  
                  *---== ST REPORT ONLINE MAGAZINE ==---*
                         """""""""""""""""""""""""
                                       
                                       
                     "The Original Online ST Magazine"
                      _______________________________
  
  
  September 01, 1989                                      Vol III  No.103
  =======================================================================
  
                         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: #103 STReport               The Online Magazine of Choice! 
   ------------------- 
     - The Editors' Podium                   - CPU REPORT
     - Sam Tramiel tells ALL!                - USERGROUPS NAILED?
     - EXCHANGE PRG HAS HOPE                 - FCC a BOONDOGGLE?
     - S-H ANGERS DEALERS!                   - T16 TO BEGIN SHIPPING
     - ICD -> A Success Story!               - ST REPORT CONFIDENTIAL

        ----==***  ATARI ANNOUNCES TOS 1.4 IS SHIPPING!  ***==----
             ---===***  TT SPECIFICATIONS DISCUSSED  ***===---
    
  =======================================================================
       AVAILABLE ON:      COMP-U-SERVE  ~  DELPHI  ~  GENIE  ~  BIX
  =======================================================================
    
 > The Editor's Podium

     Here we  are, a scant week after the Dusseldorf show and we now have a
 good idea of what's coming down chute for all of  us.   Atari seems  to be
 making all  the right  moves.   Now it  remains to  be seen if they do the
 right thing.  They must  never  loose  grasp  of  the  basic  fact  of not
 forgetting the  loyal, almost fanatical, userbase who remained loyal while
 they (Atari) danced around with  the  European  Marketplace  and virtually
 ignored the USA.

     On another  note, how encouraging it becomes to see STReport was quite
 accurate on the issue of  "Usergroups,  An  Endangered  Species", remember
 that article  in STReport  Issue # 78, 03/10/89 ??   We were taken heavily
 to task for publishing it and almost everyone said we  were wrong!   Well,
 lo and  behold, the  worm has  turned.   We will not dwell on this but, it
 certainly is  true that  hindsight is  pure 20/20,  crystal clear.   It is
 sweet to enjoy knowing we, at the time, were right on the mark.  

     The Usergroups  did get  the short end of the deals.  Ask a few of the
 Usergroup presidents in the Dearborn area, and of course, let's not forget
 the usergroups  in the  Dallas -  Fort Worth area were ignored completely.
 The tragic story is  from  California,  Atari's  own  backyard!    Where a
 virtual institution,  The Glendale  Show, was  clobbered by  the, now also
 cancelled, San Jose WOA show.  The good folks who put on the Glendale Show
 worked their  tails off  at Anaheim, only to find that they had indirectly
 contributed to demise of their own show!  

     It's sad that our original warnings  went unheeded  and in  fact, were
 rebuked  by  other  publications  who  now  are  in  full  agreement  with
 STReport's original  warnings.    Hopefully,  all  parties  concerned have
 learned  by  this  experience.    Again  our position is plain and simple,
 USERGROUPS MUST COME FIRST!  After all, they  are the  backbone of support
 for Atari.

     Atari may  be missing  the boat once again, consider this; suppose the
 TT and the STE were offered with  a  'deal'  for  the  users  who  have ST
 computers (520  - MEGA ST4) that are in verifiably good working order? IE;
 all the units that are received by Atari could be  offered to  schools and
 other  deserving  institutions  at  a  sustantially  reduced  rate.  Thus,
 perpetuating the ST learning cycle, ala Apple.  Maybe, one day, Atari will
 have a real marketing expert as part of the decision making team.

                            Thanks Again for your support,

                                           Ralph.....





                              ATARI IS BACK!!


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                THE GENIE ATARI ST ROUNDTABLE - AN OVERVIEW
                ___________________________________________

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

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

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

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

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

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



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




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



 ctsy GEnie RT
                                               SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
                                               ===========================


  
     I've been  given leave  to talk  about TT "a bit" (whatever that means
 ;-) so I'll do my best to quell any misinformation  without getting myself
 in  trouble  with  my  boss  (Leonard  has  a  tendency  to get, um, upset
 sometimes ;-).

     All the discussion in  the world  on Usenet  is not  going to   mean a
 whole lot  until the  people involved  have actually  _used_ TT's and have
 read the hardware specs.  The TT's hardware design is not going to make it
 slow WRT  other 68030 machines - in fact there are some features of the TT
 which will make it much faster than an "ST with a 68030."  Even so, as far
 as compatibility is concerned, the TT _is_ an "ST with a 68030," and a lot
 more enhancements.  If you're interested, I might be able to provide a few
 more specifics  on the hardware speed issues; for now, let's just say that
 some of the postings on the  nets have  ranged from  slightly erroneous to
 outright absurd.

     The VME bus on the TT is not "modified" in any way; ..it is a standard
 "Eurocard" format.   Using  the smaller  cards in  the first version of TT
 (the one  shown  in  Dusseldorf,  called  "TT030/2"  for  now)  has  a big
 advantage in  terms of  cost reduction.   We  could have wangled the "full
 sized" VME cards into a TT case, but  it would  have made  it considerably
 bigger, with  considerably more complex hardware, and MUCH more expensive.
 Atari delivers Power without the Price, remember?!

     TT does not use  a proprietary  color monitor  - any  standard monitor
 capable  of  displaying  VGA  graphics  will  be  usable,  with the proper
 adjustments for screen aspect ratio.  Currently in Sunnyvale, I  have seen
 five or  six different  kinds of monitors hooked up to TT's, including NEC
 MultiSync monitors.

     One other  unfortunate  bit  of  misinformation  was  put  out  at the
 Dusseldorf show,  and that  is relative  TT speed.   In the original press
 release we sent to Germany to be translated for the  flyers handed  out at
 the show, we stated that the features of TT make for four times the memory
 bandwidth of the ST.  That  means, _raw  memory access_  in "dual purpose"
 RAM (that  shared by  video and  processor) is four times the speed of ST.
 HOWEVER, there is also an option for "fast" nibble-mode RAM which is _not_
 shared by  video, and other hardware factors make actual program execution
 speed as much as TEN TIMES as fast as on ST.

                                          Your mileage may vary.
                                                  KBAD


 Editor Note:
 In the interests of good solid  information we  included the  above, thank
 goodness for  a few  couragous souls  at Atari who are willing to keep the
 faith alive through the flow of accurate information.   After  reading the
 above, we  are grateful our source of info concerning the TT was north and
 not across the ocean.  <grin>





     _________________________________________________________________



 > PRICE HIKE! STR FOCUS   An open letter to Atari Corp.'s leaders.
   =====================



                                             EXCHANGE PROGRAM BLUES
                                             ======================


 by L.E.PULLEY


 Recently, you  have announced substantial increases  in your  exchange 
 prices.   I'm sure that you had a very good reason for this  decision, 
 although as an Atari Mega ST4 owner,  I do wonder what is now going to 
 happen to the majority of the ST owners that do not live near a  store 
 that provides repair service.   But the purpose of this letter is  not 
 to  discuss or question your new exchange policy,  but to  suggest  an 
 alternative.  An alternative that I believe would strengthen your ties 
 to your user base and make sales easier.

 A  plain fact of life is that there are many of your dealers that  are 
 not Full Service Dealers (not everyone lives in Southern  California). 
 Even  many  that  have the official  title  of  "Full-Service"  aren't 
 capable of handling most repairs (or won't handle the repairs)  on the 
 Mega's  and  ST's  that  they sell.   This leads  to  them  sending  a 
 customers'  unit  into you for an exchange instead of them  doing  the 
 repair.   Or the customer,  knowing that their local dealer can't  (or 
 won't) repair their computer,  sends their unit into you for  exchange 
 themselves's.   I'm sure with your new exchange prices (since  they're 
 very close to full wholesale),  that you don't mind a customer sending 
 their  units  into you for 'repair' (really an exchange) but  this  is 
 grossly  unfair to much of your user base.   Instead of just having  a 
 $40 repair bill,  they now have a $675 exchange bill (on a Mega  ST4). 
 Yes,  you furnish them with a new unit,  but a large portion of  these 
 people don't care if they have a new unit or not.   They'd rather  pay 
 $40 and keep their old unit than pay $675 and get a new one.

 What  I  feel Atari needs to do is setup 6-8 "Super  Service  Centers" 
 (hereafter referred to as SSC's) around the country.   You could  have 
 at least one SCC located in each sales region (and maybe more than one 
 in  some  the larger sales regions).   These  would  be  full-service, 
 independent  stores  that  would handle repairs for  out  of  warranty 
 service  (Atari  or  the regular dealers could  still  handle  the  in 
 warranty  service).   When users contacted you about service  repairs, 
 you  could  tell  them to either send their computers to  you  for  an 
 exchange  or  you  could send them a list of  Atari  Authorized  Super 
 Service Centers.

