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


  October 13, 1989                                        Vol III  No.109
  =======================================================================
  
                         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: #109 STReport        The Online Magazine of Choice! 
   ------------------- 
           - The Editors' Podium                   - CPU REPORT
           - TT and Compatibility                  - Key Virus
           - CBM plans Media Blitz                 - TOS 1.4 & You

             ---===***  WAACE A TRUE SUCCESS STORY  ***===---
            ---====***  ATARI FIGUREHEAD TO RETIRE!  ***====---
    
  =======================================================================
       AVAILABLE ON:      COMP-U-SERVE  ~  DELPHI  ~  GENIE  ~  BIX
  =======================================================================
    
 > The Editor's Podium

     This WAACE  show was  outstanding.   There was something for everyone.
 It rapidly became the  place to  be for  Atarians if  only for  a weekend.
 Now, we simply must report that having had the opportunity to meet so many
 of the faces behind the names/handles was a  totally wonderful experience.

     The highlight of the weekend was, of course, having the opportunity to
 meet Sig Hartmann and  Bob Brodie.   Sig  Hartmann must  be Atari's secret
 weapon, this  man is clearly a delight to talk to and exchange ideas with.
 If ever you have the opportunity please, make it your business to meet the
 man, you will not be sorry.  Once again, he is amazing.
  
     Bob Brodie  has to  be Atari's  foremost discovery in recent years, he
 amplifies the attributes needed in a person serving  in a  laison capacity
 between the  users and Atari.  Bob is more than proficient and in fact, as
 more folks meet and greet him, we feel  he will  become much  more visible
 with added responsibilities in the future.
  
     Full details concerning the show and the results of a number of casual
 interviews are detailed later in this  issue.   Atari should  be jealously
 possesive of  both Sig and Bob.  They were, beyond a shadow of a doubt, an
 outstanding credit to Atari at WAACE.
   
                                                  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


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




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

   Issue # 36


 by Michael Arthur


 Remember When....

     In 1946, the first  truly digital  computer, ENIAC,  was built  at the
 University of  Pennsylvania, and  how, while it was high-tech, with 18,000
 vacuum tubes and the ability to perform 500  operations per  second, could
 only perform specific calculations by modifying its hardware, and how John
 Von Neumann  built the  IAS system,  the first  computer to  store and run
 programs in memory?

 CPU Systems Roundup  XII
 ========================


           Dream Computer Systems IV:  Is RISC worth the Reward?
           -----------------------------------------------------

 Part I


     The  Reduced  Instruction  Set  Computer  (RISC)  Chip,  from  being a
 virtually unknown technology in the computer industry as late as 1987, has
 now become the driving force for many of the low-end Unix workstations now
 flooding the market.  From Sun's SPARCstation to IBM's RT  System to DEC's
 new  DECstation,  RISC-based  systems  have  now become commonplace in the
 workstation market.  However, there has been little standardization in the
 RISC Industry,  resulting in  that a  plethora of RISC Architectures, like
 Sun's SPARC chipset, Intel's 80860  chip,  and  Motorola's  88000 chipset,
 have also flooded the market. And given that most major RISC-based systems
 use  their  own  proprietary  RISC  chips,  this  flood  has  created much
 confusion in  this field.   Since  the main benefit of RISC chips is their
 increased performance, many have  wondered  which  RISC-based  system (and
 which RISC  chip) is  the best  to use.  Also, with microcomputers gaining
 the performance  of  these  low-end  RISC  workstations,  the  choice only
 becomes more difficult....

     In order to explore this situation in depth, while providing a greater
 timespan in which to cover new  developments, each  "Dream Systems" series
 will extend its timespan to appear once every 4 months, with both features
 alternating in the same  sequence as  before, so  a "Dream  Systems" essay
 will appear  once every  7-8 issues.   The "Dream Computer Systems" series
 itself will  also  continue  and  expand  its  focus  on workstation-class
 capabilities.   Furthermore, since  Local Area  Networks are a logical use
 for these Dream Systems, Ethernet Networking will also  be covered.   This
 will  mostly  focus  on  microcomputer  systems,  however,  since the Unix
 workstations have  Ethernet ports  as standard.   To  attempt to determine
 which Dream  System really  IS the  best, I  have made  a list of the most
 powerful microcomputers on the market, comparing their features to make an
 objective opinion.

     I  ignored   variables  like   operating  systems  and  software,  and
 concentrated on the actual computers'  features  and  speed,  the greatest
 amount of mass storage you could attain, and the best graphics that system
 could provide.  While operating systems and software are a definite factor
 in a  computer, I wanted to aim for the best hardware itself, to which you
 could  add  the  other  items.    However,  since  many  of  the  high-end
 microcomputers featured  here are  beginning to rival workstations in both
 performance  and  price,  this  series  will  now  include   some  low-end
 workstations in its analysis, in order to both study the state of high-end
 microcomputers as compared to low-end  workstations,  and  to  see whether
 these microcomputers outperform some workstations in certain aspects....

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


       (Warning!:  Do not be surprised by the Retail Prices Shown.)




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

   - ALR PowerCache 4 -
  
               Total Cost of System: $21,100.00 Dollars

     This IBM  Compatible is  a 25 MHZ 80486 system with 8 Megabytes of RAM
 onboard, a built-in Math chip and VGA support, 7 AT Expansion Slots, and a
 built-in 130 Meg Hard Drive.

     To  further  enhance  this  system,  I  would add a 1 Gigabyte Magneto
 Optical Drive made by Maxtor using  Removable Cartridges,  a Dell GFX-1024
 Graphics Performance  Accelerator, with  a TI  34010 Graphics Coprocessor,
 and future support of  the TIGA  Display standard,  a 3Com  Etherlink Card
 providing an Ethernet port, and an NEC Multisync 4D Monitor.

 So with this system, you would have:

        ALR PowerCache 4 w/25 MHZ 80486 chip (Cost: $10,000.00)
        3 SIMM Memory Modules w/2 Megs of RAM Each (Cost: $1800.00)
        Maxtor 1 Gigabyte Magneto-Optical Cartridge Drive (Cost: $7000.00)
        3Com EtherLink Card (Cost: $300.00)
        NEC Multisync 4D Monitor (Cost: $2000.00)

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

        Extended Mode has 640*480 with 256 Colors out of 256,000
                          800*600 with 16  Colors out of 256,000
                          800*600 with 256 Colors out of 256,000
                         1024*768 with 16  Colors out of 256,000

 GPX - 1024 Resolution:  1024*768 with 256 Colors out of 16 Million

 Faults with System:  The ALR PowerCache 4's internal 130 Meg Hard Drive
                      is standard, but isn't too useful for anything
                      except as a boot disk, given the Magneto-Optical
                      Drive's abilities....





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

   - Macintosh IIci w/SuperMac Spectrum/24 Board - 

                    Total Cost:  $26,300.00


     This Macintosh uses a 25 MHZ 68030 with a 25 MHZ 68882 Math Chip, Four
 Megabytes of RAM, and 3 NuBus Expansion Slots.  It also comes  with a 1.44
 Meg  High  Density  Disk  Drive,  and uses the SWIM (Sander-Woz Integrated
 Machine) Disk Controller chip to allow the Mac to read/write to MS-DOS and
 OS/2 formatted disks.

     To FURTHER  enhance this  system, I would add Pinnacle Micro's REO-650
 Magneto-Optical Drive, which uses  650 Megabyte  Removable Cartridges like
 those found  for the  NeXT drive,  two Mac  IIci DRAM  Expansion Kits from
 Apple, with 4 Megs of RAM each, an Adaptec Nodem, which is an Ethernet LAN
 Interface Unit that plugs into the SCSI slot, and a Taxan Ultravision 1000
 Monitor to accompany a SuperMac Spectrum/24 Video Card, which lets the Mac
 have a 1024*768 display with 16 Million colors at the same time.

