
 Their address is:        Paradise Computers
                        3485-B Sacamento Street
                       San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
                            (805) 544-7130




 - Lafayette, CO             ***** GOGO ST UPGRADED! NOW EVEN BETTER! *****
   -------------

     Version  1.1  of  GoGo-ST  is  now shipping.  Demo version coming this
 weekend to CIS.  GoGo-ST is a new utility program  for the  ST that allows
 quick selection  of programs  for execution.   Save associated programs in
 list files quickly loadable into GoGo  selection buttons.   Run  GoGo from
 the desktop  by just  striking a  key combination,  no need to even open a
 window for GoGo.   Keep a  record of  your ST  activities with  GoGo's log
 function.  Keep a watch on father time with the editable digital clock and
 date.  And, version 1.1 brings  some new  features.   Works in  all screen
 modes and  versions of  TOS.   A demo  version of  GoGo-ST will  be in the
 uploads section this weekend!
                          FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:
                              MaxWell C.P.U.
                             507 West Baseline
                         Lafayette, Colorado 80026




 - Sunnyvale CA.                   **** LOOKING AROUND INSIDE ATARI! ****
   -------------

     Walking around at Atari, these eyes saw all kinds of  stuff I couldn't
 have!   I saw a TON of CDR504 CD-Rom drives at Atari... almost _all_ being
 used as audio disk  players!   Arrgh!   Programmers had  them plugged into
 their boom boxes!  So, I'm just sharing the pain with all the readers when
 I tell you how nice it is to use an Atari that lets you use two  colors in
 "high" res  (on a multisynch monitor), or one that has... memory expansion
 connectors!  Then again, there was that SCSI... but you're  not interested
 in that.  Atari is on the move!




 - Sunnyvale, CA.          ****** ATARI TO CONSIDER A BETTER WARRANTY *****
   --------------

     The Atari  National Field Service Manager, Ted Maciejewski, is alleged
 to be putting the finishing touches  on an  extended warranty  program for
 Atari Computers.   In  the same  breath Atari  "brags" about creating 'new
 opportunities' for dealers to "maintain service  centers profitably"  as a
 result of  the new  end user  product exchange price schedule.  If such is
 the case, then why were the dealer prices hiked too?




 - Columbus, OH.        ******  CIS ATARI EXPANDS TRANSFER PROTOCOLS ******
   -------------

     Ron Luks, head sysop CIS Atari Fora, proudly brought to  our attention
 the new  "Y" modem protocol now available in the file areas, we decided to
 bring you a snapshot of the selections and   and  how the  files appear to
 the user.  (for new or prospective users)

 STR101.ARC/binary             18-Aug-89  43264              Accesses: 131 
 23-Aug-89

     Keywords: ST REPORT 101 ATARI NEWS CPU FEDEX TOS TT WOA RFM
     
     STReport 101,               The Online Magazine of Choice!
      - Millenium, Review                - MasterCad, Review
      - NightHawks, Review               - FALCON-Mission Disk Review
      - TOS 1.4, Review                  - TOUCHUP v1.53, Review
      - TT's - Configurable!             - NEW UG Co-ordinator!
             EXCLUSIVE!  BOSTON SIGRAPH INTERVIEWS!
     
 Disposition !
 Library Protocol Menu

 Transfer protocols available -

  1 XMODEM
  2 CompuServe B+ and original B
  3 CompuServe A
  4 DC2/DC4 (Capture)
  5 YMODEM ..................The "NEW KID ON THE BLOCK"
  6 CompuServe QB (B w/send ahead) ->almost as fast as ZMODEM
  7 Kermit
  0 Abort transfer request

     Also to be added soon will be a scan feature, where the  user may scan
 the files and see an abbreviated description.  