 To be considered for one of the SSC's,  a dealer would have to .....

 1) Sign an agreement with Atari guaranteeing that they would carry 'x' 
    amount  of parts (Atari would have to determine the amount  needed. 
    But it would have to be enough so that the dealer could handle  90% 
    of  the  repairs on all ST/Mega computers and  peripherals  without 
    waiting for parts from Atari).

 2) Have their techs' tested by Atari so that we could be guaranteed of 
    competent service and repairs.   (When I say 'tested by  Atari',  I 
    mean  really  tested by someone that really knows how  to  properly 
    repair computers, not just 'tested' by the local Atari rep.)

 3) Have their tech department inspected by Atari,  so Atari would know 
    that  this dealer had the proper equipment to handle  all  repairs. 
    (Again, a real inspection and not just one by the local Atari rep.) 

 4) Have  a flat-rate guaranteed price for certain repairs.   (No  more 
    $40  from one dealer to repair a 'widget' and $100 from another  to 
    repair the same 'widget'.)

 5) Have  the  dealer guarantee a certain turn-around time  for  x%  of 
    their repairs.   I.E.  Maybe a 2-week, in-shop turn around time for 
    90% of their repairs.

 6) Have a SSC dealer supply financial prove that they are  financially 
    stable and will be around to warranty their repairs.

 Of  course,  there would be some minor problems that would have to  be 
 ironed out.   One that comes to mind is some sort of 'watchdog'  group 
 that would keep the SSC's honest.  None of this "You need a widget AND 
 a whatchit" when all they really need is widget.

 But, in reality, the pluses outweigh any potential problems:

 1) Users  without real,  full-service dealers could get  repairs  done 
    without having to pay for an exchange,  an exchange that they don't 
    really need or want.   (If they want an exchange,  they could still 
    send their computer to Atari.)

 2) It would be faster than the normal exchange time from Atari.   It's 
    faster  to ship from Connecticut to New York than from  Connecticut 
    to California.   Depending on how the customer had his/her computer 
    shipped,  the  turn around time could be from 2-4 weeks  (including 
    shipping time).

 3) It would/could strengthen sales in areas where Atari doesn't have a 
    good dealer network (which we hope will change).   People would  no 
    longer have to worry about what they were going to do, and how much 
    it  would cost,  if their computer failed once the warranty  period 
    had passed.

 4) Customers  would  be guaranteed of reliable  and  constent  service 
    for their computers.

 5) Real full-service dealers that weren't SCC's wouldn't have to worry 
    about losing customers.   The SCC's would charge prices  comparable 
    to  the normal retail prices of the regular  full-service  dealers. 
    Also,  if  there  was a real full-service dealer available  to  the 
    customer,  most people would rather go to him (assuming that he was 
    honest  and reputable in his service repairs) because it  would  be 
    cheaper (no freight 'to and from') and faster (no waiting 1-2 weeks 
    for UPS to pickup and deliver).

 I'm  sure that there will be other things that will have to  be  taken 
 into consideration before this idea can become a reality,  but it is a 
 very  workable  idea......if  Atari is  concerned  with  giving  good, 
 inexpensive  service to their users and if Atari would spend the  time 
 and money to get it setup and working properly.  I know that there are 
 some  dealers  that would love to be SCC's (and would  be  willing  to 
 spend the time and money required to become one)....IF they knew  that 
 Atari was going to support the idea.






     _________________________________________________________________





 > TRAMIEL CONF.  STR FOCUS       A Comprehensive Interview..
   ========================


 CTSY GEnie RT

                                        GENIE CONFERENCE with SAM TRAMIEL
                                        =================================


 Conference Date: 08/30/89 


 <JEFF.W> Good evening.  Welcome to  the GEnie  Atari ST  Roundtable's real
 time conference featuring Sam Tramiel, president of Atari Corporation.

 <JEFF.W> Mr.  Tramiel has just returned from Germany where Atari made some
 announcements  and  displayed,  among  other  things,  the  Atari   TT,  a
 68030-based system.   He is with us tonight to discuss these announcements
 and to answer as many of your questions as time permits.

 <JEFF.W> During the formal part of the RTC, only those  I've selected will
 be able  to "talk".   Let  me know  you have a question or comment for Mr.
 Tramiel by entering the /RAI command  to raise  your hand.   I'll  let you
 know when it's your turn.

 <JEFF.W>  In  order  to  allow  as  many  of you the chance to get in your
 questions and comments, I'll be rather insistant that everyone limit their
 turn to one question.

 <JEFF.W> You may /RAIse your hand for another turn afterward, but only one
 question for each time at bat.  It's the only fair way  to get  to as many
 people as possible in the time we have.

 <JEFF.W>  I'll   also  insist  that  you  keep  your  comments  brief  and
 to-the-point.  If you  won't make  your point  or ask  your question  in a
 reasonable amount  of words (or time), then I'll have to move along to the
 next person.

 <JEFF.W> It will help if you  can buffer  up your  question/comment before
 your turn  comes up (if your terminal software allows it).  I thank all of
 you for your cooperation.

 <JEFF.W> That takes care of the preliminaries!

 <JEFF.W> I am very happy to welcome you,  Sam, to  the ST  Roundtable this
 evening!  Thank you for taking the time to be here with us.

 <JEFF.W>  Before  we  start  taking  questions, would you care to make any
 opening remarks?  Perhaps you can also give us some  of the  highlights of
 the announcements  and products  that were  unveiled in  Germany this past
 weekend. 

 <STRAMIEL> As you all know, we just got back from Dusseldorf.

 <STRAMIEL> There, we introduced the STE, TT030/2, and  we showed  the Lynx
 game machine.   There  were 35,000  attendees at the three day Atari Fair.
 There were 145 third party software and hardware suppliers there  as well.
 It was one hell of a show.

 <STRAMIEL> The next challenge is to get the US market up to the same level
 of support.

 <STRAMIEL> We plan to ship the TT in 4th quarter, 1989.

 <STRAMIEL> We are shipping STE to Europe in September.  The US  should see
 STE's in October.

 <[MAST Bob]  R.JOHNSON22> The  STacy recieved some good press in the music
 industry, especially the Sept issue of  Keyboard.   Do you  plan to follow
 that  up  with  advertising,  especially  in  light of the new Yamaha midi
 computer?

 <STRAMIEL> We will be shipping Stacy by October,  in the  US also, pending
 FCC bureaucracy.   We  will advertise  in the  appropriate magazines as we
 have all along.

 <STRAMIEL> What Yamaha MIDI computer are  you talking  about?   The C1? It
 has been around for quite a while.

 <[MAST Bob]  R.JOHNSON22> It  is a '286 with one meg opf RAM (expandable),
 is portable, and has a lot of MIDI ports.

 <STRAMIEL>  That sounds like the C1.

 <NEVIN-S> Thank you. Mr. Tramiel, I wonder if you could  tell us  what you
 (Atari) learned  from the  Federated experience.  Where do you think Atari
 would be today if you had spent $200-300 million not on Federated,  but on
 advertising, production capacity, and hardware research and development?

 <STRAMIEL> Thank you for your support.

 <STRAMIEL> We  made a  very, very  costly mistake.  It only really cost us
 $100 million, but we can not look backwards, only learn  from the mistake,
 and not  do it  again.   We are  computer/consumer electronics people, not
 retailers.  In the future, we will stay in our field only.

 <STRAMIEL> Incidentally, I'd just like to  say that  TOS 1.4  ROMs are now
 available to  your dealers.   If  you would  like the  upgrade, go to your
 dealer and request it.  If he doesn't have it in stock, he can get it from
 Atari.   Cost for  the upgrade  is up  to the dealer; suggested retail for
 parts is $100.

 <JEFF.W> 2 and 6 chip sets, Sam?  Will users be able to order  direct from
 Atari?

 <STRAMIEL> Currently  only 6  chip sets.   6 chip sets can be installed in
 any board we have released  (by  your  dealers).    Users  should  get the
 upgrade from their dealers.

 <[John Hileman]  J.HILEMAN1> Hello Mr. Tramiel.  I'd like to ask about the
 STE that you mentioned  in your  opening remarks.   Could  you please tell
 more about this?

 <STRAMIEL> The  machine is  a 1040 STE, it has a palette of 4096 colors, 8
 bit PCM stereo sound, and hardware fine screen scrolling, and  support for
 light guns,  paddles, and  extra controllers.   Also  Genlock is supported
 without the need for internal modification.