 So with this system you would have:

       Macintosh IIci w/4 Megs of RAM (Cost: $7769.00)
       One Apple Mac IIci 4 Meg DRAM Expansion Kit (Cost: $2000.00)
       Three Mac IIci 1 Meg DRAM Expansion Kits (Cost: $1500.00 total)
       Adaptec Nodem Ethernet Unit (Cost: $500.00)
       REO-650 Magneto-Optical Cartridge Drive (Cost: $5995.00)
       Spectrum/24 Video Board (Cost: $4000.00)
       Taxan 980 20-Inch Monitor (Cost: $3700.00)

 Macintosh II Resolution:  640*400 with 256 Colors out of 16 Million

 With Spectrum/24 it has 1024*768 with 16 Million colors at the same time.

 Faults with System:  None whatsoever.  A SUPERB Dream System....




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

    - SGI Personal Iris w/Geometry Engine - 

                    Total System Cost: $25,500.00

     This is  a Silicon  Personal Iris  with a  20 MHZ R3000 RISC chip from
 MIPS Computer Systems, a R3010 Math Chip, and SGI's Geometry  Engine chip,
 which does  graphics coprocessing.   It also has 8 Megs of RAM standard, a
 170 Meg Hard Drive, a built-in Ethernet Port, and a color monitor....


  So with this system you would have:

       SGI Personal Iris system w/MIPS R3000 chip (Cost: $25,500.00 total)
       SGI 170 Megabyte Hard Drive (Included in System)

 Iris Resolution:
                 1024*768 with 16 million display colors at the same time

 Faults with System:  Hard Disk storage is mediocre, at best....




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

 - NeXT System w/670 Meg Hard Drive - 

               Total Cost of System: $17,000.00

     The NeXT computer features  a 25  MHZ 68030  w/68882 Math Coprocessor,
 Eight Megs  of RAM, 4 NuBus Expansion Slots, a built-in Ethernet port, and
 a  256  Megabyte  Canon  Magneto-Optical  Drive   with  Removable/Erasable
 Cartridges.

     To FURTHER  enhance this  system, I would add NeXT's 670 Megabyte Hard
 Disk Drive.  That's it....

 So with this system you have:

 NeXT  Computer  w/256  Meg  Cartridge  Drive  (Cost:  $10,000.00)  670  MB
 Winchester Hard Drive (Cost: $7000.00)

 (These are the prices BusinessLand, with sole rights to sell NeXT's to the
 US computer market, charges for NeXT Peripherals)

 NeXT Resolution: 1120*832 Pixel Display using Monochrome.

 Faults of System: Canon makes 512 - 640 Meg versions of their  drive using
 Double-Sided cartridges. NeXT uses the Single-Sided, 256 Meg Drive.  Color
 display is not available at this time.



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

   - Sun SPARCStation 1 w/16 Megs of RAM - 

               Total System Cost: $26,500.00

     This is a Sun SPARCStation 1 with a 20 MHZ SPARC chip running at 10 to
 12 MIPS,  a 20  MHZ Weitek  3167 Floating  Point Math  Chip, 8 Megs of RAM
 onboard, 1 S-Bus Expansion Slot, Color Monitor, a 1.44 Meg Disk Drive, and
 a built-in Ethernet port.

     Along with  this would  be a  Sun 650 Megabyte Hard Drive, and two Sun
 Memory Expansion Kits, with 4 Megs of RAM each, for a total of 16  Megs of
 System RAM.

 So with this system you have:

       Sun SPARCStation 1 w/Color Monitor (Cost: $12,500.00)
       2 Sun Memory Expansion Kits w/4 Megs of RAM each (Cost: $4000.00)
       Sun 650 Megabyte Hard Drive (Cost: $10,000.00)

 SPARCStation Resolution: 1152*900 with 256 Colors out of 16 Million

 Faults of System:  A higher monochrome resolution should be developed, and
                    hard disk storage is far too expensive....



 System #6 
 ---------

  - ATW (Abaq) Transputer w/320 Meg Hard Disk - 

               Total Cost of System: $30,800.00


     This is  an ATW  Transputer with  a 20 MHZ T800 Chip having a built-in
 Math Coprocessor, 4 Megs of RAM, and 4 Expansion Slots.   Along  with this
 would be two ATW M112 Expansion Cards, each having 4 T800 Chips and 4 Megs
 of DRAM onboard, and one Abaq F104 Expansion Card, with 1 T800  chip and 1
 Meg of  RAM standard,  for a  total of 10 T800 chips and 13 Megs of System
 RAM, and a Since Helios can  read/write to  MS-DOS disks,  the ATW  uses a
 Mega ST  Motherboard  as an I/O processor, an ABCO 320 Megabyte Hard Drive
 for the ST may also be used.

 So with this system you have:

       ATW Transputer w/4 Megs of RAM (Cost: $8000.00)
       Two ATW M112 Expansion "Farm" Cards (Cost: $12,000.00 total)
       ATW F104 Expansion "Farm" Card (Cost: $2000.00)
       ATW X100 Ethernet Interface Card (Cost: $1100.00)
       ABCO 320 Megabyte Hard Drive for the ST (Cost: $4000.00)
       Taxan Ultravision 1000 Monitor (Cost: $3700.00)

 ATW Resolutions:   1280*960 with 16  Colors out of 16 Million
                    1024*768 with 256 Colors out of 16 Million
                    640*480 w/256 Colors out of 16 Million (Double Buffered
                    screens for high speed animation)
                    512*480 with 16 Million Colors at the same time

 Faults of System:  Hard disk storage is adequate, but comparatively
                    limited.  Also, it is the highest-costing system....


      Notice; Not mentioned, were products that  aren't shipping  yet, like
 the  68030  TT,  or  products  which  have  not been fully announced, like
 Commodore's new Amiga 3000....

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

       In Part I of this series,  a list  of the  best systems  to be found
 currently  in  the  market  was  presented, and shown, were the individual
 features which make these systems.  In Part II these Dream Systems will be
 compared to  each other,  in order  to determine which is, relatively, the
 "best" one.

      But this issue alone indicates many changes in  the structure  of the
 Dream Systems.   The  Mac II  Dream System,  once overpriced, has now kept
 most of its speed while drastically lowering its cost.   It is  now a VERY
 good contender,  competing on a level with the other systems in both price
 and capabilities.  The IBM Dream System, which has always  been a powerful
 system, with steady and noteworthy increases in its capabilities, now uses
 the Intel 80486 chip to rival the RISC Workstations in  performance, while
 keeping a  relatively low  cost.   However, the NeXT System has now gained
 the price/performance leadership for this list, and while  its speed isn't
 as good,  its other  features are excellent.  The SPARCStation 1 is a VERY
 well-balanced system with superb versatility, but  the SGI  Personal Iris,
 with  a  stunning  introduction,  has  stolen  much  of  its thunder, with
 graphics equalled only by the Mac and ATW systems, speed rivalling the IBM
 Dream System, and a price that is moderate for this list.  Now that it has
 been fully introduced, we now see  that the  ATW, while  being superior in
 graphics and  speed, is  not only comparatively weak in some areas, but is
 FAR more expensive than  expected.   Meaning that  parallel processing may
 not be enough to keep the ATW in First Place....

 But ponder, if you will, these questions:

 1)    Given  the  great  performance now found in RISC-based systems, what
     criteria  would  make  a  RISC-based  computer  become  popular,  or a
     particular RISC chip become the dominant RISC standard?

 2)   Commodore is  coming out with a $20 million dollar Ad campaign, which
     will be directed towards the home consumer market,  and mainly carried
     out through  Television. But is TV really the best way to get the home
     consumer  market  to  buy  low/middle-end  computers,   given  Apple's
     unsuccessful TV Ad efforts in 1989?