 - Rockford, IL                      **** ICD - PROGRESS AT IT'S BEST! ****
   ------------

     ICD's new  autoboot software  allows unprecedented  speed for all hard
 drive systems equipped with an ICD ST Host Adapter.   Our new  version 4.0
 includes a  new intelligent caching scheme to make your hard drive operate
 much faster than before!  User configurable buffers  cache both  reads and
 writes.  AHDI 3.0x is also supported to allow our ICD booter to read those
 "illogical" sector sizes and non-conforming partitions.  And the best news
 is  that  this  upgrade  will  cost  you  absolutely nothing!  (Except for
 download time or long distance charges which you must pay.)   As  with all
 our  other  hard  drive  format  and  booter upgrades, ICD's new booter is
 available free  to all  owners of  our ICD  ST Host  Adapter.   Soon to be
 announced  is  the  new  and  improved  ICD  Host Adapter, reportedly this
 version enhances the operation of Seagate  mechanisms and  removable media
 devices.
 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                 ICD, Inc.
                             1220 Rock Street
                            Rockford, IL  61101
                               815-968-2228   





  _______________________________________________________________________




 > WOA DALLAS STR FOCUS     "A fair turnout and moderate success"
   ====================


                                                 A WOA DALLAS IMPRESSION
                                                 =======================


 by Larry Rymal


 Hello everyone,

     I just  returned from  the World  of Atari  show at Dallas and, from a
 user's point  of view  who bought  over $300.00  worth of  goodies, it was
 fantastic.  If there is an Atari Fest in your area, you owe it to yourself
 and your developers to attend.

     Meeting  the  ST  gurus,  programmers,  and  developers  is  a  treat.
 Everyone  which  I  met  demonstrated  patience,  in spite of the constant
 crowds, and were more  than eager  to discuss  modifications complete with
 the hows, whys and why nots.

     One program  utility disk  which I  purchased and am so impressed with
 that I'm barely able to contain  myself is  DC Utilities  by Double Click.
 There have already been ample reviews and mentions of this disk so I'm not
 going to sum it up.  However, I do wish to praise one program  and rate it
 as a "must have".  On the disk is a program named DCSQUISH.  Basically, it
 'squishes' any executable program, saves a copy of the original, and gives
 you  an  executable  squished  copy  back.    Disk space savings appear to
 average about twenty percent with some squished files being much higher in
 savings.  I have saved 800k of disk space in my C partition, if that is an
 indicator of savings.  Time of execution of the squished  program?   It is
 FAST.  On my Mega2 ST with original Mega roms (1.2), I noticed that Flash,
 executed from floppy, came up one second QUICKER.

     Again,  nothing  but  praise  for  this  program  and  my  thanks  and
 congratulations to Double Click for such a utility.

     Another product  which I  am now  wooing over  is Turbo  1.6.  It does
 everything that you have  heard.   I booted  up WordPerfect,  loading in a
 four paged file.  My Mega, of course, has the blitter.  Doing a down arrow
 scroll, it took the Mega  without  Turbo  1.6  to  reach  the  end  of the
 document  in  23  seconds.    Installing  Turbo  1.6  gave me a time of 21
 seconds.  Without the  blitter but  with Turbo,  the time  was 27 seconds.
 With both turned off, well.........forget it.  Wasn't even worth timing!

     Turbo  1.6  gives  such  an  improvement and approaches the blitter in
 performance that I don't really see the need for the purchase of the chip.
 This is  from my  impressions as  a user  and I know nothing about what is
 going on behind the scenes  of  the  blitter.    However,  Turbo  1.6 "has
 arrived".  It is a product worthy of purchase and even for the Mega, makes
 a substantial improvement.

     World of Atari is a great opportunity for  the user.   I  hope that if
 any other  Atari Fest occurs and it is reachable by you, then by all means
 go.    Meeting  and  talking  with  the  programmers  gives  one  a  great
 appreciation of  the products used and indeed, you will feel as if you, as
 the user, are part of the process. 


                        Larry Rymal in East Texas 
                        <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET>


 EDITOR NOTE: Although, the show here  in Dallas  was not  another Anaheim,
 there was at least 1200-1700 folks passing through for the duration of the
 show and... by all sales indications the folks  who attended  were serious
 buyers!   Atari alone generated over 18k in sales.  Perhaps this points to
 what most of us have been hollering for  so long  ...the market  is there,
 Atari simply must reach for it!  