 <JEFF.W> Sam, will STACY be an STE?

 <STRAMIEL> Stacy is an ST.

 <NHARRIS> Sam, thanks for being with us tonight!  A  new record  in the ST
 area here...

 <NHARRIS> The  buzz going around the industry is that you could sell a TON
 of STACY's if you bundle it with the GCR from Gadgets by Small, because it
 would be about half the price of a portable Mac from Apple.  In fact, less
 than the price of the cheapest Mac.  So...

 <NHARRIS> Will you?

 <STRAMIEL> We will sell  Stacy,  and  I  hope  that  David  Small  will be
 successful with his products.  You are right on all accounts.

 <[Double Click]  M.VEDERMAN2> Thank  you.  Thanks for being here tonite to
 field our Q's.  I am representing the Houston Atari ST Enthusiasts on this
 question.   Our users'  group started  in 1985  and is  the first and only
 group for only ST users.  At first, our meetings were very  strong, mainly
 because the  machine was  new, and people were quite enthused.  Last year,
 we saw our membership dwindle to  about 60  people, and  the meetings were
 pathetically only about 8-12 people each month.  Since January, I've taken
 over as the club membership chairman,  and have  seen the  membership more
 than double, and the meetings rise to 40-50.  My question is two-fold:

 <[Double  Click]   M.VEDERMAN2>  1)   Members  seem   apathetic  now,  not
 enthusiastic.  We offer give-aways at  the meetings  which draws  them in.
 Why do  you feel  the people  have become  apehtetic about the ST machine?
 (This doesn't seem to be a localized phenomenon - as I have discussed this
 with other user group coordinators, et. al. and they express the same.)

 <[Double Click]  M.VEDERMAN2> 2) If it weren't for the give-aways, I don't
 believe the people would be interested in coming to the meetings, even tho
 we  have  a  defined  topic  for every meeting (this month is shareware/pd
 ware).  What do you think  the people  out there  are buying  the machines
 for, so we can offer them interesting topics?  (Could they be seeing it as
 a game machine?)

 <[Double Click]  M.VEDERMAN2> NOTE:   Since  the STE  seems to reinforcing
 this idea,  will we  be forced  to upgrade  to the TT if we wish to make a
 living selling real software?

 <STRAMIEL> As most of you know, we had a tremendous  DRAM shortage  in the
 years of 1987 and 1988.  We made a tactical decision to support Europe and
 keep our market there very strong.  Very sorry to our loyal US supporters,
 but it was a necessity.  Now the DRAM situation has reversed.  Does anyone
 out there want DRAM?

 <STRAMIEL> But seriously, it's now  time  to  re-enter  the  US.    We are
 actively  looking  for  a  new  US  sales  team,  and  plan  to launch the
 Portfolio with direct response  big advertising  in mid-September,  and to
 use this machine to attract dealers for the ST line as well.  

 <STRAMIEL>  At  the  Dusseldorf  fair,  we  saw a lot of serious software,
 particularly graphics software.  This runs on all ST products today. There
 is  no  question  that  in  the  personal  computer market, games are very
 important.  The better they are on your machine, the  more you  sell.  The
 STE  definitely  can  be  used  for  great games and other serious graphic
 applications.

 <STRAMIEL> News flash from Europe:

 <STRAMIEL> Luckily no one was injured,  but  Atari  France  burned  to the
 ground in a huge fire that was caused by our neighbor.

 <STRAMIEL>  Insurance  covers  all  costs,  but  poor  Atari France has to
 regroup, and is doing so gallantly.

 <[Ron] RCARTER> Welcome Sam...

 <[Ron] RCARTER> First, I  would  like  to  thank  you  again  for allowing
 company (COMPUTER AVENUE) to be at the SPRING COMDEX.  I have been hearing
 lots of negative response to the replacement program cost increases.   Any
 comments ?

 <STRAMIEL> I  didn't know  about the exact cost increases, but I will look
 into that.

 <ANTIC> Thank you.  I am  interested in  your compact  disk player.   Back
 when it was first shown, the Grolier Encyclopedia was working on it.  When
 will the US public see the  player and  will the  encyclopedia possibly be
 bundled with it?

 <STRAMIEL> I  was personally very turned on by the CD ROM three years ago,
 and still am today.  The big problem  we have  is the  lack of  a consumer
 software  library  on  any  system.    We  are  working  with  a number of
 developers around the world to try to alleviate this, but  it really  is a
 chicken and  egg problem.   Developers  can buy  CD ROMs from us today.  I
 unfortunately can not predict when we will ship to the general market.

 <[Steve] S.JOHNSON10> Should we  call  you  Mr.  Tramiel  or  Sam...or Mr.
 President?   The STE  has a 4096 color palette, but is it still limited to
 16 in low rez, 4 in med rez and 2 in high  rez?   Also, are  the new sound
 chips in the TT and STE 8 channel? 

 <STRAMIEL> Sam is fine, Steve.  You are right about the STE color palette.
 The sound in STE and TT  are 8  bit stereo  PCM.   The number  of channels
 depends on the software.

 <[Vinny] SALVIUS> Mr. Tramiel, my question is when Atari is going to lower
 their dealer standards so that more dealers can  sell STs  in the US...too
 many people  have never  heard of the ST here, and fewer dealers can carry
 it.  Do you  have any  plans to  encourage the  ST in  the business world?
 With Spectre  GCR and  PC DITTO  II it has become a very powerful tool, if
 only someone would have heard of it!

 <STRAMIEL> Our  standards  for  dealers  are  basically  the  same  as the
 industry's.  We are not hard to deal with.  We are focusing our efforts in
 the small business and general computer  market.   We are  not going after
 the Fortune  500 types.   I agree with you that the ST is tremendous, and,
 in the US, is a well-kept secret.  But for reasons I  mentioned before, we
 have not really launched in the US, but plan to starting in mid-September.
 As our distribution increases, so will our advertising.

 <[FAST TECH] J.ALLEN27> Hi SAM, great show, this shows the ST is hardly in
 decline!!!  I have 3 questions, will Atari:  A...Release developer info on
 the TT now?  B...Allow general sales of the Blitter?   C...Allow licensing
 of the TOS roms for high speed copies?

 <STRAMIEL> A.   We  will be  releasing developer  docs for  TT in the near
 future.  B.  Please call us to  discuss BLiTTER  chip sales.   It  will be
 done on a case by case basis.  C.  See B.

 <R.FLOYDD.III> Thanks.  Sam, It's all well and good to encourage owners to
 work through dealer channels.  However, I live  in a  metropolitan area of
 almost 1  million population  and no  dealer within  100 miles.   How do I
 upgrade my ROMs or consider buying a better system?

 <STRAMIEL> The answer is  that  we  must  find  dealers  ASAP.      In the
 meantime, we will try to set up a service that we will upgrade the machine
 for you.  We will come back on GEnie before  the end  of the  week with an
 announcement how this will be done.

 <K.BRICK> Mr  Tramiel,is the  STE a 16MHZ Machine with improved resolution
 or the same as now and will there be any  upgrade path  (special deal) for
 upgrading a 1040 ST to STE?

 <STRAMIEL> The  STE runs at the same speed as the ST.  The upgrade path is
 to buy an STE.  We do not find it economical for us or for you to charge a
 fortune for upgrade boards, like some other "A" companies I know of.

 <[Robert] R.GLOVER3> According to the translated brochure by Ms. Brumleve,
 the TT has only  one VME  slot, and  pretty poor  graphics (640x480  in 16
 colors),  compared  to  the  Amiga  (640x400  in  4096 colors), and Mac II
 (640x480 in 256 or up to  800,000 colors  depending on  video card).   Why
 only one slot and no easy upgrade path for better graphics?

 <STRAMIEL> The  information on  the nets is not altogether correct.  Seems
 that some mistakes were made in translation in Dusseldorf.   Comparing the
 640x400 Amiga  mode to  the 640x480  TT mode  is misleading.   To get 4096
 colors on the Amiga, you need to use HAM mode.  The equivalent can be done
 in software on the TT.  Plus, that one slot you mentioned can take a video
 card.

 <[Robert] R.GLOVER3> Anyway, why not have an internal STE upgrade  for the
 Mega owners,  rather than  buying a  new machine...?   It couldn't be that
 expensive.

 <STRAMIEL> The TT has six built in graphics  modes:   the three  ST modes,
 with 4096 colors, and three new modes:  640x480 16 colors, and 320x480 256
 colors, both using the 4096 color palette, as well as a very high 1280x960
 monochrome resolution.   As  well, in  the VME  slot, we  will have future
 video boards which will knock your socks off.