 3)    To  counter  the  Amiga  ad campaign by Christmas, where could Atari
     optimally target any marketing efforts so as to best generate consumer
     interest in the Atari ST, and provide a strategic avenue for the ST to
     be readily accepted in areas which the ST is best suited for,  such as
     the DTP and educational markets?


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



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


 Redmond, WA         The U.S Patent Office recently granted Microsoft Corp.
 -----------         Patent #4,866,602, which covers the technology of
                     connecting a mouse to a PC through a serial port
                     without the need for an external power supply.  While
                     this won't affect the Mac, Atari ST, IBM PS/2, or
                     Amiga, which have different methods of hooking up a
                     mouse to the computer, it will shake up the market for
                     IBM PC Mice, which stand to benefit from Microsoft's
                     technology.  Since hundreds of thousands of PC Mice
                     are sold each year, and given that Microsoft is now
                     licensing the technology (at reasonable fees, of
                     course) to other PC mouse vendors....

 Glenview, IL        Groupe Bull, a company owned by the French Government,
 ------------        has agreed to buy Zenith's Computer Division for
                     $635 million dollars by early 1990.  Groupe Bull will
                     then become Europe's largest computer company, while
                     Zenith will be able to devote its full resources to
                     becoming dominant in the growing High Definition
                     Television (or HDTV) field, aimed at making TVs with a
                     better resolution.

                     Given that the US Government seems inclined towards
                     letting a US Company set the US HDTV standard, that
                     Zenith is  the only US company that now makes TVs,    
                     while having developed an HDTV system, and that  the  
                     company or group that establishes the US HDTV standard
                     will probably make billions of dollars  from licensing
                     the technology alone....

                     Oddly, Groupe Bull's purchase may cripple Zenith's
                     Computer Division.  It seems that, even though Zenith
                     Computers have won most major US military contracts
                     for the sale of PCs for years, Groupe Bull's ownership
                     of Zenith's Division makes the French Government a
                     major PC maker for the US Military.  Resulting in that
                     the US Air Force is trying to transfer their PC Clone
                     Contracts to another US PC Maker, to protect national
                     security....

 Tarrytown, NY        Hitachi has extended its litigation against Motorola,
 -------------       by charging that the Motorola 88200 Memory Management
                     Unit (MMU), part of its 88000 RISC Architecture,
                     infringes on one of its US Patents for Hardware
                     Memory Management.  Hitachi is also suing Motorola in
                     another lawsuit, saying the MMU in the 68030 chip
                     violates this patent....

 Hopkins, MN          Image Systems  Corp., the  same company  who made the
 -----------         Video Board used in Moniterm's 1280*960 monochrome
                     monitor for the ST, has shown an Ultra-High Resolution
                     Color Board for the Mega ST, which will go in the
                     Mega ST Expansion Slot.  It will provide a 1024*768
                     resolution in either monochrome, or 16 colors out of a
                     4096 color palette.  Cost:  $800.00....

                     In case you are interested in this board, which will
                     also have a socket for the Motorola 68881 math chip,
                     Image Systems' numbers are 1-800-462-4370, and
                     1-612-935-1171....


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


 Errata:   CPU Report  Issue 34  stated that the Mac 512K ROMs contained in
 =======  Mac IIci included the Communications Toolbox, 32-bit Addressing,
          Apple's Outline Font system, and many other features of Apple's
          upcoming System 7.0 software. The Mac 512K ROMs will only contain
          32-Bit Addressing with Virtual Memory, CL/1 Database Access
          Support, 32-Bit QuickDraw, and the Communications Toolbox, in
          addition to standard features....






     _________________________________________________________________





 > A KEY FIGURE STR Feature Accomplishments which will never fade...
   ========================


             "Old PR men never quit, they just fade away...."
             ================================================


 by R.F.Mariano


     Sig Hartmann, to many he is the stabilizing force at Atari, a  man who
 wears many  hats and in fact, the most important hat of all is the smiling
 face and the warm welcome accorded to those he comes in contact  with.  To
 most of  the folks  in the Atari community, Sig has always made a streuous
 attempt to help them  through  the  difficult  times  and  in  many cases,
 provided the correct solutions at just the right time.

     For the  biggest part  of his career, Sig has been associated with the
 Tramiels first at Commodore International and  now at  Atari.   Many folks
 are not aware of his deep involvement in high technology during his tenure
 at TRW.  His story has to be a story  bordered on  history itself  for the
 simple reason he has been involved with sophisticated technology since the
 abacus was  invented.   At least  it seems  that way!   No  matter who one
 speaks to,  or where  one mentions  Sig's name in the computer electronics
 field, he is well known and liked by all.   In today's  highly competitive
 business world, this is no easy accomplishment.

     When Sig  first told  us of  his retirement  plans, we were absolutely
 devastated.  In this man, we found a true stabilizing force in  the stormy
 relationship with  Atari.   He gladly provided an 'open door' and afforded
 not only the STReport Staff, but most all  the media  folks an opportunity
 to  enjoy  relatively  stabilized  relations  with  Atari  Corp.  With his
 resignation and retirement, we doubt these conditions will prevail.

     In discussing this retirement with other industry leaders they (almost
 unanimously) felt  that he  would not be away from the 'business too long.
 In  fact,  they  were  already  wagering  that  he  would  be  back almost
 overnight.

     For whatever  may occur,  we at  STReport, have the warmest of regards
 for Sig Hartmann  and  do  extend  our  heartfelt  desire  for  a healthy,
 comfortable and  successful retirement to Sig.  We will certainly miss his
 warm greetings when we would call Atari or meet him at the various shows.

     We deeply hope that  the powers  to be  at Atari  find a  niche at the
 company for  Sig, maybe  a consultant or elder advisor.  There is no doubt
 his services are still sorely needed at Atari.  The company must  have his
 stabilizing personality.

             Good luck to you Sig, you'll not be forgotten....





      ______________________________________________________________
  
  
  




 > TT - TT/X STR Tech Notes       BLOCK DIAGRAM - FUNCTIONS - FEATURES
   ========================



                                                  _____________ _______
                                                 | Midi in/out | mouse |
                                                  ------------ | Joystk|
                                                       #        ------- 
                                                       #           #
  __________     ___________     _____________     _________   _________
 | MC 68030 |   | ROM 512kb |   | MC 1468 18a |   |6850 ACIA| |6850 ACIA|
 |  16mhz   |   | 4 x 1mbit |   |             |    ---------   ---------
  ----------     -----------     -------------         #           #
      #               #               #                #           #
  ######################################################################
      #                       #     _______________      ____________
  ____________                #####| Yamaha YM2149 |____| Centronics | 
 | MC 68881/2 |               #    | Sound Chip    |__  |  Parallel  |
 |  16 mhz    |   __________  #     ---------------_  |  ------------ 
  ------------  _|  ST DMA  | #  __________________ | |    ______________
  ___________  | |  "ACSI"  |## | Dual Purpose RAM || ----| Drive Select |
 | ACSI port |-   ----------  # | 2 mb 64 bits wide||      --------------
  -----------          |      #  ------------------ |
  ___________   _____________ #     ______________  |      _______________
 | Flop port | | flop contrl |#    | Memory Cntrl | |     | Stereo Audio  |
 | 1mb - 2mb |-| WD 1772/2793|#     --------------  |      ---------------
  -----------   ------------- #  ________         | |           |
             _________        ##| FUNNEL |--------| |  _______________
            | TT glue |########  --------|_       |_|_| Sound Shifter |
             ---------        #  ________ |       |    ---------------
  ___________     ______      ##| FUNNEL |--------|___  _______   _______
 | SCSI port |   | SCSI |     #  --------            |-| VIDEO |-| Video |
 | 25 pin "D"|###|Cntrol|######    ______________      |Shifter| |  out  |
  -----------     ------      ####| MCS 8901 MFP |__    -------   -------
                              #   |  2.4576 mhz  |  |   _______________
                              #    --------------   |--| RS 232 Async. |
                              #                     |   ---------------
                              #    ______________ __|   _______________
                              #   | MCS 8901 MFP |  |--| RS 232 Async. |
                              #   |  2.4576 mhz  |  |   ---------------
                              #    --------------   |   ________________
                              #                     |--|Ext. Interrupts |
                              #                         ----------------
  _________   ______________  #  _____________         __________________
 | VME Bus | |   VME - Bus  | ##| NIBBLE Mode |#######|  Sys. Ram Option |
 | System  |#|    R32/D32   |## | Memory Cntr |       |   4 - 16 mb Dram |
  ---------  |    R24/D32   | #  -------------         ------------------
             |    R24/D16   | # 
              --------------  ####  _____________     ___________________
                                 # | "A" Channel |-+-| RS 232 Serial 25p |
                                 # |-------------| | |-------------------|
                                 ##|8530 SCC DMA | |_|    LAN Systems    |
                                   |-------------|   |-------------------|
                                   | "B" Channel |---|  RS 232 Async 9p  |
                                    -------------     -------------------