     ________________________________________________________________



 > PC-DITTO II STReport InfoFile  Avante Garde keeps you informed...
   =============================


                                                       PC_DITTTO II
                                                       ============


     PC-DITTO  II  will  be  much  more  compatible  (in  other words, more
 compatible with an IBM XT) than pc-ditto.  Due to its slowness, especially
 with communications,  Prodigy is  not recommended.   (I  don't need to say
 that we have a variety of fast machines, and Prodigy runs slowly on all of
 them...mainly because  the software  waits for  the host  computer to send
 some information.  So, no  matter  how  fast  the  local  Prodigy software
 redraws  the  screen,  there  is  still  a significant wait between screen
 drawings, due to the host).

     PC-DITTO II can run Prodigy, if  that's what  you wanted  to know.   I
 certainly can't  question the  usefulness of Prodigy, but it seems to have
 some merit.  (In  our situation,  we are  not located  near a  local phone
 number, so we would have to call long distance to use Prodigy).

     As far  as your  "hacked up" utilities, I'm not sure what "new" tricks
 they have learned, but I think you will find pc-ditto II very  capable and
 able to  handle the  best of them.  If you have any examples, you can send
 them to us (If that's OK with the authors, of course), and we'll give them
 a test drive.

     Keep in mind, if there are any incompatibilities at this point, we can
 update  pc-ditto  II  solely  by  software  to clear up the problem.  That
 means, we can upload an update  to the  services almost  immediately, with
 little effort  on your  part to do anything more than just download it (or
 you can send us a blank disk for a copy, if you preferred).   In any case,
 I think  we have  you covered.   Please  understand, too, that our testing
 begins with the most popular software in the market.  We then work our way
 down  to  lesser  popular  software.    This  approach makes sure that the
 majority of consumer's needs are met.  Custom software relying on "tricks"
 are not  always usable  accross the spectrum of IBM compatibles, including
 the 286 and 386 systems.    We  find  that  most  software  developers are
 staying away from tricks in commercial products, because incompatiblilites
 become headaches, or limit their product's markets.

     I know you may say, well,  these  programs  are  special  little local
 things I  use.   Perhaps, and perhpas the compatibility on other clones is
 OK, but the best I can offer to you, as  we have  been doing  the last two
 years here  online, is  to say  that we  are genuinely  interested in your
 problems, when they occur.  We do our best to check them out, fix  them if
 possible, or let you know that we cannot fix them (and why).

     Naturally, we  try to  ship products  with as few incompatibilities as
 possible.  I think our track record reflects that.  pc-ditto II will be no
 different.   But, as  I said  above, should a problem arise, we're here to
 help.  I know you didn't ask for this long dialogue, but I just  thought I
 would  take  the  opportunity  from  your question to restate our thoughts
 about our obligations to users such as yourself.

 Thanks for the info, and  please,  let  us  know  if  we  can  provide any
 additional assistance.

                                              Bill Teal
                                             Avante Garde





   _____________________________________________________________________




 > STReport InfoFile     High Quality, Custom built hard drives....
   =================


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   ____________________________________________________________________



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


      "The road to oblivion is paved with acts of sheer stupidity... 
                    ..disguised as deeds of treachery!"






                             "ATARI IS BACK!"

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ST-REPORT Issue #102   "Your Independent News Source"     August 25, 1989
                    ALL RIGHTS RESERVED  copyright 1989
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Views, Opinions and Articles Presented herein are not necessarily those of
 the editors, staff, ST Report or  CPU  Report.    Reprint  permission is
 hereby  granted,  unless  otherwise  noted.   All reprints must include ST
 Report or CPU Report  and the  author's name.   All  information presented
 herein is believed correct, STReport or CPU Report, it's editors and staff
 are not responsible for any use or misuse of information contained herein.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