 <[Bryan] BDHALL> Sam, thanks for staying  on  for  more  than  30 minutes!
 First, why  isn't Atari  pursuing advanced dealers for the ATW line in the
 US?  I have been told that it is not going to be pushed at all here.  This
 is a  mistake, as  it could easily compete with other units from Sun, etc.
 The TT is nice, but it is a  bit  slow  (a  50Mhz  version  would  be nice
 though) for  high end  applications.   A good  first big contract would be
 with NASA's AIMS Research Center.   In place  of multi-user  Cray systems,
 each user could have a 150 MIPS ATW.

 <[Bryan] BDHALL>  Second, what  Chips (UARTS)  are you  using for the TT's
 serial ports? They do support speeds greater than  19.2 Kbaud  don't they?
 (As you  may know  the New  USR Dual Standard modems need buffered I/O and
 38.4Kbaud ports).  However, if it were faster, very low cost long-distance
 networks could be put together.

 <STRAMIEL> Regarding  the ATW,  we have  shipped the first 300 machines to
 Europe, and plan to bring this machine into  the US  some time  before the
 end of the year.  I also think it is a great product, but we must focus on
 getting the ST going in the US, and if we do too many things  at one time,
 we will not succeed.

 <STRAMIEL> The TT has three chips for serial IO.  Two 68901's, and an SCC,
 which can go much faster than the 68901.

 <M.MCCANN2> Can you give any more final details on Stacy,  as in,  does it
 have a blitter?

 <STRAMIEL> Stacy  does not  have a  BLiTTER.   It is  an ST with a 640x400
 backlit LCD display, with a built-in  upside-down mouse  (Trakball(tm)) in
 the lower right hand corner of the keyboard.  Many have said that it looks
 beautiful.

 <[Jason] J.BRUNKEN> Hello, Sam, I have a couple questions

 <JEFF.W> One please, Jason.

 <STRAMIEL> Yes, I must say, I'm sorry, but I'm still suffering from jetlag
 and I'm  going to have to limit this to three more questions before we all
 go home.

 <[Jason] J.BRUNKEN> First, I live here  in a  Iowa town  of about 100,000.
 We are  working on  getting a  dealer, one  of your  reps is visiting this
 week.  Can you tell us what's the best way to get atari support  for local
 computer shows?

 <STRAMIEL> Please  write to  us with  your ideas on a local computer show,
 and we'll get back to you.

 <P.MCCULLOUGH> Sam, will the user  be  able  to  install  TOS  1.4 himself
 without having to pay for the labor costs of installation?

 <STRAMIEL> Users should go to their dealers for TOS 1.4 upgrades.
 People who  do not  have a  dealer near  by will learn later this week how
 they can upgrade.

 <STRAMIEL> Last question...

 <[MAST Bob] R.JOHNSON22> I'm with the DC Fest  commitee (WAACE)  and would
 like to  thank Atari for supporting us again this year.  My question is on
 another tack... We heard a lot  earlier  this  year  about  the  Hotz box.
 How's it coming, and when will it be available, if at all?

 <STRAMIEL> We  are working  on the Hotz box as we speak.  I do not want to
 announce a delivery date that we can not meet, but  we are  supporting the
 product and will announce delivery soon.

 <STRAMIEL> Thank you all very much for joining us tonight.

 <STRAMIEL> Let's do this again real soon!

 <JEFF.W> I'll hold you to that, Sam!

 <JEFF.W> Thank  you, Sam  and Ken  for joining  us tonight.  And thanks to
 everyone for coming.  And my apologies to all whose  questions we couldn't
 get to.

 <STRAMIEL> Good bye, all.

 <[TOWNS] STRAMIEL> For those that have questions for Sam, please send them
 to the STRAMIEL account and I will forward them to him. I  can't guarantee
 that you will get an answer, but I will make sure that he gets them.

 <JEFF.W> Thanks again to everyone!



 ==========================================================================
 (C) 1989  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.
 ==========================================================================





   ____________________________________________________________________



 > A DIFFERENT VIEW STReport OnLine        Lloyd "takes another look..."
   ================================


   ctsy GEnie RT



                                       ALL THE WORLD IS A STAGE....
                                       ============================


 by L.E. PULLEY

  
  <STRAMIEL> There were 35,000 attendees at the three day Atari Fair.

  ....Almost more people than are left in the US that own a ST.

  <STRAMIEL> The next challenge is to get the US market up to the same
  level of support.

  ....Of course we said that last year...and the year before...

  <STRAMIEL> We plan to ship the TT in 4th quarter, 1989.  We are shipping
  STE to Europe in September.  The US should see STE's in October.

  ....Of course, I'm the guy that said the STacy and Portfolio would be
  shipping in July...then August.

  <STRAMIEL> We will be shipping Stacy by October, in the US also, pending
  FCC bureaucracy.  We will advertise in the appropriate magazines as we
  have all along.

  ....of course you have to remember how long the blitter for the 520/1040
  was held up by the FCC....and then we decided to drop it.

  <STRAMIEL> We made a very, very costly mistake.  It only really cost
  us $100 million.....

  ....."only really cost" -  $100  million  here,  $100  million  there and
 soon, you're talking about 'real' money. 

  <STRAMIEL> As most of you know, we had a tremendous DRAM shortage in
  the years of 1987 and 1988....Now the DRAM situation has reversed.
  Does anyone out there want DRAM?

  .....in other words, like normal, we're a 'day late and a dollar short'

  <STRAMIEL> But seriously, it's now time to re-enter the US.

  .....since this is 'the Year of Atari', it's about time to think about
  re-entering the ST market.  After-all, it's only September.

  <STRAMIEL> At the Dusseldorf fair, we saw a lot of serious software,
  particularly graphics software.

  .....if you want serious software for your ST, you're going to have to
  move to Germany.  Cause after the way we've messed up the US market,
  there ain't anyone left here to write serious software.

  <STRAMIEL> I was personally very turned on by the CD ROM three years
  ago, and still am today....unfortunately I can not predict when we will
  ship to the general market.

  ....we've got ton's of those turkeys in the warehouse that we'd love to
  break even on. But since after three years we still haven't written the
  software to support them, we're stuck with them....unless we can find a
  'unsuspecting' developer to dump some onto.

  <STRAMIEL> Our standards for dealers are basically the same as the
  industry's.

  .....if they'll carry the line, they're a dealer!

  <STRAMIEL> The answer is that we must find dealers ASAP.

  .....after 4 years, we just discovered our dealer network is almost
  non-existant.

  <STRAMIEL> The upgrade path is to buy an STE.  We do not find it
  economical for us or for you to charge a fortune for upgrade boards.

  .....in other words, we've 'put it to you again' and stuck you with a
  machine that isn't upgradeable.  If you want to upgrade your 1-meg
  machine to 2-meg, sell it and buy a Mega.  If you want to upgrade your
  2-meg Mega to a 4-meg machine, sell it and buy a Mega 4.  If you want
  the features of an STE, sell your Mega 4 (if you can find a buyer) and
  buy a STE.  We make more money when we sell you a new machine than if
  we tried to give you 'support' and allow you to upgrade your old one.

  <STRAMIEL> and if we do too many things at one time, we will not succeed.

  .....you should know by know that Atari can't walk and chew gum at the
  same time.

  <STRAMIEL>.....I'm going to have to limit this to three more questions
  before we all go home.

  .....if I  don't get  out of here fast, they might ask me why Atari has a
 revolving door policy for it's high-level management.


 EDITOR NOTE:
     The above passage speaks for itself  and we  commend Lloyd  for having
 the courage  to say things, as always, just the way he sees them.  We wish
 to thank him for having brought these points out.  

     Now, there is one part that  was missing  that we  all must  pay close
 attention to  in the  coming weeks.   Sam  was asked  about the outrageous
 price increases put in place in  the exchange  program and  amazingly, his
 answer was, simply put, he knew NOTHING about the changes!  Hopefully when
 he goes over this debacle, he will restore it to it's original  format and
 thus, give back to the loyal users the protection they desperately need.






   _____________________________________________________________________



 > WOA DALLAS  SHOW NEWS  A superb and affordable networking setup..
   =====================


                                                 LOW COST NETWORKING
                                                 ===================

  
 SHOWN AT THE WORLD OF ATARI


     Paradise  Computers  and  SGS  software showed the first complete (low
 cost) networking product for the Atari ST and Mega series  of computers at
 the World of Atari Show in Texas.  The product, SGSnet, gave two "node" ST
 computers the ability to share the  40 megabyte  hard drive  of the single
 "file server"  ST computer.   People at the show were invited to try out a
 variety of software over the network.  SGSnet was also  available for sale
 at the show.