               - 16 Mhz Motorola 68030 full 32 bit microprocessor 
               - Optional math co-processor MC68881/68882 Floating Point.  
  
               - 2 mb or, 4 to 16mb of RAM 

               - 512 Kb of ROM in 4 1mb chips

               - 1.44 Mb 3.5" floppy drive, will handle 2 drives
                 WD 1772/2793 controller.

               - VME bus Eurocard expansion 
                    [ TT ]  - 1 single slot
                    [ TTX ] - 5 slots

               - ACSI internal bus with external connector for expansion
               - SCSI internal bus with external connector for expansion

          - Serial ports:
            ------------
               - 2 asynchronous RS-232 ports    68901 MFP
               -  2  asynchronous/synchronous  RS-232  ports  (Appletalk or
                 PromiseLAN)  Zilog 8530 SCC
  
               - Parallel port  Yamaha YM-2149

               - 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 colour modes, special monochrome monitor

     Video modes:
     -----------
                Resolution      Colours      Palette
                ==========      =======      =======
                320x200         16            4096
                320x480         256           4096
                640x200         4             4096
                640x400           "Duochrome"
                640x480         16            4096
                1280x960           Monochrome

          - Battery backed Time/Date clock and 50 byte RAM
                    - 145 watt power supply
                              - Desktop packaging

          - Operating systems
                - ST TOS                      - Unix V Release 3.1 


     Further, Atari added (verbally) that the  co-processor was  the 16 Mhz
 68881 (just plug in the chip, for the small TT it is included in the TTX),
 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).   Also, expect  to hear more
 about "Demand Paging Memory Management" (Unix), GLS, X-Windows

                                 BAD NEWS:

     The monitors will be proprietry 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.


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

     TT
     ==  
         - A  desktop version in an AT style case w/30mb Hard Disk (limited
           expandability) 1 VME Bus slot A24/D16  Eurocard
         - ABSOLUTELY NO UNIX ON THIS VERSION.  This version will be       
           released first....  sometime around  the end of October 1989 and
           mid November.

     TTX 
     ===
         - A Tower configuration w/60mb Hard Disk,   Multiple hard  drive -
           floppy - optical drive bays (3+) Will support both TOS and Unix.

         - 5 VME Bus expansion slots; A32/D32 - A24/D16 - A16/D16  Eurocard

         - Unix  will be  a separate  release Item  (as per STart interview
           with Sam T.)
   
         - TTX Release dates not set but will be during 1990.


 Nota Bene; 
     To be expected, there will be some unavoidable  compatibility problems
     but, Atari is taking all the neecessary steps to maintain an extremely
     high level of downward compatibility with existing software.







      _______________________________________________________________




 > T16 by FAST TECH STR Spotlight    ZZZZZOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!
   ==============================


                                                       THIS IS IT, T16!
                                                       ================


 by R. F. Mariano


     Not too long ago, the prototype  of the  T16 resided  in my  mega4, it
 proved itself quite reliable at that time.  And when it came time to allow
 another  developer  the  opportunity  to  test  his  products   with  this
 magnificent  device,  the  drop  back  to  "stock"  speed became painfully
 unbearable.  

     That is all behind us now, as J. Allen has the T16  in full production
 and the  production model  is now happily residing in my mega4 ..I do mean
 happily too.  This afternoon during a conversation  with the  Word Perfect
 folks,  the  discussion  evolved  to the accellerator boards available and
 which were preferred.  To make a long  story short,  we compared  speed by
 using the  Speller program's  dictionary optimizer as a comparator.  Under
 normal operating standards ie; sans  any  acceleration,  the  average time
 told  to  us  by  WP  was  twenty  minutes.    And,    when  done with the
 accelerators was about 10 minutes or  roughly half  the normal  time.  Now
 comes Mr. T16...  how about 78 seconds?  Thats right, 78 seconds to do the
 very same thing.

     By now, there are  a number  of very  satisfied T16  owners and users.
 Without any  hesitation, we firmly believe this is the only accelerator to
 own.  When we a competitor jump up and savagely slash  prices, we are left
 with only  one conclusion to draw, something is not quite right, there has
 to be a solid  reason  behind  trying  to  undermine  and  destroy  the ST
 accelerator market.  We believe it is a last ditch effort of an "also-ran"
 who lost and this price slash  routine is  a parting  shot that  will only
 hurt the  users who  fall prey  to such  gimmicks.   In most cases such as
 this, the loser is about to  abandon the  market.. we  could erred  in our
 view of  this situation  but in any case please if any of you are about to
 buy the "cut rate" cheepie, think twice.





     ________________________________________________________________

  
  
  
 > Virus Doctor  STR Spotlight  Considering a key virus.
   =========================== 
  


                                                  Wordup 2.0 Virus
                                                  ================

  
 by George R. Woodside 
  
  
     NEOCEPT has released an announcement regarding a virus  on some copies
 of their version 2.0 release disks, a portion of which is reproduced here:

  
 "Neocept has discovered  a  HARMLESS  virus  on  all  of  the  WordUp v2.0
 upgrades and new packages with serial numbers from WUP004000 to WUP004249.
 This virus is completely harmless and does nothing  more than  copy itself
 to the  boot sector  of all  disks that are accessed.  In fact, this virus
 could arguably be called a "virus killer", since it wipes  out any harmful
 virus that  may already  occupy the  boot sector.  It is remotely possible
 that this virus could be the "key" to activate some  other virus,  or that
 this virus  interacts to duplicate some other virus.  However, Neocept has
 already disassembled and looked closely at  the  virus,  and  can  find no
 indication of how it might act as a "key".  To be safe, users should clear
 out all but the first 32 bytes of the boot sectors of  their WordUp disks,
 using a disk editor or a virus killing program. ..." 
  
      I must raise some objection to portions of this announcement. 
  
     I  will   withhold  comments  about  the  responsibility  of  software
 publishers regarding checking releases for viruses. I must, however, voice
 strong protests  at their  attempts to  downplay the  significance of this
 event. 
  
     While I have not yet received an exact copy of the virus,  it has been
 identified as  the "KEY",  "TYPE 1", or "SIGNUM BPL" virus, depending upon
 the anti-virus software you favor. 
  
     There is no stretch of the  imagination by  which this  virus could be
 referred to as a "virus killer".  It is a very real, fast spreading virus,
 with dangerous side effects. 

  
     It WILL spread itself to the boot sector of any disk inserted into the
 ST which  the virus does not recognize as already containing a copy of the
 virus. It will, therefore, overwrite the boot sector of a  disk which must
 be auto-booting,  rendering the  disk useless. It will spread throughout a
 user's disk library quickly. It is  already the  most widespread  virus in
 the USA. 
  