     SGSnet  uses  a  SGSnet  connector  box  for  each  ST computer on the
 network.  These allow the network to operate  even if  other node  STs are
 turned off  or removed  from the network.  There is also an activity light
 on each SGSnet connector box to monitor the current network activity.  The
 connector boxes  use the  MIDI ports  for a  transfer rate of 31,500 baud.
 Thats over three times faster then  a  9600  baud  modem  attached  to the
 serial port.   These boxes allow ST systems to be connected with up to 500
 feet of coax cabling.

     SGSnet is a "Network Operating System".  The  server computer receives
 standard  GEMDOS  operating  system  commands  from  each  computer on the
 network.  The server is a  non-dedicated system  being able  to run either
 TOS or GEM programs at the same time nodes are accessing the network.  The
 speed of the server is minimally affected by network activity.   Up  to 32
 ST computers  may be  logged onto  the network  and up to 100 files can be
 monitored by the server at one time.

     SGSnet is fault tolerant.  Network  data is  constantly checked  as is
 passes through the network.  SGSnet will continue to work even if the MIDI
 cables are unplugged and plugged back in without interruption of  the data
 to the  nodes or  the server.   Furthermore, SGSnet was designed to insure
 hard disk data integrity.

     Other features of SGSnet include open  file monitoring  on the server,
 setting node  permissions, automatic  re-login of nodes and automatic file
 locking.  Installation of the software is made  very easy  due to  our new
 INSTALL program  that does  everything except put the working disks in the
 drive.

     SGSnet can be used by any  person  or  group  with  more  then  one ST
 computer.   This includes schools, Atari dealers, users groups, developers
 small businesses, etc.  SGSnet works AND its available NOW from your local
 Atari Dealer or Paradise Computers.

     The SGSnet  starter kit  including server software, node software, two
 SGSnet connector boxes and six feet of coax  cable has  a retail  price of
 $159.95.  This is everything you need to network two ST computers together
 to share a hard  drive  or  ramdisk.    The  SGSnet  add  on  kit includes
 additional node  software & manual, an additional SGSnet connector box and
 six more feet of coax cable.  This is everything you need  to add  on a ST
 computer to the network and has a retail price of $109.95.

           Ordering information can be obtained by writing to:
                      Paradise Computer Systems
                       3485B Sacramento Street
                     San Luis Obispo, CA  93401
                         Attn:  SGS Software

                    You may also call (805) 544-7130.  
                  (805) 544-3165 for the Paradise BBS.





   ____________________________________________________________________




 > H/D Backup STReport InfoFile     A Slick alternative...
   ============================


                                                THE POWERHOUSE BACKUP
                                                =====================


 Announcing. . . .   Diamond Back!
    
     Defining a  new standard  as the  FASTEST and  most POWERFUL file hard
 disk backup and restore program for the Atari ST.   As a  true file backup
 that is  FASTER   than image  backups and  with more features than all the
 rest combined,  Diamond Back is in a class by itself!  A brief synopsis of
 some of Diamond Back's powerful features is presented below.
    
                           :SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
   
            ANY Atari ST!  No memory or hardware restrictions!
        
 BACKUP FEATURES:  The FASTEST and most POWERFUL hard disk backup available
 for the Atari ST!  

 -Backup  any  number  of  drive  partitions,  directory  paths,  or single
 directories in a single pass.  

 -Easy specification of directory paths using the GEM file selector dialog.
 Backup specific files with  wildcard  search masks  that can  be different
 for each directory path selected.  

 -Splits files  between disks  to backup files of ANY size! True file based
 backup producing completely TOS compatible files.  

 -File  compression,  file  encryption,   incremental  backup,   and  write
 verify/no verify options available.  

 -Formats  disks   in  normal/twisted,  80/81  tracks,  9/10  sectors,  and
 single/double sided formats.  

 -Pre-formatted disks do not have to be all  the same  type!   No memory or
 hardware restrictions,  yet custom  routines maximize the use of available
 system resources including the use of two floppy drives if available.
   
 -Creates a reference listing  of  all  files  on  each  backup  volume for
 archive and restore reference purposes.  

 -Load and save any number of default backup configurations to automate the
 backup process.  

 -Online help for every program function.   

          All this and MORE, presented with an easy to use  and understand,
                         completely GEM user interface!
           
     RESTORE FEATURES:   Restore  any number of drive partitions, directory
 paths, single directories, or specific files in a  single pass.   Recreate
 the original  directory tree structure or specify a new directory stucture
 for the restored files.  Destination paths can  be specified  on any valid
 drive  partition  and  can  be  different  for  each  specific source path
 selected.  

     Any number of specific files can be selected to be  restored including
 wildcard expansions.  Basically, you can restore ANY backed up file, path,
 or partition to ANYWHERE you want to put it on your hard  drive!   Use the
 backup file listing to locate specific files or paths to be restored.  You
 can start the restore on any backup volume, so if the files you want start
 on disk  11, you  don't have to search through disks 1-10 to restore them!
 All this  and MORE  in the  most POWERFUL  and FLEXIBLE  hard disk restore
 available for the Atari ST.
              
                             Distributed by: 
                          Data Innovations, Inc.
                               644 Linn St.
                           Cincinnati, OH 45203
        
                             Retail:   $39.95
                              Available NOW!

 Note: 
 The current version is 1.03 and it is even faster than these benchmarks!

                 Diamond Back V1.00  vs. Turtle V3.0 benchmark

 |------------------------------------------------------------------------|
 |        Test Partition #1 = 4,131,012 Bytes, 16 Folders, 283 Files      |
 | Disks used: TOS pre-formatted double sided, 80 track, 9 sectors/track  |
 |------------------------------------------------------------------------|
 |        No Verify Option Selected     *  Write Verify Option Selected   |
 |                                      *                                 |
 |       Diamond Back  |     Turtle     *  Diamond Back  |    Turtle      |
 |---------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
 |Disk|Minutes |Total  |Total  |Minutes *Minutes |Total  |Total  |Minutes |
 | #  |&Seconds|Seconds|Seconds|&Seconds*&Seconds|Seconds|Seconds|&Seconds|
 |____|________|_______|_______|________|________|_______|_______|________|
 |  1 |  1:04  |   64  |   98  |  1:38  |  2:09  |  129  |  162  |  2:42  |
 |  2 |  1:07  |   67  |  115  |  1:55  |  2:12  |  132  |  178  |  2:58  |
 |  3 |  1:11  |   71  |  125  |  2:05  |  2:17  |  137  |  187  |  3:07  |
 |  4 |  1:15  |   75  |  112  |  1:52  |  2:26  |  146  |  177  |  2:57  |
 |  5 |  1:06  |   66  |  118  |  1:58  |  2:10  |  130  |  181  |  3:01  |
 |  6 |  1:04  |   64  |  103  |  1:43  |  2:05  |  125  |  170  |  2:50  |
 |----|--------|-------|-------|--------|--------|-------|-------|--------|
 |SUM |  6:47  |  407  |  671  | 11:11  | 13:19  |  799  | 1055  | 17:35  |
 |      -----          |         -----  | -----          |         -----  |
 |Avg. per disk  1:08  |      1:52      |Avg.   2:13     |      2:56      |
 |                                      |                                 |
 |    Diamond Back = 40% Faster         |    Diamond Back = 25% Faster    |
 |--------------------------------------+---------------------------------|
 |      Test Partition #2 = 13,507,389 Bytes , 61 Folders, 944 Files      |
 | Disks used: TOS pre-formatted double sided, 80 track, 9 sectors/track  |
 |------------------------------------------------------------------------|
 |        No Verify Option Selected     |  Write Verify Option Selected   |
 |                                      |                                 |
 |       Diamond Back  |     Turtle     |  Diamond Back  |    Turtle      |
 |---------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
 |Disk|Minutes |Total  |Total  |Minutes *Minutes |Total  |Total  |Minutes |
 | #  |&Seconds|Seconds|Seconds|&Seconds*&Seconds|Seconds|Seconds|&Seconds|
 |____|________|_______|_______|________|________|_______|_______|________|
 |  1 |  1:17  |   77  |  107  |  1:47  |  2:25  |  145  |  174  |  2:54  |
 |  2 |  1:12  |   72  |  123  |  2:03  |  2:16  |  136  |  184  |  3:04  |
 |  3 |  1:02  |   62  |   91  |  1:31  |  2:07  |  127  |  155  |  2:35  |
 |  4 |  1:11  |   71  |  119  |  1:59  |  2:20  |  140  |  184  |  3:04  |
 |  5 |  1:02  |   62  |   95  |  1:35  |  2:09  |  129  |  162  |  2:42  |
 |  6 |  1:17  |   77  |  117  |  1:57  |  2:22  |  142  |  175  |  2:55  |
 |  7 |  1:31  |   91  |  133  |  2:13  |  2:39  |  159  |  202  |  3:22  |
 |  8 |  1:09  |   69  |  103  |  1:43  |  2:13  |  133  |  164  |  2:44  |
 |  9 |  1:31  |   91  |  161  |  2:41  |  2:37  |  157  |  226  |  3:46  |
 | 10 |  1:01  |   61  |   98  |  1:38  |  2:11  |  131  |  160  |  2:40  |
 | 11 |  1:04  |   64  |   91  |  1:31  |  2:09  |  129  |  139  |  2:19  |
 | 12 |   :59  |   59  |   82  |  1:22  |  2:02  |  122  |  149  |  2:29  |
 | 13 |  1:06  |   66  |   90  |  1:30  |  2:11  |  131  |  150  |  2:30  |
 | 14 |  1:13  |   73  |  113  |  1:53  |  2:16  |  136  |  181  |  3:01  |
 | 15 |  1:07  |   67  |  112  |  1:52  |  2:13  |  133  |  176  |  2:56  |
 | 16 |  1:15  |   75  |  105  |  1:45  |  2:20  |  140  |  170  |  2:50  |
 | 17 |  1:23  |   83  |  122  |  2:02  |  2:26  |  146  |  177  |  2:57  |
 | 18 |  1:20  |   80  |  118  |  1:58  |  2:28  |  148  |  177  |  2:57  |
 | 19 |  1:08  |   68  |  119  |  1:59  |  2:23  |  143  |  182  |  3:02  |
 | 20 |   :40  |   40  |  113  |  1:53  |  1:09  |   69  |  177  |  2:57  |
 |----|--------|-------|-------|--------|--------|-------|-------|--------|
 |SUM | 23:28  | 1408  | 2222  | 37:02  | 44:56  | 2696  | 3464  | 57:44  |
 |      -----          |         -----  | -----          |         -----  |
 |Avg. per disk  1:09  |      1:51      |Avg.   2:15     |      2:53      |
 |                                                                        |
 |   Free space on last disk          Diamond back=395K  Turtle = 27K     |
 |                                                                        |
 |    Diamond Back = 37% Faster         |    Diamond Back = 23% Faster    |
 |------------------------------------------------------------------------|