     More dangerous  than the  spread of this virus, however, is the danger
 it represents if it locates the "KEY" for which it is waiting.   While the
 virus must  be on the boot sector of the disk in drive A during a power up
 or reset to become activated, no such condition applies to the "KEY".   If
 the  virus  is  active,  and  a  disk bearing the "KEY" characteristics is
 inserted into the ST, the virus will execute the code present on the "KEY"
 disk as soon as that "KEY" disk is accessed. It does not require the ST to
 be reset.  As soon as the  "KEY"  disk  is  accessed,  whatever  code   is
 present on the "KEY" disk will be executed immediately.  Of course, I will
 not make public what that "KEY" is.  All version of VKILLER will correctly
 identify a "KEY" disk, should one emerge. 
  
     Let me make it perfectly clear that the virus on the WordUp v2.0 disks
 is reported to NOT contain that "KEY".   It will  not harm  systems, other
 than to  destroy boot  sectors, as noted above.  It will, however, cause a
 system to fall victim to whatever code is present on a "KEY"  disk, should
 one be inserted into a system with this virus active.  As of this writing,
 neither I nor any of the other virus fighters I know  have located a "KEY"
 disk. No  one, therefore,  can warn  you of what to expect if a "KEY" disk
 turns up. 
  
     While I applaud  NEOCEPT  for  going  public  with  this  warning, and
 apparently stopping distribution of the virus quickly, I strongly disagree
 with their attempts to lessen the gravity of the situation.  This virus is
 NOT  "harmless",  and  is  absolutely  NOT a "virus killer".  Viruses hurt
 everyone in this industry, and must be fought at every opportunity. 





      _______________________________________________________________




  
 > WAACE Comments STR Feature  "A great show and a terrific effort!"
   ========================== 



 by Ralph Mariano

     We arrived at the Quality Inn friday evening and after  taking care of
 the normal  formalities, we  were actually  in Fairfax ready for the Atari
 fest.  After a shower and a change  of clothes,  we planned  to retreat to
 the lounge,  on the  way, we met a statesman-like gent in the lobby whom I
 immediately recognized as Sig  Hartmann.   After a  short conversation, we
 agreed to meet later for dinner.  As he walked away, I turned and remarked
 to Ron Deal, "he is quite a guy".  Throughout the remainder of the weekend
 I was to find myself repeatedly reminding myself of this fact.

     While  in  the  lounge  I  met  Tom  Harker and Craig Thom of ICD Inc.
 accompanying them was John Eidsvoog of Codehead Software after the meeting
 and  greeting,  I  was  then  introduced to the young men from Doubleclick
 Software.  We remained in the lounge for a while, then as  I looked  up at
 the fancy  staircase I  saw Sig  descending to  the lounge.  He joined us,
 (Ron Deal, Ron Brunk, Mike Vederman,  Keith  Gerdes  and  myself).   After
 ordering a  Perrier and a twist, he began to tell us about Atari's future.
 The only way to  describe this  mans ability,  is compare  his delivery to
 that  of  most  great  politicians.    Sig had the full attention of every
 person in the party.  After  his short,  but uplifting  description of the
 immediate future,  we retired to the dining room where the hotel staff had
 prepared a table for us.

     Once we were settled  in  the  dining  room,  Sig  graciously accepted
 questions from  the fellows  in our  group.   The answers were, to say the
 least, quite straightforward and truthful.   We were  not quite  ready for
 such frankness,  in fact, I will be the first to admit that Sig's outgoing
 personality and truthfulness was the entire turning point for us.   We saw
 in him  a trait  and tactic  we had not expected nor were we prepared for.
 Never the less, it was most refreshing to find.

     Bright and early Saturday morning found us at the Fairfax  High School
 watching all the hustle and bustle in setting up the various displays, Bob
 Brodie was introduced to me by  J. D.  Barnes and  shortly thereafter, Bob
 asked if we would help in setting up the Atari booth, we were glad to help
 and did so.  I was fortunate to  have a  little 'quiet'  time to  look the
 Portfolio over  along with other goodies that were there.  As I set up the
 Megafile 60, a 60mb hard disk and the SLM 804, I couldn't  help but notice
 the speed  of the  new hard disk from Atari, then I set up the Megafile 44
 and a mega 2.  The '44' is very quiet and quite fast.   As we  were keying
 in the  last of  the DTP  system files,  Sig arrived and saw we had indeed
 setup the megas that were on display.  He made a fuss over how  he felt it
 was a  "true step  in the  right direction  for both  Atari and STReport".
 (psst, I saw DesksetII and it looks very nice, the docs are  extensive and
 easy to  follow.   The effort placed in producing the program is more than
 evident and it should become a winner for Atari.)

     Sig's arrival  on saturday  morning would  prove to  become the simple
 beginning to one of the most enjoyable days of my "Atari times".  We spent
 the morning meeting and greeting the vendors and developers throughout the
 show and ..as time went on a very clear picture began to materialize.

     A good percentage of all the folks we met with and discussed what they
 thought needed improvement expressed  almost the  very same  points.  They
 thought the  equipment was excellent, they were concerned about the future
 of the  Mega, they  had the  utmost admiration  for the  machine and found
 almost  all  the  folks  at  Atari  easy  to  deal with.  With one nagging
 exception, one individual's reputation and  name  kept  creeping  into the
 conversations and  everytime the  name was mentioned a sad expression came
 over Sig's face.  He truly handled the continual flow  of complaints about
 this person  better than  any UN Ambassador could possibly have done.  His
 favorite  expression  concerning  this  individual  was  simple  but  very
 eloquent, he  said "give it time, all these things will correct themselves
 with time, he will mature and then these  problems will  be no  more."  At
 any rate,  it certainly  made sense to the folks and they seemed satisfied
 with his response.

     We accompanied Sig to the auditorium where he  and Bob  Brodie were to
 hold the  Atari seminar,  the crowd  was large and already assembled.  The
 seminar was quite candid  and most  of the  folks seemed  pleased with the
 information Sig  and Bob  provided.   In disagreement with some stories we
 have seen on the networks there was no disrespect shown at any  time.  The
 seminar itself was basically a question and answer session where the users
 were given the opportunity  to  dispel  any  anxiety  they  harbored about
 Atari's future.

     Later in  the day  I met Sig once again at the STReport seminar.  Most
 attendees at the seminar  expressed enjoying  the exchange  between myself
 and Sig  and remarked that they were impressed that the so-called friction
 between STReport and Atari  Corp. was  non-existent.   Many of  the points
 covered during the seminar boiled down to two major objectives.  They were
 a) "please communicate more openly with  the userbase"  and b) "Advertise,
 please advertise."

     All in all, the WAACE Atari fest was indeed a resounding success.




                                                       My Observations
                                                       ===============

 by Ron Brunk

     I had the pleasure to attend the WAACE Atarifest in Washington DC, and
 enjoyed every minute.   Attendance was  high by  users (to  judge from the
 "depth" of  crowds at  every table), developers, and vendors, all of which
 seemed enthusiastic about the whole affair.  

     Doubleclick software was there with their latest assortment of utility
 software,  DCSquish  (compresses  .prg/.acc/.ttp/.tos  files), DCSea (self
 extracting   archiver),   DCDeskorg   (executable    desktops),   DCDeskey
 (customized drop-down  menus), DCExtract (an unarcing accessory as fast as
 Dcopy) and DC Ramit (a super fast ramdisk).

     CodeHead Software brought all of their software including  G+Plus (the
 only GDos to use), CodeHead Utilities (a very impressive array of programs
 too numerous to go into here),  and,  of  course,  Multidesk  (my personal
 favorite).

     SofTrek was  there with  TurboST 1.6,  a utility that speeds up screen
 output tremendously.  They were even courteous enough  to distribute their
 beta  version  of  1.7  (an  auto  folder  program  this  time)  which  is
 significantly faster than 1.6.

     A&D (Application and  Design)  was  showing  off  UIS  (Universal Item
 Selector) III,  although it  was not yet ready for distribution.  Upgrades
 will be available for $7 plus the original disk.  I've had this program so
 long now  I take  it for granted.  If you don't have it, check it out.  It
 replaces the normal  item  selector  (appears  when  a  file  selection is
 requested by a program) with a full featured file management utility.

     Seymour-Radix had  the latest version of IMG Scan (a poor mans scanner
 which uses a dot matrix printer and fiber optic cable to scan  images).  I
 was not impressed with the original version that I got a year ago, but the
 demo being shown convinced me to send in my disk for the  latest software,
 as it looked very impressive.

     Fast Technologies  brought the Turbo16 accelerator (pant, pant!) which
 speeds up the ST to a beefy 16 mhz for a mere $299.95.   If I  hadn't been
 buying  new  software  and  updates  right  and left, I'd have gotten this
 upgrade (sigh).

     There were many other developers there I wish I'd spent more time with
 dealing  with  MIDI  and  scanning  software,  but  I  wanted to avoid the
 temptation (I spent my "budget" in the first hour there)  so I regretfully
 cannot accurately  report on  them (ICD  belongs in this category).  there
 were also many commercial vendors, one  of the  most popular  of which was
 "1st Stop"  who's two  assistants (Ginger  and Becky)  drew a crowd all by
 themselves.

     There  were  many  areas  devoted  to  specific  topics  (like desktop
 publishing, emulators,  childrens software,  and telecommunications) which
 focused on  demos  of  existing  programs,  and  a  miniature  swapmeet of
 software (which was actually just sales of used software).

     I also  had the pleasure of meeting a number of people from Genie whom
 I've "read", but never met, the Williams (a delightful couple)  and Darlah
 (the Genie  Sysop), all  of whom I met briefly here and there at the 'fest
 or the parties but was never able to spend any time with.

     The real star of the whole affair was Sig Hartmann of Atari.  Sig gave
 a speech  to the users explaining the recent happenings in Atari (assisted
 by the new user group  co-ordinator  Bob  Brodie  who  impressed  me  as a
 positive  addition  to  the  Atari  organization).    Later in the day Sig
 "attended" (read "participated in") the STReport forum (later  referred to
 as  the  "Sig  and  Ralph"  show).    Rumour  has  it an audio tape of the
 conference exists, perhaps to be uploaded  sometime in  the future  to our
 favorite bulletin board/service.

     I've  tried  to  encapsulate  an  entire  Atarifest  into  a few short
 paragraphs, so  I apologize  to any  developers/dealers/attendees who feel
 "left out"  of this  report, but  there was  so much going on and I didn't
 write anything down (except into my checkbook!).  No, there  was no  TT or
 ATW there and yes, there was "a" Stacey and Portfolio.



  ctsy CIS

 Date:  09-Oct-89 01:15 EDT
 From:  Bill Halvorsen [70347,1713]
 Subj:  Atarifest!!!

     Ralph, it  was a  pleasure meeting you at the WAACE AtariFest over the
 weekend.  I really didn't have the chance to "set you straight"  that I am
 not the  real driving  force (more  like menial worker) in the STatus disk
 magazine pursuit; it's a joint  effort  by  Charles  Medley  (who actually
 wrote that  reader shell  in Assembly),  Peter Liu,  Alex Davis, and a few
 contributing programmers/writers.  My  chores were  writing 4  reviews and
 doing  a  great  deal  of  ASCII file fixing, disk duplication and similar
 drudgery.  

     In other words, I'm not the  brains  behind  the  outfit,  it's really
 Charles  Medley!    There  was  a  lot of interest shown, even quite a few
 dealers out of state were interested  in carrying  future issues.   Now as
 you know,  the challenge is to CREATE that next issue.  I am being hounded
 to write about the Ralph and Sig speeches and the  overall Fest  but right
 now I AM BURNED OUT on the whole subject!!!!!

     Anyway,  good   meeting  you  and  again,  I  wanted  to  correct  any
 misconception I may have  given you  that I  was a  heavy in  the magazine
 thing.   Naaaaah.   Also, your  speech was  fantastic; and  I must say Sig
 seemed  to  acknowledge  a  lot  that  is  going  on,  to   the  point  of
 acknowledging also  that the struggle may seem very uphill at times....but
 to keep on struggling.  Very fine indeed.  Yes,  there is  still a lunatic
 fringe  I  hear  that  criticizes  you  'cause  you are not a "forgive all
 loyalist", who will bow to whatever b.s. comes out of Sunnyvale.   You are
 right on  the money  - we love our ST's and we gotta kick the company into
 continuing to make us like them!!!!!



 Ctsy GEnie RT
  
 Category 11,  Topic 8 
 Message 250       Tue Oct 10, 1989 
 J.D.BARNES                   at 21:22 EDT 

   
                Important People from WAACE AtariFest '89 
  
     Over 125 people worked to make WAACE's AtariFest '89 the  success that
 it proved to be.  At the risk of offending some people I want to point out
 contributions  by  a  small  number  of  individuals  who  deserve special
 recognition.  If any one of these people had fallen asleep at the switch 
 Charles Smeton  and I  would have  been at  a complete loss to take up the
 slack. 
  
     Bob Johnson: 
     -----------
 Bob started early and energetically with  the advertising  campaign, which
 he and  Gary Purinton  co-chaired.  In the end he also took on the Desktop
 Publishing demonstration room and organized a  very informative  series of
 presentations.  The Fest was always in the front of his mind and he pushed
 it mercilessly on GENie and ARMUDIC and in personal phone calls. 
  
     Russell Brown: 
     -------------
 In addition to his  role  as  WAACE  secretary,  which  he  fulfilled very
 effectively, Russ organized the banquet and the hotel accommodations.  His
 contributions  in  to  sound,  well-  reasoned  discussion  throughout the
 planning process were invaluable. 
  
     Gary Purinton: 
     --------------
     In  addition  to  his  role  as  past chairman, in which he acted as a
 storehouse of logistic knowledge, Gary provided  a steadying  influence as
 co-chair of  the advertising campaign.  At the last minute he jumped in to
 help out in the MS-Dos emulation room and he was one of the last  to leave
 when it came time to clean up. 
  
     Bill Brown: 
     -----------
     As  Site  Manager  Bill  established an effective working relationship
 with the school authorities and he used his engineering talents  to ensure
 a smooth fit of the Fest activities into the available space. 
  
     Steve Rudolph: 
     --------------
     When, fairly  late in the game, the organizers decided to put together
 a printed program,  Steve rose to the challenge.  Within a  space of three
 weeks he  had solicited  over 120  vendors and had organized other diverse
 sources of content into an attrac^S^Qtive and valuable publication. 
  
     Johnna Ogden: 
     ------------
     Johnna  acted  as  mother  hen  to  the  many  vendors  who  wanted to
 participate  in   the  Fest.     She  needed  to  constantly  track  their
 requirements and to make  sure that  they lived  up to  their commitments.
 She canvassed  all corners  of the Atari World to come up with an array of
 interesting vendors and products.  Dealing  with these  people required an
 unusual amount of patience and perserverance. 
  
 How did we do? 
  
     I want  to get  my two  cents in in time to help everyone keep a sound
 perspective on our performance.  While the bottom  line, which  I estimate
 at 3000 visitors is not bad, it is also not the whole story.  
  
     The vendors  to whom  I talked  were, for  the most part, pleased.  We
 also had a better  selection of  vendors with  innovative products.   Time
 will tell how well these catch on. 
  
     We also  created an  ambiance which attracted people from further away
 than ever before.  We also  had  more  "celebrities",  people  like  D. A.
 Brumleve,  Darlah,  Ralph  Mariano,  Sig Hartmann, Bob Brodie, the Smalls,
 etc. 
   