                       Reviews currently scheduled:
     October 1989  ST World                     Reviewed By Victor Albino
     October 1989 ST Informer                   Reviewed By LeRoy Valley
     October 1989 ST X-Press                    Reviewed By Bob Higgins
     October 1989 ST Log                        Reviewed By Peter Smith

 Distributed by: 
                          Data Innovations, Inc.
                               644 Linn St.
                           Cincinnati, OH 45203
        
                             Retail:   $39.95
                              Available NOW!





      _______________________________________________________________




 > SUCCESS STORIES STR Feature    In the Atari Arena, "The Good Guys"
   ===========================


                                                  ICD INC., A NEW STAR!
                                                  ====================


 by R.F.Mariano


     In the Atari Computer  Users Community  there are  a number  of rather
 nifty stories  to be told about young men and women who have done well for
 both the users and themselves.   We will,  in the  course of  the next few
 weeks, provide  cameo spotlights  on the  movers and  shakers in the Atari
 arena.  After all,  it has  been primarily  through their  efforts that we
 have enjoyed  bright new innovative products and software for use with the
 Atari ST computers.

     First things  first,  Last  week  we  mentioned  the  new  ICD Boot-up
 software and  we alluded  to a new host adapter.  Well, as fate would have
 it, there was a word missing from the item as released.   Therefore in the
 interests of accuracy, we reprint and add the missing word.  

     As with all ICD hard drive format and booter upgrades, this new booter
 is available free to all owners of the ICD ST  Host Adapter.   Soon  to be
 announced is the new and improved ICD Host Adapter ** SOFTWARE **. 

     Reportedly, this  version, although  modestly pointed out by Howard at
 ICD as being simply  an  enhancement,  is  a  radical  departure  from the
 software we are very familiar with.  From all preliminary indications this
 set of hard disk  utilities and  formatting software,  Our Humble Opinion,
 will "leave  the rest  in the dust for some time to come".  Consider this,
 smart formatting software, it  will sense  which devices  are present; ie,
 Adaptek or  OMTI, also,  whether or  not the  drives are  embedded and the
 quantity thereof.

     In the tradition of pioneering, ICD has been there and back. Fondly, I
 remember the  days of  "Sparta-Dos", it  was a remarkable time, to watch a
 1050 disk drive go  true  double  density  and  move  at  breakneck speeds
 because of  the US Doubler and spartados literally gave cause to everybody
 to "get a set of doublers".   The PR Connection came next and  indeed, was
 a major  breakthrough for every Atari user suffering from the "850 Blues".
 The PR made modeming for the Atari user  an affordable  reality instead of
 an unreasonable  luxury.   More than  likely, the PR opened up modeming to
 many more  Atarians and  provided the  necessary links  to the information
 channels (BBSs)  that kept  the Atari  market alive.  Then came the mighty
 MIO, eight bit users went crazy  trying to  find ways  to make  this major
 investment, it  simply was  unheard of to have a 1mb ramdisk on an Atari 8
 bit or any 8 bit for that matter.  The Atari community  had little  if any
 inkling of what was to come...

     Blazing a trail through the quagmire of muddled hard drive information
 was a monumental undertaking.      It  appeared  to  all  of  us  who were
 interested in  hard disks at the time that Big Blue (bleech) was very busy
 trying to confuse and/or not reveal all there was to know about the drives
 and the uses thereof.  Of course, this was not entirely true, however, one
 had to KNOW WHERE to look for the vital information.  ICD willingly shared
 that  information  with  every  MIO  owner.   Looking back it was quite an
 adventure we went on, a one mb MIO connected to a 128k  computer which, in
 turn, was  connected to  a 20  30 mb hard disk.  The MIO performed quite a
 well for all the "hats" it wore, it was the  modem interface,  the printer
 interface, the  hard disk  interface and  of course  a ram  disk with MORE
 memory than the computer!   Thirty megs at that  time was  the cat's meow!
 It was easy to hear.. "You'll NEVER fill up that monster of a hard drive!"
 Famous last words.  Speaking just for myself, I often recall the days when
 the BBS was a Seagate ST 238N in a 'shoebox'.. and sit in sheer wonderment
 at what ICD's bright young people will come  with next.     Hmmm that word
 ...next has a strange magical "ring" to it.  

     ICD has  as the  expression goes,  "come a long way baby", the company
 and it's product line are first class and....the folks they  have there to
 help the  atari userbase  are among  the most  courteous and helpful to be
 found.  The founders  of  ICD  are  Tom  Harker  and  Mike  Gustafson, the
 technical  personnel  available  are  Howard  Peters, Craig Thom and Jerry
 Horanoff these folks  are  the  "frontline",  the  buffer  zone  for every
 complaint (almost  or so  it seems)  that comes  in.  Barb Peden and Carol
 Houston take  expert care  of the  front office  and Cliff  Terry and John
 Shoemaker  are  ready,  willing  and  able  to  help  as  far as sales are
 concerned.

     ICD has constant new and innovative goodies under  development for the
 ST and  other markets  at this time.  For the very near future, look for a
 real muscle power, lightning fast autoboot program and  a formatter that's
 virtually "neophyte-proof".   A formatter that's almost fully automatic in
 all it's functions.  ICD Inc., by it's actions, continues to be one of the
 front running leaders in the third party support area for the Atari ST. 



 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                 ICD, Inc.
                             1220 Rock Street
                            Rockford, IL  61101
                                815-968-2228






  ______________________________________________________________________




 > READER INPUT STR Spotlight     SH ..Did his dealer wrong....
   ==========================


                                               WE GET LETTERS....
                                               ==================



 This letter  came from reader who felt he had to speak up in behalf of his
 dealer...  Was he right?  You be the judge, let us know.

     A couple of weeks ago S/H  sent out  a single  page flyer  to announce
 that they  had just updated Falcon for the ST.  (The flyer doesn't mention
 any other type of computer)  The flyer mentioned the new features  and had
 a  header;  "Order  the  MISSION  DISK, receive the FALCON UPGRADE FREE!".
 They did say in the flyer that  the  upgrade  would  cost  $7.50  ..if you
 didn't get the Mission Disk.