 Coverage from the Atari press, with;
 ST  Express,  ST  Informer,  STReport,  ZMag,  and  so  on  was  virtually
 unprecedented. 
  
                The seminars were generally well attended. 
  
     The ancillary  events, like the developers' meeting and the user group
 meeting seemed to be productive.  If the  initiatives undertaken  in these
 meetings take  hold the  Atari community  will benefit  for a long time to
 come. 
  
                    The partying was better than ever. 
  
     On the flip side we had some serious failures.   The MS-DOS emulations
 room suffered  from a  lack of  support from  the vendors  as well as some
 unforeseeable personnel problems.  The hardware add-ons room  likewise had
 to be cancelled because of other demands on the personnel. 
  
     The person who was supposed to stage the MIDI demonstrations on Sunday
 simply was not up to the task of doing that  and operating  a vendor booth
 at the same time. 
  
     Several of  the WAACE  user groups simply did not muster the personnel
 to present themselves effectively.   The experiment with additional vendor
 space was  initially a  failure because the space was too far removed from
 the main flow. 
  
    The 8 bit folks who came did not find much to boost their spirits. 
  
                          What about Next Year? 
  
     The WAACE folks have to sit down and analyze everything before we make
 a commitment  to an  AtariFest '90.   This  show has  clearly outgrown its
 homespun roots.   The  costs  and  logistics  of  using  hotel  space, the
 possibility of  involving more  outsiders, the role of the selling side of
 the show, the need for an Atari-only event of some maginitude on  the East
 Coast.  all  of  these  have  to  be weighed against the resources we have
 available.







        ___________________________________________________________



 > MODEMIZING! STR FOCUS  Another noble purpose for using a modem.
   =====================



                                                  MAXIMIZING MODEM FUN
                                                  ====================


 Now, challenge a modem opponent through game challenge forum


 (Oct. 3)


     When you think about playing a game, whether it's a good old fashioned
 game of Monopoly or a high-tech power match of Flight Simulator 3, chances
 are you  play not  only for  the challenge  but also  for the interaction.
 Although playing  a game  of solitaire  has its  time and  place, there is
 nothing  quite  like  an  exciting  match  that pits you against a living,
 breathing opponent.   

     Interactive computer game aficionados who find  themselves desperately
 seeking  opponents  for  modem-to-modem  electronic  games  need  look  no
 further. The  Challenge Board  working in  tandem with  the Game Challenge
 Forum can  serve as  your electronic  link to opponents the world over for
 several high-tech games, including Falcon, Modem Wars, Flight Simulator 3,
 Empire, 'Vette,  688 Attack  Sub, Omega,  Battle Chess,  3D Helicopter and
 Micro Sports Football League.  

     To find an actual opponent for Falcon, Modem Wars, Flight Simulator 3,
 Empire and  3-D Helicopter,  visit The  Challenge Board where you can list
 your name and search the database by area code and state for other players
 in  your  local  dialing  area.  The  Board also can be used to coordinate
 nationwide tournaments.   

     Each of the five games has its own Challenge Board, containing news
 announcements from the game publisher, a database of players and an
 option for you to list your name, handle and telephone area code and
 phone number for others to see.  

     The new Game Challenge Forum is an ideal place to not only  get expert
 and fast  answers to  your complex gaming questions, but it also serves as
 an electronic gathering place  for game  lovers. Here  you can  share your
 experiences and talk to your opponents in real time through the 
 conferencing areas.  Players can also use the forum to discuss the outcome
 of games and plan new strategies for future play.

     In addition, players of modem games that are not represented on The
 Challenge Board  can use  the forum  to find  opponents.   "Playing a game
 against another  human being  via modem, rather than against a machine, is
 very challenging and can  be  extremely  enjoyable,"  says  Game Challenge
 Forum  Sysop  Mike  Schoenbach.  "It  also  offers  a  different  type  of
 satisfaction when you know there's someone else on the other end."

     One unique game supported by the Game Challenge Forum is  Micro Sports
 Football League,  a popular computer football simulation. A player uploads
 the game strategy to an opponent  in the  forum, downloads  the opponent's
 strategy and  then both  play the  game offline. MSFL is a fully animated,
 fast- action football game that lasts nine to 20 minutes.  Since  the game
 is not  actually played  modem-to-modem, opponents  the world  over can be
 located through  the  forum  for  just  the  price  of  a  few  minutes on
 CompuServe.   MSFL is  the only  game in the forum to also offer a running
 online game. For more information, check out section and Library 15 of the
 forum.

     In  addition,  the  Game  Challenge  Forum offers two modem games from
 PC-ARENA available for downloading.  PC-CHESS is  a modem  chess game that
 has  been  praised  by  reviewers  for its excellent board design and play
 options. The telegaming system contained in  the program  handles dialing,
 connection and  play and  acts as the host in each inter- computer session
 with a partner.

     Also available is PC-OTHELLO, a modem-to-modem version of  the popular
 board  game  Othello.  Communications,  scoring,  player  prompting,  move
 judging and board setup are all managed by the program. Both games  are in
 Library 14.

     Schoenbach says  future plans  for the  new forum  are the planning of
 game tournaments. Anyone who is interested in participating in a  modem to
 modem game tournament should contact him at User ID 76703,4363.

     For more information, consult the Game Challenge Forum (GO CHALFORUM)
 and The Challenge Board (GO CHALLENGE).

                                                  -- Cathryn Conroy





         ________________________________________________________




 > TOS 1.4 STILL? STReport OnLine   And still, mis-information thrives!
   ==============================




  
 Category 14,  Topic 32 
 Message 304       Wed Oct 11, 1989 
 M.ABREU                      at 23:46 EDT 
   
     I  called  Atari  today  to  find  out where I might get a TOS upgrade
 installed in my system.  "No  dealers in  North Carolina  have ordered the
 TOS upgrade  yet.  You might want to call back in a couple of weeks to see
 if anyone has."  I asked who my nearest dealers were anyway.   Something I
 thought would be nice to know.  It turns out the closest dealer is only 50
 miles away  (surprise to me).  I got their number. 
  
     I called the dealer and was told that he was aware that  a new version
 of TOS   was  available, but he was not ordering it for at least 6 months.
 I asked why and he said, "well  it's  got  a  few  bugs  in  it  and it'll
 probably take a few months to get them worked out."  He did offer to order
 one for me now, but he strongly urged me not  to.   He also  asked me what
 price was  posted here  on GEnie.   I told him "$99.95 plus labor," and he
 said he would probably install the upgrade for free. 
  
     First, I know that waiting 6  months isn't  gonna get  me a different,
 better, fixed  version of TOS.  I know my dealer's off-base on this point.
 No surprise considering the poor Atari --> Dealer communications I've read
 about all  too often  here on  GEnie.   FYI, the dealer is SoftwarePlus in
 Jacksonville, NC.  Go easy on them if you call because I  might need their
 support someday. 
  
     Second,  $100+  bucks  is  a  lot  to  pay  for an OS upgrade when you
 consider that a MAC user can walk into  an Apple  dealership with floppies
 in hand  and walk  out with  an OS  update for  nothing (this is what I've
 heard).  I was waiting to see if  there was  ever gonna  be a  TOS upgrade
 before I  invested anymore $$$ in this system, but now I'm not sure I even
 want to pay for the TOS upgrade. 

     Not getting full documentation for the upgrade is  unbelievable, which
 makes  spending the $$$ that much harder. 
  
     Third, someone  said earlier  "you get  what you  pay for", and that's
 certainly true with Atari.  We shouldn't complain too much considering the
 price we paid for the hardware.  I'm not sorry I have this ST, but I'm not
 foolish enough to believe it'll ever be in the same ballpark as a MAC. 