     Here's where  I screwed  up.   I figured  that since you can't use the
 mission disk without the original program, and since they were saying that
 the upgrade  was free with the mission disk, therefore the upgrade must be
 packaged with the mission disk.  Well since  I don't  really care  for the
 company and I have a local dealer who can use all the business he can get.
 I decided to purchase the mission disk from him.

     Here's the part of the story  I still  don't understand.   I purchased
 the mission  disk on  Sat. 8/19  from my  local dealer.  It had no upgrade
 included.  So today (Mon. 8/21) I called S/H. They were very courteous and
 explained that  the upgrade  disk was only free if I purchased the mission
 disk DIRECT FROM THEM.  Otherwise, it would cost me the $7.50!

     Here's  the  confusing  part;  Why  would  a  company   that's  always
 complaining that  they're not  selling enough  ST software, deliberatively
 cut the local dealer out of the picture?  Also why, if they knew that they
 were planning  to offer a better deal by buying direct that from a dealer,
 why would they release the mission disk for retail sale?

     If I was a dealer with S/H stock  on the  shelves.   After seeing this
 deal I  would pack  it up, demand any refunds I had coming, and never sell
 S/H programs again!

     Well there you have it.  Maybe I'm over-reacting but there are  so few
 dealers stocking  ST software that when a very vocal software company cuts
 the dealers throat, I get angry. 

 Editor Note:
 Let us know what you think of  this,  the  latest  in  the  ongoing reader
 supplied "hot spots" that appear to be in need of attention.





      _______________________________________________________________





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




 - Sunnyvale, CA                   ***** USERGROUP TO HOST BOB BRODIE *****
   --------------

     On  Saturday,  September  9th,  I  will  be attending a meeting of the
 Jersey Atari Computer Group.   The  members of  the Jersey  Atari Computer
 Group  have  scheduled  appearances  from A.N.A.L.O.G. and  Atari Explorer
 magazines as well.    Scheduled  to  appear  from  A.N.A.L.O.G.  is Arthur
 Leyenberger, and  from the Atari Explorer either Elizabeth Staples or John
 Jainschigg.

     I would like to encourage all Atari users in the area to  attend  this
 meeting.    David  Noyes  of  the  Jersey Atari Computer Group has already
 contacted a number of other groups, including   the Jersey  Atari Computer
 Enthusiasts, ABE's  ACES, Lehigh Valley Atari Users Group,  Brooklyn Atari
 Society of Information  and  Communication,  and  the  Ol'  Hackers.   The
 meeting  will  be  held  at  the  Bell Labs Auditorium on Mountain Ave, in
 Murray Hill, New Jersey at 9:00AM.  For further information  or directions
 to the  meeting, please  contact Dave  Noyes, at  201-852-3165 evening, or
 201-953-7977 daytime.




 - San Francisco, CA.   ******* HARD COPY MAGAZINE MAKING EXCUSES! *******
   ------------------

     I just was told to not  expect the  STE until  1990.   The TT  in late
 1989.  The STE will also have a noticeable price difference between it and
 current ST models.  Reason for the delay:  Too many products to release in
 a short period of time.  First come the Portfolio, Stacy, and Lynx.
                              -STeve Mortimer- ANTIC AUTHORS 76703,1077

     Here we  go folks,  ....the first set of excuses!  Don't look for this
 and oh there's too many new products to release, not enough time...  GAAK!
 The last thing we need is  to see  excuses..... Sorry  guys, but  the last
 thing you  should be doing is offering excuses for the blitzenzoomers.  OR
 is it in vogue these days?




 - Jacksonville, FL.                   **** USER UPDATABLE OS CHIPS? ****
   -----------------

     The best of both worlds would be EEPROM.  You flip a  small dip switch
 on the  side of  your ST, stick TOS 1.4 diskette into drive, click on Load
 New Op System.  After a short while  the Op  system is  written to EEPROM,
 and verified.   You  flip the  dip switch back (the switch is connected to
 the Write Enable pins of the EEPROM chips) and you're all set.  No service
 call required,  you keep  the disk  safe -  the disk could even be patched
 with minor revisions.  EEPROM memory chips have  limited write capability,
 about 100,000  writes max.   I  have to  assume we would not have to worry
 about going to TOS  1000.9 on  the same  set of  chips.   But then, nobody
 ASKED me for my ideas, did they?   
 The above suggestions were made by J.Ness, AUTHOR OF QWIK CIS, we included
 them because, to us, they make a whole bunch of good sense...




 - Jacksonville, FL.         *****  PC DITTO II COUPONS ARE MAILED OUT ****
   -----------------


     AVANT-GARDE SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES ..and it goes on to  detail pc  ditto II
 fairly well.   This  is the header on the coupon, but ..the important line
 on the coupon is  "PLEASE ALLOW  4-6 WEEKS  FOR DELIVERY  - PURCHASE OFFER
 EXTENDED TO  OCT.15, 1989.   If you are a registered owner of PC Ditto and
 have not received your  coupon, write  to Avant-Garde  at 381  Pablo Point
 Drive, Jacksonville,  Fl. 32225.  The coupon permits a registered owner to
 purchase the NEW Ditto II for half the regular price of $300.00.




 - Andover, MA.             **** FAST TECHNOLOGIES TO BEGIN SHIPPING! ****
   -----------

     Jim Allen, that photogenic character on the front cover of  ST X-PRESS
 magazine,  is   reportedly  readily   to  begin  shipping  the  T16  16mhz
 accelerator boards within 2 weeks.   This is  super good  news for  the ST
 community  as  this  is  the  board  we covered a few weeks ago and highly
 recommend to the users as a reliable "it gets the  job done"  upgrade.  He
 also added,  that the Atari floating point upgrade, since it uses it's own
 oscillator, is not synchronized to the  ST CPU  so on  the average,  it is
 actually slower  than if Atari had used the ST 16mhz clock.  This means if
 one purchases the Atari board, or  uses  the  moniterm  board,  one should
 disconnect the  16mhz internal  clock and  use the  16mhz clock that is in
 operation on the Mega ST motherboard.  As an added benefit, the  T16 board
 increases the speed of the Floating Point Chip by a mean average of 50% in
 all modes.  He said.







   _____________________________________________________________________




 > WAACE ATARI FEST STR NewsPlus   Usergroups helping Atari and the users.
   =============================




            Washington Area Atari Computer Enthusiasts (WAACE)
                          Fifth Annual Atarifest 
                  Scheduled for October 7th and 8th, 1989


     The Washington  Area Atari  Computer Enthusiasts (WAACE) has announced
 that the fifth annual Washington  D.C.  area  Atarifest  will  be  held at
 Fairfax High  School, 3500  Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, Virginia on Saturday
 and Sunday, the  7th  and  8th  of  October.    Atarifest  is  a computing
 exposition featuring  the Atari  line of  personal and  home computers, as
 well as the complete  line of  entertainment systems.   The  show features
 educational   seminars   covering   nearly   all   areas   of   computing;
 demonstrations of various applications of Atari  computers, including MIDI
 music,  desktop  publishing,  and  entertainment; and exhibits by software
 publishers and hardware manufacturers  showing the  latest developments in
 the Atari world.  In the past, representatives from Atari Corporation have
 been on hand to answer questions and provide assistance.

     This year's theme is "The Atari Alternative," and the goal  is to show
 how Atari  computers can  be used  in business  and in  the home.  It will
 include demonstrations of both  eight-bit (400/800/XL/XE)  and ST software
 and hardware.   Whether  for creative  endeavors, helping with some of the
 household paperwork, or just to have fun, the organizers of  Atarifest '89
 intend  to  show  how  the  "Atari  Alternative"  can  meet and beat other
 computer systems in its class, and why Atari Corporation's motto is "Power
 Without the Price."

     WAACE  is  a  confederation  of  Atari  user  groups  in the Maryland,
 Virginia, and Washington, D.C.  area,  each  dedicated  to  supporting the
 Atari community  in their  respective areas.  Atarifest is co-sponsored by
 the  Fairfax  County  (Virginia)  Public  Schools'  Office  of  Adult  and
 Community Education,  and the  emphasis has  always been  on educating the
 public about computers and their uses.  The 1985 Washington  Atarifest was
 one of  the first  such shows,  which are  now held in more than 10 cities
 across the nation.

     Atarifest has grown in  popularity, attracting  thousands of attendees
 each year.   This year, organizers hope to attract over 5,000 people.  The
 show is open to all persons  who have  an interest  in computing,  and the
 FREE ADMISSION and hourly door prizes (including an Atari hard disk drive)
 encourage attendance by those who may not yet own an  Atari computer.   It
 is especially  designed to  have something  of interest for everyone, from
 diehard Atarians to mainframe systems managers to computer neophytes.

     Fairfax High School is located  at  3500  Old  Lee  Highway,  just off
 routes 29  and 50  in Fairfax,  Virginia.   The school can conveniently be
 reached from the Vienna Metro station (Orange line) by taking  the Fairfax
 Cue bus.   Hours  of the show are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, and
 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.  Most user group demonstrations  will be
 conducted on  Saturday only.  For further information, call John Barnes at
 (301) 652-0667. 
   
                     For further information contact:

                    Gary Purinton       (703) 264-8826
                    John Barnes         (301) 652-0667

                          Vendors should contact:

                    Johnna Ogden        (703) 450-3992.




                 IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT WAACE ATARIFEST '89

     Having recently learned that our canvassing of the  Atari World missed
 a number  of people  who are  interested in participating in  WAACE's 1989
 AtariFest.  

 Locations:
 ==========

        WAACE ATARIFEST LOCATION - Fairfax High School, Fairfax, VA

    Headquarters Hotel - Quality Inn, Fairfax City, Fairfax, VA
        Rate: 49.50 regardless of number of persons in room
        Phone Toll Free - 1-800-223-1223  MD-VA-DC 591-5900
        Be sure to say that you are with ATARIFEST
  
 Banquet - Hunan Lion III restaurant - Buffet Style, $20 

 Key Dates: 
 October 7 - 10 am to 5:30 pm - User group demos, seminars, Vendor         
                                sales.
  
 October 7 -  6 pm to 7:30 pm - Hospitality at Quality Inn October 7 - 7:30
                                pm, Banquet, Sig Hartmann featured speaker.
  
 October 8 - 12 pm to 5:00 pm - Seminars, Vendor Sales, MIDI Concerts

 September 25 - Hotel Reservation deadline September 20, 1989

 Deadline for material for the printed program September  20 -  DTP Contest
 deadline (this is an extension)

 Costs - all are prepaid, send check with order
     
                      Admission for the public - FREE

 Vendor Tables  - $150  for 3ft x 12 ft table, limited number in main area,
                    plenty in overflow areas.

 Program Advertising - $60 for full page - Provide Camera-ready layout in 8
                    1/2 x 11 portrait format.

 Banquet Tickets - $20 each, total available - 100 Addresses:

          Vendor Tables:        Program Ads:       Banquet Tickets:
          Johnna Ogden          Steve Rudolph      Russell Brown
          15 Wedgedale Dr       11914 Galaxy La    13757 Mapledale Ave
          Sterling, VA 22170    Bowie  MD 20715    Dale City, VA  22193
          703-450-3992






    __________________________________________________________________




 > Usergroup Support STReport InfoFile
   ===================================



                                                     August 27, 1989

 Contact: Pattie Snyder-Rayl (313) 973-8825
          Unicorn Publications
          3487 Braeburn Circle
          Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108

                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Atari  Interface  Magazine  Offers  User  Groups  a  Low Cost, Hassle Free
 Newsletter Alternative

 ANN ARBOR, MI 

     Has your Atari user group found itself spending  a large  chunk of its
 funds to  produce and  mail a  club newsletter?  Do you have an overworked
 newsletter editor  who scrambles  to get  each newsletter  produced?  Does
 your  club  find  it  increasingly  harder  to  have  a quality newsletter
 containing  original  articles?    Has  your  club  tried  including Z*Net
 supplements only  to find  the increased production costs far outweigh the
 benefits?

     Unicorn  Publications, producer  of  Atari  Interface  Magazine (AIM),
 announces  a  plan    to  help  Atari  user  groups  overcome  the hassles
 associated with producing a club newsletter.  We invite your  club to join
 groups from  Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas in becoming a Participating Club
 in Atari Interface Magazine for the  unbelievably  low  price  of  only 50
 cents per issue per member...for each member, that's only $6.00 per year!

     For the  price many clubs are currently paying for postage alone, your
 members can have a high quality, national newsletter  delivered each month
 to their  doors.    Here's  how it works:  Participating Clubs submit club
 news, minutes, reviews,  editorials   and  other  feature  articles  on or
 before the  17th of  each month.   Participating clubs also supply mailing
 labels for their members and a check  or  money  order  for  50  cents per
 supplied label.   Here  at Unicorn Publications,  we write monthly columns
 and features, and we do all the "dirty  work" --  editing, laying  out and
 producing the magazine and mailing each issue to the club members.

     For  those  of  you  unfamiliar  with  AIM, Unicorn Publications began
 producing the  magazine back  in December,  1987, under  the name Michigan
 Atari  Magazine.    With  the  addition of Participating Clubs outside the
 state of  Michigan in  January, 1989,  the publication  evolved into Atari
 Interface Magazine.   The  magazine supports  both  the Atari 8-bit and ST
 computers.  With over-the-counter sales in select Atari  stores from Maine
 to  California,  chances  are  you  can  find  a copy of AIM at your local
 dealer.

 As well as submissions from participating clubs, the magazine currently
 includes the following regular monthly columns:

    *  Atari Bulletin Board, a look at what's new each month in the
       Atari world

    *  Turbo Info by DataQue's Chuck Steinman who discusses the Turbo-816
       16-bit processor upgrade for Atari 8-bit owners

    *  Hard Drive Information from Toad Computers and ABCO  Computers, two 
       of many suppliers of hard drive kits for the ST.

    *  An in-depth tutorial to help people get the most from the
       AtariWriter+ wordprocessor

     If  your   editor  is   currently  struggling  to  produce  a  monthly
 newsletter, or if your club has tried including Z*Net supplements  only to
 find  that  local  content    has to be decreased or newsletter production
 costs soar out of reach, we urge you to consider participating in AIM.

     Production and mailing of a monthly  club newsletter  is, quite often,
 the largest  expense for  a club.   As a Participating Club paying only 50
 cents  per  issue  per  member,  your  newsletter  costs  should  decrease
 substantially.   At the  same time,  your club joins with other Atari user
 groups to gain the benefits of  participating  in  a  national  user group
 publication.

 For more information on becoming a Participating Club in Atari Interface
 Magazine and other benefits of participation, 
 contact:
                            Pattie Snyder-Rayl
                              (313)  973-8825
                                    Or 
           Call our BBS at (313) 973-9137 (300/1200/2400 baud).

 Unicorn Publications can also be reached via electronic mail on:
                         CompuServe (ID 71361,411)
                            GEnie (UNICORNPUB)
                            Delphi (UNICORNPUB)

                   We hope to hear from your club soon!




      _______________________________________________________________




 > STReport InfoFile  High Quality, Custom built, mass storage devices..
   =================


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


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

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

                          ICD HOST ADAPTERS USED
                                EXCLUSIVELY

                  * ADAPTEK 4000/4070/5500 CONTROLLERS *

                      * OMTI HIGH SPEED CONTROLLERS *

         32mb #SG32238   469.00              42mb #SG44710   519.00
         51mb #SGN4951   579.00              65mb #SG60101   649.00
        80mb  #SGN296    779.00              85mb #SG840110  969.00
        120mb #SG12044  1049.00             135mb #SG3A1210 1149.00
        264mb #SGT41776 2189.00             320mb #SGN77884 3295.00

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

            *** ALL Units: Average Access Time: 24ms - 34ms ***

    ALL UNITS COMPATIBLE WITH --> MAGIC SAC - PC-DITTO/II - SPECTRE/GCR
                                        
             LARGER units are available - (special order only)

                 Removable Media Devices Available (44mb)
                                        
                 ***  Available for ST - Amiga - IBM   ***
                                        
                 LOWBOY - STANDARD - DUAL BLOWER CABINETS

                     - Custom Walnut WOODEN Cabinets -

                         TOWER - AT - XT Cabinets
                      ALL POWER SUPPLIES UL APPROVED

                          12 month FULL Guarantee
                         (A FULL YEAR of COVERAGE)

                 Quantity & Usergroup Discounts Available!
                 _________________________________________

                     DEALERS and DISTRIBUTORS WANTED!

                       Personal Checks are accepted.

                              ORDER YOURS TODAY!

                       904-783-3319    9am - 8pm EDT





   ____________________________________________________________________



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



                                  NITWIT SKULLDUGGERY...

                "LET'S SET HIM UP, ... SO HE CAN NAIL US!!"

                                             ....DUH!!




                             "ATARI IS BACK!"

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ST-REPORT Issue #103   "Your Independent News Source"  September 01, 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.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