  
 Category 14,  Topic 32 
 Message 305       Thu Oct 12, 1989 
 TOWNS                        at 02:32 EDT 
   
     It is up to you. If you feel the upgrade  is worth  your while,   then
 please purchase  it. If  you like  your machine  the way  it is then don't
 purchase it.  
  
     However, I would urge  you  to  read  some  of  the  messages  in this
 category from  people who have purchased it. It is a very big improvement.
      
     I will attempt to contact your dealer about  this problem  and set him
 straight. Don't worry, I am not going to hurt him! :-) 
  
                                                  -- John 

     In light  of the  problems emanating from information obtained through
 customer service folks, who seem  hard  pressed  for  real  information or
 perhaps  it's  the  department  heads  who  must  satisfy ego appetites by
 asserting themselves and injecting erroneous or flawed procedure  into the
 policy making  process at Atari, we don't know ....yet.  We do know that a
 great many individuals are coming away  from  a  telephone  call  to Atari
 totally  disillusioned  by  the  "facts"  they  are  getting from customer
 service.  We are sure this is not  the same  department supervised  by Ms.
 Diana Goralczynik  as we  have dealt  with her on a number of occasion and
 found her and her staff more than competent and eager to help and satisfy.

     We do feel it  is incumbent  on Atari  employees (all)  to continually
 preach the  wonders of  the product  line and  not project  an attitude of
 being aloof or  behave  as  if  they  are  on  the  outside  acting  as an
 un-involved observer.   It  is easy  to realize  that the  majority of the
 'outspoken'  Atari  employees  are  young  and  perhaps  in  need  of more
 experience in the basic skills of 'dealing' with all kinds of people.
   
     With this  thought behind  us, perhaps it is time for Atari to rethink
 it's approach to the users entirely.  By this we mean they should take the
 blindly  loyal  and  the  intensely  dissatisfied  and  look  at both as a
 possible source of problems  among the  'masses'.   Atari, to  be fair has
 never had  to deal with a society as outspoken as the US social structure.
 After all, in Europe, it is easy to see that  the general  public is still
 under the direct influence of tradition and that dictates that the respect
 be totally in place for authority, accomplishment and station.   That just
 isn't the  case in  the USA  and as soon as they in Sunnyvale realize this
 and begin  to deal  with this  fact in  a positive  manner, attitudes will
 rapidly change.  

     Atari, has never, in it's history in the states shown any real respect
 toward it's dealers, large or small,  the best  we have  heard is  that to
 some they  never said  you "will" do this or that, they asked.  But on the
 other hand to most they did make demands and got away with it.   No doubt,
 the two extremes in the customer base are indeed a source of unrest but it
 must be pointed out that the situation is  really caused  by Atari itself.
 And most directly by a severe lack of communication with the customer base
 and most of all, a total lack of understanding the wants and  needs of the
 customer base. 

     Possibly, the  best manuever  on Atari's  part now would be to provide
 the dealers with an E-Prom burner kit for a fee, and allow  the dealers to
 burn the  'proms on  site for their customers and of course, for a greatly
 reduced amount of money.  Additionally, a wise  and prudent  company would
 also make  every effort  to ensure  sure the  2 chip  x 1mb  ROM were made
 available ASAP.  The level of problems and  difficulties arising  from the
 six  chip  set  being  forced  (hacked)  to  operate in machines basically
 designed to operate with the 2 chip is rising at  an alarming  rate.  Must
 this condition  become another  in the long line of obstinate and damaging
 decisions made by the wigs at  Atari?   Or is  it possible  this issue can
 become the turning point and solid foundation for the building of the 'New
 Atari'?  Only time will tell.





    __________________________________________________________________



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




 - Westchester, PA.      *****  COMMODORE TO SPEND MILLIONS FOR ADS  *****
   ---------------


     During the fourth quarter (1989) Commodore is planning  to support the
 Amiga with an aggressive multi - million dollar campaign designed to light
 a fire under the holiday season sales.  The campaign will include TV print
 ads, direct  mail and  point of  purchase materials.  The highlight of the
 plan is a series of memorable TV commercials produced by * Lucasfilm. *
  
     It is estimated that between October  and  December  92%  of  all U.S.
 Adults should  see the  Amiga commercials  an average  of 20  times.  That
 should really make all the loyal Atari ST users proud...(tongue  in cheek)
  
     Atari,  in  the  meantime,  finds  itself  quite  comfortable  in it's
 grandiose and totally deficient reasoning, "we will not  advertise because
 we have  little or  no distribution  channels".  Last year it was no dram,
 the year before it was a "small dealer base".   We submit  it is  a double
 edged catastrophe  being thrust on the US market, the first being; totally
 inept leadership who are incapable of  grasping  the  enormity  of  the US
 Market  and  the  second  a  severe case of yellowstripe and the "cheaps".
 Ever wonder why the European market thrives??  Easy, the  Katzenjammer are
 far enough away from it.. thus, unable to munge it up!





 - San Francisco, CA.             *****  SHIRAZ SHIVJI JOINS MOMENTA  *****
   ------------------

  
       Kahmran  Elahian,  a  co-founder  of  Cirrus Logic, has attracted $5
 million dollars in venture  capital  for  a  Milpitas-based  startup group
 called Momenta  that plans  to make  easy-to-use portable  computers.  His
 management  team  includes  Shiraz   Shivji,   a   veteran   of  Commodore
 International and  Atari Corp.  who developed the Atari ST computer and is
 widely known as the  father of  the ST.   Shivji,  who left  Atari under a
 cloud of  double talk  about his 'failing health' while the 'wigs' went to
 Hanover, holds a superb track record as a  'can-do' individual.   Congrats
 to Shivji, and caveats to the chef....



 - Washington, DC                *****  STACY RELEASE MODEL SHOWN  *****
   -------------- 

     On display  at the  WAACE Atarifest  was the new and 'late on arrival'
 Stacy, Atari's new portable CPU.  It has  all the  earmarks of  becoming a
 blockbuster release.   Once  the FCC  gets done protecting television sets
 and finding ways to  justify their  leech-like existence,  we may  see the
 Stacy gain  type acceptance  and become  a player  on the  US market.  One
 can't help but wonder, at times, if the bureaucracy needs serious trimming
 or at  least retraining.   TV  receivers are quite a bit better built than
 those at the time the FCC requirements and guidelines were  written.  Yet,
 we  find  that  other  high  tech  products are forced into complying with
 outdated and expensive filtration and emission  specs.      More  than one
 product has  died a  horrible and  costly death because of the sham called
 type acceptance.  Ultimately, it  costs  the  taxpayers  heavily  for this
 debacle.   You can  bet that the losses incurred over rejected products by
 the FCC are directly written off corporate taxes.



 - New York City, NY          ****** LYNX A WINNER, IF EVER RELEASED ******
   -----------------

     In a recent review of both  the Game  Boy and  the Atari  Lynx, it was
 stated by  the reviewer  that;   "If I hadn't seen the Atari Lynx, I'd say
 that the Game Boy was a suitable portable machine.  The Lynx, however, is,
 by  far,  the  better  choice.    Of course, it's also more expensive.  My
 recommendation, then, is to save your dollars and get the  Lynx.   But, if
 you  absolutely  can't  afford  it,  the  Game  Boy  is  still better than
 nothing."   The Lynx's pictures are in vivid color,  while the  Game Boy's
 screen is  monochrome and  prone to  image blurring.   The  Lynx review is
 almost 100% positive, and they really praise the backlit color  LCD screen
 and the  smooth scrolling.   Now,  if *  only *  Atari gets  this thing to
 market.









      _______________________________________________________________

  
  
  
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   _____________________________________________________________________




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


               "To be consumed by hatred and vendetta..... 
                                   is to be nourishment for evil itself!"

  


                             "ATARI IS BACK!"

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ST-REPORT Issue #109   "Your Independent News Source"    October 13, 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.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

